How's your bracket doing?Posted Mar22, 2008 at 02:01 PMUpdated: Saturday, March 29, 3:36 p.m. It's three hours before the regional finals begin, and we have an excellent chance to see four No. 1 seeds reach the Final Four for the first time. I picked all but Memphis to go, but after what the Tigers did to Michigan State last night my confidence in that pick is a bit less than it was. I'm all for Davidson knocking off Kansas so we can see more of Stephen Curry, but the Jayhawks are awfully good. This is one Goliath that won't be overconfident. Rush, Robinson and Chalmers, I'm afraid, are just too much. Xavier has been fiesty and resilient, but UCLA is just too big and too strong. And if it wasn't for Curry, we' be talking about Kevin Love being the best player left in the tournament. North Carolina is supposed to be in this position so we take them for granted. Louisville is back on the national scene and playing well, so it's easy to sway toward them. But the Tar Heels are so hard to guard because they have so many weapons in the starting lineup and coming off the bench. I have Texas beating Memphis, and I still expect that will happen. This is a great matchup of guards and athletes. Memphis is playing its best basketball right now probably because so many have been saying they are the most vulnerable No. 1 seed and most likely to be the first one beaten. So the Tigers will come very close. Original post After an uneventful first day, those 12s and 13s winning in Tampa on Friday surely busted some brackets out there. Did you have UConn going on a big run? What about Drake, Clemson and Vanderbilt? My bracket didn't suffer too much damage. I had Clemson and UConn getting to the Sweet 16, but that was as far as I was willing to take those teams. Some my Sweet 16 is down to 14 survivors heading into the second round. Here's the link to my bracket. In the related box, just click the words that say Download Jeff Gilbert's bracket. Let me know how you're doing by leaving a comment. Is your Sweet 16 intact? Have you lost a Final Four team? Who's in your Final Four and why? -- Jeff Gilbert Tech vs. UVa: Some things to watch forPosted Mar01, 2007 at 08:24 AMThe aspect of tonight's Virginia Tech-Virginia game in Charlottesville that is most intriguing to me will be what happens in the backcourts. And when I say backcourts, I am really just referring to the position of guard. It's what these backcourts are able to do in the lane and close to the basket that might ultimately decide who wins this game. There will be 3-pointers, there will be steals on the perimeter and there will be missed perimeter shots that turn into second-chance points. But what can Tech's Zabian Dowdell and UVa's Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds do when they try to penetrate? How this turns out could well be a determing factor in this game. Recently against Boston College, Dowdell kept Tyrese Rice at least 15 feet from the basket except for one drive late in the game when Tech had a huge lead. Dowdell and Jamon Gordon have to do that tonight. Singletary or Reynolds in the lane creates opportunities for themselves and their teammates. UVa has to do the same. Dowdell doesn't get to the rim that much, but he is great at backing down the defense then hitting the eight-footer even if he has to fall away on the shot. He did it to BC, and if he does it regularly to UVa it will make a difference. Tonight you will see the best offensive backcourt (Singletary, Reynolds) in the ACC against the best defensive backcourt (Dowdell, Gordon) in the ACC. But what makes this matchup so great is that these backcourts are probably 1-2 in the league on both ends of the floor. There is little separation either way. If the backcourts play to a stalemate, then what? Both teams have other players capable of big nights, but you never know who is going to step forward. For Tech, the X factors are clearly A.D. Vassallo and Deron Washington, especially Washington. If Washington is hitting jumpers, it will be a good night for Tech. For UVa, the X factors are Mamadi Diane, Adrian Joseph and Jason Cain. All are capable of being the third scorer, and one of them will need to be. So who wins? Probably comes down to which team can hit a late 3-pointer or which guard can get in the lane and score when the score is tied in the final minute. UVa is 15-1 at home and has scored late when it has had to many times this season, so I'm guessing it will be Reynolds or Singletary. The one thing I don't have to guess about is that this will be terrific game no matter who wins. Spring Jubilee finals from Radford U.Posted Jun10, 2006 at 02:42 PMFrom softball: Kallie Cox belted an RBI-double in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift James River to a 3-2 victory over Essex for the Group A championship. It's James River's third championship third title in four years. Bri Richie’s one-out RBI single to leftfield in the bottom of the seventh gave Dan River its first Group AA Softball State Championship. The single capped off a two-run rally lifting them to a 3-2 victory over Powhatan. From boys tennis: Loudoun County defeated Hidden Valley 5-4 for the boys' Group AA title. Diskin and Wang of Grafton won the doubles title 6-2, 6-1. George Mason’s Alex Goetting and James An won the championship match in Group A Boys doubles. The duo defeated John I. Burton’s Caleb Crowder and Wes Ward, 6-3, 6-2. From girls tennis: Jamestown cruised to its third straight AA Girls Team Tennis Championship this morning from. In a rematch of last year’s final, Jamestown blanked Hidden Valley, 5-0, winning five singles matches in straight sets. Jamestown 5, Hidden Valley 0 Singles
The Blue Devils won four of the six singles matches to take a 4-2 lead. They clinched it with a victory at No. 2 doubles. Results Gate City 5, George Mason 2 Singles Doubles
And I see a couple of alert readers have spotted a couple of mistakes over the weekend. Thanks for pointing those out. More Jubilee semifinal scoresPosted Jun09, 2006 at 01:06 PMAA baseball: Turner Ashby 4, Powhatan 0 AA softball: Powhatan 5, Grafton 3 High school state semis scoresPosted Jun09, 2006 at 09:56 AMUpdates on scores will be here throughout the day as the scores become available. Timesland players fall in finalPosted Jun08, 2006 at 01:52 PMRadford's Malik Mubeen and Glenvar's Shari Thornton lost their Group A singles tennis finals Thursday afternoon at Radford University. Mubeen lost 6-2, 6-1 to Logan Bricker of Page County. Bricker has now won three straight state titles. Thornton fell to Tara Sheets of Gate City 6-1, 6-0. The AA matches are ongoing. State tennis finals have begunPosted Jun08, 2006 at 12:53 PMAs of 12:50, the state tennis finals for A and AA boys and A girls were under way at Radford University. The AA girls final was scheduled to start at 1:30. Glenvar's Shari Thornton is playing Gate City's Tara Sheets in Group A girls, and Radford's Malik Mubeen is playing Page County's Logan Bricker in A boys. Bricker is the two-time defending champion. The Timesland players in AA, Hidden Valley's Ed Arsura and Blacksburg's Lauren Billingsley, were defeated in the semifinals. The finals matchups are Yakov Diskin of Grafton vs. Alex Funkhouser of Handley, and Mary Kate James of Jamestown vs. Katelyn Doss of Virginia High. Check in later to find out who wins. Here are the full results from this morning. A Girls Semis AA Girls Semis A Boys Semis AA Boys Semis State tennis singles resultsPosted Jun08, 2006 at 10:57 AMEarly morning rains caused a delay in the start times in the state tennis singles play at Radford University. The matches were scheduled for 9 a.m., but didn't get started until 9:45. The Group A girls semifinal results are in, and Glenvar's Shari Thornton, a transfer from Cave Spring, will be playing in Thursday afternoon's final. She defeated Peyton Curdts of Middlesex 6-0, 6-2. Thornton's opponent in the state final is Tara Sheets of Gate City. Sheets defeated Maryanne Thompson of Wilson Memorial. The boys results just came in, and Radford's Malik Mubeen will be playing for the Group A title today against Page County's Logan Bricker, the two-time defending champion. Mubeen defeated Robert Gaudin of Windsor 6-0, 6-3. Bricker won 6-0, 6-2 against Caleb Crowder of J.I. Burton. In AA boys, Hidden Valley's Ed Arsura lost 6-0, 6-1 to Yakov Diskin of Grafton. Diskin will play today for what would be his third straight state title. His opponent is Alex Funkhouser of Handley. Funkhouser defeated Chad Brady of Graham 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. We know that Blacksburg's Lauren Billingsley lost her AA semifinal to Mary Kate James of Jamestown. When we get more info on the AA girls, we'll post it. It has begun to rain again in Radford. Reporter John Fridley says the finals might be moved indoors to Virginia Tech. We'll keep you posted on those developments. Throw a flag on ConnecticutPosted May25, 2006 at 03:22 PMConnecticut high school football teams will set a record for kneel-downs next season. That's when a rule goes into effect that will suspend coaches for one game if they win by more than 50 points. Hope this never comes to Virginia or any other state. How ridiculous will it be to see a powerhouse playing the worst team in its league and taking a knee all during the second half so that its coach won't be suspended. Steve Spurrier would only get to coach every other game with a rule like that. I always thought it was the losing coach's responsibility to do something to prevent the other team from scoring. It will be far more humiliating to play against a team that can't try than it is to lose by more than 50 points. Whatever happened to rewarding success? Next thing they'll do is give every high school football player a trophy. Huskers and HokiesPosted May11, 2006 at 07:48 PMHave you heard the big news out of Tech today? The Hokies have scheduled a home-and-home series with Nebraska for 2008 and 2009. To get a longtime power like Nebraska to agree to such a deal says a lot about how far Tech has come. Nebraska has suffered through a couple of lean years, but they're still Nebraska and they will probably be a top 10 contender again by the time these games are played. On Sept. 20, 2008, the Hokies will travel to Lincoln. Nebraska will come to Blacksburg on Sept. 19, 2009. The Hokies have a good reputation for having fans that travel, but nobody's fans travel like Nebraska. Husker fans will gobble up every ticket they can get their hands on to come to Blacksburg. A lot of red in Lane Stadium will certainly clash with all that maroon and orange. It will be interesting to see how much red turns up that day or night. This is the kind of scheduling Tech needs. They caught a bad break when Wisconsin backed out on them, but give Jim Weaver credit for getting this deal done. Yes, this year's home nonconference schedule is uninspiring, but it does take time to build the kind of schedule you want on a consistent basis. With the Texas A&M series behind them and this one in front of them, Tech is beginning to show that it might have some longterm staying power as a national power. It takes a long time to become an elite program. Tech's not quite there yet, but this is a sign that the program is continuing to move forward. The next step is to beat a program like Nebraska, then win a couple BCS games. And winning a national championship has to come before anybody can truly call you elite. Bonds and RuthPosted May09, 2006 at 10:16 PMThere has been much discussion going around on the significance of Barry Bonds hitting as many home runs as Babe Ruth. People are on both sides. Some think it's huge. Some say, "Not so fast. It's not a record or anything." Well, it is huge. If anyone is bigger than the game, then it's the Babe. If Bonds (no matter what you think of him and no matter what he might have used for boost) surpasses Hank Aaron, then yes that is bigger. But hitting as many home runs as the Babe is something that as little as 10 years ago people were saying wouldn't happen again. Well it's about to, and it's big. In how many all-time categories in any sport can you name who is No. 2. I heard Mike Greenberg ask that question on the radio the other morning. He's right. Off the top of my head I can only think of one: Ty Cobb in all-time hits. Well, I'm off to turn on the TV and see if history happens tonight. All quiet on Vick frontPosted May09, 2006 at 11:24 AMNobody's talking about Marcus Vick in Miami. The most recent Dolphins blog report out of the Miami Herald talked about a lot of players in regards to their work at the Dolphins' minicamp, but there was no mention of Marcus. There were some positive things said about quarterback Justin Holland out of Colorado State. So it doesn't look like Marcus Vick has found a pro home. Sounds like he has a lot of work to do to get to that level. If anything else happens with Vick, we'll let you know. Vick on trialPosted May04, 2006 at 11:06 AMAny Virginia Tech fan I have spoken with was happy to see Marcus Vick go undrafted this past weekend. They're still happy no one has signed him. So now we will all be interested to see how his tryout with the Miami Dolphins goes this weekend. How serious are the Dolphins about Vick? Hard to say. One thing's for sure, they needed to bring a QB into this rookie minicamp because they didn't draft any. Somebody has to throw to the receivers. Nick Saban isn't the type of coach to suffer a less-than-good attitude, particularly from a nonstarter. So Marcus will be evaluated in that regard just as much as he will be in regard to his performance. And he'd better be in pretty good shape. That will say a lot about his maturity. |
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