The Human Target

Confirmation bias is defined, roughly, as interpreting events in such a way that they conform to your preconceived prejudices about a topic. One example would be remembering every time Derek Jeter came through at a key moment, and likewise when Alex Rodriguez did not succeed in such situations. You’ve, probably, already prejudged the players; one is “clutch” (whatever that means), and one is not. When Jeter fails to come through, and Rodriguez blasts a three run shot to the upper deck, those instances are attributed to luck or some other situational factor that can be explained away. When they meet your expectations? That’s strictly owing to their instrinsic fortitudes. Jeter is a gamer. A-Rod is a choke artist. That’s what the tabloid backpages and talk radio say.

I tend to fall toward the A-Rod side of those kinds of debates. That’s the way I try to approach any questions I have, whether in sports or other fields of inquiry; is it possible that my set assumptions could be wrong? Can I be humble enough to look back and see if I erred at a point along the way?

That’s the qualifying disclaimer I want to preface the following few paragraphs, because: god damn, if it didn’t seem like opposing defenses were gleefully picking on Jason McCourty in 2008. I don’t want to pile on the guy too much, but McCourty figuratively did seem to have a target on his back for most of the 2008 season.

Football analysis can be a tricky thing. If you don’t have a background in coaching and scouting, and I do not, how exactly can you properly evaluate the complex relationships and inner workings that go on in the midst of every single play? One problem is that, when watching each play, most people have the tendency to follow the ball, and don’t really pay attention to line play. You only pay attention if an offensive linemen is putting up little to no resistance to opposing pass rushers, leading to a quarterback repeatedly hitting the turf.

Mount Zoffinger

My schadenfreude on this topic is tempered by the inevitability that New Jersey taxpayers will end up footing the bill for this catastrophe.

Workers at the Xanadu Meadowlands site have uncovered dozens of oozing drums, leaking fuel tanks, sunken pools of chemical-laced liquid and other hidden hazards since the project began almost four years ago.

The discoveries, recounted in a new report by a project engineer, show that contamination within the 104-acre Xanadu site has been widespread and will remain a concern even after the $2 billion shopping and entertainment center is due to open.

Dozens of bore holes and test wells sunk since 2007 at the construction site — the parking lot surrounding the arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford — show that water beneath Xanadu contains elevated levels of cancer-causing organic compounds. The report says project engineers, who are still collecting samples, are working on a plan to deal with the tainted water but will not submit it for state approval until after Xanadu’s planned opening in August.

…

The public cost of cleaning up the construction mess and dealing with contaminated soils connected to the discoveries now stands at $2 million and could surpass $6.1 million, officials said.

At the same time, the consortium of private developers building the Xanadu site faces a $16 million bill for disposing of 71,000 cubic yards of so-called “historic” fill excavated during work on foundations, utility lines and other routine construction tasks.

…

Jeff Tittel, an outspoken Xanadu opponent who heads the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the state should be forcing the developers to pay for any cleanup, not extending the cost to the public. He said the state Department of Environmental Protection under former Gov. James E. McGreevey allowed Xanadu to proceed as if all contaminants at the site were historic.

Weeklylinks

Fooch from MSG.com is reporting that backup DB Robenson Alexis is transferring. He is following the pipeline to Rhode Island with former RU assistant Darren Rizzi.

I’m not sure how much credence to give this: a poster on Rivals (scroll down), offers one plausible account of RU’s football scheduling woes. Namely, that while Greg Schiano wants to play a home and home with “name” teams (read: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, or Notre Dame), he doesn’t want to schedule mid-level ACC and Big Ten teams for recruiting purposes. There are reasons to not believe this (namely, that RU has scheduled games with MSU, Illinois, UNC, and Maryland recently), but it does fit in other ways.

Several Big Ten teams do want to get more a recruiting foothold in this area. It’s also true that many big name schools (the ones listed above, and from the SEC and Big XII) would love to schedule RU at their stadiums, but do not want to give us a return game). The evidence is mixed, but if this rumor is true, it is very unfortunate. I think Rutgers needs to be regularly playing mid-level Big Ten and ACC teams in home and home arrangements. (BTW, I know a couple Wisconsin fans who will pull their hair out at the notion that we don’t consider them a threat anymore, even though it is true.) This pool of opponents that fit the supposed criteria is unacceptably small.

Rutgers student manager Andrew Sidebottom published his account of the bowl trip to Birmingham in a local newspaper.

Good work so far, Courtney.

Rutgers safety Courtney Greene had a solid day of practice and really looked like a player who plays with great confidence out there.

Does anyone know why Tiquan Underwood isn’t listed on the official roster for the Texas vs. the Nation game?

Tres Moses is doing alright.

The Florence Phantoms are proud to announce the resigning of 2008 AIFA All Star Tres Moses. Tres Moses 5′9 190 out of Rutgers University returns to Florence after an impressive rookie campaign. Tres last year had 40 catches for 684 yards and 15 touchdowns.

“Tres was a key factor to what we do offensively he runs great routes,blocks well and gives us some ability in the return game” said VP of Operations Bennie King.

Tres came to Florence last year after a record setting collegiate career.Tres left Rutgers as the all time leading receiver in school history and the second leading receiver in Big East history. Tres has spent time with the Baltimore Ravens and Montréal Alouettes of the CFL.

By the final FootballOutsiders.com Fremeau Efficiency Ratings,  Rutgers was the 20th best team in 2008. The Big East fared well as a whole, with Pitt, WVU, and Cincy all in the top 25 as well.

Doug Graber is back in college football, as an assistant to his former RU OC Stan Parrish at Ball State.

Vidal Hazelton decided to transfer to Cincinnati.