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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Spiritual Sunday #35

For more Spiritual Sunday posts, I recommend that you wander over to the website of Charlotte and Ginger, who host the Spiritual Sunday meme.

Because I do not blog on Sundays -- keeping it as the sabbath, a practice started by Fr. Christian Mathis (Blessed Is the Kingdom) -- I use older posts (forgotten perhaps but hopefully still interesting) from one or another of my blogs that seem appropriate for this meme. It seems to work to bring out the older posts that many have not read before or ones from other blogs I maintain that readers of 100th Lamb may not know about.

This week I decided to share another post from the early days of my Modern Mysticism site: Touch, from March 2010.

Wishing you a peaceful Sunday!www.

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Jerry Sandusky

Jerry Sandusky
Gerald Arthur "Jerry" Sandusky (born January 26, 1944) is a retired American football coach. He served as an assistant coach for his entire career, mostly at Pennsylvania State University under Joe Paterno, and was one of the most notable major college football coaches never to have held a head coaching position. He received Assistant Coach of the Year awards in 1986 and 1999.
Early life and football career

Sandusky was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, the son of Evelyn Mae (née Lee) and Arthur Sandusky. His paternal grandparents were Polish immigrants and his mother came from a small coal-mining town. Sandusky played for Paterno at Penn State, starting at defensive end from 1963 to 1965. After graduating first in his class with a B.S. in health and physical education, Sandusky served as a graduate assistant under Paterno at Penn State in 1966, and then held assistant coaching positions at Juniata College (1967) and Boston University (1968). He returned to Penn State in 1969 and remained there as an assistant coach until his retirement at the end of the 1999 season. Sandusky served as defensive line coach in 1969, became linebacker coach in 1970, and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1977, holding that position until his retirement. In his years as a linebacker coach and defensive coordinator, he coached many outstanding defensive squads, and Penn State gained a reputation for outstanding linebacker play, producing 10 first-team All-Americans at that position, and acquiring the nickname "Linebacker U".

Sandusky spurned opportunities for head coaching positions, including one with the University of Maryland in 1991, in the (unfulfilled) hope of succeeding Paterno as head coach at Penn State.

His final game coaching at Penn State was a notable game for Sandusky. Penn State faced Texas A&M in the 1999 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. Inspired to honor Sandusky, the defense produced an outstanding effort and the Nittany Lions shut out Texas A&M, 24–0, the only bowl game shutout victory for Penn State under Paterno. Sandusky was recognized in ways usually reserved for a head coach. He was doused with a water bucket and carried to the center of the field on the shoulders of his players.

After retirement, Sandusky hosted many summer football camps and was active in The Second Mile, a children's charity he founded in State College, Pennsylvania in 1977. President George H. W. Bush praised the group as a "shining example" of charity work in a 1990 letter.[9] Citing Sandusky's work with The Second Mile charity to provide care for foster children, then U.S. Senator Rick Santorum honored Sandusky with a “Congressional Angels in Adoption” award in 2002.

Sandusky wrote an autobiography titled Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story (ISBN 9781582612706), which was published in 2001. The book includes a quote from ex-Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil about Sandusky: "He could very well be the Will Rogers of the coaching profession." Other books by Sandusky include:

Developing linebackers the Penn State way, Leisure Press, 1981. ISBN 9780918438645
with Cedric X. Bryant. Coaching linebackers, Coaches Choice Books, 1995. ISBN 9781571670595
with Cedric X. Bryant. 101 linebacker drills, Coaches Choice Books, 1997. ISBN 9781571670878

Family

Sandusky is married. He and his wife have six adopted children. The Sanduskys also took in foster children, and their house is next to an elementary school and playground.

One son, Jon Sandusky, serves as Director of Player Personnel for the Cleveland Browns. Another son, E.J. Sandusky, is an assistant football coach at West Chester University.

Joe Paterno

Early life
Joe Paterno
Paterno was born December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York; he still speaks with a marked Brooklyn accent. His family is of Italian ancestry. In 1944, Paterno graduated from the now defunct Brooklyn Preparatory School. After serving a year in the Army, he attended Brown University; his tuition was paid for by Busy Arnold.

He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He played quarterback and cornerback, and as of 2011 shares, with Greg Parker, the career record for interceptions at 14. Paterno graduated with the Brown University Class of 1950. Although his father asked, "For God's sake, what did you go to college for?" after hearing of his career choice, Paterno joined his college coach Rip Engle as an assistant coach at Penn State in 1950; Engle had coached five seasons, 1944–1949, at Brown. Engle retired after the 1965 season, and Paterno was named his successor.
Tenure as head coach

Paterno's abbreviated 2011 season was his 62nd on the Penn State coaching staff, which gave him the record for most seasons for any football coach at any university. The 2009 season was Paterno’s 44th as head coach of the Nittany Lions, passing Amos Alonzo Stagg for the most years as head coach at a single institution in Division 1.

Paterno was well-known for his gameday image--thick glasses, rolled-up pants (by his admission, to save on cleaning bills), white socks and Brooklyn-tinged speech.[8] Reflecting the growth in Penn State's stature during his tenure, Beaver Stadium was expanded six times during his tenure, more than doubling in size in the process (from 46,284 in 1966 to 106,572 in 2001).

The Pittsburgh Steelers offered their head coach position to Paterno in 1969, an offer he considered seriously. The Steelers hired Chuck Noll, who won four Super Bowls in his first 11 years, and coached for an additional twelve seasons.

The New York Giants reportedly offered Paterno their head coaching spot numerous times during the team's struggles during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham contacted Paterno in 1969 to see if Paterno (whom Canham respected and knew personally) would accept the vacant Michigan job. Paterno turned down the offer and Michigan hired Bo Schembechler. In 1972, Paterno was offered the head coaching position by the New England Patriots. He accepted their offer, but only three weeks later decided to back out of it. The Patriots hired Chuck Fairbanks of Oklahoma instead.

In 1995, Paterno was forced to apologize for a profanity-laced tirade directed at Rutgers then-head coach Doug Graber at the conclusion of a nationally televised game He was also accused of "making light of sexual assault" in 2006 by the National Organization for Women which called for his resignation, and was involved in a road rage incident in 2007.

After five years of court battles, the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System (SERS) revealed Paterno's salary in November 2007: $512,664. He was paid $490,638 in 2006. The figure was not inclusive of other compensation, such as money from television and apparel contracts as well as other bonuses that Paterno and other football bowl subdivision coaches earned, said Robert Gentzel, SERS communications director. The release of these amounts can only come at the university's approval, which Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said will not happen. "I'm paid well, I'm not overpaid," Paterno said during an interview with reporters Wednesday before the salary disclosure. "I got all the money I need."

In 2008, due to a litany of football players' off-the-field legal problems, including 46 Penn State football players having faced 163 criminal charges according to an ESPN analysis of Pennsylvania court records and reports dating to 2002, ESPN questioned Joe Paterno's and the university's control over the Penn State football program by producing and airing an ESPN's Outside the Lines feature covering the subject. Paterno was criticized for his response dismissing the allegations as a "witch hunt", and chiding reporters for asking about problems.

On November 6, 2010, Paterno recorded his 400th career victory with a 35–21 victory over Northwestern. Facing a 21–0 deficit, Penn State scored 35 unanswered points, tying Paterno's largest comeback victory as a coach.

On October 29, 2011, Paterno recorded his 409th career victory with a 10–7 victory over Illinois. Facing a 7–3 deficit, Penn State drove 86 yards on their final drive to score a touchdown. A missed 42-yard field goal by Illinois which would have sent the game to overtime secured Paterno's 409th victory. With this victory, Paterno passed Eddie Robinson to become the winningest head coach in Division I college football. He trails the leader, John Gagliardi of Division III Saint John's University, by 73 wins.
Bowls and championships

Paterno holds more bowl victories (24) than any coach in history. He also tops the list of bowl appearances with 37.[16] He has a bowl record of 24 wins, 12 losses, and 1 tie following a defeat in the 2011 Outback Bowl. Paterno is the only coach with the distinction of having won each of the current four major bowls—Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar—as well as the Cotton Bowl Classic, at least once. Under Paterno, Penn State has won at least three bowl games each decade since 1970.

Paterno has led Penn State to two national championships (1982 and 1986) and five undefeated, untied seasons (1968, 1969, 1973, 1986, and 1994). Four of his unbeaten teams (1968, 1969, 1973, and 1994) won major bowl games and were not awarded a national championship.

Penn State under Paterno won the Orange Bowl (1968, 1969, 1973, and 2005), the Cotton Bowl Classic (1972 and 1974), the Fiesta Bowl (1977, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1991, and 1996), the Liberty Bowl (1979), the Sugar Bowl (1982), the Aloha Bowl (1983), the Holiday Bowl (1989), the Citrus Bowl (1993 and 2010), the Rose Bowl (1994), the Outback Bowl (1995, 1998, 2006) and the Alamo Bowl (1999 and 2007).

After Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference in 1993, the Nittany Lions under Paterno won the Big Ten championship three times (1994, 2005, and 2008). Paterno had 29 finishes in the Top 10 national rankings.
Awards and honors
Memorial to Paterno in front of Penn State's Beaver Stadium

Following the 1986 championship season, Paterno was the first college football coach named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated magazine. In 2005, following an 11–1 comeback season in which the Lions won a share of the Big Ten title and a BCS berth, Paterno was named the 2005 AP Coach of the Year, and the 2005 Walter Camp Coach of the Year.

Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year – 1986
Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award (United States Sports Academy (USSA)) – 1989, 2001
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (AFCA) – 2002
AFCA Coach of the Year – 1968, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2005
Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award – 2005
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award – 1981, 2005
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year – 1978, 1982, 1986
George Munger Award (Div. I Coach of the Year) – 1990, 1994, 2005
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award – 1986
Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year – 2005
The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award – 2005
Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award – 1972, 1994, 2005
Dave McClain Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year – 1994, 2005, 2008
NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award – 2011

On May 16, 2006, Paterno was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame after the National Football Foundation decided to change its rules and allow any coach over the age of 75 to be eligible for the Hall of Fame instead of having to wait until retirement. However, on November 4, 2006 he was injured during a sideline collision during a game against Wisconsin. As a result of his injuries, he was unable to travel to the induction ceremonies in New York City and the National Football Foundation announced that he would instead be inducted as a part of the Hall of Fame class of 2007. Paterno was inducted on December 4, 2007, and officially enshrined in a ceremony held July 19, 2008.

In 2009, Paterno was named to Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest coaches of all time (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, college basketball, and college football). He is listed in position 13.

In 2010, the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia established the Joseph V. Paterno Award, to be awarded annually to the college football coach "who has made a positive impact on his university, his players and his community."

Also in 2010, the Big Ten Conference established the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy[25] as the annual trophy to be awarded to the winner of the conference football championship.

As Penn State football struggled from 2000 to 2004, with an overall 26–33 record in those years, Paterno became the target of criticism from some Penn State faithful. Many in the media attributed Penn State's struggles to Paterno's advancing age. With no apparent plans to retire, contingents of fans and alumni began calling for him to step down. Paterno rebuffed all of this and stated he would fulfill his contract which would expire in 2008.

Paterno announced in a speech in Pittsburgh on May 12, 2005 that he would consider retirement if the 2005 football team had a disappointing season. "If we don't win some games, I've got to get my rear end out of here", Paterno said in a speech at the Duquesne Club. "Simple as that". However, Penn State finished the season with a record of 11–1 and were champions of the Big Ten in 2005. They defeated Florida State 26–23 in triple overtime in the 2006 Orange Bowl.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State football staffer, subject of grand jury investigation

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Penn State football legend Jerry Sandusky is the subject of a grand jury investigation into allegations that he indecently assaulted a teenage boy.

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According to five people with knowledge of the case, a grand jury meeting in Harrisburg has been hearing testimony for at least 18 months about the allegation, which was made in 2009 by a 15-year-old from Clinton County.

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The teen told authorities that Sandusky had inappropriate contact with him over a four-year period, starting when he was 10.

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Penn State coach Joe Paterno, athletic director Tim Curley and retired university Vice President and Treasurer Gary Schultz were among those who appeared before the grand jury in January at the attorney general’s Strawberry Square office complex, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. Attempts to reach the three for comment were unsuccessful.

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It is not clear whether university President Graham Spanier has testified and he declined comment on the matter when questioned earlier this week.

At one time, Sandusky was considered Paterno’s likely successor. During his 32 years on the sidelines, the State College man was credited with turning Penn State into Linebacker U., producing such pro football greats as Jack Ham and LaVar Arrington.

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Sandusky, 67, retired from Penn State shortly after the Alamo Bowl in December 1999. In his 2000 autobiography, “Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story,” he says he decided to leave after he “came to the realization I was not destined to become the head football coach at Penn State.”

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He spent the next 11 years focused on running The Second Mile, a nonprofit he founded in 1977 that reaches 10,000 Pennsylvania youths a year through summer and year-round camp programs. The charity was honored by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 as a “Point of Light.”

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Last fall, Sandusky announced that he was retiring from day-to-day involvement in the charity to spend more time with family and handle personal matters.

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Since then, rumors of misconduct by Sandusky have lit up Internet comment threads and message boards that are normally havens for Penn State football fan chatter.

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Repeated efforts to reach Sandusky over several weeks to comment on the investigation have been unsuccessful. He has not responded to phone calls and other attempts to reach him at his home or through attorney Joseph Amendola in State College.

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As is standard policy, the attorney general’s office would neither confirm nor deny whether a grand jury was meeting about Sandusky.

The 2009 investigation

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The allegations against Sandusky surfaced in 2009, when he was volunteering as an assistant high school football coach at Central Mountain High School in Clinton County.

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It was there the 15-year-old student told school officials that Sandusky had touched him inappropriately while they were alone in a gym.

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John DiNunzio, Keystone Central School District’s interim superintendent at the time, said the boy’s mother reported the incident to the school principal and head football coach. At that point, DiNunzio said he was notified.

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DiNunzio said he never spoke to the mother or the child. He said the principal and coach told him the boy alleged the “inappropriate” incident happened while the two were alone in a room on wrestling mats.
“It was strictly a touching type of situation,” DiNunzio said of the allegations.

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DiNunzio, who is now interim superintendent with the Bellefonte Area School District, called Clinton County Children and Youth Services. Once it left his desk, he says, he never heard a word from police.

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“It’s been a hush-hush situation,” DiNunzio said. “I’ve actually called [the school] — they’ve said they heard nothing about it.”

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According to sources, the boy told Children and Youth Services that Sandusky had indecent contact with him several times over four years.

Children and Youth Services investigated the boy’s story and sent the case to Clinton County District Attorney Michael Salisbury. His office forwarded it to Centre County, where the incidents were alleged to have taken place.

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Then-Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira transferred the case to then-state Attorney General Tom Corbett in March 2009. Corbett, now governor, declined comment through his spokesman.

Kelly Hastings, current superintendent of Keystone Central School District, said she has no first-hand knowledge of the report and that no documents from the school have been subpoenaed by police.

DiNunzio, who has had a long career in education, said he was shocked when he heard the allegation and surprised that he was not contacted again.

“No one has ever called me about it in any way shape or form,” he said.

When Sandusky quit as a volunteer in 2009 with Central Mountain High School, he told officials there he was leaving to devote more time to The Second Mile, DiNunzio said. Sandusky retired from The Second Mile about a year and a half later.

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Second Mile Executive Director Dr. Jack Raykovitz, wrote in an email: “While we are aware of the rumors circulating regarding Mr. Sandusky, we believe it would be inappropriate to respond to rumors. Futher ... I am aware of no investigation of The Second Mile or our programs.”

A Second Mile Board member, who asked not to be named, said Sandusky informed the board of the allegations against him and the investigation. At that point in time, Sandusky distanced himself from the kids but continued fundraising for the organization for a period of time before he finally retired, the board member said.

“We all know there’s an investigation going on,’’ the board member said.

Earlier allegation

Two months ago, state police at Rockview in Centre County began calling witnesses to a May 1998 report by Penn State University police detailing an earlier allegation of inappropriate contact against Sandusky by another boy.

According to several sources, that boy, who was 12 at the time, alleged he and Sandusky were showering in the football building on Penn State’s campus when the incident took place.

The boy’s mother told The Patriot-News she was specifically instructed by state police at Rockview not to speak with a reporter. Her name is being withheld by The Patriot-News to protect the identity of her son.
No charges were ever filed against Sandusky.

According to sources close to the investigation, the boy told police in 1998 that Sandusky had showered with him in a locker room of the Lasch Building — home to the football program — during a tour. The boy claimed Sandusky washed his body during the shower, sources said.

As part of the May 1998 investigation, police had the boy’s mother call Sandusky to her State College home and confront him while they hid in another room, according to sources.

Another boy, now an adult in the armed forces, was named as a witness in the 1998 Penn State police report and has been contacted by state police, his wife confirmed.

When reached by phone, his mother said she took her son to Penn State police for questioning in 1998 but didn’t listen to the interview. She said she never asked her son what happened.

Retired Penn State Police Officer Ron Schreffler handled the 1998 case. When approached recently, Schreffler said he couldn’t comment and asked a reporter, “How did you see that report?”
While the grand jury has been hearing testimony, Sandusky has been devoting time to fundraising for The Second Mile.

In January, the organization received the go-ahead from Centre County commissioners to apply for a $3 million state grant to pay for an $8.5 million learning center on 60 acres near the University Park Airport.
The facility would eventually include housing for up to 100 children.

Sandusky’s devotion to the program was the reason he gave for turning down job offers for football head coaching jobs at Temple University and the University of Maryland.

In his autobiography, Sandusky wrote, “Any time you deal with young people, there will be extreme highs and lows. There have been moments of frustration, despair and heartache.”