West Virginia 70
Clemson       33
Final

2nd quarter play that brought Mo to West Virginia’s side… to stay:

There was a hint of progress in Pittsburgh, at least early on in the season, and it’s difficult to look at an entire season and pinpoint one game that defined it, but I would say the 19-inning loss to Atlanta back in July was the beginning of the end. But it was nice to see the Pirates back on top, even if only for a few days.

In this video, some of the Pirates thank the fans for their support. We look forward to seeing more from them in 2012!

Ryan and I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters strut their stuff at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown on Monday.

I had never seen the Globetrotters in person, but I’ve probably seen them do their routines on TV 50 times.  I think what we saw on Monday was probably the same Globetrotter material they’ve performed for the past twenty years (at least).

Of course there are some new wrinkles, like Globie’s music.  But I think I’ve seen Globetrotter football many times before; it never gets old.

It was great to hear Ryan laugh at the fun stuff and even get concerned when “Handles” starts playing for the Generals.  I think he saved his biggest laugh for “Big G” smacking the ground repeatedly and generally just flipping around in a goofy fashion.

It was just nice to sit and enjoy watching a game where no one was concerned about the final score.  The game was more than a game… It was an event.

Wow! An amazing finish… Congratulations Steelers, and Mike Tomlin, now the youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl!

I was actually able to enjoy the game in HD this year.  I can pick up my local NBC via an antenna.  Holy Cow! I just caught a glimpse of the file size of that recording! 30GB!

Well, I won’t be recording too much HD… When the recording actually stops I’ll add a screen grab in here…

Here we go: (Steelers)  Click on pics for full-size image.

Right before the game winning catch

HD very helpful in determining foot-worthyness…

West Virginia held on by the skin of their teeth to win 13-7 over South Florida.

So that means that WVU ends the season at 8-4.  Not what we were wishing for when the year started.  A couple of close losses in there that could’ve gone either way, and you have to win those.  But it was nice to end the regular season with a win.

I wish Pat White much success at the next level.  I’m not sure if I would support the discussion that I heard on ESPN tonight about “retiring” Pat’s #5.  Of course, only time will really tell whether that honor is truly deserved.  He would have to attain success in the NFL, I think, so it’s too early to comment on that.

Speaking of White, look outside.  Well, if you live around here anyway.  It’s white.  ‘Cause of snow.  Not a lot of it out there… just enough to mess up the roads.  I hope everyone is careful leaving the stadium tonight.

Good night and keep warm.

But beyond that, the ‘eers couldn’t get the ball in the end zone for nothing.

As I started to say, I guess the good news is… maybe it will be a little bit easier to get some tickets in a few weeks.  Right now, it’s almost impossible for a family of four to afford to go to a Mountaineer football game.  I haven’t been to a home game since Don Nehlen’s last game.  I would like to take Ryan to one, but it’s just too darn much.

But now, after this loss, maybe things will change.

• Michael Phelps – The Amazing Eight.  I know they’ve said it before (Mark Spitz) but I don’t know if it can ever be beaten.  Just to have the possibility to accomplish this feat again… it would be miraculous.
• The Opening and Closing Ceremonies – Amazing.  And the overall projection of hospitality provided by the host country.  You know, the sights and sounds of each ceremony are unique to each country, and that helps give us just a glimpse of their culture.  But it will be very difficult for anyone to top China in the near future.  Technologically and in terms of human volume and participation… well, it’s almost impossible to surpass 1,000,000 volunteers.
• The Golden Gymnasts – Nastia and Shawn.  They were our American highlights.  They showed great ability to persevere under the somewhat odd circumstances they often found themselves in.  Whether those young Chinese gymnasts were “of age” or not, our girls didn’t let it bother them.
• The “Redeem Team” – This time I did not get to watch as much basketball as I would have liked.  But I’ve followed the exploits of all the previous “Dream Teams” as well as this lot.  And these boys showed us all (and the world) what it means to be an American.

One thing that still amazes me about the Olympics in general is how enjoyable it is to watch over the two week time span.  But how quickly we forget… or how we don’t continue to follow these incredible athletes when they return.  Yes, we’ll catch them on Leno here over the next few weeks, but how many people will watch the next gymnastics “World Championships” or catch the next track and field trials?

It’s obviously the spectacle, or the aura, or mystique of the Olympics that keep us coming back.  Where else can you see 204 countries gather, with athletes from across the globe hoping for their one moment of glory? The logistics of it all is astounding.

I don’t have as much time to watch “the Games” as I used to.  That’s probably true of every parent.  I remember staying up and watching late night coverage during the 1984 Summer Games in L.A.  My brother and I would stay up and watch indoor volleyball at two in the morning (Go Flo Hyman!) and we’d keep each other awake.  That was pretty consistent.  But this time around I caught very little late-night anything.  I had a hard enough time catching the end of the prime time viewing which often went past midnight…

Which leads me to my closing thoughts… Will my children remember this spectacular Olympics in four years’ time? What memories will they take from all this? They are bombarded with so many different media that it takes something special to make a lasting imprint.  It would be great to think that at the Opening Ceremony of the London games, the kids will see that double-decker bus roll up with “London-Beijing-London” on the side and simply say “I remember that!”

Only time will tell.