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(02/01/10 7:32am)
One of the best athletes the University has ever seen will wrap up her decorated career during the next several weeks. Sadly, most Virginia students probably have not even seen this athlete play, much less know about this person's accomplishments. This athlete can probably walk across Grounds in virtual anonymity.
(01/27/10 6:08am)
In part two of my interview with men's basketball coach Tony Bennett, he discusses the balance and depth his team has displayed, the UNC-Wilmington reality check, the defensive work ethic he has worked to instill within his players, some memorable moments from the year thus far and the 'Hoo Crew's new tradition of yelling during opponent free throws.
(01/26/10 5:59am)
Last Thursday morning, I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down with first-year Virginia men's basketball coach Tony Bennett for an interview. In addition to being a great listener and easy to talk to, he seemed genuinely interested in my questions despite having received a high volume of interview requests, according to media relations officials. It was evident through his answers that he is a relentless teacher of defensive basketball and that he gets his team to give 100 percent every night. During the first half of this two-part interview, he discussed the general progress the team has made, the ACC and the question of how successful his team would be without his leadership. (Note: This interview took place prior to the Wake Forest game, when Virginia was still 3-0 in the ACC.)
(01/21/10 2:51am)
I was spoiled rotten during the holiday season - like a fat kid finding a stocking stuffed full of candy on Christmas - with the success of my two favorite sports teams, the Cavaliers and the Dallas Cowboys. They went a combined 12-1 during the break. I think most of you know when that one loss occurred. I paid dearly for my run of 11 straight wins from the two teams when Minnesota steam-rolled Dallas on Sunday.
(12/03/09 6:34am)
Dear Coach Tony Bennett,
(12/01/09 5:43am)
The Virginia football team's hopes of scoring an upset against rival Virginia Tech came up short Saturday, as the Hokies prevailed 42-13 against the Cavaliers in front of a packed Scott Stadium crowd.
(11/18/09 6:36am)
I feel like there's been a lot more talk during the last couple years about football coaches refusing to go for a first down on fourth down and electing to punt instead. This play tactic is common especially among NFL coaches, earning the moniker of the "No Fun League."
(11/11/09 6:23am)
Right before football season began, I compiled my top-10 list of the best Virginia football games I had attended in person. Now, with men's basketball right around the corner, here's my list for that sport. Before I start, I'd like to give a shout out to the Virginia women's basketball game against Maryland last year, which I went to as well. The Cavaliers won 89-81 in a great contest and that game would earn a spot in a more general top-10 list. Coach Debbie Ryan gave all she had on the same day she attended friend and former N.C. state basketball coach Kay Yow's funeral. Ryan's players came through for her when they beat the No. 8 Terrapins behind 30 points from Lyndra Littles, 28 points from Monica Wright and a double-double from Aisha Mohammed.
(11/04/09 6:55am)
Okay, listen up. Every sports columnist gets to discuss his solution to the BCS mess. Now, it's my turn. If this is the kind of stuff that intrigues you, I think my model has a lot to offer.
(10/28/09 4:59am)
I was at the library Monday night on the edge of my seat, nervously fidgeting with my sweaty hands. Had homework become really exciting all of a sudden? No. Was I waiting to pounce on the next available computer? No.
(10/21/09 5:10am)
If you follow Virginia football somewhat closely, chances are you've heard of "Grohtober" and are familiar with its meaning. With Virginia's hard-fought win against Maryland Saturday, the Cavaliers have won their last seven games played in October and 12 of the last 13. Their last October loss came Oct. 27, 2007 when they fell 29-24 to N.C. State.
(10/13/09 4:38am)
When Indiana took a timeout with three minutes left in Virginia's 47-7 obliteration of the Hoosiers, I just had to take a moment and reflect on the win. So, I stepped down a couple rows of bleachers to an empty spot (why are students leaving during a win?), laid down and closed my eyes. I asked my girlfriend and friends if the score was really 47-7, or was I simply dreaming? My fourth year of football as a student started out tough with the loss to William & Mary, so I just had to soak in this victory. Perhaps there is hope for a successful football team during my final year here at the University after all.
(09/30/09 5:38am)
College football needs nothing more than another BCS buster to crash the party this year and create more havoc and hand-wringing for the BCS officials come January. Another upset such as Boise State's thrilling 43-42 win against Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl or Utah's 31-17 thumping of Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl could hopefully inch college football closer to a postseason playoff to decide the national champion at the end of the year and replace the game's current garbage system.
(09/23/09 5:48am)
Wow, what a dismal weekend of football for me.
(09/15/09 4:54am)
Donning my Tony Romo jersey yesterday morning, I had to be pleased with how Dallas played during its win against Tampa Bay Sunday. The pesky Buccaneers, who aren't expected to turn too many heads this year, played well during their first game with new coach Raheem Morris. They kept the score close for most of the game, but in the end, three long Romo touchdown passes of 42, 66 and 80 yards sealed the win for the Cowboys.
(09/09/09 5:27am)
When the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers kickoff at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow, the NFL regular season will have officially started without Michael Crabtree, the San Francisco 49ers' first round pick of the 2009 NFL Draft.\nCrabtree, who entered the draft following his sophomore season at Texas Tech, is reportedly holding out for more money.\nI'm not going to pretend to know the business or legal side to these matters or the importance that agents place on getting their clients top dollar, but I think the notion of Crabtree holding out this long is preposterous.\nCrabtree, who felt he was the draft's best receiver and should've been selected (and paid) accordingly, was offended when he wasn't the first receiver taken during the April draft. That honor went to Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey, who went to the Oakland Raiders as the seventh pick in the draft. Crabtree was taken a measly three picks later as the 10th pick by the 49ers. Maybe his ego wouldn't have been so inflated if it wasn't for the Mel Kipers and Todd McShays of world, but that's for another column. The point is, he can't claim he's worth a certain amount of money. That is for the 49ers to decide. I know it's hard to imagine, but the 49ers are - believe it or not - Crabtree's boss. Would Crabtree be demanding top dollar from his boss if he were working at any other job, for which he has not logged any hours? That's right, Crabtree has not shown up for training camp or participated in any preseason games.\nFourth-years, could you see yourselves getting hired for a job after graduation and then banging on your boss's door, demanding to be paid like you're the nation's best engineer, chemist or economist without working one hour? I surely hope you would be more humble.\nAnd Michael, would you rather be in Heyward-Bey's position, playing for the Raiders? I know neither team is especially attractive, but at least the 49ers seem to be moving in the right direction under coach Mike Singletary. The Raiders are a laughingstock who are owned by a dinosaur.\nWhatever happened to playing for love of the game? You know, like Crabtree was doing just several months ago in college? Now, he has the audacity to demand more money when he didn't earn a penny last season. No matter what he makes, it will be millions more than he made in college. He should be thankful for being one of the most freakish athletes of the 2009 draft and should take whatever is bestowed upon him. There are a million young boys who dream of becoming professional athletes and who would kill to have the chance to play as possibly the most electrifying receiver in all of football, entertaining audiences all over the nation and continuously landing on SportsCenter's "Top 10 Plays" segment.\nCrabtree's 6-year-old self is probably in disbelief right now. Players such as former Wahoo receiver Kevin Ogletree would probably be slapping Crabtree in the face right about now. Ogletree went undrafted in April and worked his butt off as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, eventually earning a spot on the roster. Nothing was guaranteed to him, and he has earned every penny of what he makes. And I bet it doesn't come close to whatever is being offered to Crabtree. Beyond football, the lack of perspective is astonishing. Several unemployed people in this country would love to find a minimum-wage paying job right now, and Crabtree is greedily holding out for more money to play a game that I thought he loved.\nIn case you missed it in passing earlier, Crabtree was only a sophomore when he entered the draft. He decided to forgo his final two seasons of college to play in the NFL. This makes his holdout look worse for two reasons. First, if Crabtree thought he was talented enough to come out of college that early to play in the NFL, then why has he supposedly prepared to sit out the entire season? Second, how can you come out of college that early and then automatically expect to be the top receiver in the draft? Maybe he should have considered staying in school one more year to build up his reputation. I realize Crabtree could've gotten injured if he was in college this year, but he isn't doing himself any favors by not training with the 49ers before the season. And that brings me to my final point. Crabtree is setting himself up for failure with this holdout. Should he sign sometime soon, I believe he wouldn't be seeing the field during the 49ers game the following weekend. He will have a lot of catching up to do, including getting into football shape and learning the playbook. He is stunting his growth as a player with this holdout - I bet he's not as good as he was at the end of the 2008 college season.\nMichael, sign the contract, play some football, and if you play as well as I'm sure you think you will, you will actually earn the extra money you are asking for.\nUltimately, I just don't get it. Do you really not want to play this season, Michael, just because you think you should be getting more than the millions you would be making already? It's a real shame that we may not be treated to watching a receiver as gifted as you in the NFL this season.
(09/02/09 8:43am)
In anticipation of another Cavalier football season starting Saturday, I would like to share with you the top-10 Virginia games that I have experienced live. The list consists of mainly home games, but also one away game and one bowl game. The time frame spans from 1999 and 2000 - when I attended three games in each season - to 2001 - when my family bought season tickets - and to last year. In all, I've seen 58 Virginia games in person with an overall record of 43-15 (stats I became curious about once I started this column). I've missed two home games since 2001 - a surprise 34-21 win against No. 22 South Carolina in 2002 when Virginia was 0-2 and an even more shocking 31-0 trampling of Maryland last season the week after Virginia got blown out by Duke
(08/27/09 12:28am)
I was disheartened to find out a few weeks ago that the Virginia football team was picked to finish fifth in the ACC Coastal Division by the members of the media who gathered in July for the ACC Media Days.\nBut with the landslide, four-game losing streak the team ended 2008 on, the large number of questions surrounding this year's team and the strength of the rest of the Coastal Division, it was unlikely that Virginia would be picked to finish much higher.\nThere are many reasons to believe the Cavaliers will suffer through a losing record this year. There also are, however, reasons to be hopeful.\nFirst, some stats. The following list consists of Virginia's average offensive yards per game during each year of coach Al Groh's eight-year tenure: 2001-345; 2002-357.1; 2003-385.9; 2004-423.4; 2005-366.2; 2006-257.2; 2007-330.4; 2008-299.8; average from 2001-2005: 375.5; average from 2006-2008: 295.8; average for all eight years: 345.6.\nNotice the big drop-off from 2006-2008? Well, I don't want to point fingers or anything, but those are the three years during which Mike Groh was the offensive coordinator. He certainly was not the entire reason that Virginia suffered through two 5-7 seasons in three years. I'm not claiming to know everything when it comes to the football team's woes and this is only a correlation, but, looking at the entire body of work of Al Groh's offenses, they were the worst three in terms of average yardage.\nThe 2007 team that eclipsed 330 yards per game and went 9-4 was probably helped by a monster defense anchored by All-American defensive end Chris Long. It could be argued that Al Groh's defenses, which have been consistently strong, were what managed to pull the 2006 and 2008 teams to respectable 5-7 records.\nNow, Mike Groh is no longer the offensive coordinator and the program brought in spread offense guru Gregg Brandon to take his place. Before arriving at Virginia, Brandon was the head coach at Bowling Green for six years. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach under current Florida coach Urban Meyer for two years at the same school.\nNow, here is a list of the offensive yards per game of the offenses Brandon was involved with at Bowling Green: 2001-383.9; 2002-448.9; 2003-496.9; 2004-506.3; 2005-427.7; 2006-345.8; 2007-402.5; 2008-359.8; average for all eight years: 421.5.\nThe worst Brandon offense was still as good as Al Groh's average offense for his entire career at Virginia, and the average Virginia offense cannot even get a whiff of the best Bowling Green offense. The Cavaliers may have had offenses from 2001-2005 that were better than ones from 2006-2008, but they were by no means great. The Hoos made a great hire in Brandon and he can get the Cavalier offense back to its 2001-2005 level of production - and possibly higher.\nJust looking at the numbers, it's not too hard to believe that the Virginia offense will start looking like its old self in 2009. Al Groh has the chance to show everyone that the subpar offenses from 2006-2008 were neither products of his coaching nor oversight, but rather the product of an offensive coordinator who was just not ready to lead an entire offense.\nIt seems as though Virginia fans have grown accustomed to bad offenses and solid defenses under Al Groh, but that has not always been the case. In 2001, Al Groh's first team went 5-7 but compiled more yardage than 2007's 9-4 team. Granted, Al Groh was able to work with a couple great starting quarterbacks - Matt Schaub (2001-2003) and Marques Hagans (2004-2005) - but the offense got better and better each year, with the exception of 2005.\nAl Groh teams at Virginia have had good offenses. With a solid backfield consisting of senior running back Mikell Simpson, senior quarterback Jameel Sewell (fitting Hagans' style of a scrambling quarterback) and cornerback-turned-quarterback Vic Hall (fitting Hagans' in both style and stature) available for playing time, Brandon has some versatile tools to use. Sure, he may not be able to duplicate all the success of his Bowling Green offenses - at least not right away - but I'd be willing to bet our offense will see a major improvement this year.\nPair Brandon's offense with a stout Al Groh defense, and there's reason for optimism this season.
(08/22/09 10:06am)
Welcome to the University of Virginia, first-year students and Tony Bennett.\nWhile you will learn a lot in your classes about a range of subjects, where will you learn about Virginia sports? Well, besides reading The Cavalier Daily sports section each and every day, you can also learn a lot from students who have been here awhile.\nNow, you don't have to go out and try to make friends with a fourth-year guy to get this type of information. Besides possibly getting humiliated, there's an easier way.\nI sent e-mails to many of my U.Va. friends - both current students and graduates, some of whom are Cavalier Daily sports staffers - asking them to provide advice and inside information to first-year students. I will present their responses here in this whirlwind tour of different Virginia sports topics. I asked them to give advice that's not immediately obvious, so there won't be anything here about the rivalry with Virginia Tech or the enormity of the John Paul Jones Arena. Along the way, a couple of coaches also add their thoughts. So, just sit back and soak in the wisdom.\nFirst things first, you might hear talk of what to wear to football games. "Guys in ties, girls in pearls" is the label for dressing up for games, while "sea of orange" is a popular moniker for wearing orange T-shirts Saturdays.\nAlumnus Robby Colby: "The so-called 'Sea of Orange/Orange Fever' is an unfortunate myth and should be ignored at all costs. 'Guys in ties, girls in pearls' is the only option."\nThird-year student Blair Capps and Cavalier Daily Gameday editor: "I prefer to get decked out in my sundress for home games. We all have our preferences, but the important thing is that you show up."\nAs a first-year student, I was all for T-shirts, but my thoughts are summed up now by fourth-year student Eric Strow, another sports staffer: "It really doesn't matter what you wear to football games; as long as you are loud, you'll be fine."\nLots of chatting sometimes takes place at football games. This is fine, but you're in college now, you can multi-task. Pay attention to the game and cheer, too!\nCapps: "You know those situations where our defense is facing a 3rd down and long, and the crowd lets out that wordless roar, which escalates in volume as the play clock counts down? And then the opposing offense jumps offsides because they can't hear the QB's call? You did that. You helped. A lively crowd makes all the difference in the world both in the game and in the psyches of our athletes. They're putting on a show; the least you can do is show your support."\nColby: "A well-informed heckler is the best kind, and originality is a bonus.
(04/07/09 4:43am)
After flipping the Terrapins Sunday in a 17-2 series-clinching win, the Virginia baseball team plays Stony Brook at home tonight and in New York tomorrow. Both games start at 6 p.m.The Seawolves (12-11, 3-1 America East Conference), another midweek non-conference opponent, are coming off a dramatic, 10-inning 21-20 win against Vermont Sunday.Since losing four straight to start the season, Stony Brook has gone 12-7 and has won seven of its last 10 games. Additionally, the Seawolves played the Cavaliers (26-5, 8-5 ACC) tough in both games of a doubleheader in Charlottesville last year but eventually fell in both, 3-0 and 6-4. Stony Brook held the upper hand in the second game with a 4-1 lead up until the eighth inning when Virginia scored five runs to surge ahead.“We got to keep playing hard,” sophomore pitcher Tyler Wilson said. “We’ve got to keep carrying that momentum. You can’t take anybody lightly. I think Stony Brook kind of bit us last year, when they might have snuck one from us, so we’ve definitely got to take them seriously, build some momentum, keep the bats live and carry it into Georgia Tech [this weekend].”Wilson picked up the win Sunday during his first weekend start of the year. He received a good deal of support from the Cavalier bats but was still impressive, giving up only two runs on six hits and striking out five.“Wherever the team needs me to be, whether it be in the pen or starter, I’m happy to do whatever the team would like for me to do, and we have some great arms — [sophomore] Kevin Arico and [junior] Matt Packer — coming in [from the bullpen],” Wilson said.Junior Neal Davis and freshmen Will Roberts, Sean Lucas and Justin Thompson all pitched an inning of relief Sunday. Each player gave a solid performance, giving up zero runs and only two hits total.“Tyler had only thrown about 78 pitches, but I felt it was important to get those other guys work because we’re going to need those pitchers in the middle of the week and also on the weekends,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “So it’s important to get their feet wet and get them some experience, and I thought they all threw the ball well.”During Saturday’s loss to Maryland, however, the bullpen could not back up the work of senior starter Andrew Carraway, as Arico and Packer gave up five runs total, allowing the Terrapins to capture the lead during a five-run eighth inning.“There is [room for improvement in the bullpen],” O’Connor said. “Our bullpen needs to be more consistent. There’s no question about that. That’s not a knock on Kevin Arico or Matt Packer, because they didn’t get the job done yesterday; they’ve pitched so well so many times. But we’ve just got to be a little bit more consistent.”One pitcher that could strengthen the bullpen is Davis.“We’re trying to build [Davis] back up” from a shoulder injury, O’Connor said. “When we get him back to full strength, I think that will make a real difference in our bullpen because he’s done such a great job out of the bullpen in his first two years here.”Whoever starts on the mound the next two nights for Virginia will have to contend with a Seawolf lineup that features seven players with averages greater than .300. Freshman catcher Pat Cantwell, who has started 12 games and appeared in 15, leads the team with a .405 average. Among regular starters, senior infielder Keith Fier, the only Seawolf to appear in all 23 games, bats a respectable .312. Senior outfielder Brian Witkowski headlines the power department with six homeruns; the Seawolves have belted 18 long balls total.These numbers pale in comparison, though, to the Cavaliers’ offensive statistics — especially following the 17-run output against Maryland.“You cannot control once the ball leaves your bat,” O’Connor said. “All you can control is the mindset that you have, and the approach and plan that you have when you go to the plate. Once it hits your bat, you can’t control it. And the key is though that they continue to square balls up and hit balls hard, and we’ve been doing that on a consistent basis.”Stony Brook’s pitching staff holds a 7.47 team ERA and will have to contend with a Virginia lineup that has a team batting average of .364 and has knocked 29 balls out of the park.O’Connor, however, is quick to acknowledge the nature of baseball, realizing that the statistics only say so much and every win takes a little bit of luck.“Starting, especially [last] Tuesday at Radford, we’ve really swung the bats well, and if we continue to swing the bats like that, they’ll fall when they need to,” O’Connor said. “And in the sport of baseball, they don’t all the time, and when they don’t you have a tough time winning.”Because of this, the Cavaliers are not taking the Seawolves lightly.“Going into Stony Brook, we need to keep the game face ready to go and build some momentum going into Georgia Tech,” Wilson said. “We got a big weekend coming up. We need to look at Stony Brook and worry about them now before we start worrying about [Georgia Tech].”