Ye olde notebook:
If you went to USA Today's website on Tuesday, pushed past the story "Bracketology: West Virginia's costly collapse," and skipped to the topic of baseball, you'd see a piece called "MLB's 100 names you need to know for 2017."
Among those named were former West Virginia Power players like Pittsburgh's Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow. Yet also within, listed at No. 18, is a guy named Daniel Vogelbach.
Does the name ring a bell?
If you're from Charleston, it certainly should. Vogelbach's father of the same name was a standout football, basketball and track man for George Washington High back in the late 1970s.
These days, the elder Vogelbach is in Fort Myers, Florida, where he owns a sports medicine clinic. (He worked in the field with WVU and John Spiker in Morgantown during the Major Harris football era.)
Anyway, the son is a hulking left-handed slugger now on the Seattle Mariners after six years in the minor leagues.
"He's in spring training now," said the father on Tuesday. "He was with the Chicago Cubs, but was pretty much blocked there because they have Anthony Rizzo at first base. With Seattle, he's the only first baseman on the roster, so we'll see."
Should be a fun follow. Word is, Vogelbach, 24 years old, could platoon at first with third baseman Danny Valencia.
n OK, so let's get to it. I've been asked where WVU's epic basketball collapse at Kansas ranks among similar moments in Mountaineer lore.
After covering the school for 37 years, the best comparison I can come up with is football's 1996 shocking regular season loss to then-power Miami.
All the Mountaineers had to do in that game was punt and the contest was all but over. Tremain Mack, though, blocked the attempt of Brian West and UM's Nathaniel Brooks scored on the play.
On Monday, all WVU had to do was successfully inbound the ball. And couldn't.
Same sort of deal.
n In case you missed it, Dunbar native and former Marshall football standout Aaron Dobson signed a future contract with the Arizona Cardinals back in January.
Dobson, also of South Charleston High, was drafted by and had an injury-plagued career with New England before catching on first with Detroit and now Arizona.
Anyway, a question arose after looking into Dobson's status: What the heck is a future contract?
Turns out it's the same as a regular active roster contract (with minimum NFL veteran salary) except it doesn't take effect until the start of the next league year, which begins at 4 p.m. on March 9.
Here's wishing Dobson the best. Yes, I understand he'll be trying to make a team with Larry Fitzgerald and J.J. Nelson on it, but the rest of the receiving corps has been shaky. Jaron Brown had an ACL tear and John Brown is unfortunately dealing with a sickle-cell issue.
n And finally ...
There's been grumbling of late about WVU's recent football recruiting class and the loss of assistant coaches. Also tucked into the timeline, though, is a positive note to report.
Ex-Mountaineers Don Barclay and Keith Tandy, both currently in the NFL, presented a gift to the school's strength and conditioning program. The gift "will enable [WVU] to bring the concept of cryotherapy to the football program." A cryo chamber will help with the recovery process.
Both Barclay (Green Bay) and Tandy (Tampa Bay) use WVU's facility in the offseason. After speaking with Barclay about his recent run with the Packers, I wasn't surprised with the gift.
Almost as an aside during my interview, I asked Barclay about his recent experiences around the team.
"It's a different type of attitude," he responded. "I remember I went back a couple years ago and it was a little different. Now it's different, but better. People are buying in and doing the right things around there. In that weight room it's a different mentality than I've seen. They're doing a great job with those guys. And that's where it starts.
"You really have to get players mentally and physically prepared in that weight room and then it transfers over to the field," he continued. "I think they're doing a great job with that. The coaches are doing a great job getting the guys to buy in. All of us alums are excited."
Thus, the willingness to help.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.