Contract extensions and all things Paterno

Penn State has agreed to extend Coach Joe Paterno's contract another 3-years.

University President Graham Spanier and Athletic Director Tim Curley announced today an agreement that will provide for the opportunity of Coach Joe Paterno leading the football program through the 2011 season. It was also agreed that the parties might re-evaluate their circumstances and alter the arrangement by either shortening or extending its length as necessary.

So there you have it, Paterno's under contract through 2011. This really comes as no surprise to me and I'm not getting too excited about it. To some it's a great thing to others that want to see Joe go, it's a bad thing, but did anyone really believe that Spanier and Curley were going to do anything different? It would be difficult to argue with two Big Ten championships over the last 4 seasons and both those teams greatly overachieved as far as preseason expectations were concerned. I will say this, the 3-year window allows for a lot more stability in the recruiting process, the coaches can at least use it to an advantage.

Speaking of which, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that erstwhile Wolverine commit and standout Virginia quarterback Kevin Newsome left Michigan in the lurch to "come to Pennnnn Staaaaaate!!!!" Newsome originally committed to Michigan last April. But he re-opened his recruitment in early August.

He visited Penn State on an unofficial basis when the Lions whipped the Wolverines Oct. 18. He returned to Happy Valley for an official visit for the weekend of Dec. 5-7, just a few days before Devlin left the program.

Kinda brings a smile to your face doesn't it?

Finally, I was e-mailed from Sports Media Challenge asking for TNL's participation in a birthday celebration for Coach Paterno.

Sports Media Challenge, working in conjunction with PSU athletics, invites you to help us celebrate and honor JoePa all this week leading up to the big day by participating in a surprise virtual birthday party. Please share your favorite emories, videos, pictures, and birthday messages. We have PSU Season In Review DVDs and Big Ten Champs hats to give away as prizes for the best submissions.

While the whole "surprise" thing sounds a little hokey to me the website is fun to read especially the 82 reasons we love Coach Paterno. My favorite:

10) Joe Paterno will never die. He has earned the right. -bullettheblue