It’ll be the end of an era…no more “Nintendovision” in the Coliseum.

A scoreboard is in the works for Coliseum

I know my fellow Mountaineer fans are a faithful and passionate lot. We follow our teams fervently, defend them literally to the death, and agonize over real or perceived slights. It’s in that context where the last couple of years have been tough. While the team has grown to unforeseen heights on the field behind very likable personalities, our national perception has been sullied by the lumping of actions by now “professionals” Adam Jones and Chris Henry to the program. Very few national stories about either made it to press without the requisite “former WVU standout”, and some would imply that the program was dirty for ever enrolling these two. Mountaineer fans were quick to decry the implication, correctly noting that Jones (other than the freshman pool hall fight) kept his nose clean in Morgantown and that Henry, while being a jerk on the field, never had law enforcement tangles. The legal issues began after leaving campus, which should probably raise the reputation of the program since apparently the staff was able to keep them on the straight & narrow.

I mention all this not to exonerate or defend these two, but to caution my fellow fans. The Mike Vick indictment is obviously going to draw comparisons on reputation to Virginia Tech. As the public facts sit today, Vick and dogfighting doesn’t and shouldn’t be connected to VT in any way, shape, or form. He likely had an interest in it before becoming a professional, but that’s beyond VT’s control and to my knowledge there have been no official reports that Hokie folks knew about it. As much as I loathe VT and don’t pity them for their struggles with “Little Mexico” Marcus, the Section 8 housing stuff, and the on-field meltdown against BC last year, lumping them in with Vick and his bloodsport shouldn’t be done.

We hated it when people tried to hang PacMan and Chris Henry around our necks, so as long as there’s no evidence that Hokie Nation knew about dog pits in Blacksburg we should decry any efforts to hang the Hokies with Vick’s Bad Newz.

- The Big East Media Day was held yesterday, four years after the one-time “death-knell” of big time Eastern football, and celebrated the return of the conference. Three Top 15 teams (West Virginia, Louisville, Rutgers), four preseason Heisman hopefuls (Pat White, Steve Slaton, Brian Brohm, Ray Rice), and an increased amount of respect – the ACC raid seems like so long ago. I’m not naive enough to put the Big East on the same pedestal as the SEC or WVU with USC, but to see this conference come off of life support and shut the naysayers up for even one offseason has been refreshing. The conference got the monkeys off their collective backs after the 2006 season, but now it’s up to them to prove that it wasn’t a one-year wonder. With the increasingly improved schedules and huge wave of momentum the conference is riding now, it’s imperative to take the initiative and build on the gains. Otherwise it was all for naught.

- Terrible, terrible allegations about Ron Mexico Michael Vick and dogfighting. If everything alleged is true, and my reading today indicates that the feds normally don’t indict without an airtight case, then he may be looking at a lot of hard time this time next year. This year, there is no reason for him to be suiting up under The Shield. I know he’s a first-timer in the eyes of the new NFL Code of Conduct, but he’s indicted for a felony associated with some heinous crimes – just as bad as being allegedly responsible for the paralysis of an innocent man. Mike Vick and PacMan Jones are one in the same from here. My favorite observation of the day was made by either CNNSI or ESPN – you know you’ve done something bad when Marcus looks like the good Vick.

- Sportscenter flashed a graphic this morning comparing Ken Griffey Jr.’s stats with Barry Bonds’ stats when Bonds was the same age as The Kid last night. Turns out Griffey has about 20-some more homers than Bonds did at the same age (month & day). So perhaps there’s hope yet that MLB’s all time home run king won’t require an asterisk by his name, nor generally reviled by an entire generation of fans. Some people are trying to claim that fans are against Bonds because of race. For me, anyway, it has nothing to do with his skin – it’s because he’s an asshole. I can’t help but wonder how the headlines would be today if Jr. didn’t go through that period of chronic injuries in the late 90’s.

- My non-sporting tidbit of the day: cable TV had to offer digital tiers, because there’s no way they can compete with DirecTV or Dish on picture quality. We’ve been satisfied satellite customers for a year now, but were brought back to the coax fold when Verizon decided to play hardball on the DSL. Along with getting the cable WAN Internet we were reintroduced to the basic lineup from Comcast gratis, and I can sit here and say beyond a shadow of a doubt that the analog signal is no, I repeat NO, match for the digital signal. On the same TV, I can compare several channels both analog and digital – it’s not even close. I honestly doubt that even if they would start sending an all-digital picture there would be much of a contest, given the old cable infrastructure here. We just had the HD box installed, so the difference gets that much greater.

Two of us were on stage this past weekend showing off. First up, Garrett did a demo for his taekwondo school at the Kids Day festivities in front of the Mon County Courthouse. His school did about a 10-15 minute presentation of different skills & techniques. He got to do two different forms and break a couple of boards. He’s now done several demos for the school, and it’s a great chance for him to become comfortable performing in front of groups of people. Heck, if he can perform in front of a packed WVU Coliseum he’s well on his way.

That evening I went on stage at the amphitheater on the waterfront to perform in the previously mentioned Festival of Steel, and by all accounts our community group did well. It was a lot of fun to do, even if I know I flubbed a measure. (Fortunately my swear was internalized and in the video replay I don’t appear to show an outward acknowledgement.) I’m going to look into doing local lessons, as I would like to do the full week workshop one year but wish to skip the beginners group. They play mostly golden oldies cover tunes at the concert, as opposed to the pan & Caribbean standards performed by the intermediate & advanced groups. My idea of fun is not playing “Brown Eyed Girl” or “Painted Black” in public.

The Caribbean comes to the Mountains!  People seem to take pleasure in hearing the soothing sounds of a steel drum (better referred to as a “pan”) and having their conscious state taken away to a remote island beach where the sands are sugar-crystal white, the sky is a deep blue, the water is warm, the breeze gentle, and the island drinks flow freely. However, few people are aware that the man widely considered to be the father of the modern steel drum is an artist-in-residence at WVU’s College of Creative Arts, and how that partnership created a unique entrepreneurial opportunity for Morgantown to be the home of a pan production shop created by the master himself for steelbands everywhere.

They’ve been holding the Festival of Steel for fifteen years now, and in the last few they’ve offered a Community Workshop for those who either have never played pans before and want to experience it or don’t have the time to take the full week session.  Last year I got to play in the Community group and am excited to take the opportunity again.  Our first session was last night, and it’s amazing how quickly our group picked up the first tune we were given.  As a percussionist by training, I know how hard it is to mold a group of experienced individuals to produce a unified sound, let alone a bunch of rank amateurs.  It speaks not only to the quality & patience of our instructors (who quite frankly are awesome) but to the qualities of the pan itself, whose concept is not too far removed from a marimba or piano.  Each of these instruments has a set tone for the key being struck, yet it can take months to master basic tunes. By comparison, we have six different voices playing unique rhythms, harmonies, and melodies, and we hopefully should be performance capable by Saturday.

It’s hard to put into words the sensation of walking into the Hotel Morgan this week.  Just opening the door allows the practice session sounds to escape, and walking up to the mezzanine and looking out over the reception area reveals a room filled with pans of all varieties.  I didn’t hear the stats on how many people are attending, but there were a wide variety of license plates on the streets and parking lots around the hotel.  One group of 11 hobbyists came from Fairbanks, Alaska.  One of the instructors played with Jimmy Buffet.

The Festival ends on Saturday with a concert at Ruby McQuain Park, where us Community types lead off the show.  However, the thrill for me (besides getting to play such a unique instrument) is getting to meet and play with the legend of his craft.  It’s not often one gets to meet the master of a field.