Knight Writer

By Pat Pickens: SPM NJ Writer
Posted Saturday, January 5, 2008

01-06-08: TORONTO - Welcome back ladies and gents as I welcome you back for day two of Toronto live from the International Bowl. I’ll be blogging throughout the game, in a running diary style format. For the traditionalists out there, there will also be a game story that will follow.

11:47 a.m.- For those of you who read my blog from yesterday, I was completely off base when I said the roof would be open. Rogers Centre is an enclosed retractable roof stadium and it is sleeting outside. Keeping the roof open in weather like this would be criminal. Thankfully they gave the press an open-air press box, where we can feel the atmosphere of the game.

11:52 a.m.- Rutgers crowd controls the volume and red for today. It doesn’t hurt that we are sitting on the Rutgers sideline either. There are a lot of empty seats, which I guess is the norm for most bowl games, but the majority of the upper deck is empty and the 100 level and 200 level have patches of empty seats. The game certainly isn’t sold out (no one ever thought it would be), but it is hard to say just how many people are here just about ten minutes from kickoff.

12:02 p.m.- Nice renditions of both national anthems by Jesse Stoll. I’m always impressed by Canadians. Every time I hear their anthem, they are singing it. It’s really a nice touch.

12:03- Both teams take the field and the noise gets loud. The acoustics of this place are weird. For the anthems, it sounded quiet. The building is so expansive yet, there seems to be little to no echo.

12:05- Teams meet at “centre field” also known as midfield for the coin toss. Rutgers wins and will receive.

12:07- Rutgers is clad in all white, scarlet helmet with white R on the helmet. Ball St. wears red jersey, white pants with black trim down the side, white helmet with a red cardinal on the side. Oddly, neither team’s helmet has a stripe.

12:08- Ian McGarvey toes up the ball and we are underway. Mason Robinson receives the opening kickoff from the 13 and takes it to the 27 where Rutgers will start.

12:09- That was quick, Rutgers first first down of the game comes on a 22 yard run from Ray Rice.

12:10- Mike Teel hits Kenny Britt for a twelve yards and Rutgers has another first down.

12:12- Mike Teel hits Timmy Brown on a bomb where there was no Ball St. player within four yards of him. Scarlet nation explodes. Jeremy Ito tacks on the extra point and before you can blink (12:29 left in the first) its 7-0 Rutgers.

12:18- This Nate Davis kid looks pretty good, but not good enough to overcome a sack and a drop by his fullback, Chris Clancy, on 3rd and 6. Ball St. punts and Rutgers will take over at the 21.

12:21- In case anyone was unaware, the International Bowl is the only bowl game played outside of the United States. This is also the second year of the International Bowl, Cincinnati won the inaugural a year ago over Western Michigan 27-24. It is the first bowl game to be held outside of the United States since the Bacardi Bowl was held in Havana, Cuba in 1937. Stuff like that just doesn’t show up in the box score.

12:23- Timmy Brown brought his ‘A’ game to the park today. He makes an acrobatic catch at the 45-yard line on 3rd and 7 to keep Rutgers drive going.

12:26- Rutgers can seemingly pass at will on this team. It could be a long day for the Cardinals as Rutgers is inside Ball St.’s 30 again.

12:28- There goes that. Teel’s arm was hit and his ball which would have been Timmy Brown’s second touchdown was intercepted by Trey Lewis at their own one. Big bullet dodged by the Cardinals.

12:31- Ball St. and Rutgers had two common opponents this year. Both teams won against Buffalo and Navy. How’s that for a nugget?

12:32- Davis moves Ball St. to the 20 but no further and the Cardinals have to punt again. The punt is downed at the Rutgers 30 and that’s where the Knights will take over.

12;37- If this keeps up, Teel may set the record for passing yards in this game in the first half. He hits Tiquan Underwood and Rutgers is at the 34.

12:39- Rice takes the ball 14 yards for another first down, followed by a 19 yard run to the one. If these holes are this open this early, what is it going to be like in the second half?

12:40- Rice bowls through from one yard and the Knights crowd goes wild chanting “one more year.” Rutgers hasn’t made scoring look this easy since the Norfolk St. game. 2:14 left in the first, 14-0, Rutgers.

12:44- Ball St. counters with some trickeration. Dante Love fields the kickoff and pitches it to B.J. Hill who goes off to the races. Only Ito was able to stop him and Ball St. is set up at the 39.

12:46- The kickoff return seems to have invigorated the Cardinals as Darius Hall takes a pass from Davis 20 yards to the Rutgers 20.

12:48- Rutgers snuffs out Ball St.’s drive and the Cardinals are forced to attempt a 47 yard field goal towards the hotel (more on that later). Despite a low snap that the holder struggled with, McGarvey bangs it home with plenty of leg to spare. 35 seconds left in the quarter, Rutgers 14 Ball St. 3.

12:51- End of the first quarter: Rutgers 14 Ball St. 3.

12:54- Today’s pressbox food: an all you can eat hot dog bar, and wise cracking bartenders with all the soda, juice, water, coffee and tea you can drink. I may go down and sample the Pizza, Pizza later. Or maybe that’ll just be dinner. Either way I’m sure you’re all enthralled, back to the game.

12:58- Rutgers ‘O’ continues to roll. They’ve converted two third downs already and are back across “centre field” at the Ball St. 49.

1:00- Rutgers turn to be tricky. Reverse to Timmy Brown who breaks a Ball St. defenders ankles en route to another Rutgers first down.

1:05- Rutgers finally gets stopped on 3rd down. But no matter, because everything Rutgers has touched has turned to gold thus far. Ito
hits a kick from 53 yards out, tying his career long, and Rutgers leads 17-3.

1:09- Davis looks like he’s running for his life more often than not. When he has time to throw he looks good, he just hasn’t had much of that yet.

1:10- Ball St. realizes it needs to pull out all the stops to beat Rutgers. Love takes a double reverse and crosses his field and gets the Cardinals near midfield.

1:13- Davis can do more than run for his life. He can run for first downs. He gains 19 yards on 3rd and 10 and get a first down.

1:17- Davis can sure make plays. He rolls to his left and incompletes a pass, but pass interference against Rutgers is called. 1st and 10 Ball St. at the 14, and Ball St. has its deepest sustained drive of the game.

1:20- The drive stalls at the Rutgers eight and McGarvey hits from 24. Ball St. needs to start scoring some touchdowns if they’re going to come back. 6:50 to go in the half, Rutgers 17 Ball St. 6.

1:21- So as far as I know, Rogers Centre is the only, or certainly was the first athletic facility with a hotel attached to it. The Renaissance Toronto Hotel Downtown is located inside Rogers Centre and houses 70 field view hotel rooms that feature a view of game action, from the room. There is a Hard Rock Café inside as well as several other prominent restaurants. When the roof is open the CN Tower, which is the largest free-standing structure in the world, stands right next door. Too bad the roof is closed because of sleet today. (Can you ever imagine that? A bowl game that can’t have the roof open because of sleet? Ugh…)

1:33- Davis gets trapped for a near safety and Ball St. punts again. Rutgers takes over 1st and 10 at the 40, and are just a few short plays from field goal range again.

1:37- Ray Rice is back over 100 yards again. He takes the ball 20 yards to the Ball St. 4. With just 1:19 to go in the half, Rutgers must be smelling a knockout punch.

1:39- Rice pounds the ball in from the 1 on 2nd and goal. Ito pounds home the extra point as the “one more year” chants rain down. Just 40 seconds remain in the half and Rutgers leads by 18, 24-6.

1:40- Speaking of the tradition of the International Bowl, Rice has just set the bowl’s rushing record, with 110. Keep in mind there are 40 seconds until half time.

1:42- Just when you think Ball St. is ready to roll over, here they come again. Davis hits Love for 24 yards and a first down and the Cardinals are on the 28 of Rutgers.

1:44- Davis hasn’t been superman much today, and Rutgers defense has had a lot to say about that. He is just sacked at the 32 for a loss of three.

1:46 Davis hits Love for 16 yards to the 15, and Ball St. lines up for its third field goal of the half. McGarvey hits it from 31 yards and Ball St. may have some momentum going into halftime. End of the half: Rutgers 24 Ball St. 9.

2:01- Ball St. has what would constitute as a odd halftime show, complete with hoe down and/or danceoff. Meanwhile the Bergen Record writer Aditi Kinkhabwala shows me a picture of what Virginia Tech’s Brandon Flowers was doing on his Facebook page. Let’s just say it isn’t exactly legal back in the states.

2:04- The last time I did a running diary for Rutgers was the 2007 Texas Bowl where the Knights got their first bowl win ever. Maybe Rutgers fans should hope I do this for all Rutgers games?

2:09- Love takes the kickoff return back to the Ball St. 23, and Ball St. is in business. Ball St. NEEDS a score in the worst way here.

2:15- Davis gets punished by Rutgers linebacker Kevin Malast, and appears to throw it incomplete, but the play is ruled as a fumble recovered by Rutgers, the play is reviewed and overturned.

2:17- Courtney Greene nearly intercepts Davis and Ball St. has to punt again. After a penalty against Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights take over at their own 2.

2:20- Rutgers and Ball St. fans duel again as Ball St. fans toss the chant BALL and STATE back and forth, Rutgers counters with the trademark R and U.

2:23- Ray Rice whips the Rutgers crowd into a frenzy as he takes the ball 90 yards, stiff arms free safety Eddie Burke and takes it to paydirt. The 90-yard run tied a school record and is (shocker) an International Bowl record. Rutgers is pouring it on 31-9.

2:29- Davis can move the ball between the 20s. He has Ball St. into Rutgers territory down at the 31.

2:31- Davis runs for 21 down to the Rutgers 10. Ball St.’s offense is determined to make this a game.

2:32- Davis hits Love for a 10 yard strike and a touchdown. That almost looked easy. McGarvey knocks the point after through, and Rutgers leads 31-16.

2:35- Big board just shows Lennox Lewis sitting in a skybox. I haven’t bumped into him yet, but he must be somewhere. I wonder how much he’s being paid to be here…

2:38- Ball St.’s Achilles heel is their failure to get off the field on third down. Teel hits Underwood for 14 and a first down/

2:40- FINALLY. Teel is sacked for a loss of 12 and Rutgers is forced to punt. Ball St. is trying to creep back into it.

2:42- B.J. Hill returns the punt to the Rutgers 46 and Ball St. is in biz.

2:43- We’ve sure seen our share of tricks in this game. Ball St. runs a direct snap throwback pass and Jason McCourty breaks up Davis’ pass to Darius Hill. Rutgers follows it up with a sack and it is 3rd and 14 for the Cardinals. Ball St. punts through the end zone and Rutgers takes over at the 20.

2:50- Rutgers offense has been relentless all day. They are in Ball St. territory again, and Mason Robinson just took them inside the 40 to the 37.

2:54- Rice follows his 24 yard scramble with a one yard plunge, his fourth touchdown of the day. He has 260 yards, a Rutgers school record, and there is 2:42 left in the third. The “one more year” chants rain even louder, it’s 38-16, Rutgers.

2:58- Ball St.’s offense is scrappy to say the least. Davis hits Love for 19 and a Cardinal first down then eight more and Ball St. is in Rutgers territory again.

3:02- Davis fumbles the snap with five seconds left in the third quarter and Malast recovers. That should be the unofficial end of the game.

3:03- Rice has just become the 13th collegiate football player to ever rush for 2000 yards as he dashes for 12 and another Rutgers first down. It seems as a likely feather in the cap of a brilliant college football career. Although Rutgers fans would beg (and plead) to differ.

3:05- The announced attendance: 31,455, which sets (shocker) an International Bowl record. Last year’s attendance was 27,717.

3:14- Davis hits Love on a screen pass for a gain of 34 and Ball St. is again in Rutgers territory.

3:17- Davis hits Darius Hill for a gain of 20 and ball St. is down at the Rutgers seven. Ron Girault drilled Hill and took the brunt of the hit as he is still down.

3:21- Davis rolls out and buys time and hits Darius Hill in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Ball St. is nothing if not resilient. 10:02 left in the game Rutgers 38, Ball St. 23.

3:25- Ball St. tries a surprise onside kick which Rutgers recovers anyway. The Scarlet Knights take over at the 35 which just allows for Teel to hit Underwood on the first play of the drive. Ito drills the extra point and Rutgers has 45 in the International Bowl. 45-23, Scarlet Knights.

3:29- Love from Ball St. is a flashy, lightning-in-a-bottle type back who if he gets an inch will take 20 yards. Watch him, as he still has one more year to terrorize the MAC.

3:34- Davis throws incomplete on 4th and 6 and Rutgers takes over again. The only real question left is if Rice can rush for 300 yards in a game.

3:37- With 6:05 to go in game action, it is time to go down to the field. The game is well in hand. There’ll be a game story with quotes and a blog of postgame and whatnot. Hope this finds all of you well.
Until later…

01-04-08: TORONTO— Good evening football fans and fans of events in general. I’m perched up high on the ninth floor of the Richmond Towers section of the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto. In about 18 hours, about .8 kilometers (1/2 mile) from where I am setting, a football game will commence. I figured this would be an excellent time to set the scene for those of you not lucky enough to make the trip with me…

First, the town is buzzing for the game. But, I’m not sure if it is the locals or the folks from Ball St. and Rutgers that are buzzing about the game. Everywhere you go, there are Rutgers hats and jackets. It is New Brunswick north, and they all seemed to come up today. My plane was filled to the gills with about 80 Rutgers fans. There were also three or four more flights up here today and I’m sure that it was more than just folks flying Continental.

But either way the Knights have the crowd .

Getting back to the locals for a minute, they all are aware of what is happening, but they don’t seem to fully grasp it. My taxi driver asked me why there was a bowl game up here. The man at the Hockey Hall of Fame (more on there in a minute) seemed bored by the fact that I was up for the game. When I mentioned that I was with the media, he didn’t seem all that enthused either.

The Hockey Hall of Fame was excellent for any diehard hockey fans out there. The exhibits are extremely well done and the trophy room is unbelievable. Plus, the guide even took my picture with the Stanley Cup, on my camera, in lieu of charging me $10 for the photo as he was supposed to. I'd post them, but my camera battery died and I don't have a charger, so if anyone is interested in seeing me with the Stanley Cup (I'm sure you all) e-mail me. I would advise any hockey fan to go. But keep in mind that it is the Hockey Hall of Fame not the NHL Hall of Fame. There are many exhibits that go well beyond the NHL.

As I sit writing this, I can stare out and see and also am able to listen to the stylings of the “Battle of the Bands.” Rutgers and Ball St.’s respective marching bands are currently playing their fight songs as well as many other songs (I just heard one of the bands playing Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train) for all of Toronto to hear. There seem to be several people out in support of the event and the music and cheer of the crowd blares well into my room on the ninth floor room.

Players were not required to be at the “Battle of the Bands.” Ball St. is currently conducting meetings in preparation for the game. They are in the Sheraton Centre with me and I’m down the hall from a few players who gave me a few odd stares when they noticed I had a New Jersey Devils hat on. I also was informed by a pair of managers that Ball St. was paid its per diem in American dollars and then had to exchange it for Canadian. As one said “I’m losing six cents on every dollar because of that. We’re getting screwed.” My how the times have changed.

The weather is cold. There is no two ways about that. It is -2 degrees (celsisus, 28 fahrenheit), there is snow on the ground and I haven’t heard yet but because there is little to no chance for precipitation I would assume the roof would be open at Rogers Centre when the game kicks off at noon est. tomorrow. Weather is calling for a high of 2 degrees Celsius (35 fahrenheit). Maybe it is better that you didn’t make the trek up here.

Raptors are home tonight hosting Detroit. There are a lot of people out buzzing down by Air Canada Centre. Leafs are home for Philly tomorrow. If I can snag a cheap ticket, I’d like to go, but these things don’t pay for themselves…

Until tomorrow…

-Pat Pickens, 6:56 p.m.