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Jim Pankovits will be back for a third season as the manager of the Salem Avalanche, the Houston Astros announced on Friday.
Pankovits led Salem to the playoffs the past two seasons, a feat completed just once in the previous 18 seasons before his arrival in Salem.

Trainer Eric Montague is also back for another season. The new hitting coach for 2008 will be Alex Eckleman -- an all-Big Ten performer as a second baseman for Ohio State who played nine seasons of minor-league ball.

No word yet on the new pitching coach.

-- Katrina Waugh

Mark Berman here from Penn State, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team fell to Penn State 66-61 on Wednesday night in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
There will be a game story in Thursday's paper and a follow-up story with plenty of quotes in Friday's paper, but here are some comments by the Hokies to tide you over until then.
Geary Claxton, the eighth-leading scorer in Penn State history, got in foul trouble and had just eight points. He was averaging 22 points but was just 4-of-10 from the field. Jamelle Cornley was averaging 12 points but had just four points Wednesday.
"If somebody would've told me we would've held Claxton and Cornley to [12 points combined] ... I probably would've thought we would've won the game," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said.
"We've got to be a little more disciplined in terms of our defensive principles and we've got to be more consistent with our effort. We played hard, but I think the hardest thing to teach young players is understanding you've got to play every play."
Tech fell to 2-3. Penn State improved to 3-3.
The Hokies cut the lead to 48-47, 50-49, 54-51, 58-55, 60-59 and 64-61 but Penn State never lost the lead in the second half.
"They're young, like we are," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "They had us sideways for a little bit and then we got straightened back out and our young kids made some big plays."
Greenberg again started two freshmen and played five freshmen. He played three freshmen down the stretch - Hank Thorns, Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen - along with Deron Washington and A.D. Vassallo.
Tech trailed 38-28 at halftime
"We lost it in the first half," Delaney said of the game.
"We've been having a lot of bad shot selection during this course of this little three-game losing streak we've been having, but hopefully we could work on that," Thorns said. "That's something that could be fixed."
Tech did play poorly in the first half, but Greenberg and the players did not blame their play on having had to fly from Anchorage to Salt Lake City to Atlanta to Roanoke on Sunday, when they returned from the Great Alaska Shootout.
"We need to come out and play harder in the first half," said Allen, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Tech did play better in the second half. The Hokies shot 37.1 percent from the field in the first half but 52 percent in the second. PSU shot 53.3 percent in the first half and just 40 percent in the second. Six of the Nittany Lions' seven 3-pointers came in the first half.
"Defensively, we were a little bit more disciplined, a little tougher" in the second half, said Greenberg.
"We started playing much harder," Washington said. "That's something we've got to work on, to try to do it the whole game."
Nine of Tech's 15 turnovers came in the first half.
"We were lax with the ball," Washington said.

Mark Berman here from Penn State, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team trails 38-28 at halftime.
Turnovers and Penn State 3-pointers have hurt the Hokies.
Down 16-13 with 12:06 left in the first half, Penn State went on a 22-6 run to build a 35-22 cushion with 4:00 left in the half. Penn State had four treys in the run and scored three baskets off tunovers in the run. The Nittany Lions ended the run by scoring 10 straight points.
The Hokies look very much like the young team that they are.

One of the biggest games of the NFL regular season will take place Thursday night when Green Bay visits Dallas, but most folks here won’t be able to watch it. The game will air on the NFL Network, which is only available in this area to satellite customers and to those who get digital cable from Cox or Comcast. If you only have expanded basic from those cable companies, or if you get cable from JetBroadband, Citizens Cablevision, Rapid Cable or Media One, you’re out of luck. You will also be out of luck next Thursday when the channel airs the Redskins’ game against Chicago. Another highlight of the NFL Network’s schedule is New England’s final regular-season game against the Giants. — Mark Berman

NC State’s Khadijah Whittington was named Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after posting double-doubles in three games.

Whittington led NC State to a perfect 3-0 finish last week, including the tournament title at the Junkanoo Jam Lucaya Division in Freeport, Bahamas.

Whittington averaged 20.7 points on 65.7 percent (23-for-35) shooting to go along with 12.3 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game on the week. The senior from Roanoke, Va., was named Tournament MVP after averaging 25.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 1.5 blocks, while shooting 69 percent (20-for-29) from the floor in two convincing wins over Eastern Michigan and Washington State in the Bahamas.

The forward added an 11-point, 13-rebound effort in a mid-week 80-47 win at home over Arizona. Whittington now has recorded an ACC-leading seven double-doubles on the season, one in every game thus far this season. With the three double-doubles on the week, the veteran now has 26 on her career.

NC State will return to action for the inaugural Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge on Thursday, Nov. 29. The Wolfpack welcome Illinois for a 7 p.m. ET tip-off.

-Hokies win 33-21

-Jud Dunlevy hits his fourth field goal of the day, this one a 26-yarder that puts the Hokies up 33-21 with 4:56 remaining.

-Tyrod Taylor runs one in on third-and-goal from 5-yards out, and the Hokies extend their lead to 30-21 with 11:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. Both quarterbacks delivered again on that drive. Sean Glennon hit Josh Morgan for 25 yards on the second play of the series.

-Jameel Sewell runs one in from 2 yards out, cutting the Tech to 23-21 with 2:51 remaining in the third. Huge third-down conversion on that drive: Jonathan Stupar diving to snare a 17-yard pass on 3rd-and-12.

-Jud Dunlevy tacks on a 29-yard field goal to give the Hokies a 23-14 lead with 7:51 to go in the third. The score was set up by a blocked punt by Davon Morgan. That's Tech's second blocked punt of the season.

HALFTIME: Highly entertaining game so far, as Tech heads to the locker room with a 20-14 lead. Tech's offense continues to move the ball well, just as it did the previous three games against Georgia Tech, Florida State and Miami. Both Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor have played to their strengths, with Glennon completing 8 of 12 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown. Taylor has run for 20 yards and a touchdown while completing three of four passes for 24 yards.
Haven't heard much from Virginia's Chris Long today. That's a tribute to Tech's much-improved offensive line. I haven't given that line enough credit for the resurgence the past three weeks, but they've been as big of a difference as anything. Virginia has three sacks -- all by linebacker Clint Sintim -- but Branden Ore is getting some running room. He's got 48 rushing yards on 10 carries so far.
Defensively, the Hokies stood firm in the latter half of the second quarter. Brandon Flowers had a key interception to set up Glennon's touchdown pass to Royal, stepping in front of Maurice Covington to snare a high pass. They also put some pressure on Jameel Sewell, who is 9 of 14 for 87 yards and has been sacked twice.

-Sean Glennon hits a streaking Eddie Royal over the middle for a 39-yard touchdown, giving the Hokies a 20-14 lead with 12 seconds remaining in the first half. Glennon is closing in on 200 passing yards already.

-Jameel Sewell runs one in from 8 yards out to give the Cavaliers their first lead of the game, 14-13 with 6:35 left in the first half. The Hokies got pushed around on that drive. The Cavs' line was physical and the backs kept their legs churning to pick up extra yards. On the previous drive, the Hokies looked like they were heading in for another score when they tried a double pass involving Sean Glennon and Eddie Royal. The pass to Royal connected. Royal's pass? Not good. It was short and off the mark, an easy interception for Chris Cook.

-Big response to the Simpson touchdown. Sean Glennon goes up top to Eddie Royal deep over the middle for a gain of 56, helping set up Jud Dunlevy's 37-yard field goal with 34 seconds remaining in the first. That ups the Tech lead to 13-7.
Glennon is 5-for-5 for 102 yards.

-Mikell Simpson scores on a 27-yard run to bring UVa within 10-7 with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter. Nice block on Vince Hall by Jonathan Stupar to help open the hole. Tech's defense got a little soft in the middle on that drive, allowing a pair of 22-yard passes.

-The offense is cranking again, no matter which quarterback is in there. Jud Dunlevy tacks on a 20-yard field goal to make it 10-0 Hokies with 5:47 remaining in the first. It's early, but Branden Ore looks better than he has all year. I think we say this every week, but I think he's gotten a little bit better every week. He had an 8-yard run on that drive that would have gone for minus-2 early in the season. There was no hole on the right side of the line, but he bounced outside and picked up nice yardage. Tyrod Taylor had shifty 9-yard run that should have been a loss, too.

-Oh, that crafty Frank. Tech couldn't have started the game much better, getting a 41-yard punt return from Justin Harper -- taking the reverse handoff from Eddie Royal. Four plays and two quarterbacks later, the Hokies are in the end zone. Tyrod Taylor runs it in from 9 yards out, and with 12:12 remaining in the first, it's 7-0 Tech.

PREGAME: We're going to try something a little different today. Doug Doughty will blog from the Virginia perspective (what the Wahoos are doing right, wrong, etc.), while I will blog from the Virginia Tech perspective. Don't worry: You're just as likely to find fast-food references in my blog as his.

With about 20 minutes before kickoff, they're introducing the Virginia seniors. Largest ovation, of course, was reserved for No. 91.

So you thought Black Friday at Best Buy was a mad scramble? You should have seen the UVa students sprinting toward the prime seats when the Scott Stadium gates opened a little after 10 a.m. Won't be a lot of late arrivers to this one, I can assure you.

-- Aaron McFarling

Virginia's last drive ends with 2:00 left. There will be no comeback this time.

*****

Sewell comes back with 4:56 left and completes a 2-yard pass to Josh Zidenberg. Now, Zidenberg limps off.

*****

Glennon throws a Hail Mary that Josh Hyman catches for a 31-yard gain to the UVa 19 as Chris Cook falls down. Two observations: The UVa secondary has been really inept and Glennon is going to haunt the Cavaliers forever.

Tech leads 33-21 after Jud Dunlevy's fifth field goal with 4:56 left.

*****

Tyrod Taylor outruns Jermaine Dias to the flag for a 5-yard touchdown run that makes it 30-21 with 11:50 left.

Tech gets in scoring territory on back-to-back 25-yard plays, with Vic Hall involved in the coverage on the first play and missing a tackle on the second. Hall later knocks away a pass in the end zone, but there's no question the Hokies are picking on him.

One play into Virginia's next possession, Jameel Sewell is knocked out and replaced by freshman Peter Lalich, making his first appearance in three games. Mikell Simpson has now returned after turning an ankle on the previous drive.

A facemask penalty on Jordy Lipsey negates a completion to Maurice Covington that would have given Virginia a first down at the Tech 43.

Sewell is warming up behind the UVa bench. Time is running out on the 'Hoos.

*****

Just when Tech beat reporters were starting to mock Virginia defensive end Chris Long, Long sacked Sean Glennon and caused a fumble that teammate Antonio Appleby recovered at the Tech 28.

Jon Stupar makes a spectacular sliding catch to give Virginia a first-and-goal at the 2 and Jameel Sewell scores one play later to pull UVa to 23-21 with 2:51 left.

Now, Long gets another sack and UVa takes over at its 26 with 1:02 left in the third quarter.

*****

Now you know why Al Groh didn't nominate ACC-leading punter Ryan Weigand for the all-conference team. The Hokies take advantage of Weigand's slow delivery for a Davon Morgan block, resulting in a Tech recovery at the UVa 26 and a 29-yard Jud Dunlevy field goal to make it 23-14 with 7:51 remaining in the second quarter.

Special teams have played a major role in 10 Tech points.

Vic Hall already has been beaten twice this quarter. Tech has six receptions for 118 yards at Hall's expense.

*****

Tech burns Vic Hall again, this time on a 56-yard pass from Sean Glennon to Eddie Royal.
Byron Glaspy is late in providing safety help, but Tech settles for a 37-yard Dunlevy field goal to make it 13-7 after one quarter.

*****

Back-to-back 22-yard completions to Maurice Covington and Jon Stupar gives UVa a first down at the Tech 28. On second-and-9, Mikell Simpson bolts 27 yards for a touchdown to make it 10-7 with 2:37 left in the quarter. UVa's blocking is much improved. Stupar gets a great block on Vince Hall on the touchdown run.

Now Dowling has a parka over his head. Concussion?

*****

The Hokies continue to take advantage of Vic Hall on their second scoring drive, resulting in a 20-yard Jud Dunlevy field goal to make it 10-0 with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter. Promising freshman corner Ras-I Dowling is sitting on the bench with his head down and helmet off.

Here comes the Cavalier offense for its third series. UVa has one first down.

*****

In case, anybody is wondering, Virginia defensive end Chris Long is in uniform and participating in pre-game workouts. A case of strep throat caused Long to miss at least one practice early in the week.

We've been told that there will be a pregame observance to honor Long. Don't know what it is.

*****

With just under 40 minutes remaining till game time, the temperature in Charlottesville is 37 degrees, with plenty of sunlight, so it should warm up.

For the sartorially inclined, Virginia Tech is in white jerseys and pants, with maroon helmets. Virginia is waring blue jerseys and white pants, with blue helmets.

Stone Bridge 27, Edison 14

Sherando 38, Park View-Sterling 0

Amherst County 35, William Byrd 7

Richlands 39, Marion 20 Division 4

Salem-Va. Beach 10, Bassett 7

Buffalo Gap 29, William Campbell 28

Bath County 18, Rural Retreat 12

George Wythe-Wytheville 20, Giles 17, OT

-Hokies win 44-14.

-A 41-yard pass from Glennon to Hyman sets up a 1-yard touchdown run by Carlton Weatherford -- his first career touchdown run. With 11:33 remaining in the game, it's now 37-14 Hokies. About time to head down for interviews. Back with final score after the game.

-A 44-yard interception return by Macho Harris sets up a 37-yard field goal by Jud Dunlevy. With :28 remaining in the third quarter, it's now 30-14 Hokies.

-Branden Ore scores from seven yards out to give the Hokies a 27-14 lead with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter. Tyrod Taylor has been cleared to return to the game.

-Kyle Wright throws a 1-yard touchdown pass Leonard Hankerson to cut the Tech lead to 20-14. Fans aren't happy here, and they have a right to be angry. Replays showed that Hankerson pushed off on defender Macho Harris before catching the pass. Regardless, with 5:41 left in the third quarter, we've got a six-point game.

-Jud Dunlevy makes a 44-yard field goal on Tech's first drive of the second half. With 10:22 remaining in the third quarter, it's 20-7 Hokies. Still no update on Taylor's condition.

-Tyrod Tayor heads off the field and to the locker room with an unknown injury early in the third quarter.

HALFTIME THOUGHTS: The Hokies head to the locker room leading Miami 17-7, but they have to be disappointed in the drop-off in offensive production in the second quarter. After putting up 150 yards in the first quarter, Tech actually went backwards in the second and now have 138 total yards at the half. After switching QBs 12 times in the first three drives, the coaches stuck with Sean Glennon throughout the second quarter.
Why? Well, they guess here is they didn't want to reveal a ton of tendencies for next week's winner-take-the-Coastal game at UVa. Remember, this dual-QB system is still new, and it's hard to say how many plays they actually have set aside for Tyrod Taylor to run in it. With a 17-0 lead, it made some sense to scale back and play a little bit more conservatively. But now that the Hurricanes have trimmed the deficit to 10, you should see both quarterbacks again in the third quarter. In all, Glennon has taken 25 snaps and Taylor 9.
A few other notes: Center Ryan Shuman returned to the starting lineup for the first time since injuring his ankle in the BC game...linebacker Vince Hall, who returned to the lineup for the first time since breaking his wrist in the Clemson game, has seven tackles at the half....Branden Ore has averaged 6.0 yards on eight carries today...Glennon was sacked twice in the second quarter after not being sacked in the first....Sam Shields has four catches for 72 yards for Miami...The Hurricanes have minus-2 rushing yards, thanks in large part to the three sacks of QB Kyle Wright.

-The Hurricanes elect to take points off the board, and it pays. On 4th-and-3 from the Tech 9, Francesco Zampogna boots a successful 27-yard field goal, but officials call the Hokies for an offsides penalty. Miami takes the penalty and the first down that accompanies it, and quarterback Kyle Wright runs it in on the next play for a touchdown to make it 17-7 Hokies with :21 remaining in the half.

-The Hurricanes have a first-and-goal from the Tech 3 but cannot convert, as four straight runs up the middle don't cross the goal line. With 2:45 left in the half, the Hokies face a 3rd-and-9 from their own 2. Sean Glennon has played quarterback the majority of this quarter.

-We've hit a scoring lull here in the second quarter. Tech went three plays and out for the first time after forcing a fumble to thwart a Miami scoring opportunity. With 8:00 left in the half, it's still 17-0 Hokies.

-Jud Dunlevy tacks on a 40-yard field goal less than a minute into the second quarter. It's now 17-0 Hokies.

-And the new-and-improved Tech offense rolls on. Sean Glennon hits Justin Harper for a 15-yard touchdown pass on third down, giving the Hokies a 14-0 lead with 5:07 left in the first quarter. Tech's coaches have swapped quarterbacks eight times so far, and both have played well.

-Branden Ore looks solid early, bursting off right tackle for a 22-yard gain on Tech's first possession. Later, he powers over Miami's Colin McCarthy into the end zone from 4 yards out. With 10:12 remaining in the first quarter, it's 7-0 Hokies.

SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
VT—Ore 4 run (Dunlevy kick), 10:12. Drive: Eight plays, 61 yards, 2:46. Key plays: Ore 22 run to UM 20; Glennon 2 run on 4th-and-1 to UM 9. Virginia Tech 7, Miami 0.
VT—Harper 15 pass from Glennon (Dunlevy kick), 5:07. Drive: Nine plays, 57 yards, 3:23. Key play: Hyman 14 pass from Glennon on 3rd-and-10 to UM 19. Virginia Tech 14, Miami 0.

SECOND QUARTER
VT—FG Dunlevy 40, 14:17. Drive: Nine plays, 34 yards, 3:14. Key play: Weatherford 10 pass from Glennon plus 5 facemask penalty to UM 27. Virginia Tech 17, Miami 0.
UM—Wright 4 run (Zampogna kick), :21. Drive: Seven plays, 30 yards, 2:04. Key play: VT 5 offsides penalty to VT 4. Virginia Tech 17, Miami 7.

THIRD QUARTER
VT—FG Dunlevy 44, 10:28. Drive: 12 plays, 60 yards, 4:32. Key plays: Harper 23 pass from Glennon on 3rd-and-8 to VT 38; Ore 20 pass from Glennon on 3rd-and-13 to UM 45. Virginia Tech 20, Miami 7.
UM—Hankerson 1 pass from Wright (Zampogna kick), 5:41. Drive: 12 plays, 53 yards, 4:47. Key play: James 8 pass plus 7 personal foul penalty on 3rd-and-4 to VT 6. Virginia Tech 20, Miami 14.
VT—Ore 7 run (Dunlevy kick), 3:01. Drive: Seven plays, 68 yards, 2:40. Key play: Smith 20 pass from Glennon to UM 48. Virginia Tech 27, Miami 14.
VT—FG Dunlevy 37, :28. Drive: Four plays, 1 yard, 1:31. Key play: Harris 44 interception return to UM 20. Virginia Tech 30, Miami 14.

FOURTH QUARTER
VT—Weatherford 1 run (Dunlevy kick), 11:33. Drive: Five plays, 65 yards, 1:55. Key play: Hyman 41 pass from Glennon to UM 1. Virginia Tech 37, Miami 14.
VT—Cheeseman 2 run (Dunlevy kick), 5:48. Drive: Three plays, 9 yards, 1:21. Key play: Flowers fumble recovery at UM 9. Virginia Tech 44, Miami 14.

SOLO/ASSISTS/SACKS
Miami, McCarthy 3-6-0, Sharpton 3-6-0, Cooper 6-2-0, Phillips 3-4-0, Franklin 2-3-1, Gooden 1-4-0, Moncur 2-2-1.5, McCray 1-3-1, Johnson 1-3-0, Joseph 1-3-.5, Van Dyke 3-0-0, Ponder 1-2-0, Abdallah 2-0-0, Hill 1-1-0, Berry 1-1-0, Sharpe 1-1-0, Campbell 0-2-0, Abramson 1-0-0, Rutledge 1-0-0, Dixon 0-1-0, Gordon 0-1-0, Wesley 0-1-0, Grant 0-1-0, Zellner 0-1-0, Totals 34-48-4.
Virginia Tech, Hall 1-12-0, C. Martin 3-8-1.5, Adibi 3-7-0, Ellis 3-3-1, Flowers 5-0-0, Porch 3-1-0, Powell 1-3-0, Chancellor 1-3-0, Booker 2-1-1, Virgil 2-1-1, O. Martin 1-2-0, Reidy 1-2-0, Parker 0-3-0, Grimm 1-1-0, Br. Warren 1-1-0, Morgan 0-2-0, Brown 1-0-0, Harris 1-0-0, Boone 1-0-0, Taylor 0-1-0, Pickle 0-1-0, Worilds 0-1-.5, Carmichael 0-1-0, Dunlevy 0-1-0, Luckett 0-1-0, Totals 31-56-5.

PREGAME: Sean Glennon is listed as the No. 1 quarterback on the game-day depth charts provided to the media today. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll start, though. So why did I just provide this nugget of information? Because I have utterly nothing to say. Until this game actually kicks off, I can't try to sell you that you should be psyched for it. We're all just kind of killing time until next Saturday, aren't we?

You never know, though. Maybe we'll see a classic. The oddsmakers doubt it, as the line as ticked up to Hokies by 16.5 with the over-under set at 42. Kinda like the under here. You figure both teams will want to establish a ground game today -- the Hokies because they want to have that tuned up for next week; the Hurricanes because their passing game is dreadful and Kyle Wright is still hobbled. A lot of tailbacks running means a lot of clock running, and presumably fewer quick-strike scores and turnovers.

(I reserve the right to delete the preceding paragraph if the score is 24-20 after the first quarter. The deletion would be for entertainment purposes only, of course).

Had an interesting discussion with a couple of colleagues at the office yesterday. Can you imagine if the Hokies had held that 10-point lead against BC and were still sitting there with one loss? The way this season has gone, they'd still be in the hunt. You've got to assume the Big 12 champion will get the second BCS slot if LSU wins out, but stranger things have happened. Unfortunately for Tech, a stranger thing did happen that night, and that's why we don't have to worry about it.

-- Aaron McFarling

If you drive a 2005 Hummer SUV, feel free to call it a “classic” car. By the standards of college basketball tournament organizers, it qualifies. Among the tournaments being staged this month: the Old Spice Classic (est. 2006), the CBE Classic (2001), and my personal favorite, the Anaheim Classic (2007). At least the new postseason tournament, unnecessary though it may be, has the decency to call itself the College Basketball Invitational. Modesty – now that’s a classic character trait. –Aaron McFarling