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Spring practices are done and the Spring Game is in the books. What does that mean? For me, it means that I have no good excuse to get out of all of the spring cleaning jobs I have been putting off as long as possible. All over the house and yard I go, Mrs. JHoo only a half-step behind, tackling one task after another instead of watching linebackers do the tackling. So with Mrs. JHoo's "don't do that ..." and "don't do that other thing either ..." comments ringing in my ears, I think it would be somewhat therapeutic for me to throw out a few "don'ts" of my own.
Since I am much too smart to direct any of those "don'ts" at Mrs. JHoo - read, JHoo is a coward - I figured I would toss a few your way, football style. Or more precisely, spring football style.
In the movie "21", an MIT wiz interviews for the most lucrative scholarship at Harvard Medical School. The Dean's impressed. But when it's Harvard Med you're talking about, well, everyone is impressive. So he leaves our hero with this question to ponder: "What makes you dazzle?"
It's exactly the question that university athletics departments and college football programs far and wide, big and small, must ask themselves when it comes to "selling" their Spring Football product to the masses. This should strike a chord at the University of Virginia.
The Virginia men's tennis team is off to a roaring start in 2008, posting an 11-0 record thus far while owning the nation's No. 1 ranking. The Hoos won the ITA National Team Indoor Tournament earlier this week. Among the many stars on the roster is senior Ted Angelinos, who has been a huge part of the Cavaliers' success with a record of 8-0 in singles and 6-2 in doubles. The Sabre caught up with the Greece native for a quick take on men's tennis.
The Virginia men’s tennis team claimed the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Monday, becoming the first ACC school and just the 11th different program ever to win the 34-year event. Coach Brian Boland joined Jay James on The Best Seat in the House this week to talk about the title, his No. 1 Cavaliers (11-0), and this weekend's matches. Check out the free audio.
When it comes to the order of the 2007 season review articles, I initially planned to go from the quarterbacks to the running backs. That would seem to be the logical order, since I would be staying in the backfield. At least, that is the order I generally have followed in the past. But this year, it seems to make more sense to discuss the wide receivers right after the quarterbacks - after all, many would argue that each unit was the other's biggest handicap this past season. In the end, however, I did not view it that way.
Ever since the final 10 disastrous minutes of the Gator Bowl, I've been left with a nagging concern about the Virginia football team and its near-term future. The misgivings are related to one position: quarterback. Reading JHoo's QB column this morning only helped the concerns resurface. The uneasy feelings can be pinpointed with one simple phrase: mismatching parts.
In kicking off this series of postseason breakdown columns, I could give you a couple of reasons to start with the quarterbacks. But if I am going to be honest, I really just put the column on the quarterback position first because I want to get it behind me. Why, you ask? Because going into this offseason, I am not sure that there is a unit on the team that is causing me more stress than the quarterback spot.
For three and a half quarters, I thought that the Gator Bowl represented as good a game as we have seen during the Al Groh era in terms of the quality of both the game plan and the execution of that plan. And then ... ugh. Breaking down the game admittedly is not a lot of fun, but that's the task before us.
This could be the shortest column in the world. Want to find a way to win over Texas Tech? Answer: Stop the Pass. Thank you, good night, and don't forget to tip your waitress.
Easier said than done, of course. Wes' Ways To Win takes a look at UVa's keys to winning the Gator Bowl showdown.
The Virginia Cavaliers have accepted a bowl bid to play in the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl on Jan. 1 against Texas Tech. The Cavs will have more time than usual to prepare for this game as opposed to preparing for a regular season game. The fact that Texas Tech has a very powerful offense that is averaging more than 400 yards passing a game means that the Cavs will be more than happy to receive extra weeks to prepare.
The Virginia basketball team is seven games in to the 2007-08 season, posting a 6-1 record through the November portion of the schedule. Only one of those wins has been by less than 10 points, a 3-point victory at Arizona. Now that we've seen the early portion of the schedule and have a better feel for the team and its personnel, let's take a look at Part II of "10 Questions For Dave Leitao's Hoos."
Virginia enters the final week of the regular season with a chance to go the ACC Championship game. Standing in the way is rival Virginia Tech, a team that is trying to get a rematch with Boston College by winning the Coastal Division. What are the Hoos' keys to victory? Wes McElroy breaks it down in Wes' Ways to Win.
The Virginia basketball team returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2006-07 and won a first round game as a No. 4 seed. The Hoos shared the ACC regular season championship. That sort of season is a solid step for Dave Leitao as he tries to build the UVa program in to a consistent contender. Let's take a look at 10 questions facing this year's version of Virginia basketball with the first part of a two-part article.
It’s not often you get an opportunity to experience the pre-game atmosphere that was on display in Miami’s Orange Bowl on Saturday. It’s even better when you’re working the sidelines because the noise can be deafening when fans are in high spirits and players are about to explode with energy. But sometimes that energy can work against a home team and in favor of the visitors, especially when there’s so much going on outside of the football game. This night, it was an event like no other, not circus-like but most certainly distracting.
Streaks have to end at some point. Navy had to beat Notre Dame eventually, for example, and the Virginia football team eventually was going to beat Clemson (still on my top five list of favorite games ever). And whether it was UVa's 0-for-forever in Florida or the UVa offense's 0-for-forever in the third quarter, streaks were ending in a big way this weekend in the Orange Bowl.
That "one big waiting line" feeling that pervades through life can sometimes invade even my favorite place on a beautiful fall day. Waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen. The teams trudge along. The crowd is listless. The concession stand queues are endless. The media timeouts are interminable. But, the payoff — oh, the sweet payoff — was well worth the wait this time: a last second triumph against a ranked team for the eighth victory of the season.
What a great weekend. On top of my oldest son's team winning a big game, Navy snaps its losing streak against Notre Dame in dramatic fashion. Son wins. Navy wins. Notre Dame loses. And toss in a Maryland loss for good measure. Yep, a pretty good weekend ... oh yeah, and UVa won another game too. By a single point. Again. When it comes to that win, I hardly know where to begin.
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