After a three day weekend for final preparations you'd expect a strong start for the Sandusky defense team, especially after the gruesome, sexual abuse allegations the accusers described last week.

We heard for months that Sandusky denied all charges and looked forward to his day in court.  But on Monday, we got something that sounded like a Saturday night testimonial dinner at your local Moose Hall, to honor Jerry and his years of service. Basically character witnesses, the type you hear from after someone is sentenced for a horrendous crime, and their family and friends try to convince the judge not to lock them up forever. There was very little in attacking the prosecution's case, or the accusers’ stories, credibility or motivation. Even testimony from Dick Anderson, a renowned assistant football coach at Penn State, is reduced to him talking about taking showers with boys. 

Before that you have another bizarre moment, when the mother of alleged victim #9 testifies she wondered why her boy never had any underwear for the laundry after visiting the Sandusky home.  She said Jerry used to call her son repeatedly late at night, and one time when she picked him at Sandusky's house the boy was at the end of the driveway with no shoes on. 

Cue up the banjos, this has all the makings of one of those southern rock opera tunes from the Drive By Truckers.  The best thing the jury heard all day was Judge Cleland telling them, this could all be over soon.  The defense is expected to wrap up by Wednesday. Maybe it will be a stronger close. Jerry taking the stand, handing out those baseball cards featuring PSU football stars that the Second Mile used to distribute. I'm sure the prosecutors, Mr. McGettigan and Mr. Fina would like some autographed cards to go with their copy of Jerry's biography they used to track down the accusers. You know the book, with the title that may sum up the prosecution's closing argument, "Touched".