Shame on You, UVA

This story--or ones like it--have been germinating in the UVA alumni chattersphere for some time.  The issue is, early admission for football players to attend Spring practice.  That is--REALLY EARLY--as in a kid takes a GED exam at the end of his senior year of HS football, then enters the University as a First Year Student in January of the following year, some eight months earlier than his "classmates" will.  This is of course, to enable the young man to participate in Spring Football--and for NO OTHER GOOD REASON.

Several years ago, a friend of mine recounted to me that Va Tech had been doing this for years, as had many other Division 1 teams (sorry, I still call them that).  He was really upset--not that UVA was considering it, but that they didn't do it.  I told him that we shouldn't do it, that if winning were that big a deal, it wasn't worth winning.

And now, it appears that UVA is has truly decided to cast its lot with the winning at any cost crowd.  This is an embarrassment and a great shame upon a great University.

USC 17 UVA 14

There is no such thing as a moral victory, but there are losses that serve as signals of a program's health--and last night's loss at the Coliseum in LA was one of those losses for the Hoos.  I did not stay up to listen to the game (something I would have done in my younger, more lucid years), but I hurried to the interwebs this morning to check things out.  Looks to have been a great effort all around, with some chances to win blown and some calls that just didn't go our way.

Coupled with Virginia Tech's loss at home to JMU, yesterday turned out pretty damn good, all in all.

Virginia 34 Richmond 13

What a wonderful day it was yesterday!  The London Era has begun at UVA and we won our first opener since 2005 (the first debut win for a UVA coach in 49 years!).  The day was perfect, Rob and Tom were there and the new tailgate spot is very convenient to our seats.

Richmond's no patsy--they won the 1AA National Championship two years ago and were in the thick of the playoffs last week.

UVA's offense was well-balanced, they didn't make dumb mistakes and the play calling was superb.

On defense, Richmond exploited some seams on us for some critical first downs, but they simply could not run the ball.

Next up:  The Coliseum in LA against USC

Should The UVA Men's Lacrosse Team Drop Out of the NCAA's?

Robert Thorn rolled a little hand grenade into the Big Fat Friday mix on Friday, linking to a blog post advocating the University of Virginia's Men's Lacrosse Team's dropping out of the NCAA tournament--a tournament they are likely favored to win. This of course, after the murder last week of UVA women's lacrosse player Yeardley Love by a UVA men's team member.

I've spend a bit of the weekend thinking about this, and I've come to a conclusion. I believe that if the UVA Men's team got together and independently decided to drop out--out of respect for Yeardley Love, out of respect for the University now tarnished by this crime, out of (perhaps) some small sense of responsibility that this head-case of a guy had been enabled and coddled by the team, the coach and the athletic department--I would support the decision and I would be proud of them for reaching it.

But if such a decision were imposed upon them--I would not support it. They have worked too hard to be where they are to have to suffer punishment for the actions of one of their teammates.

What do you think the issues are here? What do you think of my view? What's yours?

A Horrible Crime At UVA

This story really, really bothers me. There are so many elements to my angst--the obvious one--the death of a beautiful, accomplished young woman. Then there is the discontinuity of this kind of crime in the place that I knew for my four years there. Then there's the element of privilege, both in terms of the assailant's background and the cloistered world of star athletes in premier sports programs. So much wasted here, so horribly wasted.

Evil Hokies Come To Town Tonight

The surprisingly good UVA Men's Basketball team takes on the hated, evil, probably baby-eating Virginia Tech Hokie squad tonight in Charlottesville. Here's a little profile from this morning's paper on UVA's first year head coach Tony Bennett.

New US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia

I'd heard my friend Tim Heaphy was nominated as the US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, but hadn't seen that he was confirmed. This little story confirms that he was, and that he is in the job.

Tim and I don't share a whole lot of political ideology, but he's a very good man and a very smart man. He's a Wahoo, a Psi of Sigma Chi, and a huge Virginia Sports fan. I'd be surprised if we weren't hearing his name in Democratic political circles in the Commonwealth of Virginia for years to come.

Congrats, Tim. Proud to be a Sig.

Wahoo Men Win NCAA Soccer Championship

Great day to be a Hoo on Sunday, as the Men's soccer team beat previously undefeated and top-ranked Akron to win the NCAA Soccer Championship. Played right down in the hear of North Carolina (Cary--near my folks, brother, sister and The Hammer), the game ended in a 0-0 tie, then there were two scoreless overtimes. UVA won on penalty kicks, an admittedly crappy way to win--but that's the way the game is played.

Wahoowa, Wahoowa, Uni-V Virginia, Hoo Rah Ray, Hoo Rah Ray, Hey, Hey UVA!

Groh Gone

Al Groh has been sacked as the Head Coach of the UVA Football Team, a move I've been advocating for four years now....his 2007 season gave him a new lease on life as coach, one that should have ended in 2006.