For WVU fans, a loss in the Backyard Brawl against Pitt always stings. Yet I was surprised coach Neal Brown issued a plea to support his team on Twitter. Maybe Brown is feeling heat. He knows how much beating the Panthers means to Mountaineer fans. And, of course, there was The Fourth Down Decision. That […]

When I travel to Pittsburgh this Thursday, it’ll be my 30th Backyard Brawl, by my count. Of course, I covered the vast majority as a sports writer/columnist, but I’ve got WVU leading the series 16-11 with two ties when I attend. Memories? Oh, yeah. A bunch. But perhaps the one I remember the most is […]

Each year an impactful person within the Ohio Valley is honored with a luncheon as the “Light of the Valley” recipient. On Wednesday, that person was Tom “Bear” Bechtel, the longtime director of the Wheeling Recreation Department. (He also oversees softball officiating in West Virginia.) The video (put together, by the way, by Wheelhouse Creative) […]

With a new Backyard Brawl football series between WVU and Pitt on deck, fans will be inundated with recollections, stats and stories. On Oct. 8, 1921, for instance, the Brawl was the first college football game broadcast live on the radio with Harold W. Arlin announcing a 21–13 Pittsburgh victory on KDKA. The last game? […]