Rutgers Does it Again

Last night was a disappointment for Rutgers. We could have beaten Louisville. It was a typical Rutgers loss - the defense did every thing they could to win the game while the offense was doing everything they could to blow it. This time, the offense prevailed. Louisville was doing everything they could to gift-wrap us the game. They kept turning the ball over and getting stopped by the Rutgers defense. Yet, when we would get the ball, we would either turn the ball back over to Lousiville, or we wouldn't be able to move the ball at all on Louisville. Gary Nova fumbled the first snap of the game, and it was an omen of things to come. He threw FIVE interceptions. You can't win a football game if you throw five picks, I don't care how good your defense is. After a while, your defense has spent so much time on the field that they just can't keep up. We were within seven points, but we couldn't close the deal. I'm not shocked, but there are a few things that irked me about the fan reactions once the game ended.

1. The Dave Milewski fumble recovery

I can't believe how many people made a huge deal about Milewski not scooping up the ball and running the ball in for a touchdown. Would it have been nice? Absolutely! Are we going to really say that Dave Milewski cost us a chance to win this football game? Give me a break! First of all, if your number is 90 or above, you have every right to just fall on the football. How many times have you seen a player try to scoop up a fumble, but end up booting around and having the other team recovering. Had Milewski tried to scoop it up and failed, and Louisville recovered, the same people saying he should have ran with it would have said that Milewski should have just fallen on it. Come on, people! Think about what you say before you say it. Speaking of that...

2. Gary Nova

Let me set the record straight, I hate Gary Nova. He cost us our season last year, and he's the main reason we lost last night's game. Watching him play quarterback in torturous at times. He's inaccurate, a poor decision-maker, and he can't read defenses. That all being said, CHAS DODD IS NOT THE ANSWER! It's six of one, a half-dozen of another! Dodd can't help us win anymore than Nova can. Don't talk to me about him not getting first team reps either. It's like going to the driving range with a bad swing and no guidance. You just keep repeating bad habits until they become almost irreversible. Reps won't either of these guys because they are just that bad. I don't know if we have an answer this year. One thing is for certain, Chas Dodd is not going to help us.

3. Fan expectations

Some Rutgers fans say that you should just be happy with a 8- or 9-win season and a bowl game that's no on New Year's Day. For the next few years in the Big Ten, I agree that we should temper our expectations because we're going to get demolished by the most of conference. But, why should I be happy with only 8 wins? Because I'm a Rutgers fan? Sorry, I'm not the kind of fan that "settles." I expect this team in a crappy conference to win 10 games and go to a better than average bowl game. I hate that "I'm a Rutgers fan, so I know that my team will fall short of expectations so I'm going to be happy with mediocrity" mentality. Maybe if the fans change their attitude, the team might be able to handle controlling its own destiny. Whenever we have control of our destiny, we always shoot ourselves in the foot no matter who is on the team. Part of that has to be the players feeding off the fans. We don't think we can do it and we think that we'll blow it if given the chance. I'm not going to apologize for actually believing this team can be something special.

NFL Week 1: 3 Things I Noticed

The NFL posts will work the same way as the college football posts. I pick at least three things that stood out to me over the weekend and talk about it. One will always be about my team, the 49ers, unless they are on bye. And we're off!

1. San Francisco is not playing around.

I don't know if there is such a thing as a statement win in Week 1, but the Niners might have just invented it. The Niners/Packers game was arguably the best game of the weekend. It had everything you could want in a football game - big plays, solid defense, down-to-the-wire drama, and even some snarl. Colin Kaepernick beat the Packers with his legs last year in the playoffs. This time around, he beat them with his arm. Kaepernick was 27/39 for 412 yards, 3 touchdown's and more importantly, no picks. If he can keep that up all season, the Niners  look to be a lock to come to the Meadowlands in early February. Anquan Boldin was an absolute monster in his San Francisco debut; 13 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown!

Anquan Boldin had an amazing 49er debut. (Photo credit: Google Images)

That's one way to quickly endear yourself to the 49er Faithful. We're going to need him to be huge until Crabtree and Manningham come back from injury, but that doesn't mean that Boldin is our only weapon. Vernon Davis showed why he is the best tight end in football right now making 6 catches for 98 yards and 2 scores. Seems that any questions about his and Kaepernick's chemistry were answered in a big way on Sunday. Two things concerned me on Sunday. One of them was the running game. Gore and Kaepernick couldn't really get anything going on the ground all day. I don't know if the Packers defense keyed in on it or the offensive line wasn't doing enough to open up holes for our backs. Either way, the ground needs to get going if we're trying to get back to the Super Bowl this season. We also could have held the Packers to fewer points if our tackling was better. There were plenty of times our corners couldn't make a simple tackle and their receiver would break for a big gain. That can't happen. I like were this team is headed and I'm really looking forward to next week's game in Seattle.

2. The Ravens need help.

I knew the Ravens were going to have a rough time this year because of all of the players they lost (thanks for Boldin, by the way). I didn't think they were going to get stomped like that by Denver.

Tough times ahead for Flacco. (Photo credit: Google Images)

Peyton Manning was in some kind of zone on Thursday. He TORCHED Baltimore for 7 touchdowns; first time that's happened since 1969. Granted, Baltimore was leading at the half, but then Denver completely controlled the second half. That was helped by injuries to Jacoby Jones and Michael Oher, two huge losses for the Ravens. This pretty much leaves Joe Flacco with two offensive weapons, Ray Rice and Torrey Smith. Simply put, if opponents can slow the Ravens' run game and successfully double-cover Torrey Smith, the Ravens are going to have a hard time winning football games this year. If we get halfway through the season and Baltimore has a losing record, everyone's attention turns to Joe Flacco's insane contract. Is it fair to blame Flacco? Not really. Think about it this way - if you were him and Ravens ownership pushed that contract in front of you, would you sign it? If you said no, that's the wrong answer. It's not Flacco's fault if ownership that he was worth way more than he really is. So, if anyone is to blame, it's the Ravens' front office. I still think the Ravens will be in the hunt for a wild card spot, though. Their division is pretty bad this year outside of Cincinnati. They may be able to sneak into the playoffs at 9-7.

3. Week 1 overreactions are funny.

Three of the most over-reactive fan bases had their teams win this week. The Jets, the Eagles, and the Cowboys all are starting 1-0 this year. However, based on the reactions from the fan bases, you would think that they had just punched their tickets to the Super Bowl. I am not going to single anyone out, I'm speaking of the fan bases as wholes. So, if you didn't overreact, sorry, but you're getting lumped in with your crazy brethren. Jets fans are trying to think that they weren't handed their win on a silver platter from Tampa. If Schiano actually taught his players not to hit people when they're already out of bounds, you wouldn't be sitting here saying Geno Smith is going to lead you to the playoffs. Cowboys fans, you only beat the Giants by five even after they incessantly turned the ball over. If David Wilson could just hold on to the ball, you guys would have lost your fifth straight game to the Giants in "The House That Jerry Built." You can't only beat a team by five if you force THAT many tunrovers. You've got to capitalize on those chances and make them pay by scoring, even if it's a field goal. And judging by the reaction by Eagles fans, they just won the Super Bowl and Chip Kelly just got inducted into the Hall of Fame. You won a game no one thought you could win. Congrats, I guess. As teams watch more tape on as the season goes on, you guys will come back down to Earth. Maybe we'll even here clamoring for Nick Foles at quarterback and for Chip Kelly to be fired. I hope not because I like Chip, but Philly fans have a habit of overreacting, you can't argue with me there. Temper your enthusiasm, fans of teams that are 1-0. You've got fifteen games left; anything can happen.

College Football Week 2: 3 Things I Noticed

I know what you're probably thinking: "College?! The NFL started yesterday!" Relax, there's still the games tonight. THEN I will talk about Week 1 of the NFL season. Until then...

1. Gary Nova is still mediocre.

Yes, Rutgers beat Norfolk State 38-0. No, the scoreline is not indicative of Nova's poor play. His line would have been awful even if we were playing an FBS team, but we were playing an FCS team (a bad one at that), so it makes it look just that much more terrible. Nova threw for (wait for it...) 150 yards on 12 completions with a touchdown and a pick. He did that against an FCS team. What happened to the Gary Nova who was slinging the ball all over the field against Fresno State? Seriously, where is the consistency? He couldn't even put together a decent drive.

One of PJ's 3 scores. (Photo credit: Washington Post)

He only looked good when we had a short field after a Norfolk State turnover. Once again, it looks like Gary Nova will be the reason Rutgers either goes far or falls flat this year. However, remember how I said I was worried about the defense? That zero on the Norfolk State side of the board makes me feel a lot better. That is supposed to happen against an FCS team. No offense to the directional Michigan schools, but next week should be another game where the defense has a chance to gain more cohesion and chemistry ahead of the Arkansas game. Our running game is also coming together very nicely with Paul James cementing himself as our number one back. The walk-on has supplanted the 5-star recruit at the top of the depth chart. You have to capitalize on your opportunities, and PJ is doing just that. 18 carries for 119 yards and 3 touchdowns is a line any back would love to have. Let's hope this team keeps trending upward as the season goes along.

2. This just in: Oregon scored again.

Last week, I talked about Clemson's chances at a National Championship. This week, Oregon caught my attention. We all know about Oregon under Chip Kelly being this unstoppable offensive force that would just run through almost any defense thrown at them. Mark Helfrich was promoted from offensive coordinator when Chip Kelly left for the Philadelphia Eagles, and he seems to have picked up right where Kelly left off with 125 points scored over the first two games.

(Photo credit: Google Images)

Now, their schedule has a few games to pay attention to as the season goes along. The first is the October 12th game at Washington. That new stadium already claimed Boise State, and that crowd will surely be rocking when the Ducks come to town. Next is the November 7th showdown at Stanford. This game will essentially decide who goes to the Pac-12 title game from the North Division and has given us some great football the past few years. And as always, you can never overlook the Civil War. The Beavers will roll into Eugene on November 29th. No matter how good/bad either team is, this game is always fun to watch like any rivalry game. Oregon is another team I hoping can throw together a season worthy of a National Championship berth so that crystal football can finally leave SEC country.

3. Conference realignment claims another rivalry.

This week was the last time for the foreseeable future that Notre Dame and Michigan will play a football game at the Big House. This is because of Notre Dame's agreement with the ACC. They moved all of their other sports except football and hockey (ACC doesn't have hockey, Notre Dame moved to Hockey East) to the ACC. The ACC agreed to let Notre Dame keep it's independence only if they played 5 ACC schools per year. This left Notre Dame with a decision to make: which rivalry gets put on hold? USC, Stanford, and Michigan State were all obvious ones to keep. The decision came down to Purdue or Michigan. Honestly, I would have told Purdue to kick rocks if I was Notre Dame.

It's sad to see this go. (Photo credit: Yahoo!)

No one outside of Indiana cares about that game. If Notre Dame wants to call themselves a "national program," they need to have national rivalries. Notre Dame/Purdue doesn't have national appeal. I really think it came down to the fact that there's a trophy involved (Shillelagh Trophy) with the Purdue rivalry,which is why that one was kept. Now, I love conference realignment as much as the next guy. It's fascinating to follow, but it's claimed a bunch of historic rivalries. The Lone Star Showdown (Texas vs. Texas A&M) is no more. The Border War (Missouri vs. Kansas) is done. The Backyard Brawl (Pitt vs. West Virginia) is over. It's a sad sight to see because these rivalries and ones like it are what make college football as awesome as it is. I hope that these rivalries can start back up some point soon.

College Football Week 1: 3 Things I Noticed

Since there is so much that goes on during a weekend of college football, I'm going to try to narrow it down and pick (at least) three things that stood out to me during the weekend. One of them will always be about Rutgers unless they don't play. I may add more if I think it's important. On that note...

1. Rutgers is going to have an interesting year.

Our first game versus Fresno State was a wild one for sure. With a 52-51 final score in overtime, how could it not be? I've told a bunch of people this, but this is the first time in YEARS that I felt good after a loss by one of my teams. I'm extremely happy at the fact that we were able to hang with one of the best offenses in the country! Last year, I think we may have put up 30+ points twice.

(Photo credit: Google Images)

Rutgers couldn't move the ball to save their lives last year. Now, it looks like we're going to be able to put some points on the board if the defense is slumping. Speaking of, that's one thing I'm going to keep my eye on. Our defense did give up 52 points, very un-Rutgers of us. Hopefully, it was just first game rust coupled with the fact that we were missing some key guys. Our high number of penalties was very disappointing. If we took even half of the penalties we did, we win the game. However, not all of the penalties were warranted. The refs were ATROCIOUS in that game. Phantom unsportsmanlike conduct calls and missed holding calls all over the place. I can see Rutgers having an interesting year. I hope the fans are ready for it.

2. Johnny Manziel is an ornery son of a gun.

When someone described Johnny Manziel as "that girl on a reality show that is not there to make friends," I laughed pretty hard. The game against Rice proves that. When Manziel finally got into the game, he showed off why this is his Heisman to lose this year. However, his attitude is going to turn off a lot of people. There were two instances that stood out to me. One was when he was taken down while scrambling on a broken down play. The Rice defender chirped at him a bit and as they went back to their huddles, Johnny Football made a gesture as to say, "I wouldn't sign an autograph for you."

"Umm, scoreboard." (Photo credit: SB Nation)

Now he's mocking the NCAA allegations. But wait, there's more! I don't really like that first one, but I wish more players did this taunt. On a play later in the game, two more Rice players got in Manziel's face. Johnny then directed their attention to the scoreboard, essentially telling them, "Keep talking. It's not going to change the score." I LOVE that, and I wish it happened way more often, penalties/fouls/violations be damned. No offense to Rice, but it will be interesting to see how Manziel acts on a bigger stage against a more worthy opponent. One false move and someone could take him right out.

3. Clemson is serious.

Dabo Swinney is one of my favorite coaches in college football, and he's got himself a quality squad this year. You don't accidentally beat a top-5 team from the SEC; you have to be a great team. No one is worried about Clemson's offense. We all know they can pretty much score at will. Tajh Boyd had five touchdowns against an SEC defense. God help the ACC...

(Photo credit: USA Today)

However, their defense did give up 545 to the Bulldogs. Good thing their offense can score a ton of points because there will be some games where they're going to need 35+ points to win. If Clemson can tighten up their defense, I can see them being a serious contender for the National Championship. Looking at their schedule, I see only two games that could give them trouble. The first game is the October 19th match-up with Florida State. I think Clemson has the upper hand in this one because the game is a home game for the Tigers and Death Valley can be a harrowing place for an opponent. The other game is on November 30th. It's the Battle of the Palmetto State against South Carolina. It's always a huge game for both schools. This year, the Gamecocks are home. If Clemson rolls into that game undefeated, all eyes will be on Williams-Brice Stadium because that game will have National Championship implications.

Bonus: FCS teams came to play.

Towson, North Dakota State, Eastern Washington, McNeese State, Eastern Illinois, and Northern Iowa, all beat their FBS opponents last week. Remember when these games weren't worth the price of admission? You can thank Appalachian State for this. If not for them going into the Big House and upsetting Michigan back in 2007, you probably don't see this happen. Now, you've got six FBS schools with egg on their face because they lost to an FCS school. These games aren't to be take lightly any more, and I hope Rutgers realizes that this Saturday when Norfolk State comes to town.

New Ownership In New Jersey

August 15th, 2013 will forever be etched in the history of the New Jersey Devils as one of the most important days in the franchise's history that didn't involve hoisting a Stanley Cup. Last Thursday, Joshua Harris and David Blitzer became the owners of the Devils and now control the operating rights of the Prudential Center. I'm going to break this down into a few parts just to keep everything organized so I don't ramble - I have a habit of doing that.

Josh Harris and David Blitzer, the new owners of the Devils. (Photo credit: USA Today)

The Specifics

Harris and Blitzer bought the Devils and the operating rights to the Rock for a reported figure of $320 million dollars from (now former) owner, Jeff Vanderbeek, who will maintain a minority stake in the team and stay on board as a "senior advisor." Harris and Blitzer are also the owner's of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. A little background on both of these guys first. Both of them graduated from the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Harris is a co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management in New York City and has an estimated worth of more than $2 billion. Blitzer is senior managing director and head of tactical opportunities for Blackstone in New York, the world’s largest private equity firm. So, it's safe to say that these guys have the necessary cash to properly run a professional sports team. With new owners come changes to the behind-the-scenes staff. Scott O'Neil, former president of Madison Square Garden Sports, will come on to become CEO of Devils Arena Entertainment, the non-hockey arm of the Prudential Center and where I was an intern during the Spring 2011 semester. I interned for Rich Krezwick, then president of DAE, but it looks like O'Neil will be taking over his role. I wish Rich all the best. I hope the other people still at DAE get the chance to keep their jobs. There are some great people there that will do great things for the organization. But, even with new owners presumably changing things up, the most important man to New Jersey Devils hockey not named Martin Brodeur will still remain at the helm.

Lou Lamoriello Keeps His Throne

Lou Lamoriello will remain the President/GM/CEO/Overlord of all things Devils hockey in midst of the ownership changing hands. Did you really think that Lou was going anywhere? I don't care who owns the team, the New Jersey Devils are Lou's team and you let him run the show. The man has a trophy named after him (NCAA's Hockey East Conference tournament champion wins the Lamoriello Trophy); you let him work his magic. Smartly, the new owners have no plans to fiddle with Lou's methods on the hockey side of things. Why would you? The man is arguably one of the greatest GM's ever, and he's been doing most of his work under tough financial circumstances. Now, Lou actually has some money to spend, more so than ever before. This could spell trouble for the rest of the league. Now that the Devils are financially stable and their future is secured in Newark, we're about to become major players in future free agent periods. We can be in the conversations with the big-market teams when it comes to the marquee free-agents. Fans have been waiting for this for a LONG time. Hopefully, the days of hemorrhaging superstars are a thing of the past for the Devils, and New Jersey becomes a "destination organization" for players.

A Bittersweet Transition for JVB

Jeff Vanderbeek was a long-time Devils season-ticket holder before taking majority ownership of the team in 2004. The Prudential Center was his brainchild. It took a ton of effort on his part to get the arena approved to be built. To take a page from the Yankees' book, you could call it "The House That Jeff Built." Call me biased, but I like that name a lot! Of course, Vanderbeek would have loved to be the guy that was able to bring the Devils back to prominence as an owner. However, he was never quite able to get his finances in order once the bottom fell out of the economy in 2008, and that was what led the Devils to this point. One great thing that puts all Devils fans at ease is the fact that there was never any talk about moving the team when Vanderbeek was speaking to prospective buyers. I knew all along that Vanderbeek would never let this team fall into the hands of owners that had any ideas about moving the team. Harris has Jersey roots and Blitzer calls himself a "Jersey guy." Sounds good to me. The unfortunate part about the financial troubles of the Vanderbeek era was that this was all out of his control. Vanderbeek was a great guy; he really cared for the team. He just had bad luck once the economy went in the toilet. You really can't blame him for trying to right the ship.

Newark Will Continue to Improve

This was one thing I didn't expect to hear in the presser for the new ownership, but they made it a huge point talk about what they want to do for the city of Newark and how they want to keep Vanderbeek's vision of revitalizing the city. I love hearing that from them. The fact that they care not just about the organization but also about the long-term conditions of the community shows me that these guys are definitely the right people for the job. I haven't followed too many ownership transitions since I really started following sports like I do now, but I don't usually hear too much about the community work the new owners want to do. It's usually all about the team and winning. That being said, Harris and Blitzer have big ideas for what they want to do on the business side of the Devils. If they're going to follow the model they're using for the 76ers, Devils fans are going to be very happy with what they have in store. For one thing, 76ers tickets are pretty affordable now. Your ears just perked up, didn't they? Based on everything I read about the new owners, I'm more than happy with what's in store for the Devils for the foreseeable future. I think it's FINALLY time to retire the old and tired "Devils have no fans" jokes and the "Devils are leaving New Jersey" quips because neither of them are true any more. We're no longer restricted by finances. The Devils will be back to being a factor sooner than a lot of Rangers and Flyers fans would like.

Johnny Football Has Got Me Thinking...

I know you're all waiting to hear about what I have to say about the impending sale of the New Jersey Devils, but I'll wait until after it's official to give my thoughts. But, most of you that know me already know how I feel about the whole thing.

Johnny Football or Johnny Drama?

Johnny Manziel has had quite the roller-coaster ride since winning the Heisman trophy back in January. He was on all of the late-night talk shows. He had pictures with all kinds of elite athletes and celebrities. He has become one of the most recognizable people in all sport, let alone college football. However, from what we have seen, it looks like Johnny Football can't handle the spotlight off the field as well as he seemingly could on it. He has tweeted about how he can't "bleeping" wait to get out of College Station. He had to leave the Manning Passing Academy because of missed meetings. And now he has this autograph fiasco hanging over his head. It's like a train wreck; we want ESPN to shut up about it, but we can't look away when they talk about it. Did he accept money? Did his friend accept money and thus act as an agent? Why did he sign so many autographs? If it's all true, this is just another instance of Manziel acting like an idiot. Sure, he wants us to cut him slack because "he's just a 20-year-old kid trying to have fun." Sorry, Johnny, but once you won the Heisman, you became a public figure. You're no longer a kid at that point. It's time to be a man and start taking responsibility for your actions. Getting kicked of a University of Texas frat party while wearing a Tebow jersey? C'mon, man! You have got to smarter than that. I hope all of the allegations are false, but if they turn out to be true, then Manziel just showed the whole world that he is incredibly selfish. Why put your whole team at risk for a few extra bucks? It's not like he needs it; he comes from an upper-middle class family. This leads me to my next point...

NCAA "Hypocrisy"

Jay Bilas has long been a man on a mission to get real NCAA reform when it comes to student-athlete compensation. Recently, he had NCAAshop.com shut down because he was able to search by student-athlete names to find memorabilia. Manziel and Jadeveon Clowney were just two of the names that brought player-specific results. Mark Emmert, NCAA president, had the site shut down based on how people could see that as "hypocritical." The student-athletes can't profit off of their likenesses, but the NCAA can. Right. So, Jay Bilas single-handedly shut down a revenue stream for the NCAA. He's currently the NCAA's worst nightmare, and he won't stop until there's real reform. But, if Manziel is doing this - and he comes from a comfortable economic situation - what about the guys that come from nothing? What must they be doing to try and get their family any little bit of cash to help their situation? Honestly, the fact that the NCAA doesn't even let the "revenue-generating" sports' athletes get paid is foolish. Amateurs don't play in 100,000-seat stadiums. Amateurs don't play in front out millions upon millions of TV viewers. Amateurs don't get to be in a video game. It's time to properly compensate these kids for the hard work and sacrifices they make so their respective schools can make money. This does raise a very interesting question, though.

What if there was another pipeline to the pros?

College football is the only way to get the NFL. College basketball is (for the most part) the only way into the NBA. Baseball is much more international, but the a majority of American-born prospects come from college. This leaves us with hockey. There are multiple avenues to get to the NHL. You could go to college and play for a powerhouse. Or, you can head north of the border and play in one of the three CHL junior leagues. How does this change the college hockey landscape? The kids in the QMJHL, OHL, and WHL get paid. They don't have to attend classes and maintain academic eligibility. It's no coincidence that the best prospects come from the CHL. I am in no way knocking NCAA hockey, though. Some awesome players have come from the college ranks. But could you imagine if there was a similar system in place for football and basketball? There would be a complete and total overhaul in the college sports landscape the likes of which no one can even begin to fathom. The best recruits wouldn't even think about going to school. They would chase the paper in the junior leagues. You would find out real quick how many kids actually care about their education and which just care about their sport. There would never be a crowd of 100k+ at a college football game again. The days of one-and-done recruits in college basketball would be over; teams would actually have to build for the long-term. The quality of play in both sports would suffer greatly because all of the best players would being playing in the junior leagues where they would be getting paid. This is something not a lot of people are talking about with all of this craziness with the NCAA and Manziel. It is interesting to play the "What If?" game with it, though.

Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez

(Photo credit: USA Today)

Forgive me for being late on this story as I have been vacationing down the Jersey Shore this week, but on Monday, Major League Baseball finally handed out the suspensions involving the players implicated in the Biogenesis investigation. Twelve players were given 50-game suspensions. Those players included Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, and Evereth Cabrera just to name a few. However, the name most people were paying attention to, Alex Rodriguez, was handed the largest suspension that wasn't a lifetime ban in MLB's history, 211 games. That means A-Rod won't get the opportunity to play again until the 2015 season. However, he does get the opportunity to appeal. During the time leading up to when his appeal is heard, he can play. Since most experts are saying that he won't be able to get a hearing until November, I guess we will see A-Rod (unfortunately) in a Yankee uniform for the rest of the season. His reception in his first game back in Chicago went as expected. The boos rained down on him at every at-bat and whenever he did anything in the field. When he struck-out looking in his last at-bat U.S. Cellular field erupted in cheers. This is will probably be the standard crowd response from opposing fans when the Yankees are on the road. The real test is going to come Friday when A-Rod plays in his first game back in front of my fellow Yankee fans. Honestly, I have no idea what the crowd reaction at the Stadium is going to be. If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably going to be 75%-25% boos-to-cheers. Where do I fall? If I was there, I'd be booing the crap out of him. There are plenty of reasons that I fall on that side. Some are obvious; some not so much.

After 2009, A-Rod's play began to decline. He wasn't the player he once was. His power numbers were down, he was striking out more, and his defense was beginning to take a dive. In just one season after leading the Yanks to the World Series, he had just as quickly turned into a liability. Most Yankee fans, myself included, started to sour on A-Rod based on his play alone. Add the fact that he kept getting major injuries putting him on the Disabled List for long periods of time and his albatross of a contract, and there was plenty of ammo for Yankee fans to use to justify hatred towards A-Rod. You then have A-Rod admitting to using "a banned substance" and his connection with Canadian sports medicine specialist, Anthony Galea, which just added more fuel to the fire. But on top of all of that, there's one quote that really set me over the edge:

"I'm a human being. I've had two hip surgeries. I've had two knee surgeries. I'm fighting for my life. I have to defend myself. If I don't defend myself, no one else will."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! My aunt that lost a five-year long battle with ovarian cancer was fighting for her life! YOU'RE A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR ATHLETE! You're not "fighting for your life," as you say. You're fighting because your ego is too big for it's own good and you can never not be the spotlight. So, you foolishly drag this whole thing out just because you think you have a shot to overturn your suspension. Keep dreaming. When the arbiter holds up the suspension, I hope you'll be happy with all the time and effort you wasted. This leads me to why I think A-Rod's suspension is not harsh enough.

Agree with me or not, Alex Rodriguez should be banned from baseball for life. I look at it this way: A-Rod used the game of baseball as his own little toy. He did everything with only his best interests in mind, he always thought he was above the game, and shamed the game of baseball in the process. This all started with his insane contract with the Texas Rangers. He then used PEDs to try to justify the contract he signed. When he was traded to the Yankees, he did nothing to help our team in the postseason until 2009. Other than that year, his postseason numbers as a Yankee are abysmal at best. He opted out of his deal with the Yankees only to sign a BIGGER deal, and this was all announced during the World Series. No respect whatsoever. Now this whole circus that will surround him and the Yankees for the rest of this season. ALL OF THAT compounded on top of each other is why I think A-Rod deserves to be banned for life. What A-Rod did to the game is far worse than anything Pete Rose ever did, I don't care what anyone says. I still say Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. He never bet against his own team, but I digress. Monday was a rough day for baseball thanks to A-Rod once again, but it was a good day in the sense that MLB basically showed that it's finally beginning to take the steps necessary to crack down on PED users once and for all.