West Virginia is a funny place.  Cruising around the interweb, I have found some fun facts about the state.

All of these are true:

- The capital of West Virginia is Charleston.

- It is illegal to sleep on a train in West Virginia.

- West Virginia is considered the southern most northern state and the northern most southern state.

- It is legal for a male to have sex with an animal in West Virginia as long as it does not exceed 40 lbs.

- West Virginia has the oldest population of any state.  The median age is 40.

- If I lived in West Virginia, I would probably drink a lot of 40’s.

- In West Virginia, a person can be placed in jail for up to six months for making fun of someone who does not accept a challenge.

(*cough, Dukies, cough*)

- The New River Gorge Bridge (pictured above) near Fayetteville is the second highest steel bridge in the United States.  The bridge is also the longest steel bridge (1,700 feet) in the world.  Every October on Bridge Day, the road is closed and individuals parachute and bungee cord jump 876 feet off of the bridge.  It is West Virginia’s largest single day event and attracts about 100,000 people each year.

(100,000 people attend this nonsense! 100,000!)

- The first federal prison exclusively for women in the United States was opened in 1926 in West Virginia.

- West Virginia’s nickname is the Mountain State and its motto is “Mountaineers Are Always Free.”

(except the female Mountaineers in federal prison, of course)

- Because of its mountains, West Virginia is sometimes referred to as the “Switzerland of the United States.”

- In Huntington West Virginia, it is legal to beat your wife so long as it is done in public on Sunday, on the courthouse steps.

- For each act of public swearing, a person shall be fined $1 in West Virginia.

- If Duke beats West Virginia on Saturday, I will swear a lot – even if I am out in public.

- In West Virginia, it is legal to take roadkill home for supper.

- Whistling underwater is prohibited in West Virginia.

And my favorite (considering the big game)….

- On January 26, 1960, Danny Heater (a student from Burnsville, West Virginia) scored 135 points in a high school basketball game.  This earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Go Mountaineers!

In honor of this awesome NCAA tournament, I hearby declare this week “West Virginia Week” here on Truth About Mike.  As one of the few people north of the Mason-Dixon line that will be rooting for the Mountaineers, I feel like this is something I must do.

*raucous applause*

Why am I rooting for West Virginia University, you ask?

If WVU wins the tournament, I will win my NCAA pool.  I am especially excited because this year has been my favorite tournament ever.  There have been a ton of upsets and almost every game has been exciting.  I am also dedicating this week to WVU in a shameless attempt to appease the basketball gods.  West Virginia will need all the help it can get and any/every bounce that happens to go their way would be greatly appreciated.

And before you even say it….

I realize that in order to declare a week a “week” here on the blog, I’d actually have to write more than once during said week.  I am so enthused about the prospect of winning my pool, that I promise to write multiple blog entries this week.  I am not going to say when the next entry will be up, but I assure you it will be within the next few days.

West Virginia reached the Final Four by defeating Kentucky on Saturday.  The Mountaineers next play Duke (a.k.a. the New York Yankees/Evil Empire of college basketball) next Saturday.  Maybe if you’re lucky, we’ll even manage to sneak in some Duke bashing in by the end of the week.

Lastly, I will get the ball rolling by offering you a picture of a typical vehicle in West Virginia:

Go Mountaineers!

Sorry about the late response to my Wednesday tease.  I was hit with some unexpected stuff at the end of last week, including helping a friend out with his flooded basement over two days.  On the bright side, I now know how to install a sump pump in seven inches of water and that the folks at the Framingham Fire Department are fantastic.

Here are some things that have crossed my mind lately:

- I’m also sorry that I haven’t written much at all lately.  There’s no real reason, I just haven’t had the urge to write about anything.  One thing I have been doing (probably too much, in fact) is tweeting.  If you just have to have your Mike fix (and I’m not really sure if this is possible or why it ever would be), you can always check out my twitter feed.

- Again, thanks to everyone who kept checking into the blog even though I haven’t written much lately.

- I got really caught up in the House of Representatives voting on the health care reform bill.  Last night was a historic vote and a great night for our country.  The President put a lot of his chips over the past year in the health reform basket and last night, it paid off.  People will wake up to a better America today.  Very cool.

- I got even more caught up in Northern Iowa’s dramatic win over Kansas.  I totally have Ali Farokhmanesh fever.  This guy has huge cajones and made the shot of his life on Saturday.  It is games like that that make the NCAA Tournament one of the most exciting events in sports.  My brother said it best over the weekend, “I don’t even know any of the players, but I am loving the tournament this year.”

- Speaking of the tournament, when I was in Vegas last November I made a bet on Ohio State to win the tournament.  At that time, they were at 80/1 odds.  So, if they happen to win the tourney, the bet will pay $800.  Not bad.  Knocking on wood, the prospects of this bet coming in became better after Kansas was Farokhmaneshed, Georgetown and Maryland were eliminated, and Michigan State lost their point guard to an achilles tendon injury.

- I caught the movie, “She’s Out of My League” a week or two ago and absolutely loved it.  If there was any movie that seems like it was specifically made for me, it is this one.  Check it out.  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see it again.  Jay Baruchel (of “Freaks and Geeks” fame) was fantastic.

- As for the aforementioned movie, I know I really like the movie when I can say this: I wish they got a hotter chick to play the female lead in the movie.  Alice Eve is very attractive and all, but they could have done better here.

- Speaking of movies, I love going to the movies by myself.  First off, going alone there are no disagreements on which picture to see.  As a dude who just loves romantic comedies, this comes in handy.  Also, when I’m at the movies (and I’ve been told this), I seem to laugh when nobody else is laughing.  Not saying this is good or bad, just that I think I have a strange sense of humor.  Thanks to Showcase Cinemas for $6 Tuesdays.

- While I am embarrassing myself, I am not ashamed to admit that I will be watching “Dancing with the Stars” for the first time tonight.  Thanks a lot, Ochocinco.

- Everything is still all systems go for the “move to California” plan.  I think I’m going to drive cross-country to get out there.  It is something I have always wanted to do.  I want to take like three weeks and take it slow, stopping along the way to see friends and places.  Early thoughts on stops include: the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio, Paris IL (the midwestern city of lights) to see my college friend Kevin, and Jackson Hole to see Jen.  I’d love to work in a ballpark I’ve never been to (Minnesota or Arizona most likely, only other ones I haven’t seen are Seattle and the Florida parks), the ‘Field of Dreams” field in Iowa and if I could get to Austin that would be great as well.  Planning on late April/early May.  Stay tuned.

- Farokhmanesh!

- The Bruins are really frustrating to watch.  Not as frustrating as the Celtics, though.  Both teams are on life support.

- I got Miley exactly one year ago today.  Today is truly a “Miley Monday” and I can’t believe a whole year has passed since I brought her home from the aniimal shelter.  She is totally getting spoiled today.

- RIP Lola.  I love you and will miss you.  Thanks for being one of the first people to believe in me.  I regret that I didn’t make it out to California to visit more often.

Thanks to everyone who has kept checking the blog even though I haven’t written much at all lately.

I’ll be back sometime Wednesday with a new post.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Check out my brother’s new song on youtube!

Now that the Olympics are over, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the games in Vancouver.  Every time the Olympics start, I tell myself that I am not watching and every time I get sucked in and caught up in them.  This year was no exception.  Also, Vancouver has been added to my “cities I have to visit” list.

As great as the games were, there was one moment in particular that I will remember forever.

Last Sunday night, Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette lost her mother to a sudden heart attack.  Two days before she was set to take the ice, she (and her family) was hit with this horrible tragedy.  Rochette had trained her whole life for these Olympics.  Many wondered if she would even remain in the competition.

I can’t imagine what she went through.  She not only had the pressure of competing in the Olympics, in front of her home country, as a member of the host nation, but also had to deal with the extreme grief of losing a parent.

Rochette decided to continue on and last Tuesday night she took the ice to perform her short program.  Watching her skate that night was as inspirational as anything I’ve ever seen.  She was brilliant.  She nailed every jump and after the performance, she doubled over and began to sob (5:20 of this NBC video).  Seriously, check out the video.  If it doesn’t elicit an emotional response, you have no soul.

After seeing Rochette during her short program, I wanted her to win gold.  Forget the fact that she wasn’t American or wasn’t the best skater in the field – what she had done and overcome was greater than anything any of the other skaters could accomplish.  This is saying a lot; This year’s field of women figure skaters was the most talented group the sport has ever seen.  Thursday night, she skated again and did well during her long program.

What Rochette did last week was an example of why I watch sports.  To see someone triumph on the grandest of stages, under the most dire of circumstances, was a reminder that anything is truly possible.   She epitomized not only the Olympic spirit, but the human spirit.  Furthermore, she is a shining example of the great things we can do – when our hearts are true and our minds are focused.

The best moment of the Vancouver games was not a gold medal performance, but the bronze medal performance by Joannie Rochette.