Joe Paterno: ESPN Preempts Almost All Scheduled Broadcasts to Pay Homage

You have got to be kidding me. If this weren't a family friendly website I would be swearing like a drunken sailor, a truck driver stuck in 405 traffic. Or a guy who cannot believe that ESPN would do this.

Joe Paterno died this morning. My prayers are with his family.

There is no doubt that Joe Paterno was a great football coach; perhaps the best of all time. This does not change the fact that he testified that in 2002 he was told of grossly inappropriate behavior. This was three years after Jerry Sandusky left.

So? As Stephen Dorff so aptly noted in the 1994 movie of the same name, SFW!

ESPN should be ashamed of themselves.The Australian Open Tennis Tournament was the scheduled broadcasting on ESPN 2 beginning at 10am CST. This is not being shown. Since 10:30am CST Women's College Gymnastics is not being shown on ESPNU in favor of more coverage of Joe Paterno.

What is being shown? What is the only scheduled broadcast being shown? Sunday NFL Countdown.

I know. ESPN knows. You don't care about Women's College Gymnastics or the Australian Open Tennis Tournament. But you do care about football.

Some of us do care. But that's not what this is ultimately about. This is about taking the scheduled programing off of the air in favor of shining a light on a man who undoubtedly deserves an ESPN special, but not one that interrupts the network schedule.He lost that accolade when he kept his mouth shut. When he refused to bring to light the allegations brought forward by his assistant in 2002.

Don't take the spotlight off of the tennis world and the wonderful athletes competing for a Grand Slam.

Don't take the spotlight off of collegiate athletes who have worked countless hours, days, years to become college athletes.

ESPN should be ashamed.

Give Paterno his special. Don't give the man a day. He doesn't deserve a day.

I sincerely hope none of the victims or their families are tennis or gymnastics fans. Tuning to just about any of ESPN's channels is tantamount to a slap in the face, a kick to the gut.