My Rules for Blogging

In a piece a couple months ago, I described my Manifesto for my blog. It really doesn't go into much detail about my do's and don'ts, however. And, since several of my favorite bloggers have posted their rules for blogging, I thought I would throw my hat into the ring.

1. Have fun! You're probably not getting paid for it, so you should at least try to have a good time. If it can be at a rival's expense, even better!!

2. Be original, or at least don't fill your post with a ton of links. Only copy and paste the facts that support your position, and downplay the ones that don't.

3. Be brief! Until someone tells you that they really like your style of writing, presume that they don't. To put it into terms that I am more familiar with, post as if you were writing a song. It is a must that you get to the "hook" of your song within the first minute. If you don't, the listener will lose interest and move on.

4. Play to your strengths. If you are not a good writer, use pictures and add a funny caption. Learn to use photoshop. (Editor's note: I will someday soon incorporate music into my blog)

5. Don't delete any posts. No matter how bad, or how much they offend your friends that are Marshall fans! Hehehehehehe.

6. Share something that has nothing to do with football every once in a while.

7. Don't keep writing to fill up space or to make it to rule #8. Seven is enough.

Rumors, rumors, and nothing but God Damn rumors!

I would have thought by now that a story would have come out somewhere about the status of Pernell Williams, but nothing has be said, officially anyway. The rumor is that he has asked to be released from his scholarship to transfer to another school for more playing time. I would hope that this is not true, but the silence does nothing to make me believe either way. If you are out there Pernell, you're in a position to be apart of something special here. So, stick around and enjoy yourself.

It has also been rumored that Jason Gwaltney is trying to get back on the team. It could be that he is just in town to visit his brother Scooter Berry, who is on the team. I would love to have Jason back! He needs to have a sit down with Brandon Barrett see what he is getting himself into.

Lastly, it is reported that WVU coach John Beilein intimidated the hell out of one of the rent-a-cops at the Pittsburgh Airport Tuesday.

Barney Fife wannabe's keeping the parking lot safe for you and me!

College Football is for Saturdays

Or at least it should be. But, WVU and the Big East seem to have little control over their schedules. And you know Don Nehlen is mad when he uses the word "daggone"!

"I'm very worried about the state of college football these days," WVU's winningest football coach said prior to being inducted into the W.Va Sports Writers Hall of Fame. "I think where we are it's pretty good, but I worry about some of the other schools."

"Television is running (college football)," he added. "They are telling you when to play, what time to play and even who to play and that bothers me."



"Again, that is television driving the whole daggone show," he added.

Being a season ticket holder, I find it particualrly troubling to have so many games on weeknights. A fella only has so many vacation days to take in a year. The national television exposure is important, but I would much rather play on Saturdays. That's why I took this job in the first place, right?

Random Stuff

Actor Paul Gleason has passed away. "Gleason died at a local hospital Saturday of mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer linked to asbestos, said his wife, Susan Gleason." Most noted for his roles in Die Hard, and The Breakfast Club, Gleason is seen here doing his best impersonation of Urban Meyers.



"You mess with the bull, you get the horns!"

Separated at birth? You decide.

Bednarik Injury

The season ending surgery to back-up quarterback Adam Bednarik casts doubt in the minds of some as to the chances of WVU repeating last years success. I'm not so sure that this is what we should be looking at, though. Sure, I would like to have him available, but at the same time, this is a great chance for Jarrett Brown and Nate Sowers to get some experience and prove themselves. They both have the talent to get the job done. At least you don't get the feeling that the sky is falling from coach Rodriguez.

"“Either Nate or Jarrett have to step up and be the No. 2 guy,"” Rodriguez said. "“And we'’ll settle that (in fall camp)."

"Our quarterback situation is a lot more resolved than it was a year ago,"” the coach, who is 27-10 over the last three seasons, said. "“Last year at this time we didn'’t have any idea who our quarterback would be. Adam and Pat hadn'’t played and J.R. had been out of football for years. We were a lot more worried at this time last year. And that turned out all right."”

The real question mark in my mind is the running back position now. Rumors are floating around about everyone not named Steve Slaton. We'll have to wait and see what happens over the next few weeks, as I don't want to be part of spreading anything around.

Have a great holiday weekend,
Johnny

Motivational Posters

Have some fun with your own customized Motivational Poster.
(ht: Burnt Orange Nation)

Football Team Honored For Academics

West Virginia University is one of just 29 schools to receive honors from the American Football Coaches Association for graduating 70 percent or more of its football student-athletes that enrolled in the 2000-02 academic year. WVU is the only school in the state of West Virginia to earn that honor.

Wow, surely Marshall would have been in the mix also if it wasn't for their players having to take extended breaks from class to attend court appointments, probation hearings, and serving time in the Cabell County Jail.

Hats off to Coach Rodriguez, his staff, and the WV football team for this accomplishment!

This is pretty cool

This Fucker has more or less cornered the market on most things cool in the college football blogosphere. Again, I only user the word fucker out of sheer appreciation for the wit and overall impressification, and the fact that Orson told me it shows up as "fuckers" on technorati. But, I digress. Orson was interviewed by Paul Finebaum yesterday in regards to the Fulmer Cup. It's a really great interview. I strongly urge you to give it a listen. You've done way more wastefull things with your life in 11 minutes than listening to this interview.

Early Crack Pipe Predictions: The Eastern Washington Edition

(EWU fans: The crack pipe is for me and my way too early predictions. It helps me think more clearly.) My first impression without really looking at EWU too closely is that despite them being 1-AA, they are probably a better program than Buffalo. Buffalo backed out of our schedule at the last minute to go on a treasure hunt at Auburn. If at no other time in the year, we'll be cheering for Auburn on that day to give Buffalo the beatdown of their life.
I plan on getting a link up to a blog for every team we play this year, if it isn't already up. Is there a Marshall blog out there anywhere?
Back to EWU, go to Spokesman Review for info. Their all time leading passer, Erik Meyer, has been shopping himself around a few NFL camps. With that, they are looking at three different quarter backs.

Quarterback is still a question mark with Chris Peerboom, Matt Nichols and Josh Powell combining to go 23 of 43 for 199 yards. With a veteran line and experienced running backs, the Eagles will run more in the fall than in recent years, so obviously the point of emphasis was on checking out the young quarterbacks."

As stated above, I think EWU will give us a much better game than Buffalo could ever hope to. Still, I feel like coming into this game, it will be hard for EWU to move the ball without an experienced quarterback. I see a lot of juniors and seniors on that roster, but I expect this one will be close for the first quarter or so, and then WVU will pull away for a comfortable 40-14 win.

Recruiting update

Two new commitments this week for the the offensive and defensive lines for WVU. Offensive lineman Donny Barclay and defensive end Junius Lewis. Both have relatives that played at WVU.

Barclay, a 6-5, 280-pounder, is a nearly perfect fit for WVUÂ’s spread offense. Light on his feet, the Seneca Valley (Harmony, Pa.) junior has an excellent upside and shows good footwork and pass blocking skills. The first offensive line verbal for this class, Barclay projects to a tackle at the collegiate level.

Lewis tallied 104 tackles and 17 sacks as a junior. A tremendously strong 3-technique tackle and a relentless rusher off the edge. His father played basektball at West Virginia.

Keep 'em coming!

Speaking of Schedules

Rule #1) If your schedule includes The Citadel, Toledo, and UCF, you can't talk about the scheduling of any other teams.

Rule # 2) If you schedule includes the three above mentioned teams, you need to be sure you are capable of beating those teams before you move back up to rule #1.

Sausage Party at The Mansion

Imagine if you were voted into the Playboy Pre-season All-American team, and when you got to the Mansion, it was just you and a bunch of guys! (ht:Chas) That would have to be the ultimate let down in my book. I can see being on the plane, getting all worked up about how many beautiful women you are going to be surrounded by. You get to the front door after hours of restless anticipation, you knock, the door opens, and you see this!

Lack of Interest

Just for the sake of beating you readers over the head with why Marshall and WVU isn't really all that big a deal, and was a huge waste of time for our Govenor.

"“I believe in my heart that WVU-Marshall will take its rightful place among the great in-state rivalries like Alabama-Auburn, Michigan-Michigan State, Florida-Florida State, Clemson-South Carolina, Iowa-Iowa State,"” Gov. Joe Manchin said that day. "“It will be a game for all of America, not just West Virginia."

In order for this statement to be true, someone, and I'm not mentioning any names, needs to pick up the pace. There seems to be little to no interest among the networks to carry this game. And that should really come as a shock to no one. As bad a draw as Marshall is, and they are a bad draw, (They couldn't even give away enough tickets to fill up their 30k seat stadium last year for their game on ESPN) WVU by themselves is not a great draw nationally.

This was a bad idea, and it will only get worse. WV should be able to improve their marketability if they are able to keep winning bowl games, but if Marshall can't draw an audience with all the hype around the movie, "We are Marshall", then they probably never will.

So, after 3-4 years of Marshall beatdowns at the hands of the Mountaineers it will be brought up that maybe this was a bad idea, and should come to a merciful end. When it does, politicians that want to get re-elected need to stay the fuck out of this one!

Problems

Seems to be some problems with the right side of my blog. Not quite sure what to do about it at the moment. Suggestions?

Thanks Doug

Doug Flutie announced his retirement Monday, and with that, one of my favorite football players walks off into the sunset. I was lucky enough to have seen him play in college in one of the most epic games in WVU history.

When Morgantown police chief John Cease woke up Sunday morning, the reports were all positive. All the streetlights were accounted for. There were no smoldering couches. All the cruisers went through the night without a scratch. He was happy.

So were 60,285 other first-hand witnesses to one of the most memorable victories in Mountaineer football history. The Boston College team of 1984 wasn'’t in the class of Oklahoma, Nebraska or USC, but it had a marquee player in Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie and owned triumphs over Alabama and North Carolina leading into the game against the 19th-rated Mountaineers. Boston College went on to win 10 games that year, including victories over national champion Miami and Houston in the Cotton Bowl.

While his stint with my Chargers didn't produce and championships, it was a pleasure to finally have him on my team. I'm sure him being there rubbed off on histeammatess, and helped the Chargers get back to a playoff caliber team.

Thanks for the memories Doug!

NCAA Looks At Adding Schools Outside The US

Every couple days I think about who will be asked to be the 9th football team in the Big East, and I always end up throwing my hands up in the air, declaring "there just isn't anyone worth getting!" Then I came across this article about the NCAA looking into schools from Canada joining up. And while there are some fine institutions in Canada, I can't believe any of them would be ready to jump to the Division 1 football level any time soon. Hockey? Sure. Basketball? Sure. But football would probably take about 5-10 years starting from scratch.

Short of bribery on a colossal scale, I can't see any schools like Penn St., Maryland, or BC for that matter, joining the Big East. And while I'm at it, it's time for Notre Dame to either join up all-sports with the Big East, or get out completely. The bad thing about giving an ultimatum like that is that it could push them that much closer to joining the Big 10. I don't have any real hatred for Notre Dame, but they do have the option of bumping the Big East #2 from the Gator Bowl if they don't make it to a BCS bowl, plus they reap all the benefits of being in a great basketball conference. That's just double dipping, and the George Costanza's of the Big East world have had enough!

I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!

Obligatory Rainy Sunday Afternoon Post

Sitting here looking out the window at local village idiots, Pete and Repeat (they're twins) walk down to the park, I can't help but at least make an attempt at a post.

And in a surprise move, I'm going to talk about our latest commitments, and one player leaving the team. Redshirt freshman quarterback TJ Mitchell has left the team, and has transferred to Hampton University. Looking at the commitments, it's not hard to understand why he is leaving. Two quarterbacks and two running backs. If you factor in the depth already at quarterback, it was possible that Mitchell would would never see any meaningful time on the field. And he is just to good for that. He'll have a chance to have a full career at Hampton, and we wish him well.

As I mentioned earlier, we have two new quarterbacks: Bradley Starks from Orange Co. HS in Orange, VA and Charlie Russell from Morgantown HS. Strange they don't have Starks listed on the page for Charlie Russell. Also odd is that they have DB Darryl Robinson listed on there.
He de-committed a few days ago. He has left the door open to coming to WV, but I guess he felt that he should wait a little longer before making a decision. I guess that's better than waiting until the last minute.
The running backs, Terence Kerns from Thomas Johnson HS in Frederick, MD and Victor Anderson from St. Xavier HS in Louisville, both look to be good, and fast. Victor Anderson made the 1st team all-state last year, and Kerns accounted for 3,000 all-purpose yards last year while splitting time at runningback with Bobby Humphries (News-Post Player of the Year).
Now, let's hear it for some offensive and defensive linemen!

Pete and Repeat are still trying to cross the road, and it stopped raining.

With that in mind, here is a link to the Monty Python skit The Twit Olympics.

Amen Brother

Paul over at Georgia Sports has a good bit on the toils of blogging this time of year. Most of the best pieces have to do with coaches or athletes getting in trouble this time of year. This dilemma is only compounded for me, being that coach Rod's players know if they screw up, he will either A. Give them a one way ticket to the dog house (no passing go or collecting $200), B. Take away their scholarship, C. Go postal on them, or D. All of the above. But, thank God for Marshall. My personal thoughts on playing Marshall is that we could do a lot better. I'm a little ticked that we are more or less being forced to play them. There just isn't anything to gain from playing them. If we win, we were supposed to. And if we lose, well, we won't talk about hypothetical situations.
I just had a great fucking idea, why not schedule a series with Virginia, Kentucky, or tOSU. Now that would generate some regional excitement. Two out of those three schools are almost always in or near the top 25. Hell, I would love to start playing Penn St. again! We lost a lot more than we won, but you don't get any better by playing also rans. My big fear is that we will have the same kind of success as Kansas St., and play a similar schedule. We do have a series coming up in a couple years with Auburn that I can't wait for! Win or lose, playing games in that part of the country can only help with recruiting.

See? I can't even stay on subject for one paragraph.
Please, football season, get here soon! We miss you!

Chick-fil-A 1, Marshall 0

How bad is it at Marshall? Apparently, it's so bad that the fast food industry looks more appealing than coaching at Marshall.

Marshall assistant coach Shaine Miles will be leaving the coaching staff to pursue a private business venture.

Miles, who has served as tight ends coach at Marshall for the past three seasons, will own and operate a new Chick-fil-A resturaunt in Ashland, Ky.

Said Miles, "I was really hoping to get into the burger flipping business, but at this point I'll take anything." Miles is also looking into the possibility of a singing career. "I was really inspired by that Burger King guy, and I think I can bring the same magic to Chick-fil-A."

(Editor's note: The damn YouTube feed doesn't seem to like to work with Firefox, so just imagine "Ding Fries are done, ding fries are done....". There, now that is stuck in your head until the next song you hear)

Scientist Say Katrina-size hurricane would devastate South Florida

Really? Your serious, right? I can't imagine that being true! Well, if you say so. It's amazing what scientist can predict these days. My only question is, what area wouldn't be devistated by a Katrina-size hurricane? I wonder what other incredible-grasp-of-the-obvious predictions scientist could make if we asked?

I guess we could ask the one about a tree falling in the woods, right? Well science guys, if no one was around, would it make a sound?

Aw, that one's got you stumped?

Well then, how many keyboard players would it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Oh come on science guys, that one's easy. It would take 5 keyboard players to screw in a lighbulb. One to screw the bulb in, and the rest to wonder how Rick Wakeman would do it.

Ok, I can see your not liking these questions too much, so just one more, and I'll be done with you. What's a dickfur?

Hello? Anytime anyone asks you "What's a dickfur?", you answer, "to pee with!"

That's it, you can go back to your out of this world, crazy predictions now.

New Links

File this under "Way over due, but better late than never." I added a few new links on the Big East Bloggers. Sorry I didn't get you in there sooner fellas. So at least I have a link to one blog for each Big East football team + one for Marquette, just because I like the name. Well, it makes for a good read too.

Early Crack Pipe Predictions: The Marshall Edition

In light of last nights drunken ramblings, it's time to look into the crystal bowl and begin predictions for the 2006 Mountaineer football season.

September 2nd, Marshall and their lot of Fulmer Cup hopefuls come to Mountaineer Field for their first of many beatdowns at the hands of the Mountaineers.

Much like WVU, Marshall lost several of their starters in the secondary. Should be fun to see how they react when Owen Schmitt busts through the line at full speed and the safeties have to decide between a permanent concussion and giving up six points. Remember boys, you can't tackle what your afraid to look at.

Likewise, you can't tackle what you can't see!

At some point in the second quarter, with WVU up 35-0, Marshall fans will curse the day governor Manchin forced the AD's from Marshall and WVU to work out an annual matchup between the two schools. Seeing no chance for victory, Marshall coach Mark Snyder is found locked in a stall at halftime clicking his heels together franticly, repeating over and over again, "There's no place like home!" But unlike in the Wizard of Oz, this chant fails to make the the nightmare end. Forced out of the locker room by armed state troopers 10 minutes after the scheduled start of the second half, Marshall signals their intent on forfeiting the game by making some minor adjustments to their flag.




And with that, John Denver's "Country Roads" begins blaring out of the stadium sound system.

Next up, Eastern Washington

Way too early Top 25

Stewart Mandel's way too early look at the top 25 has me just wondering if he is trying to make friends in the Mountain State before the season starts.

Number 4, huh? No offense, it's nice to get the recognitioin, but we have to wait until we first play Louisville, and then hopefully another bowl victory in a BCS game. A soft schedule just adds to the frustration. I think they are good enough. I have a lot of confidence that the defense will step up big this year. I just think starting at No. 10 is a little more realistic to start the season off, and see how they stack up as the season goes along.

I'm interested to see how teams approach the spread offense this year. If WVU can up the production in the passing game, it might not matter. And, just in time a WV boy on the team can help out with that in a big way.
Brandon Barrett has been working hard to get back on the field. This whole group of receivers a re a little underrated. They are all capable receivers, and if they all gel this year, this could be really good.

Crash Test Dummy #1 Marshall.... Preview coming soon.

LET THE SHIT BE BURNED!

Right On!

Tracy, Dean, and Jesus will save your soul

Non-football related, but if your in need of a confidence builder about who you are, or where you live, you should head over to Tracy, Dean, and Jesus.

Be sure to check out the first 5 minutes of the video. I couldn't make it past 5 minutes, but that seems to be the story of my life.

West Coast Flame

Johnathan Tu @ It's A Definite Maybe has a good piece about nude west coast couch burning. It boggles my mind that someone would want to burn a couch with no football team, or cold weather. But, it probably boggles his mind why someone would want to freeze their nuts off for 5 months out of the year. So, I guess that makes us even.

America's Greatest Fan

I remember this guy coming to Morgantown for the Louisville game last year. He stopped by the tailgate for a few, waiting for the Big Cat.

Anyway, the film should be out some time next year, I believe. Below is Tony's mission statement. If you go over to his site, check out the gallery. There's so many great pictures!


(Editor's note: Sorry for the huge copy+paste)

My name is Tony Milano. Completing my project "America's Greatest Fan" has been my life's dream. It is a project dedicated to the incredible spirit of the American people. I've traveled much of the world looking for the beauty of life. Each time I've returned home, I feel a peace in my heart. I also realize how much I love being American. Seeing the far corners of our earth you return to this land thanking God you were born here. In comparison to our world neighbors, we are privileged beyond belief with unrivaled freedom if we chose to seek it. This is a place where dreams do come true. And I'm here to prove it with this trip.

I love that being American means going for your dreams. It's what this country was founded on. My dream is to travel across America and meet the great sports fans of our country. I want to hear their stories. I want to know what makes them tick. Why? Because there wouldn't be a game without the fans. My dream is to share the love of sports with other fans. I'm looking for America's Greatest fans.

I've always loved sports, but my first love was college football. My Dad Marko took me to my 1st game in 1978, The Rose Bowl, and I've been hooked ever since. I love when fall turns the corner and you smell the wet earth permeating the air. Foliage changes colors and drops. We have less time with the sun and more time in sweaters, snuggling up with the women we love and drinking beers with buddies. This is football season ….RAH!……and I love talking to fans from coast to coast. I love every minute of it. If I had a million dollars and a house on the beach, I'd be doing the same thing every college football season: loving life. And this season, I'm hitting the road to share the season with other fans…sharing fan stories.

What makes college football so exciting? So real? There's certainly pageantry and tradition: the brick buildings, the marching bands, the homecomings, the waving penants. But there's also the down home experiences we share with other fans: eating bbq, drinking beer, talking loudly, sharing stories. It's the sharing of the passion with other fans that transcends the fan's personal experience. It's this shared experience that connects and bonds fans, even if they are for opposite teams. Then this passion has a greater purpose and you really feel alive. Fans understand that when you watch teams playing their hearts out, it's all a metaphor for the human struggle; and can't help but feel a part of a team: a team of players, a team of fans, a team of Americans.

I believe in fans, because without us there wouldn't be a game. That's why I'm on a mission to find America's Greatest fans. I want to find these fans and thank them.

New Bowls and Bowl Alignment

Can't you just feel the excitement?! (ht:Kevin) The Big East has two new bowl affiliations. I'm so excited I almost had to take a tranquilizer! Yes, the Big East is no one's little brother anymore! First, there's the Toilet Bowl (aka International Bowl), name stolen from hundreds of annual sand lot games played across this country by has been wanna be's on Thanksgiving Day. Sheer marketing genius considering the name recognition and suitable sponsor tie-in's! This game will pit the 5th seed from the Big East, if they are able to get bowl eligible, against a team from the MAC. Considering the Big East has never had 5 teams qualify for a bowl in the same season, this makes big, and I mean BIG sense!

The other big new bowl for the Big East is the Way the Fuck Down South Bowl (aka Birmingham Bowl). This game will be an excitement generating matchup between the 4th ranked team in the Big East and a team from C-USA. So, yeah, great thinking Mike T! Should all the Big East teams start scheduling home and home games with the bottom feeders of the Mid-Major conferences to ensure everyone is eligible for a bowl at the end of the year?

Say it with me, R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Respect My Authoriti!

Free Agents

Copied from MSN Sports.Net

Three West Virginia football players have signed free agent contracts as of Monday afternoon. Safety Mike Lorello has signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, safety Jahmile Addae has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and cornerback Anthony Mims has signed with the San Diego Chargers.

Best chance for either of these three is to apply themselves as special teamers.

From College Football Resource:

A breakdown of the number of drafted players from each conference.

• ACC: 51
• Big Ten: 41
• SEC: 37
• Pac-10: 32
• Big 12: 29
• Mountain West: 12
• Big East: 11
• CUSA: 7
• MAC: 6
• WAC: 5
• Independents: 3
• Sun Belt: 0
  
• Non D-IA: 21

It's shameful that the Big East only had 11 players drafted. One less than the Mountain West. Something tells me that that number will go up next year with Tyler Palko, H. B. Blades, Michael Bush, Dan Mozes, Brian Leonard, et al. For the sake of Big East recruiting, it needs to go up soon!