WTF??!?! I mean, really...DUBYA TEE EFF??! I'm sure you've heard by now, but the Big East award winners were announced today and, much to the dismay of WVU fans and players, there were some significant snubs. First and foremost was the selection of Cincinnati RB Isaiah Pead as the Offensive Player of the Year. Now, Pead is a great back, don't get me wrong. And he was largely responsible for Cincinnati's wins over Syracuse and UConn to end the season after QB Zach Collaros went down with a broken ankle. As a WVU fan, I'm grateful for that, as those wins helped send WVU to the Orange Bowl. But a look at the stats shows what a true head-scratcher (and absolute grudge-vote) the result was:

Geno Smith: 314/438 passing (65.0%) for 3978 yards, 25 TD, 7 INT

Isaiah Pead: 209 carries for 1110 yards (5.3 average), 11 TD, 36 catches for 304 yards (8.4 average), 3 TD

Look, I get that Geno didn't end up with a bazillion touchdowns like we had hoped and that he threw a couple interceptions against USF (including a bad pick-six). But...for real? To select a guy who was 39th in the country (and DID NOT EVEN LEAD THE CONFERENCE IN RUSHING!) and didn't even average 100 yards per game on the ground (and wasn't even the best player on his own team until Collaros's injury) over a quarterback who was 7th in passing (22nd in efficiency) in an offense that relied essentially solely on his arm is just...inexplicable. And it's not like Pead was any better in conference play, either. In fact, he was worse in conference play (barely) than in non-conference play. Again, WTF??!

To be fair, Geno handled the snub well. He was, after all, selected as the First Team All-Big East QB. And he gets to play in the Orange Bowl. And he (hopefully) gets to play in the Big XII next year. So he can't be too mad about his situation. And from what it looks like, he's not:

Personally, I'm glad Geno is handling the snub that way. I mean, I hope he takes it as motivation going into the Orange Bowl. But I also hope he stays focused on the most important thing, which is WINNING the Orange Bowl.

But that wasn't even the biggest snub.

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I’ve been pre-warned by my boss here at TSM to avoid political speech so as not to piss off this faction or that faction of the political spectrum. So, let me state up front that this is not about politics. It’s about hypocrisy at the supposed highest level of our society. Academia.

I’m a PhD student at an ACC school. I often hear academicians speak negatively about college athletics, as if the football team is keeping students from the real task of learning or distracting teachers from the real mission of the college. These folks would contend that THEY are really concerned about the students and the others are merely trying to profit from the kids’ athletic success.

In a recent "Business Week" piece on Big East expansion, the titular head of the NCAA weighed in with his "concern" about student athletes amidst all of the changes in college football. "This is a continuation of the dominoes that are falling around conference realignment,’’ Mark Emmert, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said today in an interview in New York. ‘‘I certainly hope they are taking care of student-athlete welfare in all of this.’’

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This was my absolute favorite time of the year. I had November 11 through November 29 circled on my calendar for a long time. However, it is probably not for the reasons you may think.

I love that there are college games, whether it is basketball or football, every night of the week.  Sometimes though, it can get to be a little tiring watching only sports. That is why November 29 is a day of rejuvenation for me. I will take a break from watching feats of athletic achievement to tune into the greatest show on earth.

Yes, I'm speaking of the Victoria Secret Fashion Show. Even Keith Jackson would take a break from college football season to give a hearty WHOOA Nelly about the beautiful ladies stomping across the stage. 

After getting that joyfulness out of my system it is time to unleash the rage...

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Sports writers "clean out their notebook" all the time in their respective papers. I’m not sure if they actually carry notebooks anymore, but it is a great way to take up column space without having to write a coherent article. Since I’m a slacker and constantly look for ways to get by with little or no work, I’m doing a "cleaning out the notebook" column.

This post would normally be titled "Things That Make Me Want To Throw My Shoes," however, I made a New Year’s Resolution to try and control my temper. My success with that resolution lasted all of about 11 hours because of our basketball team’s performance against Marquette, but I’m back on track and looking to better myself.

In that vein, here are some thoughts from my "notebook"...

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Oooooooooo 'By Godders', I'm back. It is time for me to rant and rave for a hot minute. I can hear it now, the sound of shoes flying through the air with the greatest of ease.

One would think after a great Thanksgiving weekend and a victory over Pitt I would forget my troubles. However, it has been a few weeks since I threw some shoes and a lot has happened in that time frame. The anger has built up and needs to be released before I lose another pair of boat shoes.

Watch out...

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My life would be so better if I were to just write things down from time-to-time. I would be more likely to remember important dates. I would remember to buy skim milk, instead of the the more delicious 2% variety. Actually, I do that on purpose.

I have also been told that keeping a journal can help you get control of your emotions. "Write things down," the doctors in the psych ward would say. "It will stop the build-up of emotions from bubbling over into shoe throwing." Don't worry, I won't listen them.

Finally, writing things down would also help me remember what really made me go into a rage over the weekend. Good thing I have the police reports...

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Every so often things work out absolutely perfectly. You drive downtown and hit every green light. When you are pulling in the Krispy Kreme parking lot, the Hot Doughnut sign turns on. You hit up Bent Willeys on a Friday night and a sorority has just had a "school girls" party. Perfection!

It finally seems like karma is on your side. This weekend was almost one of those weekends. Everything went right on the field and all of the above scenarios played out.

As usual, however, some things really got my blood pressure up. Get ready to duck, because some of these shoes may be directed at you...

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This should get interesting my friends. After a loss I get pretty riled up and this was a tough loss to swallow. Not that I would know anything about swallowing.

I could complain all day about the blocked field goals or the fact that ESPN delayed televising our game. I mean good lord, not only are Big East teams screwing up our strength of schedule, but they are also keeping us from watching our Mountaineers.

Anyway, it was a busy weekend and I'm pretty angry....

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