We're getting a little tired of commenting on these stories, so we're gonna let two of our favorite blogs take care of this for us:

Off Wing Opinion: "You know there's no way Paterno is going to be let off easy. When I found this story on the front page of ESPN.com, the hyperlink read, "Paterno links black athletes to increased scoring." And that's a quote that doesn't even apear in the ESPN.com account of Paterno's Big Ten Conference call. When will the insanity end?"
The Mighty MJD: "Even if it could be determined that Joe Paterno is a huge racist, it's understandable. When slaves were actually being brought to America, and Joe was in his early 30s, he was forced to actually sail one of the ships to and from Africa. Difficult circumstances for the guy to overcome."

So, now that everybody's clear on this: The game of football is different with black players than it was before there were black players. Got it.

Now In The Cross Hairs, Joe Paterno [Off Wing Opinion]
Crazy Old Bastards Imitating One Another [The Mighty MJD]

Yesterday, we told you about Jason Whitlock being hammered in an ESPN chat room after his column about Charlie Weis' extension at Notre Dame. What we didn't notice until a commmenter pointed it out was Nandi from Iowa's shoutout to our hometown columnist feature. Whitlock, like he handled everything else in the chat, went along with it, and, amazingly, ESPN didn't cut it out.

So big outstretched arms for Nandi from Iowa. And Mr. Whitlock? We'll see what we can do.

Hammering Jason Whitlock [Deadspin]

Yesterday, Whitlock wrote a column for Page 2 that brought up an interesting, if seriously arguable, point: When Tyrone Willingham got off to such a great start at Notre Dame, he still struggled with his job security; when Charlie Weis did the same, they gave him a 10-year contract extension. Certainly a thesis worthy of discussion, at least. But, as always happens when anyone pulls the race card, he's being hammered for it (we've been receiving constant emails about it since he wrote it).

The chat is alternately gruesome and fascinating-in-a-snuff-film type of way. A few highlights:

• "There is no way you actually believe that garbage you wrote and feel that the facts you used actually back up your point? If the latter is true then you are a joke and should be ashamed of yourself. CLOWN!"
• "Is this just a publicity stunt on your part? It seems like no one even knew who you were until you wrote this?"
• "Is the reason you are on Page 2 and not the main page at ESPN is because Page 2 is ESPN's tabloid journalism site with which you fit in perfectly?"
• "What has less calories? a salad or 5 bags of chedder ruffles. You are a racist who should try playing uno instead of the race card all the time."

Somehow, Whitlock hangs in through all of this. We're not sure we would have handled it as well. This is why chat rooms terrify us ... even moderated ones.

Jason Whitlock Chat [ESPN]
Skin Deep [ESPN]

Brigham Young 62, Air Force 41.

We know DeBerry is under a lot of fire at his school right now — and we'd make the argument that it probably has as much to do (if not more so) with the struggles of his team than his recent "remarks" — but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt: If there's one team that has more luck than Air Force at recruiting the type of athletes DeBerry was talking about ... it's totally Brigham Young.

Brigham Young 62, Air Force 41 [Salt Lake Tribune]
Fisher DeBerry: Racist, Or Just Evil Devil Spawn? [Deadspin]

It would be far more logical to be blasting the Houston Astros and Major League Baseball for the absence of any African Americans being on the Houston roster, and so few on all the other MLB teams ... than slamming Air Force head coach Fisher Berry (sic)for literally begging for more African American players for his Air Force Team. And guess what .... DeBerry was just forced to apologize while Bud Selig does nothing.

The column goes on to say the real reason Air Force can't recruit black players is because they don't want to give up "just as good an education or better (if they want one) at other major universities begging them to attend and then go on to very attractive NFL careers rather than wanting to graduate from the Air Force Academy so they can go directly to flight school before the Bush Administration then ships them out to Iraq." It's a riveting read, agree or disagree.

Air Force And Astros Share Same Problem [Black Athlete Sports Network]

(Update: A reader corrects us: "Elston Howard played for the 1956 Yankees. He homered in the World Series. He also played in the 1955 World Series. So the last WS team not to have an African-American was the 1953 Yankees." So there you go.)

All that said ... uh ... does anyone — really, now — disagree with what he said? He was asked a question about recruiting, and he said his team doesn't have very many black players (we wonder why, hmm), and since other teams have more black players, and black players tend to be faster than white players, the other teams are faster. Sorry to ruin a good story here, but, well, is anyone out there willing to argue that, on the whole, white players are faster than black players? (Operators are standing by.) Yes, yes, every player is different, and many players — particularly black quarterbacks — have suffered from decades of instituitional bias stemming from that very fact. But come on. Who are we trying to kid here? You know?

Air Force Looking Into DeBerry Comments [Rocky Mountain News]
DeBerry Press Conference [9 News] (via The Wizard Of Odds)

In its Black Box column, the site comes up with a proposition so twisted and contorted that it barely seems written beings that are not adolescent aliens. Essentially, if we're reading this correctly, the metaphor has Pinocchio as the NCAA, NCAA president Myles Brand as Geppetto (they don't refer to the puppetmaster by name, probably because they didn't want to try and spell it) and Jiminy Cricket being played by, uh ... the site maybe? Witness:

Jiminy Cricket, known as Pinocchio's consciousness, a character of Color for sure, who in the end makes Pinocchio understand his lying ways, and Pinocchio promises to never again and they all live happily ever after.

So that wherever the NCAA nickname and mascot appears always by his side also in costume will be this dark skinned character Jiminy Cricket as the inseparable companion mascot.

And then some day
many many years from now
just maybe
NCAA's Pinocchio's nose
will stop growing
for good and
Jiminy Cricket
will get all the Credit
he deserves.
And they'll all
play ball happily
ever After.

Anybody got a clue here? Slam poetry, maybe?

Black Box [BlackAthlete.net]

Rex Chapman was always one of our favorite NBA players. The guy couldn't play defense, couldn't pass and was, sadly, too white to disguise rapid baldness with a shaved head. But he could shoot, and basketball is always more fun when people can shoot. And now, thanks to a set of recent of interviews, we learn that Chapman got to live the wannabe white boy's dream: He got to date black girls. This is news enough to us; we always thought white guys were too dorky for such endeavors. But nope: Apparently, Chapman forgot he went to school in Kentucky and claims surprise that school officials openly discouraged his interracial dating. It's difficult for us to get all worked up about the Breaking News That Is Racism In Kentucky That Took Place 20 Years Ago, but we do enjoy this quote from Chapman teammate Kenny "Sky" Walker: "Now I never had anybody specifically tell me not to date white girls, but maybe that's because a black guy and a white girl is more acceptable." Oh, yeah, in Kentucky, definitely ....

Chapman: Racial Taboos Affected Stay at UK