And just like that, it's gone.
The NCAA abruptly removed the remainder of Penn State's scholarship reductions and bowl ban on Monday, bringing one of the strangest episodes in college football history to an end. Penn State somehow survived the most crippling set of sanctions levied since SMU and two coaching changes without any significant damage. The NCAA somehow became the villain by turning a temporary bout of righteous fury into a massive reprimand to people that had nothing to do with the violations in the first place. And the Big Ten, which cosigned the NCAA's sanctions regime in 2012, has given Penn State all the tools to return to its early-90s heights.
Here to explain it all are former Black Shoe Diaries editors and (with yours truly) Slow States collaborators Chris Grovich and Kevin Powers (@thefolkist). But first, we posted the podcast we did with them back in July 2012, when the sanctions came down. You might want to listen to that first.
When you're done with that trip down memory lane, you can listen to their reaction from Monday's news.
Both podcasts are also available for download or subscription on iTunes (search for Black Heart Gold Podcast and select the version with the GO IOWA AWESOME logo you see on the embedded player above) or at our Podbean page.