Once again, West Virginia University is the #1 Party school in the country! Which is great, because we aren't going to be #1 in any other major sports this year. The Quarterback Carousel continues this week, with Clint Trickett replacing injured freshman quarterback Ford Childress. Childress injured his chest in the shameful 37-0 loss to the pathetic Maryland Terrapins. After 7 victories in a row against this so-called rivalry, WVU fell flat on it's face. Right now, I don't see even a low level bowl game in WVU's future. And basketball wont be much better. The 2011 recruiting class is almost completely gone. Coach Huggins finds himself once again building from scratch with a young team. 

So take joy in our #1 Party school ranking mountaineers, It's all we have right now. Go WVU!!!

To see the Huffington Post story on the rankings, click the link below: 

WVU #1 Party School

Is Barry Bonds now the definition of a bad guy?

Ryan Braun apologized for the damage his PED use has done to the game of baseball. I personally don't care. The damage is done. And most of the damage didn't come from his PED use. It came from his deny-till-you-die attitude. It came from him attacking his accusers, proclaiming his innocence despite the evidence, and demonstrating the characteristics of a horrible human being. It came from his Bondsian attitude toward the whole thing. That's right, Bondsian. Barry Bonds, with the help of Roger Clemens, has set the standard for being an a**hole in the game of baseball. To me, Barry is not the Homerun Champion. He will always be the jerk player who could not throw out Sid Bream in the 1992 NLCS. Sid Bream, who was waddling toward homeplate, actually out waddled the arm of the great Barry Bonds. 

This year was the first time in almost 50 years that all of the inductees of the Baseball Hall of Fame were dead. The two best known living eligible players, Bonds and Clemens, are considered disgraced drug cheats and who will probably never see HOF induction, as it should be. And as it should be for Braun. I love the game of baseball, and it kills me when players disgrace it. Barry could have overcome his scandal by taking a different path. The path of a man with character. He could have stood up to the facts and admitted his guilt right from the start and apologized. He could then have begun work to rebuild his reputation. He would have eventually been forgiven. People hate cheaters, but they hate hypocrites even more. Now he lives a life of shame. Too bad Braun didn't learn from Bonds' example, now his will share the same fate. Sad, just sad. 

Is Barry now the poster boy for PED use? Was Braun's apology too little too late? What do you think?

Please Stop Playing "Find the Hillbilly" at West Virginia Games!! (Reprise)

The West Virginia University Mountaineers will open against the William and Mary Tribe, next Saturday, August 31st at noon EST on Fox Sports 1. The next nationally televised game is an away game on Fox on Saturday Sept. 7th at 7pm against the #16 Oklahoma Sooners.  Oddly, right now, the home game against William and Mary is the one I am more interested in watching. I want to see if something has changed. On August 31st, the television crews will descend on Morgantown. They will show our wonderful stadium, beautiful campus, and great team to the nation. They will do a pre-game show and talk about the upcoming battle with Oklahoma, and our chances this year in the Big 12. It will be a typical college pre-game right up to the kick off. But while all that is going on, I suspect that they will be doing something else, something devious. The Television Director, whomever he may be, will instruct his crew to play "Find the Hillbilly". It happens every year. And it doesn't matter which network is televising the game. It has become a certainty. Sometime during the game, they will zoom the cameras in on a hillbilly. They will settle for a redneck if need be, but they really want a hillbilly. He will have a scruffy beard and semi-toothless grin. He'll be wearing a flannel shirt, hunting jacket and pants. And an Elmer Fudd hat. And with our luck, he'll be screaming and cursing at his wife because Andrew Buie just fumbled the ball. Actually, the hillbilly will probably be standing next to his friend Jethro. Jethro will be wearing old faded jeans, boots, a WVU T-shirt with his gut hanging out of it, and a baseball cap that says " Naked Twister, where everyone is a winner." Once the camera hits them, the color commentator will say something like: "Boy the West Virginia faithful really come out in droves to support their team". That statement is true. The West Virginia faithful do come out in droves to support the Mountaineers. And it is wonderful that the citizens of West Virginia support our team the way that they do.

However, I was born in West Virginia. I am a proud WVU alumnus. And I have attended hundreds of WVU home games. And I can never seem to find these hillbillies that the television cameras find. OK, not true, I have found them. I am not going to pretend that they don't exist. But when I do find them, they stand out from the crowd. And that's the point.

My friends here in DC will read this and say "Oh come on Tim, there are hundreds of hillbillies at your games. It's West Virginia!" The fact is, WVU has fans and alumni from all over the country that attend those games. And the vast majority of the fans that are from West Virginia do not dress or act any differently than the rest of the fan base. Most are wearing WVU apparel, or at least blue and gold clothing. But the television director always finds the guy who drove his family up from the holler to attend the game. They look for the Elmer Fudd hat.

Actually, you can find hillbillies at a lot of college games, All you need to do is watch the ACC. And I know you can find them at games in the SEC; Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina. Especially South Carolina. Do you think a hillbilly is going to pass on the chance to yell "You can't beat our Cocks!!" in public? I am also sure they attend games in Conference USA, and the MAC Conference. But I watch those games, and never see them. They are there, but I never see them. I see cheerleaders, fans, marching bands, kids, player's parents, students, but not hillbillies. Because in the eyes of the television director, hillbillies only attend WVU games. And they don't even know if Jethro and his friend are from West Virginia. OK, they probably are. But they could be from Southern Pennsylvania, or Western Maryland, both of which have plenty of hillbillies, and aren't far from Morgantown. If I had to pick one, it would be Western Maryland. I know, I am doing a little wishful thinking here. Ninety nine percent chance they are both from West Virginia.

Our Mascot was originally a hillbilly. Seventy years ago this year our mascot, the beloved Mountaineer, was created. The Mountaineer was originally a moonshine carrying, bib overall wearing, weed chewing hillbilly. Now the Mountaineer is a buck skin wearing, coonskin capped, musket wielding, Daniel Boone type character. Our Mountaineer was named number 8 in a list of the 12 Coolest Mascots in College Football by the Associated Press in 2010. The Mountaineer changed over the years, because we changed over the years. 

The Mountaineer

represents how the West Virginians view themselves. The Mountaineer represents the years of progress this university's sports programs have gone through. And because of that progress, and the increased television exposure, the Mountaineer is now one of the coolest mascots in college sports. It took WVU decades to earn the respect it now has in football and basketball.

Our flying WV is recognized throughout college sports. Fans my age remember when that wasn't the case. We remember when we were rarely on national television. Now we are televised nationally almost every Saturday. So please, Mr. Television Director, don't play find the hillbilly at our games this year. Don't tarnish our image by searching for stereotypes, just to get a laugh. The West Virginians are a large part of our loyal fan base. They are good people, and don't deserve to be misrepresented. I am just asking for a little respect, that's all.

The Pirates Take On My Red Capped Step Children

If you go to a Little League game, and your kids are on one team, and your step kids are on another, you secretly root for your kids. You are nice and root for your step kids as well, but you want your kids to win. I find myself  in a similar situation this week, as the Pirates and Nationals square off for a 4 game series here in DC. The Nationals are my step kids, but the Pirates are my kids. 

We went for a longtime without baseball here in Washington, over 30 years. The main reason for the ridiculous amount of time, Peter Angelos, majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles. Angelos did not want another team so close to his market. Many DC residents were, and many still are, Orioles fans. For years, the only way to go to a live game was to drive to Baltimore. Now I am not sure how familiar you are with driving in the DC area. Trust me, it's rarely a pleasure. A trek to Baltimore on a game day was a 2 hour haul,  if you got lucky. 

Then Major League Baseball wised up. They saw the huge potential for baseball in the heavily populated DC area. Between the two cities, there are plenty of fans to support two teams. MLB negotiated a deal with Angelos, grabbed the Montreal Expos out of their dying market, and brought them to Washington. It was great!! Baseball was finally back in the nations capital!! We all embraced the Nats.  I love going to the games. And I do root for the Nats, unless they are playing my Bucs. When it comes to professional sports, I bleed back and gold. 

This series will be a pitching based. The Nats are slumping and not hitting very well right now. And both the Nats and the Pirates have low team batting averages, .240 and .243 respectively. The clincher will be the Pirates league leading team ERA and strong bullpen. The Pirates strong pitching staff should make the difference and be enough to take 3 of these 4 games. I'll be tweeting (@wvutimmy) live from 2 of the games. First on Tuesday night as our rookie Garrett Cole takes apart the Nats. And then on Thursday afternoon, while A.J. Burnett goes up against Gio Gonzalez, a great pitching match up. If you are going to either game, look for me on the Big Red Porch. I'll be the guy in the free Hernandez hat! Just kidding. ; )  Let's Go Bucs!!!

I want to be excited, I really do.

I so want to be excited. As of the writing of this blog, the Pirates are tied for first place, not only in the National League, but in all of MLB. They are 48-30 and 18 games over .500 for the first time since 1992. I want to be excited, I really do. However, 20 years of empirical evidence tells me not to be. Every time there has been even a glimmer of hope, the Bucs have come crashing down. And I hate that feeling. That feeling that comes from watching a team that you love end their season with an epic fail. Did anyone catch the Eastern Conference Finals of the NHL Playoffs this year? Of course you did. You know what feeling I am talking about.

When it comes to sports, the Pirates were my first love. As a young boy growing up in the late 60s in Weirton, WV, just 30 minutes west of Pittsburgh, my love of sports was honed during the Pirates heyday. My father took us to games on a regular basis. He loved baseball, and he loved the Pirates. The sports scene was different then. There was no Steeler Nation, the Immaculate Reception had not yet occurred. The Penguins were a brand new team just starting to make their way in the NHL. The Pirates were the love of the city. My first team was the Pirates, and my hero was Roberto Clemente. So it's hard to keep from getting excited, even after 20 years of let down. I have seldom blogged about the Pirates because of their abysmal record. As I stated in a blog post two years ago: My mother told me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. 

These Pirates are fun to watch. It's great to see them on a winning streak this close to the All Star Game. So I have to admit, I am excited. I know the Pirates history tells me not to believe. But I find myself believing anyway. I am enjoying every minute of this. I hope it lasts, I hope things have changed. I only have one goal for our Bucs this year, just compete. Don't let baseball season end in Pittsburgh when Steelers training camp begins, like it has for so many of the last 20 years. Just give me something to watch in September. I am not going to ask for October, not yet, not at this point in time. But man, that would be nice too.

It's Time for Leadership!!

To quote Friedrich Nietzsche "...if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." That, my friends, is exactly where our Penguins find themselves, gazing into the abyss. I am not going to go into details as to why or how, that is all said and done. Plus I don't tend to do that in this blog. The Pens need to look forward, and to face their future. For them to avoid the abyss, it will take leadership. Great leadership. We can all call out Bylsma, that's fine. A head coach should take a lashing when a team of this caliber falls apart, as the Penguins have. But it isn't Bylsma who needs to take the reigns here, it's Crosby and Malkin. 

The test is upon them. Can our two superstars motivate this team to begin to once again play like the great team that they are? Motivation comes from within. It's the energizer that makes people take action. Can Crosby and Malkin get the Penguins motivated? It wont be easy, down two games and headed into a lions den to play the third. But if anyone can, it's Sidney Crosby; Calder Memorial Trophy Winner, Hart Memorial Trophy Winner, Olympic Gold Medalist, and of course, Stanley Cup Champion. Sid understands leadership, and combined with the example that Malkin is able to set on the ice, should be able to get this team back on their feet. Hopefully the Penguin's morale isn't damaged to a point of no return. I actually doubt that it is. Players of this high a talent level do not give up so easily. 

The leadership will have to come from within, from the leaders on the ice themselves. The coach can make adjustments, but only Crosby and Malkin can lead this team away from the abyss. I am constantly reminded on both Twitter and Facebook to remember '91. Yeah, I do. And the man who lead the Penguins out of that abyss is still with us today. I hope he was in the locker room today. I hope he and Sid have talked. I hope he has and will talk to the team. Crosby and Malkin can lead, but what an asset to have the great Mario Lemieux as the owner of your team. 

I will end this blog post with another quote from Friedrich Nietzsche: "Whatever does not kill you, makes you stronger." Let's all hope our boys are thinking that way. 

 

Do the Pens Chances in the Playoffs Rest on One Man's Shoulders?

The answer is obviously no. Hockey is the ultimate team sport. Unlike other sports fans, hockey fans are lucky if they see their heroes play for 1/3 of the game. Except for the goalie, whom we usually see the entire time. And if we don't see him for the entire time, it is commonly for a bad reason. We are quick to give accolades to our heroes when the our teams win. Standing ovations for Crosby, Malkin, Neal, and Kunitz are not uncommon in Pittsburgh. But if the Pens lose, one man usually carries the blame, Marc-Andre Fleury. As is the case for every goaltender in hockey, the loss rests on his shoulders, justified or not. He becomes the scapegoat, the center of criticism, and the subject for critique. Fans seldom see the lack of defensive play that leads to goals, only that the goaltender didn't stop the puck.

All that being said, one fact is true. To win the Stanley Cup, a team needs a certain amount of luck, and a hot goalie. The puck has to bounce your way a few times to become champion, and your goaltender has to make a few impossible stops. And I thank God that the Penguins have one who can.

We are all trying to forget the horrific 4 -2 first round playoff loss to the Flyers last year. And I am sure the Pens are as well. Fleury allowed 26 goals in that six game series. It's hard to bounce back from such a poor series. But if the regular season is any indication, then the Pens have bounced back, and so has Fluery. He has 23 wins and a 2.39 GAA in this lockout shortened season. And in the Eastern Conference, only Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers has better stats. Fleury won a Stanley Cup with the Pens in 2009, and was with them when they lost in the finals the year before. He has a great disposition, he accepts the blame in a heartbeat when the team loses. And coincidentally, he can also shake off a loss better than any goaltender in the league. He is great, and one of the Penguin's best draft picks ever. Let's make sure we all remember these facts during these playoffs if the Pens lose, and especially when they win. He deserves a standing ovation as well.

Oh, and as for the question above, if you ask Marc-Andre Fleury, the answer is obviously yes.