Athletes always say they want to leave everything out on the field. As I write my final column, I have similar sentiments -- not leaving any thoughts unwritten as I recap my time here. When I first undertook a weekly column, I thought it would be a piece of cake.
Two frames adorn the wall outside Al Groh's office at the McCue Center. Both are newspaper pages from the day Virginia Tech beat Virginia in 2004, ending the Cavaliers' chances to win a share of the ACC title.
In writing last week, I was not quite sold on DePaul coach Dave Leitao to replace departed Pete Gillen.
I woke up Monday morning in horror. The Washington Post reported that Virginia offered its coaching job to Dave Odom and he would accept shortly. Thankfully, The Post's source was erroneous (see, it happens to the best of us), and Odom reiterated Monday night that, though he and Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage had talked as friends about the Virginia job, he was not a candidate for it. That is not a knock on the 63-year-old former Virginia assistant but rather a statement that he is not the right person for the job.
For the first time in 34 years, baseball fans in Washington will have a reason to be excited on Opening Day.
March Madness has reached the Sweet Sixteen, so that means one thing for most people's brackets: They're busted. By this point, we're left rooting for all underdogs because we have no chance of winning our bracket while a girl who did not watch a single game all year is winning after making her picks based on mascots. While putting the Tubby Smith and Marc Iavaroni rumors on hold for this weekend (and believe me, I could write about this every week), here's one updated look at who will be in St.
The Pete Gillen Era is over. Finally. The fiery Irishman still got his golden pot at the end of the rainbow, but the ride turned out to be quite bumpy with just one NCAA bid in seven years. It's a shame that he did not turn in more on-court success, but he's left some valuable pieces for his successor.
I hate J.J. Redick. Well, hate is such a strong word. But if I were picking a team of five non-Virginia ACC players I did not like, he would certainly be on it, along with N.C.
What's happening around the ACC? This was supposed to be the toughest conference in the history of the league, one in which seven, yes, seven teams made the tournament. At one point, seven teams were ranked, the Virginia Cavaliers among them, but that number has dropped to just three: second-ranked UNC, sixth-ranked Wake Forest and seventh-ranked Duke. Conference coaches have been quick to point out that teams are just beating up on each other, whereas outside commentators look at the Big East and still see five ranked teams. Personally, I think it's hard to think anything but the former, as there were still seven ACC teams ranked the week before conference play started and five the week after conference play.
It's funny what happens when you rest your hopes on the whims of eighteen-year-old boys. Most of these boys have been the center of attention for years.
