Tagliabue Will Not Save The Big East

The Big East Conference is preparing for war once again. Seven years ago Miami, Boston College, and Virginia Tech ditched the Big East in light for the ACC and changed the college athletics landscape. With talks of the Big Ten looking to expand, the Big East has looked to a former son to help keep the conference in tact.

Paul Tagliabue, the former NFL commissioner and alum of Georgetown University, was hired last week as an unpaid consultant to help the conference survive if the Big Ten comes picking for teams. Tagliabue may be a consultant but his strategy to protect the Big East has started in an interesting way. His unique strategy apparently consists of demeaning teams already in the conference.

"Is Minnesota and Rutgers going to get a big rating on Long Island?" Tagliabue said in an interview with the New York Times. "Give me a break. Every game isn't Michigan and Michigan State."

Well so much for being nice to teams like Rutgers in hopes of convincing them to stay in the league if the Big Ten comes calling. Tagliabue said his statement meant that the Big Ten is over reaching its boundaries by coming east if it decides to expand.

But Taliabue may be a bit naive. Will Rutgers and Minnesota peak the charts? Most likely no, but if teams like Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State come to New Jersey I have a feeling there may be some true interest. Rutgers would easily sell out every home game with teams like that visiting the Garden State.

Taliabue then went on to question what teams like Rutgers or Syracuse could do for the Big Ten Network. There is no question the Big Ten Network would love to expand east and bring in the New York market. Rutgers has had record number of viewers the past three seasons on ESPN for prime time college football.

So what does the Big East have to offer that is better than the Big Ten? Tagliabue clearly doesn't have an answer but instead likes to focus on shaping the future.

"You shouldn't just try and sit back and try to anticipate a future created by someone else." He said. "You are in a position to shape the future. Let's figure out how to do it."

The honest truth though is if the Big Ten wants to grab teams from the Big East or Big 12 they can and they will. The Big East is too late to start shaping the future now. The Big Ten members each make $22 million annually in television revenue, four times more than the Big East members according to NJ.com. I think the advantage is clear.

Let's also not forget about the bowl tie-ins for football in the Big Ten, which blow away those from the Big East. I think most Rutgers fans would take the Outback Bowl over the Papajohns.com bowl.

The bottom line is the Big Ten talks are starting to get serious. The Big Ten will expand, it is just a matter of when. And when they make the move, the college landscape will change once again like it did seven years ago. Tagliabue can try and make the Big East football teams seem unattractive but the fact is they are attractive to the folks in the Midwest.

My advice to Tagliabue is simple. Like Georgetown and the other small, private catholic schools their primary focus is on basketball. The Big Ten will come calling east, and the Big East will not be able to stop them from raiding the conference once again. Start looking for other schools in the area that can fill your "basketball" conference and give up on keeping the conference how it is now.

Teams like Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia are all good fits for the Big Ten and its apparent by Tagliabue's quotes that he knows it as well. Tagliabue may want to stay away from Rutgers this fall because those "Long Island" people may be interested in teaching him a lesson about running your mouth.

No Fun in College Football

The NCAA rules committee is once again taking the fun out of college football. The focus this year will once again be on "excessive celebration". Officials will be able to call spot-fouls on players who celebrate before the end zone and...wait...write messages on their eye black (gasp).

I do not have a problem with officials flagging players who taunt their opponents or who showboat as if they are Ochocinco or TO, but for the NCAA to put in a rule in where officials have the power to take points off the board in ludicrous.

If a kid fakes a player out of his shoes and then runs 85-yards for a touchdown, then it's a touchdown. If he flips into the end zone or does the primetime dance before crossing the goal line then throw a flag and enforce it on the PAT or kickoff, do not take away the score. These are young kids showing emotion and passion for the sport they love. They are not robots or even worse the emotionless players in the NFL who only care about money.

College football is all about emotion. The bands, fans, rivalries, stadiums, and traditions are what college football is all about. The game is built around excitement. I'm all for sportsmanship, it's what the NCAA is all about according to those annoying commercials we see on CBS or ESPN, but let's not get carried away with it.

And the eye black ordeal, really? I have yet to see a player write a curse word on their eye black, or even their phone number for girls to give them a call after the game. Give me a break, if a player writes the zip code of their hometown or the name of their late mother then let them do it. Don't become the NFL who fines players for the wrong towel or sock length. Would the NCAA really penalize Tim Tebow for writing scripture on his eye black?

The excessive celebration penalty falls under rule 9-2, Article I (a)(1)(d) which says that "any delayed , excessive, prolonged or choreographed act by which a player (or players) attempts to focus attention upon himself (or themselves)", the rule also goes on to say the player must return the ball immediately to the official after a score.

The NCAA is simply scared of the past. The rules for excessive celebration were created because of the Miami teams of the '90's. The "U" portrayed the image that the NCAA hated. Miami wasn't like old fashion Notre Dame or Nebraska, they were rough and tough and enjoyed the spotlight. Players like Michael Irving thrived on talking trash and backing it up with his play.

I don't want to see players celebrate like X-PAC and give the "suck it" sign but let the kids enjoy themselves a bit. The stupid celebration rule cost Georgia its game against LSU last season and cost Washington its game against BYU two years ago. In both cases the flags were called on players celebrating as a team, high-fiving and hugging each other. The celebrations were not choreographed or prolonged, they were simply the result of the emotion and excitement of the game.

The NCAA is acting like players are truly offended when someone celebrates against them. What is this, one of those little league functions where everyone gets a trophy?

Rutgers Guard Rosario to Transfer

Rutgers has granted sophomore guard Mike Rosario a conditional release from his scholarship after meeting with athletic director Tim Pernetti and informing him of his intent to transfer. Rosario leaving is just another chip in the glass that is surely about to bust by weeks end with the turmoil going on in the Scarlet Knights basketball program.

It started two weeks ago when head coach Fred Hill Jr. got into a verbal scuffle with Pittsburgh's head baseball coach Joe Jordano at a Rutgers baseball game.

Fast forward to today and now Rutgers is on the verge of a legal battle with Hill after the 51-year-old declined a $600,000 buyout before receiving his letter of termination from the university on Monday. Add to the drama that incoming freshman Gilvydas Biruta, a 6-8 power forward from St. Benedict's Prep, asked Pernetti to get out of his letter of intent two weeks ago.

As for Rosario, the Jersey City native certainly had his ups and downs at Rutgers. Fans need to be honest and realize Rosario was over hyped coming to the Scarlet Knights. He was the first ever McDonald's all-American to come to Piscatway and hopes were high when he arrived in 2008. But two seasons of sub-par shooting percentage and brutal turnover to assist ratio exposed the guard's weaknesses.

It's been rumored that Rosario is interested in transferring to Southern California, Kansas, or North Carolina. Rosario's friend and former teammate at St. Anthony's Jio Fontan is at USC now, but Rutgers plans to sue the school for tampering charges. In his freshman season, Rosario and Rutgers traveled to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels--it was believed that after a strong performance Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams approached the young guard and had a lengthy conversation, it was unknown what they talked about.

Rosario was an outcast in his two years at Rutgers. At times he oddly used third-person narrative to respond to reporters and always seemed distant from his teammates. The school's newspaper, The Daily Targum, even had an article last week citing sources saying that teammate's never liked him and wanted him to leave.

It's very doubtful that Rutgers was hampering Rosario's chances of making the NBA. Rosario is a slim-built, 6-3 guard, who has a weak left hand and has a knack for horrible shot selection. Unlike former Rutgers guard Quincy Douby, Rosario is not a long range shooter. It's surprising enough that Rosario's ego will let him sit out a year before he can return to college basketball.

Rosario had a perfect situation in high school. His coach, Bob Hurley Sr., was able to keep his star guard's ego in check with team style basketball. Not to mention that Rosario had Dominic Cheek, Jio Fontan, Tyshawn Taylor, and A.J. Rodgers on his squad--all went on to play at big-time schools.

Rosario is the last thing Rutgers needs to worry about at this time. They first must settle the dispute with Hill and replace him within the month as spring recruiting heats up. Then the school can worry about who is coming back next season and incoming freshman there are.

Rosario may wind up at a place like UNC, but he is no Dahntay Jones who transferred from Rutgers to Duke in 2000 and now plays for the Pacers. At best, Rosario is a sixth-man on a mid-level ACC team. Could he wind up in the NBA? Yes, but Rosario must reshape his attitude and start from scratch at a new school with only two years left to do so.

Like always, fans will have to get over this departure. It's like a marriage that wasn't solid from the start, and both parties new it and now they're acting on it. Rutgers basketball will move on and Rosario will too, only time will tell which party benefits from the split.

The Coaching Carousel

Wake Forest head coach Dino Gaudio is the latest casualty of the college basketball world-- the Deacons head man was fired today after three seasons in Winston Salem. March Madness doesn't just refer to the tournament action, but the month is a time where coaches come and go and the next Brad Steven's are given their big shot.

Here are some of the schools that let coaches go and made new hires.

Seton Hall- Fired Bobby Gonzalez-- Hired Iona's Kevin Willard

The Pirates bowed out in the first round of the NIT at home to Texas Tech, but it wasn't the loss alone that did in Gonzo. Gonzalez conduct on and off the court was an issue ever since he came to South Orange from Manhattan. Kevin Willard will be the new replacement at Seton Hall, and the Pirates have to be happy with the hire. Willard took the Gaels from a two-win season to a 21-10 record just two year's later. Willard is a Big Easy guy-- he played his college ball at Pittsburgh and was on Rick Patino's Louisville staff before going to Iona.

Final ruling: Upgrade!

Boston College- Fired Al Skinner-- Hired Cornell's Steve Donahue

In 1997, Skinner was hired at BC to salvage a program devastated by a gambling scandal. Skinner did a terrific job bringing the program back to life-- taking the Eagles to the NCAA tournament seven times since 2001. Reports are conflicting, but it appears the university decided to part ways with the long time coach after he was rumored to interview for the St. John's position.

Boston College now turns to long time Cornell coach Steve Donahue-- who led the big Red to a 29-5 record this season before losing to Kentucky in the Sweet 16. Donahue is a local guy who preaches discipline and hard work. Donahue was emotional while speaking with his players before leaving for Chesnut Hill, but Donahue will have a lot to prove at a big time school. He'll have to bring in local talent to compete in one of the toughest conferences in the country. The debate is still out on whether this hire will help or hurt the Eagles.

Final Ruling: Downgrade!

Depaul- Fired Jerry Wainwright-- Hired Clemson's Oliver Purnell

Wainwright was fired midway through this season as the Blue Demons fell to the bottom of the Big East for a second straight season. Depaul went winless in the Big East in 2008-09. Wainwright had two years left on his contract when he was let go.

The decision to fire Wainwright wasn't a shocker to most, but Oliver Purnell's decision to leave Clemson was. Purnell took the Tigers to a 21-11 record this season and another appearance in the NCAA tournament. Purnell had struggles winning a tournament game once his teams got to the dance, but now Purnell will have the job of rebuilding a struggling program. Purnell calls this job a great opportunity and believes the Depaul is Chicago's team. One thing is certain, Purnell is a good coach with great experience, and Depaul maybe made the best hire of the off season so far.

Final ruling: Upgrade!

Wagner College- Fired Mike Deane-- Hired St. Benedict's Prep HS Danny Hurley

Deane coached the Seahawks since 2003 without much success. Wagner finished this year with a 5-26 record-- not much to say for the firing.

The hiring of Danny Hurley says a lot for the son of Hall of Famer Bob Hurley Sr-- legendary coach at St. Anthony's High School. Hurley has some college experience, he was an assistant coach at Rutgers under Kevin Bannon from 1997 to 2001. Hurley compiled a 223-21 record at St. Benedict's and had four teams ranked in the top five in the country. One advantage Hurley will have is his family connections. It's already rumored he will hire his brother, Bobby Jr.- formed Duke star-- as an assistant coach. If Hurley can bring in some players from St. Ben's and St. Anthony's, Wagner may be a dangerous team in the NEC.

Final Ruling: Upgrade!

Hill May Cause His Own Departure

Three weeks ago, Rutgers basketball head coach Fred Hill Jr. met with athletic director Tim Pernetti about his future at the University-- and Pernetti decided to give his vote of confidence in Hill to return for a fifth season after another sub par year. Now the exit door has reopened a bit after a series of transfer, recruit, and behavioral problems surfaced over the weekend.

Fred Hill's father, Fred Hill Sr., has coached the baseball program at Rutgers for 27 years. This past weekend the baseball team was home against Pittsburgh. In the first game of the series on Thursday, the ballgame ended in a controversial safe-out call. After Pitt coach Joe Jordano went to argue the call to the umpire, the Rutgers coaching staff starting jawing at the Panther dugout.

According to eye witnesses at the game, both set of coaches emptied out onto the field where a yelling match ensued. Apparently, Fred Hill Jr. took offense to Pitt screaming at his father and decided it was OK to shout obscenities towards Pitt. Hill's outburst according to the eye witnesses was embarrassing and unnecessary.

The next day, Pitt's athletic director called Pernetti about the scuffle and was alarmed that the basketball coach had anything to do with the altercation. According to Jerry Carino and Keith Sargeant on their blog Scarlet Scuttlebutt-- Pernetti took action after the call by telling Hill Jr. to stay away from the Bainton Field complex for the remainder of the weekend series.

Hill did not oblige to his boss's recommendation. On Saturday Pernetti took a trip to the baseball field where he usually sits out in the left field hill with the players parents. There, Pernetti saw Hill in his car behind some trees, scrunched down watching the game.

There are no reports that Pernetti confronted Hill at the game but it was reported that the Rutgers AD did see his basketball coach at the baseball game.

And if that alone wasn't enough to stir up trouble, it was reported yesterday by Tom Lucci of the Star-Ledger that Rutgers guard Mike Rosario is seriously considering transferring because Hill is coming back for another season.

Hill already lost two players in the past three months to transfer, and 11 overall in his short tenure at Rutgers. This does not bold well for a coach that has a Big East record of 13-57-- the worst record by any coach in the past few seasons in the conference.

Aside from the transfer issues the program has had, it is now in even more trouble with future talent coming to the state university of New Jersey. Gilvydas Biruta, a 6-7 forward out of St. Benedict's who signed with Rutgers last November, has reportedly asked out of his letter of intent according to Zagsblog.com. The site also reported that Biruta went to Pernetti directly, instead of Hill. If Biruta does not come to Rutgers, the program will have only one incoming recruit for next season.

This leaves Pernetti with an enormous decision on the horizon. Hill has a behavioral clause in his contract-- and with the baseball outburst it is possible that Pernetti can terminate Hill for violating his contract. If Rutgers fired Hill without cause, the school would owe him $1.8 million.

The debate now becomes will Pernetti fire Hill? And if he does, who does the school go after to be its next coach? Those questions need to be answered within the week no matter what. The longer Rutgers waits, the more the damage already done could get worse.

One thing is certain, you would think a coach on the hot seat would be on his best behavior after getting a free pass on a joke of a coaching career-- but then again we've seen odder things in New Jersey before.

A Championship for the Ages

The Hollywood script would have had a different ending-- a last second buzzer beater to have the small town school knock off the big boys-- but last night's NCAA championship game wasn't meant to end that way. Instead, Duke won it's fourth national title defeating Butler 61-59 in front of 70,930 fans in Indianapolis.

The game wasn't decided until Butler's Gordan Hayward's last second half-court heave hit off the backboard then rim and rattled to the floor, setting off a Blue Devil celebration all the way to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tobacco Road. It was a game for the ages-- it was David vs. Goliath-- and this time Goliath came out on top.

The game never got out of hand last night, as neither team led by more than six points. Duke was led by their big three as Singler, Scheyer, and Zoubek all played key parts down the stretch.

It was Zoubek who had the monstrous rebound off Hayward's miss with 3.6 seconds left as the Bulldogs had an opportunity down one in their half court to take the lead. Zoubek made his first free throw, and intentionally missed the second when Hayward got the rebound and got a pick at half court from Matt Howard-- almost making what would have been the greatest shot in college basketball history.

And even though Butler lost, they still proved their point. Butler played on behalf of all the other "mid-major" teams out there who don't have a budget like the Duke's of the world, and they showed they belonged in the title game.

It was the typical Butler game-- play tough defense, contest shots, come up with steals, and take advantage of half court opportunities. As head coach Brad Stevens said, Butler was one possession away from winning in a game with 145 possessions.

Butler was America's team last night, and most fans wanted the Cinderella story for Hooisers part II. But people will soon realize the amazing stories that will come from the Duke side as well, that would be just as a good for a Hollywood movie.

Nolan Smith-- son of Louisville great Derek Smith who passed away when his son was only eight-- won a championship in the same town where his father won one back in 1980. In 1991, Christian Laettner led the Blue Devils to their first title in Indy, the same place Duke won last night. And coach Mike Krzyzewski passed his mentor, Bob Knight and tied Adolph Rupp for coaches with at least four national titles.

Last night's game was an instant classic. A game that's final margin was the closet since 1989 when Michigan defeated Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime. And though the scenes were different last night at Cameron Indoor and historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, both schools have much to be proud of.

For Duke, they're back on top of the college basketball scene. And will have bragging rights for a year over their arch enemies of North Carolina-- a team that won two national titles since Duke's last trip to the final four in 2004. This year's Duke team was unlike the ones of '91, '92, and '01. These Blue Devils weren't made up of lottery picks and top NBA talent-- this year's team had gritty players who lived up to and passed their potential to take the crown.

For Butler there is much to be optimistic about. Unlike many of the "mid-majors", Butler returns most of their keys players from this year's squad. Shelvin Mack and Gordon Hayward are just sophomores, while Matt Howard and Zach Hahn will return next year as seniors. The Bulldogs will be a top five team next year, and they deserve to be. They have a great coach, great talent, and even more determination.

This is what March Madness is supposed to be about. And even though it will be hard to explain to a young fan why the little team didn't upset the big bullies-- there is still honor in how both teams performed, and everyone who watched last night's game should feel lucky they had a chance to see it.

Spring Break Death A Lesson to All

Matt James, a 17-year-old Notre Dame football recruit, was "drunk and belligerent" according to authorities when he fell from a fifth-floor balcony on his high school spring break in Florida. James fell from the balcony at the Days Inn Motel in Panama City Beach over a week ago.

According to officials, James was on the trip with 40 fellow classmates and about a half-dozen parents from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. The hotel's balconies were up to the normal height standard, but two questions must be asked from this tragedy.

Why were the kids allowed on the balconies on spring break and what parents allowed James to get drunk while in Florida?

I recently went on my college spring break to Daytona Beach a few weeks ago and stayed in a hotel similar to the one James was in. But unlike the Days Inn Motel, my hotel locked their balconies during spring break. It is no secret that young students go on spring break to escape from school and enjoy the ability to live care free and drink themselves into oblivion. It makes no sense to me why hotels in all the spring break hot spots would not have the policies to lock their balconies. Keeping balconies open only creates a huge liability issue for these hotels.

Although some blame must be put on the motel, much of it must go on James himself as well as the parents who were supervising the trip. For starters, James is underage, and as a future collegiate athlete he should have known better than to get drunk and put his future at risk. Many young people feel invincible, but these stories are not uncommon and prove that kids make mistakes and sometimes pay the ultimate price, especially on spring break.

But James could have had help. James somehow found a way to get alcohol in his system, and because he was "drunk and belligerent", there were most likely plenty of classmates around that noticed his disturbing behavior. There were most likely a few parents who noticed his demeanor as well. As soon as James opened the balcony door, someone should have grabbed him and made him realize what harm he was in.

This story isn't about sports. James was a talented athlete and had a bright future ahead of him. He was not just a football player but a varsity basketball athlete as well, but being an athlete alone does not make you invincible.

I feel bad for his parents and for his friends. Cause at the end of the day, James was the one who chose to drink and chose to go on the balcony. And unfortunately, his decisions cost him his life. And many friends and family probably feel like they're solely to blame, but they're not.

Too many times we see athletes in society think they are free from the rules that everyone else adheres to. Just look at athletes like former Net Jayson Williams and NFL player Donte Stallworth. Both men killed innocent civilians while under the influence of alcohol.

The death of Matt James can be a lesson to many people. It should open the eyes to students who go away on break and think they won't get hurt, it should open the eyes of high school coaches around the country to teach their players that there are consequences for drinking, and it should open up the eyes of parents to teach their kids how valuable life is.

My heart goes out to the James family and the St. Xavier school.