March 10-15 Blog
March 10, 2008 10:04 AM | General
We’re changing things up a little bit. For the past four years Campus Connection has kind of been like a weekly blog full of tidbits, notes, commentary, quasi-opinion and weak stabs at humor that have sometimes hit the mark and at other times completely missed. Well, to keep up with the Jones', we’ve decided to turn Campus Connection into a daily blog. If we miss a day then you know we’re struggling.
Hope you enjoy it ...
Andrews Records 22nd Fastest Time Ever
Posted By John Antonik: March 12, 2008 (11:37 am)
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| Kayla Andrews |
I received word today from West Virginia University Assistant Swimming and Diving Coach Damion Dennis that sophomore Kayla Andrew’s recent time of 48.33 in the 100-yard freestyle at the Big East Championships was the 22nd fastest time ever produced in that event.
Andrews easily met the NCAA qualifying standard of 49.49 and is presently ranked sixth in the country in the 100-meter freestyle heading into next weekend’s NCAA Championships which begin on Thursday, March 20.
The top time in the women’s 100-meter freestyle this year was posted by Texas A&M’s Julia Wilkinson on March 1 with a clocking of 47.80.
Joining Andrews at nationals next weekend are WVU teammates Morgan Calloway and Lindsey Largo. The three athletes will compete in eight different events at nationals.
Odds and Ends
According to Tampa Tribune’s Brett McMurphy, so far USF defensive coordinator Wally Burnham has had sit-down sessions with Ohio State and Minnesota coaches with more coaches likely on the way.
Burnham’s defense has been kryptonite to the Rodriguez’s spread, holding his West Virginia teams to an average of 16 points, 160 rushing yards and a 3.7 yards-per-carry average the last two times USF has faced the Mountaineers.
Incidentally, Colorado is also visiting South Florida to get a beat on West Virginia when the two meet in Boulder on Thursday night, Sept. 18.
His political opponents often joked of Eisenhower saying on the golf course, “Excuse me, can we play through? New York has just been bombed!”
That’s just one more reason why everyone liked Ike.
Mike Joseph Conversation Leftovers
Posted By John Antonik: March 11, 2008 (5:22 pm)
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| Mike Joseph |
I spent roughly 20 minutes talking to Mike Joseph last week about his strength and conditioning philosophies. One thing was immediately apparent: Joseph is a 180-degree turn from Mike Barwis in terms of demeanor and approach.
And while Joseph may be more laid-back and soft-spoken than his predecessor their core philosophies on strength and conditioning are very much in line. Joseph believes the most important characteristic of a good strength coach is the ability to motivate athletes to do things that they don’t necessarily want to do.
“In the wintertime when they’re tired and it’s 6 am and they are coming in they really aren’t too happy at that time,” Joseph said. “At the same time that’s when you have to build the enthusiasm, get them going and find ways to motivate them and make sure they see the benefits of doing this.”
Joseph says West Virginia will continue to be a developmental school much like the Nebraskas, Wisconsins and Virginia Techs.
“There are some schools that get the elite of the elite,” Joseph said. “I have been at places where they get a lot of talent but if you don’t develop a solid foundation with every kid that comes through the door from their freshman year until their senior year, your program is going to show some cracks.”
Joseph says he is closely in-tuned with the wants and needs of Coach Bill Stewart and his coordinators Jeff Mullen and Jeff Casteel.
“Coach Stewart understands how important my area is in developing athletes,” Joseph said. “Coach Mullen talks about how important offensive line play is in the offense and Coach Casteel has talked about the loss of some key players on the defensive line. That shows you how important the weight room is.”
The bottom line, according to Joseph, is wins and losses on the football field.
“We want to win,” he said. “We want to make each kid better and that’s the whole end point. Everything we do is to make them better athletes.”
Ears Are Ringing
Posted By John Antonik: March 10, 2008 (4:12 pm)
What is going on with ESPN radio these days? Saturday night as I was preparing to go outside and shovel snow off my driveway I had my satellite radio on and was forced to listen to Buster Olney talk about a baseball player that I had never heard of. I have nothing against Buster Olney, but why are we listening to a guy talk about baseball right in the middle of March Madness?
By the way, who goes by the name Buster after the second grade? Isn’t that about the time when Bobby becomes Bob and Billy becomes William?
Don’t get me wrong baseball is great in April, May, June, July, and even halfway into August when nothing else is going on. But listening to baseball on March 8th? Who could possibly be interested in baseball this time of year outside of a handful of people living in Boston or New York? Even old people have given up on baseball now that they have found out that those vitamins the players were taking weren’t vitamins.
Call me a jaded baseball fan – I root for the Pirates.
I know ESPN isn’t interested in what we want because they’re ESPN. They satisfy their own demographic.
That’s why we’ve got to listen to Mike Tirico and Michele Tafoya talk about NBA basketball all afternoon because that’s what they’re doing right now. How old is Shaq now anyway? Didn’t he once play in Sonny Vaccaro’s high school all-star basketball game at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena?
Here’s a brainteaser: name the two coaches of this year’s NBA all-star game? (Answer below).
Again, call me jaded – the last time WVU had a guy playing in the NBA was when Ronald Reagan was calling Russia – then the Soviet Union – the “Evil Empire.”
Unwinding to Stephen A. Smith on the way home after another rough day at work? Yeah, let me first stick my head in the oven for 15 minutes.
Hey it’s ESPN, they do what they want.
That’s why they put agitators like Colin Cowherd and Doug Gottlieb on the air. Gottlieb is, well, Gottlieb and Cowherd is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Remember the movie Kingpin when the guy just got Munsoned? Well we’ve just been Gottliebed and Cowherded.
Mike & Mike in the Morning? Not a bad show but Greenberg sucks up to his guests too much and Golic needs to stick to the sports he knows. The Notre Dame thing gets a little old, too – just like with Regis. And there is nothing like tuning into a sports show to get movie reviews. I suppose I could tune into Roger Ebert and listen to him reel off his NCAA tournament bubble picks. On second thought, I’ll stack Ebert’s picks up against Digger’s any day of the week.
And why does ESPN run all of those sports wagering ads in the afternoon? Don’t they have any additional Viagara and Cialis inventory left from last week’s golf telecast? I can’t tell you how many times I have ducked the Viagara question from my seven-year-old daughter.
“Dad what is a Viagra?”
“Go ask your grandma.”
College sports fans, there are some alternatives out there for you. Fox Radio is decent. Dan Patrick is an afternoon staple and Tim Brando on Sporting News may be an SEC promoter, but at least he talks about topics that we want to hear.
And Rivals Radio does a good job with its morning show. Host Bill King is informed and works hard to get on a wide array of guests. You can tell King practices his radio voice every morning in front of the mirror and you certainly can question the expertise of some of his ‘expert’ guests, but overall the show is interesting and relevant.
My favorite King line (I’m paraphrasing): “Hey, I’ve got seven Smart 529 college plans that I’m paying for. If college doesn’t pan out for some of my kids, I can always get my money back.”
Hey Bill, I’m putting money into a couple of Smart 529s myself and like you, I’ve got both eyes on them.
Now if I can just remove that ringing from of my ears.
Answer: Doc Rivers and Byron Scott
Former DT Dies
Posted By John Antonik: March 10, 2008 (2:05 pm)
West Virginia University Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Communications Michael Fragale has confirmed that former Mountaineer defensive tackle Charlton Forbes has died.
Forbes was a four-year letterman and a part-time starter for the Mountaineers from 1995-98, participating on West Virginia’s Gator, Carquest and Insight.com teams. As a senior in 1998 Forbes recorded 36 tackles to rank sixth on the team. He was originally from Old Harbor, Jamaica.
Forbes, 32, was living and working in the Atlanta area at the time of his death.
Former AD Martin Dies
Posted By John Antonik: March 10, 2008 (10:05 pm)
The man who hired Don Nehlen and oversaw the final stages of Mountaineer Field’s construction has died. Dick Martin, who served as West Virginia University’s Director of Athletics from 1978-81, died in Kansas City on Saturday, March 8, after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Martin was a former commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference from 1981-85 and also served as assistant commissioner of the Big 8 Conference before arriving at West Virginia.
Martin’s biggest accomplishment at WVU was his surprise hiring of Nehlen. Martin eventually chose the Michigan assistant upon the recommendation of Bob Marcum, then athletic director at South Carolina.
“I just kind of did the research from there,” Martin said in an interview in 2006.
Martin said he took the West Virginia job because the school was making a major commitment to football at the time.
“(The stadium) was one of the reasons I went there,” Martin said. “If you could build the stadium that I saw … the depiction of that stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia, and within a 200-mile radius of some really outstanding football players and an improving road system … all of that together made the West Virginia job an interesting one.”
Martin’s tenure at WVU was a brief one due to a financial crisis within the athletic department during his watch. He was succeeded by Fred Schaus in the spring of 1981.
Martin was 75.
