The Sports Monitor

Does anyone believe a thing Jerry Sandusky's wife is saying? Dottie Sandusky told the Centre Daily Times that the convicted child molester is not "who they say he is." Someone should be advising her to stay quiet. She's not helping his cause and she's ending any credibility she might have.

After several days of recharging at Allegany State Park near Salamanca, N.Y., I get back to reality with some big news. The biggest has been the punishment handed down by the NCAA to Penn State. It's quite a lot to take in: $60 million fine No bowl appearances for four years Loss of scholarships Loss of all wins dating to 1998 Players can freely transfer Boom. Now, Penn State starts to rebuild. Coach Bill O'Brien has rolled up his sleeves to keep the team together. Quarterback Matt McGloin and others are saying that they'll stay with the team. That should be the least of O'Brien's worries. In fact, I think he'll be able to keep everyone on the team. He'll be able to rally the players and fans to support the team through this four-year postseason ban. The Us. Vs. The World cry will win over the players already on the team. The biggest hurdle to overcome is the loss of scholarships. We won't know the full effect of that for years. A...

A headline on ESPN.com said it all: Family says no Paterno coverup for Sandusky. You can read the story here . My question: What else would Joe Paterno's family say about the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State? If reports are true, Thursday is the day we'll hear about the Sandusky scandal.

I agree Joe Paterno had to go at Penn State. Tom Bradley was the logical choice to fill in while the university conducted a search. However, John Smallwood from the Philadelphia Daily News thinks Bradley would be the best choice as the replacement. Penn State needs a clean break from all things Paterno. Bradley has done the right things as the interim coach, but any reminder or link to Paterno or Sandusky needs to go away. If that means losing Bradley, so be it.

When news of Jerry Sandusky's alleged sex abuse scandal broke, my first reaction to the reported incident that then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary witnessed, was why didn't McQueary do something. Well, NBC News obtained an e-mail from McQueary to former teammates. The e-mail indicates McQueary did something. "I didn’t just turn and run," McQueary says in the e-mail. "I made sure it stopped … I had to make quick, tough decisions." The New York Daily News has a story . I also didn't understand why McQueary was still on staff when others, including Joe Paterno, were let go. After hearing Gov. Tom Corbett on Sunday, and he didn't say this specifically, but I'm of the opinion that McQueary's testimony is important. If McQueary ended up being charged or implicated, he could plead the Fifth, and not help the investigation. Maybe his paid leave is one way to keep him cooperating. On a separate note, Sports Illustrated has an interesting...

What do you do if you've been charged with sexual acts with minors? If you're former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, you do an interview on national television and admit that you've showered with kids. From there, we're to believe Sandusky did nothing wrong. I watch with stunned silence the denials from Sandusky during his interview with Bob Costas. To me, Sandusky sounded cold and calculating. What really was revealing was Sandusky's reply to this Costas question: Are you sexually attracted to young boys? After an uncomfortable pause of about two seconds, Sandusky tells us he's not, but he enjoys being around young boys. I was expecting a defiant, "No!" Instead, Sandusky said, " I enjoy young people, I love to be around them, but, no, I’m not sexually attracted to young boys. The whole setting for the interview was out of normal as well. Costas interviewed Sandusky by phone while Sandusky's attorney was seated ne...

It had to happen. Penn State needed to get rid of coach Joe Paterno. I don't care how many wins he has or how much money he has given to the university. Joe had to go. Did Paterno do the minimum required in the scandal that's rocked State College? Apparently. But there was a moral obligation, too. Paterno had the power to stop Jerry Sandusky but failed. Paterno's a man that was bigger than anything at State College. He called the shots there, and he knew it. He was even defiant earlier Wednesday. Check out his statement: "At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can." Joe thought he could go when he wanted. The school's trustees thought differently. They rightly showed him who was in charge. In my opinion, Paterno was all about Paterno, building a legend, setting records and coaching for...

I'm sure the events from this weekend surrounding the Penn State football program and former coach Jerry Sandusky have made the rounds. AD Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have stepped down, and coach Joe Paterno is said to have been shocked. I'm not ready to call on Paterno to step down, as Jason Whitlock has, but I'm having a hard time coming to grips over one thing involving JoePa. If Paterno, the man more powerful and influential than the Penn State athletic director and university president, was so concerned about an alleged incident being reported to him, why did he simply follow the line of command and report the incident to his AD and forget about it? Paterno couldn't do anything about it? He was helpless? I think we're in the early stages of information being released. I can't see JoePa emerging unscathed from all this. And, without a doubt, the university will be rocked by this scandal.