One bet only - Joe Paterno's War

The Orphanage was released yesterday, reviewed here on November 20.

Charlie Wilson's War was not, and will not, be reviewed here since As Good As News did not see a preview and doesn't need to add another voice to the legions of reviews now available. It is highly recommended. Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams are terrific and the movie, written by Aaron Sorkin, is even better than its generally good notices.

After a week of reading and watching item after item reporting the startling news that the Pats and Giants will both be trying to win tonight - I can't take anymore. Yes, both teams would like to build a lead, get the starters out early to rest, avoid injury and win with the second team playing the second half. This won't happen for the Giants, but Coach Coughlin will likely play his starters until the game is over or out of reach. The best thing that could happen to the Giants is the confidence boost they would get from a win, or even a very close loss, to the Pats. Bill Belichick may be reluctant to expose Tom Brady to the Giant's pass rush for four quarters, but he's not going to pull his starters, including Brady, if the game, and the Pat's undefeated season are on the line. Watch for me in Section 112, where I will be pulling for the G-men. Nothing personal against the Pats, but I don't think anyone should go undefeated unless they are from Pittsburgh.

Remember the 1972 Dolphins? They had one of the easiest regular season schedules in football history, but it looked like they would be underdogs to a tough Oakland Raiders squad in the AFC Final. The 1972 Steelers were playoff novices (this was before the great 1974 draft brought them Swan, Lambert, Stalworth, Webster and, as a free agent, Donnie Shell) but rookie Franco Harris's Immaculate Reception cleared the Raiders from the Dolphin's path.

Joe Paterno surprised no one with his conciliatory public reaction to an off-key attempt at humor by a Texas A&M yell leader, who suggested Paterno was ready for a coffin at an Aggie pep rally. Joe is old enough to know he doesn't want to sound ungracious or thin skinned. He doesn't need to make things any tougher for a college kid who had one bad moment. Joe is also an Italian who grew up in Brooklyn during the depression. He's wise enough to react graciously in public, but he is mad and he won't forget about this until long after game day. Penn State was already smarting from a season ending loss to Michigan State, now they are really angry. If you must bet on only one college bowl game, take Penn State to cover the 5.5 point spread.

Two Sporting Propositions

Bake Sales and Trash Pickup Help College Teams Stay Afloat -Penn State fencers, frequent NCAA champs, clean Beaver stadium after football games, even scraping the gum off the bottom of the seats. Some of the football players help out, the ones getting punished for fighting. Butler softball players get to clean the basketball arena. Utah swimmers have it easy, they cater the luxury boxes during the football games. Other "minor" sports sponsor bake sales and car washes. All these work projects and fundraisers fill budget gaps and keep the minor sports programs, which grant scholarships, alive. It may seem unfair, but consider the alternative. Just as Rutger's football turned the corner, swimming, crew and several other sports disappeared. Minor sports regularly vanish at the Division 1 schools. Title IX sometimes gets blamed, but the core problem is usually lack of funds, not the requirement that programs funded with state money provide for equal participation by women.

So - Nittany Lions - how about a sporting proposition. If the fencers finish higher than the football team in this year's NCAA rankings then the football team cleans its own stadium, turns the proceeds over to the fencers and participates in an exhibition fencing tournament as a fundraiser. All participants wear tights. If football ranks higher, the fencers clean again, and put on a skit as teenage mutant ninja turtles at the football awards dinner.

All this weirdness stems from the basic decision at most Division 1 (1 A in the case of men's football) schools to run football and basketball as a business. There are positive elements to this approach. A few successful programs consistently yield profits that help support other sports - although for many schools this is a mirage, encouraging futile investment to reach a goal that is always just out of reach. Even the programs that don't produce a steady income can win sometimes, boosting the spirits of students and alumni. Think about the Rutgers students spilling onto the field in a sea of red after last year's win over Louisville, and guess what it did for alumni donations and the number and quality of applications from incoming freshman.

As Good As News likes a good college ball game, but on balance running college sports as a business may do more harm than good. Some colleges, Williams for example, put enormous effort into recruiting, coaching and winning in a tremendous number of sports, but the goal is to develop the student (and maybe make the alumni a little happier), not fund the athletic department. MIT used to field teams in more sports than any other college, maybe it still does, but the goal was to compete hard at the level of the students , not recruit future pros.

How about one more wager, let's take a look at the income reported in the year 2018 by the members of the 2008 Williams football team and the 2008 University of Southern California Trojans, a preseason number one pick that will produce many professional athletes. First, As Good As News recognizes that income will not accurately measure the contribution, success or happiness of a teacher, musician, writer, curator, social worker, etc. Understood, but we need something we can count here. Now let's compare incomes in 2018 - the team with the higher income does nothing. Each member of the team with the lower income must donate 20% of his 2018 income to the athletic department of the winning school. Any takers gentlemen?