JoePa prefers view from way up high

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno raised more than a few eyebrows Tuesday at the Big Ten football media days when he admitted he has pondered the idea of continuing to coach from the press box rather than the sideline.

“I'm not so sure that's not the better way to do it, and I've debated that,” he said, according to a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Paterno, 80, who is entering his 42nd season as the Nittany Lions' coach, spent the final two games of last season coaching from the press box after he sustained a broken left leg and torn knee ligaments in a November game against Wisconsin.

“You can see so much more (from the press box); you can do things,” he said.

“You're really a cheerleader most of the time down on the sideline. . . . I enjoyed being upstairs, I really did. I sat down, had a nice time, had a cup of coffee. I felt like a newspaper guy. I was even able to watch television.”