Rutgers/Louisville

Here we go. It is game day and the countdown is on to one of the biggest games in Rutgers Football history.

I honestly don't think I'll be able to fall asleep tonight. Just spent sometime watching highlights from the 2006 game on Youtube. Enjoy.
I found a couple of cool Jeremy Ito stories earlier today. The Star-Ledger did sort of a "Where is he now?" piece. The other one isn't directly about him but you must watch this piece Tom Rinaldi did for College Gameday this past weekend.

There will always be people in this area who will thumb their noses at college football. Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger has a column out today addressing them.
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NJ Gas Station ignoring odd/even rationing

The Sunoco in Edison on Route 1 North and Old Post Road is ignoring the odd/even rationing. Anyone know where I could report them? I called the attendant out in it and he said "everyone needs gas".

If you are on twitter follow @njgas and #njgas for up to be minute gas info.

70s era gas rules are back in NJ

Just received this text alert from our township.

Hurricane Sandy

We lost power 8:30 PM on Monday night as a result of Hurricane Sandy and just got it back after 39.5 hours.

We ended up being extremely fortunate when you consider the destruction around us. Two trees fell in our backyard but the only damage was to a shed. One of the trees just narrowly missed the house, had it fell in another direction by a foot it would have ended up in the master bedroom upstairs or the living room downstairs. There are houses in our neighborhood with trees on top of them. There are trees and power lines down all over the place. Even though we were without power all this time we have to be thankful that there wasn't as much rain as last Irene. That storm had caused flooding despite us not losing power. If the same had happened again mixing with power outages that would have made sump pumps useless the damage from flooding would have been far worse.

All this led me to think how people who live in areas that are regularly struck by hurricanes manage to cope with the the destruction? Sandy was barely a Category One storm by the time it hit us yet the damage is almost unthinkable.

I have to applaud Governor Chris Christie. I was one of many who spoke out when both he and the Lt. Governor went on vacation at the same time during a major snow storm but his handling if Sandy has been fantastic.

I was thinking late Monday night about the deaths Sandy has caused long before it even reached the US. I believe I ready that it had killed 60 people before it reached the US yet in typical American fashion those numbers were largely ignored in our news broadcasts. As I sat in this crazy storm last night with the loud noises coming from outside that kept us awake most of the night I also had to pause and think about the people of Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine who have seen their neighborhoods bombarded for years and have endured so many more sleepless nights.

Take a moment to be grateful for what you have because they are so man people out there who are in situation far worse both in and out of this current storm.

In closing, major kudos to PSE&G. Having power restored to us in under 40 hours after this destruction is very impressive.

This tree barely missed our house.

Neighbor's tree fell into our yard

That same tree completely crushed the shed in our backyard

Kudos to PSE&G for having our power back in under 40 hours.

See the yellow caution tape? That is how power cables our.

Down tree on Easton Avenue in Somerset completely blocking one side.  

Downed cable a block away from me. 

This is the bottom of a downed tree in my neighborhood. 

Downed tree by New Brunswick Senior Center

Downed tree on a house in Somerset, NJ

Hurricane Sandy (#Frankenstorm!)

I did a couple of posts on this last year during Irene but figured I'd throw this up there again. 

Living in the Northeast we are amateurs at dealing with Hurricane threats but there are some common sense thing everyone should be doing to prepare.


Here they are in no particular order:

• Have plenty of bottled water available. If there are power outages because of flooding it will get hot inside the house. 
• Have plenty of non-perishable snacks. We loaded up on chips, crackers, cookies, etc. These are things that won't go bad and if nothing happens these aren't things that will go to waste. No sense throwing away money at canned goods that you will never use. 
• Flashlights and a battery operated radio should be a must although I have to be honest I don't know if any radio of ours actually work. 
• Car charger for your cellphones is a good bet. If you lose power at least you can go charge your phone in the car. 
• If you're from a part of the country that regularly experiences hurricanes, stop mocking people in the northeast for how they are acting. We know how you guys act with a quarter of an inch of snow. 
• I set up text alerts from the local police department through Nixle since I don't have a land line and would not have received any "Reverse 911" calls.
• If you are asked to be evacuate....DO IT! It makes no sense to risk your life or that of any first responders. 
• Have a bag packed and ready to go. Make sure you keep all important documents and medical supplies. 
• Here's one I saw on twitter last year. Fill up your bath tub with water. You can use it to flush your toilet if need be. Had plenty of water in buckets and stuff but again...just to be safe. 
• Is your gas tank topped off? Filled up our car yesterday and there like 8-10 cars lined up at each pump. 
• Don't dress up like a bear and go to the beach. 
• If you a reporter covering the storm DO NOT embarrass yourself and your organization by reporting from ankle deep water.
• FEMA says to put your freezer and refrigerator at the coldest possible temperature setting. 
• Update people on how you are doing via social media (facebook/twitter) periodically so family and friends can check in on you. Red Cross has a pretty good iPhone app. 

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Alex Rodriguez

What will the Yankees do with Alex Rodriguez?

At some point they will just have to eat the contract and trade him right? I mean what alternative is there when you have Eric Chavez pinch hit for him? He is owed at least $116 million for the next five years.

I don't understand the people saying Ibanez should have hit for him in the 8th inning tonight? How does that make any sense? The Orioles would've intentionally walked Raul Ibanez to face Nick Swisher. So the question really becomes would you rather have A-Rod hit or Swisher? Cano, Granderson and Swisher should be thankful that A-Rod as usual will get all the blame when they have done absolutely nothing.

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50 years ago today.....

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ESPN will honor Eric LeGrand at ESPYs

A few times a year I end up linking to the awesome speech Jim Valvano gave at the ESPYs back in 1993.

I want to take a quick moment to do it yet again since ESPN announced today that Eric LeGrand will be the recipient of the Jimmy V Perseverance award this year. LeGrand is certainly a well deserved recipient. If you don't do it already you should follow him on twitter and go buy his book.


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NBA Draft Lottery conspiracy theory

I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy but wouldn't people also have been claiming there was something fishy if the Nets or the Bobcats got the first pick?

I agree with whoever it was on twitter who said that the NBA should stream the lottery part online.
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2012 NCAA Tournament

For the fourth year in a row Barack Obama has filled out a bracket for ESPN.

 You can track the progress of Obama's bracket here. Who do you have going to the Final Four? You can find my bracket here.

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Not cool KFC....not cool.

Bad Customer Service.

I've written on the subject in the past and here is one more entry into the file. I drove into Manhattan earlier today to get food from one of the few Halal KFC's in the US.

My sister and I ended up paying extra (like we usually do) just so we would have a bucket just of breast pieces. The cashier went to speak to the manager just to see if there were enough Halal pieces in stock to fulfill our order and came back to tell us that it'd have to be a mix of Extra Crispy and Original to fulfill our order of a dozen breast pieces. We were fine with that. When we got back home buried at the bottom of the box were a couple of pieces of grilled chicken instead. Not cool. I didn't drive all the way into the city (or pay extra for that matter) just to get grilled chicken. I don't eat healthy at home so I certainly won't go out somewhere and do it! I ended up calling their customer service and "Bobby" was really nice over the phone and told me he'd pass it up the chain of command. I have also tried to contact them via Twitter. Hopefully someone calls back and at least refunds part of the bill (if not all). Basic customer service. If they are willing to lie about what pieces they are giving me why should I or anyone else trust that they are actually giving me Halal chicken?

This KFC is located at 208 McGuinness Boulevard Brooklyn, NY 11222

Yes, I understand that this is a first world problem but a corporation as big as Kentucky Fried Chicken should no tolerate this from their franchisees. Will someone from KFC contact me? I'll keep you updated.
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Winter Classic 2013: Maple Leafs/Red Wings at The Big House

January 1st 2013. Absolutely looking forward to this. I have to figure out a way to be at this game. There will be something like 115,000 people there. The event will be be a major boost to economy in Detroit and the surrounding areas.

What possible matchups do you want to see in the future and where?
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Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News

Rock Center with Brian Williams - Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News

Can you imagine the outrage if Iran was using terrorists to kill Americans or Israelis?

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Eli is not as good as Peyton

Congrats to the New York Giants on their 4th Super Bowl title. They become just the 5th franchise to win four Super Bowls.

That being said you'll hear a lot of people try to say that Eli is better then Peyton. Anyone who wants to put Eli in Peyton's league needs their head examined. Peyton Manning is one of the 3 (with Montana and Unitas) QBs of all time. He is a top ten overall player in league history. Eli getting to two rings while Peyton is at one absolutely nothing. If that is your criteria then I guess Trent Dilfer was a better quarterback then Dan Marino. Using that argument I guess Robert Horry was a better player then Tim Duncan.

Yes, Eli is very good but lets not get carried away here.
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Super Bowl XLVI Prediction

Four years ago I picked the Giants to pull off the upset against the undefeated New England Patriots.

This time around I don't think it'll take one of the most exciting plays in Super Bowl history to do it but I think the Giants win again. I am almost cringing making this pick because if the Giants win there will be foolish people out there who will want to say that Eli is a better quarterback then Peyton. I just know this will happen. Whether it is callers (or even hosts on WFAN) or football fans in general, you just know there is a segment of the population that will say it. It really is a shame that Peyton Manning never got to play with a defense that was consistently as good as the one Brady (and Roethlisberger) got early in their careers.

Everyone (outside of Las Vegas) seems to be picking the Giants to win this time around and that scares me. It hasn't been said much over the course of Tom Brady's career but Eli Manning is the better quarterback right now. I think the Giants pass rush gets to Tom Brady again and forces a couple of turnovers. I have thought for two weeks that we'll see Chad Ochocinco make an impact in this game. I still think that is the case. It would be typical Bill Belichick.

By the way, what is up with the Patriots releasing Tiquan Underwood on the night before the Super Bowl?

Giants win 24-17. I'll be on twitter during the game. Follow me @sahyder1

As for the commercials, have you seen the Acura one with Jerry Seinfeld?
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Acura's Super Bowl commercial with Jerry Seinfeld (and the guy who ruins the commercial at the end)

I liked the commercial overall despite you know who being there in the end. If you follow me on Twitter you already know much I dislike this individual.
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NHL All-Star Draft

As I am playing some catch up on my DVR I have to say yet again that I absolutely love the All-Star draft that the NHL started doing last year.

Concept is simple. Instead of a simple East versus West game (or North America versus the World!) they pick two captains and they do a school yard style pick from a pool of All-Stars. Other sports needs to adopt this. I'd be much more interested in the NBA All-Star game if they did this.
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Greg Schiano to the Buccaneers

The first thing I saw when I woke up today was this tweet. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out what was going on.

 I have to say that I was surprised when reports surfaced today that Rutgers Football Coach Greg Schiano was talking to the Tampa Buccaneers about their coaching vacancy. For a few years I had thought that if Schiano was to leave Rutgers it would be to follow Joe Paterno at Penn State. When the whole Penn State scandal broke I figured Schiano would stay especially in light of the strong recruiting class they were putting together. In retrospect though you have to wonder if the way things ended up going at Penn State with Paterno served as a reminder to him that no one stays in one place forever anymore.

I don't entirely blame Schiano here. How do you say no to the NFL? There has been a lot of negativity towards the program here in New Jersey from people who aren't football fans given his stature as the highest paid public employee in the state.  The Big East mess had to play a big factor here but him leaving this close to signing day will leave a little bit of a sour taste. He has built this program up well but he has done a disservice to the Rutgers Family (or Scarlet Nation as they are beginning to call themselves) and the "State of Rutgers". Sports are a business and you have to expect things like this but there is unfinished business here. I wonder where the school goes from here? Would offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti be able to hold the recruiting class together? Or do they turn to someone like Greg Toal who has built at a dynasty at Don Bosco Prep? Keith Sargeant, who is one of the Rutgers beat writers put together this possible short list.

What kind of a contract did Schiano end up getting? I read somewhere that he got a five year deal but the money will be interesting too. He was making north of $2.3 million at Rutgers. I was surprised to hear Adam Schefter mention that Schiano was a finalist for the Rams job too.

Rutgers fans will be angry for a while but Schiano does need to be praised for the work he did while he was here. No, we never did get that BCS game but he did leave the program in a better place then the situation that he inherited and you don't always get that. Rutgers won't go back into obscurity. The program has come far enough in the past decade to ensure of that. J.A Adande mentioned on ESPN's Around the Horn today that Rutgers has 21 players in the NFL right now. Alabama has five. That is a truly remarkable stat given where this program was not that long ago. People will say that he took the easy way out or even make this about money but if Schiano was really chasing that wouldn't he have taken the jobs at Michigan and Miami when they came his way? An NFL coaching job doesn't give him anywhere close to the security he had at Rutgers where he could easily have stayed for the next 25 years. I really can't fault him for wanting a NFL gig. As Atheltic Director Tim Pernetti told the media today, there are only 32 such jobs in the world. If you are a football guy how do you say no to that? You can read a transcript of Pernetti's comments to the press here.

Just yesterday the program had posted this video online for season ticket renewals. I'll have my seats again next year. I do want to see where this program goes from here. Hopefully the program  continues to build using the building blocks Greg Schiano left here.
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VIDEO: Ray Lewis postgame speech

Adam Schefter of ESPN linked to this earlier. Great stuff. As always you can leave a comment here, reach me by e-mail or .

2011 San Francisco 49ers

What a great day of football.

Hats off to the San Francisco 49ers. The team definitely surprised me this year. When the season got under way I wasn't expecting anything close to this. I thought that there was a good chance that the team would be in the mix for Andrew Luck next year. Jim Harbaugh deserves a lot of credit for the work he did with this team this year. It was great to see the 49ers back in the playoffs and hopefully next year will be another bright one.

How much money will David Tyree end up making in the next couple of weeks? He'll be everywhere in the lead up to the Super Bowl. How many times do you think you'll see a clip of his catch in the next two weeks?



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NFL Conference Championship Predictions

Didn't get a chance to do detailed picks this week but just wanted to pop in to say I'm taking the Ravens and the 49ers to win.

Colbert Super PAC: Vote for Cain!

Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow a.k.a The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC has released a new ad urging people to vote for Stephen Colbert Herman Cain. Colbert urged people to do the same on last night's show.

The Colbert Report
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Muhammad Ali turns 70

A Happy 70th Birthday to the Greatest of All-Time Muhammad Ali.

He truly was one of a kind in his prime. There wasn't anyone like him before and there hasn't been anyone after. He was way ahead of his time. Imagine how much bigger he could have been in the Cable and social media era? That's not to take away from the impact he did have in his prime. He was a big part of the civil rights movement as well as the anti-war movement.
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Colbert Super PAC runs anti-Romney ad in South Carolina

Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow a.k.a The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC released an anti-Romney ad overnight. It is part of a heavy ad buy that the Super PAC got in South Carolina.

“Mitt Romney claims to be pro-corporations,” said Jon Stewart, President of The Definitely Not Coordinated With Stephen Colbert Super PAC. “But would you let him date your daughter’s corporation? Americans have been clamoring for a comprehensive study of this crucial issue, so we splurged for the full sixty-second commercial. We think South Carolinians will agree – they deserve a leader who shares their state’s values, and perhaps even their state’s initials.”

The Colbert Report
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Colbert appeared on "This week with George Stephanopoulos" this morning.



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NFL Divisional Round Predictions

Lets try this again, shall we? I was brutal with my picks last week going just 1-3 against the spread and 2-2 overall. Last year I went 8-3 against the spread in the playoffs.

The 49ers and the Saints get us underway today. Being a 49ers fan I obviously hope the team can get me a nice birthday gift and deliver a win. I have to say I am more optimistic today of the 49ers chances then I was all season as everyone began to project the playoff matchups. Take a look at this screen grab from ESPN earlier today.

The Saints are a different team outside of the Superdome. The 49ers have almost no shot getting to 40 points but Alex Smith can get them to the mid 20s. Can the defense and the running game slow down Brees? The 49ers have done a great job protecting the ball all season. They had a +28 turnover ratio compared to a -3 for the Saints. If Gore and Smith can protect the ball I think we are headed for an upset here. The Saints have NEVER won a road playoff game. I am going to take the 49ers +4 to win outright. Nothing against Brees or the Saints, they've had an amazing year but this 49ers team will pull off one more surprise today.

I feel dirty rooting for a Patriots win but you have to believe Brady and Belichick got sick and tired of listening to Tebow talk this week. Give it to Tebow though, that throw in OT was impressive despite the terrible defensive play call from the Steelers. A couple of big Tebow plays and this weak Patriots defense does scare me somewhat but I don't think this run has to end at some point so why not today? I have to give Bill Belichick enough credit as a defensive mind that he won't let Tebow have his way. Heck, maybe they just got Josh McDaniels to tape a Broncos practice now that he is back on the payroll! The Broncos will cover the 14 point spread but the Patriots will host the AFC Championship game next week.

Hats off to the Texans. Big win for them last week and given all the injuries they've had this year it has been one very good season for them on the field. Do they have one more win in them? T. J Yates will try to become just the 3rd QB to win two playoff games as a rookie (Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco are the others). Speaking of Flacco, I didn't like his media session on Wednesday. He came across as a guy who is far too concerned with what others think about him. I think the game will be close to I'll take the Texans +9 but Ravens will win a field goal game.

A lot of people have been comparing this Giants team to the one that won a Super Bowl four years ago. A playoff game in Lambeau brought even more of that talk this week. I just don't see things working out the same for the Giants though. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are just playing at a really high level and as good as the Giants defense has been I don't think they will be able to slow down the Packers. I'll take the Packers -9 to win by double digits.
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Jon Stewart takes over the Colbert SuperPAC

Great work from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert in continuing to point out how absurd the political system is.   You can find the video online. You can read the  statement from the PAC on the website.
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Stephen Colbert is running for President.....sort of.

If you watched The Colbert Report last night you saw Stephen Colbert hint at a possible "run for President". Well, tonight he will announce the formation of an exploratory committee.

On his show tonight he will hand over control of his Super PAC to Jon Stewart (who will make an appearance!). He most likely won't be able to run though. Turns out that South Carolina doesn't allow write-in ballots in primaries.

A recent poll in South Carolina shows Colbert polling ahead of Jon Huntsman.

Have you seen any of the commercials the PAC has made?

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"Please shut off your phone"

What is it with people not shutting off the volume on their phones in public places?

It is a widespread problem. There is always that one person who forgets to do it when going to a Mosque (I'm sure Churches and and Synagogues have the same problem), NBC Nightly News had a fun story about this tonight.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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"HEY RODGERS, DISCOUNT DOUBLE CHECK"

State Farm and Aaron Rodgers should have quit while they were ahead. This second one is terrible compared to the first one. As always you can leave a comment here, reach me by e-mail or .

NFL Playoff Predictions

With the games getting underway shortly I wanted to take a moment to post my playoff predictions. Looking back at my preseason predictions I ended up getting 8 out of the 12 playoff teams. If it wasn't for the disappointing years from the Chargers and Jets they would look a lot better. I'm a 49ers fan and I didn't pick them for the playoffs so I'm glad I was wrong on that one as well.

I am going to take the Bengals +4 to win outright against the Texans. Hats off to Marvin Lewis for the great job he has done with this team. The whole Carson Palmer situation should have been a big distraction for the team but not only did they pull off a great trade with the Raiders they still got to the playoffs with a rookie quarterback in Andy Dalton. Once Peyton Manning went down this really should have been the year of the Texans in the AFC. They should have locked up a bye but ended up being caught up in injuries themselves. They've done well to get to this point but I think their season ends today.

The Lions finishing 10-6 and making it to the playoffs is a great sports story given where that franchise and more importantly where that city has been but in a way even with the Green Bay Packers being in that division they almost seems like an underachieving team given the way they started the year. If Ndamukong Suh can keep head on straight this should be a start of great things to come for the Detroit Lions in the coming years. I think the Lions will cover the 11 point spread but the Saints will pull out the win. What a year Drew Brees had. I think Aaron Rodgers slowing down late in the season will help Brees pull out the MVP. The Saints probably are the one team in the NFC who can stop the Packers from repeating.

Even with a four game losing streak (and two additional losses to the Washington Redskins) the Giants somehow managed to make the playoffs and save Tom Coughlin's job. For whatever reason people like to knock Eli Manning but he took a big step forward this year. With the game on the line there are very few quarterbacks in the league who you'd want guiding that two minute drill. He is one of those quarterbacks. The Falcons should be a lot better at this point with Matt Ryan. I understand that being in the same division as the Saints doesn't help but this team doesn't excite me one bit. They do have a sour taste from last year's playoffs but I believe they lose again this weekend. I'll take the Giants -3.

"Tebow Time" is finished. I made a post earlier in the season saying Tebow would no longer be a starter by the middle of next season but a loss today could very well push that up to the start of next season. The Broncos offense continues to look awful. I think if they lose big today the Broncos will bring someone else at least compete with Tebow for the job next year. Given how banged up the Steelers are right now things are laid out pretty good with Broncos, the Steelers could very well lose this week......but I just don't think the Broncos have it in them. I'll take the Steelers -9.

For the heck of it here are my picks for the rest of the playoffs at this moment.

Divisional Round

Packers over Giants
Saints over 49ers
Patriots over Bengals
Ravens over Steelers

Conference Championship

Packers over Saints
Ravens over Patriots

Super Bowl XLVI
Packers over Ravens
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