My mom went to Idaho and my brother went to Michigan. Not a proud day for our alma mater's.

Please understand the difference between a knife thrust and a knife twist.  Winning is a knife thrust, but moral superiority is twisting the knife when it's in.  Twisting a knife that's not "in" is just shadow boxing.

Here's a grand experiment: Beat a ranked team!  Win!  THAT's the scoreboard that counts.  Fulmer cup?  No, we don't want to be on that scoreboard, but unless we win, worrying about it is real silly.

I don't expect to see any jail time come out of this for anybody.  If these were players at many other programs, I doubt they'd miss one second of one game.

Honestly, I don't think it matters as much as some people think.  The players involved are all guys at positions where PSU has great talent and depth, and some of the guys charged had VERY questionable involvement. They (King, Sales, Hayes, Sergeant) may not miss much, if any, time.

If this had happened with people on the O-Line, at RB, or at QB, then it would be time to panic.  As is, we'll still have guys who are top 4 at their position in the Big Ten stepping in.

So, it is double jeopardy, and just as with other social & corporate systems (the military for one) you get what you sign up for.  When the players accepted the scholarships they put themselves in the position to meet more stringent standards than the average citizen.  Our legal systems exist for one reason - to protect other citizens from someone's crimes.  Social sanctions, on the other hand, are what keeps civility and a civilized way of life in place.

To wait on the outcome of the legal proceedings, and to use whatever happens in the courtroom as a basis for student discipline flies in the face of what Paterno has clearly stated in the past, and that is that PSU football players will be held to a higher standard than the normal student.  This is part and parcel of the Grand Experiment (civility).  His (Paterno's) decision needs to address how the men involved failed to live up to what was expected of them as athletes under his charge - not what might come from the judicial proceedings, plea bargains, and legal influences (rest assured these kids are lawyering up right now, and the ones with the financial resources will be in better shape than those without).  If Paterno fails to do this - in the light of a situation that is probably as serious as any he has faced in his time at PSU, then any claims of "moral superiority" go out the window.

Finally, it really does not matter what other schools would do in the same situation - should they not do what's necessary it's up to them, and they will suffer the consequences if any. But, If Penn State keeps claiming the high road with the Grand Experiment, no other school's handling of what happens with that school's players matter.  This falls squarely on the shoulders of the Old Man.  Honestly, I'd be surprised if he doesn't come down pretty hard on this - at least I hope he does.

I was on a military discipline board a few years back where the accused Officer was also brought up on local civil criminal charges from an incident he instigated.  He hired a good lawyer and beat the civil criminal charges. However, our Board found him guilty of some of those same, and additional, charges stemming from the incident as required by the Manual for Courts Martial, over the profound disbelief of his civilian lawyer and the accused's family. I felt perfectly justified in doing so because as an Military Officer, he was held to higher behavioral standards than others - and ultimately represents the Service in which he was commissioned. And, to be honest, even if the Board hadn't found him guilty, other career sanctions would have taken place.  Like it or not this is what you get when you set high standards - you're left having to enforce them across the board - or in the long run they mean nothing. This is true especially if the principals involved (PSU and Paterno) have made a public commitment to doing things the right way - regardless of public opinion or the results on the field.

I don't know squat about the Casey situation, but do know that the eyes of football fans across the US are on what Paterno does in this situation. Let's hope he doesn't disappoint.

What a way to live a life! Personal decision making based on liability? Throw out the moral compass, disregard the Golden Rule, never help anyone in need (in this case the guy being beaten), live life as selfishly as possible. I don't think any of those actions fit into the Grand Experiment.

Paterno has attempted and spoken very publicly about molding young boys into well rounded and civilly engaged Gentlemen by forcing them to adhere to strict standards, and holding accountable those that do not. There shouldn't be a "Liability 101" course thrown into the mix.