High school beat reporter Bob Behre and host Tom Bergeron break down the Non-Public high school football playoff pairings this weekend.

Bergeron and Behre predict a North Jersey final in Non Public Group III.

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High school beat reporter Bob Behre and host Tom Bergeron break down the Group I high school football playoff pairings this weekend.

High school beat reporter Bob Behre and host Tom Bergeron break down the Group II high school football playoff pairings this weekend.

Manasquan hosts Delran in an interesting Central Jersey game. 

High school beat reporter Bob Behre and host Tom Bergeron break down the Group III high school football playoff pairings this weekend.

Bergeron and Behre think that there's a chance Phillipsburg can surprise Irvington this weekend in a North Jersey, Section Two semifinal.

High school beat reporter Bob Behre and host Tom Bergeron break down the Group IV high school football playoff pairings this weekend.

According to an internal review released by Rutgers Wednesday, the athletic department was allowed to operate virtually independently of the school as it pushed to bring athletic success to the university.

The panel of business leaders, judges, lawyers, and Rutgers officials who compiled the 35-page report concluded that the state university was ill-prepared to handle its push into big-time football.

It also said that Rutgers president Richard L. McCormick and the school's board of governors failed to monitor athletic director Robert E. Mulcahy.

Read the Star Ledger's full coverage here.

Star-Ledger File PhotoGiants running back Brandon Jacobs

Star-Ledger sports writer Jenny Vrentas gives us some insight from practice Wednesday:

JACOBS TAKES IT EASY, EXPECTS TO PLAY

Before he spoke to reporters after Wednesday's practice, Brandon Jacobs rearranged his stack of 11 touchdown balls from this season and marveled, aloud, at how many there were. Then, he turned to Ahmad Bradshaw and reassured him that if he is voted to the Pro Bowl, he'll take all the other running backs to Hawaii with him.

Not quite the mind-set of a guy worried about missing time due to injury. Three days after injuring his knee in the first quarter of the Ravens game, Jacobs said he expects to play Sunday against Arizona.

"It's just a little nagging thing that is just there," Jacobs said. "But I don't think it will hold me out."

Stew Milne/US PresswireTy Law, above, could replace struggling Jets starting rookie cornerback Dwight Lowery.

Star-Ledger sports writer M.A. Mehta gives us some insight from practice Wednesday:

'D' HAPPY TO HAVE LAW AND ORDER

Plucked from his living room sofa last week, Ty Law wasted little time making an impact. The veteran cornerback said Wednesday that he was "a little shocked" to be in for 57 plays in the Jets' overtime thriller over the Patriots last Thursday.

But he certainly wasn't complaining.

"I didn't expect to play that many plays -- I don't think anybody did -- but it was good that I was able to go out there and help the team," said Law, who was used mainly in nickel and dime packages. "I was hurting for a few days after. And I think I'm still feeling some of those 57 plays.

Mark Humphrey/Associated PressTitans quarterback Kerry Collins has thrown for 519 yards and five touchdowns in road victories the past two weeks.

Admit it. You thought you had seen the last of these two old quarterbacks, hadn't you?

Oh, you might have envisioned them wearing a suit in a broadcast booth somewhere, but the only thing they'd be passing is the tapioca pudding at the Shady Acres Retirement Village.

Kurt Warner was a fumble-prone shell of a former MVP, one who had been replaced twice, in two cities, by high-profile first-round draft picks. He was washed up and wiped out, ending a great career as a place-holder for Matt Leinart in Arizona.

Kerry Collins was a cement-footed dinosaur who missed his one chance to win a Super Bowl, one who seemed resigned to finishing his career holding a clipboard. He was as irrelevant as a quarterback could be, backing up a rising star in Vince Young for Tennessee.

When someone asked Art Forst if he'd experienced his welcome-to-college-football moment yet, Rutgers' true freshman offensive lineman said it happened in his first college start against Cincinnati on Oct. 11.

"Terrill Byrd," he said, referring to the Bearcats' standout senior defensive tackle. "That was my welcome to college football."

Forst survived that tough initiation to the college ranks and has grown from it, with the 6-8, 310-pound guard from Manasquan High School coming off "the best game he has played since we moved him in there," against South Florida last week, coach Greg Schiano said Wednesday.

Al Behrman/Associated PressCardinals receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald are arguably the best starting duo in the NFL.

For about a half-hour Wednesday, the Giants defensive backs heard question after question about the Cardinals' passing game.

How are you preparing to stop them?

Have you seen any offense like theirs?

Are you concerned about how physical their receivers are?

Plenty of questions about the other guys. Very few about themselves.

"Oh, that's expected," cornerback Aaron Ross said. "Offense always gets the glory."

Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesBrook Lopez goes up against Cleveland's Ben Wallace Tuesday.

Brook Lopez had his first career double-double against Cleveland Tuesday night -- by halftime.

It's what he did after halftime that has the Nets rookie worried, because in his weird world, every attempt at objective self-analysis is likely to spill over into neurosis.

"This is more a mental issue for me," Lopez said Wednesday. "I can't question my talent. It will be there. I just can't let myself get down like that. I have to bounce back and be ready for the next play.

"That's what (the coach) keeps telling me: 'Next play, next play.' That's what I've got to look forward to."

With Brett Favre apparently having found his comfort zone in the Jets offense and playing well -- no interceptions in the past two games and having directed four clutch fourth-quarter drives this season -- he was asked if it's hard for him to imagine not playing football at this time next year.

"I haven't even thought about it,'' he said Wednesday. "I thought last year was probably -- maybe not from a statistic standpoint, but probably the best year I ever had based on how young we were, how we played the previous couple of years.

"And that was a dilemma I faced at the end of the season. I knew I was playing at a high level. And at 38, I know what everyone else is thinking: At some point, he's got to fall off. And I agree, at some point. I don't know when that point will be.

Geoff Burke/US PresswireNow that's a game face -- Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth talks with head coach Jeff Fischer. Jets tight end Chris Baker says facing Tennessee will be like a playoff game.

The Jets' victory over the Patriots last week did as much for their collective psyche as it did for their place in the AFC East standings. Before the Jets could move forward, they had to put the Patriots behind them.

Now, the Jets face the undefeated Tennessee Titans in a game that can truly stamp them as legitimate contenders.

Defeating the Patriots "was more of a mental thing, a little bit of history," said linebacker David Bowens. "This is different."

As the Jets (7-3) returned to work Wednesday, fresh off a five-day break, they turned their attention to their matchup against the Titans (10-0) on Sunday at LP Field.

Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger'Patrik Elias is still smiling for the Devils despite losing his captaincy to Jamie Langenbrunner.

There is a letter "C" hidden in one of Devils equipment manager Rich Matthews' cabinets just waiting to be sewn onto the front of Zach Parise's jersey.

It won't happen soon, but there are few around the Devils who do not believe the 24-year-old Parise is destined to some day be the club's next captain. He has already emerged as the team's top offensive player and go-to guy.

So where, you might ask, does that leave Patrik Elias, who once wore the "C" and regularly led the Devils in scoring? He was the player everyone expected to score the big goals in the days, dare we say it, before Brent Sutter became head coach.

Jay LaPrete/Associated PressEddie Gaven, right, spent three years with the Red Bulls franchise, when the team was known as the MetroStars.

Leave it to Eddie Gaven to move from New Jersey to Columbus, Ohio, and not really see much of a difference.

"The people maybe move a bit slower, but that's about it," the seemingly always laid-back midfielder said. "It's not that much different than Jersey."

Things, however, are much different for Gaven.

The Hamilton native will start for the Crew when they take on the Red Bulls in MLS Cup Sunday in Carson, Calif.

Gaven is now a solid performer in MLS -- which is something the Red Bulls franchise (then known as the MetroStars) thought he would be when they drafted him as a 16-year-old in 2003. It just didn't work out that way.

John Munson/The Star-LedgerRed Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero will face a team that scored 50 goals -- second most in the MLS this season -- when the Red Bulls meet the Columbus Crew Sunday in MLS Cup.

Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio spent the entire season mixing and matching his defenders, playing three in the back for a while, then four.

Along the way, he had to deal with injuries, suspensions and poor play and incorporate midseason acquisitions.

Three games into the playoffs, it looks like he finally got what he has been looking for.

"In well-rooted American sports, defense means titles, and it wins titles," Osorio said. "I'm very pleased with the way the guys are performing now."

Noah K. Murray/The Star-LedgerThe NCAA prohibits players who sit out a year from traveling to or from road games with the team. Robert Mitchell learned that the hard way.

The temperature in New Jersey dropped quickly this week, but the Seton Hall men's basketball team has escaped the cold for a few days. The Pirates are in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Of course, there is a trade-off. In exchange for being in 85-degree weather, the Pirates will have to play three tough games over the next four days, beginning Thursday night against No. 19 USC.

To make matters even tougher, Seton Hall (2-0) will be working with a depleted roster. Starting power forward Robert "Stix" Mitchell, the team's second-leading scorer, is suspended for the tournament's first two games because he rode on the team bus from Georgetown last season while sitting out the year after his transfer from Duquesne.

Associated PressEmbattled Eagles' QB Donovan McNabb called himself "a trend-setter'' for opening the eyes of other NFL players formerly oblivious to league's overtime rules.

PHILADELPHIA -- On the 30th Anniversary of "The Miracle at the Meadowlands,'' the sharks circled en masse Wednesday for "The Nightmare at NovaCare.''

In a frenzied atmosphere more reminiscent of the golden days of Andy Reid's tenure as head coach of the Eagles, the media jammed its way into the NovaCare Complex auditorium for reaction to the increased heat being placed on Reid and quarterback Donovan McNabb for the team's dismal performance through 10 games.

None were any uglier than Sunday's 13-13 overtime debacle against the 1-8 Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium, where a missed 47-yard field goal by Shayne Graham in the waning seconds of OT was the only thing keeping the Eagles (5-4-1) from almost certain playoff elimination.

Don't forget. The Devils will hold their annual Food Drive Thursday night when they host the Florida Panthers, at the Prudential Center at 7 p.m.

This year's food collection will again benefit the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. All fans attending the game are asked to bring unopened cans or boxes of nonperishable food.

Requested items include canned fish/meat, powdered milk and infant formula, boxed/canned meals, peanut butter, and canned vegetables/fruits.

Wives and girlfriends of Devils players will be at the PNC Bank and Verizon Towers, as well
as at the Lafayette Street, VIP, and Ford Lincoln-Mercury garage entrances to assist CFB
of NJ volunteers. Donations will be distributed throughout the state.

They had Sunday off.

They didn't practice on Monday until 3 p.m.

Tuesday and Wednesday the Devils had regular practices, making it four straight days without a game. Defenseman Paul Martin, who returned to the lineup in the home-and-home series with the Capitals after missing five games with upper body soreness, said the days off helped.

This may come as a shock to Jets fans, but one of the keys to the Tennessee Titans' perfect 10 of a season was once one of your own.

Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, who held the same position with the Jets in 2005, is the man who has engineered a seamless switch from injured franchise quarterback Vince Young to journeyman and ex-Giant Kerry Collins that has produced the NFL's most surprising story this season.

Behind the 14-year veteran Collins, who replaced Young in Week 1, the Titans are 10-0.

Devils coach Brent Sutter isn't saying who his goalie will be Thursday night against the Florida Panthers. I'm guessing it will be Scott Clemmensen, for two reasons.

First, Sutter said last Friday night there was no reason not to come back with Clemmensen on Saturday. There is certainly no reason to make a change now.

Second, for whatever it's worth, Clemmensen left the ice before Kevin Weekes following practice Wednesday.

Rick Wood/MCTMike Cameron may be in center for the Yankees in '09.

The Yankees are focused on their starting pitching right now, but they do plan to upgrade at center field before the off-season ends as well. To that end, they've had conversations with the Milwaukee Brewers about former Met Mike Cameron.

Following up on this earlier post, it appears there's another National League California team planning to make a big offer to CC Sabathia. According to a person familiar with the talks, the San Francisco Giants have been in touch with Sabathia's agent and are planning an offer in excess of the six years, $100 million Milwaukee has offered, though not as high as the Yankees' stratospheric six-year, $140 million offer.

The Giants "want to show him they're going to be very aggressive," according to this person. They're hoping last week's signing of lefty setup reliever Jeremy Affeldt (two years, $8 million) shows Sabathia they're interested in building a winner, and they've told him they're planning to go hard after free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal as part of their off-season plan as well. The Giants believe Sabathia would rather pitch in San Francisco than in New York, and they're hoping they can make an offer that's close enough to the Yankees' offer to convince him to go there.

Double-D: Ten words or less - do these guys makes the playoffs, and why or why not?
Z-Bo

Z: I don't do pithy. I'll stick with my original guesstimate: If they get out of this month was a decent record (6-10?), they'll be in a position to take a significant stride forward, because there's a home-friendly stretch that follows next week's trip West - 16 of the next 25 to be played in the building that couldn't even sell out for LeBron. OK, so it's a mixed blessing. Here's the other complication: They can't keep guys in one piece. Today, it was Yi's turn - he had his neck "jolted," as the coach explained it, and had to be taken off for X-rays. So if he's out, that would be the fourth big to miss time in the first three weeks of the season, and the only fours you have going up against Bosh tomorrow are Ryan and Najera.

Saed Hindash/The Star-LedgerZaire Kitchen's ability to battle back in the face of adversity provides leadership and garners respect from the team's younger players.

ESPNU.com columnist Brian Bennett shows a little love for Rutgers football today with his featured piece on Scarlet Knights defensive back Zaire Kitchen.

More encouraging news on the Brandon Jacobs front, this time from Jacobs' mouth. After a practice in which he was bouncing around on the field, running sprints and playfully throwing punches during individual drills, Jacobs said his knee injury is "a little nagging thing that is just there, but I don't think it will hold me out."