I dislike talking about Penn State. I think, for the dozens of victims of Jerry Sandusky’s child rape, seeing attention given to whether or not a bronze statue should remain outside of Beaver Stadium, has to be demeaning. The sheer notion that we should debate whether a statue, symbolizing a man who hid violence against children, should be presented for all to see, shows how misguided we are sometimes.

Yesterday, Penn State officials did what they should have done weeks ago, when they removed the statue of former coach Joe Paterno. Today, the NCAA, for all intents and purposes, dismantled Penn State’s football program. A 4 year bowl ban. A $60 million fine. The loss of 10 scholarships a season for the next four seasons. And the most powerful strike, the ability for any current player to transfer without penalty immediately.

It will be a long time before Penn State football is good again. Truthfully, that doesn’t matter in the least bit. And if it does, perhaps a moment of reflection on the priorities of life is due.

Jean Van de Velde’s name is synonymous with “epic collapse.” The French golfer had the 1999 British Open in his grasp, only to collapse epically. Van de Velde needed only to double bogey the 72^nd hole of the tournament to win. That wasn’t enough for him. Van de Velde slung the ball around the course (into water, into the rough, into ditches, into canyons), eventually triple-bogeying the hole. He would go on to lose in a playoff.

Yesterday, Adam Scott “Van de Velded” his chance to win the British Open. Scott led by four strokes with four holes to play, but managed to bogey each hole. That, combined with Ernie Els’ birdie, gave the South African golfer his first major victory in a decade, at a time when no one even remembered that he was golfing.

Jean Van de Velde never won a major tournament. Time will certainly tell if Adam Scott awaits the same fate.

-Reds shortstop Barry Larkin and Cubs third baseman Ron Santo were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday. Santo’s induction was particularly uncomfortable for many because he was inducted after his death. His presence in the Hall of Fame is certainly a debatable issue. All of that aside, his wife delivered a really poignant speech in Cooperstown yesterday, in his place.

-The Oakland Athletics continued their bizarre and unexplainable surge by sweeping the New York Yankees in a four-game series this weekend, capped off by a Coco Crisp walk-off double yesterday. The A’s have won 11 games in walk-off fashion in July, which is, insane.

-The A’s, Orioles, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Tigers, Dodgers, Reds, and Diamondbacks all completed sweeps over the weekend. This means nothing. It’s just interesting, I guess.

-Perhaps the most important of the above sweeps (sorry D’backs fan!) is Detroit’s over the (previously) first-place Chicago White Sox. The Tigers have now moved into sole possession of first place in the AL Central, a spot many believed they would occupy for the entire season.

-From the files of “weird” we look at the St. Louis Cardinals seventh inning on Saturday against the Cubs. The Cardinals scored all 12 of their runs in that inning. That is certainly weird. How they did it is much weirder. The Cardinals hit 7 doubles in the 7^th inning. Seven. That had happened only once before (the Boston Bees in 1936, of course).

The Nationals entered their weekend series with Atlanta holding a 3.5 game lead. They exited it with a 3.5 game lead. This is why looking at the standings doesn’t tell the whole story.

Friday night, the Nationals suffered the most crippling loss in franchise history. The Nats held a 9-0 lead, only to see the Braves rally for 10 unanswered runs. Atlanta sent baseball’s best closer, Craig Kimbrel, out for the 9^th to pick up the save. Danny Espinosa had a different idea, though; one that involved an opposite field home run. It was for not, though, as Atlanta scored in the top of the 11^th and held Washington scoreless in the bottom half of the inning.

Then came a doubleheader on Saturday. In a game the Nats needed to have, their offense disappeared. They were shutout in Game 1. Adding insult to injury, Bryce Harper fouled a ball off of his foot and had to leave the game.

The Nats entered the nightcap with Atlanta trailing them by just 1.5 games. On the hill was John Lannan. Lannan had spent the entire year in AAA after serving as the franchise’s “ace” for the previous three seasons. In his first start back, Lannan pitched the most important 7 innings of his career, keeping Washington in it before they piled on late to win 5-2.

Yesterday’s game was much easier. Thanks to two home runs by Ryan Zimmerman and a wonderful performance from Ross Detwiler, the Nats drew to a split in their weekend series.

Then came the bad news…

Shortstop Ian Desmond will miss a substantial amount of time due to an oblique tear. Danny Espinosa will move over to his natural position of shortstop and Steve Lombardozzi to his natural position of second base, but the Nats will miss Desmond’s bat. He’s been, for much of the season, a rock in the Nationals lineup.  The Nats will have to survive without him, as you can add Ian Desmond to the list of injuries this team has had to deal with.

The Nats begin a three-game series with the New York Mets in Queens tonight. Jordan Zimmermann will face Chris Young. Game time is 7:10 on one of the MASNs.

Braves at Marlins. The Marlins need this game and this series, or else they risk putting themselves in a deep hole. With their ace on the mound, tonight would be the night to turn their season around. Mike Minor will take the hill for Atlanta. Josh Johnson for the Marlins. Game time is 7:10 p.m.