The Singer Not The Song

Never underestimate the power of a ridiculous response to a serious situation. Ban "Sweet Caroline?" Incredible. Sandusky is in jail. To date nobody else that allowed this to take place is anywhere near a jail, even though quite a few of them should be. Sandusky did not operate in a vacuum. He was around the campus with boys for YEARS after they initially became aware of it. The people who let it go will be forced out or retire, no doubt with their full benefits and pensions, and nobody will even have to admit they did anything wrong. AND they get to keep playing football. Solid message for everyone. Maybe banning this song is BETTER than putting any of these enabling monsters in jail? Time will tell.

I've never really loved "Sweet Caroline"? And I've never understood it in a SPORTS context. Maybe the world is a better place without it. Personally I prefer "Cherry Cherry." If they can move that one up this may all be worthwhile.

Don't expect to hear Neil Diamond's hit "Sweet Caroline" at Penn State football games this season.

According to Cory Geiger, a writer for the Altoona Mirror, the song has been cut from the rotation along with several other tunes, but he didn't know which ones.

"Sweet Caroline," which is a big fan participation song during games, is being cut because of the lyrics, more specifically the line "touching me, touching you."

Probably a smart move by Penn State, which is still reeling from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal and doesn't need to add any insult to injury. Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of child sexual abuse and is still awaiting sentencing.

The Freeh Report, which was conducted at the behest of the university, determined several members of the athletic department, including late coach Joe Paterno, knew of the abuse and tried to cover it up. Because of this, the NCAA slapped Penn State with several penalties, including a four-year postseason ban and scholarship reduction.

[yahoo!]