My favorite baseball analogy relating to my job as a beat reporter and assistant sports editor is the day game after a night game: a night shift in the office, followed by an afternoon game or practice. It's a quick turnaround, but one I'm more than happy to make because, well, I'm covering sports, not working at any kind of real job. 

Today is a prime example of that quick turnaround: My shift in the office ended at 2, and practice starts at 10. I have a few errands to run when business hours roll around, so rather than sleep and inevitably oversleep, I'm pulling an all-nighter, with a little blogging mixed in. 

First, a few links: 

My story in yesterday's paper (apologies for the link being a day late) on Greg Schiano's response to all the talk about his contract. 

A feature in today's paper about Mike Gilmartin, the soft-spoken fifth-year senior who appears to be the front-runner to open the season as Rutgers' starting right tackle. 

Now, a few things from media day that I couldn't fit in the paper in either of the last few days and am not saving for any future features. 

1. Last week, in a story about the Rutgers linebacking corps, we heard from Ryan D'Imperio that the linebackers had won every battle in a team-wide paintball war over the summer. I asked Mike Teel about the aforementioned war, and he had an interesting response: "They cheat at everything," he said. "Seven-on-seven, paintball, everything." But Teel said he had fun despite the alleged foul play. "It was the first time I've ever done it," he said. "It hurts a little bit when you get hit. But the whole team went and it was a fun 3 1/2 hours." Other team-wide activities over the summer included a whiffle ball game and a leadership course at Wagner College run by the Navy SEALS, which we'll talk more about later. 

2. I caught up with a couple of local guys: Hamilton's Wayne Thomas, a former Nottingham High star, and Trenton's Keith Newell. Both players are redshirt freshmen. Thomas, a defensive lineman, and Newell, his offensive counterpart, both singled out veterans who have been especially helpful. Thomas has been leaning on Gary Watts, while Newell goes to Kevin Haslam for anything he doesn't fully grasp. More on them later, too. 

3. Freshman offensive lineman Art Forst on the benefits of enrolling at Rutgers last spring, when most of his classmates were still in high school: "It got me stronger, it got me leaner, and it got me ready to play. ... I feel like I have a little bit of a head start, without a doubt. Learning the playbook over spring and getting to work out with the strength coach, getting in better shape, I was more ready to play football."