It comes as no surprise, but Scott Clemmensen will start in goal for the Devils Thursday night against the Florida Panthers.

Coach Brent Sutter confirmed it after the morning skate.

"I just felt after the last two games he should play tonight," Sutter said. "I just think it's the right thing to do."

Continue reading "Clemmensen will start for Devils vs. Panthers" »

Both Tom Luicci and I have given you some insight from the Army players and coaches about the team, but sometimes the truth gets lost in team-speak. So for the inside dirt on the Black Knights, we cut through the government secrets and delved into the insight of Sal Interdonato who covers the team for the Times Herald-Record of Middletown, N.Y. and on the Record's Army Football blog.

We exchanged emails and came up with five questions and answers on the most pressing topics for this weekend's Army-Rutgers game.

Like I said before, the following information is top-secret. This blog will self-destruct in 5...4...3...:

Continue reading "Inside Army with beat writer Sal Interdonato" »

The New York Mets' Daniel Murphy left the Arizona Fall League to undergo a MRI of his right knee at a New York area hospital. Little is known at the time and according to Newsday, the Mets will not comment on the injury until they receive results of the MRI. Continue reading "Mets' Daniel Murphy to undergo MRI, report says" »

Super job by my colleagues over at philly.com for yesterday's story on the City of Philadelphia looking to shut down 11 libraries for savings that amount to what the Philadelphia Eagles, worth over $1 billion according to Forbes Magazine, owe from luxury suites funded by the city and built inside the old Veterans Stadium.

The people over at One NovaCare Way, including owner Jeffrey Lurie, not only need to take a long, hard look at what is happening on the field, but a few minutes in front of the mirror wouldn't hurt, either.

Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, the fighting winger who was sidelined by a crack near his orbital bone, has been returned to the Devils' minor league club in Lowell, Mass.

In three games with the Devils, Letourneau-Leblond, 23, had no goals and one assist with 15 penalty minutes. He was plus-1.

Starting the season at Lowell, Letourneau-Leblond did not score and had 32 penalty minutes in four games.

Continue reading "Devils send Letourneau-Leblond to Lowell" »

Strong rumors suggest Mike Mussina will announce his retirement over the next few days; Dan Graziano and Ed Price revealed that one Wednesday. Today, fans are debating Mike Mussina's qualifications for the Hall of Fame. Continue reading "Is Mike Mussina a Hall of Famer?" »

As the New York Mets look to build their offseason bullpen and acquire a closer, one staffer is openly unsatisfied with his role. Middle reliever Aaron Heilman, according to his agent, won't settle for anything less than a spot in the rotation. Should his demands not be met then Heilman will ask for a trade. Continue reading "Aaron Heilman wants out of the Mets bullpen" »

Round 2 of the New Jersey high school football playoffs kicks off Friday and we've got video previews of every group. Click the links below to watch the videos.

Continue reading "High school football playoff preview videos" »

 Bob Behre and Tom Bergeron analyze the next round of non-public high school football playoffs.

 

 

Non-Public high school football playoff preview

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

 

Group I high school football playoff preview

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

 

Group II high school football playoff preview

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

 

 

Group III high school football playoff preview

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

 

 

 

Group IV high school football playoff preview

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 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."

Continue reading "Jenny Vrentas with the New York Giants" »

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.

Continue reading "M.A. Mehta with the New York Jets" »

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.

Continue reading "Collins, Warner both in top form after getting boot from Giants" »

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.

Continue reading "True freshman Forst solid on Rutgers offensive line" »

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."

Continue reading "New York Giants secondary looking to gain respect against Cardinals passing game" »

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."

Continue reading "New Jersey Nets' Lopez works on conquering self-doubt" »

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.

Continue reading "Hutch's take -- Favre will be back" »

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.

Continue reading "New York Jets to get major test against undefeated Titans" »

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.

Continue reading "New Jersey Devils' Elias still leading despite loss of captaincy" »

Dave Hutchinson and M.A. Mehta preview the Jets vs. Titans game

NEW YORK -- The Yankees' 2009 pitching plans are starting to take shape -- although more slowly and not exactly in the way that they had hoped.

A Yankees official, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement has yet been made, confirmed that veteran Mike Mussina has told the team he plans to retire and will announce the decision in the coming days. That doesn't come as a surprise to the Yankees, who would have liked to have Mussina back but expected him to retire after his stellar 20-win season. Yet it crosses one item off of their winter checklist.

Of greater concern moving forward are CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe, the troika of free-agent pitchers the Yankees hope to sign for 2009 and beyond. The Yankees hope to land Sabathia and at least one, if not both, of the other two. Right now the team is mulling offers for the latter two and waiting for Sabathia to respond to the six-year, $140 million offer it made to him on Friday.

Continue reading "Mussina to announce retirement as Yankees await answer from Sabathia" »

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.

Continue reading "Hamilton native Gaven will face Red Bulls, his former team, 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."

Continue reading "Red Bulls defense has yielded one postseason goal heading into MLS Cup" »

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.

Continue reading "Seton Hall shorthanded against USC with Mitchell lost to suspension" »

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.

Continue reading "Reid and McNabb back on the hot seat with Ravens looming Sunday" »