Black Shoe Diaries Penn State Podcast

With Kevin chained to his desk at HQ, it became necessary to scour the BSD writing staff for a podcasting partner. Let's face it, nobody wants to hear me speaking alone for a half-hour. It's just sad, man. Sad. Thankfully, Devon stepped up to the plate and the News Gods gave us an early gift, as details filtered out regarding the negotiation and settlement of an August 2011 amendment to Joe Paterno's coaching contract. After kicking that around a bit, we moved on to what it's like to witness a Bill O'Brien Penn State practice, as well as Devon's experience as a student during The Thing And Everything After.

Oh, you say we're light on news and a podcast isn't warranted? So did Kevin. He was wrong.We powered through the emotional and ethical quandaries posed by the aborted Danny O'Brien transfer, wondered who will be in charge of gameday operations at Penn State next year, and hatched the idea of a BSD Punt, Pass and Kick commenter competition (with the obviously required legal waivers). We also discuss the ongoing tenure of the BOBsled, his quarterback choices, and much more.

Two Adams don't make a right. Black Shoe Diaries' favorite Adam (Collyer) joins me on the latest BSD podcast, which includes a guest appearance by ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. I know many of you have strong feelings about ESPN and their coverage of Penn State over the past three months, but Rittenberg is a really good guy who knows what he is talking about and we certainly appreciate him taking time out of his busy schedule to join us.Some minor technical difficulties popped up at spots, but the conversation was a good one that included Penn State's recent recruiting success, an outlook for 2012, and Adam Collyer stating that Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are equals.Some other things to look out for:2012 Big Ten predictions (Michigan State is a popular pick, and we can't really pick a Leaders Division favorite)Big Ten Heisman candidates (Collyer names Silas Redd, but only as his dark horse candidate)See if you can hear me cracking a new beer in the 23rd minute

We tried something a little different yesterday, and asked you for questions to be addressed on the podcast. Needless to say, this was a beautiful mistake and we'll be doing it again. It was so great that we had to break up the podcast into two separate files. So here's the Q&A portion, which is about 30 minutes in length. We got to a rather significant portion of them.

The podcast returns with a deluxe two-part edition. The first half is a discussion of BOB and the BOBettes, as they emerge from the massive shadow of Joe Paterno and attempt to recruit in the Age Of That Thing. We also talk about the big news of yesterday -- the mind-blowing decision by the Board of Trustees to release the "Oh, in case you didn't remember, here's why we fired Paterno and Graham Spanier" statement on the day of Jerry Sandusky's pre-trial hearing.The second half will be coming soon, and is a 30-minute session of mostly serious responses to your partially serious questions.

With 2012 National Letter of Intent Day (a/k/a Signing Day) just two days away, we assembled a crack team of Big Ten recruiting analysts to take a look at the Class of 2012, early prospects in the Class of 2013, and any Signing Day theatrics that may be coming the Big Ten's way.Joining me were Ace Anbender of mGoblog and Alex Gleitman of Eleven Warriors. Say what you will about their respective teams, it was a real pleasure to speak with these guys (though when the conversation finally got around to Urban Meyer stealing all of Penn State's doodz, I was admittedly a little miffed).

Joe Paterno will be buried today at a private funeral in State College, yet none of this seems real or final. From a personal standpoint, it began to set in when I watched this video (produced by Ben Jones) and saw a fuzzy clip of Paterno walking his children down a quiet State College street. The true hammer fell last night, after reading a tweet from a student who tried to pay her respects after the viewing had concluded, only to see Sue Paterno bending forward to kiss her husband's coffin.Thankfully, I read that after Kevin and I recorded the podcast, because "almost cried at the 17:00 mark" would have turned into "bawled like a baby, please burn the audio file now". We talk about Joe's passing, how Twitter and the news media failed us, and how Penn State finds a way to reintegrate Joe Paterno back into the football program as we move forward.Subscribe in the iTunes link, or just listen below.

Everything you wanted to know about Bill O'Brien, but were afraid to ask. Kevin and I talk about the new hire, its effect on recruiting, how it all translates to an on-field project, reasonable expectations, whether PSU intended to go cheap from the very start, and much, much more.

Nothing but non-stop sunshine, we say. The Sandusky and Curley/Schultz legal proceedings are in full swing, Penn State doesn't appear any closer to naming a new head coach, recruits are bailing, Joe Paterno is reportedly struggling with his cancer treatments, and quarterbacks are getting knocked out or cited for stealing Gatorade.As a wise man once said, "Let's have a real good something something."Kevin and I discuss the latest developments, and I exasperatingly use the phrases "I don't know" or "I don't care" a combined 183 times. Subscribe to the podcast through iTunes, or listen through the tried and true methods you love (right-click and save, or the OOH FANCY media player below).

The season comes to a horrific close, with Penn State's demoltion at the hands of Deebo Bielema, Montee Ball, and Russell Wilson. Listen as Kevin F**king Powers and I discuss the various forces conspiring against Penn State's present and future, including:The fine art of Big Ten officiatingThe uselessness of search committeesUrban Meyer's noble crusade to save college football from itself while also destroying Penn StateTruly dark, horrific possible destinations for PSU's coaching searchRuss Rose's amazing ability to multitask the coaching search and his team's NCAA tournament runThe weirdness of the "Senior Woman Administrator" job titleDan Mullen, Charlie Strong, Tony Dungy and anyone else willing and brave enough to save usThe fine line between firing coaches and administratorsThe burden of being Tom BradleyAnd much, much more. It's an hour. Much of it spent crying on each others' shoulders.

Well, if anyone can appreciate being at the bottom of the media dogpile during a scandal, it's our friends at Ohio State. Ramzy Nasrallah from Eleven Warriors joins us to talk about the Buckeyes, their dynamic offense (pretty sure Ramzy thinks the OSU offense makes PSU look like the Air Raid), and the art of being trolled by Sports By Brooks. Afterward, Kevin and I have basically had it.

It's practically impossible to keep up with the news coming out of University Park, but last night we gave it a shot. Kevin and I brought in our old friend Pat Vint from BHGP, and he added a little perspective via Iowa's bungled sexual assault case a few years ago. Also, he provided the important role of buffer, to prevent Kevin and me from just screaming agreements at each other.The real star of the show? Of course, it's Ben Jones, who is now up to approximately 38,582 followers on Twitter. I haven't actually checked the number this morning, but given the upward trend last night, I'm sure it's rather close to the actual total.

For this episode, Jeff and I talk to Jim Weber from LostLettermen.com, who updates us on what many of our former favorite Penn Staters are doing these days. Afterward, Jeff and I discuss the Illinois game, Joe Paterno's future, and the tough road still ahead of our Nittany Lions.

To celebrate the move of our Slow States project to Tumblr and to troll the everloving hell out of Iowa, Patrick from Black Heart Gold Pants rejoins us to break down Penn State vs. Iowa. Along the way, we examine the toxic train wreck at Minnesota, explain why Bret Bielema is really Deebo from "Friday", and giggle like idiots at Nebraska and Ohio State. True to Slow States form, we give out some beer and new music suggestions at the end. True to clueless and detached new parent form, I select something from an album that came out in April and get justifiably ridiculed.Music breaks include "The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism" by The New Pornographers, "October" by Broken Bells, "Summerteeth" (Wilco cover) by Pezzittino and Allan Cote (album info), "Jardin Du Luxembourg" by The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger, and "Codeine" by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.Here's a link to the Fruit Bats, as mentioned by Kevin, and here's the link to the Ryan Adams show in Denver that I mentioned. Download away, kids.

Finally, Big Ten conference games have arrived. Kevin and I take a spin around the conference and find that the Corn Division is beyond wide open, the Pig Division is Wisconsin and a bunch of dogs chasing a speeding car. We also ask the question, "Are we being too harsh on Penn State?" They're 3-1, right? We all thought this would happen, didn't we?Listen via the applet below, or right-click and download it to keep it with you forever and ever. We're working on iTunes, promise. It's quite the fortress, you know.

We look back at the near(?)-debacle against Temple and try to get to the bottom of Penn State's problems and what, if anything, can be fixed in the short-term. Do the quarterbacks matter? Can a team really get through a season with a three-page offensive playbook? Do Penn State's struggles have any effect on our preseason 8-4 predictions, given the relative awfulness of the Big Ten? And who's really in charge of this dumpster fire, anyway?Right-click and save for later, or use the applet below.

For our 2011 Penn State preview, it's your humble BSD curators Chris and Kevin breaking down the quarterback situation and the most glaring weaknesses of this year's Nittany Lions. Along the way, I compare Matt McGloin to a backup NHL goaltender who gets hot at the right time, and Kevin makes the MOST BORING PREDICTION EVER, KEVIN. We also get into which of the Big Four games are the most winnable, and yes, I actually state on multiple occasions that Penn State has a good chance against Alabama. DISCLAIMER: I was drinking.

Sometimes, it's just impossible to come to grips with a loss. So here's one final mutual counseling session between Kevin and myself, which dives so far into the Penn State playcalling structure that we reach a point where it may not actually exist as it's been described to us. We also talk about what we liked out of the Alabama game, praise Matt McGloin effusively, and try to figure out how the parents of Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin ended up sitting next to each other at Beaver Stadium. Oh, right, and we talk Temple.

Finally, the home game you've been anticipating for roughly a decade. Alabama finally comes back to Beaver Stadium for the first time since 1989, universally ranked in the top three nationally, and looking for a sweep of the home-and-home series with Penn State.To best prepare you for the Crimson Tide, we brought in kleph from Roll Bama Roll to talk about Alabama's turnovers last weekend against Kent State, the best way to attack the Tide's stellar defense, and much more.Afterward, Kevin and I talk about the Indiana State game and look forward to the main attraction in what is looking to be a soggy Happy Valley. Listen through the applet below or right-click and save on the link for later use.