UNIVERSITY PARK – Prior to the start of Joe Paterno’s memorial service Thursday at the Bryce Jordan Center, several Penn State football greats greeted each other and chatted.

There stood Franco Harris, Bruce Clark, Brandon Short and Michael Robinson, generations of athletes representing Joe Paterno’s 61-year career at Penn State and the embodiment of his legacy, The Grand Experiment.

They spotted Jay Paterno, Joe’s son and his quarterback coach, and called him into the group.

Then they asked Franco’s wife, Dana, to snap a picture as they mimicked the coach’s famous pre-game sprint onto the football field, fingers in the air, smiles on their faces, a pose much like that depicted in a statue on the east end of Beaver Stadium where so many have mourned Paterno’s death this week.

As the group broke up, however, it was obvious that the former stars weren’t there to talk only football, wins and losses, or great games. They wanted instead to discuss the Joe Paterno off the sports pages.

“He was different. School was first. Books were first. You’ve got to respect that,” Robinson said.

He called Thursday a sad day but it was also a day of celebration.

“We need to celebrate with this man,” said Robinson, who quarterbacked Paterno’s 2005 Orange Bowl team.

When Robinson addressed the more than 16,000 Penn Staters and supporters who attended the memorial, he said that Paterno never lied to him.

He didn’t entice him to Penn State with cars, or money, but offered only the promise of a chance to be a quarterback.

Paterno didn’t lie again, he said when he predicted Robinson would some day be a Pro Bowl running back in the NFL. He said, to the applause of the audience, that he will participate in the Pro Bowl on Sunday in Hawaii.

But as for Thursday, Robinson said, “I wouldn’t want to be any place in the world than here right now.”

Clark, a defensive lineman from two decades ago, said emphatically, “He made me the man I am today.”

Clark remembered Paterno recruiting him in his western Pennsylvania home and giving him a chance to go to college, among the first in his family to gain an education.

Jimmy Cefalo added to Clark’s discussion about how Paterno would recruit.

“He recruited the mothers. He spoke their language,” Cefalo said.

Cefalo, a star with the Miami Dolphins and now a businessman and radio newscaster, at age 17 was entering his Pittston home to tell his family the good news, that he had decided to accept a scholarship at a school other than Penn State.

Cefalo said he entered the kitchen and was about to say, “‘I’ve decided to go to …’

“[But] there sat Joe Paterno,” he said.

Cefalo’s mother was pouring sauce over the coach’s pasta and his dad was pouring the coach a glass of wine. The audience roared when he added that the coach wasn’t paying a bit of attention to him.

Cefalo tried to explain Paterno’s legacy.

“He took the sons of coal miners. He took the sons of steel-mill workers and of farmers in rural Pennsylvania with the idea we would work together and we would do it the right way, the Paterno Way,” he said.

Paterno’s players have successes in their professions and successful fathers and husbands.

“We did it in large measure because of Joe’s example,” Cefalo said.

He remembered Paterno talking about “hustle and something good will happen,” but he wasn’t talking about football.

“He was talking about life. … The world is a whole lot better for having known him,” Cefalo said.

The memorial began with Paterno’s wife, Sue, “the opera in my heart,” as Paterno liked to say, leading the family onto the floor of the Jordan Center to a standing ovation.

She was followed by their children, Mary Kay, Scott, Jay, Diana and David, and 17 grandchildren.

Kenny Jackson, the former Penn State end and Philadelphia Eagles player, introduced Sue Paterno as the other half of The Grand Experiment.

He remember Sue Paterno telling his mother several things about Joe Paterno’s football program: “Kenny will go to class. … He will get a quality education and he will go to church.”

“I thank you, Sue. You never let me down,” Jackson said.

Todd Blackledge, the quarterback on Paterno’s first championship team and nationally known sports analyst, said Paterno taught him “Success is never final, and failure is never fatal.”

Charlie Pittman was among Paterno’s first black recruits and a member of two undefeated teams, in addition to being an academic All-American.

Pittman remembered the coach pushing him so hard he was in tears, but he finally realized that Paterno wasn’t attempting to build perfection, which doesn’t exist, but was striving bit-by-bit to teach him to strive for excellence.

The essence of Joe Paterno was also described by a player who never made the pros.

Attorney Christian P. Marrone was told by Paterno he could no longer play football because of a serious knee injury.

Down and in the dumps, Marrone was thinking of leaving Penn State, but Paterno guided him, worked to get him into law school and continued to mentor him. Marrone recently was assistant secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs under Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Marrone joked that when he finally registered as a Republican, Paterno scolded him for “taking too long.”

In his last days, Paterno told Marrone, “Chris, you’ll do just fine.”

With his voice breaking, Marrone said that Paterno told him that he was proud of him.

It was Jay Paterno who put the final touch on the nearly three-hour memorial with an impassioned talk about what his father meant to him, and to the millions of others, those in sports, in academics, people from around the world.

The Grand Experiment “was a ripple that ran like a tsunami across the world,” he said.

He talked of his parents’ philanthropy in helping with Penn State’s building program, his dad’s compassion and his role as a father, grandfather and mentor to so many young people.

He remembered flying a kite at Cape Cod and swimming in the ocean at the Jersey Shore with his father.

Each step along the way, Jay Paterno said he learned many lessons.

He told of his last words to his father and his promise that his legacy would continue.

Jay Paterno quoted his father, who said at the end of each game, “You’re never as good as you think you are when you win. You are never as bad as you think you are when you lose.”

Then the audience stood to participate in a Joe Paterno locker room tradition.

More than 16,000 held the hand of the person next to them and recited the Lord’s Prayer.

“Our Father … Give us this day… Forgive us our trespasses … The key is understanding the prayer does not speak of “I” but speaks in the plural.

“There was never an ‘I’ about him. It was always ‘We and us,’” Jay Paterno said.

Afterward, Fran Fisher, who broadcast most of Paterno’s games for decades and was a friend of Paterno’s, said the memorial was “powerful, powerful.”

Women’s field hockey coach Charlene M. Morett, who said she came to Penn State because of Paterno, described the theme of the memorial as “loving.”

“That’s what you feel for him and his family,” she said.

Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is 946-7468.

Joe Paterno

Gene Puskar/AP

Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State football coach who won more Division I NCAA football games than any other coach, died Saturday night, reports CBS Sports. He was 85.

Paterno, a.k.a Joe Pa and known for his “success with honor” motto, thick glasses, rolled-up pants and black cleats, had been diagnosed with lung cancer, it was announced on Nov. 18. On Saturday, as friends and family were being summoned to State College Hospital, a family spokesman said the coach had taken a turn for the worse and asked for privacy for his family.

Paterno is survived by wife Sue Paterno, children Diana, Joseph Jr. “Jay”, Mary Kay, David and Scott, and 17 grandchidlren.

A Brooklyn native and Brown University graduate, Paterno began coaching the Nittany Lions in 1966 and his tenure stretched to October, 2011, when he won his 409th game.

In his 46 years as head coach, Paterno holds the all-time Division I record for football coaching wins with a 409-136-3 record, and he won two national championships while going undefeated in five different seasons.

After a highly celebrated career and iconic status on the Penn State campus, Paterno’s career as head coach ended as a result of a scandal involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky, who allegedly sexually assaulted young boys, including a 10-year-old in the locker-room shower.

Although Paterno was not accused of any wrongdoing in the scandal, he was criticized for failing to report what he heard to police. In announcing his retirement, he said, ?This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”

“I’m sick about it,” he told The Washington Post on Jan. 14. “I didn?t know exactly how to handle it, and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was. So I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn?t work out that way.”

Success with Honor
Though the scandal landed Paterno in the headlines in his final days, the coach enjoyed decades of success and reverence on the campus he and his wife helped build. It was their donations that funded the school’s Paterno Library).

“Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good,” Paterno said.

Even in the aftermath of the scandal, the downtown College Avenue was peppered with Joe Paterno merchandise, and even bar bathrooms were scrawled with support for the longtime coach.

“It feels like a member of the family has died,” Leslie Vink, a 2003 graduate and former Penn State gymnast tells PEOPLE. She was on campus Saturday to watch the women’s gymnastics team compete when she heard the news of Paterno’s passing.

“He meant so much to the school and it’s students,” said Vink. “He is survived by not only by the Paternos, but his entire Penn State family.”

Ford’s profanity was audibly heard on the ABC national radio newscast after, when Muonelo was taking a jog up court. Ford’s profane insults were able to get Muonelo’s attention has Ford’s yelling intensified and projected towards him.

This happened when Muonelo had to turn round and trap Kansas’ player Sherron Collins in the back yard for about 10 seconds while there was about 45.4 seconds left.

From his apology to Muonelo, Ford said that he regretted greatly that he had to say all those profanities. This was all broadcasted on WWLS- FM radio on Monday.

According to Rob Carolla the Big 12 spokesman, the all incident should be viewed to be an institutional affair and therefore the Big 12 would not get involved.

The director of Athletic of Oklahoma State cowboys Mike Holder was also not aware of any insults or profanity as he watched the game via the television. It only came later and he had to inquire from Coach Ford.

According to director Holder, it is more essential to be calm and analyze the all scenario. This was when he had a telephone interview with the associated press. He further postulated that leadership calls for a lot of patience before making a ruling on any incident. However he believed that Coach Ford was extremely remorseful about the entire incident and he will check on his utterances and anger.

In his apology at the WWLS- FM radio, Ford said he is trying to improve and check on his language. And his wife is trying to help him through. Holder also promised that the incident will never happen again.

Despite the fact that the Cowboys had a game scheduled on Tuesday against Texas, The team’s spokesman Mike Noteware said that Ford will not issue any further statement beyond the comments he made on Monday via the radio.

The issue according to him and Holder was demoralizing especially when it was publicly broadcasted on the National Television. The incident if not controlled can ruin the image of the institution this was said by Holder.

Ford is not the first coach to have been captured by courtside microphones using profanity while on the sidelines or even far worse to be caught on camera. The other coach who was captured hurling profanity is Kansas football coach Mark Mangino. He was taped hurling insults towards Raymond Pendleton during a 2007 game. This was even widely circulated as a video on You Tube.

But according to Director Holder what matters is not which coach has been on the limelight yelling insults to his players but what concerns him is the image of Oklahoma State University both players and our coaches. He was heard saying that he is more concerned with what they do and how they do it as Oklahoma State University.

According to him what others do is of no consequence. But to ensure that high codes and standard of behaviors are adhered to At Oklahoma State University.

Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez points out a clock discrepancy in the closing minute of an NCAA college football game against the Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010. Michigan defeated Purdue 27-16.(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Arizona has hired former Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez to take over a program that has never played in the Rose Bowl, and has been mired in mediocrity for most of the past decade.

Athletic Director Greg Byrne posted on his Twitter account a picture of himself with Rodriguez, wearing an Arizona baseball cap, the coach’s wife and two children. The tweet said “And the new Arizona football coach and his family is …”

Arizona fired coach Mike Stoops last month after he went 41-50 in seven-plus seasons at the Pac-12 school. The Wildcats have not won more than eight games in a season since 1998 under Dick Tomey.

Rodriguez will try to change that with a fast-paced, spread attack that has produced prolific offenses everywhere he has coached.

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The scenario Frazier’s inheriting now in Minnesota is not exactly one a coach would dream about walking into. A veteran team full of win-now type of participants is 3-7, its qb is a 41-year-old whose mind is constantly prone to roam back to the great life on that compound in Mississippi, its once stout lines have underachieved on both sides of the ball, and the locker room is on the brink of crumbling for a lot longer than most folks fully grasp.

Nevertheless, maybe that’s just what makes Frazier perfect for the position. No, it isn’t really the way Frazier would’ve drawn it up, but his crisis-management talents are there. That’s the way Tony Dungy sees it, in any case. Frazier’s leaned on Dungy, a teacher of his and the coach he’s most likened to, in his 1st couple of days on the position, and Dungy sees a protg ready for the obstacle.

Childress’ problems in that locker room increase all the way up back to 2007, when the coach docked receiver Troy Williamson a game check for missing a Sunday to be in South Carolina due to a death in the family. His handling of Tarvaris Jackson in 2008 — swearing he was the person, then removing him following two games for Gus Frerotte — ruffled more feathers. And after the 1st Favre circus, last summer, it required a 6-0 start to keep a lid on the issues bubbling below. A 3-7 start forced that mess to the surface, and now Frazier’s on clean-up.

But he’s been part of correcting broken situations before. Dungy refers to the 2006 season, the second of Frazier’s two as his secondary coach in Indianapolis. That team, if you bear in mind, crumbled down the stretch, a 44-17 beatdown in Jacksonville being the exclamation point on a 3-4 finish that followed a 9-0 start. That the Indianapolis Colts could actually summon the self confidence to reel off four playoff wins right following that, Dungy feels, had something to do with the comforting effect Frazier had on the defense and the team.

The assortment of Frazier’s experiences ought to aid the squad. Where a lot of coaches are tied to one tree, most frequently headed by men like Bill Parcells or Bill Walsh, he’s got a bunch of stickers on that suitcase of his. He performed for Buddy Ryan and Mike Ditka as a part of the 1980s Chicago Bears, and coached for Andy Reid plus Jim Johnson in Philadelphia, along with Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati before joining Dungy, and after that Childress.

Quite simply, he’s well mindful there’s more than a single method to get the job done. He started Wednesday with some jarring change, jacking up the power at practice for that vet group, a comparable strategy to what Jason Garrett did in putting the Cowboys in pads on his 1st Wednesday as head man at Valley Ranch.

Garrett had some worries that Frazier does not, but it appears like the rallying cry will be comparable in Minnesota. Garrett requested his participants to look in the mirror, and be answerable to themselves.

Frazier stated it in a diverse way, that he wants his participants to be “mentally engaged” on Sundays, implying that, for some reason, they have not been previously. That boils down to a message comparable to Garrett’s, which is to play at a level you can be pleased with. It’s apparent the Minnesota Vikings haven’t done that whatsoever points this season, and maybe it wouldn’t have mattered against the Packer juggernaut last Sunday, but it’s reasonable to suppose they wouldn’t be 3-7 at full-go.

If Frazier can get the team going at that speed, then the probability definitely is there that the position he’s been chasing after that came in a disjointed way becomes the job he sought all along. Given the CBA doubt ahead, the big player decisions coming the coming year — with Sidney Rice, Pat Williams and Ray Edwards on the list of team’s free agents, and a apparent need at qb — if this team competes well for Frazier down the stretch, he could possibly be around for awhile.

That wont answer some of the bigger problems in Minnesota, however. The most significant one, on the nfl side, will be making a apparent chain of command between coaching and personnel that hasn’t existed in a long time. Past football, there’s the team’s success in Minnesota long-term, with just 11 games left on the Metrodome lease.

But for the time being, Frazier can’t stress about any of that. This Minnesota Vikings team, to a man, believes it at last has a coach it can get behind. And Frazier’s position is to deliver for those participants.

Dungy, of course, knew this time was coming for Frazier, saying, “There was never a doubt in my mind. You see him around people, the way he leads, the way he communicates, the way players gravitate toward him. I thought (it would happen). Really, it was obvious.”

So he’s great for this position. What the following six weeks ought to inform us is whether or not this position is great for him.