Joe Paterno And The General's Daughter

I have quite a few Penn State friends. Did they all initially have rational reactions to the news that their college was covering up for a serial child rapist? No. But it seems, days later, that cooler heads have prevailed, and most of them realize that Joe Paterno, as beloved as he was, had no choice but to leave.

However, school spirit dies hard, and I get the sense that many of them still don't quite understand why they should be mad at Paterno, the kindly old man who "lived in the same McKee St. house for decades. Chatted with us as he walked to practice. Ate ice cream with us at the Creamery. We have studied in the new library wing his money helped build. We have visited the sports museum and spiritual center he also helped build. We have seen him cheering on other Penn State athletes..."

I suggest these people rent "The General's Daughter."



It's not a great movie by any means, filmed at the tail end of John Travolta's cinematic comeback, right before Battlefield Earth sent him back to the C-list. But the flick, about a rape that occurs on a military base, has a plot not dissimilar from what happened at Penn State. A university, in particular a large, football-crazy institution like Penn State, resembles a military outfit in many ways, except with more keggers and pot smoking. In fact, the most popular defense of Joe Paterno's actions, invoked on this lawyer's blog, for example, invokes the phrase "After contacting his chain of command superiors, he let them do their jobs."

In The General's Daughter, John Travolta investigates after a highly respected general's daughter is found naked, legs and arms spread out and staked into the ground with tent poles, strangled to death. Yikeys.

Now, if you don't like spoilers, you might want to skip past this next paragraph and the video.

What Travolta discovers is that the general's daughter was actually recreating something that had happened to her back at West Point. During a training exercise, she was gang-raped by a group of soldiers. She reported this to a man she loved and trusted. Her father, the general. What did this man she loved and trusted do? He covered it up. Thinking it would be tough to get a rape conviction, and not wanting to sully the reputation of West Point, he makes the whole thing go away. The daughter, scarred from the incident, recreates the scene years later to give her father "something he can't cover up," but her father walks away, leaving her there. The daughter is then discovered by one of her original rapists, who kills her. Travolta, who previously admired and respected the general, lays the blame where it falls:



Travolta and his partner, meanwhile, have no problem tracking down and convicting all of the men who raped the general's daughter... if only they'd been able to do it sooner. Meanwhile, the person who could have saved the general's daughter finds his career destroyed, his life's work tarnished.

This is what a cover-up does. It allows an already tragic situation to get far worse. In both The General's Daughter, and at Penn State, a trusted, beloved figure had the power to save lives-- and they didn't.

Maybe Paterno truly did believe, at first, that the "chain of command" would remedy the situation. But as the years passed (and Jerry Sandusky raped more and more boys), he certainly could no longer believe that. Did his love of Penn State, and his friendship with his longtime co-coach trump his concern for a child's welfare?

Why should Penn Staters feel angry at Paterno? The same reason John Travolta feels so much anger towards the "villain" in The General's Daughter. This "villain" may not have committed the actual rape and murder, but he betrayed the trust, love, and respect of the person who came to him for help. In a place where "Joe Pa" is the general, he was the one the witness of this rape went to for advice on what to do. The right thing for the child would have been to call the police. All of us know this. We also know, sadly, what "Joe Pa" did instead.

So, Penn State fans, watch The General's Daughter and when the credits roll, ask yourself this: Do you forgive the "villian?" Or are you as angry as Travolta is? Then ask yourself if what Paterno did is really so different.


Actually, it is.

What Paterno did happened in real life.

Tiger's Cub

Maybe Tiger Woods really is a sex addict. I thought he was just a scumbag, but there's got to be something mentally wrong for Tiger to sleep with a 9-year-old girl.

What's that? Oh, no, technically, Tiger's latest bimbette isn't 9 anymore. But she was that age when Tiger Woods first met her, upon moving in to her neighborhood. Can you imagine? Tiger watched the girl next door grow up... and said "Man, I wanna bang that!"

What's next for Tiger? Using his dead father to try to win sympathy and forgiveness for himself?

Check.

I really don't see how Elin can hang on after these latest revelations. I mean, if he cheated once, it's a mistake. He cheats a dozen times, he's a mistake. But he cheats on you with a kid as well?

I'd love not to pay attention to any of this, but it's fascinating. Each revelation in this Tiger scandal's been worse than the previous one. How long before we find there's a been few more 9-year-olds in Tiger's bedroom?

Only In America, or How To Save The Music Industry



AM NY reported this morning that Ashley Dupre, the high-class call-girl who NY Gov Elliot Spitzer frequented, is now a millionaire.

Ashley is an aspiring musician, and her two tracks, now selling for 98 cents, have sold over two million.

Finally, a solution for the music industry's woes! Pimping out artists!

New Ashley Simpson album not selling well? Pimp her out to NJ Guv Jon Corzine and watch the magic unfold. Jessica Simpson CD not flying off the shelves? Hook her up with Dick Cheney and presto: platinum. The latest John Mayer collection not resonating with the music-buying public? Tell Barbara Boxer that for just $5,000 a night, the curly-haired crooner will sing "Your Body Is A Wonderland" while running around her bedroom like this:



Sorry 'bout that. I probably should have warned you first.

Maybe if every musician was a prostitute, the record industry wouldn't need to sue kids and their moms for illegally downloading Spice Girls songs.

It's worth considering.

And Just Like That, There Was No More Elliot Spitzer


"Client 9"

He came into New York politics as a bright shining star, a beacon of hope amid the dirty world of crooked and morally bankrupt government officials. He'd brought corrupt corporations to their knees, prosecuted those who exploited the weak and the down-trodden. Some even believed him to be a future candidate for President. But today, Elliot Spitzer became just another disappointment in the ever-growing cadre of politicians who promised to be different, but ended up being all too familiar.

Elliot Spitzer, reformer, crusader, prostitute-lover.

The New York Times has reported that Spitzer has admitted his involvement in a high-class prostitution ring recently busted up by the feds:

The governor’s travel records show that he was in Washington in mid-February. One of the clients described in court papers arranged to meet with a prostitute who was part of the ring, the Emperors Club VIP on the night of Feb. 13.

Mr. Spitzer appeared on a CNBC television show at 7 a.m. the next morning. Later in the morning, he testified before a Congressional committee.

An affidavit filed in federal court in Manhattan in connection with that case lists six conversations between the man, identified as Client 9, and a booking agent for the Emperors Club.

Yes, the night before appearing in front of a congressional committee, the married father of three decided to get jiggy with a high-priced bimbo.

In recent days, Spitzer appeared ready to meet some of the lofty expectations New York residents had for him. Despite political in-fighting and legislative failures early on in his tenure, he had poised his party to win the state senate for the first time in decades. With a solidly Democratic senate in place, Spitzer would finally have no stumbling blocks standing in the way of his proposed reforms.

Now it seems, it was all for naught. If he is indeed "Client 9" from the Fed's affidavit, then Spitzer will undoubtedly be forced to resign from government. Not to mention, he will face jail time for a crime he once prosectuted others for.

How could someone at such a high level, who knew the consequences of what he was doing, commit such a foolish crime? Then again, haven't several government officials done the same thing? Maybe it's a side-effect of being elected.

The man once called "Elliot Ness" by the press, is in an "Elliot Mess."

Elliot Spitzer, in a statement this afternoon, apologized to his family and the public, stating, "I am disapointed that I failed to live up to the standard I had set for myself."

So are we, Elliot. So are we.

Rudolph The Steroid-Abusing Reindeer

Just in time for the holiday season, Major League Baseball is getting a gift it didn't want-- the results of George Mitchell's steroid invesigation.

Rumors put the number of players named as high as 80. At least one person has said the list of steroid-abusing players will include "Landscape-changing names... Names that will change the way we look at the sport."

Deadspin.com published an unofficial list of players named in the report. We won't know for sure who's on it until 2:01 PM today, when the report is released.

But some of the names stand out. Bary Bonds and Mark McGwire, we already knew. But Roger Clemens? Andy Pettite? Albert Pujols? Pudge? Mo Vaughn? These guys are legends of the game. Roger holds several pitching records. All five are future Hall-Of-Famers.

Aaron Boone is a disturbing name to see there as well. His walk-off homer against the Red Sox in the Division Series is one of Yankee baseball's proudest moments. But was Boone on the juice when it happened?

Suddenly we have to ask ourselves... was Matt Williams pursuit of the home run record in the strike-shortened season a result of some needles? Was Paul Byrd's brilliant shutdown of the Yankees this year due to some extra testosterone? Was John Rocker's famous temper inflamed by roid rage?

How many asterisks do we have to put on this game?

Adam's Life Presents: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (modern version)







UPDATE: The real list of players. Aaron Boone, you're off the hook. So are you, Albert Pujols and Pudge.

Lenny Dykstra, David Segui, Larry Bigbie, Brian Roberts, Jack Cust, Tim Laker, Josias Manzanillo, Todd Hundley, Mark Carreon, Hal Morris, Matt Franco, Rondell White, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Grimsley, Gregg Zaun, David Justice, F.P. Santangelo, Glenallen Hill, Mo Vaughn, Denny Neagle, Ron Villone, Ryan Franklin, Chris Donnels, Todd Williams, Phil Hiatt, Todd Pratt, Kevin Young, Mike Lansing, Cody McKay, Kent Mercker, Adam Piatt, Miguel Tejada, Jason Christiansen, Mike Stanton, Stephen Randolph, Jerry Hairston, Paul Lo Duca, Adam Riggs, Bart Miadich, Fernando Vina, Kevin Brown, Eric Gagne, Mike Bell, Matt Herges, Gary Bennett, Jr., Jim Parque, Brendan Donnelly, Chad Allen, Jeff Williams, Howie Clark, Nook Logan, Rick Ankiel, Paul Byrd, Jay Gibbons, Troy Glaus, Jose Guillen, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Gary Matthews, Jr., Scott Schoeneweis, David Bell, Jose Canseco, Jason Grimsley, Darren Holmes, John Rocker, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams, and Steve Woodard.

From MySpace To Murder - Part II



Almost exactly two years ago, I wrote one of the first articles to note the phenomenon of "personal" social networking profiles and blogs suddenly becoming very public due to their author's notoriety after a newsworthy event: a piece about 14-year-old Kara Borden and her 18-year-old paramour, David Ludwig. David was convicted of killing Kara's parents when they refused to allow her to date him. Their online profiles provided reporters and the public a small window into a relationship that led to tragedy.

Since then, we've seen countless examples of news organizations using information from the Facebook, MySpace and YouTube accounts of individuals who become newsworthy due to crime and scandal. The latest involves a University of Washington student, Amanda Knox, age 20, who allegedly aided and abetted the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, 21, a British exchange student, while the two were studying abroad in Italy.

The sordid details of the murder drew international attention. At first, the police were baffled. They looked through the victims Facebook pictures for clues.

After a friend of the victim mentioned strange men that had visited the apartment with Amanda, the victims roommate was questioned. Amanda's story didn't seem to add up. She acted odd and changed her story when confronted by police. Then Amanda's online profiles were uncovered.

Amanda had a MySpace and Facebook profile, and even was featured in a short YouTube video. In the context of the grisly murder, Amanda's online persona takes on a chilling tone.

On her MySpace page, Amanda goes by the handle "Foxy Knoxy" The British press has already adopted this nickname to refer to Amanda in their sensational headlines. Schoolmates allege Amanda was constantly bringing strange men to her apartment for sex.

Her profile states that she doesn't drink or smoke, but her YouTube video seems to indicate otherwise:



In her MySpace blog, she wrote a short story about the drugging and rape of a young woman:

"A thing you have to know about chicks is that they don't know what they want," one of her characters says.

Her MySpace account links her to one of the other suspects involved. A man she allegedly carried out the crime with is referred to on the MySpace page:

"I've been working every night (except for Monday night) from 10pm to 2.30am at a bar called Le Chic. It's a really small place owned by this man from the Congo. His name is Patrick."

News outlets have picked up on all this. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer questions whether or not online profiles are "fair game" for journalists to pick at. As the Seattle Crime Blog puts it, sarcastically:

How foolish we reporters are, thinking that something somebody puts up on the Internet is - gasp! - public information. The Internet is "a place to share and be open." ...Amanda Knox was open, and the media is sharing. Shocking, I know.

As I said two years ago, an online profile will never give an exact picture of a person, infamous or not. But in the case of sudden noteriety, everything on an online profile becomes open to interpretation. Reporters and the public seek out an online profile so they can attempt to sort out who a person is. Amanda is vehemently defended by friends back home, but pretty much vilified in this news article. What side of the story does the online profile, the only thing actually written by the defendant, seem to support? On one hand, Amanda liked Disney's The Lion King and listed her mom as her hero. On the other hand, she wrote stories about rape and refered to herself with a sexual nickname. How wholesome was she?


Amanda's (Now Public) MySpace Pictures

It's an answer the courts will decide for sure, but for now, Amanda's online persona invites the world to speculate. Amanda, like Kara and David before her, serve as reminders that online profiles are very public indeed, and users would be wise to be concious of what they reveal. Amanda is just the latest MySpacer to find that, in times of trouble, your "My Space" can become everyone's.

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Meredith's friends have set up a Facebook Group in her memory.

Bill Beli-cheat, or "Cheater, Cheater, Patriots Leader"


Bill Belichick, Football Coach, Style-Maven

Way back in late 1960's, Bill Belichick got away with cheating.

He was a star athlete at Maryland's Annapolis High, lettering in football. And faced with an important test days before the big game, he copied down the answers of the kid next to him. He had no time to study, not with all those hours of practice. Besides, he figured, copying another student's answers wasn't really against the rules. Plagarism was defined in the student handbook as "Copying another student's work." I'm not copying his work, Bill thought to himself. I'm copying his answers. I didn't do any "work" at all. According to his interpretation of the rules, Bill didn't think he'd done anything wrong.

He got an A on that test and many years later, went on to become head coach of the New York Jets... for a day, before skipping town and becoming head coach of the New England Patriots.

In November last year, after losing to the Colts and the Jets in consecutive weeks, the Patriots faced a surprising Green Bay team that had won three of its last four games.

Green Bay's offense was stymied, especially after their 3-time MVP quarterback Brett Farve was knocked out of the game late in the first half. New England, on the other hand, had no problem carving up Green Bay's defense, moving seemingly at will up the field. On their first two scoring drives, the Patriots converted on two 4th-down plays. Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns and was only sacked once.

A stellar performance by one of the NFL's most powerful teams... or was it something more sinister??

During the game, Packers security spotted a man videotaping the Green Bay sideline. The man was a member of the Patriots staff, and had no business with a video camera. They made him put the camera away and issued a warning. At the time, it was a mysterious footnote to an ugly game.

But last Sunday, against the New York Jets, another Patriots employee was spotted with a camera. This time, security officials confiscated the camera. And what did they find? The man was videotaping the Jets defensive coach. Videotaping his signals to his defense. The Patriots were studying which signals matched with which defenses, so they could change their play accordingly.

According to ESPN:

The "Game Operations Manual" states that "no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game." Taping any signals is prohibited.

Bill Belichick had been caught cheating. And what was his response?

"Earlier this week, I spoke with Commissioner Goodell about a videotaping procedure during last Sunday's game and my interpretation of the rules. At this point, we have not been notified of the league's ruling. Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players. Following the league's decision, I will have further comment."

Repeatedly asked by reporters to clarify his "interpretation of the rules," Belichick instead walked away from the podium and left.

The truth is, I have no idea whether Bill Belichick cheated in high school or not. What I do know is that falling back on "interpretation of the rules," is the mark of a cowardly cheater. And Belichick's blatant disregard for fair play is worse than cheating on a high school test... if he cheated then, he only cheated himself-- now, he's cheated both Patriots and Jets fans out of seeing a fairly played game of football. Which would have been something exciting to watch.

So do to Belichick what you'd do to a kid who repeatedly cheats on tests. Kick him out.

[Note: I write this as a Jets fan.]

---------
PLUS: Went to the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah concert in NYC last night. Their website offers some tunes for free. Go to clapyourhandssayyeah.com and look in the right hand column.

and

To the Jewish readers out there: HAPPY ROSH HASHANAH!!! Have a sweet New Year!

Bad Sports



What's the deal with professional sports these days??

Barry Bonds' pursuit of the home run record has everybody up in arms about steroids. And speaking of steroids, that wonder hormone allegedly caused pro-wrestler Chris Benoit to murder his wife and child, and then off himself. A more prolific murderer, at least in PETA's view, may be Michael Vick, accused of electrocuting and drowning dogs who lost in brutal dogfights he held at his ranch. But the major money wasn't being bet on the Fido vs. Scraps over-under; mob-backed gamblers made bank by controlling an NBA referee, who made bogus calls to influence the final score of basketball games. Ref Tim Donaghy isn't the only one going nowhere fast: accused performance enhancer and banned bicyclist Floyd Landis sits at home during this year's Tour De France as he awaits the results of his appeal.

Have I left anything out? Anything happen in the NHL?

Sure, in previous years, we've had Kobe's rape, Ray Lewis's nightclub shooting, and O.J. Simpson's high speed freeway drive, but never before can I recall so many sports scandals in such a short amount of time. Is it just coincidence? Or are athletes today just plain rotten?

Certainly, there's an explanation for steroids. In this day and age, more money than ever is on the table for athletes at the top of their game. If a cream or injection can make you 20 million dollars richer, either in endorsements, in a contract, or both, then that's pretty hard to pass up. Barry's story, as related by several sources, is that he saw other athletes doing it and gobbling up all the kudos. He wanted in.

The dogfighting? A little harder to explain. Michael Vick is a very rich man. Dogfighting, as far as I know, neither makes a lot of money or improves athletic performance. Unless of course, holding down dogs underwater is part of Vick's workout regimen.

Vick's sponsors are dropping him like a hot potato (Nike even cancelled the release of his shoe). And when you read the indictment, it's easy to see why...

The property was purchased by Vick in June 2001. Since that time, the named defendants formed a dog fighting enterprise known as “Bad Newz Kennels” and used the property for housing and training pit bulls used in dog fights. From at least 2002, the defendants and others sponsored dog fights at the property, where participants and dogs traveled from South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Texas, Alabama, and other states to participate. Generally, only those accompanying the opposing kennels and “Bad Newz Kennels’” associates attended the fights. For a particular dog fight, the participants would establish a purse for the winning side, ranging from the hundreds to thousands of dollars. Participants and spectators would also place side-bets on the fight. The dog fight would last until the death or surrender of the losing dog. At the end of the fight, the losing dog was sometimes put to death by drowning, hanging, gunshot, electrocution, or another method...

Further, in April 2007, an additional “testing” session was performed by Peace, Phillips, and Vick. Following that session, the indictment alleges that approximately eight dogs were put to death by hanging, drowning, and/or slamming at least one dog’s body to the ground.

Yikes. "Bad Newz," indeed.

As for Donaghy, he made the classic gambler's mistake. He got in too deep and couldn't climb out. And in doing so, he's called into question the entire profession of refereeing. Who's to say a bad call isn't something a bit more sinister?

Look how Donaghy's officiating affected a pivotal playoff game last year, between the Spurs and the Suns:



Then there's Floyd Landis, who maintains that he is innocent, a victim of a corrupted testing system. That may be true. Unfortunately for Landis, athletes haven't given us much to trust them on these days. He didn't help his case by allegedly threatening cycling legend Greg LeMond.

I love sports. And I believe that like in any industry, there are a few bad apples. The corporate world had Ken Lay, our government has George W. Bush, and sports has the likes of Tim Donaghy.

But after all we've seen and heard in recent years, can we ever truly trust our beloved sports again?

Or is it worth it to suspend our disbelief so that we may better enjoy watching our treasured athletic pastimes?

Either way, I'm not letting Michael Vick dog-sit.