Sports Agenda for Wednesday (11/9/11)
Big Story:
Several things are leading the way in the sports world today. We have the growing Penn State scandal; the Panthers are off to their best start since the 1990's, and the Marlins are making noise in the hot stove league.
On to the agenda.
Penn State Scandal:
It appears more and more people are coming around to my opinion expressed in Monday's agenda.
Joe Paterno has to go, now.
But that's only a start.
Once Paterno is ousted, the school needs to eliminate every coach/grad assistant in the program and start over from scratch with a new coach.
I still think Al Golden will at least have some interest thrown his way by the Nittany Lions, but we'll see if he wants to go into that kind of a mess.
I still want to know what the NCAA is going to do about this.
Technically, it's a criminal matter, and not really the NCAA's cup of tea.
But, how is this not lack of institutional control?
It starts with the president and trickles down all the way to assistant coaches.
They put together an atmosphere of corruption, coverup, and allowed criminal behavior to continue.
The NCAA will let the criminal investigation play out to a degree…but it's one charge that is the worst the NCAA has and that's lack of institutional control that should be applied to Penn State.
As for Paterno's legacy, it's gone. Forever tarnished.
He will not be held in the same high regard as Amos Alonzo Stagg, Bear Bryant, Knute Rockne, and others.
Instead, he will be known as the winningest coach in Division I who also allowed a child rapist to work on his staff and in his athletic facilities.
The only reason he hasn't been charged by Pennsylvania officials is that his name is Joe Paterno.
If his name was Joe Smith and he'd been coaching there for 7 years, he'd have been thrown under the bus too.
Bottom line: Penn State should remove Paterno immediately and the entire football department at the end of the year.
Oh yeah, and Nebraska comes to town this weekend. Good luck with that too.
Florida Panthers:
In case you missed it, and judging by the attendance, you have; the Florida Panthers are off to their best start since I believe the 1996 season.
The Panthers are 7-4-3 on the season and are just one point behind the Washington Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division.
The Panthers are tied for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
If you even remotely like Hockey, you should go check out a game.
It's a fun atmosphere and it's the most competitive team we have in South Florida right now.
Kudos to general manager Dale Tallon for putting together the current roster and having a farm system loaded with talent set to take the ice as early as next season.
Next game: at Winnipeg Jets, Thursday,8:30 p.m.
Miami Marlins:
Don't look now, but the Miami Marlins are looking at making a few big splashes in the hot stove league.
According to the New York Daily News, the Marlins plan to offer Jose Reyes a three-year contract worth more than $20 million per season.
The Marlins will have stiff competition from the Milwaukee Brewers who have given up on trying to re-sign Prince Fielder.
Coincidentally, the Marlins have been linked with Fielder in more than one media outlet already.
Also, veteran southpaw Mark Buehrle met with the Marlins on Tuesday to see if he wants to bring his starting stuff to the team.
Buehrle probably wants to pitch in St. Louis, he's from Missouri, but that will be up to the Cardinals to see if they want him.
Reyes led the majors in batting last year and is a solid addition to the lineup. But, he's also injury prone, which could explain the Marlins short contract offer.
NBA Labor Update:
To the surprise of no one, the players rejected the last offer from the NBA owners.
That said, a few owners have been making noise about compromising on the system and sticking to the BRI of 50/50 split.
The players would take that if the system issues they want were addressed.
Basically, a deal is tantalizingly close.
But, hard-line owners led by Michael Jordan (hypocrite), Dan Gilbert (jerk), and Paul Allen (cheapskate) are still threatening to submarine the whole deal.
It's time the moderate owners step up and put those small-market owners in their place.
Hopefully, someone on the owners side will throw out some compromises and get this deal done.
But hey, if they don't want to do it, I say fine.
There's still the Panthers, Dolphins, Hurricanes, and college basketball getting underway.
Add the Marlins making noise in the offseason and we've got a full winter.
The ball's in your court NBA owners, let's see if you've got the guts to make the right decision.
