Thoughts

If, for no other reason other than it will be a good conversation piece, I'm leaving the photograph of my wife, myself and Joe Paterno on the wall of my office. The photo of the youthful Paterno was taken at a Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers dinner in Harrisburg, where Joe was the guest speaker. From the look on my haircut, I'm guessing the photograph is about 30 years old.

How times have changed.

My own thoughts on the Sandusky scandal that has gripped the Penn State campus?

At first, dibelief, but now disgust that the lives of many young boys were destroyed just so the Penn State football program could be protected from such a scandal.

And Paterno's role in the coverup? It's every bit of what the Freeh investigation unveiled. Joe was up to his eyebrows in the scandal, along with former Penn State President Graham Spanier and other top officials. Paterno's legacy will be tainted forever, despite all the good he did for so many years. Unfortunately, Paterno passed away before he could have his day in court, but Spanier and the others will have to answer for their actions, or lack of action, whatever the case may be.

Should Penn State's football program suffer NCAA sanctions because of the scandal?

I don't think so. After all, the new coaching staff had nothing to do with the Sandusky case. Neither did the players. To punish them would be unfair.

And the statue, what should be done with the life-size bronze statue of Paterno that sits outside the football stadium?

There has been much debate over whether or not to have it removed.

I like my wife's idea. She suggested they move the statue from the stadium and put it in the school library, a building that Paterno subsidized to the tune of $3 million. That would be a fair compromise.

Those who have ties, or follow what goes on at Penn State, wish this nightmare would go away. But unfortunately that's not going to happen. So far, Sandusky's conviction and the Freeh report may only be the tip of the iceburg.

I'm glad there's been such a public outburst over the uniforms that the U.S. Olympians are going to wear when they enter the arena to begin next week's Summer Olympics in London.

In case you missed it, the uniforms, with blue blazers and barets, white pants and red necties and scarves, will adorn all the Yankee-Doodle American athletes. But unfortunately, the clothes were all made in China.

Didn't anyone who makes these kind of decisions realize what an insult the China garb is to the American working men and women? Are you trying to tell us there isn't a factory in America that could produce the garments of the same quality, and at a similar cost?

I like what the one senator said when word of the China clothes first became public. They should put the clothes in a big pile and burn them, he said. We agree.

I like the Major League All Star game, but I don't like the four days off prior to and after the game when there's no baseball. I need my daily fix of boxscores during the season.

I also don't like the ruling that the winning side in the all-star game gets home field advantage in the World Series. That distinction should go to the team with the best record. That's the fairest way.

If I had my choice of attending any major golf tournament in the world, it would be the British Open. England, Ireland, Scotland, it doesn't matter where it's held, it always provides, with its links courses, the truest test in golf of any of the four major tournaments.

NBA star Jason Kidd wrecks his car and is arrested for drunk driving, only days after he signs a $6 million contract with the New York Knicks. Don't these guys get it? Can't they take a few dollars out of their millions and hire a designated driver whenever they plan on getting drunk?

Finally, it's been a great summer so far, thanks to a little thing. The little thing is none other than Violet Mary Urban, born June 4, 2012 in Reading, and weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces. She is the new joy of our lives, our first granddaughter to go along with grandson Sean James Urban, who will be three at the end of the next month.

Violet is sweet, just like the song suggests, and Sean is proving to be the best brother imaginable. He even has a medal to prove it.