This Got Published? BOB, The ACC and More

There was a lot of stupidity around the Penn State interwebz this week. Let's break these stories down.

Chris Otto (York Daily Record) - Maybe PSU Should Have Shut Down Football Program For A While

After the missed touchdown call in Saturday's contest in Nebraska and the outrage on Twitter from fans and writers, alike, Otto took this his own Twitter and then his blog at the YDR to offer this point of view:

The extreme reactions of some (stress *some*) Penn State fans to perceived injustice in a game (a *game*) yesterday in Nebraska makes me think again that best course of action might have been (self-imposed?) suspension of PSU program for a year or more [...] A PSU program hiatus isn’t about "punishment" but time for reflection, perspective & resetting priorities — for all. There’s no time for PSU reflection, perspective & resetting priorities when folks are getting worked up over a call in a football game

I couldn't stop laughing after I had read this. If we had to shut down a program for every time they got worked up about a call as a means for reflection, the conferences, the BCS and the NCAA would have to disband altogether because there wouldn't be any teams left to play college football.

I listened to the Finebaum show on Monday afternoon, a spot for the HOTTEST Crimson Tide sports takes and you would have thought a bomb went off in Tuscaloosa with the amount of mish-mashed southern gibberish that came over the airwaves. People wanted to fire Nick Saban. The governor of Alabama criticized him later on the week. It was a mad house all over the state after they lost to Texas A&M. But WE need time for reflection?

This doesn't just happen in Division I, big-time college sports. I've seen it happen at Division III basketball games, I've seen it happen in high school hockey games and, as a previous Little League umpire, I've seen it happen in a sport meant for 11- and 12-year olds.

This outrage would have happened whether or not Jerry Sandusky was accused, charged and convicted of everything he did. It's sports. It's filled with emotion: emotion that was there before the sanctions, emotion that is here during the sanctions and emotion that will live on long past the sanctions. For every team.

Cory Giger (Altoona Mirror) - O'Brien might go to NFL at some point, but it could be devastating to PSU if he leaves before August

On Sunday, CBS Sports's Jason La Canfora reported that Bill O'Brien would be pursued by NFL teams come this offseason. It should be to no one's surprise. O'Brien has overachieved with this team in the eyes of many while also having NFL experience, leading one of the most potent offenses in league history, so it's expected he would be a hot commodity.

When O'Brien didn't give a straight answer at his weekly press conference about the report ("I'm focused on Indiana."), Giger took to the webpages of the Altoona Mirror to break down how devastating it would be if BOB left this year.

Bill O'Brien will not be leaving Penn State after this season. (Granted, Giger did say this, but he left the door open for an exit next year or the year after)

First off, he has a multi-million dollar buyout clause in his contract -- $9.2 million to be exact -- that would probably be too expensive for him to take on after year one. Secondly, he has said he plans to stick around long-term to return this team to its place among the top college football programs in the nation.

Bill O'Brien is not Bobby Petrino. He is not Brian Kelly. I'm going to take him at his word. He wants to build something special here and I believe he won't leave until it is complete.

Matthew Pencek (PennLive) - A move to the ACC could bring all Penn Staters together

I'm not even going to talk about the ACC part. There's too much money to lose, too much competition to lose, too much academic value to lose, too much everything to lose if Penn State goes to the ACC.

What I will talk about is the fact that Pencek believes that people will look at Rodney Erickson and Karen Peetz in a favorable light if they make the move to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Do you have Twitter, Matthew? Do you read internet comments? For a majority of Penn Staters, these two will never be looked at with pride or admiration again, right or wrong.

Karen Peetz and the Board of Trustees will not fall back into everyone's good graces by giving the gift of a new rivalry with Clemson. Erickson, coming back from Winston-Salem with a Demon Deacon flag in tow to hoist at Beaver Stadium, will not be welcomed back with opened arms. Hell, I'm an Erickson supporter and I would probably turn on him if I saw him bringing back a Wake Forest flag. To think things would turn around in an ACC-world is to be living in a world with a reality not based in ours.

Whew, that feels better.

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