The behemoths did not disappoint.  Their battle went back and forth – large lead by one matched by a large lead by the other.  As the end neared, the pulled neck and neck.  In a close, high scoring affair, 111Balz beat out MickeySurf by a nose to advance out of the first round of the Sabre Username Tourney (brackets will be updated later today).  

The Tourney continues.  Today, two board regulars lock horns in the Rivals Bracket:

rives

v.

papagator

The first is a UNC fan (I believe).  The other pledges primary allegiance to the Gators (I think).  Okay, I won’t speak for them and their loyalties - I’ll just say that I have noticed both rooting for non-UVa teams here and there.  Regardless, you know them both well.  Will the congeniality of rives get the win?  Or will the scrappy ‘gator eat him for lunch? 

Well, let’s stop blabbing and get it on!  Vote for your favorite on either the Football Board, Basketball Board, or Edge Board.

Another great article on TJ, though I especially liked this paragraph:

Center Olin Kreutz says the thing outsiders don’t know about Jones is how hard he works during the week. He does extra work in the weight room. He works extra hard to give his body a chance to recover after the pounding it may take during a normal Sunday. Bears teammates appreciate his professionalism. Grossman appreciates how Jones is willing to sacrifice his body to stop a rushing defender who’s trying to disrupt the passing game.

Of course, we all already knew that TJ is a hard worker, didn’t we?

Some posts just deserve to be republished here so that we can enjoy them forever.  Courtesy of 111Balz:

The ferret went up to C’Ville, he was looking for a game to steal….

He was in a bind ‘cos he was way behind: he was willin’ to make a deal. When he came across this young man dribbling a ball and shootin’ it hot.
And the ferret jumped upon a hickory stump and said: “Boy let me tell  you what:
“I bet you didn’t know it, but I own this conference too.
“And if you’d care to take a dare, I’ll make a bet with you.
“Now you play a pretty good ball, boy, but give the devil his due:
“I bet a ball of gold against your soul, ‘cos I think we’re better than you.”
The boy said: “My name’s Sean and it might be a sin,
“But I’ll take your bet, your gonna regret, ‘cos I’m the best that’s ever been.”Sean you loosen up you ‘bow and remove your warmup shirt.
‘Cos the devil’s come from Durham to grind you in the dirt.
And if you win you get this basketball of gold.
But if you lose, the ferret gets your soul.

The ferret opened up his case and he said: “I’ll start this show.”
And fire flew from Paulus as he limbered his elbow.
And he dribbled the ball between his legs and made an evil hiss.
Then McRoberts, and the others joined and it sounded something like this
wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah
When the devils finished, Sean said: “Well you’re pretty good ol’ son.
“But if you’ll sit down in that chair, right there, and let me show you how its done.”

25 footers, run boys, run.
Sean owns the house of ole Jack’s son.
Dunckin’ and swishing, 30 in a row
dookie, will your ferret bite?”
“No, child, no.”

The ferret bowed his head because he knew that he’d been beat.
Even after telling Wojo, to take out Sean’s feet.
Sean said: “Ferret just come on back if you ever want to try again.
“I told you once, you VLF, I’m the best that’s ever been.”

25 footers, run boys, run.
Sean’s in the house of ole Jack’s son.
Duckin’ and swishing, 30 in a row
“Granny, does your ferret bite?”
“No, child, no.”

Mickeysurf is right:

Great to see Thomas Jones getting well-deserved props. In many ways, TJ has remained in the shadow of Tiki with so many UVa fans. I’m delighted the Super Bowl is giving him the stage nationally to get the attention he deserves.

It’s incredible to see TJ in the national spotlight right now.  After getting burdened with that joke of a franchise in Phoenix, his resurgence is very welcome to us Thomas Jones fans.  (Though those of us who’ve watched him since his days in the Hook aren’t surprised).

With the help of the Newslink and Google News, I’ve gathered some evidence of the spotlight.  Bring another Wahoo Super Bowl ring home, TJ.

• Keeping up with Jones
• Jones thinks he gives running game some good wheels
• Jones/Benson gives Bears a two-headed running attack
• A back who runs smoothly
• Jones quiets negative talk
• Big Stone Gap prepares to cheer on hometown hero
• Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson ground game
• Jones now a driving force for the Bears
• Bears RB Jones No Stranger To Work

And add this article to the mix from ESPN’s John Clayton: “Jones still the one in two-back system“.

While the Basketball Board is dissecting the cheer sheets (which I’ve already commented on before), this important bit of news about Ryan Pettinella – who has been sidelined with a dislocated knee since the Puerto Rico trip – slipped under the radar:

On Wednesday, he looked good in practice, leading the way in sprints at the end of the session. He also looked good in controlled scrimmages.

“He got through a whole practice, which is probably about his fourth or fifth in a row,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao afterward. “He’s getting real close and I think we may have some minutes available to him on Thursday.”

Pettinella, who is wearing a brace on the knee, said he’s feeling good.

“Each day I can feel the whole healing process,” he said. “It gets better every day and that’s encouraging. I think I’m ready for game time.”

Before he went down, Pettinella was beginning to play very well. He had started seven of 10 games.

Pettinella’s numbers – 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds – were modest. However, his energy and hustle were becoming infectious.

The 6-foot-9, 238-pounder is giddy over the fact his return might come against Duke in a nationally televised game.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,” he said. “To get the opportunity to come back against a team like Duke – it’s just phenomenal. I’ve been itching to get out on the court. Watching the games from the sidelines has been tough. I just can’t wait to get out there.”

Even getting brief spurts of time from Pettinella would shore up our inside depth – especially given the inevitable foul trouble courtesy of Coach K’s officials.

Discuss this post on the Edge Board and the Basketball Board.

Testing out some wireless blogging during the morning commute. Can you hear me now?

If my network cooperates, I plan on dropping some posts from inside JPJ during Saturday’s game against Miami. It’ll be my first visit to the Big Bonhomme – and I’m looking forward to it.

Searched the LAX message board and didn’t see this posted yet: via the official Johns Hopkins site, Lacrosse Magazine has the Virginia Women’s Lacrosse team ranked at number seven.

Here’s the full list:

1. Northwestern (12) 259
2. Duke (1) 245
3. North Carolina 218
4. Georgetown 210
5. Princeton 201
6. Maryland 192
7. Virginia 188
8. Notre Dame 178
9. Dartmouth 166
10.Johns Hopkins 139
11.Cornell 116
12.Richmond 107
13.James Madison 101
14.Penn State 81
15.Hofstra 74
16.Boston University 70
17.Syracuse 57
18.Stanford 38
19.Pennsylvania 24
20.Vanderbilt 17
Others receiving votes: Denver 15, Towson 14, William and Mary 10, Loyola 7, UMBC 2, Virginia Tech 1

Good starting point for the ladies!

(Note: a previous version of this blog post incorrectly  attributed this ranking to the men’s lacrosse team).

With this past weekend’s happenings in the UVa football recruiting arena, I had some loose-end questions bouncing around in my head.  And who better to ask then our resident recruiting expert, Chris Horne? 

It appears that we have at least room for one more in this year’s class. Is that correct?

Speaking strictly in terms of the 25 number, which is the amount of freshmen a Division 1A program can enroll in a given class, UVa does have one spot remaining. UVa does have 25 commitments, but Romale Tucker will have to go to prep school regardless of if he qualifies or not. He’s an ’08 class recruit. The 85 number could be tricky. According to my numbers, the UVa 2007 roster currently has 81 scholarship players assuming there is no more attrition. Now, that number could change depending on which kids are brought back. For instance, Andrew Pearman and Olu Hall could both be back on the roster in ’07, adding two more scholarships to the roster. So, it’s getting close.

If so, why didn’t Coach Groh make any offers this weekend?

The numbers are getting tight. I think the staff wanted to offer one of the kids coming in – they did, and Jared Green accepted. Should a Marvin Austin want to come aboard – to say that would be a surprise would be the understatement of the year – he would have a spot.

How do you think Coach will use his last slot, if at all?

I think the staff is pretty much done with this class. Should a player de-commit – the class looks solid at this point – perhaps another offer goes out. Right now, though, this class could easily be finished.

If a number of our recruits have to prep, would you call Groh’s numbers strategy a mistake?

At this time, there are only three players of concern with respect to academics – Ras-I Dowling, Dom Joseph and Lamar Milstead. If none of those players make it, that still leaves 21 players enrolling for the ’07 class (assuming all grades are kept up). That’s a pretty good number. Plus, I think at least two of the three should make it. Dowling and Milstead are very close. Joseph has the furthest to go, but he could make it as well.

Thanks Chris!  Discuss this post on the Edge Board and the Football Board.  As always, Chris is usually on the Edge Board to answer questions – so post your questions there if you have any.

Sounds like all is not (completely) lost with Chimso Okoji: Cross-posting Chris Horne’s article on last weekend’s recruiting news ().

An exclusive blog Q&A with Chris coming later today on the state of the 2007 class.  Stay tuned….

Virginia’s Top-10 baseball team starts it up against Elon in the Coastal Carolina Tournament next week – Feb. 8th. 

The team should definitely participate in these types of tournaments.  Good experience, good exposure.  But why in South Carolina?  Perhaps it’s to give us face time in front of Carolina recruits?  But why not do something like this closer to home?

Generally speaking, scheduling Virginia area opponents for our non-conference road games is a good idea to get the team in front of its fans.  This year, the team plays two games in Richmond and one in Harrisonburg.  But an in-state tourney would amplify this effect.  If we’re going to showcase the baseball team in a multi-day event, why not make it in a major Commonwealth population center?

Let’s go with a Tidewater Tournament (most moderate weather in February).  And schedule a yearly game at D.C.-area school as well for us NOVA fans.

Discuss this post on the Edge Board and the Baseball Board.