Sabre Edge Features 
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Sabre Edge Features
Optimism and Virginia football fans. It's a pair we haven't heard mentioned together in quite some time. Like many fans, I always look forward to a new year which offers a clean slate and injects a sense of hope for the upcoming season. It's good to have optimism, and it's great to finally hear it coming from the Wahoo fan base. But when forecasting UVa's football chances for 2012, some fans are suggesting a conference championship is possible. Is it?
In the world of track and field, the biggest regular season meet (topped only by championship meets including, of course, World Championship or Olympic races) is a Diamond League meet. A handful of international races are deemed part of the "Diamond League" before the outdoor season starts and they are the most sought-after races to get in to compete. I had the opportunity to race my first major steeplechase of the season in the second Diamond League meet this year - in Shanghai, China.
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The two teams that met last season for the ACC title faced off again Saturday and while neither team will be taking home conference championship hardware in 2012, the game still had meaning for Virginia and Florida State. The Hoos wanted to erase the taste of a beat down at the hands of Georgia Tech on Friday and the Seminoles hoped to avoid going into the NCAA Tournament on a three-game losing skid. After being swept earlier in the season by FSU, the tournament rematch belonged to UVa as the Cavaliers prevailed 7-0.
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Virginia coach Brian O'Connor's assessment of his team's play Friday against Georgia Tech at the ACC Tournament was simple and accurate. "That was just a good, old-fashioned butt-kicking is what it was," he said. The Yellow Jackets won 17-5 in a game that ended via the ACC's mercy rule.
Virginia graduate Mike Scott, who starred at forward for the men's basketball team this season, is pulling in interest from numerous NBA teams. Whether that will lead to a spot in the NBA Draft on June 28 remains to be seen. UVa coach Tony Bennett thinks Scott could carve out a role in the NBA thanks to his mid-range jumper. Read about that, Malcolm Brogdon's rehab, and scheduling in this notes article.
Starting pitcher Branden Kline grinded out seven innings of work and Branden Cogswell drew a bases loaded walk to plate the go-ahead run as the defending ACC Champions opened the 2012 tournament with a 3-2 win over the Clemson Tigers. The win is Virginia's 13th in its last 15 contests as the Hoos improved to 37-16-1 for the season. The Cavaliers face Georgia Tech on Friday at 11 a.m.
I'm a Virginia fan, through and through. But I never attended UVa. Students and alumni would call me a 'townie,' and that's just fine by me. I don't need a degree from UVa to show my support, and by now think it's pretty obvious to most that I bleed orange and blue. So 15 years ago I started TheSabre.com as a hobby.
Coming off the euphoria of Virginia's first winning season and first postseason appearance in three years, thoughts turn to the inevitable question - was 2011 a fluke or a starting trend? Pundits are asking. Virginia fans and opponent fans are asking. Recruits are asking. It's a fair question.
The Virginia baseball team completed its 2012 regular season last Saturday by dropping the final game to Maryland 6-5 after winning the series with two earlier wins in College Park. The first win against the Terps ensured that the Hoos would finish second in the Coastal Division of the ACC. The Cavaliers are the No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. and face Clemson on Thursday to open pool play. Here is a brief preview of the Virginia opponents in Pool A in the order the Hoos play them.
Virginia's quest for back-to-back National Championships ended in a back-and-forth battle with Notre Dame on Sunday. The Fighting Irish men's lacrosse team rolled off four late goals to break an 8-8 tie and then hold off a final Cavalier push to win 12-10 in Philadelphia. Steele Stanwick posted 2 goals and 5 assists in the loss.
Bobby Hill and the Virginia men's lacrosse team are prepared to face Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at noon. Get ready for the Cavaliers' contest with a look back at the first round win against Princeton, a 6-5 nailbiter. There are 74 images in this gallery, including photos of Steele Stanwick, Chris LaPierre, and more!
The Virginia baseball team came within one out of a home sweep over Georgia Tech this past weekend. But, like the UC Irvine Super Regional game last year, baseball is a game of 27 outs, not 26, and the Hoos lost the finale 5-4 in 10 innings. Now, the Hoos travel to College Park to face the Maryland Terrapins in the final ACC series of the 2012 season beginning on Thursday at 6 p.m. Here is a brief scouting report on the Terps.
During Saturday's NCAA Tournament opener at the Snyder Tennis Center, Virginia's Jarmere Jenkins couldn't find a consistent groove early against Fairleigh Dickinson and the Cavaliers clinched the match before Jenkins locked in fully. UVa coach Brian Boland said afterward that he wasn't worried about the ACC Player of the Year.
Jenkins showed why on Sunday. He dominated at No. 1 singles with a straight sets win that helped propel the Hoos to a 4-0 victory against VCU.
Saturday afternoon proved to be a good one for the Virginia tennis programs. Both teams won NCAA Tournament matches at the Snyder Tennis Center. The men's team cruised past Fairleigh Dickinson 4-0 in first round action, while the women's team took down Tennessee 4-1 to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Virginia baseball team defeated the High Point Panthers 12-3 on Wednesday night at Davenport Field. This weekend, the Cavaliers host Georgia Tech in their final home ACC series, beginning on Friday night at 6 p.m. and continuing on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. on both days. Here is a brief scouting report on the Yellow Jackets.
The Virginia football team wrapped up the important spring practice period with the annual Spring Game at Scott Stadium where players like LaRoy Reynolds, Kevin Parks, Dominique Terrell, Rijo Walker, and others were in action. Check out this photo gallery with 110 images of the UVa football team and fans!
I just passed the eighth month anniversary since my surgery. I've made a lot of progress but I've still got a good amount of work to be done. I know it sounds like coaches' talk, but every day for me is a better day. I go to my doctor every six weeks and he gives me an update. I actually went to the doctor recently and he gave me some great news concerning my knee.
The Virginia baseball team is coming off a nine-day break for final exams and will face the High Point Panthers on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Davenport Field, weather permitting. Prior to the exam break, the Hoos were on a roll with a first-ever sweep of Miami in Florida to extend their current winning streak to seven games. Here is a brief scouting report on the High Point Panthers.
Frank Quayle is one of the all-time greats in Cavalier football history and one of only six Virginia players to have his number (24) retired. Quayle's mark in UVa and local history is not isolated only to his time as a player. Quayle has been a fixture in Charlottesville for decades as a realtor with Roy Wheeler in Charlottesville and as a color analyst in the broadcast booth on football Saturdays. The Sabre Interview checks in with Quayle for a one-on-one interview with a great Hoo.
Growing up with a dad who was a UVa coach and also an ACC football official, it was hard not to fall in love with Charlottesville, UVa, and those Scott Stadium Saturdays in the fall. It was 1966, the opening game of the year, and by some quirk my dad did not have a game that day. Usually our mom, who was a big Virginia sports fan as well, would take us to the game, but it was really cool as "Daddy" went with us as well. The Hoos had a senior QB in Bob Davis who had a great career at UVa and led the Cavaliers to an opening-game win against Wake Forest that day. I had noticed that Virginia had a new running back that looked pretty good, and I remember he wore the No. 24.
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