A tale of two brackets

This year I allowed my 5-year old son to fill out his first bracket for March Madness. He went with SMU, he has a thing for Larry Brown.

While I went with the Big Blue Nation capping a perfect season. 

The Cover Story: Selection Sunday

Here is a look  at how newspapers around the country covered Selection Sunday. 

The Land of Terrible Football Players

The Canadian Football League is a lot of fun to watch, but just looking down the rosters its like a list of players that had trouble playing in college or had their own personal troubles. Players like Jonathan Crompton, yes the same player that could not lead the Tennessee Volunteers are collecting paychecks. 

Here is a list of some of the terrible players in the league to our north:

• Brian Brohm, QB, Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Once watched him get chewed out by his brother when he was at Louisville.
• Noel Devine, RB, Montreal: yes the same West Virginia running back that used to a huge weapon in Morgantown.
• Pat Watkins, CB, Toranto: the former Florida State cornerback has found a home in Canada. I wonder why he was not a player in the NFL.
• Bo Levi Mitchell, QB, Calgary: The former 1-AA National Championship QB has found a home in Canada. I love looking at these rosters it like a trip down memory lane. 
• Jonathan Crompton, QB, Edmonton: need a I say more. 
• Tino Sunseri, QB, Saskatchewan: Wow just when you thought that it could not be worst in CFL, the name Tino Sunseri pops up. You can make the argument that Tino was a terrible QB at Pitt and to see him getting paid to play, is just unthinkable.

Cover Story: In the Cards

 Last night Louisville beat Michigan to claim the national title here are a couple of front pages covering the story

And You Thought the US Press was Bad

For the last week the press in this country have treated Louisville Kevin Ware injury with great respect. Then Sunday, The Sun, a popular English tabloid, decide to show a huge lack of respect. The tabloid printed a photo showing Ware with the bone sticking out of the skin. This move shows the total lack of respect the British press has.

Click to see the page The Sun ran on Sunday. Warning its Graphic.

Really people

So Louisville is going to Final Four after being Duke. But the bigger story is Cards Guard Kevin Ware breaking his leg in a horrific accident. People took to twitter to show support for him but other took to twitter to make fun of the situation. Those people should be banned from social media for life.

What is next for Rutgers?

Any Rutgers fan will tell you that Thursday night was tough. At the half I texted my wife and said "half way there'', little did I know that the second half would be full of heart break. Sure walking out of Rutgers Stadium was incredibly difficult on Thursday night and it took a couple of days to get over. Rather than rant about how terrible Gary Nova is or how limited the offensive plan was or how the defense was not good, I decided to take a couple a days and think about what happened and where they go from here.

First of all, Rutgers fans, like myself, have to realize what our pedigree is. Just a decade ago Rutgers went 1-11 and 0-7 in the Big East. During that season, the Scarlet Knights lost their opener to Villanova. If you would have told fans that a decade a later they would be dissappointed by sharing the Big East title, they would think that you had been on drugs. People have to understand that this program has little pedigree, and that it has has been developed since 2005, when they went 7-5. Let's face it we are not Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan, or even Georgia. We're Mississippi State, a nice program that in the right year can win a conference title but traditionally will go 7-5 and go to a mid-tier bowl.

People are going to scream about Nova, I thought he was good on Thursday night. Sure the last pass is something that will be talked about for years to come, but who knows who fault that was. Next year, Nova should have the best offense he has ever had. Two good running backs, a good group of receivers and solid offensive line.

Let's look at it like this, the Knights are heading into the best bowl game in the history of the program. They have a share of their first conference title.

The future looks bright and I mean that. On Thursday night, 44 recruits made their officials visit and most of them had Rutgers near the top of their list and that is the very important. The next couple of classes will know the Rutgers program as a winning program and have no idea how bad things where.

While it hurts, all Rutgers fans should know the best (and the Big Ten) is yet to come.

Cover Story: The Final Four

Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State and Louisville are headed for the Big Easy for the Final Four this weekend. Here is how some of the newspapers around the country cover the Elite Eight this weekend.

Rutgers: The New Oregon

For the last couple of years, the University of Oregon has set the college football world on its ears with its different combinations of uniforms. You name the shade of green, the Ducks use it. This year Oklahoma State got into the act with a bunch of different uniforms. Now Rutgers seems to be getting into it. With the Army game on Saturday, Rutgers is set to wear their six different uniform in nine games. On Saturday, Scarlet Knights are set to introduce a white helmet with an American flag logo Rutgers logo on it

Here is the break down:

• North Carolina Central State: All red 
• Ohio: red jersey/white pants/red helmets
• Syracuse white jerseys/red pants/red helmets
• Pitt: All black 
• Navy: red jerseys/white pants/red helmets
• Louisville: white shirts/black pants/black helmets.
• West Virginia: all black
• USF: all red 
• Army: white helmets with an American flag "R"

So far the different uniform combinations have been fine, I just hope that the Nike and the school continue to tasteful when it comes to the uniform design.

William Paterson might need a QB

Approximately four years ago Don Bosco QB Matt Simms was the talk of the New Jersey high school football, fast forward to today and he might be a player without a program.

Simms started his career at Louisville after being a sought after recruit. But that relationship did not last long. In Aug. 2008, U of L suspended the redshirt freshman quarterback for four games for an undisclosed violation of team. After the incident and not being named starting QB, Simms left the program and head out west to El Camino Junior College in California.

After having a great year in JC, Simms signed with then University of Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffan. Reports out of the great state of Tennessee, stated that Simms was chosen over fellow JC QB Cam Newton, that turned out well. During this season Simms has not been that good and has now lost his job to true freshman Tyler Bray. Simms did not take too kindly to being replaced during the South Carolina game a couple of weeks ago: "I had no idea that I was going to get taken out of the game for that. I was playing really well. Extremely well. Probably the best game I've played all year. It's rough but hey, they made a decision and they stuck with it," according to USA Today. Bray ended up starting last week against Memphis and appears to be headed for a long run as the UT starting qb.

So after all that hype at Bosco, Simms looks like a player without a starting job. As a alumni of William Paterson University, I think that Simms would look good in the orange and black.There are many positives to him heading there, he will not have to sit out next year because its a Division III program and its really close to his home town as Rampo. Hey nothing else has worked out for Simms, so why not head back toward home.

Professional Tailgating: There goes a piece of my tailgating soul

Sometimes it's time to move on, but moving on can hurt. After weeks of waiting it finally happened, the tailgating car, a 2002 vw golf, was traded in as part of a deal for a new car for the family.

The car was getting up there in miles and in memories. It has seen its fair share of sporting events, most of them documented on this site. It went to Rutgers for the famous Louisville game and saw a bunch of years of season tickets. Its been to countless baseball games, Eagles games, and seen friendlies involving Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and two USMNT games.

Its helped me lug my golf clubs to a variety of courses around the state including Blue Heron Pines, Echo Lake, and the Architects Club. It also assisted with a trip to North Carolina to play a variety of different courses that had hosted USGA events.

I'm sure the new tailgating car, a honda accord, will produce the same type of memories but its always hard saying good bye to your first love and that is exactly what I had to do :(
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Its ticket day

Went out to the mailbox and had a nice surprise, my Rutgers season tickets were waiting for me. while they are not as nice as last year, it means only one thing, the season will soon be here.
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So Young but been around so long

Sure Taylor King is only a sophomore at Villanova, but it feels like he has been along for so long and now he is finally starting to settle down.

When King was in eight grade he committed to follow most Southern California kids dream and play for UCLA. In high school, King played at the legendary Mater Dei program where he enjoyed a successful high school basketball career, posting the third highest career point total in California high school history.

This is where things get a little dicey for King, during his senior year he decided to change his mind and turn down UCLA and head to the Tobacco Road to play for Duke. While at Duke things did not go that well for Taylor and he did not make the impact that many people thought that he would. Some people even called him soft and not a hard work.

So after the one year, he decided to change his mind again and head to the Main Line and head to Villanova. After sitting out last season King finally looks to be the player that many people thought that he would. King has made a solid impact in his first year with Jay Wright. Last night, King played a huge roll in 'Nova 92-84 comeback win over Louisville. King finished the day with 12 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes of action. The thing that stands out for me was that King was all over the floor and getting involved in the action. King has great skills and the ability to shoot the ball from all over, but now it appears that he has added the toughness that can carry 'Nova very far in March.

Despite only a sophomore, King is finally showing the skills that many people thought he had, sure it took a couple of steps to get there, but it appears that he is finally there.

The Cover Story: College Basketball

It seems like only yesterday that North Carolina cut down the nets at Ford Field in Detroit, but a lot has changed since they did that, Coach Cal went from Memphis to Kentucky and North Carolina reloaded.

In honor of midnight madness tomorrow night here are the covers of the Sporting News College Basketball preview issues:

Washington

California

Arizona

Texas

Kansas

Michigan

Illinois

SEC

Tennessee

Miami

Kentucky

North Carolina

Pittsburgh

Washington DC

UCONN

Thoughts on the Big Dance

The NCAA Selection Committee has spoken and some teams are happy and others are not going to be happy for some time. Here are OTWT first thoughts on the just released brackets.

• For a team that might have been the last at large in Arizona has a game that no one is going to be scared of Utah.
• I would not be surprised to see Utah State beat a fast sliding Marquette.
  
• For all of the talk of Maryland being on the edge of the bubble, it looks like they were safely in the tournament as a 10 seed.
  
• Wisconsin is the type of team that is going to give Florida State some issues.
  
• Portland State vs. the X-Men. Don't sleep on Portland State. They are the have beaten some good teams this year, including a win at Gonzaga.
  
• This year Western Kentucky beat the number one overall seed Louisville, so playing Illinois will not be that intimidating.
  
• I understand how the Big East has been the greatest conference in the history of the world, but how could three teams be number one seeds. I just don't understand how the third best team in a conferences warrants being a number one seed. Two teams from one conference is hard to take. I think that you should at least win your conference to be considered for a number one seed. I would have love to seen Memphis as the final number one.
• Final Four at first glance: North Carolina, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Louisville.
  
• I do know this. The tournament is always fun and will be again this year.
  

Professional Tailgating: The Last Dance

The Scarlet Knight had his final dance of the regular season on Thursday night against Louisville. Here he is going shaking this groove thing.

Professional Tailgating: The Final Game

So the Rutgers home season is over and what a roller coaster ride it was. Starting the season by looking like a Sun Belt team and ending the season as one of the hottest teams in all of country. So it all ended on Thursday night with game against Louisville and the Tailgating Crew was there.

Every one's favorite Turk checks in to see if Galatasary won their UEFA Cup on Thursday

Endy in the Outfield is dressed for a Carling Cup Quarterfinal at Millwall, rather then a college football game.

The red shirt freshman are waiting for their chance next season, BJones.

Saying good bye to the Stadium for the final time this season.

It's almost here

With the midway point of the college football season here, that can mean its only a matter of weeks before college basketball teams start practicing. Here is a look at the covers for the different Sporting News College Basketball Previews.

Arizona Region

LA Region

Pacific Northwest Region

SEC Region

Chicago Region

Michigan Region

Texas Region

Oklahoma Region

DC Region

Pittsburgh Region

Tobacco Road Region

Kentucky Region