The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Archives for August 1, 2012

Badger Believes Paterno Smeared

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I came across a blog by an inveterate Wisconsin Badger fan that was so well conceived and written that I thought I should share it.

“The one group in this that comes out fairly clean is the Board of Trustees.” —Dan Flaherty

Dan Flaherty wrote the piece, entitled “An Alternative To The Standard Media Narrative on Joe Paterno”, for TheSportsNotebook.com. He opines: “To say anything remotely kind about Joe Paterno and his legacy, it is said by the mainstream media, is to be virtually synonymous with a defense of child abuse. Harsh to say the least, and after reading the Freeh Report, I don’t believe it’s accurate or fair.”

He goes on to make some compelling arguments that fall short of exonerating the late head coach, but nevertheless leave room for doubt.  His primary assertion is that the media found it convenient to use the Freeh Report as a justification for a complete hatchet job on Paterno, and public sentiment was turned accordingly, when the vitriol should have perhaps been directed a bit higher on the Penn State organization chart.

“The one group in this that comes out fairly clean is the Board of Trustees. They are certainly not exempt from criticism, but the tone of criticism against the board is that of good-willed people who were just not vigorous enough in investigating and perhaps to naïve in trusting those around them. Paterno, Curley and Spanier are lynched. When you consider that it was the Board who commissioned this investigation and bankrolled Louis Freeh’s law firm, I find that more than a little suspicious.”

Flaherty admits bias toward Wisconsin, but this Turkey thinks his piece was fairer than fair.

Redd Sails into the Sunset (Updated)

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Penn State tailback Silas Redd will transfer from Linebacker U. ??? ???? ???? ????? to Running Back U. Redd is heading to USC after spending much time with coach Lane Kiffin and quarterback Matt Barkley over the weekend.

I’d say “details forthcoming”, but I’ll leave that to ESPN and the sports news wonks. There’s really not much more to be said, other than we here at the Turkey wish Silas the best of everything for a successful future at Southern Cal and beyond. We knew he was going to be a great one when he first set foot on the field. ???? ???? ????? ??? ????

Back in his Connecticut home area, The Stamford Advocate had the best coverage.

Bill Belton will probably be sucked up the depth chart into the vacuum at the first-string slot left by Redd’s whirlwind courtship and elopement with USC. Belton is not the pure runner that Redd is, but he adds a weapon as a pass receiver.

This evening, tight end Kevin Haplea, who has two remaining years of eligibility, has left the program and he might transfer to Florida State, putting a crimp in Bill O’Brien’s tight end oriented offense. He was listed as second string in the depth chart at the “F” tight end position. ???? ?????

So, add Redd and Haplea to the list of NCAA sanction casualties. We also learned today that Khairi Fortt was considering a transfer to Cal. We’ll know whether he, too, will be sailing into the sunset along with his old pal Silas by the end of this week.

Then, of course, there’s all-around kicker Anthony Fera, who previously put the team on notice that he might consider a transfer to his home state of Texas, if UT needs him.

Previously, quarterback Rob Bolden was released from his scholarship in order to pursue a transfer to LSU and safety Tim Buckley transferred to North Carolina State.