Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's nationally recognized best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions. We're being brought to you today by Brooklyn Lager, in honor of today's Miss Throwdown.
Wow, I go away from the internet for a day and WVU basketball news explodes (men's and women's) as both teams rolled in their respective exhibitions over the weekend, as expected. On the football side, it's Cincinnati week, but the week off hasn't done anything to cool the heat under Stewart's seat. On a much brighter note, WVU's women's soccer team brought home a Big East Championship yesterday. Congratulations to them!! NCAA's are up next. The men still have to wait to see their fate. If you have any tips, suggestions or requests for content that you think is worth sharing, you can send them to me by email or Twitter and don't forget to "LIKE" the Smoking Musket MAIN PAGE on Facebook (follow this link, then hit "LIKE"; the Like button right here just "Likes" the article, we're looking for more followers on Facebook). Everything's inside. Join the fun after the jump...
What You May Have Missed:
Mountaineer Report: UNC Pembroke Postgame - WVMetroNews.com
Chip Fontanazza gets Jonnie West's thoughts on his performance and how the younger players did in their first game.
NCAA College Football BCS Bowl Projections Week 10 - ESPN
Pinstripe and Champs are the projections here
Big East bowl projections - ESPN
Champs here
McKenzie's Kick is Good! - MSNsportsNET.Com
This year is the 35th anniversary of West Virginia’s 17-14 upset victory over Pitt at old Mountaineer Field on Nov. 8, 1975. The Mountaineers were two-touchdown underdogs against the nationally ranked Panthers, and they won on the final play of the game when walk-on kicker Bill McKenzie booted a 38-yard field goal. It remains one of the most unforgettable wins in school history. - They gotta have something good on the football side to talk about right now
35th Anniversary of 75 Pitt Game - Mountaineer TV
Men's Soccer: WVU Falls to No. 1 Louisville - MSNsportsNET.Com
Women's Soccer: BIG EAST Champions! - MSNsportsNET.Com
Defender Meghan Lewis’ game-winner in the 82nd minute gave 16th-ranked West Virginia a 1-0 victory over USF Sunday afternoon Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J. The victory gave the women’s soccer program its second BIG EAST Championship and its first since 2007.
West Virginia Wins BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship 1-0 Over USF - BIG EAST Conference
Big East Championship Highlights - Mountaineer TV
Highlights from West Virginia's 1-0 victory over USF to win Big East soccer's Champions Cup. Courtesy CBS College Sports.
USF Postgame Reaction - Mountaineer TV
Postgame reaction following West Virginia's 1-0 victory over USF to claim its second women's soccer title since 2007.
VIDEO: Catching Up with Former WVU Players McAfee & Schmitt - WVillustrated.com
News of Note:
Men's Basketball
Kilicli, Mitchell play big in WVU's exhibition win - Charleston Gazette
Huggins not pleased with opening win - Times West Virginian
Maybe Huggs could give Stew a few lessons, please?
PoG: WVU vs UNC Pembroke - BGN
WVU 87 UNC Pembroke 53 - WVillustrated.com
Article, box score and photo gallery
VIDEO: WVU Exhibition Postgame - WVillustrated.com
Huggs, Mitchell, Flowers, West, Mazz, Peps, Deniz, and Jennings
West's 15 Sinks Pembroke - MSNsportsNET.Com
Jonnie West Begins New Season with a Bang - WVillustrated.com
WVU's Deniz Kilicli Still Struggling on the Glass - WVillustrated.com
Mountaineers Roll In Exhibition - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Photo Gallery II: WVU vs UNC Pembroke - BGN
WVU Exhibition Photo Gallery - WVMETRONEWS.COM
For WVU, different might be better - The Daily Athenaeum
Sizing Up WVU Guards - WVillustrated.com
Jitters, Exhibition Out of the Way for WVU - WVillustrated.com
Bob Huggins: Postgame Press Conference (video) - WVMetroNews.com
Huggins talks about Jonnie West's performance, the team's rebounding ability and gives his overall thoughts on the game.
Music a release for WVU’s Kilicli - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column
Deniz Kilicli: UNC Penbroke Postgame (video) - WVMetroNews.com
Kilicli talks about his performance, starting his first game as a Mountaineer and what he thought of his team's performance.
Joe Mazzulla: UNC Pembroke Postgame (video) - WVMetroNews.com
Mazzulla talks about shaking off the rust, what his role is this year and the way the younger players performed.
West sticking around - Martinsburg Journal
Mickey's Column
Door was always left open for West - Inter-Mountain
Jonnie West: UNC Pembroke Postgame (video) - WVMetroNews.com
West talks about his game high 15 points, how the younger players played and the new perspective he has for the game.
Dalton Pepper: UNC Pembroke Postgame (video) - WVMetroNews.com
Pepper talks about adjusting to his new role and the team's performance against UNC Pembroke.
Women's Basketball
Repella Leads Mountaineers Past Falcons - MSNsportsNET.Com
WVU rolls past Falcons, 99-42, in exhibition - Times West Virginian
VIDEO: Postgame Reaction to WVU Women's Basketball Win - WVillustrated.com
Coach C, Brooke Hampton, Ayna Dunning and Liz Repella
Fairmont State Highlights - Mountaineer TV
Highlights from West Virginia's exhibition victory over Fairmont State Saturday night at the WVU Coliseum.
Women's basketball: Carey says WVU needs to score more this season - Charleston Daily Mail
WVU Women's Basketball: From Hunter To Hunted - WVillustrated.com
Head Coach Mike Carey - Mountaineer TV
Coach Carey talks about team injuries, preseason rankings, and the team's upcoming [ed., at the time] exhibition game against Fairmont State.
Guard Liz Repella - Mountaineer TV
Football
WVU football: What's Luck cooking up for Stew? - Charleston Daily Mail
Clouds forming over Stewart - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Stewart situation difficult - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
WVU Team Report by The Sports Xchange 11/8 - WVillustrated.com
Stewart: Team is similar to last year’s - Inter-Mountain
Enough with the spin
WVU hopes to get back on track - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column
WVU not likely to abandon run vs. Cincy - Charleston Gazette
Trend toward running Smith more could continue for Mountaineers - Charleston Gazette
Stopping all the spins and recalibrating WVU football - Charleston Gazette
WVU football: Mountaineers still in hunt for Big East crown - Charleston Daily Mail
But WVU needs LOADS of unlikely help
Big East Power Rankings: Week 11 - ESPN
All the way down to 5th
Around the League (and Beyond):
Louisville's offensive line gashes Syracuse for 28-20 upset - Courier-Journal
Louisville 28 - Syracuse 20: Bowl Another Day - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
Notebook: Holtz pleased with Bulls' practice - Tampa Tribune
Imperfect Sheard the perfect leader for Pitt - PPG
Huskies Have A Fighter In Frazer - Hartford Courant
Cue Cosell
Rutgers should scrap the spread - On the Banks
Big East basketball | Conference favorite Pittsburgh has the experience - Courier-Journal
Jeff Jacobs: Big East Must Move Quickly To Add TCU Football - Hartford Courant
Will TCU Make The Jump? - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Big East and the BCS standings - ESPN
The Big East is looking pretty good in the latest BCS standings. TCU is ranked No. 3 overall, while Central Florida is hovering outside the Top 25 at No. 27.
What we learned in the Big East: Week 10 - ESPN
Stanford May Not Get What It Deserves - NCAAFB FanHouse
FanHouse Fab 40: Unbeaten Foursome Remains on Top - NCAAFB FanHouse
2010 NCAA College Football Polls and Rankings for Week 11 - ESPN
College Football Overtime - Stewart Mandel - SI.com
College GameDay Final: Week 10 - ESPN
Video of Interest:
Video of (Dis)Interest:
Russian Ninja Hampster anyone?
Miss Throwdown:
Today's Miss Throwdown is a model who used to be on The Price i$ Right. Start your Monday off right, with a lovely gallery of Gabrielle Tuite.
Brooklyn Lager image via images.businessweek.com