No rest for slumping UVa
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 7, 2009

Just after Virginia’s loss to Boston College on Wednesday, sophomore Jeff Jones summed up UVa’s upcoming schedule rather succinctly.

“There are no breaks in this league, man,” Jones said. “Every game is tough. There are no breaks.”

That’s for sure.

This afternoon, Virginia (7-11, 1-6 ACC), mired in a six-game losing streak — the team’s longest slide since the 2002-03 season — travels to Chapel Hill to take on No. 3 North Carolina, a squad that has won six in a row and hammered UVa at John Paul Jones Arena last month.

After UNC (20-2, 6-2), Virginia plays at Florida State, then hosts No. 10 Clemson next Sunday. UVa, which faces the Tigers again on March 3, also has games versus Miami and No. 7 Wake Forest remaining.

Where is the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez when you need them?

Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg said the team isn’t demoralized when it looks at its upcoming games.

“We don’t fear anyone,” Landesberg said. “We’re going to go out there and continue playing, even if we are in a slump. We’re not going to back down. We’re not going to change our game for anyone. We could be playing the Lakers and we’re still going to go out there and play our game.”

Which is?

“Just running,” Landesberg said. “Obviously we run the ball, but we’ve just got to pick up everything else — defense. At times, I think we slow the ball down too much. We’ve got to continue sticking to that running game.”

If Virginia being a running squad is news to you, well, join the club. In its last five games, UVa — which hasn’t really established any kind of identity — has been outscored in fastbreak points, 52-20.

The most interesting aspect of today’s game will be who Virginia coach Dave Leitao puts out on the floor to start the game. Following Wednesday’s loss, Leitao hinted that a few changes to the starting unit could be in order. Since Virginia has trailed by double-digit deficits in each of its last six first halves, that may not be a bad idea.

Against BC, a lineup of Landesberg, Calvin Baker, Jeff Jones, Solomon Tat and Assane Sene — the most passionate players, according to Leitao — played almost the entire second half. It doesn’t seem out of the realm that Leitao will keep that unit intact, although one has to wonder how Tat or Sene would fair against UNC All-American Tyler Hansbrough.

“Who knows,” said Jones, when asked about who might be in the starting lineup. “We’re just going to go out there and whoever he puts out there, hopefully be ready.”

Added Landesberg: “I’m not really sure [if it would make a difference]. It may. It may not. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Against BC, Virginia used a 3-2 zone to moderate success, holding the Eagles to just 36-percent shooting in the second half. However, the Tar Heels have many more offensive weapons, including Hansbrough, who got to the free-throw line 17 times in the Jan. 15 meeting, a JPJ record.

Dunks

UNC leads the all-time series, 123-48. Virginia hasn’t won in Chapel Hill since the 2001-02 season when it beat UNC, 71-67. … UNC is coming off a 108-91 win over Maryland on Tuesday. … Hansbrough leads the ACC in scoring (22.4 ppg).

 

Cavaliers searching for effort
By Jeff White
Published: February 7, 2009

For virtually the entire second half Thursday night, Virginia's lineup against Boston College included only one player -- freshman Sylven Landesberg -- who'd started that ACC men's basketball game at John Paul Jones Arena.

The great shakeup might not be over at U.Va. Fourth-year coach Dave Leitao said after his team's sixth straight defeat that he's considering changes to his starting lineup.

He wasn't thrilled with the second-half marksmanship of reserves Jeff Jones and Solomon Tat, who were a combined 3 for 13 from the floor. But he loved the effort they gave.

"You have to start with that passion and energy and playing hard," Leitao said, "and then you have to put pieces together from there."

Virginia (1-6, 7-11) will need more than energy and passion, of course, to upset third-ranked North Carolina (6-2, 20-2) today in Chapel Hill. If the Cavaliers shoot as poorly against UNC as they did Thursday night, when they were 1 for 14 from 3-point range, they won't have a chance. More than anything else, though, Leitao wants to see effort from his players.

"There's certain skills," he said. "Shooting is a skill. Dribbling is a skill. Most people don't understand that playing hard, passionate, tough, all the adjectives, is a skill. We haven't used that skill the way we needed to, particularly at the beginning of games."

During its current losing streak, U.Va. has outscored its opponent in the second half four times: 42-38 against Virginia Tech, 48-39 against Maryland, 46-43 against Florida State and 48-38 against BC.

"We got to start playing with the same sense of urgency coming into the game," junior guard Calvin Baker said after Virginia's 80-70 loss to BC. "If we start doing that, we'll be fine."

While starters Mike Scott, Sammy Zeglinski, Mamadi Diane and Jamil Tucker sat and watched, Baker teamed with Jones, the seldom-used Tat, 7-foot freshman Assane Sene and Landesberg for the first 18 minutes, 51 seconds of the second half against Boston College.

"I had no idea what [Leitao] was going to do," Baker said. "But when I did see the lineup, he did go with his emotional players. Because Solomon's very emotional. Jeff, he's emotional. Sylven plays with emotion. So I feel like he just goes with his emotional players, because that's what it takes to win the game."

Did the other players get the message?

"I'm sure they did," said Baker, a junior guard who's a team captain. "I think they understand his message, and no one's really mad because they understand what he's trying to do. But that's part of what he's doing. He's showing them that's how we need to play in order to win."

The team hasn't quit, Baker said. Still, he acknowledged that the losses are wearing on U.Va.'s players.

"I can tell after the game," Baker said. "People's heads be down, and that's where leadership comes in. I got to talk to these players, tell them there's still a chance and we can still get momentum going into the ACC tournament."

 

Leitao, Littlepage search for answers
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: February 7, 2009

When Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage told Cavalier fans this week that he was committed to doing everything needed to get all of the school’s programs on track, he spoke in broad terms.

Littlepage’s thoughts, however, had to be on UVa’s men’s basketball team, which has spiraled to the bottom of the ACC standings and could experience a freefall that matches the worst of its kind in league history. No team has ever gone 1-15 in the ACC.

When the struggling Cavaliers step into the Dean Dome this afternoon to take on No. 3 North Carolina, they will be decided underdogs — a role they have become too familiar with and perhaps should get used to. It is unlikely that Virginia will be favored to win any of its remaining nine regular-season games.

Poor showings

No one expects UVa to win at North Carolina. What fans expect is for a team to be competitive, but even that hasn’t been the case in most of the games during a current six-game losing streak.

In fact, when Virginia led 9-8 early in Wednesday night’s home game against Boston College, it marked the first time since the Jan. 10 game at Virginia Tech that the Cavaliers have even led in a contest. That’s a stretch of 4 1/2 games.

The team is getting off to woeful starts, then showing some life in the second halves of games, but too little, too late.

Coach Dave Leitao, who is catching the brunt of the criticism for a team that is last in the league in field goal percentage and last in the league in field goal percentage defense, has been barbecued on local talk shows and message boards for collecting the least talent among the 12 ACC schools and for coaching a team that hasn’t shown much development.

That’s not to mention an offense that only seems to confuse its fans, but not the opponents. Even Leitao scrapped it in the second-half comeback against Boston College and went to spread offense with freshman star Sylven Landesberg at the point.

Desperate measures

Usually quick with his hook — leaving his players always looking over their shoulders for it — Leitao stuck with the same five players for almost the entire second half and didn’t make a substitution until a mere 69 seconds remained in the game.

The fans that haven’t abandoned the program are quicker to boo than during earlier misfires this season.

Should the Cavs follow their losing trend at Carolina today and at Florida State next week, it will be interesting to see how many fans show up for the next home game against powerful Clemson on Feb. 15.
All this leaves Littlepage with a mess on his hands.

After reaching out to Wahoo Nation and showing that he feels their pain, what is he to do if things get worse?

It has been this columnist’s experience in covering six different major college programs over a career that athletic administrators are usually looking for a few simple things when it comes to deciding whether or not to pull the plug on a head coach. Some of those things may surprise you.

Many times, it’s not as much about wins and losses as it is the coach’s demeanor. Is he remaining positive, battling? How does he handle himself in public, before fans and media? Does he command the respect of his players, or has he “lost” the team? Does the team remain positive, does it continue to play hard and compete, or does it just go through the motions?

Those are normally the things that ADs are looking for. However, even in a catastrophic season, some of those things might not be enough. Should that happen, all bets are off.

Some fans are already screaming that Leitao must go immediately, but don’t ever expect Virginia to fire a coach halfway through the ACC season because of losing. That’s not UVa’s style.

The rest of the fan base seems divided. Some say they could tolerate this season and one more year, hoping for the best. They believe Leitao will turn things around as the younger players maturate.

Another faction would like to see a coaching change, which would require Virginia to buyout Leitao’s contract. While Leitao has four years remaining on his current deal, according to a copy of the contract, UVa would be responsible for paying for only two years, which would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million, the same amount it paid to buyout predecessor Pete Gillen.

Should this team continue to struggle, will Littlepage choose to retain Leitao and, as was the case in football, approve staff changes?

Anyone suggesting that Leitao has lost his team at this point is dead wrong. Why this team is still searching for an identity in February remains a mystery.

“I can’t answer that,” said Landesberg, the brightest spot in this cloud of dismay. “It’s real disappointing. That’s all I can say about that.”

From this viewpoint it appears that Leitao is shifting the burden of turning this team around to Landesberg’s ample shoulders. It’s extremely tough for a freshman to take over leadership of a team, but this is a team that is in desperate need of a leader.

That role was thrust upon former UVa point guard Sean Singletary when he was a rookie, a role that he said later he wasn’t ready for at the time but accepted it and made it work.

The fact that Leitao hinted the other night that he is considering making Landesberg his primary ballhandler gave the impression that he’s looking for something more. Spreading the floor and allowing Landesberg to create might be his best option at this point because no one else has consistently shown they can produce.

It is a role Landesberg is willing to accept.

“Whatever I’m doing now, I have to become more of a leader,” the tough-minded New Yorker said. “The competitor in me comes out during games, so I already do some of that.”

Taking over the point in the spread would lend itself to a natural leadership role.

In the spread, Landesberg comes off a screen to start the offense and because there are two shooters in the corner, the defense has to quickly choose whether to pick up Landesberg and let him pass to the corner, or allow him to drive to the lane, where he is most dangerous.

Smart teams will consider it the safest bet to deny Landesberg the middle. He is athletic and adept at either getting into the paint and scoring or drawing a foul.

The other option for Virginia is passing to the shooters in the corners.

Not so good.

The Cavaliers are the worst 3-point shooting team in the league, but as Mike Krzyzewski most generously pointed out “Virginia has a lot of wild cards that are dangerous shooters on the wings.”

We’re just waiting for them to go wild.

Waiting.

Still waiting.

Should Virginia accept its role today as another sacrificial lamb for the mighty Tar Heels, drastic measures may be forthcoming.

“A team meeting ... that could be necessary,” Landesberg said after the BC loss. “That’s going to have to be coming up soon. A players-only meeting, no coaches. We have to get things under control. We can’t fall apart. We have to stick together as a family.”

Landesberg said that the one thing this team needs is a win. Just one win, he said can get things going.

No one is hoping for that more than Littlepage. The next time he has to reach out to the fan base, a letter might not be enough.

 

Wilt returns to UVa staff as D-line coach
By Jay Jenkins
Published: February 7, 2009

Ryan Best should know.

Having played defense and special teams at the University of Virginia while Chad Wilt was a graduate assistant and later at Liberty University after Wilt had landed a post on coach Danny Rocco’s staff, Best watched his mentor transform into a full-fledged college football coach.

That process jumped a step further Friday.

As expected, Virginia coach Al Groh announced that Wilt would join his staff as the program’s defensive line coach, completing the three-spot shakedown that ensued after a lackluster 5-7 season that left three coaches without employment.

“Chad Wilt is something special. He is one of the most passionate football coaches I have played for,” Best said. “Without a doubt, he is a player-friendly coach and a great encourager.

“This is a great hire for Virginia and I know he will put his heart and soul into making that program better. Coach Wilt will never give up on a player no matter how many mistakes that occur during their tenure.”

Wilt, a former player at Taylor (Ind.) University, replaces former defensive line coach Levern Belin, who was forced out after the season and may land Wilt’s spot on the coaching staff at Liberty. Groh also added offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon and wide receivers coach Latrell Scott.

Groh interviewed Wilt earlier this year and ultimately settled on his decision this week, but waited until after national signing day to make the news public.

“Chad has a solid background in our philosophy and schemes having spent two seasons with us and three with Rocco,” Groh said. “He knows us very well, and we know Chad and look forward to the energy and style that he will bring to our program. Our players will appreciate his commitment and expertise.”

Wilt, who served as a graduate assistant at Virginia in 2004 and 2005, said it was “an honor and privilege” to join the staff at UVa.

“I have a great deal of respect for what [Groh] has done. Being able to learn and coach under him will be an invaluable experience for me,” Wilt said. “I’m looking forward to helping push this team toward a championship.

“The University of Virginia is very special to me since I received my master’s degree from there. I have been a part of this football program in the past and I respect and believe in it. I will bring a lot of energy and intensity to my position and I will expect the same out of my players.”

 

Baltimore to host lacrosse final four in 2010, 2011
NCAA men's lacrosse final four to return to Baltimore in 2010, 2011
By Childs Walker | childs.walker@baltsun.com
February 7, 2009

The NCAA men's lacrosse final four will return to Baltimore in 2010 and 2011, tournament officials announced yesterday.

"Every year we've had it in Baltimore, we've set an attendance record," said Ravens president Dick Cass, who helped spearhead efforts to bring the tournament back to town. "So we have a real track record with this event."

NCAA officials cited that track record in explaining their selection.

"It's a very strong lacrosse area in terms of spectators and in terms of people participating in the sport," said Joni Comstock, NCAA senior vice president of championships. "It's always a very highly attended event, and the city of Baltimore and the stadium put together a very strong financial package for us."

Baltimore last hosted at M&T Bank Stadium in 2007, drawing a then-record 123,215 announced fans to the three-day event, which includes the Division I final and semifinals and the Division II and III finals. Baltimore also hosted the event in 2003 and 2004.

Cass was thrilled to get the tournament, held Memorial Day weekend, for two straight years because it "really helps build momentum into the second year."

Baltimore competed with Boston, Denver and the Meadowlands in New Jersey for the 2010-2012 tournament bids. Though local leaders hoped to win the tournament for all three years, they never believed that was likely. The NCAA selection committee has opted to spread the event around in recent years, hoping to build a lacrosse audience up and down the East Coast, where most power programs play.

Though the tournament has drawn well in less-traditional lacrosse markets such as Philadelphia (which hosted in 2005 and 2006) and Boston (which hosted last year and will again this May and in 2012), city officials said it was time to bring the event back to Baltimore - in many ways the cradle of the sport.

"Baltimore is a natural pick for the national championships," Mayor Sheila Dixon said in a statement. "In addition to being the home of the best crab cakes in the world, Baltimore is the home of lacrosse in the United States."

With six perennial tournament contenders, dozens of elite high school and recreational programs and the sport's Hall of Fame all in close proximity, Baltimore boasts an unmatched connection with lacrosse. In their pitch to the NCAA, representatives of the Ravens and the Maryland Stadium Authority touted that rich lacrosse tradition and the plethora of hotels, restaurants and shops within walking distance of the stadium.

"Fans can literally park their cars for the weekend and walk around the city," Cass said.

City officials have estimated the 2007 event delivered $15million in economic impact.

As the chief tenants of M&T Bank Stadium, the Ravens put up a guaranteed fee to the NCAA to attract the event. The amount was undisclosed. Any revenue from ticket sales and concessions beyond that guaranteed sum would be split by the Ravens, Maryland Stadium Authority and NCAA.

But the Ravens do not view the event as a major revenue opportunity, Cass said. "We're a state-owned facility, and this is a great event for the city and state, so it's kind of a payback," he said.

The Ravens and the stadium authority hope to use their largest venue for more concerts and sporting events during the seven-month NFL offseason. Authority Chairman John Morton called the lacrosse tournament a first payoff for the state's greater push to market its facilities.
 

And today's feel good story..

Once left for dead, Vick’s pit bulls recovering
Animal sanctuary working with dogs so they may someday have homes
By EDDIE PELLS
Associated Press
Friday, February 06, 2009

KANAB, Utah — There are the perky, high-energy sorts like Lucas, all wagging tails and let’s-go-play vivaciousness.

There are the runners like Curly, who never saw a fence line or dirt trail they couldn’t wear down.

And there are the divas like Georgia, who go on publicity junkets and stay at the Beverly Hilton, wearing rhinestone-studded collars and hot pink tank tops that say “Biscuits are a girl’s best friend.”

They could be your dog, your neighbor’s, even one of those you see in a magazine being doted on by a celebrity owner.

These, though, are Michael Vick’s dogs.

Fourteen months after some experts left them for dead — in fact, said they should die — they are alive and thriving at the Best Friends Animal Society in the rocky red hills of Utah, rewriting the book about what pit bulls really are and what they can be.

Most of these dogs will find homes someday. None of their ilk, however, will be welcomed next week at America’s best-known dog show, Westminster, at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The American Pit Bull Terrier is the country’s iconic and most divisive breed, but it isn’t on the American Kennel Club’s list of accepted breeds. The AKC recognizes a cousin, the American Staffordshire Terrier, instead.

“I don’t really have anything to say about pit bulls because we don’t deal with them at all,” said David Frei, the director of communications at Westminster. “But AmStaffs are great dogs. I make the same blanket statement about them as any breed. There are no bad dogs, only bad owners. If someone gets involved with pit bulls and isn’t bright enough to be the alpha dog in the relationship, there can be problems.”

American Pit Bull Terriers — a quintessentially American breed once best represented by the dog staring quizzically at an RCA Victor phonograph — are bred to be exceedingly kind and deferential to humans. But that trait has largely been lost among the thousands of stories about pit bull bites, maulings, fights and anti-pit bull legislation. Those stories have helped make the dog Public Enemy No. 1 among the 400-plus breeds, 170 of which are on the AKC registry.

“Often, the media gets it wrong,” says Michelle Besmehn, the dog care manager at Best Friends, who acknowledges that part of the Vick project is to restore the reputation of the American Pit Bull Terrier.

“They’ll say a person was mauled by a pit bull, and it’s not a pit bull, it’s a Mastiff or something else,” she said. “It’s frustrating because they get a bad rap, and it’s based on a general misconception.”

Tim Racer, co-founder of BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls), puts it more bluntly.

“If an AmStaff bites somebody, it suddenly becomes an American Pit Bull Terrier, because that’s what people want to do, is blame these dogs for all dog bites,” said Racer, whose group also saved 10 of Vick’s dogs.

The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback is serving a 23-month sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy. He is scheduled for release July 20 but could serve the last few months at a halfway house in Newport News, his hometown.

Vick’s dogs get time they need

One of Vick’s former dogs was euthanized because of health — not behavioral — problems, and 21 remain at the Best Friends sanctuary. It’s on 3,700 acres near the Zion National Forest, with a canyon outside the lunchroom and enough reds, browns, greens and pinks to keep a painter at his easel for life. These were the toughest cases, the most neglected of the 47 dogs rescued from Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia in 2007.

The Bad Newz dogs lived terrible lives, chained in dark, dank basements, electrocuted if they didn’t produce. The ones treated the best earned that treatment because they could fight and win. Some, like Little Red, had their teeth filed down so they could be used as “bait dogs” to spar with the champions without hurting them.

“When she got here, her whole face was one scar,” said John Garcia, the manager of Dogtown, the dogs-only section of the sanctuary.

Initially, the dogs were so skittish that the trainers actually slept with them at night. Today, they don’t need such attention, but that’s not to say they’re neglected.

A full-time staff of 60 cares for the 438 dogs, and the Vick dogs get special attention. They have spacious dog runs that connect to indoor living spaces inside pod-shaped buildings scattered about the grounds. They go on long walks and hikes, traverse agility courses set up around the sanctuary, learn to ride in cars, eat like kings and queens. (The brand name of their food: Canine Caviar.)

Half the Vick dogs adapted well enough to other dogs that they’re allowed to have playmates.

The others are being slowly introduced to other dogs.

They’re all being prepared for their Canine Good Citizen tests — a 10-step exam that measures things such as the ability to mingle with other dogs, deal with strangers and behave on a leash. The test, which ultimately helps determine whether they can go into permanent homes, was developed by the AKC for all breeds.

“Centuries ago, pit bulls were used for bull baiting, dog fighting, things like that,” said Lisa Peterson, director of club communication for the AKC. “When those activities were outlawed, there were a lot of lovers of the breeds that wanted to save them. They do make excellent pets and great dogs.”

When Vick’s dogs were first seized, the courts received advice from People for Ethical Treatment of Animals and other humane societies, which said the animals should be euthanized because their chances of living normal lives outside a shelter or sanctuary were minimal.

In stepped Best Friends, where thousands volunteer and many full-time employees tell stories about leaving their city jobs to come to Utah and take care of dogs (along with 790 cats, a few pigs, some sheep and a handful of horses including one, Riley, who was recently fitted with a prosthetic leg).

Best Friends, which runs on a $30 million to $40 million budget funded by charitable donations, is a “no-kill” sanctuary, meaning no animal brought to the facility will be euthanized because it can’t find a permanent home.

Best Friends offers these dogs time. In many cases, Vick’s dogs sorely need it.

Permanent scars

Many of them arrived at the shelter with no idea how to interact with people. No dog, regardless of breed, could be expected to bounce back quickly given that kind of treatment, Garcia said.

“The way I personally present the dogs is, ‘They’re dogs,’” Garcia said. “It’s not necessarily a specific breed, per se. It would be nice to get some specific definition of what truly is an American Pit Bull Terrier and not just a ‘pit bull.’ If people got away from the ‘pit bull’ thing, it would be a lot easier.”

Two of Vick’s champion dogs, Georgia and Lucas, have been ordered by the court to live permanently at Best Friends because of their violent pasts. They hardly seem violent now, wagging their tails, licking visitors and rolling over for belly rubs.

But there are unmistakable vestiges of the lives they used to lead.

Lucas, a one-time grand champion, has scars on his face and sides from fights.

Georgia has no teeth and the sagging belly of a dog that has been bred many times. It appears her teeth were surgically removed by a veterinarian, who likely didn’t care that he was doing it to make Georgia less threatening to studs who were brought in to forcibly breed with her while she was tied to what’s known as a “rape stand.”

Maybe the saddest part is that the dogs have always been bred to be extremely loyal to people — so eager to please that they’ll fight to the death to make their master happy.

‘Genericizing’ of pit bulls troubling

Denying the fighting gene in a pit bull would be like denying that the sun rises in the east. It is, quite simply, a fact of life.

How the breed’s history is interpreted, however, is where the stories diverge and where the controversy about pedigree picks up.

One widely accepted history is that the AKC, in the 1930s, began calling the American Pit Bull Terrier the American Staffordshire Terrier as a way of ridding the breed of the stigma of the word “Pit.”

The United Kennel Club, meanwhile, has always accepted American Pit Bull Terriers on its registry. Since the split, subtle differences in breeding have been implemented.

“I can recognize it, but not 100 percent of the time,” Racer said. “Basically, the whole thing was done to get away from the negative connotation of pit bulls as a fighting breed.”

Peterson at the AKC calls it mainly a difference in semantics. She says she knows of no American Pit Bull Terrier group that has asked for the breed to be registered with the AKC, so that hasn’t been an issue.

She notes that the Westminster Best of Show in 2006 was a colored bull terrier named Rufus — much smaller than an American Pit Bull Terrier, but the kind of dog that could conceivably be targeted in breed specific legislation that is the bane of the AKC and almost all pit bull enthusiasts.

Dozens of cities and counties have banned pit bulls by law. Insurance companies refuse to cover homeowners with certain kind of dogs.

Frank McMillan, a vet at Best Friends, is doing a genetic study on the Vick dogs to determine what, exactly, makes up a pit bull. The “genericizing,” as Racer calls it, of all dangerous dogs into one catchall term — “pit bull” — is troubling to many enthusiasts.

McMillan also is tracking what works and what doesn’t in the rehabilitation process.

The idea: To be able to present to other rescue operations some training methods that have been scientifically proven as successful.

McMillan hopes some success stories will help the next group fighting breed legislation or trying to dissuade a judge from putting a group of pit bulls to death.

“We want a judge to be able to look at this project and say, ‘This is encouraging,’” McMillan said. “All they have now is the occasional friend-of-the-court brief. Anecdotes are good. But it’s not science.”

Neither, of course, is the Westminster Kennel Club Show.

It is, in many ways, a beauty contest, one the American Pit Bull Terrier will not be part of when it starts Monday.

Is that such a bad thing?

“Nobody agrees on these things,” Racer said. “But if one of those American Staffordshires bites someone, nobody’s going to know the difference at the shelter where it gets sent. So what I would say is, pit bulls are competing at Westminster. They’re just calling it something different.”