糖心Vlog

TUESDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: WVU鈥檚 fight falls short vs. Raiders

October 27, 2020

The West Virginia Mountaineers had fought back from an early deficit to tie the game against Texas Tech. With nine minutes to go the WVU defense, after a rocky start, seemed to be taking control. With a strong fourth quarter wind at their back the Mountaineers began a series at the Red Raiders 42, and it looked as if they were poised to take control of the game. And then the play that decided the game occurred. Sam James caught a pass in the flat, and as he was fighting for extra yardage fumbled the ball into the hands of a Texas Tech defender who raced into the end zone for a touchdown ...

Keeping head on a swivel

August 27, 2020

I鈥檝e always joked the only goal after covering a high school football game on the sideline is to walk off the field without getting trucked. If one doesn鈥檛 know what getting trucked is, it鈥檚 basically when you get gobbled up and knocked to the ground after you get smashed by one or more players. Knock on wood, I鈥檝e been really lucky on more than one occasion. Several years ago while at Morris Stadium there was a real close call during a Glenville State College tilt. One needs to remember even on the Division II level the action usually happens a lot quicker than on the ...

Tricking the brain

August 13, 2020

It's hard times for a lot of folks at the moment and I'm not just talking about the sports world. Basically five months into this COVID-19 pandemic, national health official experts have been warning of the dreaded possible second wave. I'm not going to get into the stats of things, but if someone wants to talk numbers I'd suggest getting with Eastern High School head football coach Pat Newland. I've had a few conversations with coach Newland and was able to make it out to the Eagles' media day this week. As fun and impressive as he is to talk with on the phone, it's even better ...

There鈥檚 鈥榥o playbook鈥� for 2020

August 4, 2020

Andy Waddle鈥檚 been involved with football for a long time, but he鈥檚 never had to deal with anything like this. Nobody has. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a strange time for sure,鈥� said Waddle, entering his eighth season as the Marietta College head football coach. 鈥淓verything just continues to be unprecedented, no matter what you鈥檙e talking about. There鈥檚 no playbook for how to deal with what we鈥檙e going through right now. You have to be thoughtful and creative.鈥� Last week, Marietta College鈥檚 conference, the Ohio Athletic Conference, shut down intercollegiate athletics through Jan. 1. ...

Best laid plans may not work

July 30, 2020

New Parkersburg South athletic director Jennifer Null and first-year Paden City head football coach Zach Heasley might have two entirely different jobs, but they鈥檙e trying to put in all the necessary work to be as successful as possible. Indeed, Null has a plethora of things to concern herself with when it comes to running everything in the athletic department. For Heasley, a dream job and opportunity is finally at hand but he and his coaching staff are trying to get enough players to field a team and avoid the fate of not having football in 2020 like Parkersburg ...

Trying to figure out next move

July 23, 2020

Each day folks are hoping for more clarity about what the future in the sports world will hold. When I was at Parkersburg Country Club on Monday to cover the Callaway Junior Tour playoff series event, I had several interesting conversations. One of those was with St. Marys High School head boys basketball coach Mark Barnhart, who like myself wonders if it鈥檚 just a matter of when, not if, the hammer will drop to end sports until who knows when in 2021. The coach was more than pleased just to have the opportunity to conduct the three-week summer period with his ...