After serving three years as a junior college head coach at Phoenix College, West Virginia alum Dale Wolfley will be joining his alma mater's staff, assisting head coach Bill Stewart in the fall, the exact position yet to be determined. Wolfley had already routed three of his JUCO players to Morgantown from Phoenix, including defensive lineman Tevita Finau and defensive backs Brantwon Bowser and Courtney Stuart. He played offensive line for the Mountaineers 1987-90 and was team captain his senior year, before serving three years as a graduate assistant on coach Don Nehlen's staff. Running backs Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt and d-back Ryan Mundy were all chosen in the recent NFL draft, Slaton being picked the highest by Houston in the third round and 89th overall pick. The 163rd pick in the fifth round, Schmitt will be heading to Seattle, while Mundy will be staying closer home, in Pittsburgh, which drafted him in the sixth round, the 194th pick. Signing free agent contracts were wide receiver Darrius Reynaud (Minnesota), defensive linemen Keilen Dykes (Arizona), Johnny Dingle (Kansas City) and defensive back Eric Wicks (Seattle). Wicks graduated in 2007. According to an April 27 Charleston Gazette article, there is a chance that linebacker Reed Williams' surgeries on both shoulders could keep him out of action this coming fall, unless his rehabilitation goes perfectly. Williams missed spring practice and has never redshirted, so could be eligible for a 2008 medical redshirt, returning for the 2009 season, if things don't work out. Petersburg High grad Casey Vance (5-11, 220), a walk-on linebacker at WVU, was in on a tackle and a pass break up in April 19's Blue-Gold scrimmage. Another Petersburg graduate Brandi Eskew has made her mark as a member of the West Virginia rifle team. Eskew was featured in the Jan. 20 Morgantown Dominion Post Sunday sports section. The freshman has tied one school record, scoring a 1,167 (overall) and broken two others, with an 1,170 combined score and a 585 in the small bore. According to the article, her goals include trying out for the 2012 Olympics and becoming an orthopedic surgeon. * * * * * We're not even a fifth of the way through the Major League Baseball season yet, so it's a little early for much analysis, but here are a few early trends by the six divisions, taking the American League first. • East - Baltimore and Tampa Bay are off to much better than expected starts, hanging right in there with Boston for the time being. New York is right on their tails, with Toronto starting to fall behind the rest of the pack. • Central - No one really picked Detroit to be in last place with their hard-hitting lineup and manager Jim Leyland at the helm, but you can still throw a small blanket over all five teams, with just a few games separating the lot. • West - As expected, Los Angeles leads, but surprising Oakland was tied for first with them at press time. National League: • East - Florida is the biggest surprise, hanging right in there with New York and Philadelphia. Atlanta looks pretty mediocre and Washington, not good yet in their new stadium. • Central - St. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee look to make up the upper level early on in this division, the lower one consisting of Houston, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. • West - With baseball's best record, Phoenix has some breathing room against the rest of the pack. Later we'll take a close look at how relevant the teams' salaries are to their places in the standings; in other words, who is getting the biggest bang for their buck.