Cannot Forget the Victims

With Penn State's dismissal of legendary Head Football Coach Joe Paterno, we cannot forget the victims at the hands of former Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky. While we hate to see a legend like Paterno be dismissed in this way, it's the young, innocent boys who's lives changed forever at the hands of a sexual predator that we cannot forget. So much went wrong at Penn State in not protecting these kids. It was and abject failure of epic proportions, that nothing was done to hold Sandusky accountable for these heinous crimes against defenseless children. As former Penn State player Matt Millen said, "If we can't protect our kids, then we as a society are pathetic."

We have to remember, this is not about football. It's not about a legendary coach and his legacy. It's about children getting their innocence taken away from them by a predatory adult. One of the sad things about the press conference that was held by the Penn State Board of Trustees late Wednesday night was a reporter asking the first question after Paterno's fate was announced... "Who will coach the team on Saturday?". That's the first concern, really? How about what will be done to help these victims? Sports is both a great distraction and it also can lead to people not thinking rationally. Most fans are not rational people, especially when it comes to their team. We all need to take a step back, even the most diehard Penn State fan, and realize that this is not about football. It's about adults not doing their jobs to protect kids. Let's not lose sight of what happened at State College. Let's not forget the boys who are the true victims in this. We are Penn State? That's bullshit right now...How about, where is the justice?

Below is the link to the 23-page Grand Jury report on the allegations against Jerry Sandusky. Caution: Material in the report is extremely graphic and disturbing...

href="http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploadedFiles/Press/Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment.pdf"

Coach Paterno & President Spanier Fired at Penn State

The Penn State Board of Trustees has announced that Head Football Coach Joe Paterno and University President, Graham Spanier, have been fired, effective immediately. Curiously, Wide Receivers Coach Mike McQueary is still employed as of now. A grown man who witnessed a horrendous act on a 10-year old boy in a shower by an adult, and did not do anything to stop it and only reported it to his superior and not the police, should not be employed either.

Watching the Penn State Trustees presser right now and the man taking all the questions is clearly rattled by the atmosphere of the room and the press throwing tough questions at them. Very odd scene. Penn State University is a mess...

The Penn State Sexual Abuse Scandal

The more that comes out about the sexual abuse allegations against former Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky, and the inaction of several high profile men at Penn State, the more disgusting this is becoming. Not only the act of preying on innocent young boys whom Sandusky met through his foundation, The Second Mile, is disgusting, but the fact that there appears to be a cover up is almost as appalling. There are many questions that need to be answered both legally and morally. I'm not going to get into the details of the acts itself, but the questions remain as how this was allowed to continue and why Sandusky had full access to all Penn State facilities up to this day?

While I'm not, in anyway ignoring the victims in this case, but another question has to be asked, what should happen to Head Coach Joe Paterno? Paterno, who seemingly has run a clean program through his entire 46 year run, and has recently become the all-time winnigest coach in FBS history, has come under fire as well. Basically it comes down to, how much did he know and when did he know it. He reported an incident that he was made aware of to his boss, then Athletic Director Tim Curley (who stepped down early Monday morning). What exactly did Paterno know? Did he know details about the incident or did he just hear of something, and not knowing much about it, reported it to his boss, as he should. Did he know more? Should he have followed up with his AD and asked him what was being done about this? Thse are all tough questions that need to be answered. If you hear of sex abuse allegations against a child, wouldn't you go to the authorities? We can all say we would, but it comes down to, how much did he know and when did he know it.

I'm not defending Paterno, or anyone else involved in the Penn State program. I have thought a lot about whether Paterno should step down or not and I think he should. Not only should he resign, but anyone that knew about these allegations against Sandusky and anyone who continued to allow him to be involved with the Penn State program and allowing him on campus should also resign. There are a lot of people to blame in allowing the abuse of these children to go on. It's absolutely disgusting to me that someone didn't do the right thing. If the Athletic Director was told about this, if the Senior Vice President for Business and Finance was told about this and did not investigate further or turn this over to the police, shame on them. Both AD Curley and Senior VP of Business and Finance, Gary Schultz, have bothe been arraigned on charges of lying to a grand jury and failing to properly report alleged child sexual abuse.

Paterno will hold his regular, weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon at 12:30pm. Reporters have been told to only ask questions about their upcoming game against Nebraska this weekend. I highly doubt any good reporter there will heed those instructions. Questions have to be asked. What did Paterno know...How much did he know...When did he know it...Did he do everything in his power to stop this? Those are just a few of the questions that Paterno needs to answer.

Wheldon Killed in Crash at Las Vegas

IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon, 33, died Sunday afternoon from injuries he sustained after being involved in a 15 car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was a two-time Indy 500 champion winning in 2005 and again this year. The Las Vegas Indy 300 was canceled and all drivers participated in a five lap tribute in his honor. The 2011 IndyCar season ends tragically. This is the series first death since Paul Dana in 2006 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.

Wheldon is survived by his wife and two young sons.

2011 Baseball Predictions

Here are some Major League Baseball predictions for the 2011 season...

In the American League I have the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Oakland Athletics winning their respective divisions with the New York Yankees winning the Wild Card. The Red Sox and Tigers will face each other in the American League Championship Series with the Red Sox moving on to the World Series

In the National League I think the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies will win their divisions with the San Francisco Giants winning the Wild Card. The Phillies will play the Rockies in the National League Championship Series with the Phillies moving on to the World Series.

In the World Series, pitching and defense will dominate with many low scoring games. The team who's starters go the deepest into games will win and I think that team will be the Philadelphia Phillies who will again win the World Series for the second time in four years.

As far as the awards go, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals will have monster years and win the MVP races in each league. Justin Verlander of the Tigers will edge out Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners for the A.L. Cy Young Award. The N.L. Cy Young award will go to the San Francisco Giants' Matt Cain.

It should be another great baseball season in 2011. It starts today with the Tigers and Yankees at 1pm on ESPN and Fox Sports Detroit. Can't wait!

The Only Pro Baseball Game My Grandma Ever Saw

My grandma, Lola Wirtz (my dad's mom), enjoyed watching baseball. She wasn't the biggest fan, but she enjoyed watching the Tigers on TV, watching her kids and grand kids play as well. I remember growing up she would even go out and pitch wiffle balls to my brother and I. What I didn't know, until a phone conversation with my dad, Mike, today, was that she only went to one Tigers game in her lifetime that we know of. Oh what a game it was.

It was Sunday, July 15, 1973 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The California Angels were in town to play the Detroit Tigers. It was the fourth and final game of the series. The Tigers had won the previous three games and had a five game winning streak going. The pitching match up for that day was Jim Perry (brother of Hall-of-Famer Gaylord Perry) versus the great Hall-of-Famer, Nolan Ryan. In 1973, Ryan set the Major League record for most strikeouts in a season with 383. It was his second season with the Angels after coming over from the New York Mets after the 1971 campaign. Up to that point in the season, he had pitched his first career no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals in May, and was off to a great start with a ton of strikeouts. That day, my mom, dad, grandma, and a couple of other family members went down to see the game. As my dad recalls, they sat down the first base line near the bullpen (I have the ticket stub from the game somewhere). The game was one for the ages.

Ryan dominated the Tigers that day. He walked four and struck out 17. He also happened to pitch the second no-hitter of his career. He dominated the Tigers so much that in the bottom of the 9th inning, with two outs, Norm Cash came to the plate. As the story goes, home plate umpire Ron Luciano, who along with Cash, had a great sense of humor, noticed Cash with something other than a bat in his hand. Luciano told Cash he couldn't hit with that and asked what it was. Cash replied that it was a table leg and what was the difference? He wasn't going to hit Ryan anyway. Cash went on to get a regular bat and hit popped out to the shortstop. Ironically, in the 9th, that was the only inning Ryan didn't strike anyone out.

Ryan's performance that day was just one of many outstanding pitching performances that he'd have over his 27 year Hall of Fame career. That game, however, was the only game my Grandma ever went to see in person. I think she made a great choice. I just wish she was still around so I could ask her how much she remembered from it. Miss you Grandma...

Courage Outside the Ring

As he entered the picture on television last night, he didn't look like the same person boxing fans were accustomed to seeing. His suit seemed to be just draped over his thin body, his face gaunt and pale behind the TV make up, his once thick black hair, now in thin gray strands atop his head. When he opened his mouth to speak though, his voice, perhaps a little weaker, was still there and the passion for the sport he loved and called for the last 10 years was present as well.

Nick Charles might not be a name the casual sports fan knows. He began on the national stage in 1980 when he was one of the first personalities, and the first sports anchor, that was hired at a new cable news channel called CNN. A new sports television program, called Sports Night, began as Charles teamed up with Fred Hickman for a successful 17 year run as they battled the up & coming ESPN and SportsCenter. Charles won three Cable Ace Awards as its' host as his thick, black hair, dark complexion, and good looks, were his calling card. In 2001, Charles left CNN to do boxing on Showtime's boxing series, ShoBox: The Next Generation. Charles again won a few awards for his blow-by-blow commentary. In August of 2009, things changed for Charles as he was diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer.


He took a leave of absence from Showtime to treat the cancer that August. He came back to do a couple of more fights, but around Christmas time of last year, he knew the end was near. Doctors told him that his cancer was back, and more aggressive than ever, and that another round of chemo may extend his life by a couple of months...He decided to turn it down. His days of calling fights was likely over, as his battle is coming to an end. However, it was an article in Sports Illustrated's March 7, 2011 edition by Joe Posnanski, that caught the attention of some executives at HBO. In that article, Charles said he wanted to do one more fight, but also stated that it likely wouldn't happen. Once his wish was presented to HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg, the wheels were in motion. HBO's regular blow-by-blow announcer, Bob Papa, agreed to graciously step aside to allow Charles to fulfill his dying wish.

So here we are, Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 9:45pm. A couple of minutes into HBO's Boxing After Dark broadcast, Papa introduces Charles to call the first fight of the night between Mikey Garcia and Matt Remillard. When Charles enters the camera, you can see the excitement in his eyes and hear it in his voice. His hands look older than they should on his 64 year old frame as he his holding his note pad. After thanking all people in boxing who have expressed their well wishes, he dives into the broadcast like the pro he is. Along with Roy Jones, Jr and Max Kellerman, Charles delivers a great broadcast of a fight that was clearly dominated by Garcia. His questions and transitions to his analysts were seamless. He was well prepared and did a great job, something we are accustomed to in a Charles worked fight.

After the fight is over, Charles comes on camera again with Papa. They talk briefly about the fight. Charles then transitions to say that calling this fight was one of the highlights of his life. He thanks HBO for the opportunity and Papa for being so gracious in sharing the microphone with him. Papa wraps up with Charles by saying, "Buddy I love ya." Charles last words as he steps off camera, "Likewise". Is this the last we hear from Nick Charles? He has been given just weeks to live, so sadly, it might be. As he said before the bout, he wanted to do this one last fight to inspire others to carry on and do what they love, no matter what adversity they are facing. He certainly did that. Not only did he inspire those people, he inspired all of us with his courage to put himself out there one last time, despite all he is dealing with. Papa I think spoke for all of us when he said, "Buddy I love ya." Anyone who saw Charles work, past or present, and especially after Saturday night, would say the last word that he uttered on camera and agree with Papa and say, "Likewise".