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

Stewart should tweet this

June 18, 2009 by Mike Casazza

… and mention Jessel Curry by name. We need more Hammurabi as it pertains to governing these nefarious secondary violations.

You, by now, know all about Curry, which was probably part of someone’s well-crafted plan. He commits to West Virginia, but has a thing for the SEC. He gets invited to Auburn’s “Big Cat” weekend and is suddenly, uh, non-committal about his future. He then decommits from WVU and commits to Auburn.

Must have been a great “Big Cat” weekend, right?

Well, it was, even if it might have broken a few rules. 

At least two NCAA bylaws may have been breached during the weekend.

Although NCAA rules (Bylaw 13.10.6) bar the introduction of visiting student-athletes during any function, videos of the event posted on two Web sites show the crowd cheering as the players are introduced by name, position and hometown. The man yelling the introductions does not appear on the videos, but assistant head coach Trooper Taylor is shown leading the crowd in cheers immediately after the introductions.

Introduction of student-athletes would be a secondary violation and would not affect the athletes’ eligibility.

NCAA Bylaw 13.10.5 prevents schools from publicizing an athlete’s visit or allowing the visitor to “participate in team activities that would make the public or media aware of the prospective student-athlete’s visit to the institution (e.g., running out of the tunnel with team, celebratory walks to or around the stadium/arena, on-field pregame celebrations).”

So what’s this all mean? Apart from the fact a couple of kids had a blast amid a stunning amount of attention and publicity and learned a prospective coach is a little bit of rebel who just might be a fun guy to be around the next few years, absolutely nothing.

Even if Auburn does find itself guilty of — cough, cough — a “secondary violation” or two, there won’t be a penalty. The NCAA will just tell the school to try not to mess up again. But messing up and saying you’re sorry is now just another way of SEC life, and not necessarily an unprofitable way.  

Happy anniversary to the surreal

June 17, 2009 by Mike Casazza

Fifteen years ago today the words white Ford Bronco, low-speed chase and “Move your head, I can’t see the TV” were forever burned in my memory. It was “The O.J. Simpson Pursuit” and it will probably never, ever be topped. I remember the beginning, the murders and the suspicion.

I vividly remember watching in the basement that afternoon when it was first announced he was wanted and being completely convinced he was guilty. Later my sister, just nine at the time, shouted O.J. was running through an airport, not knowing it was stock footage of an old Hertz commercial.

When later that evening I was watching the Knicks — my Knicks — in the NBA Finals and was again told O.J. was on the lam, I didn’t believe it. I’ll never forget it, either.

Barry, Barry, Barry …

by Mike Casazza

I haven’t read or heard a bad word about Barry Brunetti, except from some fans in SEC territory who have — and I’m paraphrasing here — wished him well in obscurity. I believe I’ve heard that before … at the quarterback position … at WVU. That turned out pretty well, though.

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Auburn curries favor with LB

by Mike Casazza

You may now take killer Jessel Curryoff the board of WVU “commitments” — and the word is totally acceptable in this instance.

Buford linebacker Jessel Curry, who weeks ago committed to West Virginia and then recanted, announced his commitment to Auburn today.

“I love the people,” Curry told AuburnSports.com. “Love the football that they play — big-time SEC. It’s just an amazing campus and amazing school.”

Curry, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound rising senior, changed his mind about West Virginia because “if I would have gone to West Virginia, my family would have had to drive a long way or flown to every game. I didn’t want to put that on them.”

A bit of a setback because the kid, I’m told, can really play, but not a surprise. Everyone I talked to thought he was iffy, at best, and smitten with the SEC. Seemed like if he got an offer elsewhere, he’d be gone.

WVU nabs No. 1

June 16, 2009 by Mike Casazza

Barry Brunetti, a, shall we say, highly coveted dual-threat quarterback, has told WVU he’ll be part of the 2010 recruiting class.

“I just felt like (West Virginia) was the place where I can come in, compete early and play early. That’s the main question I asked: ‘Can I come in and compete with the position open?’ and they said, ‘Yes,’ they’ll give me a shot,” said Brunetti, The Commercial Appeal’s 2008-09 offensive player of the year. “I got that straight from the head coach, coach (Bill) Stewart, that I can compete.”

As a junior last season, Brunetti accounted for 1,955 total yards (704 rushing, 1,251 passing) and 36 touchdowns (18 rushing, 18 passing), leading MUS to a 13-0 record and the Division 2-AA state championship.

More big basketball news!

by Mike Casazza

Monday, 5:26 p.m., MotoQ beeps and I am immediately drawn to an e-mail. This is big. The headline: One of Nation’s Premier Players Transfers to WVU.

Hold the phone! I have to believe this is true. The author is Phil Caskey, of women’s basketball, and surely he wouldn’t embellish. He’s writing a textbook, after all.

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Sacks comeback? Not likely

June 15, 2009 by Mike Casazza

These are the times stories are a little difficult to come by — check tomorrow’s hypothesis dressed as a column — and require some digging. This was not one of those stories.

WVU’s media guide says Canute Curtis had a school-record 16.5 sacks in 1996 and Gary Stills followed with 12 and 10 the following two years. I was only a little surprised to discover no one has reached double figures since … but slightly shocked to learn this is OK with today’s players.

A year ago, John Holmes’ five sacks led the team.

Second was Julian Miller, seen more or less as a pass-rush specialist, with 3.5. The Mountaineers totaled 25, which ranked 59th out of 119 Division I-A teams.

And so you ask Miller, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive end, what might be a take-notice sack total today when the players are bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic than ever.

“Eight,” he said.

Eight! Not half of Curtis’ record. Double what Stills had against Marshall in 1997.

“When you think about it, it’s almost like it shouldn’t be hard to get one every game,” Miller said. “But a lot of things have happened now and you just don’t have as many opportunities to get sacks.”

Jock supporter

by Mike Casazza

Still-suspended receiver Jock Sanders has been granted permission to work out with the team in the ongoing unsupervised offseason workouts, but still has work to do before he’s reinstated.

Before Stewart will allow Sanders to participate in camp or play in any games he must pass a DMV driving class and stand before the Student Judiciary Committee chaired by Melanie Cook.

“If he does all that, he probably still will be facing a suspension,” Stewart said.

But Stewart believes that Sanders has been moving in the right direction in straightening himself out.

“I told him that letting him work out is an act of good faith on our part,” Stewart said. “I did it with the backing of my athletic director and after talking to my seniors. But I also let him know that he must still pass the required DMV course and the Judiciary Committee.”

Elijah Macon comes on down

by Mike Casazza

His freshman season just completed, Elijah Macon now has a scholarship secured for when he steps on WVU’s campus in 2012. Macon was in town over the weekend for camp and picked the Mountaineers over, among others, Xavier and Ohio State.

Consensus is he’s clearly one of the best prospectsin the state … and at 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, he’s only going to get better, which is fun to think about because he looks pretty good right now.

Friday Feedback

June 12, 2009 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to a “What year is this?” edition of the Friday Feedback. I mean, it is 2009, right? Because yesterday felt a lot like last summer. Back then, the Daily Mail was an afternoon paper, which meant a deadline around 5 a.m., which meant I’d go into full-blown headcase mode and scan the Web editions of the newspapers that came out hours before my deadline.

Not to copy anyone or anything — what could I do at that hour … besides beat myself up? — but to keep up. Remember, there was something just about every day and sometimes it was something you hadn’t seen or heard. To that, there was some really good writing and reporting going on and I know I didn’t want to fall too far behind the race.

And so it was after midnight Thursday morning when I flipped on the MotoQ and saw the story and had a nauseating flashback. I did not need that. Nor did anyone.

Well, one guy did, and there he was with wristbands in hand mustering up something close to an apology with those recruiting tools known as camps right around the corner. A little damage control looks good. Face it, anything he does or says about WVU is going to be news, and when he’s kind to WVU and resembles repentant, he wins.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, get it right!

thacker said:

“I do sometimes get on the dark side of life.”

“…wonders if he can ever match his gratitude.”

“…you can kind of hide. But here in this state, you’re out there everywhere and everyone is throwing barbs at you.”

The Bill Simmons ESPN interview and West’s aversion to being referenced as ‘The Logo’.

His intensity, his passion, his drive … the sensitivity, the compassion, the insight, the courage … the darkness, the fear, the self-perceived failures … all coming back around into that endless circle.

Often it is a man’s own ‘beast’ that drives him, unknowingly, to his destiny and perhaps such is never known or understood by that man, at the earliest and for a lucky few, until the moment of his own death.

In my mind, Jerry, you are not the Logo … my best guess is if any justifiable tag will be attached to you, it will be ‘The Legacy’ … and one hell of a one at that.  

The Legacy. Consider it done.

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