Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information and daily distractions.  We're being brought to you today by Wagtail Brewery English Ale, in honor of today's Miss Throwdown.

Lot's inside today.  Rutgers comes to Motown tonight and also a decent slate of ranked BE teams in action.  Keep the tips, suggestions and requests coming.  See you after the jump...

What You May Have Missed:

Gold and Blue Report for Wednesday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Rutgers Preview - MSNsportsNET.Com

Butler on Wooden Midseason List - MSNsportsNET.Com

WVU Varsity Sports Update - BlueGoldNews.com

WVU’s Top 10 athletes of the past decade - Times West Virginian

Mountaineers in the NFL: Regular Season Wrap-up - WVIllustrated.com

News of Note (FB):

Smith holds keys to future of Mountaineers - Charleston Daily Mail

Commentary: Smith gets baptism under extreme fire in Gator Bowl - Bluefield Daily Telegraph

WVU shoots for the stars - Parkersburg News and Sentinel

Arnett to Play in East-West Shrine Game - MSNsportsNET.Com

Former WVU coach Corum dies - Dominion Post (via Charleston Gazette)

Players remember Gentleman Gene - Parkersburg News and Sentinel

Coach who integrated WVU football team dies - Register-Herald

News of Note (BB):

Mountaineers look to bounce back after loss - Charleston Gazette

Fighting For A Rebound - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Huggins and losing don’t mix - Times West Virginian
Hertzel column

Doing All the Right Things - WVIllustrated.com

Rutgers pays a visit to WVU - Parkersburg News and Sentinel

WVU, Bryant set for Knights - Charleston Daily Mail

WVU men host Rutgers tonight - Times West Virginian

My annual Stock Report: Which teams to buy, sell and keep - Seth Davis - SI.com
We're on page 4, fyi.

Clutch Free Throws Beat Pitt - MSNsportsNET.Com

Repella leads WVU past Pitt - Times West Virginian

West Virginia women edge Pitt in close game - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

WVU's women can play some hoops, too - Charleston Gazette

What's On Tap:

Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. West Virginia Mountaineers - ESPN
7 pm tonight from the Coliseum (ESPN 360, SNY and Fox Sports Pittsburgh).  WVU is favored by 19.

Memphis Tigers vs. Syracuse Orange - ESPN
7 pm from the Dome (ESPN2 and ESPN 360).  Syracuse is giving 9.

Georgetown Hoyas vs. Marquette Golden Eagles - ESPN
8 pm tonight from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee (ESPN 360 and MASN).  Hoyas are getting 3.

DePaul Blue Demons vs. Villanova Wildcats - ESPN
8 pm tonight from the Pavilion in Villanova (ESPN 360).   Nova is giving 18.5.

Seton Hall Pirates vs. Connecticut Huskies - ESPN
9 pm tonight from Storrs (SNY and ESPN 360).  UConn is giving 7.

Around the League (and Beyond):

BIG EAST Hardwood Slate - WVIllustrated.com

Cashmere Wright works his way off of Cincinnati's bench - Cincinnati Enquirer

Bulls rally but fall short against Irish, Harangody - Tampa Tribune
74 - 73

Pitt Basketball: Panthers have a new persona - PPG

U of L, Big East both a mystery - Courier-Journal

Duke transfer Elliot Williams leads Memphis into Syracuse - syracuse.com

USC's self-imposed basketball sanctions are not severe enough - SI.com

NCAA rejects Florida State appeal; upholds sanctions - SI.com

Anti-BCS sentiment makes college football playoff inevitable - SI.com
Let's hope

Video of Interest:

via WVIllustrated.

Video of (Dis)Interest:

I can't remember if I posted this one or not.

Tips of the Week:

via coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is another UK tabloid vixen.  Say hello to Sophie Howard.  God Bless the UK tabloids.

Wagtail image via 1.bp.blogspot.com