hokie07

Well it all starts today... I'm excited to see all the new pieces in place, but probably most excited to see Evan Gattis in the near future. He's already a great story and I really think he'll make an impact down the road for us.

Remarkable that Ware is already up and on crutches. Hopefully, he can make a full recovery and find his way back onto the basketball court sometime in the future. The L'ville doctors don't believe its career ending but he sure has a long road ahead of him.

Or he takes a trip to somewhere like Ole Mi$$ and they lock him in a room with naked sorority girls and give him a blank check. That might change his mind.

1-21 from 3 will shoot yourself out of any game no matter the opponent.

This. The Braves could very well lead the league in not only runs and HR's, but they will probably lead by 100+ in strikeouts by the end of the season.

My thoughts too. Great outfield now, but we lose our best utility and most productive guy in the process.

Peter Gammons tweet: "One voice on Braves package for Upton Delgado, Gilmartin, Spruill" PLEASE let that happen. Regardless, there's a decent chance we know something good or bad by the end of the day...

That's the rumor, but nobody knows for sure. Whatever we have to give up, I'm sure its gonna hurt because we're getting 3 years out of Upton. Seattle offered their #1, #3, and #6 prospect along with a young arm they have until 2018 so that'll probably be Arizona's benchmark for a potential deal.

Tweets from Buster Olney today... "D-Backs talks with the Braves about JUpton have resumed. They're likely the frontrunner, if JUpton is dealt." "The Diamondbacks have been reviewing the Braves' offer for Upton; some folks involved feel like it's a strong offer." C'mon Frank, lets get this done...

That's cool and all, and I don't doubt you. Just posting what I read on a Rivals... Here are a couple quotes verbatim:

Rumor at Auburn was that Chizik micro-managed, especially when he was on the hot seat. He overruled Loeffler all the time and would call the offensive plays the majority of the time, leaving Loeffler's plan in the dust. I didn't watch a lot of Auburn games, but some fans noted that Chiz always had the offensive play sheet in his hands on the sideline. Chizik is/was a DC, not an OC. That might explain it. This info is actually from Auburn fans on another board I read. Odd that most of them stick up for Loeffler and everyone else on staff except for Chizik. Take that for what it's worth. I don't expect this guy to work miracles, but I am glad that someone took the initiative to at least give the offense a shot to get better in Blacksburg.

Yep, I can't believe I accidentally left them off my list. Northfork should be at the head of that list by a long shot.

This. Not to mention that Southern WV has been always been King when it comes to basketball in the state of West Virginia. Bluefield, Woodrow Wilson, Wyoming East (Mullens), Westside (Oceana), Tug Valley, Logan. That is basically West Virginia Basketball History right there.

Graham actually isn't bad for a Single-A team. They are a pretty quick team with decent fundamentals and will go as Colby Hill and Tony Hood go. Bluefield will make just about any team "slow" and Graham won't see that kind of overall ball pressure by any team on their schedule (aside from Round 2 with Bluefield) for the rest of the season. Absolute worst case, Graham loses 7 or 8 games. Outside of Bluefield and Floyd, they should be able to beat Bland and Grayson. They should win their district. They won't advance any further though, but in their defense, neither will any other team in SWVA.

The biggest shock of the night was watching Anthony Eades miss 3 free throws. He might not miss 3 the rest of the season.

This. This is much deeper than a gun control issue. This is a societal/humanity issue.

This is literally the saddest thing I believe I have ever heard. What the hell is wrong with this world?

It's not a "healthy rivalry." Any time violence and excessive harassment is in the picture then it reaches far beyond the definition of "healthy." None of your examples of rivalries have gained the negative notoriety that VT/WVU did. Tech fans point fingers at WVU fans, WVU fans point fingers at VT fans, and it probably is about a 50/50 split in all honesty. But I will say this: The fact that neither of your biggest rivals (Pitt and VT) want to play you guys if their hand isn't forced in conference match-ups doesn't really help your cause either. IMO, both schools are completely fine without each other and don't need any extra help with revenue, selling out stadiums, etc. Let it rest.

Looking past Bluefield?

And strike that rumor. The Nats just traded for him. Fvck. I wouldn't go as far as to call me an "eternal optimist," but I do see a silver lining. How much worse can he get???

Agreed. A RH version of Heyward is a fair comparison. Neither really hit for a strong average, but both are good defensively and are legit threats for 30/30 seasons. If we can get that kind of production out of Upton then we'll be fine. FWIW, I think Uggla finally wakes up this year and is productive. He can't get much worse.

I'm a huge fan of this deal. It should allow Prado to move back down to 3rd base. 1.) I'm alright with Upton. No way we could get Bourn without severely overpaying. Upton is younger and $3-4 million cheaper. 2.) He's definitely not Bourn, but Upton was only 2 HR's shy of a 30/30 season and he swings a good RH bat which is one of our biggest needs. Even a 25/30 season will make him worth his 5-year $75.25 million contract. 3.) I still think we can get a decent CF like Victorino for cheap. Rumor is that we are trading a SP to Minnesota for Denard Span. Depending on who it is, I wouldn't really mind it.

Beat the Big XII to the punch. That's where they were going next.

So you don't think that UK fans would rally around football if they got a James Franklin/Vandy-like turnaround? Just wondering.

Funds for Gruden? Probably not. Funds for Petrino? Absolutely. Word going around is that Petrino is going to accept the first coaching position that is offered to him no matter where it is.