West Virginia beats Marquette on Butler's jumper, undefeated Purdue awaits.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Da’Sean Butler’s long jumper from the wing with 2.3 seconds left gave No.6 West Virginia a 63-62 comeback victory over Marquette on Tuesday evening at the WVU Coliseum.

Trailing 62-57 with 41 seconds left, sophomore Kevin Jones’ offensive put-back cut West Virginia’s deficit to 62-59. Jones then fouled Marquette’s Darius Johnson-Odom, who missed a one-and-one free throw that Devin Ebanks rebounded and went the length of the court for an uncontested slam dunk to make it 62-61 with 18 seconds left.

West Virginia went to its full-court pressure, eventually following Jimmy Butler with 12 seconds left. Butler proceeded to miss the one-and-one opportunity to set up Da’Sean Butler’s heroics, as the Newark, N.J., native dribbled the length of the floor before nailing the game-winning jumper.

After officials reviewed the shot to make sure Butler’s foot was on the 3-point line, Marquette was forced to inbound the length of the floor. With Ebanks providing great pressure on the inbounder, Joe Mazzulla intercepted the baseball pass to secure the Mountaineer victory.

“Devin seemed like he wasn’t going to let us lose,” coach Bob Huggins said. “The play that Devin makes to get it to one, that’s a 6-foot-9 guy who they didn’t want to foul. There are not a lot of guys that have the courage to make that play. We had some guys who stepped up and some guys who didn’t step up.”

WVU’s trio of Butler, Ebanks and Jones came through once again. Aside from making the game-winning basket, Butler finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Ebanks, coming off both conference player of the week honors and Oscar Robertson national player of the weeks honors, scored 19 points with eight rebounds and four assists.

Much like he has all season, Jones took control of the paint and finished with 18 points and three rebounds. West Virginia was heavily reliant on the play of Jones on the inside blocks, often calling his number when a basket was sorely needed.

West Coast Offense and the Effect on the Browns

With the announcement of the Mike "Walrus" Holmgren in Cleveland, there's been much talk about the offense that will be run. Holmgren has always ran the Walsh West Coast Offense, while at Green Bay with Brett Favre, and Seattle with Matt Hasselbeck. What does all of this mean though? What is the West Coast Offense, and what's the difference between what we run now and what we will be running? I'm going to break down all of that in the following.

The West Coast Offense (WCO) is an offensive system loosely based on the Air Coryell system established by the Hall of Fame coach Don Coryell. Bill Walsh perfected the system that emphasizes more passing than running. Originated in the 1960's by teams like the Chargers, Raiders, and even Coryell's own Cardinals (St. Louis at the time), the Air Coryell is a system that has been greatly used by teams more and more each season. It was Bill Walsh who perfected what is now called the WCO.

What Personnel is Required for the WCO?

Quarterback- A quarterback in the WCO is supposed to be an efficient passer. A guy that can complete 62% of his passes or better, that specializes in throwing the short-intermediate routes, and can get the ball out quickly after the snap. He needs to be an accurate passer that's also very smart and can make quick reads. In the WCO, the 3 step and 5 step drops are heavily utilized in a quick striking passing game that keeps the defense on it's heels, constantly forcing them to make quick adjustments at the line. A 7-step drop is also something that has to be utilized occasionally to keep the defense honest. Faster linebackers and safeties make it nearly impossible to stick with 5-step drops for an entire game, so often hitch routes, hitch and go's along with crossing patterns are utilized in a 7-step drop. When a defense begins playing up, and compensating for the short patterns over the middle, the offense can catch the defense sleeping and hit a deep route. Scrambling ability for a quarterback is also a plus.

Runningback- A runningback in the WCO needs to be a guy that can catch the ball out of the backfield, and is more a speed runner. A guy that can also hit the hole quickly and be effective between the tackles. Pass blocking isn't as big of a need because of how quickly the QB should be getting the ball out, but it's still something that'd be a bit of a luxury.

Wide Receivers- This is a position just as important as the quarterback. Possession receivers are crucial in the WCO. The WCO requires wide receivers that can catch the ball in traffic, over the middle while having a run after catch (RAC) ability. On the other spectrum, it's crucial to have a deep ball receiver so that the defense can't creep up and shut down the short game. So speed on the outside is a big plus to keep a safety over the top of a WR, and open up the middle of the field. Finally, perfected route running. If the receivers aren't on the same page with the QB and doesn't run crisp routes, then you can kiss any sort of efficiency out the window.

Big Test for West Virginia Tonight. Countdown to Tip-Off.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia puts its undefeated record on the line tonight against Mississippi in a clash of nationally ranked teams at the WVU Coliseum. Tonight’s game is designated “Gold Rush” with fans coming to the game being encouraged to wear their gold.

West Virginia and Ole Miss have met once before in Mississippi last year when the Mountaineers pulled out an exciting 80-78 victory.

Here is tonight’s Countdown to Tipoff:

10 – Only TEN opponents have managed to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor during Bob Huggins’ 80-game tenure at West Virginia.

9 – Da’Sean Butler recently became the 16th player in school history to score more than 1,500 career points. On the other end, Butler has managed NINE double-figure rebounding games for his career, second only to Devin Ebanks’ 12 among current Mountaineer players.

8 – Sophomore forward Kevin Jones is the only Mountaineer player to score double figures in all EIGHT games so far this year. Jones is averaging 14.5 points per game while grabbing a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest.

7 – West Virginia has won all SEVEN times it has led at halftime this season. The only time the Mountaineers have trailed at halftime this year was against Texas A&M, 34-32, in the 76 Classic

6 – Ole Miss is ranked SIXTH in the country in scoring offense averaging 85.4 points per game. The Rebels topped the 100-point mark in their last game against Centenary last Saturday.

5 – West Virginia’s recent FIVE-year run in men’s basketball has seen the Mountaineers reach the NCAA Tournament four times with three trips to the Sweet 16 or beyond. The year West Virginia didn’t make the NCAA Tournament the Mountaineers won the NIT in 2007.

4 – Ole Miss represents the FOURTH nationally ranked non-conference opponent to play at the WVU Coliseum since West Virginia joined the Big East Conference in 1996. The other ranked non-conference foes were No. 2 UCLA in 2007, No. 20 George Washington in 2004 and No. 7 Tennessee in 2000.

3 – Ole Miss is nationally ranked for the THIRD straight week. The Rebels are now 15th in the AP poll and 21st in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll.

2 – West Virginia has lost only TWICE at home to non-conference teams during the last seven years and sport an impressive 47-2 record during that span.

1 – The Rebels are making their FIRST ever appearance at the WVU Coliseum tonight.

G-o-o-o-o-o-o-o Mountaineers!

Grieving Bengals Must Shift Focus to San Diego

From Nancy Gay @ Fanhouse.com.

Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday will become more than a place where the grieving Cincinnati Bengals will challenge the San Diego Chargers for the No 2 seed in the AFC and a first-round playoff bye. The contest between two division leaders clinches, at the very least, a playoff berth for the winner.

For the Bengals, San Diego's home field will be where they test their unity and their resolve yet again.

After learning of the death of teammate Chris Henry early Thursday, after the wide receiver on Wednesday fell from the back of a moving pickup truck allegedly driven by his fianceé, Loleini Tonga, during what Charlotte, N.C. police describe as a domestic dispute, Bengals players say they are dedicating their already impressive 9-4 season to Henry and his memory.

Players will wear a commemorative No. 15 decal on their helmets, and Bengals coaches and staff will wear commemorative pins during Sunday's game. Across the NFL, teams will observe a moment of silence before they take the field for Week 15's games, as requested by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The Bengals already have experienced loss this season, and know all too well how the pattern of shock, sadness and intense grief can affect their livelihood.

In October, Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's wife Vikki, 50, was found dead at the couple's home, and the news rocked the franchise. Vikki Zimmer was a beloved figure within the team. She baked cookies for the defensive players, which her husband brought to team meetings, and she was a fixture at the Bengals' Friday practices.

Vikki Zimmer died on a Thursday; a coroner concluded she succumbed to natural causes. In the Friday practice, coach Marvin Lewis noted how distracted his players seemed and how badly the workout had gone. Mike Zimmer announced he would coach in Sunday's Week 5 game against the Ravens, but few expected the Bengals to prevail in that contest.

The Bengals. Reason to worry?

The following article is taken from Fanhouse.com and was written by Dan Graziano.

Carson Palmer threw five touchdown passes on Oct. 25, helping Bengals running back Cedric Benson dismantle the Bears in Benson's triumphant return to Chicago. It was a banner day for the Cincinnati offense, as they put 45 points on the board and went on their bye week in first place with a 5-2 record.

Since the bye...things have been different. Oh, the Bengals still win plenty. They're 9-4 overall, in first place and complete command of the AFC North. Barring an all-time collapse, they'll be in the playoffs. If they can beat the Chargers this weekend, they even have a chance at a first-round bye. But since the beating in Chicago, the Bengals are averaging just 157.7 passing yards per game, including the 91 they mustered in Sunday's loss to the Vikings. And while some of that can be explained by a shift in philosophy -- the Bengals are running the ball on about 57 percent of their plays in that stretch -- it's raised some very legitimate questions about Cincinnati's passing game and whether the Bengals are becoming too one-dimensional on offense.

"We're struggling," Palmer said Sunday in answer to a question about the passing game. "If it was just for one reason, we'd fix it."

ESPN's Chris Mortensen wondered if the reason might be the condition of Palmer's right elbow, and he asked Palmer about that Monday. But Palmer assured Mortensen that his elbow was "101 percent," which I guess means he's had an extra ligament added in there for good measure or something but apparently means we can eliminate that as a potential excuse for the Bengals' sputtering air attack.

"I'm not sure if we were really focused on getting the passing game going today," receiver Chad Ochocinco said after the Sunday game, in which he caught a touchdown pass but had just three catches for 27 yards total. "I think what we wanted to do was establish the run like we've been doing all year. We wanted to pass as needed. You know, when it's there. I'm not sure how many attempts we had (28) or how many attempts Carson tried (25), but we weren't able to run the offense the way we wanted to."

Increasingly, it does seem as if the Bengals want to operate their offense on run-first principles. In the three games prior to the Minnesota game, they called 43, 45 and 44 running plays as compared to 22, 24 and 29 passing plays. They've been leaning hard on Benson (and, when Benson was injured, on Bernard Scott and Larry Johnson), and they were even continuing to try and grind out yards on the ground in Sunday's third quarter when they were way behind and ought to have been throwing. But the absence of a downfield passing game is likely to hurt them if they can't establish it as a threat before the postseason begins.

"This was just like a playoff game, and we got a first-hand feel of what it's going to be like," Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga said. "It's a good thing that we went through this because we're going to need this tempo and this feeling for down the road."

They're also going to have to use their loss to the Vikings for its lessons. Having lost T.J. Houshmandzadeh to free agency this summer and Chris Henry to injury at midseason, the Bengals have been unable to establish any receiver other than Ochocinco as a reliable downfield target. Teams neutralize Andre Caldwell easily. Laveraneus Coles hasn't played well. The tight ends haven't been any help. When you game plan for the Bengals, you basically know all you have to do is take away Ochocinco and you've forced them into running the ball.

"I can recall Arizona getting beat extremely bad late last year in New England, and they continued to march forward and do the things they needed to do to fix whatever problems they had," Ochocinco said. "We're in a similar situation."

These Bengals have been impressive, and they're no fluke. After their crushing, last-second, season-opening loss to the Broncos, their coach, Marvin Lewis, stood in front of them and said, "Don't flinch." All year, Lewis has preached the mantra that bad things will happen but the team's success will rest on how they handle them when they do. This week's game against red-hot San Diego provides a big-time opportunity for the Bengals to deliver a counterpunch. If they can get up, brush off the Viking loss and find a way to beat the Chargers, they'll not only be in command of the AFC's No. 2 seed, they'll have proven to themselves that they're tough enough to do something with it.

But it's going to be very hard for them to do any of that if they can't figure out how to throw for 100 yards in a game.

A Day in the Life of Tiger Woods

The following was written by Norman Chad for The Washington Post. Pure comedy.

It's every man's nightmare: Pulling out of your own driveway, you hit a fire hydrant and 37 mistresses drop out of the sky. Tiger Woods's private flings have become public fodder. He is taking an "indefinite break" from golf, but he carries on. Here now, "A Day in the Life of Tiger Woods":

6:10 a.m.: Wakes up, gets dressed and goes home.

6:45: Breakfast at Perkins Restaurant. Tips waitress $250 on a $16.75 bill.

8:13: Calls Las Vegas banks, sees if anyone has tried to cash one of those oversize golf checks.

8:52: Five-year supply of Gillette razors mysteriously has been dumped into guest bathroom.

9:07: Cancels lunch date with David Duchovny.

10:28: Switches cellphone service from "family plan" to "unlimited night and weekend mistress minutes."

11:14: Takes Jesper Parnevik off Christmas card list.

11:56: Finishes monthly column for Golf Digest on unplayable lies.

12:03 p.m.: Picks up rental tux for "Cablinasian Father of the Year" banquet.

1:43: Sees if Hank Haney's got any bright ideas.

2:38: Nike calls back, tells him it will not replace the golf club.

3:00: Oprah!

4:02: On off chance he has no other plans, books New Year's Eve trip to Caesars Palace.

4:18: Faxes Dick Ebersol questions NBC can ask him during February's WGC-Match Play Championship.

4:37: Denies published report that he cheated on AT&T with T-Mobile.

5:05: Leaves Post-it note on refrigerator, asking Elin to still pick up Sunday golf shirts at cleaners.

5:22: What's a good texting translation for "prophylactics"?

5:30: Watches "Around the Horn" on mute.

6:06: Picks up snacks for book club.

6:22: Sets up TiVo to record Dr. Drew on VH1.

6:28: Orders "Porn Star Brides" from Netflix.

7:13: Shoots 61 on Wii golf.

8:44: Barkley and MJ won't answer their pagers.

9:19: Just for the heck of it, googles "sex in a church parking lot."

10:31: Sends flowers to Rachel.

10:32: Sends flowers to Jamiee.

10:33: Sends flowers to Kalika.

10:34: Sends flowers to Jamie.

10:35: Sends flowers to Mindy.

10:36: Sends flowers to Cori.

10:37: Sends flowers to Holly.

10:38: Sends flowers to Joslyn.

10:39: Buys 25,000 shares of FTD stock on Ameritrade.

11:26: Notices that Elin has "Tiger-proofed" master bedroom.

11:58: Double-checks prenup to see if it has "lothario loophole."

2:25 a.m.: E-mails Windermere Public Works and asks if it can remove that hydrant.

DB41's Early Top 60

DaBrowns41’s Top 60 2010 NFL Draft Prospects

1. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska- 6’4 300
2. Gerald McCoy*, DT, Oklahoma- 6’4 297
3. Eric Berry*, S, Tennessee- 5’11 203
4. Jimmy Clausen*, QB, Notre Dame- 6’3 224
5. Rolando McClain*, LB, Alabama- 6’4 260
6. Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State- 6’5 305
7. Joe Haden*, CB, Florida- 5’11 190
8. Derrick Morgan*, DE, Georgia Tech- 6’4 270
9. Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma- 6’5 315
10. Dez Bryant*, WR, Georgia Tech- 6’2 220
11. Jake Locker*, QB, Washington- 6’3 225
12. Brian Price*, DT, UCLA- 6’2 300
13. Jerry Hughes, DE, TCU- 6’3 257
14. Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama- 6’5 360
15. C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson- 5’11 195
16. Anthony Davis*, OT, Rutgers- 6’6 325
17. Ryan Mallet*, QB, Arkansas- 6’7 240
18. Carlos Dunlap*, DE, Florida- 6’6 290
19. Bryan Baluga, OT, Iowa- 6’6 312
20. Cameron Heyward*, DE, Ohio State- 6’6 285
21. Sam Bradford*, QB, Oklahoma- 6’4 225
22. Everson Griffen*, DE, USC- 6’4 280
23. Taylor Mays, S, USC- 6’4 225
24. Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee- 6’3 325
25. Sergio Kindle, LB, Texas- 6’4 255
26. Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma- 6’6 258
27. Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri- 6’2 246
28. Johnathan Dwyer*, RB, Georgia Tech- 6’0 230
29. Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan- 6’2 260
30. Aaron Hernandez, TE, Florida- 6’2 250
31. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati- 6’1 189
32. Jared Odrick, DT, Penn State- 6’5 295
33. Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida- 6’3 251
34. Jason Pierre-Paul*, DE, South Florida- 6’5 262
35. Patrick Robinson, CB, Florida State- 5’11 193
36. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas- 6’2 215
37. Arrelious Benn*, WR, Illinois- 6’2 220
38. Brandon LaFell, WR, LSU- 6’3 210
39. Navorro Bowman*, LB, Penn State- 6’1 230
40. Nate Allen, S, South Florida- 6’2 205
41. Mike Iupati, OG, Idaho- 6’6 330
42. Javhid Best*, RB, California- 5’9 200
43. Golden Tate*, WR, Notre Dame- 5’11 195
44. Rickey Sapp, DE, Clemson- 6’6 240
45. Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse- 6’4 293
46. Jon Asomoah, OG, Illinois- 6’6 315
47. Eric Norwood, LB, South Carolina- 6’1 253
48. Kris O’Dowd*, C, USC- 6’5 305
49. Darrell Stuckey, S, Kansas- 6’1 205
50. Damian Williams*, WR, USC- 6’1 210
51. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida- 6’3 245
52. Anthony McCoy, TE, USC- 6’5 245
53. Charles Brown, OT, USC- 6’6 290
54. Brandon Ghee, CB, Wake Forest- 6’0 190
55. Trevard Lindley, CB, Kentucky- 6’1 185
56. Bruce Carter*, LB, North Carolina- 6’2 225
57. Maurkice Pouncey, OG, Florida- 6’5 318
58. Marvin Austin*, DT, North Carolina- 6’3 305
59. Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford- 6’1 235
60. Greg Hardy, DE, Ole Miss- 6’5 240

Who has never been Big 10 Coach of the Year? This guy.

The following article was written by Mark Hasty and appears on Fanhouse.com.

Jim Tressel has never been proclaimed as Big Ten Coach of the Year. Perhaps that isn't such a big deal when you consider that both John L. Smith and Ron Zook have won that particular honor, but still, it surprises me that the man whose team has dominated the conference for the better part of a decade has never been anointed as its most outstanding coach.

Tressel would probably tell you Kirk Ferentz totally deserved this year's award, which puts the trophy count at Ferentz 3, Tressel 0. No offense, coach, but you're wrong.

Five Big Ten teams finished the season with at least eight wins overall. Ohio State was one of them. It beat three of the other four (Iowa, Penn State, and Wisconsin) but didn't play the fifth, Northwestern. This happened in a year when Tressel's team was significantly less experienced and arguably less talented than usual. For most of the season Terrelle Pryor was the Buckeyes' only offensive playmaker, for instance.

That still wasn't enough to get Tressel over the hump. Maybe he has to pay for all the BCS disasters. Maybe his string of ten-win seasons is nothing more than what we all expect Ohio State to do every year. Maybe he just isn't flashy enough to draw attention to himself, though that hardly explains why the equally mellow Ferentz has won it three times. And maybe the writers who vote on these things are just bored by and with the Buckeyes. Who knows?

All I know is, if ever there was a season when Tressel should have won the award, this is it. What else does the guy have to do?

Evan Turner Perseveres Through Tough Times

The following article was written by Dana O'Neil for ESPN.com. Thanks to Dean for the heads-up.

Lost in her own grief on the night her son committed suicide, Barbara Moll reached for the ringing telephone and heard the sound of her own pain in the voice of a 16-year-old boy.


Ohio State's Evan Turner has wowed NBA scouts with his versatility and eye-popping stats (21.8 ppg, 14.8 rpg, 6.0 apg).

He was so overwrought, she could barely make out what he was saying, sobbing so hard it took her a minute to figure out who it was that was calling.

Nearly five years to the day later, Moll flips on the television and sees that same boy. He is the picture of strength and confidence, a chiseled 6-foot-7 point guard turning NBA scouts' heads and breaking college opponents' ankles.

But Moll immediately can see past the glory of today to the pain of yesterday.

Evan Turner wears No. 21 at Ohio State. It's the same number Barbara's son, John, wore in the last season of his life.

"He told me he tried to get that number in his junior year of high school when he moved up to varsity, but couldn't," Moll said. "So when I saw him at Ohio State, I knew."

In the first two weeks of the college basketball season, no one has skyrocketed out of the gate quite like Turner. Debuting with a triple-double against Alcorn State -- only the second in the history of the Buckeyes program -- he has posted a double-double in every game thereafter and is averaging an eye-popping 21.8 points, 14.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.