Tag: NCAA tournament

Categories
News

In brief: Plogging craze, Crozet shuttle, marathon man, and more

Plogging and other Earth Day events

A combination of jogging while picking up trash—who wouldn’t want to go plogging? Easter Sunday, from 1 to 5pm, is your chance.

“Instead of hunting for Easter eggs, we’re hunting for litter,” says organizer and self-proclaimed tree-hugger Brady Earnhart. He’s never been plogging, but was immediately intrigued when he read about the European craze in The New Yorker.

Earnhart says his event will probably be more of a stroll than a jog, and will start and end at Rapture on the Downtown Mall. “Get some exercise
while you’re making Charlottesville a prettier place, and hang out with a crowd who feels the way you do about it,” he says.

Participants will break into smaller groups and collect as much garbage as they can from the designated zones, which can be found on a map on the Facebook event page, “Easter Plogging: A Holiday Litter Hunt.”

Bring your smartphone and plastic grocery bags (for collecting) if you’ve got ’em, says Earnhart.

And if you’re in the mood for more environmentally-friendly (and plogging!) events, here are just a few options:

Plog with the prez

Join UVA President Jim Ryan on April 19 at 7am at Madison Hall for running and litter pickup, one of more than 20 university-sponsored Earth Week events. A full schedule can be found at sustainability.virginia.edu.

Break out your bike helmet

Piedmont Environmental Council and other groups are leading a casual ride April 19 at 5:30pm through neighborhood streets, along bike lanes,
and greenways, with an optional social hour and advocacy brainstorming session to follow. Meet at Peloton Station.

Lace up your hiking boots

Join Wild Virginia on a guided two- to three-mile hike at Montpelier April 27 from 10am to noon. The cost is $10 with a $5 recommended donation to Wild Virginia, and those interested can sign up by searching “Nature Exploration Hike at Montpelier” on Eventbrite.

Quote of the week

“[Discriminatory symbols] certainly include Confederate imagery, which evokes a time when black people were enslaved, sold, beaten, and even killed at the whim of their masters.”—Educator/activist Walt Heinecke to the Albemarle School Board April 11

In brief

Don’t go

A petition started by UVA alumna Lacey Kohlmoos asks the men’s basketball team not to visit the White House in the wake of their NCAA championship win, and at press time, the online document had 10,900 of the 11,000 requested John Hancocks. But here’s the catch: While the winner may traditionally be extended an invitation to the president’s abode, as of yet, the Cavaliers have not been invited.

Rebel students

Since Albemarle Superintendent Matt Haas banned white supremacist and Nazi imagery on clothing as disruptive, six students have been counseled, Haas told the school board April 11. The first, reported as wearing a hat with Confederate imagery, also had on a Confederate T-shirt. That student spent several days at home.

Eze Amos

Riot free

Charlottesville police reported minimal mayhem as Hoos celebrated UVA’s national basketball championship into the wee hours of April 9. Police made three misdemeanor arrests for drunk in public, trespassing, and assault. UVA police reported three calls for vandalism, and fire and rescue responded to seven burned sofas/bonfires.

Crozet express

JAUNT is planning to launch a new bus service from Crozet to UVA and Sentara Martha Jefferson starting August 5, with other stops to allow riders to connect with transit options, according to the Progress. JAUNT, which is still seeking input, aims to keep the ride to no more than 45 minutes and will charge $2 each way.

Good pork

Virginia’s U.S. senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine get $43 million in federal funding from HUD for affordable housing in Virginia, including $875,000 for Charlottesville Redevelopment & Housing Authority.

Ryan’s run

UVA prez Jim Ryan ran his ninth Boston Marathon April 15 in honor of 26 teachers, one for every mile. Donors contributed $260 to get an educator who had made a difference listed on Ryan’s shirt.

Categories
News

In brief: Looking for Mr. Sunglasses, sunshine kids, Dewberry’s digs, and more

Photographer Eze Amos snapped Sunglasses, left, arriving with a Vanguard America contingent. Sunglasses was later spotted attacking DeAndre Harris in the Market Street Garage. Eze Amos

Where’s Red Beard—and Sunglasses?

Although four people have been convicted in the August 12 assault of DeAndre Harris in the Market Street Parking Garage, video and photographs from that day show there were other attackers joining the fray who have not been arrested—or even identified.

Charlottesville police photo of Red Beard.
CPD image of Sunglasses.

On February 14, Charlottesville police asked for the public’s help in finding the men online activists have dubbed Red Beard and Sunglasses: “Our detectives have worked tirelessly and exhausted all efforts to identify the other two men more than a year later, and hope the public’s assistance can help bring the assailants to justice and close this case.”

That appeal spurred former mayor Dave Norris to look at his photos from August 12, and he discovered a picture of Red Beard sitting near a helmeted man. Norris posted the photo on Facebook and wondered “if the guy in the helmet next to him knows his identity.

 

 

Dave Norris took this shot of Red Beard taking a break at Unite the Right.

 

 

 

 

Sunglasses and others have shields up as they appear to be leaving Market Street Park. Eze Amos

 

 

 

 

We took a spin through our own August 12 archives, and found a photo of Sunglasses carrying a Vanguard America shield and flag, and another of him with some  of his fascist pals.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Declan Hickey at 970-3542 or Crimestoppers at 977-4000.

Quote of the week

“You either believe in equity or you don’t.” —Mayor Nikuyah Walker on why tax increases are necessary to fund affordable housing and school equity

In brief

While John Dewberry was feathering his nest in Atlanta, Charlottesvillians continue to contemplate a less appealing Dewberry project. Skyclad

Dewberry doings

As the skeletal Landmark in downtown Charlottesville continues to molder, its owner, John Dewberry, 55, has been refurbishing a 1924 neo-classical condo in Atlanta with his 30-year-old bride. The New York Times featured the Dewberry digs recently, but for those searching for clues about movement on our historic eyesore, the only mention of Charlottesville is to note an 18th-century Hepplewhite sideboard the couple found here to complete their décor.

No. 1 seed

Despite Virginia’s disappointing 10-point loss to Florida State March 15 in the ACC semifinals, the Cavaliers got the top seed in the NCAA South Region and will play No. 16-seed Gardner-Webb University March 22 in Columbia, South Carolina. We’ll try not to think about UVA’s encounter last year with a  No. 16—the UMBC Retrievers.

Youth in revolt

Eze Amos
Protest organizer Gudrun Campbell. Eze Amos

About 100 local kids ditched class for a cause March 15, when they joined thousands of students across America in a coordinated climate strike. Carrying signs with slogans such as “There’s No Plan(et) B,” they assembled on the Downtown Mall to protest and march. Gudrun Campbell, an 11-year-old sixth grader at Walker Upper Elementary and area event organizer, said she wants comprehensive education on climate change for grade schoolers, “so children grow up understanding the issue and that it’s based solely on science.”

Litigious candidate

Bryce Reeves Publicity photo

State Senator Bryce Reeves has threatened to sue his 17th District Republican challenger Rich Breeden for defamation, according to Daily Progress reporter Tyler Hammel. Reeves also filed suit in his unsuccessful 2017 bid for the GOP lieutenant governor nomination, saying an email that falsely alleged an extramarital affair came from the cellphone of opponent Jill Vogel’s husband.

Home sentence

Walter Korte, the ex-UVA film studies professor who pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography in 2018, was granted permission March 18 to serve the remainder of his 12-month sentence—which he started in October—from home. The 75-year-old has no prior offenses, according to his attorney.

Categories
News

Syracuse stuns Cavaliers in Elite Eight upset

Fans gather at the airport in the wee hours Monday to welcome the Cavs and Coach Tony Bennett back from a weekend in Chicago that had the highs of winning the Sweet 16 over Iowa State and the lows of losing to Syracuse in the Elite Eight. Photo Matt Riley

In an unlikely second-half comeback, the Syracuse Orange took down top-seed Virginia 68-62 in the Elite Eight Sunday, ending the Cavaliers’ postseason play. Of Bennett’s four tournament appearances with Virginia, this year’s Elite Eight was the deepest postseason run the team has made.

“We will have some tough nights because you’re so close you could taste it,” said Coach Tony Bennett in a post-game press conference, “but absolutely joy will come in the morning for what these guys have established for Virginia basketball.”

For third-year student Max Ober, who attends every home game he can, the team’s exit was a mixed bag of emotions.

“We made it farther this year than the past two, but it’s disappointing to lose to a team that we know we can beat,” Ober says, referring to the Cavaliers’ 73-65 win over Syracuse in the regular season.

In their Elite Eight rematch, the Cavs built up a 14-point lead at halftime and appeared to have firm control over 10th-seeded opponent Syracuse. For the majority of the second half Virginia maintained the lead, but a three-pointer by Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson at the seven-minute mark began a 15-0 run that left the Hoos trailing 64-58 with three minutes to play.

With seniors Anthony Gill and Malcolm Brogdon both scoring below their averages, making only 10 and 12 points, respectively, the Cavaliers struggled to keep up their offense in the second half. Committing a tournament-high 13 turnovers only fueled Syracuse’s fire, directly leading to 15 of Syracuse’s points.

“I was calm for a while until I realized our defense was not getting stops,” Ober recalls of the last 10 minutes, “and the offense was being pushed off their rhythm by the press. Everything started to lean in favor of Syracuse.”

Despite Virginia’s disappointing tournament exit, Bennett’s Cavaliers have given UVA arguably three of its best seasons, recording 89 wins to surpass 1981-1983’s 88 wins. In 2014, the Cavs finished first in the ACC for the first time since 1981 and also won the ACC tournament for the first time since 1976. They received a No.1 seed in the NCAA tournament and reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1995’s Elite Eight run.

The 2015 Cavaliers clinched the ACC regular-season title for the second year in a row and earned a 2-seed in the NCAA.

This year’s 2016 season brought a new slew of “firsts” for Bennett’s team, with Malcolm Brogdon being the first player to earn both ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, with the Cavaliers going undefeated at home for the first time since 1982 and, of course, with the Cavalier’s first appearance in the Elite Eight since 1995.

As the season ends, seniors Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey, Evan Nolte, and Caid Kirven will graduate with 112 career wins, matching the school record set by the senior class of 1983. Despite their undeniable legacy, Ober worries about what the future will look like for the Cavaliers.

“I thought this was the year for UVA,” Ober says. “They are losing key seniors, the go-to scorers. Luckily Coach Bennett has been building a program of depth, so there are players to step up, but they will have to take on new roles. Without Malcolm, I wonder who will be the go-to scorer.”

 

 

Categories
News

Cavaliers head to the Windy City for Sweet 16 showdown

UVA Coach Tony Bennett has recovered from his collapse during the Hampton game on St. Patrick's Day. Photo Cara Salpini

With a second round win against No. 9-seed Butler, Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers will head to Chicago this weekend to take on No. 4-seed Iowa State in the Sweet 16. They join fellow ACC opponents Syracuse, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Duke and Miami in the round, a record for the most teams from any conference still competing for the national championship title.

This will mark the second time in three years the Cavs have reached the Sweet 16, the furthest the Hoos have gone in NCAA tournament play under Bennett’s tenure.

After cinching a No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, UVA downed 16-seed Hampton 81-45 in the first round of tournament play March 17 to advance to a second-round matchup with the Butler Bulldogs March 19.

In a much closer contest with Butler, the Cavaliers pulled away to win 77-69, led by seniors Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill, who grabbed 22 and 19 points respectively. Despite Virginia’s stars, the team had key points from off the bench as well, with Mike Tobey and Marial Shayok contributing 10 and 12 points each.

In a pre-Sweet 16 press conference, Bennett said both Shayok and Devon Hall gave the team “good stretches of basketball” post-season, and that Shayok “always tries hard defensively,” Bennett said. “And we needed all of that.”

He also addressed the threat of Iowa State’s Georges Niang, who averages 20.2 points per game, and how the Cavaliers will address the difficulties that the Cyclones pose.

“I think you have to try to make them earn [their baskets],” Bennett says. “They have other guys who are very talented, who shoot 40 or above from the three-point line with good spacing, they score in transition, they score posting up inside out. I think you’re going to have to probably have a lot of guys trying to guard [Niang]. He’s that good.”

Should the Cavaliers advance to the Elite Eight, they will face either 11-seed Gonzaga or 10-seed ACC rival Syracuse. The Cavaliers and the Cyclones tip off at the United Center in Chicago at 7:10pm Friday.

Watch a clip of the press conference here: