I'm pulling double duty this week, covering both the men's basketball victory over Morgan State and writing this column. Oh wait, I pretty much do that all the time because we don't have that many writers. Do me a favor and come write for the sports section, sometimes there are cookies.
1. They may be undefeated, but voters should remember that Rutgers is still in Jersey.
The Scarlet Knights' victory over Louisville last week was one of the best games of the season, and Rutgers is definitely the feel-good story of the season after dwelling in the cellar of the Big East for so many seasons. However, the talk of Rutgers deserving a shot at the National Title Game is ridiculous. They beat one good team in Louisville and had a weak out-of-conference schedule to go along with a pretty easy Big East schedule. Even a two-loss team out of the SEC (LSU) would be a better choice to play for the title.
On a broader level, don't people realize that Rutgers is in Piscataway, N.J.? Seriously, other than Bruce Springsteen, Wawa Lemonade Iced Tea and AU's own Professor John Watson and his wonderful three-piece suits, what good has come out of Jersey? Last week on Thursday, they lit the Empire State Building in red to support the team, because apparently New Yorkers believe that all football teams that actually play in the Jerz belong to them (Giants, Jets, Rutgers . maybe New York really does send all its trash to Jersey).
2. There are no good teams anymore in the NFL.
Back in the day, the NFL was dominated by dynasties. The Packers of the '60s, the Steelers of the '70s, the 49ers of the '80s and the Cowboys of the '90s all dominated football for the better part of a decade. In the current NFL, even the best teams are flawed. The Colts can't stop the run, and could barely beat the Buffalo Bills last week (even the '90s Bills could never exist today; it takes a special kind of talent to lose four straight Super Bowls).
Meanwhile, the Bears may be in control of the NFC after a dominating win against the Giants, but their offense is shaky and they got beaten by a Dolphins team led by Joey Harrington. With all these mediocre teams, the real question is: who do all those fake Cowboys fans from the '90s root for now?
3. The Red Sox should sign JD Drew because with Trot Nixon gone, the DL will probably get lonely.
So here is Theo Epstein's plan for this offseason: Give the Japanese $51 million for the right to speak to a pitcher who may or may not be the next Hideki Irabu, and offer a long-term contract to JD Drew, who once hurt himself BEFORE spring training started during an optional workout. Theo, were you hanging out with Isiah during your time off last year?
4. For once, Bobby Knight is innocent.
Yes, Bobby Knight technically hit one of his players in the face during a game the other night. However, it's not like he hit the kid in the face with a chair; the player was staring at the ground instead of looking his coach in the eyes, so Knight pushed his chin up.
This was actually a good move, because apparently the player had just made a bad play and was looking at the floor in embarrassment. Knight's decision to literally make the kid "keep his chin up" wouldn't have been a story if it hadn't been Knight that did it, so leave him alone for once.
5. Michigan-Ohio State is the BCS title game.
There is no doubt that these are the two best teams in college football. Both teams have signature wins against top teams (with Ohio State destroying Texas, and Michigan dismantling Notre Dame in South Bend) and have gone undefeated in one of the top conferences in the country. These two teams not only feature two of the best defenses and two pro-quality offenses, but there is the added bonus that the two schools hate each other.
For once this is a game that might live up to the hype, because the winner of this game will most likely win the national championship. Remember when watching on Saturday: Guns don't kill people, Lamar Woodley kills people.
