At one point, every site you went to you would read something to the effect of.. “Will [your school here] have a chance at a BCS berth this coming season?” ‘See how your favorite school fared in the early preseason polls” yadda yadda….Well we can say one thing about WVU’s and all of college football’s preseason. It’s been chock full of drama.

First, we had Ed Collington and John Holmes being busted for marijuana and dismissed by Coach Stew. Then came the buyout conflict and trial with everyone’s favorite coach Dick Fraudriguez. Now the the whole Heather Bresch, Milan, Garrison, Manchin saga rears its ugly head. Okay, okay…so it wasn’t the best course of events going into practices, but spring football drills were great and the coaches were pleased with the results overall.

Luckily, WVU isn’t the only team this off-season running into some issues. What it reminds us is that shit happens and it happens whether you’re playing football or not.

Let’s take Iowa for example: Two members of the football team assaulted a woman in a dorm on campus back in March. (The two players considered WVU as a place to transfer, and thankfully they decided against it). Abe Satterfield and Cedric Everson were both charged with the sexual assault and abuse of a college student. Supposedly after Satterfield forced her to have sex, Everson violated her while she was unconscious.

Just the other day, Chad WIley, a 22 year old senior OL, died from complications of a heat illness after a campus workout. He was a two year starter at North Carolina A&T. Can you imagine what his family is going through? What about any of his fellow students?

Then there’s the case with Maurice Williams, one of Pitt’s receivers, having to sit out the 2008 season due to academic issues.

Notre Dame lost their Athletic Director, Kevin White, to the Duke Blue Devils, and are looking for a replacement after he was hired Saturday for the job. SUCK IT NOTRE DAME!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

Some call this a loss, others say it’s a blessing. We heard Mike Tranghese will be stepping down next June as commissioner of the Big East. While no one has any idea who will replace him, the Big East will be a little different in the coming years.

Now back to WVU’s mishaps, There’s the incident with Charles Pugh, who stole credit cards from a parked car in a lot and used them to buy $1,600.00 dollars worth of merchandise. Quinton Andrews was also an accomplice to that crime, but there have been no word as to whether Andrews was really involved or not. Pugh was dismissed from the team. SON OF A…THEY ARE DROPPING LIKE FLIES!!!!!

After all of this happening in the past few months, we hear Mike Garrison’s announcement about stepping down September 1st. While I’m sure there are boosters and faculty alike who are thrilled with this news, I think they need to rethink this. I believe that the biggest reason for his departure is the debacle that was/is Richy Rich Rodriguez. Some will say that’s a stretch but it just seems way too convenient.

During Garrisons short term as President of WVU we’ve been a lot better off since last season started, and even more so since Rich left Morgantown and a few weeks before the Fiesta Bowl.

We now have:

• Better coaches
• More students are considering WVU, for athletics and academics and of course for the most important ranking, #1 party school!!!
• Less predictable plays on the court and on the field
• Larger support for the University from both alumni and new fans

Garrison is no saint by any means, but he’s done the things that needed to be done and I don’t understand why we should be calling for his head. Our success isn’t one person’s responsibility. It takes the coaches, the AD, the president of the university, the students, the fans, and a little luck to make a school and their athletics the best.

Yes, I may take some flack for this article, but the great thing is it’s meant to be controversial and something talked about. It’s my general feeling on all of the issues above, that really, we could be in a lot worse shape and there have been times we have. But now comes the challenge of it all.

Go back and rethink everything from the start of last season and tell me you don’t see any differences or major positive changes for the Mountaineers. This is one Mountaineer that supports the students, coaches, athletes, staff, and the Pride of all West Virginians and I’m not going to waste my time whining over people who make positive changes for the school. Here’s to the hopes of a more positive summer and even better 2008 season….Let’s Go Mountaineers!!!