Draft

This draft wasn't expected to showcase too many Mountaineers, and there were not any surprises. Dee McCann-CB was taken by the Detroit Lions in the 6th round. Detroit has taken quite a few Mountaineers over the last few years. Avon Coburn, James "Dirty" Davis, and Barrett Green to name a few.

I'll report over the free agent signing period any other Mountaineers that get picked up. Now, a rare look at my pro team, the San Diego "Super" Chargers. How, you ask, does a West Virginian end up cheering for the Chargers?

Well, yeah, this is as good a reason as any
The 2006 Charger Girls

Seriously, I started rooting for the Chargers back when Dan Fouts, the real Kellen Winslow, Wes Chandler, and Charlie Joiner ran the first incarnation of the West Coast Offense/Air Coryell. The only difference between them and the copycat 49ers was that the first read was the bomb, and the reads progressed back to shorter passes from there. Throw in Chuck Muncie, and you have the first offense to have a 4,000 yard passer, 3 1,000 yard receivers, and a 1,000 yard rusher. Too bad they couldn't play defense.

I was hoping the Chargers would draft exclusivly O-line and defensive backs. These were the only two major areas of need outside of some fresh meat in the receiving corp. They weren't that far from being a playoff team last year, and you would think they would go after sure thing picks, but this is where the true test of being a Charger fan lies. Here is a look at who they drafted.

Antonio Cromartie-Instead of returning to Florida State for his final season of eligibility, Cromartie elected to make the NFL leap after missing the entire 2005 season with a knee injury. While he is still one of the true enigmas in the 2006 class, Cromartie's showing at the combine at least helped to verify his health and impressive combination of size, speed and athletic ability. So, you say the Chargers drafted someone on potential? What a surprise! I thought Bobby Bethard retired.

Marcus McNeill-This one makes sense, and I was at least glad to see they got some size for the line.


All I can say about the rest of the draft is "?"! Charlie Whitehurst, what the fuck are you thinking? Sure you lost Drew Breese, but this guy was Mr. Inconsistant in college. There is no way in hell he is going to help anything. Why not pick up Tommy Madux, or some other Joe that has been in the league for a few years. And why in the world would you pick a place kicker, Kurt Smith-Virginia? Tell me you can't find someone off the street to be a standby kicker.


All I can say is SHIT!

The Search Goes On

Sorry for not doing this earlier NC State fans. State Fans Nation has a lot of info on the search for a new coach. I've also added a link to my Blog Roll.

I looked at going to NC State back in 19(covers mouth and mumbles). Loved everything about it but the price. I was there on a night that State beat Duke, so I know how crazy thing can get there.

Best of luck with your search. WV fans had to go through what you are going through now before we found Beilein. WV could afford to go with a non-big name coach, and ended up with the perfect fit. There was nothing as frustrating as being pulled around by the nose by Huggins. You're better off getting someone that is happy to be there.

The Shame of the Non-believers

I thought there was a good possibility that Coach Beilein was leaving, but his statement today puts that rumor to rest once and for all, I hope. Shame on the kooks that wanted to hang him from the tallest tree! Don't blame the guy for looking around.


Thanks for making the statement coach!

Happy Days, again!

Great Moments in Passive-aggressive Fan Taunting

M Zone has a great piece about some guys that wore a Clemson jersey around Columbus of the player that Woody Hays punched in the Gator Bowl, and got fired for.

The guys contacted Eastbay, a large online athletic supply company, and had a couple of custom #58 Clemson jerseys made up with the name "BAUMAN" put on the back. As the guys said in their email to us: "It's a small moral victory but we do enjoy wearing these whenever we happen to be in Columbus for OSU home games. Yes, it's pretty childish but it makes us laugh. Especially when OSU fans recognize the name and jersey, and become very, very upset."

So, I had to test out the knowledge of tOSU fans in my office. I walked up to one and told them I knew exactly what I would be getting them for their birthday. I said, "a 58 Bauman jersey". I have never seen a smile turn into a scowl so quick in my life. I have to say that I was impressed that they had that kind of total recall.

Unfortunately, I might be getting a dose of it back in my face real soon. It could be a forgone conclusion that John Beilein will be leaving WVU for NC State, with a press conference on Thursday (ok, that's what I read somewhere). As much as I hate the thought of it, if that's what he wants to do, I wish him the best of luck. He took the program from the brink of nothingness to an elite 8 and sweet sixteen appearance in 4 years. He has earned the right to do what ever he wants to do. One thing I won't do is piss and whine about it like some of my fellow Mountaineer fans are doing.

I swear, everything will be ok guys! Don't go Nuclear just yet!

The Price of Espionage

Due to recent events in Huntington, WV , many schools are taking a "get tuff on spies" approach.

Some of the pictures and descriptions are not intended for minors, and should be considered NSFW!

USC has instituted the Kill 'em With Pleasure tactics, which lends itself to plausible denyability, as USC will be able to say "all we did was tie the rope, he pulled the trigger."

Not to be outdone by their cross-town rivals, UCLA has instructed its security guards to bend their captives backwards until they say uncle.



Army, having much experience in counter intelligence, has enlisted Vice-President Dick Cheney to take the spies on a little "hunting" trip, and they have began dropping leaflelts warning spies of their impending doom.

West Virginia? We do what we always do, but with a twist.

Logo

Ok, I'm HTML challenged. But, I had to figure out how to center everything up, and get that awful template title and description off there. I'll work on the graphics over the next few days to try to spruce things up a bit.


Until then, don't let anyone tell you that a hockey puck to the head can't ruin your day.

Thanks Keith

I want to personally thank Keith Hernandez for making today one of the worst days in Sports Talk Radio. There's a fine line between clever and stupid, and once you cross it, there's no going back!

On the bright side, your chances of becoming the President of the He-Man Woman Haters Club just went through the roof!



Special thanks to Yost over at The M Zone and Chas at Pitt Sports Blather for putting up a link to my report of the WVU-Marshall spy scandal!

It's already starting

Can't say as I thought we needed to spy on them just yet, but WV has already sent out their first spy to collect information.

Nothing like a little spy scandal to spice up the football rivalry between West Virginia and Marshall.

Heading into only their second matchup in 83 years, and it took the governor's involvement to help set this September's game,— school officials on both sides confirm a West Virginia student was caught spying at a Marshall practice this month.

I could see if this was Louisville or Maryland, but Marshall? This is the team that went 4-7 in CUSA last year, and doesn't look to be any better this year.

Top Secret Notes

In response, Marshall has placed guards at every entrance to the stadium, and will be conducting full body cavity searches on anyone interested in viewing practices or the spring game. Officials are not concerned about this effecting attendance, as interest in the team was at an all time low before the spying incidentnt.

Ramble on

I couldn't possibly put together two coherent sentences about WVU football at this point. I put in a full day at work and then came home to this (pictured above), and proceeded to put in another 5 hours working. As much as I want to go into "Operation Shutdown", I wanted to at least post a little something. Come to think of it, Operation Shutdown might just give me the energy I need. It sat vacant for 3 years before I got up the nerve to make the purchase. If you are interested in old houses, the picture pages are here.
So, there you have it.

ESPN Pieces

I hate to even mention it, since everyone and their brother looks at it every day, and it is one of the surest kisses of death, but there are a couple of articles on ESPN.com about WVU. The first by Pat Forde deals with the expectations and how WVU is staying motivated.

Go tell it on the mountain. And across the fruited plain, for that matter. I'm not alone in picking these guys No. 1.

They're talking national championship at West Virginia -- and not just in the Morgantown bars. They're talking it on the practice field.

"National champs on three!" coach Rich Rodriguez says when he brings his team together at the end of each spring practice.

"One-two-three!" the coach yells.

"National champs!" the players respond.

So they're not hiding from the buzz. Not embracing it by any means -- Rodriguez's humble-and-hungry counterstrike mantra is pervasive -- but not hiding from it, either. That's why the end-of-practice chant is what it is.

The second, also by Pat Forde, deals more with how Rodriguez got to where he is.

"I was the youngest head coach in America at 24," Rodriguez said. "I was fired at 25."

Not just fired; disbanded. About 13 months after he became head coach, Rodriguez remembers sitting in his office at Salem one June day, just a few weeks away from his wedding to Rita. He'd just bought his first house for $33,000. He was living large.

Then the phone rang around 8:30 a.m., and there was a reporter asking for his reaction to Teikyo University's buying Salem and discontinuing the football program. Rodriguez figured it was a friend playing a prank. Then the phone rang again, and it was a college coach asking whether Salem's players were going to transfer, and how he could get hold of them.

Finally, his athletic director popped his head in the door, well behind the breaking news.

"There will be a press conference today that is detrimental to your program," the AD said, then walked out.

Rodriguez picked up the phone and called Rita.

"The good news is, we're still getting married," he told her. "But I've got no job."

The bad news is that he will be getting a lot of offers to leave WVU over the next few years. He has said on many occasions that this is his dream job, and that leads me to believe he will stay. Some think that he will only leave for a pro coaching position. I think that would be a huge mistake. I have no doubt about his coaching brilliance, but the Rah-Rah factor is non-existent in the NFL, and I think that would be his downfall. Some of you rich WVU alumni need to pony up some money, because he is going to have the leverage to demand it real soon........

How Bad Is It?

When you are so fucking crazy that people believe you would eat the placenta of your baby when it is born! He can say he was only kidding, but let's get a show of hands. I, for one, think you are that fucking crazy, Tom! Who's with me?

You Almost Never Heard The Name

This is something I haven't thought about in a real long time. But, a thread on We Must Ignite This Couch about "your favorite all time Mountaineer" made me think about how close Stewart Mitchell came to being the starting quarterback for WVU. I mean no disrespect to Major Harris, but if it was not for the pot holes at Cabell Field in Charleston, WV, you might not know who he his.
In the spring of 1987, there was not a clear starting quarterback going into the next season. The starter would be decided in the fall camp between Stewart Mitchell and Major Harris. Both were redshirt freshman. Stewart came home to Charleston for the summer, and was working out at Cabell field when he stepped into one of the many pot holes on the field and blew his knee out so bad that he was never able to come back. And by process of elimination, a college football star was born.
I had the privilege of playing with Stewart. I was a sophomore his senior year at Stonewall Jackson. He was a quality person, as were most of the seniors on that team. The one thing I will never forget about him is the sound of the football when he threw it to you. It came in so hard, it sounded like death, if there is such a thing.
Stewart was a big guy 6-4, probably 220 lbs (that was big for a quarterback in the mid-80's). He could have played basketball in college if he wanted to. I remember seeing an article in the Charleston newspaper about him roughly 10 years ago. He moved to North Carolina, I believe. There is an all-class reunion for Stonewall this summer. Hopefully, he will be there.....

Pac-Man, RELAX!

Word out of Nashville, TN that Adam "Pac-Man" Jones is involved by association with a man wanted in a recent drug bust. See the video for more details. (HT:Deadspin)

Fear and Loathing and the Gold-Blue Game

04/15/2006

Dawn:

My recollection of the last twelve hours is fuzzy at best. I arrived in town at 6pm on Friday. After stopping at the local All-in-Wonder Mart to re-stock my alcohol and Tobacco supplies, I headed off to the hotel to store some non-essential items and the dead body I picked up on Rt. 50 between Eleanor and Salem. I wanted to get over to the stadium quick-smart to ensure a good spot for the pre-game festivities. I also wanted to survey the area for escape routes in case the natives began sacrificing those not traveling in large packs.
It was a full 30 + hours until gametime of the annual Gold-Blue spring scrimadge, and the crowd was already whipped into a fevered frenzy. Bulged eyes, chewed lips, fists clinched white-knuckle tight, these people were ready to run head first into a brick wall if it would get the season started. Morgantown has never seen this type of utter hysteria. The showrooms of local furniture stores lay bare for fear of a riot.
I settled into my spot at tailgate city next to a band of gypsy's posed as tailgaters in search of companionship. They welcomed me in and quickly began probing me for information about my familiarity with the area, and if I would be meeting anyone later. Off to the side was this smallish, pale man in his 30's who didn't take his eyes off my black leather kit bag the entire time I was being interrogated by his estranged friends.



When he realized that I wasn't going to divulge any information without being exposed to anything short of Gestapo tactics, he silenced the crowd and ordered them to bring my kit bag to him. He opened it, and after shuffling through the contents of the bag for a few seconds, he gazed up at me with a sinister scowl and ordered his followers to hold me while he forced a blue pill about half the size of a dime down my throat. I only remember that last instance of sheer terror, and the image of me perched high above a crowd of senior citizens on the banks of the Monongahela River, screaming "Hey, watch my cannonball!".





I awoke to find myself stashed conspicuously between two rows of Port-a-Johns, some 20 feet from my tailgating spot. I arrived back at my spot to find that the gypsy's had packed up shop and split, leaving behind only my kit bag. I looked around to make sure no one was watching me, and opened my bag to find 3 small squares of perforated paper with miniature images of Yosemite Sam, and one large piece of paper folded several times. It read, "It was only a dream". After mourning the loss of 99% of my pre-game goodies for what seemed like hours, but was probably closer to 5 seconds, I decided that something was better than nothing, and decided to find some food.

It was now 9am, and the last of the morning dew was quickly evaporating from the poorly maintained grassy hillside I was getting ready to climb. I followed my nose to the one place I knew I could count on for a decent pre-game meal without having to engage in any of the usual small talk experienced at most tailgates. I was heading to the Law School tailgate. You just have to admire a group of people that are so rich, or will be so rich in the near future, that no expense is spared during special occations. There was a spread like that of some of the more well to do country club brunch buffets I have experienced. I was able to load two plates of goodies and several cans of beer stashed in every pocket available without being approached by anyone. As I began to walk away, I was confronted by what I can only imagine was a first year law student who wasn't having too much luck striking up a conversation with anyone. He said hello, and asked me if I was still in law school, or if I was an alumnus. Not knowing what to say, I yelled out something unflattering about his sweater vest, and mumbled something unintelligible about habeas corpus. He backed away from me with a shocked look on his face, and I quickly did a 180 and made a b-line for my tailgate spot.





After inhaling both plates and more than a few beers, I decided it was time to start chewing on one of the afore mentioned pieces of paper and make my way to my seat before the craziness kicked in. I passed down the middle of the the main tailgating area with those on the left screaming "Let's Go!", followed on the right by "Mountaineers!". And again "Let's Go!" followed by "Drink Some Beers!". For the next grueling 500 yards, over and over, I wondered if I would make it into my seat before it started to kick in. I could just see myself gibbering away at one of the ushers about how my parents really never loved me, and how my shoes never seemed to fit. All the while, a steady stream of saliva running down the side of my chin.

Shit, pull yourself together Johnny! You don't have a choice now, the damage is done! All you have to do is play it cool. Avoid any reptiles that get in your way, locate the quickest way to the men's room from your seat, and wait for that kid to come along with that ever loving tray of goodness that is over priced, watered down, warm, stale beer.




I found my seat, or one of 60,000 that looked just like it, and made nice with the people seated around me. I was having a pleasant conversation with the young man seated beside me when I noticed a strange look in his eye, and I noticed I was chewing uncontrollably on the inside of my cheek. Realizing that it had started, and that I only had a few seconds until the hallucinations started. I reached out and shook his hand and told him to enjoy himself. As I turned back to the field, the sky turned a nefarious shade of red, and a swarm of large furry bats descended on the upper deck of Mountaineer field. They picked off several of the unfortunate bastards standing near the top rows. I looked over at the young man seated next to me and told him not to worry, that we were safe here. He looked back at me in bewilderment and scooted as far away from me as he could.

Just then, a loud boom went off over my left shoulder, like a shot from a cannon. Hundreds, if not thousands of screams emanated from everywhere at once. Men dressed in blue uniforms, outlined in gold, stormed the field, jumping and punching each other. I turned to my left to see what the cause of that loud boom was, and noticed an enormous red-headed man, dressed in deer skins, standing over me with his hands raised to the sky. Alarmed, I got up and ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction, stepping on the tails and feet of several large reptiles as I made my way. Just ahead, I noticed a large opening. I ran to it, and as I turned, it was if I was running into a small cave that seemed to get narrower by the second. Further and further I ran, until I was in complete darkness.

I awoke several hours later back in my tailgating spot with a thunder stick lodged in my left pant leg, and a transparent green visor pulled low over my eyes. I looked around to make sure no one was watching me, got in my car and made it to the nearest pay phone. I called my attorney to warn him to expect the worst, and informed him that I was headed out of town. He agreed with my judgment in this matter, and again reminded me that he thought I would make a hell of a lawyer.

As I reached the interstate, I pulled over to look back one last time at this magnificent town, and promised myself that I would be back soon, with backup. Then sped away joining the endless stream of cars, trucks, and vans headed south, back to civilization.

Geek from Cabin Cree... Memphis

Johnnie West, son of WVU and NBA legend Jerry West, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at WVU.

West, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound guard from Memphis, Tenn., averaged 18.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game as a senior at Lausanne Collegiate School. He was named all-state in Division 2 by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. West was recently selected as one of the top 20 seniors to play in the Memphis All-Star Classic at FedEx Forum.

Hopefully, expectations won't be too high for West. Following a legend is never easy.

Unfortunately, Hot Rod Hundely doesn't have a son going to WVU as well. Known for his on the court antics, Hundley went on to play in the NBA for 5 years with the Lakers, and a long stint as the voice of the Utah Jazz.

Once on a trip back to West Virginia to play in a charity game at the WVU Coliseum, constructed more than 10 years after Hundley left WVU, Rod was said to have replied to Hall of Famer Jerry West: "I built this building."

West retorted, "Yeah but I paid it off."

D Line

I haven't written much about the defensive line so far, but this is a nice article about them. With as many experienced people as they have, they could really be good. In comparison to when they played Maryland in 2003 and had four defensive linemen, non weighing more than 270

"We're now at the point where we're going to throw a bunch of guys out there that are 290 to 300-pound kids along the front and all those kids can move they're not heavy kids they're long-bodied and there's not a lot of fat on them."

I still haven't written much about the defensive line. It's all so cliched. It is nice to hear the coach talking highly of them in the spring. Casteel isn't real quick to hand out praise to his own players. Not in a Lou Holtz kind of way, just the kind of person you want running your defense.
Everytime I hear defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich talk, it reminds me of the coach from water boy. His voice is so raspy when he uses his inside voice, I can only imagine what it sounds like when he is mad. They seem to get the message, though.

What would Hunter Thompson do?

Besides two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls.


Well if he couldn't be there, he would get loaded and make it up as best he could. Since I can't be at the WVU Blue-Gold scrimmage, I guess that is what I will have to do. I find myself sadly lacking in the above mentioned inventory, but I have three days and no money, wish me luck. And check back Saturday night.

Spring Experiments

Several players have moved around from offense to defense and vise versa, hoping sure up some positions that were considered "thin" going into spring practice. One that I am glad did not work out is Pernell Williams moving to DB.

The Pernell Williams-to-cornerback experiment is now officially over. The junior-to-be has been moved back to running back.
"As I told him, you're not going to play a whole lot on defense and we know you're going to play some on offense," Rodriguez said. "Pernell is such a good guy and he's going to play a lot of special teams, too."

Pernell doesn't show a lot of moves, but he picks his hole and goes with it. It will also help with the transition of Tyler Benoit from DB to RB. With Jason Colson in the mix as well, the running back position should be set.

If size matters, then Doug Slavonic needs to work himself into the defensive line rotation. At 6-8 he should pose problems for opposing quarterbacks trying to pass over him. He saw extra time in last Saturdays scrimage due to Keilen Dykes suffering from a foot injury. Slavonic needs to put on a few pounds between now and the fall. My suggestion? Hook up with Butterbean and let the fat times roll!

Master weight gainer Butterbean, aka "Dinner Bell Brown"

Offensive Line Notes

One thing I find a little troubling about our offensive line is that none of the top three candidates for the two starting tackle spots is over 300 lbs. I guess it is more of a image thing than anything else. The Denver Broncos don't really rely on huge offensive linemen. The zone blocking scheme doesn't require an offensive lineman to move his man, just that the line has to work as a unit to create a hole for the back. Here is a pretty decent breakdown of zone blocking compared to man blocking.
Oh well, I wouldn't feel any better with these guys up front....

Not the prototypical five for zone blocking

Something to pass the time until the season

We like Ok Go!

Spring Ball Festering

It's hard, waiting around for the start of the college football season. So much hype about who looks good in practice, and who looks like they're kind of new at the fooseball thing. Me running my mouth off about how we are going to contend for a national championship. Totally discounting everyone on the schedule outside of Louisville. Then that sinking feeling that the offense has mostly been offensive in the first couple of weeks of spring ball. Lack of faith? Not really. I just can't wait to get this thing going. There are plenty of new faces that I can't wait to see.

Quinton Andrews and John Holmes at Safety, Johnny Dingle at Defensive End, and Brandon Barrett at Wide Receiver. Especially Barrett.

Barrett was one of the more highly recruited players in state history two years ago coming out of Martinsburg High School. The 6-foot-1-inch, 205-pound sophomore had one of the most productive careers catching 253 passes for 4,717 yards and 74 touchdowns. His 74 TD catches were second-most in national history and he earned a spot on the prestigious Parade Magazine All-American team.

WV produces so few Division 1 players each year, that you really have to pull a little extra for them when they come along.

One major area of concern is the offensive line. I believe they will come together and produce, but last years line made a lot of people look bad, and it will be hard to reproduce that without a strong passing game. I don't have any doubts about the individuals, I'm just waiting for them to gel.

This just in, we are playing Eastern Washington this year, because Buffalo backed out of the deal to play Auburn for more money. Damn you SEC schools and all your money. Even though I think Eastern Washington could beat the daylights out of Buffalo, they are a Div 1-AA team as opposed to Buffalo being 1-A. This is only important because it will show up if we are lucky enough to be one of say 3 undefeated teams in the country at the end of the year. The Big East needs another team. Without looking, I would guess there are some other Big East schools having to play much lesser competition with the 12 game schedule.

Oh hell, just get the damn thing started already. All you would really be missing is baseball!

I can't wait to hear that gun go off!

"We Are Marshall"

For any and all shit that I give Marshall, this movie is one that I am glad is being made. It happened a few months after I was born. Coming back from that is a major accomplishment, and I wish them the best with the success of this movie.

The 1970 MU football team. The players circled survived because they either missed the plane due to injuries or other family obligations.

The Price of Success

So, what if WVU is able to live up to the hype of inflated pre-season rankings? Rodriguez will be in a position to ask for more money, because the suitors will be lined up from several schools over the next couple years. You have to believe that JoePa and Bobby Bowden will retire soon. Not to mention the shift that would occur if he didn't get one of those jobs. The vacancy for each will probably be filled from high profile jobs. The gullible part of me believes Rod would never be interested in the Penn St. job, just because of the rivalry between WVU and Penn St. when he played. But, he does have ties with the Bowden family. I think would still much rather build a solid program at WVU. He has made statements over the past year about not being satisfied with the facilities, and has made efforts to get all of his assistants paid well. It might be time to raise the ticket prices a bit. It'd be worth it to me.

Spring Notes

Through the first two weeks the defense has had the better performance. Normally, that would be expected, but the offense has the most experience coming back. And the defense only returns one starter in the secondary. Not to mention that Mortty Ivy has probably torn his ACL. I've got personal experience with this, and he would be lucky to be back by the fall, depending on the severity.

This article has a good recap of the Saturday scrimmage . It sounds like he is trying to open up the offense a bit. There were a few interceptions, but it's spring. I can't see the team being able to be one dimentional like last year. Sounds like the receivers were dropping some balls, too. I think Pat White has the smarts and the ability to go a long way (news flash), and I hope Rod keeps pushing him, and the offense.

Oh yeah, they need to remember to hold on to the ball. The turnover ratio was not nearly as good as in previous years. Those stats are skewed a bit by the Syracuse game where we had 4 or 5 turnovers. Hopefully this is the guy that is going to get us some turnovers....

Big Double D from C, John Holmes

Happy 1000

Almost have to laugh about it, but every milestone should be celebrated in one way or another!