Mountaineer Morning Links: Monday (3/11/13) Edition

Hoops notes, Spring football: 1st practice is in the books, Rifle celebration, Big 12 roundup & more

By WVUIE97@WVUIE97 Mar 11, 2013, 9:07am EDT

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 Cruzcampo beer, in honor of today's Miss Throwdown.

What You May Have Missed:

Gold and Blue Now: Monday, March 11 - WV MetroNews
WVU spring practice begins and Coach Bob Huggins talks about the Big 12 Tournament

WVU could have been in bad situation - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
wonder where West Virginia University would be if Director of Athletics Oliver Luck had not used his many contacts to help get the Mountaineers into the Big 12.

After loss, should WVU women be in? - Daily Athenaeum
The West Virginia women’s basketball team (17-13, 9-9) may have just blown a 22-point lead to third-seeded Oklahoma in the Big 12 conference tournament, but the Mountaineers’ postseason aspirations are still alive.

2013 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards Announcement - Big 12 Conference
Eron Harris and Deniz Kilicli were given Honorable Mentions

HERTZEL COLUMN: Fighting against all odds - Times West Virginian
West Virginia enters its Wednesday night’s Big 12 Conference Tournament matchup with Texas Tech without a player averaging double figures.

Hammond, Zublasing Earn CRCA Honors - WVU Athletics
The CRCA honored Jon Hammond and Petra Zublasing following the 2013 NCAA Championships win.

West Virginia drops three in a row to end Snowbird Classic - Daily Athenaeum
Following an 8-2 victory against Bowling Green Thursday, the West Virginia baseball team dropped three-straight games to close out the Snowbird Classic in Punta Gorda, Fla.

Pat White attempting NFL comeback in midst of read option craze - Andy Staples - SI.com
As the throwing session wore on, the criticism grew sharper. Not from the coach. From the player himself.

FURFARI: WVU Coliseum worth the cost - Times West Virginian
Did you know that it cost only $10 million to construct the West Virginia University’s Coliseum in 1970? Today, experts are estimating that the same structure would cost $60 million or so to build.

News of Note:

Spring Practice Underway - WVU Athletics
The Mountaineers began spring work on Sunday.

Patterson Seeking Improvement in Defense - WVU Athletics
Spring football practice opens Sunday.

West Virginia coaches face lengthy to-do list this spring - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
consider the words of offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson: "Usually spring is boring. It won't be boring this spring."

Video blog: Day One - WVU Sports with Mike Casazza
I said before that it was going to be hard to write about spring football. I decided to talk about it instead after Sunday’s practice.

Spring is underway - WVSports.com
Almost perfect weather met the West Virginia football team as the Mountaineers opened spring 2013 Sunday evening at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Competition key as spring kicks off - WV MetroNews
Position battles and a retooled coaching staff should make it an interesting spring as WVU looks to recover from a 7-6 record.

WVU opens spring practice today [yesterday, ed.] - Times West Virginian
Mountaineers look to fill many holes

Quick Hits: WVU Spring Football Opener - WVillustrated
The West Virginia University football team opened spring practice on Sunday.

New-look WVU eyes improvement in Big 12 - Pittsburgh Tribune Live
"When we show them film on the specific schools, it makes sense to them now," Holgorsen said.

WVU set for new season - Times West Virginian
it is on the defense to improve dramatically over last year’s, the worst defensive unit ever to play at the school.

PHOTOS: WVU Football's First Spring Practice - WVillustrated
Browse through photos from the first day of Spring practice for Mountaineer Football.

Video: Spring Practice I - BGN
A look at West Virginia's special teams, quick change and footwork drills and instruction from new assistants Tony Gibson and Brian Mitchell from the first day of spring practice.

Oklahoma, Texas top 2013 Big 12 spring football storylines - Andy Staples - SI.com
Big 12 burning questions entering 2013 spring football practice.

Huggins not ready to give up - Charleston Daily Mail

Fresh spring start today for Mountaineer football - Charleston Gazette

Holgorsen feels good about kicking specialists - Charleston Gazette

For Big 12's bottom four, reasons for optimism remain - Charleston Gazette

Recruiting:

EA Sports reflects Mountaineers recruiting - Charleston Daily Mail
The video game giant asked WVU for help last summer in modernizing recruiting for the EA Sports NCAA Football franchise.