For a sportswriter like Joe Posnanski it had to be a dream come true: unprecedented access to the most revered figure in college football, Joe Paterno. Two years spent with the legendary coach and permission to read Paterno’s notes and files positioned Posnanski to write the comprehensive biography of the beloved Joe Pa. Then the Sandusky scandal broke and suddenly the ending to the Paterno story changed. Despite pre-release criticism and scrutiny, Paterno debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list and just this week news from Hollywood is that a campaign is on to sell the movie rights with Al Pacino in the title role.
On Wednesday's Up to Date Joe Posnanski shares with Steve Kraske how he came to be granted entry to the daily life of Paterno, what it felt like to look into the mind of the coaching legend, and his thoughts when it became clear that the beloved Joe Pa's legacy was forever changed.
More information: Joe Posnanski appears In Conversation about his new biography Paterno on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 7:00 PM at Unity Temple on The Plaza, Sanctuary, 707 W 47th Street, Kansas City, Missouri. Details are available at Rainy Day Books.
Joe Posnanski is a Senior Writer at the new venture Sports On Earth. Before that, he was Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated, and in 2011 was named National Sportswriter of the year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame. He wrote about sports for the Kansas City Star for sixteen years and was twice named the best sports columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors. He is the author of four books, including "The Soul of Baseball," the 2007 winner of the Casey Award as America's best baseball book. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his family. Visit him at JoePosnanski.com.
