For two years, I have resisted the temptation to write a stream-of-consciousness sports column. While I surely haven't spared friends and family of my stream of consciousness while talking about sports, I have been pretty good about making sure my columns have a distinct central idea or argument, with minimal rambling or jumping from topic to topic.
I just figured I'd warn you: That's not happening today. Don't hold your breath for a thesis statement. Maybe by the end I will have come up with some moral or greater point, but for now I'm just proceeding with thoughts that come into my head.
Because I am writing this column just hours after the Washington Capitals lost Game Seven of their playoff series with the Philadelphia Flyers, we'll start with that. I wouldn't be as crushed, but the OT loss occurred after the Caps came all the way back from a three-games-to-one series deficit. Plus, the Flyers' second goal in the game shouldn't have counted because a Philly player took out Washington's goalie, leaving a wide-open net for the score. The small consolation is that the Caps actually made it to the postseason after sitting in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference at the midpoint of the year. Plus, Alex Ovechkin should come away with the NHL MVP Award after No. 8 put up stellar stats and led his team to the Southeast Division title.
Speaking of eight, that's currently the number of conference losses for the No. 16 Virginia baseball team (these segues get better I promise). A 13-8 mark in the ACC ain't bad, but it ain't good either, because of the league's three elite teams (Miami, Florida St. and North Carolina, who are actually No. 1-2-3 in the USA Today/ESPN Poll). Virginia has only played one -- and that resulted in a sweep by the Seminoles. The Hoos still have to face the 'Canes and Tar Heels, plus a tough No. 25 Georgia Tech team in their final three series. With that murderous closing stretch and their previous series losses to N.C. State and Duke, the Cavaliers could struggle to get to .500 in the ACC. Hopefully, Virginia can finish strong and break its streak of hosting an NCAA Tournament regional and not even getting out of Charlottesville.
As key U.Va. football players get out of town via the NFL draft or dismissal from the team, the annual spring game brought up an unexpected question: Could we have a quarterback controversy in the fall? I thought with Jameel Sewell's untimely (in my mind) departure from the team, it looked to be young Peter Lalich's job to lose. That may be the case, but it cannot be overlooked that Scott Deke (17 for 23, 160 yards, 2 TD) and Marc Verica (17 for 25, 110 yards, 1 TD) each played really well in the spring game, while Lalich only managed to go 6 for 18 for 72 yards with three (!) interceptions. (By the way, with all those completions, the receivers must have been like the Newcomb burrito bar: always open.) It's very, very early to speculate about Virginia football, but I would have felt a lot better about the impending Peter Lalich era if he had stepped up and dominated the spring game. Hopefully this will be cleared up in time for the Cavaliers to figure out some way to compete with the perennial national championship contender USC Trojans Aug. 30.
Speaking of national championships, there's a pretty good chance the winner of the NCAA men's lacrosse title will come from the ACC this year. The level of play and the fact that I haven't been able to catch a lax game all season are big reasons why I am so stoked about the ACC tourney at Klöckner this weekend. I'm hoping I will be the lucky charm that helps U.Va. avenge losses to opening-game-opponent Maryland and No. 1 Duke, which quite probably will face the winner of Hoos-Terps.
By the way, remember when the Duke Blue Devils wore predominantly blue in their uniforms? It seems like that would make sense given that the color is in their nickname, right? The Toronto Blue Jays in the MLB are even worse. I can actually remember when they wore primarily blue, but now there's barely a trace of it amid their current black and gray color scheme.
Come to think of it, a lot has changed in sports the last four years.
When I first arrived in C-ville, the Atlanta Braves' consecutive division championships streak was still intact, the Montreal Expos still existed and the Boston Red Sox hadn't won a World Series in 86 years. There had been no Pacers-Pistons brawl in the NBA, no NHL lockout and no NFL camera scandal. The steroids investigation firestorm had barely ignited and Michael Vick, Mark McGwire and Marion Jones were all still respected by the majority of fans.
Closer to home, at the University, the football team winning more games than it lost was not a surprise, Pete Gillen (who I actually saw this past weekend) was still the basketball coach and Ryan Zimmerman was unknown nationally. There was no Hoo Crew, but there were still basketball games in U-Hall and post-game meals took place at the Treehouse, a superior Crossroads-like establishment that has since been demolished.
With the coming of the next big change in my life -- leaving the University of Virginia -- I know I will always remember my experiences during my time in Charlottesville. And like so many other sports fans, many of these memories revolve around Virginia athletics. Sports provide an emotional escape for fans, but in college, it's even more than that. Just like I know alumni pulled all-nighters at the library and partied all night on the Corner, I know they also stood in the student section at Scott Stadium and Lambeth Field for football games, and at Mem Gym, UHall and JPJ for basketball contests. As I prepare to leave U.Va., I realize sports have taken on another role: a way to connect students here today with previous generations of orange-and-navy-clad fans through pride in our alma mater.
That's the moral I was searching for.
Wahoowa!
I would like to take the time to thank a number of people in regard to my column the last two years. Thanks: Mom and Dad for reading every one; Cameron for many times being the first person to read and edit my work; Rachel for convincing me to try out as a columnist; to all of my editors at The Cavalier Daily; and to everyone who read my column, I hope you were informed, amused, enraged or encouraged by something I wrote, but no matter what, it's been a pleasure for me.
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