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Bob Costas to Host Show Reexamining Freeh Report
Bob Costas is taking another look at the Freeh Report.
Nittany Nation blogger Frank Bodani is reporting that, to give the report and its assertions a better evaluation, Costas is going to host a TV program on NBC, “a further examination of this issue in a month or two.”
Said Costas, “I said, ‘As the Freeh Report makes clear, Paterno was, in some sense, complicit’” to Sandusky’s abuse of young boys.
“I didn’t say he was part of a cover-up. I wish I would have said, ‘As the Freeh Report asserts,’ rather than, ‘As the Freeh Report makes clear.’”
Costas first reversed direction on the Freeh report a few weeks ago in an interview with radio host Kevin Slaten of KQQZ in St. Louis, but now is the first evidence we’re seeing of a potential TV program to address the issue. When he first commented on the report last July, Costas had only read summaries of the document, and not the entire 267-page report itself. Previously, he had advocated for the so-called “death penalty” for Penn State football for at least a year. He now thinks that the NCAA sanctions in place are undeservedly steep.
In a way similar to the Paterno report’s questioning of Freeh’s investigation, Costas will take aim at Freeh’s conclusions that, according to him, still raise questions of their validity. Costas acknowledged that the report by Thornburgh, Clemente, and Berlin raised legitimate questions about holes in the Freeh Report.
Though Costas says that, nationally, the public may not care enough to reverse its opinion on the issue, having moved on and forgotten, he adds, “I feel I have some responsibility to follow the story.” No other details about the program have yet been released such as an air date, besides that it will air on NBC “in a month or two.”
Panel “Discussion of Paterno Investigation Today
O’Brien Wins Another Coach of the Year!
Penn State’s Bill O’Brien has picked up another coaching honor.
The Maxwell Football Club named O’Brien coach of the year on Tuesday after the first-year head coach guided the Nittany Lions to an 8-4 record under unprecedented circumstances.
O’Brien will pick up the award on March 1 at the Maxwell Club’s awards gala in Atlantic City. That same night, Penn State’s senior class will receive the Brookshier Spirit Award for commitment, leadership and effort in 2012.
The season began under the cloud of strict NCAA sanctions for the school’s handling of the child sex abuse scandal involving retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
But Penn State finished a surprising second in the Big Ten Leaders Division behind unbeaten Ohio State.
O’Brien has also been named ESPN coach of the year.
Mark Emmert Has No Grasp of Penn State Facts
By John Zieger, www.FramingPaterno.com
Franco asked Emmert how he could find Joe Paterno “guilty” for covering up the 1998 and 2001 instances when Jerry Sandusky himself had been found “not guilty” for the same episodes (in 1998 an investigation brought no charges and Sandusky was acquitted at trial for the Mike McQueary ”rape” allegation). Emmert’s ensuing response, or, more accurately, non-response, spoke volumes about the credibility of the NCAA sanctions.
Emmert made some extraordinary statements.
He greatly diminished his own role in the sanctions (which he physically signed). He seemed to indicate that thought that the Freeh Report had somehow “read” 3.5 million documents and that Freeh had far more “authority” than he really did (Freeh didn’t even speak to any of the five people closest to the case). He even seemed to be under the delusion that Franco Harris, who famously played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, may have been on the 1998 Penn State team which was the first to, illogically, have its wins stripped.
But the most stunning statement Emmert made was that “no one” at Penn State was found “guilty” or even mentioned specifically by the NCAA, and that they did not take away Joe Paterno’s all-time wins record. He really said those things. Just listen to the recording.
If “no one” at Penn State was found “guilty,” then why was the school punished so severely? If Paterno was not specifically referenced, or didn’t have his record taken away, why does page 5 in the “punitive” section of the NCAA consent decree, clearly state, “the career record of Coach Joe Paterno will reflect the vacated records”? The president of NCAA, who literally signed off on the worst sanctions in college football history against Penn State, didn’t even have a firm grasp on the basic facts of the case. Of all the many indignities that Joe Paterno has suffered in the year since his last birthday on earth, in some ways nothing has been worse than being convicted by people who didn’t even give him basic due process or the simple respect to have all the facts (or, in Emmert’s case, even have the courage to admit he had indeed been found “guilty”)?
Penn State Maintains Academic Excellence in Football
Today, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) awarded the Nittany Lions an honorable mention recognition as part of the AFCA’s annual Academic Achievement Award survey.
The honorable mention citation is given to programs who boast a 75 percent graduation rate or higher. In the 26 years that Penn State football has been eligible for the survey, it has received honorable mention recognition 22 times. Only Notre Dame has been recognized more (23).
Penn State, along with with 18 other schools, earned a special recognition for having a gradation rate above 90 percent.
According to data released in October, Penn State football set a program record with a 91 percent graduation success rate, putting it 23 percent above the national Division One average. The football team’s 2005-06 entering class earned a program record 93 percent Federal Graduation Rate, which is 33 points above the Division 1 average. To put that in perspective, Penn State’s graduation rate for non-athletes is 85 percent.
O’Brien ESPN Coach of the Year, Mauti ESPN First Team All American
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., December 8, 2012 – Penn State coach Bill O’Brien has been selected national Coach of the Year and senior linebacker Michael Mauti (Mandeville, La) has been named to the AT&T ESPN All-America Team.
O’Brien’s selection and the AT&T ESPN All-America Team were announced Saturday on ABC.
In his first year as head coach of the Nittany Lions, O’Brien is a finalist for three national coach of the year honors: the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year and the Maxwell Football Club’s Collegiate Coach of the Year. O’Brien also is on the Watch List for the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year.
The first-year Nittany Lion mentor also was named the Big Ten’s Dave McClain Coach of the Year (media) and Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year (coaches). He was just the seventh first-year head coach to earn the Big Ten-Dave McClain Coach of the Year in the 41 years it has been awarded.
Mauti was joined on the AT&T ESPN All-America Team by: Khaseem Greene (Rutgers), Jarvis Jones (Georgia) and Manti Te’o (Notre Dame).
Mauti was selected the Big Ten’s 2012 Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, helping Penn State to a conference-high five Big Ten individual awards. He also was a first-team all-conference choice by the coaches and media.
A co-captain, Mauti earns the first Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year honor for “LinebackerU.” in its second year of being presented. The award is named after Dick Butkus (Illinois) and Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern). Mauti and Fitzgerald were coached by Ron Vanderlinden, who has been the Penn State linebackers coach since 2001.
A semifinalist for the Butkus Award, Mauti was the only Big Ten player ranked in the top 10 in the conference in tackles (7th, 96), interceptions (4th, 3) and forced fumbles (3rd, 3). He also led the Big Ten in interception return yards (125). Mauti had 4.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks (minus-25), three interceptions, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and two pass break-ups. The former Mandeville High School standout started the initial 11 games, suffering a knee injury in the first quarter vs. Indiana on Nov. 17 that ended his season.
Named Penn State’s 15th head football coach on January 6, 2012, O’Brien led the Nittany Lions to victories in eight of their final 10 games, earning an 8-4 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the Big Ten, with the only losses coming to division winners Ohio State and Nebraska. In its final game, Penn State beat eventual Big Ten Champion Wisconsin, 24-21, in overtime. O’Brien’s eight wins are the most by a first-year Penn State coach in the 126 years of the program.
Two Penn State Senior Named First Team All America Academic Honors
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 6, 2012 - The Penn State Football program remains at the head of the class on the Capital One Division I Academic All-America® Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Senior defensive end Pete Massaro (Newtown Square) and junior guard John Urschel (Williamsville, N.Y.) earned 2012 first-team Capital One Academic All-America® honors, becoming the Nittany Lions’ 50th and 51st all-time football honorees.
Penn State and Notre Dame were the only Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) or Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) institutions with two first-team Academic All-America® honorees.
The Nittany Lions’ all-time total of 51 Academic All-America® football honorees ranks third nationally among the 120 FBS institutions. The Nittany Lions’ 178 all-time Academic All-Americans® for all sports also is third-highest among all NCAA Division I institutions.
Penn State has led, or been tied for first, in first-team Academic All-America® selections among FBS institutions in four of the past five years. The Nittany Lions’ 17 Academic All-Americans® over the past seven seasons (15 first-team) leads the nation. The Penn State football team has had a least one first-team Academic All-American® in nine of the past 11 seasons (17 overall selections).
Massaro also was a 2010 first-team Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American® and becomes the 10th Nittany Lion to earn first team Academic All-America® honors twice. He joins a distinctive list that includes: John Runnells (1965-66), Harry Hamilton (1982-83), Lance Hamilton (1984-85), Jeff Hartings (1994-95), Paul Posluszny (2005-06), Gerald Cadogan (2007-08), Josh Hull (2008-09), Andrew Pitz (2008-09) and Stefen Wisniewski, the Nittany Lions’ only three-time Academic All-American® (2008-10).
Massaro graduated in December 2011 with a superlative 3.85 grade point average in finance and is on schedule to earn a second degree, in economics, later this month. The former Marple Newtown High School standout missed the 2011 season with a serious knee injury and was not eligible to be nominated for Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America® consideration last year. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Massaro made eight tackles, with one tackle for loss, and 0.5 sacks in nine games missing three contests due to injury.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” stated Massaro on his second Academic All-America® selection. “I actually had this date circled on my calendar. This is one of the things you work for when you are a college student-athlete. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
Urschel earns his first Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection to go with two Academic All-District® accolades. A starter in all 12 games this season for Bill O’Brien, the Big Ten-Dave McClain Coach of the Year, Urschel graduated in three years with a 4.0 grade-point average in mathematics and is on schedule to earn a master’s degree in math in May, 2013.
A 2012 first-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches, the former Canisius High School standout served as the student marshal for the Penn State math graduates at the Spring 2012 Commencement. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Urschel helped Penn State lead the Big Ten in total offense (437.0 ypg) in conference games and rank second in scoring offense (32.6 ppg) and second in pass offense (283.1 ypg) against Big Ten foes this season, while producing a 1,000-yard rusher for the eighth consecutive season.
A mathematics research student, Urschel recently had his first paper accepted for publication. Titled the “Instabilities in the Sun-Jupiter-Asteroid Three Body Problem,” Urschel’s paper has been accepted to the journal, Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy.
“This is a great honor and I’m very glad I’m able to represent Penn State,” said Urschel. “I am very thankful for the professors, advisors, and coaches who have helped me be able to succeed in the classroom and on the football field.”
Massaro and Urschel were joined on the 2012 CoSIDA Academic All-District® Team by teammates Brad Bars (Nashville, Tenn.) and Ben Kline (Seven Valleys). Penn State’s four Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District® honorees were tied for the most among all FBS institutions with Duke, Nebraska and Northern Illinois.
In October, NCAA data revealed that the Penn State Football student-athletes earned a program record 91 percent Graduation Success Rate, tied for No. 7 among the nation’s FBS institutions.
Three Coach of the Year Finalist Honors for Bill O’Brien
O’Brien was named a finalist for the Maxwell Football Club Coach of the Year award Wednesday morning, his third such nomination in as many days. The first year head coach was also named an Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year finalist by the Football Writers Association of America, as well as a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honor previously this week. Add those nominations to his previous sweep of the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year awards last week, and his addition to the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year watch list, and O’Brien could have quite the haul of hardware between now and the calenders turn to January.
O’Brien is joined on the Maxwell finalists’ list by Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, who will coach the Fighting Irish in the Jan. 7 National Championship game against Alabama, as well as by Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder. The 76th award winner will be announced Dec. 19, with an award ceremony of Maxwell Club award winners planned March 1st at the Maxwell Awards Gala in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Penn State’s senior class is already schedule to attend, as its’ senior class was the 2012 recipient of the clubs’ Thomas Brookshier Spirit Award, which will recognize their commitment, leadership, and outstanding effort during the season, according to a press release.
Vote For Our Coach of the Year!
The Coach of the Year finalist results are in! Each of our 25 finalists are living proof that the complete package of on-field excellence and off-field charity inspires not only their players and communities, but also the fans nationwide …
who admire and respect them. See who made it through as finalists, and help us determine which of these coaches in each division deserves to win the award now through December 20th by voting at here: http://coachoftheyear.com/
