It's a high school football double feature on today's edition of The Morning Spiel. Dustin Cogar, Head Coach of Lewis County High School, talks about the resiliency and leadership of a Minutemen program looking to take that next step and return to the playoffs (4:19). Meanwhile, Cogar's Opening Day opponent, Fairmont Senior Head Coach Nic Bartic, joins the second half of the show to discuss his philosophy on earning player buy-in and just how important is it to hate losing (20:55).

Alex Wiederspiel is joined by Bill Dubensky with your road closure updates, plus a new #TripleFreshQuestionOfTheWeek (0:00). Then Mike Asti of WV Sports Now joins the show to talk about a shockingly good weekend for WVU Men's Basketball, the shockingly low expectations for WVU Football, and reflecting on 11 years of Randy Mazey (11:22). We wrap with Top-of-Mind/Bottom-of-Show (38:29)

A Friday edition: meaning it's a pop culture day. Tannor Lambert of the MSI Podcast joins the show to discuss the Randy Mazey retirement and the possible paradigm shift of younger coaches (4:38). Meanwhile, Brian Hernandez of Zero Dark Nerdy Podcast joins the program to talk about the biggest strike in Hollywood since 1960, superhero fatigue, and season two of The Bear (18:18). Bottom-of-show, top-of-mind to wrap (41:13).

Trivia and random facts are on Alex's mind (0:00). Plus, Jason Young joins the show to talk about the paradox of "Buy Local" when it comes to booking local talent (12:17). Then Aristotle Jones joins the show to remind you that there are still fantastic outdoor music festivals coming up in spite of the seemingly endless supply of summer storms (26:13). Alex's Bottom-of-Show/Top-of-Mind: what it means to leave on your terms (40:40).

On today's edition of The Morning Spiel, Alex brings on Mike Farrell, Vice Chairman with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Comission to set the stage for the conversation about higher education in West Virginia as troubling long-term financial outlooks and demographic shifts begin to impact West Virginia's colleges and universities (9:46). The conversation continues throughout the entirety of the show, featuring Mike's appearance and later some of Alex's own thoughts on the future of higher education mixed in with his personal experiences (25:28).

An international competition featuring competitors from five continents comes to Buckhannon, West Virginia. How did that happen? Randy Sanders, President of the Buckhannon Host Committee for the World Association of Marching Show Bands 2023, details how they won the bid (7:14). Meanwhile, Randy Mazey announces 2024 will be his final season as head coach and manager of WVU Baseball. Greg Carey of WV MetroNews has all the details on Mazey and the announced coach-in-waiting, WVU assistant Steve Sabins (22:56).

Bill Dubensky rejoins the program with some critical traffic and weather updates for the week (2:45). Then after the break, it's Jack Carlson of West Virginia MetroNews with his takeaways from Best Virginia's 130-100 win over College Park Boys over the weekend in their final tune-up ahead of TBT (7:03). The Question of the Week returns (26:04)!

Newly minted WVU assistant basketball coach and former Mountaineer Alex Ruoff joins the show to talk about life after basketball -- but with a pit-stop for the Alumni Basketball League showcase in Fairmont this weekend (0:00). Tannor Lambert of the Mountaineer Sports Insider discusses whether or not the Penguins should pursue Erik Karlsson and what could be next for Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani (11:59). Finally, Chad Clem takes us home for the weekend with his list of the final true A-Listers (28:07).

A Local Arts Feature grab-bag this Thursday features Jason Young, Program Manager of the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center, on an exciting addition to their line-up: a $2-per-ticket feature of Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic Jaws (7:03). Then Aristotle Jones, Appalachian Soul Man and host of Sounds Good to Me, details his recording sessions in Brooklyn, best road trip music and etiquette, and some upcoming live shows (25:16). Alex wraps the show up with a new segment: Bottom-of-Show-Top-of-Mind (41:53). Bonus: Alex announces a special guest for Friday's show.

On today's episode, Dr. Matthew Richardson of West Virginia University joins the program (6:10) to discuss hazing -- prevention, awareness, and more. This conversation comes to the forefront as a hazing scandal is rocking Northwestern University's athletic department. Then Alex switches gears on Wildcard Wednesday to highlight one of the things bothering him the most in the Bob Huggins saga (27:46).