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

Welcome, Lil’ Bully

May 6, 2009 by Mike Casazza

You remember the introduction to future fan favorite Branko Busick.

“Going to the (NFL) has definitely always been one goal for me, but I’d like to keep my options open,” Busick said. “That’s why I do all the training I do, so when everything comes together for me and when the time comes, I can either go to the league or I can enter MMA (mixed martial arts) and dominate that, too. Either way right now, training for one helps the other.”

The first step was signing that National Letter-of-Intent in February. The second came Tuesday when Busick was announced as part of the wrestling recruiting class.

Son of former professional wrestler Nick “Big Bully” Busick, he has placed twice at nationals (third and fifth) and earned as high as third at states. In his senior season, he posted a 45-1 mark en route to a sixth-place finish at the state tournament. He finished his career with a 153-21 overall record.

“Branko Busick is coming in with football, but he has a tremendous love and passion for the sport of wrestling,” Turnbull commented. “He is going to try to blend both sports and he has been given the blessing from Coach (Bill) Stewart, which is much appreciated. When he gets the benefit of coming into our program and working with the athletes in here, we think his ceiling is unlimited as well.”

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Mr. Hogan

May 5, 2009 by Mike Casazza

No. 22 is No. 24 on ESPN.com’s list of the Big East’ 30 best players.  

If Hogan can continue to progress at his current rate, he has a chance of blossoming into one of the best cornerbacks in the Big East.

Oll Stewart said late last season he was worried Hogan might be so good at corner he’d leave WVU after his junior year. Hogan is the second WVU player on the list. Jock Sanders checked in at No. 27.

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Maybe JoePa needs a nap?

by Mike Casazza

I didn’t even want to dignify this last week.

“We go into hiding for six weeks,” Paterno said. “Everybody else is playing playoffs on television. You never see a Big Ten team mentioned. So I think that’s a handicap.

“I’ve tried to talk to the Big Ten people about let’s get a 12th team — Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt. We could have a little bit of a playoff.”

Too ridiculous, I thought. In fact, I was pretty sure Mike Tranghese would hire a hitman if Big Eleven commish Jim Delaney even formed a thought bubble above his head containing a mere suggestion his league might nab a Big East team. He’s sensitive like that.

A rather poorly kept secret it how a couple of Big Ten institutions wouldn’t mind expanding … but a couple others are against the idea. So, no, this isn’t new and it’s only news because of who said it this time. Paterno’s revelation was met by Delaney more or less patting Paterno on the head and and going, “Sshhh. Sshhh. Sshhh.”

“Coach Paterno … is as important a coach, leader, teacher as we’ve ever had in college sports,” Delany said. “So what he says gets disproportionate weight, and properly so. Whether it’s in a coaches’ meeting, a meeting of athletic directors or university presidents, his work and recommendation still means a lot. Coach Paterno has a lot of experience in this area. He’s played around with conference configurations. He knows it’s not easy, and he knows what he says matters.

“But the point of it is, [expansion is] a very big issue, it’s a fundamental issue and it’s a back-burner issue right now.”

Sam Huff would like to thank the SoCon for giving Sam Huff a reason to talk

by Mike Casazza

And for that alone, we, too, should also be grateful Huff was inducted to the Southern Conference Hall of Fame Monday. Logically, he took the opportunity to speak on Mike Vick.

“I think they ought to turn him loose with the dogs,” Huff said. “That’s what I think of Michael Vick.”

OK, that’s settled. Huff was happy to be honored in a group that also included The Logo and Arnold Palmer, but mostly happy to go what he does most best: Talk.

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The sad tale of Kyle Turnbull

May 4, 2009 by Mike Casazza

(and the annoying ad that accompanies this story.)

When he could, he wrestled and wrestled well. He might have gone on and used the sixth year of eligibility he could have had, were it not been for the fact that his right shoulder began aching and there was pain his neck, tests revealing he was in need of more shoulder surgery and had a herniated disc.

And so, one February night, he and his father dined at the Synergy Chop and Steakhouse in the Wharf District, and Kyle Turnbull told his father that with a 3.8 grade-point average, with a degree in finance and looking to move on to law school, he had decided not to press forward and have the surgery or wrestle while injured any longer.

“He made the rational choice,” Craig Turnbull admits.

And when he asked his son what he thought about his decision, young Kyle replied:

“I think it sucks.”

Banquet bouquet

by Mike Casazza

As best as I can tell from everyone I’ve talked to today, there were two people not present at last night’s basketball banquet: Dee Proby and Joe Mazzulla. That seems noteworthy to me in that Proby has seemingly been trying to e-form people he’s gone, but this is the first tangible evidence, and Mazzulla is indefinitely to stay away from all things basketball.

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Talking Points

by Mike Casazza

… from the weekend that was. For your use in elevator rides, trips to the water cooler and other awkward moments on a Monday. Sponsored by “A Belated Happy Anniversary.”

(Computer issues this morning…I have a bad feeling about this week.)

– Basketball awards were announced (much more on this later). 

– Baseball believes it is back on track.

– Pat White debuted as a NFL quarterback.

– Bill Stewart had family time, but probably didn’t watch too much TV.

– Buckhannon’s Chelsea Carrier somehow tied for first-place in the Big East’s 100-meter hurdles.

Friday Feedback

May 1, 2009 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which would like to get nostalgic for a moment. As an 8-year-old with no possible way of knowing where life would lead me, I vividly remember watching the 1989 Fiesta Bowl in the basement of my Manassas, Va., home with my father.

Notre Dame was Notre Dame and I wasn’t old or wise enough to grasp the enormity of the college game — and yet there was just something about those Mountaineers. I remember Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen talking about this WVU defense, but the quarterback … my gosh.

Oh, I knew about Major Harris beforehand, but not like that. The highlights, which back then just weren’t as available as they are today, were stunning. This, I thought, would be fun to watch.

And then he was hurt before the game ever really got going and what I was left with was a compromised quarterback trying to lead a diminished offense against a revving powerhouse.

Years later, I had a rather private conversation with someone who was a big part of how that powerhouse was built and I asked, ‘If Major Harris doesn’t get hurt, is that game different?’ He thought for a moment and replied, ‘It isn’t 34-21.’

Harris would admit regret of another kind Thursday when he was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Harris, who finished third in the 1988 Heisman Trophy voting and fifth a year later, thought for sure he’d have a prosperous NFL career and left WVU after his junior season. The Raiders picked him in the 12th round in 1990. He never played in the league and bounced around smaller professional leagues.

“The way I did it was wrong,” said Harris, who totaled 7,334 yards and 59 touchdowns passing and rushing as a starter from 1987-89.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, look closely.

overtheSEC said:

In the words of the late great Jack Fleming. “Here comes the Major”
I memorized the Mountaineer Rap (which sampled a lot of Fleming’s exclamations) when I was in the second grade so I think a quote from the Maj himself is most appropriate at this time:
“Well I’m M.C. Major and I’m the quarterback,
I’m the one that leads the offense’s attack.
I call the play in huddle–either pass it or run,
You see, the bottom line is, I get the job done.”  

Does Major rap at the induction? And is Nehlen on the 1s and 2s?

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Major announcement

April 30, 2009 by Mike Casazza

Look who’s in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Here come the freshmen

by Mike Casazza

We’ll see how good this ballyhooed freshman class is — or, for that matter, how good the WVU incumbents are — when fall camp begins. A post-spring depth chart makes room for a lot of the first-year players.

A post-spring depth chart furnished Wednesday showed only a few first-string changes from a pre-spring alignment – four on offense, one on defense – but it also was dotted with true freshmen, especially on offense.

Out of a possible 13 offensive positions, 11 included freshmen and two had a freshman in the two-deep.

“I don’t think you can ever count on a true freshman, but at the same time I think you have to give them all an opportunity,” offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen said during spring practice. “At the end of the day, the best 11 have to hit the field.

“We’ve all been around it long enough to see how every now and again you see a true freshman is one of the best 11. We’ll certainly give those youngsters an opportunity to show us that in the fall.”

Just a few notes before you proceed.

– Some veterans, but still a really young team in a lot of key areas.
– No Jock Sanders. No Tevita Finau. Either or neither could be in the mix come camp.
– Geno Smith is burried. Brad Starks is the backup quarterback.
– Broderick Jenkins, who is still facing charges for his role in the theft of a safe from a church, is listed at CB … which may say something about his involvement.
– Maybe LB isn’t as deep as we thought because I thought Donovan Miles was good behind Lazear and he’s not listed. And I’m not questioning the decision.
– Robert Sands, who played most of the spring at bandit safety, is still the starter at free.
– You should be excited about The Poet.

Depth chart follows the jump …

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