The men’s swimming and diving team is destroying the competition right now in the ACC Championships. You can catch up on the action and follow live updates from fellow ‘Hoos over at the Olympic Sports Message Board. (H/T UVADieHard).

A poster responds* to the CFN preview:

That was a glass half empty take! I could make a glass half full take just as … easily! I think we will be fine! We have a QB who can throw and healthy WRs and stable of RBs. Our secondary could be much better and the DL may step up and allow that LBs to make the plays like most 3-4 defenses are supposed to. Just depends on how one looks at things. No ones know what next year brings. I like the fact we have 7 home games and are coming off a good but not great season. We should be hungry and confident! With USC up first we should be focused as well. I can’t wait! Go Hoos!

Ah, Spring. A time full of hope and pessimism. Fill my glass with bourbon, please.

*message board link that will expire

I hope you enjoyed last season. CFN’s Spring Preview:

The early spring buzz … Virginia’s high academic standards are causing major headaches this off-season for Al Groh and the football program. A half-dozen players, including QB Jameel Sewell, DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald, and CB Chris Cook have uncertain futures in Charlottesville related to problems in the classroom. Most unsettling is the fact that these departures are occurring on a team that was already facing the possibility of having to rebuild in 2008 after going an unlikely 9-4 a year ago. If the Cavs have any hope of bucking the trend again this fall, they’ll have to spend this spring recapturing the close-game magic that led to an NCAA-record six wins by five points or less in 2007.

The big spring question is … Who’s going to rush the passer? If Fitzgerald makes good on his promise to transfer, it’ll rob the Cavaliers of he and Chris Long, who combined for 21 sacks last season. That’ll leave the program with just two ends with meaningful experience, sophomore Sean Gottschalk and senior Alex Field. If opposing quarterbacks have all day to throw this season, an average Virginia secondary is going to get exposed on a weekly basis.

The most important position to watch is … The offensive line. When First Team All-ACC lineman Branden Albert decided to declare for the NFL Draft, it meant Virginia would be without both of last year’s starting guards and its No. 1 center. One of the top priorities this spring will be to rebuild the interior of that line in order to support the running game and likely starting quarterback Peter Lalich. At 6-5 and 235 pounds, the sophomore is more of a pocket passer than the kind of quarterback Cav coaches want to be dodging non-stop pass rushes.

Spring attitude… The conventional wisdom is that Virginia overachieved last year with one great player, a solid kicking game, several close wins, and an average overall supporting cast. With Long and Albert headed to the NFL, the Cavaliers are taking huge hits on the defensive and offensive lines, respectively. Plus, this was supposed to be Sewell’s breakout year, rather than a season that may never materialize. With a schedule that begins with USC and ends

Oh yeah, we also have to break in a punter, juggle injuries and academics at running back, and head into battle with a new center. Other than that, things look great for 2009!

Well, it won’t be Dave Leitao, even in our pipe dreams. But who should it be? A thread on the basketball board* is full of discussion on the possibilities — go ahead and dive in.

*message board link that will expire

An encouaring discouraging article about Solomon Tat. Bummer that he’s not cracking the rotation, but a good thing that he’s not giving up, not thinking about transfering, and not sitting on his hands. When someone that could be sulking is a team leader instead, that’s solid.

I’m hoping he does work on the offensive side of things after March. If he could chip in some points, he’d be a beast on the floor for the Hoos on the defensive end.

What, Ben, two home games victories against the bottom feeders of the ACC, for the first winning streak of any size in conference play, isn’t enough for you?

UPDATE: Sorry, we beat BC on the road a couple games back, not at home. Well, that’s something.

Future is looking bright: Sylvan was picked for the McDonald’s All American team.

Yes, but Al Groh continues to mine the D.C. metro area for talent, picking up his third commitment for the ’09 class from Wheaton, Maryland. Athlete Caleb Porzel* — a potential running back or receiver — just picked the Hoos* over offers from West Virginia and Pitt. No word yet on whether our in-state recruiting efforts collapsed as a result.

*Subscription required for these links.

The 2009 class added it’s second member* yesterday: a big, punishing runningback from Fredericksburg named Dominique Wallace* who chose the Hoos over offers from Maryland, NCSU, and Penn State.

That means both of Virginia’s 2009 recruits so far are Virginians (the first being running back Alex Owah* from Harrisonburg). So, just a few weeks after the close of a recruiting year where many criticized Al Groh’s lack of Virginia recruits as a looming long-term problem, he’s already getting Virginia recruits.

Now, looking at two early commitments before an entire class fills out is certainly highlighting a tiny sample size. But it’s not all that different than just isolating 2008 and ignoring the many recruits from the Commonwealth in years prior (thirteen, or over half, of 2007′s class* were Virginians). Last year could’ve been an aberration, caused by an unlikely perfect storm of bad circumstance that shouldn’t be occurring again. Time will tell, but Groh has already plucked two highly regard Virginia recruits from different regions of the Commonwealth.

*Subscription required for these links.

Since he doesn’t blog, I’m giving this space to a basketball board visitor (and St. Louis resident) who posted his views* on John Brandenburg’s game after attending one of his games:

Since I don’t blog, I thought this as good a place to post some impressions I had of seeing one of our incoming freshmen live a week or so ago. I went to the Desmet-St. Louis U. High game on Feb. 15 and saw John put up 23 points on what was a fairly overmatched Jr. Billiken squad, and came away with several impressions.

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