In his recent interview with the Targum, athletic director Tim Pernetti is preaching a message of transparency and message control. Understandably, he's choosing his words very carefully on subjects like the state budget. The section about revenue streams and naming rights is worth reading. It's an informative interview, one that I'll probably quote often in the future. Everyone definitely should read it if they haven't already.
What do you know, the NFL is talking itself into Anthony Davis.
"It was a do-over that a lot of us weren’t happy about [having to scout], but he showed everything he needed to show," an AFC general manager whose scouts attended Davis’ workout told The Post. "The red flags [about maturity] are still there, but the kid has a ton of talent."
Was there ever any doubt that his stock would rebound? Check out Pro Football Weekly's first draft value chart. It's not really high on any Rutgers prospects, including Davis (meaning that it's probably based on older data, and still overreacting to him missing his pro day) and McCourty. Haslam and Johnson aren't even on there.
There's supposedly a new audio interview with Tim Brown in this podcast, but I don't really have the patience to listen to it. Aaron Wilson is reporting that Devin McCourty is visiting the Chargers (on the heels of other visits), and that Kevin Haslam has visits lined up too. He says that his toughest opponent in college was Jason Pierre-Paul (the interviewer appears to have mangled the name "Jeremy Zuttah" in the transcription). Jack Corcoran is visiting the Giants. I wonder if Haslam and Corcoran will be coming in for for their local prospect day.
Among the other local invitees are Rutgers TE Shamar Graves (Woodbridge), Rutgers S Zaire Kitchen (Hightstown), Monmouth RB Dave Sinisi (Cedar Grove), Penn State LB Jerome Hayes (Bayonne) and Kean DT Darryl Jackson (Red Bank).
Watching this Ray Rice video on baltimoreravens.com, their facilities almost look as nice as the Hale Center. Rutgers grad Brittany Umar (formerly of SNY's The Nooner), just conducted this video interview with Mike Teel. Courtney Greene re-signed with the Jaguars.
Eh, I'm lukewarm on Steve Politi's column lamenting how Lance Thomas and DeSean Butler are playing in the final four for out of state teams. Jerry Carino was covering similar territory a week back. I don't really like those sorts of analyses, because even good programs will make their share of mistakes. Actually, recruiting hasn't really been Fred Hill Jr.'s problem. If Greg Echenique was still on the roster, they'd be in fairly good shape going into next year. Other defections have hurt team depth going forward. Hill was a great recruiter, but now he's lost credibility at home, and that's a reason to be wary.
Rutgers baseball started weak in OOC play, but now they've been on a hot streak as of late. Jaren Matthews is their biggest name, but Pat Biserta is leading the team with 10 home runs. Men's lax lost 11-10 at home to St. John's too.
Coach Schiano will be speaking at an on campus fundraiser on April 14th.
The Charlotte Bowl has dropped Meineke as a sponsor. The Big East may still be in the mix for a partial bid to the Liberty Bowl. The bowl lineup has been taking an awfully long time to finalize.
As had been rumored Cappie Pondexter was traded to the WNBA's New York Liberty, reuniting her with Essence Carson and Kia Vaughn. Oddly enough, the Liberty just lost their coach to Seton Hall. Don't hold your breath for Piph Prince joining them, as she's going to be a high pick.
Seton Hall's Herb Pope has declared for the upcoming NBA Draft. Carino says that his status is up in the air along with the likes of Robinson and Hazell, and there could even be further defections.
Here's to hoping that BC's decision to fire Al Skinner blows up in their faces. Skinner is like a Gary Waters with actual talent. Wouldn't be at the top of my list if Hill gets canned next year, but he'd be a good choice.
You might have seen this already, since Bill Simmons is the most popular sportswriter in America and all, but he's finally dipping his toes into the water when it comes to advanced baseball stats. It's hard to resist the urge to complain about Simmons's oversights or drag him into the various intra-sabermetric blood squabbles (I lean towards Tom Tango, who made all the stats on Fangraphs, and The Hardball Times is good too), but this is a watershed moment for the analysis movement. Soon enough, Brad Pitt will portray Billy Beane throwing a chair in the film adaptation of Moneyball, and no one will be making any more pocket protector jokes.
Here's what you need to know about Rutgersfest this year - they...actually are bringing in a good rock band in Brand New? What always bugs me about the event is that their hip hop booking is always great (N.E.R.D., The Roots, Nas, Common, Kanye West, Ludacris, which continues this year with Talib Kweli). Does RCPC/RUPA just hate electric guitars, have no taste, or do rock bands charge a lot more than their hip hop counterparts? So that's good, although they shouldn't have moved the event from Busch to Livingston.
Getting ready for the spring game? Download your Rutgers Day brochure now to learn about all of the numerous pre-game events on campus.
Facing decreased state aid, North Jersey towns seek to tax college students for services.