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2B Daily News– Wednesday, July 18, 2012 NCAAsays 'death penalty' still on table for Penn State Pa. (AP) — Penn State said Tuesday it will respond within days to the NCAA's demand for information as the gov- erning body decides whether the university should face penalties — including a possible shutdown of its storied football program — in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. STATE COLLEGE, Rodney Erickson said he doesn't want to ''jump to conclusions'' about possible sanctions after the head of the NCAA declared the so- called death penalty has not been ruled out. The NCAA is investi- gating whether Penn State lost ''institutional control'' over its athlet- ic program and violated ethics rules. The probe had been on hold for eight months while for- mer FBI Director Louis Freeh conducted an investigation on behalf of the school's board of trustees. Freeh's 267- page report, released last week, asserted that late football coach Joe Paterno and three top officials buried allega- tions against Sandusky, his retired defensive coordinator, more than a decade ago to protect the university's image. Sandusky was con- victed last month of sex- ually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period. He awaits sentencing. Penn State, with the results of its own inves- tigation in hand, can turn its attention to the NCAA, Erickson said. ''The NCAA has indicated that they'd like me to respond ... as quickly as possible now that we have the Freeh report,'' he said. ''So we've already started the process of starting to compose that response. We'll do so over the course of the next few days and get that response back as soon as possible, and we'll then engage in discus- sions with the NCAA.'' In a PBS interview Monday night, NCAA President Mark Emmert said he's ''never seen anything as egregious as this in terms of just Penn State President overall conduct and behavior inside a uni- versity.'' He said he doesn't want to take ''anything off the table'' if there's a finding that Penn State violated NCAA rules. The last time the NCAA shut down a football program was in the 1980s, when South- ern Methodist Universi- ty was forced to drop the sport because of extra benefits viola- tions. After the NCAA suspended the SMU program for a year, the school decided not to play in 1988, either, as it tried to regroup. Erickson would not say whether he thought Penn State deserved to have its football pro- gram yanked. ''Let's not get ahead of ourselves here,'' Erickson told The Asso- ciated Press as he con- ducted a round of media interviews in his office on Tuesday. ''Let's wait for this process to unfold. President Emmert has said that the NCAA will take a delib- erate and deliberative process in addressing this, so I don't think we should jump to any con- clusions at this point.'' Schools often pro- pose sanctions to the governing body. Erick- son pointed out that Penn State has already given $2.6 million in bowl revenues to its new center for child abuse research and treatment and to the Pennsylvania Coalition against Rape, a group that operates rape crisis centers across the state. ''We've already start- ed to impose sanctions in the sense that we took away $2.6 million of athletic department funds,'' Erickson said. ''Surely we'll have to do more, but we're already on that road.'' Erickson also addressed the controver- sy swirling around the statue of Paterno outside Beaver Stadium, saying that no decision has been made on whether to take it down. The bronze statue had been a rallying point for stu- dents in the months since Sandusky's November arrest. ''I'm still in the process of talking with members of my leader- ship team,'' Erickson said. ''I'll want to talk with members of the board and others. And we will make a decision, and we will make the right decision based on what we believe is the best course of action for the university.'' Regardless of Penn State's decision on the statue, it's clear that Paterno's name is losing its luster. Paternoville, a tent city outside Beaver Sta- dium where students camp out for prime foot- ball tickets, was scrapped Monday in favor of Nittanyville. Brown University, the late coach's alma mater, said that not only had it removed Paterno's name from its head football coaching position and a student award, but it's also reviewing whether to remove him from the school's athletic hall of fame, too. Nike took Paterno's name off a child care center on its corporate campus on Thursday, the day the Freeh report was released. The halo that had floated above Paterno's head in a State College mural was removed Saturday. In its place the artist added a blue ribbon in support of child abuse aware- ness. — in contrast to his grand jury testimony and an interview given after his firing — and that he was involved in the decision to hide a 2001 incident from the authorities. On Tuesday, a small plane pulled a banner over State College read- ing, ''Take the statue down or we will.'' The plane is licensed to Air America Aerial Ads of Genoa, Ohio. A person who answered the phone at Air America declined to give his name or identify who paid for the flight. Federal Aviation Administration records show the agency grounded a plane from the company after it towed banners taunting Tiger Woods during the 2010 Masters golf tour- nament. The Freeh report raised the culpability of Paterno and former uni- versity President Gra- ham Spanier to the same level as two other key figures: former Vice President Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley. Schultz and Curley await trial on charges of perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse. They deny the allegations against them. And a Connecticut middle school said it would paint over its own mural of Paterno. Although there was some negative reaction to Paterno immediately after Sandusky's arrest — the Big Ten dropped Paterno's name from the conference champi- onship trophy where it had been next to that of Amos Alonzo Stagg, who won almost 100 fewer games — the pace has picked up since the Freeh report was released. The Paterno statue, in particular, has been a point of much con- tention. Critics have called for the sculpture to be taken down after the Freeh report con- cluded that Paterno was aware of a 1998 allega- tions against Sandusky Spanier is not charged, and his attor- neys have criticized the Freeh report, saying it contains inaccuracies. Paterno's family denies he participated in any attempt at a cover-up. Erickson, who pledged greater trans- parency after he was named Spanier's succes- sor, called the past eight months ''obviously the most difficult and sad- dest chapter in the uni- versity's history'' but vowed to make it right. ''We can't rewrite that chapter in terms of what happened in the past, but we are taking responsibility for what happened,'' he contin- ued. ''We're determined to emerge from all of this as a stronger, better university.'' Dallas WR allegedly assaults mom With training camp just two weeks away, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is in trouble again. DALLAS (AP) — receiver was arrested Monday after being accused of attacking his mother during an argu- ment, hitting her arms and face. He faces a charge of family vio- lence, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. The talented wide The Cowboys had no comment on the latest stumble by Bryant since the Cowboys drafted him out of Oklahoma State in 2010. offseason watching film, working on his conditioning and stay- ing out of trouble off the field. Others noticed he was in better shape and more focused. Bryant had spent this a swollen wrist and thumb and bruising on her upper arms, police Capt. Ron Smith said. She told police she had grabbed Dez Bryant's shirt and he forcefully knocked her arms away, Smith said. Police say he hit her on the face and pushed her in the chest. few hours later without talking to detectives, Smith said. His attorney, Royce West, said Bryant posted $1,500 bond. Smith declined to say Bryant was released a Tuesday what caused the argument. ''I don't know what The 23-year-old Bryant surrendered Monday after police in DeSoto, south of Dallas, issued a warrant. Police said Angela Bryant called 911 Saturday to complain her son was assaulting her. Police arrived to find her with Police plan to send their case later this week to Dallas prosecu- tors, Smith said. Drafted by the Cow- the exact startup was, what caused every- thing,'' Smith said. ''I just know that his moth- er got involved and got injured.'' sands of dollars in bills on game tickets and jewelry — and was sued by alleged creditors. Last year, he was kicked out of an upscale Dallas mall for wearing sag- ging pants. In January, he was reportedly involved in a fight with the rapper Lil Wayne at a Miami nightclub. Bryant's potential has boys in the first round, Bryant entered the league having his last year of college nearly wiped out by an NCAA suspension for lying about having dinner with Deion Sanders. He ran up hundreds of thou- He had mostly stayed out of the news this off- season, besides tweeting that his body fat was down to 3.1 percent. Owner Jerry Jones said in June that he saw more maturity and focus in Bryant, and quarterback Tony Romo predicted he would get better every year if he worked at it. ''I feel that I have learned a lot from all aspects, on the field, off the field,'' Bryant said then. ''I see a lot of things more clear now, and I'm more confident in everything that I do. always been clear. A standout at Oklahoma State, Bryant caught 45 passes for 561 yards in 12 games in his rookie season. Last year, he had 63 catches for 928 yards and nine touch- downs. On the field and off the field, I try to make the best choices possible, and I feel like I'm doing a great job of that.'' NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Matt Kenseth 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3. Greg Biffle 4. Jimmie Johnson 5. Denny Hamlin 6. Kevin Harvick 7. Tony Stewart 8. Martin Truex Jr. 9. Clint Bowyer 10. Brad Keselowski 11. Carl Edwards 12. Kasey Kahne 13. Kyle Busch 14. Ryan Newman 15. Paul Menard 16. Joey Logan 17. Jeff Gordon 18. Marcos Ambrose 19. Jeff Burton 20. Jamie McMurray 707 691 667 656 628 622 618 617 614 613 567 547 545 536 534 533 524 495 493 486 21. Juan Pablo Montoya 452 22. Aric Almirola 23. Bobby Labonte 24. A J Allmendinger 25. Kurt Busch 26. Regan Smith 27. Casey Mears 28. Mark Martin 29. David Ragan 30. David Gilliland 31. Travis Kvapil 32. Landon Cassill 33. David Reutimann 263 34. Dave Blaney 35. Brian Vickers 36. David Stremme 37. J.J.Yeley 38. Michael McDowell 39. Ken Schrader 40. Josh Wise 41. Michael Waltrip 42. Terry Labonte 43. Tony Raines 44. Stephen Leicht 45. Brendan Gaughan 46. Scott Speed 47. Scott Riggs 48. Boris Said 49. Bill Elliott 50. Hermie Sadler 447 408 400 386 377 358 341 322 311 298 273 255 135 125 122 94 86 80 75 66 61 54 50 36 31 15 14 13 Knicks pass on matching Lin offer HOUSTON (AP) — Jeremy Lin is leaving New York and taking Linsanity to Houston. The New York Knicks announced Tuesday night that they will not match the Houston Rockets' three- year, $25 million offer for Lin, a restricted free-agent. New York officially had until 11:59 EDT to decide whether to re-sign Lin, who became an interna- tional phenomenon in the media glare of the Big Apple. The Rockets made it tough for the Knicks to sign off on keeping him by backloading their offer sheet with a $15 million salary in the third season. If the Knicks agreed to that deal, they would've faced a hefty luxury tax in 2014-15 because of other big con- tracts on their books — between $30-40 million. Lin now returns to Houston, where he spent about two weeks in December during training camp. The Rockets liked what they saw in the undrafted point guard, but had to waive him because they had Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic on the roster. The New York Times initially reported the Knicks' decision, citing an unidentified person briefed on the situation. points in his first two NBA starts, and then scored a career-high 38 in a 92-85 victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lak- ers. The stock price for Madison Square Garden Inc. surged on the produc- tion and popularity of the team's international star. Lin also made the Sports Illustrated cover in consec- utive weeks, only the 12th athlete to hold that distinc- tion since 1990. On Tues- day, Lin had more than 829,000 followers on Twit- ter. saw Lin, though, the more they seemed to figure him out as the season wore on. He went 1 for 11 with eight turnovers in a humbling, nationally televised loss in Miami and the Knicks dropped their first six games in March. The more opponents D'Antoni resigned in mid-March and Lin hurt his left knee less than two weeks later. The Knicks revealed on April 1 that Lin needed surgery to repair a meniscus tear and would miss six weeks. The Knicks made the One sports consultant said the adjustment to the offer sheet was a stroke of genius by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. ''The Rockets deserve a lot of credit for the way they've gone about this,'' said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based Sports- Corp. ''It was extremely intelligent — with an assassin's touch.'' gave Lin his first shot, picking him up after the Rockets waived him. He was briefly demoted to the developmental league, recalled and finally got his chance when coach Mike D'Antoni put him in with the Knicks floundering at 8-15. Lin scored a career- high 25 points in a 99-92 win over New Jersey Nets and ''Linsanity'' was born. Lin had slept on team- mate Landry Fields' couch the night before, still refus- ing to get his own place as he headed into that week, knowing the Knicks would have to decide whether to cut him or guarantee his contract for the rest of the season. The Knicks, though, playoffs behind surging Carmelo Anthony, but bowed out to Miami in the first round. The Rockets, meanwhile, missed the postseason for the third straight year and have spent the offseason com- pletely rebuilding their ros- ter. Houston has been trying to put together a package of assets and draft picks to offer Orlando in exchange for disgruntled All-Star center Dwight Howard. In the process, the Rockets lost the unrestricted free agent Dragic to Phoenix, then traded Lowry to Toronto in exchange for a future first-round pick with lottery protection. With no true point guard left on the roster, the Rockets turned back to Lin. The Knicks may have shown their hand when they brought back Ray- mond Felton in a sign-and- trade deal with Portland. Houston, meanwhile, jumped at the chance to reacquire their popularity in China, where Yao Ming became a larger-than-life figure. Many Rockets land- ed lucrative shoe contracts with Chinese companies on Yao's coattails and Rockets' games drew mas- sive there. But Lin proved more than just an overnight sen- sation — he had 28 and 23 MLB West Division Texas Seattle East Division American League WL Pct GB Angels 50 41 .549 5 A's 54 35 .607 — 46 43 .517 8 39 53 .424 16.5 WL Pct GB New York 56 34 .622 — Baltimore 46 43 .517 9.5 Tampa Bay 47 44 .516 9.5 Boston 46 45 .505 10.5 Toronto 45 46 .495 11.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 50 40 .556 — Detroit 47 44 .516 3.5 Cleveland 46 44 .511 4 Kansas City38 51 .427 11.5 Minnesota 37 52 .416 12.5 —————————————————— Tuesday's results L.A. Angels 13, Detroit 0 N.Y.Yankees 6, Toronto 1 Chicago White Sox 7, Boston 5 Tampa Bay 4, Cleveland 2 Seattle 9, Kansas City 6 Baltimore at Minnesota, late Texas at Oakland, late Today's games Toronto (R.Romero 8-5) at N.Y.Yankees (Kuroda 8-7), 10:05 a.m. Texas (D.Holland 6-4) at Oakland (Black- ley 2-2), 12:35 p.m. L.A. Angels (C.Wilson 9-5) at Detroit (Fister 3-6), 4:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Undecided) at Boston (Doubront 9-4), 4:10 p.m. Cleveland (Masterson 6-8) at Tampa Bay (Hellickson 4-6), 4:10 p.m. Baltimore (Matusz 5-10) at Minnesota (Liriano 3-8), 5:10 p.m. Seattle (Millwood 3-7) at Kansas City (B.Chen 7-8), 5:10 p.m. Wednesday's games Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 9:10 a.m. L.A. Angels at Detroit, 10:05 a.m. Baltimore at Minnesota, 10:10 a.m. Seattle at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. Chicago White Sox at Boston, 4:10 p.m. N.Y.Yankees at Oakland, 7:05 p.m. West Division television ratings MLB National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 50 40 .556 — Dodgers 48 43 .5272 1/2 Arizona 43 47 .478 7 San Diego 36 55 .39614 1/2 Colorado 35 54 .39314 1/2 East Division WL Pct GB Washington 52 36 .591 — Atlanta 49 40 .551 3.5 New York 46 44 .511 7 Miami Phila. Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 51 39 .567 — Pittsburgh 49 40 .551 1.5 St. Louis 47 44 .516 4.5 Milwaukee 43 47 .478 8 Chicago 36 53 .404 14.5 Houston 34 56 .378 17 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Washington 5, N.Y. Mets 4, 10 innings Cincinnati 4, Arizona 0 San Francisco 9, Atlanta 0 Miami 9, Chicago Cubs 5 Milwaukee 3, St. Louis 2 Pittsburgh at Colorado, late Houston at San Diego, late Philadelphia at L.A. Dodgers, late Today's games St. Louis (Wainwright 7-9) at Milwaukee (Thornburg 0-0), 11:10 a.m. Philadelphia (Cl.Lee 1-6) at L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 7-5), 12:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 9-3) at Col- orado (Guthrie 3-9), 12:10 p.m. Houston (W.Rodriguez 7-7) at San Diego (Richard 6-10), 12:35 p.m. N.Y. Mets (C.Young 2-3) at Washington (Zimmermann 6-6), 4:05 p.m. Arizona (I.Kennedy 6-8) at Cincinnati (Latos 7-2), 4:10 p.m. San Francisco (Vogelsong 7-4) at Atlanta (Minor 5-6), 4:10 p.m. Miami (Jo.Johnson 5-6) at Chicago Cubs (Samardzija 6-8), 5:05 p.m. Thursday's games San Francisco at Atlanta, 9:10 a.m. Arizona at Cincinnati, 9:35 a.m. N.Y. Mets at Washington, 9:35 a.m. Miami at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m. Houston at San Diego, 7:05 p.m. 44 46 .489 9 40 51 .440 13.5