We are in the midst of the high school football playoffs in our state. I am old enough to remember when there really were no playoffs, just two teams played in a state championship game.
On the college sports calendar, we are in that “overlap” time as football and basketball seasons start to collide. Just for fun, here are some past and present football and basketball coaches who remind me of each other.
A West Virginia southern coalfield sports family gathered in Harrisonburg, Virginia Saturday for the Marshall-James Madison football game.
This has been an unusual season in college football. We are only in mid-October and we have already seen several prominent head coaches lose their jobs.
It was an interesting time for sports in our region in 1969. Most in the state and Kanawha Valley were giddy over Jim Carlen leading WVU to a rare bowl win over South Carolina in the Peach Bowl. Not long after the game, Carlen would leave for Texas Tech and Bobby Bowden would replace him.
After almost 50 years of being involved with college football, I have learned two things.
It is somewhat of a new day in college football. On Sept. 10, the college football world was surprised that Marshall won at Notre Dame, Appalachian State won at Texas A&M and Georgia Southern won at Nebraska.
College football has been changing for some time now. More change is coming. The next change will feature an expansion of the playoffs from four teams to 12.
In my lifetime, the business of college football has changed. It used to be that the players were the celebrities.
It’s a fun time of the year for football fans. The Friday night lights will soon come on at high school football venues around the region and off in the distance you will hear the sounds of drum beats.
This past Friday night, approximately 40 members of the Charleston High School football team’s dynastic years gathered in downtown Charleston at DT Prime Steakhouse Restaurant.
Earlier this week, local athlete Ryan Switzer announced his retirement from pro football. Over the years, I could not help but notice the similarities between Switzer and former Winfield and Marshall star Mike Barber.
In our area, whenever I we have breakfast or lunch with a group of former athletes and media people, we usually talk about names of former athletes from our region. Here are some of the names of athletes that came up in a recent conversation.
Football fans in our state continue to be saddened over the recent death of state football legend Robert Alexander.
Last weekend, I attended my 50-year class reunion for DuPont High School. As you would expect, there were many stories and various pieces of memorabilia available.
Over the years, I have often said, “there is nothing like a West Virginia mom.” Since this is a sports column, I can also add that “there is nothing like a West Virginia sports mom.”
Earlier this month. William & Mary hired a new women’s basketball coach.
This has been a week of remembrance and reflecting. My good friend, former Marshall football coach Stan Parrish, lost his battle with cancer at the age of 75 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
West Virginia is a small state, but it’s fairly large in its impact on the world of college basketball.
The high school basketball state tournaments always provide memories. Here are a few that come to mind.
It’s the time of year in our state when we start thinking of postseason basketball.
Every year at this time, I go through a Super Bowl media week withdrawal. In my younger days, I was fortunate enough to co-host a nationally syndicated radio show from Radio Row at the Super Bowl. All told, I have covered nine Super Bowl weeks and it is one my most enjoyable memories.
All of a sudden, after years of despair, fans are jumping on the Cincinnati Bengals bandwagon.
February is Black History Month. There is no doubt that you will see many stories of some of our nation’s greatest athletes.
