News of the day, of course, is the pending retirement of Ed Pastilong. I don’t think there’s any conspiracy or scheme in motion here. I just thing Pastilong is 65-years-young, has been the A.D. since 1989 and has been through a whole hell of a lot in recent years. “Everyone,” he said Thursday, “reaches the time when he just needs to go fishing.”   

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, I feel your pain … “turn them cameras off.”

Hey, speaking of “Outside the Lines”…

Karl said:

Mike, per your first point, I had the same reaction toward that woman. My first thought was, will this lady look at herself the way I do now when she watches this segment? My second thought was, low blow showing that clip of Coach Gibson’s sister! I kid, I kid …

And per the UWV thing, I don’t think it will ever get worse than the time they brought out James Earl Jones to fire us up during halftime at a game and he messed that up. I assume he was being paid well for being there, yet he made that mistake over the PA system live in front of 65,000 people. 

I can’t find the OTL clip anywhere online, but I wish I could because that woman still terrifies me. I mean, she knows it was a fake Rodriguez, right? I could understand a similar reaction, say, a week after the resignation, but we’re more than two months in now. Seek help. And I remember the James Earl Jones gaffe. He was getting booed as he walked off the field and helplessly waved and smiled. He had no idea what he’d done.

thacker said:

ESPN is not Mike Wallace and 60 Minutes.

Was it Schlabach who made the reference that things in Morgantown were venal? When the press makes such a statement, such things need to be backed up with substance or it needs to be clearly identified within the segment as ‘editorial comment’. In my mind, the ‘venal’ reference removed any credibility from the broadcast, as a whole.

Casazza, you were looking sharp. I was surprised. –joking about the surprised thing–

Yeah, that was an odd statement by Schlabach. I understand the intent — that WVU football is the biggest thing going in the fall — but it’s not as if the entire state shuts down or that there is absolutely no alternative. All that did was perpetuate a silly stereotype. Then again, he just looked uncomfortable on live TV, so maybe he wants that one back.  

Homer said:

Too little discussion in the OTL piece about the buyout. The substance of the story is that people are just mad because he left. The words “$4 million” and “contract” should have been repeated another couple dozen times.

Is it possible to be more than 100 percent in agreement? If so, I am there. I heard George Smith on the radio the Friday night before the segment ran and he more or less said there was nothing new. That startled me. What, then, was the point? Furthermore, and I’ve said this before, the whole story was on the reaction to Rodriguez’s resignation and Rodriguez was allowed to act bewildered by saying this is America and Americans are allowed to change jobs. Fine, but the core issue is that he refused to pay the buyout from the very start and tried to bury WVU with every subsequent move that followed WVU’s lawsuit, which, by the way, was a reaction to him saying the day he was hired at Michigan that he would challenge the buyout. … Excuse me, I’ll be back in 10 minutes.

Mack said:

“It’s gotten so bad that they took down the sign that says, ‘Home of WVU coach Rich Rodriguez’!!!” Ummm… wasn’t it common sense to take that down?  

OK, 10 more minutes… 

Foul Shot said:

Today’s salary release for the football coaching was interesting.
For Rod’s regime in 2007, the huge difference between the Head Coach and the assistants was staggering.
Maybe his assistants could have received more if their boss was not so greedy and needy.
The Stewart regime for this upcoming year seems balanced.
Time will tell if the Mountaineers success is related to an improved assistant coaching staff which hopefully will help improve recruiting.
Another point from the Rodriguez article on his kids being troubled – if they cannot take shirts, etc. stating things about their father, then they should move to Michigan already. Actually, I thought they were already citizens there? Maybe “Super Rita” should explain Life to the kids and that their daddy has a high profile job which has consequences such as people saying certain things about his position. Also, I thought Rod had signed a $895/month lease on a town home which helped to prove his residency in Michigan – why is he living in an Ann Arbor hotel? What a joke.
Request to WVU fans – don’t watch the Inside the Lines on Sunday morning. It is just propaganda which will frustrate all Mountaineer fans. WV should have the lowest ratings for this show – go to church instead. It will be time much better spent.

I can’t afford 10 more minutes, but I can’t believe how silly this is getting. This is a great point: One of the big things Rodriguez used to try to keep the lawsuit out of Monongalia County Circuit Court was that he lived in Michigan and he later used the lease as his evidence — yet he lives in a hotel while his family remains Morgantown. This entire thing seems more nonsensical every step of the way. I’m literally losing my wits here because things seem so simple and so obvious, but they are never allowed to be simple or obvious.

thacker said:

An interesting comparison of staff salaries between 2007 and 2008. Much can be read between the lines.

Stewart is a man who puts his money where his mouth is and, unlike others, probably won’t be writing checks with his mouth that his butt can’t, literally, cash. He surrounds himself with people who are more knowledgeable than he is. His actions speak of things like duty and honor and without letting the former override or undermine the latter. He appears to know the difference between ego and quiet self confidence and leaves ego to the fools. This is a man who will be teaching kids a lot and give the rest of us an opportunity to have those same things reaffirmed just by watching and listening.

Yeah. I like this guy — a lot.

That’s right, we were talking about salaries. I do see a lot in between the lines and while the money is great, I think the two-year contracts were perhaps more instrumental in luring coaches away from good jobs at good schools. That’s never happened here. The school — and Pastilong, in particular — made that happen and that allowed Stewart to surround himself with some really impressive coaches. To think, a coach minimizing his role and letting assistants assist. Odd.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

I think they will get in….could someone please explain the lack of heat on Bob Huggins after he absolutely RIPPED his players during the postgame on MSN the other night….is it just me, or should that not have been handled, at minimum, in the lockerroom and NOT on state-wide radio????

Good discussion on the immediate future of the men’s basketball team, but this comment jumped off the page. It raises an interesting debate. I admit he’s been tough on his players, but I rather like it, and that’s completely selfish. He’s direct and you don’t tiptoe around subjects with him because he’s not doing it, either. You have a question and you ask it. He has a thought and he delivers it. We forget that we complain about coaches being bland and ambiguous. Not here, though. And in case you haven’t noticed it, the players rip one another, too. It happens all the time. Everyone seems to know where they stand. There is no false footing. If you’re struggling, you know it and suddenly the next practice or the next game becomes quite important. I think the players respond to it, but this is the time of the year when players either tune in or tune out. Definitely worth following.

Rob W. said:

OKLA. Mountaineer – I’ve lived in Cincinnati for 15 years. That is what you are going to get with Bob. Love it or hate it, it is what it is. I for one love him but I can understand why others may not.

That’s the thing about Huggins, I think. He’s polarizing. He won this team over early on and I’m under the impression they’re not revolting and will follow his every move as the season nears its conclusion. If he’s pissed, the players know they better respond. He’s not going to change. The players better. 

Boothe Davis said:

Why in hell should their be heat on Huggins for telling the TRUTH..?
I think its a southern thing… Southern ppl would rather gossip and stab you in the back, but God forbid you are blunt and say something to their face…, then you’re being “rude.”
Huggs called it as he sees it and I think his players respect him for that, even if some fans don’t.

Exactly. Let’s face it: this is the BIGGEST change in the basketball program. Sometimes it’s tough being tough and even tougher getting used to being tough. 

Rich said:

Why should we embarrass ourselves by being beaten terribly in the first round of the NCAA’s? I don’t think we can win a first round game in the NIT especially if it is on the road.

I yield to Mack…

Mack said:

I don’t know why it’s assumed we’d get killed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. We’ve lost extremely close games to Oklahoma, Georgetown, Pitt, and (#2) Tennessee. True, we have LOST all of those games… which certainly matters. But if we shoot well, we can beat anyone and if we shoot poorly we get embarrassed by teams like Cincinnati.

I’m not holding my breath for the NCAA tournament, but it would be fun to make it. Maybe we’ll draw Northwestern State in the second round again!

Just get in. That’s the goal. What worked so well for the Mountaineers in postseasons past was they were so damned difficult to prepare for in tournament play. These Mountaineers aren’t as tricky on offense, but they’re better defensively and defense does not die in the postseason. Sometimes you get lucky, too. I remember the 2006 NCAA Tournament and WVU played a first-round game against a tough Southern Illinois team … and completely outclassed the Salukis. Afterward, a few players said they were more motivated than they should have been because they watched Northwestern State beat Iowa in the early game. It didn’t give WVU fear of an upset as much as it gave them the idea another Sweet 16 bid was a little easier to attain.

OB1 said:

Have you ever just starred into Jay Wright’s eyes…it was like the first time I heard the Beatles.

Enjoy the weekend!