I was talking to a friend the other day (yes, I do too have one) and mentioned how nice it would be if West Virginia University fans welcomed all teams as they did Connecticut.
THE VIEWS from here:
I was talking to a friend the other day (yes, I do too have one) and mentioned how nice it would be if West Virginia University fans welcomed all teams as they did Connecticut.
The visitors could at least be greeted with polite applause. Mountaineer fans, I proposed, could take the lead nationwide in the lost art of sportsmanship.
To which he laughed. Loudly. And then replied thusly: riiiiight.
Hey, I muttered, it could happen. If millions bought into the idea that Jennifer Aniston would date David Schwimmer, they could buy into this.
And then, Monday, Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe held his Monday press conference. And smashed my dream like Shaquille O'Neal would a grape.
When asked what makes Mountaineer Field such a terrific venue, Kragthorpe said the following:
"It is loud; it is a stadium [in which the fans] are right on top of you. They've got a rabid fan base. They all have good arms. Whether they are right-handed or left-handed, they throw those batteries extremely well. They are extremely accurate with those, too. I'm going to have to have a hard hat when I come out of the locker room.
"They love football. They love football in Morgantown. It's a 12-o'clock nooner, so they won't be quite as tanked as they were when we were there two years ago. But, they get after it, man.''
He was just trying to have fun, of course. I have an inkling, though, the streak of warm welcomes ends at one in Morgantown.
My take on WVU's loss to South Florida is simple: lousy offensive play, lousy defensive play and lousy coaching. Bill Stewart, we see, will never be confused for a riverboat gambler.
On his decision to punt from the USF 33-yard line, Stewart said he didn't "want to turn it over with 67 yards to go, because our defense [was] struggling.
"When our defense is struggling, I want to pin the ball back in the 5- or 10-yard line. Kick the ball in the corner and that's what I want to see and I didn't see it and I'm not very happy about that.''
Of course, the other option, on the fourth-and-8 situation, was to go for the first down. Just maybe the Mountaineers would have been successful. Just maybe they would have then scored. Just maybe the defense wouldn't have had to take the field again so fast. And just maybe the USF advantage would have been cut to 27-26.
THE VIEWS from here:
I was talking to a friend the other day (yes, I do too have one) and mentioned how nice it would be if West Virginia University fans welcomed all teams as they did Connecticut.
The visitors could at least be greeted with polite applause. Mountaineer fans, I proposed, could take the lead nationwide in the lost art of sportsmanship.
To which he laughed. Loudly. And then replied thusly: riiiiight.
Hey, I muttered, it could happen. If millions bought into the idea that Jennifer Aniston would date David Schwimmer, they could buy into this.
And then, Monday, Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe held his Monday press conference. And smashed my dream like Shaquille O'Neal would a grape.
When asked what makes Mountaineer Field such a terrific venue, Kragthorpe said the following:
"It is loud; it is a stadium [in which the fans] are right on top of you. They've got a rabid fan base. They all have good arms. Whether they are right-handed or left-handed, they throw those batteries extremely well. They are extremely accurate with those, too. I'm going to have to have a hard hat when I come out of the locker room.
"They love football. They love football in Morgantown. It's a 12-o'clock nooner, so they won't be quite as tanked as they were when we were there two years ago. But, they get after it, man.''
He was just trying to have fun, of course. I have an inkling, though, the streak of warm welcomes ends at one in Morgantown.
My take on WVU's loss to South Florida is simple: lousy offensive play, lousy defensive play and lousy coaching. Bill Stewart, we see, will never be confused for a riverboat gambler.
On his decision to punt from the USF 33-yard line, Stewart said he didn't "want to turn it over with 67 yards to go, because our defense [was] struggling.
"When our defense is struggling, I want to pin the ball back in the 5- or 10-yard line. Kick the ball in the corner and that's what I want to see and I didn't see it and I'm not very happy about that.''
Of course, the other option, on the fourth-and-8 situation, was to go for the first down. Just maybe the Mountaineers would have been successful. Just maybe they would have then scored. Just maybe the defense wouldn't have had to take the field again so fast. And just maybe the USF advantage would have been cut to 27-26.
You gotta believe, Billy. And, sometimes, show your offense you believe.
I'm not going to pile on WVU cornerback Keith Tandy. It's been a rough week for him already. The old Perlo Bastien line of "third and '3' '' has already been changed to "third and '8.' '' But one would think WVU's coaches are taking a serious look at freshman cornerbacks Pat Miller and Broderick Jenkins.
Jenkins is being redshirted. If, however, he or Miller may shore up the position, with a Big East title still a possibility, this is the time to make a move.
WVU's coaches will welcome an important visitor to their Louisville game Saturday. Quantavious Leslie, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound wide receiver, will make an official recruiting visit.
The standout from Hogansville, Ga., has given the Mountaineers a commitment over such schools as Oklahoma State, LSU, Tennessee, Clemson and Kentucky. He is said to have a 33-inch vertical leap and run the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds.
So if he's already committed, why is the visit so important?
Because there are reports Leslie is reconsidering his choice. Apparently, though, there may be a good reason: a family illness.
And finally . . .
In Tuesday's Gazette, Dave Hickm, er, the Answer Dude addressed the Deniz Kilicli situation. In case you are unaware, Kilicli has been ruled ineligible for WVU's first 20 basketball games because, two years ago, in Turkey, he played on a team that happened to include a quasi-professional player. (Welcome to the Land of the NCAA, kid.)
Dude cited the love tap given to Kentucky's John Wall. Then came word that Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes will miss the first half of Saturday's game against Vanderbilt for apparently attempting to gouge the eyes of a Georgia running back.
Kilicli simply must learn our rules. Eye gouging is sinful. But it's only one-fortieth as sinful as playing on the same team as a quasi-professional two years ago in another country.
Just goes to show, again, according to the NCAA, the bigger the school, the smaller the fall.
Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or follow him at http://twitter.com/MitchVingle.
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