Tim McG

Dodgers beat-up Zito. No surprise here, but last night's game was a heart breaker. Cain's excellent pitching went for naught when Sergio Romo caughed up that two run jack to Ramirez. But this, too, shall pass. The Giants see the Dodgers three more times and finsh with them at the end of the season. Besides, Hanley Ramirez will do to the Dodgers what all arrogant jerks of his ilk do to the clubhouse. The Dodgers can have him and I sincerely hope he pulls a Mannywood on them. They get what they deserve. To wit: Benched for lazy play

Agreed. In bicycling, there's very little use for a size 10 1/2 head. 10 1/2...?** Sure. Again, put down the Bonds hater-aid. **Photoshopped pictures aren't reality either.

Longest running rivalry in the history of MLB featuring the Giants vs the Dodgers renews again tonight! Cain on the mound. GO Giants!

You mean the only black guy in the picture? The guy on the right looks more bulked out. Think he's on steroids/HGHs? C'mon Dave. Two entirely different sports with two distinctly different conditioning and body-type needs. He's also 48 and no longer plays baseball. Put the Bonds hater-aid down.

-The announcement of John F. Kennedy's death by Walter Cronkite as his voice broke, November 1963. -The Watts Riots in the Summer of 1965. -The My Lai Massacre; March 1968. -Watching as Robert Kennedy was shot to death as he arrived to speak in LA; April 1968. -The news report on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr; April 1968. -The 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention riots. -News of the Watergate break-in and susequent conspiracy against McGovern presidency; June 1972/July 1973. -Nixon's resignation; August 1974. -Watching as the second plane crashed into the WTC; September 2001.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be basking in the San Francisco fog [sun later] at the Padres vs. Giants game. Upper deck seats, on the 1B side behind the visitor dugout. Tim Lincecum [4-10, 5.72 ERA, 121 SO, RHP] and Jason Marquis [5-9, 5.58 ERA, 60 SO, RHP] are on the mound. Watch for me...I'll be the one with the Giants WS cap on. My buddy will be wearing one, too. I'll be sure to wave

You know what, Dan? I offered that very same scenario when the 1998 issue first came to light during that whole media frenzy. I was summarily hammered by many on this very BBS and on the thread which is now closed. Admittedly, I was wrong about Paterno's involvement during the 2001 incident and subsequent cover-up as was proved in the Freeh Inquiry. But, as you clearly pointed out, once the legal authorities in the 1998 case "cleared" Sandusky, there was no reason to believe, prevent or do anything else. Seems to me if the police/prosecution/Child Protective Services had done their job, we wouldn't be discussing this now and Sandusky would have been rotting some jail beginning 14 years ago and Paterno's statue would still be standing. I won't speculate. Out.

Corporate takeover at it's greed inspired best.

By Sandusky. Schultz, Curley and Paterno covered up the whole sordid mess. Funny how things change, isn't it?

Then 20+ years later....

I felt the same way when Spano's [sic] in the Noe Valley District of SF was bought out by Seattle's Best.

Who's splitting hairs? Of all the items listed on the NCAA judgment, #3 was the only one I take exception to...and for the reasons I outlined above. The rest, I think, are more than appropriate punishments for something this heinous and will send a loud and clear message to the rest of the college sports world in this Nation. Why you have a problem with that truly baffles me, Chuck. I thought we already covered this.

Um...no. Taking games away and pretending they never happened kicks the wrong people in the ass. To wit:

Exactly. I suppose part of the purpose of any punishment is to serve as a deterrent. Additionally, the victories were achieved while school leaders, Paterno among them, were covereing up criminal activities. Aside from the deterrent value of wiping them out, is it really a good idea to let the victories of what amounts to a criminal conspiracy stand? Doesn't seem so outrageous to conclude that they shouldn't be. And again, it's not unprecedented to vacate victories as part of sanctions. The scope of the vacated victories is unprecedented, but not the fact that victories were vacated. I don't think you could devise severe enough sanctions to fit the crimes that took place at Penn State. And I'm referring to the cover-up and enabling of a sexual predator, as well as the actions of the sexual predator himself. The victory totals in the record books seem the least of their problems now. I agree. However, it just seemed like a completely unnecessary kick in the ass to me.

Well...the Giants lost Brian Wilson for the year. Freddy Sanchez is out indefinitely and so is Aubrey Huff. But they're still chugging along and even one sports dude on the MLB Network said the Giants are one of [if not] the best teams in the NL right now. Panic in late August. Still plenty of baseball left to play. I'll pass.

Soft and cushy landing for Ichiro provided by that Mariner ownership. With the players the M's got, I hope they also got a box of donuts and a thermos of coffee, to make it worth their while.... Wait, now hold on...Ichiro is going to the Yankees? Who thought that was a good idea? Well, is it time to Panic or is it time to Don't Panic? I'm confoosled! Too early yet, Jim. Give it until late August/early September then hit the panic button.

Exactly.

Wow...has it been that long? Geez, that goes clear back to the Charlie O. daze when the A's fielded the likes of Rollie Fingers, Joe Rudi, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Catfish Hunter, Ted Kubiak, Vida Blue...they were just plain unstoppable!

Thanks for posting that, Aggie. I feel better now.

Good film, great cast. I wonder why the phrase has gained such currency of late. Election year.

And where I fully understand and get that, the crimes were not done for the benefit of the players, the university athletic program, to gain an unfair competitive advantage or [as in the case of tattoos for t-shirts] expose athletes to those who might pay for other things like point shaving after the initial gear/tattoo swap [which is the reason that infraction is there to begin with]. Additionally, I am all about teaching lessons, but to attempt to wipe out a man's entire career spanning several decades is going too far, IMHO. He screwed up and bad. There is no argument here, but he wasn't this evil serial enabler either. Much good in that man and the NCAA is being too knee-jerk on this one, IMHO. And Pete: I'm not at all comparing the crime of child abuse to the erasing of wins or records. The "pettiness" is in the penalty regarding the pretending 111 games didn't happen, not the crime itself or those who perpetrated it/covered it up. I'd be interested in who was on the NCAA panel which decided 111 games would be enough to make that happen. Further, will the NCAA be taking more games away if it is found out Sandusky molested kids before 1998? File this one under: The bridge too far.

I understand, but it punishes the wrong people. And, quite frankly, seems more than a little bit petty.

Good question. And will the NCAA be demanding back any Bowl trophies and player rings as well? It almost appears as if this was an afterthought.

TBH, the only problem I have is with this: "3) All wins from 1998-2011 will be vacated (111 wins). Joe Paterno is no longer major college football’s winningest." What does that do? Besides punishing the student athletes and further besmirching the image of Paterno, how is this at all reasonable? You simply cannot erase history like that and pretend those 111 wins didn't happen. Totally unrelated to the crimes and, quite frankly, nothing less than just piling on which serves no other purpose than to be arbtrarily punitive.

Here is the NCAA final decision: Penn State penalties