Bumped from the diaries, reader kmblue gives us the lowdown on the Judicial Affairs punishment for the players involved in the April 1 apartment fight.

I figure I'd post this here since Mike doesn't have it on the blog yet.

Yeah yeah. I was gettin' to it. I'm on vacation for goodness sakes! Seriously though, thanks dude.

"UNIVERSITY PARK -- Penn State defensive back Anthony Scirrotto was kicked out of school until August by the university's Office of Judicial Affairs, while teammate Lydell Sargeant's attorney announced he will fight the same punishment.

Scirrotto, the accused ringleader in an April 1 incident in a State College apartment, has three business days to accept the sanctions handed down Tuesday or ask for a hearing to contest the accusations. Sources close to the case said Scirrotto will serve out the temporary expulsion. About 15 other Penn State football players Tuesday made the same choice, accepting the punishments handed out to them last week for their roles in the incident.

But Sargeant's attorney said he is innocent of accusations he struck people with a bar stool during the incident at a Meridian II apartment and will fight his temporary expulsion.

The four players who were expelled for the second summer semester -- Scirrotto, Sargeant, defensive tackle Christopher Baker and linebacker Jerome Hayes -- were told they would be allowed to return to campus Aug. 6 for preseason workouts, sources said. Normally, expelled students would not be allowed on campus until the expulsion ends, in this case on Aug. 17.

The other players were put on probation, and all were ordered to undergo anger management counseling."

Full Article here: http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/130352.html

I'm surprised that they didn't drop the hammer on Scirrotto like I expected. Joe's preemptive move to announce his own punishments helped.

I wasn't very surprised with Scirrotto's punishment. We know he called his buddies, but so far nobody has testified that he threw a punch in the apartment. Like I said before, I'm betting he only intended to scare Imle or fight him one-on-one. I think Chris Baker was the one that barged in with fists blazing.

In any event, this is good news indeed. All of the players will be back in time for preseason practice. Some of them will sit out the Florida International game. Scirrotto and Baker may sit out a few more after that, but the bottom line is the fight will not have that big of an impact on the 2007 season. You know, I hate to say it, but I told you so.

I think everyone is eager to see this situation resolved as soon as possible. Unfortunately I think the police and district attorney are going to take their time and make sure they sort out all the details. I still believe this will have a minor impact on the team when it's all said and done. I imagine if the players involved have clean records they will drop the felony burglary charges and plead guilty to the assualt charges. They'll have to wear an orange vest and pick up some trash along the highway every Sunday morning for a month or two. But that will be nothing compared to what Paterno is going to do to them. Practice is going to be hell going forward and you can bet he's going to want to know where they are every minute of the day. I believe some of them will sit out just one game. The major players in the incident may get two or three. It's certainly not the first time a football player got in a fight, and I'm sure it won't be the last either.