The Spectrum Volume 61 Issue 32

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Vol. 61 NO. 32

ubspectrum.com

Friday, November 11, 2011

Gloomy Times in Happy Valley

Cirbus coached at Penn State and UB; Joe Pa out as head coach AARON MANSFIELD Senior Sports Editor

1984-94. Cirbus participated in an email interview with The Spectrum on Thursday afternoon.

Like seemingly everyone who has ever been a part of the Penn State community, Craig Cirbus looked up to Joe Paterno – the king of college football.

“Jerry Sandusky was highly respected as a coach and as a person,” Cirbus wrote. “From the first moment I met him, his compassion for young people and youth-at-risk was profound. He was a gentleman and a caring individual.”

Cirbus can only turn his head downward now that the king has been dethroned. Penn State’s current situation can only be described as absolute debauchery. For those living under a rock, mayhem has broken out in State College. Students are rioting, national media is clamoring, everybody is talking. Former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who coached under Paterno for 32 years, was arrested on Saturday. He has been charged with sexually assaulting nine adolescent boys.

Paterno, who won an NCAA record 409 games and two national championships, is out as head coach. He learned of Sandusky’s perverted pursuits in 2002 and didn’t go to the authorities, though he did go to the school’s athletic director and vice president, who informed the president, Graham Spanier. Spanier – one of the most tenured presidents in the country – was fired on Wednesday.

In the midst of mass chaos, Buffalo has a tie to the scandal: former head football coach Craig Cirbus (1995-2000), who also coached at Penn State from

Craig Cerbus

Scouting Saint Peter’s

As for Cirbus’ take on Paterno’s exit? He was devastated.

“Next to my parents, Joe was the most influential person in my life,” Cirbus wrote. “As sad as it gets emotionally, the memories of all of his wonderful attributes and experiences far outweigh any of these negatives.” Cirbus couldn’t believe it. The man he had revered since 84, the man an entire campus looked up to for nearly five decades, saw his illustrious career come to a devastating end.

Cirbus, a UB grad, only coached at two colleges in his life: Penn State and Buffalo. He was an assistant coach at Penn State before moving on to be Buffalo’s head coach in 1995. He’s now an investment

MATTHEW PARRINO Editor in Chief The start of basketball season is the most unsettling time for a head coach. Some players have graduated and moved on, and the remaining ones are trying to figure out what their new role is and how that role meshes with the rest of the team. Even with the level of excitement surrounding the Bulls and the hopes most have for this season, head coach Reggie Witherspoon is patiently waiting to see how this year’s squad comes together.

Two Peacocks to watch: F - Darius Conley: This 6-foot-7-inch junior is a big, tough, defensive-minded post guy. It will be interesting to see how Buffalo’s nationally ranked sophomore forward, Javon McCrea, will fair against the veteran forward. Conley, who averaged 6.2 points and five rebounds per game in 2010-11, will be expected to contribute more offensively for a young St. Peter’s team that lost all of its double-digit scorers from a season ago.

“We’ve had good days and bad days [preparing for the season],” Witherspoon said. “We’re trying to kind of gather ourselves to a point where guys can establish a pattern of pretty high play. But it’s hard to do that early on.”

G - Brandon Hall: Hall is the captain and one of two seniors on his team. He played in 29 games for the Peacocks last year, starting only four of those. He will definitely be someone to watch, as he leads the team in his first campaign as a starter. He has posted impressive numbers throughout his career, leading St. Peter’s in assists his freshman year and being runner-up in both his sophomore and junior seasons.

The season opener will be the first time fans see the Bulls without graduated guard Byron Mulkey. The question surrounding the team all offseason was whether or not sophomore guard Jarod Oldham is ready for the challenge of replacing the savvy leader.

The Bulls win if... they get solid play from their newly appointed floor general, sophomore guard Jarod Oldham. Conley and Hall only played for a combined 21 minutes the last time these two teams met and neither player scored. Buffalo’s frontcourt will have to be aggressive under the basket and attack the Peacocks.

The most important thing for Witherspoon is not who starts the game, but that there is a sustained effort from everyone who gets a

Buffalo owns the series, the game is at Alumni Arena, and this Bulls team has as much promise as any in the past. I expect McCrea to immediately try to prove to the nation that he deserves the recognition he has received lately. However, do not underestimate the Peacocks, and expect a high score. Buffalo-80 St. Peter’s-78 Aaron Mansfield Senior Sports Editor St. Peter’s was great last year, as the Peacocks made the NCAA tournament and shocked quite a few folks. But that team was nothing like this year’s team. The Bulls were 13-3 at home last year and they always play their best at home. St. Peter’s is inexperienced, the Bulls are deep and loaded, and Buffalo is going to win. Buffalo-82 St. Peter’s-64

People knew Joe Pa’s day would soon come, but nobody could have predicted it would end in this fashion. The elderly coach insisted he would retire when he was ready. He was wrong. A packed news confer-

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Bulls Will Search for Identity in Opener

Last meeting: Buffalo 77 - St. Peter’s 75 (Feb. 20, 2010 at Yanitelli Center). Buffalo won on a buzzer-beater by Sean Smiley.

Andreius Coleman Asst. Sports Editor

“I understand the course of action that the Board of Trustees took,” Cirbus wrote. “They are the highest ranking committee on campus and they believed it was in the university’s best interest to make the moves they did.”

Joe Paterno

Courtesy of Paul Hokanson

All-time series: Buffalo leads 2-0

Prediction:

Paterno epitomizes the term “icon.” He is an 84-year-old legend who coached Penn State for nearly 46 years – only “nearly” because he was fired on the phone on Wednesday night, three games short of completing his 46th year. He received the message from the school’s Board of Trustees.

The 23-page police report of Sandusky’s arrest is sickening, mortifying, everything of the sort. Its contents are for mature eyes only. But Cirbus’ eyes were on Jerry Sandusky for 10 years. Not once did he bat an eye. Not once did he suspect foul play.

2010-11 record: 20-14 (11-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)

The Peacocks win if... they are totally unfazed by the scoring void their current players will be forced to fill. With Buffalo returning two double-digit scorers in senior guard Zach Filzen and McCrea, St. Peter’s will have to devise a way to closely guard the paint and the perimeter. Also, with the defensive dominance of senior forward Mitchell Watt down low for the Bulls, the Peacocks’ best bet is exploiting Buffalo’s youth in the backcourt.

advisor, still living in Buffalo.

The Bulls’ first chance to demonstrate the fruits of their offseason labors comes Friday night when they host the reigning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champions, St. Peter’s.

Witherspoon didn’t say what his starting lineup will be, but fans can expect to see a similar lineup to last year, with Oldham in at the point.

Forward Darius Conley (42) and Saint Peter’s are looking to spoil the Bulls’ home opener. Courtesy of SR Smith Sports Photography

Recycled Warfare

James Twigg Senior Managing Editor

“We need to have some firepower and leadership off the bench,” Witherspoon said. “That’s more important to us than who starts because I don’t think the other team is going to go away no matter how good or bad we start the game.” The Peacocks earned an NCAA tournament bid last season, but lost their top five scorers. Those five players were responsible for 78 percent of the team’s scoring and 67 percent of minutes played. St. Peter’s returns one starter in junior forward Darius Conley who was named to the third team of the preseason All-MAAC team. The Virginia native averaged 6.2 points per game and five rebounds per game last season. For the Bulls, look for senior guard Zach Filzen to get things going early on in his final season. The three-point dynamo loves playing at home and thrives off of the home crowd. Filzen is coming off a historic season. He drained 110 3-pointers in 2010-11 becoming only the fifth player in MAC history to make more than 100 in a season. He also broke the school record (94) set by Mike Martinho back in 1996. Witherspoon is looking to players like Filzen to help fill the leadership void left by Mulkey and graduated forward Jawaan Alston. “There will have to be a number of guys [that step up into leadership roles],” Witherspoon said. “Tony [Watson], Dave [Barnett], and Titus [Robinson] are captains, but we have five upper-classmen and we need all those guys to collectively raise their level of leadership.”

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Judy Shepard’s Story Motivates UB Students to Tell Their Own

Distinguished Speaker addresses LGBT issues

Grade: B+

LISA KHOURY Asst. News Editor

The long-awaited third installment to the Modern Warfare series has arrived, and fans of the past two will almost undoubtedly take a great amount of solace in the final product. Unfortunately, this is mostly because the game plays more like Modern Warfare 2 2.0 than a new entry to the series.

At 5 a.m. on Thursday Oct. 8, 1998, Judy Shepard woke up from a phone call. Her son, 21-year-old gay college student Matthew Shepard, had been brutally beaten, tied to a fence, and left for dead in Laramie, Wyo. He was killed because he was gay.

This doesn’t necessarily make it a bad game; it’s just not a new one. From the graphics engine to the gameplay, nothing about this title screams innovation. Many fans of Gamers step into the shoes of troops yet again in Modern Warfare 3. the game will likely revert to the “if it’s not broke” argument, but it would’ve been better to see Infinity even more abundant. Whether it’s Obviously, though, the series isn’t Ward take some chances with the chasing a subway train on trucks exactly known for it’s ‘riveting’ game’s mechanics instead of falling under the streets of England or campaign. It’s common knowledge back on the formulaic ways of Modern storming a Russian sub in the NYC that it’s been the multiplayer that Warfare 1 and 2. bay, the game knows how to keep the has captured the interests of gamers pace rolling and players interested. across the world for years now. The campaign runs about on par with the rest of the series. The narAt this point it may seem like Modern This time around, players get esrative is clichéd and a bit confusing Warfare 3’s campaign is similar to a sentially more of the same, but with at times, but it never becomes boring Michael Bay film, with coherent and a few extra bells and whistles tossed to the point where you’ll want to skip intriguing plot taking a back seat on for good measure. It’s not the out on the experience altogether. to explosions and intense firefights. most adventurous or daring move Plowing through the never-ending Well, that’s because that’s exactly to make, but it does allow them enemies and dull dialogue is well what it is. But don’t let that deter to retain the frenetic fun factor worth it in the end, though, as the you from giving it a chance. The for which the game has become so game does manage to round out the series doesn’t pretend to be anything synonymous. story arc in a manner befitting of the more than what it is and instead series. chooses to embrace the over-the-top Take that how you will, but no one action-packed ridiculousness which can argue that Infinity Ward doesn’t Even if you don’t care about the ultimately produces an exciting play know how to keep players coming story, the campaign still warrants at through, even if it’s not the most back time after time, match after least one play through. The epic set thought provoking. match. As long as you play for more pieces that have come to define the than 10 minutes at a time, you’re series are as exciting as ever –and

Weather for the Weekend: Friday: Rain/Snow Showers- H: 42, L: 38 Saturday: Partly Cloudy/Wind- H: 51, L: 46 Sunday: Cloudy- H: 54, L: 50

chance to play.

After Matthew’s death, Shepard turned the tragedy into a crusade for justice. She and her husband, Dennis, established the Matthew Shepard Foundation to honor their son and to urge an end to anti-gay violence and promote a greater understanding of gay issues. The purpose is not only to prevent Matthew’s fate from befalling others, but also to raise awareness that will prevent society from engendering more “Russel Hendersons” and “Aaron McKinneys” – the names of Matthew’s murderers. On Wednesday night in Alumni Arena, Judy Shepard spoke to what she called the largest crowd she had ever addressed as part of UB’s Distinguished Speakers Series. Judy blames Matthew’s killers for his death, but she said she blames society even more for creating the environment to make them think it was OK to do that to Matthew. Society has become SIC (pronounced “sick”), according to Judy: silent, indifferent, and complacent.

Continued at ubspectrum.com

I N S I D E Continued on Page 2

Opinion * 3 Arts & Life * 4,5 Classifieds / Daily Delights * 7 Sports * 8


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