Joe Paterno fired by Penn State Board of Trustees

Joe Paterno, one of most successful coaches in college football history, was fired Wednesday night by the Penn State Board of Trustees amid an ongoing child-abuse scandal involving one of his former assistant coaches.

University president Graham Spanier was also fired.

Paterno, who announced earlier Wednesday his intention to retire at the end of his 46th season with the Nittany Lions, has been the center of criticism for failing to contact authorities in 2002 after being told a graduate assistant saw former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky assaulting a boy in a school shower.

Sandusky was arrested Saturday and has been accused of molesting eight boys over a 15-year period. He has denied the accusations.

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will serve as interim coach.

In a statement released before his firing on Wednesday, Paterno expressed remorse for the victims and regretted not doing more to stop the alleged incidents.

"This is a tragedy," Paterno said. "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

RELATED:

Full coverage: Penn State scandal

Scandal will ruin Penn State's program for years to come

Bill Plaschke: Forget sympathy, what Joe Paterno deserves is to be fired immediately

-- Austin Knoblauch

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Penn State President Graham Spanier, left, and Coach Joe Paterno talk prior to a game against Iowa on Oct. 8. Credit: Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press

Testing Times: The campaign to save Test cricket

Australia captain Michael Clarke's lonely display of defiance against South Africa at Cape Town made for gripping viewing on Wednesday, giving the Test game a shot in the arm. West Indies' battling display against India in the first Test of that series also hinted at a welcome revival. Otherwise, however, the perception is that the five-day game is like South Africa's lions, leopards and giraffes – an endangered species, its territory being continually encroached upon by the Twenty20 game.

Australia captain Michael Clarke battles back against South Africa

Frustratingly, this series between South Africa and Australia is comprised of only two Tests. Next summer's clash between England and South Africa – effectively the world No1 title decider – is to be played over just three, even though England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke gave meetings between the two countries 'icon' (five-match) status in 2008. Pakistan are being forced to play their 'home' matches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah (they have just beaten Sri Lanka 1-0 in a series at those venues). And crowds outside matches in England and Australia are dwindling.

A hotel receptionist called Rebecca Duffy, from Hastings, and her friends want to do their bit for their cause, though. The group, which also includes James Corrigan, Lawrence Epps, Libby Leonard and Mat Richards, have initiated a campaign called 'Testing Times'. "Our aim," says Duffy, "is to find 28,000 people – the number of people who would fill Lord’s Cricket Ground – to sign our petition to show that people care about Test cricket.

"Our long term-goal is to persuade boards to ensure the protection of Test cricket by granting it greater emphasis in global schedules. However, our interim goal is to persuade the ECB to add an extra Test to next summer’s key clash between the world’s top two nations, England and South Africa."

In a short space of time, 'Testing Times' has recruited nearly 1,400 (at the last count) Twitter followers, and the cause seems to be taking off. They have been 'retweeted' by Jimmy Anderson, Ben Stokes, Jonathan Agnew, Henry Blofeld and Lalit Modi among others. "We were especially pleased with the Modi one. I suspect he didn't read it properly before retweeting, bless his cottons," Duffy said.

The 32 year-old says she fell in love with the game at the age of three. "I remember cheering for the wonderful, late Graham Dilley at Canterbury at that age."

Not to do the boards – who are responsible for how many matches there are in a series – a disservice, it is obvious why they make these decisions. The majority of cricket fanatics on the subcontinent prefer it short and sweet. I love Test cricket more than the abbreviated forms of the game, but that doesn't mean to say everyone should.

I would love the iconic old England Test jumper with a single lion in the middle to return. I hate the new whiter-than-white fleeces. I loathe the sponsor’s logo. I despise back-to-back Tests. I think matches should start on alternate Thursdays throughout the summer. And there should only be five or six. Not seven. As Rebecca teased me on Twitter: "Aaaah . . . and everyone sips lemonade on the village green whilst the Vicar's wife prepares the tea . . . if only!!"

I'm also glass-half-empty when it comes to England walloping India 4-0 in the Tests this summer. One of my colleagues told me to revel in it; it wasn't so long ago we could not beat 'flippin' Zimbabwe, or New Zealand, he said. But all I can think of is, if India are trounced, that is going to put even more of their fans off the Test game. And so on.

It is good to know there are plenty of others like me.

As the Stones used to sing, 'You can't always get what you want'. But you can try …

Sam Farmer on the decline of Philip Rivers [video]

 

 

Times NFL columnist Sam Farmer talks about the importance of the Raiders-Chargers game, and the story behind uneven quarterback play throughout the NFL. Among Sam's comments:

--Why the Raiders-Chargers game is so pivotal in deciding who wins the AFC West.

--His thoughts on the decline of Philip Rivers.

--How injuries have made Rivers' job harder.

--The up-and-down season of Joe Flacco.

--Tony Romo's journey from goat to hero to goat to hero.

--Whether the shortened preseason has had an impact on quarterbacks.

ALSO:

For one week, some NFL quarterbacks catch a break

Giants have bridge to cross with trip to San Francisco

--Houston Mitchell

 

 

 

USC signs two, including guard rated No. 1 junior-college player

On Wednesdsay, the first day of the fall signing period, the USC men's basketball team received letters of intent for its 2012 signing class from two players, one of whom has been rated the top junior-college player in the nation.

Guard J.T. Terrell, a Wake Forest transfer who is playing at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, Wash., verbally committed to USC last month and is rated the No. 1 junior-college player in the country by Swanny's Roundball Review. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining beginning in 2012-13.

At Wake Forest in 2010-11, the 6-foot-3, 175-pound Terrell played in all 32 games as a freshman and was second on the team in scoring (11.1 points per game). Terrell scored in double figures in 16 games, including three games of at least 20 points. His 32 points Nov. 11 against Iowa, a game in which he made seven of 11 three-point shots, were a season high for an Atlantic Coast Conference freshman. 

Terrell will be reunited with another Wake Forest player who transferred to USC, Ari Stewart. Both will be eligible next season.

"He's an NBA talent," Peninsula Coach Lance Von Vogt said of Terrell. He added that Terrell scored 29 points in an exhibition game this weekend.

In a statement, USC Coach Kevin O'Neill said, "J.T. is a dynamic scorer that will be able to impact our team offensively next year. He comes in with the experience of playing in the ACC, which will allow him to have an immediate impact in the conference. He's an exceptional athlete that can score in a number of ways. He's as talented a perimeter player as I've coached in college."

Boxing needs a brilliant Manny Pacquiao now

Boxing's greatest hits of the last three months.

Aug. 13, Las Vegas: Abner Mares punches Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko square in the groin in the 12th round of their world bantamweight title tournament final -- an unquestionable low blow worthy of a point deduction.

Referee Russell Mora instead awards Mares a knockdown, inciting outrage among fans inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and Mares wins a decision. A sanctioning body is so flabbergasted by the horrific call that it orders a rematch Dec. 3 at Honda Center in Anaheim.

Sept. 17, Las Vegas: World welterweight champion Victor Ortiz, failing to establish a plan to penetrate Floyd Mayweather's defense, head butts the unbeaten fighter. Mayweather, visibly angered, waits for referee Joe Cortez's first indication that fighting can resume and unloads two punches to a distracted Ortiz that knock him out and end the fight in the fourth round.

Oct. 15, Staples Center: Chad Dawson lifts Bernard Hopkins off the canvas, and Hopkins slams backward, suffering a separated shoulder that ends the world light-heavyweight championship fight in the second round, sparking massive jeering in the arena. The WBC later refuses to install Dawson as the new champion, even though he was named the winner in the ring.

This leaves boxing's top performer, Manny Pacquiao, to end the carnage of bad big fights Saturday when he and Juan Manuel Marquez renew their rivalry in Las Vegas with their third fight.

Rivers, Manning and Interception Follies

San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers insists there is nothing wrong with him. He has a league-high 14 interceptions; the most he has ever thrown in a season is 15. “I’m not hurt,” Rivers told reporters. “I’ve thrown a handful of picks that I normally don’t throw, and I’ll probably throw some more throughout my career. There won’t always be a reason why.”

That attitude won’t win over critics, but statistical studies back him up.

The number of interceptions thrown by a quarterback one year has been shown to have no predictive value for how many he will throw the next year. The ability to avoid sacks can be projected fairly well with past statistics, even if a quarterback changes teams, but the randomness of interceptions makes forecasting them a fool’s errand.

One example comes from the Giants’ Eli Manning. Last season, Manning had a career-high 25 interceptions, which was more than his 2008 and 2009 seasons combined (24). If he keeps up his pace this season — six interceptions in eight games — he will have less than half his interception total of last season.

In August, Jason Lisk of the Big Lead wrote:

If you want to have a fun bet with your buddy at the bar, bet him that you’ll take Eli Manning, and he can pick three other starting quarterbacks, anyone he wants, who he predicts will have a better interception percentage than Eli in 2011. All three must beat Eli for him to win. It’s not a fair bet, because of the randomness of interceptions, but I suspect he’ll jump at the chance to go with Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan against your mistake-prone choice.

As it turns out, Brady, who had four interceptions last season, is among the league leaders this season.
Most interceptions this season
Philip Rivers SD 14
Drew Brees NO 11
Tom Brady NE 10
Josh Freeman TB 10

Getting back to Rivers:
1) Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports says the Chargers’ general manager has a big hand in Rivers’s troubles: “Has anyone done more swinging and missing lately than general manager A.J. Smith, and isn’t it time someone held him accountable for his declining batting average?”

2) Rivers spoke with Clark Judge of CBSSports.com, and seems to have the right mental approach.

Q: You’re certainly not the first one to go through something like this. Eli Manning had 25 interceptions last year. Drew Brees had a career-high 22 last season. Have you sought out anyone who’s been through this for advice?

Rivers: I haven’t, but, like you said, you’re never going to play at the same level forever, even though you want to. Again, I just think we have an eight-game season here. We were 2-5 last year, and we were 4-8 two years ago. Who’s to say the second half of this season might not be the best eight games I’ve ever played? I think it’s just that confidence and … why not? Why can’t we get on that kind of roll? Because we have in previous years. We’ve also been 13-3 and gotten knocked out [of the playoffs] in the first round.

Thursday Matchup: Raiders at Chargers

Raiders (4-4) at Chargers (4-4), Thursday, 8:20 p.m. Eastern, NFL Network
Line: Chargers by 6.

Norv Turner takes a lot of criticism from folks who expect a team to improve over the course of a coach’s tenure. Watching Hue Jackson go from a fashionable coach of the year candidate to the league’s latest petty autocrat in just a few weeks offers a new appreciation for Turner.

Jackson has used Jason Campbell’s injury as an excuse to relive his glory days as an assistant coach for the 2006 Bengals. Jackson scrapped a successful running game Sunday, leaving tight end Kevin Boss on the bench so Carson Palmer and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (both acquired in the last month) could try to re-create some pre-recession magic. Meanwhile, the Raiders’ run defense allowed 299 yards, in part because Aaron Curry (yet another late arrival) still does not know his gap responsibilities. By contrast, Turner’s happy tortoise approach to personnel decisions looks like patient wisdom.



Turner is dealing with a three-game losing streak of his own, and he is wrestling with two confounding questions. First, what in the world is wrong with Philip Rivers, who has thrown seven interceptions in the last three games? Rivers has no apparent injury; he is just missing receivers he connected with easily for the last three years. Second, why has San Diego been forced to play three games in 10 days? If someone in the Chargers’ organization angered the league office, it certainly was not Turner. Jackson will be on Plan C or D in a few weeks (Terrelle Pryor? Chad Ochocinco?). Turner will still be calmly, infuriatingly waiting for Rivers to come around.

Pick: Chargers
(Pick does not reflect the betting line)

UCLA basketball: Reeves Nelson has bothersome left ankle

You could blame it on the Sports Illustrated jinx, except UCLA forward Reeves Nelson's left ankle started bothering him the day before he graced the cover of the sports magazine.

Nelson sat out the latter portion of practice Tuesday and did not practice Wednesday because of his ankle, though an X-ray was negative.

"We're not even sure what it is," Coach Ben Howland said. "It's not an ankle sprain, it's a part of his foot that he feels like was giving out on him all of a sudden. I don't know if it's from wearing a different pair of shoes or what."

UCLA hopes the only image of Nelson in action it sees the rest of the week isn't a regional cover of SI's college basketball preview issue; the Bruins would like to have their returning leading scorer and rebounder in the starting lineup as usual when they open the season Friday at the Sports Arena against Loyola Marymount.

Being chosen for the SI cover seemed to take Nelson by surprise, at least judging from his Twitter post.

"Who woulda thought that some low class white boy from Modesto would be on the cover of Sports Illustrated?" Nelson wrote.

ALSO:

Bill Plaschke: Joe Paterno should resign

Penn State scandal: Awaiting more answers from Joe Paterno

This isn't the ending anyone could have foreseen for Joe Paterno

--Ben Bolch

Photo: Reeves Nelson graces the cover of Sports Illustrated's regional college basketball preview issue. Courtesy Sports Illustrated.

USC basketball: Dewayne Dedmon given a clean bill of health

USC 7-foot sophomore center Dewayne Dedmon broke his right hand Oct. 11, but it has healed properly and he has been given a clean bill of health, team athletic trainer David Borchardt said Wednesday.

X-rays were performed Tuesday night and showed that his hand had healed.

Borchardt said Dedmon is pain-free and practiced without a soft splint in practice Wednesday, the first time he practiced without a cast, brace or splint of any kind since his injury.

USC Coach Kevin O'Neill had already said Dedmon would play in the Trojans' season opener Friday against Cal State Northridge, but it appears Dedmon's injury won't be a factor as he makes his USC debut.

Dedmon, whose improbable journey to USC was chronicled in The Times on Wednesday, improved his left-hand skills mightily while his right hand was in a cast.

-- Baxter Holmes

MLS Cup is sold out

Major League Soccer's Nov. 20 championship game between the Galaxy and Houston Dynamo at the Home Depot Center is sold out.

The league had held back nearly 1,000 tickets for season-ticket holders of the Houston team and those were scooped up just minutes after they went on sale Tuesday. A crowd of more than 27,000 is expected.

-- Kevin Baxter

Jerry Sandusky to disappear from mural near Penn State campus

Jerry Sandusky's image will be removed from a prominent mural near the Penn State campus, the mural's artist, Michael Pilato, says.

The mural, "Inspiration," is outside the student book store near the Penn State campus. It contains faces of notable figures in State College, Pa., history, including Sandusky, the former Penn State defensive coordinator who was arrested last week on charges that he sexually abused eight boys.

Milato got the idea after the mother of one of Sandusky's alleged victims emailed him and asked him to do it.

FULL COVERAGE: Penn State scandal

"I believe in due process. I do," Pilato told CNN. "But with all the evidence in the news right now and some of the victims living here, it kills me to think of the victims having to walk past this. It saddens me to do this. When I first met Jerry, I thought he was a great man. He fooled me like he fooled everyone."

He is replacing Sandusky with a blue ribbon to represent the victims.

Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno also appears in the mural, Milato said he was going to paint a blue ribbon on Paterno's shirt.

RELATED:

PHOTOS: Penn State football rocked by sexual abuse scandal

Not the ending anyone could have foreseen for Paterno

Joe Paterno says he will retire after season

-- Houston Mitchell 

Photos, from top: Michael Pilato paints over Jerry Sandusky's image; the mural features prominent people in State College, Pa., history. Credit: Pat Little / Reuters 

Football Outsiders Has Jets Rated No. 1

You get the sense, in reading Aaron Schatz’s explanation for how this is possible, that even he is scratching his head — at the same time as Rex Ryan would be nodding his.

In the weekly Football Outsider DVOA ratings, the Jets are the top-ranked team in the N.F.L.

Schatz, the creator of Football Outsiders, acknowledges that it’s not exactly a consensus opinion:

Obviously, this will be a bit controversial. It’s hard to find anyone out there who doesn’t rank undefeated Green Bay as the top team in the league right now, and even harder to find anyone willing to consider the Jets as being in that class.
Normally, the various advanced ratings systems on the Internets are mostly in agreement about which teams are overrated and underrated. Not this year. DVOA is going out on a limb with its Jets love. The Jets are tenth in the league in point differential. Pro-football-reference’s Simple Ratings System has the Jets ranked 11th. Jeff Sagarin has the Jets ranked eighth. Advanced NFL Stats doesn’t have its power ratings up as I write this but last week they had the Jets a mediocre 14th.

It’s only the second time in the 20-year history of the Football Outsider rating that the Jets are No. 1.

Schatz says the ranking reflects the Jets’ excellence on  defense and special teams. And the offense has a high percentage of successful, or at least not negative, plays.

Extra point Last week, the Jets seemed to be fighting for their playoff lives. Had the Jets lost to the Bills, their chances of winning the division would have been around 2 percent, according to NFL-Forecast.com. Now they’re better than the Packers? Take a look at Schatz’s post and let us know what you think of his reasoning.

Have an N.F.L. Question? Judy Battista Has Answers

Can the Bears beat the Lions in this Sunday’s rematch? How worried should Patriots fans be? Why can’t the Eagles sustain any momentum?Judy Battista, The Times’s N.F.L. reporter, will again answer selected questions from readers this week. Use the comment field below to ask your questions, and the answers will appear on The Fifth Down on Friday.

Celebrated Muhammad Ali photos by Michael Brennan to go on display

If you are a Muhammad Ali fan, then you will love this.

The Artworks Gallery and Design Within Reach will present an exhibition by photographer Michael Brennan and his legendary series on Muhammad Ali, which will include the limited-edition photograph entitled "1977." "1977" will open with a reception on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Design Within Reach on Beverly Boulevard and run through Nov. 17. The exhibition will then move to the Artworks Gallery in Pasadena, where it will be on display through Jan. 17, 2012, Ali’s 70th birthday.

A very limited edition of "1977", above, will be available for sale signed by both Brennan and Ali. Six other Ali images will be on display and available for sale; many of these are also signed by the former heavyweight champion.

In addition, there will be a very rare collection of Brennan photos on display from a series featured in a 16-page story in Sports Illustrated entitled “Ali and His Educators” from September 1980. Brennan traveled extensively to locate and interview these elite few who had actually faced Ali in the ring. His efforts paid off with photographs and testimonials from the fighters about their experiences with Ali.

Most of Ali's "educators” are men who have fallen into absolute obscurity since their moment with the most famous boxer of all time. With careers varying from a chief of police to a building contractor, a convict to a CEO, they all give an account of their time with Muhammad Ali.

Design Within Reach is located at 8070 Beverly Boulevard and is open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday noon-5 p.m.

See additional images.

ALSO:

Bill Plaschke: Joe Paterno should resign

Penn State scandal: Awaiting more answers from Joe Paterno

This isn't the ending anyone could have foreseen for Joe Paterno

-- Houston Mitchell

 

NBA players, owners decide to meet again today

Less than 24 hours after locked out NBA players turned down team owners' latest contract proposal, the two sides agreed to meet Wednesday to continue negotiations.

The owners and players union were to sit down together in New York at 1 p.m. Eastern time (10 a.m. Pacific).

Both union executive director Billy Hunter and NBA Commissioner David Stern had said Tuesday afternoon that they would be willing to meet Wednesday to see if they could get a deal done.

Stern had given the players a 5 p.m. Eastern deadline to accept the league's offer, or risk the next offer being less.

The players rejected that offer after meeting with 43 players, 29 of them representatives for their teams, Tuesday in New York.

The players now have been locked out for 132 days and have seen the entire regular-season schedule for the month of November canceled.

-- Broderick Turner

Photo: Players union president Derek Fisher speaks at a press conference, joined by union executive director Billy Hunter and other NBA players Tuesday. Credit: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Should Joe Paterno be allowed to coach Penn State on Saturday?

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno has announced he will retire at the end of the football season in light of the sex-abuse scandal involving his former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. But should he still be employed by the university even that long?

Writers from around the Tribune Co. discuss whether Paterno should be with the Nittany Lions when they host Nebraska on Saturday. Check back throughout the day for more responses and join the discussion by voting in our poll and leaving a comment of your own.

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times

It's incredible to think the best deal Joe Paterno could cut for himself at the height of this scandal was announcing he would retire at the end of the season. A man who talked only weeks ago about having no intention of retiring actually had to get out in front of a Penn State Board of Trustees that might want him to step down immediately.

FULL COVERAGE: Penn State scandal

Yet, allowing Paterno to coach the next three games and a bowl game is going to be huge distraction. Paterno should probably be allowed to coach his final home game at Penn State and then step aside for remaining away games at Ohio State and Wisconsin. But even that might not sound like a good idea by the time this day, or week, is over. Things are moving that fast.

Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel

Joe Paterno is one of the greatest coaching legends in college football. He has done more for Penn State University in the 46 years that he has been coaching than anyone else. Until this point, his programs have remained clean during a time period when others have failed and his donations to help further education are legendary.

With his iconic black glasses and black sneakers, he is the face of Penn State. That’s why he should be allowed one last chance to say goodbye on Saturday. To walk the sidelines at Beaver Stadium and hear the cheers one last time. There will be boos, reminders of the mistakes he made being complacent instead of vigilant, and there will be protests. Wins and losses won’t matter in the end, and a legacy that had once written itself will now be forever tarnished. A legacy that started on a football field 46 years ago, should end on it as well. 

You can thank the Olympics for your desktop printer

OLYMPIC URBAN LEGEND: The Olympics led to a watch company becoming one of the largest printer manufacturers in the world.

The development of new technologies has had a dramatic effect on the world of sports over the years. Take the development of video technology for television broadcasts of sports games. The ability to watch a play again instantly has come to affect pretty much every major U.S. sport. While some pro leagues have been slow to accept it, the use of instant replay to decide close plays is now a part of most U.S. sports and is only becoming more important as the years go by. While that is an example of a technology that was developed independent of sports being adapted to the world of sports, there are other technological advancements that were examples of athletes having a need that someone developed a technology to address.

For instance, a surgeon inventing a procedure where he removes a tendon from one part of a pitcher's body and uses it to replace a damaged one in a pitcher's elbow (the so-called "Tommy John Surgery") would have sounded like science fiction in the early days of baseball, but the procedure has saved countless careers that otherwise would have been lost. Current pitchers as varied as John Axford, A.J. Burnett, Shawn Marcum, Stephen Strasburg, Brian Wilson and C.J. Wilson all would likely not be major leaguers now if it were not for the procedure.

The connection between the sports need and the development of Tommy John Surgery is a bit obvious. Much less obvious, though, is the fact that the world of sports also led to the creation of the modern-day desktop printer.

Read on to learn how sports turned a watch company into one of the leading manufacturers of desktop printers in the world.

Albert Haynesworth done in New England; is Chad Ochocinco next?

The New England Patriots grabbed a lot of headlines before the start of the NFL season, trading for Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco on the same day. Both are high-profile players, but some wondered just what they could contribute to the perennial playoff contenders.

Turns out, not too much. At least for Haynesworth, who was cut Tuesday. Ochocinco has been a nonfactor, but at least he's still a member of the team.

The Haynesworth experiment ended after just half a season, during which the defensive lineman had just three tackles and no sacks in six games. His last play with the team came Sunday when he was blocked out of the way on a 10-yard touchdown run by New York Giants' Brandon Jacobs.

"I'll just say this on the Albert situation: I thought that both he and myself -- speaking for the  staff -- we really tried to make it work," Coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday. "He had a few physical limitations to overcome when he got here, but I thought he really tried to do what we asked him to do. We tried to work with him. In the end, it just didn't work out. I think the best thing we could do was just move on."

No idea whether Ochocinco is on the chopping block or not, but he doesn't seem to be much use to the team at this point. He hasn't had a catch in the last three games and has just nine receptions for 136 yards and no touchdowns all year.

He was targeted five times by quarterback Tom Brady against the Giants, and all five passes fell incomplete. Still, it might be a positive sign of sorts for the veteran receiver -- at least Brady acknowledged his existence. Only one pass came Ochocinco's way in the previous two games combined.

Overall, it seems pretty safe to say that those who considered the acquisitions of Haynesworth and Ochocinco to be rather pointless were right. Except for all the headlines those trades garnered -- maybe that was the point in the first place.

ALSO:

For one week, some NFL quarterbacks catch a break

Giants have bridge to cross with trip to San Francisco

-- Chuck Schilken

Left photo: Albert Haynesworth. Credit: Stew Milne / Associated Press

Right photo: Chad Ochocinco. Credit: Don Wright / Associated Press

Are you satisfied with Joe Paterno retiring after this season?

Joe Paterno's 46-year run as head coach of Penn State football is coming to an end -- but maybe not as soon as some people might like. And, of course, there are others out there who don't want it to end at all.

Paterno has decided to retire at the end of this season in light of the sex-abuse scandal involving his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

While Paterno is not under investigation in the case, he has been criticized for apparently not following up on a report of a 2002 incident involving Sandusky and a 10-year-old boy in the showers at the team's complex.

 FULL COVERAGE: Penn State scandal

There had been reports of eroding support of the legendary coach, with pressure mounting for Paterno to retire or be removed from his post.

But he also has supporters, particularly among the student body. A large group of students held an impromptu rally at Paterno's house on Tuesday night, chanting, among other things, "Let Joe stay!"

What do you think of Paterno's decision? Does he deserve a graceful exit? And do the players for the 8-1 Nittany Lions deserve to keep their coach as they finish out the season and prepare for a bowl game?

Or should he retire or be removed immediately?

Or do you think he should remain Penn State's coach beyond this season?

Vote and leave a comment explaining why you voted the way you did.

RELATED:

Bill Plaschke: Joe Paterno should resign

Penn State scandal: Awaiting more answers from Joe Paterno

This isn't the ending anyone could have foreseen for Joe Paterno

-- Chuck Schilken

Insecure Australians scale down London 2012 Olympics medal target. What would Glenn McGrath say?

Reality check: Ian Thorpe doesn't look like contributing medals any time soon (Photo: REUTERS)

In a shockingly un-Australian display of modesty and reticence, Australian Olympic Committee Chairman John Coates has admitted that the country’s London 2012 medal chances are “worrying” – and that they are projecting fewer gongs than the Oz team managed in 2008.

The AOC is predicting 30 medals next summer, which would represent the lowest haul since Barcelona 1992. Worse yet, the Aussie boffins have calculated that they might finish eighth in the medal table – below the hated Poms.

What has the world come to?

Is this the nation that gave us Glenn McGrath’s metronomic pre-series forecast of “5-0, mate” prior to every Ashes series? Talking up your hopefuls’ chances prior to a sporting event ought to be an Australian’s birthright.

But it’s not just the Olympics guys, who, after all, could be forgiven for not wanting to bet the farm on a medal haul that will be missing Ian Thorpe’s traditional 17 golds. Elsewhere in Aussie sport, we are seeing outbreaks of humility and proportion.

Shane Warne, coming out of retirement for domestic Twenty20 cricket in Melbourne, offered a muted: “I wouldn’t go into playing these games without a sense of confidence in my ability that I can go out there to make a difference” where once he would have been grinning broadly and wondering about what to spend the Man of the Series cheque on.

The rugby union men are also chastened. After comprehensive defeat in the last four of the Rugby World Cup, Michael Lynagh shrugged: “Defeat in a semi-final to New Zealand represents a good performance in the tournament.”

But this is the most damming of all. Is Aussie popstar-turned-celebrity-hoofer Holly Valance shooting her mouth off about winning Strictly Come Dancing in the traditional manner?

Not at all: “I don’t know if I’ll do it but I’ll have a good go,” said Holly deferentially, while somewhere out in Narromine, New South Wales, Glenn McGrath wept into his tinny about the cowardly over caution of his countrymen.

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno to retire at end of season, AP says

Joe Paterno has decided to retire at the end of Penn State's football season, the Associated Press is reporting.

Paterno will make the announcement Wednesday, said a source who wished to remain nameless because the decision has not yet been announced.

Support for the legendary football coach has been eroding among university officials amid questions about how much he should have done in light of the sexual abuse allegations concerning his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

FULL COVERAGE: Penn State scandal

Sandusky has been charged with molesting eight young boys between 1994 and 2009. Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, Penn State's vice president for finance and business, have been charged with failing to notify authorities after an eyewitness reported a 2002 assault.

Paterno is not under investigation but has been criticized for apparently not following up on a report of a 2002 incident involving Sandusky and a 10-year-old boy in the showers at the team's complex. A witness related the alleged incident to Paterno. The coach notified Curley and Schultz, who notified Penn State President Graham Spanier. The incident was not reported to authorities.

More later at www.latimes.com/sports.

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This isn't the ending anyone could have foreseen for Joe Paterno

-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Penn State Coach Joe Paterno walks to his residence after speaking to a group of students rallying outside it in State College, Pa., on Tuesday night. Credit: Tim Shaffer / Reuters

Funny car champion John Force: Car catching on fire not new to him

John Force, one of the top funny car drivers of all time, says he can't recall how many times his car has caught on fire during a race.

"I've been on fire from here to Australia," said Force, a 15-time funny car champion.

Yet the 62-year-old, who jokes that his "office" gets hot from time to time, keeps coming back for more.

The NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona open Thursday with the first of three days of qualifying rounds, followed by final eliminations Sunday. Force will be among the funny car competitors.

Funny car racing is a sport in which drivers have zero margin for error. Their vehicles reach speeds of more than 300 mph in less than five seconds.

At Force's funny car museum in Yorba Linda, he recently talked about why, after more than 30 years of racing, he continues to risk seeing yet another fire.

"In the early days, I thought I was just pure crazy," he said. "But after you do it, man, the car becomes your office. This car becomes what I call your best friend."

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-- Melissa Rohlin