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Want answers? Follow Penn State money

How could this happen?

That's what many want to know, and so far few are willing to answer.

But massive cover-ups in NCAA settings are nothing new. It's just that this one has attracted the mainstream media because of the horrific nature of alleged crimes at Penn State and a football program that closed its eyes.

So how could this happen?

Follow the money and you understand why this occurred.

Joe Paterno, simply enough, was too big to fail.

Paterno has brought in hundreds of millions — probably billions — of dollars to his university over his many decades in State College.

He was a cash machine without limits, and the fear that this scandal would crash the ATM is why these heinous acts went hidden and unpunished.

And it's why it took days — a senseless eternity — of public pressure for the university to do the right thing and fire Paterno, but because there's a game Saturday and so much at stake, the coaching staff and football program remain largely intact despite the obvious need to do what's right.

Eventually, they will figure it out and the facility will be swept clean of the filth that envelops it.

But unless you're in the middle of it, or have experienced it as a student, athlete or parent — I am told — you can't possibly understand the nature of the cult that is Happy Valley and Penn State football.

It is more than just the heart of PSU. It is the reason many in Pennsylvania exist. Penn State football is life.

And it is worth billions.

According to a report given to trustees by the executive director of the university's Office of Investment Management, Penn State's endowment increased by a record $392 million in fiscal 2011, with the total market value reaching an all-time high of $1.83 billion as of June.

Fiscal 2011 also was a record year for gifts to the endowment, amounting to $136 million, more than the previous two years combined. The university is also in the midst of a seven-year capital campaign, which aims to raise $2 billion by June 2014.

Now imagine when, for football reasons, the president and athletic director asked Paterno to step down seven years ago. He told them, “I'll retire when I want to retire.” Their response was precisely nothing, since they knew to whom they owed their salaries.

So, you ask, how can this happen? Simple, is how.

Joe Paterno was too big to fail, worth billions to a university which relied on their football coach to maintain a high-profile program that kept State College steeped in cash.

So how do you make this right? Well, the answer is you don't. For the victims and their families, it will never be right. No amount of money or apology will turn back the clock and fix what will be forever broken.

It doesn't matter now how many lives Paterno has saved, how many children he has turned into men. It's the lives of children ruined that is now his legacy, magnified and multiplied by a hideous cover-up.

Where is the NCAA? An organization built on the broken backs of athletes with the bricks of hypocrisy doesn't get involved in criminal investigations, so that inquiry will have to wait. Besides, they have better things to do, what with some student-athlete somewhere getting a free pizza.

The NCAA in many ways is as responsible as Penn State, its football coaches and especially Joe Paterno.

The NCAA doesn't just allow too big to fail. Perhaps most disgusting of all, the NCAA profits from it.

You ask how this could happen?

Start with Joe Paterno and don't stop until you reach the top of the NCAA.

But above all else, follow the money.

The other Sandusky

Gerry Sandusky calls Ravens games for the Ravens, but his last few days have been a nightmare because of the now infamous Jerry Sandusky. Last weekend Gerry Sandusky tweeted, “A great, big thank you to my late mom for choosing to spell my first name with a ‘G.' ”

The Big Game

Beautiful football is always in the eye of the beholder, but it's baffling that some college football fans found LSU-Alabama to be less than scintillating.

You had the two best teams from the best conference playing the best defense with the kind of hatred and hitting that is usually reserved for Steelers-Ravens.

Of course, if you're new to the SEC, the final score was probably a surprise, but for my money it not only lived up to the hype but was as compelling a game as you'll see all season — including any sponsored game played in January.

Packer backer

Miami Herald's Greg Cote: “Every year there is this kind of talk, and every year the old '72 Perfectos end up popping champagne. But it's only once every five years or so that there appears a super-team actually capable of running the table — as the defending champion Packers look now. Not to blaspheme the holy name of Don Shula, but it could happen.”

All in a name

Emailer Charlieboy: “They should change the name from Penn State to State Penn.”

Mr. August

N.Y. Daily News' Mike Lupica: “Of course the Yankees are scared off by C.J. Wilson losing games in the playoffs. They've got enough guys of their own who can do that.”

And finally ...

Hoffman Estates' emailer Tom Barnicle: “I can't believe I saw Jay Cutler smiling and laughing at a press conference. What's next, Ryne Sandberg in a Cardinals uniform?”

brozner@dailyherald.com

#376; Hear Barry Rozner on WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.

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