FOOTBALL

In college football, the major scandal at Penn State continues.  It was reported that head coach Joe Paterno’s protoge, Jerry Sandusky, sexually assaulted and abused young boys while at Penn State.  Sandusky, apparently, had several sexual encounters with boys in the Penn State locker room.  This was going on for 15 years, with the boys visiting the college via a local charity.  Finally… somebody reported Sandusky.  Now, all media surrounds Penn State.  Yesterday, Paterno was scheduled for a weekly press conference, but it was canceled just an hour before.  Paterno said he wanted to speak about the allegations, but would respect the university’s decision to cancel the press conference.  As of right now, Joe Paterno still has his head coaching job, but maybe not for long.

Elsewhere in college football, the big game this weekend is #3 Stanford vs. #7 Oregon.  This will essentially decide the fate of Stanford’s BCS championship hopes.  If they win, they still have a chance, but if they lose, they can probably expect to drop in the rankings, as Oregon is the toughest team they’ve played.  Fortunately for Stanford… they have Andrew Luck, arguably the best college quarterback in the last 15 years, and a lock to be the #1 pick in the draft. Unfortunately for Stanford… Luck will be without his best receiver Chris Owusu.  You’re talking about a guy whose good for at least 1 or 2 touchdowns a game, and Stanford will need them against a high-scoring Oregon team.  Then again, Stanford is looking for revenge against the only team that beat them last year.  This game is a must-see.

Finally, in the NFL, the Patriots brought in some big name free agents in the off-season.  That included Chad Ochocinco, and the big man… Albert Haynesworth.  Haynesworth had been known as a troublesome guy in the NFL.  He was amazing on the Titans, leading to the Redskins giving him a $100 million dollar contract.  On the Redskins, he was terrible and had a bad attitude, and was ultimately released.  In the off-season, Pats coach Bill Belichick decided to give him another chance, and the Pats have a history of including veterans and making them successful (Randy Moss, Corey Dillon).  But it looks like Haynesworth still didn’t care while in New England, and while Belichick is a genius, you simply can’t coach effort.  If a player doesn’t care, no coach can make him care.