America's Greatest Fan Part II

I've made reference to the documentary, "America's Greatest Fan" before, hence the Part II thingy. Anyhow, I thought it was about time to check in again, and bring this project to light for some. It really is an outstanding idea. The sort of general malaise the genius envy and the insane lament, if you will. One can only imagine how much fun this would have been. A look through the picture gallery is really all it takes. Here are a few sample pictures to get you started.

Not really sure if this is a wax figure, or Phil's way of telling us picture time is over!


Love the Georgia guys head paint!


Yes, Elvis is everywhere.


Tony with Coach Rod.


The Mad Bomber!


At the New River Gorge Bridge.

Stop by and give Tony a look see. You won't be disappointed!

Guesly Dervil

This is a really old article about Guesly Dervil coming to WVU, but with the loss of so many DB's from last years team, I thought it might be worth posting.



Dervil, who was ranked as the nation's No. 32 athlete and a three-star prospect in the class of 2005, then failed to qualify academically at Illinois and has spent the past year at home working on achieving a qualifying ACT score. He got that score and then was able to go back on the market, but it didn't take him long to find his new home with the Mountaineers.

"I didn't think at the time, I would end up back there, but I really did like the coaches, the team and the people," he said. "That was also when they had Pacman Jones, and everybody was telling me when I was up there on the visit that I was the next Pacman since he and I are about the same size and same speed.

"I thought it was kind of cool back then, but West Virginia wasn't in my final three. It's funny how things work out. In the end, it was the right place for me afterall."

Welcome aboard Guesly!

Now I came across his name from searching the message boards this evening. In the context of how I found it, ie "did he make the grades", I got to thinking about what a bunch of shitballs we as college football fans are. We cheer, and give them an "ata boy" when they make the grades, and curse them to high heaven when they don't. I just find it despicable that we act as if we have a genuine interest in said players outside of football as long as they can stay eligible. And if they should fail to meet the academic requirements we find it all to easy to cast them off. I suppose in an ideal world we would make an effort to let them know we care either way, but the truth is that we don't. We only care about players that can contribute to us having a happy drunken Saturday afternoon, or Thursday night if you cheer for a Big East team. I guess I was lucky to have played golf in college, because no one cared if I went to class outside of my family and coach. I don't know, something to think about.

Help EDSBS

Several months ago I said I would pay good money to read Every Day Should Be Saturday. Well, they are in need of some cash for bandwidth, so I made my generous donation. If you are a fan, maybe you can find an extra $10 in your couch before you set it on fire. I'm sure the guys would appreciate it. I'm only left wondering if this rates me getting a link on their blog now? Shameless? Well yes I am, but I just had to ask.

Still Looking

I still look from time to time to see if I can find a blog for Marshall University, but have come up empty handed once again. However, I thought I would direct you toward a post that goes into detail about the "Friends of Coal Bowl." (Ht: Appalachian Voices)

I believe I have posted this quote before:

"I am so pleased that a sponsor like Friends of Coal has now stepped up to take this game to a level of national prominence similar to the great in-state rivalries of such schools as Florida-Florida State, Alabama-Auburn and Clemson-South Carolina," West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin said.

In case you have never seen mountain top removal

How much did this cost? Roughly 1 million dollars for 7 years which the two schools will split.
That is $140,000 each of the first two years, then 5 percent more —$147,000 —during years three through five, and an additional 5 percent, or $154,350, in years six and seven.

Who are The Friends of Coal?

The Friends of Coal is dedicated to informing and educating West Virginia citizens about the coal industry and its vital role in the state'’s future.

Please tell me you are not a friend of this.

Our goal is to provide a united voice for an industry that has been and remains a critical economic contributor to West Virginia.

Yes, they are lobbyists and PR hacks and proud of it. They are trying to convince the state that coal mining is good for them. So buying the most popular, most hyped sporting event in the history of the state, on the eve of its best nationally recognized game (great teams, great human interest), well that is some brilliant marketing. I have to admire the guy who thought this one up. It is so logical and yet so venial and cheap.

And what is Mountaintop removal? A blight on our landscape AND on our economy.

Just screwing around

It's too damn hot and humid out to do anything of consequence, so I thought I would look at some stats for a while and try to make a good picture so if I ever wanted to talk about it, well, you know.

Stats and picture courtesy of Mountaineer Stats.

Outside of the Sugar Bowl, WVU never played in front of a larger crowd on the road than the least attended game at home. It says one of two things, or both. That we have a great following no matter who we are playing, and/or the rest of the league doesn't have the facilities or following to fill up their stadium. I'm not saying that to pick on anyone, but rather just identifying some trouble spots. I would love to see Cincinnati and Rutgers get up to full capacity and expand their stadiums. Louisville is expanding their stadium, and hopefully they will be able to get close to capacity. I have every reason to believe that they will. Their fans seem to travel pretty well.
I think the rest of the conference has the facilities to do well. Now they just need to do it. Wins and losses have a lot to do with the standing of a conference, but getting fans in the seats will do a lot to promote stability for the Big East. Not to mention convincing recruits that they are in the right place when they visit for a game.

Is anything going on here today? Or was I supposed to visit Penn St. this weekend?

The WVU Mountaineers in 2005

Highlight reel of 2005 WVU football team.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Why on Earth I should spend time saying what I want to say when someone else has already done it for me is a question I can't answer. So, hopefully this will be the only time I have to completely rob someone's fine work.

As I had mentioned last week, or ealier this week, I have an announcement to make regarding my future. I am extremely excited to announce that I will be joining with bloggers from all over the college football blogosphere to write for AOL Sports. This doesn't mean that I will stop writing here, or on We Must Ignite This Couch, but my main focus will be on this new venture. And with that, I will now steal from Matt @ Orange 44.

This college football season AOL Sports is launching a project called the "College Football FanHouse." Jamie Mottram, the host of AOL's Sports Bloggers Live and the author of Mr. Irrelevant, is serving as the endeavor's editor-in-chief.

The initiative has been explained as follows:

AOL Sports is building an interactive College Football Index and series of team pages powered by a network of blogs. It will be written by dozens of Individual Contributors around the country and overseen by a handful of Lead Bloggers.

The Blog network will serve as the content platform for AOL'’s team pages. Visitors to the current site who navigate to the Oklahoma Sooners page will enter the Sooner House, where they'’ll find an active Sooner blog leading the page.

Posts will be tagged and fed into dozens of specific blogs. For example, when a blog about OklahomaÂ’s Adrian Peterson resuming his Heisman campaign against Washington is posted it gets tagged College Football, Big 12, Oklahoma, Peterson, Heisman and Washington. The post then publishes to the top of the corresponding index pages and blog lists.

The tagging will communicate across indexes as they launch. So the College Basketball index will pull in Oklahoma Basketball posts into the Sooner House along with the Oklahoma Football posts. Subsequent NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL blog indexes will be organized into geographic communities. The Pittsburgh House will feature entries about the Steelers, Pirates, Penguins, Pitt Panthers, etc. There will be a FanHouse for all cities, schools, teams, etc.

AOL FanHouse writers are encouraged to continue their non-AOL blogging interests. However, content that'’s posted on outside blogs should not be duplicated on AOL blogs. AOL is not attempting to syndicate blog content from around the web. Rather, the goal is to bring the best bloggers together under one roof to create a comprehensive College Football site with content and commentary and conversation that can'’t be found elsewhere. We hope we can make it worth it to you to do so.

While the content of one'’s AOL blog should not blatantly promote the writer'’s non-AOL site, we want you to benefit from your relationship with AOL Sports. Each post made includes a byline with the author'’s name or internet handle linked to the author'’s AIM Page.

Finally, the final blogger roster for the FanHouse has not been completed yet. However, AOL is still seeking writers for the following teams:

Alabama
Colorado
Florida
Florida State
Georgia
Maryland
Miami
Minnesota
UCLA

If you (1) have a passion for any of these teams; (2) are literate and can lucidly convey thoughts and comments about these universities; and (3) have time to contribute, drop me an email or leave a comment and I'll recommend you for the project.

If you cover any of the above mentioned teams, feel free to contact me and I will get you connected with the right people. I'll have more on this in the next week or so.

Bad News

I don't have a lot of time for this today, but news out of Morgantown is that Brandon Barrett will most likely not be on the team this year due to academics.

And as for the tOSU fan in my office that made a wise crack on the way in this morning, well that's kind of like the pot calling the kettle black now isn't it?

This would be Art Schlichter in case you forgot.

They don't call him Cheatypants McSweatervest for nothing you know.

Basketball and Stuff

First of all, I finally got the new OK Go cd today. I'm directing you to their myspace page for all the videos they have on there. It's actually readable compared to most myspace pages. Anyhow, good cd! And speaking of finally, Kevin Pittsnogle was signed to a two year deal with the Celtics. Yeah, I think my job is to post about WVU. I guess I was looking for something else. My apologies. Congratulations Kevin!

I'm not much of an NBA fan, so I can't give an educated guess as to what team would be best for him. I'm glad he will be on the east coast. Wouldn't be to hard to make my way up to Cleveland. I'll be the one wearing the Mike Cooper fan club tee.

"Clearly, Kevin's strength is extending defenses with his range. He's big enough and he's got a quick trigger", agent Dan Tobin said. "He's a unique player, somewhat of a specialist at this point. We're trying to expand other areas of his game and I think that's what's going to help him make the transition."

There's a nice article on Darris Nichols over at MSN. He will be expected to carry a larger slice of the scoring this year. Personally, I think he has a lot more than what he's shown us so far.

"Because all of those guys were so good when you come in you don't want to do anything to disrupt the flow of the game," Nichols said. "You just come in and try to be solid."

Their is some doom and gloom about the upcoming year. And while I wouldn't ask these guys to try to duplicate the last two years, I don't think there is anything to worry about. They'll be young, but will have some experienced leadership in Darris and Frank Young. I am looking forward to seeing what Rob Summers and Jamie Smalligan can do this year.

Based on what he's seen so far, Nichols predicts improved play from 7-foot senior center Rob Summers this winter.

"He's gotten a lot stronger," Nichols said. "I think it's a confidence thing because he was playing behind Kevin and he knew that he wasn't going to play that much so he had that frame of mind. Next year, it's all up for grabs so he's got to make the best of his opportunity."

I'm also looking forward to seeing Alex Ruoff and Joe Alexander get some more playing time. They're both tall and athletic. Joe is said to be quite the dunker. I would love to see him run that back door cut and dunk! We've already seen Alex put in good time in big games last year. I thought he showed a lot of poise in those games.

I've stolen so much from MSN, and just incase you missed it, there is some video of some of the better return men from WVU. I just have to say, that it is time we move all the video and otseparatea to a seperate page. We at least need to have the video screen in the middle of the page.

I was wondering why they didn't try to slip in a Fulton Walker clip. Hell, they could have put that return in the superbowl in there for all I care. I know you wouldn't complain either. But I ran across this piece on former WVU football coach Frank Cignetti. Frank has taken a lot off of WVU fans over the years for his W-L record, but the guy is a big part of the growth of WVU football. He was here when the plans to build the new stadium were underway. And he did recruit a lot of the talent that sent us to 4 striaght bowls that launched this program.

Even though Cignetti rarely won recruiting battles against Penn State and Pitt, he still managed to sign several outstanding football players that rank among the best in school history: most notably linebackers Darryl Talley, Dennis Fowlkes and Delbert Fowler, quarterback Oliver Luck, defensive backs Jerry Holmes and Fulton Walker, wide receiver Cedric Thomas, and running backs Walter Easley and Robert Alexander.

There were also some of the best coaches in football on Cignetti's West Virginia coaching staffs, including Nick Saban, Gary Stevens, Joe Pendry, Greg Williams and Rick Trickett.

"I tell people Nick Saban and I got fired at the same time," laughed Dave Van Halanger. "He went on to become the highest paid coach in history."

Oh, ok. A few more Jesco White youtubes'

I don't know, I guess it's just something everyone should see at least once in their life.





And finally we see Jesco doing what he loves to do with "Bitter Beer Face Man" on the guitar. This from the Playhouse in Charleston (sadly no longer there).



One thing I couldn't find a video of was Jesco's apperance on the Rosane Arnold show. Tom about shit when he saw that Jesco had a Swastika tatto on his hand. They made him get a tatto of a rose over top of the Swastika before they would let him on the show. Hehehehehehehehe

Damn if I don't feel like talking about anything today!

I spent the better part of the day trying to fix the way the blog looked because of some shitay formatting on my part. My apologies to those of you using Internet Explorer. I think it's fixed now. (fingers crossed)

I'll say it for about the millionth time now, I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE SEASON TO START!!!! That, and there is some other stuff brewing that I don't want to talk about until it is finalized, but it should be real good for me and you!

Looking around the web, here's something that might be a bit of a shocker. If not a shocker, certainly bad news for the pre-adolescent school girls of the world. Sorry girls, but hey, there's a million boy bands just waiting for you to overwhelm yourself with sweat over.

Orson is fixed on some alternative viewing this week, and we just wonder what really happened on his vacation?

I feel sorry for Harold Reynolds when he showed up for dinner!

A hat tip to Eagle in Atlanta for the link. I appreciate being put in that company!

And lastly, if you were wondering if there was ever any end to my weirdness, the answer is no. I do other stuff for no real reason other than it's what I like to do.

Question and Answer with Gary Fauber

Gary Fauber covers Marshall Football for the Beckley Register-Herald. We go back a ways as I mentioned earlier. Gary was kind enough to field a few questions for the Mountainlair concerning the 2006 Marshall University Football Team.

Mt. Lair- Marshall is returning 48 lettermen, and 19 starters. The first
assumption would be that this will be the same team we saw last year as
far as personnel. But, what if any positions do you consider to be up
for grabs that might surprise us? And would you mind to go into a
little detail about the players vying for these positions.

GF-Well, at Marshall everything always starts at quarterback. Bernie
Morris and Jimmy Skinner split time there last year, and neither seemed
to lay claim to the throne in the spring. There will be a battle there
in August, but I believe Morris will be the starter when the Herd visits
Morgantown Sept. 2.

Bernie Morris

Both need to show a lot of improvement, but Morris gives the offense
a little more dimension with his mobility. The tight end spot is
open with the graduation of 2005 starter Jeff Mullins. Sophomores
Matt Parkhurst and Joe Bragg (a Morgantown native)are vying to fill
the position, but don't be surprised if JUCO transfer Cody Slate
makes a push. He seemed to have pretty good hands during spring ball. 

Defensively, the secondary has some holes to fill. Strong safety
Curtis Keyes third on team in tackles in 2005 with 88) is the only
returning starter, although Geremy Rodamer (another Morgantown native)
had a good 2005 season as a part-time starter at both strong and
free safety. J.J. Johnson, who made quite an impression on coach
Mark Snyder last year as a true freshman, should step into a starting
DB role.

Coach Snyder in his first game as Marshall Head Coach.

Mt. Lair- Marshall was 4-7 last year, but many of those losses were
by single digits, and the team could have easily been 7-4 with a few
bounces going their way. Any thoughts on what they will do to turn
those close losses into wins for the 2006 season?

GF-You could also look at that the other way. Marshall
could have been 2-9 or even 1-10. They beat UAB 20-19
after the Blazers missed a field goal as time expired,
and Tulane led 20-7 at halftime before Bernie Morris
led a second half charge for a 27-26 win. The Herd also
trailed SMU 10-0 in the fourth quarter before tying it
and sending the game into OT, where Marshall won 16-13.
I think much of the problem was that the team was so young.
Plus, the lack of a dependable field goal kicker really
hurt. Ian O’Connor had a rough season, particularly in
the loss against Southern Miss when he was replaced by true
freshman David Defatta. Defatta then had a field goal try
blocked at the end of regulation and had another hit the
upright in overtime. Anthony Binswanger, a transfer from
Diablo Valley Community College (originally with the
University of California), seemed to win the job in spring
ball. If he comes out of camp as the No. 1 guy, time will
tell how he fares in game situations.

Another thing that needs to be remembered is, not only was
last season Mark Snyder's first as head coach, but he was
hired only two days before the 2005 spring game. So the
entire season truly was a learning experience, top to bottom.

Don't let him run on you like that!

Mt. Lair-Ahmad Bradshaw is clearly the star of the offense,
but who would you consider to be the diamonds in the rough?
I know Marshall has a couple of speedy young receivers.
Will one of them step up this year to provide another weapon
for defenses to prepare for?


GF-I think Bernie Morris will step up and surprise a lot of
people at quarterback this year. And Hiram Moore, to me,
showed signs of becoming a go-to receiver last year. Of
course, transfers Darius Passmore (appropriately named for
a receiver) and Josh Johnson (linebacker) come in with
big expectations.

Mt. Lair-Defensively, Marshall has a couple dump trucks
on the D-line. I believe they average about 320lbs. If
you wouldn't mind going into a little detail about these
two, and if they are every down players, or if they
come out on 3rd down and pass situations.

GF-Dump trucks is a good way to describe these two. You
are referring to senior tackles Juan Underwood (6-3, 323)
and Chris Terrell (6-6, 326). Underwood, who came in last
year from Pima Community College, started nine of Marshall’s
11 games. He is more of a pass rusher than Terrell, who is
more apt as a run stopper. Terrell was a backup, rotating in for
Underwood and senior Adrian Davis (6-3, 263).

Mt. Lair-This is sort of a follow up to the last question.
Does Marshall like to substitute a lot of players on
defense? If so, how do you think they will deal with WVU's
no huddle offense? I am expecting the pace of the offense
for WVU to quicken from last years team, and I believe they
will force defenses to keep players on the field that
wouldn't normally be there in certain situations.

GF-Yes, Marshall does a lot of subbing in and out on
defense. I'm not sure how that will be affected by the
no-huddle. My guess is that any team might have trouble
against the no-huddle in the first game of the season
simply because of conditioning. WVU could certainly have
a huge advantage there.

Mt. Lair-WVU has several players that will be asked to
step up on defense this year. For instance Quintin Andrews
at safety is getting a lot of praise for someone that has
never started a college game. Are there any defensive
players for Marshall that are receiving similar expectations?

GF-I mentioned Josh Johnson earlier. He is a 6-foot-2,
235-pound linebacker who played at Georgia Military College
last year. He had originally signed with the University of
Georgia before going to military school. He has been clocked
at 4.56 in the 40. He will feel some immediate pressure
because Herd fans really seem to expect a lot from him.

A ton of thanks to Gary for taking the time give us his thoughts on the 2006 Marshall Football Team!

Quinton Andrews Piece

Andrews ready to take someone's head off!

There's a nice piece on Quinton Andrews on MSNsportsNET. One of the things I really like about this article is that it reminded me of former WVU linebacker Derek Christian. He was there in the early days for Don Nehlen. In one of his first practices the St. Albans native hit the quarterback, who was wearing a vest so players would know not to hit him. After that, Nehlen said in his usual "aw shucks" way, "if nothing else, we know Derek is going to hit someone." And over his career at WVU he certainly did that.
And reading this took me back to that comment almost immediately.

Once during skeleton drills in the spring a charged-up Andrews delivered a big shot on starting quarterback Pat White that got both the offensive and defensive players going at each other. Andrews had forgotten that White was wearing a no-contact yellow jersey.

Many are expecting big things out of Andrews this year and into the future. Like current fullback/face mask breaker Owen Schmitt.

Schmitt is now a believer, labeling Andrews the one player in the program that is going to surprise people this fall.

"That makes me feel good, especially knowing that it is coming from a player like Owen," Andrews said. "When I was on scout team I always went up against Owen and we had a couple of encounters."

Andrews fits in well with a West Virginia program full of competitive athletes. What is starting to set this program apart from others is just how competitive things can get sometimes.

Can someone go ahead and start the season? I'm dying over here!

Yeah! 10,000 Page Views

On March 5th I started keeping track of the hits I got on this blog. At some point this afternoon, I got my 10,00th hit. There is a very long list of people I would like to thank, but don't have the time to list them all. But, if you are on the right hand side of this page, you probably had something to do with this. I should give a special thanks to Paul for helping me get started. He was kind enough to shoot me a few emails describing his method for blogging, and I am eternally grateful. I also wanted to thank Orson for these comments that made me think a little more about the formatting of my blog, " Yes--our website looks much finer in Firefox, and yours will too, provided you quit making our eyes bleed with the black type!" This in reference to a blue background that only showed up when viewing with Firefox. Also, thanks to the guys at We Must Ignite This Couch for letting me post on their site.

When I reached my 1,000th hit, I did a little photoshop picture to celebrate. However, as I have moved up by a power of 10, the celebration should also move up by a power of 10. First, here is a link to what I feel has been my best post since then. First, the primer, and then the post.
I've had a lot to say about how WV isn't really that backwards, and if I didn't say some things I shouldn't say, I can promise you I was thinking them. However, as I was walking to my car after work, I remembered something I haven't thought about in a really long time, Jesco White. This would be the part where Lee Corso would step in and say, "Not so fast my friend." So sit back and enjoy the Dancing Outlaw, and his many personalities!

Ugly World, Beautiful Weekend

How this continues to go on is beyond me. It would seem the IDF is killing the body to destroy the cancer. But hey, they're not Americans, right? Why should we care?

This weekend did deliver some wonderful news, however. Floyd Landis did what would seem to me to be the impossible this weekend after being 8 minutes off the lead last week. Oddly enough, an old hip injury has flared up for me over the past few days, and I promise you I don't want to ride a bike/climb stairs/etc. Hats off to Floyd, and good luck with the hip replacement surgery.

Congratulations to Tiger Woods for winning his first major without his father. I truly am happy for him, but I will refrain from watching Sports Center for next week or so just to make sure I avoid the lame tear jerker piece they are sure to do.

Lastly, a hat tip to Kyle of Dawg Sports. I'm not so sure he ever owed WVU fans an apology, as I have seen a ton of ill will directed at Georgia fans from WVU message boards. But, he offers one just the same, and should be commended for it. As for Mountaineer fans, it's time to let that game go. It was great, but it won't help us win one game this year. Neither will any hatred toward Georgia fans.

Remember.....

Palko on Mountaineer Field

The title from the Daily Mail reads, "Panthers' Palko loves playing at Mountaineer Field ... seriously ". If you watched that game last year, your first thought would be, "yeah, right!" Looking back at the numbers, he really didn't have that bad of a game. 24/43 for 308 yards 2 td's and 2 int's. It was cold as hell, I know, I was there! He looked good in the first half on td passes of 63 and 31 yards.
However, his statements deal more with the intensity of the crowd.

"I wish I could play there every year," Palko said, "because it is the epitome of college football. The atmosphere is unbelievable. The fans hate you. It's loud. It's crazy.

"It's the best place to play and the worst place to play," he added. "The reason I love playing there is the reason I hate playing there."

I love the enthusiasm and spirit of the fans. A couple of the things I would like to see go away is the throwing of objects at visitors to Mountaineer Field ( I will never call it Milan Puskar Stadium unless by accident. Thank you very much for the donation, but it's Mountaineer Field, period.). It's not necessary. We're much better than that. You can be wild, and intimidating without hurting someone. The other thing I would like to not see is the extreme heckling of visiting fans. I know you won't stop it completely at any stadium, but there's just too many kids around for some of the things that are said in these exchanges. We should be welcoming our guest, so they will feel good about making the trip to Morgantown. Hell, for no other reason than the visitor section is in full camera view most of the game. You don't want that empty.

"They are yelling at you and throwing ---- at you," Palko said of the WVU fans, who are famous -- or is it infamous? -- for their rowdy behavior. "It's a surreal situation because they really don't like you and you have to go in there. They are awesome. I would love to play there."

Kind words for sure. And it should make you think about concentrating on all the good things about home games, and let all that other stuff go.

WV Perspective Piece

I just had to link to this piece from Thomas Johns @ Southern Pigskin. I couldn't write something like this, because I'm lucky enough to see the beauty of this state every day. It's a story that West Virginian's have heard a million times. When people come to this state they always seem so surprised at how beautiful it is, and how friendly most everyone is. I thank Thomas for doing the piece! He captured a lot of what is great about WV and WVU.

The rest of this is a response for all the poor comments I've come across lately. Are we backwards? Yes. When a large percentage of the population is more concerned with survival rather than the latest electronics/fashion/etc. we probably do come off as being backwards.

I doubt that any balance has been restored, as the toothless and everyone's related jokes keep coming. But hey, if you think your so witty and so much better, the line starts here.
Go ahead and leave your best joke about WV in the comments. If you get deleted, it's because you suck. Originality counts for everything.

I'll start you off: What do West Virginian's do on Halloween? Pump Kin!

Quincy Wilson Run vs. Miami

Sorry about the quality of the video, but really, Quincy Wilson hits that safety so hard, a blind man could see it!

Why not WV?

I'm not going to call it hatin',because I know better, but there have been quite a few bloggers expressing their opinion that WV should not be considered for a spot in the national title game if they should go undefeated this year. Here are a couple links for you to check out. Further discussion is in the comments sections of each. I should preface this by saying that I read these blogs daily and have come to appreciate each for their knowledgeable and in depth reporting. I think they have valid points in this case, but I can't help but say that we are playing a schedule that has been dictated to us. Thanks to our governor we are playing Marshall this year. Truth be told, Marshall will be back to repectability soon, and that shouldn't be a negative on our schedule in a few years. Also, Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College are gone from the schedule. Pitt and Syracuse are going through uncharacteristically down times. And there isn't a damn thing we can do about any of that.

There's some real talent on this team. Some you know about like Slaton, White, Dan Moses, Brandon Myles,and Boo McLee. Some like Johnny Dingle, Eric Wicks, Brandon Barrett, Darius Reynaud, and Owen Schmitt you'll be learning about real soon.

If WV finishes the season undefeated and there is one other undefeated, or better yet, they are the only undefeated team, I have a hard time keeping them out of that game. Would it change your mind if Pat White passes for 2,000 and rushes for 1,000? Since I'm dipping into the realm of hypothetical, the passing game was a big emphasis in the spring. Does your mind change if we aren't a one trick pony anymore? As much as I enjoyed the seniors from last season, I expect the defense to be much improved by the time we get into, yeah go ahead and laugh, the meat of our schedule. They will be a more talented defense, for sure.

One thing I will concede is that if we lose one game, all bets are off. And if that loss comes against Louisville, chances are we don't get a BCS bowl invite. Kyle at Dawg Sports has us at #9 in his pre-season rankings, and makes some comparisons to Florida State when they were winning the ACC every year.

"9. West Virginia. This year, you won't find a bigger Mountaineer fan than me outside of Appalachia. Until I am able to persuade Mr. Peabody to let me borrow the wayback machine long enough to return to the Sugar Bowl and persuade Rich Rodriguez to punt the ball and give D.J. Shockley the chance he deserved for some late-game heroics, I will be rooting for W.V.U., because a good season by the Mountain Men will validate the Bulldogs' loss to them. Unfortunately, although West Virginia is good, Coach Rodriguez's squad finds itself in much the same position that Bobby Bowden's Florida State teams occupied in the seasons immediately preceding Miami's admission to the A.C.C.: the Mountaineers of 2006, like the 'Noles of old, are the favorites to win a league in which several of their opponents are improving incrementally and looking to make a name for themselves by giving the big boys their best shot. Someone somewhere is going to get by the unsuspecting Mountaineers and, with that schedule, West Virginia will never be able to overcome even a single loss."

The one thing I get from all of this is that WV hasn't done it consistently. If we can string together a few 11-12 win seasons, I get the feeling this conversation wouldn't be such a focus. Then again, did Kansas St. ever really get anyone's respect?

MSM taking advantage of Blogger holiday

In a bold move not seen since the '68 Tet offensive, the Main Stream Media (MSM) is taking advantage of a lull in the college football blogosphere to try to gain back much needed readership. College football bloggers have taken an unofficial holiday to blister their thumbs playing NCAA 2007.

Conspiracy theorist believe that the release date of NCAA 2007 was masterminded in a joint effort between ESPN and CNN/SI. Not normally known for working together, the two put their differences aside and accepted the Arab belief that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

John Skipper (Senior Vice President & General Manager ESPN Internet Group) said, "Those guys have been kicking our butts in the creativity department for a long time now. We always seem to be one or two steps behind them. So, with the lull in the blogging, we thought we might be able to get some people back to reading our page." He later went on to say, "We've been working on subliminal messages aimed at discouraging people from following blogs, but we haven't been able to master it yet. Let's be honest with ourselves here. Who is actually ignorant enough to believe ESPN is better than the blogger collective?"

CNN/SI is taking a slightly different approach. After many weeks of not reporting on anything college football related, they opened up with a full slate of new articles today.

Will it be enough to change the landscape of college football reporting? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, though, those of us that do not have the latest xbox/ps2/etc. can't wait for the bloggers to master the art of NCAA 2007. Spin move guys, spin move!

I hate to do it, but......

If I didn't point you in this direction, I just couldn't respect myself in the morning. Now, I don't want to be Mr. links-a-lot, but this piece on Deadspin is just to spray your monitor for! Now, what you spray it with is totally up to you, and if it doesn't come in a can, or out of a coffee pot, please don't tell me about it.

I don't want to spoil it for you, but it has mastubating, Carl Monday, Mike Cooper, and whole bunch of stuff you thought you would never hear of. That is before you heard mastubating, Carl Monday, and Mike Cooper in the same sentence.

10 Greatest College Quarterbacks

There's no denying some of the choices on College Football New's list of the 10 greatest college quarterbacks. I still say that any list like this usually draws so much on recent events that the greatness of past players is always overlooked. I'll agree with Vince Young and Tommy Frazier, but I'm not buying Ken Dorsey or Danny Wuerffel as anything but system guys. One name that I saw on there that I really wasn't expecting to see was Major Harris.

10. Major Harris, West Virginia (1987-89) Long before there was Michael Vick and Vince Young, there was Harris, an original that helped usher in the era of dual-threat quarterbacks. He's one of just two passers in history to throw for more than 5,000 yards and run for more than 2,000 more in a career, and came within a Fiesta Bowl win in 1988 from guiding the Mountaineers to an unlikely national title.

Call me crazy, smack my ass and call me Charlie, but I still would have liked to have seen what would have happened if Stewart Mitchell wouldn't have blown his knee out before the 87 season.

Having said that, Major Harris was a freak! He was so fast, and more importantly quick (moving laterally), the only thing that could stop him was a well placed helmet to the hip bone. Then he could also throw a football 50-60 yards on one knee. It's sad that he didn't stick around for his senior season. I think it would havbenefiteded him and WVU greatly.

So, I just have to ask, how do you not have Doug Flutie on every one of those lists? Same for Dan Marino? I hated them both when they were at their respective schools, but you can't deny their greatness, nor can you deny my bias toward Eastern Independent players from the 80's!

There's something cool going on over at EDSBS

That title is a bit of an oxymoron, as there is always something cool going on at EDSBS. But, this week is special because Orson is on vacation, and has enlisted 3 quality bloggers to handle the every day posting along with EDSBS regular Stranko Montana. Paul, Peter, and SMQ are all great bloggers in their own right and it comes as no surprise that they were asked to fill in.

If today is any indication, this is going to be a great week over at EDSBS!

Cooper-Monday at it again

HT: Deadspin

Carl Monday was present at the sentencing of Mike Cooper, the infamous library Master Masturbator. If nothing else, Carl will stay on you like white on rice until he gets his story, or you family roughs him up a bit. The latest video isn't quite as good as the original, but it ain't bad either.

Quick Hit: Hooters Edition

Hooters Chairman, Robert Brooks found dead.

"Good food, cold beer and pretty girls never go out of style," he told Fortune magazine in 2003.



Yes, that ranks right up there with buy low/sell high as far as a business strategy goes.

RIP ol' pal.

Too much coffee, not enough effort

First off, if you have a huge coffee buzz this morning like me, why not stop and say a little thank you to Juan Valdez.

Mr. Valdes, while our afternoons are riddled with exhaustion from too much coffee in the morning, we thank you from the tips of our shaking fingers to the bottom of our over active bladder for these few hours of bliss.

So, on to the news, and my crisis of conscience. I have to admit to feeling like a bit of an asshole lately for all the less than flattering comments I have made about Marshall. Not that some of those comments don't hold any water, but it is really more about me not taking the time to report on something that takes research and creativity. I have lazily fallen into the trap of just shooting out the first insult that comes to mind and let that be my blogging for the day. So, if I should pick on Marshall in the future, you should know two things. 1. You really, really, really, REALLY earned it! 2. I have researched every fact about the situation to make sure you really, really, really, REALLY earned it.

Crisis of conscience part deux: I probably owe Willie Williams an apology for this post. I hate to reference any message board for anything, but it seems that Willie has kept his nose clean over the past couple years, and has a 3.2 gpa. Now, I don't have a credible link for this, but when you read those type of things over and over on message boards, you realize that there's no real reason to lie about it. So, Willie, my bad. If you're coming to WVU, then welcome to the team. If not, best of luck.

Now that I have been dipped in the lords blessed water, it's the straight and narrow for me. I've cast off the devils wicked ways, and have been forgiven for all my sins.

More coffee anyone?

Update: Coach Rod has passed on Willie Williams acording to this Charleston Gazette article.

“He called and inquired and we said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ ’’ West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said Sunday. “I don’t know where this stuff gets started, but he will not be transferring to West Virginia.’’
Yahoo.com, citing no sources, reported Saturday that Williams was headed to West Virginia. At least one other Internet site reported the same thing, as did the Morgantown Dominion Post, citing Yahoo.com as its source.

Lotta Love From Bruce Feldman Lately

From picking WVU as his pre-season #1, to defending that position in his latest blog post(insider).



From Eric in Anaheim, Calif.: West Virginia is your No. 1? ESPN should drug test you.

Feldman: Actually, ESPN did drug test me when I got hired. Seriously. That was the policy back then. I simply think the Mountaineers have the best chance of going through the regular season undefeated, and I wouldn't be quick to bet against Rich Rodriguez in a one-game setting with Patrick White and Steve Slaton around.

Aside from the above comment, Bruce also has made himself very accessible to college football bloggers wishing to interview him. And for that he gets a double cool guy star of the week!

Back to the comment above, all he is saying is that we have as good or better chance than anyone else in the country to go undefeated. And, as we have seen over and over, anything can happen once the ball is kicked off. It shouldn't be presumed that he thinks we are the best team in America. Truth be told, the best team doesn't always win the championship. It's just about putting yourself in the best position to win.

A little more Hoss

Jeff Hostetler made an apperance for the Positive Impact Football Camp yesterday. Jim over at WV Game Day was kind enough to put up a transcript and pictures.

Camper]: What's your favorite touchdown?

[Jeff]: Well, one of my most favorite touchdowns, I think for me, was when I was playing at WVU and we were in the 4th quarter, we were playing against Pitt. And, there was about a minute to go and we scored a touchdown on a bootleg. That was one of my favorites.
Another one was probably in the Super Bowl. I threw a touchdown pass to a wide receiver, Steven Baker, in the corner of the endzone. Those are my two favorites.

Camper]: Were you ever a substitute that went in when a quarterback was injured?

[Jeff]: Yes. I played before any of you guys were born. How old are you?

[Camper]: Nine.

[Jeff]: OK. I was in the NFL for 6 1/2 years (before getting his shot; 15 years total in NFL). And, I played special teams, I played wide receiver. I did everything I could to try to get on the field. But, they had a quarterback that played it before I got there. So, I had to wait. And, I was waiting, waiting, waiting. And one day he got hurt. When he got hurt, I had to go in and play. And, 6 games later, we won the Super Bowl.
So, it's one of those things where I had to be ready. And, you're waiting, waiting, waiting, and don't think you're going to get a chance to play. But, you've still got to prepare. And, I had that opportunity, and I was a substitute. I got the starting job. And, we won the Super Bowl.

Nice job Jim!

OK, I take it back

For a while now, WV fans have seen some of their high profile players get in trouble over and over again. And I made reference to Vince Young hanging out with Pac Man, and insinuated the possible bad outcome for Vince in my last post. Well, Peter over at Burnt Orange Nation says "Not so fast my friend", and put up a link to an article about Pac Man apparently trying to change his ways.

I tell Vince everything that I went through last year, so he doesn't make any of the mistakes I made last year, said Jones, a West Virginia product and a native of Atlanta.

The main thing I try to teach to these young guys is that if I don't teach them about the mistakes I made last year, then I'm not doing any justice to them.

In the OTAs, he's done a real nice job, Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. He's really, really improved and he's all about football. He's taken a professional approach to what he's doing. He's paying particular attention to techniques and to the things he should be paying attention to in his second year. He's clearly a much better corner now than he was at the end of last season.

So, maybe I have/had become a little jaded. And honestly, nothing would make me happier than to see Pac Man be successful. Instead of Pac Man being a bad influence, maybe Vince will be a good influence.

Is Vince Young getting off on the wrong foot?

Well, according to The Hater Nation, Adam "Pac Man" Jones has taken Young under his wing, and is showing him around Nashville. Be afraid, be very afraid! I suggest that Texas fans get up to Nashville, and I mean quick, before something bad happens!

Pac Man in Action!

Nostalgia Moments

There is some video of all the quarterbacks that have thrown for over 2,000 yards in a season at WVU over at the official site. In the time of Oliver Luck and Jeff Hostetler, you could count on one thing above all else in this world. And that was that if WVU forced a turnover, the next play would be a shot at the endzone, no matter where we were on the field. More often than not it worked.

And speaking of Hostetler, has anyone ever had a better first game against such a highly ranked team? I don't just mean in WV histroy, I'm talking about college football history.

After its disastrous start, West Virginia outscored Oklahoma 41-13 in the final three quarters. In those three quarters, West Virginia outgained the Sooners, 443-239, and had 19 first downs to OU’s 11.

Hostetler burned the Oklahoma secondary for 321 yards and four touchdowns. “For a guy who had never taken a snap at West Virginia University, and then to come out and do what he did today – well, I don’t have the right words to describe it,” said Nehlen.

Yup, those were some good days.

My team generates more turnovers than your team....

And there ain't a damn thing you can do about it!

College Football Resource has been doing an excellent analysis of turnover margins by conference. I might not be so willing to bring it up, but WVU has a +54 turnover margin since 1998. The next closest in the Big East is Syracuse @ +23. Which is kind of ironic considering the turnover bowl these two teams played at the beginning of last year. Stop by CFR and check out his analysis of this and other subjects, as well as his staggering list of college football blog links. The only thing more amazing than that is that neither of us has been able to find a Marshall blog out there. Now I'm not talking about a quality blog. I'm just talking about a blog, period. And as I've stated, if no one has started one for Marshall by mid-August, I'm going to, and it won't be pretty!

At what point do you say thanks, but no thanks?

From the Miami Herald:

University of Miami sophomore Willie Williams, the nation's most highly recruited linebacker two years ago, has told coach Larry Coker he is interested in transferring, Coker said Tuesday.

Asked to confirm if Williams had requested a transfer, Coker said, ''I am aware of Willie's interest in transferring, and whatever is best for Willie, I will be in favor of.'' Coker did not comment further.

Williams, a Carol City High graduate, was the only player who missed most of UM's voluntary offseason workouts.

He could not be reached for comment, and it was unclear where he would transfer. WQAM's Orlando Alzugaray, who reported rumors of Williams' interest in transferring, has mentioned Tennessee as a possible destination. However, a Big East source said Tuesday that West Virginia was a strong contender. Louisville also has been mentioned.

Speed and talent, we like. As for the off the field problems, we could do without. One of the best things about coming to WVU for a kid from a big city is the laid back atmosphere, and lack of crime. Not that it doesn't happen, but the chance to get involved with crime is much less likely. The recent antics of Todd Sauerbrun, Chris Henry, and Adam "Pac Man" Jones remind us that some people just can't get away from stupid no matter how hard they try, or don't try.
Your call Coach Rod, might want to ask him what he wants to be remembered for. If he says he wants to be the next Pac Man, just smile and say thanks for stopping by.

Wish You Were Here

I've never been one to go on and on about something, and I don't think I want to start now. Rather, I just want to remember Syd Barrett for all the good music and inovative ideas he came up with. Rest In Peace Syd.

Black Monday

Something I didn't know is that today and Wednesday are the only two days out of the year that there is not a professional baseball, football, or basketball game being played. In our mind at the Mountainlair, any day that a college football game isn't being played is a black hole that sucks away the very life of our creativity. It leaves us with only guarded anticipation for the upcoming college football season. While our Saturday afternoon hero's sweat it out on the practice field, we are left to guzzle coffee and inhale what ever is available.

Big East Mid-Year Recruiting Grades

From Scout.com

In general, the Big East looks to be getting some good recruits. Pitt, Rutgers, UConn, and Syracuse all have some quality verbals. I believe Louisville does not have a great deal of scholarships to offer this year, so expect them to get some quality verbals later in the year. South Florida and Cincinnati are both going against big programs in their back yard, and will have to pick up the pieces after the big boys. The good news is that there is a ton of talent in each city to choose from. Like Rutgers, they both need to do something to lock down their local talent. Rutgers seems to be doing that now, and I expect them to be competing for a Big East Championship soon.

I for one am looking forward to the day the Big East isn't grouped in with all the mid-major conferences. It makes me cheer for teams I wouldn't normally root for. But for the sake of the conference, I'm willing to throw a little karma around. Hope those TV contracts weren't too long term. This means you Mike Tranghese!

"What can I say, I fucked up! But we seem to be doing just fine despite my leadership."

More Bama Blog Links and a Coke Bottle

Welcome Bama Bloggers Cool Hand Mike, and Nico to the Blog Roll. During the Frank Cignetti WVU years (5-6, 2-9, 5-6, 2-9 I believe), I was a bit of an Alabama fan in large part due to the coach, Bear Bryant. Somewhere in the chaos of this house that I am trying to restore is a Coca Cola bottle put out to commemorate Coach Bryant becoming the winningest 1-A coach. But, I did find a picture on the net for you viewing pleasure.

C'mon Todd, That's Chris Henry's Job!

Todd Sauerbrun failed a "pee-pee" test recently for Ephedra. (ht:Deadspin) He will be suspended for the fist month of the season. Now Todd, if you want to lose weight, there are certainly better, legal ways of doing it.

1. Don't eat so much!

2. When you're working out, spend less time working on the "guns" and do a few crunches!

3. Make a few unflattering comments about the linebackers ancestry!

4. Have some fruit!

5. Try a few more fake punts, just to see if anyone is paying attention!

6. You don't have to eat the funnel cake at every charity bake sale, just give 'em some money!

7. Two words, "Exlax Brownies"!

Todd "Funnel Cake" Sauerbrun

Just Funny

Something about this picture just screams out "share me with the world", and the fact that I am a proud poster on We Must Ignite This Couch just adds to the hilarity for me. (HT: Coolhand Mike)

Gansey/Pittsnogle Update

Courtesy of Jude from We Must Ignite This Couch.

OrlandoMagic.com will be broadcasting games that Mike and Kevin will be playing in starting July 10. Bring your umbrella, it's going to be raining 3's.

Finish this sentence

Inspired by CFN's preview of Marshall

1. Ahmad Bradshaw not only led the team in rushing, he also led the Herd in...stolen Playstation 2's.

2. Marshall had the 12th best pass defense in the nation in 2005. This was mostly because of them being the ____ ranked run defense in the nation. (75th)

3. Marshall running back that needs to have his first and last name switched for comedy's sake? Chubb Small.


4. Writer Marshall fans wish wasn't covering their team?






Chuck Landon and his Mullet.



5. _______ should have looked in the mirror before he went out today.













^^This Guy^^

Herd Not Intimidated

Note: I actually used to work with Gary in another life. Hard to believe it's been 10 years since I escaped from Montgomery. I know Gary has been writing for the Register-Herald for a while now, but congratulations none the less!

I don't think the Herd will be intimidated either. I would think it is a pretty rare case that a college football team is intimidated by anyone or anything.

Since joining the Division I-A ranks in 1997, Marshall owns road wins over South Carolina (SEC), Clemson (ACC) and Kansas State (Big 12). Kansas State was ranked sixth in the country at the time, then went on to beat Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game.Those victories were in stadiums that have an average seating capacity of more than 70,500.The Herd also had close calls in stadiums that routinely are rocked by more than 100,000 fans.

They lost 34-24 at then-No. 11 Tennessee's Neyland Stadium in 2003 (some believe Marshall would have won that game had starting quarterback Stan Hill not injured his knee), and Ohio State needed a 55-yard field goal from Mike Nugent as time expired to eke out a 24-21 win.The attendance at Tennessee was 106,520, some of whom gave the Herd a standing ovation and applauded their efforts as they exited into the tunnel after the game. At Ohio Stadium, Marshall made 104,622 Buckeye fans squirm for 59 minutes, 57 seconds.

Granted, the fans in Morgantown will present a much different type of hostility. For years now the Mountaineer faithful have looked at Marshall disdainfully and would love nothing more than to see their team put the Herd in its place. (Truer words were never spoken)

Now, having said that, I think it is kind of hard to predict at what point Marshall will start to fall behind. One thing I have noticed that no one is really talking about this year is the pace of the WVU offense. I could link to about a million articles about the emphasis that is being placed on conditioning this summer by the Mountaineers. And from that I expect the offense to really cut down on the time between plays to try to wear down the opposing defenses and catch them out of place. The execution of last years team was very good, but I think it was probably the slowest pace I have seen out of WVU's offense since Coach Rod's first year. I'm going to go ahead and say that WVU will have at least two 50+ yard touchdown runs in the first half, the second will break the will of Marshall to hang in the game. Homerific? Maybe, but when the WVU offense picks up the pace it can be devastating for a defense. Just wait and see.

The Obligatory Poor Working Bastard Post

If you are like me, and had to get out of bed this morning for no other reason than "The Shoppe was open", this post is for you.

Be thankful you don't have to play the same worn out song for drunk white people all day, every day.

Be thankful your not hung like an inch worm!

Be thankful you weren't the butt of every joke for a year!

Your name isn't Chuck Landon!

Be thankful you got to listen to Jack Fleming call your favoite team's games!