West Virginia

Scott McClanahan's short, impressionistic "biography of a place" has a few strikes against it right out of the bullpen. It's from a small press in Columbus, Ohio; it's by an unknown author from West Virginia; and it's got a hideous cover featuring a detail from a 1917 Australian political cartoon. But readers should persevere, because "Crapalachia" is the genuine article: intelligent, atmospheric, raucously funny and utterly wrenching. McClanahan joins Daniel Woodrell and Tom Franklin as a master chronicler of backwoods rural...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — These West Virginia lotteries were drawn Friday: 03-05-10-15-16-21 (three, five, ten, fifteen, sixteen, twenty-one) 8-6-0 (eight, six, zero) 5-9-1-7 (five, nine, one, seven) Estimated jackpot: $190 million Estimated jackpot: $475 million Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For much of its season opener, West Virginia's defense played like a unit with seven new starters. The Mountaineers allowed Villanova, a division I-AA opponent from the Colonial Athletic Association, to rack up 28 first downs, 266 passing yards and 399 total yards. The Wildcats had six drives that lasted eight or more plays. West Virginia won the contest, but it was not because of the staunchness of its defense. This week, the Mountaineers take on East Carolina, a team fresh off an upset of Virginia Tech.

The commonwealth's jobless rate declined for the second month in a row in April to 5.2 percent, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. April's unemployment rate is the lowest since November 2008. The state added more than 12,000 jobs last month. On Friday, the employment commission reported increases in seven major industry divisions and decreases in four. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) welcomed the news as progress and tied the gains to his administration's efforts to boost Virginia's economy.

Joe Alexander does the scoring, but the key to the season has been buying into Coach Bob Huggins's hard-nosed emphasis on rebounding: After finishing 272nd nationally in rebound margin last season, the Mountaineers ranked 114th this season.

On Dec. 3, you ran a Free for All letter complaining about a lack of coverage of West Virginia University sports. On Jan. 4, the date of the Orange Bowl game featuring the Mountaineers, except for the Sports on TV listing, there was not one word about the game in the Sports section. Come on, it's a BCS game! If it were the Terps, there would have been a two-page spread with pictures. Robert Orlosky Sr., Fairfax Station ● I am not an alumna of West Virginia, but I still think it was rather poor judgment on your part...

AIR-RAID SIREN: Expect fireworks, and lots of them. West Virginia's high-speed, quick-strike attack is among the nation's best, putting up an average of 612.0 yards and 55.5 points in its first two games. Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith is an early leader for the Heisman Trophy. The program's all-time leading passer, Smith put on weight in the offseason and became more confident. His arsenal of weapons, such as Baltimore native Tavon Austin, makes his job easy, anyway. CROWD CONTROL : Opposing teams consistently cite Mountaineer...

When: 1 p.m. Where: Jacksonville, Fla. Records: Mountaineers 9-3; Seminoles 6-6. TV: WUSA (Channel 9), WJZ (Channel 13). Outlook: The last thing the Seminoles want is to send Coach Bobby Bowden into retirement with a loss, and a losing record. But it will take more than overwhelming sentiments -- hundreds of former players will be there to send Bowden off, as will tens of thousands of FSU fans -- for the Seminoles to find a way to get past the Mountaineers, who have lost to Bowden in both previous meetings, both...

Recent history is with the Mountaineers Saturday's game will be the 48th meeting between Maryland and West Virginia, with the Mountaineers holding a 24-21-2 edge in the series. West Virginia has won its past five games against Maryland. Sept. 18, 2004 West Virginia 19, Maryland 16 (OT) Rasheed Marshall's TD pass to Chris Henry in overtime was the winner. Sept. 17, 2005 West Virginia 31, Maryland 19 The Terps cut a 21-6 fourth-quarter deficit to 21-19, but got no closer.

Regarding the graphic that accompanied the Nov. 4 article entitled "Great Divide": What a dubious distinction for West Virginia to be the only state not to have its electors represented on the front cover of The Post's election page. Perhaps its "Wild and Wonderful" reputation has caught up with it. Benjamin Somers , Washington

One of the deepest positions on Virginia's football roster suffered some attrition Thursday. Coach Mike London announced junior running back Clifton Richardson has been granted a release from his scholarship and will leave the program. Richardson had an injury-plagued sophomore campaign in 2012 but was in the mix for playing time in the backfield next season along with classmates Kevin Parks and Khalek Shepherd and incoming five-star recruit Taquan Mizzell. However, Richardson ended spring practice third on the depth...

When Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly approved a 2010 ballot measure that prohibits state courts from considering Islamic law, or Shariah, the Council of American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit within two days challenging the constitutionality of the measure, and won. But when Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed a similar measure, one that its sponsor said would forbid Shariah, on April 19 of this year, no legal challenges were mounted. Why the change? The biggest difference is that the older bill...

WHEELING, W.Va. — A former West Virginia sheriff will spend a year in federal prison for his role in the December 2010 beating of a robbery suspect. Robert Shirley was sentenced Monday in federal court in Wheeling. U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey also ordered that the former lawman serve 18 months' probation and pay his victim restitution totaling $1,850. The sentence is less than the 33 months recommended under federal guidelines. At Shirley's...