Joe Paterno has died at the age of 85 after experiencing serious complications from lung-cancer treatment.
The health of Paterno, who had fought the disease for two months, had grown progressively worse after he recently broke his pelvis in a fall at his home in State College, Pa.
The family announced his death Sunday shortly after 10 a.m. ET., The Associated Press reported.
Paterno died at State College's Mount Nittany Medical Center, where he had been undergoing treatment.
46 years of glory versus 2 months of hell. I hope people mostly choose to look at the 46 years rather than the inglorious means by which it all ended for him. Somehow I doubt the statue outside of Beaver Stadium will be taken down now.
smark/net attack Advisory System Status is: Elevated (Holds; June 18, 2006) While the switch from Cena to RVD should alleviate some complaints, the inevitability of the belt's return to Cena (note where Summerslam is this year) and the poor initial showing by the new ECW are enough to keep the indicator where it is for now. The pieces are in place, though, especially on RAW, for improvements to be made to the IWC's psyche in the near future.
It always seemed that Paterno kept coaching because he was afraid that like Bear Bryant he wouldn't be able to live without coaching. Sadly, that is what happened.
That's ... one way to look at it. I guess. I'd imagine the hell has lasted (and will continue to last) for much more than two months for the children who were sexually abused, but I suppose it only inconvenienced Paterno for two months so that's all we'll pay attention to. Sandusky was abusing children for about a third of Paterno's stay at Penn State (1994 to 2009 is the alleged range of dates), and even if you believe Paterno knew nothing until he made that fateful decision to turn a blind eye in 2002, that's still a good chunk of Paterno's reign.
Paterno's legacy will hopefully be tarnished by his horrible decision because he deserves to have in tarnished. It's screwed up priorities like this - hey, we can overlook raping kids because the guy won some football games - that creates the very atmosphere that allowed this shit to happen. Winning football games is not something that outweighs negligence leading to children being sexually abused. It shouldn't be, anyway.
Originally posted by redsoxnationIt always seemed that Paterno kept coaching because he was afraid that like Bear Bryant he wouldn't be able to live without coaching. Sadly, that is what happened.
I immediately had the same thought. Did he actually say that or was it Bobby Bowden who did?
At any rate, RIP. I'm reading "Death to the BCS" and on page 1 he is mentioned.
You've heard of the first. His name is Joe Paterno. He's the eighty-three-year-old icon who, after sixty-one seasons coaching at Penn State, the last forty-five as head coach, is as steadfast a proponent of a playoff as ever. He is us. He is you.
Reading that paragraph for the first time last week was jarring in light of the last couple of months.
(edited by JayJayDean on 22.1.12 0952) Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
Bowden said that several times, but he's actually adjusted well to it. Lots of speaking, coached a game last night, hanging mostly in Alabama to keep out of Jimbo's way.
Originally posted by redsoxnationIt always seemed that Paterno kept coaching because he was afraid that like Bear Bryant he wouldn't be able to live without coaching. Sadly, that is what happened.
This is not meant to be cruel, but I'm struggling to find a way to say it to not come off cruel. This a sweet romantic idea. It's also distressingly irrational.
The man had inoperable lung cancer. He had it before he lost his job, it was just only revealed in days following. He wouldn't have survived a day later if he kept coaching. It is possible he survived longer because he was focusing totally on his health and not coaching (and dealing with the press.) It's very likely he would not have been physically able to coach much longer than he actually lasted.
It's not that these college coaches love coaching so much that taking it away will kill them (though they may fell that way), it's they love coaching so much they won't give up until they're about to lose everything.
Paterno's legacy will hopefully be tarnished by his horrible decision because he deserves to have in tarnished. It's screwed up priorities like this - hey, we can overlook raping kids because the guy won some football games - that creates the very atmosphere that allowed this shit to happen. Winning football games is not something that outweighs negligence leading to children being sexually abused. It shouldn't be, anyway.
(edited by TheBucsFan on 22.1.12 1036)
This. My girlfriend is a Penn State alumni and while she is sane about it, a lot of her friends are saying AMAZINGLY STUPID THINGS right now, so a tiny sliver of sanity on the Internet really did me some good right now.
Originally posted by redsoxnationIt always seemed that Paterno kept coaching because he was afraid that like Bear Bryant he wouldn't be able to live without coaching. Sadly, that is what happened.
This is not meant to be cruel, but I'm struggling to find a way to say it to not come off cruel. This a sweet romantic idea. It's also distressingly irrational.
The man had inoperable lung cancer. He had it before he lost his job, it was just only revealed in days following. He wouldn't have survived a day later if he kept coaching. It is possible he survived longer because he was focusing totally on his health and not coaching (and dealing with the press.) It's very likely he would not have been physically able to coach much longer than he actually lasted.
It's not that these college coaches love coaching so much that taking it away will kill them (though they may fell that way), it's they love coaching so much they won't give up until they're about to lose everything.
\
To be fair - and I wasn't subscribing to the "no football killed Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno"-theory, just pointing out the similarities and that Paterno and Bowden cited Bryant's death four months after retiring - continuing to coach surely wouldn't have prevented Bear Bryant's heart attack, either.
Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
Originally posted by It's FalseThere's a time to look into the sordid mess of what happened. Now is not that time. Give family and friends a day to grieve.
And screw the media for talking to Jerry Sandusky about Paterno's death. He's the last person they need to be putting the spotlight on right now.
RIP
(edited by It's False on 22.1.12 1327)
Expect they should. He knew Joe from the 70s and was his right hand man for about 20 years. Its almost like Newt being offended from having to answer a legit question about his marriage from his ex-wife. It should be no shock or outrage over doing that.
I never liked Joe Pa and never will. I am sorry for that the Paterno family on their loss. In a sad way this is probably the best thing to happen to the university, he is no longer to be a shadow over the new coach and the alumni can shut up about firing him.
As for the sordid mess, the fact that the independent investigation that was hired by the trustees is giving the trustees a copy of their report for them to edit. It seems to be me this mess will not be over. As long as Corbett and his pals are part of the trustees, they are going to do everything in their power to keep the damage limited. They also have the advantage of a GOP State House that will never put them in a corner.
(edited by lotjx on 22.1.12 1542) The Wee Baby Sheamus.
Twitter: @realjoecarfley its a bit more toned down there. A bit.
I personally don't think Paterno should be credited with victories while he was sitting warm in the press boxes drinking coffee. He obviously wasn't coaching the team and was just a figurehead.
it's sad how all of this ended and no doubt his image is tarnished forever. Now, if we just go by football results, he was one of the greats.
I liked all of this, but the last paragraph the most.
I asked Paterno at one point in that last month if he hoped that people would come to see and measure his full life rather than a single, hazy event involving an alleged child molester. "It doesn't matter what people think of me," he said. "I've lived my life. I just hope the truth comes out. And I hope the victims find peace."
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Yeah, it's seemingly just a matter of time before the Rams leave. That "stadium has to be one of the best in the NFL" is somewhat open to interpretation, but really, by any criteria the Edward James Dome doesn't fit the bill.