Fantasy Football

   Want to play?  I have a just for fun League that you can join by sending me your email to mike.dunlap@casinternet.net first come first served.  Hope you want to play. If needed we can start a second league

Talkin to the Mike Pre Season Collegiate Poll

    Ok football fans, lets start having some fun.  This is my first attempt at a football poll of any kind and its strictly for fun.    I'm sure there will be many disagreements and that's fine but let's keep it dean as there might be some kids reading and I get my feelings hurt easily

   Ok.  Here we go with my first ever Dunlap Poll

1- Alabama

         Returning QB and attitude.  They feel like they should win it all and until proven otherwise Roll Tide 

2- USC

        Think they start strong but fade.  Off the field issues almost sure to arise

3- Washington

        Up and coming team with good solid coach that is hungry

4-LSU

        The Mad Hatter is always in the mix

5- Georgia

        Coaching again is a plus. Need to make a early run in SEC

6- Florida State

     Unfinished business in Tallahassee 

7-Louisville

     Up and coming program that finished strong.  Schedule keeps them ranked 

8- Oklahoma 

     Could be class of Big 12.  Strong annually

9- Texas

     If Sooners hit hiccup Longhorns are ready to redeem sub par year in 2012

10- Michigan

    Brady Hoke has Wolverines headed in the right direction

11- Notre Dame

       I sense a year of rebuilding in South Bend.  Soap Oprah from a year ago will not be missed

12- Ohio State

     Ran the table last year with no pressure to win   Urban Meyer is thick skinned but what about his players ?

13-Arizona 

     Say what you want but Rich Rod can coach. Put that with being hungry to win and keep his team headed towards the top

14- Virginia Tech

      Hard to keep the Hokies out of the Poll. Proven winners

15-Marshall

    This is the year the Doc gets it done. QB in place, another star WR and anybody else calling the Defense. Biggest year since Pruett was around

    Ok fans , there's my top 15 college football poll to start the preseason out in style. Don't agree with me?  Let me know.  Again, lets have fun with this and not take ourselves so seriously   I know one question will be where is WVU?  I tried to be honest in making my picks and if they struggled last year with three superstars they will have to get in the poll the old fashioned way.......they'll have to earn it...or maybe bribe me with some chicken wings !!

   Look for this poll to be a weekly column until further notice

You've been ..........Talkin to the Mike

The Dunlap Poll.....ranking college football teams ...just for the fun of it. 8-6-13

       Sports Fans I am gonna start ranking collegiate football teams just fortune fun of it.  Please feel free to comment and let's have some fun without being hateful.  Look for the first poll to come out next week.  In the meantime lets hear where you think your team ranks

Talkin to the Mike

Tony Caridi to continue as Voice of the Mountaineers. 8-6-13

         For many Mountaineer fans the name of Jack Flemimg has faded from memory or in the case of younger fans was never known.  As a young guy when college football was limited to a couple games on Saturday, the radio was the best way to keep up with our favorite players as they sought grid iron glory.  Walter Easley, Oliver Luck, Darryll Talley and Robert Alexander are just a few of the names that Jack and his sidekick Woody O'hara brought to us each week.  One outstanding memory I have is WVU going to Norman Oklahoma and the heroics of Jeff Hostettler tearing up the Sooner secondary, Tim Agee making tackle after tackle from his safety position but most memorable was Curlin Beck taking a handoff on a draw and sprinting untouched for the touchdown that sealed the upset 

     After many years delivering these calls and many others it was time for Jack Fleming to step down. A sad day for al of us that listened to him make so many calls and describe the scenes of Happy Valley and other away venues that we could see in our minds.  Standing in the wings was a young man that has now firmly set himself as the current Voice of the Mountaineers, Tony Caridi

   Tony has proven time and again that he was the right man for the job. It's never easy to take over for a legend but Tony has and he has done it with a certain grace and charm that has endeared him to a new era of Mountaineer fans across our great state and beyond.  With the new broadcasting rights being granted a few weeks ago it was up in the air if Caridi would return and speaking for myself I was glad when the news was released that he would in fact be behind the microphone to continue describing the exploits of our men in blue and gold.  It would have been a monumental mistake had anyone other than Tony Caridi been the man calling first downs and this one belongs to the Mountaineers

    

  You've been Talkin to the Mike 

Welcome to Mountaineer Nation

Since 1979 I have had some kind of personal contact with the Coaches at WVU in football and basketball. The so called revenue sports. When Oliver Luck hired Randy Mazey as the new baseball coach to take the team into the first season of Big 12 baseball it really meant nothing to me except I respect Oliver enough that if he says thats the guy then I back you clear to the centerfield wall.

A funny thing happened. The Mountaineer Nine suddenly had one of the better teams. Beating ranked opponents, taking series from favored fellow Big 12 schools and generally providing a bright spot that had in years past been a waiting period between spring football practice and summer training camp. Then Randy Mazey did something special. No, he didn't call for a suicide squeeze in the bottom of the ninth to beat TCU. There was no pitching change to bring in the freshmen lefty that nobody knew to pitch a complete game shutout of Texas. What Randy Mazey did was teach a life lesson to his team and along the way endeared himself to a special set of sports fans known as Mountaineer Nation.

With his team in Oklahoma waiting to play in the Big 12 tournament a disaster hit in nearby Oklahoma City with devastating results. The death toll is still rising at this point with many of those being affected being grade school children, kids that tossed the horsehide after school for the fun of it........toss it they will no more. Coach Mazey could have bben justified keeping his team locked safely away in their hotel but he took charge and went down in sports history as a man leading men in doing the right thing. The Mountaineers tried to make it to those most needing help but were turned back by the authorities who deemed it unsafe for the team to be in the aftermath. This would have stopped most men. Hey, we tried. Not Mazey. Our first year coach took his team and shopped for supplies that will help some Okies have a little relief in their time of suffering. Truly, the thought is what counts here

Coach, this is directed at you, I want to say how proud I , a lifelong Mountaineer, am to have you as part of West Virginia University and our great state. If you never win another game you will always be remember for teaching a lesson in life to your young Mountaineers during the May Tornadoes in Oklahoma City. I would love to be there to hear the standing ovation you get at the Big 12 tournament

You have made West Virginians and the Mountaineer Nation very proud. West Virginians are a different breed of people, I know because I am one born and bred. We never forget a helping hand. Welcome to West Virginia

Nice Job Coach


Mike on the Mic

Now what?....Training camp can't get here quick enough ,easy for me to say

With the recent completion of a somewhat unusual NFL draft, a television event that grows bigger every year. What will we watch for the time being? What will hold our interest like Roger Goodell hugging behemoth men and welcoming them to the Millionaires Club?

Let's take a quick trip around the dial

NBA. Not for me. At one tine I would have sold my soul to be able to take a drop step and dunk a basketball but not now. I loved playing the sport in high school and at 6'4" 300 pounds earned the nickname of "Double Pick". Give me college basketball anytime over the pros

Baseball. Be it college or the Major leagues it just to slow. Keep in mind this from the same guy that used to watch Dale Murphy and the Atlanta Braves every game on WTCG which was before WTBS. The often followed the live telecast immediately with a rerun and I watched very pitch of every game. Just in case I missed something or Skip Carey came up with another reference to Peachtree Street

Profesional Wrestling. Only if they go back to the small studio in Atlanta, another WTCG early staple was Georgia Championship Wrestling. Is it any wonder I was not Valedictorian of dear old Poca High?

NASCAR ? Boogity, boogity, boogity !! Starting to get closer to something I enjoy I must confess it's not been the same since Dale Earnhardt was chasing people down and looking large in their rearview mirror causing many to suddenly drop a cylinder. Might have been cylinder number two if you know what I mean

Hang gliding, gator wrestling (I've got a story of my own ), Ostrich racing, Golf, Bird watching or curling just doesn't hold up to the interest many of us have in the manly game of Football.

Now I'm not a hater of the other sports and as a youth tried to participate in as many as I could. I would still to this day offer the advice to be a athlete and not specialize in a single sport. I was pulled from class once to meet with a visiting coach from South Carolina once, after talking to him for a few minutes I told him I needed to go get ready for basketball practice. The coach, (Tom Kuruize, pronounced Tom Cruise) asked me if I was merely a member of the basketball team or of I got playing time. When I mentioned I was a two year starter, he stuck out his hand and offered me a football scholarship on the spot. Enough about me!

Soon enough training camp will be among us and all our teams will be tied and undefeated. Excitement in the air, the smell of freshly cut grass and lineament. Wait....the smell of chicken wings on a charcoal grill !!

Until then ill try to keep you entertained with stories and articles on other sports, I'll do my best
I'll also go thru several batteries in the old remote looking for something to catch my eye for a few hours of sports entertainment at least that is........till the wings are done!!

Just my opinion

Mike

First day of NFL Selection one that leaves me wondering

The first round of the NFL draft is in the books and will be remembered for a few things that are making it look like a storyline from Wrestlemania. Enough dramatics to start a soap opera "Days of the two minute Drives". Three of the first four picks were offensive tackles, the first pick was a offensive lineman from Central Michigan and the first quarterback taken was previously rated a fourth or fifth round pick. For the first time in 50 years no running back was a first round pick. If Lattimore of South Carolina had not had that gruesome knee injury this streak would surely be intact

Tavon Austin became the newest member of the St Louis Rams with the number eight selection. This seems to be a good fit with a team that will play at least half their games indoors on a fast artificial surface. Austin has proven his versatility gaining yards thru the air,ground and return game. Defensive Coordinators will have a bigger headache if the Rams choose to line him up in the backfield setting up a mismatch on a linebacker or safety. Look for Tavon Austin to do well in the NFL

Now I'm gonna get to the hot topic. Geno Smith goes undrafted in the first round while Florida States EJ Emanuel, formerly rated as a fourth or fifth round selection by the guru's is taken by the Buffalo Bills.

A guru I'm not. I did have the chance to talk to a longtime NFL scout before the draft that is a well known authority on QB play at the NFL level and when I asked him about Geno his answer was one word "enigma". The scout went on to state that while Geno had NFL talent there were some concerns around the league about his play. The NFL is a sort of secret society with wonderlick tests that nobody seems to know what is for or how to properly answer downbto the way teams scout and grade both their own players and potential roster spots

Geno will get his shot. Keep in mind the draft status of such stars as Tom Brady, Aaron Rogers, Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana. Let's also not forget names like Jamarcus Russel and Todd Marinovich

Why the fall from potential top five to out of the second round? Again I'm no guru. I wonder how much the statements from some yahoo about Genos intelligence and work ethic came into play. I don't think it played a role, for organizations with million dollar scouting budgets are not inclined to take the word of a sportswriter than probably never played a down of football in his life. If it were that easy teams could subscribe to USA today and use the savings to buy chicken wings by the truck load ( a recurring theme from previous posts)

What may have played into Smiths drop down the draft board was his refusal to play in the annual Senior Bowl. This game is more than a all star game. It's a chance for players to be scouted in a NFL atmosphere by NFL coaches and general managers. I thought at the time that this was a mistake on Genos part. The early season success had already waned from Heisman favorite to no invite to the Heisman ceremony. A team that had been ranked in the top 5 had closed the season on a huge downward slide and we know who usually gets the blame wether earned or conceived. The Senior Bowl offered a chance to show the decision makers that Geno was indeed worthy of his early season accolades, but Smith chose to decline for whatever reason

Ever hear of a guy named Charlie Wysockie ? A running back from Maryland in the early 80's that lead the nation in rushing when he came to Mountaineer Field to defeat Don Nehlen 14-11 Wysockie was a cinch first rounder, that's what everyone attending his draft party thought. Thing is, no one from the NFL agreed and he went undrafted. Geno Smith will certainly be drafted and I think he will be successful but to what degree I cannot say. The lesson here,concerning the Senior Bowl, is not to bypass any chance to help you along.

Again, I'm no guru. Good luck Geno and the rest of the players from our state. It's not to late to get it done.

My opinion

Mike