Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information and entertainment. Today we're being brought to you by Solera in honor of today's Miss Throwdown.

First, it seems that former WVU wide receiver Chris Henry has passed away.  He was an amazing talent that we all hoped would get his life together and now it seems to have been tragically cut short.  The other news today has shifted from Big Ten expansion to the loss of Doc and any other assistants he may take with him (mostly regarding the recruiting effects).  The tips, suggestions and requests are always welcome.  Now updated with Gazette articles.  See you after the jump...

What You May Have Missed:

Bengals wide receiver dies after Charlotte accident - WCNC.com
R.I.P. Chris Henry

Gold and Blue Report for Thursday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Hol(l)iday Break - BlueGoldNews.com
4 big points about next years football team inside

News of Note (FB):

Holliday on track for Marshall position - Times West Virginian

Doc has gone back to ties at WVU to start filling positions at Marshall - WVIllustrated.com
IMHO, losing Seider and Beatty would be the biggest losses.

What's up with Doc gone? - Charleston Gazette

Manchin on Doc; WVU hoop recruits on display - Charleston Gazette
Vingle's hodgepodge

Mark Ingram, Jerry Hughes lead SI.com's 2009 All-America teams - SI.com
Brandon Hogan and Scott Kozlowski get Honorable Mention status.

Jarrett Brown vs. the world - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column

News of Note (BB):

Kentucky and Syracuse most likely to stay undefeated longest - SI.com
He figures we'll drop our first at Purdue on Jan 1.

Elite Eight | 2005 NCAA tournament - 2000s: Top 10 College Hoops Games - Photos - SI.com

BIG EAST Hardwood Slate - WVIllustrated.com

Recruiting:

Doc or no Doc - WVIllustrated.com
Millines is still committed to WVU

Around the League (and Beyond):

Bearcats suffer setback at UAB - Cincinnati Enquirer
64-47?!?!?

High expectations for Jones - Cincinnati Enquirer

Following Pitino challenge, Louisville basketball gets real in rout of Oral Roberts, 94-57 - Courier-Journal

Do you want to please Jim Boeheim? Expand the NCAA Tournament and watch him beam - syracuse.com

USF's Miller: Leavitt didn't strike me - Tampa Tribune

Jones scores 27 as USF men top UCF, 69-65 - Tampa Tribune

Jasper Howard stabbing suspect pleads not guilty - SI.com (AP)

Lawyer: Ex-Connecticut Huskies student manager at center of recruiting allegations has not spoken to NCAA - ESPN

Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti on Big Ten conference expansion plans: 'We are a proud member of the Big East Conference' - Star Ledger

Briefly on Big 11 Expansion Talk - Pitt Blather

Big East expansion - looking at some numbers - Card Chronicle

Four Things The Big East Conference Needs To Do Right Now - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
"The four things the Big East Conference should begin doing in order to quell the Big Ten's overtures."

Report: Arizona's Mark Stoops heading to FSU - Tampa Tribune

Pac-10 will consider expansion - ESPN

Video of Interest:

Yes, he was troubled, but he was a Mountaineer.  Rest in peace Chris.

Video of (Dis)Interest:

I'm a little behind with this video, but it's worth it.  Warning:  Strong Language.

Year in Review Gallery of the Week:

This is a double bonus gallery.  Everything inside is basically SFW, but I'm guessing the linked galleries inside aren't, based on the URL's.

via coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is an unbelievable combination of Italian and Venezuelan hotness.  This is Carolina Marconi.  (Scroll down inside the link a bit for the gallery)

via multimedia.quotidianonet.ilsole24ore.com

This one is only 7 seconds, but....oh, my!

Warning:  A little bit of NSFW in this one:

Solera image via 4.bp.blogspot.com