Could I get my five years back?
Paul Wiley
Published: Thursday, December 4 2008

Nov. 29, 2003. Virginia 35, Virginia Tech 21.

That day five years ago is the last time the Hoos bested the Hokies in football. That day is separated from this one by 1,831 and one-fourth days (yay leap years).

What were you doing Nov. 29, 2003? For me, it was two weeks after my 16th birthday; it would be another three months before I even got my driver’s license. For most of you graduating this year, it was your junior year of high school.

President-elect Barack Obama was then Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, still 3.5 months from winning the Democratic primary for his U.S. Senate seat. U.S. Senator-elect Mark Warner was still governor of the commonwealth, and Congressman-elect Tom Perriello had just finished helping to depose an African dictator.

Topping the Billboard charts was “Baby Boy,” by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul, and “Bad Santa” — starring Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac and the late John Ritter — had just opened in theaters across the country. Unfortunately, I’ve heard the first; thankfully, I’ve never seen the second.

Prominent in the news that week were President Bush’s surprise Thanksgiving visit to troops in Iraq, the relaunching of the USS Cole after completion of repairs and the resignation of Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze. OK, that last one wasn’t all that prominent, but hey, it happened.

In 1,831.25 days, you could have climbed Mt. Everest 26 times. You could have circumnavigated the globe, following the same timeline and itinerary as Ferdinand Magellan — and have two years to spare. If you were able to maintain Andy Green’s world land-speed record of 763 mph the entire time, you’d have logged enough miles to go around the equator 1,346 times — though you probably would have had to stop for gas.

Since Nov. 29, 2003, 10 teams have beaten the Hokies, including Boston College thrice, and Miami and Florida State two times each. Because Tech joined the ACC in 2004, we have never beaten the Hokies in football when a conference game was on the line.

The same story doesn’t translate to almost any of Virginia’s other sports. Besides a 13-6 edge in softball, Virginia Tech trails in every other sport. In women’s soccer, the maroon and orange were 0-5 until this year’s two close upsets, and in baseball, the Hokies have managed to post a big, whopping goose egg, going 0-10 on the diamond. And they don’t even have men’s lacrosse, so I guess that’s Them 0, Us Infinity.

But perhaps it’s the talent to blame. Surely with such a streak of on-field success, the better players have always won out. They were just plain better, so there’s no reason to complain.

In the NFL Drafts from 2004 — to include those who played in the 2003 Virginia victory — to 2008, Hoos have been picked in the first round four times. Only three Hokie players have been picked during that same span. DeAngelo Hall went at No. 8 in the 2004 draft, the highest position of any Tech player during those five drafts. Virginia’s D’Brickashaw Ferguson was No. 4 in 2006, and super-freak Chris Long was this year’s No. 2.

Aside from the headliners, the average draft data sorts out about the same. Of the 28 Tech players taken, the average draft round was early fourth, the average pick 122nd. For the 18 Cavaliers, the round was the same, the average pick only 10 spots lower.

If it isn’t the players, what about the coaches? That may well be one source of the problem. For Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, he’s had the same two coordinators for several years: Bryan Stinespring on offense and Bud Foster on defense. Both were there, in those positions, in 2003, and both are still there today.

Here in Charlottesville, however, we’ve faced a coaching carousel. In 2003, Ron Prince was the offensive coordinator, and Al Golden ran the defense. Both left in 2005, handing the offensive reins to Mike Groh and the defensive controls to Mike London. London then took his current position at the University of Richmond, and Bob Pruett stepped into his role. Four new coaches, versus Tech’s status quo.
Whatever the reasons, we’ve got to do something, and fast. Our next shot might come as soon as 2,171.5 days since the last win. All of us have a relative or co-worker or, God forbid, a boss who roots for Tech, and it would be really great if after all that time, they’d finally shut up.

Two straight classes of Virginia graduates will have never seen a Cavalier victory against the Hokies during their undergraduate years. Rivalries are supposed to have some back-and-forth. Pretty soon, this will just become ritualistic flagellation.

So, whoever out there can hear this, take the lessons of this year to heart. Call it the Wildhoo, the Hoocat, whatever, just use somebody who can make it work again next year. We had Tech on the ropes. Next year, let’s finish the job. Fingers crossed, it’ll happen before my 13-year-old cousin is old enough to celebrate with a beer.

 

Cavaliers tumble into long break
By Whitey Reid
Published: December 3, 2008

One of the positives from Virginia’s 66-56 loss to Minnesota in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge on Tuesday night?
Not a lot of people probably witnessed it.
With a start time of 9:30 p.m., many Cavalier fans were likely asleep by the time the game ended. In addition, no local media were on hand in Minnesota.
Virginia, which doesn’t play again until a Dec. 17 home game versus Longwood, continued its struggles, dropping its third straight game.
“The game played out exactly how I thought it would,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao told virginiasports.com. “Minnesota was very well coached and efficient with the ball. I knew that at the end of the night it would come down to which team would make the least mistakes. Minnesota was that team.”
Those who didn’t catch the game on ESPN2 didn’t miss very much.
Virginia (3-3), which had dropped games to Liberty and Syracuse, committed 19 turnovers and shot just 31 percent from the field.
“We’ve seen pressure defense already this season but Minnesota was more aggressive,” Leitao said. “We didn’t attack the pressure the way we should have and that made them more aggressive with the pressure. The crowd got into it more and it put us back on our heels.”
Guard Sylven Landesberg, who came into the game averaging 20.8 points, looked out of sync from the get-go. The freshman was just 1 of 11 from the field and finished with a season-low of 10 points.
Meanwhile, starting forward Mike Scott was held scoreless for the first time in his career.
Virginia’s brightest spot was Jamil Tucker, who had a team-high 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting from 3-point range. The junior’s performance kept the Cavaliers from getting blown out.
Sammy Zeglinski continued his solid play, scoring 10 points, although he had five turnovers.
Mamadi Diane, who had gone 1 of 18 in his previous three games, showed signs of breaking out of his stupor. In the first half, he had a nice block that resulted in a breakaway dunk. However, he was a non-factor after the intermission and finished with just four points in 15 minutes off the bench.
One of the surprises from Tuesday was sophomore Jeff Jones not getting into the game, although a closer look at his recent numbers may explain why. Jones had shot just 7 of 28 from the field, including 4 of 17 from 3-point range in his previous five games. The DNP was the first of his career.
“I think a lot of it was coach’s decision and matchups,” said Virginia assistant coach Bill Courtney, who filled in for Leitao on his “Cavalier Call-In” show on Wednesday evening. “I don’t think it was any negative toward Jeff or anything he had done, but it was what was best to win the basketball game.”
Virginia senior Tunji Soroye was also a DNP. Courtney said that Soroye had missed a couple of practices heading into the game and may not have been physically ready to play.
Soroye may have helped on the defensive end where Virginia had trouble with Minnesota freshman Colton Iverson (14 points, seven rebounds).
“It is a good win for us against a quality team,” said Minnesota coach Tubby Smith. “They are a very young team similar to us. We did the things we had to do to get the win. We played defense, we were focused, and we were a little anxious with our shot selection early on. The key was that we eventually settled down.”
An interesting sidebar to the game was Virginia facing Ralph Sampson III, the son of the former UVa legend. Sampson, who was coming off a career-high of 12 points in Minnesota’s last game, didn’t score but had two blocks.

 

UVa’s road stint keeps on rolling
By Jay Jenkins
Published: December 3, 2008

Debbie Ryan’s travel agent may be due a Christmas bonus.
Over the past 18 days, the Virginia women’s basketball coach has covered three states and thousands of miles, playing five games outside of Central Virginia.
The journey continues tonight — the 20th-ranked Cavaliers (5-2) will play at Illinois (3-4) at 8:30 p.m. in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Assembly Hall.
Due to the brutal travel schedule, Ryan is left merely to assume that her squad will be energized for the contest. That was not the case on Sunday as the Cavaliers dropped the finale of the WBCA Classic to Gonzaga, 69-62, in Milwaukee.
“It’s not so much that as it was the first-years playing their fifth game in 10 days and four of them were on the road,” Ryan said. “It is hard to explain but we have played nothing but quality opponents, so frankly they were just tired.”
The loss to Gonzaga came less than 24 hours after Virginia dispatched tournament host Marquette with a spirited rally. The Cavaliers, who trailed by 14 points with 16:32 left in the game, went on a 22-6 run to take the lead and eventually the win.
“We really played with so much emotion in the Marquette game and just really knew when it was time to take the game over,” Ryan said. “We knew when the pressure point in the game was. We knew how to push the pressure point and just really made a great run to finish the game.
“The freshmen were on point and hitting great free throws and setting screens and Monica Wright was Monica Wright at the end.”
Having also upended Utah in the event, the emotion of the road win did not carry over for the Cavaliers, something that was also said after the team beat vaunted Tennessee and lost four days later at Old Dominion.
“In the Gonzaga game we were a little sluggish,” Ryan said. “We just could not hit a shot and didn’t have much in terms of legs, at least the younger kids didn’t. The older players seemed to be a little bit better, but I am relying on a couple of freshmen for points.
“I think it was a good lesson. That’s exactly the way that the ACC Tournament will be.”
Facing Gonzaga and its unique defensive scheme should help prepare Virginia for ACC play.
“Gonzaga played a 3-2 zone and we weren’t as patient as we could have been, although we got some pretty good shots and we weren’t knocking them down,” Ryan said. “I think it a great lesson that you have to play through those things. You have to play though a cold or a sinus infection. You have to play through that. It is not high school anymore.”
Virginia will be facing Illinois for the first time since winning a showdown in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2003.
The Illini have struggled of late, losing four straight games. The most recent setback, a 79-52 loss to Maryland, came on Friday in the Caribbean Challenge in Cancun, Mexico.

 

Groh update
Jeff White
Dec 04, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE – If you’ve spent any time today reading message boards devoted to U.Va. athletics – those on TheSabre.com and CavsCorner.com in particular – you’re probably convinced that the Al Groh era is over.

And maybe Groh has, indeed, coached his last game at Virginia. But I’ve been digging and calling and digging all day, and none of the many people I’ve spoken to – at least those whom I consider to be reliable sources – believes a final decision has been made on Groh, whose eighth season as Virginia’s football coach ended last weekend with a 17-14 loss to Virginia Tech.

I have learned, however, that U.Va.’s board of visitors has told athletic-department officials that they may borrow money from the school to pay for Groh’s buyout if they decide a change is required.

Under the terms of Groh’s contract, U.Va. would owe him about $6 million if it fired him before next season.

In an e-mail exchange with me Nov. 9 – the day after U.Va.’s loss at Wake Forest—athletic director Craig Littlepage was unequivocal when I asked him about the 2009 football season.

“Al Groh will be our head coach,“ Littlepage said, even if U.Va. lost its final two regular-season games and finished with a losing record.

Which, of course, is what happened. And now, Littlepage’s comments notwithstanding, many people close to the football program no longer seem convinced that Groh will return for a ninth season as coach at his alma mater.

About 28 hours after U.Va. lost in Blacksburg to finish 5-7 for the second time in three years. Littlepage announced Sunday night that Groh’s contract would not be extended through Dec. 31, 2012. Littlepage also said in his statement that he’d be meeting with Groh “in the next 48 hours to conduct a year-review of the football program.“

One of the issues to be discussed was offensive coordinator Mike Groh’s future on his father’s staff. How those meetings have gone, I can’t say for sure, but various Internet reports suggest the two parties remain far apart. Littlepage e-mailed me tonight to decline comment, and Al Groh didn’t respond to an e-mail I sent him seeking comment.

So what happens next? I’m not sure, but I’d bet that Groh’s status will be clarified tomorrow. Which begins in about 45 minutes.

Good night.

 

Stalemate?
Doug Doughty/Roanoke Times

The absence of a statement confirming Al Groh’s return as Virginia football coach in 2009 has revived memories of his Wake Forest coaching tenure.

Groh’s last season as Wake Forest head coach was 1986, when the Deacons finished 5-6, but Groh didn’t resign as coach until nearly two months after the season.

Groh could have returned as Wake coach in 1987 but wanted more of a long-term commitment than athletic director Dr. Gene Hooks was prepared to offer. That was the year when Groh’s name was being named in connection with the Virginia Tech opening, another source of friction.

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage announced Sunday that he would not be exercising the rollover clause in Groh’s contract and that he would meet with Groh within 48 hours to conduct a year-end review of the football program.

*An annual 5-percent cost-of-living increase in Groh’s contract would put him over $2 million for the first time since he signed a $1.7-million per-year deal in 2005. Groh is slated to make $2.07 million in 2009, $2.17 million in 2010 and $2.28 million in 2011.

The cost of a buyout would be $6.51 million.

 

Sources: Groh to return as coach
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: December 4, 2008

Sources said Wednesday night that Virginia head football coach Al Groh will continue to guide the Cavaliers for the 2009 season, countering speculation about whether the embattled coach would return.

Reports circulating earlier Wednesday that the university’s Board of Visitors had approved a buyout of the remaining three years of Groh’s contract and that UVa Director of Athletics Craig Littlepage was seeking contributors for that buyout were false, according to sources who requested to remain anonymous.

Littlepage issued a statement Sunday night that UVa had declined to extend Groh’s contract with a customary one-year rollover. The decision came on the heels of the Cavaliers’ dramatic 17-14 loss to Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division champion Virginia Tech in Blacksburg the day before.

In that same statement, Littlepage said that he would meet with Groh within 48 hours to review the football program and added he would have no further comment about Groh’s contract or the review process of the program.

However, sources confirmed that Groh would return for his ninth season as Virginia’s coach, which equals Frank Murray (1937-45) for the second-longest tenure in the program’s 119-year history. Groh, who owns the second-most wins of any UVa football coach, has a 56-44 record at his alma mater, including a 5-7 finish this season, the second losing season in the past three years.

When reached Wednesday night, Groh declined to comment on what sources had told The Daily Progress concerning him being retained.

“It serves no purpose for me to get involved in any discussion other than I’m working diligently to get ready for recruiting and for next season,” Groh said.

The coach’s attorney, Neil M. Cornrich, said he wasn’t aware of any official move to buy out Groh’s contract, which runs through Dec. 31, 2011.

“If Al Groh was having those kinds of discussions, I would know it, and I don’t know that,” Cornrich said.

Groh was the ACC Coach of the Year in 2007 when his team finished 9-4 and lost to Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl. It was the second time that Groh had won that honor at UVa.

There remains speculation that Groh may make some personnel changes in his coaching staff, which includes his son, Mike, a former UVa quarterback who has served as the team’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons.

Groh’s original contract included compensation of $1.7 million annually with a cost of living increase that approached $2 million this year.

Littlepage declined to comment Wednesday night.