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.