Former Hidden Valley star Hancock caught in whirlwind
This continues to be a year to remember for Luke Hancock. Last month was full of more highlights for the Hidden Valley graduate and University of Louisville basketball standout. He played for his country in the World University Games, served as the U.S.
CB Manning opts to transfer from Virginia Tech
BLACKSBURG - After mulling things over for a day, Virginia Tech cornerback Donaldven Manning has decided to transfer. The Hokies confirmed the news through the Twitter account for Frank Beamer's personal website Sunday, adding that Beamer will help the sophomore find another school. No reason was given for Manning's decision, but the former four-star recruit had been passed on the depth chart in training camp by true freshmen Kendall Fuller
NBA players Redick, Curry tee off rivalry on Roanoke County golf course
On Saturday, J.J. Redick and Stephen Curry played in Redick’s charity golf tournament. On Christmas night, they will be playing against each other on national television. Last season, Redick played on two NBA teams that were under the radar — the woeful Orlando Magic and a Milwaukee Bucks squad that made the playoffs despite a losing record. But after landing with the Los Angeles Clippers last month, the former Cave
McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
BLACKSBURG — Disappointing. Unacceptable. Surprising. Inconsistent. Motivating. The exact response varies from player to player and from coach to coach, but it takes only two numbers to elicit a cringe around these parts: seven and six. Virginia Tech’s record last year. Saturday was football media day at Tech, and 7-6 was not the primary focus. The primary focus was on unanswered questions on the depth chart, newcomers who could make
Saunders, Wagner among 6 selected to Virginia Tech Hall of Fame
BLACKSBURG - Major league pitcher Joe Saunders and pro golfer Johnson Wagner are among six former Hokies athletes who have been selected for the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. The rest of this year's class includes Roanoke County resident and former basketball player Bobby Beecher, ex-NFL player John Engelberger, ex-softball player Clarisa Crowell and former tennis player Jimmy Milley. They will be inducted on Nov. 15 and will be
Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech had its team picture Saturday at Lane Stadium. It featured fewer players than expected. Three scholarship players who appeared on the team’s initial roster this training camp are no longer part of the football team, while another is mulling his future, according to associate athletic director for football operations John Ballein. Offensive lineman Adam Taraschke, defensive lineman Jarontay Jones and cornerback Davion Tookes have all left
Cavaliers boost tight end position with Swanson
CHARLOTTESVILLE — At 6 foot 6 and 255 pounds, Zachary Swanson hardly qualified as a prototypical fullback. And, if you’ve heard new Virginia football assistant Tom O’Brien, what the Cavaliers really lacked in the spring was a prototypical blocking tight end. At UVa’s final open practice of the preseason, Swanson was all that and more, catching two touchdown passes, the second of which he punctuated with an emphatic spike. “Jake
VMI's new kicker likely an upgrade
LEXINGTON — It was easy to spot freshman kicker Dillon Christopher at VMI Football Media Day on Friday at Foster Stadium. He was the guy rocking the neon green shoes. The big-legged Christopher, who booted a VHSL-record 60-yard field goal in 2011 for Menchville High School, figures to be the one lock member of this year’s recruiting class with a job all his own when the Keydets open the season
Virginia's starting QB may not be a secret for much longer
CHARLOTTESVILLE - An announcement on Virginia's season-opening quarterback could come as early as Monday, according to head coach Mike London. The Cavaliers practiced in pads for the first time Friday. It was the last UVa practice that will be open to the media and will be followed by a closed scrimmage today. Sophomore David Watford was with the first-team offense Friday, as he has been since the start of spring
Young Virginia Tech players will get chance to impress in Saturday's scrimmage
Virginia Tech's open football scrimmage Saturday night will be reserved for younger players hoping to make an impression. The Hokies will have a regular practice at Lane Stadium starting at 7 p.m. that is open to the public. They'll scrimmage near the end and run about 30 plays, although first-teamers will step aside for youngsters trying to play this year. Frank Beamer's website tweeted Friday that six true freshmen are
Virginia Tech needs 4th Fuller to step up right away
BLACKSBURG — His goatee belies his age, although Hokies freshman cornerback Kendall Fuller says that wasn’t his intent. He simply wasn’t allowed to grow one at his high school at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Md., started doing so after graduation and likes how it looks. It’s fitting, though, since Virginia Tech plans to ask the youngest of the football-playing brothers from Baltimore to have a role far
Colleges: Hokies set to face Michigan State
The Virginia Tech men's basketball team will face heavyweight Michigan State in the Brooklyn portion of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The pairings for the Barclays Center event were revealed Thursday; the four participants had previously been announced. Tech will face coach Tom Izzo's Spartans at about 9:30 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader on Nov. 22. Tech will meet Oklahoma or Seton Hall the following night. The
College football: Virginia Tech-Wisconsin series pushed back
BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech's football series with Wisconsin has been pushed back again, although the Hokies are in the process of lining up a "major conference opponent" as a replacement. The Hokies and Badgers won't play their long-anticipated football series now until 2019 and 2020, according to Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver. The teams will play at Wisconsin, Sept. 14, 2019, and in Blacksburg on Sept. 12, 2020. Weaver
Virginia linebacker Coley steps up for Cavaliers
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Henry Coley is aware of the productivity that Virginia is losing with the departure of middle linebacker Steve Greer, the Cavaliers’ leading tackler in three of the past four seasons. Coley also points out that it will be easier to put up impressive tackle numbers from the field than the bench. Or the stands. Coley was suspended for the final four games of the 2012 season, a development
Virginia Tech ready to revitalize ground game
BLACKSBURG — Trey Edmunds hears the talk. It’s impossible not to. The running back knows what people have said or written about Virginia Tech’s ground game, which slogged through the 2012 season, struggling close to as much as it has during the Hokies’ 20-year bowl streak. All he does is internalize it. “Us individuals who are in the running back room, we all stick together and we all just work
College notebook: Jamelle Hagins to French league
Former William Fleming and Delaware standout Jamelle Hagins will be playing pro basketball overseas. Hagins, last season’s Colonial Athletic Association defensive player of the year, has signed with Chorale de Roanne of the France Pro A League. Hagins, who was bypassed in this year’s NBA draft, played in both NBA summer leagues last month but did not make much of an impact. The power forward played in four games for
Virginia Cavaliers land highly regarded football recruit
When the clock struck 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Mike London nervously glanced over at his son, Korben. Korben had Dad’s phone. Was it ringing yet? Virginia entered the day with nine commitments for its 2014 recruiting class. London hoped to get to 10 before practice No. 3 of the 2013 season was over. California three-star athlete Jeffery Farrar was scheduled to make his decision on ESPN.com before 5 p.m. For
Does anyone believe Johnny Manziel's version of the truth?
Is it the athletes or is it us? Which one of us has changed? Maybe both. Maybe the nonstop adulation they receive on social media has made them lazy when spinning their tales, because they think everyone will just lap up the explanation, squeal and beg for a retweet. Or maybe it’s just us growing cynical, weary of all those times we’ve been hoodwinked. Regardless, this much seems clear: Athletes
Cavaliers count down to BYU -- and Virginia Tech
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Forget one game at a time. When you haven’t beaten your rival in nearly a decade, cliches go out the window. That’s why in the Virginia football locker room, the Cavaliers have two countdown clocks. One ticks down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until UVa’s season opener against Brigham Young. The other? It displays the time remaining until the regular-season finale against rival Virginia Tech, which has
Virginia quarterbacks battle to be Cavaliers' starter
CHARLOTTESVILLE — The Virginia football team has held two practices and it still doesn’t have a starting quarterback. OK, OK. So Cavaliers head coach Mike London just hasn’t made the announcement yet. Tuesday, before David Watford and Greyson Lambert battled it out for another afternoon, London stood before reporters and ran down his early impressions. A day before, neither of the candidates exactly lit up the McCue Center outdoor field.
Hokies suspend running back for Virginia Tech season opener (with video)
BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech’s Joel Caleb is excited about his recent move from wide receiver to running back, eager to have the ball in his hands a lot more. That won’t be until after the season opener, however. As expected, Caleb has been suspended for the Alabama game because of an unspecified violation of team rules. The redshirt freshman read a prepared statement before interviews Tuesday. %%Video-beamerExum%% “I broke a
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
7. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
8. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
THE ROANOKE TIMES
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