As far as college football goes, this is a bombshell—especially if you’re an LSU fan. Coach Les Miles announced today that Tyrann Mathieu has been dismissed from the LSU football team for breaking team and school rules. Here’s the statement from Les Miles:
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Does the press overlook Gabby Douglas’ Christian faith?
After winning the gold last night for the Olympic gymnastic all-around competition, Gabby Douglas gave “all the glory to God” on live television. Yet Marvin Olasky notes how press reports today by and large have omitted Douglas’s conspicuous Christian faith from their coverage of her victory. The New York Times, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times all left it out, even though Douglas has repeatedly mentioned it as a key part of her life and performance in the games. Olasky explains:
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SMU, Penn State, and the Death Penalty
When the sanctions against Penn State came down on Monday, readers asked me whether or not I thought they were enough. In particular, folks wanted to know if I thought Penn State should have gotten the so-called “death penalty.” I’m a little ambivalent about that question, as I wrote about here. One thing I can say for sure. I think that the sanctions that Penn State received may turn out to be worse than the death penalty. The death penalty has only been issued one time in the history of college football, and it was the SMU Mustangs that had to endure it. It’s been 25 years since the NCAA…
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Not the death penalty, but might as well be at Penn State
The NCAA’s sanctions against Penn State have just been announced, and they are devastating. Penn State has been fined $60 million dollars, the equivalent of one year’s profits from the football program. They’ve been banned from the postseason for four years, which in practical terms means they won’t compete in the postseason for at least eight years. Penn State’s wins from 1998-2011 have been vacated—meaning that Joe Paterno is no longer the winningest coach in college football history. That distinction now goes back to Bobby Bowden.
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ESPN Video of the Removal of Paterno’s Statue
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Les Miles on Losing the National Championsip
It’s getting close to that time of year again, which means I’ll be blogging about college football on Saturdays. LSU head coach Les Miles recently sat for an interview with ESPN in which he talks about the best option for deciding the national champion, dealing with losing the BCS Championship to Alabama, and expectations facing new quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Among the biggest changes we’ll see this year: LSU will be throwing the ball more and opening up the field. I hate to beat a dead horse (not really, actually, I do enjoy beating it), but I wish he would have tried that in the National Championship game last January!
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Bobby Bowden Says Paterno Statue Should Be Removed
In a recent radio interview, Bobby Bowden said that Joe Paterno’s statue should be removed from the campus of Penn State. In his own words: If I was Joe Paterno’s family, I would want it taken down. Every time they play a game in that stadium, the cameras are going to flash down on that statue of Joe, and it’s going to bring up again this thing with Sandusky. To me, Penn State needs to get that behind them somehow. They gotta pay for the sins — that’s going to cost them a whole lot of money — but every time they see that statue, they’re going to bring that…
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There’s No Reviving Paterno’s Legacy
Penn State University hired Louis Freeh last November to lead an independent investigation of the alleged failure of Penn State personnel to respond to Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of children. Freeh released his 267 page report today, and it is devastating not only to university administrators but also to Joe Paterno himself. Freeh’s report confirms what we already knew about the cover-up. But it also says that Paterno knew about the sex-abuse allegations as far back as 1998 and that he followed the official investigation of those allegations very closely. Here are two excerpts from the report that get to the heart of it:
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Heisman Quarterback to LSU
The video above is an ad for a new video game that allows you to put your favorite Heisman winner on any NCAA team that you want. In the ad, Les Miles catches Mike the Tiger with RG3 playing for LSU. Really hilarious. Seriously, though. We could’ve used some RG3 in that BCS title game. For those of you who were wondering, NO, I’m still not over it.
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BCS to propose a four team playoff for 2014
Here’s the skinny: The BCS took a historic step by presenting four-team playoff options as the future of college football’s postseason after the 2014 bowls. If plans are worked out, final approval could come by late June. Read the rest here.