January 20: Musical Chairs

January 20. Inauguration Day. Single-handedly the most important day of my generation. 

Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States today. After stumbling through his recitation and finally delivering an eloquent speech, my only reactions were: "The speech was decent, but after 3 months of planning, this was it? Aretha was awful! That band was disastrous!" Maybe that's just me. Oh well, onto sports.

• Gruden Ousted by Ownership

This is a story that is personally very funny to me. The University of Tennessee was said to have pursued Gruden quite heavily for its coaching vacancy after firing Phillip Fulmer. The irony is that he said he was going to be in Tampa for quite a while. Yeah, turns out quite a while is only a few months as Gruden was fired Friday, an hour after my last post. I also can't help but notice the timing. Dungy retires earlier last week, with a home in Tampa and a recent Super Bowl win, then the Buccaneers fire their coach? Too coincidental in my book. Yes, they may have already hired a new coach, but Dungy said he will take the year off and reassess his situation. A four-year contract like Meeks received is easy to terminate. 

• Spagnuolo "has a good feeling" about the Rams

The coaching carousel continued as Steve Spagnuolo, defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, was hired by the St. Louis Rams. Spagnuolo developed the game plan that lead to the biggest upset in Super Bowl history as his defense thwarted the prolific New England Patriots offense led by Tom Brady and Randy Moss. This is definitely a good hire for the Rams as they seemed to lack discipline during the season. The Rams have the worst winning percentage in the NFL the past two seasons, winning only 5 games. Even the Lions, winless this year, have a better percentage. Spagnuolo should instill some work ethic and backbone into a team that's not too far removed from "The Fastest Show on Turf". There's still a strong nucleus to build around with Leonard Little, Marc Bulger, and Steven Jackson.

• Jets fly high with Ryan

Finally, some news out of the Meadowlands that doesn't revolve around Brett Favre. The Jets hired defensive coordinator Rex Ryan away from the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. This is good news not only for the Jets, as Ryan is the mastermind behind that vaunted Ravens defense, but for Titans fans everywhere as the defense is sure to take a hit next year. Sources tell ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Jets management offered Ryan a contract "about an hour" after the Ravens 23-14 loss to AFC Champion Pittsburgh. The Jets were easily the best coaching job available in the NFL this offseason, having every piece in place to make a Super Bowl run. Coaching was the Achilles' Heel for the Jets last season, as an 8-3 start quickly turned into a 9-7 season and out of the playoffs. Mangini's inability to motivate his players to win just one more game eventually led to his ousting and Ryan's filling of the void. Ryan is known for his no-nonsense approach and helped construct one of the most dominating defenses of the 2000's. Ryan's defensive strategy also gels with current Jets players, as Ryan loves to run a 3-4. After bringing in Kris Jenkins and Calvin Pace last offseason, as well as drafting Vernon Gholston, the Jets defense under Ryan could lead them back to the glory days of Broadway Joe-- that is if they rebuild that secondary, a unit that ranked 28th last season. If Tom Brady's knee surgery is still way behind schedule as reported last month, then the Jets may soon be considered favorites to win that division, even with the revival in Miami.

• Papelbon signs record one-year deal

The Boston Red Sox agreed to a one-year deal with closer Jonathan Papelbon worth $6.25 million, making him the highest paid closer in the history of baseball. The previous high before this year's arbitration hearing was $5 million for then-Dodger Eric Gagne. Chicago White Sox reliever Bobby Jenks just agreed to a $5.65 million deal this weekend to avoid arbitration and was the highest paid reliever until today. This is still a paltry sum compared the Yankees free-spending ways in this years edition of the hot stove. 

Now, off to file the FAFSA so I can afford to continue school. Thanks for reading.