Rutgers is a 6th seed along with Maryland and Ohio State.

There is a NE regional Christmas movie classic hiding in plain sight that is so good and packs such “inherent truths” punches, and yet gets no recognition from us New Jersey faithful.

That movie is The Ref.

Star studded cast including Dennis Leary and Kevin Spacey, it’s an R rated, put the kids to bed masterpiece of a dysfunctional extended family on Christmas Eve.

TLDR: If you like snarky Christmas humor ala Scrooged you’ll love this movie



Let’s hear some more obscure favorites

Watching the late night Hawaii tournament on ESPN2. At halftime they do a highlight reel and recap our game against Bucknell (and Indiana’s game).

- called it the RAC
- Steve Pikiell is a top-tier coach in the country (other analyst agreed)
- said we have gotten old and are still old
- if Paul and Caleb continue to get healthier we are a “second weekend team” in the NCAA tournament

I just want an OC hired...Merry Christmas all...​

​

A wish list for Rutgers athletics this Christmas..​

https://rutgerswire.usatoday.com/lists/a-wish-list-for-rutgers-athletics-this-christmas/

​

Is today
Hope everyone who observes Hanukkah had 8 days of peace and joy

And we be taking care of business (every day)
Taking care of business (every way)
We be been taking care of business (it's all mine)
Taking care of business and working overtime
Mercy
Whoo
All right


This is an easy recap for me and there is no way to get around the cliche. RU's task in the last 10 days of the seasons was to take care of business and get to 2023 avoiding potential landmines. Mark one down but not only did they take care of business, they continued to show the hunger we have seen in all but one game at the RAC this season. Every coach and fan goes into these games with trepidation especially around Christmas time because we see the Eastern Illinois of the world go into Iowa and pull out wins. We remember Lafayette and Stony Brook. There is something about this particular group that is markedly different from last years group who seemingly played down to every opponent. This 2022-23 edition of the Knight has beaten its 5 tastiest cupcakes by 40, 38, 30, 34 and tonight's 35. Those are pretty incredible numbers. It does not matter how bad the opponent may be. There are very few schools in the country that can pull off that stat without having some sort of drop off. These Knight are consistently hungry and its filtering down from the starters to the bench.

To be honest, I was surprised on just how easily we handled Bucknell. I thought they would put up more of a fight. RU came ready to play from the get go and the Bison looked more like deer in headlights. Just like vs Wake, it was about setting the tone and bullying the opponent. RU was relentless pressuring Bucknell early and it worked. The Bison who are good ball handlers were flustered and seemingly were rushing everything in those first ten minutes hitting on just one of 10 from the field. On the other side, RU made it a point to establish Cliff who had 4 dunks in the first 7 minutes as RU surged to a 16-4 lead and the rout was on. Some nifty court vision by Paul for 3 of those assists and a really nice one by Mag. Cliff got anything he wanted tonight and he could have doubled his numbers if Pikiell wanted to. Bucknell would never get closer and RU just kept coming and even with the bench there was little dropoff. Halftime up 18, it would be easy for RU to coast in the 2nd half but they didnt, they came out and laid some nasty haymakers. RU went on a nasty 25-6 run over the opening 12:30 minutes of the 2nd half where Bucknell was left leg weary and brick makers. So so impressive that RU kept up its intensity level for pretty much the full 40 minutes. The defensive indentity is set. When you come to the RAC you are going to have a hard time scoring and running a functional offense.

Sure one can quibble about the poor 3 point shooting at just 3-15 or leaving a ton of open looks that Bucknell usually bricked but why? RU had just 3 turnovers all game...an almost impossible stat while piling up a whopping 20 assists. The individual game that Cliff has in 28 minutes was just sick. Cliff has been frustrating at times this year even against cupcakes because he can be dominant in one half after being quiet in another. Today was a full game from him and he was going up against a big body so that was a good test for him. 17 points on 7-10 shooting, 3-4 at the line 14 boards, 6 blocks and only one turnover. Like I said earlier those numbers could have been doubled if we went to him everytime. Paul and Caleb were generals tonight....12 assists between the two of them. Paul had 7 boards and was active, wasnt about him shooting so dont mind the 2-8 fg. Caleb was pretty sweet with his offensive game tonight, 7-11 fg in 33 minutes without forcing things and collected 3 of RU's 9 steals. Mag was only 2-7 fg tonight, would have liked him to have a bit more success offensively tonight but I thought the baskets he made..one in the 2nd half leading to a dunk while running to the hoop was a big improvement for him. Also with 6 boards and again putting in the work defensively as is now becoming common place. Cam wasnt exactly on tonight with his shots but I thought he did bring energy at times to start both halves making some good plays. Still logged 29 minutes and picked up 2 steals. Hyatt had his usual game. 4-9 fg in just 16 minutes. Some nice moves but again has trouble making a layup. I think Mag has established himself as the starter and Hyatt is the 6th man off the bench. Nothing wrong with that. There will be games where we know we will have to count on Hyatt to make some shots

Last but not least are the two big positives to talk about. Derek and Wolf. Derek had that Indiana breakout game but then limited somewhat after that in minutes, some of that self inflicted really showed confidence out there. Hit a nice jumper and then layup back to back and then a sweet slam in the 2nd half. 21 minutes, 4-9 fg, 10 points and very active. I really cant recall any mistakes he made and again finally hitting one of those jams he has been trying all year to make. Woolfolk just 9 minutes but 2-3 fg and 5 points, 4 boards and 2 assists. Its just amazing how unheralded he came in and how comfortable he looks on the court especially offensively. How many times do we see our freshmen 4s and 5s struggle to even get the fundamentals down. This game was exponential for both these kids development. We will need them for sure to contribute perhaps in big roles in the first strech of Big 10 games in 2023. It was so good that the starters were able to get that big lead which allowed these two to come and play without the pressure of making mistakes. Much different scenario than last season. I expect Derek to get as many minutes vs Coppin and perhaps more for Wolf

Again like I have been saying the rotation looks set..its 8 guys. Reiber and Miller are the deep reserves right now. Reiber did get a bucket but still looks slow on the court and if he isnt seeing more than 4 minutes in a game against Bucknell I cannot see him playing more than 5 in Big 10 games. To me it would appear Wolf has surpassed him in practice and he surpassing him on the court. Good to see Oskar make the most of his opportunity and drain a 3. The deep bench and walkons only got in for about 3 minutes late but did pretty well in sustaining the lead.

As I am finishing this Indiana is currently going into the lockerroom tied at 27 with Kenneesaw State so if you think these games are a given you are wrong. That is why there is so much to love about this team especially compared to others around the Big 10. Rutgers continues to deliver the goods when they should and one more cupcake left to chomp down on until we hit the prime ribs of the schedule.

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A lower level but he was left with some of the worst recruits in the entirety of NCAA football. How is he winning in his first year like this? NIL?

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50 years ago tonight,after I had been all Christmased out,I put on Ch.5 to watch The David Susskind Show,a weekly Monday night show of that time.
Susskind was a soft spoken man who hosted an non-combative interview show-he wasn't Morton Downey Jr.
That night,he asked his guests from various fields what they saw coming in the future.Then on came the female astrologer.
Susskind asked her for the future of then Vice President,Spiro Agnew,whom many thought would run for President in 1976.
She didn't answer him directly.
Instead,she said:"In 1976,the United States will have both a President and a Vice President not elected by the American people."
In the Bicentennial Year,we had Ford and Rockefeller holding those offices,neither of whom at the time ever received an Electoral College Vote for either office.

Looking at the team ranking the only teams recruiting a significant # of four stars this year are OSU, PSU, Michigan and MSU, after that the rest of the teams have 1,2, or none. All of the above teams are in the East. There is a very big difference between those teams and the rest of the league, usually wisc. Shows up with multiple 4’s but not this year, bottom line no body is catching up with the those four teams if they are recruiting at a much higher level.

For the RU/N. Orleans?? Just watched re-play on BTN+
They were sailing along, then the tired legs started to give in. They fought mightily and held on.
Chyna, and Kaylene were in beast mode, love those two. 15/13 for China!
Now the eal season begins and I am worried.

$190,000 or 19 percent.

Join us at www.knightsoftheraritan.com

Thanks, Jon

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Okay everyone, strap on your tinfoil hats. I'm about to throw a theory at you here.

It's pretty obvious to me at this point Schiano's #1 target turned down the job, and that probably was Phil Longo. Schiano has had a very busy schedule with in-home visits, hosting recruits on official visits, recruiting the class of 2023 and transfer portal, etc. He's also had to conduct interviews for the open coaching role(s), with the OC at the top of the list. I think he knows he needs to hit a homerun with this hire and is a combination of struggling to find the right guy and also waiting out on some of his higher end targets.

Last week, Kent State's former HC Sean Lewis left the program to become the OC at Colorado under Deion Sanders. Lewis was only making $530,000 which was the lowest of any FBS HC. He also had a losing record over his 5 seasons there (24-31) and was on the hot seat. He was probably getting fired at the end of 2023 if he didn't come through with a big season. He decided to instead roughly double his salary at Colorado (rumored $1M+/year contract) and if Colorado has a good offense he can re-enter the HC market in his late 30s (he's currently 36).

Now this leads us to the replacement HC at Kent State, who was just named:

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One of the finalists was Kent State OC Andy Sowder, who Lewis had recommended for the HC job.

Per sources with direct knowledge, Lewis wholly endorsed current Kent State offensive coordinator Andrew Sowder as the top candidate to replace Lewis in-house as the Golden Flashes' head coach. Sowder has served as Kent State's offensive coordinator since 2018.

A Texas native, Sowder also has worked at the University of Texas as well as San Jose State and Bowling Green.

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Sowder has spent the last 5 seasons as the OC under Lewis, and in that time Kent State has regularly had one of the best offenses in college football. In 2020, Kent State led the nation in offensive scoring. Here's a more in-depth bio of Sowder:

Andrew Sowder joined Kent State in January of 2018 as offensive coordinator. He has also worked with quarterbacks and tight ends during his time with the Golden Flashes.

The 2021 season was Sowder's fourth year leading the Golden Flashes offense. He helped the Flashes achieve a 7-7 record, including a berth in the MAC Championship and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. His offense put up at least 30 points in all but one regular season MAC game. The rushing attack was first or tied for first in the MAC for yards, yards per rush, touchdowns and yards per game. The offense as a whole led the MAC in total yards, yards per game and touchdowns. Quarterback Dustin Crum excelled in Sowder's offense, winning the Vern Smith Leadership Award (given to the best player in the MAC) being named to the All-MAC First Team for the second year in a row. Wide receiver Dante Cephas also earned an All-MAC First Team selection. Three other members of the Flashes offense were All-MAC selections: running back Marquez Cooper and offensive linemen Bill Kuduk and Nathan Monnin. It was the second straight All-MAC selection for Kuduk and Monnin.

When compared to other programs across the nation in 2021, Sowder's offense continues to stand out. The Flashes ranked third in the nation for rushing offense and first down offense, while ranking fourth in the nation for total offense. The Flashes offense also took care of the football, ranking 15th nationally in turnovers lost. That helped the Flashes put up the third best turnover ratio in the nation. Sowder's offense in 2021 was one of the best, if not the best in Kent State history, setting records for total offense and passing yards.

In 2020, Sowder’s third year managing the Golden Flashes offense, he helped Kent State achieve a 3-1 record in the shortened season. The Flashes averaged the most total yards per game in the entire MAC at 606.5. They also led the conference in average points scored per game with 49.8. Four Kent State players earned All-MAC honors, and they were all on the offensive side of the ball and under Sowder’s watch: quarterback Dustin Crum, wide receiver Isaiah McKoy, and offensive linemen Bill Kuduk and Nathan Monnin. Crum and McKoy were both named to the first team.

Sowder's second year at the helm of the Kent State offense was one to be remembered, in large part to the emergence of Dustin Crum. The rising star quarterback threw for 2,625 yards, completing 69 percent of his pass attempts, throwing for 20 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Crum ranked 11th in the country in passing efficiency and was the only quarterback in the country to throw for more than 20 touchdowns with two or fewer interceptions.

The Golden Flashes and Crum continued their offensive dominance with a 50-burger in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl. The 51-41 victory earned Kent State its first ever bowl win. Crum was 21-for-26 with 289 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while adding another 147 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The historic offense totaled 550 yards in the game.

The offense is not only lighting it up on the field, but also cementing themselves in the Kent State history books. The Golden Flashes' offense averaged 405.6 yards per game, which ranks third in program history. The 905 plays ran also rank third all-time. The 2,849 passing yards rank second in Kent State history and the 42 total touchdowns ranks fifth.

The Flashes' offense put two wide receivers on the all-MAC third team, Isaiah McKoy and Mike Carrigan. McKoy led the Flashes with 56 receptions, 872 yards and eight touchdowns, cracking the top-10 in program history in all three categories. McKoy also led the Mid-American Conference with 72.7 yards per game as well as touchdowns. Carrigan caught 44 balls for 570 yards and five touchdowns.

In his first year as offensive coordinator at Kent State, Sowder saw an increase of 11.2 points per game from the previous season, and a massive 108.4 yards per game jump. The 383.3 yards per game is the fifth most in program history and he oversaw first year quarterback Woody Barrett complete 229 passes, the most in school history.

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This also might help explain why Rutgers was able to get one of the top WRs in the transfer portal on campus in former Kent State WR Devontez Walker. Kent State also has a STUD QB in the portal in Collin Schlee, who has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

No inside information here, but the pieces fit. We'll see if ends up being right or not...

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Was more relevant than Greg Schiano. My have the tables turned. I thought Flood had no way of being a head coach again. Now I think he may get a hc job in the not so far future

Northwestern has been a pleasant surprise, but can they maintain that level of success once B1G play starts? If their guards continue to play well, then the answer is yes.

Minnesota is a complete mess, but don't tell their fans. Their fans believe everyone else is crap. 🤣 Expect more of the same.

Michigan has talent but is a clusterf*ck led by an *sshole of a coach. With that much talent, they can't continue to fail. Expect improvement, but not B1G championship caliber.

Michigan State has been trapped in average play for the last few years. No one can explain why the talent hasn't performed better. Like UM, MSU will underachieve again.

Penn State is much better than the naysayers (entitled B1G teams/fans), and they can't handle the possibility PSU may finish in the upper half of the B1G. Expect PSU to be in the top half of the B1G

Wisconsin looks the part of a typical Badgers team, but it seems like smoke and mirrors. They remind you of Rutgers' teams of the past. Solid defensively but not consistent enough offensively.

Nebraska may be able to upset a team here and there, but they are precisely who we thought they were. NU is a collection of talent who don't play well together when facing similar or better talent.

Illinois, at least for this year, has taken on Nebraska's identity. Unlike Nebraska, Illinois can recover, which has to do with a good HC patrolling the sidelines. They will figure this out.

Ohio State has tons of talent, but it's still learning to play together. So, seeing OSU have two or three 'WTF' games is not out of the question. It couldn't happen to a better team.

Indiana is doing an Indiana thing. Bobby Knight is not walking through the door. When will the media stop kissing IU's *ss? They will hang around most of the season before they disappoint.

Iowa can score as usual, but the defense is worse than normal. They will be exposed by most of the B1G. IMO, I see Iowa as the best of the bottom half of the B1G.

Purdue is successful because they play to its potential. That's great for the B1G play but not for March Madness. They likely will finish at or near the top of the B1G unless B1G teams pressure PU guards.

Maryland is solid, but depth is an issue. If teams push the pace and play physically, Maryland may be in some trouble. The trouble is, I don't think too many teams in the B1G will figure it out in time.

Rutgers is doing Rutgers, They are playing great defense, but the offense may be better than some of our fans think. The offense is better because the defense is elite compared to other seasons. RU will surprise the B1G when the season ends.

When March arrives, this is how I see the B1G playing out. The upper half of the B1G contains teams like Purdue, Rutgers, Ohio State, Maryland, Illinois, and Michigan State. The middle pack will include Michigan, Penn State, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Bringing up the rear will be Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota.

Got a beautiful Rutgers Basketball T shirt from my daughter and will wear it proudly this week. My wife got us courtside seats for Coppin State. My apologizes to my Rutgers family for having to see my mug on TV.

12/10

Penn State at Illinois.....ILLINOIS
Purdue at Nebraska.....PURDUE

12/11

Wisconsin at Iowa.....IOWA


Wed/Thurs: 3-1
Season to Date: 4-5

Shared a chair lift up the mountain last weekend with a big USC guy while I was skiing in Utah and we started talking about B1G football. When I mentioned I was a Rutgers alum, he asked how the program was doing and what the general feeling on Schiano was. I told him that most of our fanbase is willing to be patient since he inherited a mess and that a lot felt this would be a long rebuild. The USC sort of laughed and said that in this day and age of college football there's no such thing as a long rebuild.

He mentioned that with NIL and the portal, you should be able to turn programs around in 3 seasons. He said that programs now look for head coaches who will bring a QB and a few players with them. And the expectation is that between the portal and high school recruiting (which usually gets a bump when you bring in a new coach), you really should be able to show mild improvement in year one and by the end of year two you should have a pretty good sense of what year 3 will look like.

The guy was adamant that programs that haven't shown the turnaround is imminent after year 4 will usually never turnaround because they haven't built the momentum needed to keep the train going and the luster has usually worn off the new coach by then. He also said he was surprised that we moved on at OC already. He mentioned that all these stud young head coaches have OCs in tow (before DCs) who they trust since the game today is offensively dominated and will usually ride or die with them.

Last thing we talked about before getting off the lift was NIL. He mentioned that USC has a very well run program for NIL, but also said that they've really had that program running since the Pete Carrol years, haha. I said that RU was behind the 8-ball there and he thought that that shouldn't preclude us from being a middle of the pack team. He thinks it'll be hard for any school without NIL to be a playoff-caliber team though.

Nice guy. I don't think he said anything that I'd disagree with, though I'm sure I'll get blasted as being anti-Schiano, etc.

is today
May all those that observe Hanukkah feel the light that dispels the darkness

is today
Hope all that observe Hanukkah felt joy during it and will continue o do so

This is a nice deal for Monmouth County and NJ in general. To big a piece of land to go so under used. I always thought Monmouth University would buy out the complete campus. https://www.nj.com/monmouth/2022/12...ign=netflix&utm_term=Newsletter_breaking_news

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Do not know much about him, but I thought I would share.