New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott trademarked the phrase “Can’t wait” earlier this year after he first said it in a playoff postgame interview, and he figured that if anyone was going to make money from the phrase it was going to be him. Of course that doesn’t count for my new line of “Can’t Wait” t-shirts that I made for armless restaurant employees. *rim shot* Thank you.

But instead of a simple line of New York Jets t-shirts, presumably modeled after Ed Hardy and Tapout for fan preference, made by Scott and for Scott’s wallet, he surprised everyone this week with an incredibly selfless and generous alternative. He’s donating all proceeds to former Rutgers player Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed last year in game against Army in the Jets’ New Meadowlands Stadium*. It’s a pretty nice gesture, especially since Scott has never even met LeGrand.

“I’ve never met him but I heard he’s a great kid,” Scott told NFL.com. “He has a lot of concerns and needs right now, but I know someday he will walk, and that’s something I can’t wait for.”

The rollout of the clothing line will come in the next few weeks and include three original designs. Scott said he anticipates 1,200 shirts being produced in the first batch for distribution.

“All the proceeds from the first run will go to LeGrand to help him,” Scott said. “I want to do something for him, to help him. I hope we’ll sell out the shirts quickly so we can get the money to him because things are expensive with his care, and I know there are money needs. For instance, he needs to refit the doors at his house for his wheelchair.” (NFL.com)

Scott’s cousin was shot and paralyzed four years ago, so the Madbacker has a soft spot and deep comprehension of the way this can affect a person and his family. All in all, it’s a hell of a gesture by Scott. As a Miami Dolphins fan, I obviously can’t wear a Jets t-shirt, but I will still purchase one and give it to one of my Jets friends to wipe his tears away when their next Super Bowl guarantee fails.

*I know, it’s the Giants’ stadium. Just humor them.

The Big East conference could make an argument for sending as many as 11 teams to the NCAA tournament, which starts next week. Rutgers (5-13 in conference, 15-17 overall) was not one of those, and desperately needed to make a run through the arguably the toughest conference tournament in the country to find a spot in the big dance. Last night, in the Big East tournament’s quarterfinal round, Rutgers ran into St. Johns–and an incompetent officiating crew.

Rutgers would lose, but not before having their last gasp stolen out from under them. Watch after the jump as St. Johns player Justin Brownlee travels AND steps out of bounds AND throws the ball in the stands with more a second remaining. Whether St. Johns was handed a break by the timekeeper because they play their home games at Madison Square Garden–the tournament site–or one of the referees really had to pee is up for debate, but it’s ugly. No one in the St. Johns basketball program should ever ridicule the WWE ever again.

Big ups to Mocksession for the great video capture. Those guys are doing the Lord’s work. Img via.

Update: Looks like those guys won’t be hosing any other teams for the rest of the season.

Here comes your women’s basketball post for February, and we’re only showing you this either because it had the makings of a ruckus or someone got naked. Nobody got naked. Yeah, that was a horrible tease. My b.

Your poster girl is South Florida post player Porche (POOR-shuh) Grant. She’s 6-foot-2 and ready for you, and after a shoving fracas during the Rutgers game, she shot the “Big 11″ at the Rutgers student section. Bad move, Porche.

The disciplinary action came a day after Grant made an obscene finger gesture as she was escorted off the Louis Brown Athletic Center court following a flagrant foul that caused a scrum underneath the basket. Rutgers guard Khadijah Rushdan was charged with a technical foul after the incident, which saw some shoving but no punches thrown with 38 seconds to play in the Scarlet Knights victory.

–Daily Record.

No punches thrown? Come on, ladies. Curl those dish pan hands up into little fists of fury for us. Just don’t be late with dinner. It’s funny because all women know how to do is cook. And play basketball. And run Alaska.

Video at Deadspin.

Remember Eric LeGrand, the Rutgers defensive tackle who was paralyzed from the neck down on a hit? Good news, everyone; his rehabilitation process is starting to show some reward, as LeGrand can now move his shoulders and has sensation back in his body and will talk in an interview on ESPN soon.

ESPN New York:

Eric LeGrand, the Rutgers defensive tackle who was paralyzed from the neck down in a game against Army on Oct. 16, says he has regained full sensation in his entire body and movement in his shoulders.

LeGrand, 20, revealed the news in an exclusive first interview with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi, which will debut during the 9 a.m. ET edition of “SportsCenter” on Friday.

The 6-foot-2, 275-pound junior fractured his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae while making a tackle on a kickoff return and admitted in the interview that he feared for his life immediately after suffering the injury.

“Fear of death, that’s the biggest fear that I got because I couldn’t breathe the way I was breathing and I couldn’t move,” LeGrand said. “Laying out on the ground, motionless, not being able to breathe was the hardest part in thinking, can I die here?”

…

Six days after surgery, LeGrand first moved his shoulders. In early November, he was taken off a ventilator and was breathing on his own. He was transferred to the Kessler Institute in West Orange, N.J., to continue his rehabilitation.

In mid-December, LeGrand had another breakthrough. For the first time since the injury, he had sensation in his hands.

“I always rub his hands as he’s laying there,” Karen said, “and I think he said, ‘I feel that. I think I feel that.’ I’m like, what are you talking about? He’s like, ‘I think I feel something — you rubbing my hands. I can feel my hands.’”

“As my mom, she placed her hand on me, I was like, ‘Wow! I felt that.’ And that was just a big shock and it was just like, ‘Wow! It’s coming back. It’s coming back.’”

Let me just say that I’m incredibly happy that LeGrand has some feeling back. He wants to one day be able to walk again, and I hope he can. I remember what happened to Kevin Everett and being completely stunned that this could happen to someone on a football field (I’d never seen something like that before).

That’s why I’d like to take the end of this post and have it feature a song I’d like to dedicate to LeGrand. Keep on rehabbing, you big, unfortunate man.

Photo via.

My condolences this morning to the #2-ranked South Florida Bulls, who faltered against Rutgers last night, falling 30-27 in New Jersey.  The Scarlet Knights turned around a heretofore disappointing season behind the running efforts of Ray Rice and a fake field goal that resulted in a touchdown, while the Bulls will most likely suffer a calamitous fall in the rankings compared to the slight stumbles that LSU and Cal took last week.

Even though I'm sad to see that this year's national champion won't be an 11-year-old upstart program from a second-tier conference, I can at least see two silver linings to this cloud: (1) The messier and more fucked-up the BCS situation gets, the higher the probability is that we'll eventually get a playoff system, and (2) if Ohio State continues their undefeated season, we get to watch them get their ass kicked by an SEC team in the national championship game for the second year in a row.

Yup, that's right: another unnecessary shot at Ohio State.  What are you gonna do about it, Buckeye fans?  Ooh, I fear your witty barbs!  Good luck typing your angry responses with those sausage fingers.

This screen capture of this weekend's Navy-Rutgers game comes from the splendid TV Tan Line (via The Wizard of Odds).

Frankly, I was going to make fun of the highlighted gentleman for being a creepy cheerleader-stalking weirdo, but then I realized: creepy cheerleader-stalking weirdos are pretty much my entire target demographic.  So instead, I've decided to make fun of his goatee.  Hey everybody!  Check out that guy's prison pussy!

But seriously, readers: your creepy cheerleader-stalking efforts are no good if you keep them all to yourself.  Share the wealth.  Because if I don't get fresh creepy cheerleader pictures on a regular basis, do you know what happens?  The gay videos start taking over.  And no one wants that.  Well, except the gays.  But they don't buy ad space.

The college football season kicked off last night, and four ranked teams eked out victories over surprisingly tough underdogs.

• #2 LSU 45, Mississippi State 0 — MSU quarterback Michael Henig threw a costly interception that may have been the turning point in the game, because then he went on to throw five more.  He did, however, complete 11 passes to his own teammates, so that was nice.

• #10 Louisville 73, Murray State 10 — The Cardinals notched 10 touchdowns, yet Brian Brohm threw only four of them, obviously dampening the Heisman buzz.  He didn't even throw 400 yards.  Louisville scored TDs on its first eight drives and finished with 655 yards of total offense.  It's a W, for sure, but the Cards have got to be disappointed.

• #16 Rutgers 38, Buffalo 3 — Buffalo has a college now?  Aw, that's sweet.  Ray Rice ran for 184 yards and 3 scores.

• #24 Boise State 56, Weber State 7 — Last year's undefeated national champions continued where they left off, squeaking past a heavy favorite using trick plays.  Cheerleader husband Ian Johnson ran for 124 yards and three TDs.

The clip ends with Billy Packer's "fag out" comments on Charlie Rose, which may or may not be a big deal depending on when you were born or how gay you are.

Clip via Loser with Socks.  And yes, it's a video-heavy day here because I'm traveling again. 

Wow, what a lineup for bowl games last night. For whatever reason, #16 Rutgers (10-2) was paired up with unranked and shitty K-State in the Unsponsored Texas Bowl, and the results were predictable: 37-10, Rutgers. That's how they roll in Jersey, yo.

In the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, #20 Cal stomped the shit out of #21 Texas A&M 45-10, putting to rest that nationwide debate about which team is really the twentieth-best in the country. Also proven: Bears still dangerous. Not proven, but true nonetheless: Aggie fans are universally irritating.

Who would have thought that the only good game last night would be between two teams who have no business in a "bowl game"? Oklahoma State eked out a last-minute 34-31 win over Alabama in a battle of teams trying not to finish under .500. It was the NFC First-Round Playoffs Independence Bowl, I believe.

Riveting. Only another, what, ten days? until we can finally start arguing about how Rose Bowl winner Michigan needs to play a game against BCS winner Florida to determine a TRUE national champion. I can't wait. 

In celebration of the Marine Corps birthday, all posts today will have a decided military flavor.

No. 3 Louisville fell to the mighty Scarlet Scarlett Knights of Rutgers last night, choking away a 25-7 lead and going scoreless in the second half to lose 28-25.

Perhaps if the Cardinals had the slightest bit of intestinal fortitude, they would have done a little bit more than produce five three-and-outs in six second half possessions. I know John Bobo wouldn't have given up the way Louisville did.

You've never heard of Second Lieutenant John Bobo? Umm, hello? Quang Tri Province? 1967? Anyone? Sheesh. Fine, read from his Medal of Honor citation:

When an exploding enemy mortar round severed Lieutenant Bobo's right leg below the knee, he refused to be evacuated and insisted upon being placed in a firing position to cover the movement of the command group to  a better location.  With a web belt around his leg serving as tourniquet and with his leg jammed into the dirt to curtail the bleeding, he remained in this position and delivered devastating fire into the ranks of the enemy attempting to overrun the Marines. Lieutenant Bobo was mortally wounded while firing his weapon into the mainpoint of the enemy attack but… his tenacious stand enabled the command group to gain a protective position where it repulsed the enemy onslaught.

In conclusion, everyone that played football last night is a pussy.