The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Tarp off the field?

April 17, 2013 by Mike Casazza

There was renewed hope for the proposed TIF district at University Town Centre Tuesday night because lawmakers believed Governor Earl Ray Tomblin would call a special session.

Well, it appears we’ll have that special session.

By the way, I’ve only recently discovered the hidden fun in watching politicians interact on Twitter. Take a look as @SenatorBobBeach serves @BenParker32 regarding the topic of taxes and the TIF.

That’s not only fun, but that’s a pretty good illustration of some of the nonsense people are dealing with while dealing with other nonsense.

Aha! That (maybe?) explains it

by Mike Casazza

Keaton Miles went under the knife at 6 a.m. today.

I never knew the wrist to be an issue, and that could explain the PT in his sophomore season — he vanished late in the schedule, though the same happened during his freshman season. (Credit: Statsheet.com)

Video blog: Day 13 (Update at the bottom)

April 16, 2013 by Mike Casazza

Major developments inside!

(Update: Spring game will be televised on WBOY, WVNS, WTRF and WOWK.)

More details about 3-4? More details about 3-4!

by Mike Casazza

Straight-ahead style, more indirect alignments up front and two defensive ends around a nose guard. That sounds like the recipe to the defensive line in the 3-4, which is supposed to cook up more pressure, more big plays and more mistakes.

“What we’re doing up front is more what we’re accustom to – attacking and getting up the field,” defensive line coach Erik Slaughter said. “That’s going to result in more pressure. We’re going straight ahead. Last year we were a slant and angle team with a lot of movement and a lot of deception up front.”

That didn’t always suit the players up front.

“As a defensive lineman, you get more sacks when you go north-south instead of east-west,” defensive end Will Clarke said.

WVU’s 13th spring practice begins at 4 p.m. The vlog returns soon thereafter with a special announcement.

They sure know where they’ve been

by Mike Casazza

So here they go again on their own, without Drew Payne and Dave Alvarez and, who knows, maybe without Oliver Luck.

WVU will, as you know, re-bid the Tier 3 contract after the state’s attorney general highlighted “sloppiness” and “significant errors” in the process Monday.

But what changes? Probably very little. The Mountaineers will do the whole RFP thing again — and  in retrospect, issuing one in the first place was unnecessary and ultimately problematic — and WVU will probably end up with IMG College again.

Still, there are variables to consider here.

Continue reading…

DePalma’s keys: Goal post, machine guns, hamstrings

by Mike Casazza

You’re damn right long snapper John DePalma has a highlight video. You laugh? Well, it’s for recruiting purposes and DePalma produced a scholarship offer at WVU.

He handled all but a handful of snaps last season — he thinks three during the Marshall game went to Jerry Cooper, who is no longer with the team, and WVU was rusty in that opener — and will only get a challenge when two other prospects arrive during the summer.

It would seem the job is his, though. He’s here. The others aren’t. And DePalma is practicing and making an impression under the watchful and demanding eye of Joe DeForest.

“It used to be really easy,” DePalma said, “but now we have Coach DeForest coming to us all the time and he really works with us a lot more.

“He gives us a lot more personal attention now and I think we’re getting a lot better because of it.”

Joe DeForest was WVU’s defensive coordinator last season and it did not go well. He’s now the special teams coordinator and he’s milking something out of every minute of the 15 spring practices.

“Last year, we didn’t really have anyone and it was more on our own and with more of a relaxed pace,” DePalma said. “Now it’s a lot more structured.”

Structure is good. He’ll be on his own once spring practice ends, and rest assure DeForest will give his guys plenty to work on so that they’re sharp when preseason practice starts in August. Here’s hoping DePalma finds time to top this.

Full WVAGO report online

April 15, 2013 by Mike Casazza

This is a far more elaborate explanation that answers some questions we’ve posed this morning. We get a better idea why Parsons and Szul didn’t vote, but we’re also now made to wonder why Oliver Luck introduced three new members to the evaluation committee. That had been a three-person committee with Luck, Parsons and Szul.

So there’s that, but I can’t recommend Addendum No. 6 enough. Just tons and tons of intel there, ranging from a video board at the soccer stadium to naming rights for parking lots to the compensation for the radio crews for football and men’s basketball games and so much more.

This is useful and authentic behind-the curtain stuff —  later in the appendix, you’ll find an email in which Drew Payne asks Luck if Florida State is interested in the Big 12. This is also why public people communicate with me on personal email and cell phones.

WVAGO press release

by Mike Casazza

Right here. These are Patrick Morrisey’s talking points from his news conference. The gist is that “while our office found significant errors and sloppiness in the process warranting a rebid, we did not find any evidence of intentional wrongdoing or intentional interference that might be used to advance a pre-determined result.”

Two things I’m stuck on at the moment.

Continue reading…

The reset button?

by Mike Casazza

In just the opening moments of his news conference, Patrick Morrisey said WVU’s RFP process was sloppy and filled with errors, but that there was no intentional wrongdoing. He suggests WVU re-bid the process.

This is just getting started. You may listen here.

Update: Morrisey said WVU has told him it will re-bid the contract. Not a good day for WVU. In short, Morrisey spent about 15 minutes saying WVU knew better, or should have known better, while doing this.

Report will be posted online, but one thing I’m curious about, and I’m not there to ask about, is WVU taking a vote that apparently stepped around Mike Parsons and Mike Szul. Need to clear up that one.

So, where to begin this morning?

by Mike Casazza

Saturday night saw the likely demise of the proposed TIF, a rather shameful display of pettiness and politicking that eventually ended with many believing the legislative process had turned its back on people and places.

I know before we were skeptical about the future of the bill. We thought it was perhaps unusual or desperate to have that one  news conference with the Minor League Baseball officials weeks before Saturday’s disaster. Never did I think that outcome would be the result, though. I mean, it really was a high school civics class come to life … but I didn’t think we’d have high school antics.

The TIF still has an outside chance and legislators will try to convince the governor to either call a special session or expand the already extended session so that the TIF can be revisited, but I’m hearing that’s not likely.

A special session is pricey. An extension would seem redundant. And either way, the issue has to be a sure thing or the governor will look as goofy as this entire situation if he makes a decision and then sees nothing happen to the TIF/magistrate pay equalization. Right now, do you feel confident in a consensus? Not when the House and Senate are messing with one another while they blame one another.

But that’s not the biggest issue, or even the potentially worst, for WVU today.

Continue reading…