Collegiate Sports Blog

Thomas Emerick here, Bilbo Bloggins from somewhere north of Haiti. I just had to get my playoff picks in, will be a more developed “article” on this page for next weeks games.

For the sake of on the record, here’s my first rounders!

Cards over Falcons 31-21

Eagles over Vikes 23-20

Colts over Chargers 24-21

Ravens over Dolphins 16-3

Last year when doing a weekly NFL playoff article during my transition from Planet Blacksburg to the CT I went 10-1 overall and 9-2 against the spread — its all online — so I’m looking for more good fortune here … and to brag.

Feel free to post your own.

“Hiuhhh I’m Frank Beamer.”

HokieSports.com has been startling me a bit lately. Normally, I can log on quickly to grab statistics or info on Virginia Tech sports team, and sometimes I’ll just happen to be surfing the Internet late at night and decide to check out some of the latest Hokie buzz coming from their sports PR department.

However, this normally expedient extraction has been hindered recently by a couple of new developments. First, is a 2008 ACC football  champions cover page that beckons fans to by tickets to Tech’s game in the Orange Bowl.

I’m totally fine with that. Maybe a little annoyed when trying to grab quick info for a a photo cutline, but you can choose to skip this page permanently on a given browser after it views this page the first time. So this one’s all right with me.

After finally clicking through, the visitor jumps onto the following page thinking they’re ready for some uninhibited HokieSports searching.

But not out of the woods yet, because then Frank Beamer suddenly appears! This pop-up video honestly left me shaken the first two times it jumped out at me.

Basically, when you enter the actual HokieSports.com main page, a video with the Tech head football coach asking fans to by tickets streams in the middle of the page, whether you click play or not.

His delivery is a bit awkward in this one because he kind of bobs back and forth right at the beginning, but that really isn’t the startling thing about it.

There’s no lead-in. It’s just kind of a surprise visit from the coach. No real opener or warning. No VT logo, video of Tech football in action, not even a couple seconds of audio – heck, maybe the VT band playing for at least a nanosecond to prepare me for a Beamer business pitch.

I’d welcome the beloved Tech icon into my home any day, but not unannounced through my window while I’m surfing the Internet at 2 in the morning.

My apologies, your regularly scheduled countdown blog has been interrupted by the lady who rear-ended my car on the drillfield today. If there’s one thing that will ruin your weekend, its losing your car and sustaining a concussion.

Never drive around the Virginia Tech drillfield. Ever.

Anywho, I’m coming to you from my concussed state because, well, I’m bored and wondering what the #@*% a Bearcat is.

It just sounds like two random words breeded together. Has anyone ever seen a half-bear, half-cat? Is it some sort of experiment in genetic engineering? Does this open the doors for creation of a “man bear” or “cat woman”? Is this really the team Tech will face in the Orange Bowl?

Apparently it’s also a rather popular mascot selection outside of Cincinnati, with over 50 American schools calling it theirs. Through diligent research, I’ve found that this species falls in the magical Binturong family, or Asian Bearcat, and is neither man, nor bear, nor cat — but a combination of all three.

In a nutshell, it’s basically just a giant cat that carries a sword.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking, “Thomas has gone off his rocker since the concussion, and just hermitted away in his bedroom for with the box set of ‘Thundercats.’”

Leotard-wearing man-cats aside, this Bearcat nickname — to my surprise — was not derived from mythology… It’s real … and kind of freaky-looking.

Wouldn’t want to cross that in a dark alley.

Did it just get chilly in here? And where’s my soul?

So now that we know that this evil Malaysian creature is nothing like a fun-loving, flamboyant Thundercat, I’m ready to take the Big East champions seriously. Not only do the Bearcats have five hands at their disposal — if you include the tail with which they use to swing from tree-to-tree — they’ve got two receivers that put these hands to use (Dominick Goodman with 78 receptions, 977 yards, and TD’s, Marshwan Gilyard with 74 rec, 1,118 yards, and 10 TD’s).

A tough match up for a Tech defense that’s been prone to big pass plays on the year (though not prone to much else).

While the media may be tossing all its hype on New Years day to the Rose Bowl, and each of the other BCS Bowls have gotten a large piece of hype pie on January’s schedule, Virginia Tech and their fellow formidable conference champion foe from Cincinnati could provide a much better match up than some of the other BCS battles:

Utah vs. Alabama in the Sugar Bowl (hmm, let’s see, westernish mid-major champion (in this case Mountain West) versus one of the best SEC squads. Wasn’t it just last year when a national television audience had to fear for Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan’s life when they played in this bowl against SEC big dog Georgia? Doesn’t sound like so great of a contest to me).

USC vs. Penn State in the Rose Bowl (The Big 10 is awful, how’d they get two BCS bids? Really. I could see this being a blow out. In Penn State’s defense, they do seem head and shoulders ahead of that the rest of that conference. Still, USC has too much speed on defense and it’s in their backyard)

Oklahoma vs. Florida in the BCS Nat’l championship (Yeah, that could be pretty good. No qualms except for that Texas is better than OU, if the Sooners had blown out Texas instead of Missouri then I would feel different. The whole pummeling teams for poll votes is kind of overrated in my opinion.)

Texas vs. Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl (That’s a tough one, because Texas might experience a huge letdown due to their huge bowl bid let down. It’s uncanny what that type of thing can do. But UT is a superior team.)

My bet, VT vs. Cincy will be the closest fought BCS bowl game this year, even if their media profiles will continue to fly low.

I think Hokie nation’s got one weekend left to feel all nostalgic, happy, giddy, even fuzzy inside about Virginia Tech’s ACC championship victory, before it’s time to focus forward on the Orange Bowl bid.

So, I’m going to share with you all my chat with Tiki Barber the night prior to Tech’s victory over Boston College last Saturday. As a Roanoke native, player recruited by Beamer, and four-year Hokie foe at UVa, you could say he’s familiar with Virginia Tech.

Barber has proved quite the media magnet ever since his days of tormenting the NFL with the New York Giants. The former running back great was one of the most well respected players by the sports media before joining their ranks after retirement on NBC’s Football Night in America.

I noticed him across the White Ibis room of the Grand Hyatt Tampa during the ACC legends media session. This is not because I’m the most observant person in the world after spending 19 hours in a car to traverse from Blacksburg to Tampa Bay, but because I’m a life-long, die-hard New York Giants fan, and Barber’s the greatest player the Giants have had since I entered grade school.

You watch enough Giants’ football games and you can spot their running back in a crowd. Barber led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage in 2004 and 2005, and led the Giants in rushing for a league-record 80-consecutive games.

He also happens to be one of the greatest players in Virginia Cavaliers’ history. So, naturally, I asked a certain nostalgic question first, “What do you remember most about facing the Hokies four times?”

“Here’s the problem, we never beat Tech,” Barber said. “We beat them one time in my four years. But it was probably my last game up there, my fourth year, and I needed like 60-something yards to become the all-time leading rusher at UVa.

“And the first run was like an 85-yard run, but I got caught. Torrian Gray caught me on the two-yard line or something. And subsequent to that I ran into him. He’s like, “You know you got me drafted because I caught you.”

The Hokies would win that contest in Lane Stadium.

“All I remember is the keys rattling in that stadium,” Barber said, “And walking off that field in defeat … I guess that’s not a good memory.”

Barber’s mother and father went to Virginia Tech, where his father was a football star. Gray is now the defensive backfield coach under Frank Beamer.

Barber turned out to be very cordial and even just as well-spoken in person as he is on camera. I was somewhat surprised that he didn’t shy away from a question about the coaching uncertainty and struggles of Virginia’s football program, but I soon remembered that he’d always been outspoken as a New York Giant, and that now he’s stepped fully into the realm of analyst.

“There’s a lot of frustration, just watching from afar,” Barber said. “One because of the production on the field, but that happens in sports, you go through cycles of winning and losing. But what was more troubling to me and some of my fellow alums, was the off-field problems of some of the players.

“UVa, we understand we’re not going to consistently be a top five (or) 10-ranked team, but we do pride ourselves on producing character individuals, and I think we went a little bit astray, hopefully coach (Al) Groh is getting that back on track.”

Barber evaluated Groh’s job as UVa head coach in 2008.

“I think he made some necessary adjustments midseason, had some big wins there in the middle. It’s unfortunate that he had to lose that last game against Virginia Tech on a poor decision (by Mark Verica), but (Verica’s) a young quarterback and you learn from those things.”

Barber also talked about the contrast between being coached in college and being coached in the pros, and his relationship with UVa’s head coach of the mid-1990’s (during Barber’s time there), George Welsh.

“It’s a different animal completely, because you’re coaching different-type players with different mentalities, obviously with different paychecks,” Barber said. “And in college it’s a different opportunity to nurture and grow good people and dedicated players …

“Coach Welsh and I, we didn’t always get a long. In fact, we used to argue. And I think there was one time he kicked me off the field because, I forget, we were cussing … And then (Welsh said), ’Tiki, get out of here.’ But from that point on, we kind of had a mutual respect for one another. I started to understand what he was trying to accomplish with me, and my career kind of went to the next level. So he nurtured me, and grew me into the player I became.

“But in the NFL, it’s bottom line. It’s, ‘Are you doing for me right now what we need to do to win. If not, we’ll find someone else.’”

Of course, I had to ask him who would pick Virginia Tech to win against Boston College in the ACC Championship game, to played the next day.

“My mother would be remiss if I didn’t, and it’s hard because I’m a Cavalier … I think the Hokies will (win), and I like coach Beamer … I haven’t talked to him since he recruited me in high school, (or) maybe my last year at UVa just coming off the field … I give him a lot of credit because he took that program to places a lot of people didn’t think it could go, and he sustained it.”

On the opening drive, Tech gets stuffed on a run and goes three and out, ouch. 

“At least they didn’t run Dustin Pickle on that third and two,” remarked Brian in his typically sardonic fashion.

Ohh, forgot my predictions and keys. Its still well early enough for that, I’d say.

<b> Interceptions: Tech and BC are No. 1 and 2 respectively in picks over the past few years, and BC ranks number one this year. Think there may be a couple? </b>

<b> The ground game: The Hokies offense is usually completely flaccid when they can’t get an effective running attack going. Unfortunately, Boston College has only allowed about 57 rush yards per game over its past five contests, ranking third in the nation over that time span. BC will want to establish a strong ground game as well with Dominique Davis starting only his second game as the Eagles’ quarterback. </b>

<b> On Tech’s side at signal caller, the mix of playing time between Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon figures to be about as important a series of decisions that Frank Beamer and offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring will make today. Taylor ran for over 120 yards last time against BC while playing every snap, but could not find any semblance of a rhythm with his receivers.</b>

Bilbo Bloggins back, this time from the press box in Raymond James Stadium, host of the 2008 ACC Championship. The game may’ve yet to start, but initial Polls indicate Virginia Tech as favored to win this battle in Florida … At least, that’s what I got from a few ACC legends at the Grand Hyatt Tampa last night.

Clemson alum Levon Kirkland took Tech, citing Tyrod Taylor as “the dark horse”.

Russell Maryland took Boston College. Though, while admitting that Jeff Jagodzinski was an assistant coach while he was at Green Bay

Former Virginia Tech quarterback Don Struck said he was not a fan of the two-quarterback system in general, but praised the coaches for making it work as well as they have. Though, his answer to “Who you got?” was not-so-shockingly, “Come on!”

But the big shocker may’ve been Tiki Barber’s choice. I asked the man who broke UVa’s all-time rushing record in his collegiate days if he would pick Boston College or Virginia Tech, and he chose the hated rival.

That’s three to one!

He also lamented some of the negative developments of the Wahoo football program.

“There’s a lot of frustration, just watching from afar. One because of the production on the field, but that happens in sports, you go through cycles of winning and losing. But what was more troubling to me and some of my fellow alums, was the off-field problems of some of the players. UVa, we understand we’re not going to consistently be a top five (or) 10-ranked team, but we do pride ourselves on producing character individuals, and I think we went a little bit astray, hopefully coach Groh is getting that back on track.”

… more to come from my conversation about Virginia Tech with Barber, and games analysis you can’t get anywhere else all game long!! 

-Thomas Emerick … err, Bilbo Bloggins until I’m passed out on my couch in Blacksburg Sunday night

Hours spent on trip from Blacksburg to Tampa, spanning sunset and sunrise — 19 

Mileage piled onto my Honda Civic — 850

Number of times gotten lost — 4

Hours lost to due to detour, most of which on North Carolina’s Route 77 — 4

Number curse words uttered about Yadkin County, North Carolina — 153

Dollars spent on snacks and caffeine — 40

Shots of espresso to induce hallucination — 7

Dollars spent on gas — 70

Cost of catching Hokie football in the ACC Championship in Tampa, Florida — Pricey

It has been quite the trek, we left at 530 yesterday evening, caught a few hours of sleep parked next to a  curb in jacksonville at around 6 this morning, arrived in Tampa by two, and should be hallucinating again by 6. I’m in the White Ibis room in the Grand Hyatt Tampa and noticed — after double-checking to make sure it wasn’t just the sleep-depravation conjuring images — Levon Kirkland of Clemson and Pittsburgh Steeler fame walk in to begin the ACC legends media session. 

Former Tech quarterback Don Strock and New York Giant great Tiki Barber should be arriving soon.

Before I slip into part three of my journalistically credible series about the uber-Americanness of Brett Favre jaunting around in a pair of Wranglers, I need to clear up a few queries thrown at me since last edition.

Of course, I’m all about interacting with my readers and pandering to the audience. One of the more frequently asked questions arising from the wildly popular Wrangler Blog Update 2.0 first came to me from a fellow colleague at the Collegiate Times:

“Hey, are you that sports editor that only writes about Brett Favre and his jeans and that commercial?”

… No, Wranglerologist is only my part time job.

With the duties of sports editor sucking so many hours of the week into a vortex, I only get to post on Favre’s Wranglers every time a brand new, too good to be true, self-awareness-free commercial is unleashed upon the world.

I thought it’d already struck the bell on the unintentional comedy scale, but the one I saw this past Saturday hammered the boundaries even further.

In the latest of this commercial campaign — by my count the fourth in the series* — he brings his dogs back into the equation. This time it opens with what I’m guessing is Favre’s dog gyrating under the trusty, dependable shoe and Wrangler-leg of our grizzly, country boy quarterback. Though, the whole dog motif didn’t explode to the degree of his earlier Wrangler commercials, when it made it seem like he’s literally surrounded by a pack of Labrador Retrievers at all times.

We’ll call those the “pre-prolonged bum shot” days, or back when those in charge of this operation didn’t feel the need to include a three-second video of Favre’s Gluteus wranglerus.

You’d think they would’ve realized something strange about correlating pick-up football with the guys, and a long camera shot of Favre’s jean-behind. Maybe they had caught it just once since the last T.V. ad came out and ran 15 million times on NFL Sundays, and possibly thought; “Why are we stamping ‘GUARANTEED’ on Favre’s ass”?

Evidence by the new bit, I’d say yes and no.

No more branding the good ole’ QB with CGI, and they actually cut the length of that strange footage roughly in half. However, the apparent effort toward modesty would fall apart after it cut directly from a camera shot of Favre’s Wrangler rump to the American flag waving on a post.

What? What’s with the continuity there? What are they trying to tell us with that?!!?!? Is this when Favre’s really comfortable? Couldn’t the preceding shot be something else American besides Favre’s backside? Perhaps him throwing the football to his dog? Maybe Favre sitting in another pick-up truck?

Heck, I’ll even take that guy who catches the football and falls into that random watering hole again. I’m baffled on the plausibility of the last one, but you could put anything else right before the gushingly patriotic-aiming American flag shot and it would illicit less laughter.

But no. This is all Real. Uncomfortable. Jean advertising.

And to my knowledge, this is the only television commercial Favre does these days. Which raises another frequently asked reader question:

“He can’t possibly have SEEN that since it went through editing, can he?!?”

——–

*The Bachman Turner overdrive one with “Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” and Favre playing dog whisperer. The one with the ZZ Top guitar lick, and the extended “guaranteed” jean rump camera shot. The one that’s similar but they add a little extra “I’m comfortable, in Wranglers … Real Comfortable.” And then the new one. By my count, four, but if you think I got it wrong feel free to post or call the CT office or email, I try to get all my Wranglerisms down.

Miami took first blood in this match up with a run from Junior Javarris James, cousin to Miami alum and NFL great Edgerrin James.

Almost a quarter later Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor scrambled in for a TD.

Interesting to note?

Edgerrin, who is now enshrined in Miami’s Ring of Honor, Javarris and Tyrod all wear number 5.

The score is 7-7.

Lane Stadium seating capacity is 66,233. Last Thursday it was packed to the stars.

Dolphin stadium seats 74,916 when arranged for a football game. From my perspective there might be 20,000 people here.

The second deck is 1/10th filled. But the Miami student section looks heathily occupied .