West Virginia
Best Virginia set to battle Zoo Crew in second round of TBT – WV MetroNews
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PITTSBURGH — Best Virginia and Zoo Crew’s second-round matchup in The Basketball Tournament from Petersen Events Center at 8 p.m. Monday won’t directly fall under the category of a Backyard Brawl.
That doesn’t mean, however, that the contest between West Virginia and Pitt’s alumni-based teams won’t have a similar feel to it, especially considering the majority of players and coaches from both sides have their fair share of history in the storied rivalry between the nearby schools.
“It’s how they setup the bracket on purpose,” said Best Virginia head coach Chase Harler, a Wheeling Native who played for the Mountaineers from 2017-2020. “I’m from West Virginia, so I take it a little more personal. I played against them in college and I don’t think I ever lost to Pitt. I hope to keep that tradition going.”
Harler’s Best Virginia coaching debut was a successful one Saturday afternoon, with the team racing out to leads of 11-0 and 35-13 and hardly looking back in a 94-69 victory over Brotherly Love.
Best Virginia, a No. 3 seed, put together an impressive showing in its TBT opener, but the challenge will only increase against second-seeded Zoo Crew.
Zoo Crew was put to the test and then some later Saturday, but prevailed 98-95 against Million $ Worth Of Game.
“A lot of rest and practice Sunday. Get a lot of shots,” Harler said. “Do some scouting as well. Tighten up some things on offense and continue to do what we do and that’s playing defense. Offensively, we got into the paint so much and had wide open shooters. Hoping to do that on Monday as well.”
Eight of Best Virginia’s 10 players former Mountaineers, though the two that aren’t — guard Marcus Keene and wing Xavier Bledson — are welcomed additions to the team and made their presence felt in their team debut.
Keene hit three three-pointers in the opening quarter to help set the tone in his 12-point performance, while Bledson had four triples and scored 12 points to match Keene’s scoring output.
“We have some new guys that fit perfectly for us. Since the first practice, they’ve been great for us,” Harler said.
Every BV player scored at least five points and four registered double figures.
Much of Best Virginia’s offense was orchestrated by guard Teyvon Myers, who dished out 13 assists — three more than the opposing team.
“The advantage we have in this tournament every year is the chemistry we have with WVU guys,” Harler said.
Zoo Crew led by 10 at halftime and seven through three quarters of its TBT opener, before being faced to deliver down the stretch of the Elam Ending after the game was tied at 95. A bucket from Mike Young and one free throw from Jamel Artis allowed ZC to advance on a night it surrendered better than 56 percent shooting from the field, but shot nearly 60 percent and had all five starters in double-figure scoring.
Young, a 6-foot-9 forward, led that contingent with 24 points on 11-for-16 shooting, while 6-4 guard Nike Sibande added 21.
Zoo Crew displayed no shortage of perimeter shooting in the win as well and knocked down 14-of-32 triples.
Best Virginia hopes to make things tougher on them with a spot in the regional final at stake.
The winning team moves on to face the winner of Monday’s 6 p.m. matchup between No. 1 Stars of Storrs and No. 5 Happy Valley Hoopers. That contest is at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
“They say it’s a Backyard Brawl. They see I fit in,” Keene said. “I’m going to be ready. I live for that. I’ve played against teams in TBT before in their arena, between Wichita and Dayton, so I’ll be ready.”
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West Virginia
Brevard Native, West Virginia WR Ric’Darious 'Day Day' Farmer Makes Top 100 True Freshman Impact List – Space Coast Daily
![Brevard Native, West Virginia WR Ric’Darious 'Day Day' Farmer Makes Top 100 True Freshman Impact List – Space Coast Daily Brevard Native, West Virginia WR Ric’Darious 'Day Day' Farmer Makes Top 100 True Freshman Impact List – Space Coast Daily](https://spacecoastdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RicDarious-Farmer-600.jpg)
Top247 Rank – 90 rating, No. 46 WR: Farmer is dynamic slot receiver who is best with the ball in his hands
(247SPORTS.COM) Back in the day — or five years ago — true freshmen dominated off-season conversations in college football. They were the new, potential agents of change on every roster. They represented hope.
That role now belongs to transfers. They’re the players who dominate the offseason conversations and often fill the depth chart needs that true freshmen did just half a decade ago.
It’ll be tough for Brevard native Ric’Darious Farmer, WR, to emerge as a starter-level player for West Virginia with some depth in front of him, especially as a summer enrollee, but there’s a belief in Morgantown the four-star freshman can contribute right away.
Top247 Rank: 90 rating, No. 46 WR
Farmer is a dynamic slot receiver who is at his best with the ball in his hands, where he can employ a wide variety of head fakes and jukes (not to mention above-average speed). He’s the type of player who will end up making a few ‘wow’ players in his debut season.
When he was with the Cocoa Tigers in 2022, he was the leading receiver for a Cocoa team that went 11-3 and won a Florida 2S title. Caught 63 passes for 938 yards (14.9 ypc) and 10 TDs.
Farmer had over 40 offers from schools across the country when coming out of High School.
CLICK HERE to read the full story on 247sports.com>>>
CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS
West Virginia
What’s next for Democrats with Biden out of the presidential campaign • West Virginia Watch
![What’s next for Democrats with Biden out of the presidential campaign • West Virginia Watch What’s next for Democrats with Biden out of the presidential campaign • West Virginia Watch](https://westvirginiawatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WHITEHOUSEGETTY-scaled-1.jpg)
WASHINGTON — The Democratic Party has just weeks before its delegates are scheduled to vote for a presidential candidate during a virtual roll call in early August, a process that got much more complex Sunday when President Joe Biden withdrew as the presumptive nominee.
The timeline, which was set in motion months ago, provides a small window for Democratic delegates throughout the 50 states to unify around any one candidate, an uphill battle, even with Biden endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
Delegates’ votes for the presidential nominee were supposed to reflect the will of voters in their home states, a hallmark of the Democratic primary process that is no longer possible.
Party leaders have insisted for weeks that Democrats must formally nominate their presidential candidate ahead of the Democratic National Convention in late August to avoid any potential issue getting their candidate’s name on the Ohio ballot.
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison released a written statement on Sunday after Biden announced he would step aside as the presumptive nominee following weeks of pressure from members of Congress and party loyalists concerned about the president’s cognitive abilities.
Harrison wrote that in “the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”
“This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party,” Harrison added. “Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people.”
Harrison’s statement did not mention Harris or a specific date for when the Democratic Party would formally nominate a presidential candidate.
Harris wrote in a statement of her own that it is her “intention is to earn and win this nomination.”
“Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election,” Harris wrote. “And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead.”
“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
Deadlines and requirements
Co-Chairs of the Democratic National Convention Rules Committee Bishop Leah D. Daughtry and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz released a letter on Wednesday pledging the virtual roll call process would not be “rushed.”
The letter, obtained by States Newsroom, notes the various deadlines and requirements that states have for putting a presidential candidate’s name on the November ballot.
“Ballot access paperwork must be filed in the State of Washington on August 20, the second day of the in-person Convention. Deadlines in Montana and Oklahoma follow the next day, with California on August 22 and many states, including Virginia, on August 23,” Daughtry and Walz wrote.
“These filings involve notarized signatures from the candidates and party officials, and often must be filed in hard copy,” the two added. “We cannot and should not allow these timing complications to jeopardize whether the Democratic ticket appears on the ballot in must-win states.”
A public meeting about how the process will likely play out took place this weekend, with at least one more meeting expected this week, though likely with many more questions than before Biden withdrew.
Before the DNC can set the date for the virtual roll call, its Rules Committee needs to approve the rules for the convention, which will contain the format for the roll call vote. After that takes place, the DNC Chair and the DNCC Chair will announce the exact day of the roll call.
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West Virginia
Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, urges Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race
![Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, urges Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, urges Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race](https://www.wfla.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/71/2024/07/669d0d4d9ae643.98595373.jpeg?w=1280)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, urged President Joe Biden on Sunday to drop his reelection bid and focus on the remaining months of his presidency.
“I came to the decision with a heavy heart that I think it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation,” the West Virginia lawmaker told CNN’s ”State of the Union.”
Nearly three dozen Democrats in Congress have said it’s time for Biden to leave the race. Four Democratic senators — Peter Welch of Vermont, Jon Tester of Montana, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sherrod Brown of Ohio — have said the Democratic president should abandon his reelection campaign against Republican Donald Trump.
Biden’s debate performance raised open questions about the 81-year-old’s ability to mount a convincing campaign to defeat Trump.
“I’m concerned about the president’s health and well-being I really am,” Manchin said on ABC’s “This Week.”
But as the president remains isolated at his beach house in Delaware after being diagnosed with COVID-19, he has said he is ready to return to campaign this week and counter a “dark vision” laid out by Trump. Biden has insisted he can defeat Trump in a rematch from 2020 and has been meeting with family and longtime aides as he resist effort to push him aside.
Nonetheless, Manchin said Biden should clear the way for other Democrats and spend the remainder of his term as “the president he always wanted to be, be able to unite the country, bring it back together, to be able to maybe spend all of his time on solving the problems in Gaza, bringing peace to Gaza and to the Middle East. Also being able to dedicate his time to enforcing, reinforcing Ukraine’s ability to defend and win their freedom, and then be able to show the rest of the world the orderly transfer of power from the superpower of the world.”
He also said, “I truly believe the Democratic Party needs an open process” in picking a new nominee. Manchin said he was not trying to have Kamala Harris, the vice president, replaced. “A healthy competition is what it’s all about,” Manchin said.
Manchin, himself a former governor, said, “I think that we have a lot of talent on the bench, a lot of good people, and I’m partial to governors, because a governor can’t afford to be partial. They can’t afford to be partisan strictly, because that pothole or that bridge doesn’t have a D or an R on it.” He mentioned Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Josh Shapiro of of Pennsylvania who, he said, “haven’t divided their state. They haven’t made you pick a side and demonize the other side. They have brought people together. This is what an open process would do, I think. It would bring more people out in a process that could bring Democrats like me back.”
But the Democratic National Committee’s rulemaking arm is pressing ahead with plans for a virtual roll call before Aug. 7 to nominate the presidential pick, ahead of the party’s convention later in the month in Chicago.
Manchin, who became an independent in May after years as a Democrat, is not seeking reelection to the Senate
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