Old Dominion beat Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament.  You might notice I used the word “beat” and not “upset”.  Granted,  ODU was an 11 seed and Notre Dame a 6 seed in the South Region which is hands down the softest region in the tournament.  But Notre Dame is no Kansas, so to think they were a lock to beat the Monarchs shows the writers who use “upset” when writing about this game don’t have a good understanding about either team.

Notre Dame led by as many as nine points in the first half, but the Irish is not the same team today as they were in January before their All American Luke Harangody hurt his knee.  Harangody only scored four points today, not to say Old Dominion’s big man Gerald Lee was any better, he only made four shots.  Notre Dame as a team shot less than 36% a tribute to Old Dominion’s defense.

So Old Dominion wins its first NCAA Tournament game in 15 years, and the players might even get a chance to explore Bourbon Street tonight.

Next up for the Monarchs, a date against 3 seed Baylor, who beat 14 seed Sam Houston today.  Now, if Old Dominion were to beat Baylor, that we could call an upset.

Stay tuned.

Tiger Woods is coming back.

Now that he is apparently back with his wife and family, Tiger has decided to end his self proclaimed retirement by playing in next month’s Masters.  The two biggest winners in this is Tiger, who gets to played in one of the most controlled sporting events in the world.  And CBS which might find themselves televising one of the most watched sports event ever.

It shouldn’t take long for the America to forget the sex scandal that rocked one of the world’s biggest celebrities.  After all former President Bill Clinton admitted his affair with Monica Lewinsky just 12 years ago earns nearly $10 million a year just in speaking fees.  Michael Jordon, who has been rumored to be involved in affairs for years, paid his wife $168 million in their divorce settlement.  He is now a popular owner of an NBA team and makes close to $50 million a year.  Kobe Bryant was on the verge of being prosecuted for sexual assault when a judge dismissed the charges because the accuser refused to testify.  Kobe then signed a $136 million contract with the Lakers, regained his endorsements from Nike, Spalding and Coca-Cola and is considered one of the biggest sports stars in the world.

And I’m not going to even start with movie stars.

So while we in the media milk this story as we can, and while tens of millions of viewers settle in to watch the Masters, years from now when the media jumps on another celebrity scandal we can remember back to “The Tiger Woods Affair”, and exclaim it didn’t bother his career a bit.

Basketball season is always exciting and this year is no different. I’m on vacation and the road at the ACC tournament in
Greensboro, North Carolina right now. What a classy event! We have great seats and VIP access.

John Edwards watching UNC/Ga. Tech game at ACC Tournament

I even saw former NC Senator John Edwards Thursday cheering for UNC.  I enjoyed meeting coaching legend Lefty Driesell (who lives in his native Hampton Roads),  famous sportscaster Dick Vitale (Awesome, baby!), and former Georgia Tech star, Bruce Dalrymple.

Richmond, VA

I spent last weekend at the Colonial Athletic Association tournament in Richmond, which I’ve attended the last few years. My alma mater, George Mason didn’t make it to the finals of the CAA this year, but I was happy to see two Hampton Roads teams play for the championship. Now, let’s see how far Old Dominion gets in the big dance. Great effort by William & Mary.

Back to Greensboro- this is my first ACC tourney.

ACC Tourney, Greensboro, 2010

This place is overrun with North Carolinians since the Tar Heel State has so many schools in the conference.   My brother is a University of Virginia grad, so I was rooting for the Cavaliers, but they lost to Duke and Virginia Tech was upset by Miami.

Hanging out at the ACC Tourney

In the end, Duke defeated Georgia Tech in a great game!

Duke Wins ACC Tourney 2010

That’s all for now- let the madness continue!!

If there’s one thing you want when you come to WAVY.com, it’s to read about Lane Kiffin.  You really can’t do that anywhere else.  Joke.  At least you can’t read my take on it, I guess.

I’m conflicted on the whole Lane Kiffin saga.  On one hand, he seems like a jerk.   On the other, you can’t blame a guy for taking a better job.  And, on an unrelated 3rd hand, he seems like a jerk. 

If we were to honestly put ourselves in Lane’s position, I think many of us would have made the same moves he’s made.   The 31-year-old was given the chance of a lifetime to coach in the NFL (albeit with the Raiders).  He made a cool $2-million, and then had a falling out with Al Davis.  He left for UT, making another cool $2-million.  Now, he stands to make more than that at USC (probably at least $2.5M-$3M.)  Can’t say I blame the guy.  It’s like you or me leaving a $40,000 job for a $60,000 one.  Nobody would blame us for that, even if we left after one year.

You could argue that it’s different with Lane, because when you’re making millions, what’s an extra million?  But that’s lame.  I’d take an extra hundred dollars. 

So, I guess we just have to live with the fact that this is the new reality.  Some may say there’s no loyalty anymore, but I don’t think that’s the case.  We’ve never seen this kind of money in college football before.  Sure, Frank Beamer has stayed with Virginia Tech for decades, but he also wasn’t getting an extra million tossed his way to leave.

If you want to blame someone, blame the universities.  Blame the presidents.  Blame the athletic directors.  Blame the fans for spending so much darn money on college football.  But, don’t blame Lane Kiffin.  Even though he seems like a jerk.

Fire Jim Zorn. It’s gonna happen. But when is the best time to make a big change? The week before a nationally televised home game against NFC East rival Philadelphia, I think not. How about giving the Deadskins one last shot with Zorn leading the charge. Once they have been totally humiliated in front of the nation, show JZ the door.

It’s not that I don’t like Zorn. I just feel the poor guy is in way over his head. This debacle in DC is not his fault. Owner Daniel Snyder hired Zorn as offensive coordinator before handing him the keys to the kingdom. Zorn made the jump from quarterbacks coach in Seattle to leading the Washington Redskins. Can you say, “fish out of water?”  Well the experiment didn’t work, in fact it blew of up Snyder’s face. Yes trying to find the next Joe Gibbs is no easy task and and Zorn is no Joe Gibbs.

Here’s some advice to Snyder. Once your team reaches the bye week, make a change at the top. Replace Zorn with an interim head coach from inside the organization. Give cornerback’s coach Jerry Gray a shot at leading the team into the second half of the season.

After each Redskins loss this season, Zorn was quick to take responsibility for the loss. He blamed himself for bad play calling. So tonight the Redskins relieved Zorn of his play calling duties. Will it make any difference next week against the Eagles? Not a chance. The Redskins have so many problems in so many areas that it won’t matter what play is called. Relieving Zorn of play calling is like handing the worlds greatest chef a dead trout and asking him to make it taste good.

Yes the Redskins stink. They are going to stink no matter who calls the plays.

Giving Zorn the pink slip will happen soon enough. Just not before the Eagles come to town. Come to think of it, there’s been a lot of pink in football games this season. Zorn can’t say he didn’t see it coming.

What’s a good day fishing for Marlin? Two, five or maybe 8 marlin? How about 42! That’s not just a good day, that’s off the charts when it comes to billfish. The crew aboard the Backlash out of Rudee Inlet had the day of their lives last Wednesday landing 41 white and 1 blue marlin.

Captain Steve Richardson along with mate Cam Carpinelli, Mike Atkinson and Cory Beisel started catching fish around 9:00 am on the 23rd of September and the fish kept biting until the pulled up their lines around 4:30 that afternoon. At several points during the day they were fighting multiple fish at the same time. Three and four marlin hooked at the same time! Three guys fighting fish on the back of the boat, one guy fighting a fish off the bow.

Amazing fishing compliments of a warm eddy of water jutting off the gulf stream some 67 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Richardson called it the perfect storm when it comes to marlin fishing. That warm body of water was loaded with bait fish, tuna and marlin all stacked up on top each other. can you say feeding frenzy!

The Backlash wasn’t the only boat making the most of the conditions. Captain Mike Standing and his crew aboard the Waterman landed 25 marlin on that amazing day. For one magical day, Virginia Beach was the marlin capital of the world.

What’s sad about this story was come Monday most of the charter fleet was back at the dock waiting for work.

It came as no real surprise that Anheuser-Busch has decided not to sponsor the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. But to finally hear that professional golf is not coming back to Williamsburg next year was rather odd. We’ve come to expect great golf each year on the James. But not any more. Aloha, sayonara, hasta la vista baby!

What a sham. The long history of great professional golf tournaments at Kingsmill comes to an end after 29 years. Here are just a few things that I will miss now that the LPGA is no longer coming to Kingsmill:

Natalie Gulbis

Beer baths at the 18th hole

Boats out on the James

The party at the 17th hole

Free golf on media day

Natalie Gulbis

All the volunteers

Pro-Am day

Kids seeking autographs

Introductions at the first tee by the gentleman wearing knickers

All those smooth backswings

The action around the putting green

The latest golf fashion

Paula Creamers pink ball

Cristina Kim’s big smile

That big winners check

Difference making birdies at number 15

Great food in the press room

The list of things I will miss about the LPGA at Kingsmill is long, but the list of things I will  not miss is short and that’s getting through the tunnel to make my deadline.

Round and round they went Saturday night at the Action Track in Richmond. Problem was, the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 seemed more like a parade than a race. There was very little side by side racing that die hard fans are used to at the RIR. The drivers on the bubble to make the chase were so freaked out that they drove as conservative as self declared conservative leader Ronald Reagan.

Late in the race on a restart, Jeff Gordon was trying to get past leader Denny Hamlin. On a restart, Gordon got clipped from behind and sent back 5 positions. Gordon never could get back to the front and Hamlin went on to an easy win at his home track. It looked too easy. Hamlin dominated the race leading 298 of the 400 laps. What’s fun about that! Yes I was rooting for the home boy to get his first win at his home track. But like all race fans, I was hoping to see some drama and action in the process.

I guess the Car Of Tomorrow is to blame. Since it was introduced to NASCAR, the COT has led to plenty of follow-the-leader racing. The biggest problem of the car is it’s size. It’s bigger than cars in the past and that seems to make it harder for the drivers to pull along side and race. It should come as no surprise to NASCAR why the sport is losing popularity. Attendance is dwindling and television ratings are down. More boring races like the the one in Richmond will not help the cause.

Give the Chicago White Sox credit for making a magical moment come true at Harbor Park.

Daniel Hudson had no clue he was getting called up the big leagues when he left a game he was in complete control. Hudson had struck out 5 hitters in just 3 innings of work when he was pulled from the game. Family and friends thought the worse. Was he injured? Why did he not return? But then Hudson’s girlfriend got the call from Daniel himself. That’s when the small section in Harbor Park erupted with cheers.

Just taking the mound against the Norfolk Tides at Harbor Park was big enough for the 22 year old Princess Anne graduate. Dozens of family and friends from as recent as his playing days at Old Dominion to way back when he was a tee baller at Lynnhaven were in the stands when the news came out. A truly great moment shared between the extended family.

The news was a complete surprise for Hudson. Only the day before his agent told him he was not getting called up.

But the White Sox knew all along that they were calling up Hudson. They wanted him to relax and have a good night of work on the mound before getting the news. And what better way to hear that your dream was finally coming true. In front of family and friends in your home town. At the ball park where the dream was first planted as a young boy growing up in Virginia Beach. Three cheers to the White Sox and best of luck to Daniel Hudson.

Who would have thought that the name “Michael Vick” would bring about the most divisive debate of the year.  Does he deserve it?  Has he served his time?  You’re either with him or against him.  At risk of alienating half of the readers of this blog, I’m throwing my opinion out there.

As a football fan, I want to see Michael Vick play.   I watch football for fun.  I watch football to root for the Detroit Lions.  I watch football so that, for 3 hours, I can pretend nothing is more important than that game.  I watch football to escape.   When he was in his prime, Vick was the most exiting player on the field.  I want to see if he can do it again.

Maybe I’m selfish, but I’m not thinking about what affect he has on our kids.  I’m not worried about whether he served enough time.  What he did was awful and despicable, but that’s a debate for somewhere else.

The NFL’s responsibility is to entertain it’s customers.  When I spend $100 on an NFL ticket, $40 dollars on food and drinks, and $20 on parking, I do it to enjoy the sport. 

Does every player on the field deserve the privilege of playing in the NFL?  Sorry to say, I don’t care.   I just want to watch football. 

And, for $160, I think the NFL owes me that.