hokie07

Yes. At the 2010 Classic it rained Thursday, Friday, and absolutely poured all night Saturday. It only rained for about 20 minutes on Sunday at the 2011 Classic. No rain and vast improvements to the layout of Old White = 14 shot difference.

1.) See what GMan and sixcat have said about the renovations. 400 yards can be serious lengthening and, yes, 20-40 more yards on a hole can make a legitimate birdie hole into one of the hardest holes on the course. The greens are also brand new and they are firm, fast, and far from flat. 2.) Nobody is arguing the Old White's difficulty based on locality. The facts are that it played harder than 38 courses on tour last season. Scoring averages do not lie. Justice has put millions into renovating this course and it is easily in the top half on PGA card now at the very worst. Again, if you'd like to go by scoring averages, then it's in the top quarter. Just a random question, though. How closely do you follow golf? Not discounting your views/opinions on whatever you say, I'm just wondering.

I'm kind of confused as to which softball course you're talking about. Are you talking about the one that Phil Mickelson and a slew of other of the field's top players missed the cut at last year or the one where the 10-under par winning score on the course ended up playing harder than 38 of the 50 courses on the PGA schedule last season?

I had always heard that Clemson and Florida State want to join the SEC but South Carolina and Florida have a gentleman's agreement with each other to help block either school from getting an invite because they want to be the only SEC schools in the state. If that's a true and accurate reason, and they are truly pissed at the ACC, then it may be the explanation of desire for westward migration. Take it for what it's worth.

I hate Notre Dame... But I'd love to play them...

Jimmy J is really throwing out the $$$$$.... http://www.wtrf.com/story/18374236/greenbrier-owner-says-woods-will-play-in-classic

Go back to 1994 and you'll find Romney's position wasn't quite as firm as it is today either. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2006/12/romneys_thought.html "...Our society should allow people to make their own choices and live by their own beliefs. People of integrity don’t force their beliefs on others, they make sure that others can live by different beliefs they may have. That’s the great thing about this country: it was founded to allow people to follow beliefs of their own conscience. I will work and have worked to fight discrimination and to assure each American equal opportunity." Right, wrong, whatever. It doesn't matter to me. The moral of the story is that Romney is a slime ball just like 99.999999% of all other politicians. If this election tells you anything, it is telling you that no matter who you vote for in the general election (Romney v. Obama) you are voting for a liar.

Haha, I saw this live and immediately loved every second of it. Shortly thereafter, I checked the internetz and added the GIF to my list of favorite things too... hokie07's total time of continually staring at this GIF: 2 hours 47 minutes... and counting.

God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve... Just kidding... Seriously though, gay marriage or not, I really couldn't care less. If two people of the same sex want to "get married" and enjoy life together, then so be it. It doesn't bother me at all. Whether or not I believe it is moral isn't the question, I don't believe I have the right to tell them they can't be gay together. When gays reach Heaven's gates, and if God wants to stack 11 in the box on defense and make the ultimate goal line stand then that's up to him. Not me. Ultimately, I think the best thing for any politician to do would be to create a type of tax reform that gives gay couples the same breaks that hetero married couples enjoy. It would shut up the Evangelical crowd and get rid of gay marriage in the church so they could quit whining about that and it would also appease the homosexual couples and solve the "unequal" problems that they face.

Per WV media outlets... http://www.wsaz.com/sports/headlines/Mickelson_Coming_Back_to_the__150651555.html

Clemson would probably like to have his services in the CFA Kick-Off against Auburn this year...

Coolest tribute I've seen in a long time.

Leading the majors in runs, ranked 3rd in BA, and 8th in OBP. That will win a lot of games no matter how good or bad the pitching is. But like you said, the pitching does need to come around a little better. We put up 22 runs in the last 2 games and our run differential was only +5 on that. Exciting yes, but definitely nothing to brag about. The hitting on this team isn't nearly as bad as people are making it out to be though. No one on this team will hit 40 home runs, but there are arguably 5 players who are legit threats to hit 20+ a piece this season. I'll take that any day.

RIP to an original who forever changed the rap game... My tribute to M.C.A.: "Now my name is M.C.A. I've got a license to kill I think you know what time it is it's time to get ill Now what do we have here an outlaw and his beer I run this land, you understand I make myself clear. We stepped into the wind he had a gun, I had a grin You think this story's over but it's ready to begin Now I got the gun you got the brew You got two choices of what you can do It's not a tough decision as you can see I can blow you away or you can ride with me I said, I'll ride with you if you can get me to the border The sheriff's after me for what I did to his daughter I did it like this, I did it like that I did it with a whiffleball bat So I'm on the run the cop's got my gun And right about now it's time to have some fun"

Great take down by the pitcher, seriously. Both teams are lucky that the "brawl" wasn't uglier. Even though the benches cleared I didn't see but a handful of guys from each team punching/pushing/whatever. Side note: I've always wondered why this doesn't happen more in high school baseball around the area. I'm not condoning it, but baseball is one of the easiest sports to get ugly quick.

You can actually buy a shirt of McCarron's chest tattoo if you feel like you could pull it off... http://friendsoftheprogram.net/2011/09/22/the-hottest-bama-fashion-for-the-new-fall-season/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FriendsOfTheProgram+%28Friends+of+the+Program%29

Line moves to VT -29.5

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/braves-demote-jair-jurrjens-minors-062919515--mlb.html;_ylt=AkWe7WoN8eOfd0PeZ4k4pc4RvLYF Jair to Gwinnett. Had to be done.

I'm not sure any of us know "how badly" the situation was handled. On the outset, it doesn't look too good, but you might be surprised at what could or could not be be leaked and/or never come out about the situation. I don't know anything specific, but it's no secret that there is a frayed relationship between Greenberg and Weaver. Add that to 3 people on his staff bolting within a month and it might be a deeper problem. And I'm sure you can factor in losing too.

My jam, seriously.

Braves take the series against NY today and finish the homestand at 5-1. A few observations: 1.) 14 runs scored today. A total of 65 runs this season. Currently leads the majors. 2.) The bats are starting to come around. This team may not have the "big bat" that people talk about in this thread, but they have power throughout their entire lineup and 5-6 legit threats to go yard at any AB (Uggla, Freeman, Prado, Heyward, McCann, Jones). Not bad to have, IMO. 3.) Heyward is swinging a good bat right now. His shortened swing is paying immediate dividends and hopefully he continues to do that. He needs to stay healthy, and more importantly, play through a little pain if/when he does get a little dinged up. 4.) I still like our pitching, but the starters need to go a little deeper into the game to give our bullpen a shot at winning/closing games for us. Jurrjens specifically (4 IP today; 9.00 ERA). 5.) Yes, the future is bright, but the pitching and hitting on this team are more than serviceable this season (one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, IMO). The key to making a run is injuries. If 2-3 of any the 5-6 players I named in Point #2 go down then it's trouble. 6.) I know its early, but I think the Braves have as good a shot this year to win the division as any year. I really believe that Philly is close to hitting a brick wall. Are they the most talented team in the NL? Absolutely. But their age (Polanco, etc.) and injuries (Howard, Utley, etc.) are something they should worry about. The whole division is a bit stronger with the addition of the "new" Miami Marlins and Strasburg in DC. I'd say that each of those teams could be 10-15 games better than they have been in past seasons solely because of the new additions.

Every. Single. Morning.

I don't care what anyone says... Matt Diaz isn't as bad as people think. As it's been rehashed a million times, we can't afford/fall into a big OF bat and Diaz just so happens fill that hole as best as he can. The alternatives could be a lot worse...

I grew up playing soccer and still love the sport to this day. I follow soccer on the international scene as much as I can, but honestly, that isn't much. The Olympics, World Cup, Confederations Cup, etc. are about all I follow these days and that probably has more to do with national pride more than anything. I liken it to the other Olympic sports. I couldn't care less about professional swimming unless they have "USA" printed across their chest and competing against the world. It's a double-edged sword to me because 1.) the domestic soccer (sans college soccer) just doesn't compete at the talent level that I'd like to see and 2.) the talent that I really do appreciate is a half-a-world away from me and virtually impossible for me to connect with. So, all in all, I think soccer is one of the best sports in the world, but don't really call myself a soccer "fan" either.