The New "SAINT" John

Former UCLA coach and ESPN analyst Steve Lavin was hired yesterday as the newest head coach of St. John's. Lavin replaces Norm Roberts, who could not bring the Red Storm to the dance in six seasons as head coach.

Lavin coached six seasons at UCLA after replacing Jim Harrick in November of 1996. Lavin compiled a 145-78 record with the Bruins, and took his teams to the sweet 16 five times, and the elite eight once.

Florida coach Billy Donovan, former Boston College coach Al Skinner and Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt were all in consideration for the job after Roberts was fired, but after Donovan and Hewitt said no, St. John's turned to Lavin.

Lavin may not be the number one choice for St. John's fans, but the Red Storm got what they wanted, a semi-big name coach with a high-profile personality. Lavin should easily challenge MTV's The Situation and Pauly D for who uses the most hair gel at one time.

Lavin has one thing going for him that every Big east coach needs, experience. Lavin started out as an assistant at Purdue under legendary coach Gene Keady, and then moved back out west to coach with Jim Harrick in 1991 at UCLA. It's one to thing to say you want to win, but Lavin knows what it takes to win.

Lavin has been to a total of 13 NCAA tournaments as a coach, and guided the Bruins to six years of 20 plus win seasons. Lavin is also 10-1 in the first two rounds of the tournament as a head coach.

Most importantly, Lavin can recruit, and being in New York will certainly help his job. At UCLA, Lavin compiled seven McDonald's all-Americans on his rosters including NBA players Trevor Ariza and Baron Davis. If Lavin can higher a few New York assistants, maybe someone like former Duke star Jay Williams, then the newest head coach of St. John's should have Madison Square Garden rocking next year.

There is no doubt St. John's is in the best shape of any college team in the New York/New Jersey area. Rutgers decided to keep Fred Hill Jr. as its head coach, even though Hill is 44-77 overall in four seasons with the Scarlet Knights. If the state University of New Jersey is in trouble, Seton Hall may be in even worse shape. The Pirates recently fired Bobby Gonzalez after four seasons and hired Iona's Kevin Willard as its new coach. Three players have already declared for the NBA draft, leaving Seton Hall with few scholarship players.

St. John's returns 94 percent of its offense from last season, a team that went 17-16 overall with a first round loss in the NIT. It is not a given that Lavin will be the next Lou Carnesecca, but the Red Storm now have an experienced coach, with an experienced team, playing in the world's most famous area, the future looks bright for St. John's.

Women's Basketball in Need of "Miracle in March"

The Conneticut women's basketball team is on a 69-game winning streak and one win away from tying a record for most consecutive victories, set by the Huskies from 2001-2003. But what women's college basketball needs most is their version of the 1980 U.S. Hockey team. For as unbelievable as the streak is, this year's UConn team winning the NCAA title will not help the sport of women's basketball.

On Monday, UConn capped off their regular season with a 76-51 win over No. 8 Notre Dame, finishing this year 30-0. Tina Charles surpassed Nykesha Sales as the school's all-time leading scorer and Rebecca Lobo as the Huskies all-time leading rebounder in the game against the Irish.

If the record of 69 wins in a row isn't enough, how about winning each game by double figures? UConn has established their dominance in the women's game and it doesn't seem like anyone will contest them for their year's crown.

What should the NCAA want? Do they want the streak to continue and want the Huskies to continue to blowout team after team? Do they want the tournament to become an event to see who will finish behind the Huskies? The NCAA needs a women's basketball Cinderella this year, now more than ever.

There is almost no doubt UConn will get to the final four, and most likely play for another national title. The NCAA can hype up the streak as much as they want, and ESPN can play all the highlights from the UCLA dynasty, but UConn losing in the title game is just what women's basketball needs.

This sport needs their own miracle on ice. People will watch the championship game if (when) UConn gets there. But people will be turned off if Geno Auriemma's squad blows out another Top Ten team. People will start to call the sport a joke, and start to blame Auriemma for the lack of parity.

Yes, players like Charles only come once in a lifetime. But if UConn continues to dominate, expect more once in a lifetime players to appear on the Huskies roster. Not that players like Lobo, Diana Taurasi, and Sue Bird aren't once in a lifetime players also.

It is unclear which team can challenge the Huskies. Teams like Stanford, Notre Dame, Texas, and Duke have all been thrashed by UConn this season. It will take a miracle for this year's Huskies team to lose, but it's something women's basketball needs.

If a team can knock off UConn in the title game, it will not just be one of the greatest upsets of all-time, but it may spawn some high school players to look elsewhere other than Hartford, CT.

It's time for March Madness

Even the weather today in New Jersey was pointing to signs of better times. With February here and gone it's time for the best month of the year in sports, March Madness. Cue up the CBS music, the bands, the cheerleaders and of course the Cinderellas. Get your brackets ready and enjoy the best month in sports.

The regular season is winding down and one thing is for sure, there is no favorite to take home the title this year. This past weekend alone showed the crazy carousel that is college basketball.

Former No. 1 Kansas lost to Oklahoma State 85-77 and showed the country the Jayhawks may not be top dog in the Big 12. Kentucky was at No. 2 last week before losing to Tennessee 74-65. There is no doubt John Wall is the best player in the country, but DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Paterson are going to need to step up for the SEC tournament.

Purdue may have had the worst week of any team in college basketball after losing star player Robbie Hummel to an ACL injury as well as falling to Michigan State 53-44. It will be up to E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson to pick up the slack for the Boilermakers.

Syracuse is the new No. 1 this week and may be the favorite to be the top seed in the tournament if they can survive the Big East tournament. The Orange were able to crush No. 8 Villanova 95-77 in front of a record crowd of 34,616 at the Carrier Dome. Jim Boeheim has him team on track at the right time as March Madness nears.

Many "bracket experts" love to focus on the potential Cinderellas but who knows who the next George Mason or Valpo will be? So here are a few more top 25 teams to look out for in March.

No. 7- Ohio State (23-7)

This Big Ten team may have been overlooked by many in the beginning of the season, but Evan Turner has certainly opened the eyes of many college basketball fans. With a core set of guards the Buckeyes are poised to make a run deep into the tourney. Thad Matta's team stumbled early against North Carolina and Butler, but his team has stepped up recently with wins on the road over Illinois and Michigan State.

No. 10- New Mexico (27-3)

Too bad the Lobos huge win over No. 11 BYU will be over shadowed by Steve Alford's potty mouth. Darington Hobson and Roman Martinez can score at will and should help push the Lobos past the first two rounds. This should be one "mid-major" team that can take care of business and represent the Mountain West well.

No. 16- Temple (24-5)

With signature wins over Villanova, Seton Hall, and Xavier, the Owls may be the best Atlantic-10 team in the field of 65. If Lavoy Allen can start scoring more, it will help out the likes of guards Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez. The Atlantic-10 is getting loads of respect this year but the Owls will have to be the team to carry the conference in March.

No. 23- Maryland (21-7)

Gary Williams was on the hot seat early after losses to Cincinnati, Villanova, and William & Mary, but the late surge by the Terrapins has put them right behind Duke in the ACC. Greivis Vasquez is averaging 19.5 ppg, but the senior will need help from a depleted bench in order to score more points. Maryland has key wins over Virgina Tech and Florida State, but the Terrapins will be tested if they are matched up in the tourney against a team with size down low.

There is no doubt March Madness is my favorite time for sports. On any given day a team can salvage their season or have it come crumbling down. As the next weeks move on, more teams will creep into the top 25 and over and over again we will hear the term bracket buster and Cinderella. The best part about March Madness is that it is unpredictable, it is the ultimate Craps shoot and I can't get enough of it. As Gus Johnson says, it time to "RISE AND FIRE".

The Wrestling Version of Greg Schiano

Scott Goodale was hired as the Rutgers wrestling coach just three years ago. Now, Goodale has his Scarlet Knights headed into the EIWA championships as the No. 22 team in the country.

The Jackson, N.J. native coached seven years at Jackson Memorial High School before coming to Rutgers where he had an overall record of 155-16. His teams of 2006 and 2007 earned the top ranking in the state both years. While at Jackson, Goodale earned coach of the year three times.

Goodale's presence can be felt as soon as he enters a room, very similar to Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano. Like Schiano, Goodale took over a struggling program in need of a revival. Both coaches are very savvy, know how to recruit and above all command respect. Not to mention they both happen to look and sound alike.

Goodale's first recruiting class composed of top wrestlers from the state including the No. 2 wrestler in the country, Scott Winston. Dan Rinaldi and Trevor Melde were also in his first class, both were top 20 recruits.

In his second year as head coach, Goodale coached Rutgers to a school record 20 wins. That year, three wrestlers earned bids to the NCAA tournament. This year, Goodale led the Knights to a school record 15-win dual match win streak. As of now, Rutgers heads into the EIWA championships at 19-5-1.

Goodale is not just a good fit for Rutgers because of his coaching ability, but because of the type of person he is. Goodale understands that his sport is rising in popularity throughout the state, and Goodale has enormous aspirations for his team. This year, Rutgers wrestled No. 23 Virginia at the RAC and defeated the Cavaliers in front of a raucous crowd.

Goodale's team's aren't afraid to wrestle the best in the country either. Rutgers has faced top teams like Iowa and Michigan State this year away from New Jersey and in the future Goodale plans to continue to bring top opponents into the RAC.

Goodale is also a great PR guy. Anytime someone wants an interview, Goodale will do it. This coach will do whatever to bring Rutgers wrestling to the top, and you have to respect that. Goodale is on his phone almost as much as Schiano is now, texting nonstop to make sure everything is running smooth.

Who knows if Rutgers wrestling will ever make it to the likes of Iowa, Michigan State or Ohio State? But if there is one guy that has the tenacity and drive to do so, it's Goodale. Rutgers made a great choice in hiring Goodale, and as odd as it may sound, wrestling could be the next sport at the school to bring in actual revenue. The program is continuing to rise, and it appears like the limits are endless.

The Immature Athlete

Athletes can be quite dumb sometimes. Just take Oregon wide receiver Jamere Holland for example. The Ducks senior WR decided to mouth off on Facebook after his teammate Kiki Alonso was kicked off the team for a DUI, just hours after head coach Chip Kelley held a press conference about his team's off the field issues.

Holland decided to use some choice expletives for his head coach as well as some racial slurs we are taught to not say when we are children. But that is exactly what some of these college athletes act like, children.

Here is just some of Holland's Shakespearean literature, "how the f*** you kick kinko off the team...I'm still here, that s*** weak buff cuh could have done damage for the ducks, that s*** is weak, weak a** f***, quote me".

Forget about how immature Holland is, how about using some proper English to show you are part of an academic institution? The more freedom these college athletes have, the more they mess up. How can you be this stupid to put this on Facebook (a public profile as well) and still think you won't be reprimanded?

Well guess what, Holland is now gone. This issue is not foreign to other schools as well. Former Rutgers basketball player JR Inman sounded off on two different Facebook posts this year. Each time Inman called for the firing of head coach Fred Hill Jr. Like Holland, Inman used racial slurs and even went as far as to call some of the coaches homosexuals.

And it doesn't stop at Facebook either for some of these athletes. This past November, three Tennessee football players were charged with attempted armed robbery. Even the Tennessee basketball program had four players arrested in early January on gun and marijuana charges. Urban Meyer's Florida Gators were without star defensive end Carlos Dunlap this season for the SEC title game after he was arrested on DUI charges.

When will these supposed "grown men" start acting their size? A coach should not have to babysit players and coddle them throughout school. College is supposed to be a time for individuals to learn how to make it in the real world. It is obvious some of these athletes just don't get it.

The problem won't be fixed in a day and the solution isn't 24-hour surveillance. Yes, coaches are part of the problem, but you have to believe that some of these head figures are astonished at some of the trouble their players get into.

Will Winning Now Hurt Rutgers?

The Scarlet Knights improved to 14-12 (4-9) last night after coming back from a 17 point deficit to beat DePaul 68-64 at Allstate Arena. Rutgers has won four out of its last five league games and two in a row including an upset of No. 8 Georgetown last weekend. Less than a month ago Rutgers fans were calling for the firing of head coach Fred Hill Jr. Now fans are scratching their heads wondering where this play was a few weeks ago and if Hill has done enough to keep his job.

Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti will have an important decision to make at season's end on whether or not to keep Hill at the helm of the program. College basketball is a game of momentum and it's easy to get caught up in the heat of a winning streak.

Rutgers would owe Hill at least $1.8 million to buy him out if Pernetti decides to let him go. Through almost four seasons, Hill is 46-72 overall and 12-53 in the Big East as the head coach of the Scarlet Knights. Over the last few seasons, Hill's team has lost to the likes of Vermont, Jackson State, Saint Peters, Lehigh and St. Bonaventure. Rutgers has not fared much better in conference play being blown out numerous times at home and on the road by league opponents.

With Rutgers playing so well lately, fans are starting to question whether or not Hill and his program are starting to turn the corner. But can one season salvage a coaches career that has been marked with embarrassing losses, a depleting fan base and six transfers, including Gregory Echenique who left midway through this season to go to Creighton?

To me, it seems like these late season heroics may be a bit too late to save Hill and his staff. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy for players like Hamady Ndiaye who have suffered throughout their collegiate career at Rutgers. It's great to see young talent like Dane Miller take the floor at the Louis Brown Athletic Center and showcase his skills in front of a national audience. But this season cannot make up for the utter disaster that has been Rutgers basketball the past few seasons.

Next year, Rutgers will be without a big man after Ndiaye graduates. With Echenique now at Creighton, it leaves Brian Okam as the only center on next year's squad. It is hard to see next year's team winning more than 12 games with such a lack of depth.

Coaching encompasses many aspects. It means recruiting Big East talent to a Big East school, keeping those players there, being a good X's and O's guy and winning games you are supposed to win while winning a few that you are not supposed to win. Hill has done very little of those things. He has brought in players like Mike Rosario and Miller, but has yet to recruit good big men to complete his teams. He has been out coached numerous times and has not won the games he is supposed to win each year. And don't forget about turning one of the greatest home venues in the country into a morgue.

Pernetti is a smart man, and he should be able to weigh out the benefits and disadvantages of keeping or getting rid of Hill. Fans should not root for Rutgers to loose in order for Hill to loose his job. If a winning record and a possible NIT berth saves Hill's job, then maybe Pernetti needs to take a deeper look into his decision making.

Fans should enjoy the recent success of the team because there hasn't been much in the past few years to cheer about. Rutgers could easily finish the season with a winning record and it would be a great way to send out a senior like Ndiaye. But when it comes down to it, the recent play of the Knights cannot make up for the play the last three seasons. Rutgers fans deserve better and it will be Pernetti's job to deliver the basketball version of Greg Schiano to Piscataway.

Rutgers has at least six games left on the season, and who knows what can happen in March. I guess that's the real beauty of college basketball.

Maybe winning now will hurt Rutgers. If the team can pull off a Georgia type miracle and make the NCAA tournament (long shot I know) then Hill would stay. If Hill remains for one more year it will mean another year of mediocrity and maybe worse than that. It could set the program back another year and just frustrate fans even more. No one is saying Hill has not given it his all, but maybe being a head coach in the best conference in the country isn't the job for him.

A Glance at Super Bowl Weekend

WHO DAT NATION

The main story of the weekend has to been the Saints and the city of New Orleans receiving a long overdue championship. The scenes from Bourbon Street with people dancing in the streets and Drew Brees with tears holding up his son speak volume to how important this game was to that city. Whether people want to admit it or not, you have to feel good for a city that was nearly wiped off the map just a few years ago after Katrina. Who knows when the party will end, but with Mardi Gras coming up, there is no end in sight for the biggest party of all-time.

HELLO DREW BREES

Talk about MVP. Drew Brees turned the attention away from Peyton Manning last night and showed the nation just how good he can be. Brees went 32 of 39 for 288 yards and threw for two touchdowns. He completed 18 of his last 19 passes and finished the game with a QB rating of 114.5. Brees orchestrated one of the best game winning drives with just minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. This is a quarterback who most people left for dead in San Diego, now he's a Super Bowl MVP.

PORTER PICK SIX

Tracy Porter helped put an end to the thought of a Colts comeback with his 74-yard interception return for a touchdown. Porter jumped Peyton Manning's pass to Reggie Wayne and sprinted toward the end zone and immortality. Most people will choose to focus on the play of Brees and Manning in the aftermath of the game, but much credit is deserved for the Saints defense. Porter was also the player to intercept Brett Favre in the NFC Championship game.

EASY ON PEYTON

Peyton Manning did not have his best game as a Colt, he did not solidify himself as the best of all-time, but he did not choke. Manning went 31 of 45 for 333 yards with one touchdown and one huge interception. Looking at the interception, it appeared that Reggie Wayne ran a hook instead of a slant on the play. Tracy Porter beat Wayne to the ball and the rest is history. Peyton is not a choker, he has one ring already and should still be in the argument for the best quarterback of all-time.

SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS

It's part of the Super Bowl that everyone loves, the commercials. But this year's Super Bowl commericals lacked the spunk the game thankfully provided. I'll give credit to Doritos and Bud Light for providing some light entertainment, but the rest just didn't tickle my fancy. My favorite had to be the little kid slapping his mom's boyfriend in the face, but Danica Patrick's appearance for GoDaddy.com didn't impress many. Tim Tebow's commercial was way overblown and the use of animals in commercials is starting to get old. Trying to out due a Zebra looking at instant replay or a streaking sheep is hard to do, but I guess there is always next year.

RUTGERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The Scarlet Knights had two former players in the Super Bowl yesterday. Gary Brackett and Eric Foster came up clutch on a goal line stand late in the second quarter for the Colts defense. With the emergence of Ray Rice as a standout running back, the State University of New Jersey's football program had a pretty good postseason.

SUPER GAMES ON SUPER SUNDAY

Fans have been treated to some outstanding football the last few Super Bowls. The last three games have featured game winning, fourth quarter drives with some last minute heroics. Eli Manning and the Giants in 2007, Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers last year and now Drew Brees and the "Who Dat" Saints. Many people forget how many blowouts there were in the 90's, but recently the biggest game in America has lived up to its hype.