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The lasting image of West Virginia‘s 2023 season, which ended with a 30-10 Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory over North Carolina, is that of coach Neal Brown covered in celebratory mayonnaise.

So, what happened to the clothes Brown wore that evening?

“Threw them away,” he said. “They went straight to the trash.”

But one thing Brown and the Mountaineers didn’t throw away from that game was the momentum they got from the win heading into the offseason. Their 9-4 record, which was their best since 2016, came after they were picked to finish 14th in the Big 12 preseason media poll, with many feeling Brown was coaching with his job on the line.

“There’s a ton of belief program-wide,” Brown said. “We’ve made some really important steps over the last 18 months. But the hardest part is that last piece. It’s the difference between nine wins and 11 — and winning a conference championship.”

Brown explained that once the team got back together this year, there weren’t any dramatic changes to the Mountaineers’ process.

“Just get better, each player,” he said. “We need [quarterback] Garrett Greene to improve his completion percentage. We need [running back] Jahiem White to get better in the pass game. We need [left tackle] Wyatt Milum to be dominant. We need guys just to make a little bit of improvement. We need our receiver room to raise their production on contested catches. We’ve pinpointed these really small growth areas at each position, within each player, and then within each department.

“That’s been the push since January; we need to make incremental growth. We need to be better to give ourselves an opportunity to go play in that championship game.”

Greene doesn’t think meeting those goals will be an issue.

“This spring, there were no really down practices where guys just were struggling to be there,” he said. “I think top to bottom our guys love, love playing football. We could have teed it up the Sunday after the spring game if we needed to.”

A lot of West Virginia’s fortunes in 2024 will rest on the shoulders of Greene, whose favorite players growing up were Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield. Greene’s game and on-field charisma emulate their styles; he even wears No. 6 as a salute to Mayfield.

“Something’s going to happen, whether it’s good or bad, something is going to happen,” Greene said. “I think I play with my hair on fire. I love to play. I’m not just going to sit back there and throw it. I love to run around getting [the defense] mixed a little bit.”

Greene finished last season completing 53.1% of his passes with 2,406 yards, 16 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He also had 120 rushes for 772 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“My expectation is he’s going to have a big year,” Brown said. “I think last year, if you go and you just look at productivity, there’s very few quarterbacks in the country that are returning that had the same type of production he had. And he missed two games.

“He’s an elite runner. He throws the ball downfield as good as anyone in college football, I think stats back that up. Our focus since January has been on intermediate throws and improving his completion percentage. And I really believe that he has a chance to go from a 53% completion percentage last year, that can be mid-60s or above.”

Greene has been spending plenty of time this offseason with his quarterback coach, David Morris, in Mobile, Alabama, working on fundamentals, particularly his footwork and body posture.

But Greene won’t be driving the offense alone by any means. The Mountaineers are 24th in the nation out of 134 FBS schools in returning production from 2023.

Offensively, based on metrics by ESPN’s Bill Connelly, they return 89% of their production, third most in the country. White and CJ Donaldson have the potential to be one of the most difficult backfields to defend in the nation. At wide receiver, Traylon Ray, Preston Fox and Hudson Clement return, and West Virginia added Jaden Bray from Oklahoma State.

And despite losing Zach Frazier to the NFL, the Mountaineers bring back an experienced offensive line group in Milum, Brandon Yates, Nick Malone and Ja’Quay Hubbard.

On the other side of the ball, Brown likes his team’s depth on the defensive line and in the linebacking group. On the line, Brown said, “I think that Sean Martin is really ready to take the next step. He’s been a three-year starter for us, but I think he’s ready to take that step and be an all-conference player, an early-round draft pick.”

In the middle of the defense, the Mountaineers lose leader Lee Kpogba, but Brown said they feel they have “high-end Big 12 players” in Josiah Trotter, Trey Lathan, Ben Cutter and Ohio State transfer Reid Carrico.

“We’re going to figure out packages, and we’re going to play them all,” Brown said. At the spur (outside linebacker), Tyrin Bradley and Gardner-Webb transfer Ty French are expected to get to the passer.

Aubrey Burks — whom Greene called the best defensive player in the country — heads the defensive backfield, along with transfer cornerbacks Garnett Hollis Jr. from Northwestern and Ayden Garnes from Duquesne.

“I think the big thing for us is we’ve got to continue to put pressure on the quarterback, limit teams in the run game, and then — for us to go from a team that was nine wins last year to a team that’s capable of going to Dallas [for the conference championship] — we’ve got to play the pass better,” Brown said. “That’s been a point of emphasis for us.”

With an experienced group and the momentum it brought from the bowl game in Charlotte to Morgantown, it will be harder for the Mountaineers to sneak up on teams in 2024.

Their spring game felt like a reflection of the optimism surrounding this group. It started with a fashion show on a blue carpet (instead of red). Lathan was rocking a “Neal Breezy” T-shirt in support of his coach.

Former West Virginia quarterback Pat White and kicker Pat McAfee were the honorary captains for the Gold and Blue squads.

“Those guys are extremely busy, so spending the time to come back, it shows how important it is to them,” Brown said. “I think that’s what spring football games should be.

“I tell our guys, the coaches get 14 practices, you get one and we’re going to try to blow out the one you get. And I think we were able to do that.”

In the 14 practices the coaches got, Brown made sure his players received plenty of advice from former Mountaineers. The school’s all-time leading rusher, Avon Cobourne, linebacker Bruce Irvin, safety Karl Joseph and wide receiver David Sills all visited the team ahead of a season with heightened expectations.

“I think we’ve got a great opportunity opening weekend with Penn State coming in here,” Brown said. “We play a challenging schedule, but this is going to be a fun, entertaining team. And our guys love to compete. We’re going to be a tough out.”

Greene agreed.

“There’s not a single guy in the locker room that doesn’t believe that we can be playing in Dallas in the first week of December,” Greene said. “We fully believe that. We definitely have the talent in the room on offense, defense and special teams. Now, it’s just a matter of putting in the work of the summer and, when the season comes, executing.”

“Last year, we were picked to finish 14th, and we didn’t,” he continued. “This year, we felt like we should have been one of the top favorites to win it, and the odds came out and we weren’t where we wanted to be. [The Mountaineers are the 10th pick, at +1800, to win the Big 12 on ESPN BET.] So, I think everything that this team does, we kind of play with a chip on our shoulder. We did that last year. We’re going to continue with this year.

“I would just tell them to sit back and watch the show.”

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Canes reach 3-year, $9.5M extension with Hall

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Canes reach 3-year, .5M extension with Hall

The Carolina Hurricanes have reached a three-year, $9.5 million extension with forward Taylor Hall through the 2027-28 season.

The team announced the signing Wednesday, a day after the Hurricanes closed out the New Jersey Devils in their first-round playoff series. It marked the seventh straight year that Carolina has won at least one postseason series.

Hall, 33, acquired in a blockbuster January deal that included Mikko Rantanen‘s arrival, scored the first of Carolina’s four second-period goals that helped it erase a 3-0 deficit before winning in double overtime. He’s a 15-year veteran who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP in the 2017-18 season.

“Taylor has proven to be an outstanding fit for our team, and we are thrilled that he is excited to make Raleigh his home for another three seasons,” general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement. “He’s been a solid veteran presence in the locker room and a difference maker on the ice.”

Hall had 18 goals and 24 assists in 77 regular-season games between Chicago and Carolina, and also had two assists in the five-game series win against New Jersey. He had missed most of the previous season due to knee surgery and was making $6 million this year with free agency looming, then led Carolina skaters with four power-play goals in the regular season after his arrival.

The Hurricanes acquired the 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick on Jan. 24 in the three-team deal that snagged Rantanen from Colorado, though they later sent Rantanen to Dallas with forward Logan Stankoven as the primary trade-deadline return when it became clear Rantanen was unlikely to sign long-term to stay with Carolina.

Hall and Tulsky are scheduled to address reporters by Zoom later Wednesday.

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Avs’ MacKinnon finalist for Ted Lindsay Award

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Avs' MacKinnon finalist for Ted Lindsay Award

Colorado Avalanche standout Nathan MacKinnon is in contention to repeat as the recipient of the Ted Lindsay Award.

MacKinnon was named a finalist for the award on Wednesday along with Avalanche teammate Cale Makar and Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov.

The award is presented annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association.

MacKinnon, 29, tied Kucherov for the NHL assists lead with 84 and totaled 116 points this season. MacKinnon is the reigning Hart Trophy recipient as the league’s MVP.

Makar, 26, is a first-time finalist for this award and is also up for the Norris Trophy, which was announced Tuesday. He led all defensemen this season in goals (30), assists (62) and points (92).

Kucherov, 31, won his second straight Art Ross Trophy after leading the NHL in scoring with 121 points (37 goals, 84 assists).

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Mammoth gaffe? Utah mum on name after leak

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Mammoth gaffe? Utah mum on name after leak

Utah Hockey Club officials wouldn’t confirm whether “Mammoth” was their new name after it allegedly leaked on the team’s official YouTube channel Tuesday night.

Fans and media noticed that the channel’s handle was changed from “@UtahHockeyClub” to “@UtahMammoth,” on both its landing page and URL. The channel was soon deactivated and remained so on Wednesday morning, but not before screenshots of the name change went viral.

Utah Mammoth was one of three finalists featured in a fan vote at Delta Center to help determine the permanent name of the team, which played its inaugural season in 2024-25 after SEG purchased and relocated the former Arizona Coyotes franchise. Fans voted with iPads located at stations around the arena that featured the names, logos and potential branding for each option.

Originally, the three names voted on were Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club and Utah Wasatch, which was quickly swapped out for Utah Outlaws after the team saw early vote returns.

Mammoth made the final four in the initial fan vote last year.

Utah HC executives wouldn’t confirm or deny that Mammoth will be the team’s new nickname.

Mike Maughan, an executive with Utah HC owner Smith Entertainment Group, said on Wednesday that “progress continues on exploring all three of the name options that were chosen as finalists by our fans. We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season and look forward to sharing that with our fans when we do.”

When pressed for an explanation on the alleged YouTube leak, Maughan would only say, “We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season.”

One NHL source told ESPN that the revelation for the team’s new name and logo could come before the NHL draft in late June. This year’s draft is a “decentralized” event, meaning that teams will be making selections from their own sites rather than in one central location. That opens the door for Utah to have an event in Salt Lake City with team officials around the draft.

In other Utah HC news, the team announced Wednesday that Delta Center, home to Utah HC and the Utah Jazz, will be undergoing a renovation to optimize hockey sightlines while maintaining the proximity of basketball fans to the court using a state-of-the-art retractable seating system. It’s a multiyear project that will also create a new main entrance and outdoor plaza.

The first-of-its-kind seating system accommodates a nearly 12-foot variance in elevation between rink and court endlines to offer optimal sightlines for both the NBA and NHL. Every seat in the lower bowl will have a complete view of the ice at the start of next season — the team estimates that 400 seats currently can only see one goal net during games.

The new hockey configuration adds capacity behind the goals and above and around the event tunnels on the north and south side of the lower bowl and improves access to seating behind the boards.

When all renovations are complete, seating capacity for hockey will increase from 11,131 to approximately 17,000 — with every seat in the upper and lower bowls having full views of both goals — and capacity for basketball will increase from 18,206 to nearly 19,000 seats.

“Delta Center was built for basketball. When you come and put the size of an ice sheet in that venue with those sight lines, the geometry just doesn’t work. So that’s where you come up with the riser system configuration. You come up with raising the floor 2 feet,” said Jim Olson, president of the Jazz and executive representing SEG on all facilities projects.

“We are absolutely protecting the basketball experience, but then also creating a great hockey experience where all the seats can see all the ice,” he said.

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