Super Steve and Holy Schmitt signed there NFL deals. Both are in their respective camps... Good luck guys!

Steve Slaton signed a 4 year deal worth $2,369,000, of that $664.000, is guaranteed. Owen Schmitt signed a 4 year deal worth $1,863,000, of that number $158,000, is guaranteed. The rest of the money is like most NFL contracts is subject to the players making the team. Typically, contracts are renegotiated prior to being completed so really the only money a player can count on is the bonus aka guaranteed money. I hope the very best for this new Texan and Seahawk respectively. I know that Weezie is particularly happy with the signing of OS for his beloved Seahawks.

In other Mountaineer NFL Rookie news...


The Pittsburgh Steelers signed SS Ryan Mundy to a three-year deal Friday, July 11, worth the league's minimum salaries each season. Mundy will receive a signing bonus of $67,600.

Erick Wicks joined Owen Schmitt in Seatle signing a free agent minimum deal with the Seahawks. Darius Raynaud signed a free-agent minimum contract with the Minnesota Vikings Keilein Dykes signed a free-agent minimum contract with the Arizona Cardinals. All of these deals were inked the day after the draft.

Anyway good luck to all of our lifetime Mountaineers. I know that each of you will represent the school and the state with pride.

DaGeek

WVU gets "BIG" 09 Roundball commit.

The Eers have recieved a verble from 6'8" 240lb. Center, Dan Jennings. Scout.com has him listed as a 3 star (he is also a 3 star with Rivals.com), and the 20th best Center in the Country. He is just the type of athlete that Huggins is looking for to sure up the middle. He played for Oak Hill academy last year for his senior season he is going to a prep school for one more year and will be getting ready to play for the '09 season for the our beloved Mountaineers. Both Photo's are from BlueandGoldNews.

Scout.com quotes Jennings as saying,"Coach Huggins is great," Jennings said between workouts in preparation for his post-graduate year at either South Kent or St. Thomas More. "He has developed a lot of players over the years, and he pushes you to the limit. I know that he will do that with me. It will be tough, but I know he is doing it to get the most out of me that I can be. He wants to help guys succeed not just in college, but also on the next level. That's my goal, and I know he can help me get there."

ESPN.com reports, "[t]his lefty is an undersized center who has a great basketball body -- long and strong. Jennings runs well in transition and is an above-the-rim finisher who benefits from drop off passes from guard penetration. In the post he is physical around the basket where he executes powerful post moves that include the drop step, and he can score with the jump hook with either hand. He does an excellent job sealing his man for position and takes advantage of any angles to the rim. His shooting range extends to about 15 feet. Although he is only 6-8, he knows he is a center and seems to have accepted it. He's a good rebounder on both ends and has good foot quickness that allows him to be an excellent post defender, but he could struggle against a much taller center. Jennings plays hard and is an active and live body -- a high-major player."

All I know is that this guy is a "big get" no matter how you slice it. I am very happy once more with the obvious recruiting prowess of Huggins. We really are about to enter the "golden era" of Mountaineer basketball.

DaGeek

West Virginia has three athletes named to 2007-08 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award

Women’s Cross Country Alison Spiker West Virginia

Spiker, a senior from Ripley, captained last year's Big East championship cross country team that placed ninth at the NCAA championships, the squad's best finish at nationals. Spiker is a WVU Athletic Director's Honor Roll honoree and a Big East Academic All-Star.-Charleston Gazette

Football Reed Williams West Virginia

This talented gentleman has done his State proud. He is from Morefield, West Virginia. He led the team in tackles for the season. He also was the Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP. He excelled academically as well. He is the type of student athlete we can all be proud of.

Men’s Basketball Alex Ruoff West Virginia

Among this gentleman's many accomplishments would be 2007-08 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II men's basketball first team. He also was a three point shooting maniac. He was a team leader. He helped the Mountaineers in each of his seasons in Morgantown. Like the aforementioned athletes he excelled in academia as well this season.

Way to go. You make us all proud.

DaGeek

WVU gets Ryan Spiker a lineman prospect out of OHIO.

6'4" 295lb., Ryan Spiker decided to make a verbal commitment to the Mountianeers. Welcome home big fella. WVU got the nod over BCS Schools: Michigan State, North Carolina State, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, Indiana and others. He is in a highschool offense which runs the spread and felt that this would be the best fit for him. While likely an offensive linemant he plays on both sides of the ball. Steve Dunlap was his recruiter. Scout.com has him rated as a 3 star. This makes it 12 commits for WVU.

DaGeek

West Virginia Basketball News JA's Deal and a new '10 commitment

Joe Alexander has the fortune of being a Mountaineer Millionare. Way to go Joe may you have every success. "Alexander was the no. 8 overall pick by the Bucks. His guaranteed years are at $2,002,600 and $2,152,800, with option years of 2,303,000 and $2,929,420 - a total of $9.389 million. " -AP

In other Basketball news WVU has another '10 verbal commitment. 15 year old, 6'10", Storm Stanley.
"I looked up their campus online and it's a beautiful campus from what I've seen," he said. "I like that and I like that it's one of the premier programs in the country." Stanley is joined on the 2010 WVU commitment list by Poca guard Noah Cottrill, who committed last July 1 and is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 11 point guard and the No. 45 player in the class. Stanley and Cottrill play together on the 16-and-under OBC team. "He's a great kid and a great player," Cottrill said. "He's young and he's got a lot to learn, but Coach Huggins thinks he can turn him into a great player and I believe he can, too. I mean, he's 6-10 and he's 15 years old. We got a really good player." - Charleston Daily Mail

Good news all the way around for WVU sports today.

Da Geek

Rich Rod or somebody on his behalf to pay 4 million to WVU!!!

Maybe just maybe this saga will come to an end. It appears as was reported, now in several places that Rich Rod, or someone on his behalf, will have to pay the full 4 million in liquidated damages to WVU. The Detroit Free Press is reporting that UM will be paying 2.5 million plus his attorney fees and Rich Rod will pay the ballance of 1.5 million. The compromise is the attorney fees where each side will have to bear its own.
"WVU Attorney Tom Flaherty tells Metronews, “We’ve got a tentative settlement."..."One key that triggered a settlement appeared to be the pressure brought by WVU to depose Michigan President Sue Coleman and Athletic Director Bill Martin. There was a hearing scheduled in Michigan this afternoon on WVU’s attempts to force the two to testify under oath what they knew about the hiring of Rodriguez and the buyout clause in the contract with WVU.
WVU was trying to show that Rodriguez must have understood the buyout provision because he negotiated with Michigan to help with the payment.
Another key development was Michigan’s release of documents that reportedly showed Michigan agreed to help pay the buyout."-(for complete story click on this link)West Virginia Metro News-Hoppy Kercheval
"Flaherty said he would reveal additional details about the settlement, including the period for repayment, after the deal is approved by the board. However, he said the payment would not be made in a lump sum."-(for complete story click on this link)YahooSports
This is a tentative agreement that if approved by the WVU Board of Governors will be a reality. I am not sure what the attorney fees will be but I am guessing somewhere in excess of 500k. (Maybe they will donate a portion of those to the University. {wishful thinking})That being said, it looks like WVU will basically be able to pay for this years staff with this money. Mostly, I am hoping that this will put to bed this era of WVU football. Rich Rod thanks for getting us to this point but good bye. It is time to move on the the Coach Stewart era full steam ahead.

DaGeek

WVU Big East Basketball Slate anounced...

We know the where and who but not the when. West Virginia will have home and homes with Louisville, South Florida, and of course Pitt. WVU will have home contests with Nova, St. Johns, Notre Dame, UConn, DePaul, and Providence and will have to play Georgetown, Marquette, Rutgers, Seton Hall, and Cincy on that ever daunting road.

To say that the Big East road ever sets up well for a team is somewhat ridiculous but it is nice to have the 9 home games we will have this year. These games will join the definitive contests with tOSU and Marshall.

Da Geek

It looks like I am going to be getting season ticks this year for basketball if any of my authors are interested in getting involved call me relatively soon.