Thursday Coal Tattoo

I'm still not right after huffing all that glue this weekend.

It's not new news or anything, but West Virginia is getting new scoreboards for Mountaineer Field and the Coliseum. Most certainly long over due for the Coliseum!

New, state-of-the-art score/video boards, complete with high resolution video and expanded messaging capabilities, also will be part of the fan experience at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium and the West Virginia University Coliseum.

Panasonic, together with WVU, will use the new video board systems as a showcase to feature the latest state-of-the-art video and audio technology, officials said.

Messaging? Like Joanie loves Chachi messaging? Or better displays of scores from around the country? I'm hoping for the latter as keeping up on scores at Mountaineer Field has been tough throughout the years.


With the uncertainty of Finau, it would be really nice if Pat Liebig gets his sixth year of eligibility.
The defensive line is going to have questions, but Pat coming back would be huge, even if he never saw the field. When you have question marks, it's always good to have a leader. And Pat would most certainly be that.


And speaking of Finau, that ain't looking too good. Not impossible, but not good.

Finau was scheduled to take a language test through Brigham Young University this summer that would have helped boost his grades.But they soon found out, to Finau's dismay, that the proctor testing center in Phoenix was closed for renovations, and could not administer the test until the third week of August.

Mejia next sent Finau to Arizona State to take the test through the Sun Devils' testing center.Just as Finau was getting ready to take the test, he was told that he could not take the test at the center because he was not an Arizona State student.

Mejia's now trying to help Finau find another testing center, but the clock is ticking.

Hello, God? This is unfair. Could you fix please?



Josh Moon knows that playing West Virginia in Morgantown on a Thursday night can do bad things to your soul. I don't really agree with him. I think Auburn and West Virginia did a great thing by scheduling this two game series. West Virginia needs a game like this to strengthen their schedule and Auburn doesn't. But, this is what college football should be about. Not......

But not against WVU. In all likelihood, the game will be a pick-em in the eyes of Vegas. But it certainly won't feel like one to the folks in Morgantown. After all, it will be the Big East against the big, bad SEC.

Why put your program in that sort of situation? It's no-win.

Why not play a has-been that still carries some name recognition, like Miami, Nebraska or UCLA? Or why not play a middle-of-the conference team, like Virginia, Colorado or Oregon State.

Because like Dan Hawkins says.....

"THIS IS DIVISION ONE FOOTBALL!!!!"

Good News-Bad News For Mountaineers

When I look at that picture I realize there are a lot of things that I'm going to regret about not getting season tickets this year. The folks I hang with before games are the best. But I don't think I'm going to be able to accomplish the goals I've set for myself this season if I take the day off to go to games. So you win some, you lose some.

Speaking of that, West Virginia got some good news and some bad news recently. Let's start with the bad news. It looks like prized junior college defensive end Tevita Finau did not make the grades and won't be coming to Morgantown this year.

Stewart said Florida defensive back Jerome Swinton and Phoenix (Junior) College defensive lineman Tevita Finau didn’t get the academic credits needed.

The WVU coach said Finau is expected to go to another Arizona junior college this school year. Swinton was released by the Mountaineers.

That sound you just heard was Mountaineer faithful collectively kicking their dog. Finau was expected to provide immediate help for the depleted Mountaineer defensive line. If you haven't heard of him, Phil Steel had him listed as 3rd team All Big East without ever playing a down in the Old Gold and Blue. So, he's kind of a big deal.

There is good news, though. Terrence Kerns will be in camp this August, and the implications of that will be huge. If you were listening to the In The Bleachers podcast, you know that Kerns in the backfield allows Jock Sanders to concentrate more on his role as slot back. If you didn't listen, go now! There's lots of good Big East talk to get you ready for the season. Back to Kerns, though. At 6'1" and 238, he runs a 4.3 fourty. Yeah, I just said that! He is the perfect change of pace to Devine and the worst kind of nightmare for Big East defensive coordinators that already have to deal with White and Devine. Those three in the backfield at the same time will be something to see.

How bout a little video evidence. He seems to be playing against the sisters of the poor who are stacking 11 in the box, but still the power and separation in the open field make me smile just a little.