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One of the first databases we featured in the DataSphere when we launched the site in October was Frank Beamer's entire record as head football coach at Virginia Tech. It's still there, and up to date for the new season that kicks off this weekend.

Now, Frank has company from his cross-state rival.

We now have Al Groh's entire record as head football coach at the University of Virginia as a searchable online database.

And just like in Beamer's, you can be your own analyst and see how the Cavaliers have performed under Groh in a given season, against a certain opponent, a certain conference, against ranked teams. Even see how the do on a certain day of the week, or in a certain month. Or, for home games, even see how weather affects UVa.

Our still brand new database of Roanoke City real estate transfers just got its first update, and now has sales dated to as late as July 8, 2008.

That's about an additional two weeks worth of fresh sales data, or about 29 transfers.

The most expensive was a home in Raleigh Court for $410,000.

In all, a half-dozen properties sold in the over $300,000 range, while a total of 15 sold in the $100,000-plus range, a number of them commercial properties sold by Virginia Scrap Iron to the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

So go nose around, and don't forget, your results are mapped.

College football kicks off in just a couple of weeks, and just in time we've updated and upgraded our online Virginia Tech and UVa sports databases.

Check out the Beamer File, a searchable database of every game the Hokies have played under Coach Frank Beamer since his arrival in 1987. Search by season, opponent, opponent's conference, opponent's rank, even the TV station that televised the games. Get the weather almanac data for home games, too.

Did you know, for example, that while the Hokies are 8-4 under Beamer against their first opponent, East Carolina, they've won the last 6 match-ups?

The Hokies are also undefeated under Beamer in games played in August -- with one game against Georgia Tech unfinished due to lightning.

Also, Sports Writer Doug Doughty continues to keep us up to date with all the latest commitments to both the Tech and UVa programs, and you can search all those commitments from 2008 to the present now in the DataSphere.

This year's biggest boy? How about 6'7", 265-pound Brent Urban out of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, a defensive end headed to UVa next fall? Yikes.

From July 2007 through June 2008, the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control board issued final orders – verdicts – in nearly 1,100 cases against companies selling beer, wine and liquor in the state.

Well more than half of the cases involve selling alcohol to under age buyers – those under 21. Get the details on every case in a database now available in the DataSphere. The data comes from the Virginia ABC Board.

If you’re like me, you’ll go straight for the biggest and baddest.

Biggest fine? That’s $26,500, a penalty earned by O’Meara’s Restaurant and Pub in Manassas, Va., which “URGED OR ENTICED PATRONS TO PURCHASE AB, MADE GIFTS OF AB 8 TIMES, ADVERTISED HAPPY HOUR 7 TIMES, SERVED INTOXICATED PATRONS 2 TIMES, ALLOWED INTOXICATED PATRONS TO LOITER 2 TIMES, ALLOWED CONSUMPTION BY INTOXICATED PATRONS 6 TIMES.”

The number two, offender, notably, is in Roanoke. Montano’s International restaurant on Franklin Road was fined $12,500 and had it’s license suspended for 8 days. It was a repeat offense.

In all, 37 stores, bars and restaurants in Roanoke and Roanoke county were cited, along with 15 in Blacksburg and 8 in Christiansburg. Note that not all charges lead to “convictions,” as it were. In 36 cases charges were dismissed.

(Originally published as a DataSphere column in The Roanoke Times, August 3, 2008)

This may be a new low in my descent into geekdom.

I gave my wife a database as an early birthday present.

Worse, I regifted it to her. Still worse, I didn't just give it to her. Anybody can use it.

On the plus side, she loved it.

It's data on all 45,000 real estate parcels in the city of Roanoke, searchable in all kinds of ways. Plus, your results are mapped. Find it right now in the DataSphere.

See, Ellen, she's real estate obsessed. Watches HGTV all the time, talks about "staging" our house for sale, disappears for hours studying home sale listings on the Web. She sneaks off to open houses on Sundays. Real estate agents tell her she knows the market better than they do.

I pegged her for just the kind of "user" -- sorry, honey -- who would love this kind of data, even if it's regifted.

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