Author: wes-mcelroy

Sadly, this is my last column for C-VILLE. (I will pause here, as some will need time to break down crying, some to pop the champagne and some to figure out what they are going to line their cat’s litter box with next week).

Face the fact: Whether it be infuriating Virginia fans as I rip them for sitting down during football games or leaving during the third quarter, or being called a "small minded" fool because of my belief that no one cares about the Tour de France anymore, you people will miss me.

Marques Hagan’s big-time performance two seasons ago against Florida State had a certain sports reporter simply loving his job—and that’s just one example.

What I will miss besides the people, is the mystery. 

Note to all you kids: The greatest part about being in this business isn’t the byline (fancy newspaper word for your name) or the press box food (trust me, it ain’t that good). The perq to this job is going to work with a blank slate and watching the story unfold right in front of your eyes.

The beauty of being a sports writer is that every day seems like you’re playing with a Jack ‘n’ the Box. Keep watching and one random day, you’ll get an eye-popping surprise, like the performance of UVA football’s Marques Hagans two years ago on a crisp October night against Florida State.

Hagans personified the phrase "leaving it all out on the field."  Hagans bounced up after every bruising hit as he threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, leading Virginia to a 26-21 upset win.

Sometimes you sit down on press row and you just know what you are going to get and are still left surprised. Take for example, when you knew Sean Singletary would somehow find a way to lift Virginia over Duke last February with an "Oh my God, what is he doing, I can’t bear to watch, holy hell he made the shot" shot, or the Friday night in May 2005, when Virginia pitcher Sean Doolittle, on his way to ACC Player of the Year honors, went toe to toe with North Carolina and now Detroit Tigers pitcher Andrew Miller. Davenport Field had the electricity of a hockey arena in playoff time rather than of a college stadium for a regular season baseball game.

That night left me wanting more.

And I got more:

One of the greatest baseball games I ever attended didn’t happen in Baltimore or Philadelphia but rather on a late spring night in Charlottesville.

Were you there when Virginia’s baseball team took defending National Champion Oregon State to 13 innings this past June? The Cavaliers had lost their left fielder Brandon Guyer earlier in the game on a play at the plate and their right fielder Brandon Marsh fractured his wrist when he was hit by a pitch. Utility man Tim Henry at one point struggled to come home on a base hit because of the cramping that overtook his body. Casey Lambert came on in relief in the seventh, going the long haul, allowing one run on five hits while striking out eight as a Davenport-record crowd of 3,212 cheered him on.

Over the past two years, people have asked me what my favorite part of my job is: Talking on the radio? Writing for this fine newspaper? No, doing something else. Sitting quietly, keeping my mouth shut, closing the laptop, and just watching the story tell itself.

Thanks for taking the time to read—Charlottesville, I’ll miss ya.

Wes McElroy has moved to Richmond to take over the 3pm-7pm afternoon show at its Fox Sports affiliate: Sports Radio 910.

Seems like forever and a day since Sean Singletary‘s shot rattled out against Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A cold end to a bright season.

Seven months later, the sun rises again for the Virginia men’s basketball team. A star has returned to shine and a new season full of promise as well as questions loom on the horizon.

Who will replace JR Reynolds‘ scoring? Who will provide the rebounds of Jason Cain? Does Singletary, who returned for his senior season after deciding to withdraw from the NBA Draft, have to put this team on his shoulders?

Virginia knows that among all the questions they have one answer: They aren’t one-year wonders. "We’re all focused on the here and now and we want to be as good as we can be today and then do it again tomorrow, so we don’t have to go back to that time," says Head Coach Dave Leitao, who is entering his third season.

Fawning over Sean: Head Coach Dave Leitao understands how important super-guard Sean Singletary is to the UVA men’s basketball team, but he’s got praise in store for any other players willing to step up.

Their team, not just his team

Reynolds and Cain provided the team with a crucial component: "Leadership. They both gave us some intangibles that is going to be, at least initially, hard to replace," says Leitao. But among the 11 returning from last year’s team, no one had more impact than Singletary, who averaged 19 points per game last season. Yet Leitao stresses that this is not just Singletary’s team. "We’ve got to find that out about our team and who may be able to step into those roles and assume an identity of the team other than the obvious, Sean, who has done a tremendous job that way.  But I think it’s unfair to have him shoulder the whole load."

The 2007 ACC Coach of the Year realized a few weeks back, after Singletary left practice early to receive treatment, exactly what life would be like without the ACC preseason first-team selection. "I hadn’t thought a lot about it after Sean announced he was going to put his name in and go through the whole draft process about what we’d look like had he not come back, and I got a little piece of that. We’d look a little like the Kiddie Corps, teaching Basketball 101 especially to the back court and a lot of first year guys."

The head coach understands that, while Singletary isn’t everything the team needs, his presence is indispensable. "He’s allowing us to move forward and push forward not only with this team but with this program."

The new ‘Hoo crew

Virginia welcomes in four new first-year players, each of whom have tried early on to showcase their talents.

"What I’ve tried to do even with these two classes in front us, the second year and first year, is to bring some versatility," says Leitao. "Jeff Jones, early on, shows ability to put the ball in the basket and he’s played very hard, so hopefully we’ll be able to use those two things to make us better."

Mustapha Farrakhan and Sam Zeglinski have also caught Leitao’s eye. "Mustapha can really shoot the basketball and Sam brings something different from what we’ve had in the previous two years in that he’s a consummate point guard and ‘pass first, find shots for other people’ kind of guy, and there’s always room for that." This season the Cavaliers will also get to activate Calvin Baker, who was with the team last year but had to sit out after transferring from William and Mary.

When it all begins

The Cavaliers will play 30 regular season games, including 17 games at home. Fourteen games on the schedule will come against 2007 NCAA tournament teams and six played in the NIT. Twenty-one games will be broadcast on TV. Virginia was selected fourth in the ACC Preseason Media Poll. The Cavaliers first game is Sunday, November 11, against Vermont at 2pm.

Wes McElroy hosts "The Final Round" on ESPN AM840. 3-5pm, Monday-Friday.

Gentlemen, bust out the tuxes. Ladies, crank up the credit card for a new Vera Wang. Walk with me down the red carpet, please bypass Joan and Melissa Rivers, as their lips are ready to explode at any given second, and let’s look back as we hand out some awards to Major League Baseball’s Best and Worst of 2007.

Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta is the poster child of how coaches sometimes perform miracles in order to achieve a mediocre record.

The Back Up Your Smack Award    
Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies

Rollins opened up his yapper in the beginning of the season stating that his squad, the Phillies, are "the team to beat in the (NL) East." Rollins’ words set off a firestorm among fans of division rival, the Mets, and New York sports talk shows.

Never backing down from his statement, Rollins reached 20 triples on the last day of the season, making him only the fourth player in history to record at least 20 doubles, triples, homers and steals in one season.

Philadelphia reached the postseason for the first time in 14 years.

Manager of the Year
Manny Acta, Washington Nationals

Feel free to take issue with a guy winning Manager of the Year on a record of 73-89, but Manny Acta deserves the accolade.

Acta’s Nationals won 73 games with 15 different starting pitchers, never regained their true first baseman from a year ago, lost their pitching ace for all but seven games of the season, worked with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, and constructed a rotation with the likes of Jason Bergman, Mike Bacsik and Matt Chico.

Ninety-eight percent of Nationals fans couldn’t spot Chico on the Downtown Mall if he was wearing a shirt that said, "HI, I’M MATT CHICO."

Acta showed this season that the puzzle is starting to fall in place in D.C ., as their win total bettered eight other teams in the league, including cross-market Baltimore.

Not bad for what was supposed to be the worst team in the history of baseball.

The Britney Spears Honorary Crumble From the Top Award  
The Mets

Two weeks before the end of the season, the Mets held a 7.5 game lead over Philadelphia in the East. Then New York fell apart worse than Miss Spears’ stiletto heels at the MTV Video Music Awards.

The Mets went 5-12 down the stretch, including losing six of their last seven.

On the bright side, Spears has a new song out and manager Willie Randolph isn’t out of a job.

Moment of the Year    
April 15—Jackie Robinson Day

Seeing so many baseball players petition to wear No. 42 reminded us about the courage of a great man.

Overrated Moment of the Year    
Barry Bonds’ 756th home run

Bonds surpassed Henry Aaron on August 7 in a moment that many missed because it didn’t occur until almost midnight on the East Coast.

If you missed it, feel lucky. There hasn’t been that much fake emotion since Bush welcomed Pelosi at the State of the Union.

Awards Given In a Ceremony Held Earlier This Evening

Temper Tantrum Award: San Diego Padres’ Milton Bradley becomes so infuriated at an umpire on the last week of the season that his manager has to restrain him, and during the ruckus the outfielder fell to the ground, tearing his ACL. His team fails to make the postseason eight days later.

Milestone of the Year: The Phillies lose their 10,000th game. The only professional sports franchise ever to hit that heralded, um, unheralded mark.

Baseball Imitates Heaven Award: Roger Clemens ascends from the heavens ( O.K., just George Steinbrenner’s suite, but George does think he’s a god) at Yankee Stadium in early May to grace the Bronx and let them know he will be returning soon.

Wes McElroy hosts "The Final Round" on ESPN AM840. Monday-Friday, 4pm-6pm.

Over the past five years, Scott Van Pelt quickly became an ESPN favorite for more than tag lines like “Oh happy day” or “Get to the chopper.” His work on “Sportscenter” and his coverage of the four majors in golf has paved the way to radio.

Recently he took a second from his busy schedule in Bristol, Connecticut, to talk about the new show, the ACC and his beloved Maryland Terrapins.

Congratulations on your new nationally syndicated radio show with Mike Tirico.

It’s something I’ve been very interested in doing for a long time. The format, to me, just affords you an opportunity to do something that “Sportscenter” doesn’t by definition, and that is to have an opinion—just to talk about things.

Wait for the meat on October 15 when ACC basketball resumes, says Van Pelt.

I’m not one of those people who thinks my opinion is necessarily better than yours, and I’m not one of those people who’s going to try to scream and yell to try to make you think my opinion’s more valid. I think you can have interesting discussion and make your points. You know, there are things we’re all passionate about and I think that’s where the idea of sports talk radio started. I think somewhere along the way, you’ve had people turn into bombastic buffoons, and I’m not going to be one of them.

It seems as if both you and Mike can be more laid back and relaxed on the radio than TV.

What it really does is give you the chance to let [opinions] breathe and let it all air out.

Let’s get your opinion. You are a Maryland alum and die hard fan. Speaking purely on the sport of football, is the current state of the conference what you expected when the ACC went after Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College?

[The ACC] doesn’t have a single defining team that’s a power. I thought VT was overrated coming into this year, and I think we’ve seen that they just haven’t found their stride. They’ll get better as [Tyrod] Taylor gets his feet under him at the quarterback position.

But then, Miami, Florida State—they’re just not what they once were. Miami gets beat by a million in Oklahoma, Florida lost six games last year, Clemson might be good, and Boston College is very good, and I don’t think a lot of people have given them a lot of love. Obviously, Virginia’s playing a lot better since that first game.

My feeling is, there’s a bunch of decent teams, there’s just not a transcendent team, and they’ve just been getting beat upon by Big East, SEC, Big 12 and other foes and it just makes the conference look poor.

Being an old school, pre-ACC expansion Maryland Terp, is this still a basketball conference to you?

As an ACC guy, the one thing you can always count on is that on October 15, they’ll start rolling out the round balls again, and the conference is always going to be the defining conference in the country in basketball. I always think it was a basketball conference. You know, whatever you get out of football is just gravy, and at the moment, it’s just lousy gravy I guess.

Wes McElroy hosts “The Final Round” on ESPN AM840, Monday-Friday, 4pm-6pm.

A week later, and you’re still trying to pick up your jaw

Up two touchdowns with 30 minutes to go. The Washington Redskins are on their way to a 3-0 start.

Even after a 27-yard punt return by Antwaan Randle-El, two Casey Rabach penalties, a 3rd and forever conversion, a recovered fumble, a mental error by Jason Campbell when he spiked it on second down, still there was Ladell Betts only 3′ from overtime and, perhaps, the Skins going into the off week undefeated. 

All the optimism of the Redskins possibly being co-division leaders remain with the imprint of where Betts went down at the one-and-a-half foot marker.

When the dust settled, Washington was 2-1 because they settled, letting their foot off the gas pedal against the Giants in the second half.

Close doesn’t count: Ladell Betts came within less than a yard of giving Washington a chance to go 3-0. Will crushing blows like that one haunt the Skins this year?

Proof that things are different

The Redskins are contenders in the crazy NFC, though it must be said that we are only entering Week 5. At this point last season, you knew what you got with the Joe Gibbs gang and it wasn’t much.

Last October opened with a feverish 36-30 win overtime against Jacksonville as Mark Brunell lit up the skies for 329 yards and three touchdowns. Turns out it was his last moment in the sun.

As this autumn begins the Redskins quarterback woes have become more sedate with Campbell under center.

Campbell, a week after his Monday Night coming out party against the Eagles, marched the Redskins down to the one with under a minute left. In doing so, the three-year veteran overcame a swarming Giants blitz, two bad penalties from his center, and a momentary lapse of judgment in which he fumbled the ball on 1st and 10, immediately followed by a spike on 2nd and 13.

In the same drive, Campbell threw for a first down on a critical 3rd and 11, had it called back because of a penalty, and then still found Santana Moss for 18 yards. One play later on 4th and 8, after another penalty, Campbell kept the drive alive by finding Moss again, this time in the red zone.

The drive seemed to foreshadow what this season will be with Campbell.

Positively speaking, foreshadowing means there’s a future.

Slowly getting better?

The pass rush already looks improved with five sacks, including two by young stud Rocky McIntosh and two (finally) by Andre Carter. 

London Fletcher’s presence is clogging up the run, holding two of Washington’s first three opponents to under 100 yards. Last year, Greg Williams’ defense allowed an average of 137 yards per game.

Unfortunately, the more things change up front, the more they stay the same in the secondary. Carlos Rogers still remains shaky and nonaggressive. Fred Smoot still remains out of the lineup and Shawn Springs still remains 32 years old.

In three weeks’ time, Dolphins receivers shook off Rogers and Smoot with ease (yet Trent Green couldn’t hit the broad side of a bus), Donovan McNabb notched 242 yards with above average wide receivers that struggled to get open (with Smoot out, credit Springs), and Eli Manning racked up 232 yards, hooking up with Plaxico Burress (five in the second half) and Jeremy Shockey 10 times for 165 yards, and a score.

The next four weeks will showcase the Redskins secondary. They’ll face Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams, Brett Favre and Donald Driver, and Tom Brady and Randy Moss.

Reasons to worry

It’s only Week 5 and the Redskins can’t lose anymore offensive linemen. Santana Moss’ groin remains an issue and Brandon Lloyd is less effective than a discarded piece of used medical tape. Rocky McIntosh, who has been playing brilliantly, injured both shoulders. Marcus Washington’s elbow injury lingers, and the offense still isn’t complete enough to win games without the aid of their defense.

Reason not to worry

It’s only Week 5.

Wes McElroy hosts “The Final Round” on ESPN AM840 Monday-Friday, 4pm-6pm.

At some point this week, George Martin will take a walk in Virginia. 

He’ll walk upon the curvy macadam roads, take in the skyline of trees that will soon begin to change colors. His walk will be brisk. His strides will be paced. Martin will need to conserve his energy. That makes sense, considering that his walk began in New York City and will end at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Health conscious: Five days after the sixth anniversary of 9/11, George Martin began walking across the U.S. to raise money for World Trade Center responders.

Martin isn’t just walking in Virginia. He’s walking through it.

Martin’s taking “A Journey for 9/11.” It began five days after the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

”Our mission is to help provide health care for the surviving rescue and recovery workers who rushed to Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks, by raising a minimum of $10 Million,” says Martin on his website ajourneyfor911.net.

The former New York Giants captain made his name known to millions by wreaking havoc in NFC backfields for nearly a decade and half. His hope is to create awareness in millions more by walking through their backyards with the knees that sustained 14 years of abuse in the NFL. His quest will take him through 16 states and 2,900 plus miles.

Many of those who rushed to the scene after the 9/11 attacks were left with more then just a mental nightmare. According to a Mount Sinai Hospital (New York) study released in September 2006, almost 70 percent of World Trade Center responders had a new or worsened respiratory symptom that developed during or after their time working at the WTC; among the responders who were asymptomatic before 9/11, 61 percent developed respiratory symptoms while working at the WTC; close to 60 percent still had a new or worsened respiratory symptom at the time of their examination.

Martin’s goal is to give those heroes a better quality of life. 

In another region of New York, there’s another story of walking. Another one about quality of life. Another one about hope. 

Two weeks ago, two days after Buffalo Bills reserve tight end Kevin Everett crashed to the ground, paralyzed from an attempted tackle of Denver Broncos Domenik Hixon, doctors said his chances of a full recovery were “bleak and dismal.”

The next day Dr. Kevin Gibbons, the supervisor of neurosurgery at Buffalo’s Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital, announced Everett could wiggle his toes, bend his hip, move his ankles, and kick his leg as well as extend his elbow and give a flex to his biceps.

Here’s the Buffalo Bills’ Kevin Everett before an attempted tackle left him paralyzed a few weeks ago. Now he just hopes to walk again.

Doctors, while maintaining cautious optimism, believe Everett will walk again.

Incredible—isn’t it?—the things we take for granted in life, such as using our finger tips to type an e-mail or walking to the refrigerator.

Mitchell and Everett, in different ways, were quickly reminded of life’s simple pleasures. Different as they may be, they will both struggle in their journeys. There will be moments in which they’ll feel they’ve hit the point of breaking down, and points at which which they will contemplate quitting.

Yet they won’t. One man will walk to stand for something. The other will stand just to walk again.

In the end, the goal is the same. Both men will walk with and for a purpose.

Wes McElroy hosts “The Final Round” on ESPN AM840. Monday-Friday, 4pm-6pm.