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A Centre County Court of Common Pleas judgment was posted by the prothonotary’s office Thursday, giving the Paterno family and its co-filers the news they had been waiting for. “Plaintiffs have standing to challenge the consent decree,” the court documents said. Judge John Leete’s 39-page decision is based on arguments made earlier this year in the case brought by the Paternos, four members of the Penn State board of trustees, four members of the university faculty, and former football players and coaches against the NCAA and Penn State regarding the consent decree, the contract that led to the historic sanctions...

The Penn State Nittany Lions are eligible to play in a bowl game this season after the NCAA ruled they are satisfied with the athletic department’s progress in ensuring it functions with integrity. “Penn State’s commitment to the integrity of its athletics department and its progress toward meeting the requirements of the Consent Decree are clear,” said Northern Arizona President Rita Hartung Cheng via NCAA.org, who chaired Monday’s Executive Committee meeting. “We thank Senator Mitchell for his meticulous and exhaustive work over the past two years. Mitchell’s efforts and the dedication of Penn State officials made today’s decisions possible.” Penn...

Nearly 21 months after a female student accused Jameis Winston, Florida State’s marquee quarterback, of sexually assaulting her in his apartment, the university has begun a disciplinary inquiry into the case, the woman’s lawyer said Thursday. Florida State officials interviewed the woman last month, spending a little more than an hour asking questions, said the lawyer, John Clune. “We thought it went very well,” he said. “The school seemed to take it very seriously.” Other people connected to the case were also interviewed, he added, but he declined to identify them. Clune’s client withdrew from Florida State late last year...

8:00 PM Arizona at UTSA Friday, September 5 TIME (ET) MATCHUP 7:00 PM Pittsburgh at Boston College 10:30 PM Washington State at Nevada Saturday, September 6 TIME (ET) MATCHUP 12:00 PM Florida Atlantic at No. 2 Alabama 12:00 PM No. 4 Oklahoma at Tulsa 12:00 PM Western Illinois at No. 18 Wisconsin 12:00 PM McNeese State at No. 19 Nebraska 12:00 PM No. 20 Kansas State at Iowa State 12:00 PM No. 24 Missouri at Toledo 12:00 PM Arkansas State at Tennessee 12:00 PM Buffalo at Army 12:00 PM Stony Brook at Connecticut 12:00 PM SMU at North Texas 12:00...

In writing a biography about his father, Jay Paterno makes the point quickly that the book is not an attempt to canonize Joe Paterno: "I know all too well that he was human, an imperfect being." He also says that the book is for journalism students. "In a world where the pressure to be first often outweighs the responsibility to be right, I hope you always look in your heart and pursue the truth. It is the most solemn responsibility of freedom of the press. Realize your mistakes will have consequences for real people." Here is an excerpt of Paterno...

Thursday, August 28 TIME (ET) MATCHUP 6:00 PM No. 21 Texas A&M at No. 9 South Carolina 7:00 PM Wake Forest at Louisiana-Monroe 7:00 PM Eastern Illinois at Minnesota 7:00 PM Howard at Akron 7:00 PM Presbyterian at Northern Illinois 7:00 PM Chattanooga at Central Michigan 7:30 PM Idaho State at Utah 8:00 PM Boise State vs. No. 18 Ole Miss* 8:00 PM Cal Poly at New Mexico State 8:00 PM Tulane at Tulsa 9:15 PM Temple at Vanderbilt 10:00 PM Rutgers at Washington State 10:00 PM North Dakota at San Jose State 10:30 PM Weber State at No. 19...

USC cornerback Josh Shaw admitted to USC officials Wednesday that his story about injuring his ankles after jumping off a second-story balcony to save his drowning nephew was a lie. Shaw, a senior and projected starter who was named a team captain over the weekend, has been suspended indefinitely. Shaw released a statement through his lawyer, Donald Etra, on Wednesday: "On Saturday August 23, I injured myself in a fall. I made up a story about this fall that was untrue. I was wrong to not tell the truth. I apologize to USC for this action on my part. My...

Herby was in NY today w/ GMA folks. Watch Lara Spencer kick a FG barefoot.

Sometimes a story is too good to be true. Could this be the latest example of that adage at work? USC is opening an internal investigation into the story of senior cornerback John Shaw saving his nephew from drowning. The story shared by USC’s athletics website was inspirational and a touching one. Shaw reportedly suffered a pair of high ankle sprains while allegedly leaping from a second floor balcony into a pool below to save his nephew, who cannot swim. A day later, USC head coach Steve Sarkisian says there may be conflicting information regarding how the injury to Shaw’s...

USC senior cornerback Josh Shaw has been sidelined indefinitely after suffering two high ankle sprains while saving his 7-year-old nephew from drowning. According to USC’s RipsIt Blog, Shaw was attending a function at his cousin’s apartment when he looked down from the second-floor balcony and saw his 7-year-old nephew, who cannot swim, had fallen in the pool and was struggling to stay afloat. With total disregard for personal safety, Shaw jumped off the balcony and landed on the concrete below. He then crawled into the pool, grabbed his nephew and got him to safety. Then, even though both of his...

Ohio State senior quarterback Braxton Miller, considered by several polls to be among the preseason leaders to make a run at the Heisman Trophy, reinjured his right shoulder in practice this afternoon, sources told The Dispatch. The injury puts in jeopardy his playing status for the coming season. An OSU spokesman would not confirm the news, and coach Urban Meyer could not be reached for comment. But it likely means that redshirt-freshman J.T. Barrett will be the starter when the Buckeyes open the season against Navy on Aug.30 in Baltimore. Barrett moved ahead of sophomore Cardale Jones late last week...

Very long article, so linked.Actually a very well written insight (especially for something from bleacher report) into James Franklin and his staff. 16 guys that seem to stick together.

DALLAS — A few years back, Deion Sanders, the Hall of Fame cornerback and N.F.L. commentator who still digs being called by the nickname Prime Time, was approached with a splendid business proposition. A partner suggested creating a Texas charter school. They would name it after Sanders: Prime Prep Academy. They would collect and mentor the finest male athletes in Texas and elsewhere and become a powerhouse. God only knows what business opportunities might come along, particularly if they could tap Sanders’s deep-pocketed backers, like the sports clothing manufacturer Under Armour, for which Sanders works as a brand ambassador. All...

The son of the former Penn State football player had only five weeks to live. Pete Curkendall and his wife, Renee, already were caring for an adopted girl with AIDS and cerebral palsy. Doctors then stunned them with news that their 2 1/2-year-old biological son, Joshua, had a cancerous brain tumor and almost certainly wouldn't survive. They had just moved to the Syracuse, N.Y., area and knew hardly anyone. At least they weren't lacking for hope and resolve. Caring for kids with special needs was a life-long plan for Renee Curkendall, as much now as it was then, 16 years...

Afederal judge ruled Friday that the NCAA cannot stop college football and basketball players from selling their likenesses

A federal judge has ruled that the NCAA can't stop college football and basketball players from selling the rights to their names and likenesses, opening the way to athletes getting payouts once their college careers are over. In a landmark decision issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled in favor of former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon and 19 others in a lawsuit that challenged the NCAA's regulation of college athletics on antitrust grounds. In a partial victory for the NCAA, though, Wilken said the NCAA could set a cap on the money paid to athletes, as long as...

The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors voted through a new — and potentially groundbreaking — measure Thursday when it approved the “Big Five” athletic conferences’ ability to govern themselves and push through rules changes as they see fit. After the board’s 16-2 vote in Indianapolis, five conferences: the Southeastern Conference, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pacific-12 — will have autonomy to vote on prospective changes that could change the face of college sports. One of the first topics expected to be addressed in the coming months is whether amateur athletes in the NCAA’s highest-revenue sports, namely football and...

IN HINDSIGHT, Joe Paterno wrote, the day after he got fired with a phone call, he wished he had done more. He had not committed a crime, he had not witnessed a crime, he had reported what sounded like a crime to his superiors. The haters jumped all over that sentence, like it was some kind of a confession that the legendary Penn State football coach had somehow enabled Jerry Sandusky to sexually abuse those kids, while he looked the other way. The haters spent a lot less time debating the note he scribbled on a pad before going to...

U.S. Air Force Academy cadet athletes flouted the sacred honor code by committing sexual assaults, taking drugs, cheating and engaging in other misconduct at wild parties while the service academy focused on winning bowl games and attracting money from alumni and private sources in recent years, a Gazette investigation has found. The findings are egregious enough that academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson told The Gazette that she has called for an Inspector General's investigation of the athletic department.

Ever wanted to simultaneously order food and honor Joe Paterno at 3 a.m., but found yourself without a way to do so? Thanks to 409 Pizza and Win(g)s, you now can! State College’s newest late-night food option opened during Arts Fest where Little Mamma’s Pizza used to be located at 444 E. College Ave. (right next to McDonald’s), and its name is sure to catch some eyes. The store’s co-owner, Tim Prisk, said he’d been interested in opening a pizza store here for a while, and the opportunity at the eastern side of downtown was finally a fit. As for...