The Right Decision

I'm glad to see that Rutgers made the decision it did this morning to end Mike Rice's role as the men's basketball coach, but we have to ask ourselves how much more quickly the University would have acted if you change the words "coach" and "player" to "professor" and "student".  There would have been no second chance after the first blow. Period.

No employee of our favorite school (or any school) should be able to grab, push, kick, verbally abuse, and throw basketballs at any student.  Just because we're joining the Big Ten, we don't have to tolerate that sort of BobbyKnightWoodyHayes bullying and thuggery.

It's Official

 Rutgers will be joining the Big Ten as its 14th member, with a target date of 2014.  

Here's the picture that was tweeted by Athletic Director Tim Pernetti right before the official announcement at 2 this afternoon.

Here's the Official Announcement from Rutgers and the Big Ten.

"It Just Got Real..." The Scarlet Knight Life: Syracuse Week Video

What's most amazing to me about this video of the Scarlet Knight mascot in the Brower Commons enforcing his own Syracuse-week regulations -- even against Tim Pernetti -- is that the Commons looks the same here as it did in the seventies when I was eating there on a regular basis:

Two More Quotes of the Day for Rutgers Football

Here's a quote about Rutgers Stadium I pulled off ESPN.com from 2 October 2007, from a safety who is now playing for the Baltimore Ravens:

"We went up there two years ago, and it was not a very good environment," said Bearcats senior safety Haruki Nakamura, recalling a 44-9 loss. "They're pretty brutal fans. Their student section is very proud of their program -- very loud, very hostile. I mean, it's one of those atmospheres we were yearning for at the University of Cincinnati."

Despite Haruki Nakamura's impression of the 2005 game (which seemed good-natured to me), it always seemed like there was one loud end of Rutgers Stadium and one end where the opposition got a respite from the noise. That is all changed now.

Here's the companion quote of the day from Tim Pernetti in which he assured the press that the Stadium addition will be "fully operational" by next Monday's game (from Scarlet Scuttlebutt, 1 September 2009):

“And I think the folks toward the open-end of the stadium in the past may have felt a little distanced from the action, but the closed-in stadium makes everybody feel like they’re part of the action no matter where you sit.
“I think it’ll be special — anybody who’s holding a ticket right now is going to have a real special experience on opening day because it’s not often you can be part of history and something that’s new at the same time.”

It's funny that he puts it quite that way though, because I always feel (or, at least, have felt for the past four or five years) that Rutgers football is the perfect mix of a long historical tradition with something brand new. And once again, like every year at this time, I can't wait until I'm sitting on a hard aluminum bench waiting for the first kickoff of the year.

Welcome Back Ray!

Here's a photo of Ray Lucas standing up above our seats during the last game that Brian Leonard and Ray Rice played together, the Texas Bowl in Houston on December 28, 2006. Until Ray Rice came along, Ray Lucas was the most famous and successful Ray ever to play for both the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and in the NFL.

It's too bad that Ray never had a chance to quarterback a bowl victory himself, but now he'll be getting paid to go to every Rutgers football game. He's going to be the new color analyst for the Rutgers Football Radio Network. Chris Carlin will still be doing the play-by-play and Anthony Fucilli will still be the sideline reporter, but the previous color analyst, Tim Pernetti, got himself a another job in the off season that will be keeping him busy during the games (there might also be conflict of interest issues in being Athletic Director and color commentator).

Welcome Home Ray!

The Big Question Answered. There will be a cannon and a horse at R House in 2009!

Here's a short video clip of the cannon firing from its temporary position in the south endzone construction site last September 1st after a San San Te P.A.T. at the Fresno State game (and I challenge you to say san-san-tay-pee-ay-tee five times fast!).

Click here for the word from Tim Pernetti that there will be a cannon somewhere in the Stadium this September when the bowl is closed and the folks in Revolutionary garb can no longer light the fuse on the top of the green shady knoll.

"Having played in that old-old stadium, I know how important the cannon of all things is. And the horse was kind of brought into that scene with (coach)Doug Graber when I played for him." -- Tim Pernetti

Here's a Series I Can Get Excited About!

CLICK HERE for more details about "Rutgers football in negotiations with UCLA for home-and-home series".

I really hope this comes to be. Not only will a series with the Bruins at Rutgers Stadium and the Rose Bowl be a big step in the Scarlet Knights' continuing rise in national prominence, but I have a personal reason to see this come to pass. Both my parents have connections to UCLA and the first college football games I ever attended in the 1960's were Bruins games when they were playing in the Coliseum and fighting for dominance of the city of Los Angeles, the state of California, and sometimes the nation, with USC.

Thanks to Tim Pernetti for all his early efforts to push Rutgers football schedule to the next level.