A VISIT WITH RE-CAPPY I

Re-Cappy was a very delightful weekly experiment. Regretfully it had to end as a weekly offering. This will be a version of RC and from time to time it will appear on this site.

Because news items vanish as quickly as they pop up some of the content may seem stale or possibly of no interest. We are victims of instant information that may or may not be news items. After all it is entertainment and media outlets are only interested in ratings not enlightenment.

Stuff: Let’s play some football. One week away from Super Bowl XVLI and the books in Vegas are playing their ‘money game”. New England favored over the NY Giants anywhere from two and one half to three and one half points This is called the “line” All this means is, if you like the Giants you get those points added to your final score. The books do not care who wins they just care how much money is wagered because they get what is called the juice and for most books it is ten percent of each wager. Oh, I have forgotten! Hope you enjoy the game:-)

My team, yes they still are my team; the Pittsburgh Steelers are going through some major changes. Bruce Arians the offensive coordinator that helped lead them to two Super Bowls was let go. Big Ben is a little peeved about it. Art Rooney II, the owner is getting quite a bit more involved than the Rooney family has in the past. Do not know where all this will lead.

Baseball season almost here. Just seems like yesterday that the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series. Do not know how the loss of Albert Pujols to the Angels will affect them. Being a Card fan of course am optimistic of a repeat.

Odds and Ends: One of my favorite subjects; Starbucks will introduce alcohol (beer and wine) in selected locations in So. California. Beer Latte anyone? Terrible item; leprosy linked to Armadillos. All of a sudden, “going to the dogs” seems very attractive. and please don’t buy your jewelry at a pet shop. The Costa Concordia tragedy continues.What the heck was that Captain and his crew thinking (or....it rhymes)? To date all but thirty three of 3229 passengers and 1023 crew members have been accounted for.The problem now is how to salvage the 500,000 gallons of fuel.In order to fend off lawsuits the firm is offering each passenger $ 14,460 each! What?

Stuff plus: Blue Note. Actor Robert Hegyes (60) who played Juan Epstein, one of the “sweathogs” on that very entertaining sitcom of the 70’s. That is the show that introduced John Travolta to the adoring young ladies of the day. Etta James (73) one of the most prominent singers during the rise of the Rhythm and Blues era. She was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 and was the recipient of four Grammy Awards. When she sang you understood the lyrics, something I cannot say for some contemporary vocalists. Once heard that the mark of a good singer was excellent diction. What happened to that criteria? Her rendition of “At Last “is a classic that will be a favorite of any generation.

One of the major news items of the past week was the passing of Penn State legendary football coach, Joe Paterno (85), endearingly called JoePa by all who followed his career. Most of you who are familiar with Re-Cappy are aware of my respect for the man.

The cause of his passing was listed as lung cancer diagnosed as recently as last October. Many, including me, feel he died of a “broken heart”

His passing was the subject of many articles in various publications and on-line. Although I respected the offerings of the authors which were of the highest order commemorating Mr. Paterno’s committed and generous life, there was one thread in most of them that annoyed me. In attempting to make it all complete, in essence they wrote, and I quote; “He was a great man, BUT….” “He was a good man, BUT…..” Why did they ruin their excellent complimentary remarks about him with a suggestion of wrongdoing with the jury still out?

We do not know all the facts and probably never will. Even the man that reported the incident to Joe has revised his recollection of what occurred. Place your self in Mr. Paterno’s shoes. He had worked in the same capacity for 46 years. Can you imagine what was reported to him all those years and how he handled each situation? He was not in a vacuum all that while, then something dire was relayed to him. He did what he normally would do, regardless of the subject; he reported it to his superiors. This all worked in the past and he had faith that his superiors would take care of the matter as they had for 46 years!

It is important to keep in mind some of the information given to Joe in certain circumstances would be merely judgmental or plain hearsay, as was the report concerning Jerry Sandusky. There really was no hard evidence of any kind offered to him, and the accuracy of that is now in question. Mr. Paterno followed procedure, something he may have done many times over the years. He reported it to the next level. It would then be up to those with investigative responsibilities to proceed with any action. That is where the system failed the university, and essentially Joe Paterno.

Thank goodness Phil Knight, co-founder, Chairman of Nike, and close friend of JoePa set it straight in his eulogy at the memorial services. His heartfelt eulogy, one of personal respect and love for Mr. Paterno ended with an indirect assertion and one with which I concur, that the Penn State Board of Trustees acted hastily in JoePa’s discharge. Mr. Knight’s quote; “what ever the details of the investigation are, this much is clear to me: there is a villain in this tragedy that lies in that investigation, not in Joe Paterno’s response to it”. Phil Knight received a very impressive standing ovation from the more than twelve thousand in attendance at the memorial. A very impressive showing of love for a great human being with NO BUTS about it!

Of course as you may have surmised I am somewhat biased in this whole terrible event. I do respect Joe for his lifetime body of work. We have ample evidence of that. Perhaps it is the preponderance of that work that leaves me with a sense of unfairness about it all. With out hearings or the revelation of more facts we are unfortunately left with a judgement situation. The old saying "life isn't fair" seems to fit, doesn't it?

I leave you with this quote: “It is not the number of friends you acquire through life; it is the quality of experiences you enjoy with your friends”. Soon