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Aaron McFarling here at Martinsville Speedway, where we were awaiting Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer's press conference at 11 a.m. I'm not really sure what we were going to ask him -- "So ya like racin', Frank?" -- but now we won't have a chance to find out.

Speedway officials just announced that Beamer's helicopter could not get out of Blacksburg this morning. Iced in. Yes, iced. On March 30.

Needless to say, the crowd here today might be the smallest in a long, long time. But no rain as of yet, so here's hoping we see some racing.

UPDATE, 10:55 a.m.: Some guy from Goody's just "filled in" for Beamer in the media center. I'm reminded of the "Kamp Krusty" episode of "The Simpsons," when all the kids are waiting to see Krusty but instead get a video presentation and a substitute.

"Hello kids, I am Mr. Black..."

But they are trying to get Beamer on the phone for us.

UPDATE, 11 a.m.: Goody's guy, searching for stuff to say about Tech, just said something profound about "The Tighty Whitey Band." Then somebody reminded him they are actually called the "Highty-Tighties." Although the Red Hot Chili Peppers once performed in tighty whiteys, so maybe that was what he meant.

UPDATE, 11:09 a.m.: Frank just spoke. He said both quarterbacks will get equal reps in the spring. He said Kenny Lewis Jr., begins the spring as the team's No. 1 tailback.
But you know that already. He also said that he likes NASCAR. Did you know that? Yep. Likes the speed, the fans, the whole deal. Loves all the tracks in Virginia. Said there's a lot of things he thinks he could do in life, but climbing in a race car is probably not one of them. For that reason, he has a great admiration for the sport and the athletes in it.
"Mr. Black" promised to send Beamer some Goody's headache powder to ease his disappointment for not making the race. Frank thanked him.

Stephen Curry continued to make fools of talent evaluators with another 30-plus point performance in the NCAA tournament. His scoring output is impressive enough, but he's averaging over 20 points in the second halves of Davidson's three wins. Crazy. I've got Kansas going to the title game in my bracket, but I will gladly sacrifice that pick to see Stephen play again next Saturday. The focus is on his shooting, but to watch him play without the ball in his hands is remarkable. His basketball IQ is even better than his jumper. -- Jeff Gilbert

Friday

11 a.m.: Craftsman Truck Series practice (50 minutes)

Noon: Sprint Cup Series practice (90 minutes)

1:45 p.m.: Craftsman Truck Series practice (45 minutes)

3:40 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series qualifying

Saturday

10:10 a.m.: Craftsman Truck Series qualifying

11:30 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice (45 minutes)

12:50 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice (60 minutes)

2:30 p.m.: Craftsman Truck Series driver introductions

3 p.m.: Green flag for Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 250

Sunday

1:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup series driver introductions

2 p.m. Green flag for Sprint Cup Series Goody's Cool Orange 500

Mark Berman back here in Blacksburg, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team saw its season end with an 81-72 loss to Ole Miss in the NIT quarterfinals

Ole Miss, not Tech, will be off to the semifinals in NYC

The Hokies were outrebounded a whopping 46-23. Dwayne Curtis had 17 points and 11 boards, and fellow senior Kenny Willliams had 10 points and 11 boards.

"We had to get ready for a physical game, and it seemed like we didn't respond," said Deron Washington, who had 23 points. "Those are some real big guys. .... They were pushing us out. It was a little tougher because we're an athletic team. We don't have that much size. When the guy can just push in from underneath the basket, it's pretty tough to get rebounds."

"A lot of that has to do with their scheme," coach Seth Greenberg said. "We're stepping out on those ball screens and give those guys angles to get to the offensive glass.

"When we stepped out on them, they get penetration. ... The guy that's rotating back has a hard time getting inside to block out and they're just pushing us underneath the basket. And those guys are fourth- and fifth-year seniors. We're rebounding agains them with a sophomore and two freshmen.

"We weren't getting the loose balls and we weren't rebounding the basketball. They were just a little quicker and a little more aggressive."

Ole Miss had 16 offensive boards.

"They were shooting the ball and the big guys or whoever were getting rebounds and scoring," Washington said. "It made it hard for us to get out and run."

It was Washington's Tech swan song.

"It's pretty tough, knowing my career is over here," he said. "It was a pretty fun journey. ... It's been a fun ride. I'm going to miss it."

Ole Miss shot 49.2 percent from the field - the highest percentage by a VT foe since UNC shot 50 percent in Chapel Hill last month

Read more »

Bradley shot 56.7 percent from the field in the second half Wednesday night and outlasted Virginia 96-85 in a third-round College Basketball Invitational game at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville.

Senior guard Sean Singletary finished his UVa career with a school-record 55th consecutive double-figure scoring game, although it took 10 points in the final 6:53 for him to finish with 17 points. He also had eight assists.

Freshman Jeff Jones was 6-of-8 on 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 26 points for the Cavaliers (17-15). Senior Jeremy Crouch was 5-of-12 on 3-pointers, including 5-for-7 in the second half, and finished with a team-high 27 points for the Braves (20-15).

Bradley outrebounded UVa 43-38.

Mark Berman here in Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech trails Ole Miss 33-31 at halftime in the NIT quarterfinals.

After 2 straight NIT routs, Tech has itself a game tonight. When Ole Miss took a 16-15 lead with 12:02 left in the half, it was the first time Tech has trailed in this tournament since Morgan State took the lead with 11:55 left in the first-round game.

Ole Miss entered the game averaging 7.7 3-pointers and outrebounding its foes by 5 boards per game. The Rebels are living up to their billing, They are 4-of-9 from 3-point range and outrebounding VT a whopping 28-13.

AD Vassallo has 10 points but is just 4-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range.

Ole Miss is shooting 35.5 percent from the field, while VT is shooting 37.1 percent. Tech is 5-of-16 from 3-point range.

Chris Warren and David Huertas each has 8 points for Ole Miss.

Back with more after the game.

Forget about Shaq going from the Heat to the Suns, the biggest change of address in the NBA is ready to happen when Donnie Walsh turns his departure from Indiana into an arrival in New York. The Knicks have been an embarrassment to the league in recent years, but Walsh is an executive who can turn this thing around. Nothing is official yet, but this move will get Isiah Thomas out of the front office. When Walsh improves the roster, we'll find out if Isiah can coach (that is if Walsh keeps him around). No one could win with the team Isiah has assembled. The NBA needs the Knicks to be good. It's good for marketing. And I'm tired of following a losing team. -- Jeff Gilbert

Stephen Curry and Davidson are the darlings of the NCAA tournament. Google Curry today and the rest of the nation is catching up to the story of how Virginia Tech wouldn’t offer the son of Dell Curry a basketball scholarship. Curry was too small, Tech and other big schools said at the time. Another perimeter shooter to go with A.D. Vassallo this year certainly would have been enough to make Tech an NCAA team. That’s a one-that-got-away story Tech fans will never forget. But for the rest of us, it sure gives this tournament a storyline we will long remember. — Jeff Gilbert

Early Associated Press reports indicated that Virginia would meet Houston in the third round of the College Basketball Invitational, but it will be Bradley coming to John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

While the brackets on the cbi2008.com website indicated that the East region would meet the West region in the third round, the fine print said that teams would be reseeded after the second round.

Bradley (19-15) trailed 63-49 before going on a 21-3 run with 9:09 remaining. The Braves defeated visiting Ohio University 79-73.

Notes from Virginia's 80-76 victory over visiting Old Dominion:

VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Notes
Virginia 80, Old Dominion 76

Team Notes
• Virginia had five different players score in double figures for the third time this season
• With tonight’s win, Virginia has won consecutive games in a postseason tournament for the first time since the 1995 NCAA Tournament

Individual Notes
• Sean Singletary (22 points) scored in double figures for the 54th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the ACC and the longest streak in school history
• Sean Singletary had the 43rd 20-point game of his career (16th this season)
• Sean Singletary (22 points, 10 assists) had his fifth double-double of the season (fourth as points-assists)
• Sean Singletary moved into 29th place on the ACC career scoring list with 2,062 points, passing Maryland’s Albert King (2,058), Georgia Tech’s Travis Best (2,057) and North Carolina’s Lenny Rosenbluth (2,045)
• Sean Singletary’s steal in the final 10 seconds was his 200th career steal

Player Career Highs
• Sean Singletary tied his career high with 10 assists

Quotes:

VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Quotes
Virginia 80, Old Dominion 76

Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao

Opening comments:
“That was one of the more gut-wrenching games I’ve been involved with for a very long time. The way that both teams went after each other: the way that they started, the way that we came back, the way that they came back at us before halftime, the way that we came back at them after halftime. Then they responded again, and we came back and got up four, they came back and got up four. It was like that all the way to the end. In the end, everybody can have who they've got, and I’ll take Sean Singletary. He just continues to rewrite a story that’s already a bestseller in the annals of Virginia basketball. The three-pointer, at any other angle, probably would have missed, but thankfully it was head-on. Then the steal was something that you might be able to tell your children about 10, 20 years from now. He’s truly amazing.”

Did Sean create a miracle tonight?
“He gave us a chance. He’s given this team, this family, this program, a chance over the past four years, and made all this possible. We’ve been able to ride on his shoulders for a very long time. He’s a player that we should be having more conversations about—one in a million.”

On Sean’s last minute three-pointer and steal:
“People may say that the shot was lucky, but luck is a byproduct of hard work. You put yourself in a position to be lucky, so I don’t think it was a lucky shot. When a guy has done what Sean’s done in preparation, shots like that do go in at big moments. We’ve seen it last weekend, the weekend before that, and all over the place. The ironic thing about the steal is that he took the ball from the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year (Brandon Johnson), who led the conference in steals. It was a very fitting way to win a basketball game for us.”

Old Dominion Head Coach Blaine Taylor

Opening Statement:
“The game went according to script as far as we were concerned. We thought we could give them some problems early and we did. We knew they would come back at us and they did. We took a nice lead to the locker room. We knew they would come out of the locker room and it would be a battle. They gave us their best shot, got up six. My kids never went away, they kept battling. We put ourselves in a position to win at the end of the game. A little bit of this, a little bit of that; just one play from us walking out a winner. Hats off to them and best of luck as they go into the rest of tournament.”

“I am really proud of our team. There was a point in early February when we were struggling, trying to find ourselves and my older kids really hung in there. Great attitude about whatever it took for our team, and our young kids developed. We had a nice run in February winning six out of seven [games] and of course we made a statement in this tournament that we could have played as well as anybody if we had been given a chance to pursue the next round.”

Virginia Senior Point Guard Sean Singletary

On his late game steal:
“He liked to use the crossover and was very deliberate with his moves. When he went to the retreat dribble, I knew he was going to crossover, so I stuck my hand out and he put the ball right in my hands.”

On his mindset down the stretch:
“I knew we had to stay calm, and stay poised. Luckily for us, in this building, we had a lot of momentum and energy on our side, but we had to stay poised and focused.”

On this game being memorable:
“When I look back on my career, this will definitely be one of the bright spots. It was a team effort. Jamil [Tucker], Adrian [Joseph] and Mamadi [Diane] really stepped up and played big. Without their contributions, our season would be over.”

Virginia Sophomore forward Jamil Tucker

On Sean’s performance down the stretch:
“The ending to this one follows right up there with the Duke shot. The steal, the three-pointer, and the last few sequences were something a lot of players can’t do. “

On the team’s defense:
“Coach harps on playing good defense. We know our defense fuels our offense so it was really important for us to stay focused and make plays on the defensive side of the ball.”

On hitting big threes:
“With penetrators like Sean and Calvin [Baker] always setting you up, your job is just to get to the right spots. As someone who is going to shoot off their penetration, I just have to make sure I am in a good spot for them to get me the ball.”

Old Dominion Senior Guard Brandon Johnson

On what he thought while Sean Singletary was defending him at the half court:
“I was just thinking, get to the basket. I was thinking of going up with my right hand, but he stood right there, he played that well. When I tried to cross over, he was right there.”

On Sean’s speed:
“He is pretty quick. Out of all the players I’ve played, he’s probably up there in the top five.”

Old Dominion Senior Guard Brian Henderson

On the loss:
“It’s tough. But what can you do but just hold your head up. We played well. All of my teammates played hard.”

Mark Berman back here in Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech cruised to a 75-49 win over UAB in the second round of the NIT.

The top-seeded Hokies will play second-seeded Mississippi in the quarterfinals at 7 pm Wednesday in Blacksburg on ESPN2.'

It's hard to see Tech losing that game, considering another near-capacity crowd turned out Monday.

Tech held UAB to 36.2 percent shoooting from the field, including 3-of-18 from 3-point range. All-Conference USA first-team pick Robert Vaden had just nine points. He was 3-of-17 from the field, including 1-of-12 from 3-point range.

Deron Washington had 16 points and guarded Vaden for much of the game. AD Vassallo had 18 points and four of Tech's nine treys. Malcolm Delaney had 17 points and three treys.

JT Thompson had eight points and seven boards. He was 4-of-4 from the field.

Game story and column in Tuesday's late-edition paper and online Tuesday.