Not long after Joe Paterno became the head coach at Penn State, he received a letter from an alumnus, a doctor in the small town of East Stroudsburg. The Nittany Lions had struggled to win their season opener over Maryland, and Paterno felt burdened by the legacy of his predecessor, Rip Engle, who guided Penn State to Eastern football prominence over the previous decade and a half. “If this is the kind of football I have to watch at Penn State for the next twenty years,” the doctor wrote, “I want you to know I am going to start a campaign among alumni to bring in a Penn Stater to set football right with our university.”

This, of course, was 1966, a time when people still wrote poison-pen letters rather than spouting off in troglodytic social-media posts; still, the doctor’s criticism made little logical sense, since Paterno, a Brown graduate, had spent the previous 16 years in State College as Engle’s assistant coach. (It’s kind of heartening to note that this sort of knee-jerk petulance is not just a product of modern media; it actually predates Joe Paterno.) And yet it makes perfect emotional sense: There’s a deep-rooted sense of ownership among college alumni bases, an almost familial attachment to their respective schools. It is a unique dynamic that doesn’t exist in any American professional sport, and it is both wonderful and terrible. It explains why a college football stadium, filled to capacity, is the greatest venue in this country, and it explains why people pay for the privilege to lose their minds on subscription-only message boards that often focus on the college choices of speedy teenagers, and it explains why the majority of the Penn State community spent the weekend losing their collective mind over the hiring of the coach of one of the best offenses in the National Football League.

Last Thursday evening, upon learning that Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien had been brought on as Penn State’s new football coach, a frenzy of angst ensued. On the message boards: disbelief, declarations of war, people attempting to start petitions to convince O’Brien not to take the job. Penn State had taken 58 days to search for a coach, and in doing so, unwittingly built the sort of expectations that befell the creators of Lost: If there wasn’t something transcendent awaiting behind that curtain, a Nick Saban or a Les Miles or a Jon Gruden gushing about This guy and That guy, then what was the point? At the very least, people wondered, why not hire one of our own, and not some stranger who went to ... Brown?
Posted at 11:41 AM

In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports over the weekend.

• Tim Tebow is the owner of an NFL playoff victory. In the first postseason game to end on the first play from scrimmage in overtime, the Broncos defeated the Steelers 29-23 on Tebow's 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas. It's been widely pointed out that Tebow threw for 316 yards (see John 3:16), but I'd also like to note that an anagram of DeMaryius Thomas is "I Am Deus, Host, Mary" and that after the game, Ben Roethlisberger was clearly on the road to perdition. Think what you will, America.

Posted at 9:43 AM

In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Thursday.

• Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has agreed to be the next head coach of Penn State. "I'm thrilled to be taking my dream job," O'Brien told reporters. "What happened to Joe Paterno, though?"

Posted at 9:24 AM

In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Monday.

• The 49er defense picked off Ben Roethlisberger three times en route to an impressive 20-3 win over the Steelers. After each interception, Roethlisberger made the Niner defensive backs uncomfortable by approaching them with a goofy grin on his face, not seeming to recognize or accept that a turnover had taken place and insisting that the drive continue.

Posted at 9:08 AM

In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Thursday.

• Matt Ryan threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons beat the Jaguars 41-14. "We're not finished, believe me," said Falcons coach Mike Smith. "Our expectations are much higher than winning seasons." Reporters attempted to get a comment from the Jaguars head coach, but nobody could remember his name.

Posted at 9:00 AM

With bowl season upon us, Michael Weinreb and Jon Dolan reflected on the past year in college football, discussed their favorite minor bowls this year, and looked ahead ... to 2026.
Posted at 12:58 PM

In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Monday.

• Marshawn Lynch rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown as the Seahawks kept their playoff dreams alive with a 30-13 win over the Rams. Wait, did I say "playoff'" I meant "pipe."

Posted at 9:13 AM

In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday.

• After months of drama and uncertainty, sources indicate that the Big East is set to add Boise State, San Diego State, SMU, UCF, and Houston to the conference roster. No word yet on whether they'll keep the name "Big East" as an ironic little relic, or just change it to "Crapville, USA" right away.

Posted at 9:03 AM