Savage falls in love with Arizona

When Tom Savage decided to transfer from Rutgers, the Cardinal O'Hara High graduate said he didn't go searching for the perfect quarterback scenario, in terms of finding his odds of being a starter as soon as possible.

Savage, who is transferring to the University of Arizona, said he didn't ask too many questions about his chances of getting on the field quickly. He obviously made sure he wasn't going to a school with a freshman starter who might block his path for good. Otherwise, Savage kept his position research general, he said. He knew there would be competition. Other factors had to be right, he said.

"I think they have older guys and two younger guys - three seniors and two sophomores," Savage said Monday about Arizona. He'll head there in July after sitting out this semester.

Originally, Rutgers had prevented Savage, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, from contacting certain schools to transfer, and things got a little tense. When that hit the press, Rutgers didn't look too good, especially since Savage had lost his starting spot. What was the point of blocking him? The Scarlet Knights eventually backed off. As it happens, Arizona was on the ALL RIGHT TO TRANSFER TO LIST all along, Savage said, adding he didn't want to go through a long recruiting process the second time around.

"It was the only visit I took after I decided to transfer," Savage said of Arizona. "I really felt like I connected with the coach there and the quarterback coach. When I visited there, I just fell in the love with the place. It felt like somewhere I could be. I liked their style of play - like a spread, sort of a West Coast. They throw the ball a lot. Any quarterback would like that."

As for how things were left with Rutgers, all sides are saying nice things.

"I think we left it on a good page," Savage said.

"Mets owner questions stars' value." Seems like it should be, "Mets stars question owner's value."

Saturday's Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United will stop much of the planet. According to a survey conducted for game sponsor Heineken, 22 percent of the men in Spain would be willing to skip their own wedding to see their favorite team win. More than 30 percent of the men in Thailand responded that they would be happy to record the birth of their child if it meant they got to see their team win. (Sounds kooky? Change those words to Eagles fans and Super Bowl. The percentages probably match up).

Are the Phillies going to owe an advertising refund to New York Life since Tom McCarthy hadn't been saying "safe at third . . . safe and secure with New York Life" too often before last night? It's a crowded field, but that campaign, incorporated by at least a half-dozen Major League Baseball teams, gets this vote as the most obtrusive in-game marketing tie-in in sports. I'd rather see New York Life superimposed over a batter's head every other inning - maybe add a home run payoff if the guy with the New York Life head takes one deep.