A futuristic past

During my Morgantown days, my favorite mode of transportation was the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) - an 8-seater, electric-motor driven, automatic transportation system that connects 5 different points on the West Virginia University campus.

(Michlaovic 2010)

In spite of being built in the mid-1970's, the PRT still feels like it belongs to the future. A safe, convenient way to move from one end of campus to the other, I am surprised more cities, especially smaller ones who cannot afford (or need) a full-fledged subway or train system, haven't looked at it as a viable people-mover option.

(Jae69376  2011)

If you are ever in Morgantown, take a ride on this marvel. It will be worth your time, I promise.
(If you want to see a 1977 video about the PRT, click here).

Forever Young

(I apologize if you do not "get" some of the references made in this post.)

I wrote this poem last year right after the 2007 NCAA and the NIT basketball tournaments were done. India had just been ousted from the cricket world Cup (and Sri Lanka were en route to the finals where they lost to Australia). Hardesty refers to David Hardesty, the erstwhile President of WVU; MSG is Madison Square Garden in New York; Nicholls, Young, and Smalligan were players on the WVU basketball team (nickname: Mountaineers); Commish refers to the "commissioner" of the WVU Biology bracket league; John Bielein was the WVU basketball coach who subsequently defected to Michigan.

Now that the rest was won

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
If the NCAA rebuffs you, win the NIT you must!!

Dreams of making the Big Dance went to dust.
So on to the NIT we went, MSG or bust.
With heads held high, we walked into the fray
Especially Nicholls with his daggers, and Young with many a trey
So what if it's the 2nd tier, we are still ranked first!

Christine's picks matched Ricardo's, oh what a fool!
And by the end of the 1st round, she was taken to school
By the Commish's "associates", a euphemism for cronies
Who hatched this elaborate pool just to take our monies.
But hey WVU won the NIT, so everything's just cool.

So we'll start next b'ball season hotter than a hooligan
And frankly, my dear, what we'll need is a mulligan.
For when we are favored, our teams lay an egg
And the misery we feel cannot be assuaged by simply a keg.
And to compound it all our center will still be Smalligan.

In John Beilein we trust, so said our own Hardesty
And to lose him to Michgan will be such a travesty.
But money is a big factor here, a beguiling mistress
That could probably, for us devoted 'Eers, cause major distress.
If that happens, then we'll barely protect our b'ball modesty.

It's 11:30 at night now, my basketball season is done.
So now I can focus on cricket and have some fun.
But while I was distracted, India did not make the Big Dance
And as for rooting for Sri Lanka, there isn't a remote chance.
So with a deep sigh I can say my TV watching days are done!

Lets Go, Mountaineers!! Fork up every dime.
Pay Beilein what he wants, even if it's a wind chime.
And next year give us the wisdom to not fund the Commish,
Or if he finagles our money, let's ensure he swims with the fish.
I'll stop right now as I'm struggling to find words that rhyme.

CSM, March 29, 2007

Home of the Mountaineers

The WVU Cricket Club has not had a proper field to practice/play on for many years now. Eons ago, WVUCC played at what is now known as the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. After migrating around for a few years, we have now been given access to St. Francis Field (it is named for the school that used to own the ground before WVU bought it). The ground, before we set foot on it looks like this.

After "prepping" the pitch using some compressed board planks and astro-turf that used to be part of Mountaineer Field, we have a fairly decent ground to play on.

The air is tingling in Touchdown City

It is not often that the WVU gridiron football team finds itself in a position of strength. Aided by what appears to be an easy schedule, a weak conference, and a very well-coached team, the Mountaineers are being picked by some people to be the leading college football team in Division I-A this year.

The spotlight is falling squarely on the shoulders of the coach, Rich Rodriguez, profiled here by Pat Forde. Last year the team began with low expectations and stormed its way to a #5 ranking, on the basis of its win in the Sugar Bowl. What will this year have in store for us fans?

The season begins in a few short weeks...

Raising the roof

The Coliseum at WVU is one of the loudest college basketball arenas in the US and I experienced it first-hand a few times this year. The last time I was at the game, I glanced up and saw the roof. Maybe the pattern on the roof has something to do with the reverberations of the screaming voices. Either way, if you stare at it too long you get disoriented and dizzy. Trust me, I know from experience!

The scoreboard at most basketball arenas is a huge box-like contraption that hangs over the court (see below). From my perch in the stands, the whole thing did not instill much confidence. Imagine running around like ants on the floor, knowing that above your head is this huge gravity-defying monstrosity that is held in place by just a few cables that stretch up to the roof.

Lets Goooooo....Mountaineers!!

The Coliseum at WVU is one of the most intimidating college basketball arenas in the US. After 8 years, I finally got to see the Mountaineers play the Friars of Providence University on January 17th. Here is a view from the first tier:


And here is a view from my seat. The students section (with the students decked in golden coloured t-shirts) is to the left side of the picture:

The strength of the pack...

.... lies in its numbers.

On October 15, 2005 the West Virginia University Mountaineers (gridiron football team) hosted #19 Louisville Cardinals, which joined the Big East Conference just this year. At the start of the 4th quarter WVU was trailing 24-7 and things looked really bleak. The defence then stopped Louisville and forced a punt. WVU got the ball with 13:10 on the clock.

The Mountaineers then proceeded to score 17 points to tie the game, with NO turnovers by the other team!

We scored a TD to make it 24-14, then recovered an onside kick (which, in hindsight, should not have been WVU's ball) and went down the field and got a field goal to make it 24-17, with 4:40 on the clock. The defence stood strong and forced the Cardinals to go 3-and-out and punt it back with 3:41 on the clock. We then drove 60 yards for a TD to tie the game with a minute left.

Strangely, with 54 seconds to go and 2 timeouts left, Louisville chose to play for overtime and ran out the clock.

We finally won in the 3rd overtime, after scoring a TD in each one. It was an exciting game and, for me, the most heartening part was this - in spite of being down 24-7, by my count, WVU attempted 30 rushes and 9 passes in scoring the next 39 points for the win. A very composed performance indeed.

Here is an excerpt from the the Big East Conference PRESEASON media guide which sized up WVU's running back situation thusly: "Sophomore Pernell Williams will see time behind [junior Jason] Colson. Junior Erick Phillips, who is returning from knee surgery, will also look to make an impact, along with tailback Jason Gwaltney, Josh Bailey, Brad Palmer, Justin Dziak, Owen Schmitt and junior college transfer Louis Davis, who will compete for time at fullback and tight end."

In this game against the Cardinals, a WVU running back had 31 rushes for 188 yards and 5 TD's, and 3 catches for 20 yards and another TD. WVU is to running backs what the Steelers are to linebackers and the Broncos are to running backs - a factory. The guy who did all this is a true freshman - Steve Slaton, who is not even mentioned in the list above!!

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Slaton has started only two games but leads the Mountaineers (6-1, 3-0 Big East, ranked 17th in BCS Poll) in rushing with 459 yards and a robust 6.1 yards per carry.

The remaining teams on the schedule are South Florida, CONNECTICUT, Cincinnati, and PITTSBURGH (home games in caps). These teams are 3-3, 4-2, 3-3, and 3-4, respectively. Hopefully the Mountaineers can retain their composure and earn a BCS Bowl bid.

Stay tuned for weekly updates on the progress of the Mountaineers.