National feature | Notebook
Please, Joe, say it ain't so.
Just say that referee doll hung in effigy on your front door wasn't put there by you. You should have said it the moment it became national news with a wire story, and picture to go with it.
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| The doll on Joe Paterno's door has been removed.(AP) |
Then there was this non-denial, denial.
"I don't ever use the front door, I go in the garage," Paterno said.
Paterno should tell us that the doll was sent to him by a great granddaughter or even hung there by his wife. But if Paterno had anything to do with putting the doll on his door, it suggests a larger problem that goes beyond bad taste.
Paterno has been openly critical of Big Ten officials this year. Twice he laid hands on officials and wasn't penalized by the conference. Penn State athletic director Tim Curley has called for a review of conference officiating.
Paterno crossed the line again, intimating that officials from Michigan couldn't be fair to Penn State.
Did Paterno step over the line again in this case? If he didn't, it's almost too late to say so. The doll was taken down Monday. You can bet officials everywhere, not just in the Big Ten, are going to have a different view of JoePa if he doesn't clear this thing up.
Getting objective calls from officials in the future will be the least of his problems.
Paterno is a symbol of virtue for millions of people. If he hung the doll, he needs to admit it, quickly, and admit he made a big error.
MAC mistakes
Tuesday night, the nation got a look at how Marshall has won all those games.
The way officials bungled the end of the Thundering Herd's 36-34 victory over Miami (Ohio), suggested a homer job at worst and bad mechanics by the crew, and local police, at best.
During Marshall's game-winning drive, two consecutive questionable pass interference calls put the ball at the Miami 1. From there, Marshall quarterback Stan Hill ran for a score aided, replays showed, by a key hold from Marshall receiver Darius Watts.
Defensive coordinator Jon Wauford was arrested during the postgame Marshall on-field celebration for allegedly assaulting a fan. Up in the coaches box, Miami coaches trashed the booth after the tough loss.
They shouldn't be blamed.
MAC commissioner Rick Chryst said, "I'm sure Miami will send something to our coordinator." Supervisor of officials Carl Paganelli routinely reviews film in protests by schools.
Taken together, the three plays could not have been evaluated correctly. By the letter of the rule, the Miami defender on the first call could have been interpreted as interfering. But not by the spirit. The defender had position on the Marshall receiver.
On the second call, the Marshall receiver was "scraped" by a Miami defender chasing another receiver.
They were monumental calls with so much riding on the game. With the victory, Marshall now leads the MAC East. The officials can't call interference and then let Watts go for his hold on the touchdown. Privately, MAC officials are disappointed the finish ruined a great game.
One official was bothered that Wauford was displayed like a "trophy" at the stadium by state troopers who handcuffed him. It would have been wiser, and less of a grandstand move, to approach Wauford underneath the stands in the locker room.
Thankfully, Wauford's release on bail was expedited when a judge was found at that late hour for a hearing. Wauford traveled back to Miami on the team plane, although he and assistant Taver Johnson were suspended Wednesday pending an investigation of the incidents by the school.
Reopening the casket
Here we go again. Just when you thought the shenanigans at Alabama were over, a little birdie began to sing last week.
You know him as Lynn Lang, the former high school coach of Albert Means. Lang pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy in U.S. District Court on Thursday. In the process, he might have cleared up some lingering questions about Alabama's involvement in the Means case.
He said that former Tide assistant Ivy Williams arranged for another person to take Means' ACT test. If true, that would be academic fraud. He also said former recruiting coordinator Ronnie Cottrell knew about $150,000 paid by Alabama booster Logan Young to Lang.
Young continues to deny involvement.
But both allegations could cause the NCAA to re-open the Alabama case. NCAA investigator Rich Johanningmeier was in the court room, no doubt taking notes.
None of Lang's allegations were uttered under oath. And given that Lang denied his involvement for 18 months before copping to the felony, are we to trust him this time?
But the allegations don't explain why the school wasn't charged with lack of institutional control in the original investigation that landed Alabama football on probation. The NCAA might have known about Williams and Cottrell but chose to wait until Lang was under oath for the allegations to come out.
This would essentially be a new case against Alabama with, gulp, potential new penalties.
Rushin' Roulette
It just seems like there are more quality running backs these days. With defenses clamping down on the sophisticated passing games, some teams have returned to developing powerful ground games.
The trend is spreading. The top five rushers this week are from five different conferences. That hasn't happened since at least 1998. Colorado's Chris Brown is close to becoming the fifth back in the past eight years to lead the nation with more than 2,000 rushing yards.
If Brown holds onto his lead, it will mark the eighth time in the past 15 years a back from a current Big 12 school has won the rushing title.
What's the big deal?
Nick Saban found religion this week after Kentucky's come-from-ahead loss to LSU.
You remember the Wildcat Washout? Kentucky coach Guy Morriss was doused with Gatorade moments before his team gave up a 75-yard, game-winning touchdown pass against LSU.
"We practice that play every Thursday," Saban said, "and it has not worked once all year long, so it makes sense one think that there might be a little divine intervention that may have had something to do with the outcome."
Morriss was asked how he dealt with the worst loss of his young head coaching career.
"I told them that you've got to finish every ballgame until there's a tick on the clock," Morriss said. "You've got to keep playing until the fat lady sings. ... You just have to force yourself to put it out of your thinking, everybody is looking to you to see how you respond. I don't like people that mope."
Suggs in the books
Virginia Tech running back Lee Suggs will be shooting for a largely unknown, but impressive, NCAA record next week.
Suggs has scored a touchdown in 23 consecutive games, dating back to the 2000 opener. That tied an NCAA record that stood for 32 years. Arkansas' Bill Burnett scored in 23 games in a row from 1968-70.
West Virginia will try to keep it from being 24 on Nov. 20. Burnett scored 47 touchdowns during his run. Suggs has 48, or 2.08 per game.
Impressive? At his current pace, Suggs, a senior, would finish 20 touchdowns behind the career leader, Miami (Ohio)'s Travis Prentice, who scored 78.
Quick hits
- It's that time of year for finality. Florida State can clinch the ACC (an automatic BCS berth) with a victory this week against North Carolina. Colorado can clinch the Big 12 North (and a berth in the conference title game), with a victory against Iowa State. Amaze your friends with this long shot possibility. Unranked Texas Tech, 7-4 and in third place, controls its own destiny in the Big 12 South. It can win the division by beating Texas and Oklahoma in its final two games. Best of luck, Red Raiders.
- The top two teams in the country have the two longest winning streaks -- Miami (31) and Ohio State (11).
- This was the 33rd week the BCS ratings have been released in its five-year history. It was the 14th time the top two in the ratings have changed.
- Don't think the Orange Bowl isn't praying for Notre Dame to fall its way. It would help sell those $100 tickets.
- Stick this in your back pocket when considering Heisman votes and bowl point spreads. According to this week's BCS, Marshall has played the easiest schedule in the country. That's right, No. 117. The Herd's schedule did include Virginia Tech but it was also littered with I-AA Appalachian State and MAC play toys Buffalo, Kent State, Ohio and Ball State. Combined record of those five teams: 18-27.
- Tennessee has much bigger problems than injuries to 13 players this season. It still isn't out of the woods regarding the Tee Martin pay-for-play scandal. Now this: A source told SportsLine.com that Johanningmeier has been on campus poking around that school's celebrated academic fraud allegations. English instructor Linda Bensel-Myers and former public information officer Bob Gilbert have been adamant about the wrongdoing. In July, Gilbert showed SportsLine.com the disturbing records of Tennessee players who, he says, benefited academically to stay eligible.
- We love Mike Slive, but he's trying to pull off one of the biggest upsets since someone green-lighted Survivor. The SEC commissioner is shooting for no NCAA probations for his teams in the next five years. We'll take Unscrupulous Boosters for $500 (under the table, please), Alex.
- Miami president Donna Shalala had the best analysis yet of her team's recent slow starts. "They're teenagers. They're used to getting up late."
- There's something comforting about Monday's announcement that Keith Jackson will do the play-by-play again on the BCS title game. Wouldn't it be fitting if K.J.'s alma mater, Washington State, were in it?
