Nittany Lions head football coach Joe Paterno was hurt in practice today as a player unintentionally blind-sided him. Joe, of course, is pooh-poohing the injury, saying he’ll be back to practice as soon as he can. When you’re 84, minor things can get major in a hurry. We’re hoping this one stays minor, although no one yet knows the extent of Paterno’s injuries.
Shaking Things Up at UNC
Boosters, those deep-pocketed, foul smelling would-be gladiator owners, can’t be happy about what is going down at University of North Carolina. In the wake of head football coach Butch Davis’ dismissal yesterday, athletic director Dick Baddour today announced that his own contract would not be renewed. Moreover, even though it was the right thing to do inasmuch as academic impropriety was involved, the grand football program shake-down brings major negative financial implications for UNC.
A coach is a coach is a coach, you say, and an athletic director is but a figurehead in the overall scheme of NCAA Division I semi-pro college football. It is a fancy high wire act they play, skirting the rules until they either get caught or safely move up to the real pros in the NFL.
But if they stay around long enough to put their brand on a program — and for Davis and Baddour, five years was more than enough — there is a lot more at stake than conducting a national search or two for replacements. The booster buddies they’ve made are not so easily replaced, particularly in a state in which just about everyone has a better football reputation than UNC, whose program uncharacteristically thrived under Davis. Commitments were made to these people, including a massive stadium expansion colloquially named “The House That Butch Built”, on which the university will have to make good in spite of the uncertainty in the future. And we haven’t even touched upon Davis’ $2.7 million contract buyout.
Sports Illustrated dug in and grabbed the story here.
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Kerry Collins Announces Retirement
Finally, I can write about something other than Casey Anthony!
Former Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins, most recently QB of the NFL Tennessee Titans, announced his retirement today. He threw for 40,441 yards and 206 touchdowns in his distinguished career of 16 NFL seasons in which he played for Carolina, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, and Tennessee.
The ex-Nittany Lion was a journeyman quarterback, as his longevity in an unforgiving league suggests, especially in the wake of the personal issues he had to deal with: alcoholism and accusations of racism by teammates.
At Penn State, he was named All-America in 1994 and was the recipient of the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien Trophy. He finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year. Collins made a serious run at the NCAA season passing efficiency record, falling just four points short (172.8), the fourth-highest figure in NCAA annals. He broke Penn State season records for total offense (2,660), completions (176), passing yardage (2,679), completion percentage (66.7), yards per attempt (10.15) and passing efficiency (172.86). He had 14 consecutive completions at Minnesota, another Penn State record. Collins was the linchpin of an explosive offense that shattered 14 school records and led the nation in scoring (47.8 ppg.) and total offense (520.2 ypg.). With 5,304 career passing yards, Collins ranks third in Penn State annals and is one of only three quarterbacks to top 5,000 yards through the air. With Collins at quarterback, the 1994 Nittany Lions completed an undefeated season, the fifth under coach Joe Paterno, capped by a Rose Bowl win over Pac-10 Champion Oregon. His team was voted #1 by the New York Times, although they were voted #2 behind undefeated Nebraska in the traditional polls (AP Poll and Coaches’ Poll) used to determine Division 1-A champions prior to the BCS era.
Collins was also selected for the NFL Pro Bowl after the 1996 season with the Carolina Panthers and the 2008 season with the Tennessee Titans. In the 2000 season, Collins led the New York Giants to Super Bowl XXXV, which they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.
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