Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand stood up today.  While most college football players are lifting, running and preparing their bodies for the rigors of the dreaded August two-a-day practices, simply standing may not seem like much unless you know how far LeGrand has come and what massive odds he has defied to stand tall, just nine months after a hit paralyzed him from the neck down.

LeGrand was given less than a 5% chance of experiencing much of what we take for granted–walking, getting out of bed and even breathing without a concentrated effort.  ESPN recently aired a story on how LeGrand has continued to defy the odds (and medical science) that were immensely stacked against him.  In that story, we were given a slight glimpse into the life of this young man.

It is easy to get caught up in the intense work and training that LeGrand is doing to regain some of what was lost last October, but even more amazing and inspiring is his will.  Throw the percentages out the window.  They don’t apply to him.  Although great strides aren’t made every day, he believes and he perseveres.

LeGrand insists that God has a plan for him, and it’s not to be in a wheel chair.  His tenacity, his belief and his determination to defy transcends far beyond sports and winning and losing.

Eric LeGrand stood up today.  He stood taller than anyone in his sport.

You can follow Eric LeGrand on twitter at @BigE52_RU

Sometime soon, the Big Ten could get a facelift -- and transform college football in the process.

By: Brian Mosgaller

Sometime in the relatively near future, the Big Ten Conference will undergo a makeover so dramatic it would make Heidi Montag proud.

But the big question is, how will the procedure affect Spencer and LC and Audrina?

Welcome to college football’s version of The Hills (and apologies for the analogy).

Despite recent noncommittal (and non-denial) statements regarding conference expansion from league commish Jim Delaney, it is practically a foregone conclusion that the Big Ten will be adding teams within anywhere from two to five years. What is not decided, however, is what form this restructuring will take, who the players will end up being, and what kind of ripple effect will be initiated by it.

However it ends up manifesting, though, the Big Ten’s giant steps toward a superconference are going to shake the grounds of college football and give new direction to college sports in general, meaning that it this is a tremendously important and weighty development that deserves further examination.

So let’s breakdown what we know, and attempt to extrapolate what we don’t.

The Motivation

Shocker alert: this transformational rearrangement is being driven by money. Gasp!

But seriously, it is no secret that the Big Ten has found a cash-generating godsend in its Big Ten Network. Once thought to be a misguided and transparent attempt to make schools money, the BTN is now available in up to 75 million homes in the U.S.

The important numbers here are that last year the conference’s deal with ABC/ESPN provided about $9 million to each member school, and the BTN added approximately $7 million to $8 million to that booty. With bowl games and March Madness (among other things) topping off the pot, the estimated figure each Big Ten university ends up with is a staggering $22 million.

And the crazy part is that amount could double (at least) with expansion – expansion that could help the network cast its reach both East and West, as well as create a championship game worth between $15 million and $20 million.

For comparison, the SEC – winner of six BCS championships, as many as the other Big Five conferences (the Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, ACC and Pac-10) combined – pays out around $11 million to its member schools. The other conferences vary in their disbursements but are generally in a similar range (the Big East is the lowest, handing out an estimated $4.5 million).

In short then, the Big Ten Network has proved to be a cash cow for the league, and, naturally, they want to fatten the cow.

The Candidates

So what’s the best way to plump up that dead-president-spewing bovine? By growing the market for the network, of course.

Yet it is not quite that simple – there are prerequisites and mitigating considerations which factor into the expansion equation.

To wit, it is no mystery that the Big Ten, a proud and storied academic conference, wants to add schools that would not diminish the league’s scholastic prestige.

As a qualifying criterion then, it is commonly rumored that whatever schools are to be vetted for potential membership should be part of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 61 respected research institutions, as are all the 11 current members.

Moreover, the conference isn’t going to add just to add – it has to make sense (both financially and academically, as was mentioned) but also competitively. Sure, adding Buffalo would tap the New York market and add an AAU member, but it wouldn’t make sense on the field, where this discussion starts and ends.

With all that said, everyone knows the number one target: the elusive Golden Domers. That’s right, good ol’ Notre Dame. For years, the Big Ten has courted the Irish and for good reason. Although Notre Dame is not an AAU card carrier and doesn’t geographically enlarge the conference’s domain, it brings with it arguably the largest and most devoted fan base in the country. While the league wouldn’t be directly cracking the East Coast television market, it would in reality be gaining viewers and Notre Dame graduates from sea to shining sea.

Unfortunately, it is also common knowledge that Notre Dame is quite fine where they are, thank you. Sure, it comes off as a little arrogant considering the school’s recent on-field struggles, but the fact is, Notre Dame still holds an exclusive deal with NBC, and their pocketbook is presumably doing alright.

So, if the leprechauns want to play hard to get, the league must seek elsewhere – namely, the Big East and Big 12. And here is where any number of names can get floated. But the ones that make sense for all parties seem to be, in order of fit, Missouri, Rutgers, Nebraska and Pitt, with Virginia and Texas still in the conversation.

Now mathematically, the Big Ten is going to want an even number after two decades of confounding numerologists who take the conference title literally. Therefore, the expansion must occur by one, three or even five. Basically then, depending on what Mr. Delaney and his university president cohorts decide to do, the enlargement can either add just Missouri (or Rutgers); Missouri, Rutgers and Nebraska; or Mizzou, Rutgers, Nebraska, Pitt and either Notre Dame (if they finally acquiesce), Texas or Virginia.

Missouri seems to be the most logical pick. Even if it isn’t located on the Atlantic coast, it does offer St. Louis, and it is a natural rival of Illinois, an acceptable scholarly fit and willing participant in expansion. Granted, joining the conference of the Midwest may hurt the Tigers recruiting in Texas, but it won’t totally destroy that pipeline, and the pros simply outweigh that con.

Rutgers, too, makes a bunch of sense. Obviously, the Scarlet Knights would attract an audience in the near vicinity of the Big Apple, plus they are a respected school and (newly) competitive football program.

Nebraska is a bit more of a stretch. At first glance, it seems to be a geographic outlier, a bad market, and an imperfect academic match. However, Nebraska’s brand is still a strong one nationally that resonates from Pac-10 country to the ACC. There’s still cachet with the Black Shirts. Plus, NU is likely itching to get out of the Big 12 (like Missouri), a conference increasingly dominated by, and devoted to promoting, the southern powers in Texas and Oklahoma. So, sign the Huskers up.

Pitt isn’t ideal, but they are more than suitable. The Big Ten may already be in Pennsylvania (thanks to the Nittany Lions), but adding the football crazy Pittsburgh market wouldn’t be detrimental for the conference, and the Panthers football tradition jives nicely with the Big Ten.

As for Texas and Virginia, the reality is it will probably never happen. Texas is the Big 12, and they want to remain the big power of America’s Southwest. It’s understandable. Yet, if five or so years from now, the Big Ten has already plucked Nebraska and Missouri from the Big 12, and the Pac-10 has pilfered Colorado in its own expansion, the Big 12 may be in shambles. All of sudden, Texas jumping on the cash boat that is the Big Ten seems a bit more enticing.

And Virginia, who has not been frequently mentioned in this discussion, makes for a nice back-up plan.

The Ripple Effect

If, in the end, Delaney and Co. opt for the minimalist one team expansion (come on Jimmy, think big!), the ramifications on the national football scene will be marginal. Say, for example, the Big Ten tacks on Missouri, creating two six-team divisions, the Big 12 can likely persuade TCU to fill the void, and all would be well. Even if Colorado were to migrate west, the Big 12 could add a Utah or BYU or New Mexico to maintain the status quo.

But if the Big Ten goes for a bigger splash – adding three teams, making two seven-team groupings – the game of musical chairs gets a little more interesting. If those teams are Missouri, Nebraska and Rutgers, and the Pac-10 goes ahead and appends Colorado and Utah, the Big 12 is put in a more precarious situation and the stakes are raised for other conferences (read: the ACC or SEC) to follow suit and grow their own leagues.

The most intriguing possibility, though, is if the Big Ten settles on the cannonball, picking up Missouri, Nebraska, Rutgers, Pitt and Notre Dame. In this scenario, shit will get crazy. For one, the Big Ten would no longer necessarily be producing two divisions, the winners of which would meet in a December championship game, but could instead arrange the schools in four four-team pods and actually have a four-school, in-conference playoff.

Meanwhile, both the Big 12 and the Big East would be scrambling and the ACC and the SEC would definitely be pressured to grow. In order to do so, the ACC could raid the Big East for the likes of West Virginia, Louisville, Connecticut and Cincinnati, leaving the formerly formidable Big East to take from the Conference USA, not exactly renowned for its gridiron greatness.

At the same time, the SEC would set its gaze west to the Big 12 (already on life-support) and come away with Texas, Texas A & M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. With three conferences at the “super” level of 16 members, the Pac-10 would logically want to keep pace, and would tack on UNLV, Boise State, Fresno State and New Mexico to reach 16 as well. Finally, the scraps of the Big 12 could then join forces with what’s appealing from the Mountain West and WAC, making one large, mid-level conference.

I told you shit would get crazy.

The Takeaway

Alas, the bottom line is that all of those things may or may not happen at some point, but it almost certainly won’t be for awhile. Gradualism (and trial-and-error) seems to be the strategy of choice. For now, the Big Ten will add either one or three, leaving the greater football world relatively undisturbed, and the Pac-10 will find two willing additions and launch the West Coast version of BTN.

Notre Dame will keep doing its independent thing (despite existing rivalries with Big Ten schools Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue, and alluring ones with Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio State), and the Big Six will stay the Big Six.

But although grand, large-scale change isn’t on the visible horizon, it is not unthinkable within as short a time span as a decade. The world is changing at a faster and faster pace, and college football inevitably will, too.

Which is why debating the merits of Big Ten expansion is an exercise in futility. Expansion will happen, and the waves will eventually ripple throughout the college world. All we can do now is wait and see if the dramatic cosmetic overhaul will yield a beauty queen or a cautionary tale of the procedure’s downside…like Heidi Montag.

And that’s it. It’s all over. A season that began with promise and PROMISES, ended with a 29 point thrashing by the hands of the Pittsburgh Panthers. 

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights ended their tumultuous 2009-2010 regular season with a record of 15 wins and 16 losses, finishing 5-11 in Big East play. THIS IS NOT A JOKE, but 15-16 is actually the best record the men’s basketball team has attained since my 2007 freshman year arrival, and even beyond that.  ‘05-‘06 to be exact when the team went 19-14.  

Of course the season isn’t completely over, with the Big East tournament beginning this Tuesday. However, the likelihood of us winning a game or more is as about as strong as the New Jersey Nets chances of signing Lebron this summer.

This season encompassed a few downs and ups. Yes you read correctly, downs before ups. First, the Knights lost starting power forward Gregory Echenique in a surprising transfer to Creighton. This move stripped the Knights off nearly all it’s inside presence and forced head coach Fred Hill to move undersized forward Jonathan Mitchell to power forward. One can blame Echenique’s absence for Rutgers’ terrible 0-8 start in Big East play.

Of course the high point of the season, and signature win was Rutgers stunning upset over then ranked no. 7 Georgetown on Valentine’s Day. I as a fan can admit that I was not there as the “holiday” was spent elsewhere, but you can not blame me. Who would have expected that win? It was the Scarlet Knights first victory over a top ten ranked opponent since Bill Clinton was dodging questions about what was going on in his oval office.  Personally, Rutgers fans became a little too excited after that win. The Big East is a tremendously deep basketball conference from top to bottom, its just that Rutgers is quite near the bottom of the barrel.

Rutgers begins its Big East tournament gauntlet Tuesday night at 9pm versus the Cincinnati Beacats. Hopefully, the Knights can get their hands on some talent before then, similar to that of which the Monstars stole in Space Jam to assist them in their run to a Big East tournament title.

P.S. FIRE FRED HILL.

Piscataway, NJ–The arena was electric. The die hard, the alumnus and the casual fan all entered the Rutgers Athletic Center to see the ESPN covered “Battle for Jersey,” as the Seton Hall Pirates took on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

It was the final home game for us Knights, so you know that meant senior night. Big East leading shot blocker, team co-captain and Rutgers heart & soul Hamady N’Diaye celebrated his final appearance before the Piscataway unfaithful with a more than enthusiastic performance.

As a Rutgers student, getting incredibly hype for a game, be it basketball or football, usually comes with a major letdown. Yup… tonight was no different.  I mean come on, free t-shirts, headbands and PTI-esque heads on sticks were given out! The head on a stick was obviously that of N’Diaye, the senior stud.

One thing I’ve realized since being here, when Rutgers is down: they are DONE. The Pirates maintained a three to five point lead throughout the most of the second half, just enough to keep the non-explosive Knights at bay. Rutgers gave up 52 second half points, after only allowing 33 in the first.

In the end, the Pirates’ best player, Jeremy Hazell, finally woke up and finished us off with a few late runners over N’diaye. Once again, sending us back to the streets of Piscataway and New Brunswick to tell our friends we lost. But hey, the people who did not attend already had a good sense of what the outcome was going to be.

N’Diaye did not disappoint, as he finished with five blocks, leaving him four short of tying the school record for blocks. Oh, and it would be remiss to not include the basketball honor code breaking, uncontested slam dunks Pirate players Hazell and Jeff Robinson threw down at game’s end. Someone tell Rutgers coach Fred Hill that he ought to throw a jersey this way. I am good for one overly intentional foul to anyone looking to embarrass our team.

As the arena emptied out, once filled with red and 6,517 people, the Pirate fans that traveled down to Piscataway chanted “WE OWN JERSEY!” and “WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” The biggest comeback in our Scarlet arsenal is that we have an underachieving football team, in the nation’s weakest BCS conference.

In what West Virginia gymnastics head coach Linda Burdette-Good called one of the “most impressive meets” she has seen, the Mountaineers took first at Maryland Saturday.

West Virginia claimed victories over Maryland, Denver and Rutgers, scoring 194.6 points, to improve to 9-2 on the season and 6-0 in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League.

Maryland finished second, scoring 193.925 points while No. 16 Denver and Rutgers ended third and fourth, respectively. The win over Denver marks WVU’s second upset of a ranked opponent in the last two weeks.

“In each event, we kept looking stronger and more confident. It was pretty much a team effort from top to bottom,” Burdette-Good said. “We’ve been practicing very well. We warmed up very well, and it was great how we transitioned.

“What’s really fun is how we looked so calm in the meet. I was so impressed and proud.”

West Virginia finished with season-high totals to finish first in three of the four events including bars (48.825), floor (48.875) and beam (48.175).

Junior Amy Bieski picked up where she left off last meet, winning the all-round title with a 38.775 performance. The Nanticoke, Pa., native finished first in the bars with a 9.8.

She also posted the third-best vault score with a 9.775.

“I’m very pleased with how she has performed,” Burdette-Good said. “When she puts it all together, she is very good.”

Emily Kerwin tied Bieski for first place on bars, while junior Faye Meaden placed sixth overall with her 9.725 score.

“Whenever any girl steps up and performs like that, I am so happy,” Burdette-Good said of Kerwin and Meaden. “Obviously the whole team performed great, but to see great individual performances is so great.”

The Mountaineers were able to begin their meet strong, beginning with their season-best score on beam. Senior Kiersten Spoerke led the team on the event, ending sixth with a season-high 9.725. Senior Chelsi Tabor claimed her third first-place finish on the vault this season, finishing with a 9.85.

After placing first overall in it’s last two meets West Virginia heads on the road for another quad meet. Maryland will host WVU along with Rutgers and Denver Saturday at 4 p.m.

“We’ve been on the road twice this year and I’m helping that will help us settle in,” WVU head coach Linda Burdette-Good said.

In last Sunday’s meet, hosted by West Virginia, the Mountaineers earned wins over North Carolina State, George Washington and Maryland.

UM finished third overall in the meet. Burdette-Good believes it is a good thing that her Mountaineers caught an early glimpse of the Terrapins. However, being at home very well could be an advantage for Maryland.

“It doesn’t hurt going up against them the week before,” Burdette-Good said. “We are going into their arena and they are going to have that comfort zone.”

The 4-4 Terrapins enter the meet looking to get their season back on track. In last weeks 193.00 performance at the WVU Coliseum, Maryland was paced by Abigail Adams. The junior all around performer placed fourth overall in the meet with a 38.425 score. Senior Talia Tossone earned first place in the balance beam last week, she scored a 9.8. The series history between West Virginia and Maryland is rather competitive. The Mountaineers own a 29-13-1 in the border rivalry.

Rutgers is also riding high after winning back to back meets. The Scarlet Knights recently picked up a win over Temple in Wednesdays meet hosted by RU. Rutgers won the duel meet by earning 188.550 points. This will be the 50th meeting between WVU and RU, the Knights have yet to pick up a victory over the Mountaineers.

No. 6 Denver is undefeated on the year. The Pioneers have been a Western Gymnastics Conference powerhouse for years. Having only faced DU three time, Burdette-Good is intrigued by their competition.

Entering this Saturday’s meet Burdette-Good believes there will be differences in the general nature of the meet, one including the judges.

“I told the girls after wards that we have to have better landings, better handstands, tighter knees and pointed toes so the judges can’t be too picky with (point) reductions.”

In last week’s meet WVU junior Naja Johnson went down with a knee injury during the uneven bars event. Johnson had to be carried off the mat and was examined after the meet. The Austell, GA native will not compete in this weeks meet. The good news is the injury is not season ending. The injury to Johnson is a rarity in Burdette-Good’s program.

“We’ve been very fortunate that we have not had to deal with (injuries) for a few years,” the 36 year coaching veteran said “We just have to bring the team together and get them back in the moment because it is scary.” It is a crazy sport and it is possible for injuries to occur in any sport, you just take that risk every time you go out.”