Fooch recently caught up with Coach Schiano (video), the gist of their conversation being that some of the spring's position changes are experimental and are not guaranteed to stick.
"I would say that's Mike Rice having to pay his dues as a new coach in the Big East," he said. "I don't think the refs would have done that to Jim Boeheim or Jim Calhoun."
It makes sense why Seton Hall hosted last weekend's East Regional in Newark, considering that they play in the Prudential Center and all. Was anyone else wondering though why Rutgers was considered the host in 2007? Tara Sullivan sort of delves into why, in the process of carrying the torch for Izod's continuing viability. Izod isn't a great venue for athletics, and Newark is far more accessible for public transit.
What exactly is going on with star Bound Brook wrestler Andrew Campolattano? A few weeks back a Nebraska wrestler from South Jersey made comments that some interpreted to mean that Campolattano was going to Nebraska, although it's awfully hard to tell from the wording without having been there in person. Andrew listed seven possible destinations in another article that people are probably reading way more into than is warranted.
Is a Rivals board a reliable source for the latest on Villanova's football upgrade? You be the judge.
Are the Colts looking to replace Gary Brackett in the near future? That's a little depressing considering that Tom Coughlin said at the Combine that the Giants may need to find a center of the future. The downside to sending more good players to the NFL is that eventually they will have to hang up their cleats.
Quincy Douby scored a record 44 points to earn MVP honors over Stephon Marbury and Marcus Willians in the China Basketball Association All-Star game.
Did a Kentucky student say that New Jersey was nicer than Syracuse, or that Newark was nicer? The former is indisputable (cue 1000 word rant on NJ's completely inaccurate media portrayals.) The latter; well, Newark has progressed a ton over the past decade, especially the downtown area where the arena is located. Syracuse's precious Dinosaur B.B.Q. chain is even opening a new franchise in Newark (they also have one in Harlem), which is a nice rejoinder to last week's "where's all the new Newark development" story spurred by the East Regional.
The New York Times has a good piece on Ken Pomeroy, delving into how most basketball clubs use kenpom.com to some extent or another. Quantification is harder in team sports like football and basketball than it is with a discrete sport like baseball, but the concepts of adjusting for tempo and context are always important to keep in mind.
Ralph Nader wants to end athletic scholarships. Hrm, what's the bigger problem: threats to the integrity of amateur athletics, or providing opportunities to a group of student athletes that are traditionally underprivileged and underrepresented at high-profile universities. This idea would be like amputating a limb to remove an irregularly-shaped mole.
For the first time ever Rutgers will pay a commencement speaker to appear at graduation, cutting author Toni Morrison a 30k check. With the school's individual colleges merging, this year's event will be at the football stadium. For my money you can't beat Vorhees Mall in early May.
This year's Rutgersfest lineup looks terrible, in that all of the booked acts are complete unknowns. The event has traditionally had a few semi-famous acts. Did that change because of budget issues, or RUPA generally having no taste?
