Blue White Illustrated

February 2014

Penn State Sports Magazine

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IN MEMORY Cefalo speaks at the Memorial for Joe in 2012. The former Nittany Lion receiver lives in South Florida, working in radio and TV. He is the Miami Dolphins' play-by-play announcer. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athletic Communications Lending his voice Broadcaster Jimmy Cefalo speaks up for PSU | I t's been 35 years since Jimmy Cefalo ran pass patterns at Penn State, but his faith in the university and its football program has never waned. Cefalo, who played for the Nittany Lions from 1974-77, was selected in the third round by the Miami Dolphins during the 1978 NFL Draft and played seven seasons (1978-84), appearing in Super Bowls XVII and XIX. He also was an NFL commentator for NBC and has been the play-by-play man for the Dolphins Radio Network the past nine years. "It was nice to get back to the organization that I played for, and doing the playby-play is special," Cefalo said. "I love working with Bob Griese and Joe Rose, the color analysts. That's been a lot of fun. " A native of Pittston, Pa., Cefalo also has a news program from 6 to 10 a.m. on a Clear Channel station in South Florida and hosts a food and wine show. "I also work for Bacardi as their wine ambassador across the country," Cefalo said. "So I've been busy." Cefalo lives in Miami Beach with his wife, Janice, and three daughters: 16year-old Mia and 12-year-old twins Ava and Katie. The family gets back to Penn State periodically to visit Cefalo's brother-in-law, former Penn State offensive coordinator and assistant athletic director Fran Ganter. "They come down to visit for Christmas and other holidays, and we occasionally visit them in State College," Cefalo said. "Fran just retired last May from Penn State, so he has more time now." Cefalo said his reaction to the Sandusky scandal has been "disbelief – like most Penn Staters, I would think. "I know all the people involved, and I always knew them to be of really high character, he said. "And when you're talk" ing about Joe, I don't know that I knew a more quality or character-driven individual than Joe Paterno. Tim Curley is friend, a fraternity brother and former teammate. And he was always a man of high integrity. "I didn't know [Sandusky] very well, but when you look at pedophilia, those people always seem to be beyond reproach. So there's just a lot of disbelief, disappointment and sadness for what happened to a program that I love and adore. I think they've done everything that they possibly can to move forward, even though there are some who are disappointed with some of the direction that they've taken." Cefalo added that he had no doubt the university and football program would bounce back. "I always knew they would come out of it with high character and great moral fiber," he said. "And I wouldn't expect anything less from Penn State. Sure, I've got questions that I want answered like all Penn Staters, on a lot of things. ... But we might never find out the entire story. "You know, you look at what we're going through with the Dolphins and 'Bully Gate.' We in the media can turn this thing into a witch hunt. And sometimes, it goes beyond the facts, and on occasion the

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