FireJayPa.com

An ailing man, whom struck fear into the hearts of many for years with an iron fist steped down today. Despite his holding on way past his prime; he cited health as his number one reason for stepping down. He spoke with strong words saying , "it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer."

Was it Joe Paterno? No! It was Fidel Castro. You see, even a communist dictator knew when it was time to step down. You see even Castro had no problems letting go; in July 2006 when he was ill he ceded his powers to his #1 in command. Yet, Penn State doesn't even have that. Just a guy that calls the defense...and of course Joe would never relinquish power to anyone come hell or high water. Broken leg or not.

So now let me ask you this:: If a communist dictator knows when to hang it up; why doesn't Joe?

At a school where the slogan "success with honor" used to always hold true, it's falling further and further away. There was a time where the team would keep its respective nose clean, graduate , and win games against teams other than Akron...

Now, there are fights left and right; players arguing with opposing teams fans on the road and making gestures instead of being on the phone with their QB coach; and there are constant questions being asked if the team was always like this or they are just getting caught now.

Yesterday is no exception to the rule

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/02/18/timmons_not_expelled.aspx

FTA::
Defensive back Knowledge Timmons received probation until graduation and banishment from on-campus living at his Jan. 29 Judicial Affairs hearing, he said in an interview Saturday.

At least we have graduation rates; and own Akron...

Saw these questions on BSD & RUTS so I thought I'd give'm a shot.

How well did Penn State address their needs with this recruiting class?

--The recruiting class was poor; it was about as solid as a Pitt education. Seriously, we did what we always do; grab a few linebackers and then whiff on basically everything else. There were hopes to grab Shaw but then well scUM stopped that from happening.

Who was the big fish that got away? The kid you really really wish we had landed?

I'll go with the obvious, it was Shaw. How do you let this kid slide, you have him all but locked up and then you just lose him? Seriously another display of ineptness from the PSU staff. RB is so thin right now, it's just like the QB situation; one injury and it's bad times at PSU.

Royster has yet to show me he can stay healthy for a whole season. We hear great things about Green, but we also heard how great Morelli was....I'm not sold on hype this time around.

You're NCAA President Miles Brand. Take a break from counting your BCS cash for a minute. What would you do to improve the recruiting process?

Enforce some rules a bit more and actually do more than slap people on wrists. Coaches calling these kids all day long is getting to be insane, a kid gets a cellular phone and all it does is blow up from D1 coaches that promise the kid the world....Well except PSU because Jay forgets to return calls and Joe is still waiting for that carrier pigeon to deliver that hand written note to Vidal Hazleton.

Also , something needs to be done to stop ESPN/Rivals/Scout/etc etc. All these message boards , FJP included, do in the off season is critique the decisions of 18 year olds

Now you're Joe Paterno. So I guess prepare to dodge the question. What would you change about Penn State's recruiting strategy?

Ok time to do my best Joe PA impression....here it goes.

Ahh, you don't know what you're talking about - we're fine - Jay's fine. What's that? We lost another recruit?? Ehh, he wasn't PSU material. I remember when the first Suhey played at PSU, and then I said for the rest of days there will always be a scholie for the kin of the Suhey.

These kids should know that I'm the reason to play at PSU. I shouldn't have to get on a plane; I hate flying anyway. Sue made this lasagna and I wanted to take it on the plane; but the FAA said something about terrorism the whole bit. And then Jay, ugh , he hates to fly. I try to take him places but all he does is talk about that tech-box....it's horrible....I should call back that Vidal Hazleton kid, I heard he wants to play for me....

Lightning Round

Where will Terrelle Pryor go to school? Or should he just live off the hype for the next few years and directly enter the NFL draft in 2010?

Well, I'm going to be a full blown Happy Jack here and say that he choses PSU for the same reasons that Derrick Williams did; to turn the program around. Hopefully this recruit has better luck than M.Rob and doesn't wind up as a special teams grinder in the NFL after 4 years

Which member of this class stands the best chance to make an immediate impact?

Lynn. We seriously are so unproven at CB/Safety it's not even funny. Rubin, god bless him, is playing safety; King is gone; and who what the deal is with other players on the team. But this is all a moot point because he's just going to play in the PSU cover-no-one defense and wait for the receiver to catch the ball before tackling.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3246542

FTA:
Barry Bonds tested positive for steroids in November 2001, just a month after hitting his record 73rd home run of the season, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday.

The allegation came in a legal filing in his steroid perjury case that referred to Bonds' long-time trainer, Greg Anderson.

Oh and I guess someone needs Barry to say; 'The allegations in Mr Canseco's book are 100% TRUE'

Adding this to the whole Roger Clemens thing , this is turning out to be one of the best weeks in baseball history for me. I get to watch a cheater fall from grace and another one try to play a game of poker with his career while having nothing more than 7/2 off suit.

The only thing that could make this week of baseball better would be if they could find a way to start taking world series' away from the Yankees and give'm to the Bravos...and have someone go tell Mark Wholers it wasn't his fault he blew the world series....

http://pennstate.scout.com/2/729086.html

FTA:

He will serve one year of probation, pay a $500 fine and perform a small amount of community service.

Thanks a lot , I'm glad to see my tax dollars are spent on the most important hot topic issues in the area. I have a feeling that the amount of tax dollars spent far exceeded $500. Way to tarnish someones character.

The D.A just loves going after PSU football players before they have all of the facts....

So tomorrow is the big day in the world of College Football.

The nation will be waiting anxiously to see where big name players go; when Division 1 powerhouses find out which recruits can make or break their future seasons.

It seems that everyones favorite spaghetti-armed pile jumper Linebacker will be in Iraq today watching the Super bowl with troops.

From the article:

Buffalo Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny will be more than 7,500 miles from Super Bowl XLII in Phoenix today, watching the game on television with U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.
...
Posluszny and a handful of other NFL players and cheerleaders embarked on their 10-day trip last Monday. They were scheduled to spend the time leading up to the game visiting U.S. bases, signing autographs for the troops and posing for pictures.

Now that's the kind of thing that still makes people realize the power of Penn State Football, the grand experiment, the whole bit...