Catching Up

Happy Chick-fil-A appreciation day, everyone! As we head into a new month, there’s been plenty going on the last, oh, seven months, or so. Major topics:

PENN STATE

A couple weeks ago, the NCAA lowered the boom on Happy Valley for its actions, or lack of actions, concerning former assistant Jerry Sandusky. In case you don’t know, NCAA stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association. I emphasize that word because I feel this is a criminal matter, NOT a matter for the NCAA.

Sandusky has been found guilty and will spend the rest of his life in jail. Charges and lawsuits are possibly coming for former PSU president Graham Spanier, and athletic director Tim Curley. Paterno, who died in January, has a sad chapter added to his legacy. (No, it did not wipe out 60 years of good.)

The program was put on probation for five years and banned from Big Ten title games and bowl games for four years. The players are allowed to transfer wherever they want, immediately. Brent Musberger called it “a slow death penalty.” That is to say, the program isn’t shut down (like SMU in the 1980s) but will be set back for years beyond the probation.

Former FBI director Louis Freeh prepared a report for Penn State, which was released July 12.

Ten days later, the NCAA handed out five years probation, a four-year postseason ban, a $60 million fine, cut scholarships and vacated over 100 wins from Joe Paterno’s record (dating to 1998, when the first allegations against Sandusky were made.)

So, what exactly, did ANY of those players (you know, the ones who won the games) have to do with this scandal? Nothing. What do the players currently there and coming in over the next five years have to do with it? Nothing. This was NEVER an athletic matter.

The NCAA says it didn’t have to do an investigation because the Freeh report had covered all the ground. Meanwhile in July 2003, when Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy was murdered by a teammate, there was a seven-month investigation by the school, which found that the coach had paid tuition for Dennehy and another player, then attempted to cast him as a drug dealer. The NCAA took until June 2005 to hand down its ruling, and imposed a five-year probation among other penalties. Dave Bliss, the coach, was punished for the payments and lying to investigators. The NCAA left the criminal matters alone.

But this time, Freeh (whose stellar career at the FBI included Ruby Ridge and charging a scientist at Los Alamos with stealing secrets, then having him plead to 1 of 59 counts) takes seven months, writes a report and the NCAA says, yep, good enough for us.

Action was needed, but this was a rush job, and blasted the wrong target (innocent players).

THE OLYMPICS

I’ve watched my share of NBC’s coverage. I understand their focus on big draws with recognizable faces (swimming, gymnastics) but it’s the Olympics. At least a little bit of primetime should be used to focus on sports like weightlifting, archery, and others that will get ignored once the games end.

As for the whole tape vs. live kerfuffle, NBC’s got seven channels to air coverage. So put everything on when it happens, then use the primetime network slot to air the best stuff. It’s not that hard, but we are talking TV executives and we are talking NBC, which is mostly a train wreck these days.

POLITICS

The presidential race has less than 100 days to go, and has been close so far. I was obviously disappointed that Rick Santorum came up short, but I’ll get in line behind Mitt Romney. The main piece of drama for now is Romney’s vice presidential nominee. Some names are ridiculous (Condoleezza Rice, Chris Christie). My money’s on either Rob Portman or Marco Rubio.

Coming back to where I started, I find it ridiculous that the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco think that they can somehow “ban” Chick-fil-A from their cities, simply because the franchise’s owner personally opposes gay marriage due to his religious beliefs. Even Mikey Bloomberg, who wants to ban pop over 16 ounces, said it was ridiculous.

Enjoy the rest of the summer... and keep SPEAKING FRANKLY.