Mountainlair

And We're Out

2010-03-24T07:08:00.000-05:00

Moving day has come. We'll be over here at Eers To You. Come join us.

Mild TBI and Sports Related Injuries

2010-03-23T09:17:00.001-05:00

We here at Mountainlair care as much about the athletes that wear the Old Gold and Blue when they leave as when they get here. It's important to remember the person as much as it is the athlete that wore the uniform. Otherwise, the young men that play for WVU would just be hired guns, disposable after their eligibility is used up. That's unacceptable, because once a Mountaineer always a Mountaineer. Just as I'm sure it's true all over the world of college football.

I bring all this up because I was contacted by CareMeridian about posting something regarding Traumatic Brain Injuries. Whether one person reads this or a million, the important thing is that our university has an obligation to the men that put on the uniform. An obligation to provide them with the best possible equipment and treatment to make sure they remember every second of their time in Morgantown.

Mild TBI and Sports Related Injuries

Athletics are a fun and healthy way to stay active that millions of people take part in each day. However, some of these activities can take a toll on the physical body of the individual. Contact sports like football, boxing, soccer, and hockey can cause damage that can change a person’s entire life and sometimes can even be irreversible. An example of this type of sports injury is traumatic brain injuries. A TBI can permanently alter someone’s life and can even require long-term rehabilitation and care from special facilities like CareMeridian and these injuries are often too common when taking part in sports.

According to the Brain Injury Resource Center, an estimated 300,000 sports related brain injuries occur each year. Most of these injuries are not classified as severe. Many of these mild TBI’s or concussions may appear unthreatening, but in fact they can often cause significant damage if not treated properly. The hidden danger of a concussion comes from the fact that it is usually passed off as nothing more than pain and soreness inflicted from the sporting activity, which is why they can easily be a repeatable injury. Consequently, concussions are often regarded as very hazardous and should be given thorough and constant attention.

Concussions are head injuries that are caused by blows to the head that usually cause the brain to move violently within the skull. For a sport like football this type of injury is common and unfortunately, at times ignored. Many athletes shake off the pain that’s caused from the head injury, because the immediate effects are often unnoticed. Yet, without treatment, a simple injury can cause a lifetime of suffering. The NFL has a concussion rate of 61% and this type of injury not only sidelines the player impacted, but can end their career. Some NFL players, like quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Steve Young, retired from the game rather than take on the risk that comes from the injury, but others are not so lucky. Many retired football players and athletes battle memory loss and constant migraine headaches that result from head injuries.

Participating in athletic competition (football, soccer, basketball, etc…) is inherent in many different peoples’ lifestyles, but comes with risk of injury. Mild TBI is among the most common forms of sports related injuries, which also include fractures, tears, bursitis, sprains and more. As an enjoyable means of human interaction and competitive lift, sports will always be an integral ingredient of modern day society. Ultimately, it’s important to be aware of mild traumatic brain injuries (symptoms, treatment, etc…) and the frequency of occurrence on the field of play.

Moving Day is Almost Here

2010-03-23T07:08:00.000-05:00

We'll be moving to a new blog in the next few days. We'll have a link and all that when things are ready. It should be fun, the new site will be loosely based around drinking and sports. Two things that go great together. Until then, here's some moving music.

Talent Show

2010-03-22T12:32:00.002-05:00

In my waxed up hair and my painted shoes
Got an offer that you might refuse
Tonight, tonight, we're gonna take a stab
Come on along, we'll grab a cab

Seriously, these things just write themselves. If you haven't seen Joe, Jonnie, and Da'Sean doing the Night at the Roxbury dance yet, here's your moment of Zen. via Deadspin

Color Me Impressed With Truck Bryant

2010-03-21T20:38:00.003-05:00

If you asked me what I thought would happen in today's game, the last thing that would have come to mind was how impressed I was with Truck Bryant. Looking at his stats for the game tells you very little about how important he was. Missouri earned the respect I had for them coming into this game by leading the nation in turnovers forced. In my mind, I could just see him getting his pocket picked over and over. Instead, what I saw was someone that just focused on ball security and running the offense. He had a lot of help from Joe Mazzulla and Da'Sean Butler. But West Virginia did a great job with ball security and patients in the offense once they beat the press.

I've bagged on Truck a little bit since I first saw him play for West Virginia. I've been driven to madness by watching him rush down the middle amongst the trees. I may be wrong with that, though. For instance, I don't know that Huggins hasn't asked him to do that. It's just been hard to watch at times over the past couple years. But today I thought he did exactly what he needed to do to help the team to win, and if you're going to mention the bad you have to see the good as well. Well done, Truck!

There was a lot more dairy goodness to speak of. Particularly Da'Sean Butler. The dude is just a machine. It's hard enough to bring the ball up the whole game under pressure. It's even harder to get involved with the offense after the ball crosses the time line. Butler got WVU into an offensive flow to start the game and kept them ahead the whole game. The more I think about this game, the more I'm really impressed with everyone. The only thing that was odd was all the offensive rebounds the Tigers got. But we'll take it. Survive and advance.

Unsatisfied

2010-03-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

Look me in the eye and tell me I'm satisfied

Headlines tomorrow will question the validity of the Big East. This much is sure. All of it will be deserved. What we don't know is if someone didn't dance themselves onto the hot seat. I don't have anyone in mind. That picture up there is totally random and without premeditation.

The bad news is that the Big East was 1-3 today, and that one isn't anything to brag about. The good news is that there are four more teams playing tomorrow and no one should sneak up on them. That message should be loud and clear. I hope the Mountaineers stayed up late enough to see the post game interview with Thompson. You never ever want to make your boss look like that. Seriously, ESPN News is calling it "Georgetown's Historic Upset" right now as I type this. How bout Ohio's historic upset? You know, a little something for the effort.

We're using Replacements song titles as a lead in for all of our posts during the tourney or until we use them all. You'll have to jump to the 40 second mark for the song.

Let's Dance

2010-03-18T09:52:00.002-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of year for any college basketball fan. I love it and I think collge football could learn a lot from the way CBB crowns it's champion. Having said that, I have almost no interest in picking winners, brackets, etc. It's just not my bag, baby.

Having looked at Morgan State and what they did this year, I don't know how useful a statistical breakdown would be. I know there are people out there that do those sorts of things. God bless their little hearts, because I have no desire to get into it. But being in the tournament has to have some sort of special posting angle. And the best that I can come up with is to have a mini bracket of some of my favorite bands. You pick the band and I'll wrap each post around the title to songs of the band you choose.

Your choices are:

Pink Floyd

Midnight Oil

The Replacements

Spoon

Ovada-Who? This is my band and I think we have enough song titles that I could do three weeks of posts and have fun with the tournament.

Leave your choice in the comments below and we'll pick a winner.

Hey! Big East Champs!

2010-03-14T22:18:00.004-05:00

I wanted to hold off on this until I had something to say about it. I still don't. But in a good way. For this team, this year, despite the record there seemed to be a lot of close games and I was never quite sure they deserved the ranking they were getting. I would be lying if I told you that I haven't been a glass half empty guy through the snopocalypse of 2010. Luckily, I've kept that to myself.

I saw a tweet from another Big East blogger that said, "WVU beat the #11, 8, & 7 teams to win the BE tourney. Two locks and one bubble team. Take that every other conference." You have to see that as a positive. Sure we didn't get to play the higher ranked teams. But shit, those teams came to play all year long and I don't know that anyone else could have beat them given the way the top teams performed in the tourney. Other than the losses to Purdue and Syracuse I felt like we had a chance to win all those games after falling behind. WVU played one of the tougher schedules in the country this year. Certainly one of the toughest we've seen in a long time, and came out relatively unscathed. Having said that, I think we do deserve the ranking. Plus, Country Roads playing after the game was pretty awesome! It got better when I considered how painful it was for Pitt fans. Yeah, I'm thinking about the ones that bought tickets for the whole tournament.

And you knew this was going to happen...

Looking at our bracket, you can't be too disappointed.There's some chances there. I don't want to say anymore strictly out of concern for messing with the Basketball Gods. Anyhow, WOOOOOO!!

Good Enough To Win Is Better Than Losing

2010-03-12T08:05:00.002-05:00

I've done enough poo-pooing on Elmo to last a life time. So let's instead remember that on a day when the high seeds were going down left and right, West Virginia found a way to win. Maybe it's the two days off, or maybe it's the Moon's orbit. It doesn't really matter. Yesterday was a day for upsets, and the only rule on days like this is survive and advance.

Hopefully WVU got all the bad shots out of their system, because they won't win shooting like that against Notre Dame. And we can't expect the Irish to shoot as poorly as Cincinnati did last night. That was a third grade sandlot bad performance by the Bearcats. Why anyone plays anything but zone against that team is beyond me.

Anyway, these late games are going to be the death of me. Let's end this by giving it up for Da'Sean Butler and his savvy use of the backboard. Yeah, there are probably better videos out there of this moment. But there's something about this one we really like.

Update: It's not like we never beat UC with at bankshot 3 in the post season before.

Punch Me Elmo Assumes The Position

2010-03-11T08:29:00.003-05:00

It's early, too damn early. So this is the kind of photo-shopping you get. I was wrong about the winner of the UL-UC game, but the reason the Bearcats won wasn't because of Elmo. If he was any kind of coach, Sosa would have never made it across half court at the end of the game. UC just wanted it more, and the way they were shooting they had to. Because they couldn't hit anything but a dunk or a layup. Scarlet Pitino should have packed it in tight with a 2-3 zone.

Still, seven out of eight isn't bad predicting. St. Johns showed a lot more than I was expecting. Notre Dame did exactly what I expected, as well as Georgetown.

The good news is that I find it very hard to believe that UC will be able to be successful shooting the ball like that two nights in a row. They shouldn't be able to grab offensive rebounds like that against West Virginia. Also, I have to believe that someone from West Virginia would have the guts to step in front of Stephenson and take a charge. When the momentum switched last night it was because of Stephenson driving the lane and no one from Louisville wanted to move their feet and get in front of him.

The only thing running through my head at the moment is a vision of Elmo going ape-shit on the sidelines and getting a double technical called on him. It's a dream I have that I just can't get out of my mind. So I'm not going to worry about any predictions for the other games today. I'm obviously just concerned with a WVU win.

These folks can tell you about the other games:

UC Bearcats Blog
Pitt Blather
Rakes Of Mallow
Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician
Orange 44
Hoya Suxa
Cracked Sidewalks
The Nova Blog

Big East Tourney Day Two: The Electric Boogaloo Edition

2010-03-10T08:44:00.001-05:00

Well, yesterday went pretty much as planned. These are the kind of things I can do with a case of beer and a dart board. Anyhow, if you thought yesterday's games were intense (they were), wait until you see what happens today.

First up is Georgetown and South Florida. Dominique Jones just missed his season average, but he didn't miss on some monster dunks. I don't know how impressive it is since I could dunk on DuPaul and I can't even dunk anymore. You get a sense that South Florida has gained some confidence from the way they ended the season and yesterday's results. Georgetown on the other hand probably doesn't feel confident in anything they are doing right now. Still, I think it's too much to ask of the Bulls to win this game. They may need it to get into the big dance, but they aren't used to playing important games. Georgetown is and they will find a way to win a close one.

Marquette vs. St. Johns: Thanks for playing SJU.

Seton Hall vs. Notre Dame: Seton Hall never seems like they are out of any game, but last night's game also shows that they are never actually in control of any game either. Notre Dame is very capable of controlling the tempo of a game like this and taking the Pirates out of their offense. This will be an ugly, physical game with the Irish moving on.

The nightcap will be a battle of wits between Punch Me Elmo and The Scarlet Pitino. Since Elmo has no wits to bring to the battle, I expect Louisville to win this one going away. We may not like Pitino, but we respect him. Elmo gets no such respect.

Big East Losers Bracket: Scalpers Need Not Apply

2010-03-09T09:24:00.001-05:00

I remember many years ago when Michael Jordan returned from his attempt at baseball to the Bulls. It was also the day the Bulls were in New York to play the Nicks at MSG. My dad and I thought it would be cool to take the tour of MSG. It was. But damn, trying to get past the scalpers was a nightmare.

That shouldn't be a problem today, though as the first round of the Big East Tournament kicks off. South Florida and DePaul have the first game at noon. By 12:05 Dominique Jones will have his season average of 21 points and the Bulls should have this one wrapped up.

UConn and St. Johns have the next game at 2pm in the 12-13 match up. Yeah, UConn is a 12 seed. That in itself is kind of hard to believe. But at the same time, would you really be surprised if St. Johns won? UConn won handily the only time they played this year. But that was right before the bottom fell out of UConn's season. I'll take St. Johns here in the mild upset.

I'm not even going to touch the 7pm game between Seton Hall and Providence. I have no idea who will win. I only know that no defense will be played. So take the over.

Finally, Rutgers and Cincinnati play the 9pm game. I've made no secret of my dislike for Mick Cronin over the years on this blog. While I expect the Bearcats to win, I'll be rooting for Rutgers.

Admiral Ackbar's Theme

2010-03-07T16:49:00.002-05:00

This is a re-post from my other site. You'll have to go there to hear the song.

I know this probably sounds like a crazy idea for a song, but then again I am the guy that brought you Plastic Lover. So maybe you aren’t shocked.

Anyhow, Ole Miss is looking for a new mascot and I can think of no one better to lead the Rebels that Admiral Ackbar. Neither can the fine folks at Not A Trap. They’ve started a campaign to have the good admiral re-assigned to the leadership of the Ole Miss Rebel. I just want to do my part because I think it would be awesome, and it would give me and my friends and relatives in Mississippi something to talk about.

I may no longer be welcome in Mississippi after this song gets out or I may be asked to never do anything that approaches hip hop again. Either way, here it is. Enjoy.

Guess Who Represents Big East Refs In This Video

2010-03-06T18:00:00.003-05:00

If you said Stevie Wonder, you probably watched the WVU-Villanova game today. Of course we are happy with the win, but that game was so poorly officiated today it seems unfair that either team should have to take the loss.

It was a game that meant a lot to both teams and the eventual seeding in the Big East tournament. Check in with I Bleed Blue and White for their prospective on the game. I'll be interested to see how bad the officiating sucked in person.

About This AD Thing

2010-03-05T07:55:00.004-05:00

I can barely remember a time when Ed Pastilong wasn't the AD at WVU. That might be from all the drinking, etc. that has taken place since he took over. Anyway, we've taken some shots at him and the department in general over the past few years. Mostly out of anger that everything didn't come up smelling like roses. Even though I think you would be hard pressed to find a time in WVU's history that the sports teams were more successful.

So we won't take any shots at him today. Rather, I just want to say thanks for all the years of service and what you helped to create here at WVU, Mr. Pastilong. There's no doubt you're leaving the program better off than when you started.

I guess what scares me is the possibility that Mike Parsons might take over. Because he's kind of a dick. Between that and Governor Manchin putting in his two cents where it doesn't belong, I'm a little worried about the future of WVU athletics.

It would be nice to see Jerry West or Oliver Luck in the AD spot. But I really don't know how likely either would be. Jerry obviously isn't going to be around for 20 years, and Oliver might or might not depending on what opportunities would come his way. I have a feeling he's going to want to be out on the west coast to see his son play for Stanford.

Whoever it is that takes over, they need to be a savvy businessman combined with a magnetic personality. Thankfully, that excludes Mr. Parsons. Who exactly fits that mold? I don't know. I guess we'll know when we know.

65 Is One Too Many

2010-03-04T07:53:00.004-05:00

As I was driving in this morning I was listening to Mike & Mike interview Jay Bilas and asked him his opinion about changing the NCAA tournament to 96 teams. Normally I wouldn't be the one to quote Jay Bilas, but this time I think he got it right. He said, "This is the national championship, not little league where everyone gets three innings and a trophy. "

I would go one step further and say that we don't even need the play-in game. The whole notion that the 65th best team in the country might be just as good as the 64th best team and how unfair it is to leave #65 out, etc. is really a load of crap.

If you want to be "fair" about it, take away some of the automatic bids from the smaller conferences that do nothing more than offer up a sacrificial Lamb in the first round. Unlike football, the NCAA has this one right where it needs to be as far as the number of teams. Adding more teams will do nothing to change the eventual outcome.

If it's a money thing, the NCAA needs to concentrate on making the most out of what is inside these four walls, so to speak. Hell, they could take a look at the bowl system to see that there are lots of ways to generate more money by sponsors and naming rights.

One of the arguments against a college football playoff is that it would be unfair to the "student athletes". So yeah, you go ahead and add a couple more weeks to the NCAA tourney, because it's only unfair to the students if you can't see a way to make more money off them.

Let's Honor Jack Fleming

2010-03-02T08:52:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine started a Facebook Group to have the press box named after Jack Fleming. So if you are on Facebook, click the link and join.

Mission Accomplished

2010-03-02T07:49:00.007-05:00

photo via BGN

Senior night went off as planned for the most part. West Virginia was just a step quicker in the first half and they were able to get a lot of calls to go their way early. That helped them to build and hold on to a big lead in the first half. There was a definite let down in the second half as Georgetown made a game of it. But it was too little too late for the Hoyas.

In sad news, it was senior night. This was the last time we will see Da'Sean Butler and Wellington Smith in the Old Gold and Blue in the Coliseum. I don't want to go into lists of accomplishments, etc. That's something better saved for when the season is over, and there is a lot of basketball still to play for this team. For now, we'll just tip our hats and say thanks, guys!

Photo via BGN

Update: Here's Huggs talking about the game and the guys. He could probably say it better than you or me.

Let's Destroya the Hoya

2010-03-01T09:12:00.002-05:00

We're basically going to steal from Hoya Suxa to get you ready for tonight's game against Georgetown.

West Virginia can lock up a top four seeding in the BE tourney with a win tonight. As well as adding in another win over a ranked team as we position ourselves for a high seed in the NCAA tourney.

We'll never match the hatred Hoya Suxa has for Georgetown. But for one night, one glorious night, let's destroya the Hoya's!

It's "Punch Mick Cronin In His Crap Lousy Face Day!"

2010-02-27T09:43:00.004-05:00

Trademark pending, but this has to be one of the best days of the year. It really has nothing to do with West Virginia's losing ways against Cincinnati over the last few years. We just don't like the way he looks, or talks, or moves.

In previous years, we may or may not have made a cutout for people to print off and attach to a stick. We would look back, but it's Saturday. We don't do research or number things on Saturday unless money is involved.

I hate to bring this up with the recent actions of the fans throwing things at games. You should understand that I only want to punch Mick, not actually do it. My preferred outcome is to see us curb stomp the Bearcats today and I want to see Mick get a couple T's and take the walk of shame off the court. I will then get the video off youtube and put it on auto play til the end of time.

How Can There Be A Jihad Without WVU?

2010-02-26T13:46:00.005-05:00

Tongue firmly in cheek with that headline, but this is what I'm referring to. We certainly don't like DickRod, but knowing him, anything he does at Michigan was at least tried out in Morgantown. And don't lie, until he left WVU we were all for this guy that turned two and three star recruits into world beaters.

Personally, I doubt anything he has done at Michigan relating to spending more time than is allowed for football activities is more than bending the rules a bit. Seriously, he is no Barry Switzer.

If I was Michigan fan I would be happy to some extent that he is trying to do something to bring the program back to one of the top football programs in the country. He's the kind of guy that is going to do things to let everyone know who is in charge. To set the tone. The first year is usually the hardest. You see people leave the program, and you see him going after his type of player. It wasn't pretty at WVU and it hasn't been pretty at Michigan so far. But there's a huge difference between what is alleged at Michigan and say what is alleged at USC. I won't go as far as to try to prove something is OK by pointing out that something else is much worse. But it will be interesting to see what, if any, sanctions are handed out at both schools. If Michigan gets the same or worse sanctions than USC it might actually be time for a Jihad. A Jihad against the NCAA. Not that they haven't already done enough to deserve one.

Basketblog Poll

2009-03-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Connecticut	2
2	Pittsburgh	1
3	North Carolina	1
4	Oklahoma	2
5	Louisville
6	Memphis
7	Kansas	8
8	Michigan St.
9	Duke	5
10	Villanova
11	Wake Forest
12	Marquette	5
13	Louisiana St.	3
14	Gonzaga	3
15	Arizona St.	3
16	Clemson	3
17	Missouri	8
18	Purdue
19	Washington	1
20	Xavier	3
21	UCLA
22	Butler
23	Florida St.
24	Illinois	3
25	Utah
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Texas (#19), West Virginia (#22), California (#24), Arizona (#25).

Well That Sucked

2009-02-27T07:43:00.006-05:00

I don't know how you lose to a team that gets three technical fouls called on it. Is Truck Bryant the new Jamie Smalligan? Plays the first couple minutes of the game and doesn't get back in. Maybe Truck wasn't the answer, but we needed some penetration last night to open up the shots for us and we didn't get it.

Everything Bobby Knight said last night was true. Poor shot selection, not enough passes, "that's not the guy you want shooting the ball". Very true.

We still could have won the game, though. Maybe more on this later. Maybe not. Grrrr!

Around the Big East Blogs

2009-02-25T19:26:00.002-05:00

When we're too tired to do any real writing, we link up. And sadly, we haven't been linking to our friends and enemies too much lately. Shameful, but true.

As we get closer to the draft, you probably start wondering what happened to your favorite Mountaineer. Well, there's a blog for that, Eers in the Pros.

Luke Harangody gets the treatment over at the Wire on WMIT C.

Mike Casazza is all over the possibilities of what Huggins might wear to the Cincinnati game tomorrow.

Orange 44 is talking about this game called Lacrosse.

If you haven't been hip to the Homoerotic ways of Eric Devendorf, you've been missing out.

LeBron floats an air biscuit, and Three Idiots have the video.

Pitt Blather is taking it better than I would.

Bleed Scarlet reporting that Rutgers will have co-offensive and co-defensive coordinators next year, and slips in a 30 Rock quote.

Fat White Guy is heading across the pond. Hopefully he won't be putting down the blog.

Marquette vs. UConn live chat is happening right now.

With the white-out and that line above, I'm reminded the Marquette has a tough road the last week of the regular season.

Cracked Sidewalks has a preview of the UConn game.

Friar Blog is happy happy happy happy. I would be too.

I Bleed Blue and White is kind of happy, too.

Mick Cronin Motivational Speaker

2009-02-24T21:17:00.007-05:00

This was a bad idea to begin with and worse considering how nice the folks have been to Huggins. Apologies.

Basketblog Poll

2009-02-23T08:02:00.000-05:00

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Pittsburgh	3
2	Oklahoma	1
3	Connecticut	2
4	North Carolina	2
5	Louisville
6	Memphis
7	Marquette	2
8	Michigan St.
9	Missouri	4
10	Villanova	2
11	Wake Forest	4
12	Arizona St.	1
13	Clemson	3
14	Duke	3
15	Kansas	1
16	Louisiana St.	5
17	Gonzaga	2
18	Purdue	2
19	Texas	3
20	Washington	2
21	Illinois	5
22	West Virginia	2
23	Xavier	8
24	California
25	Arizona
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Syracuse (#23), Butler (#25).

Spreading the Wealth to Beat Rutgers

2009-02-22T21:11:00.004-05:00

Rather than Da'Sean Butler or Alex Ruoff doing all the scoring this time, West Virginia had to rely on some unfamiliar faces to get some points. The game started off with West Virginia scoring like they were playing the Washington Generals. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 21-4 early lead. But when Rutgers switched to an odd three man-two zone defense, WVU went cold.

Some point in the second half folks like Dee Proby, Wellington Smith, and Kevin Jones found a soft spot in the Knights defense and started knocking down jumpers.

Rutgers got close a couple times but never took the lead back. The final ended up being 74-56 after the last two minutes of fouling by Rutgers and free throws by West Virginia. You hear coaches talk all the time about every game being "big." Most of the time, I throw that out the window as coach speak. But today and the rest of the regular season every game is going to be big for this team as they position themselves for a high seed in the Big East tournament. As well as a high seed in the NCAA tournament.

Next up is a trip to Cincinnati and a big night for Huggins. I don't want to take anything away from that, but I'm still going to work on the "punch Mick Cronin in the face" t-shirt.

Photo from BGN

Bully Game Goes Well For West Virginia

2009-02-18T21:13:00.004-05:00

If you were tuning into the WVU-ND game to see offensive precision, you probably like the first five minutes of the game. After that, it got personal.

West Virginia came out flat and Notre Dame made nifty cuts to the basket and hit threes like they were layups. Honestly, they were hot the whole first half. But at least the Mountaineers made them work for baskets after the opening five minutes.

It got physical and the refs seemed to be good with the heavy contact. Fouls were called, but a lot more weren't. That's the hardest thing about the Big East. It's always physical, but the manic shifts in the way the games are called can leave you guessing about your plan of attack.

I hate that someone threw anything on to the court. It was just a candy bar, but still not what you want to be known for and an unacceptable act on top of that. Even when their goon slams our goon.

The win puts the Mountaineers in a tie with three other teams for the six spot in the conference. Three road games up for WVU before finishing out the season at home. This game was important because the Mountaineers need some momentum going into the tournament. There's been a lot of ups and downs through this tough stretch of the schedule. Getting a little consistency at the right time can go a long way. We know this.

Worst School Ever Coming To Morgantown

2009-02-17T19:00:00.004-05:00

It's not that I really really really hate Notre Dame. It's a little bit that I've been way to nice here lately, when I have been here. It's a little bit hate since I've really enjoyed Notre Dame falling out of the polls with a huge thud. And of course the whole thing about having a D1 football team but not being in the football side of the Big East. I just think of them as freeloaders. If you're going to be independent in football, you should have to be in all sports.

Having said that, everything the Villanova game did for validating the season, a loss to the Irish could take that away. It's going to be just as important for a big rowdy crowd to show up. It's going to be more important for Truck Bryant to stay out of foul trouble, Ruoff to hit some shots, and Ebanks to fly to the rim. Because if Notre Dame is worth a damn as a basketball team at all they are going to have a plan to slow down Butler. We beat Nova because everything went right and everyone was on the same page. The Irish got a shot of confidence when they beat Louisville and South Florida at home. Let's make them feel unwelcome when they come into Morgantown tomorrow.

Blogpoll Explained

2009-02-17T18:37:00.004-05:00

-UConn was a no brainer until last night, of course.

- UNC seems like a team with more intensity than Oklahoma, and the scoring comes from more than just three players. UNC has six players averaging in double figures where Oklahoma has three.

-Despite Louisville knocking off Pitt earlier in the year, I think Pitt's been hitting on all cylinders all year. Louisville has had some ups (Pitt) and downs (UNLV, Notre Dame).

-Memphis hasn't played the schedule that Wake or anyone else in the ACC. But they have gone outside of conference with some big games. Maybe I'm putting too much on that win at Gonzaga.

-Michigan St. is in the Big 10, but they've been on quite a tear since the loss to UNC. I don't know that they are better than Marquette, but you have to give some credit for winning.

-Moving Villanova below Clemson and Arizona St. was a mistake. I know better than anyone what can happen to a team in Morgantown. What they did before that game should have still been enough to keep them in the top 10.

-Outside of the top 10, I think it's all darts. Your bias comes into play a lot more. And with all the upsets last week, it's not a good time to be sure of anything. Leave your comments about anything you like or don't like as you'll have a chance to influence my poll next week and beyond.

Basketblog Poll

2009-02-15T19:41:00.002-05:00

Explanation coming tomorrow some time in the am.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Connecticut
2	North Carolina
3	Oklahoma
4	Pittsburgh
5	Louisville
6	Memphis	5
7	Wake Forest	2
8	Michigan St.	6
9	Marquette	1
10	Clemson	4
11	Arizona St.	11
12	Villanova	4
13	Missouri	10
14	Kansas	2
15	Xavier
16	Illinois	4
17	Duke	10
18	Washington	1
19	Gonzaga	2
20	Purdue	2
21	Louisiana St.
22	Texas
23	Syracuse
24	West Virginia
25	Butler	12
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: UCLA (#12), Utah St. (#17), Davidson (#24), Ohio St. (#25).

A Mountaineer Tips His Cap

2009-02-13T11:42:00.003-05:00

We did a Q&A with Villanova blog I Bleed Blue and White for the upcoming game between WVU and Villanova, however we feel uninspired to ask any questions because of a death in our family of friends. Thanks to Chris for reaching out to us and understanding our need to put the game on the back burner. Hopefully there will be need for future discussion of our two fine programs.

Big East Blogger Chat

2009-02-10T18:45:00.003-05:00

I think this is number three. Yeah, this is the third chat amongst the Big East blogosphere happening right over heya at 9pm. Sorry for the late notice. It's the economy, natch. We're sure to cover who's in and out of the big dance, and who is riding the bubble. As well as how we all did on signing day. Your panel is as follows:

Brian from Orange 44
Sean from Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician
Chas from Pitt Blather
John from Mountainlair
Dave from FriarBlog
and Kevin from TheUConnBlog

...and you of course.

Fouls

2009-02-09T20:51:00.004-05:00

Ugh, we couldn't take advantage of Fields and Blair getting two quick fouls in the first half because of our own. We never adjusted to the way the game was being called, and Pitt did. There were bullshit calls going both ways, so I won't accept that the refs had any hand in the outcome of the game. So West Virginia needs to regroup and finish out the season strong and get in the tournament. Nothing has changed with that goal. It's all still there for the taking.

Blogpoll Basketball Style

2009-02-08T20:56:00.003-05:00

Wow, this is a lot tougher than the football poll. Especially when you have so many ranked teams falling over the weekend or being on the longest losing streak of the season.

Some general thoughts about the poll: It doesn't surprise me at all to see Michigan go into UConn and give them a game. Despite being so good, Oklahoma has seemed to sail under the radar. Maybe because the Big 12 is down. I'd love to put Duke lower, but I don't see how I can. Villanova is the big jumper on this poll. They've been hot lately, and all their four losses have been against quality opponents. Memphis probably deserved to move up further after the win at Gonzaga. After that, though, I think you have a group of teams that are fairly interchangeable.

Your thoughts in the comments. I believe we still have a window to make changes before the final poll. So change my mind.

Rank	Team

1	Connecticut
2	North Carolina
3	Oklahoma
4	Pittsburgh
5	Louisville
6	Clemson
7	Duke
8	Villanova
9	Wake Forest
10	Marquette
11	Memphis
12	UCLA
13	Butler
14	Michigan St.
15	Xavier
16	Kansas
17	Utah St.
18	Purdue
19	Washington
20	Illinois
21	Gonzaga
22	Arizona St.
23	Missouri
24	Davidson
25	Ohio St.

Alex Ruoff Would Like To Remind You Why You Should Guard Him

2009-02-08T09:16:00.005-05:00

I think you can point to a lot of reasons why Alex Ruoff hasn't been as effective this year shooting three pointers. The Joe Mazzulla injury has forced him to take on more roles, being a senior and taking on more of a leadership role, people guarding him tighter, etc.

Even though Butler didn't have his best night shooting, I was happy to see that the offense was running through him early in the game. Because this left Ruoff open to do what he does best, and obviously Butler should be the focus of the offense. It's an offense that is still finding itself, though. With the development of Ebanks, Bryant, and Kevin Jones the offense is diversifying and the onus to score isn't solely on Ruoff and Butler. And hopefully that is going to benefit those two as the season plays out. As we saw yesterday, when you aren't guarding Ruoff he will kill you.

Van Pelt Suspension

2009-02-07T15:45:00.002-05:00

As I'm waiting for the WVU-Providence game to get started, I came across the news that Scott Van Pelt has been suspended via Deadspin. The reason is for an outburst directed at MLB commissioner Bud Selig last week and his rather large salary.

Of the personalities on ESPN radio, Van Pelt is by far my favorite. The same is true on the television side of things. Apparently he felt compelled to contact Selig on his own to make an apology. And if it was bad enough he thought he should apologize on his own, then he probably deserved some type of suspension. But what bothered me about this post is the close ties between ESPN execs and Selig.

Selig does have close relationships with many of ESPN's top execs ( they are currently locked in an 8-year, $2.4 billion broadcast deal from 2005 for Sunday Night Baseball and have other contracts with MLB) and the initial story was that Selig himself heard the remarks and was personally offended by them, but that hasn't been confirmed.

When you get too close with those you are charged with reporting on, the validity of what you report has to come into question. For that reason, I have to question where the line is drawn on critiques of Selig? Or execs of other professional sports. Or for that matter, anyone at the NCAA. I know sports are just a distraction from life, but I just don't like the idea of censorship. In any form, it ruins the quality of reporting and give those in power a sense of being above the law.

You Can Blame This One On Me

2009-02-04T20:53:00.002-05:00

Yup, that whole Karma thing. Tonight's loss is on me. Every time he says, "Bruce McCulloch", just insert Johnny. Sorry everyone.

Because I Seem to Have a Problem With Karma

2009-02-02T22:06:00.003-05:00

Yeah, what better time to post a video/song I did about former Syracuse Football coach than two days before the Mountaineer basketball team takes on the Orange. To be fair, I did this with the encouragement of awesome Syracuse blogger Sean at Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician. But still, maybe I could have/should have waited until after Wednesday. Oh well, fuck it!

Well, That Was Fun

2009-01-31T14:10:00.003-05:00

Not really. I mean you want to win, but being down by 20 at the half and coming back to make it a game has to be worth something. Right?

Watching the first half, there were so many situations where I thought West Virginia was fouled but nothing was called. Honestly though, the Mountaineers didn't look like they belonged on the same court with Louisville. The Cardinals beat West Virginia in every way you can imagine.

The second half was the complete opposite. This was the perfect game to show your team that the refs favor the team that is aggressive. Louisville came out in the second half sluggish and West Virginia was the more aggressive team. The commentators noted that Louisville was standing around on offense several times. When they couldn't buy a basket the pressure defense disappeared. Likewise West Virginia was able to get into their offense and score easy baskets.

Still, that first half lead for the Cardinals proved to be too much for West Virginia as the Mountaineers fell 69-63. And the schedule doesn't get any easier with four of the next five against ranked teams. Possibly five if Providence can beat UConn today. At least three of the next five will be at home.

Photo via ESPN.com

Going to Louisville

2009-01-30T19:06:00.004-05:00

Yeah, that win over St. Johns was a nice exercise, but the game with Louisville tomorrow is big. BIG big!It's a chance for a true signature win. West Virginia has been hanging around the upper-middle of the Big East pack, but hasn't been able to break through against a conference leader.

The big problem with this game as I see it is Louisville's ability to pressure the ball full court. It's not something West Virginia has had to deal with too much this year. And with a short bench of ball handlers, this could be major trouble if the Mountaineers get into foul trouble. Secondly, Louisville has some size, but not nearly the size of Pitt. So we might be able to get some stops on defense and hopefully not give up the easy baskets in the paint. Third is Freedom Hall. We have to keep that place quiet. My last vision of that place was the overtime period against Notre Dame. If we let it get like that, the game is over.

A lot of things will have to go right for us to win this game. We'll have to play our best defense of the year and hope that Louisville doesn't. Stranger things have happened, though. I mean Louisville did lose to Western Kentucky.

Tip off is set for noon on a Big East Network channel near you.

Thoughts on the Pitt Game

2009-01-26T17:19:00.002-05:00

I think Dave Poe said it best, that Pitt was just the better team. For most of the game I didn't feel like West Virginia was doing anything wrong. Pitt had a size advantage in the paint that West Virginia just wasn't equipped to deal with. I also like that Dave worked in a Yes reference.

One of my favorite rock groups in my formative years -there I go dating myself -was Yes, who produced the album Yours Is No Disgrace.
That's an apt description of the 79-67 loss suffered by West Virginia University's basketball team on Sunday at the Coliseum against arch-rival Pitt.
It's no disgrace in athletics to give your best effort and lose to a clearly superior team, which is exactly what took place.

West Virginia can make up for that if they can force turnovers, but Pitt's guard play was up to the task. Pitt only turned the ball over nine times, and that one stat sealed the Mountaineers fate. There were some head scratching turnovers for the Mountaineers, but there were also some that were excellent plays by Pitt.

The good news is that we probably beat 98% of the teams in America with that effort. One game certainly doesn't kill your season. And yes, everything will be fine.

On an unrelated note, I've really enjoyed the time away from this blog. I'm not saying I'm going to hang it up. It's just going to be spotty.

Peeking Through My Fingers at the Georgetown Game

2009-01-22T18:56:00.005-05:00

Hopefully we'll make Matt proud! Consider this an open thread for tonight's game with teh suxa.

The good news is that D.C. still seems to be hung over from the inauguration as there are a lot of empty seats.

Woo Hoo! 75-58

West Virginia Football National Champs at Last!

2009-01-20T11:50:00.004-05:00

Make your own transitive national champs thing, but we are the one true transitive national champion.

If you are one of these teams, better luck next year.

Of the 120 College Football Div 1-A schools, all but 5 (Southern Methodist, Washington, Washington State, North Texas and Western Kentucky) can claim to be the best through the Transitive Property.

We're Going On Vacation

2009-01-12T23:03:00.002-05:00

It's been a while, and we made a promise to a friend that we've been slacking on. Besides, we play Marshall and USF this week. Nothing to see there but a couple wins. So we'll be back next week with some good stuff. Promise.

Yeah, try getting that song out of your head.

Blogpoll Final Ballot

2009-01-11T20:01:00.002-05:00

Not a lot of changes from my original ballot. I had to work Iowa in there and get Northwestern out. I feel comfortable with the winner of the UF/OU game being the #1 team. Utah had a great season, but I just can't see them as the best team this year.

Southern Cal is a team I feel sorry for just a little, but they knew what they had to do at the beginning of the year considering they don't have a championship game and they didn't do it. More than anyone, Texas got screwed by not getting a shot at the Big 12 title game. Even though I ranked them below OU at the end of the season I've had a change of heart about what they did this season. They lost their only game by 1 second. One missed tackle. They didn't exactly prove they were deserving in their bowl game the way USC did. So that's how I came up with my top 5. The rest was just a matter of head to head and how I thought they would fair with everyone below them.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Florida	--
2	Southern Cal	3
3	Texas	--
4	Oklahoma	2
5	Utah	3
6	Alabama	2
7	Penn State	1
8	TCU	3
9	Ohio State	1
10	Oregon	10
11	Georgia	3
12	Boise State	3
13	Mississippi	11
14	Texas Tech	7
15	Oklahoma State	--
16	Virginia Tech	5
17	Iowa	1
18	Missouri	5
19	Georgia Tech	6
20	Cincinnati	8
21	Michigan State	1
22	Oregon State	4
23	Brigham Young	4
24	Pittsburgh	7
25	West Virginia	1

Dropped Out: Northwestern (#16), Boston College (#25).

Mountaineers Fall in Frustrating Loss To Marquette

2009-01-11T10:51:00.006-05:00

For a game that was so physical, and quite ugly at times, it's hard to imagine such a disparity in fouls. More importantly, such a disparity in foul shots. Marquette ended the game 24-27 from the line while WVU was 6-10. It would be real easy to cry foul or some other frustrated gut reaction, but WVU didn't get screwed by the refs. They got screwed by bad decisions and not moving their feet.

Truck Bryant running headlong into defenders for two charging fouls took him out of the game early and forced the Mountaineers to run the offense with Alex Ruoff and Da'Sean Butler handling the ball. West Virginia can do that, but it changes responsibilities for those two and keeps them from their primary role, which is moving without the ball and scoring. It also forces them to defend smaller, faster guards. Over the course of a game that will take a toll.

Having said that, I don't mean to imply that this loss is all on Bryant. I'm just pointing out the precarious situation the Mountaineers are in with only one true point guard.

This was compounded by West Virginia failing to capitalize on the cold shooting of Marquette in the first half. Instead of playing smart basketball, we committed pointless fouls and poor shooting decisions that allowed Marquette to stay in the game. Also of note, Marquette kept West Virginia from second chance points that have helped the Mountaineers to this point in the season.

Unlike the UConn game that was frustrating but you could see how easily we could have won, there is no silver lining in this loss. It's time to regroup and focus on the things that work and the things that don't. West Virginia has games against Marshall in Charleston and South Florida in Morgantown this week. West Virginia needs to regain the confidence that brought them to this point and focus on making good decisions.

photo from Blue Gold News

Greg Isdaner Going Pro

2009-01-10T10:14:00.003-05:00

Well, this is a bit of a kick in the shin. Greg Isdaner has decided to enter the draft and pass on his senior season.

Stanchek was an All-American last year and Isdaner was first-team all-conference. He didn't make an all-conference team this past season, though WVU finished in the top 15 in rushing yards again.

"He has been an integral part of our success, and I want to thank him for everything he has done for Mountaineer football," Coach Bill Stewart said.
WVU also loses Stanchek, center Mike Dent and right guard Jake Figner to graduation.

So basically, we have one starter returning on the offensive line. Awesome!! We'll find out what we have as far as depth goes. Josh Jenkins and Gino Gradowski were both highly recruited, but have yet to see significant game experience. Eric Jobe filled in for Mike Dent at center after the UConn game. Capers returns at tackle, although he is listed on BGN as a senior. I should really pay more attention to stuff like that. The thing that scares me is that behind the starting five, whom ever that might be, there isn't much depth.

But hey, good luck Greg. Maybe you'll get to block for Slaton again.

For not reason...

Why Yes, My Right Arm is Longer Than My Left

2009-01-09T16:26:00.002-05:00

Or suffice to say, I'm going to pat myself on the back for winning the Bowl Pick'em at In The Bleachers. Alligator Blood is the best description, because after the first week of bowls I was in the 25th place range. But somehow managed to work my way up to third place before last nights game, and was fortunate enough to be behind two people that thought Oklahoma was going to win that game. So cheers to me, and thanks to Brian for organizing the pick contest!

Blogpoll Final Ballot Draft

2009-01-09T00:26:00.003-05:00

Well, that headline sure is confusing. Anyway, this is how I see it. Your comments, please. I have until Monday to make changes. I already see that I left Iowa out, which is wrong for sure. Anyone else? Congrats to Florida!

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Florida	--
2	Southern Cal	3
3	Texas	--
4	Oklahoma	2
5	Utah	3
6	Alabama	2
7	Penn State	1
8	TCU	3
9	Ohio State	1
10	Oregon	10
11	Georgia	3
12	Boise State	3
13	Mississippi	11
14	Texas Tech	7
15	Oklahoma State	--
16	Virginia Tech	5
17	Missouri	6
18	Georgia Tech	5
19	Northwestern	3
20	Cincinnati	8
21	Michigan State	1
22	Oregon State	4
23	Brigham Young	4
24	Pittsburgh	7
25	West Virginia	1

Dropped Out: Iowa (#18), Boston College (#25).

About That UConn Game

2009-01-08T18:10:00.004-05:00

Huggs on the right there pretty much sums it up. The 61-55 loss to the Huskies was both frustrating and refreshing. Frustrating because we definitely took some ill advised shots. Those shots were mostly taken from inside five feet of the rim, but there were quite a few three pointers that were equally frustrating. Shot selection is really key when you go against a team that you know is going to out rebound you. The most used quote from Huggins was that we can't make mistakes and hope to win. Offensively, that was true.

However, with a minute left in the game, it wasn't over. Huggins has put together quite a defensive team. Seriously, only one team has scored over 70 points on the Mountaineers and that was a victory at Ole Miss. You never like to lose or consider anything a moral victory, but that was the #5 team in the country. It was a close game from start to finish and was generally fun to watch.

It's just the start of what promises to be a very exciting season for West Virginia. The hope is that Joe Mazzulla will be able to come back and contribute by the middle of the month. He is sorely missed, but at the same time you can't take anything away from Truck Bryant and the way he has played. Like I said earlier, that injury might just be a blessing in disguise as the season rolls on. We've gotten used to having two experienced point guards at West Virginia. It really comes in handy when you go against the Villanova's of the Big East. For obvious reasons, it also helps when you sub in and don't lose anything. Just keep up the defense and look for good shots. M'kay guys?

UConn Links

2009-01-06T16:51:00.002-05:00

We're not really prepared to write much about this game, so we give you links and a open thread for the game tonight. We could only hope the UConn mascot has this expression after the game tonight.

FWG, just because.

UConn perspective
UConn Report
Boneyard

Hail West Virginia
Huggins making with the funny
MSN preview
We're kind of #1
BGN preview

Gametime is 7pm on ESPNU, which I have for the moment.

Because Christmas is Just Around the Corner

2009-01-05T18:53:00.003-05:00

OK, so Christmas is actually like 350-some days away. But don't get caught with you pants down this time! Too much snark, because this is something I actually want to pass along that seems kind of cool. It gets really cool when you look at who didn't get one, though.

#1 of the edition given to Don Nehlen
#2 given to Bill Stewart

Other prints to follow, and again we like who isn't on the list as much as we like who is on the list.

A new Legends of Mountaineer Field Special Edition Print will be available soon. Print to include autographs by Don Nehlen, Sam Huff, Major Harris, Bobby Bowden, Jeff Hostetler, and Pat White.

WVU Keeps Rolling and I Got Out Just In Time

2009-01-03T18:50:00.004-05:00

After a spirited first half by both teams, West Virginia pulled away from Seton Hall in the second half for a 92-66 win. With six players scoring in double figures, it's hard to choose a player of the game. But John Flowers seemed to have the game of his life with Wellington Smith going out with early foul trouble, so I'm going with him.

West Virginia starts the Big East portion of their schedule with a win, and despite the final result Huggins seemed to be mad most of the game. Honorable mention should go to Truck Bryant for playing all but the last few minutes of the game without turning the ball over is a plus. He might be by himself this year unless Joe Mazzulla recovers soon, so we're going to need a lot of that from him this year.

In other news of the weird, Jay Mariotti will be writing for FanHouse. There's lots of sports writers that make the switch from journalist to blogger, but he isn't one that I expect to work. Kind of makes the Fantasy Sports Girls look like a good move at this point.

Basketball Stuff and the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest

2009-01-02T18:14:00.008-05:00

Now that football season is over, and the hangover has finally gone away, we can devote ourselves to basketball for the next couple months.

Do you ever wonder why I don't talk about Mountaineers in the NBA? Well, I mean besides the point that there really haven't been any Mountaineers to get a sniff of NBA interest since Dale Blaney. Blaney chose a career in racing cars instead. We should all be so lucky to have a back up like that. Sure D'or Fisher and Gordon Malone both got some sniffs. But we haven't had ~~a whole lot of~~ any first round drafts since I've been alive. Outside of Joe Alexander. So to show our appreciation, let's vote him into the slam dunk contest.

Joe Mazzulla doesn't seem to be any closer to getting back on the court and Truck Bryant seems to be one tough SOB.

West Virginia kicks off the Big East schedule tomorrow at 4pm against Seton Hall. I don't know what to think of the Hall. They've beaten some good teams and had some real head scratchers so far this year. You'll have that with a team that relies a lot on the three point shot. Let's hope they have an off game shooting the ball tomorrow. I have to think our defense will have something to do with that.

HEY! Go vote for Joe!!!

Update! At the request of the Coca Cola Bottling Company, the Slam Dunk Contest should be referred to as the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Because we don't want to answer to the Coca Cola Bottling Company! Ever!

Congrats to Rutgers

2008-12-29T18:41:00.005-05:00

Rutgers started out the season 1-5 and were all but left for dead. But quietly, things turned around even while they were still losing games. They played West Virginia and Cincinnati tough, and while they lost both those games they kept fighting and eventually got on the winning side of things against UConn. Since then, they have been the team everyone expected to see out of Rutgers this year.

Not much else to say, except something very corny but true. They never gave up, and it paid off today against NC State. So congrats to you, Rutgers! And thanks for keeping the Big East undefeated in bowl games this year!

Why Yes, It Is A Great Day To Be A Mountaineer

2008-12-27T21:44:00.003-05:00

And a great day to drink! If that's your thing. There's a lot of mixed emotions with it being the last time we'll see Pat White in a Mountaineer uniform. If we don't retire his number right away, I would call on Stew to at least ban anyone from wearing #5 next year. Something needs to be done to honor Pat and all he's done. That's all I'm going to say on that at the moment.

On to basketball where West Virginia throttled Ohio State @ Columbus 76-48. Sadly, I didn't get to watch much of the game. I only caught the last ten minutes. But enjoyed Clark Kellogg mentioning West Virginia scoring points "buffet style." Which means three offensive rebounds in a row before scoring. Even with Joe Mazzulla out, this team is really starting to come together. The young players are stepping up and taking charge. It's a beautiful thing, and it made this one of the better days to be a Mountaineer fan.

WVU-UNC 2nd Half Liveblogish

2008-12-27T14:31:00.027-05:00

If anything, WVU has been a 2nd half team this year. That trend will need to continue, obviously! Let's see what White and the offense can do to start the second half, and what plan Casteel comes up with to stop Nicks.

9:30 WV moved the ball down the field with ease, but the drive stalled at the UNC 8. Pat McAfee makes the 25 yard field goal. White was sharp and even hit Tyler Urban for a couple first downs. The running game wasn't much help in the drive, though. That needs to change if we can hold UNC on their next drive. Time for some separation, Bill! 24-23 WVU

6:23 Nicks just made the sickest catch you are likely to see this bowl season, trapping the ball with one hand against his back and then bring it around his back to the other hand and running for the first down. I hate him!

4:29 Yates makes a great effort to stretch the ball over in the corner of the end zone to give UNC a 30-24 lead. He just made my hate book as well, considering he's the one throwing to Nicks most of the time.

3:13 The WVU drive stalled in UNC territory, and McAfee drops the ball on the two yard line. Let's see something, defense!

1:38 Wow, we got a huge break on 3rd and 10 when Little dropped a perfect pass that could have gone for a TD. UNC punts and the Mountaineers will take over at the WVU 48.

:42 Arlic Arnett fumbles after a catch and UNC takes over. The play is being reviewed, but I'm not sure he had the ball or not. At first glance you think he does, but a close up shows the ball bouncing around in his hand. But it was a fumble. UNC 30-24 at their own 41.

End of the Third

4th Quarter

14:17 WVU defense holds again and UNC has to punt. Jock Sanders muffed the punt near the goal line, and probably should have let it go. He barely made it out of the end zone and ended up at the 4 yard line.

9:01 The WV drive stalls at the WVU 44 and the Mountaineers call time out facing a 4th and inches. Work that magic, Bill! It's a bowl game, you're down 30-24 in a game that means more to the kids playing than any standings or other measurables. Let them win it!

Another reason to not listen to me as White is pulled down behind the line. When you can't move the ball a few inches, it might as well be a mile.

8:19 Fumble and the Mountaineers recover! Woot! UNC had moved into field goal range. Play under review. Looks like it came out before he was down...the play stands. And on the first play, White hits Sanders down to the UNC 30.

7:14 White hits Arnett for a 20 yard TD! Are you getting sick of the !!!!? WVU takes the lead back, 31-30.

4:24 On third and 10, John Holmes (sure to get me more google porn hits) makes the sack to force the punt. WV takes over and needs to run some clock and score if possible. But we must hold on to the ball!

3:27 It's third and about 5 for WV, and UNC is using their timeouts now. So we need to get a first down and the game is virtually over. But I mean that in a please don't jinx the team kind of way.

3:21 White is sacked again on a corner blitz and WVU will have to punt. Hopefully the punt coverage won't be as bad as the kickoff. We need UNC to have to go the entire field. Fair catch at the UNC 25, yippee!

1:53 Pat Lazear picks off the pass and hopefully secures the win for WVU!

Final WVU31 UNC 30

You sir, are awesome!!

332 yards passing (career high!), 3 TD's. 55 yards rushing. An awesome post game interview that I'm sure will make the Youtubes over the next few days. Thank you, Pat! Thank you!!

WVU-UNC Liveblogish

2008-12-27T12:57:00.026-05:00

The game is about to get underway. Stew is fired up and wants Mountaineer fans to take over the city of Charlotte. We don't quite know what that means, but we just nod our heads and go along to get along. Right? Right!

West Virginia kicks off to start the game. Full house, which is nice for a second tier bowl. Thanks to some timely penalties on the Tar Heels, WVU's D forces a three and out 13:06.

8:56 WVU moves the ball down the field after the punt for a 7-0 lead. It was a good mix of run and pass. We could use a little less high snap, thank you. Jollah and Devine both broke some tackles to turn short gains into big ones. Devine's being a 17 yard TD in which he broke several arm tackles. Let's hope arm tackles are the word for the day!

8:29 Chris Spielman, in a rare goof on the ESPN playbook is complimenting WVU on their speed and focus while pointing out the lack of focus for UNC. And just that quick, Nicks catches a tipped ball and carries a WVU defender into the endzone for a 73 yard TD. 7-7. Shit!

5:11 OMG!!!1! Alric Arnett with a 43 yard beautiful one hand TD catch. Boom Mother F'ers! We could be in for an offensive shootout. 14-7 WVU

4:57 Shit!!!!1! Nicks on one play ties the game up at 14. What was I saying about the defense earlier? Forget I ever said it. Not really, but shit man!!

2:23 Bradley Starks catches a 35 yard bomb from White to put WVU up 21-14. Yeah, we're still in the first quarter. White is 7-7 for 140 yards so far.

1:03 Nicks catches a pass that doesn't go for a TD. The D is stiffening up now, yes? No. UNC is moving the ball just as easily as WVU.

End of First Quarter: WVU 21-14 with UNC on the WV 2 yard line. WVU 180 yards of total offense, and UNC 202. WVU no penalties, UNC 3-31. With everything else looking equal, penalties might tell the tale if WV can keep this up.

2nd Quarter

13:27 UNC goes for it on 4th and goal and WVU's number one ranked Red Zone defense comes through again holding UNC on four straight plays from inside the two yard line. And of coulay is being rerse UNC gets the safety on the next play. Shit! 21-16 WVU.

10:43 Kickoff coverage is killing WV. No shit, we would be better off onside kicking every time. At least we would have a good shot at getting the ball. UNC couldn't start in any better field position than what they already are. The seem to be starting in WVU territory way too much. Thankfully, UNC is countering this play with drive killing penalties. 3rd and 11 from the WVU 26.

10:37 That Nicks guy scores on an easy pitch and catch. UNC leads 23-21. Shit! It was a nice route, though. Bastard! He's killing us Bill! Get someone on him! Oh, that guy you were going to put on him is out for today's game? OK, keep scoring!

8:54 Mountaineers first punt of the game. Now WVU defense needs to figure this thing out or it could get ugly. We have to keep it close so we can go out in the second half and take the lead if not sooner. But we have to get back in this game. We can't let UNC get a big lead and try to pass our way back into the game. We pass well when the game is close, not when we're behind.

7:21 The D holds and UNC will make their second punt of the game.

2:30 WVU is moving the ball down the field with short plays, just enough for the first down. With 3rd and 3-4 at the UNC 35, that trend needs to continue. Now if we can score to end the half and again to start the second half, the game will be in our hands. Our defense could use the break as well. I've seen quite a few hands on hips on defense.

1:30 Pat White is just out of his mind, passing for 160 yards on 15-17 passing with 2 TDs. I say this because we average 135 yards passing a game. No matter. This is exactly the type of game you want to see him have in his last game.

:52 Of course the next play is an interception! That's the way the karma thing works, right?

End of the Half UNC runs the clock out up 23-21. New post for the second half

Because We Car Care

2008-12-27T09:50:00.004-05:00

Hey, we'll be liveblogging the WVU-UNC game today. We might do the WVU-tOSU basketball game later today. It really all depends, ya know?

We're most likely going to go without Sidney Glover and Brandon Hogan on defense. But we are deep at safety and cornerback, and by this time of the year if you don't know what you are supposed to do there are bigger problems than injuries. I don't expect a drop off because we have a pretty good defensive coordinator in Jeff Casteel. He and the 3-3-5 have taken a lot of crap over the years, but he's really proven himself this year after losing eight starters.

Something that doesn't matter at all but worth mentioning, WVU is 1-5 against Butch Davis and 0-1 against UNC.

We're not into doing a big preview of the game. We'd rather just go with it. But check here, here, and here if you're into that type stuff. Look here, here, and here for the UNC side of things.

Merry Mountaineer Christmas

2008-12-24T11:57:00.003-05:00

We'll be back after the break to cover the football and basketball games Saturday. Until then, respect the Ruoff!

West Virginia Hammers The Ohioans of Miami 82-46

2008-12-20T16:01:00.004-05:00

The Butler did it, going for a career high of 28 points on 11-17 shooting and 5-7 from three point range. It was also a welcome back to senior Alex Ruoff, who was out with injuries over the past few weeks. He chipped in 15 and Truck Bryant added 16.

The Mountaineers didn't dominate on the boards (31-26) the way they have the past few games, but that's mainly because of shooting 50% from the floor and 40% from 3-point range.

Defensively, the Mountaineers held Miami to 41 shots (WVU 62) and 36% from the field. The Mountaineers also forced 26 turnovers while only giving up 11. Also, WVU blocked 7 shots.

If it seems like I didn't watch this game from my description, it's true. I only caught the end of the game due to Christmas shopping. Woot!!

Next up, 3-7 Radford Tuesday night at the Coliseum. Tip-off at 7pm.

Because I Know I Get a Ton of Hits From Penn St. Fans

2008-12-17T19:30:00.000-05:00

I've had my fun making fun of Joe Pa. But at the same time I have a lot of respect for Joe that I think I have more than mentioned on here over 3+ years. Over at JoePa's Virtual Birthday Party, they are putting together an 82 reasons we love JoePa post and giving away stuff and stuff.

I have a lot of memories of him beating West Virginia. Memories of crushing defeats that just made my blood boil. There was a time when disrespecting him anywhere besides opposing college campuses wasn't too cool, though. Because he always did the right thing. People hated him, but respected him. Because he won a shit load of games. That's the Joe I want to remember, and leave any mean spirited comments for another week...month...year.

My fondest memory of Joe was the 1984 game that West Virginia broke the 28 game losing streak to PSU. I was there, and 14 at the time so I was young enough to get reeeeeally excited about it and old enough to understand how big it was. So that's the most sincere thing I can say. It was the biggest victory you could imagine. The fans rushed the field before the last couple seconds ran off the clock. Rather than raise a stink about it, Joe just ran across the field and conceded the game, and shook some hands and took his team off the field. It's just classy. It seems like people have been calling for him to step down for about 20 years now. Obviously, it seems more plausible now than 20 years ago. But the program doesn't seem to have been hurt too much by his presence. So....Happy Birthday, Joe!

Quick Question

2008-12-16T15:44:00.000-05:00

Was I the only one that saw Andre Ware flash the shocker when he was introduced at the 2008 Heisman show? Anyone having video of the introduction of all the former winners, let me know.

Jim Boeheim is Not a Fan of Your Feedback

2008-12-16T09:19:00.000-05:00

As if losing to Cleveland State wasn't a big enough kick in the balls, sound guy thought it would be fun to crank up the mid-range. Feedback and anger ensues.

Injuries are a Blessing

2008-12-15T08:43:00.002-05:00

The loss to Davidson would have almost certainly been a victory if we would have had the services of Alex Ruoff and Joe Mazzulla. But if you think about it, that would have been a short term victory that probably wouldn't mean all that much at the end of the season. Sure, beating a top 25 team on a neutral court is nice. But no one is going to OMG!!!1! because of it.

West Virginia benefited from that loss and the victory over Duquesne Saturday in ways that will be huge the rest of the year.

Truck Bryant, more than anyone else, is getting invaluable experience. The point guard got his baptism by fire at Madison Square Garden against Stephen Curry and again against Duquesne in Pittsburgh. There's a learning process that involves ups and downs, but when it matters, he's going to be prepared to handle the pressure of a Big East road game. Kevin Jones is also getting some extra minutes because of the injuries.

I know it's ugly now, and just because they are getting more experience doesn't mean they will be unflappable in the future. But when they are called upon later in the season they should be able to come in and give the starters a rest without much of a drop off in production. I don't know if we could say that if they weren't getting meaningful minutes now.

Video Gold, Jerry!

2008-12-12T15:30:00.001-05:00

Not much words needed here. You've seen some of these before. The one's about Chuck Amato. But scroll down for some Butch Davis. Grey Blackwell, you are our hero.

Chuck Dynamite

It's Hard Out Here For A Coach

Butch Davis Needs More Victory Bell

You can check out all of Grey's video's here.

Who is This UNC That You Speak Of

2008-12-12T09:18:00.000-05:00

The best thing about this bowl game with UNC is that it's not a long drive for either school, and that's showing in ticket sales.

When I first read this title, "Seven UNC Players Selected to All ACC Teams," I was thinking it meant first team. Thankfully, I was wrong.

Butch Davis likes the way Nick Saban thinks! At least as far as his recruiting efforts go.

In the case of Davis, he would appear to be on course to set a new standard for over-recruiting, even with tricks like gray shirting or medical hardships. The Tar Heel coach's tactics have caught the attention of rival North Carolina State and its recruiting coordinator, Jerry Petercuskie.

"We're not in the market of oversigning, unless there's a case where there are some borderline students who may not make it," he said. "And in that case, there's a plan for them." This gets to the heart of the matter. Recruiting is about building trust. If you can't be trusted to honor a commitment, your reputation takes a hit. Is this where Davis and his staff want to take the program?

Everything worked out fine for Alabama, but sooner or later someone is going to get disappointed. Careful who you sign with, kids.

ESPN Really Was Annoying

2008-12-11T12:55:00.001-05:00

From the "that's what I was thinking" vault. Comment from BGN. I've added the sig picture just because it's Lee Corso not enjoying life.

Re: It was a real honor to play in the Stephy C. Classic
After vomiting for the third time imagining the fellatio Jay Bilas, or whatever the **** his name is, was performing on Curry as midcourt, I learned the hard way that Bball is really not that bad with the mute button on.

Curry is a great player, but when the majority of the comments from the announcers has nothing to do with what is happening on the court and everything to do with continuing the legend of Curry, even though he's not having a very legendary night, you feel kind of put out. Obviously, what WAS happening on the court was not very news worthy. But I think they were so caught up in polishing Curry's knob they couldn't even mention that Johnny West was the son of Jerry West. That little tidbit could have eaten up a few minutes, and would have been of interest to at least a few people.

That WTF Moment Explained

2008-12-11T10:58:00.002-05:00

There's an old chant that West Side/Stonewall Jackson folks used to...well...chant in response to East Enders/Charleston High folk that I couldn't reproduce if life depended on it. But I would know it right away and what it meant if I heard it. But I would never use it here, because I'm pretty sure most of you aren't from Charleston, WV. It would leave you far more confused than enlightened.

So that's pretty much what Bill Stewart did when he ended his press conference after the WVU-USF game. But here's the explanation if you just had to know.

“Glorious old Wetzel! Whose sons are brave and daughters fair, and which today
produces gas enough to light the world, oil enough to lubricate it, and brains
enough to rule it.”

Things were so much different in the 1890's.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yaaaah!

2008-12-11T10:26:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I just can't help myself. Further proof that I never read How to Win Friends and Influence People.

West Virginia-Davidson Liveblogish

2008-12-09T18:37:00.023-05:00

We have a plan to stop Curry!

Come on frat boys! Know your role!!!

We'll get things started as soon as the ball goes up.

7pm: One of the good things ESPN does is the Jimmy V Foundation promotions. Good for them! I haven't seen Robin Roberts in a while, so I'm kind of in shock at how much different she looks. Glad she's a survivor!!! I participate in Relay for Life every year, and if you have friends you should get involved! Everyone needs at least one night of the year spent sober and without a cigarette in your mouth raising money for Cancer research. Find out if there is one in your area.

Bob Knight, John Saunders, and Digger Phelps are on hand for pregame. Jay Bilas, and shit.... a bunch of people are working the game. Ruoff has back spasms, and Joe Mazzulla can't raise his left arm above his head.

18:00 West Virginia is playing very tight defense. Maybe too tight sometimes because I can see some back cuts. WV up 5-2.

15:32 West Virginia is missing a lot of scoring opportunities. The defense is getting a lot of turnovers (sorry I haven't been keeping a running count) , 4-6 turnovers in the first five minutes. But they aren't capitalizing. No Ruoff so far. WV down 8-7.

13:47 WVU is getting the ball inside on every possession and getting results. DaSean Butler is killing it on the second chance points. 14-10 WVU.

11:55 And just like that, Davidson hits a couple shots and they are up 15-14. Despite all the injuries for WVU they are doing well at dictating their brand of basketball on Davidson. When they miss a shot or turn it over, they aren't getting set on defense. Curry is not the guy you want to leave all by himself behind the three point line. Never.

10:25 Curry showing himself now, 20-15 Davidson.

7:15 West Virginia is stealing the ball or rebounding the first shot every time Davidson comes down, but the Mountaineers can not run the floor. They need to pull up and get a good shot if one isn't available on the fast break. But yeah, playing great defense. Should be up, but Davidson still leads 22-20.

6:12 Everything I said above is still true, but Davidson has a white guy that looks a little overweight and ~~has a knee brace on~~. He's dunked on us the last two times down the court. 26-22 Davidson.

3:38 West Virginia is kind of a mess on offense with the turnovers, but still down only 31-27.

Half West Virginia is 6-16 on free throws. DaSean Butler has 12 points, and Truck Bryant has 9. But Bryant has also bought himself a seat on the bench with sloppy play. Gotta know when to pull up and run the offense. Curry isn't having a great game by his standards, 4-15 shooting and 10 points. But he's still making everyone around him better. In the Mountaineers defense, I haven't seen half these guys playing this year. Lots of subbing going on. Also of note, Johnny West broke his foot in practice yesterday. Not sure how long he will be out. Ruoff and Mazzulla have been sitting on the end of the bench. Sad thing to see. 36-29 Davidson.

15:00 No stop in play. West Virginia down 44-40. Yup, that means we are scoring. We're taking advantage of the turnovers and getting tons of offensive rebounds. 13 for the game to be exact. Ebanks is coming into his own. West Virginia was down 44-33 before they turned it around.

14:16 OK, that white guy, Allison, isn't so fat after all. He just dunked on us again. 47-42.

9:29 WVU down 49-44. Things have slowed down quite a bit lately. Our shooting is horrible, 34%, but the defense and offensive rebounds have kept us in the game.

7:24 WVU down 51-50. Offensive rebounds, people! Never seen a West Virginia team get offensive rebounds like this. Ever! DaSean Butler has kept West Virginia in the game.

4:10 56-56. West Virginia was up 56-53, but then Curry remembered he was Stephen Curry, and hit a three.

2:40 58-58. WVU had a ton of chances to take a four point lead, but turned it over and Curry got two on a fast break jumper.

1:09 Damn that Curry! 62-61 WVU.

:34 Damn that Curry! 64-62 Davidson.

Damn that Curry! Davidson wins 68-65

Big East Chat 2.0

2008-12-09T18:09:00.000-05:00

Yup, we'll be chatting all things Big East sports this Wednesday at 9pm over at Orange 44. Please do come join us at 9pm. Show up a few minutes early so you can go through all the sign up stuff without missing any of the discussion. Be ready to talk bowl games, the candy ass negotiators that got us this mess of a bowl affiliation, and some basketball.

See you then.

Final Blogpoll Ballot

2008-12-08T16:37:00.000-05:00

Well, the final regular season ballot. Not a lot of changes from last week. Comments welcome as always. I put Florida #1 because I remember how well that "awesome" offensive line for Oklahoma did against speedy defenders...48-28.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Florida	--
2	Oklahoma	--
3	Texas	--
4	Alabama	--
5	Southern Cal	--
6	Penn State	--
7	Texas Tech	--
8	Utah	--
9	Boise State	--
10	Ohio State	--
11	TCU	--
12	Cincinnati	--
13	Georgia Tech	--
14	Georgia	--
15	Oklahoma State	--
16	Northwestern	1
17	Pittsburgh	5
18	Iowa	--
19	Brigham Young	--
20	Oregon	--
21	Virginia Tech	5
22	Michigan State	1
23	Missouri	2
24	Mississippi	--
25	Boston College	9

Dropped Out: Ball State (#25).

We All Just Need to Relax and Give Stew the Bene...WHAT?!?!?

2008-12-08T16:27:00.001-05:00

If anyone can tell me what this was in reference to, I would be very eager to learn!

We've got enough coal in the state of West Virginia to heat the world. We've got enough oil in the state of West Virginia to lubricate the world. We've got enough brains in the state of West Virginia...to run the world.

I had been mulling over a post about how we need to all calm down and stop calling for the firing of Bill Stewart. How it would be in the best interest of the program to have some stability. But without the context of those words, I'm just going to hold off on that post.

Maybe this will shed some light.

I have no idea what that meant, but Stewart, who is a powerful and effective speaker, was bothered and he bit back. Could be the media. Could be the fans. Could be the people who call his talk show. Could be all three.
He keeps up on what people say and write about his team and he cares what people think. Was this an accumulation, a reaction or just calculated?

It was a little awkward, but I enjoyed the entire scene, even the parting shot. Part of me — a big part, in fact — likes Stewart’s class and restraint. Few people in his profession are like him and that’s refreshing. It’s not fair to criticize that side of his personality because it’s genuine. It is who he is. Not only that, but he was pretty calm when he 48-28′d Oklahoma.

Still, another part of me thinks he is, at times, too cool and the fire that burned so hot leading up to the Fiesta Bowl hasn’t been here at all times this season. WVU has lacked an edge and I think that’s contributed to slow starts. I also think there’s an edge in the second half, so perhaps something is said at halftime. IrRegardless, he’s heated up the past few weeks and the nature of that Pitt loss must have had his blood boiling. We saw enough Stewart to heat the world.

White, Mountaineers Hold On 13-7

2008-12-07T16:21:00.000-05:00

I think if we're honest with ourselves, we can say that South Florida lost that game. Or at the very least blew every opportunity they had to win.

I can't count the number of times Grothe missed on sure touchdown passes. I also can't count the number of times a South Florida receiver got open for a first down when West Virginia was dropping eight in coverage.

As has been the case for South Florida in most of their losses this year, they turned the ball over and gave their opponent way too many chances. You have to take your hat off to the Bulls defense for only giving up six points on three turnovers.

White and the offense had difficulty at times moving the ball. Devine, despite not playing in the first quarter, had 90 yards on 17 carries. Whatever the reason, it seemed to motivate him. Although there is still a bowl game to play, the coaches have to find a way to get the ball in Devine's hands next year. He's just too dynamic a player to not touch the ball 20-25 times a game.

Speaking of bowl games, we are headed to the Car Care Bowl. Most likely, we will play North Carolina. But we'll have to wait on that call tonight.

Mountaineers Win Ugly Again, But Win

2008-12-06T17:52:00.000-05:00

It's not hard to understand why Bob Huggins wasn't happy with the performance today looking at the box score. But it was a win against a better team than you would expect with a name like Cleveland St., 53-43.

West Virginia was without starting point guard, Joe Mazzulla, shot 34% from the field, and 12% from 3 point range. They also had 11 turnovers in the first half. The good news is they finished the game with 14 turnovers and actually shot 71% from the free throw line. Since the game wasn't on TV, I can't tell you how well the defense looked today, but it had to be decent since they forced 20 turnovers and held Cleveland St. to 33% shooting from the field.

In his post-game comments, Huggins apologized to the crowd for having to watch such a poor game. He also sent a message to the pouters on the bench, "if you're going to pout on the bench when I take you out, I have no use for you." I don't know who he was talking about, but I would expect to see a fired up team this Tuesday night when West Virginia meets #24 Davidson at the Garden. Huggins also apologized for not practicing the team as hard as he should have. Another reason to expect a sharp Mountaineer team Tuesday. Huggins generally sounded like a coach that has let a lot of things go and has had enough with the excuses.

There were bright spots today, though. Besides the better than average free throw shooting, Devan Ebanks and Da'Sean Butler had solid games. Ebanks had the most rebounds in a game, 17, since 1977. He also added 10 points. Butler lead all scorers with 18 points. Alex Ruoff handled the point guard duties for most of the game and was limited to just four shots.

We're All Tomorrow's Parties

2008-12-05T16:50:00.000-05:00

Along with Charlie from WBGV, we were interviewed by Holly from Dr. Saturday for her weekly tailgating piece, All Tomorrow's Parties. Head over and give it a read. Also check Holly over at EDSBS and Snarkastic.

Since we're big Velvet Underground fans, we're obliged to post this video.

Mirror Images of Disappointment

2008-12-04T17:57:00.001-05:00

Dammit!

Not so much fun for either team this year. Big expectations and disappointing results. Both are 7-4. West Virginia has done fair inside the Big East, but a couple losses OOC that no one could imagine them losing before the beginning of the year. Surprisingly, South Florida has lost four of six against Big East teams.

Somehow, South Florida is first in total offense and second in total defense in the Big East. Their negative turnover margin explains a lot of how they lost this year as well as the second highest penalty yards per game.

West Virginia is only 6th in total offense and fifth in total defense. Their saving graces have been being first in turnover margin and middle of the pack in penalties. The defense has been better than expected. Especially being first in scoring defense.
Thanks to CFB Stats.

Part of the reason the Big East is being bashed this year is the failure of these teams to live up to expectations. I wish there was a nice way to say that, but there isn't. Pitt and Cincinnati have both improved. It would be respectable if those two teams were 3rd and 4th in the conference, but they are one and two.

The Game

For West Virginia to win, they absolutely have to be able to run the ball. It's going to be cold and most likely snowing Saturday night. The weather should be a huge advantage for the Mountaineers if they can run the ball and get on the board first. South Florida has fallen behind early in all their losses, and playing against a warm weather team in the cold is a good way to make them want to quit early if you jump on them and run the ball. Sorry about all the running of the ball stuff, but I just want to make sure understands where I'm coming from. I think USF is pretty much locked into the St. Pete bowl, so there really isn't anything to play for.

Hat's off to the Bulls for working with WVU for the whiteout.

Grothe will be back next year. Even though he is having his best year statistically, I never really have thought of him as NFL material. He's a great college quarterback, but I would think NFL teams would be weary of his improvising ways.

It should be an electric atmosphere for Pat White's last game. Unfortunately, the game is going to be on at the same time as the Big 12 championship game. So it won't get the national coverage you'd like to see for someone that means as much to WVU football as Pat does. Most of you, like me, don't care about that game as much as our own, though. So tune into ESPN2 about 8pm and try to imagine what Jack Fleming would put together for his pregame intro. Starting out in a docile tone going through all the awards White has gathered in his time at WVU. Slowly building towards climax as he gets down to the things that inspire. Like the games he put the team on his back and willed them to victory, how he came out of nowhere on that faithful night against Louisville in 2005 to take West Virginia to new heights....Sorry Tony Caridi, I'd like to hear what that would sound like.

Stuff, Stuff, and More Stuff

2008-12-04T10:25:00.000-05:00

I think I speak for everyone when I say that last nights Big East Roundtable was a big success. Far too much talk about Syracuse sports for me to be much of a factor. The amount of cold meds I'm on also kept me from participating as much as I would have liked. I was seeing two of every letter on the keyboard. But unfortunately I didn't have a gun for each one.

Wait for it...

I want to officially throw my hat in the ring for Tommy Tuberville as the next Syracuse coach. What the Big East needs as much as anything else is good-to-great coaches, and Tuberville certainly falls in that category.

The people have spoken, and it seems we should retire numbers if you go by the poll on the right. Thanks everyone that voted! So, do you retire Darryl Talley's #90? I do before anyone else. If you aren't old enough to remember him in Old Gold and Blue, you really missed out.

My relatives that graduated from Ole Miss are completely ignoring my emails this morning. It wasn't a dominating win, but on the road against an SEC opponent that had won their last 25 non-con home games is a good thing. It was exciting to listen to and probably another reason I wasn't more active in the roundtable.

I don't think we need to be ranked in the top 25 just yet, but looking at this weeks CBB rankings I really have to wonder what the f is going on! Michigan? Navy? Both ahead of WVU? Really?!?!?!?

Thoughts on South Florida and the Whiteout later on this evening.

So You Want to Talk Big East Sports

2008-12-02T16:36:00.000-05:00

Thankfully Sean and Brian will be there to keep us separated.

You're sitting there thinking to yourself, "Self, wouldn't it be great if some Big East bloggers got together and talked about the goings ons of Big East sports!" Well, consider this your lucky day! Actually tomorrow at 9pm is your lucky day, because that's exactly what is going to happen. I, along with the following bloggers will convene in a mini-Octonion to discuss Big East sports (read football and basketball).

Brian from Orange 44

Sean from Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician

Chas from Pitt Blather

All you need to do is head over to Orange 44 a little before 9pm and take care of all the sign-in-easy-to-do-stuff. We'll be fielding questions, talking about the hot topics of the conference, and Sean and I will be telling out latest dick jokes (Brain and Chas are far too reputable for such things). Also, we may make fun of Cincinnati and South Florida for having not one single fan brave enough to start an independent blog (that we know of).

Week 14 Blogpoll Ballot

2008-12-01T07:03:00.001-05:00

Quickly, if I was voting for Heisman Colt McCoy gets my vote. But Oklahoma gets the nod despite the loss to Texas. The body of work is more impressive, only losing at a neutral site. I already see errors that I will have to fix, so expect another ballot tonight or tomorrow. Time is short.

Updated: Don't know how I left Okie St. out to begin with. But they are back in and the Hokies are out.

Leave your comments on the Oklahoma/Texas thing if you want to change my mind. Or about anything else.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama	--
2	Oklahoma	--
3	Texas	--
4	Florida	--
5	Southern Cal	--
6	Penn State	1
7	Texas Tech	1
8	Utah	--
9	Boise State	4
10	Ohio State	--
11	TCU	3
12	Cincinnati	3
13	Georgia Tech	3
14	Georgia	2
15	Oklahoma State	6
16	Ball State	2
17	Boston College	2
18	Northwestern	2
19	Iowa	2
20	Brigham Young	3
21	Oregon	3
22	Missouri	11
23	Pittsburgh	3
24	Michigan State	2
25	Mississippi	1

Dropped Out: Oregon State (#17), Florida State (#25).

WVU-Kentucky Liveblogish

2008-11-29T22:56:00.013-05:00

First Half

9:00 WVU is up 16-10 and they bring in Tarkanian for an interview. Uncomfortable moment ensues. "I really like the way Bob Huggins team is playing." If anyone else would have said that, I would be cool with it. But coming from him I felt kind of sick. Maybe it's just me.

Just some thoughts from last night and tonight: This is definitely not the same team we saw last year. Almost everyone can take it to the rim, and they are much more physical than any WV team I can remember. But they seem to lack a spark unless they are playing off turnovers. There are obviously still some shooters on the team, but the approach of this years team doesn't look for the three first.

The defense is a nice thing to see. These guys get after it. It should get even better with all the freshmen seeing time.

1:00 Kentucky has started giving West Virginia the jump shot, but the Mountaineers haven't been able to hit them. The pace of the game has definitely slowed. WVU 26-16.

That's your halftime score.

2nd Half

15:00 30-20 West Virginia. This is just ugly basketball.

13:00 West Virginia is fouling way too much and not working the ball around on offense. We're up and should be looking for good shots, but were taking the first girl that looks our way every time. 32-24 WVU

8:00 WVU down 37-36...ugly

6:58 Wellington Smith hits a three to tie the game at 39. Ruoff going cold and taking 2 of the 3.

6:20 Haroldson for Kentucky is killing us with the garbage pickups. Even when he get fouled. 41-39 Kentucky.

5:30 Mazzoula picks up an offensive foul, which is like the millionth o-foul in this game. No wonder the score is so low. 41-41.

4:15 Even though the score is 45-41, it seems like things are getting way out of hand for WVU.

Final Ugh, we just had no offense to draw on down the stretch. Not to take anything away from Kentucky, they played solid defense. We were forced to foul and Kentucky hit their shots. 54-43 UK.

At Least There's Basketball

2008-11-29T16:55:00.001-05:00

Ugh, it just kills me to think about how far the offensive production has dropped off this year. Especially in a depleted Big East. But at least the basketball team gave us something to smile about last night. If you're wondering, my fever riddled brain thought we were playing the Little Rascals last night.

I'm sure Kentucky won't remind me of a depression era kids show. Game time is 1030pm on ESPN2. Hopefully, I'll be able to put together more than a few sentences after the game.

Turkey Talk

2008-11-27T08:06:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Normally I wouldn't be on here on a holiday, but the parents have taken over the TV and this seems to be the only thing I can do.

I'm not calling Jason Whitlock a turkey, but this article seems a little over the top to me. I understand his anger with the WWL. I get that way too. But to suggest that ESPN has ruined the Heisman trophy is wrong. I see them reporting on the best player at the biggest schools way more than nice stories like Nate Davis. Yes, I'm sure it's a business decision to draw as many eyes as possible. But if you really want to blame anyone for the Heisman being the joke that it is, you should point that finger at SID's at the schools of Heisman candidates. The kind that rent a billboard in Time Square and put up a picture of Joey Harrington. Those type of stunts have been around a lot longer that Chris Fowler or GameDay. And they've produced names like Gino Toretta, Chris Weinke, and Eric Crouch. At least when ESPN promotes a Big 12 quarterback, they are promoting a player the rest of the country can agree has talent and is in the most competitive conference in the country. BY FAR! As an aside, I remember the 1988 Heisman race between Troy Aikman and RodneyPete that was eventually won by Barry Sanders. All year long we had Aikman and Pete force fed to us. Even thought there was an amazing run/pass quarterback named Major Harris that was doing things no quarterback had ever done. Oddly enough, the only time we saw Sanders play all year was on an upstart network called ESPN. Other than that, Sanders won his Heisman based on video game-type stats.

Making a case for Nate Davis is a nice gesture, but the things he's doing weren't done against top competition. Not even close to what the Big 12 quarterbacks have faced. The thing that sticks out in my mind is the bowl game against Rutgers last year in which he seemed lost most of the game until the outcome wasn't in question. His final stats looked good, but Ball State was out of that game before the halftime gun sounded. Unfortunately for him, that was the last time we saw him play against a top 25 team. At least with ESPN, we can see those games now.

With Pat White reaching some considerable milestones last week, some talk has popped up about retiring his jersey. I'd like to go on record as being against this idea. Not that I don't want to honor White as the best football player West Virginia University has ever had. He is, and I do. I just think it would be a much better idea to create a ring of fame around the stadium honoring Mountaineer greats. His name should be immortalized beside other Mountaineer greats, but the number five and other numbers should be used as a way to let future players know they have something to live up to. Like the way Brad Hunt's #70 was passed along to John Ray. From one West Virginia born lineman to another. If a West Virginia quarterback wants to wear the #5, he should have to earn it. But it should be available. In my mind, that's the best way to honor White. By all means, if you're going to do that do it now. His name should be unveiled on the stadium wall at the end of the South Florida game. Give 60,000 fans the chance to say goodbye and thank you. Anything else doesn't do him justice.

How could I not update with this? 2008 Turkey Awards.

Wouldn't You Rather Beat Maryland?

2008-11-26T14:48:00.001-05:00

We're talking bowl choices here, people. What's in front of us? Maybe the Sun Bowl or the Car Care Bowl. Sure, Syracuse could give us the gift we would really like! But let's just accept for a minute that it won't happen, and we'll have to go to a second tier bowl.

My first thought is, "so what." As in the goals at the beginning of the season are shot, so let's go somewhere not too far away and beat a team and a coach we'd really enjoy beating. No Mountaineer fans, Michigan isn't bowl eligible. I'm talking about Maryland and one Ralph Friedgen. Or we could go way the F--- out west and spend a ton on travel and a hotel room. Sure the Car Bowl is pretty craptastic, but is a Sun Bowl appearance really going further the cause any better? Shit no!

I know this is all speculation and we really have no control over what crappy bowl we go to if we don't get a BCS bid. But Charlotte is about five hours from where I'm sitting or a full tank of gas and a six pack of Magic Hat #9 away. The Sun Bowl? Many tanks and many beers. Probably too many. We recruit on the east coast anyway.

No, I don't want Notre Dame to go to the Sun Bowl instead of a Big East team. And no, I don't want West Virginia to finish any worse than second in the Big East. But I'd really like it if I could keep this whole trip under $300 (I got ~~a place~~ places to stay in Charlotte).

Your thoughts in the comments.

How to Beat Pitt or Anyone for That Matter

2008-11-25T22:36:00.002-05:00

I guess a good way to figure out how to beat Pitt is to look at how it's been done this year. Unfortunately, what I'm seeing doesn't look like something West Virginia has done since Marc Bulger was here. Which is a three to one margin of passing yards to rushing yards. Hell, I'm not sure Bulger ever did that. Don Nehlen wouldn't hear of such.

Of course Bowling Green, Rutgers, and Cincinnati aren't considered running teams this year. Pitt has only been out gained on the ground three times, and two of those were victories. The Cincinnati loss isn't hard to understand, but the Rutgers and Bowling Green losses still have me looking back to make sure I'm right. We've had those kind of losses as well. It makes one mad to think about such things. You know, breaking guitars left and right. Even keyboards were given no quarter...we don't really have drums.

Do I think West Virginia should come out chucking it up? No. Will they? That's what scares me. I just don't think we should be dictated to by anyone. Especially Pitt. We should come out and try to take the crowd out of the game by running like men possessed. I want to hear Wannstedt say, "we need to run faster" again. Wasn't that fun? Sure it was.

It would seem to me that we should see more of Sanders and Devine in the backfield at the same time. Dual wheel routes of glory? You can see it, I know you can. Something else that might work would be to throw it to Tyler Urban. Provided he would catch it. That's not fair, he's only had two or three thrown his way all year. I'm not saying anything about Jock. That didn't really happen...ever. If Pitt isn't getting penetration on a regular basis, maybe a delayed hand off would work. Hey, I'm just throwing it up against the wall to see if anything sticks.

We probably won't see any of the above, but I suspect a dedication to the run will be needed to win. Those teams all beat Pitt by doing what they've done all year. That's what West Virginia is going to have to do. We run the ball well when we commit to it. Sure Pitt has a good run defense and an outstanding linebacker in McKillop. We're just not going to win this game by pretending to be something we're not. And hey, we could use a big game from the defense. Yeah, that would be swell.

Mountaineers Bounce Back...A Lot

2008-11-24T17:07:00.001-05:00

The sad thing about this season is that West Virginia has had to bounce back a lot. The good thing is that they have bounced back. My best case scenario for this year was that West Virginia would have a dominating offense and a young defense that would cost them probably two games. Worst case, four. And as if the man needed to remind me one more time that I am not the great predictor, nothing could be further from the truth. At least how they have gotten to this point.

The defense isn't heavy with NFL talent, nor experience. They've just been one of those pleasant surprises that might speak more about why the offense has faltered at times and why the defense has shinned. Continuity. Having Jeff Casteel back as defensive coordinator seems to have made a world of difference. Sure they weren't all that great at the beginning of the year. But they came together for the Colorado game and have been strong since. Despite losing some key players, Casteel has plugged in the next guy on the depth chart and just gone with it.

The offense has confused me all year long. Every time I think we have no chance, we roll over someone like Auburn. So that leads me to think we have things figured out, and then Cincinnati comes to town. In all fairness, Cincinnati is a pretty good team. Apparently, really good teams go to Norman and get throttled. But after the last three years, it's hard to look at and believe what I'm seeing. I was probably looking to a fairytale ending for Pat White, and that's not what I got. Not exactly. But if you look over our last 10 years not counting this one, we've averaged a little less than nine wins a season. Which is skewed a bit by the last three years. But while this year feels like every minute of Rob Gordon's life, it's really something closer to the norm.

There's a feeling of disappointment, sure, but the reality isn't that bad. There's still a good chance to win 10 games, and an outside shot at a Big East title. God forbid, ya know?There were enough times this year that the team could have folded. Booing incidents come to mind. Two straight losses to East Carolina and Colorado sprinkled in there. But the team has remained a team and kept trying no matter what anyone says. There hasn't been any division of the team. They've just grown tighter and defended each other. That's one thing we should have expected from this team.

Hopefully some thoughts on the Pitt game later in the week.

Week 13 Blogpoll Ballot Rough Draft

2008-11-23T18:19:00.002-05:00

Oh how they scoffed when I put Syracuse in at #25 last week. Who's laughing now? No crazy slotting this week, but we tip our hat to the Orange.

Anyone want to see an Alabama-Oklahoma title game?

As always, I have until 10am Wednesday to make changes. So if you see something you think is wrong, add it in the comments.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama	1
2	Oklahoma	3
3	Texas	1
4	Florida	1
5	Southern Cal	1
6	Texas Tech	5
7	Penn State	2
8	Utah	1
9	Oklahoma State	1
10	Ohio State	2
11	Missouri	1
12	Georgia	1
13	Boise State	2
14	TCU	1
15	Cincinnati	3
16	Georgia Tech	10
17	Oregon State	6
18	Ball State	3
19	Boston College	3
20	Northwestern	6
21	Iowa	5
22	Michigan State	8
23	Brigham Young	7
24	Oregon	2
25	Florida State	1

Dropped Out: LSU (#17), Pittsburgh (#19), Miami (Florida) (#20), North Carolina (#24), Syracuse (#25).

West Virginia Wins 86-54 over...Longwood?

2008-11-21T06:33:00.000-05:00

Who the hell is Longwood? And why are they employing the 5-on-2 defense? Anyway, we beat this team 86-54 and no one is happy about it.

“When practice starts, it’s hard. Three hours is hard. It’s harder than anything any of them have done at this point in their career. To not come out when you have people in the stands and not play with the enthusiasm and energy, I don’t understand.”
Again, the numbers on the stat sheet – including the final score – would indicate a dominating effort by the Mountaineers. West Virginia doubled up the Lancers on the boards by a count of 54-27. Included in that total were 19 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 16 second-chance points for WVU.

But a win is a win. Hell, I'm just happy I put up a post about the basketball team!

Q&A With Tom Heiser

2008-11-20T17:04:00.003-05:00

We're doing a mutual Q&A with Tom Heiser from the Louisville Courier-Journal for the upcoming game between the Mountaineers and the Cardinals. Our answers to Tom's questions about the game can be found here. Be sure to head over to Tom's blog for a live chat of the game starting at 12pm. With that, let's get down to business.

1. You asked me if WVU fans still consider Louisville as big a rival as they did two years ago. Flip that coin over and give us the Louisville perspective. Is it a game still circled on the calender, or is it just another game?

Personally, I'm a big believer in the rivalry. I've been cudgeled by Cardinal and Wildcat fans who cannot believe I don't list UK as are truly implacable foe. While I enjoy playing and beating the Wildcats I think that the rival with West Virginia, as it has stood in the previous three years, was superior due to the repercussions of the outcome. For both teams a BCS bowl berth dangled in the balance. Even though the Cards and Mountaineers have fallen on hard and disappointing times, respectively, I think the series still has enough energy to qualify as a rivalry for most U of L fans.

2. The defense has shown big improvement in my eyes, giving up almost 100 less yards a game and about five less points a game. Talk a little about the guys that have stepped up and the effect of Ron English on the defensive philosophy.

Ron English has certainly earned his salary this year. He took a defensive unit rife with indiscipline and shoddy fundamentals and brought it up beyond the level of respectability. For the most part, the Cardinal defense has been the one shining star in the black hole of 2008. He's a real in-your-grille competitor, a classic tough-love coach and mentors. The most glaring improvement has been on the front line, where L.D. Scott and Adrian Grady have anchored a sturdy run defense and generated good pressure on the quarterback. The linebackers, culled mainly from the JUCO ranks, have performed well, with a few setbacks. The much-maligned secondary of 2007 has drastically improved, but has regressed of late -- surrendering ridiculously long third-down conversions and touchdown passes. Injuries to Richard Raglin and now Woodney Turenne have thinned out an already suspect cohort at the absolute worst time.

3. On the offensive side of the ball, you're way more committed to the run. Talk about the emergence of Victor Anderson.

The surprising commitment to the run is direct result of Anderson's emergence and the struggles of quarterback Hunter Cantwell. Victor solidified a running back corps that was in a state of disarray after the transfer of bruising back Anthony Allen. Bilal Powell and Brock Bolen were originally slated to be the top ball carriers, but Anderson demonstrated early on his ability to break the long run, catch the ball out of the backfield, and gain the tough yards when called on.

4. How hot is the seat Steve Kragthorpe is sitting on? Any chance he gets a pink slip at the end of the year, or is next year a make or break year for him?

Hot? More like molten. The years of success under Bobby Petrino (41-9 and an Orange Bowl victory) seem a long way off right now. The Cards have lost three straight and are staring (with a loss to your Mountaineers and a tough one on the road at resurgent Rutgers) at a 5-game losing streak to close the season and leave the Cards outside of the bowl picture for a second straight year. The message boards and talk radio are alight with searing calls for Kragthorpe's dismissal. Recruiting is suffering (just seven inked so far for 2009), and attendance is showing early signs of a drop off. AD Tom Jurich is foursquare in Kragthorpe's camp, but that hasn't diminished the discontent. Consecutive losses to Syracuse and Kentucky, the recent blow-out at Pittsburgh, and a litany of atrocious penalties and play-calling have brought the situation to a boil. No one in the media expects Kragthorpe to be fired at the end of this year ... or next year ... or the year after that. The feeling is that Jurich feels Kragthorpe is the right man to turn U of L's fortunes around given the bad hand he was dealt (off-field issues, disciplinary actions). Statements of that nature haven't sat well with Cardinal fans, who've overwhelmingly supported Jurich at every turn.

5. Like West Virginia, the quarterback situation has been stable for a long time. Who takes over when Hunter Cantwell moves on?

Matt Simms, son of former NFL star Phil Simms, looks to be the heir apparent. He was pressed into service for a few series in the debacle at Pittsburgh and delivered an average performance. Tyler Wolfe, Zach Stoudt, Bill Ashburn and a few others will battle for the job. Simms hasn't shown me that he's qualitatively superior to his competition, but such is the state of Cardinal football.

6. What does West Virginia have to do to win this game? As a follow up, there's two minutes left in a tie ballgame. Who you got, Bill Stewart or Steve Kragthorpe? Or do you just close your eyes and hope for the best?

The Pat White/Noel Devine combination provides a daunting challenge for the U of L run defense, which has had trouble with some of the league's top rushers (Donald Brown and Curtis Brinkley). Devine's speed and White's scrambling present the type of challenge that makes WVU unique. The Cards haven't faces this type of a running attack all season. I'm equally concerned about White's ability to pass out of play action. Syracuse murdered U of L's secondary on two well-designed calls, and U of L's secondary will be hurting this week with the loss of Turenne at the corner.

7. The Mountaineer offense has struggled compared to last year. From the outside looking in, what is West Virginia missing? Is it a matter of personnel or play calling?

Losing Owen Schmidt and Steve Slaton undoubtedly impacted offensive production, and I was always a fan of Darius Renaud -- he seemed to always have big games against the Cardinals. From what I've seen, the Mountaineers haven't been as explosive as they were in the previous three years. We've all come to expect several rippings of 20 and 30 yards at a time -- any play could result in a blue and gold jersey streaking into the endzone. White doesn't seem as dangerous a threat running the ball, either. Hard to say, from an outsider's perspective, whether more emphasis was put on his throwing this year.

8. Finally, each game has been a scoring fest. Do we continue lighting up the scoreboard on both sides or is this going to be the year things slow down a bit?

If there's going to be a lot of points dancing across the scoreboard, then we're looking at a blowout. Louisville's offense has been stagnate since the 30-point output against South Florida. I think WVU fans will be stunned to see a Cardinal defense that manages to contain Devine and White better than they did with Steve Slaton. (Then again, if we could only have the Mountaineer duo fumble with the frequency of Slaton.) With both teams leaning on the running game, I'd be surprised if we see the pyrotechnics of 2005 (46-44) or 2006 (44-34). A 24-17 outcome wouldn't surprise from either side. I'm hoping for the upset, but I'm not as confident as I was in 2005 or 2006.

Thanks again to Tom for joining me and best of luck the rest of the way. Kickoff is set for noon on ESPN.

Blogpoll Roundtable 4.whatever

2008-11-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

The latest Blogpoll Roundtable is brought to us by the fine Virginia Tech blog, College Game Balls. Feel free to leave your answers in the comments.

1. By now everyone has heard that if there is a three way tie in the Big 12 South the highest ranked team in the BCS will play in the Big 12 Championship Game. That means the humans (66% of the BCS Poll) will determine the Big 12 South representative. Let’s assume Oklahoma sinks the pirate ship at home next week. Try to sway the pollsters by arguing which team you think should face off against the Big 12 North.

First off, I would encourage Missouri to forfeit their Big 12 North spot in the title game and let the second ranked team from the South have it. Because everyone wins if we do that. Nothing against Missouri, they are a fine team but if we could watch Oklahoma and Texas again I'm all in. I can't argue one above the other. Great quarterback? Check. Great line play on both sides of the ball? Check. Solid coaching? Check. Close loss on the road is your only blemish? Check (if Tech and Oklahoma is close). I probably like the Sooner defense over the other two, so that's your winner in my book.

2. ESPN is aggressively bidding on the rights to the BCS when Fox’s contract expires after the 2009 season. My half baked theory is if they do win the rights they will push for a +1 system. Lucrative television deals have landed ESPN in bed with each of the BCS conferences. The revenue a playoff would generate could be a huge motivator for the four letter to be the common denominator and unifier among the conferences that finally helps them all to see the light of why a playoff would be good for college football. Help expand upon or debunk this theory.

A plus one could pit #1 against #3 or #4. Like the question above, when they are so close do you really know who #1 and #2 are? That would be a step backwards. I think ESPN is good for college football, though. But if you are going to go playoff, go at least 16 teams, do home games for the higher seeds and get ESPN to pay all travel expenses or the NCAA. I mean, think about the payout for a BCS game, then think about the contract being for $125 million per year. A sixteen team playoff would be gold, Jerry. Schools shouldn't just be breaking even when they go to a big bowl. Make it work for the schools. A playoff system where schools meet at a neutral site sucks for the fans. Sure there's plenty of people that can afford that and are batshit crazy for college football. But the scene at a big home game is awesome and should be worked.

3. Rivalry week is around the corner. How do you think your team will fare? Feel free to talk a little or a lot of trash.

I think both teams will be way up for this game. It means something before it plays out on the field for the first time in a long time. It'll be Pat Whites last chance to audition for Cats.

So, I think we'll see a big night for him and big victory for West Virginia.

4. And now for a little fun… Assemble your dream announcing team. Pick a play-by-play announcer, color commentator, sideline reporter and for the hell of it celebrity guest that drops on by.

Brent Musburger, I like Kirk but I'm not going there. Color Guy-Lou Holtz. I'm serious, tell me he wouldn't make complete sense for five minutes, go off on a tangent for another five, give a motivational speech in between each, and then remind you that Notre Dame is one year away. And you, will think to yourself, "again?" Ray Lewis for sideline reporter. He would be awesome! Celebrity guest? Chris Farley should be the celebrity guest. It would really be awesome!

Looking at Louisville

2008-11-19T18:29:00.001-05:00

I did a Q&A earlier with Tom Heiser from the Louisville Courier-Journal. Go give it a read and let me know what ya think. I'll have my questions for Tom up later in the week.

There's lots of praise for both sides going into this game. Coachspeak doesn't tell the story, because both programs should be better, but for one reason or another aren't. Trash talk would be much better, and for that, we have to go to the message boards.

Something that has been fun all year is the opponent look alike threads on Blue-Gold News. And this week doesn't disappoint.

Cantwell
Harry Dunne

Hunter Cantwell

Larry the Cable Guy + Shaggy
+

Oh well, I don't see a similar thread on the Louisville board. We like to be fair and balanced, but nothing to go on. And I'm not going to do one for WV. But feel free to do your own or point me to one for the Cards.

Mountainlair on CFB Weekly

2008-11-19T18:22:00.002-05:00

I'm back on CFB Weekly to discuss WVU Football this week. Hop on over and give it a listen. It's a fun, interesting listen no matter your favorite team. If nothing else, you can listen to Brian from MgoBlog discuss the worst year in Michigan football, evah.

....and we're back

2008-11-17T17:03:00.000-05:00

Hey all, sorry to leave you hanging last week. I had a lot of things to do that didn't involve watching college football. Sadly, one of those things was me turning in my resignation at FanHouse. There's no ill will or anything. I just needed to stop that so I could move on to other things.

One of those other things is concentrating on West Virginia and this blog. Sure, I don't make any money here. But over the past couple years I've found myself less and less interested in all things Mountaineers. That's a sad statement, but the time in the day just didn't allow for me to read everything about West Virginia and still fulfill my responsibilities at FanHouse. In the end, I just want to be a fan and do crappy photoshops like the one you see at right.

Enough of that, let's look at West Virginia-Louisville. My how this series has fallen off after the incredible first two games. OK, I already don't want to think about this game. It's sad to think how quickly both programs have fallen off the face of the college football landscape. Two years ago, this game was for a shot at the national title. Things didn't turn out that way, but Louisville could have very easily been there if not for a pesky Rutgers team ruining their season.

Of course the 2007 meeting was once again billed as the league championship before the season started. But Louisville forgot how to play defense last year and the game was almost meaningless by the time it rolled around. Regrettably, West Virginia lost to Pitt and ruined any chance at a national title, then watched DickRod leave for Michigan.

There is something at stake in this game, though. Oddly enough, West Virginia still has a shot at the Big East title if the Mountaineers can win out and someone can beat Cincinnati between now and the end of the season. Louisville still has a shot at a bowl game if they can win one more game. Although some, including Steve Kragthorpe, believe they need to win both of their remaining games to get a bowl invite.

Kragthorpe may or may not be in trouble. He was hand picked by Tom Jurich to replace Bobby Petrino, but the natives are restless as you can see by checking out the live blog of the Monday press conference, here. As usual, I'll be doing a Q&A session with Tom Heiser later in the week. Also, keep an eye on Mike @ Card Chronicle to keep up to date with all things Louisville.

Lastly, it looks like I'm going to have to start thinking basketball as West Virginia's season has already started. But I'm still not sure what this Elon thing is.

Week 12 Blogpoll Ballot

2008-11-16T20:02:00.000-05:00

The Blogpoll is a collection of independent blogs that focus, at least some of the time, on college football. It's brought to us by Brian @ Mgoblog, and appears on CBS Sports smartly beside the other polls you've grown up with.

Not much change at the top, but resume demands that Texas Tech go to the top. I think the top five teams in the Big 12 are better than the top five in any other conference. Tech only has one more of those to take care of (Oklahoma) and they will have completed one of the more impressive runs that I can remember. It's not that I wouldn't listen to any arguments for Alabama. That's a great story, about to get a whole lot better if they can win the SEC championship. But today, I'm leaning toward Texas Tech.

That TCU thing seems kind of odd to me. I moved them up after a loss? A close loss to the #7 team, but still a loss. But now that I look at it again, I think they beat any of the teams below them on a neutral field. Miami, Boston College, and North Carolina are the ACC Three this week. That should be a song.

I have to say, normally teams don't move into the top 25 after a loss. But Syracuse turned a loss into a victory and vastly improved their program overnight.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Texas Tech	2
2	Alabama	1
3	Florida	1
4	Texas	--
5	Oklahoma	--
6	Southern Cal	--
7	Utah	--
8	Oklahoma State	--
9	Penn State	--
10	Missouri	2
11	Boise State	--
12	Ohio State	2
13	Georgia	1
14	Michigan State	1
15	TCU	2
16	Brigham Young	2
17	LSU	2
18	Cincinnati	4
19	Pittsburgh	2
20	Miami (Florida)	6
21	Ball State	5
22	Boston College	4
23	Oregon State	3
24	North Carolina	9
25	Syracuse	1

Dropped Out: South Carolina (#20), Florida State (#23), Wake Forest (#24), Tulsa (#25).

Blogpoll Week 11 Ballot

2008-11-09T17:46:00.001-05:00

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama	--
2	Florida	2
3	Texas Tech	2
4	Texas	2
5	Oklahoma	2
6	Southern Cal	1
7	Utah	2
8	Oklahoma State	--
9	Penn State	7
10	Ohio State	3
11	Boise State	1
12	Missouri	--
13	Michigan State	5
14	Georgia	3
15	North Carolina	6
16	Ball State	1
17	TCU	2
18	Brigham Young	2
19	LSU	5
20	South Carolina	6
21	Pittsburgh	2
22	Cincinnati	2
23	Florida State	3
24	Wake Forest	2
25	Tulsa	1

Dropped Out: Georgia Tech (#19), Maryland (#20), California (#22), West Virginia (#25).

Hmm, seems I was right about WV. Just not right enough.

Natty Lite

2008-11-07T07:57:00.002-05:00

Ugh, time still sucks. I wish I was the guy in Cashback. Then I could tell you that there are a lot of crappy links not worth talking about as far as the WVU-Cincy game is concerned. Hey wait....never mind.

Anyhow, Texas lineman did a bad, stupid thing on his facebook page.

Les Miles didn't really mean it when he called Nick Saban the devil. I guess kind of like Saban didn't really call LSU fans coon asses.

Justin Boren still kind of holds a grudge against Rich Rodriguez. Don't we all?

Ryan Leaf is a failboat captain. Always and forever....

Al Davis, not satisfied with running one college football coach off, is looking to hire Jim Harbaugh. I would like you to stay away from one of the more quotable college football coaches, Mr. Davis! Things are much more fun with him at Stanford.

Cincinnati Poon

2008-11-05T08:29:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you guys, but I was always partial to the chick on the right. Something about Loni's hair helmet always turned me off. That and I can't stand arrogance, which oozed from every pore of her character's existence.

But hey, let's look under the hood at this Bearcat team. There's a two headed monster at running back with Jacob Ramsey and John Gobel getting the bulk of the carries. As a team, they are gaining about 125 ypg on the ground. Nothing flashy about that, but both backs are gaining nearly five ypc.

Cincinnati attacks through the air. Despite being on their third quarterback of the year ( fourth if you count Mauk), they lead the Big East in ypg passing with 260. And it's at this point that I have to tip my hat to Cincy coach Brian Kelly. Some teams (cough, cough) go into a shell when the second or third string QB is running things. Not Kelly. He's going to attack you on both sides of the ball. Even if he has a roster full of waterboys. It's admirable, and I hope Cincy can hold on to him. At least until their bowl game is over. If he's still the coach at Cincinnati next year, there are some STUPID athletic directors in college football. Redundant, I know.

With the rotating quarterback situation, it's not surprising that Cincinnati isn't leading the league in turnover margin. That has to be killing Kelly a little. It's the reason they were so successful last year. Along with great play. Just imagine if Mauk would have been granted his 13th year of eligibility. With the receivers they have, this would be a scary offense.

Defensively, this isn't the statistical giant that Cincinnati has been. Rough days against Oklahoma, South Florida, and Connecticut didn't help much. Akron, for that matter, got 350 yards on them. Akron! But they do put a decent amount of pressure on the quarterback, and they have that Mickens guy at corner back intercepting anything thrown his way.

Election Day Blues

2008-11-04T09:23:00.002-05:00

I really wish I had time for this every day. But I don't. I got the idea yesterday about the time Phil was announcing he would step down, that I should do a song about it. Hey! Great! But no time to write about the game that happened last Saturday, nor any time to write about the big game this weekend with Cincy.

Anyway, here's a link to the video.

I don't even have time to find a good election night drinking game. So if you have one, how's bout you put it in the comments for everyone to enjoy. Otherwise, drink according to this:

Take a sip of your red drink if:

- McCain wins a state

-Anyone utters the word "maverick."

- Joe the Plumber makes an appearance. (double points if he's gotten his plumber's license)

- A pundit implies that Sarah Palin is hot.

- Someone refers to Barack Obama as a socialist.

- Anyone says anything nice about George Bush.

Take a sip of your blue drink if:

- Obama wins a state.

- Anyone utters the word "historic" in reference to Obama's campaign.

- Hillary Clinton makes an appearance. (double points if Bill shows up too)

- A pundit implies that John McCain is senile.

- Someone mentions Tina Fey.

- Anyone says anything nice about John Kerry.

Take one sip from both drinks if:

-A news anchor declares that a race is "too close to call."

Throw in the towel if:

-A news anchor announces that, once again, Florida is the presidential tie-breaker.