In her farewell Q&A with the Cincinnati Enquirer, outbound President Nancy Zimpher admitted she’d handle her defining clash with Bob Huggins differently.

Well, kind of.

I would shorten the time frame. I thought that we were presenting options for a reasonable resolution of our differences. And we never really got to debate those options, because it went immediately to the court of public opinion. And I wasn’t able, given my own ethics, to give line and verse to what we had discussed, and therefore took my knocks in the court of public opinion. And that caused everything to slow down. Dragging something out is never is healthy as just getting on with it and getting it done. And that takes two. That takes two people working together to reach a reasonable conclusion.

Along those lines — “Dragging something out is never healthy…” — I suppose the best part of this, for both Huggins and Zimpher, is it’s over. Neither is associated with U.C. any more and neither has to tiptoe around impossible-to-avoid issues. Good riddance to all that.

And, of course, it’s good news … because it’s not a whole bunch of bad news. You see, it’s the time of year student-athletes are out from under the umbrella of their structured team sport lives and tend to run into trouble with the law. Their exploits are chronicled in the Fulmer Cup and WVU was pretty hot last summer.

This offseason? Well, while people debate if WVU makes any top 25 preseason poll and if the team really deserves a spot, the Mountaineers are No. 24 in  the latest Fulmer Cup. Three of WVU’s most disliked opponents occupy the top four.  

 … and understandably restrained.

“I actually was told I’m not supposed to talk about it,” Isdaner said Monday to explain his absence from the public record. “I think officially they said we should respectfully decline. Obviously, my thoughts and prayers are with the people who got hurt and their families.”

(Sorry, I’m struggling with a title, but this really made me smile … and laugh.)  

Oll Stewart’s memories of his late mother made for a poignant read Sunday, like the way she shaped the young coach’s style.

“She was the driving force in my competitive nature,” Stewart explained.

When he was coaching at Air Force, getting ready to face Ohio State in the 1990 Liberty Bowl, she suffered an aneurism and almost died. Stewart came home to comfort her, returning for the game. He had told her that it was going to be a battle, that Ohio State was much bigger and stronger.

“Outmaneuver them,” she instructed.

And that’s just what Fisher DeBerry’s team did, 23-11, Stewart’s defensive line of 220 and 230 pound players doing a great job of stopping the Buckeyes’ running game.

Clearly, this was a woman with substance — you need only to know the man for a few minutes to grasp the reality mom was a signifacant part of his life — as well as style.

He remembers her being pulled over by a state trooper and not liking that one bit, giving the trooper quite a lecture than ended with something like, “Speeding? My butt.”

“She was a looker,” Stewart also recalled. “I mean, she’d be out there washing her convertible in those short shorts that they were wearing then and men would come by a whistle at her.”

Heretofore undistinguished walkon guard Cam Payne has a pretty interesting thing going. As a freshman he wore No. 25. Last offseason, he gave it up so freshman Truck Bryant could have his high school number. As a sophomore, Payne opted for No. 33. That’s no longer an option, thanks to WVU’s decision to retire the Hot Rod’s digits.

Payne has an idea for his junior year.

“I think I’m going for 15,” Payne said. “I don’t know why. It sounds good.”

Any chance that one will be retired? The number has been worn by 20 Mountaineers, last for the 2006-07 season by Devan Bawinkel, who transferred out and now plays at Iowa.

“I don’t know who else had it, but I know Drew Schifino wore it,” Payne said, “and I don’t think they’re going to retire his number.”

… from the weekend that was. For your use in elevator rides, trips to the water cooler and other awkward moments on a Monday. Sponsored by “Great Achievements in Triviality“ – the 1100 Club was already taken. 

- OK, so maybe now it’s clear. Stop pitching to Vince Belnome … seriously.

- Now that’s a high jump.

- Mike Carey is back at it again. (By the way … 11 assistants!?!?!)

- Big finish for 7-27 Eisbaren Bremerhaven! Mike Gansey scores 15 and averages 19 points in the final six games. Ever gracious, Gansey thanked the fans and said (something along the lines of): “Bad words were not to be heard, on the contrary: There was everywhere … good desires for the future. That was a completely special tendency, because finally we bucked the season. … Nevertheless the people always supported us. That is great.”

- In the height of irony, Bill Stewart’s No. 1 fan Ken Kendrick is not handling skepticism very well.

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which gets a little restless this time of year. There just isn’t a whole lot to write or talk about. It lasts just a few weeks, but it’s a drag. Fortunately, I have time to devote to other exercises and I’d like to share one with you today.

Press Ctrl + D. Press Enter. You’ve now bookmarked the blog and thus alleviated any future trouble finding the blog link on the Daily Mail homepage.  

Onto the abbreviated Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, master the keyboard!

Dave said:

Of course the Big Televen does not want to change anything. Ohio State plays the system perfectly … no real OOC and if they do lose OOC, it is early in the season and they can recover. Further with the layoff, they can lose late and still get a BCS invite based on … enough time to recover and their fans who travel well. So, you see a relatively undeserving conference getting 2 BCS bids every year to the MNC (Mythical National Championship game) and the Rose Bowl. And fans get to see the teams slaughtered.

The only real recourse is that yes, let the Big Ten hold tradition and not play conference championships but instead have 2 month layoffs only to get creamed in the bowls. If they’re going to block a playoff system, then let them suffer.  

I wonder if anyone has ever told the Big Televen this … with these very words. Imagine the ease with which decisions could be made! 

Read the rest of this entry »

The secret of Reed Williams’ success, as according to defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel, is pretty entertaining. 

“I tell the story of Reed Williams. He’s a guy that I saw come in to our program — and again I’ve been there nine years — but he came in and basically thought he was the best football player at West Virginia University from the time he walked on campus from little old Moorefield. He was not intimidated. He was not the best player, but he thought he was.”

When James Clements was announced as WVU’s president-elect last month, his press conference was broadcast on the radio for all to hear. A while in, he was asked about athletics and late in his answer he said he was looking forward to the next day’s men’s basketball game against Louisville. Clements then expressed he had full faith in Coach Higgins.

“Oh, no,” I thought.  

Read the rest of this entry »

Sam Keller, who was once upon a time the quarterback for Nebraska and Arizona State, can also say he was once sane. He’s leading a class action lawsuit again Electronic Arts — EA Sports, for those of you who are in the game — because … well, I’m not really sure why. Something about “blatant and unlawful use” of student-athletes’ likenesses.

 Electronic Arts doesn’t include the players names in the games, but Keller’s suit contends that EA “intentionally circumvents the prohibitions on utilizing student athletes’ names in commercial ventures by allowing gamers to upload entire rosters, which include players’ names and other information.”

Keller says that the NCAA and its licensing arm, Collegiate Licensing Company, have approved the use of players names and likenesses.

“With rare exception, virtually every real-life Division I football or basketball player in the NCAA has a corresponding player in Electronic Arts’ games with the same jersey number, and virtually identical height, weight, build, and home state. In addition, Electronic Arts matches the player’s skin tone, hair color, and often even a player’s hair style, although this last characteristic can be highly variable over even a single season.”

Uh-huh…I’m sorry? Sounds like a compliment, not a complaint. I mean, isn’t that the point? Shouldn’t EA be as accurate and detailed as possible?

Just don’t ask Pat White, who as a sophomore swore off the game when he discovered he was made to be right-handed. The EA people working on Madden were a little more kind.