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Talking ’Eers & Bucks

They’re here, and it seems like they’re getting earlier and earlier every year. They are the preseason college football preview magazines on the newstands. Amazingly, West Virginia is seen by both Street & Smith’s and Athlon Sports finishing at No. 22 in the nation, Athlon at 8-4 and third behind Oklahoma and Texas in the Big 12 while Street & Smith’s has the Mountaineers trailing just the Sooners. Anything about WVU starts with QB Will Grier, “the top quarterback in the Big 12,” said Street & Smith’s, which touts him as a Heisman hopeful who “has all the tools for ...

Sheppard hanging up gloves

Following more than 100 professional bouts, promoter Mike Sheppard officially has decided to hang things up and retire as a fighter. “I’m just not going to compete anymore. I’m 43 and I’m tired,” admitted Sheppard, who noted his 40th show will take place on Saturday, July 28 at the The Gough Hazard off Core Road. “I don’t have any kickboxing fights right now, but I’ve got about 20 fights. Everybody is wanting to fight.” Sheppard, still a teacher at Wirt County High School where he won a pair of state mat crowns, was a four-time world kickboxing champion and fought ...

Doddridge County Burnside’s honor obvious

Allegiances as a sports journalist don’t last long once you secure a job. Some writers may begin their career with preferences, but this shouldn’t last long. Staying focused on one team, especially when coverage can span across a large area like the Mid-Ohio Valley, leaves one uneducated ...

Wiggins set for summer

Dalton Wiggins sure hopes his new gig lasts all summer long. The recent Parkersburg South graduate, who earned second team Class AAA all-state honors in 2017, just completed his freshman season as a pitcher for Marietta College and head coach Brian Brewer. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound righty was set to head to the Valley League in Virginia, but instead made his way to Wisconsin to play for the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League. “My (assistant) coach Chad Langley coached up here with the Mallards two years ago,” noted Wiggins, who went 2-1 with a 3.40 ERA in 53 innings for the ...

Meadows waiting for a ring

Former Williamstown football standout and ex-West Virginia University long snapper Nick Meadows is in a pretty good place at the moment. The 5-11, 225-pounder not only played 26 games for the Mountaineers, but he also was a two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree. Currently, he’s working toward his masters degree in athletic coaching after earning a sports and exercise psychology degree. Of course, he’s also working out and staying in shape, along with trying to perfect his craft as a long snapper, as he awaits a hopeful call from an NFL team to come to camp. Earlier this year, ...

Bulldogs’ Jonna Ferrell is on fire

Doddridge County sprinter Jonna Ferrell is a bilingual athlete in an unconventional sense. She speaks English, but also is well versed in the language of speed. The Bulldogs’ sophomore always has been fast. During her time at Doddridge County Middle School, she would race the boys in gym class and her teacher would laugh because she regularly “smoked them,” in her own words. Nothing changed as she moved up to the high-school level. She currently is in the midst of a dominant season running the 1, 2, and 400 along with long jumping for legendary coach Craig Kellar. Meet and ...