I always imagined writing something eloquent for my final column, but these types of things rarely go as planned. My brain is too fried from the daily college grind to put together something coherent. So as my parting shot, here are a few assorted thoughts about three incredible years of sportswriting for the University community.
- My favorite Virginia game I attended? Unquestionably, it was the women's basketball team's 103-101 double-overtime victory against Georgia Tech on senior night in 2008. The runner-up would have to be the 18-17 football win at Maryland in 2007.
- I try to wipe the bad moments from my memory, but the biggest letdown of a game was probably the 24-29 football loss to N.C. State in 2007 immediately following the Maryland game. We went to a wing restaurant decked out in Virginia gear and watched the Cavs drop the ball.
- Speaking of that N.C. State game, it was the first time I really felt let down by quarterback Peter Lalich. I continued giving him the benefit of the doubt, remaining hopeful he'd redeem himself and live up to his potential, only to have him disappoint me one more time.
- The best and most underappreciated athlete since I've been a Virginia student is tennis champion Somdev Devvarman. Perhaps the biggest regret of my sportswriting career is passing up the opportunity to interview him during what would become the Virginia tennis's first perfect regular season.
- Another candidate for biggest regret is my decision not to road trip to Tennessee to see the women's basketball team beat No. 5 Tennessee last season.
- My favorite Virginia coach is Steve Garland of wrestling, but that is well-trod territory for my columns, so I'll focus on my second favorite, women's basketball coach Debbie Ryan. She is completely terrifying when she's unhappy, but no coach I've ever witnessed balances compassion and tough discipline better.
- The coolest development among fans has been the massive increase in local baseball followers. Even if the attendance numbers diminish when the team starts losing, it's still good to see a successful team appreciated by the community.
- My runner-up favorite fan development was the protest of Scott Stadium's sign ban, spurred by ESPN columnist Rick Reilly.
- The most over-covered story since I've been working at The Cavalier Daily was probably Lalich's hairy legal and athletic eligibility situation.
- Robby Andrews' national title this March - only the second in Virginia track history - was probably the most undercovered.
- My first article for The Cavalier Daily, published Feb. 20, 2008, was a women's golf brief about the team's third-place finish at Qboda Invitational. Since then, I've written 143 articles, columns, briefs and tableau reviews for the paper.
- From this column alone, you could probably guess the women's basketball team is my favorite on Grounds. I also owe that team my college journalism career; the only reason I considered joining the paper was because then-Managing Editor Kristin Hawkins invited me to do so after I submitted an letter to the editor about how underappreciated the team was. The letter was never published.
- I wrote one guest column in April 2008 and officially won a weekly columnist position at the beginning of the next school year. Tech haters everywhere cringed.
- A few of my personal favorite columns: "Craig for a day," about changes I'd institute as athletic director; "Onward to victory," about my allegiance to Notre Dame; "Best of the Decade," a series about the best of Cavalier athletics; "Justice is served," about a sweet nickname idea; "Beating the Tuesday blues," about my favorite Redskins win ever. Runner-up favorite column: "McKnight in Shining Armor," about basketball walk-on Tara McKnight. All-time favorite column: "Moving forward," an account of Garland's roller-coaster 2008-09 season.
- Readers have been quick to criticize some of my more, shall we say absurd, columns. I'll defend my sillier columns to the death but will admit that I have written about a few ridiculous topics: "Cavaliers capturing," a ranking of which Virginia teams most likely would win a capture-the-flag tournament; "It's all in the name," a complete ranking of every Division 1 mascot; "Cavalier Quidditch," a breakdown of my fantasy Quidditch roster; "No blitz, no shambles," about shotgun rules; and, "U.Va. football in a word," a series of one-word quotes about Virginia football.
- Sometimes the name says it all. Here are my three favorite column titles: "Do the Wright thing"; "U.Va. needs to Groh up already"; "Romo is my homeboy." As an interesting aside, I made very prophetic predictions in each one.
- A few column ideas I wanted to run that were deemed too tasteless: a ranking of the most attractive teams and athletes, a comprehensive breakdown of why rowing's not a sport and a guide for sports fans of which curse word to use when.
- More than a handful of readers have never forgiven me for my Tech football-praising "Hokie for a weekend." Although I stand by every emotion and opinion in that article as well-founded and responsible, I admit my presentation was a bit ... gratuitous? Tasteless? My goal has never been to infuriate or embarrass.
- My proudest moments as a writer have been winning a community journalism award and internship, getting thanked by players and coaches for my writing, receiving an e-mail from Rick Reilly about something I wrote and simply seeing my writing in print for the first time.
- Lastly, I want to thank every editor and mentor - especially Paul Montana and Kristin Hawkins - every athlete I've interviewed and every fan for giving me a reason to write. I love you all like Rick loves Ilsa - that is, forever, even if our time must come to an end.
Read More
No. 6 women’s lacrosse gets revenge on No. 14 North Carolina
By Matthew Ryeom | 19 hours agoThe Cavaliers' big third quarter propelled them to a key victory over the Tar Heels.
Virginia softball drops road rematch against Virginia Tech
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayAs Virginia moves through the final week of the regular season, it is certainly critical that its pitching staff maintains the same dominance they have shown throughout the season.
Haunted by 2023 defeat, Virginia gets Notre Dame rematch
By Michael Liebermann | YesterdayAgainst a bitter rival, Virginia has an opportunity to forge a victorious new chapter in lacrosse history.
