On the ESPN Radio Show Mike & Mike in the Morning, Mike Greenburg was talking about the possibility of Chase Utley winning the most valuable player award for the losing team in the World Series (since won by Hideki Matsui).

It was brought up that of the three major sports only one player each has been named MVP while playing on a losing team in a championship series.

Bobby Richardson did it for the Yankees against the Pirates in the 1960 World Series. Jerry West did it for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1969 NBA finals and Chuck Howley did it for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1971 Super Bowl.

Did you notice that two of them were WVU guys? Pretty cool, huh?

Therefore, Alexander, sidelined until January with a hamstring injury, is probably looking at a lost year in 2010 before starting all over again in 2011.

	Bob Huggins

“They’ve been national champions, they’ve been national runner-up, they’re Top 5 in the country all of the time in NAIA. They’ve given us really good games the last two years,” said Huggins. “I think it’s a great game for us and I think it gives our young guys a chance to play in front of hopefully a packed house and just get used to the environment.”

Personnel wise, Mountain State has some exceptional players.

“They’re leading scorer was all-conference at Western Carolina. They’ve got Alvin Mitchell from Cincinnati,” said Huggins. “They’ve got Division I caliber players and they play really hard.”

Sunday’s exhibition will be available online on MountaineerTV beginning at 12:50 pm.

Perhaps, Nike will come to the rescue.

Launched two days ago, the site already has nearly 300 fans.

By the way, Huggins said he saw no reason to bring up the Syracuse-LeMoyne game with his team.

During the last two years, West Virginia has topped 7,000 in total season ticket sales with this year’s number recently passing the 7,500 mark. That’s almost a doubling of the number of basketball season tickets sold since Beilein’s first year at WVU in 2003.

“You factor the students in and that’s 10,000,” Huggins said. “I’ve said for a long time that the people of West Virginia ought to come and see us play. They shouldn’t come because we’re playing Connecticut or Syracuse or whoever.

“It’s been 50 years I think since we’ve been ranked Top 10 in the preseason and it would be great to fill the arena and watch us play,” Huggins said.

If the Gator was picking sixth from the SEC this year it would likely have a choice between Georgia, Tennessee or Auburn. From the Big Ten the Gator would be looking at Wisconsin, Michigan State or Minnesota.

After taking a bath on the ACC championship game, the Gator Bowl has obviously had to recalibrate its approach and go after teams from conferences strong in fan support and the two best are the SEC and the Big Ten. Getting lower-tier teams from those two conferences was something the Gator Bowl was willing to do.

The Gator Bowl and the Big East Conference parted ways earlier this year.

“I just couldn’t take reading that stuff anymore so I let my subscription end,” he said. “Some of the stuff the fans were putting on there was just crazy.”

I only bring this up because I got a number of bizarre comments from fans upset with last Saturday’s loss to South Florida. I understand a lot of it was just blowing off steam and that’s understandable. But some of the observations being thrown out there were just downright absurd.

Among other things, a common theme, which I am paraphrasing, goes something like this: I don’t want us to go back to the Don Nehlen years.

What exactly does that mean?

Does that mean 1981 when Nehlen upset Florida to win the Gator Bowl? Does that mean 1982 when West Virginia went out to Norman and beat Oklahoma? Does that mean 1983 when Nehlen snapped Pitt’s seven-game winning streak?

Does that mean 1984 when Nehlen beat Boston College and Penn State in back-to-back weeks to get the Mountaineers into the Top 10?

Does that mean the 1988 season when Nehlen led West Virginia to its ONLY appearance in the national championship game?

Or does that mean 1993 when West Virginia ran the table for the second time in five years to play Florida in the Gator Bowl?

	Reed Williams

The senior was talking about the headaches he sometimes receives while butting heads with West Virginia’s scout team offensive line.

“We’ve got some big scout team linemen,” Williams complained. “Back in high school it used to be fun beating on the scout team. Here they are much bigger and it’s not so much fun.”

Williams believes this young group of linemen could be pretty special down the road if they can all stick together.

“We’ve got a lot of guys up front that are basically grouping together,” he explained. “We’ve got five scholarship offensive linemen working together for us right now and it’s going to be great for us down the road.”

Williams also sees progress being made with West Virginia’s freshmen defensive linemen Will Clarke, Dominik Davenport and Curtis Feigt.

“We’ve got the pit bull in Baby D (Davenport). He’s going to be tough in that middle and then you’ve got big Curt on the end and then Will is an athletic guy,” said Williams. “We have a lot of guys that are growing up.”

Have a great weekend!

Posted by john benvenuto on 11/5/09 at 5:20 PM Mr. Antonik: I'm one who doesn't want to go back to the Nehlen days either. Yes, we played for the National Title in 88. I was a student and fortunate enough to make it to all 12 games played that year in our 11-1 season. I still have my piece of the goalpost from the 51-30 win over Penn State. I was also there in the 4-7 86 season when Miami beat us half to death, and Penn State shut us out, and Pittsburgh embarrassed us at Pitt. 87 was a fun season but we were only 6-6. As much as I hate to say it Coach Rod brought us to a new level here. I'm happy people get upset when we lose. It wasn't to long ago we were happy just going to a bowl game. Now not only do we expect to go, we expect to win the conference and go to the BCS. And I don't think I'm out of line by saying that WVU is the best overall football program in the conference! We have the best fan support, the most money, and right now we are perhaps still the Marquee team in the conference. That will change if we have a few more 9-4 seasons.

Posted by Chris Guyer on 11/5/09 at 5:46 PM For those wondering what going back to the Nehlen years means it means the 1990's. If you take out the magical 1993 season (and I was a senior that year and it was magical) WVU's record for the 1990's was 54-48-2. Lets also not forget that WVU also went 0-5 in bowl games in the 1990's. I love Don Nehlen and all the success we have had since 02 would not have been possible without him and all that he built here but you have to take the good with the bad.

Posted by jane doe on 11/5/09 at 7:12 PM this column needs its named changed to football/basketball connection....there is hardly ever any mention of any other wvu sports...very similiar to the wv state sports line(should be wv state football/basketball line) on the radio with tony caridi....either they are afraid to discuss other sports because they no nothing about them or they just don't care about "other" wvu sports

Posted by Brian Troy on 11/5/09 at 10:44 PM Everyone's entitled to their opinion. As someone who graduated in '79, I shake my head when I see the negative comments about "The Nehlen Years". I usually assume the comments ae made by some of the younger people who don't understand what we had before Coach Nehlen arrived. In my opinion, they should eventually name the stadium after him. He was by far the greatest coach in WVU history. Nehlen cared about the school, and when South Carolina came calling with more money, he stayed here to build a program. Rod was all about Rod, not WVU, and it is unrealistic to compare his short term visit to coach Nehlen's long term commitment. I'm not happy either about what's happened the last 2 years. We can do much better, and nobody likes to fall out of the the top ten to become a mediocre program. However, let's never forget what Coach Nehlen did for WVU football.

Posted by Chris on 11/6/09 at 12:11 AM In short, it was insanely maddening how long this mediocrity was allowed by our sports administration and university administration. I don't miss the Nehlen / Catlett days at all. I'm willing to give Stew a chance but there's no reason why we're not totally dominating the Big East. I remember when FSU used to beat up on a crappy ACC conference. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but can anyone really fault me for expecting for total domination particularly when the Big East has been pretty much WVU and then basically everyone else. While I am impressed with our recruiting over the past 5 years, Stewart needs to start talking and acting like a Championship Contender. I'm all for good sportsmanship, but there's no reason it can't coexist with an intense level of competitive focus. If we want a successful program, we've got to keep winning and keep our expectation level high.

Posted by WV Lee in Fla on 11/6/09 at 12:24 AM Ive watched WVU since the 70s. I do think Coach Rod took us to a new level as a program, but i think Nehlen did the same thing in his tenure. We had some great moments throughout his tenure. He seemed like a great person as well as a good solid fundamental coach. We werent an upper eschelon program, but we were respected. We also had some great athletes come out of the program. Being from the southern part of the state, I am a little biased. I think Wv is best suited and akin to southern football. We played in the so conference for yrs. The south and north play different styles of football. Northern football (at least traditionally) is bulky and bruiser football, but it is slower (I know I am generalizing). Southern football is leaner, and much faster. WV plays fast, intense and emotional football like the Southern teams. When Nehlen was there we played more like the Big Ten. Rod brought a faster pace, southern style of football. We know it takes great coaching, recruiting and competition (being in a competitive conference) to win the national championship. I think we are closer than we have ever been. We have all three of these ingredients going for us right now. If we played in the SEC, we would be a mid conference player right now. The way we are recruiting right now that may change. I think we are a great choice for talented prospects. Kids can come and probably play much quicker at WV than they could at a top SEC school. They also can rise to the top of the conference quicker and get national recognition. I expect great days ahead for WVU football!

Posted by Jay Wilson on 11/6/09 at 2:58 AM It seems pretty obvious to me that the WVU team was a little flat after the Connecticut game. Of course the coach can never say that. Pro teams get flat as well. South Fla. was UP! They had taken two beatings and needed to get back on the horse. Happens in Basketball also and it can never be calibrated against. Football is overcoached anyway.Rodriguez drove guys since he himself was very driven. Stewart is more sutle. This is bad ? WVU will always be a dark horse 'hunter-killer team.' That's what makes them exciting. You want Michigan or Ohio State - boring same old same old?

Posted by TDB4WVU on 11/6/09 at 4:25 AM I too appreciate what Don Nehlen did for WVU and those magical seasons. This fact is true: WVU would have won the 88 National Championship if WVU didn't suffer all those injuries during the game. If Lou Holtz is honest he knows he was lucky and is thanking God everyday for that gift. Now, that being said, I have to concur with Chris Guyer. I'm also talking about the 90s. The fact is that Coach Nehlen and his staff couldn't get it done in bowl games and you know what that does? It destroys recruiting. Players want to go to schools that are truly competing for National Championships, BCS Bowl berths, and WINNING those bowls. Under Nehlen we didn't win bowls and it was terrible. So, if you ever questions why we say "not the Nehlen years" now you know why.

Posted by Don Mather on 11/6/09 at 6:45 AM For all those spoiled fans who thnks Nehlen was so bad, keep in mind that he only coached 11 games per year. If he had today's schedule, with 12th game against an FCS team, he would have added one win per year, so from 81-89 we would have gone 10, 10, 10, 9, 8, 5, 7, 12, 10 wins per season. Not too bad. I know we struggled in the 90s, but if it werent for Nehlen, we would be Rutgers today, so give the man some respect.

Posted by Jeff Bryant on 11/6/09 at 7:17 AM Good point Don Mather.... Don Nehlan was incredible and is a legend for what he did in Morgantown with that program. However, what i'm concerned with is the lack of intensity coming from the team. I know it was just one game, but that South Florida game was extremely dissappointing in how we came out not to "WIN" but "HOPING TO WIN." We were ultra conservative in our decision making and lacked toughness the entire game. Sometimes the coach just needs to get in the players faces and call them out. I don't think that is happening.

Posted by Brian Troy on 11/6/09 at 8:40 AM It's obvious to me the people who know the least about D-1 football are usually the loudest critics. It is so disappointing to see the lack of respect given to coach Nehlen after all he did for WVU. Today many of the fans at Florida State, Ohio State, and Oklahoma aren't exactly thrilled with what's happened over the past few seasons. A decade from now, they can always take a page from the book of some of our fans, and refer to the the past few seasons as "The Bowden Years", "The Tressel Years", or "The Stoops Years".

Posted by RAB on 11/6/09 at 10:48 AM In 1993, after going undefeated, we played Florida in the Sugar Bowl, not the Gator Bowl.

Posted by WVLuke on 11/6/09 at 12:13 PM I've had the opportunity and joy of following WVU football since the mid-60's. Something persons under the age of 30 need to understand is Don Nehlen made WVU football matter. Before Nehlen arrived, we did have several individuals who were great in their day but rarely did the team accomplish national attention for any length of time. WVU became a constant recognizable commodity in the college football world under the leadership of Nehlen. He took WVU football to the next level. He openly said only two schools interested him and would take the job if offered - Michigan and Ohio State. He was loyal to the university. Enter Rich with a new approach and it worked. He (along with White) took us to the next level where WVU football had never been before but RR's loyality was all about him and he chose another school leaving most fans feeling jilted. Now we have someone coaching the team who is truly loyal to the University plus he has put together the best staff ever and recruiting is vastly improving each year. Afraid to go back to Nehlen -> we are about to combine the best of Nehlen and Rich eras - loyality and reaching the next level. Hang on, we are about to see something special in WVU football.

Posted by Ron M on 11/6/09 at 1:55 PM Nehlen must be respected for beginning the Mountaineer winning tradition- sure his bowl record was lousy, but you have to start somewhere. He's responsible for some of the greatest wins in WVU history! And, as good as it got with R-Rod (beating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, and a #2 ranking in '07), all I'll remember is the BIG FLOP against Pitt and his ultimate hasty departure. Hail Don Nehlen for getting this train started, and Hail Hail Bill Stewart for keeping the train from crashing when Rod jumped out. The future is in good hands with Coach Stew and crew and the two best WVU recruiting classes ever.

Posted by WVU NY'err on 11/6/09 at 2:58 PM Hey Guys, I was there for the Cignetti years. We were lucky to be mediocre at best. We waited for the frisbee dog and the band at half time. Nehlen made us competitive and had a few great years. He should get the stadium named after him. Rod did step it up a level, and had us on the brink of greatness...but we never made it. I love WVU, but we are not an elite school or team. We get no respect when we are one a top five team (The Pat White era). Only a few schools get that love from the football world. The SEC and other conferences are overated, but not called to task for scheduling weak nonconference schools. Our league is seen as a non-BCS conference and we are losing our better bowl games. Coach Stew is doing a great job. Our recruiting is better than when Nehlen or Rod were at the helm. But the fact is we are WVU and not Ohio State, USC, ND, Alabama, or Florida. We do not get the 100,000 fans in the stadium or get a large share of the TV audience. I love being a Mountaineer fan, but I realize we are always fighting an uphill battle. Go Mountaineers!!!

Posted by San Diego Jack on 11/6/09 at 3:17 PM I've followed WV since my freshman year (1971) and things go in cycles. 1974 was dreadful, 2-9 and fans wanted Bobby Bowden's head. Cignetti was terrible in the late 70's, but neither had money, facilities, etc to gaet a big time program. When Nehlen started he had a new, bigger stadium (65K compared to 37K capacity), more money, and a catalyst in Major Harris. We recently had another catalyst in Pat White. WV doesn't have such a dynamic player now, and with a recently changed Off Coordinator the spread is dying if not gone. The offense is traditional now, at best, and dull and boring at worse. WV will come back when a new Pat White emerges, until then 8-4 is what we have

Posted by Goodgrief on 11/6/09 at 4:7 PM High expectations are great, but some people's are insane. We want a stronger Big East but never expect to lose a game. Nobody wants to lose, but it is going to happen. That doesn't mean we should go on a rant demeaning coaches, players, administrators, etc. Now if you happen to be a Yankee fan feel free to whine and complain when they lose with their kajillion dollar budget, but good grief, give our players and coaches a break.

Posted by me on 11/6/09 at 8:55 PM don hehlen was a great coach.... richrod never succeeded at the same schedule.... nehlen played great teams and we were respectable, sometimes good...... rich rod was only good when the opposition got easier..... i disliked dn's overly conservative style... but he made me proud...... the bedwetter RR never did...............

Posted by Mountaineer in Connecticut on 11/6/09 at 9:59 PM I have been following WVU my whole life. I started with Mike Sherwood, Jim Braxton, Oscar Patrick and company. Before Don Nehlen we had two good coaches--Jim Carlin and Bobby Bowden. Both left WVU as soon they had one good season and a bowl victory. I was around when our fans tried to beat in the lockerroom door after the 36-35 loss to Pitt. Then they hung Bowden's image from a tree on campus in 1974. Would you leave? Nehlen never left, he had his chances and made us a good program. He chose to make West Virginia his home. If you want more wins let's go back to playing Temple, Villanova, VMI, Richmond and William and Mary every year. Nehlen got us out of that era and took great steps forward. RR was our savior. So I thought.! There is something to be said for loyalty. This means fans as well as coaches. Bill Stewart seems too nice. I would rather have that than another coach looking to use us as a stepping stone to the next level. Stewart has surrounded himself with excellent coaches. We have good recruiting classes. I am a Mountaineer junkie. My oldest brother was a freshman at WVU when Jerry West was a senior. Since then 5 sons and 4 daughter-in-laws have obtained at least one degree from WVU. Now one of my nephews has become a doctor of medicine. My old man was a coalminer and my mother raised us to go to college. WVU has grown so much. Our athletic program is in great shape. We have never done better. We have a fine university. I have spent my whole life trying to change the image of our state and its people. If you do not like the state of WVU then go away. You are not creating a positive image. You will not be missed! Hail West Virginia!!!

Posted by BSAEWVU84 on 11/6/09 at 11:6 PM After reading these comments, I've come to the conclusion that people like personality in their coaches. They like the "bad boy" attitude and demeanor. RRod had that. Nehlen and Stew don't. However, on the field, Nehlen had as much as RRod in wins and national attention.... and losses (remember RRod's first year?!). Stew had a record breaking 2 year start. Don't forget, Nehlen played some tougher schedules with Penn State, Miami, Boston College and tougher Pitt and Syracuse teams. The Big East was tougher aside from Temple and Rutgers. Now, RRod brought us more national attention, not just with the BCS win and the winning records, but he brought a new style of football.... when has that happened in CFB??? the 70's with the run and shoot?? So the "new level" people talk about is more to do with the innovation and attitude than results on the field when comparing to Nehlen or Stew. Just my rambling thoughts and opinion.

Posted by IMCOMORTOR on 11/7/09 at 6:41 PM Wow. What a nice thread. I agree that Nehlen gave us credibility. I consider him the Father of modern WVU football. RichRod looked for a while like a genius, and he got us national exposure that we are still enjoying but maybe not so much. The next two years are crucial for Stew and for the program. Stew needs to stop listening to his critics, keep his own counsel, and coach his "lads" to be the best they can be - and that could be, very very good.