MORGANTOWN -
Let me be the first to wish you a Happy Boxing Day on this
glorious Dec. 26th morning. It's my favorite holiday of the year
that I essentially never celebrate but have always gotten a kick out of.
If you're anything like me, it's difficult to get back in
the swing of everyday living following a holiday. Spend all that time with
friends and family and food – Oh, the food! – and suddenly the next day feels
like it'd be best spent lying on a couch.
Rather than join the flocks of shoppers who felt like returning
their unwanted gifts, I'll sit back and make a list of things WVU athletics
currently has but would probably rather get rid of.
Let's begin with the Big East's lawsuit. West Virginia
already tried to throw out the court case in Providence, R.I. and instead have
the only hearings take place in Morgantown.
Athletic Director Oliver Luck would surely like to have had
the lawsuits behind him before the holiday, but instead, they carry on beyond
it.
All Luck wanted for Christmas was an official start date for
his school's participation in the Big 12 conference. For now, though, those new
league logos that are printed on the basketball practice facility's floors will
continue to be absent from any published photos or videos.
So it goes without saying that No. 2 on the list of things
set to take back to the store is the Big East membership itself. WVU has
enjoyed its time in the conference, but like all things shiny and new, the
luster has since diminished.
Bob Huggins is looking to see how long he has to return Eric
Curry, Mike Reed and Shawn Lehigh.
Those are the three officials who did their best to control
the outcome of WVU's game against Baylor in Las Vegas.
Throughout the game, there were instances in which it seemed
as though the three were engaging in far more conversations with coaches and
players than should be necessary and ultimately, Curry's offensive foul called
on Dominique Rutledge stopped the Mountaineers from putting away the undefeated
Bears.
"I'm going to say it as diplomatically as I can: I wish we
could play defense that way," Huggins said on his postgame radio show. "They
[Baylor] held the whole game."
Huggins could be heard saying similar things to the
officials the entire game, but the remarks fell on deaf ears.
Truck Bryant may want to take back his poor shooting. He
tried to give his team an early Christmas gift with a last-second, off-balance
shot to break a 76-76 tie and deliver Huggins his 701st career win.
Instead, it wasn't a last-second shot at all, and it certainly
wasn't a good look. The miss was one of 11 for the WVU senior guard and Huggins
expressed his displeasure following the game, while explaining why Bryant has
played 90 minutes in the past two games combined despite the lack of
production.
"Truck was awful," said Huggins. "But I can't get him off
the floor because I can't make an adjustment without him and [Kevin Jones] on
the floor."
The Mountaineers football team would rather be able to
return Terence Garvin's surgery.
Garvin's cartilage damage resulted in surgery following the
South Florida game that will keep him sidelined for the upcoming Orange Bowl
against Clemson. Facing one of the nation's top passing attacks, that'll be a
big blow to the WVU secondary.
Earlier this season, the Mountaineers were without Garvin's
services and sophomore safety Travis Bell gave the team his best effort against
a tough Bearcats offense, but ultimately wasn't tested much after starting
quarterback Zach Collaros was knocked out for the game.
West Virginia will need all the secondary help it can get to
corral Tigers quarterback Tajh Boyd and freshman receiver Sammy Wilkins.
Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, there's no exchange policy for the medical
procedure.
Here's hoping your dud gifts are a bit simpler to take back
to the store today than what WVU would like to return if given the opportunity.
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