One of the greatest things about the New York Yankees is their rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. While this has had an ebb and flow to it – some years are better/worse than others – the disdain that the teams’ fans feel toward each other is timeless. Until this year, perhaps.

On Sunday morning Boston sat 15 games out of first place behind the Yankees. The only team the Red Sox are battling right now are the Blue Jays, for who ends up in the basement of the AL East. Boston has traded practically all the players Bombers’ fans love to hate, leaving them with a bit of a void. That last blockbuster deal with LA was the final straw.

Baltimore – that’s right BALTIMORE – is making a run at first and the Rays are still hanging in. It’s been a long time since a Yankees fan has hated the Orioles for being good. Think like Earl Weaver and Jim Palmer long time.

From the Sox faithful all that they can come up with is, “As long as the Yankees don’t win the World Series, I’m ok.” But are they really?

It’s a very troubling time for Red Sox and Yankees fans. Without your rivals around, how much fun is it to win?

Penn State took the field shortly before noon on Saturday to thunderous applause in their season opener at Beaver Stadium vs. Ohio. To say it was emotional is an understatement; close to 100 thousand fans came out to show they care – care about this team, their university and all those caught in the disaster that is Jerry Sandusky and his horrible acts.

Saturday was about playing football (finally) after NCAA sanctions, Board of Trustees pronouncements and all sorts of sanctimonious nonsense. Unfortunately for Penn State, all of those things seemed to take their toll on the collective psyche of the team and once the adrenaline burned off, the second half showed all the rough spots. Despite leading 14-3 at the half, the Nittany Lions fell 24-14. Their once heralded defense deflated, allowing 499 offensive yards, albeit against an Ohio team that is clearly on the rise.

Linebacker Michael Mauti yelled an screamed on the sidelines, literally till he was red in the face, but the exhaustion of his teammates was evident. This team has lost a head coach – to firing amidst a scandal, and his eventually passing – teammates who transferred when the NCAA ruling came down, and were probably the most scrutinized group of young men in the country for the past several months. They are emotionally drained.

Bill O’Brien earned a small victory in getting his team ready to play and getting them out on the field. The ones that go in the record books will take a lot more work of a different kind.

The NCAA weighed in to provide a punishment for Penn State’s cover up of Jerry Sandusky’s abusing children. In the end $60 million, plus $13 million, plus 10 scholarships a year for four years, and no post-season games during that time means very little. For one, the four men at the heart of this crime are gone from Penn State and one of them is gone from this earth.

All of Joe Paterno’s wins from 1998 on were vacated. Big deal. He’s dead. His family is still trying to defend his legacy, whatever is left of it, but do you think this matters to anyone? Bobby Bowden, maybe?

The powers that be at the NCAA realize this, too. They gave any current player the option of transferring without having to sit out the usual year. I don’t think m/any of them will take it, and I think that will surprise a lot of people. The NCAA wouldn’t be so bold (nor stupid) as to give the program the death penalty, for which a lot of people were clamoring. If you read the “repeat offender” rule, it’s clear that Penn State did not qualify, so better to go with something that will stick than screw this up even further.

The money that’s being redistributed to charities – hopefully that will help somehow.

The absence from bowl games actually hurts the bowls themselves. Penn State fans go to bowl games. They travel and they spend money – more than virtually any other schools’ supporters do. I’m sure the likes of the Outback Bowl and cities like Tampa will miss that.

As for PSU fans – they’re not going anywhere. They most likely will have a lot to say to the trustees, but they weren’t supporting the team because of Joe Paterno. In fact, some were doing so in spite of him. They were supporting the team because it represented Penn State. It will be up to Bill O’Brien, and the current players, to show their mettle. It will be up to them to demonstrate what “Success with Honor” really means.

Today was a tough day to be a Penn State fan. A more difficult day still for those of us who grew up with Joe Paterno as one of our heroes.

The man himself died months ago, but now it seems Joe Paterno’s legacy is dissolving before our very eyes. “Success with honor” and the “grand experiment” were his buzz words, long before anyone buzzed or tweeted about anything. He wanted his football players to achieve on the field and in the classroom. He wanted Penn State to rise from its sleepy-town roots, smack in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania, to national and international acclaim. To that end, Joe Paterno got his wish, but at what cost?

The Freeh Report, released today, contained troubling details about who knew what when, and the utter impotence of men in power, the highest seats of power, to stop a pedophile from harming more kids. The one fact I found the most difficult to take was this – in 1998 Joe Paterno knew that Jerry Sandusky was being investigated for sexually assaulting a child. While nothing came of those charges – the DA literally vanished – how could Paterno possibly have rationalized Sandusky’s behavior in 2001 when graduate assistant Mike McQueary came to him with an eyewitness account of what he saw in the showers of the Lasch Building? In short, he couldn’t have.

We all need heroes, and I have to say, before the events around Jerry Sandusky came to light, I did pretty well at choosing mine. I managed to make it 30+ years with my core group pretty much unblemished, until now.

I do remember a time when I worked at Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant doing PR and random intern tasks. One of those duties included answering “Mickey Mail.” Basically that entailed sending a pre-printed postcard to people who wrote to Mantle. Grown men would write long missives about how Mickey was their hero and how they wanted their kids to “grow up to be just like him.” This was right around the time when news of Mantle’s alcoholism was just coming to light, along with his infidelity and his need for a new liver. Even back then I just shook my head.

I always had a pretty good grip on the fact that it’s ok to want to play like a certain athlete or compete like one, but leave the life lessons to the  people you can count on – like your parents. If kids want to play basketball like Michael Jordan, fantastic, but don’t look to him to set the tone for charitable giving. Same thing with a lot of political leaders. They can run a country but they can’t keep their pants on. They’re ok by me to be president, but I wouldn’t want them to be my husband or father.

The tough part is, I always thought that it was ok to think of JoePa as the whole package – a great coach, who won lots of games, who graduated players, who was not afraid to lay down the law, but also a philanthropist (for donating millions to PSU), and just a good guy. I really didn’t have to do any separating. I  could appreciate all of his career and legacy. Until today. Paterno is gone and so is the mystique. He’s not here to face the consequences of his (in)actions, nor (try) to defend himself.

The true “heroes” in this story are the victims who came forward, marshaling Hurculean strength to tell their stories publicly, accounts of how a demi-god in State College took their innocence and a part of them while no one in power did anything to stop him. The other people who give me faith in humanity in all of this are the jurors from the trial. The people of Bellefonte were not going to let Sandusky get past them, and thankfully so.

It’s the real heroes who stick up for the little guy, for the ones who need it most. They do what’s right, not what’s convenient or expedient. Real heroes tell the truth, even when it’s difficult. So instead of telling kids to be “just like” someone when they grow up, tell them to be better – tell them to be a hero.

It’s hard to believe it, but the Yankees are just half a game out of first in the AL East. After beating Tampa, courtesy of another strong performance by Ivan Nova, the Bombers find themselves trailing only the Orioles. That’s right – Baltimore.

The Rays are hanging in as a close third, and the Jays are just 2.5 games behind the leaders. Boston is in last – four games back.

How did this all happen? Nova and CC are 6-2 and 7-2 respectively, and the comeback of Andy Pettitte continues to amaze. The unretired lefty is 3-2 in five starts with a tiny 2.78 ERA to lead all starters. Granted Pettitte has half as many starts (five) as the rest of the rotation, but I expect his performance to improve as the season goes on, just like a fine wine.

The bullpen has performed admirably too, converting all but one of 10 save opportunities since Mo went down.

Offensively, things have not been stellar. Only Jeter has been consistently batting well over .300 and hitting the cover off the ball. Granderson has belted 17 homers, but New York is still stranding too many runners in scoring position – 15.81 per game to be exact! Good (or bad) enough for worst in the majors. They’re only slight worse in runners left in scoring position (3.91 per game) at 26th overall.

The offense has picked up recently and Brett Gardner, who has been on the DL since April, is expected back for this weekend’s Subway Series.

If the Yankees can build in some consistency at the plate and the pitching stays solid, they will do ok, even in the toughest division in baseball.

First off, apologies for being on hiatus but it’s not like we missed much – the Yankees are a second-to last place team (thank you, Red Sox!). Seriously, though…without further ado, uninterrupted coverage of the 2012 season commences NOW!

Mo tore his ACL shagging flyballs during BP in Kansas City. Let’s face it folks, that’s probably the only way the Royals could have taken him out, because it certainly wouldn’t be while he was on the mound. Terrible news, but even worse/better the knee injury led doctors to discover a blood clot in his calf, so maybe, just maybe, this injury actually saved Rivera’s life. He’s out for the season (a huge loss to the Yankees) but his desire is to come back next season, so we can only hope.

David Robertson’s accession to the role of closer got expedited. Robertson has been AWESOME but did finally blow a save against those same Royals – his first stumble of the season. Still, Yankees fans have wisely not panicked. You’re talking about a guy who posted a 1.08 ERA last season in 70 games. However, the Bombers faithful should prepare themselves for a few rollercoaster rides. Robertson’s nickname is Houdini, because he seems to get out of all sorts of jams. Watching him will not be like watching the sure thing that was Mariano Rivera. Take last season for example – Rivera posted a 1.61 ERA in 61.1 innings. He walked eight batters (two intentionally) and struck out 60 while producing a WHIP of .90. Robertson threw 66.2 innings, allowing 35 walks (six intentional) and fanned 100 . Robertson’s WHIP of 1.13 means he allows baserunners – more than one per inning – but he also strikes out more batters than Mo. In sum, stock up on antacid, but it will be ok.

The good news in the pitching department is that Andy Pettitte will make his season debut on Sunday in a start against the Mariners. Pettitte misretired after the 2010 season in which he posted an 11-3 record for the Yankees in 21 starts. He sat out last year, but decided to make another go of it. Even if he only wins a few regular season games for them, it’s a good add for the staff. First off, he’s a lefty. That alone is major points, but also, he has excellent experience, loves to teach young pitchers, and there’s no one, NO ONE I’d rather see start in a Game 2 of the post-season. This should be a good thing.

Never mind teaching an old dog new tricks. Derek Jeter is up to his old ones. The soon to be 38-year-old Yankees shortstop is leading the Bombers regulars in hits (17), batting average (.378) and slugging percentage (.667). He’s tied for the most doubles (four) and homers (three). So the news of his demise might have been greatly exaggerated.

Last season he hit 24 doubles and six home runs all year. He also appeared in the fewest games (131) in his career. After a disappointing 2010 in which he batted a career-low .270, there were grumbles that Jeter was on the decline.

What’s different this year? Jeter seems to be injury free and worked hard over the off-season to show that his career is not yet over.

Jeter’s batting leadoff in front of Swisher and Granderson. While both of them are only batting .225, they have a combined 18 hits, four doubles, five homers and 17 RBI between them. After them come Cano and Rodriguez.

After an 0-3 start, the Yankees are at .500 heading into their second game with the Twins. Things seem to be humming along, which is good news for Jeter and the Yankees.

After a fairly atrocious start in which the Yankees were swept by the Rays in a three-game set in Tampa, they rebounded by returning the favor to Buck Showalter’s Orioles. With an even .500 record, New York returns to the Bronx for the 2012 home opener on Friday.

The usual pomp and circumstance  will be on tap, and Jorge Posada will have the honor of throwing out the first pitch. Hiroki Kuroda takes the mound for the Bombers against the Angels’ Ervin Santana.

Albert Pujols will make his first visit to the new Yankee Stadium which should draw some attention. He played in the old stadium in 2003 and during the All-Star Game in 2008.

Overall the Yankees have righted the ship. They have had some excellent offensive production out of their lineup – Jeter leads the team with 10 hits and both Swisher and newcomer Raul Ibanez have 6 RBI. Ibanez has fit right in and shown himself to be a great addition. The problem has come with their AL-leading 55 runners left on base. That’s 11 more than the second-place LOB teams, Boston and Oakland. Timely hitting will need to happen if they want to lead the league.

New York’s staff ERA of 4.07 is nothing to write home about. They rank in the bottom third of the AL currently. If that doesn’t improve they will face a lot of problems, but for now, they’re getting by.

Ivan Nova has had the best start of the season, beating Baltimore and allowing just two runs over seven innings. He gave up 10 hits, but didn’t walk anyone and struck out 10. That was good enough for the win.

Mo blew game in a loss to Tampa, but has two saves to his credit. He should be ok in what will probably be his last season.

No one really panicked at the rough start – not Joe Girardi at least. The Yankees have 156 more games to prove themselves and when the dust settles, they should be atop the AL East.

And we’re back, after a relatively uneventful off-season (in Yankees’ terms). And what happened on Opening Day? The Yankees LOST?! to Tampa with Mo on the mound. How improbable? Not really.

The Bombers are old – relatively speaking of course. According to ESPN, the Yankees are the grampies of baseball, averaging out at 31.1 years for their roster. They are followed, interestingly enough, by the Phillies and Angels (30.5 and 30.4, respectively). So what does this mean, other than in baseball 30 is the old 30? It will take them a while to get going.

Mo is 42. This is pretty much his last season. He sees that he’s lost just a touch, and really, that’s ok. I would take Rivera minus a touch over any other closer in the league. He won’t be perfect, though.

As for the rest of the lineup, it’s pretty much the same with the exception of Raul Ibanez who was added over the winter and who had 4 RBI in his Bombers debut yesterday, including a three-run dinger.

The Yankees picked up Kuroda who starts Game 2 of the season and Miguel/Michael Pineda who landed on the 15-day DL after an atrocious spring training outing against the Phillies on March 30.

Will they be ok? Yes, I think so. They lost to Tampa – a very good team at home. They will recover. Don’t panic. And as Mo said, “Thank God it was only one game.” Indeed, Mariano.

As a girl growing up in North East Pennsylvania, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know who Joe Paterno was. He was like a member of the family, one of my childhood heroes and the person I cited when people spouted about college sports being corrupt and coaches being evil exploiters of athletes. He was JoePa.

He lived in a house with Sue and his kids on campus. You could walk by on game day and never know by looking that’s where the winningest college football coach in history lived, but everyone did know. I can’t help but have visions of Nick Saban and his brethren  in gated communities with armed guards. Not JoePa. He was even (and still is) in the phone book! How many other major college coaches are listed? I’d guess none.

This past week I have been incredibly sad – Sad to mourn his passing and downright distraught at the circumstances around the end of his coaching career and life. It’s upsetting to see the venom from those who never knew him or knew of him until this scandal broke; to see him vilified as practically the co-conspirator of a monster like Jerry Sandusky, who preyed upon children. I’m not saying that I disagree with those who say in his position of power he was morally obligated to do more – he was, and he admitted that – but I do object to dismissing an entire life of accomplishment for one sin of inaction. He never once to my knowledge defended Sandusky or asked for anyone’s sympathy. As far as I can recall, he asked for people to pray for and help the victims. To those who say he shouldn’t be mourned or remembered, I say too bad.

Joe Paterno wasn’t the greatest offensive strategist, but he won games. He was a most annoying fan of “run it up the middle” on first/second/third and goal. I’m sure it took him a few decades to embrace the fact that it was legal to throw the ball more than a few yards down field. The Penn State defenses, however, were the team’s bread and butter. Penalties? Forget about it. Joe’s blood pressure would escalate with every flag. (“Yoy, look at how angry he is!” my grandmother would say.) His greatest skill was in preparing his teams as the consummate underdogs. Always respect your opponent. No names on the jerseys. No playing if you didn’t keep your grades up – no exceptions. And if you happened to be a star player who screwed up the week before the bowl game (there were a few during his tenure) you stayed home.

There are two memories of JoePa that stick with me still – The 1987 Fiesta Bowl and the 2006 Orange Bowl – because they showed how different he was from the rest of his peers.

Miami and PSU finished the ’86 season with 11-0 records and were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. The Hurricanes featured superstars like Heisman Trophy winner QB Vinny Testaverde, and Michael Irvin, and were coached by Jimmy Johnson, who never met a can of hairspray he couldn’t empty. Johnson’s slick style stood in sharp contrast to Paterno’s trademark Coke bottle glasses and white socks with black shoes. Miami showed up at the pre-game dinner dressed in fatigues and stormed out declaring, “The Japanese didn’t eat with the Americans before they bombed Pearl Harbor.”

The Nittany Lions, wearing jackets and ties, remained and ate as one of them aptly pointed out, “But the Americans won the war.” PSU certainly did. They beat the classless Hurricanes 14-10, intercepting Testaverde five times and forcing two more turnovers in earning JoePa the second of his two National Championships.

In 2006, Paterno and PSU faced Bobby Bowden’s FSU Seminoles as the two were vying for the career wins record. The game was exhausting.  Kicker Kevin Kelly was a freshman at the time. He missed two field goal attempts of 29 and 38 yards, both of which could have won the game. After the second boot, Paterno was the first person to meet him on the sidelines. The coach could have ripped him a new one, but JoePa didn’t. He put his arm around him and let him know he still believed in him. It was a good thing, because in the third overtime, Kelly kicked the game-winner.  Kelly would go on to become PSU’s all-time leading scorer as a junior. Joe knew what he was doing.

As if Joe wasn’t enough of a role model on the field, he was a true philanthropist. JoePa and SuePa contributed to the Penn State All-Sports Museum, the spiritual center and helped to raise millions to expand the Pattee Library — with the university naming the addition in their honor. Joe and Sue also launched the Paterno Fellows Program—to support students who agree to excel in the liberal arts. Not your usual college football coach involvement with the academic programs of a university for sure. Joe may have come from Brooklyn but State College was his home. His heart belonged to the Nittany Lions.

As one of his former players said at his memorial service, Joe wasn’t about perfection because he knew it didn’t exist. He was about excellence and the never-ending pursuit of it.

One of my favorite quotes of his is this: “What you are today isn’t what you’re going to be tomorrow, all right? What you’re going to be tomorrow is what you make happen tomorrow.”

Basically, every day in life is an opportunity to strive. You will make mistakes, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying and trying again. I am sad that JoePa will have no more tomorrows, but those of us he influenced can take what he taught us into ours, and that is the most fitting tribute to him of all.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that in lieu of flowers or gifts, the family requests that donations be made to the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania http://www.specialolympicspa.org/support/ways-to-give or the Penn State-THON (The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon) to fight pediatric cancers: https://secure.imodules.com/s/1218/thon/thon.aspx?sid=1218&gid=1&pgid=671&cid=2344.