The Jersey Benchwarmer's Guide to Sports

Genuinely, you have to feel bad for Rutgers fans.  First and foremost, I am a Seton Hall grad. Every time I think of that school from Middlesex County, my blood boils. However, Thursday was at first hilarious, then depressing. By now, Rutgers losing to UMass has made its rounds nationwide. Everyone from ESPN to Fox News mocked the Scarlet Knights for losing to quite literally, the worst team in the FBS the past decade.  Fans were in disbelief, alumni were outraged, and journalists like Jerry Carino bashed their effort. The only reason the reaction has died down slightly was because Michigan, Oklahoma State and Florida State embarrassed themselves over the holiday weekend.  Still, when you pay a team $1.55 million and lose to them, you are simply going to get mocked for that. From my perspective, seeing Rutgers lose 37-21 to the Minutemen was one of the highlights of my weekend. Remember, UMass had not won a game since 2024 so for them to earn a win against Rutgers made ...

First off, welcome back college football! After seven long and agonizing months away, your buddy’s favorite sport returned to bring peace back into this world. Truly, the shenanigans that just occurred throughout week zero were simply incredible.  From USC’s questionable attendance to Beau Pribula and Virginia beating down NC State, week zero was in a way, hilarious. Yours truly has his thoughts on what may be his only free Saturday this fall. Enjoy! College Football, meet Trent Mosley: Lincoln Riley’s time in the “City of Angels” has been strange. Even with him developing a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback in Caleb Williams a few seasons ago, somehow, Riley has still not brought the Trojans to the College Football Playoff (CFP). As a blue blood in the sport, the fact that they still have not made the playoff since its inception is ridiculous.  For the 2026 season, expectations are high for USC. With another talented QB in Jayden Maiava, this by all means has to be the seaso...

Over the past couple of seasons, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team has tried everything to make a return to the NCAA Tournament.  Despite the talent the team has had, it just hasn’t been enough to get them over the hump. It’s truly insane to think that with names like Faith Masonius, Azana Baines and Savannah Catalon, one would assume that they would have been in it again. Mind you, this team has been one of the better BIG EAST’s sqauds over the past few years.  The last time the Pirates appeared in the NCAA Tournament was in 2016 which of course was a while ago. However, head coach Tony Bozzella may have put together a non-conference schedule so good that it could be enough to get them into the tournament.  Introducing the official schedule that was announced last Thursday: 11/3 - Mercyhurst 11/6 - Indiana State (11:30 a.m. start) 11/12 - Fairfield 11/15 - NC State 11/17 - @ Auburn  11/23 - Rider  Paradise Jam: 11/26 - USF 11/28 - Baylor or Penn State...

Five years ago, my college journey began earlier than most.  While everyone was at the beach, buying stuff for their dorms or sleeping in until noon, I was heading to training camp for football. This time, I had a different role.  My time in high school football with Seton Hall Prep was… terrible. Putting it lightly, I was awful as a receiver. Seriously, I genuinely might have been one of the worst players in all of New Jersey from 2018 to 2020. During those three years, I dreaded going to training camp and in 2020, I knew my playing days were up. Despite having some aspiration to walk-on at the next level, that is not how it played out.  Instead, I took a unique path that I still look back at to this day. I decided I wanted to work for one of the best Division III football programs on the East Coast in Muhlenberg College. When August 11, 2021 came, I was the happiest I had been in years.  Now, why Muhlenberg? Why some private liberal arts college in Allentown, Penns...

It’s safe to say that when people think of Seton Hall Athletics, their minds immediately goes to basketball. Truthfully, I was on the same ship when I was younger. That of course has changed and honestly for the better.  In particular, I love the fall season a lot and what I experienced two years ago was incredible. I was announcing matches for a ranked men’s soccer program, I covered numerous volleyball matches and I photographed a few women’s soccer matches as well.  Obviously, the school doesn’t have football which is a bummer of course. But, I gained a huge appreciation for these programs and they deserve the recognition.  Last year, my schedule was a little chaotic when it came to covering these programs. Between covering high school football, Red Bull New York and working full-time in retail, I just had very limited time to cover all these programs.  For the events I was able to cover, they were all through my camera lens . Notably, I photographed the home open...

HARRISON - A lot has changed since May 16.  Specifically in the soccer world, the FIFA World Cup took over North America and by all metrics, it was an incredible success. For most casual soccer fans, their perception of the sport changed drastically.  Over the past few years, the attendance numbers at Sports Illustrated Stadium have varied depending on who was playing on the field. In the case of Red Bull New York (6-7-4, 22 points), it’s been a mixed bag. Saturday, however, the stadium was lively and the post-World Cup boom appeared to bring in more fans than usual.  It helps that Red Bull are running a program called “First Match on Us” in an effort to bring new fans to the stadium.  Playing in their second match since returning from the extended break, Red Bull wanted to get back to their winning ways quickly. Following a disastrous 3-1 away loss to the Philadelphia Union Wednesday night, the results had to be better against Charlotte FC (7-6-4, 25 points). ...

SOUTH ORANGE - Summers on the campus of Seton Hall University are often very quiet for the most part. Everyone is at home on vacation, the athletic programs are not playing any games and there isn’t really much to do on campus.  However, the historic Walsh Gymnasium saw life on Tuesday evening due to a large and enthusiastic crowd. Given that it’s near the end of July, what could a bunch of people be doing there at this point of the year? Well, they were watching some TBT action.  The Basketball Tournament (TBT) for over a decade now has been a big part of any basketball fan’s summer. A major reason for why people have been attracted to this event is really contributed to the teams that participate in it. Alumni teams, for example, have been major draws for the TBT and this year, Seton Hall got involved.  Back in the tournament for the first time since 2018, Hall In (Seton Hall Alumni) (0-1) were hoping to take game one away from Boeheim’s Army (Syracuse Alumni) (1-0). Ju...