Commentary: One Week Later

Well….

Bill Stewart has been ousted as WVU Head Coach. However, Oliver Luck has refused to address the information put out there by this site, as well as our friends at The Smoking Musket. Personally, I believe that a Confidentiality Agreement was signed by both parties. He said publicly the University couldn’t “substantiate” any of the rumors and innuendo. The only people that know what actually happened are the Stewart’s, Oliver Luck, and the lawyers in the room. It’s honestly a shame that Stewart’s tenure at WVU had to end in so much turmoil. Man, would I have loved to been a fly on the wall during that meeting.

Simply put, Stew’s mouth got him in trouble. Or, it could have been Mrs. Stewart. We won’t know for sure until someone confesses, if someone even decides to come forward… even if it’s 20 or so odd years down the road with an ESPN 30-for-30 special. Despite ESPN being less than stellar these days, the 30-for-30 Documentaries are A+, especially “Pony Exce$$.”

Am I actively seeking vindication at this point? Nope, as a matter of fact, I am still confident in what I posted and will stick by it regardless. However, I won’t turn vindication down if what I posted actually turns out to be true. 🙂

I do want to make one correction: The “Karen In Morgantown” that called in to Sportsline in December was NOT Mrs. Karen Stewart after further review. Our apologies for getting that one wrong.

Now, let’s address a few people…

For those of you that stuck with me the entire time, thank you… I mean it. There are times when you find out who your true friends are, as well as the true supporters of this site. I also want to thank my friends for sticking by me the entire time… like I said, these are the times you find out who your true friends are.

I’d also like to take a few minutes to thank my main anonymous source for the information as well as clarifications when I needed them. You’re awesome, and I mean it. 🙂 Oh, and thanks for all the reassurances I needed as well. Also, wanna give a shout to my other anonymous sources as well… keep on rockin’!

I want to take a moment and address why I don’t reveal my sources: Simple… they are my friends, and I am not going to jeopardize my friendships with any of them. It takes time to build trust with anyone… and, unmasking sources would send that friendship down the tubes, and I’m not about to do that. So, I stand by my sources.

Also, like to take a moment and shout Ken Laird and the guys at Pittsburgh Tribune Live Sports Talk Radio… you guys freakin’ rule! Thanks for having me on in less than 24 hours after I broke the story. Seriously, give these guys a listen, even if you aren’t a fan of Pittsburgh sports. (God knows I’m not.)

Also, want to shout Colin Dunlap (Free Agent) and Mike Casazza (Charleston Daily-Mail) for their honesty and not “walking the line” of the cheerleader media. Last year at this time, I was not a Dunlap fan. However, I actually started reading his stuff and participating in his chats, and it turns out, is actually a nice guy and is one of the old-school journalists left. Dunlap, if we ever cross paths, a beer is on me! To those in the mainstream media that did help me out, same beer offer goes to you!

Like to also give some recognition to the staff writers that stuck by the site and didn’t run during adversity: Thank you! Also, we gained a new writer this week. So, we must be doing something write.

A few people took that opportunity to bash me (well, my site) because I simply had the stones to run with something that was risky. OH, THE HORROR! PLAY IT SAFE!

First off, you all can bite me.

Next…

I must be doing something right.

4) To all you die-hard Stew supporters: Get over it. Your guy screwed up… you all must not know the difference between right and wrong.

Finally, I’d like to address the “Cheerleader Media” that covers WVU sports… you all know who I’m talking about.

Shame on you all! At one point, you all got in to Journalism to make a difference, not “go along to get along.” Such disgraces to a once-great profession. Honestly, if we didn’t have guys like Colin Dunlap (Free Agent) and Mike Casazza (Charleston Daily-Mail) covering WVU athletics, it would seem like we’d be getting nothing but University-approved propaganda. Of course, this is why blogs like mine and TSM exist… to put out stories the lamestream media won’t even touch.

It’s time to get the remnants of the “good ole boy” network out of WVU once and for all. You all do know you’re slowly losing your influence, and are doing anything you can to cling onto it, despite the fact your grip is slipping. Goodbye, and good riddance.

Finally, why should I feel any sympathy for Bill Stewart? He was out to sabotage a co-worker of his… and he’s going to walk away with anywhere from $1.225 million to $1.6 million.

Stewart had the opportunity to be hailed as the ultimate hero by people. His last game at Mountaineer Field, he would have been carried off the field, hands high in the air, with 60,000+ chanting “STEW! STEW! STEW! STEW! STEW!” …even those that weren’t exactly fans of his would be joining in.

In the end, the pressure got to him, and add the events of the failed Coach In Waiting setup, it completely changed Bill Stewart. We will all recover from this, hopefully sooner than later. And, yes, Bill Stewart himself will be able to recover from this ugly, ugly incident.

As for me, I’ve only just begun… the best has yet to come at HailWV.com. Next up… vacation planning time! So long, suckers! I’ll drink one for you all as I am laying on the beach in South Carolina.. and I’ll have one for my haters, too.

Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other. And, LET’S GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!