Month: December 2008

Apparently, Madoff ran a Ponzi scheme were money from new investors was used to pay off older investors.  Sort of like social security.

 

Here is exactly what will happen in Charlotte on December 27.  The Mountaineers will run wild all over the place posting upwards of thirty largely unanswered points.  Then UNC will start a come back as WVU starts to “seize up.”  Remember the Sugar Bowl against Georgia?  As the game draws to an end, it will be up to Pat White to score the winning TD.  He will throw a bubble screen pass to Noel Devine who will absolutely fake out two UNC defenders and rocket into the end zone.  Mountaineer win by single digits.  Ranked 23.  P.S.  The defense will register three sacks of the UNC quarterback.

There have been some pretty negative columns recently about Coach Stewart.  I disagree with the “blame” that these pundits are laddling on Coach Stewart.  They are, of course, reacting to the fact that WVU was ranked #8 pre-season and is now not even in the Top 25.  But that misses the point I think.

Of the four games we lost, ECU was the big stinker.  Other than that the margin of defeat was three points, three points and four points.  The job of a coach is to get the team in a position to win.  Stewart obviously did that in those three narrow losses.  We all know that one play, one fumble, one interception could have turned those three narrow losses into three victories.  THAT MEANS COACH STEWART WAS JUST A FEW PLAYS AWAY FROM BEING 11 and 1.

In terms of a “downfall” from last year, look at LSU.  Does the fact that LSU had a miserable year record-wise mean that Les Myles can’t coach?  Hardly.

Finally, now folks are faulting Coach Stewart for being openly proud of West Virginia.  He understands that the Mountaineers represent the state and he is right to be upbeat about his team, his school, his state and our people. 

Sure, I would have liked the team to have had a better year.  Everybody would …. including Coach Stewart.  But when you look closely at the season, Coach Stewart did a fine job and should be recognized for that.  We are lucky to have him.  Don’t jump off the bandwagon too soon.  I predict those who do will be scrambling to get back on before too long.

Did Ron Paulus play quarterback at Notre Dame for seven years or was it eight?

 

Why do so many college quarterbacks have three names?

 

 

How spoiled we are.  If WVU beats USF on Saturday, we will be 8-4.  Before the recent “golden years” we would have loved a winning season with a bowl game.  As far as Bill Stewart goes, I think coaches get far too much credit for winning programs and far too much blame for disappointing seasons.  If there really was a “trick” to coaching, it would be taught in universities and studied like other businesses and professions.  The fact that it is not leads me to conclude that coaching is more perception than reality.  Over any given season the talent level of the team will out.  Coaching can make a difference around the edges and bad coaching can sink a team but other than that I don’t think coaching makes that much difference.  The team does the winning and losing no matter who is wandering the sidelines.

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There are far too many legislative interims.  Some committees need to meet some of the time between sessions.  The present protocol of having every legislator attending meetings every month is unjustifiable.

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Pat White is one class act.  When the idea of having a “white out” in the stands for the last home game came up, Pat was against it.  He pointed out that he isn’t the only senior on the team.  I am really going to miss the gentleman from Daphne, Alabama and wish him well.