basketball 
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Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 10:06:11 AM EST
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I know, I know: I'm not a sports columnist. But there is no more basic prerequisite for politics than character - and from Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton to Sharpe James, that has been hammered home again and again. But how does one build character? How does one know what a candidate is made of before they take office and let us down?
We can't. Success in one area of life does not necessarily create success in other areas. Faithfulness in one area is not always reflected in others. But, all things being equal, character that is built by facing and enduring challenges and hardships usually bodes well for an individual. Giving up is always easy. It takes character to come back, again and again, when no one else cares. It takes character to give it your all when everyone has written your cause off as hopeless. It takes character, in our culture that worships winning, to stand proud and tall and hold your head high after your best efforts have not led to the winner's stand.
So I'm stepping away from politics today to offer my applause to the men's basketball program at New Jersey Institute of Technology. After losing their final game of the season to Utah Valley yesterday, NJIT set the NCAA Division 1 record for the most games lost in a single season. They went 0-29 this year. The Star-Ledger has some heart-rending details of the winless season.
I'm not going to go on and on about being a "noble loser". There may be a goose-egg in the win column, but these young men aren't losers. NJIT struggeld in Division II and the move upwards was conceived as a PR move. It's just another example of how our colleges are living off of our youth with little regard for the outcome. But the men's basketball team didn't let adversity become their scapegoat. They have proven that they are made out of something a little bit tougher than most. They didn't quit. They didn't give up. And for that, I am proud of their achievement.
Names listed after the jump.
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Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 10:48:07 PM EDT
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Cross-Posted from ShapTalk.com:
The racially and sexually inappropriate remarks made by shock jock Don Imus created a storm of protest last week that ended with both NBC and CBS firing the long-time provocateur. During a recent broadcast, Imus had taken aim at the Rutgers University women's basketball team, which had recently faced Tennessee for the national championship and had won acclaim for its grit and determination. Rather than applauding the efforts of the women's team that had rebounded from adversity all year, Imus referred to them as "nappy-haired hos." The firestorm that erupted caused Imus to apologize on numerous occasions and agree to meet with the team and extend an apology first-hand. However, with protests occurring on college campuses, outrage mounting in the African American community, and advertisers pulling their ads from his show, Imus was fired. The big loser in this saga was Don Imus, a member of the National Broadcasting Hall of Fame and a radio personality who earned approximately $10 million per year. The hands down winner was Rutgers University.
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Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 07:32:55 AM EDT
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Folks who read here in the fall probably know that I am a huge Rutgers football team, and defend the University's decision to pour more money and resources into the program. I found it unfortunate that other programs had to be cut, but I thought that the long term benefits to the state's colleges would be great.
And then seeing the women's basketball team rise to such unexpected heights, and with such amazing class after the Imus mess, made me even more proud.
But now I am reading that even when donors pledged to fund them Rutgers will not revisit it's decision to cut six lower-profile sports programs.
The Rutgers University Board of Governors says the decision to cut six intercollegiate sports at the end of the school year is final, even though donors are pledging millions of dollars to fund them.
Students, family members and donors who oppose the decision to cut the six sports - men's heavyweight crew, men's lightweight crew, men's fencing, men's swimming and diving, men's tennis and women's fencing - voiced their disapproval at the board's meeting Friday. . .
The teams' supporters say they've raised about $3 million in pledges to save the sports.
In a letter read at the meeting, Bruce Nicholas of Greenwich, Conn., said he would give $1 million to save the crew team.
"I intend to do even more," wrote Nicholas, who has already donated $1 million to crew.
President McComick explained that they cannot support the programs on donations every year, so will not try.
What a load of crap. They raise endowments all the time. If you have a guy who has the money to give $2 or more million to a sport, then he has the connections to raise more.
I really don't care much about any of these sports, though I used to be a diver, but the decision here is ridiculous. If they can spend millions more on football, they can accept millions in donations for other sports.
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Tue Apr 10, 2007 at 12:11:57 PM EDT
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Coach Vivian Stringer of the Rutgers women's basketball team at a press conference this afternoon:"These young ladies are the best this nation has to offer, and we are so very fortunate to have them at Rutgers University," Stringer said of her players. "They are young ladies of class, distinction. They are articulate, they are gifted. They are God's representatives in every sense of the word."
"It's not about them (players) as black or nappy headed. It's about us as a people," Stringer said. "When there is not equality for all, or when there has been denied equality for one, there has been denied equality for all." David Liss was blogging the press conference and has some statements from the players themselves.
The women have agreed to meet with Don Imus.
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