sucker punch

i was a little embarrassed after west virginia u held on to beat maryland saturday and kris wondered why i had a look of concern on my face.

i told her i was thinking about housework when i was really worried about news that the university of pittsburgh and syracuse university were headed for the atlantic coast conference and abandoning the one they helped establish, the big east. (wvu's conference.)

i was pissed when three of the big east's original football powers (ca. 1994) -- miami, virginia tech and boston college -- were poached back in 2004 by the acc. it seemed like a stab in the back, especially by tech, given that wvu helped champion its bid to get into the big east in the first place.

so while it was nice to see its strategy pretty much imploded -- only tech has been of any help to its football image -- and its latest move seems a puzzling lateral, it's a shame to see a once-proud conference get knee-capped, especially by one its founding members.

still, that leaves the mountaineers with none of the marquee names the football side made its bones with. all we're left with are cast-offs from conference usa.

i'm sure after all the shouting is over, things will shake out over the next few days and there's a good chance we'll find a nice home, but for now, it feels like wvu has been left holding the bag.