NFL Poll and NCAA Bowl Predictions

With both NCAA Football and the NFL seasons coming to a close, Virginia Orange's Owen Gotimer and I thought it would be important to discuss the possible postseasons for the nation's top teams.

To the right, please select a Super Bowl representative for the AFC and for the NFC.

Below, take a look at the teams I have squaring off in NCAA Bowl Games around the country around New Year's Day.

BCS National Championship
     1 Alabama vs. 2 Florida State

Rose Bowl
     3 Ohio State vs. 8 Stanford

Sugar Bowl
     4 Auburn vs. 19 UCF

Orange Bowl
     6 Clemson vs. 11 Michigan State

Fiesta
    7 Oklahoma State vs. 16 Fresno State

New Mexico Bowl
     Washington vs. Colorado State

Las Vegas Bowl
     San Diego State University vs. 22 UCLA

Idaho Potato Bowl
     Bowling Green vs. San Jose State

New Orleans Bowl
     UTSA vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
     Rutgers vs. North Texas

Hawai'i Bowl
     Rice vs. UNLV

Little Caesar's Bowl
     Boston College vs. Ball State

Poinsettia Bowl
     Utah State vs. Army

Military Bowl
     Syracuse vs. Tulane

Fight Hunger Bowl
     BYU vs. Arizona

Pinstripe Bowl
     Houston vs. Maryland

Belk Bowl
     Cincinnati vs. UNC

Russell Athletic Bowl
     20 Louisville vs. Virginia Tech

Buffalo Wild Wings
     18 Oklahoma vs. Minnesota

Armed Forces Bowl
     East Carolina vs. Boise State

Music City Bowl
     Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt

Alamo Bowl
     Texas vs. 13 Oregon

Holiday Bowl
     Kansas State vs. 12 Arizona State

AdvoCare Bowl
     Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo

Sun Bowl
     23 USC vs. Miami (FL)

Liberty Bowl
     Marshall vs. Ole Miss

Chick-fil-a Bowl
     24 Duke vs. 17 LSU

Heart of Dallas Bowl
     Notre Dame vs. Middle Tennessee State

Gator Bowl
     Iowa vs. 21 Texas A&M

Outback Bowl
     Nebraska vs. Georgia

Capital One Bowl
     15 Wisconsin vs. 5 Missouri

Cotton Bowl
     9 Baylor vs. 10 South Carolina

BBVA Compass Bowl
     SMU vs. Mississippi State

Go Daddy Bowl
      14 Northern Illinois vs. Arkansas State

Meineke Bowl
     Texas Tech vs. Michigan

Is the NHL’s lack of suspension for Ray Emery a calculated marketing move?

The NHL has always struggled to compete for fans with leagues like MLB, the NFL, and the NBA and even the NCAA and last year’s lockout did not help. Frustrated fans turned to other sports for entertainment and have had difficulty getting back into the hockey spirit causing ticket prices to fall dramatically.

But one thing that the NHL has something that separates it above all other leagues: its allowance of fights.

Friday’s line brawl between the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals was an extreme example but guarantees that there will be grudges held and mitts ready to be dropped when the teams meet again on December 15^th and two days later, December 17^th.

Typically, the league attempts to avoid player injuries and huge line brawls in order to at least somewhat maintain the integrity of the game but after Ray Emery’s “bout” with Capital’s goaltender Braden Holtby, the league has not suspended the Flyer’s net minder. Emery made his way down the length of the ice and continuously sucker punched Holtby despite Holtby’s unwillingness to drop the gloves.

While Ray Emery did not start the line brawl, Holtby blatantly did not want to fight. Ray Emery’s comment was "I basically told him to protect himself. I gave him a chance to protect himself."So understanding that Holtby did not want to fight, Emery still went after him. A lack of suspension leaves players "between a rock and a hard place"; either get a retaliation penalty or get the ever-living $H!7 beat out of you.

The NHL cited that fighting can only be penalized during the game by the referees based on the league’s rule.

The utter beat down is currently the talk of the hockey world and made ESPN’s premier show, SportsCenter, despite the show’s aversion to hockey highlights compared to football, basketball, and baseball.

In fact, a simple Google search of “Flyers”, loaded an article and video of the fight.

The fight even got the Capitals’ Twitter page going. “Only one thing to say after all of that. #Scoreboard. #CapsFlyers”; the Capitals made reference to the 7 to 0 scoreboard in favor of D.C.’s team even without Star Player Alexander Ovechkin.
The fight is definitely making its rounds through the World Wide Web, and sport fans that may pass by a hockey game on TV, may be more tempted to stick around to see a fight or two. It will be interesting to see the next few meetings between these two clubs and the viewership numbers that go along with them. They are sure to be hostile.

The Effects of Marketing Individual Players on the NCAA

Johnny Manziel has been, is, and will continue to be the star of NCAA Football (at least until the NFL Draft).

Texas A&M is taking full advantage of the Heisman Trophy winner by using his face and name to increase the university’s visibility. In December 2012, the university already had a billboard in the infamous Times Square with a picture of Johnny along with the phrase “They call him Johnny Heisman.” (Rovell, 2012).

According to an August 22^nd tweet by Reporter Darren Rovell, the fundraising department of Texas A&M Athletics raised $20,000 by auctioning off the right to sit with Manziel at dinner (Rovell, 2013).

The latest episode of “Johnny Mania” took place September 14^th against the top-ranked Crimson Tide. The game that took place at Texas A&M’s home facility, Kyle Field, was a rematch of the 2012 game in which the Aggies upset Nick Saban’s powerhouse program.

While the game received and deserved national attention, it did not appear to be a rematch of Alabama and Texas A&M, rather the Crimson Tide versus Johnny Manziel and CBS is probably to blame for that.

CBS set aside a camera that would be strictly focused on Johnny Manziel. The goal of having Manziel always front and center was to catch any and everything Manziel did. Manziel has become so popular that CBS was obligated to set aside a camera for Manziel specifically. Mr. Football is not helping the situation either (Deitsch, 2013).

But all of the marketing attention of Johnny for Texas A&M and the NCAA is not positive. This is because the marketing attention he receives shows a good, well-behaved Manziel and the media attention shows anything but a well-behaved Manziel.

It may not seem fair but Manziel is under the microscope. Media is constantly following him so everything Manziel does is scrutinized.

In June of 2012, Johnny was arrested for disorderly conduct and possession of a fake ID. While this was pre-Heisman Trophy, it never would have surfaced had Manziel not become so popular.

A year later, Manziel made headlines for his off-field antics again after he used Twitter to post “Shit like tonight is a reason why I can’t wait to leave college station…whenever it may be.” He was responding to a parking ticket he received at Texas A&M but understandably, A&M doesn’t want their famous quarterback to be talking about leaving A&M as soon as possible (Newsday, 2013).

In January, Manziel was photographed with a bottle of alcohol. Under-age drinking happens consistently across the country and this actually was not the case; under-age persons can drink with consent of their parents if their parents are present and Mr. and Mrs. Manziel were at the club. Regardless, Johnny received a considerable amount of criticism for the photo.

Manziel was even ignorant enough to attend a University of Texas fraternity party. The University of Texas happens to be one of Texas A&M’s rivals and Manziel was easily recognized and escorted from the fraternity house while students threw beer at him (Newsday, 2013).

Lastly, and probably most notable was Manziel’s antics that showed during the Texas A&M opener. Manziel was suspended for the first half of the game versus Rice University for allegedly selling memorabilia he signed for a profit of $10,000 (Rovell, 2013). Once Manziel entered the game in the second half, he was quickly side lined for taunting a Rice defenseman after having already signaled at another Rice athlete that he would not sign an autograph for him.

Because of Manziel’s behavior, Peter King from Sports Illustrated issued this comment:

But Manziel, to many teams right now, would be undraftable because they’re scared of his mood swings and off-field questions. But it only takes one team out of 32 to fall for him. And some team will, unless he self-destructs between today and draft day (Daniels, 2013).

While Johnny has the right to do what he wants, his actions will continue to be scrutinized if he is not careful which will hurt the reputation of Texas A&M, the NCAA, and himself.

A Happy Story in A Small World

Every class I have ever taken has had exams, tests, evaluations, whatever you want to call them. There needs to be some way to evaluate your progress. This morning’s Finance 345 exam was not going to be an easy one, so last night a group of Sport and Recreation Management students and I packed ourselves into a study lounge in Rose Library.

The studying went very well (at least I think it did, I haven’t gotten the results back yet) and as we were leaving, a classmate of mine that I’ve had several classes with over the last few years, Zack, said he was not looking forward to his ride home; he had ridden his bike from Urban Exchange, a downtown apartment complex several miles from the library. I drive my Uncle Jeff’s old Expedition, so I offered to put his bike in the back and get him a ride home.  We did to the bike and my car what we had just done to the finance facts and our heads and headed downtown.

We got to talking and I asked Zack where he had done his internship, which is a graduation requirement of all JMU SRM majors. He told me that this summer he had interned with the Brooklyn Nets. Knowing Uncle Jeff’s friendship through their high school basketball playing days with the Nets’ General Manager, I asked Zack “Did you get a chance to meet Billy King?” Zack responded with a yes and said something I did not expect. Billy and Zack’s dad also played high school basketball together.

Immediately, my face lit up and I nearly slammed on the breaks. “At Park View?!” Zack was stunned. I told him about my uncle having played with Billy as well and that Zack’s dad, Chris Graham, must have known and played with my uncle. For the rest of the car ride, I was halfway between shocked and excited. I don’t think I left Zack with a split second to respond.

I got Zack dropped off and started driving home. Still shocked and now in an empty car, memories of Uncle Jeff zoomed into my head but because I was excited, I couldn’t help but smile. The longest time gone and you are still helping me out; I truly can’t believe it.

Monday marks six months without Uncle Jeff and I miss him very much but remember this is a happy story because he just helped me make a new friend. Thanks Uncle Jeff! And Happy Friday guys!

JMU Students Discuss What Schools are doing to Increase Student Football Attendance

One of the greatest things about JMU is the atmosphere created by the students. From before I was even enrolled, students were up and cheering about what it means for them to be a Duke. Come move-in day, the process was run so smoothly, I was confused; I did not understand how my stuff upstairs in my room when I had not lifted a thing yet. Of course we have our FrOGs to thank for their hard work every year.

After August 1787, more commonly known as FrOG week, our first large event as a student body is Football’s Home Opener. In my case, it was against Morehead State, but when the games start, they all possess that ability to give even the fans the wildest adrenaline rush complete with tailgating, fireworks, a cannon, and of course, purple and gold streamers. But with all the excitement that goes into the beginning of the game, it seems our student body has an apathetic tendency come half time.

Yesterday afternoon, Seniors Cameron McKinley and Dejor Simmons led a group of Sport and Recreation Management students including myself in a discussion about what may steal spectators in the second half. Weather definitely played a factor in whether or not a student would stay, several other interesting reasons also arouse.

Factors such as time of the game played into even simple activities like getting food from dining halls (brought to our attention by SDC President Connor Butler). Dining halls close and students need to leave the game to punch before the students no longer can.

Of course, there’s competition from other teams. Fortunately, today’s Alabama versus Texas A&M starts at 3:30PM EST but if the games were switched and JMU started before the big rematch, how many students would leave to catch Johnny Football show off his skills against the defending National Champions? My guess is that fewer students would remain at the stadium.

Wi-Fi accessibility might help solve this problem, because students could watch the game on their mobile devices, but given a warm room and large TV or the elements and a 2-inch screen, there are still some doubts about whether or not students will stay.

And finally, the biggest appeal to students that leads to apathy is alcohol. It is impossible to ignore. When given the choice of free alcohol or a free football game especially for the under-21 population is easily made. Without the ability to come and go as they please, students will leave for additional alcohol (since their “buzz” has diminished) and Saturdays’ off-campus festivities will begin.

Cameron and Dejor made it clear that this is not just a problem here; even the University of Alabama has problems with student apathy. Their problems aren’t all that dissimilar to JMU’s sometimes; Alabama’s scores become so favorable toward the Crimson Tide, that students know that their team is going to win and head home. JMU has experienced this before, including at last year’s St. Francis game.

While I would hope that the majority of JMU students would consider staying for today’s second half, I understand the draw to leave. My question is: How can JMU accommodate you? Why might you be leaving a JMU Football Matchup?

As always, please comment below by clicking the comment button and I look forward to seeing you at the game versus St. Francis.

            You can also catch Cameron McKinley and Dejor Simmons articles here and follow them on Twitter with their handles, @CameronMcKinle2 and @simmonsboy_5.

Privatize College Athletics: A Chance to Eliminate Conflict between Universities and the NCAA once and for all

One of the largest questions that the NCAA faces from season to season seems simple yes-or-no question; “Should student-athletes be paid?”

With the recent announcements that the NCAA will end its relationship with EA Sports and that six current NFL Players are filing lawsuits against NCAA and EA Sports for allowing for the players’ likenesses and the likenesses of all college football players, to be used in the NCAA Football video game series without compensation, this question is once again being raised.

On top of football, we have a looming problem with NCAA Basketball and the NBA and the transition of players from one level to the next. Players are given scholarships to go to a university, ideally to complete their educations, but then remain with the schools only one year before signing with an NBA Basketball team, thus not finishing their degrees and rendering the money spent on one year of schooling for the player, wasted.

Then we have the problems inside the classroom. While often not spoken of because the topic is considered taboo, professors of student-athletes all over the country are pressured into (whether coerced by a member of an athletics program or through plain guilt of not wanting to be responsible if a student-athlete is unable to play or worse, loses his/her scholarship) making sure that the student-athletes are given ample grades so that the student-athlete may continue to play for the NCAA. Meanwhile, university students that are not student-athletes can comprehend classroom material tenfold compared to the student-athletes with inflated marks. Once all the students from the university have graduated, if the student-athlete with higher marks than he/she deserved is hired by a company because of his/her degree, and does not meet the needs of the business, the employer assumes that all students from that university were held to the same standard to obtain their degrees. The employer no longer hires from that school because the employer assumes that students with the same degree as the student-athlete all fall below the quality of employee for which the employer is searching.

In addition, tax dollars from United States citizens everywhere are spent on college coaches that could otherwise be spent on the welfare of the states. In 40 states, the highest paid public employee is a college coach; 27 football coaches, 12 basketball coaches, and 1 hockey coach. Sadly, the majority of the population is ignorant to the impact of college athletics on their lives, even though for most of them, it affects them more than they could imagine.

And while the negatives of college athletics are easily offered, there are many positives.

            My all-time favorite family event (yes, even greater than opening presents on Christmas morning and Thanksgiving dinner) is a summer barbeque. I love the smell of charcoal, the taste of hamburgers and hotdogs, and the sound of laughter amongst family and friends and there is only one event that can compete. Closely related is the football tailgate which remains one of the greatest traditions of all time.

            Without stable football programs (and basketball programs, as I hope to one day discover with my girlfriend and her family, specifically her father who is an alum of Duke University), we would have no reason to tailgate. We have student-athletes of whom we should be thankful.

            In addition, university bookstores often sell sporting apparel in the form of jerseys, hats, and the ever popular foam finger.  Apparel sales would plummet if athletic programs did not exist. And even Nick Saban cannot take all the credit for what happens on the field, after all his student-athletes are the ones sending and receiving vicious blows.

            I have not even touched on the fact that millions of employees across the United States have jobs (even part-time jobs like mine) that without the efforts of athletics programs and by extension student-athletes would not exist.

            While town hall style debates on the subject like the one on Costas Tonight on April 4, 2012 could continue and civil litigation will continue to be taken to court, I believe there is a much better direction that college athletics programs and college-aged athletes should head to ensure their future.

            The NCAA believes that it may legitimately collapse if student-athletes start receiving compensation, and they have a valid argument. Thousands, if not millions of student-athletes have passed through or otherwise have been a part of the NCAA and if the courts rule on behalf of Eric O’Bannon and his new found “teammates”, the NCAA could be responsible for paying hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to every single student-athlete, current or former. With the potential for millions of dollars being paid to former and current athletes, three questions come to my mind: “Where would the money come from?”, “What if the money runs out?” and “What would that hold for future student-athletes and college athletics programs as a whole?”

            As you can see based on the title of this post, my idea suggests privatizing college athletics. By privatizing college athletics, college-aged athletes would no longer be subject to the rules of the NCAA which are designed to keep a fair balance between the average college student and his/her student-athlete counterpart.
            First of all, separating the two, separating the two allows for the payment of players which eliminates the need for Parts III and IV of Form 08-3a, a form that all NCAA athletes are required to sign if they want to play, and the backbone of Jay Bilas’s argument for pay-to-play. Parts III and IV deal specifically with the amateur status of an athlete and the promotion of NCAA Championships and Events.

            Of course, there’s a catch. Privatized college athletics programs would be considered entities separate from the universities they used to belong. In fact, they would not be considered “college athletic programs” merely semi-professional programs next to or in the middle of universities.

            Now that they are separate entities, college-aged athletes would no longer be entitled to scholarships directly from their former universities, only pay, which the athlete could use to pay from his/her education if he/she so chooses.

            Without the student being attached to the athlete, there is no longer a conflict of interest for professors who would have otherwise inflated grades to help student-athletes remain eligible.

In addition, this eliminates the difficulties between the NCAA and the NBA regarding players that play for a single season before entering the NBA Draft and therefore wasting a year’s worth of scholarship.

Tax dollars go back in the pockets of state governments and in turn the governments could respond by contributing money toward alternative causes relevant to each state, including the possibility of allocating additional funds toward public universities that would have seen a decrease in revenue from campus bookstores and the like that no longer sell collegiate sports apparel.

Job growth would likely increase, due to the opening up of player agent possibilities and therefore legal consul that would be needed to represent the teams.

The looming question here is “Who would buy the programs?” The glory of it all is that university athletic programs have donor programs. If the new semi-professional programs incorporated and offered to allow the donors to buy stock, instead of contributing to the programs, the programs would be well on their ways to privatizing and the donors still remain attached the programs that once belonged to the university.

Finally, as we’ve seen in the English Premier League, corporate sponsors are valuable tools. Corporations could purchase the remaining shares needed to keep the teams functioning and there is no incentive to alert logos by the new teams because the goodwill held by the logos is much too valuable. If Coca-Cola bought the athletics programs from the University of North Carolina, fans who would normally buy tickets would no longer be satisfied if the Tarheels colors were red and white.

Corporations have the added bonus of it being a marketing deal. “The Crimson Tide” owned by “Tide” would be an invaluable asset to “Tide” if the “Crimson Tide” program continued to win national championships like it has in recent history.

I’ll admit it. I have not ironed out all of the details. I don’t even know my own opinion on the topic but it may be a way to keep college-aged athletes competing and entertaining schools throughout the country. I believe that this option provides the most benefits to everyone in the great United States.

Please comment. I would love to hear your opinions of my idea. 

Scalping incident leads to arrest...and it shouldn't have

Please note that while I do mention specific teams in this post, I have the utmost respect for all of them, and if I were not working down at school this summer, I would likely be attending multiple events for these teams and I do one day hope to work for one of these teams.

That being said, I think there is always room for improvement and this can be a stepping stone for Washington D.C.

After hearing about Joe Carr’s arrest near Nationals Park for ticket scalping, I quickly came to the decision that it is a terrible idea to arrest people for ticket scalping in Washington D.C. Much like Joe pointed out there are bigger things to worry about in the District than ticket scalping. I have made a short list of reasons why Joe should not have been arrested.

Crime

Drugs and murder are things that deter people from living in certain areas of the country, especially if they live a more luxurious lifestyle. The southeast corner of the District is not the greatest area.  Those that lead a glamorous life have more money, which is what the Nationals want (they are a for-profit company), are prone to not live in the area. If police attention was focused more on drugs, murder, and gang violence, perhaps the area would be cleaned up enough to allow for some nicer apartments to be built for the lavishly living folk and with the convenience of being just a few blocks away, they would probably attend more games.

If there is only a chance of me making it to a game, I am not buying a ticket.

 If there’s no chance of me being able to sell my ticket in the case that I can’t go, then I’m not buying one from the team. However, I might consider buying a $30 ticket if I could go back and sell it for $20 if something comes up. The money is made by the team once, I buy the ticket. If I give it away, it's not illegal and I'm out $30 instead of $10, not exactly the experience I would hope to remember.

The Economy

                The idea behind the economy is that you need people to come to your area, spend their money, and take back less value than what they came with. This is why souvenir items can cost you can arm and a leg. But now that Joe has had a bad experience in Washington, when his friends ask about his trip, he is telling them how horrible it was, and they are going to consider other cities first.

Sporting Event Security

                While this might be considered by many to fall under crime, I’m keeping it separate. Positive game experiences can be made or broken by who you sit around. If there is a rude, intoxicated spectator yelling and screaming at the players, I’m much more likely to have a negative experience and not want to come back. A higher police presence inside the stadium would probably be beneficial.

                In addition, the last act of terrorism in our great nation did happen at a sporting event. I’m not trying to scare people, just trying to state a fact. If there was greater police presence including the use of K-9 Units, I would absolutely feel safer at games. It’s not that I don’t feel safe already, but given the NFL’s new security policies, I’d feel much safer going to a Redskins game in Upper Marlboro than a Nationals game near Anacostia.

Like I said earlier, I hope this is a stepping stone for Washington D.C. I love this city and I do not want everyone to have a bad taste of it. Hopefully even Joe will give the District another chance.

Rutgers President Barchi Flops at Press Conference

     Though the situation at Rutgers is slowly being talked about less and less, the consequences being felt by the basketball team, athletics department, and university will be long lasting.

     As of Thursday of last week, Coach Mike Rice had been fired by Rutgers Athletics and Assistant Coach Jimmy Martelli had resigned from his position. Both had been seen throwing basketballs and hitting players in a video released by Outside the Lines on April 1^st.

     On Friday morning, Athletic Director Tim Pernetti followed Rice and Martelli out the door. Pernetti resigned after four years of leading Rutgers Athletics including helping them become added to the Big 10 Conference.

     But following Pernetti’s resignation on Friday, Rutgers’ President Robert Barchi had a press conference to discuss the situation.

     It was not a symbiotic relationship for President Barchi though. During the press conference President Barchi was figuratively mauled and rightfully so. Barchi stated “I did not fire him (Rice) for cause, I just fired him.

     But why did Barchi have to “just fire him”? Is throwing basketballs at and kicking students not enough to be fired? Apparently it was not.

     President Barchi watched Wednesday night with Pernetti and admittedly knew Rice had to be fired after just five minutes of observation. While already treading deep waters because of his lack of a reason when asked why he did not watch the video, when asked if Barchi knew about details of the incident in December, Barchi responded “I was aware that basketballs had been thrown.”

     According to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, upper level management of a corporation is required to know of and implement appropriate internal controls in order to prevent accounting scandals. Why should this just be held to accounting or corporations? I feel it is reasonable to think that President Barchi and President Emeritus McCormick (whose time at Rutgers overlaps with the time the incidents at the basketball practices were taking place) should have known what was happening at Rutgers University and Rutgers Basketball practices and I believe that both Barchi and McCormick should be penalized.
     In addition, ignorance followed when Rutgers’ Board of Governor’s Chair Ralph Izzo spoke. Izzo stated that the incident obviously showed a failure in the process. The Board of Governors is directly responsible for developing the process (the President is responsible for day-to-day operations). If the process was setup so that coaches can hit and throw things at students and the coach is merely suspended for three games then Izzo is correct, the process is flawed. As a contributing member to the design of the process, Izzo transitively fueled this incident through inaction rather than action. Izzo and the Board of Governors also need to be penalized in order for Rutgers University to maintain a strong positive relationship with the nation.

     My opinion seems to be consistent with the opinion of Jay Bilas and the rest of the College Gameday staff.

               

     In the last post, I wondered what JMU President Alger would have to say about the topic. I did reach out to President Alger and I received a response from Don Egle, JMU’s Senior Director of Communications.

               

     It reads:

Hi Patrick:

     On behalf of James Madison University, President Alger has stated as follows: “Under our policies at James Madison University we believe that all of our students, including student-athletes; should not be subject to discrimination or harassment. We strive to create an atmosphere conducive to learning for all students."

     (Please note that it would not be appropriate for President Alger to comment on current matters at another institution where he previously served as general counsel; he left Rutgers in June 2012 and had no involvement with the incidents being discussed.)

Thanks,

Don

                

     So while this may not be the long conversation I was hoping to have with President Alger about Rutgers, it does at least show us that he is aware of the situation and feels that the actions of Coach Rice and Coach Martelli were wrong (which is better than nothing). I hope that although no longer affiliated with Rutgers University, President Alger learns from the mistakes of Rutgers and takes precautions so that we do not ever experience a situation like this at James Madison University.

Rutgers Basketball: Pernetti is Out, Eyes turn to President Barchi

     If you have not heard by now, then you probably are not much of an NCAA Basketball fan. If you are a basketball fan though, you have seen the video of Rutgers Coach Mike Rice harassing and violently “coaching” players.

     The video showed Rice grabbing, pushing, and yelling at his players. At several points, Rice is shown throwing basketballs at players and is even heard (although censored in Youtube videos like the one here) using phrases that even sailors and truckers would consider foul language.

     This video isn’t new though. It surfaced last December and when AD Tim Pernetti saw the video deemed that a three game suspension would suffice. But after the video made its way to the web, the public disagreed. Rutgers was forced to act again. On Wednesday, Rutgers fired Mike Rice.

     Following Rice’s termination, there were a number of questions asked, the most obvious of which was “Why wasn’t Rice fired in December when these videos were first seen by Tim Pernetti?” Throwing basketballs at players repeatedly is not a small deal. Pernetti should have known that a three game suspension was not enough.

     Jimmy Martelli, Rutgers assistant coach resigned yesterday, no doubt embarrassed by his own violence toward the players (which was also shown in the videos) and lack of action to prevent Rice’s abusive nature.

     Martelli’s resignation was likely the final straw for Rutgers. Following the videos that clearly showed Martelli partaking in the violence toward the team, why wasn't Martelli at least suspended like Rice? It makes us wonder, did Pernetti take an investigation of Rice’s actions seriously?

     Regardless of whether he did or not, this morning Pernetti paid the price for his inaction. Rutgers has released him from the Athletic Director position though no word has been released on whether he resigned or was fired. Pernetti will take part in a press conference at Rutgers at 1 o’clock.

     Besides waiting for Pernetti’s press conference, eyes have also shifted toward Rutgers President Robert Barchi. As president, it is the viewpoint of many that President Barchi should have watched the video and otherwise been aware of the actual actions that happened at the Rutgers Basketball practices.

     As a JMU student, I would find it interesting to learn the opinion of JMU President Jon Alger on the incident because Alger is a former Rutgers administrator. Eric Murdock, the former Rutgers basketball assistant that blew the whistle on the incident, has stated the former President McCormick contributed to Murdock’s wrongful termination last summer. President Emeritus McCormick spoke at President Alger’s inauguration earlier this semester so it is reasonable to conclude that President Alger has an opinion on the situation.

     Please note, that this is not accusing President Alger of anything. I respect President Alger and I believe that like much of the JMU community are hoping for Alger to be supportive of his former colleague and assure us that the appropriate actions are being taken at Rutgers University.

Nationals Ready For New Season...and to Bring Home Trophy in October

     With the Nationals Opening Day game later today, it’s time to take a peek at the outlook for our local MLB franchise.

     Between the World Baseball Classic and Spring Training baseball, Nationals’ players are getting their fair share of competition early and should be ready to go right off the bat in their opening series versus the Miami Marlins just under two weeks away. The Nationals’ young pitching staff, led by right-hander Stephen Strasburg, have done well leading up to Opening Day.

     With just six spring training appearances for a cumulative 25.1 innings, Strasburg has posted 31 strikeouts and while he suffered two losses, Nationals’ fans should not be too worried. Last year, Strasburg started off with just one win and four losses during Spring Training and then went on to a 15 and 6 regular season. With the experience has gained and confidence he is gaining after his Tommy John surgery in 2010, the Nationals’ ace should be ready to go for the postseason this year after missing the ALDS versus the St. Louis Cardinals during to an innings limit.

     Members of the United States team Gio Gonzalez and Ross Detwiler performed admirably at the World Baseball Classic before the United States was eliminated against Puerto Rico on March 15^th. Detwiler saw action in the United States’ second game of the tournament versus Italy, where he put in four innings of work allowed only one hit and striking out three. Detwiler set the bar high for Gonzalez whose first start would be against Puerto Rico on March 12^th and Gonzalez answered. In five innings, Gio Gonzalez did not allow a run, averaged a strikeout in each inning and allowed just three hits.

     As for the rest of the team, they too have been busy.

     The Nationals’ premier infielder Ryan Zimmermann, has had no problem getting back in the swing of things since his arthoscopic surgery on his shoulder in October. Zimmermann is currently batting an 17-for-57 (that’s a .298 average) at Nationals’ Spring Training. Though Zimmermann made his first fielding start only half way through Spring Training, his fielding percentage was still .938, .024 higher than last season.

     Also making some noise in Florida is 20-year-old superstar Bryce Harper. Bryce Harper led the MLB with his Spring Training batting average. In 67 at-bats, Harper has had 32 hits including 5 doubles, a triple and 3 homeruns for .478 average.

     Though the Nationals dropped their final Spring Training game to the Yankees 4 to 2, they already appeared to be ahead of the curve. In my opinion with the young talent the Nationals possess in both their bullpen and lineup, Washington will get an early lead in the MLB standings and hang out at the top of the MLB for the majority of the regular season.

     This is also my warning to my beloved Washington Capitals because if they do not step it up now, then they will not be the ones to break Washington’s championship drought; that honor will belong to the 2013 Washington Nationals.

Angels Call Up 1B Jeff Fowler

     I remember Owen getting his first baseball glove from Uncle Jeff. To be honest, I was jealous. I did not even know what it was or what it did but I wanted one. Just a month or two later, Uncle Jeff had granted my wish and he said he would come to my house the next day to play baseball.

     I was so excited. I got up nice and early so we could play because it was my assumption that Uncle Jeff would just rush over to my house when I was up and ready to play. As a 5-year-old, I was quite disappointed when before 7 o’clock in the morning Uncle Jeff wasn't awake, at my house, with his glove, ready to play.

     I vaguely remember waking up my dad to ask him where Uncle Jeff was and Dad not being very happy, but understanding. I wanted to know all about my glove because although I had been told all about it the night before, I did not remember.

     I asked my dad if I could call Uncle Jeff and somehow got a yes. This was late 1997/1998 so I had to go into the kitchen and grab the corded phone, get the phone number and call him. I asked him who had signed my glove and what team he played for.

     “Greg Maddux” he said and the “Atlanta Braves” was the team he played for. Uncle Jeff was willing to be patient with me even at the ungodly hour I was calling him. To top it off, Uncle Jeff promised that he would still come over and play with me that morning.

     At the time, our backyard had mulch covering the flat portion of the yard so Dad, Uncle Jeff, and I (and we’ll go easy on the “I”) pushed the mulch to the sides of the yard so that we would have an even surface for the ball to bounce.

     I did not understand why Uncle Jeff made catching the baseball look so easy and why I was having so much difficulty. He told me I was going to need to practice, so that’s what I did…almost every day.

     Uncle Jeff was right. With every day of practice, I got a little bit better.

     So I want to thank Uncle Jeff one of the greatest gifts he ever could have given me, a work ethic. I use it every single day and will continue to practice and get better as much as I can. A work ethic is something will be able to pass that to my children and hopefully my nephews too.

     I love you and miss you Uncle Jeff. Rest in Peace.

January 28, 1965 - March 23, 2013

Thursday's Upsets, Outcomes, and Who to Watch for Today

With Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 complete, we have already seen four upsets, three of them big.

To start, Wichita State also took out higher-seeded Pittsburgh though historically, #9 seeds have the edge on #8 seeds. I would say that it was not much of a shocker for the Shockers. The final in Salt Lake City was Wichita State 73, Pittsburgh 55.

San Jose seemed to favor the lower seed today.

Oklahoma State fell to Oregon 68 to 55 this afternoon. The Ducks got out to an 11 point lead in the first half with Damyean Dotson and Arsalan Kazemi taking charge. Dotson and Kazemi combined for 28 points on the game. In the second half, Oregon never dropped below a double-digit lead and coasted to a victory over the Cowboys.

Also at the HP Pavilion, UNLV was defeated by California. California had what some called “home court advantage” seeing as Berkeley is less than an hour drive from San Jose. The game was close until UNLV missed 15 consecutive field goals allowing for the Golden Bears to pull away. UNLV did start a comeback with about five minutes left in the second half but it was too little, too late. The Golden Bears down the Rebels 64-61 and will advance to take on the Syracuse Orange in Round 3.

But perhaps the most impressive win was that of the alma mater of our president. #14 Harvard took down NCAA Tournament top contender #3 New Mexico. Tonight’s win for Harvard marks the first NCAA Tournament win in Harvard’s history. The way to the 68-62 victory was paved by Wesley Saunders and Junior Laurent Rivard who combined for 35 of the Crimson’s 68 points. Rivard knocked down five 3-pointers compared to the entire Lobos offense who hit just three 3-pointers combined. While Harvard played well, they cannot take all the credit for this victory. New Mexico shot just 37.5% from the field including 3 for 14 from outside the arch. In addition New Mexico missed an unfortunate number of free throws, that number being seven which would have put New Mexico ahead of Harvard by one.

Look for these teams to have some additional confidence heading into Round 3 of the tournament. Wichita State will battle #1 Gonzaga, Oregon will take on #4 Saint Louis, California will try and squeeze the Syracuse Orange, and Harvard’s contest will be against Arizona.

For an outlook of the rest of yesterday’s games and a list of who to watch today, check below:

Today’s Games

#1 Louisville 79

#16 North Carolina A & T 48

#8 Colorado State 84

#9 Missouri 72

#4 Saint Louis 64

#13 New Mexico State 44

#6 Memphis 54

#11 St. Mary’s College 52

#3 Michigan State 65

#14 Valparaiso 54

#1 Gonzaga 64

#16 Southern 58

#6 Arizona 81

#11 Belmont 64

#5 Virginia Commonwealth 88

#12 Akron 42

#4 Michigan 71

#13 South Dakota State 56

#4 Syracuse 81

#13 Montana 34

#6 Butler 68

#11 Bucknell 56

#3 Marquette 59

#14 Davidson 58

Who to watch:

            #5 Wisconsin vs. #12 Ole Miss at 12:40 PM on truTV

#1 Indiana vs. #16 James Madison at 4:10PM on TBS

            #8 North Carolina vs. #9 Villanova at 7:20 on TNT

            #7 Notre Dame vs. #10 Iowa State at 9:45 on CBS

#6 UCLA vs. #11 Minnesota at 9:57 on truTV

               

For JMU Students on-campus students, the channels are as follows:

               

truTV 11-1

            TBS 27-1

TNT 28-2

            CBS 10-4

Please know that there is a viewing party at the Convocation Center at 3:45 PM.

JMU defeats Blackbirds and Dukes Look Forward to Contest versus Indiana

If there was ever a time for a player to step up, it’s during the NCAA Tournament. And given the arrest of senior forward Rayshawn Goins late Sunday night followed by the sanction imposed by Matt Brady and JMU Athletics, one might imagine that there were some doubts about JMU’s ability to defeat LIU Brooklyn.

CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player A.J. Davis led the way tonight with 20 points but not without the help of freshman guards Andre Nation and Charles Cooke, JMU was able to halt the flight of the Blackbirds to the next round.

Davis, Nation, and Cooke combined for 49 of the Dukes 68 points. Davis started the game off with a 3-pointer that set the tone for the Dukes right away. A huge alley-oop later in the first half had the Pep Band up and on their feet. Combined with 5 blocks from Nation and 2 blocks and a charge drawn by Charles Cooke, the Dukes were able to keep LIU Brooklyn from every getting in a groove. The Blackbirds led in the game for only 44 seconds only to have James Madison go on a 9-0 scoring run.

The victory by the Dukes means that they will play #1 Indiana but the Dukes don’t seem to be worried. Charles Cooke, when asked about the Indiana game, commented “We feel like we’re going to win, at the end of the day. That’s not being cocky, that’s straight confidence.”

While no #16 seed has ever beaten a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, this might be the year to do it. The title of #1 Overall has changed hands seven times this season. Of the five schools that have held the spot, Duke lost to Maryland and Virginia, both of whom did not make the NCAA Tournament. This should give the Dukes some hope in tomorrow’s game.

Winning tomorrow wouldn’t be the first time JMU defeated a #1 seed this school year. Last fall, JMU Soccer defeated UNC Chapel Hill in a 1-0 upset.

 Despite the victory last fall, a win tomorrow would still make NCAA history. Our hope here in Harrisonburg is that the Dukes can continue with their attitude and more players continue to step up.

 Tomorrow’s game versus Indiana starts at 4:10 PM and will be aired on TBS.

     Also, check out Owen's games to watch here.

JMU vs LIU Brooklyn: First Half

     Even with Senior Forward Rayshawn Goins suspended during the first half (and the LIU Brooklyn 6^th man flying around), the Dukes have had minimal problems. They lead the Blackbirds 32 to 31 at the half.

     A.J. Davis got the game started off right with a 3-pointer and then just a few minutes later had a massive alley-oop assisted by fellow Senior Devon Moore.  Freshman Charles Cooke played some very solid defense included a big block on LIU’s Garner and drawing a charge on Olaseware.  Cooke also leads the Dukes in the first half with 10-points.

     The Dukes however ended the half on a 2 to 13 run allowing the Blackbirds back into the game. The good news for JMU, besides Goins return in the 2^nd half, is that so far LIU Brooklyn is 0-for-3 for free throws, which is what typically separates teams and wins games. In addition, LIU Brooklyn star Jamal Olaseware already has three personal fouls. Drawing a fourth foul on Olaseware quickly in the second half would force the forward to change his aggressiveness to avoid fouling out early.

     In the second half, the Dukes have to regain control of the tempo and pay aggressive defense to prevent the run-and-gun offense of LIU Brooklyn, get the ball to good shooting locations and continue to draw fouls. The defense is there, but in this case a strong offense and being able to control the ball and clock is the best strategy JMU can have. 

     The winner of this game plays #1 Indiana on Friday at 4:10 PM.

Bracket, Upsets, and A Little Extra

Oregon over Oklahoma State

                Oregon received a lower seed than UCLA even after defeating them twice. In my opinion, Oregon deserved a higher ranking than they were given. Even Arizona was given a higher seed than Oregon and they did not make it to the PAC-12 final.

Iowa State over Notre Dame

                This game is going to be close. Notre Dame’s game plan is almost guaranteed to be to get the ball to 6’9” forward Jack Cooley which means as long as Iowa State can keep from fouling, they should have a good shot.  In the end though, the game is going to come down to foul shots and no one in this game is going to be better than Iowa State’s Tyrus McGee. He sinks about 7 of every 8 free throws and will be the difference maker in the game.

South Dakota State over Michigan

                If you do not know who Nate Wolters is, you soon will. As the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, Wolters will be controlling the pace of Michigan’s defense. Michigan typically preforms better when the pace of the game slows down. Michigan point guard Trey Burke stated this week that Michigan players better when the pace is slower but the Jackrabbits will rotate their bench players in often to keep the pace up. This game should be fast-paced and a fun one to watch.

Minnesota over UCLA

                Again, Lunardi ranked the Bruins too high. After a loss to Oregon, they should recognize that they weren’t playing at the level they needed and with injured Jordan Adams, the team is missing its second leading scorer, it’s going to be a tough battle for the Bruins.

A little extra

Also, as a shout out to my brother Owen, I agree with three of his first play-in game picks, the one I disagree with being of course James Madison versus Long Island University of Brooklyn. (You can see Owen's picks here.)

            Even without Rayshawn Goins for the first half, the Dukes still have CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player A.J. Davis and Senior Point guard Devon Moore along with young talent in Charles Cooke, Ron Curry, and Andre Nation. In addition, the Dukes may have senior Andre Semenov back for tomorrow night’s game. With this lineup, the Dukes may have what it takes to keep the game close into halftime.

           Once the second half begins, expect Goins to be aggressive to make up from his first half suspension which will boost the Dukes to a victory over LIU Brooklyn.

           Of course with all this, I am a little biased.

Thank you

     If you don’t know me and you read my “Who am I?” post , you’re probably shocked. “Six boys? How did your mother do it?” It may sound cliché but it takes one hell of a woman because I’m not just one of six boys, I’m one of six athletes, musicians, and academics. And on top of that some of us had part time jobs during high school. As if that wasn’t difficult enough for Mom, none of us really belonged to the same groups of friends or had exactly the same interests. But somehow Mom, still got everything done that we asked of her. She’s even working today to keep us going with our programs and now three different universities. All six of us owe her a huge thank you and this is mine:

     Thank you for all the hard work that you put in each and every day. I love you Mom.

Who am I?

Patrick Gotimer

Sport and Recreation Management Major and Business Minor at James Madison University

Oldest of 6 Boys, Baseball Fanatic, Resident Adviser, Twitter Advocate (@pwgotimer), Proud Member of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the South, and not afraid to say that I love my mom…and her cooking