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Sean Merinar's Blog

Sean Merinar is an official Alumni of West Virginia University after graduating in May of 2007 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Sean grew up outside of Moundsville, West Virginia. He is proud to be a Mountaineer. He likes to watch movies, play football and basketball, read, and just be chill. Sean wants to be an ESPN football analyst someday.

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    So There's That

    Sean Merinar reporting from Black Diamond, Wa (2009-06-26 10:40:07)

    Source: http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/06/25/seahawks-fullback-owen-schmitt-arrested/

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    Sometimes things just do not play out the way you would like them to or how you'd expect. This is one of those times.

    West Virginia legend Owen Schmitt was returning from his rookie season in Seattle to host a summer football camp at Fairmont State University in Fairmont, West Virginia. I was going to go down and cover the camp for Palestra.net and was excited to see the man who saw me do my very first standup for the company.

    Then things changed.

    Yesterday afternoon a story broke that Owen had been arrested and charged with a DUI in Black Diamond, Washington. He had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.

    His camp has since been cancelled.

    I was really looking forward to heading down and reuniting with some fellow Mountaineers, but now that will have to wait. Owen is set to be in court on July 8th.

    So there's that.

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    Let Them Play

    Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2009-06-09 08:31:43)

    Source: http://dailymail.com/Sports/WVUSports/200906090021

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    I sometimes feel as though my blog is used as a place for me to publicly complain about some injustice, or to whine about something I don't think will work. Well, buckle up Buster, because here we go again!!

    The NCAA has officially changed a few rules in the game of college basketball. They have expanded how they can call flagrant fouls and eject players. This is a change to both men's and women's basketball. I agree with this one.....now let's move on to the others.

    The NCAA has changed the charge rule. Defensive players must now establish position outside of the area between the backboard and the front of the rim. This is a good change. No longer will a player be set up underneath the basket and get a charge called. The NBA adopted a similar rule last year. The problem? The NCAA will not create a line to designate this area. When the NBA created the rule, they also added a semi-circle under the basket to designate where players could stand and take a charge. This helped players understand their limits, as well as helping out referees.

    The NCAA will not do this. They are simply relying on their officials to not only paint an imaginary line with their eyes while simultaneously watching both players feet, but then they have to make the correct call without using instant replay.

    That seems like it will work.

    The other rule that nudges me the wrong way is a change to free throws. When a player was injured on a foul, the coach could use anyone he had on his roster to shoot the free throw. This awarded the team whose player was fouled, because he was in fact fouled and injured.

    Now the NCAA is allowing the opposing team's coach to pick a shooter from any of the four players left. Really?! A player is injured by an opposing team, and the coach whose player injured him gets to pick the crappiest shooter on the floor?! That makes complete sense.

    It seems like the NCAA is just changing rules for the sake of changing rules. None of these changes seem like they will help the game, but make things more tedious for players, coaches, and referees.

    If the NCAA starts playing like the NBA......this country is in trouble.

    Think I'm wrong? Leave a comment.

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    Now We Do This?

    Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2009-05-15 10:40:20)

    Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520248,00.html

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    For years, schools have been fighting to keep Indian names as their mascots. Schools like Illinois and Florida State have been fortunate to have the tribes they represent back them up and agree to use their name and likeness. North Dakota has one of the most recognizable mascots in the country, the Fighting Sioux. That name is no longer.

    The University of North Dakota announced today that they are officially getting rid of the Fighting Sioux nickname, unless North Dakota's Standing Rock and Spirit Lake Sioux tribes give them permission. This is a remote possibility.

    The school has been fighting to keep the mascot for decades because some people it demeans American Indians. The board voted a unanimous 8-0 decision to get rid of the epic looking chief. They also have no immediate plans for a new nickname and logo.

    I will refuse to call North Dakota anything other than the Fighting Sioux, unless they go back to their old names....the Flicker Tails.

    That is the only substitution that is acceptable. Thoughts?

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    Where I Find My Rhythm Heaven

    Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2009-04-27 15:55:05)

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    We've all seen the commercials with America Ferrara and Beyonce giggling joyously as they tap a screen on something that looks like a mutant cell phone, only to be informed that this little gadget is a Nintendo DS. I have been intrigued as to just what you can do with one of these....and now I know.

    When I received my DS....I stared at it for about 10 minutes....then decided to turn it on. It immediately had me set up the system to my preferences and it felt oddly fun to swipe a pen across a screen. Have any of you ever been mesmerized by the touch screens at Kroger's or Blockbuster? Imagine playing video games on that....awesome.

    The game I received was Rhythm Heaven. As I said earlier, I had seen the Beyonce commercial and was pretty interested in seeing what the game was all about. I was in band from 3rd grade until I graduated high school, so aside from being a nerd, I felt my rhythm was pretty heavenly. This game immediately tested that.

    The game is very user friendly. Before every mini game you get a tutorial on what to do for that level. If you are awful at a certain level, which I was on a ping pong game, it will simply let you skip it to reveal the next level. The game is broken up into groups of five games. The fifth in a set is something they call a remix, where you take everything you did for the previous levels and do them together. It's a great concept that leaves you feeling as though you have actually accomplished something.

    There are 50 total mini games that you can conquer, as well as a few games you can unlock by earning medals. Earning medals is exactly as it sounds....just do awesome on a level and it's yours. Once you have medals, you can use them to buy songs in the game, or games that they call "Endless". They mean that....these games go on forever.

    Rhythm Heaven is a very solid game that I would absolutely recommend to anyone. It doesn't take that long to beat any of the mini games, or the entire game itself, but the real fun is in the replay value. Much like Guitar Hero, you just keep playing these games over and over until you can conquer them and play them perfectly. I would give it an 8 out of 10 and tell everyone to unleash their inner band nerd. It's almost heaven.

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    Filed under Sports - Football Just A Shame

    Sean Merinar reporting from Dallas, Tx (2009-03-27 09:28:56)

    Source: http://tinyurl.com/ca25b6

    I'm in a bad mood. Last night's Pitt basketball game just ruined my evening and it was hard to shake off. I thought I did until I saw this story this morning.

    Texans running back Ryan Moats was driving his wife to the hospital because her mother was dying. LIke, Code Blue dying, meaning she needed immediate resuscitation. This is obviously an emergency situation, so Moats drove through a red light to get to the hospital. This cop began chase and then chastised him in the parking lot of the hospital for 15 minutes.

    He ran a red light, which I understand is illegal, but he didn't murder anyone, he didn't have cocaine in his car, he wasn't flashing a gun at the officer, he was just trying to get his wife to see her mother before she died. I know it seems long, but watch the actual videos provided to see how much of a #&$#!@ this cop was. I would not have remained as cool.

    I am now in a continued awful mood because of what happened to Moats. Stay tuned....

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    Kansas vs. North Dakota State

    Sean Merinar reporting from Minneapolis, MN (2009-03-20 11:45:13)

    North Dakota State opened up by 3 of their players diving on the floor for loose balls......and their coach screaming for them to keep it up. This place is so loud for North Dakota State.

    NDSU still has the lead over Kansas....have not missed a 3-pointer yet.

    Collins has taken over for Kansas....he has 15 points already and we still have 10 minutes to go in the first half.

    NDSU is only down by 3 with 8 minutes left and are causing confusion for Kansas for some reason....they are just a bunch of white boys. It's like watching Hoosiers in the great white north.

    North Dakota State just hit another 3 to tie it at 25.....my ears are bleeding. The announcer is literally screaming to try and drown out the fans.

    Time for a fat kid interlude.....they don't have a media buffet for lunch, but they have cookies and cracker jacks. WHile watching the game all I smell is brats and sausage and this makes me sad. I apologize....now back to the game.

    Kansas is doing a good job of keeping ahead of North Dakota State. It's 32-27 and you can tell that NDSU is slowing down a little. They are shooting 55 percent from 3 point range. That can't last.

    Have I mentioned how hot the Kansas cheerleaders are?

    Kansas has gotten it up to 34-27....the biggest lead so far, but NDSU came right back to cut it to 34-29. It's at this point I think everyone watching wonders if the Bison can stay with Kansas the whole game. They are fun to watch....so I hope.

    Here we go....Kansas got it to 39-28, then NDSU had two blocked shots, a layup, and a 3-pointer to cut it to 38-34. The man who had the blocks for NDSU, John Flowers has a high top fade circa 1993. I instantly love him.

    Kansas takes a nine point lead into the locker room, 43-34, after a disgusting shot by Sherron Collins. The Rock Chalk Dancers are the half-time entertainment....so it may be a while before you hear from me again. Giddyup.

    Kansas gets the lead to eleven, 47-36, then NDSU goes on a 7-0 run. Including an and 1 on a tip in.....my ears then bled again because of the loudness of the NDSU crowd. This is seriously a home game for them.

    Just when the Bison get it to within four, Sherron Collins always finds a way to make some kind of crazy shot. He has seriously done it the last four times NDSU has been down by four.

    NDSU is keeping it within five points, but has gone cold behind the 3 point line. Their point guard, Ben Woodside, is ridiculous. He just drives to the basket, makes it, and gets fouled. Straight baller. Eight minutes left to go in the game.

    With 5:47 left to go, Kansas finally has itself in the driver's seat. Collins took over again and Aldrich just catches the ball down low, gets fouled, and shoot very awkward looking free throws. NDSU is down 69-59. They will pretty much need a miracle.

    Lurch (Alrich) just made another dunk, then screamed awkwardly at the crowd like he didn't know how to celebrate. KU up 73-64 with 2:30 remaining. Could be lights out time....

    As I typed that Ben Woodside hit a 3-pointer to get NDSU within six. He has 35 on the day so far.

    And as I typed that, Alrich had another dunk, an and 1 this time, and did the muscle flex yell. So awkward.

    Kansas is just too much. NDSU is just fouling now, down 78-70. Sherron Collins is making everything at the line. No shame if you are NDSU, they stayed in it for a while.

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    And The Winner Is....

    Sean Merinar reporting from Morgantown, WV (2009-03-09 12:28:28)

    Source: http://msnsportsnet.com/page.cfm?cat=netnews&story=14324

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    Although he had an awful senior night, which was very sad to see, WVU senior guard Alex Ruoff still had some awards come his way. He was named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-American first team, Honorable Mention All Big East Team, and won the 2009 Big East Conference Sportsmanship award.

    Ruoff will also break Kevin Pittsnogle's three point record on the next shot he makes. I never thought this record would be broken and it was set only three years ago. It is crazy to see a guy like Ruoff, who just a stand alone shooter his freshman year, become team leader, all around player, and hold all kinds of records at WVU.

    I once lost a game of horse to Alex Ruoff, therefore I accept all awards he does.

    Stay tuned...

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    Forty Yard Fun

    Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2009-02-25 10:52:46)

    Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZb3DRt6_Gk&eurl=

    The most watched and talked about portion of the NFL Combine is always the 40 yard dash. Players can make and lose money on how fast they perform in those few seconds.

    NFL Network's Rich Eisen decided to give it a try as well. He runs a super slow 6.34, but that's not the best part of the video above. They then compared him to other players who ran the 40, including Marylan wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey and WVU's own Pat White. Then they compare him to the big boys.

    This made my day.

    Stay tuned....

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