tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72476093964045105182024-02-19T10:52:17.145-05:00The HD JournalJay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-57880903208121455332013-12-19T09:56:00.000-05:002013-12-19T09:56:02.708-05:00Prayers for Laney, Her Family and Those Fighting For Her
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It is human
nature for us to feel sorry for ourselves when things are slightly less than
perfect. Then somehow, some way you find something that reminds you of the
truest meaning of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Early
Wednesday morning my dog woke me up at an obscene time between 4 and 5 a.m. I
took her outside. When I came back in I saw some students from Penn State’s
Berks County Campus had asked me to re-tweet something encouraging people to
pray for Laney—a Four Diamonds Child fighting for her life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I re-tweeted
it immediately. It is a small thing to do. That morning as I said some prayers
I added some for Laney and her family, but I still did not know her story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">About two
hours later I got an e-mail from my wife that was a post Laney’s mother had put
on facebook. It was a story that struck her heart, and I dare say would strike
a chord in every mother's soul.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It was heartbreaking,
terrifying yet in an instant some of what Laney’s mother said were among the
most beautiful things I have ever read:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Today
we were told the worst news of our lives. Laney has 70% cancer cells in her
blood. If they would treat the cancer the virus that she has would kill her.
And if they treat the virus the cancer will kill her. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">They
gave her a couple days to a couple weeks to live. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">My
heart is breaking. I sit here looking at her face trying to remember every
contour of it, I breathe deeply ...against her skin trying to always remember
her smell. Every time she speaks I try to listen for the different way she says
certain words so that I never forget. I keep putting my lips against her warm
skin because I never want to forget how that feels. I'm devastated and I'm
hoping that I will wake up from this nightmare. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">We
told Laney and she said she wanted to be the one to tell Kylee and Jacob. She
told Jacob that when she's gone he is to be a good big brother to Kylee. And
she thanked Kylee for being a great sister and her best friend. They all cried
in each other's arms. I have never felt this type of pain in my life. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">We
will be taking her home on hospice tomorrow and will be trying to let her have
as much fun as she can handle. We will watch her blow out her eighth birthday
candles knowing that she won't have a ninth. We will also ask Santa to come
early this year because Laney has been such a good girl. Please pray for Laney
and our family. Please pray for a miracle. We will be spending every second
with her till God decides he needs another beautiful angel up in heaven.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Her words are
a testament, bearing witness to what a mother’s love can and should be for her
child. If you are a parent you cannot read what she wrote and not be moved and
not feel the warmth of tears rolling down your face. If you’ve ever sat in a
hospital and watched a loved one knowing what is most likely inevitable you know
some of what the Browns are feeling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Laney is part
of The Penn State IFC Dance Marathon family and that makes her part of the Penn
State family. Penn State’s finest hour every year is THON—easily eclipsing all
other triumphs. That is what WE ARE all about. The entire Penn State community
pulling together raising millions of dollars so that the miracles we pray for
today become routine cures tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It is Laney’s
story and the words of a mother facing heart-rending pain yet holding hope for
faith in what is yet unseen that remind us all what THON is truly about. Laney’s
mother Jenn and her whole family hold onto faith in a miracle that many people
she will never know and never meet are praying for even now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">That is why
our students dance, that is why they stand on corners asking for change, that
is why they spend an entire year so they can hold up a fund-raising total yet
again that blows us all away. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It is all For
The Kids—but also for the families as well. Jenn’s words about her daughter
remind us of that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">But the words
remain as a call to arms, as a challenge to push every day to raise money, to
find cures, to ease the burden of the children and their families and to save
lives.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">That call is
being answered every day by students at Penn State through THON and that is
what WE ARE.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">When you next
pray please keep in mind a young girl and her family. Pray for a miracle
that only the gentle hand of God can grant. But also pray for the students at
Penn State and their yearly mission fighting for the children and families—people
like Laney and her family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-15204982618356834782013-08-28T11:27:00.000-04:002013-08-28T11:27:48.876-04:00Living The Dream<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I coached at Penn State for 17 years and it was a unique place. The program stood apart in this regard: graduation rates for Black student-athletes and White student-athletes were equally high--both over 80% when the national average was around 50% overall. Across big-time college football Penn State's graduation rate equality was the exception, a huge exception.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Today 50 years after The March on Washington I was thinking about a passage from the eulogy I delivered for my father's Memorial Service. It captures what made the football program at Penn State special.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">"The players that came here to Penn State, came
here because here was Martin Luther King's dream. Here was a place where black kids and white kids could hold hands in a huddle, where we
would all be given a chance -- an equal chance -- where they would be judged by
the content of their character, not by the color of their skin, nor the
way in which they prayed to their God. Bound by a common cause our differences
would melt away."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The truth and dream Martin Luther King, Jr articulated 50 years ago today is a standard that we should hope we can measure up to every day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">As Julian Bond said last night on C-Span "Martin Luther King spoke to black people and white people in the common language of evangelical Christianity that they both understood."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The key point being that he spoke to all of us.....our challenge is to make sure we are all listening. </span>Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-26509539019718694092013-07-09T18:13:00.002-04:002013-07-09T18:13:32.129-04:00Bocce Memories & A Salute To Carm Cassese<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Having an
Italian last name does not necessarily mean one was born with a Pauline ball in
your hand springing from the womb ready to bowl some Bocce. As a kid we played
Bocce from time to time in the grass in Sunset Park along with other games like
Horseshoes and everyone’s favorite the ever-dangerous/now outlawed Lawn Darts.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It wasn’t
until 2008 and 2009 when I saw what real Bocce was all about. I went to
Youngstown, Ohio to participate in Cardinal Mooney High School’s Football Camp.
The day before the camp, they hosted an all-day Bocce Tournament. This was the
big leagues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The owner of
The M.V.R. Carm Cassese ran an outstanding restaurant and it seemed like the
whole family worked there. Outside they had six Bocce courts with finely crushed
stone, almost like a dust. The courts were superb; even and consistent in the
roll of the ball. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">At that event
every politician in town was there including U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan. The
games were intense and competitive and it didn’t take long for me to realize
that I was way out of my league. Playing in the grass at Sunset Park is one
thing, this was something completely different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It was a
great day, but the highlight came that night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">After we were
all eliminated we played one fun match. The other team was made up of Ohio
State Head Coach Jim Tressel, Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops, Arziona Defensive
Coordinator Mark Stoops and ESPN Analyst Kirk Herbstreit. I was joined on our
team by Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini, ESPN Analyst Todd Blackledge and MVR
Owner Carm Cassese. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">What started
out as a game for fun quickly got very, very competitive. Jim Tressel was not
going to lose if he could help it, but ultimately the owner Carm Cassese was
the difference and our team won. The biggest complaint was that we had all the
Italians stacked on one side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It wasn’t
that we had all the Italians, it was that we had the RIGHT Italian. This was
after all his home court.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">After the
game we all sat down and talked football for another two hours while the
Cassese family brought out plate after plate of pasta and sausage and every
kind of sauce you could imagine. Each new dish was even better than the last
one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Sitting
around with all those guys, talking football and eating all that food ranks
among the best nights I ever had as a coach. Even though we competed against
each other in the fall, this was a time when we put all that aside and got to
know each other away from the stress of a big football game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Sadly I
learned that just two weeks ago Carm Cassese died of cancer. He will be missed
by so many, many people. Every time I walked into the M.V.R. he’d come out and
talk, and say hello and talk about my father. Despite his allegiance to Ohio
State and Jim Tressel he always shared the respect he had for my father as a
fellow Italian and for the way we ran our program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Well I hope I
said it to him enough and if not I certainly hope his family hears this; I had
nothing but respect for Carm Cassese and his family and for the way they ran
the M.V.R. I haven’t been in Youngstown in a while, but when I do get back out
there I will stop in, have a big plate of pasta and, even though I do not
drink, I will hoist and drink a glass of Italian Red Wine in his honor.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Respect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-60460518087703408472013-05-24T07:52:00.000-04:002013-05-24T07:52:23.235-04:00At Home Thrift Shop Finds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAB2knME5JO-snr9-PwYxGgKhLz4kkt_04nGV5IvmRlBZS71dAGD8cjOcay3MvSqXUjd13KtaiE2-IhFNxhKa_bL2aBzgaqIi25qwYRXCrYjLpjXsOVCsRqoD4EK-Ao-0_tzhmViiG5zWB/s1600/79+Sugar+Bowl+T.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAB2knME5JO-snr9-PwYxGgKhLz4kkt_04nGV5IvmRlBZS71dAGD8cjOcay3MvSqXUjd13KtaiE2-IhFNxhKa_bL2aBzgaqIi25qwYRXCrYjLpjXsOVCsRqoD4EK-Ao-0_tzhmViiG5zWB/s320/79+Sugar+Bowl+T.JPG" width="257" /></a></div>
<h2>
<u>Thrift Shop--Poppin' Tags at Home</u></h2>
In the course of doing some Spring cleaning and going through an old tub of gear I found some cool old Penn State Football stuff. Each find triggers a memory that makes me laugh or in this case maybe even cry (the outcome of the January 1, 1979 Sugar Bowl was not exactly what PSU fans had wanted).<br />
<br />
ABC's Keith Jackson still says that the 1979 Sugar Bowl between #1 Penn State and #2 Alabama (a 14-7 Alabama win) was the greatest game he ever called. That is pretty high praise and it is warranted. It was a phenomenal football game. Years later I can look back and be proud I was there to see it. Keep in mind that Keith Jackson did not call the 1987 Fiesta Bowl between Miami and Penn State a game TV Guide called the greatest bowl game ever televised (more on that on another date).<br />
<br />
I did not actually cry when I saw this shirt but it did trigger a story. As we left the Superdome after the loss and walked onto a rainy New Orleans street my mother was sad. A few tears were in her eyes. Being an insenstive 10 year old boy I told my Mom that she shouldn't cry.<br />
<br />
My mother looked at the rain and told me "Even God is crying."<br />
<br />
There was no comeback for that one.<br />
<br />
One funny note about the T-shirt--it appears that Alabama is actually matched up with UNC--given the Carolina Blue pants and helmet that Penn State Quarterback Chuck Fusina is wearing. <br />
<br />
I have found a whole bunch of stuff so check back next Friday to see what turns up.Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-14049689540672518152012-12-17T10:03:00.003-05:002012-12-17T10:03:46.690-05:00There Are No Words To Console.....Authors Note: I wrote this on Saturday morning December 15, 2012 after sitting up most of the night thinking about what had happened in Newtown, CT the day before. Sitting in my den I could hear my children playing and the thoughts I had just crytallized and came out.
Sometimes there is a story, or words in your soul that have to come out. I shared what is below with friends and family and many encouraged me to share them more broadly so here they are.
<br />
<br />
<b>There Are No Words To Console……</b>
On the night Martin Luther King, Jr was shot and killed Senator Robert F Kennedy had a scheduled campaign rally in downtown Indianapolis among a crowd of blacks and whites. Despite a lot of advice to the contrary he still took to the stage.
<br />
<br />
He told them the news that many of them had not yet heard. Then he offered words to unite them, to remind them of a shared human condition and words to console.<br />
<br />
<b>“Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago; to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”<i></i></b>
<br />
<br />
That night, while other cities were burning, the people of Indianapolis went home and prayed for Dr. King, for their country and for themselves. There was no violence. Senator Kennedy eased the pain of a tragic night.
A little over two months later Senator Kennedy would be dead by assassin’s bullets.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
After watching the horrifying events in Newtown, CT, I like every parent and every person was driven to find some sense.
The people of Newtown must know that there are many that they do not know, many they will never know and never meet who are with them. We pray, we cry, we feel anger, we feel regret, we rage against what Dylan Thomas called “The dying of the light”.
<br />
<br />
I live a couple hundred miles from Newtown. I do not know anyone there. I do not know any of the victims or their families. <br />
<br />
Yet I cried.
<br />
<br />
Friday afternoon I watched the President of the United States weep openly, powerless to defend these children. His words were beautiful, the words of a good and decent man, speaking some of the very same words that so many of us felt. But he was not a President, he was like so many just a father and a man.
<br />
<br />
There were no words to console…..
<br />
<br />
Last night I could not sleep for a long, long time. Awake in the darkness I thought of parents in their homes with the huge void of a child who would not return. Though the bullets of destruction never touched them, the gunman’s shots tore holes through the parents’ hearts.
<br />
<br />
While I was awake in my home, I knew that my own young children were safe. But my mind thought of those parents, and my heart ached for them. Their child was not home, they would never again hear the laughter, the voices, the words “I love you Mommy” or “I Love you Daddy” from their little beautiful child.
<br />
<br />
In those houses are now-empty rooms staring at those parents, a visual reminder of what was lost. Still worse a mother who could not yet hold her child, to face the truth and mourn the loss and weep the tears a mother should be able to weep over the body of a lost child.
<br />
<br />
Their child was still in that school, still in the very same spot where those little ones were forced to look into the very face of evil with no parent to protect them, going to God in the most horrifying of manners.
<br />
<br />
There are children who lost a parent in that school. A mother of five who will not walk through the door at the end of the school day any more to offer hugs and kisses to her children. <br />
<br />
These adults went fighting, fighting to protect children from the forces of evil. They did what they could and for that the Lord will offer them sanctuary in heaven.
Yet for their families all over Newtown, CT there is loss and there is unspeakable pain.
<br />
<br />
There are no words to console….
<br />
<br />
I am a man who has faith in the God I pray to. But even those with faith much stronger than mine have had their foundations rocked by what happened. <br />
<br />
This was satan among us and where was God to defend these children? Was not this man made in God’s image? Yet how did he become an instrument of all this?
In what dark recess of his mind did this hatred reside and what dam broke that allowed it to pour forth and flood the lives of so many with pain? <br />
<br />
Why did these children have to go before the evil doer with no one at their side to calm them in their last moments? Why God, why God did they have to see this, did they have to face the fear?
<br />
<br />
Like so many others I want to shake my fist at God. I am angry, I am shaken, I am lost searching for some reason.
The Jewish scholar Abraham Heschel once said “We talk about Providence when things in the world work out the way we know they should.”
This is not how things in the world are supposed to work out. There is not supposed to be the massacre of innocence and the innocent.
<br />
<br />
I dare not demand an answer from my God, but I am powerless to control the involuntary impulses of my mind’s thoughts as I see the work of man among us. We are all human, saddled with the baggage of our human frailty. For that we need not apologize to God.
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Lincoln said of prayer “I’ve been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I have no place else to go.” In the face of this horror, we have no place else to go.
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We are bound by the common hopes for our children. The destruction of one child, and one family’s dreams takes a piece from all of us.
If these are my thoughts, a man with no direct connection to these events, how must the people in Newtown feel?
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<br />
There are no words to console…..
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<br />
This morning I thought of the first responders, the men and women working through the night to investigate this tragedy. They had to walk into that school and rooms to piece together what happened. What a horrific sight they must have seen.
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<br />
It is something that even, no doubt, the most hardened and veteran person could not comprehend. They will never ever forget what they have seen.
For that my heart aches for the reality they had to witness. They bore witness to and the scars from the handiwork of the evil one. They will need help, they will need to heal.
<br />
<br />
There are no words to console…..
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There were children who survived. Their parents rejoiced in the good news that their children returned home and would sleep safely in their beds. But both those parents and their children face a reality forever altered by the acts of one man.
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<br />
While their children are home these parents must walk amongst many others bearing the grief of irrevocable loss. There will be moments of guilt in rejoicing one’s salvation while seeing the pain of others so close to your home.
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<br />
There is an awful truth that these parents of the children who got out alive will face. Their children are home, but they will be forever changed. They heard the gunshots, they heard the screams, they knew the children and adults who will never walk among them again.
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There will be tears and nightmares, there will be wounds that can never be completely healed. The parents of these children will suffer knowing they can never completely take away that pain.
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<br />
There are no words to console….
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In ten days there will be Christmas. In many of these homes there are already presents for lost children that they will never open. What might have been? Parents may have picked the perfect present that their young kindergarten child had always wanted, knowing they would hear a squeal of joy, or see a wide smile, their child excitedly jumping up and down.
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Parents relish a moment like that, but for them that moment will not come again. That present sits like a ticking bomb to be discovered in the Christmas gift hiding place only to explode through the soul of a mother or father who realize the smile just days hence will never happen.
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I learned from someone once that “When you become a parent your happiness is defined by your least happy child.”
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Those words haunt me today as I reflect on the community of Newtown. The happiness of the children who died and those who survived has been taken. Those parents have wounds too new to have even scarred yet. But they will remain.
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<br />
My father lost a four-year old brother to illness. Nearly eighty years after that loss I asked him about it. He remembered his mother weeping and wailing, her inconsolable grief.
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“I don’t think she ever did get over that.” He said.
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“Dad, I don’t know that a parent ever can completely.” I said.
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He agreed and we walked on.
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<br />
Right now is not time to argue the future, it is not time for the pro-gun, and gun-safety lobby to be on television. Their arguments and their petty squabbles seem small and even offensive in these days immediately after this tragedy. Allow the familes and the community to grieve and honor those lost.<br />
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For whatever reason and for whatever the cause, we as a country seem to have a penchant for gun violence that sooner or later we have to face and overcome. The Talmud teaches that “Some are guilty but all are responsible.” That is the undeniable truth we face.
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<br />
Scripture tells us “The day is long and the work is great and we're not commanded to finish the work, but neither are we allowed to desist from it.” We must not allow ourselves to desist from the work towards a less violent future, one that won’t come from laws, or lobbying, slogans or television ads.
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<br />
It will come when we as Bobby Kennedy said “tame the savageness of man, and make gentle the life of this world.”
Only when we have made gentle the pain of this country and the ways of our world, then may we find the words to console.
Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-15306765976885629802012-02-17T10:14:00.002-05:002012-02-17T10:48:47.306-05:00Statement on Nomination For Trustee BallotLast week I was informed by the director of the Penn State Board of Trustees Office that my name had been submitted as a Trustee candidate for Penn State’s Board. Although I have never declared a candidacy for the board, I received the required number of nominating votes to be placed on the ballot.<br /><br />I would like to thank all the people who nominated me to serve Penn State, our students and alumni. Serving on Penn State’s Board is a most solemn responsibility. That many of you felt I would be worthy to play such a prominent role in Penn State’s future governance is an honor.<br /><br />However, my recent employment at Penn State makes me ineligible to serve at this time. By-law Article 2 Paragraph 3 prevents anyone from serving for a period of three years after their last employment at the university. <br /><br /><br /><em>ART. 2. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES<br /><br />(3) A person shall not be eligible to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees for a period of three (3)years from the July 1 coincident with or next following the date of last employment in any capacity by the University. This qualification for membership shall not apply to a person who is an ex officio member of the Board, nor to a person who is a student employed part-time by the University.</em><br /><br /><br />Although I can neither run nor serve, I look forward to staying engaged with Penn State. The nomination process continues now through February 25th. We encourage all Penn Staters to get involved in Penn State’s governance and in the Trustee election process. It is a vital role for alumni of this great institution and only by participation can we Make an Impact on our most beloved Alma Mater.Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-29744096545047485262012-01-10T17:49:00.001-05:002012-01-10T17:50:07.164-05:00Closing Statement...for now<p class="MsoNormal">Statement for Today:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">After talking with Coach Bill O’Brien we have reached the conclusion that I will not be a part of the Penn State football staff moving forward.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I will spend the next few weeks consulting with my wife and family to weigh various future options both inside and outside of football.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I thank the student-athletes that I’ve been privileged to coach over the past two decades at four schools. Hopefully my career has had an impact and helped you learn about life, and about the commitment and passion it takes to pursue personal excellence.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As for Penn Staters, I cannot even begin to express what your support has meant to me and my family over the past seventeen seasons and in particular the past two months. Through the tumult of the past several weeks, it has been your stalwart support combined with life lessons learned from Joe Paterno that has and continue to sustain us.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As a Penn Stater I am reminded of the words “Sing Our Love and Loyalty” from the Alma Mater. I wish the program the best of luck in carrying on the academic and athletic excellence that have been a hallmark of this university for decades.</p>Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-15402834545981182492012-01-10T17:49:00.000-05:002012-01-10T17:50:06.840-05:00Closing Statement...for now<p class="MsoNormal">Statement for Today:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">After talking with Coach Bill O’Brien we have reached the conclusion that I will not be a part of the Penn State football staff moving forward.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I will spend the next few weeks consulting with my wife and family to weigh various future options both inside and outside of football.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I thank the student-athletes that I’ve been privileged to coach over the past two decades at four schools. Hopefully my career has had an impact and helped you learn about life, and about the commitment and passion it takes to pursue personal excellence.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As for Penn Staters, I cannot even begin to express what your support has meant to me and my family over the past seventeen seasons and in particular the past two months. Through the tumult of the past several weeks, it has been your stalwart support combined with life lessons learned from Joe Paterno that has and continue to sustain us.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As a Penn Stater I am reminded of the words “Sing Our Love and Loyalty” from the Alma Mater. I wish the program the best of luck in carrying on the academic and athletic excellence that have been a hallmark of this university for decades.</p>Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-43955958712192227462011-08-11T10:53:00.003-04:002011-08-11T10:59:01.955-04:00Your Captions for The Paterno-Bryant Press Conference Photo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAecEjwU59Kj9By7Q6JyxXNTUI4vxjIUxwxbX74_GPySlBZCs-BgKP3YQEFELJg-ihaZbAkDMWCyZ0tJ-OwKPutXTBwsY0_Y8ltj3h8M8WADkp1p_BurrRptRFngj7Jv23dGkbkC3pfvvi/s1600/Paterno-Bryant75SugarBowl.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAecEjwU59Kj9By7Q6JyxXNTUI4vxjIUxwxbX74_GPySlBZCs-BgKP3YQEFELJg-ihaZbAkDMWCyZ0tJ-OwKPutXTBwsY0_Y8ltj3h8M8WADkp1p_BurrRptRFngj7Jv23dGkbkC3pfvvi/s320/Paterno-Bryant75SugarBowl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639612944495905362" border="0" /></a>
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mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" >Yesterday I Posted this picture and told people they could write their own captions. They did not disappoint.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" >As expected there were a lot of comments about the cigarette being smoked by Coach Bryant. It was a different time and place. If this was a morning press conference half the people in the room were likely hung over—if it was an evening press conference half the people were probably already loaded.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" >The most striking thing is how different it was. Coach Bryant smoking, a small podium, at a Howard Johnson’s, no corporate sponsor for the bowl, no corporate logos behind the podium…all very much in the Pre-B.C.S. days. </span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" >Who says the good old days weren’t so good?</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" > Without further comment on my part here are the best of the best—concluding with one final best overall comment which sums it all up at the end. Enjoy!</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style=""><u><span style=";font-family:";" >Comments on Coach Bryant smoking a cigarette:</span></u></b><span style=";font-family:";" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/Coachkc53" title="Kc coach"><span style="color:blue;">Coachkc53</span></a> Kc coach</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Best part of this picture is the coach sitting smoking a heater!!! What a different time!</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" > </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/MikelSevere" title="Mike'l Severe"><span style="color:blue;">MikelSevere</span></a> Mike'l Severe </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >screw this speech, I'm getting baked.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/thejuiceisgood" title="thejuiceisgood"><span style="color:blue;">thejuiceisgood</span></a> thejuiceisgood </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Joe's speech was so good The Bear needed a cigarette. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ihs107" title="Ira Smukler"><span style="color:blue;">ihs107</span></a> Ira Smukler </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/JayPaterno"><span style="color:blue;">@JayPaterno</span></a> - is bear bryant smoking a joint?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/Kennedy_A" title="Kennedy Anderson"><span style="color:blue;">Kennedy_A</span></a> Kennedy Anderson </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Smoking cigarettes at a PC = epic. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > ---Editor’s Note: as far as we know there is nothing in the historical record to suggest that Coach Bryant was in fact smoking anything other than a completely legal Chesterfield tobacco cigarette.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > </span><b style=""><u><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Comments on the Press Conference being at Howard Johnson’s:</span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/TideGP" title="Tide"><span style="color:blue;">TideGP</span></a> Tide </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Wow--I remember when Howard Johnson's was a big deal. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/emerkow" title="Eric Merkow"><span style="color:blue;">emerkow</span></a> Eric Merkow </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >- The Downtown Howard Johnson's? Were the uptown and midtown HoJo's booked up?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><u><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Comments on the Two Guys Coaching:</span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/IfBearWasLiving" title="Today's Bear Bryant"><span style="color:blue;">IfBearWasLiving</span></a> Today's Bear Bryant </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><span style=""> </span>Your Dad & I were swag before most knew what swag was.
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/FakeScarbinsky" title="Scarbinsky"><span style="color:blue;">FakeScarbinsky</span></a> Scarbinsky </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >- Two Legends. Coach Paterno's pants match Coach Bryant's hats.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/maddenry" title="Ryan Madden"><span style="color:blue;">maddenry</span></a> Ryan Madden </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Those were the days, a young Joe Paterno in plaid pants he probably still owns, and Bear Bryant smoking!</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" > </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ParrishWalton" title="Parrish Walton"><span style="color:blue;">ParrishWalton</span></a> Parrish Walton </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >This is fantastic (h/t <a href="http://twitter.com/JayPaterno"><span style="color:blue;">@JayPaterno</span></a>). Bear was 4 bourbon's deep and already had his mind made up that he won the title. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/krisbradley" title="Kris Bradley"><span style="color:blue;">krisbradley</span></a> Kris Bradley </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >"hey Bear, you may not know this yet, but I am going to be coaching in the year 2011 and I am not kidding."</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >--Editor’s note: Both Coach’s were credited as the co-inventors of Swag. Bryant invented Southern Swag and Joe Paterno invented Brooklyn Swag. As for the plaid pants Joe probably does still own them. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><u><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Comments on Joe’s Plaid Pants:</span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/Toconnell23" title="Tim O'Connell"><span style="color:blue;">Toconnell23</span></a> Tim O'Connell </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >- Coach Paterno strikes a confident pose thanks to a conveniently placed podium blocking his pants.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/beerisgoodfood" title="Dan"><span style="color:blue;">beerisgoodfood</span></a> Dan </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Joe inspires the Zubaz craze
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/mstewart39" title="Mike Stewart"><span style="color:blue;">mstewart39</span></a> Mike Stewart </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >"Which is more offensive? Mr. Bryant smoking during this press conference, or my plaid pants?"</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/jrehm23" title="Jeff Rehm"><span style="color:blue;">jrehm23</span></a> Jeff Rehm </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >much like myself, these pants are timeless.
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >--Editor’s Note: I believe that Bobby Knight has a blazer to match those pants…..</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><u><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Comments on Joe:</span></u></b><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/njdalal" title="Nirav Dalal"><span style="color:blue;">njdalal</span></a> Nirav Dalal </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Caption: I feel good; I can see myself staying in this for another 4 years as long as I stay healthy.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/Alburicks1fan" title="John J."><span style="color:blue;">Alburicks1fan</span></a> John J. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >caption: when asked how much longer Joe is going to coach: "well I plan on coaching for another 3 or 4 more years"
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >--Editor’s Note: I believe he said I plan on coaching another <b style=""><i style="">30</i></b> or <b style=""><i style="">40</i></b> years</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><u><span style=";font-family:";" >Best Overall Comment:</span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/capnken" title="Cap'n Ken"><span style="color:blue;">capnken</span></a> Cap'n Ken </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Too much awesome in this photo to fully absorb. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >--Editor’s Note: That about sums it all up—just too much awesome to fully absorb.</span></p> Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-33820761760996773702009-08-08T09:44:00.002-04:002009-08-08T10:05:22.144-04:00Four Weeks From Today<br /><br />Four weeks from today our 2009 season—the 123rd Season of Penn State Football will kick off when we take on Akron at noon. Remarkably, for the 60th time, Joe Paterno will be on the Penn State coaching staff for a season opener.<br /><br />In 1950, Joe’s first season on the staff, Penn State opened at home with a 34-14 win over Georgetown in front of 16,617 fans. In four weeks over 107,000 fans will be in the nation’s largest stadium to be a part of the Greatest Show in College Football—how times have changed.<br /><br />Joe once said “Contrasting what we had then to what we have now is like comparing the horse and buggy with going to the moon.”<br /><br />Everyone has a part to play in the Great Show that is Penn State Football and I want to share with you what goes the morning of a game. There is a regimented schedule, a routine to keep the players focused on that day’s game—with a minimum of distractions.<br /><br />That is one of the reasons we take the team to Toftrees the night before the game—to give them some peace and quiet the night before the game. As you can imagine, campus is a pretty lively, and loud, place the night before a game—not exactly the ideal setting for getting some sleep.<br /><br />When they wake up on Saturday they are locked into a routine that takes them right up to kickoff.<br /><br />Here is a typical schedule for a noon kickoff--one we'll likely follow four weeks from today.<br /><br /> 7:00 Taping<br /> 8:00 Church Services<br /> 8:30 Pre-Game Meal<br /> 9:20 Depart Toftrees for Lasch Building<br /> 9:30 Arrive Lasch Building<br /> 10:30 Depart Lasch Building<br /> 10:35 Arrive Beaver Stadium<br /><br />While all that is going on—our fans will be busy tailgating and having a great time anticipating a Penn State win.<br /><br /><a href="http://gopsf.com/video/watch/122/Gameday%20Rituals">http://gopsf.com/video/watch/122/Gameday%20Rituals</a><br /><br />The highlight of the pre-game experience is without a doubt the bus ride to the Stadium. Any player will tell you that—it is an unforgettable moment. That moment is even more special for the starting quarterback who rides in the front left seat of Bus 1 on the way to the stadium.<br /><br />When we pull up to the stadium, the starting quarterback gets the nod from Joe Paterno—who sits in the front right seat—and the starting QB is the first one off the bus. Each week thousands of fans show up for the arrival of the buses. If you’ve never seen it, get there. It is an electric moment.<br /><br /> <a href="http://gopsf.com/video/watch/5/Stadium%20Experience">http://gopsf.com/video/watch/5/Stadium%20Experience</a><br /><br />With practice starting Monday, we have a lot of work to do. It has been a productive off season—one fueled by Joe Paterno and his drive to make sure we have a great year. He has been on top of all the things we do defensively, offensively and on special teams.<br /><br />He has challenged himself, and all of us to be even better than we were last year. In four weeks we get to see what we’re all about as a team in 2009.Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-32248197050244250492009-08-03T21:52:00.002-04:002009-08-03T21:58:52.047-04:00To Honor and Serve<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7B30-yuR926cWurvX1udakFKSrGW20FeLrXeoPXBk1QXunCogWVoQ0ubsz9AwR5Rjld6nC4L_jsVOOuK2rSWGUhrgXFicsAtxU1HyPVSu7glSwAo47ZpvN3JInK1exM-1xgYp-pUaQEs/s1600-h/08-01-09+Jay+and+Rick+Slater+Cropped.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365921613394673730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 272px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7B30-yuR926cWurvX1udakFKSrGW20FeLrXeoPXBk1QXunCogWVoQ0ubsz9AwR5Rjld6nC4L_jsVOOuK2rSWGUhrgXFicsAtxU1HyPVSu7glSwAo47ZpvN3JInK1exM-1xgYp-pUaQEs/s320/08-01-09+Jay+and+Rick+Slater+Cropped.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-size:78%;">Rick Slater with me at the Golf Outing--Rick is on the right.</span></em></strong></div><br />Saturday was the 3rd Annual Penn State Football Letterman’s Golf Outing and 128 former Penn State Football players took part. Student-Athletes from teams in the 1950s all the way through the current decade gathered for golf, but more importantly to catch up with former teammates and to meet other people who share a proud tradition.<br /><br />Gathered were people who have gone on to do different things with their lives, some as doctors, others working on wall street, others as teachers, others coaching, and others as lawyers—just to name a few.<br /><br />It was great to catch up with so many great people. Former teammate Bill Spoor was a walk-on who earned a scholarship while playing at Penn State. He works at Goldman Sachs, but that is only part of his story. He has since endowed a full scholarship at Penn State so that “he can pay back what Joe Paterno gave me”.<br /><br />But there is still more to his story. He and his wife are heading back to Africa where he is hoping to buy some land, establish a school and help young people to come to American Universities. His goal is for them, once they graduate, to go back and be the inspiration for others to do the same.<br /><br />The young people who get those types of educations will be the people who change the course of history. He hopes to raise $10 million from foundations to get it done—and anyone who knows Bill does not doubt for a minute that he’ll make it happen.<br /><br />But there is more…..<br /><br />At the dinner following the Penn State Football Letterman’s Golf Outing, Justin Kurpeikis got up to introduce a very special former Penn State Nittany Lion. It would turn out to be a moment that none of us there will ever forget.<br /><br />He introduced one of his teammates—Rick Slater. Most Penn State fans will not recall his name, number or what position he played—but they should know his name for what he’s done since college.<br /><br />Rick’s path to becoming a Penn State Football student-athlete was an unconventional one. He graduated from high school in Flint, Michigan in 1988. Before coming to Penn State, he served 8 years in the military, primarily as a Navy Seal. He enrolled at Penn State in 1997 and decided to try and walk-on to the football team—at the tender age of 28 years old.<br /><br />He made the team, and although he didn’t see a lot of game action he made lasting impression on all of us. He became a great influence on a lot for younger players who looked up to him once they knew this “old” guy’s story.<br /><br />When I’d walk through the locker room, Lavar Arrington, Brandon Short, Justin Kurpeikis and other guys who were big-time players for us would be gathered around his locker listening to him tell stories. I remember hearing one about a monkey in Panama who refused to get out of Rick’s jeep.<br /><br />In the summer work-outs the toughest part of the running is the phase when our guys finish by running twelve 300 yard sprints. To accommodate the team they used to have three running groups, one at 6 a.m., one at 7 a.m. and one at 8 a.m. Rick would show up at 6 a.m. and make all the times for the 300 yard sprints. Then he’d stick around and do it again and again—passing the times for ALL thirty-six 300 yard sprints.<br /><br />Through that, he earned the respect of his teammates, but also in so many other ways.<br /><br />He became the oldest college football player in the country during the 1999 season when he started camp as a 30-year old junior.<br /><br />In his senior year an injury ended his football career, but he went out for the boxing team. All he did was go out and win the National Championship in his weight class.<br /><br />As Justin Kurpeikis introduced him, he explained that after college Rick was going on with his life until September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks on this country changed the course of Rick’s life. Rick knew what he had to do—he re-enlisted as a Navy Seal.<br /><br />By the time he stood up to speak to the group assembled last night, he had completed a total of 5 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and will be heading back again. But even those facts aren’t what hit us all.<br /><br />It was what Rick said to all of us.<br /><br />“The fact that we all played for Penn State and for Joe Paterno, in my mind, makes us all brothers. My time on this team is among the most meaningful things I’ve ever done in my life. We are all better men for having played for Joe Paterno and these coaches.”<br /><br />Then he pointed to the belt he was wearing, and we all recognized it as a belt you would wear in your football pants.<br /><br />“This belt I’m wearing, is the belt I wore in my football pants on Saturdays at Penn State. I wear it today, but this belt has also been with me ever since I left here. It’s been with me when I jumped out of airplanes at 25,000 feet on oxygen at night, it has been on all my missions. I wear it for all the guys who played at Penn State—all the guys who played before me and all the guys who will play after me.”<br /><br />Needless to say it was completely silent as he spoke those words. It was a recognition that we are all part of something special, something that will always be a part of us—no matter what we do or where we go. It was the recognition that here was an example of someone who even in the midst of war, has a part of Penn State Football and what he learned here with him.<br /><br />Most important it was a reminder to us all that while we live our lives in this country—lives of relative safety and enormous freedoms, there are still those putting it all on the line for us every day.<br /><br />The words that Rick Slater spoke will stay with me for a long, long time. They are words I will surely share with the young men I get to coach this fall, and every fall I coach here at Penn State.<br /><br />The last stanza we sing of the Penn State Alma Mater contains the words:<br /><br />“May no act of ours bring shame, to one heart that loves they name. May our lives but swell thy fame dear Old State, dear Old State.”<br /><br />You may not know his name, but his actions as a soldier for this country have swelled the fame of Penn State. He has certainly made me proud, and all of his brothers who played here before him, with him and after him are honored to count him among our legions.Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-85729317765870742242009-06-14T10:24:00.004-04:002009-06-14T10:41:46.826-04:00Iran from inside IranAs I watched the images from Iran of young protesters being met with police and government crackdowns (including cell phone and facebook), I couldn't help but think of the images from China and Tiananmen Square from 20 years ago.<br /><br />Rather than try and give insights, I will just let the words of people on the ground speak for themselves. I just pray that this protest ends in a way that is more peaceful, and more just than the resolution of the standoff in China twenty years ago.<br /><br />A friend of mine came to the United State from Iran and on his facebook site he posted the following items. One is a personal observation he made and the second is a facebook message he received right after the protests began:<br /><br /><br /><em><strong>The pictures are eerily similar to those that I lived through in 1979. I'm praying for the best. May love and peace prevail.</strong></em><br /><br /><em><strong>From within Iran: 'It feels like Martial Law here. Cell phones are down, internet lines are horrible, Facebook is filtered, and ... They have also annoucned there that if someone comes out of their house they will be arrested. So keep your fingers crossed and pray for us. Tomorrow is a great day. I gave you the news. Please try to publish it. Thx."</strong></em><br /><br /><br />Here is a report from the New York Times:<br /><br /><a href="http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/13/opinion/1194840903968/irans-contested-election.html?emc=eta1">http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/13/opinion/1194840903968/irans-contested-election.html?emc=eta1</a>Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-20682936393847452192009-06-08T12:09:00.003-04:002009-06-08T12:25:05.745-04:00Penn State Proud of Success With Honor<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344989969846256162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 258px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcBlAOEpzP41Hg04zh24_-jfDl2H3-7PSMGazVLjt-Aix8-FVSnOI7Rmpf_Ja5xPq2NyshAV-Ol9QVA579Nwia96MfFKAxYUF50gTubRJnCXRtLYb5uqYKL3Gh-MlgMscXbnIETqNRI2Y/s320/10-18-08+DC+to+Norwood+TD.jpg" border="0" /><br />At Penn State we are fortunate to have a lot of outstanding young men who fight every day to achieve Success With Honor.<br /><br />Honor is a lost word in today’s world. But at Penn State, Joe Paterno believes in Success With Honor—and has always believed that he should teach the young men who come here about Honor. Many of them learn about Honor by giving their time and caring for others through outreach and volunteerism to various causes.<br /><br />Last Thursday Night most of our team participated in the Opening Ceremonies of the Pennsylvania Special Olympics. Many also volunteered throughout the weekend.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gopsf.com/video/watch/155">http://www.gopsf.com/video/watch/155</a><br /><br />This past winter during the Penn State Dance Marathon many of them spent time with the children and their families.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gopsf.com/video/watch/144/THON%202009">http://www.gopsf.com/video/watch/144/THON%202009</a><br /><br />In a little over a month, they will hold the annual Lift For Life—an event that they have organized as a team to help raise funds for Kidney Cancer. (more on that as we approach the event on July 10th but here are highlights from last year's event)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gopsf.com/video/watch/23/Lift%20for%20Life">http://www.gopsf.com/video/watch/23/Lift%20for%20Life</a><br /><br />Through all the time demands on them to be winners on the field and in the classroom they find the time to put others first. This is a team that won the Big 10 Football Championship, has the highest NCAA Academic APR Rating in the Big 10, and will post a 90%+ Graduation rate—also the Best in the Big 10. They accomplish all of this while finding time to get involved in the community in so many ways.<br /><br />There’s a lot for me to brag about. But I wanted to share with you an e-mail I received last Friday from a man who was at the Youngstown United Way Dinner—where our Quarterback Daryll Clark Spoke to a packed House. The e-mail speaks for itself and is being used here with permission of the sender.<br /><br /><br />Hi Jay,<br /><br />Just a quick note to let you know that everything that you told me about Daryll Clark during dinner at the PENN STATE event at the Canton, Ohio Football Hall of Fame on May 2nd rang true to me and to hundreds of others tonight in person. My son Aaron and I attended the Ohio Mahoning County United Way “Champions Among US” fundraising dinner earlier tonight in Boardman, Ohio.<br /><br />You probably know that Daryll and his family were guests at the dinner tonight. Daryll was introduced to a crowd of over 600+ people and delivered a very brief, but positive and moving talk.<br />He was very polite and professional and spoke very highly of PENN STATE and the entire football coaching staff. He also publicly thanked and acknowledged his mother for all of her support and especially when he attended Kiski Prep. His “never quit” work ethic and attitude were referenced as well.<br />It was quite obvious to everyone in attendance that Daryll is a real leader and I know that every PENN STATER in attendance is very thankful to have him as one of our 2009 team captains.<br /><br />Daryll was gracious enough to spend time talking with my son Aaron a 2006 PENN STATE graduate from The Smeal College of Business after the dinner and stand for pictures.<br /><br />Jay, although I told Daryll this before we left the event tonight, please let him know just how very proud of him that all PENN STATER’s are throughout New Castle, Pa, Youngstown, Ohio and the entire tri state area!<br />Best of luck and much continued success as you prepare for the summer work outs and camps.<br />Hopefully we will see you and some members of the squad at the annual “Lift for Life” event on campus on Friday, July10th.<br /><br />PENN STATE PROUD and<br />Best Regards,<br />Samuel M BernstineJay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-67843109261777232672009-06-05T14:33:00.000-04:002009-06-05T14:40:11.970-04:00Todd Blackledge Penn State Distinguished Alum<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWnhqSW2l5UOapuCxE6cIxGmzmWU4dBxWDDGM5VF3K15WKYlsJMU8zFgFuowIXIq0Vk0cZzNy9TWzhjUsumMDLGW7Y97IMRlc2t_S8vp_7z3V4enarpmV6idemCW481sj8RgplvDerlrxG/s1600-h/blackledge-SI.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343913630749121122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 236px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWnhqSW2l5UOapuCxE6cIxGmzmWU4dBxWDDGM5VF3K15WKYlsJMU8zFgFuowIXIq0Vk0cZzNy9TWzhjUsumMDLGW7Y97IMRlc2t_S8vp_7z3V4enarpmV6idemCW481sj8RgplvDerlrxG/s320/blackledge-SI.JPG" border="0" /></a> This weekend Todd Blackledge will be honored by Penn State when he is named a Distinguished Alumnus. This is the highest honor that Penn State bestows upon an alumnus and it is one that is well deserved.<br /><br />From his time at Penn State through his current career at ESPN, Todd has always been a class act. He has always represented Penn State in the highest light.<br /><br />In the fall of 1980, Todd emerged from a two-way QB battle to win the job over Jeff Hostetler--but not until week four. From 1980-1982 when Todd finished his career, he led Penn State to three consecutive Top 10 finishes—including a National Title in 1982. While being a team leader, earning Academic All-American honors, and winning the Davey O’Brien Award (as the nation’s Top QB) he was also selected to Phi Beta Kappa—the nation’s oldest Academic Honor Society.<br /><br />He and his roommate—All-American RB Curt Warner helped form the core of the first offense in NCAA History to win the National Title while gaining more yards passing than rushing. In 1982 both Blackledge and Warner finished in the Top 10 in the Heisman Trophy Voting.<br /><br />As a fourteen year old fan, sitting in section SK that year, there was never any doubt in my mind that Todd would deliver. His game-winning touchdown pass to Kirk Bowman against Nebraska was in the south end zone. That pass, along with the TD pass he threw to Greg Garrity that clinched the National Title against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl—remain iconic moments in the history and legends of Penn State Football.<br /><br />After 7 years in the NFL (with Pittsburgh and Kansas City) he moved to a career in broadcasting. His talent helped him to move rapidly up the ladder. During his career he was in studio on college football game days for ABC Sports. He then covered the SEC with Vern Lundquist for CBS Sports before coming to ESPN to do Saturday Night games.<br /><br />He was nominated for an Emmy—alongside people like Tim McCarver and John Madden—and was the only analyst covering college sports to be nominated.<br /><br />As a coach, I appreciate the demeanor and style with which he covers a game. His insights into how the game unfolds are usually right on—he has a great football mind. From our pre-game meetings on Fridays he gets great information from us as coaches. He then takes that information and transfers it to the fans in a way that is easily understandable—but no so basic as to insult the intelligence of veteran fans.<br /><br />If you talk to college football coaches, he is easily among the most respected people covering college football today.<br /><br />What Todd may now be best-known for—is becoming the Emeril Lagasse of College Football. Starting with what was essentially a one-shot profile on a local place to eat during a telecast—Todd’s segment soon became “Todd’s Taste of the Town”. It has even grown to include a corporate sponsor and a tricked-out Tour Bus.<br /><br />Since watching him play at Penn State I have gotten to know Todd away from the football field. He is a committed family man, someone who truly puts his family first.<br /><br />He has even started his coaching career—guiding the North Canton Hoover High School Freshman basketball team to an undefeated record this past year.<br /><br />Todd loves his family, his football and his food—and in that order. One night two years ago, I got to see it first hand. While in Canton, Ohio during May recruiting I was invited over to Todd’s house for dinner. He and his wife cooked out on the grill—dinner included chicken, steak and lasagna all of which were great.<br /><br />We talked football too—so that covered the food and football.<br /><br />The family part came after dinner when it was time to throw batting practice. Todd’s got a great yard for wiffle ball, and I soon learned that his sons had advanced skills. It is not everyday that a five-year old can take the pitch of a 38 year old and send it deep.<br /><br />For those that know Todd as a person and as a professional, we all know that this Honor is well deserved. Everyone here at Penn State is tremendously proud of what he has done, and Penn State is truly a better place for his having been a part of this great institution.<br /><br /><br /><div></div>Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-26028936917064683142009-06-02T09:06:00.004-04:002009-06-02T09:18:58.374-04:00Penn State Pride: It’s About the People<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNE2-clvxBANWosa-GKqR_aaqau1CRo4f3ecnC4txGXlK6ddIocu9dEv0OTUo3rD-mZjWz56AMfmJU4cPQ0ckBzZXdEv6OIWM4K3ZWyHNjySDhI_pbsUnvvmDx2QHGeIz_nQAtJHTppzU2/s1600-h/cappy1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342717073177632546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNE2-clvxBANWosa-GKqR_aaqau1CRo4f3ecnC4txGXlK6ddIocu9dEv0OTUo3rD-mZjWz56AMfmJU4cPQ0ckBzZXdEv6OIWM4K3ZWyHNjySDhI_pbsUnvvmDx2QHGeIz_nQAtJHTppzU2/s320/cappy1.JPG" border="0" /></a>-<strong><em><span style="font-size:85%;">This is a column that I wrote last fall for the Centre daily Times--I wanted to be sure that I shared it again--as the summer approaches and the season nears. The Football season is about so much more than just what we do and what happens on game days.</span></em></strong><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></em></strong><br />On an early September day in 1973 a life of Penn State football memories began at my first game at Beaver Stadium. From the south end zone bleachers I saw the band, watched the players and smelled the cigars and pipes men smoked in the stands. To this day, the smell of cigar or pipe smoke ships my mind back to my early days at a Penn State game. I’m a boy bundled up and seated in the south end zone on one of our trademark cold grey November days.<br /><br />In the 35 years that have passed since then, I have witnessed — and have been a part of — Penn State football.<br /><br />When asked about a favorite memory or memories, how could any Penn Stater list just one or two or even 20?<br /><br />All of us have our own set of memories on the field that mark our ages: Mike Guman scoring on fourth and 1 against Pitt in 1978 to seal an 11-0 regular season. In 1981, Kenny Jackson making an unbelievable spin move on the sidelines against Pitt to spark a 48-14 rout over the country’s No. 1 team. Ten months later Kirk Bowman making the game-winning touchdown catch against Nebraska in the first Penn State home game under the lights. Gregg Garrity’s catch against Georgia…the Fiesta Bowl showdown against Miami...both national Titles.<br /><br />The memories go on and on and on…..<br /><br />Being a part of Penn State football has meant so much more than what happens on game day. It is being a part of something so big, it’s being part of The Pride of Lions that encompasses all who love this place and this team. Fans, students and alumni, as well as everyone who works with or plays for our team — are all part of the Pride.<br /><br />This Pride is about people. I turned five years old in the fall of 1973, when I watched John Cappelletti run into the hearts of America and win the Heisman Trophy. I’d draw pictures for him and send them to work with my father.<br /><br />I can still see Sports Information Director John Morris handing me an envelope with a signed picture of John Cappelletti inside. Thirty-five years later, that picture is in my Lasch Building office, near drawings my kids make for me.<br /><br />On Sunday mornings, Ridge Riley — who wrote The Football Letter for the Penn State Alumni Association — would come over to talk with Joe about the previous day’s game. He’d also work on the book he was writing, “The Road To Number One,” a book that is also in my office.<br /><br />Home games meant excitement and house guests. Friday nights of home games, we’d wait up until my grandparents Alma and August Pohland would arrive from Latrobe. For homecoming, they’d meet us for the parade after they ate at The Tavern. Once a year, Bill Shearer and his wife Bobbi would stay with us—bringing candy for all of us.<br /><br />Another member of the Pride was my late Uncle George Paterno, who is still talked about fondly by the older writers on the Penn State beat. I can still see him in our house arguing about strategy with my father after every game.<br /><br />There were plenty of others. Jack Brannigan, a great friend of my parents, used to tell me stories that took place before I was born; watching future NFL Hall of Famers Lenny Moore (Penn State) and Jim Brown (Syracuse) play on the same field.<br /><br />Tom Runyan,a Delta Chi from the 1940s, was my neighbor when I first moved back to coach here in 1995. He talked about the great players he had seen over the years, but also about taking kegs into the stadium.<br /><br />There was a great coaching staff, Frank Patrick, J.T. White, Sever Toretti, Jim O’Hara, Dan Radokovich, George Welsh, John Chuckran, Booker Brooks, Bob Phillips, all people who would make a little 5 year-old kid feel like a member of the team when I was around.<br /><br />Many of these people are gone, but I often think about those who’ve died looking down on us and hoping that we make them proud.<br /><br />Coaching brought me back to Penn State, and it has been the people and places I’ve come in contact with as a coach that have made the greatest memories.<br /><br />I’ll never forget standing in a Philadelphia hospital with Kenny Jackson, Bill Kenney and Tim Curley just days after Adam Taliaferro’s injury. When the doctor told Adam’s father that he had a 1 in 10,000 chance to walk again, Andre simply said, “Don’t worry doc, my son’s one in a million.” He was right, but in those earliest, darkest days after the injury who could find that strength?<br /><br />Anthony Adams’ mother had that strength. Anthony came to us from Detroit, but it was his mother who really got him here. A single mother, Connie raised Anthony to be strong and proud. When Joe and I visited him she took us to their church and told me she was entrusting her son’s future to us.<br /><br />“I have always been very careful about the men I allow him to be influenced by.” She said.<br /><br />That meant a lot to Joe and to me. Anthony, now a Chicago Bear, is a loving husband and father. Every time I see him he puts a big smile on my face. Connie, I hope we paid back your trust.<br /><br />There are great people in some of the toughest places in this country. I’ve stood in inner-city high schools for weapons search lockdowns. At a Youngstown high school game the athletic director’s secretary warned us that they expected some “gun play” after the game and that if we just stood against the wall behind us that we’d be okay.<br /><br />Seeing so many places and meeting so many people, I realized that Penn State football stands for so much more. It stands for opportunity. It stands for unity, of team, of school, of community. It stands for a place where young men can come get a meaningful education, and play on a great football team. It stands as a place where young men will be judged “not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”<br /><br />My “circle of life” moment in Penn State football really came in 2005. Thirty-two years after I began going to games, my oldest son was about the same age I was in 1973. That season I gained a passion for Penn State football; in 2005 I could see my son gaining that same passion.<br /><br />In 2005 Michael Robinson passed, ran and bulled his way into the lore of Penn State football. From the fourth and 15 pass against Northwestern through the Orange Bowl, one of Penn State’s all-time gutsiest performances, he would not be denied.<br /><br />As that magical season started to take shape, I saw my son and how the games were impacting him. I also saw myself. I saw that I was handing down to him the same passion, the same fire and most importantly membership into a bigger family, a Pride of Lions that is Penn State football. All of us — players, coaches, students, alumni and fans — are in the Pride and once in, you never get out.<br /><br />I’ll be a Nittany Lion until the day I die and that continues to give meaning to the memories I have and will forever create.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NTAlyeF4aX_ceJRUyYA6zsemBTx952gwGhXf-Pr7snF8XJXDJmUkH9BaXFIM_lRNAGmSGGAVfCAyr7G8439agGV6IsBHQvR6bZ1WWWfaR8QYoHFpRBSjxLoCLG0DIhYzQEu1rvj7SE3S/s1600-h/10+MRob+SR+Day.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342716970954453122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NTAlyeF4aX_ceJRUyYA6zsemBTx952gwGhXf-Pr7snF8XJXDJmUkH9BaXFIM_lRNAGmSGGAVfCAyr7G8439agGV6IsBHQvR6bZ1WWWfaR8QYoHFpRBSjxLoCLG0DIhYzQEu1rvj7SE3S/s320/10+MRob+SR+Day.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div></div>Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-52944517892699857242009-05-23T16:39:00.006-04:002009-05-25T09:16:03.555-04:00Memorial Day 2009<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZgwcNO24Q-7oGwTuCsyRDHV3RTSFwThnKInnFY2FAa0y_0E0E_sJUj9uOTMCuivqhU7zSM_a6TW71OGc6B7oE1Bldrsjv15OkqshGYHgO4mgJNnXm_FWdhAAQOSsBsiRFby9uQrbWpxi/s1600-h/07-14-08+Eisenhower">Memorial Day<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339122155601214866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZgwcNO24Q-7oGwTuCsyRDHV3RTSFwThnKInnFY2FAa0y_0E0E_sJUj9uOTMCuivqhU7zSM_a6TW71OGc6B7oE1Bldrsjv15OkqshGYHgO4mgJNnXm_FWdhAAQOSsBsiRFby9uQrbWpxi/s320/07-14-08+Eisenhower%27s+Words.JPG" border="0" /></a><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:78%;"> (The words on the Atlantic side of the World War II Memorial in Washington DC—which is a beautifiul tribute to the soldiers of that war).</span></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-size:85%;">(Updated note---May 25th--After this was posted I got good news in an e-mail from Lt. Mark Natale--they will be headed out of Iraq early and back to Germany--in about 1 month and a half. Godspeed)</span></em></strong></div><p><span style="font-size:100%;">This is Memorial Day Weekend and that should bring to us at least a moment or two of reflection as we gather with family and friends. Here in State College we sit just three miles from the town of Boalsburg where the Memorial Day tradition of decorating the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers began.<br /><br />Over the years since that tradition began in Boalsburg, we have fought many wars—wars all over the globe—to protect our freedoms and our interests. Both of my Grandfathers served in the military—Angelo Lafayette Paterno served in World War I in Europe and August Louis Pohland served in World War II—also in Europe.<br /><br />As Memorial Day comes around this year, we must be mindful that courageous men and women are still risking their lives in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.<br /><br />While I have never served, I have tremendous respect for those serving our country. Over the years, I have received e-mails from soldiers serving on the front lines. We hear from soldiers who are Penn State fans, who try and keep up with our games so they can have just a little taste of home.<br /><br />One came from 1st Lieutenant Mark Natale—from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania--serving in Iraq. His commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lestochi is a Penn State fan as well. They are with the 54th Engineering Battalion based in Bamberg, Germany and were stationed in Baghdad.<br /><br />Last fall they began an operation called Task Force Nittany and wanted us to know that when they could, they’d be watching our games in Iraq. Just before the season opener, I even managed to call Lt. Natale from the field in Beaver Stadium just before pre-game warm-ups. He said hearing the crowd in the background as we talked made him feel like he was almost there.</span><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></p></span></strong><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4zD8HuOG4oxLLBUBygXj_9qqmxRySFekIzlExi5zX4h-6ppv89oAN-zOVQf-mDJKvn7cKSwoGlNI3Me32HqWkrR1U3zYBTIqNk-1odlYQPD4MVFWlHAdFPdF2qRbbi_M3H3y7oE7Vlk-/s1600-h/OIF+Sign.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339122148857748402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4zD8HuOG4oxLLBUBygXj_9qqmxRySFekIzlExi5zX4h-6ppv89oAN-zOVQf-mDJKvn7cKSwoGlNI3Me32HqWkrR1U3zYBTIqNk-1odlYQPD4MVFWlHAdFPdF2qRbbi_M3H3y7oE7Vlk-/s320/OIF+Sign.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong><em><span style="font-size:78%;"> (Sign for Task Force Nittany—one of which hung on the door of the Quarterback/Wide Receiver meeting room this fall).<br /></span></em></strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKyd2l3wjN8XwBlHDLpOVL8Gn7ZNpZOu4Q8vXtxwnCUfQ9VyCcriIpPc3yJDSPF8s_vMxu2yL9TvSBppl5HKmnxZaHlcXwbM7tTx2LGTbdaEwq50NnXCT9aHSyzf1crqC0v1HUJwVEnUB/s1600-h/08-07-08+HQ+for+Task+Force+Nittany.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339122150446696034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKyd2l3wjN8XwBlHDLpOVL8Gn7ZNpZOu4Q8vXtxwnCUfQ9VyCcriIpPc3yJDSPF8s_vMxu2yL9TvSBppl5HKmnxZaHlcXwbM7tTx2LGTbdaEwq50NnXCT9aHSyzf1crqC0v1HUJwVEnUB/s320/08-07-08+HQ+for+Task+Force+Nittany.JPG" border="0" /></a><strong><em><span style="font-size:78%;"> (The HQ for Task Force Nittany in Baghdad—notice the PSU Football poster lower left side and stand-up Joe by the Flag).</span></em></strong><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7PkfKww0fO-LR6K3Cemu59HJRFBXuEcrwwBqJzDf_3tUV50eTiqLxc7JdpRZPsJYul4lWYiocVylw8WNeA8ujs1ImTURDBaM6uxKknPopP_tLURmuvwMZn407-yB8-mN7K05C8VMxMVE/s1600-h/DSC_0493.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339122146720353858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7PkfKww0fO-LR6K3Cemu59HJRFBXuEcrwwBqJzDf_3tUV50eTiqLxc7JdpRZPsJYul4lWYiocVylw8WNeA8ujs1ImTURDBaM6uxKknPopP_tLURmuvwMZn407-yB8-mN7K05C8VMxMVE/s320/DSC_0493.JPG" border="0" /></a><strong><em><span style="font-size:78%;"> (Love the paint job on the trucks for Task Force Nittany).<br /></span></em></strong><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Last summer, I also received an e-mail from the wife of one of my high school football teammates—Tony Reede--a Marine also stationed in Iraq.<br /><br />These are examples of the correspondence we get—bringing home the fact that there are individuals—individuals of great courage and great strength around the world protecting our country.<br /><br />In the book War and Peace, Tolstoy discusses the strength of the men in the field and the importance of that strength.<br /><br />“Sometimes when there is no coward in the front to yell “We are Cut off!” and start to run, but a brave, spirited lad who leads the way with shouts of “Hurrah!”—a division of 5,000 is as good as 30,000.”<br /><br />As we observe Memorial Day, let us all be sure to think about those who have sacrificed so much for our nation—and say a prayer for those still on the front lines. Take a moment and watch the video link below from the New York Times—it will put faces to the stories we read about the wars we are still fighting. </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;">The video runs just over 5 minutes, but it will stay with you long after you're done watching.</div><div align="left"><br /></span><a href="http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/05/13/world/asia/1194840189965/stalemate-in-korangal-valley.html?emc=eta1">http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/05/13/world/asia/1194840189965/stalemate-in-korangal-valley.html?emc=eta1</a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />You see first hand the courage these troops show in the face of the gravest of dangers every day. These are exactly the type of brave, spirited people that Tolstoy wrote about.<br /><br />No matter how you feel about the wars, we can all agree that the men and women in the field—people of courage—are all deserving of our thoughts, prayers and support. Think about that on Memorial Day.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-70603160997171528622009-05-16T17:05:00.004-04:002009-05-16T17:15:08.271-04:00Spike Lee, Student-Athletes and Education<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSEblZTt_9qtDf2_as-FejQ9s6koox83CDIcQ7kibcfcsT1_BfG8Wd8y82nfN9hkO8YHwb2VjA9XII-81t0AWhnM7Q-AxVOLT-2kskpqGCst5yBcsUIvXyn1HDK43TXc807iU1CgwolIC/s1600-h/Jay+with+Spike+Lee.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336531231682871106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSEblZTt_9qtDf2_as-FejQ9s6koox83CDIcQ7kibcfcsT1_BfG8Wd8y82nfN9hkO8YHwb2VjA9XII-81t0AWhnM7Q-AxVOLT-2kskpqGCst5yBcsUIvXyn1HDK43TXc807iU1CgwolIC/s320/Jay+with+Spike+Lee.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Tonight ESPN will air a documentary about Kobe Bryant by Spike Lee. With Spike Lee in the news, and Penn State's Graduation weekend here, I wanted to share a story.<br /><br />Spike Lee is a filmmaker who has been both praised and criticized for his views on a range of topics. His 1989 film “Do the Right Thing” was responsible for a whole wave of discussion on the subject of urban race relations in this country. For everyone (like myself) who loved the movie, there was someone who would argue that it promoted violence. </div><div></div><div> </div><div>But that has been at the heart of his greatest moments--an ability to spur discussion and dialogue.<br /><br />Spike Lee has created a vast and widely diverse range of projects---from the aforementioned “Do The Right Thing” to “Jungle Fever” to “Summer of Sam” to “25th Hour” to his famous Mars Blackmon Nike ads with Michael Jordan. In my mind two of his most powerful films were “Malcolm X” and the documentary “When The Levee Breaks”—about Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.<br /><br />Back in 2005 I was fortunate enough to have a chance to talk with Spike Lee. For about a half an hour prior to a speech he made at Penn State’s Eisenhower Auditorium we talked on a range of subjects. I took quarterback Michael Robinson and defensive end Matt Rice with me to meet someone they both idolized.<br /><br />In the discussion about student-athletes, Spike Lee made a comment about the student-athletes being used, and deserving to be paid to play. He referred to the NCAA’s system of amateurism in big-time football and basketball as a glorified plantation system.<br /><br />In the next few minutes I gained respect for Spike Lee—because he engaged in a give and take discussion with me on the subject. His views were not set in stone. He was as good a listener as he was in passing on wisdom he had gained in his groudbreaking career.<br /><br />What we agreed upon was this: The student-athletes getting “used” were the ones who did not get their education. Student-athletes should demand that universities respect and honor their right to get the education they want. Unfortunately, far too many are getting used by the system.<br /><br />I pointed out that Penn State's African-American Football Players routinely graduate at a rate of about 80%--roughly the same graduation rate of all Penn State students and well above the national average for African-American Football Student-Athletes (around 50%).<br /><br />We ask a lot of our players, but the NCAA has rules we adhere to: In-season we are only allowed to use 20 hours a week for football, in the off-season that numbers drops to 8 hours a week.<br /><br />I asked Spike Lee that if I offered him a chance to work 20 hours a week for 18 weeks and 8 hours a week the rest of the year—and that would enable him to graduate from college debt-free—would he take it?<br /><br />Like most people, he answered yes.<br /><br />In his speech that night in Eisenhower Auditorium he did talk about college athletics. When he was critical of the system he paused and mentioned Penn State’s stellar graduation rate and commitment to academics--was the exception.<br /><br />With graduation weekend here at Penn State, it is a good time to remember what sets Penn State apart from so many other schools—that commitment to academic and athletic excellence that is second to none nationally. </div>Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-32506999012911438822009-05-03T21:45:00.003-04:002009-05-03T21:53:20.391-04:00Q & A From my Twitter Site<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRw64SG3bWCzjhkJCnwHA7BEPf21BoxoglnCvtesOWH-TxCZgQ71sxqxPzd7q7uM2i0Pd7h03ehfKDtknerPsnvPTKBZO9PfmGOD_qZSKDjm-U5w5C6u52yIKBRW8Yvau1PFYhu8v0Qli/s1600-h/03-10-03+Jay-Blackcomb+Mountain.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331780744458954002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRw64SG3bWCzjhkJCnwHA7BEPf21BoxoglnCvtesOWH-TxCZgQ71sxqxPzd7q7uM2i0Pd7h03ehfKDtknerPsnvPTKBZO9PfmGOD_qZSKDjm-U5w5C6u52yIKBRW8Yvau1PFYhu8v0Qli/s320/03-10-03+Jay-Blackcomb+Mountain.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Because I am not one who wants to always be limited to 140 characters for my answers I have taken the Qusetions I got at my twitter site and brought them here for the Q& A. I also don't want to blow up everyone's Twitter sites when I post ten-fiteen answers.<br /><br />www.twitter.com/jaypaterno<br /><br />Here we go:<br /><br />Devon2012@JayPaterno can you guys meet with guys you've offered scholarships too outside the camp?<br /><br />We are not allowed to meet with them on the day of the Nike camp. We can meet with them either the day prior to or the day after the camp.<br /><br />feetforlove@JayPaterno but athletes can take an unofficial visit while they're in town, correct?<br /><br />They can take an official visit—just not the calendar day of the actual camp.<br /><br />ksubramz@JayPaterno - What's your favorite play in offense ?<br /><br />My favorite play on offense is when we take a knee to end the game. I love that play and I love when we run it because it means we’ve won and that the hay is in the barn. I am also a big fan of play-action passes.<br /><br />TDWood@JayPaterno Joepa recently said he wants the B11 to add another team. If the decision was up to you, what school would you choose to join?<br /><br />I’m not sure I’d add one. With a 12-game season already the season is long enough. If we get a college football playoff, then I could see the merit of going to a 12th team and playing a Big Ten Title game. All that being said—I’d be shocked if the Big Ten ever added another team.<br /><br />oldveteran@JayPaterno Tell your dad,hes got a great idea for Big Ten playoff. Get Notre Dame to join. They would gladly accept now.<br /><br />I’m not sure that Notre Dame would jump in—they’ve had a couple of chances and they feel as though it is not in their best interest.<br /><br />One idea I’d love to see happen is for us to play Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium—at least we’d sell it out—but what a cool venue that would be for a football game. I’d suggest Fenway Park too-but at 38,000 seats it’s just not big enough.<br /><br />kk5ye@JayPaterno What times of the year do you a break from football and what do you like to do when you have the time?<br /><br />We have a couple of weeks in the summer when it slows down some, and we really take a break when the school is on Spring Break. Spring Break is the one time where you really aren’t worried about the season approaching like you are in the summer. In my time away from football, I write (working on a book project). I also read a lot to try and learn things like history, or to read great fiction—so I can see other people’s writing styles. I do not golf—it takes way too much time and there is really no thrill in it. I like to bike and in the winter I ski. The picture above is me above the clouds at Whistler in British Columbia. (One note I do wear a helmet now when I ski—it is white with a blue stripe down the middle).<br /><br />feetforlove@JayPaterno other than recruiting and doing the Nike Camp, what else do the coaches do this time of the year?<br /><br />Even though we just finished spring, I am still looking at tape of our opponents whenever I get the chance. I am constantly tinkering with new ideas and/or plays and/or formations to best utilize our talent based on what we’ll see this fall. I also look at as much NFL tape as I can and we steal some ideas—and then improve them to best fit what we do.<br /><br />Bad5052@JayPaterno I know defense is scrap's-- R we going to play more man cov. (esp. AJ?). Cant stand the bendbutdontbreak secondary scheme<br /><br />I am not exactly sure what the entire defensive coverage scheme will be this fall. Much like we do on offense, the defensive staff tries different things out in spring and in the off-season. There is certainly talent in the secondary, but the question is how quickly the cohesion begins to develop among the guys playing there. It is much like the O-lIne in that regard.<br /><br />ordidge2@JayPaterno does psu do tours of beaver stadium and re football facilities? Just if I manage to get a trip over this season.<br /><br />If you get here all the way from England just hit me up on Twitter and we’ll see if we can get you into the stadium.<br /><br />PamH53@JayPaterno Do you have any relatives visiting Sanibel FL right now? Saw someone last night that looked just like your father.<br /><br />I don’t have any relatives down in Sanibel—but I have seen some pretty good Joe look-alikes over the years. As Joe has said “Being told you look like me would be a dubious honor.”<br /><br />ebradlee10@jaypaterno Are you disappointed about no more late season nite games?<br /><br />Love the Sham-Wow profile photo—props on that. What’s next will someone have a profile picture sporting the Snuggie (the blanket with sleeves). I love night games, Joe P loves night games—we’ve just got to show the world that the greatness of our fans—and the volume of our fans doesn’t show up only at night—our excellence knows no time slot. So this fall be sure to bring your 8 p.m. game to the 3:30 time slot.<br /><br />AbsolutePigskin@JayPaterno being the favorite to win the Big Ten this year, what team do you think poses the biggest obstacle in the way of PSU this year?<br /><br />I think Ohio State and Iowa are certainly other teams I’ve seen people picking to win the Big Ten—so I am not sure if we’d be the favorite. The one thing about this conference is that there are no teams that can’t compete on any given week, We certainly have some things we have to get settled in the secondary and on the o-line as well as DE and in the WR corps—before I would say that we’d be anyone’s favorite. The talent is there but we’ll have to see how it develops.<br /><br />kjn109@JayPaterno Jay, who are some of the kids on the team who don't get headlines but are remarkable in 1 way or another (off-field too)?<br /><br />I think what Brett Brackett has done organizing the Lift For Life is an amazing thing. They may raise in excess of over $100,000 this summer for kidney cancer—and it is all run by student-athletes and he is kind of the guy who runs it on our team. But there are a lot of guys who are involved in that. If you are in town for Arts Festival they are having the Lift For Life on that Friday—which I think is July 10th.<br /><br />SpecialFans@JayPaterno How 'bout bringing Special Spectators 2 PSU? We give seriously-ill kids the complete CFB experience. IL, IN, MN, NU PU are in.<br /><br />Get me some details and I’ll see what I can do.<br /><br />lendamico@JayPaterno Just graduated the best class of WR in school history. How are Zug, Brackett and co. going to replace that production?<br /><br />We won’t have three guys as dominant as those three guys were. We’ll play a lot of guys and have a lot of depth and you’ll see many guys contributing.<br /><br />kenhesser@JayPaterno hey Jay is your brother Scott on here?<br /><br />I don’t know—he may be lurking….<br /><br />JAcker2L@JayPaterno JoePa talked about expansion of the Big Ten...3 teams you'd like to see considered?<br /><br />My three (or four or five) teams for the Big 10—with geography not being a constraint—would be Texas, Miami, Hawaii and maybe Colorado and Utah. All those would be fun road trips for our fans and would be great match-ups. (but I would require that we close the season each year at either Colorado or Utah and I would “accidentally” miss the team flight back, get snowed in and have to ski for a few days).<br /><br /><br />Thanks for all the questions. I try to answer them as best as I can and I appreciate all your interest in Penn State Football and your support.</div>Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-9197860252212212312009-04-08T22:20:00.003-04:002009-04-10T09:25:42.622-04:00In Praise of Our National Pastime<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_bX4LZnu1tfLAW51OxTX0Hpt5_yHnQw4qjR6J5jiWTqeFsWzVdpLI0F38-ng180tP7tUgOgiLCWVZbcxcZx2fT0dJChopSoUZE2G8ICrQVXxq-PxDan9_dn8IjchS-LIRsZnSCwTca4R/s1600-h/07-07-08+Our+Seats+in+Fenway.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_bX4LZnu1tfLAW51OxTX0Hpt5_yHnQw4qjR6J5jiWTqeFsWzVdpLI0F38-ng180tP7tUgOgiLCWVZbcxcZx2fT0dJChopSoUZE2G8ICrQVXxq-PxDan9_dn8IjchS-LIRsZnSCwTca4R/s320/07-07-08+Our+Seats+in+Fenway.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322512294419654162" /></a><br />Yesterday was opening day for my favorite baseball team—The Boston Red Sox. Opening Day is special, a time of hope and the beginning of another year. It marks the change of seasons; we emerge from the cold and dark of the winter and begin to look towards the summer. <br /><br />Baseball is unlike any other sport we have in this country. They play just about every day. No matter how good or bad your last outing the last game quickly becomes irrelevant. The season has a tide-like ebb and flow with streaks and slumps, wins and losses. <br /><br />The game is timeless, it binds the generations together. I’ll always remember my first game with my father. I’ll never forget the first game I took my sons to.<br />Over the years legends long gone remain in our consciousness--Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, or Hank Aaron. <br /><br />I commend the Red Sox and Cubs and their commitment to their respective parks; Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. I have been to both parks and have fond memories of each. As I sat in those venerable old parks, the summer sun melted away the cares of my daily life and I was ten years old again sitting next to my Dad. I thought of my father sitting with his father in Brooklyn’s old Ebbets Field.<br /><br />As the Yankees move across the street this year I can’t help but think of what they have lost. No one will ever stand where Joey D stood. The home of Gehrig, Jackson, and even Bernie Williams will forever be gone. <br /><br />Although I am a Red Sox fan, I have great respect for the Yankees tradition and all the success they’ve had over the years. I cannot understand how they can turn their back on all the ghosts of championships past….<br /><br />The 2009 season has begun, it is time to hope that my favorite team will grow from the early days of spring into a pennant contender in the late summer and early fall.<br /><br />The pitcher will have to stand alone looking for the catcher’s sign with the count full and the bases loaded. The batter will try to fend off the pitches that speed, or slide, or dive, or curve. The infield will play in, expecting a bunt. The vendor will walk the aisles singing “Who wants a Hot Dog?” All will rise for the seventh inning stretch and “Root, Root, Root for the Home team.” <br /><br />Amid all the changes of the ages the basics of the game have never changed. That is what I love about Baseball. Now, about that Hot Dog…..Jay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247609396404510518.post-26680262118326744842009-04-07T21:03:00.002-04:002009-04-07T21:11:24.758-04:00Starting OutJust a few words about this Blog--this Blog begins (but does not end) with my job as a Penn State football Coach. My interests and pursuits away from my job are varied. I'll write about anything and everything--from my interests in writing, politics, world affairs, literature, music, or even other sports.<br /><br />There will not really be a set timetable for my writing. In the offseason, my posts will be more frequent. During football season, I will not have the time to be as active with my writing. Hopefully they'll be something of interest here, something that will invite comment and discussion.<br /><br />When I do post, I will link it via my twitter site so feel free to follow what I'm up to and get the updates there:<br /><br />www.twitter.com/jaypaternoJay Paternohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11101704370304567362noreply@blogger.com