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The High Cost Of Shame. That Thing has cost the university $3,200,000 so far:

Penn State revealed that as of Dec. 31, it had spent $3.2 million on crisis communications, former FBI director Louis Freeh’s internal investigation, legal services for the university, external investigations and legal defense for former President Graham Spanier, former Athletic Director Tim Curley and former Vice President Gary Schultz.

Penn State paid almost $1.5 million to Freeh’s firm and almost $300,000 on public relations for Freeh, university spokesman Bill Mahon said. Also, Penn State had paid more than $200,000 in legal fees for Spanier, Curley and Schultz, Mahon said.

I've been more than skeptical of Freeh's investigation from the very beginning. Look at practically any scandal's aftermath, and you'll notice that any "special committee" or "internal investigation" equals "professionally desperate whitewash". Nothing to do but wait until the report is issued, however. But, $1,800,000, already? Seriously?

I would've done this for 1/3rd of the price:

Q: So, um, how should this have been handled, anyway?

A: Well, someone should've notified the police. Like, immediately. Or maybe even the day after McQueary found the boy and Sandusky in the shower.

Q: Who should've made the call?

A: Any of them. All of them. Anyone. McQueary, Paterno, Schultz, Curley, Spanier.

Q: To which police?

A: All of them. University Park, State College, Pennsylvania State Police, FBI, Buford Pusser, Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. Doesn't matter, keep calling. And, you know, maybe try to figure out the name of the victim within nine years.

Q: [uncomfortable silence]

A: [comfortable silence]

Q: So...

A: Yeah, that'll be $600,000. Straight cash, homey.

Congratulations, You're Drafting A Penn State Footballer! If it's Devon Still, be prepared to pay a stiff price. If it's anyone else, you might be sifting through the Bargain Free Agent bin, according to Wes Bunting.

The BOBtract. Well, Penn State said they would publish the new coach's contract, and they have:

O'Brien's five-year deal calls for a base salary beginning at $950,000 in 2012 and increasing by five percent each year. He'll also receive $1 million per year for radio and TV obligations and $350,000 per year from a Nike deal, bringing his total compensation to $2.3 million in Year One. That figure would make O'Brien the Big Ten's sixth highest-paid coach, behind Ohio State's Urban Meyer, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, Michigan's Brady Hoke, Nebraska's Bo Pelini and Wisconsin's Bret Bielema.

O'Brien can also earn up to $200,000 per year in incentives, including a potential $104,500 bonus if the Nittany Lions make a bowl game next season. O'Brien would make $47,500 for a division title, $76,000 for a Big Ten championship and $85,500 for a BCS national championship in the 2012 season. There are no incentives in the contract for academic achievements, such as graduation rates.

Brandon Ware Calls This "Amateur Hour". Also, Get Off My Lawn. You've heard about the potty-mouthed tweets of Michigan's most recent recruiting class (*** not work-advisable ***)? Get your laughs in, because it's a feature of 18-22 year old athletes on Twitter, not a bug. Look no further than Brandon Ware's reign of Twitter terror during his time in Happy Valley -- multiple accounts, none of which were remotely proper representation of your dear university. He wasn't alone either, just the most prominent example of unchecked stream of consciousness. If there was any doubt that the previous coaching staff was, as a whole, out of touch with its players' activities in recent years, Ware's non-stop tweeting was Exhibit A.

As a committed George Carlinite, I'm generally opposed to any forms of censorship or speech suppression, but if Bill O'Brien decides to order his players to get off Twitter, count me as a supporter. The risk and probability of institutional embarassment far outweighs any potential benefits.

Set To Destroy. Mike Mauti vows to be ready for August and obliterate anything in his path.

"There's no apprehension in any aspect of this whole transition," Mauti said. "There's zero apprehension. Obviously, there's going to be a new defense, a new defensive coordinator. Everything is going to be new. But I don't think there's going to be that much of a learning curve.

"I'd say excitement is the word. We have new blood. It's motivating."

The Sara Ganim Victory Tour. The reporter who broke story after story during the unfolding Sandusky scandal recently talked to future journalists at the University of Maryland.

Although Ganim said she understood other papers' hestitation to run the piece, given sources' unwillingness to be named, she struggled with the same obstacles her competitors grappled with. And while other reporters opted to hold off on the story, Ganim gathered five sources for her initial report — a number her editors required.

"So what kept you after it?" asked a faculty member during the discussion's waning minutes.

"It was curiosity, I guess," Ganim said. "When I cover something, the natural progression was ‘Okay, what's next?' After you get so far, there's a point of no return."

Ganim has gone well beyond that point on the story that's thrust her in the national spotlight. She hasn't written an article on anything else since November.

Yet that doesn't mean she's done. Far from it.

"Information leads to change. Truth leads to change," she said, brimming with the enthusiasm of someone fresh out of journalism school. "I feel honored to have the opportunity to cover this story."

"Victory Tour" isn't meant to be insulting, either. Sara followed every possible lead and did fantastic work on the story, and will certainly be considered for a Pulitzer. Her accomplishments should be celebrated, even if the story itself is horrific.

Listen Up, Junior. We sort of consolidated Penn State Bloganistan here last summer, but Victory Bell Rings is still going strong, and they have a master list of the high school juniors expected to visit PSU's Junior Day. Complete with links to highlights. Nice work.

Lonely Valley. Ladies! Alone in the 814 tonight? Onward State has options.

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