Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Penn State to Recieve Some of their Loss Scholarships

There's some shocking news coming out of Penn State today.  It appears the NCAA has come to an agreement with the school to reduce the sanctions currently in place against the football program.  

Beginning next year, the university will have five additional scholarships. The number will increase until the university reaches 25 offered scholarships in 2015-16 and 85 total scholarships in 2016-17.

 “Today’s announcement by the NCAA is tremendous news," coach Bill O'Brien said in a statement. "As a staff, we are especially pleased for our players, who have proven themselves to be a resilient a group of young men. Penn State has long been known for graduating its student-athletes and providing them with a world-class education. The scholarship additions will allow us to provide more student-athletes with a tremendous opportunity to earn that degree and play football for Penn State.”

However the post season ban will remain in place.  The same is for the 111 Joe Paterno vacated wins, and the $60 million fine.

 “While there is more work to be done, Penn State has clearly demonstrated its commitment to restoring integrity in its athletics program,” said George Mitchell, the independent Athletics Integrity Monitor for Penn State and former U.S. Senator. “The university has substantially completed the initial implementation of all the Freeh Report recommendations and its obligations to the Athletics Integrity Agreement, so relief from the scholarship reductions is warranted and deserved.”

 This is great news for the football program.  More than fines, or a postseason  suspension, loss of scholarships hurts a program the most.  Look no further than USC who are just now feeling the full affects of the scholarships they have loss over the years.

The news is a bit shocking when you think about the fact that Penn State was able to hide despicable acts on their campus for nearly 20 years, but nine months of good behavior is enough to lesson their sentence.   

It's funny how brief the NCAA's memory can be, when they want it to.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Matt Harvey Interview With Dan Patrick is Extremly Awkard, and One You Won't Forget

Matt Harvey gave the Mets and their fans plenty to cheer about this summer.  The younger hurler was lights out for most of the season. However, he was recently shut down due to an elbow injury that may require Tommy John Surgery. This would mean Harvey will miss all of next season as well.

Earlier today, Harvey called into a well listened radio program called The Dan Patrick Show, and host Dan Patrick was hoping to speak with Harvey about the injury and his plans for the future. Matt Harvey had other plans.

It appears Harvey is now the spokesperson for a phone company known as Qualcomm.  As it turns out Harvey is also very serious about his job as a spokesperson.  Qualcomm is the only topic he was willing to address, and he shot down Dan whenever he tried to approach the topic of baseball.  Needless to say things got awkard early in this conversation with Harvey's unwillingness to play along.

Even best interviewers know when it's time to hit the abort button.  Tough luck Danny.