West Virginia

ATLANTA - Joe Mihalich was surprised by a phone call Monday morning from a good friend who "is not a phone guy. " Once the basketball season begins, John Beilein is hard to get on the line. He gets locked in and stays locked in. But it was Beilein, the Michigan coach, on the phone to the Niagara coach not 18 hours after his team smacked Florida to get Beilein to his first Final Four after 35 years as a head coach. Beilein did not want to talk about how brilliantly his team had played against the Gators.

I saw a story in the Wall Street Journal this month about how some retired coal miners in West Virginia might lose their health insurance because the coal company they once worked for - the one that promised them health insurance for life - had been sold and resold and was now owned by another big company that was asking a court to allow it to break that promise. The promise was no longer convenient or profitable. The company was also making another request to the court: for permission to pay its managers a $7 million bonus.

Villanova vs. Michigan, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Delaware vs. West Virginia, 12:15 p.m. (ESPN2) Penn State vs. Cal Poly, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN2)

NEWARK, Del. - Hold the epitaph for the Elena Delle Donne era at Delaware for a little while longer. The sixth-seeded Blue Hens and their all-American leader fought back from a seven-point deficit at halftime Sunday to beat 11th seed West Virginia, 66-53, in a Bridgeport subregional game of the NCAA women's basketball tournament. The win in front of a sellout crowd of 4,532 in the Bob Carpenter Center advanced the Blue Hens to a second-round game Tuesday at 7 p.m. They will play third-seeded North Carolina (29-6)

The answer to the New York Jets' quarterback woes could be . . . ex-Eagle Kevin Kolb? Or could it be Geno Smith - if he slips past the Eagles, who have the fourth pick in the coming NFL draft? The speculation about Kolb has heated up for several reasons, according to several sources. The Arizona Cardinals owe Kolb a $2 million payment if he's still on their roster Saturday ("which is some pretty sweet St. Patty's Day drinking money," quips thescore.com) so he's expected to be cut. Also, his base salary is $9 million, with a cap number of $13.5 million, and Arizona just signed according to profootballtalk.com.

Geno Smith completed 60 of 64 throws Thursday on pro day at West Virginia's indoor practice facility in Morgantown. Smith was watched by 29 NFL teams. Not in attendance were the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, and Seattle Seahawks. Considered to be one of the top quarterbacks in April's NFL draft, Smith threw for 4,205 yards and led the nation with 42 touchdown passes in 2012. He had a private workout Monday with the Eagles. Falcons. Atlanta found its replacement for running back Michael Turner, who was released March 1, by agreeing to terms with free agent Steven Jackson on a three-year, $12 million deal.

Actor Lou Myers, 76, best known for his role as ornery restaurant owner Mr. Gaines on the television series A Different World , has died. Tonia McDonald of Mr. Myers' nonprofit, Global Business Incubation Inc., said the actor died Tuesday night at Charleston Area Medical Center in West Virginia. McDonald said Mr. Myers had been in and out of the hospital since before Christmas and collapsed recently. An autopsy was planned. His TV credits included NYPD Blue , E.R. , and The Cosby Show . He also appeared in a number of films, including Tin Cup , and How Stella Got Her Groove Back . A Different World ran from 1987-93 and originally starred Lisa Bonet of Cosby fame.

Zaire Williams, a 5-11, 190-pound running back from Timber Creek High in Sicklerville, N.J., has committed to play at Temple, sources said. He orginally had given a verbal to West Virginia. Rivals.com has him rated as a three-star prospect, and the 16th-best player in the state. This obviously is a good thing for new Owls coach Matt Rhule, who will unveil his entire 2013 recruiting class at next Wednesday's national signing day. By rule, he isn't allowed to comment until then.

AN ALLEGHENY County prosecutor said that a West Virginia mother showed "an extreme indifference to the value of human life" when she tried to suffocate her infant at a local hospital and several times in her Boone County home last year. Rachel Nelson, 23, of Costa, who appeared for a preliminary hearing Wednesday in an Allegheny County Jail jumpsuit, was held for trial. She has been charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. She is accused of trying to suffocate her then- 4-month-old son at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and in her home last fall.