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When it comes to choosing its next president, West Virginia University could take some lessons from the sports department.After John Beilein headed north, barely 24 hours had elapsed before the school trotted out Bob Huggins as its next basketball coach.There were no pretenses of a big, drawn out search. No narrowing the field down to three finalists followed by showy campus visits. No, in this case, WVU knew who it wanted, offered him the job, and the case was closed.Why they didn't take the same path with the college president post is a mystery. Everyone knows Mike Garrison is who they want and who they're going to "select" on Friday the 13th. Several dozen applicants and two other "finalists" could have been spared a lot of time and trouble.In fact, it seems one of those "finalists" finally figured it out and decided to take himself out of the running rather than undergo the disappointment inevitably coming his way. On Thursday, Portland State University President Dean Bernstine announced he was withdrawingIn regard to Huggins, its a great choice. Huggins singlehandedly turned around a Univerity of Cincinnati program that had fallen into mediocrity ever since its glory days of the early 1960s (although the Gale Catlett years were an improvement). He turned it into a perennial tournament team and reached the Final Four once. His methods were controversial, relying heavily on junior college transfers and recruiting bad-boy troublemakers other schools wouldn't touch. Cincinnati's basketball player graduation rates were also suspect, but the bottom line is, Huggins knew how to build winners, and despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, that's what big-time college sports are all about. Those who want to preach platitudes about the important of "student athletes" are living in a dream world. College football and basketball teams are separated from their professional league counterparts by a few million bucks (the schools and coaches can collect, just not the players), but that's about the only difference.
The decision was not a shocker, but its timing, Sprouse said, was designed to provide plenty of time for anyone who may Sprouse said that, in addition to overseeing a chain of fitness centers he owns, he would also hang out his shingle as a campaign consultant.On Thursday, Hoppy Kercheval called Sprouse a paradox, and you can read my earlier comments on him here. Jefferson County on Thursday joined Hancock, Ohio and Kanawha counties in scheduling a vote June 9 on the expansion of table games.Most observers think Jefferson is the toughest county for the referendum to pass. But since it will also account for most of the revenue promised by gambling supporters, it was under pressure to get on board in a hurry. 