Bleacher Report - Articles by Ryan T

NCAA Tournament: West Virginia KO's Duke and its Obnoxious Fans

Ryan T — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 06:28:36 -0400

While attending the West Virginia vs Duke game in the nation's capital, I witnessed Duke fans showing anything but honor and respect. So here is an article for all of the upset Duke fans.

The Duke fans were the most disrespectful fans that I have ever been around. HONESTLY. My wife and I sat down 30 minutes before tip off and Duke fans seemed to fill in everywhere behind us.

The most notable ones were a group of four thug kids and another group consisting of an 85-year-old diehard Duke fan and her four grandchildren. The rest of the section held Xavier fans, Purdue fans and the occasional Michigan State fan.

By the time the first half had ended I was wanting to watch the game from the TV's in the lobby. The old lady was the biggest smart mouth that I have ever heard. She would turn around every time that Duke would score and shake her fist in my face.

This was really getting to me near mid-first half. So, I had to walk off to get a breather.

My wife told me: 'Blow it off' and 'Let's go back and sit down.'

Well this was when WVU took total control of the game. Not due to officiating or the crowd but because of the great hustle it showed that day.

Well, not only did I not enjoy the Duke fans but apparently no one else in the section did either they all started telling the Duke fans how selfish, disrespectful and flat out obnoxious they were.

One guy even told the group in front of me that when he came in the door he was rooting for Duke but after he saw its fans attitudes that had changed by the half.

After the CONVINCING win we went to the lobby. Here is where we saw more, how can I say this, cry baby, pampered Duke fans. They were all giving excuses and reasons on why and how they "blew" not lost the game.

So, being the "MANIACS" that the Mountaineers fans are, they all started drowning the Dookie fans out with cheers of celebration. Before long the entire lobby of the Verizon Center was chanting and hollering for the Mountaineers.

I saw a Pitt fan stating that he was selling Duke apparel at 50 percent off.

Then to top it off, you had that one dumb drunk who was outside and was trying to get his butt whipped. He was wearing a Duke POLO and was staggering around saying, "That's why Xavier owns Bob Huggins, That's why Xavier owns Bub Huggins."

Was this guy serious? If Xavier owns Bob Huggins then why doesn't Duke?

He was saved by the cops before he was destroyed by the real men of West Virginia who undoubtably would have laid him out in a hurry. Yes, Xavier owns Bob Huggins with a total 9-8 record over him, but that's beside the point—they weren't playing Xaiver that day—they were beating Duke.

A lot of Duke fans got mad from a few things that were stated after the game but the players were just stating their opinions on the game. Huggins saw a weak offensive rebounding team during the first half, he came out made some adjustments, spoke of it during the post game and he is trashing Duke? Come on get real!

As for the remarks from Joe Alexander after the game he was ONLY stating the TRUTH, saying that Duke was as talented as a five or a six seed in the Big East, which is understandable. He didn't say that this was the case every year, just this year. I mean give the guy some credit, he should know—he has played against all the competition NOT YOU.

As for the Greg Paulus question asking if he was the McDonald's All-American, this was a good question. Come on get off your Duke wagon real fast and tell me who is the most hated, cocky player in college basketball.

Yes, that's right it is Paulus.

He was slapping the floor, talking shit when he thought Duke was gonna blow West Virginia out in the first half. He was hollering up in the stands and at the players. So, don't give me this bad sportsmanship bullshit. Besides if he was the All-American he is claimed to be, he would have lead his to team to victory right?

Now, the question of whether to call a team a Cinderella is interesting. If Duke had its shit together they wouldn't have only beat Belmont, the real "Cinderella," by one. West Virginia is not a "Cinderella." Out of its last five NCAA tournaments, they have been to three Sweet 16's, one Elite Eight and an NIT championship.

Plus, they might add on to that total this year, changing one of those Sweet 16 appearances listed to an Elite Eight, or maybe even a Final Four. Who knows?

ESPN just showed some amazing statistics:

Memphis, UCLA, WVU, Kansas, and Villanova are the only schools in the country that have advanced to the Sweet 16 three times in the past four years.

That doesn't look like a Cinderella team to me.

Plus, name another school that was in a BCS game and in the Sweet 16 this year. Kansas and West Virginia are the only two, so their sports programs must be on the rise.

DON'T HATE ON WEST VIRGINIA BECAUSE THEY WERE A BETTER TEAM AND YOU ARE LETTING YOUR EMOTIONS CONTROL YOUR ACTIONS AND THOUGHTS. GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. REMEMBER: WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE WHAT WV BRINGS TO THE TABLE NEXT YEAR IT ONLY GETS BETTER FROM HERE. OH AND BY THE WAY WV NOW OWNS DUKE 1-0.

2008 Heisman Candidate: Pat White or Chris "Beanie" Wells?

Ryan T — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 16:18:26 -0500

I am just trying to get a few peoples thoughts on this matter. Me and a buddy were arguing about Pat White and Chris Wells tonight—which one is better for their team, and which would be a better Heisman candidate.

I said Pat White because of what he HAS proven and what he has brought his team through so far. I told him Chris is a great player but I don't think he controls his team like Pat not just because of the position difference but just overall. This is excluding alot of great players, but this is just to see what people think about these two. Thanks for any input on this matter.

If This is Rich Rodriguez' "BOMBSHELL", Then Where's the "BOMB"?

Ryan T — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:21:44 -0500

Rich Rodriguez's agent, Mike Brown, stated that he would let a "bombshell" out on January 15, concerning the West Virginia vs Rodriguez suit.

Well, Mike, if this is the"bombshell", it didn't explode very well.

Rodriguez states, "He knew I did not want to sign it with the large buyout, but assured me that as soon as he took office, he would address it."

HELLO! Rodriguez, didn't you just sign another $4 Million dollar buyout?

Not too concerned now, are you? Rich Rodriguez, the thing is, this is just your statement on this issue. You said that West Virginia was making things up in their plot to ruin you.

Well, Rich, I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me like you are expecting a lot of people to trust your word on this...and you know, that is hard to do.

See, Rich, if I were an actor, and I wanted to make $1,000,000, but they didn't put that in writing and said, "Just trust us we will raise your pay from $500,000 once the movie's done," I WOULDN'T SIGN THE CONTRACT. Get the drift?

So what you're saying, Rich, is that West Virginia backed out of there VERBAL commitment, right?

Well, didn't YOU do the same? Remember what mommy and daddy always said about two wrongs not making a right.

From the Associated Press:

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- More than two weeks after he was sued over a $4 million buyout clause in his contract at West Virginia, Rich Rodriguez turned in a second resignation letter, claiming university president Mike Garrison reneged on a deal to reduce and possibly eliminate the clause.

The letter, obtained by The Associated Press and bearing Rodriguez's name, indicates the tactic his legal defense will take when he files a response to that lawsuit in U.S. District Court. Rodriguez resigned with a one-sentence letter on December 18, to take the coaching job at Michigan, touching off a bitter public dispute in which each side has accused the other of lying.

The latest letter is dated January 10, 2008. WVU general counsel Alex Macia did not immediately confirm that the university had received the letter, and WVU spokesman Bill Case did not immediately respond to a phone call Friday asking for Garrison's response.

The disintegration of the relationship between Rodriguez and the WVU Athletic Department is documented in a series of e-mails written over a five-month period and released to the AP under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

They show Rodriguez's agent, Mike Brown, fighting to get his client more operational and marketing control over the football program and over money Rodriguez helped raise through a booster organization he founded.

They also show Brown threatening to take his client elsewhere as early as mid-November. WVU sued Rodriguez for breach of contract on December 27.

In his latest letter, sent to Athletic Director Ed Pastilong, Rodriguez restated his displeasure with how slowly WVU was responding to additional demands he made in December, 2006, when he passed up a $12 million deal at Alabama. They included allowing him to have his own web site, an issue that raised legal concerns for the university.

Rodriguez ultimately signed the new contract with West Virginia on August 24, 2007. Though the university has acknowledged it planned to reduce his buyout clause to $2 million in 2008, the January 10, letter claims that Garrison told Rodriguez he did not believe in buyouts and might eliminate it entirely.

"He knew I did not want to sign it with the large buyout, but assured me that as soon as he took office ,he would address it,'' Rodriguez' letter says. "I told him the four million buyout was unfair and Garrison agreed, but said the Board of Governors would not change it at the time due to publicity concerns.''

E-mails from Garrison's chief of staff, Craig Walker, show the university was still working on Rodriguez' demands as of December 13, 2007, and the administration has told the AP it did not change its position after that date.

Rodriguez' letter, however, claims that he was told on December 15 , in a private meeting with Garrison, that the university had done all it could and would not honor his outstanding requests.

WVU Battles Accusations of Racial Bias from Rich Rodriguez's Staff

Ryan T — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:35:46 -0500

West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong said Sunday there was one reason and one reason only that Calvin Magee never became a serious candidate to succeed Rich Rodriguez as West Virginia’s football coach, and it had nothing to do with race.

It’s because within hours of Rodriguez’s resignation on Dec. 16, Magee was on a plane bound for Michigan with Rodriguez and was introduced the next morning as the Wolverines’ offensive coordinator.

“Yes, I would have considered him if it hadn’t been for that,’’ Pastilong told the Gazette. “But it would be unusual for him to be considered a serious candidate when at Rich’s press conference, Calvin was introduced as the new offensive coordinator at Michigan.’’

Pastilong’s remarks were in reaction to a story in Sunday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in which Magee, WVU’s offensive coordinator under Rodriguez, claims that he wasn’t a candidate to replace Rodriguez because he is black.

The most egregious accusation in the Post-Gazette story came not from Magee, but from his agent, Mike Brown, who is also Rodriguez’s agent. Brown claims that in the hours following the news that Rodriguez was leaving, Magee met with an unnamed WVU administrator:

According to Brown, who declined to identify the person involved in this incident, “Calvin was in discussions with this West Virginia University administrator, and Calvin kind of politely asked him, ‘Do you think I have a shot [at becoming the next Mountaineers head coach]?’ The administrator said, ‘No you don’t,’ and pointed to his skin. That’s why Calvin got on the plane.”

Pastilong said if anyone on his staff or within the university said that to Magee it was news to him.

“I think the only person who could speak to that would be that administrator,’’ Pastilong said. “I didn’t see Calvin [that day].’’

Pastilong said he did eventually talk to Magee regarding the head coaching job and Magee admits that much. It happened several days after Rodriguez resigned and during the time that WVU was sifting through and interviewing candidates for the job. Magee said it was Dec. 21, five days after Rodriguez resigned, when he was approached by Pastilong regarding the job.

But Magee said he felt that contact was simply to satisfy pressure from the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA) to interview minority candidates. Pastilong said he did so with an open mind and with no pressure from the BCA, but that the conversation ended very quickly.

“I was attending meetings of the coaching staff [those who remained to prepare WVU for the Fiesta Bowl game with Oklahoma] and I think it was after one of those meetings about the third day that I asked him to walk back with me,’’ Pastilong said Sunday. “He and I sat down in the team meeting room and I asked him if he was definitely going to Michigan and he said he was. But he said he wanted to stay and coach the bowl game.’’

Pastilong said that when Magee confirmed to him his intent to go to Michigan with Rodriguez, he naturally eliminated him as a serious candidate for the job.

As for any pressure from the BCA to interview minority candidates, Pastilong said he was the one who first initiated contact with BCA executive director Floyd Keith.

“I called Floyd Keith and we had a discussion and it was very early in the process. I think it might have been Monday [Dec. 17, the day after Rodriguez resigned],’’ Pastilong said. “He faxed some names to me and we followed up on some of those. He mentioned Calvin to me and Calvin’s was among the names he faxed to me. But by then Calvin was already on board at Michigan.’’

West Virginia did contact one black candidate about the job, Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley. But because Locksley was in California at the time preparing for the Rose Bowl, the two sides never met face to face.

Keith told the Post-Gazette that the BCA will continue to look into West Virginia’s search, which ended the day after the Mountaineers beat Oklahoma and interim coach Bill Stewart was given the job.

“We are going to look into the search,’’ Keith said. “We are going to corroborate what [Magee and Locksley] report. If the evidence is that there were really no interviews and [West Virginia officials] say that there were, then that’s a problem.’’

In the Post-Gazette story, Magee admitted that jumping into the Michigan job so quickly was probably a mistake. He claims he did so in order “to explore my options.’’ He returned the next day to Morgantown and said he quickly grasped that damage was done.

“I immediately felt like I should have stayed away [from Ann Arbor],’’ Magee said.

In the end, Pastilong defended the school’s search.

“We had a good search and we did our very best to include as many people as we could and be as objective as we could,’’ Pastilong said. “And in the end it was clear who the best man for the job was — the one who led us to a 20-point victory over a team a lot of people considered the best in the country.’’

Steve Slaton Injury Dispute

Ryan T — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 12:07:13 -0500

Before anyone says anything, I want everyone to understand that I totally support Steve Slaton's decision. I think he is a great running back and has helped the Mountaineers turn there program around not only skill wise but also with added media attention.

He will be greatly missed and I wish him nothing but the best.

But here are my thoughts...

When I first saw his injury I thought to myself, 'What is wrong with him?' This was only the second time he touched the ball if I recall correctly, and also really early in the game. He reached to his leg with little facial (pain) expressions, laid there for a minute, then walked off the field on his own power. Then he was seen on the sideline standing and walking all night.

In my opinion a true leader will fight through anything (unless something else is on his mind...NFL?) Take Pat for example. This guy injures his non-throwing hand, goes into the locker room, comes out with his pads off...until he saw that his team needed him. Then Pat was quick to his pads and team in the closing minutes of the game. No we didn't win but he never gave up.

Not saying that we needed Slaton like Pat that night or that he gave up but I think if he had no interest in going into the draft that he might have came out with a different attitude in the Fiesta Bowl.

I know that there have been a lot of people faking injuries in their last game in college, so this wouldn't be the first. And I am not saying that I 100 percent think he did this, but after hearing his dad's press conference and him talk about Steve's lack of ball touches this year and what seemed like anger to me I wouldn't count this out. But then again this is just my opinion so please don't hate me.

Here is the article see if you feel what I'm feeling.

PLUS, read the bottom lines Steve's dad states, "But the decision has been made. Steve was packing up yesterday in Morgantown. He is heading home today on the way to his future."

Again, not finish his degree? Steve always seemed like a great guy to me and a loving Mountianeer. I thought he would have still finished with our University. Unless, he has a dad like all of us know. That dad that makes every decision for you or makes you see his so called points on them.

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/breaking/sports/20080113_NFL_draft__not_West_Virginia__in_Slatons_future.html

Oklahoma Eats Crow After Trying to Replace Mountaineers in Fiesta Bowl

Ryan T — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 03:01:29 -0500

A few weeks back the University of Oklahoma tried to drop West Virginia as their bowl opponent, stating that the competition would not be high enough. I'm just wondering how Bob Stoops feels now, considering the embarrasing loss to West Virginia 48-28. This game was not even close the main emphasis on this game was how could we play without a coach well apparently we did OK because we out coached OU without a coach!

Here is a link to read the article http://www.wsaz.com/sports/headlines/12719172.html

Owen Schmitt's Swan Song: WVU 48, OU 28

Ryan T — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:49:01 -0500

As I watched the ending of the Fiesta Bowl, I wondered: What if West Virginia had beaten Pitt?

Everyone in the country was refering to Oklahoma as the number-one skilled team in the country, but WVU put it on them bad!

So, where does this put WVU? Over Georgia? Many people said a blowout in their bowl game would push the Bulldogs number one. Well, in my opinion this was a more convincing win—all and all.

But regardless of the Mountaineers' final ranking, I just want to say that the play of leading senior Owen Schmitt literally brought tears to my eyes. As Owen expressed his feeling for the state of West Virginia I couldn't help but cry—Baby? No! Fan? Yes!

Schmitt showed the nation the true spirit of a Mountaineer. I just want Owen to know that he maybe done as a West Virginia player, but he will always be a Mountaineer!

From a true Mountaineer to another: Owen, I will always remember you!

Rich Rodriguez, The Traitor: An Open Letter from the WVU Faithful

Ryan T — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:24:03 -0500

Dear "Coach" Rod,

What were you thinking, you money-hungry weasel?

I cannot believe that the University of Michigan did not realize your lack of commitment to any job that you have ever had.

You are the most disloyal person that has ever called themselves a "Mountaineer".

I honestly thought that you would move on this year, but you said, "Ya'll are stuck with me no matter what." So, I thought there was no chance that a WVU alumni, native, and former player could ever turn his back on his home-state roots.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

After hearing your press conference this morning in Ann Arbor, I realized just how big of a fake you actually were. I have never seen a coach so happy to leave their team. It looked like you were a kid in a candy store—only the candy was the WVU players and fans you played as "suckers."

The worst thing was the way that you addressed us, the fans of the Mountaineers—the "ones who supported you through losses and wins."

You spoke of us as the "general public." What a low blow!

As if leaving your team without a coach for one of their biggest bowl games in history wasn't

enough, you had to take a shot at us too.

Not one time did you refer to us as "fans," or show your respect towards us, as we did for you so many times.

But hey, we would expect no less from a backstabbing Wolverine like yourself.

As for your career, I wish you the best! You have worked hard to get the chance to coach at the University of Michigan...

Oh, you know what? Who am I kidding? Tell Beilein we said hi, and go screw yourself.

LET’S GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!

Yours Truly,
Ryan
"A Real Mountaineer!"

Check out this video I did about Rich:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=grxNSfpB0os