Joe Paterno got run over at practice yesterday. Luckily for him, the guy who ran him over was Devon Smith. Devon's the fastest guy on the team but he's also probably the smallest at 5'7'' and 155 pounds. That's hardly much bigger than me.
According to the stories I've read, JoePa either broke his arm or his pelvis. This is starting to become a recurring problem. Back in 2006 or so, he got blindsided by God's Gift (that would be Andrew Quarless to the uninitiated) after a completion along the sideline during the Wisconsin game and broke his leg. Then, a few years later, JoePa hurt his hip trying to demonstrate an onside's kick. Now, he's been run over again.
I love Joe Paterno but the man is old, slow, and brittle. That makes standing on the field during practice and on the sideline during games a risky undertaking for him. He just needs to stay in one piece for a little while longer. He owes it to his biggest fan -- Nick. If Nick makes it to Penn State, sleeps in Paternoville, finally gets his seat in the student section, and then doesn't have JoePa on the sideline for at least one season, I think he'll have a hissy-fit. The real JoePa just has to be there for Nick. God knows we can't send him off to school with his life-size Joe Paterno cut-out (yes, he has one). That's got to stay in Nick's room here at the house for me to enjoy.