Eddy P is going to hit the road and retire in 2010 and then serve 2 years in a transitional role.

More details here.

Some people are going stand up and cheer with this news. Some will think there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Some will say too late, the damage is done. On the other hand, Some people will be sad to see him go. Personally, I’m stuck in the middle.

I haven’t always agreed with some of the tactics and decisions Mr. Pastilong and the Athletic Department have made. Especially in the handling of the Rich Rodriguez and Beilein coaching controversies.

As we’ve learned over the past 2 months, it’s a tough job to have, but doesn’t the timing of this seem peculiar….?

“I just felt it was time to turn the keys over, and by giving President Garrison a notice that would allow he and his staff to plan. And I think that’s important and I want to do it in a proper manner,” Pastilong said. “I’ve enjoyed my 33 years of working at WVU and my five years of being a student athlete.”

One of my sources told me this was coming about a month ago. He told me that Pastilong would probably be retiring in the next year or two and to watch the timing around the same time that the governor starts to campaign. I wonder if Manchin is going to try to take over Byrd’s spot in the Senate? (good luck, those are some mighty big shoes to fill Joe!)

I found this over at WSAZ.com

Pastilong will get a raise in this restructuring of his contract, from $196,000 to $225,000. He will also get a bonus of $100,000 if he stays on the job until the end of June 2010.

Why doesn’t this surprise me? Boy there friggin Bonuses galore at WVU, wonder if he has a buy-out clause?

I think we all can agree that the time has come for a new Athletic Director. But WHO? I’ve been hearing the cry for Jerry West to take the reigns but I don’t know if WVU needs another old name in that job. I think we need to see young aggressive blood in the AD and someone who will get out there and find the best coaches, help fund-raise for new facilities, find new donors, and take WVU Athletics to the next level. We are so close we just need that little extra push and a new AD could do that.

I hope the WVU Prez truly does a search for his replacement and we don’t get yet another member of “the good ‘ol boys” club. Only time will tell and we’ll be on top of it here at WVMS.com.

All I can really do is just sit, sigh, and wonder what these guys thought when they were at Club Z Saturday night. It seems a bit of a confrontation happened with two other WVU students inside the club that transpired into a fight, and the situation is being investigated. Both parties were ordered out of the bar, and it was there that one of the students was allegedly hit in the back of the head and kicked repeatedly, while the other student attempted to help and was also allegedly assaulted.

Their claims are that Noel Devine and Jock Sanders were part of a six man group that were the alleged assailants. Now whether or not the accusations are true are up to the detectives to determine. But one thing is for certain: Devine and Sanders shouldn’t have been somewhere they could get in trouble regardless whether they committed any act of violence or they didn’t. They not only have a education to worry about, but the betterment of themselves for their futures.

Yes, I realize that they are football players as well and that’s what got them into college. It’s something they love to do. Either way, they set a example of what not to do when you’re trying to achieve success on the field or in the classroom. Sounds like a service message but it’s no less true. As to whether there is fault on their part or isn’t is something that will be determined, and one can only hope that things are treated fairly and throughly.

The following is a postgame rant not an actual game summary (who really cares about this one, right?)

Looks like Hunsi Sangarie got the better end of a beatdown than the West Virginia basketball team did. Tonight’s blowout loss mirrored eerily similar to the one that happened on January 5, 2005 at The Pavilion. Who can forget that? They were down early and often, just like tonight. They were down by 20 at the half, tonight they were down by 24. They ended up losing 84-46, tonight the Eers lost 78-56 (at least they won the second half). After that 2005 game they would proceed to lose six of the next eight games including the hated Thundering Herd. WVU cannot afford a similar letdown or we’ll be forced to spell N……………….I…………………T. Read the rest »

In order for the Mountaineers to continue on their quest to the NCAA Tournament they must win some road games against lesser competition. I’m not saying Villanova sucks but with their dominant-guard play and little frontcourt presence West Virginia should be able to win at The Pavilion.

Villanova has not lost at The Pavilion this season but don’t worry the Mountaineers have had little trouble there in the past as they are 3-5 since the Eers joined Big East basketball in 1995. Right now, WVU is 35th in the RPI according to realtimerpi.com.

A win tonight on the road, in hostile territory, would catapult them about 10 places in the RPI rankings.

Villanova has a record of 15-9 with a 5-7 conference record. For the Wildcats to have any chance of being in the NCAA Tournament they have to win this game and then get on tear to win five more. Not only that, they have only one win more than St. John’s and Providence for the dreaded 13th spot. The Big East Tournament will feature 12 teams for the final time this year. A loss would give the Cats only one game ahead of that non-tournament spot.

The Wildcats are led by their star shooting sophomore Scottie Reynolds. Reynolds averages 16.6 points a game and is the team’s leading three-point threat with 54 treys. The only other lineup stalwart is 6-8, 230# forward Dante Cunningham. Cunningham averages 10.5 points with a team leading 6.8 rebounds per game. Reynolds, in the previous game against St. John’s, sprained his ankle and played only 21 minutes. Reynolds should be able to go tonight. Read the rest »

I have to start this column off with saying I have read what some of our brothers and sisters out in Mountaineer land have said regarding our new staff, as well as those that call themselves “analysts”.

First of all, the majority of “analysts” never have good things to say about West Virginia sports period. How many times have you tuned into a Mountaineer game on ESPN or even FOX and wanted to reach through the television and slap the reps of the halftime shows or the commentators for the asinine thing they just said about us? I thought so.

Why? Because they really don’t like the fact we have a talented core of players that actually play their hearts out and give the best they can for the blue and gold. Because we can’t be ignored as a definite challenge for any football team in Division I football.

Don’t think so? My advice is just check out what we’ve done over the years to some of the most heralded conferences. Now, getting to the fans of Mountaineer football is simple. We are all die hard WVU fans that thrive on rooting the Mountaineers on gameday, and some are just really nervous and downright afraid we aren’t going to succeed from here on out with the questions surrounding Coach Stew and crew. Read the rest »

For the second straight game, the West Virginia women’s basketball team had to overcome a barrage of treys.  This time, however, they had an easier time against a lesser opponent.  Meg Bulger scored 20 points to lead five scorers in double figures as the Mountaineers achieved a successful road victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats.  The Bearcats made 13 three’s, at one point they were 12 of 18, but the Mountaineer bench were the difference as Bulger, freshman Liz Repella, and even relative-unknown Kelly Smith all scored in double figures.  They outscored the Cincy bench a whopping 43-7.  As a team West Virginia shot 57 percent from the field. Read the rest »

Designs for the new basketball practice facility are now taking place. This $10 million dollar building will be a key building block in developing a national Final Four contender for years to come.

The facility will be located in between the Red Gate at the WVU Coliseum and the tennis courts area right beside the Cary Gym. The tennis courts will have to be moved since the building will cover half the area and should be completed as early as the 2009-2010 season.

Check out this PDF’s that explains the design and process involved in building the new facility.
Basketball Facility PDF 1 (4.5mb, a large file but worth the download)

In case anyone is having the Mondays here’s your favorite ESPN girl. Here’s hoping she finds her way to Milan Puskar Stadium this fall.

And one more for good measure

Hey Mountaineer fans and a great day for another Huggs and company win.

First off, there are no updates on Kemoeatu from anyone I’ve contacted regarding his LOI. Although I have heard faintly among the discussions and I hope it’s true, is that he and his family have been tied up with other issues and have not yet had a chance to address his LOI. We certainly hope that everything is OK for them and we can’t wait to see him in Morgantown.

Big stir up for the boys in gold and blue. As of this morning WVU has moved to 36th on the rankings of signed players via scout.com. I’m sure that will add fuel to the fire for Coach Stew and the gang up there and make it even more exciting as we get to spring practices.

Speaking of stir, the Mountaineers are adding a couple of players from in state as invited walk on’s. Josh Culbertson, who played this previous year at the University of Charleston, and Jordan Roberts of Scott High School are the latest additions to the program. Both are previous winners of the Kennedy Award, which is the state’s top prep football player, are both hellacious on the field.

In his freshman year with U.C., Culbertson rushed for 568 yards and 9 touchdowns while Roberts ran to a new state single season record of 3,826 yards breaking the previous record that Culbertson had set in 2005 while he played for Nitro. Talk about high octane football! These guys will help ignite the field, as well as add depth to the running game with a distinct possibility of one of the two playing defense. Our former coach extended a invitation to walk on to Culbertson back in 2006, but he declined and decided on playing for U of C. This time, when the call was sent for him to come to Morgantown he grabbed his pads and helmet and made the dash. Both made it vocal how much they wanted to play for West Virginia and now they have their chance.

The walk on invitation to these two young gentlemen is a testimony of what Doc Holliday and Coach Stew want to do with recruiting and search the state of West Virginia over first then move outward. A really nice move on both their parts to grab some great in state talent for the 2008 season along with all the effort given by Stew and the staff on the road.

We here at WVMountaineerSports.com would like to be among the first to welcome these young men to the fold, along with all the committed recruits who decided to come here and play a role in the success of our football program. Let’s Go Mountaineers!

ESPN HIGHLIGHTS

The West Virginia Mountaineers are playing their best offensive basketball all year. Sure it was over the likes of Jersey teams Rutgers and Seton Hall this week but one would think if they continue to play like this they may find themselves in the Big Dance a month from now.

Balance scoring for the Eers made all the difference as The Rainmaker Alex Ruoff and Da’Sean Butler each scored 15 points while Joe Alexander scored 13 and Darris Nichols chipped in with 11. Nichols, in this game, set a school-record for the most games played in a Mountaineer basketball uniform with 129. Don’t be surprised if he ends up with 140.

Seton Hall star player Brian Laing scored 21 points, 19 in the second half. The real star of the game, in a losing effort, was their 3-point ace Jeremy Hazell. Hazell hit 30 points, 6 of 12 from three. He scored 20 of Seton Hall’s 30 first half points. Bobby Gonzalez all game called timeout after timeout to cool the WVU momentum but to no avail. Seton Hall never lead at any point and were as down by as many as 30.

The Mountaineer bench players shined today. New Martinsville native Ted Talkington saw his first action since the South Florida game nearly a month ago. Teddy T scored 5 points as he played some crucial minutes in the first half. Two-sport athlete Jarrett Brown rattled in a couple of threes to the delight of the Mountaineer faithful. Finally, Wellington Smith nearly had a hungry man’s triple-double. In all, Smith scored 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 blocks. His defensive effort electrified the black-clad Maniacs who celebrated Huggs assistant Billy Hahn Day who is well-known for his all-black attire.

In all the Mountaineers out-rebound the Pirates a whopping 47 to 26. The Eers also shot a torrid 54 percent from the field as well as 11 3 pointers. The bugaboo, known as their foul shooting, continues as they shot 6 of 13. The Mountaineers now own a record of 18-7 with a 7-5 conference record good for a 6th place tie with Pitt and Cincinnati. They will now go on the road to Philly to face the Villanova Wildcats Wednesday night. The Eers better be ready since Nova is finding themselves in a fight to stay out of the bottom four in the Big East standings. Congrats and GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MOUNTAINEERS!