For Groh, anger knows no season
Published July 29 2004
Dave Fairbank

The first whistle has not yet been blown in anger, but already Al Groh has displayed midseason crankiness.

Groh, the CEO of the University of Virginia football organization, used the ACC's annual preseason gathering this week as a platform to convey how torqued off he is at media coverage of the off-the-field problems of Cavaliers past, present and future.

In response to what he views as unfair treatment, Groh said that assistant coach and player availability will be limited through the preseason.

He berated the Charlottesville newspaper for its reporting of several player arrests and is aggravated at one of the local TV stations. He criticized the general "rush to judgment" mentality prevalent in the media when players cross paths with the law.

How hacked off was Groh? Well, he used a word generally not suitable for a family newspaper - starts with 'p', rhymes with 'dissed' - three times in four sentences. OK, so it wasn't a Tony Soprano kind of tirade, but hey, we're talking about an annual preseason shindig where everybody plays a little golf, does a little give-and-take, trades a few fibs and moves on.

(Apparently, these conference preseason get-togethers aren't the barrel of laughs they used to be. On advice of counsel, Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer isn't even attending the SEC's bash in Birmingham, Ala., this week for fear that he will be hit with a subpoena in a lawsuit filed by former Alabama coaches in the wake of the NCAA investigation that landed the Crimson Tide on probation.)

Anyway, back to Groh. A guy who spends seven of his 13 years in the NFL navigating the New York media minefield gets his skivvies in a knot over what he views as inequitable treatment from a few Virginia outlets that barely register on the big picture scale? Please.

Such a snit in front of the New York media would fall on, if not deaf, certainly amused ears.

That said, does Groh have a point? Sure.

He, and several million others for that matter, would like the media to be a little more circumspect. He would like it if the acquittals and dismissals and resolutions were publicized as enthusiastically as the arrests. He would like a dose of perspective to go along with the headlines and the lead story on the 11 o'clock news.

Amen.

But Groh is no fool. He paid attention when former boss and master manipulator Bill Parcells wove his spells, which is why Groh's mini-rant felt scripted.

First, it was a good opportunity to vent in front of a captive audience, something Groh had not done publicly as the incidents nipped at the program's ankles in recent months. Second, it was a chance to let his players know that he supports them, always a worthy message if you're asking young men to run through walls.

And most important, a little public scolding followed by the specter of - heaven forbid - limited access may make all those darn reporters and editors, if not compliant, then at least think twice before they splash the next transgressor all over the streets.

Groh is well aware, too, that when he traded his New York Jets parka for a U.Va. sweatshirt, he bought a different kind of attention. Instead of the big city, media horde kind of scrutiny, there is the college, only-game-in-town sort of coverage.

In an era of unprecedented interest and money, both have primal-scream, heave-the-sofa-cushion-across-the-room potential for coaches and players.

Groh gripes that irresponsible journalism can unfairly brand kids. True enough.

But the possibility of public shame and embarrassment may be one of the few hammers the adults can wield any more.

Groh and coaches everywhere deliver the "be smart, make good decisions, people are watching you" message until their larynxes give out, and kids still put themselves in situations where they wind up on a police blotter.

Should the media do a better job? No question.

So should cranky football coaches.

ACC favors permanent site
Swofford: League pleased with bids for 1st football title game
KEN TYSIAC
Raleigh Bureau

GREENSBORO - The city that wins the initial bidding for the ACC football championship game could become the event's permanent home.

Charlotte is among seven cities bidding for the right to play host to the ACC title game beginning in 2005, and ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Tuesday conference officials are leaning toward choosing a permanent site.

Cities are bidding on a two-year contract with a two-year option.

When Boston College joins the ACC for 2005, the league will have the 12 members required to hold a football title game, which could be worth approximately $6 million to the conference.

Swofford said the quality of the proposals exceeded his expectations.

Florida cities Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa have submitted bids, along with Landover, Md., and Baltimore.

"When you have as many quality proposals as we have on the table, there may be some inclination to talk a little about a rotation," Swofford said during his annual media forum at the ACC media kickoff. "But we really like what we've seen in Atlanta and what the SEC has done."

Atlanta is the permanent site of the SEC title game. The Big 12 takes an opposite approach and moves its championship game to different cities in its region on a yearly basis.

Swofford expects to announce a championship site by the early stages of football season. Conference officials have requested additional information of each bidding city, which is due back at the ACC office Monday.

The additional information includes a host city's ability to organize fan festivals and the availability of advertising signage at each city's venue.

On Monday night, Swofford told Charlotte Regional Sports Commission executive director Jeff Beaver he was impressed with the bids.

"I'm not surprised, quite frankly," Beaver said. "We consider our bid a very strong bid, both in the financial considerations and other amenities."

Florida Citrus Sports executive director Tom Mickle, who is coordinating Orlando's bid, said Florida cities were given a pledge of $200,000 to $250,000 toward their bids by the Florida Sports Foundation.

Beaver said he has been working through legislators to get state funding for Charlotte's bid. Though he declined to discuss the details, he said he is excited about assistance from the state that might be forthcoming.

Swofford said the four athletics directors reviewing the bids likely will narrow their recommendation to one site rather than suggesting finalists. The entire group of athletics directors will vote on that recommendation and submit their decision to the faculty athletics representatives for approval.

"The thing we want to be certain of is that it will go to a city and a location that will truly wrap its arms around the game and make it something special," Swofford said. "Financially, with the proposals that have come in, it's going to be successful to one degree or another, and that's a good feeling to have at this point."
 

ACC could be short on bowls
By MIKE KNOBLER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 7/27/04

Greensboro, N.C. -- ACC expansion could have one unintended consequence: bowl-eligible teams with nowhere to play.

The league didn't add any bowl tie-ins when it added Miami and Virginia Tech, both of which play postseason games almost every year. The ACC has six guaranteed bowl berths and could have eight or even nine bowl-eligible teams.

Don't look for the number of tie-ins to change before the 2006 season, though things will get even tighter in 2005 with the addition of Boston College making the ACC a 12-team league.

"We're probably going to stay as we are for the next two seasons," ACC commissioner John Swofford said, adding that getting the best tie-ins for the future is more important than getting immediate relief now. "The thing we don't want to do is do something for the short run that would eliminate something better for the long term."

Most bowl contracts run through 2005. The ACC's champion plays in a Bowl Championship Series game, and the league plans to continue its tie-ins with the Gator in Jacksonville, the Chik-fil-A Peach in Atlanta and the Continental Tire in Charlotte, Swofford said. The ACC also has agreements with the Tangerine in Orlando and the MPC Computers in Boise, Idaho.

This year's bowl squeeze could be eased if the ACC gets two berths in BCS bowls. The league has never had more than one in the six years of the BCS system.

Odds are ACC fans and athletics directors will be searching other conferences' standings come November, looking for leagues with more bowl tie-ins than bowl-eligible teams.

Meanwhile, the ACC will decide by early fall where to hold its first championship game in 2005, and Swofford said that the league is leaning toward a permanent site rather than a rotation. The conference is reviewing proposals from seven cities -- Charlotte, Baltimore, Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Washington.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Jul 29, 2004

HEARTFELT TRIBUTE: Hal Nunnally, a former basketball coach at Randolph-Macon College, is among Terry Holland's biggest fans. Nunnally, who compiled a 431-232 record in 24 seasons at R-MC, believes Holland doesn't get enough credit for his coaching achievements.

Holland announced recently that he'll step down as special assistant to John Casteen, U.Va.'s president, at the end of next month.

"I think you can make a tremendous case for him having changed basketball in the state of Virginia more than anybody else that's ever coached here," said Nunnally, whose Yellow Jackets were NCAA Division II runners-up in 1977.

"When he came here, expectations weren't very high at state schools and never had been. He proceeds to change expectations in recruiting by bringing in Jeff Lamp, Ralph Sampson, etc., and in the [NCAA] tournament by going to two Final Fours. He raised the bar to a level that no one else has ever been able to get over since then. And I think we all should be extremely grateful to him for having brought about such a revolution in the state of Virginia."

Holland went 326-173 in 16 seasons as the Cavaliers' coach. He guided Virginia to nine appearances in the NCAA tournament and four in the NIT. U.Va. reached the Final Four under Holland in 1981 and'84 and won its only ACC title in'76.

In the 46 years preceding Holland's first season in Charlottesville, the Wahoos had won 20 or more games only once.

BACK ON THE AIR: Neither football coach Al Groh nor men's basketball coach Pete Gillen has a television show. But look for the Cavalier Sports Weekly, a 30-minute show, on TV this school year. Starting Sept. 5, the day after U.Va.'s football opener against Temple, the show will air for 31 weeks in the ACC region. Highlighted will be the achievements of U.Va. athletes.

"It will not be a traditional coach's show," said Mac McDonald, Virginia's radio play-by-play announcer.

In Richmond, the show will be carried on WRLH-TV on Sundays, at a time to be announced.

HOLES TO FILL: Ryan Sawyer led Virginia's wideouts with 39 catches last season, and Ottowa Anderson was second with 33. Neither is around this season. Sawyer was a senior in 2003, and Anderson was recently placed on academic suspension for 2004-05 and isn't enrolled at U.Va.

The Cavaliers have promising young wideouts, though, and senior Michael McGrew is back after missing last season with a broken leg. The loss of Anderson might be felt most keenly on special teams.

"This guy's a dynamic special-teams player, with a great will to do it," Groh said. "He wasn't just a guy who ran down field. He got guys tackled and he made blocks. He was a real producer.

"Ryan Sawyer was one of our best special-teams players and he graduated. Now Ottowa's out of there as one of our best special-teams players. Those are two critical make-plays guys that we have to replace."

Anderson, who never redshirted, hopes to be re-admitted to U.Va. next year and to play in 2005.

SECONDARY MATTERS: Senior safety Jermaine Hardy, a returning starter who had reconstructive knee surgery in January, has been cleared to play, Groh said. Starting alongside Hardy will be fifth-year senior Marquis Weeks, who moved over from tailback before spring practice. Weeks has made tackles on special teams but hasn't played defense in a game since high school.

He's intent on making the most of this opportunity.

"I'll see him a lot of times when I walk up and down the hall [at the McCue Center]," Groh said. "He's in somebody's office. He's gone in there on his own. He knows how to operate the digital computer. He's set up some tapes to look at them, so he's very into it."

Weeks also is realistic.

"He knows he's in a catch-up position," Groh said. "He looks like a safety. He just doesn't think like one yet."

ALL CLEAR: Point guard Sean Singletary hurt his shoulder in 2003, and the injury continued to bothered him his senior year at Penn Charter in Philadelphia. But Singletary underwent an MRI on his shoulder this month in Charlottesville, where he was taking summer classes at U.Va., and the test revealed no significant damage.

Singletary, the most touted member of Gillen's recruiting class for 2004-05, has been lifting weights this summer and playing pickup games with his Virginia teammates. - Jeff White