Penn State's Paterno has treatable lung cancer (Reuters)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa (Reuters) ? Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, fired last week in fallout from a sex abuse scandal at the university, has a treatable form of lung cancer, one of his sons said on Friday.

The news came on a day when the National Collegiate Athletic Association said it will investigate Penn State's athletic programs in the wake of charges of sexual abuse of children by Jerry Sandusky, a long-time Paterno deputy.

Paterno, 84, was diagnosed during a doctor's visit for a bronchial illness and is undergoing treatment. Doctors are optimistic he will make a full recovery, his son Scott said.

"As everyone can appreciate, this is a deeply personal matter for my parents, and we simply ask that his privacy be respected as he proceeds with treatment," Scott Paterno said.

Paterno, 84, was head coach for the Nittany Lions for 46 years until the board of trustees fired him and Penn State president Graham Spanier on November 10, in the wake of charges against Sandusky.

Word of the NCAA probe came in a three-page letter to acting Penn State President Rodney Erickson from Mark Emmert, president of the NCAA. The letter was dated Thursday and released by the university on Friday.

Emmert outlined several questions that university officials must answer as part of its probe. Responses are expected by December 16 in order for the NCAA to determine its next steps.

"The NCAA will examine Penn State's institutional controls over its intercollegiate athletic programs, as well as the actions and inactions of relevant responsible personnel," Emmert wrote.

Sandusky was charged on November 5 with multiple counts of child sexual abuse for acts committed on eight boys over a 15-year period. Two senior university officials were charged with perjury for giving false testimony to a grand jury.

Penn State faces a series of investigations into the university's role in the sex abuse case, including one by the U.S. Department of Justice. An internal probe led by members of the college's board of trustees has also been convened.

Sandusky's lawyer again defended the decision to let his client do a television interview this week. Legal experts said Sandusky's comments, including his admission that he showered with young boys, could only hurt the defense.

"Rather than having people comment that Jerry's lawyer is spinning his case for him I think people needed to hear from Jerry that he was innocent," attorney Joe Amendola said in an interview with Fox News.

NO PLANS TO CANCEL SEASON

In his first news conference, Penn State's new acting athletic director said there are no plans to cancel the rest of the Nittany Lions' football season or to remove Paterno's statue from outside the giant Beaver Stadium.

David Joyner, a Penn State alumnus who previously worked with the U.S. Olympic Committee, earlier this week took over the troubled athletic department, which is still reeling in the aftermath of the scandal involving Sandusky and others.

Joyner said he sees his new role as "dean of the college of intercollegiate athletics. ... I've always believed that athletics are an academic unit. ... I see the playing field as just another classroom," he said.

Joyner said there were no plans to cancel the rest of the season for the football team, which is set to play Ohio State University on Saturday in Columbus.

The game will be the second contest since the football program was thrown into turmoil.

Interim head coach Tom Bradley said this week he had been contacted by Luke Fickell, his Ohio State counterpart, and "assured there will be no problems" for his team.

Some of Ohio state's football and basketball players appeared in a video this week, urging the fans to show good sportsmanship toward Penn State's players, coaches and fans. The video has been watched more than 12,000 times on YouTube.

Penn State, ranked 21st in the country, is in contention for the Big Ten's first ever championship game, to be played in Indianapolis on December 3.

But whether it will be allowed to play should it qualify, or be invited to other lucrative end-of-season bowl games, remains a question. In his weekly press conference, Bradley said that decision would be left to administrators.

Behind the scenes, what is left of Penn State's football infrastructure is attempting to retain the 15 recruits still verbally committed to be freshmen in 2012.

Bradley said the team has reached out to the recruits, within the guideline that coaches can speak to prospects no more than once a week at this point in the year.

One leading prospect withdrew last week, and others will be mulling what changes will take place on the coaching staff, said Mike Farrell, recruiting analyst at rivals.com, noting other universities are also deep into their recruiting process and may not have many open slots for Penn State dropouts.

Mike McQueary, the assistant coach at the center of a 2002 rape allegation against Sandusky, had been the team's recruiting coordinator. He is on administrative leave.

(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington and Karin Matz in Chicago; Writing by Ros Krasny; Editing by James B. Kelleher and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111118/us_nm/us_usa_crime_coach_cancer

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