Tebow Is Cut and My Friend Gets the Chance of a Lifetime

The New York Jets are the Worst

Throughout the offseason, it was common knowledge that the Tim Tebow experiment in New York had run its course and that the Jets were trying to move Tebow. They were so desperate to do so that they even told Tebow and his agent to seek out trade partners. They had no such luck. So, I wake up today, two days after the NFL draft ended only to see the news that the Jets are releasing Tebow. Talk about a slap in the face. All Tebow has done was be a good teammate through some of the worst circumstances he's ever been in since he has been in the NFL. Why couldn't the Jets just cut him after they knew the trade market for Tebow was non-existent back in March? That would have at least given him the opportunity to try to find another team to play for. Now, it's going to be next to impossible for him to find a team that will take him because teams have already signed veterans and undrafted free agents to fill open QB spots heading into camp. To top it all off, the Jets have the gall to come out and say that they have the utmost respect for Tebow. Respect?! The way this went down was the complete opposite. The Jets completely disrespected Tebow throughout all of this, and I hope he does find a team that will give him a chance. When he does, I hope he gets a chance to play the Jets and totally annihilates them.

So, I Have a Friend In the NFL...

I first met Mason back in 1st grade. We were in the same class. The first thing I noticed about him was that he only talked about football. Everything he did was football-related. Even back then, he knew exactly what he wanted to do - play in the NFL. Big dreams for a six-year old kid from Somerville, right? Well, fast forward to high school. Mason was the star of the football team. How good was he? Think Reggie Bush at USC in 2005; that's what it looked like when he had the ball in his hands. He was easily the fastest guy on the field. That translated to his track and field career too because I'm fairly certain he still holds the 100-meter record for Somervile High School. Needless to say, Mason had a bright future ahead of him.

Mason and I didn't have many classes together in high school, but we were in the same homeroom. It was a short period, but him and I would always be catching up during it. I'd help him with some last minute homework or give him some last-minute study help for a test he would have. I remember when colleges started recruiting him. It was around the same time that I started looking at schools. There were several schools that wanted Mason. I forget the schools exactly, but I know there were a few from Big Ten and ACC country. Of course, Rutgers also came calling. Greg Schiano wanted to keep the best talent in New Jersey at the state university. So, it made sense that Mason got a look. 

Initially, I wanted to go UNC-Chapel Hill, but both them and UVA denied me, so that ended that. I was left with Delaware, West Virginia, Penn State, and Rutgers. Our senior year of high school was the year of the "Pandemonium in Piscataway" game. Rutgers beat #3-ranked Louisville on a Thursday night in front of a national audience on ESPN. I was at that game, and so was Mason. What an experience that was! Later in the school year, Mason verbally committed to Rutgers. He invited me to his signing of his letter of intent on National Signing Day that year. I was so happy for him then, and when he put the pen to paper and made it official, I didn't need anything else to make my choice for college. I also decided to go to Rutgers, and I have zero regrets about that choice. Mason is only one of two people that I went to school with from kindergarten all the way through college.

Throughout our time at Rutgers, we tried to meet up at least once a semester to catch up. Playing division one football is like having a full-time job. It made meeting up tough, but we made it work. We ended up being in the same calculus class the spring semester of our freshman year. Once again, just like in high school, I helped him out whenever I could. I ran into him at graduation last year when he finished his undergrad degree. Again, I was incredibly proud of him. Both us were Somerville grads and now we were both Loyal Sons of Rutgers. He still had another year of eligibility to play for Rutgers because the team used a medical redshirt on him for one of his injuries. After this season ended, he went right to work training for the NFL draft.

Even though his name wasn't called draft weekend, the same coach that recruited him to play college ball, Greg Schiano, gave him the chance of a lifetime by signing him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent. I may not have agreed with Greg's play-calling at Rutgers, but I never once questioned his character and his loyalty to his people. Because of that and Mason's hard work, determination, and perseverance, my friend now has a chance to live out the dream he's had his entire life, and I couldn't be happier for him! If there was ever someone in my life that I could use as inspiration, it's Mason. The guy has battled through two season-ending knee injuries and has come out of it with a chance to make it in the NFL. He shows me that you can't give up on your dreams and goals, no matter how tough the circumstances may be. The Buccaneers should be thankful to have Mason Robinson on their squad. Mason is a better man than he is a football player, and he surely is one hell of a football player!

NFL Draft Day One: Unpredictable

Last night at Radio City Music Hall in NYC was the first round of the NFL Draft, and it was quite an unpredictable one. If you had a mock draft, it was probably ripped up within the first few picks considering it was the first time since 1968 where three of the first four picks were offensive linemen. Eric Fisher out of Central Michigan went #1 to the Kansas City Chiefs. It looks like he's an athletic o-lineman, which will be good for Andy Reid's offense. He can play a number of positions on the line, so Fisher looks like a good pick for KC. As you go through the draft, you get to the Eagles at #4 and their pick of Lane Johnson. Solid pick for them because their offensive line last year was awful. Good thing about Johnson, he used to play quarterback and tight end, so he's very athletic. That will serve him and the Eagles well with Chip Kelly's offense. The Cleveland Browns are the butt of a lot of the jokes that aren't directed at the Cowboys or the Jets, but they made a solid pick with Barkevious Mingo at number #6. Cleveland's defense might be sneaky good next year. Watch for them, seriously.

At #8, things got very interesting. The Rams and Bills made a trade to swap draft spots. At #8, the Rams took Tavon Austin out of West Virginia. With him in slot, the Rams have a very versatile guy on the offensive side of the football who should become a weapon for Sam Bradford. Then we come to the Jets. They were looking to take Tavon Austin, but the Rams sniped him with that trade. They ended up taking Dee Milliner, the cornerback from Alabama, which surprised a lot of people because they actually made a decent pick. But this is the Jets, and they had another first round pick at #13. Surely they take an offensive player, right? They need to get a weapon for Mark Sanchez, right? They picked Sheldon Richardson, defensive tackle out of Missouri. My Twitter feed went nuts. Jets fans got mad and non-Jets fans made jokes. They probably should have traded down if they could into a spot where there were more offensive players worth taking later in the first round, but that wouldn't have been the "Jets" thing to do.

The Bills were down on #16 after their trade with the Rams. Many thought they would take a quarterback. Doug Marrone, former Syracuse head coach, is the head coach and many thought that QB would be Ryan Nassib because of familiarity. Well, they took EJ Manuel out of Florida State. It's a boom or bust pick for sure. There really wasn't a QB that was a real first-round talent, but Manuel wasn't even in the top-3 QBs eligible for the draft. It will be interesting to see how he pans out. This pick will define the Marrone regime in Buffalo. At #18, there was another trade. My San Francisco 49ers traded up with the Cowboys to grab Eric Reid, safety out of LSU. With Dashon Goldson leaving via free agency, there was a hole in their secondary at safety. Since the Niners don't do a lot by way of rotation on defense, they needed someone that can play all three downs. Scouts say Reid is that guy, this looks like a solid pick for the Niners.

To round out the first round, the Minnesota Vikings were very, very active. Through trades, they ended up with three first round picks. With those picks, they took Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, and Cordarrelle Patterson. They did a great job of filling needs. Floyd was expected by some to go as high as #3, so to have him fall into their lap at #23 is a steal and he fills a need on their defensive line. They needed a corner, so they made a trade with the Seattle Seahawks to move back into the first round to take Rhodes. The Vikings thought they were done, but then they found out New England was willing to move their pick, they jumped on the opportunity and took Patterson who looks to replace Percy Harvin in the return game. People say he's raw as a receiver, but he can make plays with the ball in his hand.

It will be very interesting to see what happens today in rounds two and three. There are a lot of offensive skill players available, plenty of big names left on the board, and a bunch of teams that have multiple picks in these rounds. Where does Manti Te'o go? Who takes Geno Smith? When does the first running back come off the board? The second and third rounds could be more exciting than the first.

B1G News and Disappointment for the Devils

B1G News

Lost in the mayhem of the Boston manhunt over the weekend was the news that the Big Ten has realigned their divisions for the 2014 season once Rutgers and Maryland officially join the conference. The Leaders and Legends names will be pushed aside for the much simpler East and West.

Photo Credit: Google Images

The new Big Ten East will consist of Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and Rutgers. The Big Ten West will be the home for Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin. What does this mean for Rutgers? Well, I can stop listening to people complain about our home opponents after this year because we're going to have some prestigious teams coming through Piscataway. This also means that we'll find out who the true Rutgers fans are because the first few years in the B1G are going to be ROUGH. Indiana? That's a win. Maryland? That's a win. Otherwise? Losses throughout the East division. 2-4 could be Rutgers in-division record for a few years. Could we overachieve? Oh sure, that's always a possibility, but I'm trying to be realistic here. I'm a Rutgers fan; what's a couple more disappointing seasons for one of the most tortured fan bases in sports?

Devils Eliminated

Everyone seemingly knew that this day would come, but the fans still held out hope until the bitter end. With yesterday's 4-1 loss to the Rangers, the New Jersey Devils are eliminated from playoff contention. It's been a roller-coaster the past three seasons; missed the playoffs in 2011, Stanley Cup finalists in 2012, now missing the playoffs in 2013. The last time a Stanley Cup finalist missed the playoffs the following year was 2007 when both Carolina and Edmonton missed a year after squaring off in the first finals post-lockout. A season that started off so promising now ends in the bitter disappointment of no playoff hockey. If this had been a full 82-game season, losing Brodeur and Kovalchuk would not have hurt the team like it did because they would not have missed the as many games. Also, an unfortunate truth that I never wanted to admit is now made completely apparent: the Devils miss Zach Parise. I never wanted to admit because his leaving left an extremely bitter taste in my mouth. You can say that I was in denial about it all season, but with Kovy out, this fact was pushed to the forefront. I hope these next few games will be a chance to let some young guys get a chance to see what they're made of for next year. I will go into what the Devils need to do in the offseason at a later time. For now, I just hope this team can end the season with some pride.

Big Developments in Sports You May Not Watch

NBC Gets Premier League Rights

Looks like NBC has won the television rights to broadcast the Barclay's Premier League in the United States, and they are not playing around with their coverage. All 380 EPL games will be televised. Here's a breakdown from NBC Sports' website on how that's going to play out:

"All matches will be presented live on television with studio pre and post game coverage. The matches will also be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra. Games not aired on a designated NBC Universal channel will be made available to distributors via Premier League Extra Time, a package of overflow television channels available at no extra cost for customers who receive NBC Sports Network. As NBC acquired both English and Spanish rights, the bundle will include 76 Spanish-language telecasts, 10 on Telemundo, 66 on Mun2." - NBC Sports Article

So, they're going all out for this, which is great for the growth of soccer in the U.S. Or is it...? Here's why I ask that question. NBC already has the rights for MLS. I know the EPL is one of the top leagues in the world, but shouldn't more time be spent on growing our own domestic league? MLS needs all the help it can get. Sure there are places that don't need the help (Portland and Seattle), but when there are teams in major markets that can't sell out, don't you think we should worry about that? MLS is still growing and NBC has a chance to further that development by giving it unprecedented coverage. Instead, they give that coverage to a league that's already at the pinnacle of popularity all over the world, once again putting MLS in the position of red-headed stepchild to the rest of the soccer world. I hope MLS commissioner, Don Garber, is able to find a place that will give MLS the chance to flourish that it needs. I want to see soccer grow in the U.S., but not at the expense of our domestic league. 

Side note: I watch Serie A more than the EPL anyway, so this helps me none. Oh well.

A Half-Dozen Outdoor NHL Games?

The NHL has seen huge success with its Winter Classic. Pick an outdoor stadium (usually a baseball or football stadium) and put two teams in it for an entire weekend spectacle filled with all kinds of events leading up to the thing everyone paid to see, the Winter Classic. Now, there are rumblings that there could six, count 'em, SIX outdoor games next season. The Winter Classic will be the first of the bunch on New Year's Day. That puts the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs against each other in Michigan Stadium, more commonly known as "The Big House." This was supposed to happen this year, but we were too concerned with dying on hills, escrow, and HRR. But I digress... Later in January, the NHL ice moguls are going to have their work cut out for them as the Anaheim Ducks will play the Los Angeles Kings in Dodger Stadium. The next day sees the Hudson River Rivalry come to The House That George Built as the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers battle it out inside Yankee Stadium. Being as big of a Devils fan as I am, not going to that game is not an option for me. Then, on my birthday, the Rangers and the New York Islanders also get to play in Yankee Stadium. Both games should make the week leading up to the Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium very entertaining. After the Olympics are over, the Pittsburgh Penguins will travel to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Later in March, the outdoor games come to a conclusion with the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks squaring off at BC Place in the Heritage Classic. Quite the lineup, but is this good for the league?

Monetarily, this looks like a it's going to bring in a ton of revenue. The Winter Classic has been wildly successful and these games should bring in a good deal of money for their respective teams and for the league. However, the majority of fans wonder if less is more. When it's just the Winter Classic to look forward to, everyone is excited for it because it's a one-of-a-kind event. Now, with potentially six outdoor games on deck for next season, the fear is that everything becomes watered down. I tend to agree with that sentiment. Although I am so stoked that my Devils finally have an outdoor game, I was hoping that it would be the only one when it comes around. Being a Devils fan, I guess beggars can't be choosers, but it's still something to think about. Is as much attention going to be paid to all of these games? Will the Pens, 'Hawks, Sens, and Canucks all get shafted because their games are at the end of this run? Will people care about two hockey games at Yankee Stadium during Super Bowl week, let alone one? Will an outdoor game even work in LA? Honestly, I think the NHL should have left well-enough alone and stuck with just the Winter and Heritage Classics. Unfortunately, the fact that the NHL is thinking of diluting a grand spectacle for the sake of a few extra dollars doesn't even come close to surprising me.

Praying for Boston

So, I had a pretty solid post set up recapping this weekend. I was going to talk about the Devils' continued slide (lost AGAIN tonight), the Yankees actually doing well, the Formula 1 race from China, the great playoff in the Masters, and I was even going to talk about Kobe Bryant's Achilles injury. The problem is, none of that matters right now...

The day of the Boston Marathon is always a great day for the city of Boston. The day was set up perfectly; the Red Sox play a matinee at Fenway, the Marathon ends in the early evening, and the Bruins take on their division-rival Ottawa Senators at the TD Garden. What a day for a city, right? Well, things went all wrong at about the four-hour and nineteen-minute mark of the race. Two explosions rock the city right at the finish line of the marathon. The scene looked like something out of war movie, yet it was in the middle of Boston.

Now, I was out running errands when this all first went down. I got home an hour after the explosions, and I walk in my house only to see my mom with that "Something bad just happened in America" face with NBC on the TV. I sat down and took it all in. I, like most people watching around the country and world, could not believe what I was seeing; blood on the sidewalks, people laying in heaps and being taken away on stretchers, buildings damaged, shrapnel flying. And to think this was in BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. This wasn't war-torn Africa, this wasn't an Arab nation in uprising, this wasn't a scene out of a former Soviet Socialist Republic, this was one of the cities responsible for the birth of the United States. That's what makes this so hard to digest.

At last check, the casualty figures are at 144 injured and three dead. That is mind-boggling! The Boston Marathon is such a benign event. It's a showcase of the greatest endurance runners in the world that's a huge spectacle for the city. I don't understand how something like this can happen at an event like this. Why? That's all I can keep asking myself. There isn't a sufficient answer as to why. So, in less than a year's time, we've seen a movie theater shot up in Aurora, Colorado, Sandy Hook Elementary School shot up in Newtown, Connecticut, and now the Boston Marathon got blown up. What is going on with the world we live in? The fact there are people out there that are willing to carry out these tragedies scares the crap out of me because I could end up as another statistic at any point. It's something you can't get away from. It can happen to ANYONE, and that's a very sobering thought. That being said, I'm going to continue to go to sporting events because it's something I love to do. A handful of psychopaths isn't going to stop me.

This is a sick world we live in with sick people. Please continue send your thoughts and prayers to the city of Boston and to the victims and their families.

Time Is Running Out For The Devils

It's getting down to the wire for the Devils this season. With only eight games left, the team is four points out of a playoff spot. Doesn't seem so bad, right? There's just one problem, the Devils are currently mired in a losing streak while everyone in front of them (Senators, Islanders, Rangers, Jets) continues to win. Even if they started losing, it wouldn't matter if the Devils don't fix their play and FAST. It's getting to the point where the games are must-win situations. There's no more room for dropping points. Yes, I know Boston is one of the better teams in the league, but there is never an excuse to give up two shorthanded goals! I don't care if you're playing the '75-'76 Canadiens! You can't give up two shorthanded goals and expect to win games. Period. You also can't expect to win when you get a whopping ZERO shots on goal on a 5-on-3 powerplay. That's just pathetic, but it's not the first time I've seen the Devils do that. I shouldn't be able to say that.

Photo Credit: In Lou We Trust

Now, if this was game 40 of a standard 82-game season, I'd be singing a different tune. The fact that the Devils made it a game after being down 4-0 in second period would be applauded, and I would be talking about how this is a great stepping-stone to right the ship heading into the All-Star break and blah-blah-blah. In the current situation, however, the Devils need to be in at least DEFCON 3. They needed to turn around their season three games ago. Now, it's imperative that they start winning again because like I said earlier, it doesn't matter what the teams in front of them do if they aren't winning. If they don't start winning now, you may be able catch some of your favorite Devils on your local golf courses earlier than you'd expect.

All that being said, I'm going to call my ticket rep today to get tickets for the playoffs if the Devils do make it...

Congrats To Louisville

Man, that was some basketball game! I'd watch more basketball if more games were that exciting. First off, let's give credit to Michigan. John Beilein had his team ready to play, and they made it one heck of a game. From Spike Albrecht being completely unconscious in the first half, to Trey Burke and Glen Robinson III keeping Michigan in it until the very end of it, Michigan played extremely well. You have got to give the Wolverines a ton of credit. They're a young team; they'll make some more noise in the coming years.

But, hats off to Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals! Even when Albrecht was nailing one three-pointer after another, Luke Hancock was there to save the day, or at least the first half. Peyton Siva and Chane Behanan took over in the second half to lead the Cardinals to a ten-point lead with under three minutes left that they wouldn't relinquish. Must be nice to be Rick Pitino right now; win the National Championship, have your son land a head-coaching job, and get inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Congrats again to the Louisville Cardinals on winning National Championship!

(I had Michigan State going all the way in case you were wondering how my bracket turned out)

Photo Credit: Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell)

Devils, IndyCar, And A Championship Game Preview (sort of)

Devils Struggling

This past weekend for the Devils was an important one. With a game on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs and a game against the Buffalo Sabres, being able to get at least three out of a possible four points was paramount considering where the team is in the Eastern Conference standings. Well, the Devils fell flat this weekend, only picking up one out of four points. I went to the game on Saturday against the Leafs. That game was INFURIATING! The Devils could never get any sustained pressure in Toronto's zone. Both of Toronto's goals weren't even good; one was a randomly deflected shot from the point, and the other was a garbage goal that the Devils couldn't clear. The Devils' defense was HORRIBLE that game, Marek Zidlicky in particular. Thank God he's a free agent after this season. I never want to see him in a Devils uniform ever again. The guy can never hold the blue line on the powerplay without Kovalchuk next to him. He's terrible in the defensive zone as well, constantly out of position leaving opponents with wide open shooting lanes. Zidlicky is always good for at least one game-changing stupid penalty a game too. I also wish that you had the option to decline a powerplay, because the Devils have one of the worst powerplays I have ever seen. They're better off shorthanded; I'm serious. My friend I went to the game with didn't believe me when I said that. Then he saw them get a couple great opportunities down a man. Point proven. The Devils dropped that game 2-1.

Yesterday, the Devils were in Buffalo to play the Sabres. The Sabres took that game by a score of 3-2 in a shootout. The Devils did not deserve to lose that game. The forechecking by New Jersey was reminiscent of what brought the team to within two games of winning the Stanley Cup last year. There were several times where the Devils had sustained pressure in Buffalo's zone for over a minute with one shift in particular lasting 2:16. Usually when that happens, you win. There were chances that should have been goals that just wouldn't go in for them. It's been that kind of year for the team outside of about the first month of the season. It's at the point now where the Devils and their fans have to hope that the teams in front of them (Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, New York Islanders) start sliding backwards. That's going to be the only way the Devils make the playoffs at this point. Otherwise, the Devils will be hoping they win the draft lottery for their home draft (June 30th at Prudential Center).

Hunter-Reay Rebounds

Sunday was also the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama for the Izod IndyCar Series. Alabama? Yes, Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. It's a great 2.38-mile road course that always produces some great racing. I'm very happy that it will be on the IndyCar schedule until at least 2016. Ryan Hunter-Reay took the win after dominating most of the day. Scott Dixon was once again runner-up. Since the series started going to Barber Motorsports Park in 2010, Dixon has finished second every time. He's got to be just sick of it. Helio Castroneves finished 3rd after some late-race strategy put him on the wrong set of tires and cost him the lead. Charlie Kimball had a fantastic run, running up near the front all day and came home in 4th. Will Power, a two-time winner at Barber Motorsports Park, got shuffled back in the beginning of the race due to a poor start. He fought back all day and ended up rounding out the top-five. After two races, Castroneves has a nine-point lead in the standing over Dixon. Hunter-Reay moves up to third after a dismal opening race at St. Petersburg. His Andretti Autosport teammates, Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe (winner of the opening race at St. Pete), are fourth and fifth in the standings. Next race is in two weeks on the streets of Long Beach, California.

Who Cuts Down The Nets Tonight?

I must admit that I don't watch much basketball, college or pro. So this "preview" of tonight's NCAA Men's Basketball championship preview is going to be fairly brief. Simply put, I think Louisville will be cutting down the nets when tonight is over. They're playing for Kevin Ware. I think that will take them all the way to the promised land. They were down by double-digits against Witchita State and it looked like that was the end of the road for the Cardinals. They ended up rallying back for the win. I don't see how they lose. Michigan is a great team. They were at or near the top of the polls for most of the year, so they won't go down without a fight. Tonight's game should be a great one!

So I Renewed My Rutgers Football Tickets Today

As you can see by the title of this post, I'm a Rutgers Football season ticket holder. I have 4 tickets in Section 124, Row 13. They're pretty sweet seats. So, obviously I'm going to renew them, right? Well, unless you've lived under a rock since the beginning of this week, you've heard about the complete and total mess Rutgers is in currently. Now you probably think I'm nuts for renewing my seats today. I even ADDED a parking pass. Hey, maybe some people with higher priority points will drop their seats and I'll get a good lot! Doubtful, but stranger things have happened. Ever since I attended my first game as a student in August of 2007, I can't imagine Saturdays (and some Thursday nights) without Rutgers Football. I'm not going to let something like this ruin a fall tradition for me, but I can't deny that I'm quite upset about how everything went down with the firing of Mike Rice and the subsequent "resignation" of Tim Pernetti.

In case you really have no idea what I'm talking about, Rutgers Men's Basketball coach Mike Rice was recently fired due to practice footage that surfaced on ESPN's Outside The Lines that showed him verbally and physically abusing his players. The fallout from the situation also led to the "resignation" of Tim Pernetti from his position as Athletic Director. Now that you've gotten the (very) abridged version of the story, I'll go into why I am so upset.

In typical Rutgers fashion, this could not have been handled any worse than it has already been. From beginning to end, it has been nothing short of an embarrassing disaster. According to the timeline that we all have, Tim was made known of the practice tape in November. Tim said that he initially wanted to fire Coach Rice on the spot and be done with it. However, the University called in an outside team of investigators to evaluate the best course of action. Okay, I guess this is protocol, so it's something that has to be done. Whatever. They came back and recommended that Rice be suspended, fined, and made to go to anger management classes. Even though Tim wanted to fire Rice, he went along with the punishment that was given out to him: a 3-game suspension, $75,000 fine, and mandatory anger management classes. This is the only place in the whole thing where I have a problem with Tim's actions. He should have gone to President Barchi and stated his case to fire Rice on the spot. If Barchi had seen the tape, Rice would have been fired in November and this wouldn't even be an issue right now.

Fast forward to this past Tuesday. ESPN's Outside The Lines releases the practice footage and all hell breaks loose. All of the sudden, seemingly the only thing anyone is talking about is the "Mike Rice Tape." Great, yet ANOTHER black eye Rutgers. As an alum, I'm getting sick and tired of the bad press that, nine times out of ten, is brought upon ourselves as a school. At this point, everyone and their mothers knows Rice going to be fired and will probably never been employed as a head coach ever again. Fine, that needs to happen. Then, we can move on to finding a new coach. Hopefully, it's Danny Hurley. He would be the perfect hire for Rutgers right now. But, in the words of the great Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!"

Wednesday comes around and Rice is fired as expected. We also hear that Tim's job is safe for the time being while a more thorough investigation into the situation goes on. All the while, I feel that both Tim and Barchi are going to keep their jobs and be given a chance to see Rutgers through this now disaster. Even my coworkers agreed that those two wouldn't be going anywhere. But all the while, Rutgers alumni are taking to Twitter to show their support for Tim with the hashtag, #keeppernetti. I didn't think much of it because I was sure he wasn't going anywhere.

Thursday hits and there are numerous people calling for Tim's head; state assemblymen, faculty members, and some alumni. At this point, I felt indifferent towards his job status. I stayed relatively quiet on this subject. For those who know me, that is a VERY uncommon thing for me to do because I am very quick to add my two cents into just about any discussion. More and more people were taking to Twitter showing support for Tim. This time, more of the prominent football alumni were speaking out. It made me think about Tim's job security once more, but I was still confident that he was going to be the one to get us out of this mess.

I woke up today at around 9:30 in the morning. My dad worked from home today, so I was talking to him about the whole thing. I went back to my room to check my phone, and that's when I saw the tweet from Brett McMurphy of ESPN that said, "Tim Pernetti out as Rutgers athletic director, source told ESPN." I couldn't believe it actually happened. I still can't, but I'll get to that later. I didn't think that this decision was going to be made this quickly. I couldn't get away from the coverage either. Everywhere I looked, they were talking about Rutgers. I played some Xbox until the scheduled presser from President Barchi at about 1 o'clock just so I didn't have hear about it.

When I say that I had to turn off the presser because it was making me furious, I am not exaggerating. I think I may have watched fifteen minutes of it before I just couldn't take it any more. I could not believe that Barchi was so ready to throw Tim right under the bus and pass the buck off on him! That's what got me so upset. How could he do that to Tim? Tim followed protocol and everything else, and he essentially gave Rice a second chance to make fix things as they stood. Yet, he's the one that is now looking for work and Barchi still has his position (for now). I find it EXTREMELY hard to believe that Barchi only saw the tape after it was released on OTL. Why didn't he ask to see it after the suspension if indeed that was the case? Wouldn't you want to see WHY you're suspending your men's basketball coach? And then you have the balls to stand up to the media and say Tim "resigned" per an agreement you two had. Please! That is the biggest load of crap! Tim is the kind of guy to face a challenge like this head-on and see Rutgers through it. Barchi didn't give Tim a choice. Tim was fired, but it will be written in the papers as "resigned." Anyone with any knowledge of the people involved can see right through that.

I can't believe that the "Keep Rutgers Horrible at Sports" faction got what they wanted. Barchi let the pressure from State Assemblymen (that have no inside knowledge of the situation), the media, and a vocal minority of alumni make his choice for him! Barchi unfairly pushed all accountability away from himself and onto Tim. What should have happened is that Barchi should have been canned and Tim should still be the AD. Barchi's lack of leadership is deplorable for a university president. He should be ashamed of how he embarrassed himself and the university today! After everything Tim did for the athletic department as a whole, not just football, this is treatment he gets. It's shameful, but has unfortunately become commonplace at my alma mater. My friend (and ticket rep at Rutgers) put it best when he tweeted, "I feel like this week has been a bad dream." Spot on. Right now, I am embarrassed to say that I'm a Rutgers grad. This whole thing has been a total disaster and I just hope that we can get through this stronger than we were before.

President Barchi made quip during his presser along the lines of, "I think about resigning everyday because I have no contract to adhere to." Well then, Mr. President, maybe you should have walked out the door with Tim. The school would be better off.