A Plea to Joe Posnanski
As the obit in the fanshot titled "Posnanski" is referenced heavily in this piece, and I think it makes a good point, it should probably be acknowledged, at least.
4 months ago
Branta
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My plea to Tom Scocca
The old saint of the sideline turned out to be deeply implicated in a true-crime story of institutional corruption and human depravity.
Remove “deeply” and I’ll agree with you.
A single, hazy event.
Jerry Sandusky is charged with 52 criminal offenses, spanning 15 years, against 10 different victims.
(emphasis original)
And Joe Paterno was implicated in one of those offenses; one that I have read was the last that is alleged to have taken place on campus.
and there’s no Jerry Sandusky scandal without Joe Paterno.
This simply is not true. If the accusations are true, then Sandusky would have found victims in whatever line of work he pursued. Though I will concede that the media would not have cared 1/1,000,000th as much if the Paterno name were not attached.
In short: a lot of innuendo, a lot of desputed facts … but at least I now know M!EK's real name.
"WHY IS EVERYONE THE FREAKING STUPID?" BMAN13
by kijana's acl on Jan 25, 2012 4:47 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
disputed facts (I suck)
and when I wrote
one that I have read was the last that is alleged to have taken place on campus.
I simply meant that Joe could not have been expected to anticipate or prevent attacks that he or his reports did not witness.
"WHY IS EVERYONE THE FREAKING STUPID?" BMAN13
by kijana's acl on Jan 25, 2012 5:09 PM EST up reply actions
lol, criticize M1EK all you want
he’s never hidden his real name.
by The JuggerNitt on Jan 25, 2012 7:28 PM EST up reply actions
He didn't even hide it
in the early 90’s when he partook in flame wars on Usenet. (He is nothing if not consistent…)
Alea iacta est...
There’s no Joe Paterno story without Jerry Sandusky, and there’s no Jerry Sandusky scandal without Joe Paterno.
That statement sums up all that is wrong with the coverage of the scandal.
by VVeRPennState on Jan 25, 2012 4:47 PM EST reply actions 6 recs
As much as I've bashed the media
for simply being wolves at the door lately, I do get this quote. A tiny little bit.
You can’t write the obit without mentioning the past three months. I guess the more rational writers have it as part of the story; not the lead headline, not the first paragraph, and not 80% of the story.
Now, to say there’s nothing to Joe’s existence other than his role in the Sandusky issue – thus ignoring 60 years of service – is when I resume shooting bullets at my television.
365 beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days. Game on.
http://www.blognamedbrew.blogspot.com/
by Tailgate Shogun on Jan 25, 2012 11:10 PM EST up reply actions
My problem isn't with the first half of the sentence.
I agree that Paterno’s story isn’t complete without mentioning the scandal. However, the idea that the Sandusky scandal is all because of Paterno is ridiculous. Paterno isn’t the one who abused those kids and he wasn’t the only one at fault for not putting a stop to it.
by VVeRPennState on Jan 26, 2012 12:33 AM EST up reply actions
I think the point the writer was making
was that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was the architect of the defenses that helped win the two championships in the 80’s, and that those championships are part of Joe’s story. He’s insinuating that without HWMNBN, Joe wouldn’t have won those games, which I vociferously disagree with. If you read it that way, there aren’t any redeeming qualities to the quote at all.
"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things."
I took it slightly differently.
I think there are several degrees to which you can take it, but I boiled it down to either:
1) There’s no Sandusky scandal without Paterno because if Paterno acted differently there wouldn’t be a scandal.
2) There’s no Sandusky scandal without Paterno because if Paterno’s name wasn’t involved, it wouldn’t have gotten the media attention to turn it in to a scandal.
Depending on how malicious you feel he’s being determines which one to pick.
It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.
by Succss With Honor Always on Jan 26, 2012 9:59 AM EST up reply actions
well, Paterno could have acted differently by covering it up and not reporting it at all
in which case there could have still been the scandal, or I suppose the cover up would have been good enough to quash it from ever coming to light.
by The JuggerNitt on Jan 26, 2012 12:10 PM EST up reply actions
Meant to reply to you with my post below regarding what Paterno should have said.
It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.
by Succss With Honor Always on Jan 26, 2012 1:03 PM EST up reply actions
What I find really interesting about this guy's tone
is that he’s somehow suggesting that he knows more about the events than Joe Posnanski. I can say with zero hyperbole that there is literally not a single person on the plant I would have rather had embedded in State College, getting intimate interviews with dozens, probably hundreds of people, and spending times at Joe’s death bed than Posnanski.
by Kevin Powers on Jan 25, 2012 6:58 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I agree
Also “A Plea” is a pretty cute way of framing this hatchet job. What he means to say is “Yo, Posnanski! Quit being a sentimental bitch and get over here with us and start hating child abuse way fucking more than I’m presuming you do at this point. Now excuse me while I go back to posting articles on athlete dong and high fiving everyone for clever dick-jokes.”
"We gon' get down. We gon' do the do. I'm going to hit these mother****ers" - Dock Ellis, May 1, 1974.
by OctaShields on Jan 25, 2012 7:13 PM EST up reply actions 7 recs
Don't get me wrong, I love a good dick joke
and I actually used to comment over there, back in the late-Leitch, early Daulerio era. But if your site is set up to capitalize on the alternative market of making fun of ESPN, posting photos of athletes and media celebrities taken by people on their cell phones and making the quickest and most clever dick joke about any subject, you’re probably not the one to be telling Joe Posnanski how to feel, how to write, or how to contextualize someone’s life in an obituary.
"We gon' get down. We gon' do the do. I'm going to hit these mother****ers" - Dock Ellis, May 1, 1974.
by OctaShields on Jan 25, 2012 7:18 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Or to lead the moral majority in chasing down the Alabama tea bagger
You can’t post articles all day long capitalizing on dicks, sex, boobs, and athlete misadventures and then expect to have any credibility when you go all righteous and brag about the phone calls you made to lead the charge in bringing someone to justice when the whole purpose of your existence is to make money by laughing at such misdeeds.
I suspect
The “bringing of justice” would never have been done if it were not able to have been published. In other words, what was done was done because it, too, was a story. Not because it was the right thing to do.
"We gon' get down. We gon' do the do. I'm going to hit these mother****ers" - Dock Ellis, May 1, 1974.
by OctaShields on Jan 26, 2012 10:22 AM EST up reply actions
Deadspin is the least common denominator of sports reporting.
Shaun Salisbury’s dick? Check.
Erin Andrews’ crotch? Check.
Legitimacy? …
"Is that a shot at me? 'cause that makes me want to read it all the less."
Back when they ran Dee Mirich poems it was awesome.
Now it’s pretty much Drew Magary and a bag of shit. I’ve been saying this for 2-3 years.
Sandwich is the best
Bread use aside from making
Russians stand in line
And an army of commenters trying to +1 each other.
"Is that a shot at me? 'cause that makes me want to read it all the less."
That's truly grating.
Put a rec feature in or don’t.
Sandwich is the best
Bread use aside from making
Russians stand in line
A single, hazy event.
Jerry Sandusky is charged with 52 criminal offenses, spanning 15 years, against 10 different victims. Presumably Posnanski is referring to the one incident in which Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant coach at the time, said he had seen Sandusky anally raping a boy in the Penn State football showers and reported the rape to Paterno. The “hazy” part would be the dispute about whether or not McQueary specifically told Paterno that the sexual abuse he had seen perpetrated against a child in the football showers was anal rape. Either way, Paterno told the university authorities, thereby discharging his minimum legal obligations, and he did nothing else, as the Penn State authorities in turn did nothing else, while Jerry Sandusky kept running a statewide charity for children.
Well, that and the whole part about McQueary’s testimony that he didn’t see anal rape, just that he saw Sandusky naked in the shower with a young boy after he heard 3 slapping sounds. Not to say that is a completely innocent situation, but it also isn’t witnessing child rape. By the way, this would definitely go into my “is this person’s opinion worth anything flowchart”. Seriously, if you are going to have such a strong opinion on something you’d better make sure the ground you stand on is solid.
I wish people would make the distinction between witnessing something and witnessing the opportunity for something.
If you can’t definitively claim you witnessed the act, then you merely saw the opportunity for it. It doesn’t have to be visual, but it has to be enough to conclusively determine the act. 3 slapping sounds does not provide enough sensory input to determine exactly what happened. Without actually seeing anything, or hearing a longer duration of what was going on, there’s no way to definitively claim to have witnessed something. This is why, without a victim being produced, I’m fairly certain these specific charges will not result in a guilty verdict. There is no way the prosecution can expect a jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt what Sandusky was doing based on merely the situational factors that McQueary witnessed.
It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.
by Succss With Honor Always on Jan 26, 2012 10:07 AM EST up reply actions
I don't know if a jury out there exists consisting of 12 random people
that hasn’t already made their mind up that Sandusky definitively raped every one of those boys and that McQueary witnessed at least one of those instances and reported specifically to Paterno and Curley and Schultz.
Though maybe they’ll have one person with enough logic to figure it out.
by The JuggerNitt on Jan 26, 2012 12:14 PM EST up reply actions
What Paterno should have said:
“With the benefit of hindsight, I should have done more to cover it up.”
I haven’t checked, but hopefully this doesn’t already exist on the internet.
It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.
by Succss With Honor Always on Jan 26, 2012 1:02 PM EST up reply actions
They found 12 people to acquit Casey Anthony
So I’m hopeful that they can find an impartial jury.
I didn't click on the link
but from the excerpts here that person is nothing more than a pathelogical liar.
My brother is a pathological liar.
I resent your libelous statements about pathological liars.
Sandwich is the best
Bread use aside from making
Russians stand in line
my wife has a sister who is a pathological liar
pain in the ass the way she can change history or just make shit up. I guess a family of 7 kids has to have one you don’t want to have anything to do with.
"It doesn't matter what people think of me," Joe said. "I've lived my life. I just hope the truth comes out. And I hope the victims find peace."
Maybe she's just lying about being hot...
Unrepentant Joe Paterno Apologist®
by leeharvey418 on Jan 26, 2012 12:58 PM EST up reply actions
I HATE PATHOLOGICAL LIARS THE MOST!!!
jtothetweet
"I’m not a from the hip guy," Brands said. "From the hip, gets you in trouble. We continually evolve, and you have to have that mindset.
I like them.
They testify consistently.
"Is that a shot at me? 'cause that makes me want to read it all the less."
Nice
jtothetweet
"I’m not a from the hip guy," Brands said. "From the hip, gets you in trouble. We continually evolve, and you have to have that mindset.
Deadspin
I’m convinced Deadspin has taken the approach they have to this story because Joe Paterno was old.
I have a hard time believing people like this guy are really as uninformed as they seem
I think they are just doing this to get a rise out of people now. I was going to email the guy and point out his mistakes but honestly, what’s the point? He almost certainly already knows them, or at least knows people think he is mistaken.
I learned a long time ago that it;s not worth arguing with people that have a closed mind. Better to just ignore them.
"My father did not have a broken heart. His heart was too strong. It couldn't be broken."
- Mary Kay Paterno-Hort
THIS
People just want to be heard. So, they keep shouting louder and louder – or in this case, writing more outrageous content – until someone listens and makes them famous.
365 beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days. Game on.
http://www.blognamedbrew.blogspot.com/
by Tailgate Shogun on Jan 25, 2012 11:12 PM EST up reply actions
My uncle had a friend
They were at a bar, and sitting at a table across the room was a guy who didn’t get along with my uncle’s friend. The guy was being a general loudmouth, and my uncle said to his friend, “why don’t you go over there and get him to knock it off?” His friend shrugged and replied, “I don’t need to tell that guy he’s a jagoff. He already knows he’s a jagoff.”
That line has popped into my head a dozen times over the last 4 days.
Consider this my official declaration of non-support of child molestation.
Uncommentable
There doesn’t seem to be a way to comment on that article to tell those assholes they’re lying and worthless. WTF?
I guess I should give up anyway.
by reedjohnmiller on Jan 26, 2012 12:09 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Deadspin
Should stick to poop jokes and unintentional dong submissions, that’s what they are good at.
Octashields
100% agree with you about this. They are pretty much drawing a line in the sand and saying “Posnanski, you are either with us or you are with that diseased child molesting cult that is Penn State.” Why can’t a writer break free from the constraints set forth by people in his line of work? I mean, the media was supposed to be a good thing for society, one that would give the news or the other side of an argument, now they are worse than any of the power hungry organizations/people they try to out. Deadspin has been particularly terrible through this entire scandal. There is something negative about PSU everyday, you would think maybe just one of them would stop sitting in their Mom’s basement spewing vitrol at Penn State and maybe write a positive leaning piece every once in awhile. Yeesh.
media is a good thing for society
unfortunately a lot of people are considered media when in reality they are just attention whores (whether just for attention or the money that comes with it is up for debate on a case by case basis)
by The JuggerNitt on Jan 26, 2012 9:59 AM EST up reply actions
This is why I loathe Facebook and Twitter.
People think that because the have a platform for which they should voice there opinions that they are entitled to use it. I dare say that most people don’t understand the responsibility that comes with it. For example, I have a relative who is thinking of attending college, but is having a hard time securing financial assistance. She reached out to 2 family members who are both Penn State graduates for help. Last night she posted on Facebook about how everyone who supports Paterno is ignorant and instead of crying for him they should be crying for the victims (I am not proud to be related to her, not just for her opinion, but for her clearly lacking intellectual capacity and reasoning). I sent her a text because I didn’t want to start a debate on Facebook, and I mentioned how her post was disrespectful to several of her family members, and that if she couldn’t show respect for a man who was buried that day, she should at least show respect for her relatives who this has been affecting. She couldn’t understand how her post could be seen as disrespectful to her family members because she couldn’t comprehend other people’s feelings. The same people that she’s asking for money from.
Sorry for the long rant, but people that think their opinion matters just because they have the opportunity to express it really piss me off. It really infuriates me when they are less informed than everyone else, but consider anyone who disagrees “ignorant”.
It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.
by Succss With Honor Always on Jan 26, 2012 10:16 AM EST up reply actions
Facebook has definitely pissed me off more than a few times the past few months (well and really always)
While people have the right to say what they want, they must do so realizing that what they are posting is opinion, and often wrong, and that they deserve to be called out on it (and the fact that they AREN’T called out on it just shows that no one reads their opinion or cares about it enough to bother responding)
by The JuggerNitt on Jan 26, 2012 12:16 PM EST up reply actions
I've never liked Facebook.
When it first came out, I had a roommate in college that figured it was a popularity contest, and he would honestly wake up 2 hours early every day (he started getting up at 4:30 AM) just so he could friend people that just signed up. He would then spend his entire day bragging about the people he was now “friends” with. I didn’t create a Facebook account for 2 years because I thought it was a network of stalkers.
When Twitter came out, I thought it could actually be a cool thing. That people could ask a question, or comment on something. I didn’t realize how so many unremarkable people would use it as a platform to broadcast the minutia of their daily lives and their ridiculously dumb opinions. I never had a Twitter account and I doubt I ever will. After the latest round of bullshit, I’m debating deleting Facebook as well. I have an intention of posting tonight a recap of all the actual FACTS of the case because I’m tired of people having no idea what they’re talking about labeling me as ignorant just because I disagree. I will then post that no matter what your opinions are, donations accomplish much more than tears, posts, and thoughts and that if you are sincere about supporting victims of abuse, donate to RAINN, or donate to THON to help kids with cancer. I’ve donated to both, but somehow I’m still a child abuse supporter because I support Joe Paterno.
It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.
by Succss With Honor Always on Jan 26, 2012 1:08 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I didn’t realize how so many unremarkable people would use it as a platform to broadcast the minutia of their daily lives and their ridiculously dumb opinions.
Welcome to earth, moon man.
Seriously though I hear you. I’d delete Facebook if I didn’t have 2 or 3 real life friends who insist on communicating with me only through that medium.
Sandwich is the best
Bread use aside from making
Russians stand in line
I hate when people communicate only through Facebook.
I have a friend that organizes EVERYTHING through it, and I never go on it. Would it kill her to shoot me a text message or call me? I get that it makes life easier to organize an event for multiple people, but you don’t need to be exclusive of all other forms of communication. Damn I sound old.
It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.
by Succss With Honor Always on Jan 26, 2012 1:26 PM EST up reply actions
Now... get off my lawn?
Unrepentant Joe Paterno Apologist®
by leeharvey418 on Jan 26, 2012 1:30 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
I am a tech nerd.
SWHA, you may like Quora…it’s what you were looking for with Twitter, except it’s not inundated with idiots. I’ve been trying to respond to all of the JVP questions, but it’s slow going there.
Thank you!
The advice is greatly appreciated.
It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.
by Succss With Honor Always on Jan 27, 2012 9:51 AM EST up reply actions
I like that he starts off by praising Posnanski as a "gifted writer" and then craps on him because they have differing points of view
So to review Scocca’s article:
The view of a nationally acclaimed and reputable author who intimately knows the Paterno family over the course of 6 months: “Mealy-mouthed nonsense” and ignorance.
The view of a random writer who lives in NYC and has no connection to Paterno nor has likely ever met him nor been to PSU: He knows the real truth. And gives a plea to the writer who actually knows the situation that Pos should really be listening to him.
Right on, bro.
by TheWrathofQBEagles on Jan 26, 2012 1:56 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Tom Scocca?
More like Tom Sciocca
/Italian language jokes
/Dick joke
/+1
"We gon' get down. We gon' do the do. I'm going to hit these mother****ers" - Dock Ellis, May 1, 1974.
Sorry Deadspin...
if you are going to rip Posnanski, then either Magary or Petchesky have to do it or you bring back Leitch. They are your best writers.You don’t send a boy to do a man’s job.
"Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last"
by Esteban d' Amur on Jan 27, 2012 9:30 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
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