It used to be that the worst offense committed by a college football coach was arranging under-the-table payments to its players. This was the case in 1986 when a Southern Methodist University did the forbidden act. The NCAA meted harsh sanctions against the school in the form of cancelling its home games the next year and banning SMU from playing for a full season. This was referred to as the “death penalty”.

Now, the worst has been elevated to a whole new level in Penn State. Top officers of the school displayed a “total and consistent” disregard for the children molested by then-assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

From Twitter…

 death penalty for #penstate? sound off.

— susankoeppen (susan koeppen) (@susankoeppen) Fri Jul 13 2012

An outside investigation found that university officials cravenly deferred to the demands of Paterno in electing not to inform the police even after evidence were presented. This allowed Sandusky to continue victimizing kids for years.

Sandusky will most likely be spending the rest of his life in jail after being convicted of sexually assaulting 10 boys. Also indicted were two university officials for their alleged roles in the cover-up. The list may not end here as investigation is ongoing to find out others who need to face changes.

But the NCAA shouldn’t leave matters to the criminal justice system. It should take action on its own — and the most useful action it can take is to tell Penn State it will not be fielding a varsity football team this season or next.

From YouTube…

Grand National pre-race favourite Synchronised went down during the world’s toughest steeplechase, one of two horses to die in the internationally well-known competition.

Synchronised had shown signs of unrest prior to the start of the race, unseating jockey Tony McCoy. Race organizers reported that the horse was “thoroughly checked” by a veterinarian, and allowed to line up with the other horses in the field.

However, Synchronised went down at the sixth fence of the four-mile, 30-fence race. According to Pete, another race horse, went down at the same fence later. The race is considered one of the most prestigious jumping races of the Grand National.

Neptune Collonges finished in first place, in the closest finish of the history of the race.

“In both cases the horse incurred a fracture to the leg and the humane option was to put the injured horses down,” said Tim Morris, spokesman of the British Horseracing Authority. “The Grand National undoubtedly represents a challenge to both horse and rider.

“It has inherent risks, but, working closely with Aintree and other stakeholders, we do all we can to minimise these risks while maintaining the unique character of the race.”

As of this writing, there is no word on injuries to jockeys McCoy or Harry Haynes, who was aboard According to Pete.

Morris said the BHA's objective is to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in racing, saying that “We will examine closely the circumstances which led to both incidents … and consider what measures can be taken to address the risk of a repeat in the future.”

On Twitter…

Two horses die in Grand National steeplechase: AINTREE, England (AP):Grand National pre-race favourite Synchronised… http://t.co/hPZuU2lH

— reviewjamaica (ReviewJamaica) (@reviewjamaica) Sun Apr 15 2012

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