A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

THERE ARE A THOUSAND HACKING AT THE BRANCHES OF EVIL TO ONE WHO IS STRIKING AT THE ROOT:  This isn't enough: a fine of $60M in football revenue (one year's worth) from a University with a $2B endowment to go "into an endowment for external programs preventing child sexual abuse or assisting victims and may not be used to fund such programs at the university," no bowl appearances for four years, ten fewer initial and twenty total fewer scholarships per-year for the next five years (and allowing mass transfers out), symbolically vacating the wins from 1998-2011 ... this is all big, and will impair Penn State's ability to run a football program, but I fear it does nothing to change the culture of a university where janitors were terrified of reporting a child being raped in their showers.  Only closing down the football program for 2+ years would have done that.  Dave Zirin:

[Today's] decision will of course gut Penn State athletics. It will also create a siege mentality among PSU alumni causing a rush of donations that, I bet, will make up the difference in a week. It’s a farcical public relations move that distracts the public from actually holding to account those responsible for protecting Sandusky. Former FBI director Louis Freeh had said that the root of the problem was the “culture of reverence” for football. Penn State did more to confront this “culture of reverence” by taking down their statue of Joe Paterno on Sunday than Mark Emmert did today.

Added: The full NCAA-Penn State consent decree (pdf).