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The Pittsburgh Sports Forum

Can WVU Redeem Themselves Against Maryland?

WVU's match up with Maryland last year was embarrassing, to say the least. WVU had a 7 game win streak against Maryland going into that game, and got clobbered 37-0. The only thing more embarrassing than that loss, WVU's overall season last year.

The WVU/Maryland rivalry has been around for decades. I have to admit, I've never been a big fan. I often made the argument that WVU needed to strengthen it's schedule, and that Maryland held us back. I have since backed off on that stance. My new position has nothing to do with Maryland, although it does help that they joined the Big 10. It is mainly because  WVU now plays in the Big 12, and now has a much tougher schedule.

The WVU/Maryland Rivalry is a one sided rivalry. Here is an excerpt from a blog post I wrote entitled Rivalries in 2010:

One Sided Rivalries: These are rivalries that are only honored by teams and fans on the losing side. This is what we had with Penn St. until 1984. You get fired up to finally beat the team that pounds you 90% of the time. Or 100% of the time in the case of Penn St. at that time. The perception of a rivalry is viewed solely by the losing side. The winning side usually views the losing side as target practice. There are thousands of these rivalries in sports. WVU currently has this sort of rivalry with Maryland and Rutgers. They will pull an upset on us every once in a while. But most of the time, we dominate them. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the current Cleveland Browns are in this situation in the NFL

I stand by those words. The rivalry with Maryland is one sided. The Terps hate the Mountaineers, and the Mountaineers mostly roll their eyes at the Terps. The two teams that will meet on Saturday are the same two who met last year, not much has changed. Maryland has a strong QB in C.J. Brown. He is mobile and has a strong arm. They also have a good receiving corps with Diggs and Long, and a strong defense. WVU is also the same team, except for one aspect, attitude. WVU is confident and strong this year. The great game they played against Alabama lit a fire in them. And I think that fire is going to burn Maryland. The defining factor will be WVU QB Clint Trickett, who did not play in the Maryland game last year. WVU is 10th in the FBS in passing yards per game at 360 yards. The offense is clicking and the defense is 100% stronger. It will all be too much for Maryland this year.

WVU is hungry and wants to be ranked again. My prediction, they send Maryland down in flames!!

WVU Didn't Get a "W" Against Alabama on Saturday, But They Got an "R"; Respect.

It had been along time since I had seen WVU get such little respect. Saturday morning was driving me nuts. From ESPN to CBS Sports to NBC Sports, it was all the same. WVU would get killed, the game would be over by half time, blah, blah, blah.  All the so called "Pundits" talked about was how great Alabama was, not an ounce of respect for WVU. One mediocre and one bad season seemed to have destroyed 25 years of growth and earned respect. It was as if the 80's had returned. Yes, the 80's, back when ESPN would repeatedly call WVU the University of West Virginia, UWV.

I sent out a tweet right at halftime of the game.

18 Retweets, 21 Favorites. It had struck a chord. WVU had shown that they could hang in there with Alabama. And the Mountaineer alumni and fans wanted what was due to them, respect. As I stated in my previous blog, I didn't expect WVU to win. But I hoped they would come to play, and come to play they did. Coach Holgorsen took a huge step forward with this team on Saturday. The Defense looked 100% better And with the exception of some dropped passes, the Offense was clicking. This game could have easily gone the other way. The rest of the Big 12 stood up and took notice on Saturday. WVU is back, and will be a contender in the Big 12 this year. I am really looking forward to seeing what this team will do this season. 

WVU 2014 Football: What Going To happen?

WVU struggled last year. With a rotating QB situation, and arguably the worst defense in the NCAA, the Mountaineers were routed to a 4 -8 record and no bowl appearance. Needless to say, it was an embarrassment for all WVU alumni and fans. However, 2015 looks to be different. And actually, needs to be different, or heads will roll.

Mountaineer Head Coach Dana Holgorsen is in a do or die situation. He replaced the late Bill Stewart, WVU Head coach from 2007 to 2010. Bill led the Mountaineers to a Fiesta Bowl victory over Big 12 Champion Oklahoma in his first game as coach in 2007. Bill then went 9-4 in each of his 3 full seasons as head coach. But 9-4 was no longer acceptable, and Bill was let go. WVU has grown over the decades to be a force within the NCAA. The expectations have drastically changed over the years. The Mountaineers are without a National Championship. The fans and alumni are aching for one, this blog writer included. So the message was sent, 9-4 would no longer do. WVU AD Oliver Luck went with an up and coming new coach from the very conference they were joining, the Big 12. Dana Holgorsen was the talk of the town when WVU signed him. He was going to led us down the road to glory. But so far that road has been a rough one. Dana is 21-17 in his first three seasons, Bill was 28-12. With the Mountaineer's abysmal record last year, 4-8, Dana should realize that he is in the hot seat. And I am sure he does. So where are his mountaineers? And what needs to happen for him to stay as head coach?

The Mountaineers look a lot better than they did last year. Coach Holgorsen has a vibrant, young team. That fact combined with QB Clint Trickett having a year under his belt with this offense, puts the Mountaineers in a much better position than they were a year ago. Even with a surgically repaired shoulder, Trickett should have a good year. He also has a strong back up in Paul Millard. Highly touted freshman QB William Crest Jr. will be a return man this year. The Mountaineers are also deep at the running back position and the receiving corps looks good, The O-Line is young, but should be healthy and much improved. The Offense is not the big question this year, the Defense is the enigma of this team. Tony Gibson comes in as their 4th Defensive Coordinator in as many years. His Defense is healthier than last year, and many of his younger players have experience due to last years injuries. After being dead last in 3rd downs in the NCAA last year, the defense can go no where but up. And Gibson looks to be able to take them there. He needs to get more heat on the QB, and is focusing the defense in that direction. With edge rushers Shaquille Riddick and Noble Nwachukwu on the D-Line, third downs should be very different this year. 

As for Holgorsen's job, this blogger sees four things that need to happen:

1. WVU must have a winning record.

2. WVU must go to a bowl.

3. WVU must win their Bowl game.

4. WVU must have one major upset this year. And their schedule offers plenty of opportunity to do so. Starting with Alabama in the first game. (I doubt very seriously that it will happen, but wouldn't it be nice?)

In all honesty, if Coach Holgorsen does the first two, he should retain his job. Although numbers 3 and 4 would lock him into the job. I think AD Oliver Luck needs to give him ample opportunity to build a team. The transition from Stewart to Holgorsen was handled poorly. And I think it has had some long term effects. I'm not blaming the horrible 2013 season on it, but I believe the entire situation at WVU right now is still affected by it,  If there is ample progress in the program this year, Coach Holgosen should keep his job.

So my prediction?  WVU goes 7-5, 8-4 if they're lucky. They will go to a minor bowl, and win it. As for the first game against Alabama? Alabama is also an enigma this year. But they should be a Top 10 team. WVU will begin it's season with a loss, hopefully not a bad one. As for Coach Holgosen: He'll keep his job and hopefully lead us to great seasons in the future.

Bye Bye Bud! And Advice For The New Commish?

It's Thursday August 14, 2014. A huge day for MLB. Today the owners will pick a new Commissioner of Baseball, and the reign of Bud Selig will be over in January.  So Yinzers, what do you think? Any advice for the new guy? 

I was never a Selig fan myself. In my opinion, he was to easy going when it came to discipline (Anyone remember the Roberto Alomar spitting incident?) and he turned a blind eye to performance enhancing drugs until the media and the public made him take action. He always seemed to want to make everyone happy if he could, not the trait of a good leader. The current war between the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles over television fees is a perfect example. Selig has been useless throughout the entire mess. 

On the other side of the coin, people argue that Selig was a huge asset to baseball. He instituted inter-league play, revenue sharing, the Division Series, Wild Card play, and drug testing. He also led the league out of a devastating strike. 

But was he a friend of the small market team even though he owned one? I'm not sure. The Yankees and Red Sox always seems to get what they wanted. While teams like Pittsburgh had to struggle. 

This is part of the reason why I don't want Tom Werner, Chairman of the Red Sox, to be the new Commish. And Bud never came close to even trying to institute a salary cap program similar to the one that benefited the NFL and NHL. 

So what's your opinion? Any advice? How will this affect our Buccos? And who should be the new commish? 

Let's Put the Wretched Rangers Away early

If anyone didn't see Dejan Kovacevis's article yesterday, it's worth a read. The Pens could use s short series in these playoffs to help insure a Stanley Cup Victory. All three of our Stanley Cup Championship Teams have had one. The Pens need to put the wretched Rangers away tomorrow night. It's time to move on. And the way our defense is playing, and their offense isn't, it could happen.
 
Let's Go Pens!!!!

Kovacevic: Finish off wretched Rangers

The Numbers Are Tight, But History Tells the Tale.

The Penguins have a huge match up in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, their dangerous rivals, the New York Rangers. The boys in blue from New York have played our boys well this year. The record is tied in 4 games. Not bad. Looking at Fleury's and Lundqvist;s playoff records for this year, also pretty even. It's looking to be a very good series. Personally, I am glad the Rangers beat the Flyers. A series against them would have been brutal. Possibly doing damage to a point that could prevent the Penguins from advancing further in the playoffs. And history says that our Penguins will vanquish the Rangers. 

Here is what Josh Yohe from the TribLive Sports had to say yesterday: 

"Statistics, though, suggest the Penguins are the favorite in this series.

Since taking over as Penguins coach in 2009, Dan Bylsma's record against the Rangers is 17-7-3. His record against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden is 9-4-0.

With Sidney Crosby in the lineup — Crosby has missed nine games against the Rangers in the Bylsma era because of injuries — the Penguins record against New York is 13-4-1. When Bylsma has Crosby at his disposal, the Penguins are 7-2-0 at Madison Square Garden."

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/6030892-74/penguins-rangers-crosby#ixzz30aLkKKlp 

Pretty good statistics, especially with a healthy Crosby. And speaking of Crosby, my prediction is he gets his first goal tonight. He is way overdue. 

My other prediction, Fleury will have a great series. I say this in advance of dealing with all his detractors on Twitter every time he makes a mistake. He's a great goalie, and I think his head is back in the game. 

So, Let's Go Pens!! Let's start this thing off right tonight!!

P.S. I know I fell off the face of the earth for a while. I just recently got married, so I'll blame that. But WVUTimmy is back baby!!! ; )