Sandusky Judge Allows Live-Tweeting, Live-Blogging During Trial. As pointed out by the folks at Poynter, according to the court order issued on Wednesday by the Centre County Court of Common Pleas, reporters will be allowed to live-tweet and live-blog during the trial of former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky on sexual abuse charges. They cannot, however, broadcast testimony “verbatim” or transmit photographs, the court order said.

For the preliminary hearing in December, Specially Presiding Judge John M. Cleland at first said reporters had to turn their phones off and that laptops could be used “solely for the purpose of note taking.” He later relaxed the rules to allow live-tweeting and live-blogging.

NBC10 will be live at the trial as it begins next Tuesday, June 5. Stick with NBC10.com, @NBCPhiladelphia on Twitter and NBC10 News on-air for the latest from Centre County.

-LD

Poynter, Centre County Court of Common Pleas

Photo: Getty Images

Is PSU The Biggest Scandal In Modern Sports History? As the alleged sex-abuse scandal continues to unfold at Penn State University involving former coach Jerry Sandusky and many high-ranking school officials, many are beginning to wonder where this scandal ranks all-time not just in terms of sports scandals but overall.

NBCPhiladelphia.com and Deadspin blogger Drew Magary asked ‘Is PSU The Biggest Scandal in Modern History?’ and wrote today:

“Already, I think it’s the second-biggest sports scandal of my lifetime (behind OJ Simpson), well ahead of Tonya Harding, Mike Vick going to jail, Tiger Woods ruining his marriage, the whole big steroid clusterf***, the Baylor murder, and Mike Tyson raping Desiree Washington. In terms of damage inflicted upon both victims and a community as a whole, it’s almost certainly the worst of the bunch. And it’s not even close to being over.”

Magary adds that if Joe Paterno were somehow implicated, it would jump to the top spot. NBC10 Sports Director Vai Sikahema weighed in this afternoon as well, saying:

“In the annals of college sports, this scandal at Penn State ranks near the top, if not the very top. Recruiting violations, point shaving and cheating at many of the major programs in the country pale in comparison. There was a murder at Baylor a few years ago — so it’s right up there with that.”

It’s hard to call this a sports scandal because it is much more than that. It’s important not to get wrapped in the football aspect of this scandal and the Joe Paterno angle. There are kids involved, and that remains the story.But in terms of sports scandals, it certainly ranks up there with OJ Simpson, the Black Sox, Pete Rose and more.

From The20’s @meechone:

As far as I’m concerned, everyone associated with Penn State is guilty of harboring a pedophile unless they can prove otherwise.

Where do you think this scandal ranks all-time? Let us know your thoughts.

-LD

[Deadspin, Vai Sikahema, @meechone]