GOVERNORS REPORT CRITICAL OF TECH

From today’s Richmond Times Dispatch:

“The toll in the April 16 massacre at Virginia Tech could have been lessened if authorities had canceled classes and promptly alerted students that a killer was on the loose, a panel appointed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine says.

"But none of these measures would likely have averted a mass shooting altogether," a report released late Wednesday night on the governor's Web site concedes.”

We won’t bog you down in all the details, but let’s just hope this “water under the bridge” report is utilized for its best purpose – to guide future administrators in the face of potential tragedy. As we said before, like 911, the authorities and administrators at Tech were faced by a circumstance they literally never dreamed possible.

We doubt anybody gets something so horrible right the first time…

GET YOUR DAVE ON

If you are really lookin’ to get your Hokie groove on, there’s a concertn Thursday, September 6, 2007, 6:00 p.m. at Lane Stadium.

This from the Hokie website:

Join us for a special evening as we, together with Virginia's own Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Phil Vassar, and Nas, enjoy A Concert for Virginia Tech.

The concert is being offered by these inspired musicians as a gracious gift to the Virginia Tech community. It’s about a celebration of spirit. It’s about showing the resiliency and strength of our community known throughout the world as Hokie Spirit.

On September 6th, we’ll celebrate the Hokie Spirit and the university community.

We are Virginia Tech.

The "Concert for Virginia Tech" will have an impact on classes that evening. As of now, the Provost's office plans to cancel classes beginning at 5 p.m. so that all faculty, staff, and students may attend the concert if they wish.

There was a little bit of concern in a Roanoke Times’ editorial this morning about the appropriatness of Nas’ lyrics. Let’s hope for the best.

PREGAME CEREMONTY TO HONOR VICTIMS, FAMILIES, FIRST RESPONDERS

Bring some Kleenex, this is going to be intense… heck, just reading about it is intense…

By Mark Schlabach – Yahoo Sports.com (edited)

Virginia Tech will honor the 32 victims of April's horrific campus shooting during a 20-minute ceremony before Saturday's football opener against East Carolina at Lane Stadium.

After months of discussions with other campus leaders, Hokies athletic director Jim Weaver said the school settled on a ceremony that will honor the 32 students and faculty killed by a lone gunman in the deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history. The school also will honor the victims' families, those wounded and the first responders.

"We wanted to make sure we recognize them," Weaver said. "We will never forget."

After the teams warm up and leave the field around 11:45 a.m. Saturday, the school's Corps of Cadets will march onto the field, which is a tradition for the first home game. Then two school bands -- the Highty-Tighties (the Corps' band) and the Marching Virginians -- will perform, followed by a moment of silence and the national anthem.

East Carolina chancellor Steve Ballard and athletic director Terry Holland will present Virginia Tech officials with a $100,000 donation to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. ACC commissioner John Swofford also will be recognized for the league's earlier donation of $300,000. Virginia Tech president Charles Steger and Virginia governor Tim Kaine then will recognize the first responders at the 50-yard line.

In what will certainly be the most emotional moment of the pregame ceremony, a tribute video of the victims will be shown on the video screens on the scoreboard in Lane Stadium. Afterward, 32 balloons will be released above the stadium to honor the deceased.

"I think it's going to be as emotional of a game day as I've seen in my 10 years here," Weaver said. "I say that because the Hokie constituencies are a very caring people and they feel very badly about what happened on April 16, losing 32 of our own."

After the school's fight song, "Tech Triumph," is played by the bands, both teams will run onto the field at the same time. The Pirates will run through a tunnel created by the Corps of Cadets. After the coin toss, the team's head coaches and seniors will shake hands at midfield. Weaver said the Hokies want to thank East Carolina for its generosity and aid after the shootings.

Weaver also has taken steps to ensure that the Pirates and future opponents are welcomed to Lane Stadium with a warm ovation. Weaver sent a letter to Virginia Tech season-ticket holders and an e-mail to faculty, staff and students, in which he asked them to refrain from booing opposing teams this season.

"With the kind of outpouring of love and concern we were shown, it would be very unsettling if you had a booing situation when an opponent came into Lane Stadium," Weaver said. "We don't want that to ever happen again."

"We're not trying to get them to lose their intensity for the game, but we want them to always show respect for the opponent," Weaver said.

Weaver also said each of Virginia Tech's 21 athletic teams will wear a patch with the Virginia Tech logo and a ribbon this season. Each of the teams at the ACC's other 11 schools will wear a black bar on their uniforms.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

THE LONGEST JOURNEY STARTS WITH THE SMALLEST STEPS. The University of North Carolina Athletics Department sent out an email yesterday announcing that the Tar Heels’ opener against JMU was SOLD OUT.

Impressive.

PICTURE OF THE DAY 2

I HAVE A WIDE STANCE, HONESTLY! Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) explains to the Idaho National Ruby Club members why he pleaded guilty to soliciting homosexual sex in a men's room in Minnesota. The "Potato Buds" (or just "Buds" for short,) weren't amused.

(AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 3

POSH IS GONNA BE PISSED...as in angry, not drunk. Well, she may be that too 'cuase it looks like the meal ticket is broken. Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham sits on the bench with his knee bandaged after an injury against C.F. Pachuca during the first half of the SuperLiga final soccer game at the Home Depot Center, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007, in Carson, Calif.

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 4

AND THE WINNER IS...We would never leave you hanging after that Air Guitar runner-up teaser…Here is the man, Andrew "William Ocean" Litz.

And here's the video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3471034191196708426

PICTURE OF THE DAY 5

WE WANT TO PARTY WITH WINNIE! From England's Daily Mail: Winne Langley celebrated her 100th birthday the best way she knows how - smoking. The iron-lunged pensioner celebrated her 100th birthday by lighting up her 170,000th cigerette from a candle on her birthday cake.

Winnie Langley started smoking only days after the First World War broke out in June 1914 when she was just seven-years-old - and has got through five a day ever since.

She has no intention of quitting, even after the nationwide ban forced tobacco-lovers outside.

Speaking at her 100th birthday party Winnie said: "I have smoked ever since infant school and I have never thought about quitting. There were not all the the health warnings like there are today when I started. It was the done thing."

Winnie, from Croydon, South London, claims tobacco has never made her ill. She has outlived a husband, Robert, and son, Donald, who died two years ago aged 72.

The former launderette worker said she started the habit in 1914 - just weeks after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28 - which sparked the First World War. The 100-year-old, who is awaiting her telegram from the Queen today, said smoking helped calm her nerves during the two World Wars.

Despite the numerous health warnings, Mrs Langley insists she's never suffered because of the habit as she "has never inhaled".

We didn't make ANY of that up. Is she somehow related to Slick Willie Clinton?

WHITNEY HOUSTON: CHILDREN ARE NO LONGER OUR FUTURE

The 18-year-old beauty contestant who mesmerized the nation with her verbal "brilliance" at the Miss Teen USA pageant over the weekend originally entered the realm of beauty pageants to improve her personal communication skills, according to World Net Daily.

Lauren Caitlin Upton of Lexington, S.C., shown in this undated modeling photo, has become a national sensation after her grammatically challenged response to a question at the Miss Teen USA pageant in Pasadena, Calif., Aug. 24, 2007 (photo courtesy Locke Management)

(Just in case you missed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww)

"I was never much of a pageant girl," Upton said in an interview published just hours before Friday's competition. "When I first started pageants, I wanted to build up my communication skills for interviews for college and for jobs. I was determined to prove I was able to accomplish anything I put my mind to."

According to Upton, "I didn't do anything wrong. I wasn't expecting [the question]. I lost my train of thought."

Miss South Carolina Teen USA says she graduated with a 3.5 grade-point average from Lexington High School in June, and was a varsity athlete and student leader. "I just want people to know that I'm an average teenage girl, living life to the fullest, learning from my mistakes and living life in a positive way, and that is all I can ask for."

(Wow, is that “pageant speak” or what? She really has improved her communication skills.)

While millions have seen her clip on the Internet and television, Upton said she's not interested in taking a gander. "I don't really want to hear myself," she laughingly told her local newspaper.

Andrew Levy, the ombudsman for the Fox News Channel's overnight show "Red Eye" sarcastically noted, "Whitney Houston says she no longer believes the children are our future."

Upton will get another chance at answering questions in the morning as she's slated to appear on NBC's "Today Show."

Upton is considering scholarship offers from Clemson, Florida State, Maryland, Miami and Virginia Tech.

Duke isn't interested as she clearly isn't foresightful.

CALL US DECEMBER 10TH

Yesterday in Richmond, Michael Vick pleaded guilty. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 10th.

What we learned yesterday: Mr. Vick has a fiancee. Our guess is she is way pissed off. Hmmm...jail and an angry woman. Nice, Mike, NICE!

Here's what Mike Wilbon and Mike Wise had to say in today's Post. Both nice pieces.

Wilbon - It was good to hear Vick apologize unconditionally, for not just what he did but what he facilitated. It was good to see the same man who has presumed all along he was bulletproof and completely outside the law show what appeared to be actually humility. I didn't think Michael Vick had that kind of performance left in him, to be quite honest.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701906.html

Wise -
Ookie was gone. The alter ego of Bad Newz Kennels, the brutal benefactor who perpetrated animal cruelty, disappeared before a phalanx of cameras and microphones. On the day he pleaded guilty to a dogfighting conspiracy charge, an ashen-faced Michael Vick, his eyes moist, stood before a no-nonsense judge in a mahogany-walled Virginia courtroom.

"Guilty," he said, solemnly.

The cocksure, blinging Pro Bowler who once boasted of his impending exoneration was nowhere to be found. Along with the diamond-stud earrings. The scully. The cornrows.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701751.html

DRUNK ON HIS KASS

According to Rachel Carter of the Raleigh News-Observer in an article titled Pirates Face Early Challenge (Duh!) (OK, we added the duh…) there is actually some upside to ECU playing the Hokies on Saturday.

“Yes, Saturday's game at Virginia Tech has positives for East Carolina.

National television exposure, an immediate test of the squad's abilities and a spot in history.”

To read the rest of this nonsense:

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/ecu/story/683680.html

However, we don’t think the Pirates’sophomore quarterback Rob Kass is quite as positive about Saturday’s big game. Kass was arrested over the weekend on charges of driving while impaired after he was stopped at a police checkpoint several miles from the university's main campus.

Kass, 20, is projected as ECU's starting quarterback as the Pirates head into Saturday's season-opener at No. 5 Virginia Tech. ECU coach Skip Holtz said "I've visited with Rob, but at this point I'm not ready to address it publicly. When I am ready to address it publicly, I will."

Kass, a native of Longwood, Fla., was arrested at 1:28 a.m. Saturday blowing a .19.

Call it pre-game stress, and rightfully so...

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/ecu/story/684621.html

FORESIGHTFUL + DUKE = STUPID

In a statement released recently, Duke President Richard Brodhead announced that he had reappointed Joe Alleva as director of Athletics.

Alleva was retained in light of an extensive report generated this summer by a nine-person review committee comprised of Trustees, alumni and faculty and, in spite of, the horrific mess he helped make of the Duke Lacrosse scandal. For some reason, the Duke Chronicle felt compelled to tell us that this committee of suck-ups was chaired by Trustee Emeritus Harold Yoh, Engineering '58.

According to the Chronicle, over 150 people commented to the committee on Alleva's job performance, said John Burness, vice president for public affairs and student relations. (Something tell us Mike Pressler wasn’t one of the 150…)

Brodhead said "the emphasis on the integrity that [Alleva] has infused in our programs and the central place he gives to the idea of scholar-athletes" was the key factor in granting the director of athletics the five-year extension afforded by the reappointment.

(Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…)

Alleva has been a member of the Department of Athletics since 1980 . What he said: "I am excited and honored to be reappointed as the director of this outstanding athletic department," Alleva said in a statement. "We have made tremendous progress over the past nine years and there is much more to do."

What he meant: "It's a freakin miracle I still have a job."

In Alleva's tenure, Duke has won six national championships, 44 ACC championships and has produced 147 All-Americans. Yet there have been several highly publicized issues that affected the department profoundly, from a steroid scandal in 2005 to the circumstances surrounding the lacrosse case.

"The situation of college athletics is changing rapidly and in challenging ways," Brodhead said. "We want to be foresightful in being prepared for these changes. Besides, who really gives a s&%# about Mike Pressler?"

Yes, he actually said “foresightful.”

PICTURES OF THE DAY

GOING, GOING, GONE. Winner, winner, chicken dinner...According to the Associated Press, Dalton Carriker couldn't feel his legs as he rounded the bases. His home run in the bottom of the eighth inning had just given Warner Robins, Ga., a thrilling 3-2 victory over Japan and the Little League World Series championship. "I felt like I was flying, like Peter Pan," Carriker said. "I didn't know what I was doing."

Adrenaline took over from there, said the 12-year-old slugger with braces, whose dramatic homer over the rightfield wall on Junsho Kiuchi's 2-and-1 pitch gave the United States a third straight title.

(Photo: Damian Strohmeyer/SI)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 2

AND WE THOUGHT THE NATIONALS WILY MO PENA HAD A BAD NAME...Coco Crisp, who was run over by the Mariner Moose a couple of weeks ago, still hasn't gotten over the incident. Yes, the Boston Red Sox center fielder goes by "Coco." This should come as no surprise as his real name is Covelli Loyce Crisp.

Those Crisp, they're funny.

(AP photo via SI.com)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 3

SOMEHOW THIS GUY, Ryan "Stryker" Strecker, lost in the US Air Guitar National Finals recently. . Andrew "William Ocean" Litz went on to win and will represent the United States at the Air Guitar World Championship in Olou, Finland in September.

We're diggin' the cutoffs, man.

(AP Photo via SI.com)

BRONCOS #1 IN FIRST POLL

In a poll released early Monday morning by Sports Illustrated Kids magazine, the Fauquier 5-6 Pee Wee Broncos are the number one team in the Five- and Six-Year-Old Pee Wee/Instructional Football League National Championship Series Poll (56PWIFLNCS). The Broncos received both votes for the coveted top spot. ESPN and the AP polls both also placed the Broncos at the top of the heap.

Bronco head coach Chris Pearson attributed his team’s lofty national status to “talent and Toly Hansbrough.” Hansbrough (pictured right with Jack "Atwater"), the highly recruited basketball player who has already signed a letter of intent to attend the University of North Carolina for the fall of 2020, is an impact player mostly off the field.

“Toly has mad skills,” said Pearson, “but it’s not what he does on the field (which is mostly stand around and stare into space when he isn’t trash talking some kid twice his size), it’s more about his leadership and what he does off the field.”

According to Pearson, the Broncos, who defeated the Steelers 5 touchdowns to 3 in Saturday’s opener, rely on Toly’s Rocknesque motivation techniques. “The way he sits on the sidelines and throws dirt at his teammates – you can’t teach that, that’s God given talent.”

Late in the game, with the Broncos tiring and the Steelers attempting to rally, Toly motivated his teams’ final goal line stand by turning his back to them while perfecting the art of standing on his helment on one foot.

“That subtle helmet move late in the game?” Pearson said, “Pure genius. That iced it.”

LOCAL BARRISTER, TOP GUN HAVE CAREER ROUNDS

Two local golfers, stalwarts of the Hack Berry Creek Country Club, shot career rounds over the weekend. Dirt Callahan (previously a 7 handicap) lit up the course with a tidy little 72. While winning his match 6/5, Dirt bogeyed the last hole when a tree limb attacked his second shot after a drive that had drifted ever so slightly right. He recovered to make bogey and post his career best 72. Well done Mr. Dirt.

Dirt celebrated with whiskey and a cigar.

On Sunday, local barrister and PGA rules expert, T. Huntley Thorpe (previously a 14) attacked the links at Hackberry, and wrestled them to the ground for a career-best 76. Evidently, THT3 (who is neither drunk nor Irish as it appears in the photo at right) could do little wrong. According to one of his two-man match play opponents, FSU’s own John Clark, “THT was on fire--things like making a 40' putt on 11 for a birdie, etc. And, knowing he was on the cusp of personal greatness, he parred out 17 and 18 to shoot 76. It was an impressive thing to behold, even though I did get my ass kicked.”

Rumor has it that THT3 celebrated with 1/2 gallon of ice cream.

In other golf news, Steve Stricker won his first pro event in 11 years. He earned $1.26 million for winning the Barclays, and he cried. If we won $1.26 million, we’d cry too. Way to go Steve!

OH, THE HUMANITY

In an incredible shock, The NFL suspended Michael Vick indefinitely after Vick pleaded guilty to charges related to dog fighting. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a letter to the Grandmaster Dogfighter, said, “Dear Mr. Vick: Sit. Stay. Roll over, and, most importantly, play dead. xoxoxo, Roger.”

In response, Vick's stable of attorney's released a statement saying, "Mr. Vick believes O.J. is innocent."

And so, with that in mind, TAH went shopping. Of course, on eBay one can buy Michael Vick jersey's and bubble gum cards that have been chewed by various canine's. Here is our favorite item which features Lucy (pictured).

Lucy has been a loyal Falcons fan since she was a pup growing up in Georgia. Mere barks could not express how disappointed Lucy is in Michael Vick's behavior against his team and members of her canine kind.

You should have seen the gleam in her eyes when I told her she could chew up some number seven jerseys! From what I can tell, it made her feel a little bit better.

Proceeds from this auction will go to our local Humane Society and toward helping Lucy cope with another troubling season rooting for the Falcons, which will be hard to endure since Eddie, our cat, likes the Panthers.

The winner of this auction will get the black Michael Vick Jersey pictured in this auction as well as a cd with all the photos of Lucy tearing up this jersey and a red one too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Black-Michael-Vick-Jersey-Chewed-by-my-dog-not-1cards_W0QQitemZ220143797004QQihZ012QQcategoryZ25187QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

PICTURE OF THE DAY

PORTLAND WET SOX? The Portland Beavers are looking for a new name, and you, the loyal fan, can help. http://www.portlandbeavers.com/promotions/namechange/. There are a variety of options, but we like Wet Sox for all the obvious reasons.

PICTURE OF THE DAY 2

IT’S A WEIRD WORLD AFTERALL...IT’S A WEIRD WORD AFTERALL...IT’S A WEIRD WEIRD WORLD…It's time for TAH to go international, so we are working on our translation skills. Here is what Yahoo Sports France had to say about the photo at left: Philippe Lucas, l'ancien entraîneur de Laure Manaudou, qui a retrouvé lundi matin la piscine de Canet-en-Roussillon, s'est refusé à tout commentaire concernant son ancienne protégée estimant que "ça ne sert à rien". Article lié

Here is TAH's translation:
Philippe Lucas, the former trainer of Laure Manaudou, which found Monday morning the swimming pool of Canet-in-Roussillon, refused with any comment concerning its old protected estimating that "that is not used for nothing". Dependent article.

Not bad, eh? (that's Canadian.)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 3

GOOD SEATS ARE STILL AVAILABLE. Unlike basketball where legions of fans will turn out for early season games against non-conference Sisters of the Poor, football is a different game. Officials at the University of Colorado recently learned this the hard way when absolutely no one showed up for the game that pitted University of Colorado Bisons against the Eastern Northwest Southern Colorado State A&M School of Mining and Ski Patrol Hippie Dudes.

(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 4

KICK HIM WHEN HE'S DOWN, OR, BETTER YET, BITE HIM. Of course, if you are gonna sell chewed up stuff on eBay, there has to be Michael Vick merchandise...oh, there is. Here is one source.

http://www.cafepress.com/badrapstore/2770657
WHO WE ARE:Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pitt Bulls We're a small and busy non-profit organization of pit bull owners, rescuers, and supporters. 'BAD RAP' evolved out of a desire to respond to the difficult issues facing this misunderstood breed. Our common bond has resulted in a unique and lively community of folks who share some of the qualities of our favorite dogs: fun loving, devoted, spirited and tenacious! For More Info on our Mission: BAD RAP's Programs

VIDEO OF THE DAY

THANK YOU, SOUTH CAROLINA. We assume the educational system in South Carolina is up to snuff, but here is a short clip from the 2007 Miss Teen USA contest that will make you wonder. It wasn't Lauren Caitlin Upton's best effort...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

DEAR DAD: PLEASE SHUT UP

If this were the Vickpranos, Jr. Boddie would get "whacked."

According to the AP Michael Vick's father said he asked his son to give up dogfighting, or to at very least to title his property in others’ names to keep the heat off his trail according to a report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

“Michael Boddie, who is estranged from Vick and the quarterback's mother, also said some time around 2001 his son staged dogfights in the garage of the family home in Newport News, Va. Boddie told the newspaper Vick kept fighting dogs in the family's backyard, including dogs that were "bit up, chewed up, exhausted.”

In addition:

“… Boddie dismissed the idea that Vick's longtime friends were the main instigators of the dogfighting operation.

"I wish people would stop sugarcoating it," Boddie told The Journal-Constitution. "This is Mike's thing. And he knows it ... likes it, and he has the capital to have a set up like that."

Um, Dad, you're not helping...

Evidently Michael and his dear old dad don’t get along so well. (Can’t imagine why?). Evidently Vick has refused to speak with him the past few month, but that hasn’t stopped the $130 million QB from paying dad’s rent and staking him with some cash here and there.

Evidently Pops was looking to formalize their financial relationship when he asked his son for $1 million spread out over 12 years. Vick declined, and dear old dad countered with a $700,000 request. We don’t imagine Boddie’s recent ink helped the negotiations.

In somewhat better news for Vicksters, ESPN reported that Vick's defense team met with federal attorneys Thursday afternoon to determine the "summary of facts" to which Vick will plead. But ESPN's source said Vick maintains he never killed dogs and never gambled on a dog fight. The source told ESPN the Atlanta Falcons quarterback will plead guilty to the charge of interstate commerce for the purpose of dogfighting.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

A TAH ORIGINAL. A picture is still worth 1,000 words.

PICTURE OF THE DAY 2

GO AHEAD, LAUGH. You've got LeBron, Carmello and Kobe. Giggle it up. Coaches Jim Boeheim, Mike Krzgjdugr4ski, Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan of the USA Men's Senior National Team share a laugh during game against Venezuela during the first round of the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship. U.S.A. won the game by 43 points, and followed up with a 129-53 win over the Virgin Islands. The top two teams in the tourney get automatic Olympic bids.

(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 3

"CUARENTA MINUTOS DE INFIERNO." Looks who's back...Nolan "Forty Minutes of Hell" Richardson a little lighter and a little greyer. Richardson grew up in El Paso, so close to the Mexican border that he could throw a baseball and retrieve it in the neighboring town of Juarez. His was the only black family in a Mexican neighborhood, and he learned Spanish from his friends. Now he is the coach of the Mexican National team. Here he calls a play against Puerto Rico during the first round of the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship on August 22, 2007 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

THE CLASSICS

It's retro, BABY!

For the rest of August and the month of September, TAH will bring back some classic TAH banners. Some of these were from the early days of TAH and thus not fully appreciated, and others are still relevant.

So why not start off with this CLASSIC Vick banner? Of course, this is Marcus (above) in one of the most popular internet Vick photos. You Google "Vick" and you get this photo shop every time. Guess that's what happens when you pull a gun on a couple of teenagers at a Mickie-D's.

It is odd that it wasn't Marcus that turned out to be the future ex-con, and it is equally ironic that during this period TAH invented the third Vick brother (pictured right) named coincidentally "Mar-vicious."

Who knew?

Classic.

THE ACC GAME OF THE WEEK

Speaking of new features. This football season, Today's ACC Headlines is proud to announce a new feature called CLARK'S CHRONICLES. In this wonderful new item, local barrister, FSU grad and ubberfan John Clark (pictured right in red shirt following either the "Wide Left" game or the "Wide Right" game, we aren't sure which) will make a guest appearance at TAH. Clark will be delighting our loyal readers with an recap of the "The ACC Game of the Week."

Clark will write about the game of his choice unless he constantly picks games including the Noles, which following at least two early losses, will be meaningless.

VICK STAYING PUT AT TECH

Again, the folks at Virginia Tech do well under adverse circumstances. As soon as the word leaked out that Vick would plead guilty, the cries for the Hokies to abandon his legacy began. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed. The Hokie brain trust was wise to deal with this now, as indecision only fuels the fire -- a distraction the football team doesn't need vs. ECU or LSU.

According to the Daily Press: Despite Vick's plan to enter a guilty plea next Monday in a Richmond courtroom on dogfighting charges, Weaver said Tuesday there are no plans to remove the Vick 7 banner at Lane Stadium or any other reminders of Vick's playing days. Weaver said the banner is a tribute to Vick's college career.

"He earned that while he was (at Tech) before he engaged in these (dogfighting) activities," Beamer said. "Personally, I don't think there's any need to do anything about it."

In addition to the banner, which was raised in a ceremony in 2002, a hallway in the Jamerson Athletic Center bears Vick's name -- Michael Vick Hall. Inside the hallway are meeting and film rooms used by the football team. There are also several mementos in an athletic museum in the Jamerson Center associated with games Vick participated in during his two years (1999 and 2000) as Tech's starting quarterback.

Weaver said Vick's name won't be removed from the hallway door, and none of the mementos will be removed either. Weaver added he hadn't had any discussions with university administration about removing Michael Vick-related materials.

"I don't see any reason to do anything at this time," Weaver said. "But I will just tell you that I'm saddened that this has happened. We certainly don't condone the activities."

GIMME A "D," GIMME AN "E," GIMME AN "A"...

You get the point.

The man who made a career of spelling O-R-I-O-L-E-S has gone to the big Section 34 in the sky. William "Wild Bill" Hagy, who ruled the upper deck at old Memorial Stadium, has died at that age of 68.

Wearing a straw hat and a scraggly beard, Hagy led cheers at the Orioles' old stadium during the 1970s and 1980s. He spelled out O-R-I-O-L-E-S with his body while fans yelled each letter in unison.

"He was part of a great era," Orioles Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer said. "If you recall, we didn't draw many people back then. Best team in baseball, and we were drawing 1.2 million. He made it exciting to come to the ballpark."

A cabdriver during the day, Hagy guzzled many a beer in the stands while the fans eagerly waited for him to wave his hands over his head to start his trademark cheer. During important games, the team allowed him to climb on top of the Orioles dugout to rally the crowd with his act.

Hagy was scruffy, had a beer belly and often wore tank tops to the game. Yet this cabdriver from Dundalk led a generation of Orioles backers in the cheap seats of an aging stadium that drew far more fans for NFL games involving the Baltimore Colts.

Hagy put an end to his antics when the Orioles moved to Camden Yards in 1992, in part because he couldn't stand the new breed of upper-crust fans who spoke on cellphones during the game. But he reprised his act in the middle of the decade during the playoffs.

The Orioles had planned to observe a moment of silence in his memory Monday night but their game against the Texas Rangers was rained out.

(The Baltimore Sun contributed to this story.)

IT's NOT SEEDY, IT's RETRO

The University of Miami will play home football games at Dolphin Stadium starting in 2008, leaving the historic but decaying Orange Bowl after seven decades.

("Decaying" is such a harsh word.)

The university's trustees decided Tuesday to make the much-debated move, which could generate $2 million or more in extra revenue annually for the Hurricanes' athletic department. City officials unsuccessfully tried to keep Miami at the Orange Bowl by promising $206 million in upgrades.

"This is a painful and sad decision," Miami president Donna Shalala said. "Almost as painful as firing the head football coach who won two national championships."

"Besides, think about how many Escalades you can buy with $2 million dollars," concluded Shalala.

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

PICTURE OF THE DAY

WHILE YOU WERE OUT PARTYING, the Texas Rangers were whoopin' the O's 30 to 3. Not a typo. 30 to 3. It was the ninth time a major league team scored 30 runs, the first since the Chicago Colts set the major league mark in a 36-7 rout of Louisville in a National League game on June 28, 1897, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

In what may be the dumbest quote in baseball since 1897, Rangers' manager Ted Washington sad, "Tonight there were some balls thrown across the plate and we put them in play. Everybody was part of it. It was a total team effort."

Good one, Skip!

Earlier in the day the O's announced a contract extention for thier rookie manager. Evidently the pitching staff wasn't wild about that idea.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 2

LUCKY CATCH. Matt Murphy of Queens, New York, is escorted by police after he caught Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th career home run .

According to the New York Daily News: "Queens college student Matt Murphy - who caught the historic long ball on Aug. 7 - said he's reluctantly putting it up for auction.

"I have to sell it," he told the Daily News yesterday from San Francisco, where he announced the sale. "It comes down to simple math."

Murphy, 21, had hoped to keep the ball that hammered Hank Aaron's record but changed his mind when he realized he would be socked with a massive tax bill.

"It would probably be between $100,000 and $200,000," he said.

So the Rawlings cowhide, along with the one from Bonds' record-tying 755th home run, will be up for grabs in an Internet auction that starts next Tuesday and ends Sept. 15. The starting price has not been set, but officials from Sotheby's and SCP Auctions expect No. 756 to fetch about $500,000.

Murphy, who attends SUNY Buffalo, said he hasn't decided what to do with the windfall, although he has pledged some of it to a buddy who attended the game with him."

NOTE TO BUDDY: Get a lawyer.

(AFP/GettyImages/File/Lisa Blumenfeld)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 3

YOU CAN "WIN" A FILTHY USED METS JERSEY. Let the auction begin!

According to Murphy: "This is the real Jersey I wore at the Giants game while catching the famous Barry Bonds career 756 ball...I have not washed the jersey. There is a picture of me holding the Jose Reyes jersey that I wore to the game. There are several ketchup stains on the front as well as back illustrated in the pictures from being on the ground of At&t park figthing for the ball. This is the real Jersey, I will be putting the hat that I wore to the game up for bid also. There are a lot of fakes floating around......i promise you this is authentic. For me to autograph the jersey will be at the buyers request."

http://cgi.ebay.com/Matt-Murphys-Jose-Reyes-jersey-worn-while-catching-756_W0QQitemZ180149811969QQihZ008QQcategoryZ24903QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem