UVA CANS ANOTHER KEY PLAYER

In keeping with the recent pattern where the Wahoos identify the key component of their major sports team and then suspend key component, UVA hoops (a squad that desperately needs size, strength and rebounding) has sent Lars Mikalaukas (r) back to his native Lithuania. Mikalaukaus brings much needed bulk to the JPJA and is a perennial member of the ACC’s “All Ugly” team.

On Tuesday, a day after UVa coach Dave Leitao announced that Mikalauskas would no longer be a member of the program, sources told The Daily Progress that “The Pride of Lithuania” planned to return to the states early next week and go through an appeals process with the university. The exact nature of his appeal is not known.

When reached by phone in Lithuania, Mikalauskas said he would have no comment on his situation until he had sorted things out.

To win an appeal, a student, among other things, must prove that he has suffered a hardship. Recently, former Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell (and UVa’s 2008 football season and all UVa fans) lost such an appeal.

If Mikalauskas were to win his appeal, he would have to convince Leitao to reinstate him.
Leitao being receptive to a Mikalauskas mea culpa could be a long shot, since this isn’t the duo’s first tussle. This past season, Leitao suspended the 6-foot-8, 245-pounder for an exhibition game against Carson-Newman for “reasons internal to the team.”