THE VIEWS from here:
A record was set a couple months ago in Ravensburg, Germany, when game enthusiasts put together a 1,141,800-piece jigsaw puzzle in five hours.
Maybe the news slipped by you.
It may, however, be even more entertaining to watch West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen piece together his puzzle Saturday when the Mountaineers visit Louisville.
Here's the deal. WVU's vaunted rushing attack, despite the return of Pat White, Noel Devine and the offensive line, hasn't exactly been vaunting-worthy. And, as you may know, the inconsistency of the attack has been the focus of many area articles and discussions of late.
Fans and media have questioned the lack of production. Mullen and head coach Bill Stewart have had to address it.
Yet now WVU faces Louisville, which possesses the Big East's No. 2 rushing defense and the league's No. 8 pass defense. (Reminder: there are eight teams in the league.)
Oh yes, and senior Cardinal cornerback Woodny Turenne, the Big East's leader in pass interceptions, won't participate after breaking his clavicle in the Cincinnati game.
So what will Mullen do? Get back to WVU's strength? Go after Louisville's weakness?
It will be an interesting angle to the game. U of L opponents are averaging 34.6 passes a game and completing an average of 19.9. That's a completion rate of 57.5 percent. The Cards have given up 17 touchdowns through the air while picking off eight passes.
WVU has been averaging 23.4 passes a game. Is that too much? Too little? We'll see how Mullen tries to solve the puzzle.
As most Mountaineer fans know, a Cincinnati victory over Pitt Saturday night almost assuredly kills WVU's chances at a BCS berth. (UC's remaining Big East game is against Syracuse.)
Cincy is favored, but there are a couple of reasons for Mountaineer fans to have faith. First, Pitt has not lost to the Bearcats. Ever. The Panthers are 7-0 all-time.
Second, while UC was winning at Louisville last Friday, Pittsburgh was off. It may be the biggest game in Bearcat football history, but the Panthers have had two weeks to prepare.
David Ridpath, who filed a civil lawsuit against Marshall claiming he was, in short, thrown under the bus following a 2001 NCAA investigation, was part of a feature article on academic advisers in Thursday's USA Today.
In the article, Ridpath admitted he often told athletes at MU to avoid tough majors if they wanted to play sports.
"Academic advisers say that all the time," Ridpath said. "You'd do it in more subtle kinds of ways, but I have directly told kids myself, 'You can be in this major if you want to be, but if you want to play basketball, you may want to look at this major.' And that's what happens."
He admitted twice in the story steering athletes away from tougher curricula.
"I do admit I did it myself, and I'm ashamed of it, and I wish I'd never done it,'' he said.
Marshall's NCAA sanctions, of course, had little to do with the specific issue. The Thundering Herd was whacked for improper athlete employment as well as academic fraud.
But Ridpath's comments seem to cast a different light than his lawsuit. Was Ridpath really a victim? Or was he simply part of the problem?
And finally . . .
In addition to the annual Capital Classic involving Marshall, West Virginia's basketball team has played some nice competition at Charleston's Civic Center. Last season, Oklahoma hit town. In John Beilein's last season at WVU, it was North Carolina State. Back in his first season, Beilein guided the Mountaineers past Florida here.
This season, the visiting Mountaineer opponent is, let's just say, a cut below.
The Delaware State team visiting Charleston Tuesday defeated Wilmington, but followed that with losses to Cheney, Lehigh (by 76-58), Dayton (62-42) and Ohio State (70-42) Thursday night.
I shall, however, leave you with a Delaware State tidbit you may use to dazzle and amaze your friends.
See, it hasn't been that long since West Virginia and DSU played in hoops.
Back on March 13, 2007, the Mountaineers hosted the Hornets in Morgantown.
It was the first game of WVU's march to an NIT title.
Amaze away.
Reach Mitch Vingle at 348-4827 or mitchvin...@wvgazette. com.
THE VIEWS from here:
A record was set a couple months ago in Ravensburg, Germany, when game enthusiasts put together a 1,141,800-piece jigsaw puzzle in five hours.
Maybe the news slipped by you.
It may, however, be even more entertaining to watch West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen piece together his puzzle Saturday when the Mountaineers visit Louisville.
Here's the deal. WVU's vaunted rushing attack, despite the return of Pat White, Noel Devine and the offensive line, hasn't exactly been vaunting-worthy. And, as you may know, the inconsistency of the attack has been the focus of many area articles and discussions of late.
Fans and media have questioned the lack of production. Mullen and head coach Bill Stewart have had to address it.
Yet now WVU faces Louisville, which possesses the Big East's No. 2 rushing defense and the league's No. 8 pass defense. (Reminder: there are eight teams in the league.)
Oh yes, and senior Cardinal cornerback Woodny Turenne, the Big East's leader in pass interceptions, won't participate after breaking his clavicle in the Cincinnati game.
So what will Mullen do? Get back to WVU's strength? Go after Louisville's weakness?
It will be an interesting angle to the game. U of L opponents are averaging 34.6 passes a game and completing an average of 19.9. That's a completion rate of 57.5 percent. The Cards have given up 17 touchdowns through the air while picking off eight passes.
WVU has been averaging 23.4 passes a game. Is that too much? Too little? We'll see how Mullen tries to solve the puzzle.
As most Mountaineer fans know, a Cincinnati victory over Pitt Saturday night almost assuredly kills WVU's chances at a BCS berth. (UC's remaining Big East game is against Syracuse.)
Cincy is favored, but there are a couple of reasons for Mountaineer fans to have faith. First, Pitt has not lost to the Bearcats. Ever. The Panthers are 7-0 all-time.
Second, while UC was winning at Louisville last Friday, Pittsburgh was off. It may be the biggest game in Bearcat football history, but the Panthers have had two weeks to prepare.
David Ridpath, who filed a civil lawsuit against Marshall claiming he was, in short, thrown under the bus following a 2001 NCAA investigation, was part of a feature article on academic advisers in Thursday's USA Today.
In the article, Ridpath admitted he often told athletes at MU to avoid tough majors if they wanted to play sports.
"Academic advisers say that all the time," Ridpath said. "You'd do it in more subtle kinds of ways, but I have directly told kids myself, 'You can be in this major if you want to be, but if you want to play basketball, you may want to look at this major.' And that's what happens."
He admitted twice in the story steering athletes away from tougher curricula.
"I do admit I did it myself, and I'm ashamed of it, and I wish I'd never done it,'' he said.
Marshall's NCAA sanctions, of course, had little to do with the specific issue. The Thundering Herd was whacked for improper athlete employment as well as academic fraud.
But Ridpath's comments seem to cast a different light than his lawsuit. Was Ridpath really a victim? Or was he simply part of the problem?
And finally . . .
In addition to the annual Capital Classic involving Marshall, West Virginia's basketball team has played some nice competition at Charleston's Civic Center. Last season, Oklahoma hit town. In John Beilein's last season at WVU, it was North Carolina State. Back in his first season, Beilein guided the Mountaineers past Florida here.
This season, the visiting Mountaineer opponent is, let's just say, a cut below.
The Delaware State team visiting Charleston Tuesday defeated Wilmington, but followed that with losses to Cheney, Lehigh (by 76-58), Dayton (62-42) and Ohio State (70-42) Thursday night.
I shall, however, leave you with a Delaware State tidbit you may use to dazzle and amaze your friends.
See, it hasn't been that long since West Virginia and DSU played in hoops.
Back on March 13, 2007, the Mountaineers hosted the Hornets in Morgantown.
It was the first game of WVU's march to an NIT title.
Amaze away.
Reach Mitch Vingle at 348-4827 or mitchvin...@wvgazette. com.
