Bradley's Paula Buscher becomes SIUE's new head coach

Bradley University's longest and winningest women's basketball coach in the school's history, Paula Buscher, has been named Southern Illinois-Edwardsville's new coach Wednesday afternoon.

"Bradley is a very special place and it has been a privilege to be a part of the Bradley family," Buscher said in a statement on the Bradley Athletics website.

Buscher becomes the fifth coach at SIUE after Amanda Levens left the Cougars to become the Associate Head Coach at Arizona State in April. SIUE made their first postseason appearance last season in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) before falling to Wright State 73-64 in the first round.

"It's an exciting time for both myself and SIUE Athletics, and I am thrilled to be a part of it," Buscher said in a statement on the SIUE Athletics web site. "I look forward to building upon the great work that has been done to bring championships to the 'e.'"

Buscher coached 12 seasons at Bradley, leaving with a 167-188 (.470) record after Bradley went 18-16 (7-11 in Missouri Valley Conference play) last year, including a second round appearance in the WBI before losing 85-59 to the University of Minnesota.

Bradley's Athletic Director Michael Cross will conduct a national search to find its next women's basketball coach.

"Coach Buscher has been a valued member of the Bradley Athletics staff for the last 12 years and has brought the women's basketball program its first two postseason appearances," Dr. Cross said in a statement. "We wish her the best luck at SIUE."

Who will (and should) play in the 2012 MLB Futures Game

I don't know if anyone is like me, but I love minor league baseball. What's better than watching the top up-and-coming stars of baseball rise through the ranks before the reach the big leagues? Thus, one of my favorite displays of talent is the Futures Game, which usually occurs two days before the MLB All-Star Game. Each team gets an opportunity to showcase their top talent, and all the top prospects get a chance to shine on the big stage a little earlier than their big league call up. 

While everyone awaits the Futures Game roster, which will come later in June, I decided to make a list of who I think will (and should) be included. Now it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Each MLB team must represented but no team may have more than two players. It's difficult to determine who should be playing in the game when you have to consider the difficulties of finding a foreign-born catcher that deserves to play in the game over a star pitcher. 

Without further ado, here's who will (and should) be in the 2012 Futures Game:

*Stats and ages are as of: June 5th, 2012

U.S.

P- Matt Barnes, Boston Red Sox (Age: 21)

• 5-1, 1.04 ERA, 11 starts, 60.2 IP, 8 BB, 81 K at A/hi-A

P- Trevor Bauer, Arizona Diamondbacks (21)

• 9-1, 1.96 ERA, 12 starts, 73.1 IP, 38 BB, 91 K at AA/AAA

P- Archie Bradley, Arizona Diamondbacks (20)

• 6-3, 3.92 ERA, 12 starts, 59.2 IP, 35 BB, 56 K at A

P- Dylan Bundy, Baltimore Orioles (19)

• 2-1, 0.68 ERA, 10 starts, 40 IP, 3 BB, 53 K at A/hi-A

P- Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh Pirates (21)

•  4-1, 2.53 ERA, 11 starts, 57 IP, 19 BB, 56 K at hi-A

P- J.R. Graham, Atlanta Braves (22)

• 6-1, 2.71 ERA, 11 starts, 69.2 IP, 15 BB, 44 K at hi-A

P- Chris Heston, San Francisco Giants (24)

• 5-2, 0.68 ERA, 11 starts, 66.2 IP, 16 BB, 60 K at AA

P- Danny Hultzen, Seattle Mariners (22)

• 6-3, 1.44 ERA, 11 starts, 62.1 IP, 30 BB, 67 K at AA

P- Daniel Rosenbaum, Washington Nationals (24)

• 7-1, 1.75 ERA, 11 starts, 77 IP, 13 BB, 45 K at AA

P- Taijuan Walker, Seattle Mariners (19)

• 4-1, 2.68 ERA, 10 starts, 50.1 IP, 18 BB, 53 K at AA

P- Zack Wheeler, New York Mets (22)

• 5-2, 1.88 ERA, 9 starts, 52.2 IP, 21 BB, 60 K at AA

C- Travis D'Arnaud, Toronto Blue Jays (23)

• .332, 66 H, 13 HR, 37 RBI, 17 BB, 1 SB at AAA

C- Derek Norris, Oakland A's (23)

• .283, 51 H, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 13 BB, 4 SB at AAA

3B- Nick Castellanos, Detroit Tigers (20)

• .405, 87 H, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 22 BB, 3 SB at AA

2B- Delino DeShields Jr., Houston Astros (19)

• .254, 54 H, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 35 BB, 37 SB at A

SS- Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati Reds (21)

• .327, 73 H, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 31 BB, 63 SB at hi-A

3B- Mike Olt, Texas Rangers (23)

• .317, 64 H, 17 HR, 45 RBI, 33 BB, 3 SB at AA

1B- Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs (22)

• .363, 70 H, 17 HR, 47 RBI, 19 BB, 2 SB at AAA

1B- Jonathan Singelton, Houston Astros (20)

• .298, 57 H, 11 HR, 38 RBI, 33 BB, 2 SB at AA

2B- Kolten Wong, St. Louis Cardinals (21)

• .313, 62 H, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 18 BB, 9 SB at AA

OF- Jackie Bradley, Boston Red Sox (22)

• .384, 73 H, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 42 BB, 13 SB at hi-A

OF- Khris Davis, Milwaukee Brewers (24)

• .324, 23 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 11 BB, 2 SB at AA

OF- Jared Mitchell, Chicago White Sox (23)

• .296, 58 H, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 38 BB, 11 SB at AA

OF- Wil Myers, Kansas City Royals (21)

• .337, 70 H, 20 HR, 48 RBI, 21 BB, 4 SB at AA/AAA

OF- Mason Williams, New York Yankees (20)

• .291, 55 H, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 15 BB, 14 SB at A

World

P- Edwar Cabrera, Colorado Rockies (24)

• 5-4, 3.20 ERA, 11 starts, 70.1 IP, 18 BB, 58 K at AA

P- Daniel Corcino, Cincinnati Reds (21)

• 2-3, 3.79 ERA, 11 starts, 57 IP, 27 BB, 55 K at AA

P- Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins (19)

• 6-0, 1.50 ERA, 11 starts, 60 IP, 15 BB, 78 K at A

P- Pedro Hernandez, Chicago White Sox (23)

• 7-2, 2.91 ERA, 10 starts, 58.2 IP, 18 BB, 31 K at AA

P- Rafael Montero, New York Mets (21)

• 5-2, 2.43 ERA, 10 starts, 59.1 IP, 6 BB, 44 K at A

P- Ariel Pena, Los Angeles Angels (23)

• 3-4, 3.45 ERA, 11 starts, 62.2 IP, 24 BB, 65 K at AA

P- Felipe Rivero, Tampa Bay Rays (20)

• 5-4, 2.18 ERA, 11 starts, 62 IP, 14 BB, 56 K at A

P- Julio Rodriguez, Philadelphia Phillies (21)

• 3-1, 2.67 ERA, 11 starts, 60.2 IP, 28 BB, 55 K at AA

P- Enny Romero, Tampa Bay Rays (21)

• 1-3, 3.62 ERA, 11 starts, 54.2 IP, 30 BB, 41 K at hi-A

P- Yordano Ventura, Kansas City Royals (20)

• 3-4, 2.82 ERA, 11 starts, 54.1 IP, 19 BB, 67 K at hi-A

C- Carlos Perez, Toronto Blue Jays (21)

• .268, 45 H, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 20 BB, 3 SB at A

C- Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees (19)

• .302, 60 H, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 13 BB, 10 SB at A

1B- Jesus Aguilar, Cleveland Indians (21)

• .305, 56 H, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 21 BB, 0 SB at hi-A

2B- Jesus Arredondo, Los Angeles Dodgers (21)

• .257, 43 H, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 14 BB, 7 SB at A

SS- Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs (19)

• .290, 9 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB at A

2B- Cesar Hernandez, Philadelphia Phillies (22)

• .325, 67 H, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 13 BB, 9 SB at AA

SS- Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians (18)

• .273, 59 H, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 13 BB, 13 SB at A

SS- Jurickson Profar, Texas Rangers (19)

• .287, 62 H, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 24 BB, 7 SB at AA

3B- Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins (19)

• .248, 51 H, 14 HR, 44 RBI, 33 BB, 5 SB at A

SS- Jean Segura, Los Angeles Angels (22)

• .285, 63 H, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 10 BB, 22 SB at AA

OF- Oswaldo Arcia, Minnesota Twins (21)

• .330, 61 H, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 18 BB, 1 SB at hi-A

OF- Yeison Asencio, San Diego Padres (22)

• .321, 18 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 4 BB, 1 SB at A

OF- Rymer Liriano, San Diego Padres (20)

• .293, 60 H, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 14 BB, 18 SB at hi-A

OF- Oscar Taveras, St. Louis Cardinals (19)

• .316, 65 H, 11 HR, 40 RBI, 17 BB, 5 SB at AA

OF- Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins (20) Willy Garcia, Pittsburgh Pirates (19)

• .267, 56 H, 7 HR, 37 RBI, 12 BB, 5 SB at A

TEAMS

Baltimore Orioles - Dylan Bundy

Boston Red Sox - Bryce Brentz, Matt Barnes

New York Yankees - Gaby Sanchez, Mason Williams

Tampa Bay Rays - Enny Romero, Felipe Rivero

Toronto Blue Jays - Travis D'Arnaud, Carlos Perez

Chicago White Sox - Jared Mitchell, Pedro Hernandez

Cleveland Indians - Francisco Lindor, Jesus Aguilar

Detroit Tigers - Nick Castellanos

Kansas City Royals - Wil Myers, Yordano Ventura

Minnesota Twins - Miguel Sano, Oswaldo Arcia

Los Angeles Angels - Jean Segura, Ariel Pena

Oakland A's - Derek Norris

Seattle Mariners - Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen

Texas Rangers - Jurickson Profar, Mike Olt

Atlanta Braves - J.R. Graham

Miami Marlins - Jose Fernandez, Christian Yelich

New York Mets - Zack Wheeler, Rafael Montero

Philadelphia Phillies - Cesar Hernandez, Julio Rodriguez

Washington Nationals - Daniel Rosenbaum

Chicago Cubs - Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez

Cincinnati Reds - Billy Hamilton, Daniel Corcino

Houston Astros - Jonathan Singleton, Delino DeShields Jr.

Milwaukee Brewers - Khris Davis

Pittsburgh Pirates - Gerrit Cole, Willy Garcia

St. Louis Cardinals - Oscar Taveras, Kolten Wong

Arizona Diamondbacks - Trevor Bauer, Archie Bradley

Colorado Rockies - Edwar Cabrera

Los Angeles Dodgers - Jesus Arredondo

San Francisco Giants - Chris Heston

San Diego Padres - Rymer Liriano

Do you agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below and we can discuss.

I don't believe Anthony Rizzo or Trevor Bauer will play in the Futures Game because of their inevitable call ups to the big leagues, but until they are officially on a big league roster, they will stay on the list. The list will be updated as injuries and call ups occur until the official roster is released. 

Wake Forest point guard transfers to Bradley

BY BOBBY NIGHTENGALE

Of the Scout

After a disappointing season, the Bradley men's basketball team received some good news Wednesday afternoon when 6-foot point guard Anthony Fields committed to transfer from Wake Forest to the Hilltop.

"Well, Geno Ford and I really hit it off," Fields told the Scout in a phone interview. "He's a straightforward guy and [assistant coach] Willie Scott and I are really close. We talked tradition and how [Scott] left his legacy as a point guard there and how I want to follow in his footsteps."

Fields visited Bradley last weekend and left Peoria Sunday morning without making a decision. However after talking with friends and family, he made his decision Tuesday. Due to NCAA transfer rules, he will sit out all of next season before becoming eligible for the 2013-14 season.

"[The coaches] were happy, and had lots of excitement," Fields said. "They know I will come in and work hard."

Fields participated in an open gym session with the current players Saturday, and left a good impression on senior Will Egolf, who won't have a chance to play with him because his career will end before Fields is eligible.

"The first couple of games, I was just taking off after rebounds and he was just throwing dimes," Egolf said. "The kid can pass, he's quick, he's athletic, he's got good leadership skills, he's vocal, he's a true point guard and that's what we need. He's going to be able to come into Bradley and be successful right off of the bat."

Fields played in 24 games for the Demon Deacons, averaging one point and one assist per game.

"The biggest thing that I talked with the coaches on was working on my mid-range jumper," Fields said. "I feel like that what separates great point guards. I want to be able to get to the basket and use my jumper, as well as getting bigger and stronger."

Fields sent in his National Letter of Intent to Bradley Wednesday and said that he wants to complement the skills of freshmen Jalen Crawford and Shayok Shayok.

"I thought he was real good playmaker," Shayok said. "He made some nice passes. We played on the same team, and I enjoyed the way he pushed the ball and was able to get his teammates easy looks. I felt like when he was on the court, he made everything a lot easier."

He fills up one of the two open scholarships after freshmen Devon Hodges and Donivine Stewart decided to transfer from Bradley in past months. According to the Peoria Journal Star, Fields will finish this semester at Wake Forest before possibly enrolling at Bradley for a summer session.

"[He's] an exciting pass-first point guard," Crawford said, "somebody who gets his team going in transition and a great leader."

Column: The Curious Case of Tiger Woods

At this time last week, Tiger Woods was still looking for his first win at an official PGA event since his life came crashing down on him in late 2009.

Now, Tiger is the favorite by many odds-makers to win the Masters at Augusta National next weekend.

What changed?

If anyone needed proof that golf revolved around Tiger, check out the media next week when they are discussing the Masters. How can a guy with one victory in three years be considered the best golfer on the planet?

Expectations for Tiger are unprecedented. Imagine LeBron James averaging two points a game for two years and people still going to games saying he’s the best player on the court. It just wouldn’t happen.

Except when it comes to Tiger, people have been waiting for this moment. At last year’s PGA Championship in August, he missed the cut by six strokes. It’s not even like he was close to having an opportunity to contend in the tournament. Yet, one victory later and he’s the favorite to win the biggest golf tournament of the year?

It’s not like golf is without stars. Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood all have been popular winners in the past few years. But according to popular odds-makers, Tiger has a better chance to win the next major tournament over those heavyweights.

It doesn’t make sense.

Don’t get me wrong. I love watching Tiger. I’ll admit that I’ve watched about 15 minutes of golf since Tiger’s crash compared to watching the last round of major tournaments just to get a glimpse of Tiger’s magic.  On the 16th hole of the 2005 Masters when Tiger chipped the ball to the edge of the hole before it dropped in and threw a huge fist pump and drew roars from the crowd is one of the best moments in sports that I’ve ever watched live. But that was seven years ago. It’s not like I think Michael Jordan could still be the best player in the NBA today.

Yes, Tiger playing well is good for golf because mainly all the interest in the sport lies with his performance. Many casual golf fans want to know how Tiger is doing before figuring out who is on top of the leaderboard, but does that mean Tiger should be considered the best player on the planet after his pitiful play in the past few years?

If a no-name guy played as poorly as Tiger, they would be more unknown than Sabby Piscitelli in the NFL. Before Sunday, Tiger was on a 132-week drought. At one point last year, he was ranked as low as No. 58 in the world. He hasn’t won a major tournament since the U.S. Open in 2008. Somebody explain to me why he is the favorite, or even better yet why will everyone be watching him?

It’s not like Tiger is Tim Tebow. At least Tebow was winning and seems more genuine than my grandma’s cookies. Tiger’s former coach, Hank Haney, recently released a tell-all book on how self-centered he is. For example, when Tiger is done eating at a restaurant, that means everybody else is done whether they are finished or not.

So why does everybody watch Tiger?

That’s the greatest mystery in golf. It’s like everybody is used to watching the legend perform his tricks and figure that they have to come back someday. 132 weeks hasn’t been enough to convince people that nothing is left in Tiger’s tank and we are just watching a shadow of what he used to be.

Although golf is different type of sport, one where you can find legends playing well long after their prime. Jack Nicklaus found a way to finish in the top-10 at the 1998 Masters. Nicklaus was 58 and playing with hip problems. But do I expect to see Tiger to do the same next weekend?

You know where I will be next Sunday afternoon? I’ll be in front of my television watching Tiger Woods and hoping to see greatness.

Baseball preview

To get ready for the upcoming MLB season, I'll have my 2012 MLB preview with a breakdown of all 30 teams, starting in a month. I've tried this twice and have never made it past about the sixth or seventh team, so I'm hoping this is the year I can go the distance. Check here in a month for the beginning of the BNight's Beats MLB preview.

Tennis has the best rivalry in sports

Sports are defined by rivalries. Think to the great games of Magic and Bird. Barcelona and Real Madrid. Even Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Rivalries make up the games that everyone remembers, and the true mark of every era. At a time where America is anxiously awaiting a boxing match that may never happen, everyone should be tuned into the great three-way battle in tennis. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won every major tournament except one since the middle of 2005.

All three have distinct personalities, which has given them success in the past. Federer is cool, calm and collected and has garnered 16 Grand Slam championships, the most in men’s tennis history. Nadal stood in the way of Federer with his exuberant playing style and his dominance on clay courts. Djokovic is the player that always looks like he won’t be able to keep up until he rides out the storm.

In the beginning, it was Federer against Nadal. Those two won 11 straight Grand Slam titles from 2005-2008 and became the new version of tennis greats Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. In the 2008 Wimbledon Final, Nadal defeated Federer in the greatest match that I have ever seen. Nadal won the first two sets before dropping the next two to tiebreakers and surviving the final set to win in a tiebreaker.

However, Djokovic threw a wrench into those two’s plans for dominating the sport by stealing a championship in 2008, and then currently winning four of the last five Grand Slams. Djokovic has been unstoppable as of late, going 70-6 last year, including a 43-match winning streak until a loss in the French Open.

If someone isn’t watching these Grand Slam semi-finals and finals matches, they’re not only missing great tennis, they’re missing some of the greatest sporting events of all time.

Djokovic outlasted Nadal in the Australian Open last weekend after clashing for five hours and 53 minutes. Not only was it the longest match in Grand Slam Finals history, but Djokovic also battled back after dropping the fourth set in a tiebreaker to one of the best players in the world.

Can anyone imagine watching his or her favorite athlete fight nearly six hours for a championship? It’s one of the greatest sights to watch and can excite any sports fan. The passion, the fire and the skill level shown in these classics are must-see events.

Yet, Djokovic only made it to the finals after winning the last two sets against Andy Murray in a five-set victory. Murray is another twist in these great tennis sagas because he is the loveable loser. In any other era, Murray would be at the top of tennis and battling for Grand Slam championships. However, he is has yet to break- through in a Grand Slam, although he reached the semi-finals in each event last year.

The rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird is what carried the NBA through the 1980’s and gave each season a major storyline. Now imagine if Michael Jordan was born 10 years earlier and could have joined in on the greatest rivalry in basket- ball. This is what tennis is going through right now. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic will all go down as some of the greatest tennis players in history, and it’s a privilege that they’re playing at the same time.

I’m not the biggest tennis fan in the world, and I don’t know the ins-and-outs of the sport entirely. However, I’m a fan of great athletic spectacles, and this is what these rivalries bring each tournament. If anybody wants to see the best tennis players in the world battle time after time throughout the years, it’s time to tune in because this is what you don’t want to miss.

Mayweather chooses... Cotto

Wednesday afternoon gave boxing its final verdict: Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao won’t be fighting any time soon, and the larger possibility that the fight may never happen looms.

However, fans are in for a treat as Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) decided to take on Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs) - albeit a few years late - in a match on May 5th that should provide more flair than his most recent four fights.

This fight interests me on two different levels. One, Cotto is one of the biggest fighters Mayweather will face and the undefeated fighter has decided to go up a weight class to fight him. Two, Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs) was lined up to fight Cotto and it's surprising that Mayweather was able to snatch him away.

To me as shocked as I am at my first point, people need to understand how Mayweather usually only fights to his terms – similar to the reasons why he wouldn't agree to a 50/50 split with Pacquiao on money. Mayweather hasn't fought anybody as big as Cotto since Oscar De La Hoya, or a fighter as skilled. Ricky Hatton entered his 2007 fight undefeated, but he went up in weight to fight him and was clearly overmatched. The same goes for Juan Manuel Marquez, who went from Lightweight to fight Mayweather at welterweight before moving up with Pacquiao. Mosely was the only true welterweight fighter, and he was out of his prime by the time he fought Mayweather.

"That's one thing Floyd made perfectly clear to us," Leonard Ellerbe said, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. "He didn't want to fight him at a catchweight, he wanted to fight him at the weight. Sometimes, you don't get full credit when you fight at a catchweight. Floyd wanted to make sure Miguel was comfortable."

I've said this before on Twitter, and I'll say it again. It's not outside my realm of imagination to believe Mayweather is in money trouble and needed to garner a big fight to make cash before entering his 87-day jail sentence in June. He is prone to spending a ton of money, and he shows his gambling winnings on Twitter all of the time, however, how much money is he losing while gambling and lawyer fees, etc.

Mayweather had zero interest in fighting Pacquiao in the past – even Cotto in his prime – because they weren't up to his undefeated level and he didn't feel like he had to fight them. Yet now, he goes on Twitter and bashes Pacquiao as much as possible to make the fight happen? It's not about the fans, otherwise this fight would have happened three years ago. I have no substantial proof that money is Mayweather's reason for moving up in weight to fight Cotto, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it was.

Also, it's been swept under the rug by some media organizations that cover boxing, but Cotto was set to fight Pacquiao in a rematch as they were negotiating a 147-pound catchweight. Cotto didn't want a catchweight but Pacquiao did for the size difference, as they did last time they fought. I'm assuming Cotto didn't want to go down in weight because that would mean loss of power for him and possible muscle, in which he was technically knocked out in the 12th round, where he was fighting strong early in the bout.

I'll admit I wanted to see Mayweather fight Cotto several years ago because I thought Cotto was the best young fighter and would be a tough matchup for him. I still believe Mayweather will have his hands full, but if he wants to make it a defensive fight, similar to his one versus De La Hoya, then he will be able to earn a win. However, that fight will be largely boring and unpleasing to the fans. If he wants to provide some fireworks, Cotto has an opportunity to give him his first loss. But, Cotto hasn't seen a fighter as fast as Mayweather either.

For those that don't think this will be a big fight, Pacquiao and Cotto earned 1.25 million pay-per-view buys and $70 million in domestic revenue, which with Mayweather's power will make it even higher. Cotto is a good fighter, and should only have one loss on his record as it's largely regarded that Antonio Margarito cheated with hand wraps in the 2008 fight. Those two rematched in December, and Cotto won handily against Margarito and showed more spirit than in previous fights I have seen from him.

As for Pacquiao, get ready to see him fight Timothy Bradley (28-0-1, 12 KOs) in June, which will set up another scenario – if both Pac-Man and Mayweather win – where they could fight in November and provide the fight of the decade. If those two can't come to terms, assuming both win, for a fight in November, I think it's time to write off that those two will never clash in the ring.

Guess whose back!

Well if you guessed me, then *ding ding*. I will hopefully be blogging my thoughts about three times a week, as I still have some prior obligations that won't let me blog on a regular schedule. Hopefully you enjoy the return, and I can remember to keep my word and blog continually throughout the rest of the school year.

2012

Hey everyone,

I know I've failed to blog at all in the last couple of months, but I'm looking to blog on a regular basis this year. The only problem is I don't know what I want to blog about or what people actually want to read. So once I find some inspiration, I may or may not set up a new blog on WordPress. I'll keep you posted on the news, and feel free to comment if you have any requests.

Thanks and happy new year,
BNight's Beats

Still too many questions at Penn State

Twenty-four hours after Joe Paterno was dismissed from coaching the Penn State football team, many questions still linger about the entire child sexual abuse scandal.

If you don't know the entire details of Jerry Sandusky and his atrocious actions against defenseless children during and after his time as defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions, please visit the Harrisburg Patriot-News. The Patriot-News have done an amazing job during this week, and a lot of credit should its crime reporter, Sara Ganim.

Although the elite media outlets have only covered the Paterno story, the grand jury report and the Penn State student body protesting, Ganim reported on Sandusky in March and August, and has spoke to several victims and their families.

I have been extremely impressed by the Patriot-News coverage, and I agree with its editorial board that Paterno needed to be fired, and a clean house was necessary to remove the Nittany Lions' staff from this scandal.

With the main media fixated on focusing on Paterno, I think many questions still need to be answered before I can move on to other issues.

In 1998, Sandusky took an 11-year-old boy, that he met through his The Second Mile program, into the locker rooms and hugged him in the shower. After the incident, the young boy told his mother what happened after she saw his hair was wet from the shower. His mother went to the university police who investigated the incident. This incident led to Sandusky retiring from Penn State in 1999.

A few questions stem from this incident. It seems obvious Sandusky stepped down quietly to keep Penn State from having this scandal blow up in '99. But, the investigation led to zero charges being filed. Zero. How can a mother hear that her son was in a shower with a grown man, and not press any charges?

The mother now says she was advised to not talk to the press about the incident. My big question is did Penn State pay the mother to keep quiet? Are there any other reasons a mother wouldn't go absolutely crazy in this situation?

My next set of questions relate to the most popular victim, the one the then-graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, saw in the shower with Sandusky and told Paterno about afterwards. McQueary had an eyewitness account of Sandusky's heinous actions and I think did the right thing in telling his father and Paterno. Although he didn't call the authorities, you have to realize this guy wanted to be a coach after his football career at Penn State and probably looked up to Sandusky.

The next morning, McQueary told Paterno that he saw "inappropriate contact." Paterno told athletic director Tim Curley, who testified that he heard Sandusky, was "horsing around" but nothing further about inappropriate actions.

Many agree this was the first mistake by Penn State officials and Paterno. It's incomprehensible to me that they wouldn't take a simple phone call to the authorities to investigate the incident, no matter how good of a friend Sandusky was to them. You would also think McQueary or his father would have followed up to make sure this was being investigated in the upcoming days or weeks.

Curley was believe to have placed a ban on Sandusky for bringing children onto campus at some point right after that, however, that is false because Sandusky brought The Second Mile children on campus until 2008.

This is where more questions begin popping. Yes, this is where Paterno should have stepped in and told the proper authorities about Sandusky, especially if you see him still walking around with children. The more unasked question is did the Penn State program allow McQueary to become a coach if he didn’t press charges or extra coverage onto Sandusky? McQueary was promoted from graduate assistant to administrative assistant to following season. After one year as administrative assistant in 2003, McQueary was promoted once again to the Penn State coaching staff where he now serves as an assistant coach and wide receivers coach while being the recruiting coordinator. It's interesting how he got promoted so quickly after he witnessed this incident.

This situation gets even more interesting. Ray Gricar was the long-time DA for the Penn State area, and he went missing in 2005, after being presented with details of Sandusky's crimes in the 1998 grand jury investigation. Several months after going missing, Gricar's computer was found but it's hard drive was destroyed. Am I saying Gricar's disappearance is related to Sandusky? Not too confidently, but how hard and how far can Penn State sweep a scandal under the rug?

What would make me believe Gricar's disappearance was related to this scandal, would be the rumor presented by radio personality Mark Madden. It may be nothing more than a rumor and just regular gossip, but it is floating around that Sandusky was using boys from The Second Mile Foundation and "pimping" them out to rich donors. Could a DA go missing if he had information a child sex-ring at Penn State? I think this scandal would jump to Watergate levels if that is the case, but the jury is still out on that rumor.

Forty counts in trial and hundreds of questions still remain. Sandusky committed some of the most horrendous acts, and used his football connections to help himself out. Yes he is the main monster, but that doesn't change my mind about the simple phone call that Paterno, Curley and several other officials in the Penn State administration could and should have made.

I firmly believe Paterno knows more than he is letting on, and he is beyond more than guilty of just not alerting the authorities. Paterno held the most prestige around Penn State, and I'm sure this isn't the first scandal he got people to forget about. Paterno deserved to be fired, and until further notice, he still has a lot of questions to be answered.