SB Nation - Louisville Cardinals

Should the Georgia Bulldogs Open the 2011 Season in the Georgia Dome? Not Unless It's Against the Clemson Tigers

T Kyle King — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:56:55 -0000

Although the Georgia Bulldogs and the Clemson Tigers are set to renew their rivalry in 2013 and 2014, Dr. Saturday is right that a season-opening date in the Dome represents a golden opportunity for the old rivals to meet up at a neutral site for a game that actually counts.

Paul Westerdawg wants to schedule a game in the Dome in 2011 by dropping the increasingly unattractive series with the Louisville Cardinals. The problem is that I have no interest in playing a regular-season neutral site game in Atlanta against any opponent other than Clemson, and it isn’t clear that the Country Gentlemen are available in 2011.

ACC expansion already caused the Tigers to ditch a 2011 home date with the Oklahoma Sooners, and Clemson later picked up a 2011 home game against the Auburn Tigers. Will the Fort Hill Felines want to play Georgia in the Peach State during a season in which they host another historically strong SEC program and face ACC road outings against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Virginia Tech Hokies? I doubt it.

If we want to schedule a series with another ACC opponent---say, the North Carolina Tar Heels---let’s arrange a pair of home-and-home dates that have the ‘Dawgs hosting UNC between the hedges and traveling to Chapel Hill. If we want to face an Atlantic Coast Conference team other than Georgia Tech in Atlanta and it isn’t going to be Clemson, let’s do it on the hardwood rather than on the gridiron. If Damon Evans can get the Tigers on board for a 2011 season opener in the City Too Busy to Hate, I’ll order my tickets to that one right now. If it’s a non-rival team from the ACC, it’s a waste of our time, as we’ll be playing a team that is not in our weight class historically and giving that opponent an assist in its Peach State recruiting. Thanks, but no thanks.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Bears Draft Weekend Possibilities: Wide Receiver

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:24 -0000

More photos » Marco Garcia - AP

2 months ago: SMU wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders makes a catch during the first quarter of the Hawaii Bowl NCAA college football game against Nevada, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Browse more photos »

The Bears will be just spectators on Thursday, April 22nd when the NFL begins their first ever three day Draft. The first round will get going at 6:30p.m. CT, with the second and third rounds taking place Friday, April 23rd starting at 5:00p.m. CT. What an idiotic start time? If maximizing viewership is the goal, why start at a time when three quarters of the country is either just getting off work, or still at work? Anyway... not the point of this post. But when the Bears finally get around to making their initial selection in the 2010 draft (I'm hoping to be home in time to see it), with the recent free agent signings, and the swirling free agent rumors out there, the direction the Bears will take is really up in the air.

If a free safety and offensive lineman end up being signed it'll really open up the possibilities. Jerry Angelo can truly go with best player available then. He may even go that route if his free agent spending is over. Really the only sure bet from JA is that he'll draft at least one defensive lineman.

This will be just the first in a series looking at potential players the Bears could draft. I'll go round by round looking at a player I think would be available at that time. Even though wide receiver isn't a pressing need, it's a position you can never have enough of. Especially in an Mike Martz offense. If a highly rated player on the Bears big board is sitting there for them, I can see them pulling the trigger.

And FYI... I'm not just searching the first mock draft site I come across. I hit up a number of sites looking for position rankings to see where these players are suspected to fall and try and take a consensus. And in regards to highlight videos posted around the web; be wary because any knucklehead can splice some film to make a fringe prospect look All-World.

Third Round - Jacoby Ford, Clemson 5'9" 186 - He ran the fastest forty at the combine (4.28) and his stock is on the rise. He's still listed as a 3rd or 4th round prospect on most boards, but I think scouts will overrate him based on his speed, and he may sneak into the 2nd round. While at Clemson he played all over the offense, WR, RB, QB, and he returned kicks. Like most speed guys he gets the "poor route running" knock, but some scouts aren't as down on that part of his game.

Fourth Round - Andre Roberts, Citadel 5'11" 195 - We all know JA likes to find those small school players, and after Roberts looked good at the Senior Bowl his stock is on the rise. He's also listed in the 3rd-4th round range, but he may last to the 4th as a lot of receivers are seeing their stock rise after the combine. He's known for his hands, and his speed was a question until he popped off a 4.46 forty.

Fifth Round - Riley Cooper, Florida 6'3" 222 - Cooper is a guy rated anywhere between the 2nd to 5th rounds. I tend to think he'll fall closer to the 5th as he didn't test exceptionally well at the combine, and he has other options if football doesn't work out for him. He gave up a contract with the Texas Rangers to prep for the Draft. Some scouts call his catching inconsistent, but every time I saw him play he would make the big catch.

Sixth Round - Emmanuel Sanders, Southern Methodist 5'11" 186 - He had a productive combine placing top 5 in 5 different tests, and posting the best broad jump of the receivers at 10'6", which is good as it shows lower body explosion and balance. I've seen him going as high as the 6th round, where others think he'll go undrafted. He was suspended the last 2 game of the '09 season for a few academic and football violations. But most scouts agree he's not a character risk.

Seventh Round - Scott Long, Louisville 6'2" 216 - Before his combine he was looked at as borderline draftable, but after 4.46 seconds in the forty, the best wide-out vertical leap with 41.5", the top 60-yard shuttle of the wide-outs, tied for most bench reps among the receivers, the second-fastest WR 20-yard shuttle run, and the fastest 3-cone drill of all the athletes at the combine, Long is making teams rethink his status. If he has a solid pro day he'll shoot up draft boards again.

* And please realize, for those that just "skim" an article, this is not my mock draft, I'm not predicting the Bears will select a WR with every pick. This is just to spotlight a wide-out that may be available in each round the Bears pick, if they were to decide to pick a receiver.

Big East Football Out of Conference 2010

Nico2.0 — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:42:11 -0000

Today is Day 3 of my look at the out of conference scheduling for the six BCS conferences. The Big East East only has eight teams, which means seven conference games and FIVE non-conference games per team per year. While there are four less teams in the Big East than the SEC or ACC, there are only eight less non-conference games as a conference. Syracuse still has to schedule one game, so we'll be basing the percentages on 39 games and not 40. With that in mind, here's the Big East out of conference line up...

CINCINNATI: at Fresno State, Indiana State, at North Carolina State, Oklahoma, Miami (OH)

CONNECTICUT: at Michigan, Texas Southern, at Temple, Buffalo, Vanderbilt

LOUISVILLE: Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, at Oregon State, at Arkansas State, Memphis

PITT: at Utah, New Hampshire, Miami, Florida International, at Notre Dame

RUTGERS: Norfolk State, at Florida International, North Carolina, Tulane, Army

SYRACUSE: at Akron, at Washington, Maine, Boston College, 1 TBA

USF: Stony Brook, at Florida, Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, at Miami

WEST VIRGINIA: Coastal Carolina, at Marshall, Maryland, at LSU, UNLV

Things that hop out at me immediately:

Every Big East team elected to play an FCS team.
Every school elected to play at least one game on the road. Everyone but Rutgers chose to play two on the road (though they do technically play their game against Army in East Rutherford, so it's not technically a home game though they're listed as the home team on the Big East schedule.)
15 of 39 games (38%) against BCS competion.
15 of 39 games (38%) played on the road (not counting Rutgers' Giants Stadium game.)

Breakdown of opponents by conference (excluding the eight FCS opponents):

ACC (6): Boston College, Maryland, Miami (x2), North Carolina, North Carolina State
Sun Belt (5): Arkansas State, Floria Atlantic, Florida International (x2), Western Kentucky
MAC (4): Akron, Buffalo, Miami (OH), Temple
SEC (4): Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Vanderbilt
C-USA (3): Marshall, Memphis, Tulane
Independent (2): Army, Notre Dame
Mountain West (2): UNLV, Utah
Pac-10 (2): Oregon State, Washington
Big Ten (1): Michigan
Big XII (1): Oklahoma
WAC (1): Fresno State

Kind of surprised how much Big East teams travel to "little schools" like Akron, Arkansas State and Temple. Rutgers' trip to Florida International is likely a recruiting venture. Games that particularly interest me: Oklahoma vs. Cincinnati, West Virginia vs. LSU, Rutgers vs. North Carolina, Pitt vs. Utah.

Previous lists:
ACC
SEC

Dominoes: Big East Edition

utesfan100 — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:00:21 -0000

The mention of conference expansion must send shivers down the spine of every Big East fan from the scars of the last round of expansions and the likely targets on their backs for the next round.

I suppose the Pittsburgh Panther, Syracuse Orange, Rutgers Scarlet Night, and West Virginia Mountaneers fans might get a twinge of cautious optimism that they might be allowed an upgrade by the time the dust settles. I suppose that is half of the Big East and, judging by Sugar Bowl, sales most of the Big East's fans.

If two or three of those teams above leave for greener pastures, how would the Big East respond?

The knee jerk reaction would be to leverage their BCS bid to pick up top teams from the MAC and C-USA that are remaining. The Central Michigan Chipawas, East Carolina Pirates, Memphis Tigers, Southern Miss. Golden Eagles, Central Florida Golden Knights, Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (though that name might bring too many scars), and Marshall Thundering Herd are names that come to mind off the bat.

Of course, if the BIG 10 expands to a nice cozy level they might decide to stay their for a while. This could open a door for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to be a natural fit as an all sport member if NBC decides to cut their payout. (Why NBC doesn't get a contract with a league is beyond me. If NBC signed up to show a Big East game every week, two during weeks Notre Dame is not available to them, this could speed up the process.)

The Big East has eight members, why not go to ten? My favorite expansion option for the Big East does not have to wait until they get picked appart first. This would involve a split between the football schools and non-football schools. Hey, it worked for the MWC and WAC, both in a better spot than they were 10 years ago.

Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen. These would harken back to the independent status of many of these schools. Army and Navy have history as deep (and almost as forgotten) as many Big East historical powers. Annapolis Maryland. West Point New York. I dunno. It just smells like a good fit.

For that matter, dissolving as a football conference is an option that worked for many of these schools prior to the BIg East. Maybe they ask Army, Navy and Notre Dame if they can join their non-confernece.

Poll

What should the Big East do after the next round of conference expansions?

Pick up whover they can and hope for the best

2 votes

Pick up a few good teams now and split into football and non football conferneces

9 votes

Know when to fold them ... VIVA THE RETURN OF THE FOOTBALL INDEPENDENTS!

2 votes

13 votes | Poll has closed

Dominoes: ACC edition

utesfan100 — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:18:15 -0000

Like the SEC, the ACC has little ambition to start another round of expansions (that is so 2004). Also like the SEC, they would be the ones responding to the defectors. The Big East would smile.

Until they realized that the ACC was now looking their way ... again.

The Clemson Tigers, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Florida St. Seminoles are the only teams likely to leave, and only if the SEC gives an invite. The East Carolina Pirates fits geographically and has some success recently. The West Virginia Mountaineers would be a solid program as well.

Both would be hindered with the ACC's PAC 10 like self image academically. That said, they got over it when they invited FSU.

The Cincinnati Bearcats and Memphis Tigers would help a loaded basketball conference. The South Florida Bulls and Louisville Cardinals deserve mention as well. Shoot, The Central Florida Golden Knights and Southern Miss. Golden Eagles can come along for the ride too.

This is the short list of who would be on the ACC's short list.

Big East Announces 2010 Schedule

ibleedscarlet — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:32:39 -0000

The Big East has unveiled the 2010 Big East schedule. Thankfully Rutgers won't be opening on Labor Day this year.

Here's the Scarlet Knights full schedule:

Thu., Sept. 2    Norfolk State
Sat., Sept. 11    at Florida International
Sat., Sept. 25    North Carolina
Sat., Oct. 2    Tulane
Fri., Oct. 8    CONNECTICUT (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Sat., Oct. 16    Army (at the New Meadowlands)
Sat., Oct. 23    at PITTSBURGH
Wed., Nov. 3    at USF (7 p.m., ESPN2)
Sat., Nov. 13    SYRACUSE
Sat., Nov. 20    at CINCINNATI
Fri., Nov. 26    LOUISVILLE (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)
Sat., Dec. 4    at WEST VIRGINIA (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)

My initial thoughts:

- I like the fact that we open against Norfolk State (instead of getting our doors blown off by mediocre teams like UNC and Fresno State), but I hate the fact that it's a Thursday night game. The game isn't going to be televised on ESPN, so what's the point of having it on Thursday night.

- Rutgers and UConn will open the Big East season on Friday, October 8th on the banks of the Raritan.

-The Rutgers-Army game on October 16th will be played at the New Meadowlands.

- A Wednesday night game on ESPN. What is this, the MAC?

- Rutgers will play for the 2nd consecutive year on the day after Thanksgiving, and for the second straight year, they'll take on Louisville on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2. Hopefully this year they'll schedule the game for a little later start than 11 AM.

-The Big East tends to backload the schedule and it worked like a charm this year as they got a dream match-up of Cincy/Pitt for the Big East title to close out the season. The Big East has scheduled Pitt/Cincy and Rutgers/WVU to close out the final week of the season this year, hoping for a defacto championship. Let's hope Rutgers can oblige.

Overall, not too bad of a schedule for Rutgers. They'll get extra days off before some of their bigger games (North Carolina, South Florida, West Virginia), and never have 2 road games back-to-back within a weeks time.

Poll

Which Rutgers home game are you most looking forward to?

Norfolk State

3 votes

Tulane

2 votes

North Carolina

13 votes

UConn

4 votes

Army

5 votes

Syracuse

3 votes

West Virginia

26 votes

56 votes | Poll has closed

The Road To Beef Has Been Paved

Sean Keeley — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:02:31 -0000

The Beef Bowl. Now that The Quest For Toronto is forever a memory, it's the hope and dream of every young Syracuse fan. You can have your Manhattan bowl games in December and your Birmingham, Alabama locales. Give me Beef. Of the O'Brady variety. Of course it's not technically called The Beef Bowl. But in our hearts, we know it is.

All Syracuse has to do is go 6-6 this upcoming season and they will swimming in a sea of Beef. The pathway to that goal is almost set now that the Big East schedule has been finalized. So now your SU schedule looks a little like this:

Sat, Sep 04	Akron	Syracuse	Akron, Ohio	TBA
Sat, Sep 11	Washington	Syracuse	Seattle, Wash.	TBA
Sat, Sep 18	Syracuse	Maine	Syracuse, N.Y.	TBA
Sat, Oct 09	USF	Syracuse	Tampa, Fla.	TBA
Sat, Oct 16	Syracuse	Pittsburgh	Syracuse, N.Y.	TBA
Sat, Oct 23	West Virginia	Syracuse	Morgantown, W.Va.	TBA
Sat, Oct 30	Cincinnati	Syracuse	Cincinnati, Ohio	TBA
Sat, Nov 06	Syracuse	Louisville	Syracuse, N.Y.	TBA
Sat, Nov 13	Rutgers	Syracuse	Piscataway, N.J.	TBA
Sat, Nov 20	Syracuse	Connecticut	Syracuse, N.Y.	TBA
Sat, Nov 27	Syracuse	Boston College	Syracuse, N.Y.	TBA	ABC/ESPN/ESPN2

Somewhere along the line the Akron and Maine games switched places. The Orange still have to fill in one space, either the last weekend in August or last weekend in September. Either way it gives the Orange the potential for two winnable games back-to-back.

September looks like it can be an extremely good month for the Orange. Playing at Washington against Jake Locker will be tough but otherwise SU is looking at two very winnable games and potentially a third.

October will be an extremely tough stretch for SU. Road games against USF, WVU and Cincy and a home tilt versus Pitt. Things could get dicey. (Update: According to Syracuse.com, the 12th game will be played October 2nd.)

But November looks like it could work in the Orange's favor. Home games against Louisville, UConn and Boston College and a road test at Rutgers. All four games seem winnable from where I'm standing, but we'll see.

The Orange currently only have one nationally-televised game on the docket (BC) but as usual, that can change as we get closer. The Washington game seems like it's worth some consideration, if for no other reason than for an early look at Locker.

Looking around the league...

Cincy has the potential to go south in a hurry. At Fresno to open the season and then early contests against NC State and Oklahoma. We might witness a very quick end to the Bearcat dynasty.

UConn opens the season at Michigan, quite the high profile contest. They then feast on some low-level OOC opponents before conference play.

Louisville opens as usual with Kentucky and also gets a trip to Oregon State to offset a couple creampuffs.

Pitt opens the season at Utah in a critical intra-conference game. They also have Miami, FL, Notre Dame and FIU on the schedule.

Rutgers continues it's tradition of scheduling only the finest competition in the land by playing Norfolk State, FIU, Tulane and Army. North Carolina's on the schedule as well to lend the semblance of credibility.

USF opens the season against, I kid you not, Stony Brook. They then play an actual team in Miami before moping up on Western Kentucky and FAU.

Finally, west Virginia does their usual schpiel (Marshall, Maryland) before heading to LSU for a big game. They also host UNLV.

Was the Florida Gators' Recruiting Class Deceived by Urban Meyer?

T Kyle King — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:21:48 -0000

Let’s not mince words here; ever since I made the mistake of treating this soulless Cardassian cyborg like a functional human being, Urban Meyer has used every means at his disposal to confirm that he is, in fact, a total sleazeball. Yes, I would dislike him just because he was the Florida head coach, but Steve Spurrier was merely obnoxious; Urban Meyer’s a lying scumbag. You know it, I know it, and Matt Hinton knows it. Here, for the record, is the tale of the tape:

On December 9, 2009, Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong was hired to be the head coach at Louisville. Less than a month later, in a move many Gator fans considered "a surprise," Coach Meyer hired George Edwards to succeed Coach Strong in Gainesville. SB Nation’s Florida blogger, mlmintampa, noted (in the posting linked to in the preceding sentence): "Having a pro coach might provide an advantage of, ‘Hey kid, I can get you to the pros’."

On January 19, 2010, Chan Gailey was hired as the head coach in Buffalo. SB Nation’s lead Bills blogger, Brian Galliford, offered this assessment the following day:

Clearly, the first thing Gailey needs to do is get his stable of assistants in place. Expect him to concentrate on the defensive side of ball first, as Gailey revealed at his introductory press conference that he would be Buffalo's offensive play-caller in 2010. . . .

Gailey's most important hire will obviously be his defensive coordinator.

While Galliford’s evaluation certainly made sense, Coach Gailey’s immediate moves were on the other side of the ball, and the assistants he chose shared a common characteristic: all of them had worked with Chan Gailey at his previous coaching stops. Less than a week after the new head coach was hired, longtime colleague Curtis Modkins was tapped to be Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, and, by January 27, tight ends coach Bob Bicknell, offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris, and offensive quality control coach Kevin Patullo had been added. All had prior experience with Coach Gailey.

The Bills’ offensive staff was rounded out on February 1, when hires reported over the weekend were announced officially. George Cortez was introduced as quarterbacks coach and special teams coordinator Bruce DeHaven came on board, as well.

Accordingly, although Galliford’s prediction was imminently sensible, the exact opposite occurred: Chan Gailey needed to make hiring a defensive coordinator his top priority, but, instead, he assembled a complete offensive staff and even hired a special teams coordinator without appointing a chief assistant to run the defense. This left matters very much up in the air, as Coach Gailey’s other defensive hires were without formal position responsibilities or official titles: Giff Smith was brought in as a defensive assistant and Bob Sanders was retained from the previous staff, but their job descriptions were amorphous while the most important staff position remained unfilled.

What made the situation even more odd was the fact that Coach Gailey must have had his man in mind. His other staff hires showed a clear pattern of picking assistants with whom he had worked previously, and Coach Edwards had been given his first NFL job by Coach Gailey more than a decade before. Since the new Buffalo head coach surely had at least an inkling that Coach Edwards was the guy he wanted, why didn’t he do what he did in assembling an offensive staff; viz., hire the coordinator first then fill in the flow chart from there? Nothing prevented him from doing so, since the customary prohibition on poaching coaches involved in playoff runs obviously did not apply.

On February 3, Florida inked the country’s top recruiting class on national signing day despite the turmoil caused by Coach Meyer’s uncertain status since Christmas. Undoubtedly, this was pleasing to Coach Gailey, who quarterbacked the Gators as a collegian and recently helmed a Georgia Tech program that shares with Florida the view that Georgia and Florida State are hated rivals.

Also on national signing day, Jim Donnan stated on Atlanta radio (without naming names) that a big hire was forthcoming that would take a notable coach from a significant program. Coach Donnan indicated that he expected an announcement that day. No such announcement was made on February 3.

On February 4, in apparent confirmation of Coach Donnan’s forecast the previous day, Coach Edwards was hired as the defensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills after less than a month on Coach Meyer’s staff. The members of the elite Florida recruiting class whose national letters of intent had been signed just the day before evidently knew nothing of the move beforehand.

Now, it’s possible that it could just be a heck of a coincidence and that relentless control freak Urban Meyer was blissfully ignorant that his defensive coordinator was about to bail on him, even though a radio host who’s been out of coaching for a decade---since then-Notre Dame wide receivers coach Urban Meyer was about to start his first head coaching job at Bowling Green---knew it was happening beforehand. Maybe Coach Meyer’s recent health reversals have left him that oblivious to major events inside the program he micromanages obsessively . . . but I don’t believe that, and neither do you.

Are we seriously to believe that Chan Gailey, despite needing most of all to hire a defensive coordinator, saved the most important position for last, even though his hiring pattern made it abundantly clear that he wanted someone with whom he had worked before and he knew full well that George Edwards had the best resume for the job? Are we to believe that Chan Gailey did such a thing in a vacuum, and just happened to hold off until the day after George Edwards’s presence as an NFL guy on Urban Meyer’s staff aided Chan Gailey’s alma mater in landing the cream of the incoming collegiate crop?

Maybe that makes sense to you, but, to me, it seems a good deal more plausible that Chan Gailey knew from the get-go that he wanted George Edwards and that, either at Urban Meyer’s request or with Urban Meyer’s knowing assent, he waited more than two weeks to formalize that relationship so that the Gators could create the illusion of stability in an effort to dupe at least some of their recruits into signing with Florida under false pretenses.

Do I know Urban Meyer did such a thing? I do not; I’m just connecting the dots, but circumstantial evidence is still good evidence, and the math doesn’t seem to add up any other way. Besides, given what we know about Urban Meyer, exaggerator extraordinaire and outright liar, is there anything even a Gator fan---or, for that matter, even the daughter who thought she had her daddy back---would put past this charlatan? Doug Gillett is a friend of mine, but he has Coach Meyer ranked three spots too low.

The irony is that Urban Meyer has been as successful as any coach in the BCS era yet Congress intends to subject the BCS to laws governing deceptive trade practices. This is silly, seeing as how the consumers of college football are so fully aware of the Bowl Championship Series’s inherent flaws that fans consistently refer to the national championship as "mythical," but, if the House of Representatives wants to protect someone from dishonest practices in college football, maybe it ought to start in Gainesville with the 28 young men who are bound by letters of intent that were obtained by a man who ought to be asked, "What did the head coach know and when did he know it?"

Maybe every last one of those kids would have signed with Florida, anyway, but not telling them until the ink is dry is just sleazy, and the fact that he apparently kept the information from them suggests strongly that Coach Meyer wasn’t so sure there wouldn’t have been some defections if he was honest. As it stands, any member of the incoming crop of freshman Gators who thought he was coming to play for George Edwards and wants to go somewhere else because he feels he was misled can go play in Division I-AA or transfer within Division I-A and sit out a year. When outside observers look at such restrictions and shake their heads at the system in place in college football, we should not wonder why they condemn the sport as morally bankrupt. As long as we reward lying sacks of crap like Urban Meyer, the critics are right.

Meanwhile, Mark Richt is drawing criticism from fans for his signing class, yet still he continues to stand up like a man and say things like this:

Recruiting is a lot about relationships. Anytime there is some kind of change on your staff for whatever reason, the relationships that have been built throughout this recruiting process were broken. I think the timing of the hire taking as long as it did, it did put a strain on these young men that we had committed. We know that some guys changed their mind.

So it can be confusing at times. It can be very difficult at times. That’s why our policy has been to be very straightforward from the beginning. Don’t say something that won’t come true in the end. Trust is really the only thing we have to hold us together, I think.

What does it profit a man if he wins two crystal footballs at the cost of his own soul? The reason Old Scratch came up empty in Charlie Daniels’s "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is that he went one state too far north.

Go ‘Dawgs!

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Signing Day/Brawl Hangover (2/4/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:24:17 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information and daily distractions; Now nationally recognized! We're being brought to you today by Three Bears beer, in honor of today's Miss Throwdown.

Wow, yesterday was just...wow. I know I'm running late so I'll shut up here and let the links do the talking. Keep the tips, suggestions and requests coming. Times a wasting...

What You May Have Missed:

Gold and Blue Report for Thursday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

WVU rolls for fifth straight win as Pitt's shooting goes cold - ESPN
Recap, stats and video

WVU Blasts Pitt 70-51 - WV Illustrated
Inlcudes post-game interview video of Kilicli

Photo Gallery - WVU vs. Pitt - WV Illustrated

Photo Gallery II: WVU - Pitt - BlueGoldNews.com

Women's Soccer: Signing Day Central - MSNsportsNET.Com
Yesterday was also signing day for both Soccer teams

Men's Soccer: Signing Day Central - MSNsportsNET.Com

Butler Named Lowe's Finalist - MSNsportsNET.Com

ESPNRadio.com - PodCenter - ESPN
Page 2: 2/3 archive has an award for Huggs (relevant audio starts about 1/3 into it). Thanks to 5YS.

News of Note:

Briefly, The Hoopies - Pitt Blather
This was a preview of last night's game and the first section wound up being unfortunately accurate. Thankfully, so was the second section.

Panthers are outhustled, outrebounded in worst slump since 2001 - PPG

No. 6 WVU pounds Pitt, 70-51 - Times West Virginian

Turkish Delight - BlueGoldNews.com
Video link (interview)

The Turk Provides Impact - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Butler, Ebanks Lead WVU - MSNsportsNET.Com
Not a single word about the crowd from Pravda.

West Virginia fans now throwing things - ESPN
"Really, West Virginia?" - I have to agree

West Virginia fans disrespect the game - PPG
He at least qualifies his remarks and doesn't generalize.

"Foul" Behavior - BlueGoldNews.com

Brawl gets physical - Charleston Gazette

Wild Night - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Article, audio, video and gallery

Good, bad in charged atmosphere - Charleston Gazette

Bill Stewart Quotes - MSNsportsNET.Com

Deion Sanders happy Noel Devine asked for advice - Naples Daily News

Talent in this state is developed, not delivered - Charleston Daily Mail

Recruiting:

Mountaineers Sign 19 - MSNsportsNET.Com
Includes a video link

Rivals.com Top 25: 2010 Class Rankings - SI.com

WVU lands 19 on signing day - Times West Virginian
Includes player bios

WVU 2010 Recruiting Class - WV Illustrated
Includes video of Stew's presser.

Stew: 'We have a special class' - Charleston Gazette

Stewart Says WVU's Class Is Special - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Recruit ranks don’t always matter - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column

WVU will give Brunetti a chance - Charleston Daily Mail

All-American joins WVU recruiting class - Martinsburg Journal

Two star QBs sign with WVU - Register-Herald

Mountaineers' recruiting effort 'ahead of the curve' - Charleston Daily Mail

Top WR, QB prizes of class - PPG

Two sides to WVU’s recruiting - Parkersburg News and Sentinel

WVU fortifies areas of need on football field - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Huggins Getting an Early Start on Class of '15? - EerSports
Raise your hand if you're surprised....didn't think so.

Around the League (and Beyond):

USF stuns No. 7 Georgetown - Tampa Tribune
72 - 64

Villanova-Syracuse to set NCAA attendance record - SI.com

Marrone charting a new course for SU football recruiting - Post Standard
Cuse signed 31?!?

Is It New Basketball Uniform Time Already? - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
Does any other team change uniforms (other than Oregon, which I would consider a Nike Beta site) as often as they do?

Pitt operating like a well-oiled machine - PPG
Football, that is...

Cincinnati Bearcats unveil recruiting class - Cincinnati Enquirer

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano renews Florida pipeline to build 2010 recruiting class - Star Ledger

Routine exam: Why it's time UConn makes a leap in recruiting - The UConn Blog

Edsall rails on ranking services, in-state coaches - ESPN

Charlie Strong's stimulus package: ‘Really good' Louisville football class - Courier-Journal

Ssshhh! Edgar Sosa having nice Louisville basketball season - Courier-Journal

College Basketball Mailbag - Seth Davis - SI.com

U-M regents hold closed session for NCAA update - Detroit Free Press
This week in schadenfreude.

Top U.S.C. Recruit Is Not Signed Yet - The Quad Blog - NYTimes.com
"Seantrel Henderson is waiting for U.S.C. to appear before an N.C.A.A. infractions committee later this month before signing a letter of intent." - Smart kid/family

Rundown of March Madness, Volume 2 -- NCAABB FanHouse

10 Reasons NOT To Expand The Tournament - Cincinnati Enquirer
Can't really argue with any of these

What's On Tap:

Practice Facility Groundbreaking - MSNsportsNET.Com
Ground will be broken today at 10:30am. A live video stream of Thursday’s ground breaking ceremony can be accessed by clicking http://webcast.wvu.edu/

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - ESPN
Tonight at 9 pm from the Joyce Center in South Bend on ESPN. It's the only BE game today. Irish are giving 3.5.

Videos of Interest:

Former WVU punter Pat McAfee goes on the street with a camera and microphone (thanks again to 5YS):

Video of (Dis)Interest:

This video is amazing, spectacular, magical, wonderful, incred...

Super Bowl WAG Gallery/Poll of the Week:

I'm voting left this time...I just don't get the fascination with Kendra.

via coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is a Russian beauty. Please welcome Natalia Vodianova. (NSFW ads below the gallery at the bottom of the page)

via www.wallpaperbase.com

Three Bears image via bravosolutions.com

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Signing Day and Backyard Brawl (2/3/10) Edition

WVUIE97 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:05:28 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information and daily distractions; Now nationally recognized! We're being brought to you today by Martinsburg's own Mountaineer Brewing Company Red Ale, as suggested by ShadyMountaineer.

It's Signing Day!!! It's the Backyard Brawl, Cager Edition!!! Yes, it's a big day for the Mountaineer Hopefuls. BIG DAY!! Hopefully the fax machine in the Mylan Puskar Center is buzzing early and often this morning. Lot's and LOT's to cover, including a new DougityDog video premiere. Our signing day coverage will be up shortly. Tips, suggestions and requests are always welcomed. It all begins after the jump...

Let's GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

What You May Have Missed:

Gold and Blue Report for Wednesday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Huskies lead by eight at half, but pull away to crush Mountaineers - ESPN
80 - 47

Women's Basketball: Huskies Too Much - MSNsportsNET.Com

Women Earn Highest Ranking In School History - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Up to #8, last nights loss notwithstanding...that shouldn't hurt as long as they keep winning otherwise.

Football: Williams Gets Academic Award - MSNsportsNET.Com
as ShadyMountaineer noted yesterday

News of Note:

179th Backyard Brawl - MSNsportsNET.Com

Let The Brawl Begin - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Backyard Brawl could break Pitt's slump - PPG

New looks for WVU, Pitt - Charleston Gazette

WVU provides a challenge for slumping Pitt - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Bob Huggins: "They're All Big Ones" - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Video link

It's The BIG EAST - WV Illustrated

Deniz Kilicli: It's Finally Here - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Video link

Kilicli goes in for WVU tonight - Charleston Daily Mail

Kilicli ready tonight vs. Pitt - Times West Virginian

Kilicli will play tonight against Pitt - Register-Herald

Here Comes the Bully - WV Illustrated

Smith’s game has changed - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column

Foul-mouthed West Virginia Mountaineers student section under fire - ESPN (AP)

Rowdy WVU fans have yet to be quieted - Charleston Daily Mail

Red Turf at Eastern Washington could lead to more gimmick turf creations - With Leather
What they suggested for us probably isn't near as bad as you would think. Marshall's is bad and by bad, I mean "Oh no you dih-int." The kind of bad that makes you feel bad for laughing, yet still slightly amused.

Slaton Underwent Neck Surgery - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Recruiting:

Signing Day Coverage - MSNsportsNET.Com

WVU Football Recruiting - Scout.com
Here's one place to keep up with the signatures.

Playing waiting game with recruits - Charleston Gazette

Stew looking for big, fast athletes - Charleston Gazette

WVU hoping for big recruiting class - Times West Virginian

Changes have made recruiting more interesting for West Virginia - Charleston Daily Mail

Top remaining recruiting battles in Big East - ESPN

Two QBs among WVU recruits - Parkersburg News and Sentinel

Rough patches can be any recruiters' dream - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Around the League (and Beyond):

Stokes' late 3-pointers send No. 2 Villanova past Seton Hall - ESPN
81 - 71

Out of the Cellar - Protect R Turf
"Rutgers is out of the Big East basement after their 2nd consecutive Big East victory, a 84-72 win over St. John's."

Role players chipping in for Bulls - Tampa Tribune

The Orange is 22-1 . . . and rolling, rolling, rolling. And Keno Davis thinks it's No. 1. - Post Standard

UC Bearcats' recruiting holding steady - Cincinnati Enquirer
"The incoming UC class is rated No. 61 nationally by Rivals.com and No. 63 by Scout.com, with national signing day Wednesday. "Cincinnati remains a poster child for disregarding recruiting rankings," says one prominent recruiting expert."

Recruiting class could set tone for USF's Holtz - Tampa Tribune

Recruiting judgment day arrives for rookie coaches - Courier-Journal

What's On Tap:

Pittsburgh Panthers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers - ESPN
Tonight at 7 from the Coliseum on ESPN 360, SNY and Fox Sports Pittsburgh. Mountaineers are giving9.

Dollars for Disaster - WVMETRONEWS.COM
West Virginia Student Government Association is collecting money for the Haiti relief from 5:00 p.m.until 7:00 p.m. at all gates of the Coliseum.

South Florida Bulls vs. Georgetown Hoyas - ESPN
7 pm tonight from the Phone Booth in DC on ESPN 360 and MASN. Hoyas are giving12.5.

Practice Facility Groundbreaking - MSNsportsNET.Com
Ground will be broken tomorrow. A live video stream of Thursday’s ground breaking ceremony can be accessed by clicking http://webcast.wvu.edu/

Videos of Interest:

Here's the premiere of DougityDog's latest effort:

and from our friends at WV Illustrated:

Video of (Dis)Interest:

And now for some schadenfreude. This former Panther is now proud to be a Phoenix instead. Heh heh heh....

Brazil Gallery of the Week:

5 pages of the wonders of Brazil inside...

via www.gunaxin.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is an American actress known for her roles on Gossip Girl and Veronica Mars. She can currently be seen in the film, When in Rome. It's easy to see why she's one of Craig Ferguson's favorite guests. Here's the always perky, lovely and recently engaged, Kristen Bell.

via i23.photobucket.com

Mountaineer Brewing Co. Red Ale image via bottleofpills.typepad.com