Well, I’ve gone on at length over the last couple days about my Rutgers fan perspective on the Mike Rice mess. What I didn’t expect to get was a reminder of why my love for Rutgers exists in spite of, rather than because of, the majority of my experience as a student. See the weirdness after the jump.

In another reminder that if you watch a video of your basketball coach throwing basketballs and hurling other forms of verbal and physical abuse at players during practice – even if it’s not a normal occurrence, per se – you should get rid of that basketball coach, Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti, who in December decided to suspend rather than fire such a coach (then, of course, fired him earlier this week when the heat from the general public got to be too much), is no longer Rutgers’ athletic director. After the jump, assorted musings on this fact.

Well, following the (justified) outcry over this, it wound up being the only option: Rutgers fired basketball coach Mike Rice this morning. It was a necessary step, but the school’s got a long, long way to go to clean up the mess it’s made for itself – and as a fan, the continued embarrassments are getting harder and harder to stomach.

Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice was suspended in December for inappropriate conduct during practice. Today, the video of that inappropriate conduct was shown to the world. I’m a Rutgers graduate, and fan, and now I’m once again left wondering if there will ever come a time when, for one reason or another, Rutgers athletics won’t be a source of national ridicule.

Even a Rutgers man like myself can admit the basketball team’s matchup with Villanova last night didn’t do much to move the needle. ESPNU, though, had a trick up its sleeve. As a play to get pople to pay attention, it worked. But did it also make it impossible to focus on what the announcers were saying about basketball? After the jump, you decide.

It’s stupid to care, right? If something brings you fleeting moments of joy that is always – ALWAYS – eventually eclipsed by a more lasting crushing disappointment, and that thing doesn’t even matter to begin with, shouldn’t one simply discard the thing in question from one’s life? Shouldn’t that be an easy thing to do? Apparently not. Because Rutgers’ football team still has fans.

Thought colleges had finished frantically switching conferences and everyone was finally content where they were, confident that when the BCS shot its grand money cannon in their general direction, they’d scoop up their share of the scattered proceeds, rather than be killed instantly by the blow? Nonsense! The latest dominoes to fall: Maryland and Rutgers are heading to the Big Ten. What should you know about it? We break the big move down, after the jump.

Can you blame John L. Smith for wanting to be surrounded by happiness? It’s not like he’s got much reason to smile himself. So when the expressions on reporters’ faces at his press conference yesterday were insufficient to brighten his day, he took matters into his own hands. We’re not sure it was effective.

Oh, this is nice. Opportunities to write about my beloved Rutgers Scarlet Knights don’t necessarily present themselves every day around here, since 1) I realize that not everyone’s sports world revolves around a middle-of-the-pack-to-solid football program in a conference constantly teetering on the brink of collapse; 2) frankly, being a Rutgers fan is an exercise in inevitable heartbreak and expecting the worst at all times, and I would never force such feelings upon you, dear reader. So when I can, and it’s about a Rutgers player doing something awesome? Excuse me while I cherish the moment. [video h/t: The Big Lead]

There are few more reliable ways to make a group of athletes flip out than show them new uniforms they’ll be wearing, so it was probably inevitable that Rutgers football players would react like this upon seeing their new duds. If only the uniforms sucked less.