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Posted on 01.16.12 by Danny Glover @ 2:19 pm
I’ve had my work published in some of America’s top publications, including The New York Times, but there’s something special about seeing my byline for the first time in the local newspaper I delivered as a child — and in defense of my fellow West Virginians and Mountaineers. After writing a blog post about Jay Leno’s West Virginia jokes, I asked the executive editor of The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register if he would be interested in publishing a column on the issue. He agreed. It ran in print yesterday and went online today. Here are excerpts from the column (with one background link added by me):
Read the whole column at the newspaper’s website. Filed under: Hatin' On Rednecks and Media and People and Rednecks and Sports and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.12.12 by Danny Glover @ 12:43 pm
Remarkable redneck ingenuity is on display in this video, which demonstrates how you can turn your Christmas tree into a deadly slingshot crossbow: Filed under: Holidays and Human Interest and Hunting & Guns and Rednecks and Sports and Video Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.12.12 by Danny Glover @ 12:51 am
The Orange Bowl is juicing the controversy over last week’s sacking of mascot “Obie” for all the cheesy, pun-filled comedy its worth. During the game, West Virginia safety Darwin Cook tackled Obie after a fumble recovery and 99-yard touchdown return. Obie made as many highlight reels as Cook, especially after Cook admitted that he knocked the mascot down on purpose to send a message. “When I saw him, I felt like he was doubting us, too, so I smashed him,” Cook told the Dominion Post in Morgantown, W.Va. “Oh yeah, that was on purpose because he was doubting us. I had to tackle Obie.” Only later, in an on-field interview, did Cook learn that Obie was a girl. Today the Orange Bowl published tweets that featured a photo and video of Obie supposedly being released from the hospital after a week of recovery. Obie is none too happy with Cook and apparently plotting revenge. “We have one angry orange. This could become a very juicy situation,” a reporter said in a mock Orange Bowl report. Filed under: Just For Laughs and People and Sports and Video and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.10.12 by Danny Glover @ 10:35 pm
The announcement won’t be official until tomorrow, but thanks to some sharp online investigation, West Virginia Illustrated broke the news tonight that Jeff Casteel is leaving his job as defensive coordinator at West Virginia University to take the same job at the University of Arizona. The publication confirmed the news by poking around the website of Arizona’s sports information department, finding internal pages with biographies not only of Casteel but also of three WVU assistant defensive coaches. “Perhaps the best part of each page is that the first sentence for Casteel states that he was hired on Jan. 11,” which is the day Arizona will announce its final defensive hiring decisions. Here’s a screen shot of Casteel’s bio page:
Casteel, who played football for the Wildcats in our hometown of Paden City, W.Va., will be a Wildcat once again in Arizona, where former WVU coach Rich Rodriguez was recently named head coach. Just days ago, after WVU’s record-setting Orange Bowl victory over Clemson, Casteel gave a noncommittal answer to a direct question about his future: “I hope I’m going to be back” at WVU in 2012. That was an unlikely outcome when he gave the answer and now looks as deceptive as it seemed at the time. I can understand him not wanting to talk to the press about job prospects, but there’s an honest, oft-used dodge to such questions: “No comment.” I wish he had taken that approach. I respect Casteel because he stuck with WVU after Rich (Gotta Get Richer) Rodriguez abandoned the Mountaineers in such underhanded fashion four years ago, and I want to wish our hometown boy well in his new job at Arizona. He certainly managed his departure far better than Rodriguez. But at the end of the day, Casteel has chosen to reunite with a man who has no class. I “hope” the Arizona Wildcats continue their losing ways in the Rodriguez-Casteel era. UPDATE, Jan. 11: It’s official – Rodriguez just stole Casteel and two more coaches away from WVU because all of those he took with him to Michigan for three losing years weren’t enough. The other coaches are David Lockwood (defensive backs coach) and Bill Kirelawich (defensive line coach). Now it’s time for WVU to build a new and better defensive coaching staff. Filed under: News & Politics and Sports and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.06.12 by Danny Glover @ 9:17 pm
I remember going to a Jay Leno performance in Morgantown, W.Va., back in 1990. I enjoyed the show immensely, and so did thousands of other fans. Somehow I doubt Leno would be welcomed back with open arms to the home of West Virginia University now after his joke last night at the expense of WVU and West Virginians. About six minutes into his monologue, Leno took this potshot at me and my peeps:
The ignorant and stereotypical wisecrack drove many West Virginians to Leno’s Facebook page and to Twitter, where they have been voicing complaints about his attack on the people of the great Mountain State. Here’s a sampling of the responses: (more…) Filed under: Entertainment and Hatin' On Rednecks and Just For Laughs and Sports and Video and West Virginia Comments: 7 Comments |
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Posted on 01.05.12 by Danny Glover @ 8:22 pm
One of the most memorable plays from last night’s Orange Bowl — the 99-yard touchdown by West Virginia University safety Darwin Cook after a fumble recovery — ended with one of the most humorous moments in college football history: Cook sacked “Obie,” the Orange Bowl’s mascot. “I didn’t know you were a girl,” Cook told the mascot when he hugged her on the field after the game. “I apologize.” Filed under: Just For Laughs and People and Sports and Video and West Virginia Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 01.05.12 by Danny Glover @ 8:45 am
I’ve never been prouder to be a Mountaineer than I was last night when my alma mater, West Virginia University, set record after record in a crushing defeat of Clemson in the Orange Bowl. The final score was 70-33 — the most points scored by one team in any bowl game in history — but I’m fairly certain WVU could have scored more points if they wanted. We slowed the offensive pace dramatically after two straight scores after the half gave us a 63-20 lead barely into the third quarter. The Mountaineers sent their perpetual critics in the sports world a clear message. If you didn’t see the game, here are the WVU highlights in a reel that takes nearly four minutes to show almost nothing except our touchdowns: Filed under: Sports and Video and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.28.11 by Danny Glover @ 8:42 pm
I loved the National Football League as a child. Each Sunday between morning and evening worship services, I flopped onto the couch or sprawled across the floor in front of the TV to watch as much football as possible, especially my beloved Dallas Cowboys. I’m still a diehard football fan, but I all but abandoned the NFL long ago. The “mindless exhibitionism” on display in this video commentary by Bob Costas is the reason: I’m not the least bit entertained by grown men engaged in “calculated displays of obnoxious self-indulgence.” I’ve even lost interest in watching NFL games on Thanksgiving Day and watching the Super Bowl, the two times when I’ve typically made exceptions and endured the “buffoonery” of players and permissiveness of coaches who have no sense of sportsmanship. These days I focus on college football — and sadly, I can see the day coming when it, too, will become intolerable to watch because of the oversize children who occupy today’s gridiron. Filed under: Culture and People and Sports and Video Comments: None |
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Posted on 10.31.11 by Danny Glover @ 10:27 pm
Sometimes we West Virginia University fans have a twisted sense of humor. Our “Backyard Brawl” rivalry with the Pitt Panthers brings out the best of the worst within us.  The Mountaineers win the “Front-Porch Pumpkin Brawl”! Filed under: Just For Laughs and Photography and Redneck Humor and Sports and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 10.30.11 by Danny Glover @ 9:08 pm
Andrew Luck definitely has enlightened redneck potential. He’s a football star at an elite school (Stanford University), a candidate for the coveted Heisman Trophy and the son of West Virginia University athletic director Oliver Luck (once a Rhodes Scholar candidate from WVU). But Andrew Luck also is not afraid to blow projectile snot out his nose on national television: I saw this happen live last night, but it was late. I thought maybe Luck had spit and the camera angle made it look like snot. Instant replay, however, confirmed that I saw what I thought I saw. Someone get the man a hanky! Filed under: Just For Laughs and People and Redneck Humor and Sports and Video and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 07.31.11 by Danny Glover @ 8:54 am
A new era of West Virginia University football begins in a month. Let’s hope it offers as much drama on the football field this fall as it has off of the field the past few months! Filed under: Sports and Video and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 05.11.11 by Danny Glover @ 12:46 pm
This joke, forwarded by my Dad, perfectly captures the thinking of West Virginians (and I suspect most everyone else in “flyover country”) about Washington:
Filed under: Family and Just For Laughs and Redneck Humor and Sports and West Virginia Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 02.12.11 by Danny Glover @ 8:58 pm
This all-star goes to the University of Connecticut, so that means West Virginia University’s defense will be trying to stop him. I’m thinking the Mountaineers will need to blitz nonstop to throw Johnny McEntee off his timing. Of course, I don’t actually believe he made all of those trick shots on the first attempt. It’s easy to make things appear as they aren’t by editing film. But that McEntee successfully performed so many of these trick shots is awe-inspiring. Filed under: Sports and Video and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.28.11 by Danny Glover @ 10:46 pm
Slam-dunking a basketball is so yesterday. Now slam-dunking yourself — that’s way better than anything Dr. J ever did. (Yes, the Dr. J reference dates me.) Filed under: Sports and Video Comments: None |
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Posted on 10.21.10 by Danny Glover @ 11:05 pm
Casteel is the defensive coordinator for West Virginia University’s football team. He has been on the coaching staff since 2001 and has headed the defense since 2003. I was glad he didn’t flee in the middle of the night three years ago when Rich Rodriguez went to Michigan, and now Casteel is getting his due. He’s also getting it in the humble way I would expect from a Paden City boy:
Filed under: People and Sports and West Virginia Comments: 1 Comment |
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