Bad Sports Day

I cannot remember the last time the Washington Post sports section was so depressing.

First and perhaps worst is the whole Penn State child rape scandal. What the hell was McQueary and Paterno and the rest of them thinking? If they had acted sooner, how many rapes of young boys could have been avoided? The students' reaction to Paterno's firing is also a bit depressing. I suspect they'll look back at this and be embarrassed at their reaction. Paterno's departure under these circumstances is unfortunate. But it's not as bad as not acting immediately to prevent child rape.

Second (and perhaps the worst if he is killed) is the kidnapping of Wilson Ramos, the catcher for the Washington Nationals, in his home town in Venezuela. Kidnapping is lucrative business in Venezuela and somebody like Ramos, a major league baseball player and therefore very well known in baseball-crazy Venezuela, is an attractive target. I hope he gets out alive, of course. And even apart from the pain this brings Ramos and his family, this has to be bad news for Venezuela's winter baseball leagues. I think if I'm a major league club I ban my players from going there - though it may not be possible to tell Venezuelans not to go to their home.

And finally, news (again) that if DC United don't get a soccer-only stadium, they might leave DC. That would suck.