Posted on 11/04/2006 6:36:11 PM PST by FlJoePa
During the ABC telecast of today's Penn State football game, announcer Craig James called Joe Paterno an 'old fart,' while congratulating Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema on his game strategy.
ABC/ESPN college football spokesman Josh Krulewitz confirmed to Patriot-News reporter David Jones that James did in fact refer to Joe Paterno as an old fart. Krulewitz, reached by phone in Connecticut, didn't have any comments on the derogatory term, but said, "I'm going to have to speak with some people first."
- David Jones, The Patriot-News
Craig James is a big Douche-Bag!!
and I'm not a Penn St. fan.
The guy is a living legend in PA. You DO NOT make fun of JoePa .
Sure..any announcer should be able to call anyone any name s/he wishes..say anything about them and even cuss them out if they wish... /s..
Why can't an announcer just call the game and report?? I don't really care what an announcer thinks about a coach..the TV show is not about the announcer, it is about the GAME.....
Craig James is an old fart. And he drinks really cheap whiskey!
LOL - I see you got the email concerning our "old friend".
Cheap whiskey indeed...
Surely you remember Craig James. He and Eric Dickerson and several other players took boatloads of cash to play for SMU back in the late 70's & early 80's. They became very competitive for a while, before they got caught and the SMU football program got the death penalty.
But hey, Craig is the soul of integrity and honesty.
Conversely, I doubt Paterno would mind being called an old fart. Remember, he's a great Republican.
An update:
One of PSU's official websites is reporting that Joe's tests (from his collision yesterday) reveal "fractures".
He is also said to be going about his usual Sunday preparation for next Saturday's game.
Last night the students wrapped a bandage around the left leg of the statue of Joe that stands outside Beaver Stadium.
Get better Joe.
Paging ABC's advertisers...
Jeepers, and that's just the x-rays, no word on the MRI yet?
Get well soon, Coach.
For those interested in Craig James and what he actually SAID yesterday, here is a story that basically lists all the pertinent quotes:
ABC analyst Craig James made some strong comments about Penn State coach Joe Paterno during the halftime show of the Nittany Lions' 13-3 loss at Wisconsin Saturday.
In case you missed it, here is what James said.
On the set with host John Saunders and fellow analyst Doug Flutie, James was talking about Paterno walking off the field at halftime, when the coach yelled at an ABC cameraman to back away.
“So JoePa goes in at halftime, and I mean the camera crew is following him, and JoePa's Geritol, the Geritol that he had too much of this morning, kicks in,” James said. “Must of had, must of had bad beans in his soup last night. Man JoePa is fired up and ready to get after him.”
Later in the halftime report, the panel discussed Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema's strategy of having his team purposely run offside on back-to-back kickoffs late in the second quarter to run time off the clock.
“They just happened to be offside…” James said. “Way to go Coach Bielema."
Then James raised his fist in the air and said, “Give it to the old fart.”
Paterno was injured in the third quarter of the game, when two players crashed into him on the sideline. He was forced to leave the field and fly home to State College for medical treatment.
Immediately after the game, James indicated his halftime comments about Paterno were a joke.
Later, in the ABC pregame show before the 8 p.m. Miami-Virginia Tech game, James apologized for using an inadvertent comment about Paterno and said he hoped the coach would be OK.
In the meantime, the Penn State football team's official website, GoPSF.com, has posted James' halftime comments in its “Buzz” section and is encouraging fans to e-mail ABC to complain.
A source close to the PSU program said ABC and James have attempted to contact Paterno
Based upon James' apology, it would appear that he's claiming this was just a botched joke. That sort of thing seems to be going around lately...
Guess what, Mr. James, we aren't laughing.
If you had any class, you'd apologize for being rude and offensive.
And if your network had any class, they'd insist upon it.
I agree. PC will be our un-doing. It now controls, either directly or indirectly, absolutely every phase of American society. It runs the gamut from entertainment commentary crap like this, to determining how we fight wars.
That said, it'll be interesting to see the difference in how ESPN handles this vs. how it reacted to Rush's politically incorrect comment about Donovan McNabb.
MM
Any reason why this was moved to "chat?" While the free world isn't hinging on it's outcome, this is a legit story, with legit links to newspapers. I see constant fluff kept in the general forums that should be put in chat, yet I never complain.
Joe has done as much for the conservative cause as nearly anyone on this forum (sans JimRob, obviously).
Why can't we hold ABC responsible for this confessed cheater (craig james) and his comments?
I saw the game. Craig's comments were nothing more than good-natured ribbing...not the least bit insulting to Paterno. Clearly the comment about Geritol was intended to simply convey surprise at Paternos uncharacteristically feisty response to the cameraman.
As for the other comment, well, Paterno *is* an ancient coach that keeps hanging in there, and the other coach *was* causing him to lose it a bit. Do either of those comments actually suggest anything bad about Paterno?
Papa Joe is a gentleman and Republican. BTW who is this Criag James? Never heard of him.
Ain't that the truth!
Craig James as a Running back for SMU back in the early 80s and for the Patriots in the NFL during the mid-80s.
He was pretty good at SMU, but never really did much in the NFL (outside of one year).
I honestly think he's paid by ABC to be controversial.
Its okay for other old folks to say something like that, but for a younger person even an adult to say it... I guess it is me, and how I was raised but you dont make a joke at the expense of someone your senior.
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