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If Big 12 deputy commissioner Tim Weiser had returned my call Thursday, I would have asked if he really said Virginia’s baseball team had a “less than stellar” record against teams with an RPI under 100.

According to my calculations, UVa was 17-11-1 against top 100 teams. I’d say that’s closer to stellar than “less than stellar,” particularly when you consider the Cavaliers’ 7-5-1 record against teams with RPIs in the top 15.
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There will be the customary break in the UVa Insider column this summer, but there will be a column posted later today with feedback from Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage on the NCAA baseball pairings.

Summer break is tentatively slated to start next weeks but blog items will be posted periodically.

DD

(Former Virginia baseball player Barry Hollar, whose last appearance on roanoke.com provided some insight into Bruce Springsteen's history in Charlottesville, shares the text from the homily he gave at the funeral of ex-UVa coach and administrator James O. "Jim" West)

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(NOTE: Former Charlottesville Daily Progress reporter Andrew Joyner now works in marketing in Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Even after leaving the media arena and basically as just a fan now, I still try and see things through as neutral a filter as possible. But I cannot understand this seeding situation with UVa no matter how one slices it.

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Jerome Lewis, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end from Bishop Kearney in Rochester, N.Y., has become the eighth football player to commit to Virginia Tech for 2010.

Lewis also had offers from Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syacuse and East Carolina, according to rivals.com.

Other schools pursuing Lewis were Rutgers, West Virginia, N.C. State and Vanderbilt.

He had 10 receptions for 348 yards on offense as a junior, when he also played defense. He had 56 tackles, including seven sacks, and recovered four fumbles.

The decision by Virginia football player Andrew Devlin to transfer to Pittsburgh caused me to wonder about the frequency of such a move.

I couldn’t remember the last time that the Cavaliers lost a player who was projected to receive playing time, was in good shape academically and did not have any known legal problems. Read more »

I can’t remember the last time I had spoken to Roanoke Catholic boys’ basketball coach Joe Gaither before I called him today.

Gaither has been the most prominent figure in inner-city Roanoke basketball for the past 25 years and he asked me, “What went wrong with Dave Leitao?”

Early in his tenure, Leitao came to Roanoke to speak at the Roanoke Catholic boys’ basketball banquet and I’m sure Gaither always appreciated that. Read more »

Read more about Delray Beach, Fla., quarterback Mark Leal in today's Notebook Plus on roanoke.com.

Much ado about nothing.

That was the summation of Virginia Tech athletics compliance director Tim Parker on Thursday after he conducted follow-up interviews with Hokies quarterback Tyrod Taylor and safety Kam Chancellor about circumstances involving the use of their photos in promotional material for commercial events held in Hampton Roads.

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