Redefining History

ESPN:

By vacating 112 Penn State victories from 1998-2011, the sanctions cost Paterno 111 wins. Penn State finished last season 1-3 with Tom Bradley as coach after Paterno was fired in November, days after Sandusky was charged.
Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden will now hold the top spot in the NCAA record book with 377 major-college wins. Paterno will be credited with 298 wins. Vacated wins are not the same as forfeits -- they don't count as losses or wins for either school.
"I didn't want it to happen like this," Bowden told The Associated Press. "Wish I could have earned it, but that's the way it is."
The late Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson has the overall NCAA Division I record with 408 wins.
The Paterno family released a statement Monday afternoon.

"The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best," the statement said. "That the president, the athletic director and the board of trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities."

The Paterno family probably ought to just avoid talking to the media for a while.  They probably ought to think a little bit before accusing anybody of abdicating their responsibilities.  As for the sanctions, I get a kick out of the vacating 112 wins over 14 seasons and rewriting the record book.  I forget how many wins were vacated at Ohio State, but I don't really understand the point.  Does anybody think that a close examination of Bobby Bowden's career wouldn't find a number of violations which could result in the vacating of wins?  Whenever it is proven that Auburn paid Cam Newton, does that mean there wasn't a national champion in 2010-2011.  Same thing with UK basketball this year.  What will John Calipari's career record be?  The NCAA has passed the point of ridiculousness with that stuff.  We can safely assume that all major college programs have violations which could result in the vacation of wins.  It reminds me of Stalin's Soviet Union eliminating Leon Trotsky from the history books.