Cleveland Finally Wins a Title!

They did it!

At long last the championship drought in Cleveland is over.  Last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first ever NBA title and the first pro sports championship in Cleveland in over 50 years. Cleveland fans suffered years of heartache with infamous playoff failures like The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, and The Blown Save as well as franchise demoralizing events like The Move and The Decision. But now the misery is over. To recap, here are some amazing stats on the series and the clinching game:

• It was the first time in NBA history that a team that was down 3-1 came back to win the series.
• Series MVP LeBron James was the first player in NBA history to lead all players in a series in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. 
• Cleveland won back to back road games in Golden State, who had only lost twice at home in the regular season.
• Going into Game 7, the two teams had each scored 610 points, and the game was tied with a minute left. 
• Cleveland held the highest scoring team in the league to only 13 points in the 4th quarter and scoreless for the last 4:39 of the game.
• The Warriors broke the record for the most wins during the regular season, but lost three straight for the first time in two seasons to lose the title. 
• Steph Curry was the first ever unanimous NBA MVP during the regular season, but had the lowest scoring average and lowest FG% of any MVP in Finals history.  He had more turnovers than assists and only shot 26% on wide open shots. 

With Game 7 tied with two minutes left, three key plays by the Cavs' “Big 3” helped change Cleveland sports history forever.

The Block: After grabbing a defensive rebound, the Warriors were on a fast break to take the lead, but out of seemingly nowhere LeBron came from behind to block the layup and preserve the tie.  Watch it below in real time or read the step by step analysis:

The Shot: With the game still tied at 89 and a minute left, Kyrie Irving took Curry one on one and hit a 25 foot three pointer to give the Cavs a lead they would never relinquish. It was the biggest shot of his career and silenced the Golden State crowd.

The Defense: Immediately following Irving’s 3, the Warriors turned to the MVP to tie up the game. After setting several picks to get the matchup they wanted, Kevin Love was stuck covering Curry in an ISO position behind the 3 point line. Even though Love had been criticized for his defense, he held his ground for about 10 seconds, preventing Curry from getting the wide open shot he wanted to tie the game. Watch it below in real time or read another step by step analysis:

Cleveland's three biggest stars stepped up at the biggest time to seal the title for the Cavs.

Just last week I was in a debate about ranking your personal top five sports moments. After dozens of worst moments popped into my head, I struggled to come up with my top five moments. Now I have a clear #1 moment. This is such a pivotal event in my sport fanhood history that I have already bought tons of championship gear and will be headed back to Cleveland to celebrate in the long awaited victory parade.

Go Cavs! And Go Cleveland!

12 Fun Facts About the NBA Finals Between Cleveland and Golden State

After a weeklong break, the NBA Finals are finally here! Will LeBron James win a long awaited title for Cleveland or will MVP sharpshooter Steph Curry bring the championship to Golden State? With all the buildup leading up to the series, here are 12 interesting facts you may have missed.

1. The NBA Finals will be between two teams with 40+ year title droughts for the 1st time in NBA history. It has never happened in the NHL or NFL either.
2. The Warriors are the 1st team since the 1996-97 Jazz to make the NBA Finals without any players with Finals experience, and are seeking to become the first such team to win a championship since the 1990-91 Bulls.
3. LeBron will be starting in his fifth consecutive NBA Finals. He is the only player to do that since the 1960’s Celtics dynasty.  
4. So far in the playoffs, MVP Curry is shooting .437 from 3PT, which is behind Cavs guard Kyrie Irving at .481
5. Only two of the past 11 NBA MVPs went on to win the title, both times it was LeBron.
6. So far in the playoffs, the Cavs have out-rebounded opponents by 8 or more rebounds 8 times. The Warriors have only done it twice. 
7. Two rookie coaches (Cleveland's David Blatt and Golden State's Steve Kerr) are in the Finals for the first time since the first title was contested in 1947. 
8. The Cavs are holding teams to .281 3PT% in the playoffs. The two times the Warriors shot worse than .281 from 3 in the playoffs they lost.
9. If the Warriors win the title, Curry will become the first player in NBA history to face and beat his four fellow All-NBA First Team members (Davis, Gasol, Harden, James).
10. In the 2015 NBA Playoffs, the Warriors and Cavaliers have combined for a 24-5 record. This is the best combined total shared by two teams (who made it to the finals) since 1991 when the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers totaled a 22-4 win-loss card.
11. LeBron is the first player in NBA history to enter ‪ the Finals‬ with averages of at least 27 points, 10 rebounds & 8 assists.
12. The Cavs are undefeated in the playoffs when rookie and UVA grad Joe Harris plays.

How Historic is UVA’s Defense?

The #2 Virginia men's basketball team's defense is ranked first in the country, allowing only 50.8 points per game, with #1 Kentucky at their heels at 51.8. But how historically low is that number?

Last year UVA led the nation in this category as well, but at 55.7 points per game. The year before the leader was Stephen F. Austin at 51.2. You have to go all the way back to 1992 to find a stingier defense, when Princeton held its opponents to a mere 48 points a game.  (That is roughly 325 teams in the country for 22 years, or over 7,100 total seasons before finding a better defense.) In 1992, UVA's coach Tony Bennett was playing in college. Here is the list of the leaders by year:

Tony Bennett fans should recognize a couple of those teams, including his 2009 Washington State team and his father Dick Bennett’s 2001 Wisconsin team.

How about just looking at Virginia’s history? How does this year’s Cavaliers squad compare to the 109 other seasons of UVA basketball history through 23 games? Bennett’s 2012 and 2013 teams were smothering defenses as well, but with a slightly higher average of 53 points per game. Earlier coaches Dave Leitao and Pete Gillen were not known for defense and their teams averaged 72 points a game. You would think the great Ralph Sampson would have contributed to historic defensive teams as well, but they allowed 62 points a game.  Even the ‘60s UVA teams allowed an average of 80 points a game. That is 60% more scoring allowed per game even without a shot clock or 3 point line. That could be why the program went 69-176 (.281) that decade. You have to go all the way back to the 1946 season to find a Virginia team giving up less than 50 points a game.

Check out the results from that year:

Talk about an easy schedule. UNC and Duke only once? VMI and W&L twice?

(Interestingly enough a lot of the opponents around that time were military schools due to WWII, so UVA would play against air bases and naval training centers.  I can only imagine what losing to “N.C. Pre-Flight School” and “Camp Lee” did to Virginia's RPI in 1943.)

The teams in the 1920s played games with scores only in the 20’s, so this year’s Virginia team is not going to break any all-time records, but they still have a chance to finish as the best Wahoo defense in almost 70 years.

UVa Men's Basketball Keeps Rolling On

UVa’s basketball team is having another historic season. The Hoos are undefeated so far at 17-0 and are ranked #2 in the country. They are off to their best start in 34 years and have not been ranked this high since 1983. In fact, since January 18th of last year, Virginia has gone 35-2, best in the nation.

The Cavaliers have achieved this record due to their dominant defense, which is #1 in the country in points allowed per game and #2 in field goal percentage. Meanwhile, the offense has been efficient as well, ranked #24 in FG% and #4 in KenPom offense efficiency ratings.

Last season, UVa won the ACC regular season and tournament titles for the first time ever, and will have a tough time repeating this year. Next week the Wahoos start a three game stretch against #5 Duke, at #15 North Carolina, and #10 Louisville.

In fact, the Duke game is such a big match-up that ESPN’s traveling pregame show, “College Gameday,” will be in Charlottesville for the first time ever for that game.

Meanwhile, Kentucky is the other undefeated team in the country, and is ranked #1, garnering lots of media attention.  The Wildcats are a team made up of mostly All-American freshman looking to go to the NBA after their one year, while UVa is comprised of mostly upperclassmen with more aspirations towards graduation than the pros. It would make for an interesting title game if these two top teams make it that far.

Let’s Go Hoos!

Cleveland Cavaliers Already Swooning Over Joe Harris

When my favorite NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, drafted former Virginia Cavalier Joe Harris in June, I was ecstatic.  Not only was I excited that the star of the UVa team that won an ACC title for the first time in 30 years was being drafted into the NBA, but he was going to Cleveland as well. After the Cavaliers added Lebron James, Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, and James Jones, Cleveland became a title contender and I figured Joe Harris would relegated to the D League or only get playing time during blowouts. Last year only half of the second round picks even played in the NBA and only one of them had more than 40 minutes of total playing time and 15 points at this point of the season.

Luckily Joe Harris made the opening day roster, and even got some last minute playing time in three of Cleveland’s first five games. Then starting shooting guard Dion Waiters injured his back in the fifth game, allowing Harris to get extended minutes against New Orleans last week. The 23 year old rookie has not looked back since.

In the past three games, Harris has played an average of 20 minutes a game, hit 6 three pointers and has led the All-Star stacked team with a +/- of +65. In a close game against the Celtics, the second round pick played in the closing minutes including hitting a 3-pointer with 3 minutes to go.  Against Atlanta over the weekend, Harris entered in the first quarter and drained two 3-pointers igniting the rout of the Hawks. Only two players chosen #25 or later in this year's draft have more minutes or points than Harris.

Here is some of the praise from the Cavaliers' coach David Blatt so far:

"He's a very, very positive worker, nose to the grindstone, doesn't say a whole lot, listens to the veteran guys, fits in with what we're doing and he plays as hard as he possibly can regardless of the situation. That's what you want. Joe brought energy; he brought commitment to both ends. Our scouting department did a heckuva job getting Joe with that pick"

Even the best player in the world is on the Joe Harris bandwagon:

"He was huge," Lebron James said. "Joe Harris is going to be a big piece for our team.”

Now there are reports that the former Virginia Cavalier star could be in the Cleveland Cavalier’s starting lineup soon.

“With the way he is progressing and as well as he is playing, Joe Harris will be the starting shooting guard sooner rather than later. Much sooner. As in within a couple of weeks (or less), one source with knowledge of the team’s thinking said. At least one member of the Cavs’ brain trust is already in favor of the switch.”

It has been quite the rise for a player who only people in Charlottesville were swooning about last year.  I already have my jersey:

Lebron James and Peyton Manning Are One in the Same

ESPN posted an interesting article about Lebron James’s photographic memory:

    "LeBron will take one look at it the tv and know what game it is. He'll be like, 'Oh, that's Game 2 of the '97 Finals,' before they even put it on the screen."

This sounded very similar to an ESPN article about Peyton Manning’s memory last week:

     "Sometimes I can't remember if I checked a door at my house to see if it's locked or not," he said. "But I can remember a seam route to Marvin Harrison in 1999."

They must be long lost cousins or something! All joking aside, the two great players’ careers have strikingly a lot common: 

• Peyton has struggled in the big game, going 1-2 in the Super Bowl, while Lebron is only 2-3 in the NBA Finals
• Lebron was crushed in the most lopsided NBA Finals ever, while Peyton was blown out of the Super Bowl 43-8
• Peyton has led both the Heat and Cavs to the Finals, while Peyton has taken both the Colts and Broncos to the Super Bowl
• Lebron’s former boss is Hall of Famer Pat Riley who has six rings, while Peyton’s boss is Hall of Famer John Elway, who has two titles
• Peyton appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated before he was drafted #1 overall in 1998, same with Lebron in 2003
• Lebron has been thwarted and compared many times to future Hall of Fame player and coach Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich, while Peyton struggled and is contrasted with future Hall of Fame player and coach Tom Brady and Bill Belichick
• Lebron finally won his first title in his ninth season, same with Peyton
• Peyton’s free agency was the hot topic of the summer of 2012, while Lebron’s free agency decisions of 2010 and 2014 were national news 

Or you could go even deeper, outside of their careers:

• Both have receding hairlines
• Peyton's "Achilles Heel" is his neck, while Lebron suffers from leg cramps
• Both met their wives while in high school
• Both have appeared on SNL and the Simpsons
• Peyton's success in Indianapolis helped the city get a new stadium, while Cleveland's economy is half-jokingly based on Lebron 

Lastly, they both better turn their title fortunes around these coming seasons, or else I’ll be in for some more heartache.

The Return of the King: Lebron James is coming back to Cleveland!

After ripping out Cleveland fans’ hearts four years ago in “The Decision,” Lebron James decided today to come back to the Cavaliers. Instead of a television ESPN show, Lebron wrote an essay with Sports Illustrated which seemed heartfelt.  “My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn't realize that four years ago. I do now.” Much better than taking your talents to South Beach.

Three months ago, Cleveland missed the playoffs while Lebron and the Heat were headed into the playoffs looking to defend their title. It appeared that there was zero percent Lebron would be returning to the Cavaliers. How did this change?

• 0% - At end of the regular season the Cavs finished a disappointing season at 33-49.
• 1% - Despite only a 1.7% chance, Cleveland won the draft lottery for the third time in four years. Not only could the Cavaliers draft another top draft pick, but they could trade it for a proven star to entice Lebron to return. 
• 5% - In the NBA Finals, the Heat got crushed in the last three games, which exposed Miami as an aging team whose championship window was closing. 
• 10% - Lebron and his Heat teammates opted out of their contracts, making him a free agent. While it was still believed it was just a salary cap move to bring in more players, Lebron was no longer employed by Miami. 
• 15% - The Cavs resigned their All-Star point guard, Kyrie Irving, which showed that the franchise’s current building block was in place for the future.
• 25% - A week after opting out, Lebron’s agent only met with a handful of teams, including the Cavaliers. 
• 50% - This morning after all the meetings, moves, and rumors, it appeared there was a 50/50 chance Lebron would come to Cleveland. 

Leading up to his announcement, there were all sorts of crazy rumors and signs that Lebron was coming back to Cleveland.  Cavalier fans, bloggers, and reporters obsessed over any minute detail as if they were solving a crime.

• Bloggers tracked Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert’s plane as it went to Florida and back.
• There were pictures of moving trucks outside Lebron’s Miami home.
• Former Heat teammate Mike Miller posted a picture of himself working out with a Lebron Cleveland jersey in the background.
• There were random changes to Lebron’s website and twitter bio, and the site even crashed when it was rumored he would announce via his site.
• The Akron police department was given a heads up to be prepared, therefore huge crowds gathered by Lebron’s Akron home.

All this obsession shows how much Cleveland fans are passionate about their sports and how dearly they want a championship. It has been much discussed how Cleveland has not won a title in any sport since 1965, but they got a lot closer today. While I doubt the Cavaliers are going to go to four straight NBA Finals or win a title right away, having the best player in the world certainly helps.

On a personal note, I was crushed when Lebron left four years ago. I stopped watching the NBA Playoffs and I took down my pictures in front of the “Witness” billboard. However, I did not burn or throw away my Lebron jerseys or “Witness” shirt. While I am still pissed at “The Decision”, being closer to winning a championship is better than winning the draft lottery, so I welcome him back.

If that was not enough, the Cavaliers drafted UVa star Joe Harris in the second round two weeks ago as well. I was going to follow him and root for whatever team he was going to be on anyways. Now, the player I cheered for as he brought the Virginia Cavaliers an ACC title for the first time in 30 years will be hitting threes for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Oh, and don’t forget about Johnny Football.

Cleveland sports just got a lot more exciting.

NCAA March Madness Time!

Tomorrow is one of the best sports days of the year as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament begins. Usually I just focus on upsets, good games, picking the best bracket, etc. However, this year this year there is an extra incentive, as UVa capped off their ACC regular season championship with an ACC tournament title, earning a #1 seed in the East region. It was the first ACC regular season championship outright and #1 seed for the Cavs in over 30 years, and the first Tournament title since 1976. Now, do I follow my heart and pick the Hoo’s to win it all or do I listen to the experts and try to be more accurate with my bracket predictions?

First let’s take look at the trends from the past 28 seasons by round.

First round:

• #12 seeds upset the #5 seeds 36% of the time (last year it was 75% with #12 seeds Mississippi, California, and Oregon pulling off the upsets) 
• 21% of #4 seeds go down (#4 Kansas State went home early last year) 
• Meanwhile only 14% of #3 seeds lose their first game (last year #3 New Mexico was upset though)

Second round:

• Only 12% of #1 seeds were upset (#1 Gonzaga was upset by eventual Final Four team Wichita St, who happen to be undefeated this year)
• Meanwhile 36% of #2 seeds have been upset by the #7/#10 winner (#2 Georgetown was upset by the #15 last year, not even getting to the #7/#10) 
• Only 12% of the time has a region gone #1, #2, #3, #4 (which actually did happen once last year)

Sweet 16:

• 70% of #1 seeds make the elite eight (was 25% last year with only champion Louisville advancing) 
• On the other side of the region, 72% are either #2 or #3 seeds (100% last year)

Elite Eight:

• Only one time in 33 years of the 64 team bracket has all four #1 seeds made the Final Four (which was no exception last year) 
• 41% of #1 seeds make the Final Four (only one #1 seed made it last year) 
• #2 seeds make it 21% of the time (no #2 seeds made it last year)

If you add up all the seeds that make the final four, the average total is 10. Meaning if you pick all #1 seeds, that’s less than half the average, or if you throw in a #11 George Mason with a #3, #2, and #1, that’s double the average. (Last year’s total of 18 (#1, #4, #4, #9) was way above average.)

If those are the yearly trends, then who did the experts pick this year? Here is a breakdown of 22 “expert” brackets.

Championship:

• 32% of the experts chose #1 seed Florida to win the entire thing (compared to 75% for eventual champ Louisville last year)
• UVa was the only #1 seed not picked of the six different teams
• 27% picked #4 Michigan State with 8 losses while only 9% picked undefeated #1 Wichita State

Runner Up:

• 7 different teams were chosen to lose the title game
• 31% #4 Louisville was the highest
• 22% have Florida over Louisville

Final Four:

• 86% picked #4 Michigan State to reach the Final Four, while only 1 expert picked UVa
• Only 27% picked #1 Wichita State, while 55% picked #4 Louisville, out of the Midwest Region
• #1 Florida 68%, #2 Kansas 32% in what looks an entertaining South regional Final
• Sorry Wildcats fans, Villanova was the only #2 seed not picked
• No teams outside of the top #4 seeds were picked, how boring

Elite Eight:

• 100% of brackets picked Florida in the Elite Eight
• 90% have #4 MSU facing #3 Iowa State, which is absurd considering only 16% of #4 seeds and 26% of #3 seeds even make the Elite Eight
• #4 Louisville and #1 Wichita State are split 60/40
• Only 9% picked UVa, the lowest #1 seed, and 0% for #2 seed Villanova

Sweet Sixteen:

• 23% have Kentucky beating #1 Wichita State, but only one bracket had #4 MSU or #3 Iowa State losing
• All 20 experts picked #4 Louisville to make the Sweet 16, stunning considering half the #4 seeds do not make it there
• #2 Kansas 55% vs. #7 New Mexico 45% looks like a great game
• Same with #2 Villanova 55% vs. #7 UConn 40%

Conclusions

• Since 30% of #1 seeds do not make the Elite 8, UVa or Wichita St. are the choices to falter. 
• Since 54% of #2 seeds do not make the Elite 8 either, Villanova and Kansas have the toughest opponents.
• Only 52% of #3 seeds make it out of the first two rounds, so experts pick against Creighton as a #3 seed to continue this trend. 
• Since only one time out of 34 has a Final Four been all #1 seeds, experts think UVa and Wichita St. look the most vulnerable. 

After looking at the trends and expert picks I am even more inclined to pick UVa to win it all. If the entire pool picks MSU, Louisville, etc, I gain an advantage by picking UVa if they win, while not gaining anything by picking against Virginia.  The consensus of the expert picks is staggering though. Using the Ken Pomeroy rankings (the en vogue college basketball sabermetrics rankings), UVa is the #4th best team in the country while MSU is #10. Granted Michigan State is now fully healthy and coming off a BIG 10 tournament title and they may be underseeded as a #4. However, they have gone 8-7 in their past 15 games, while UVa has only one loss in a meaningful game since New Year’s.  Historic trends have #1 seeds advancing 70% of the time in this matchup, while only 16% of #4 seeds, but the 22 experts picked 9% #1 seed/91% #4 seed.

Meanwhile on the other side of the region, which team do you think got 95% of the picks to make the elite eight? The #7 ranked team or the #22, #25, or #26 ranked teams? Iowa State, the #22 ranked team, was predicted to win in 21 of the 22 brackets, while #7 Villanova got zero.

Either the experts or on to something that I do not know about, or maybe I found out a key to who I am picking this week.  That’s why they play the games.

UVa’s Men’s Basketball’s Historic Season Reaches New Heights This Weekend Against Syracuse

Last night, #12 UVa’s men’s basketball team cruised to their 12th straight victory and 15th in the last 16 games. The Cavaliers now have a 15-1 ACC record and are in first place by 1.5 games over #4 Syracuse, which comes into Charlottesville on Saturday. The Wahoo’s can extend their magical season by claiming their 2nd outright ACC title ever with a win. Here are some stats on how historic this season has been for Virginia:

• The last time they won an ACC title outright was in 1981, over 30 years ago
• It’s the first time the program has won 12 straight ACC games since 1981-82
• UVa also improved to 19 games above .500 for the first time since 1982-83
• They won a program-record 11th ACC game by double figures.
• The Hoos have won 17 straight home ACC games, a new school record
• They have led by 19 or more in 12 of 16 ACC games

How has a team that did not make the NCAA tournament last year and was not ranked until three weeks ago able to run rampant over the toughest conference in the country? It all starts with the defense:

• The Cavaliers have the #1 defense in the country in points per game and #8 in defensive FG%
• They have held 16 straight teams below their season average for points
• The offense is balanced as well, since seven different players have led the team in scoring

The game will be nationally televised on ESPN with Dickie V doing the commentary.  It has been sold out for months with the cheapest nosebleed ticket currently going for $268 on Stubhub.  ESPN already has video breaking down the match-up: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10518180

The basketball game is not the only sports action in Charlottesville on Saturday though. After the game, across the street, the #4 men’s lacrosse team hosts the #6 team in the country. What rival successful lacrosse team warrants the night time matchup? You guessed it, Syracuse. Earlier in the day, UVa’s top #5 ranked baseball, tennis, and women's lacrosse teams are in action as well.  Hopefully the Hoo’s can pull out the upset to continue their historic season and confirm my prophetic tweet from last March:

Andrew Bynum to the Cavs is High Reward, Low Risk

Last night the Cleveland Cavaliers signed free agent center Andrew Bynum to a two-year incentive-laden deal for $24 million. It is a wise move for the team since it appears to be high reward for little risk.

The deal is full of incentives and low on guaranteed money because Bynum missed all of last season with a knee injury and has only played in 60% of the possible games in his career. The contract has a team option for the second year, meaning they can cut him without penalty after the first season if it does not pan out. This is not a spending spree type of move that hurts the salary cap, since the worst case scenario is only $6 million for one year. Meanwhile in comparison, free agents Josh Smith, Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson, and David West signed multi-year deals this year for at least $12 million a year.

It is a high reward move because two seasons ago the 25-year-old averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks a game.  The 7-footer was an All-Star and second team All-NBA selection that year.  If healthy, he plugs into a Cleveland front court that includes veteran Anderson Varejo, #1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, #4 pick two years ago Tristan Thompson, and All-Rookie selection Tyler Zeller. Meanwhile, the main core of the team is the young backcourt, led by All-Star 21-year-old point guard Kyrie Irving (above) and All-Rookie selection Dion Waiters. That is a talented eight man rotation with only Varejo being over 25 years old. Several blogs below have the Cavs making the playoffs and even the #5 seed now, if healthy. A big if.

This seems like a lot of optimism for a team that finished with the third worst record in the NBA last year.  However, in the past two months, Cleveland won the draft lottery, made a bold pick at #1, and picked up a former All-Star center on the cheap.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/22713400/how-signing-andrew-bynum-can-work-for-the-cavaliers

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1700246-best-case-worst-case-scenarios-for-andrew-bynum-era-in-cleveland

http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2013/07/10/andrew-bynum-makes-cleveland-cavaliers-an-instant-playoff-team/

UVa Men’s Tennis Won the NCAA Title

After years of getting painstakingly close to a title, the UVa Men’s tennis team finally won its first championship today in dramatic fashion.  With the title match tied 3-3 against UCLA, the Wahoos were down to their final point in the third and final set, when sophomore Mitchell Frank rallied to win four straight games to clinch the title. The victory was Virginia’s 30^th to cap off an undefeated season.  Here are some quick stats on the Cavaliers historic season and recent run of dominance.

• During the season, they won their 100^th consecutive ACC match.
• Their combined match record was 160-22.
• This is only the third match of the season that the opponent even got three match wins
• This was their third straight title game appearance, falling to USC the previous two times
• In the past eight seasons, UVa has a combined team record of 256-13 for a .952 winning percentage.
• This gives Virginia it’s 20^th national title overall, fourth most in the ACC.

Time to get a new t-shirt. 

UVa Spring Sports Update

Now that the college basketball season is complete, college spring sports come to the forefront. Luckily two of UVa’s programs are in the midst of amazing seasons.

The men’s tennis is team is ranked #1 and is still undefeated at 17-0. The Cavaliers have won 99 consecutive ACC matchups and are 114-4 in the past 4 seasons. Unfortunately, three of those losses are to USC in the NCAA playoffs, but maybe this is the Hoos’ year since they defeated the Trojans in the indoor tournament in February.

Meanwhile, Virginia’s baseball team is currently ranked #4 in the nation and has a record of 30-3. The Cavaliers have won all of their series's on the season and are #5 in the country in runs, #13 in ERA and #20 in batting average. We will see how this young team fares against #19 GT,  #6 FSU, and #1 UNC later in the season.

I hope these incredible seasons continue into a successful playoff run in the summer.

HellUVa Week for Virginia Sports

Last night UVa earned a marquee win over #3 Duke 73-68 on national TV essentially clinching a spot in the big dance. Here are some of the key stats:

• The last time the Cavaliers beat a top 5 team was exactly 11 years ago, against #3 Duke.
• Duke never had the lead.
• The Blue Devils only had one offensive rebound after averaging 10 for the season.
• Joe Harris had a career high 36 points, the most for any player against Duke since 2006, and the most in the ACC this season.
• Harris is now 2^nd in the ACC in scoring, 3^rd in FG%, 3^rd in 3PT FG%, and 4^th in FT%, and is in consideration for ACC Player of the Year and has his own Twitter feed pushing for it https://twitter.com/JoeHarrisACCPOY
• This picture is in consideration for picture of the year as well.
• Akil Mitchell also had a great game with 19 points (2^nd highest this year) and 12 rebounds (2^nd highest as well).
• UVA is now 10-5 in the ACC, with 4 top 50 RPI wins, greatly improving their NCAA tournament selection chances.

Meanwhile Virginia’s men’s spring sports are undefeated so far.  #19 Baseball has started off 8-0 with a combined score of 84-19. #1 Tennis is 6-0, including the Indoor Championship against arch-rival USC.  #6 Lacrosse is 4-0, scoring a combined 62-34, with a huge matchup tonight against Syracuse. Not to be outdone, the Football team got a big boost, when they got a commitment from the #4 ranked recruit in the country as well.  Not to put too much stock in these things, but from 2002-2008 29 of the 35 top 5 rated recruits went on to become NFL starters.

Great week to be a Wahoo Fan!

Hoo’s Battling Duke for 1st Place?

Don’t look now, but UVa men’s basketball team is 14-1 and ranked #16 in the country. The Cavaliers are the only one loss team left in in the ACC, putting them in first place as conference play starts up. This is the highest the team has been ranked since 2000, when they were #8 in the country. In the latest Bracketology forecast, ESPN predicts Virginia will be a 5 seed in the tournament which would be the team’s best seeding since they last made the tournament as a 4 seed in 2007.

UVa is led by fifth year senior Mike Scott, who is the leading scorer and has had five double doubles so far. He has already earned three ACC player of the week awards this season, only the fifth Cavalier to do so. The team also relies on one of the best defenses in the country, which is 2^nd out of 338 in scoring at 50.5 points a game, and 20^th in opponents’ field goal %. The fans at John Paul Jones Arena have embraced the defensive mindset by ramping up the decimal level whenever the opponents’ shot clock goes below 10 seconds.

However, the team’s biggest test to date is Thursday as they travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on #6 Duke. ESPN has this matchup as the upset pick of the week. Unfortunately, the Wahoos have not beaten the Blue Devils since 2007 and have not won on Coach K court since 1995, when the members of the Hoo’s roster were still learning how to walk let alone dribble a basketball. Yikes!

Chick-Fil-A Bowl Adventures

After UVA surprisingly made the Peach Bowl (now Chick-Fil-A Bowl), Erryn and I decided to attend with some of my UVa buddies. The Atlanta hosted bowl is reserved for the second ranked ACC team, but Virginia Tech earned a BCS bid, leaving an opportunity for the Cavs to go to a top flight bowl after being predicted to finish in the basement of the division.

When we arrived in Atlanta, we were surprised to see plenty of fellow Cavs fans, but due to the proximity to Auburn, the Tiger fans showed up closer to gametime. Strangely enough, Auburn’s first football coach was a UVa alum and used our colors for their squad 100 years ago, hence tons of orange and blue in the streets of Atlanta. The highlight of the activities before the game was the parade, during 60 degree Georgia weather, and predictably tons of cows:

The game started off great with our marching band and early touchdowns and leads:

Unfortunately Auburn’s speed and our special teams errors took over the game leading to a 19 point loss. You are not going to win many games with two blocked punts, giving up an onside kick, a failed fake fg, and a 60 yard return. Despite the disappointment, I am optimistic about the young over achieving team and look forward to next year after sophomore QB Rocco’s improved play in the 2nd half of the season.

UVA Finishes a Perfect Day with an Upset

For the first time in several seasons I did not purchase UVA season tickets, but chose to come to just a handful of key games. Undefeated #12 Georgia Tech and a sunny fall day seemed like the perfect time for a tailgate as well. While the Yellow Jackets came in touting an option offense that ran all over the Hoos in previous seasons, Virginia had the bye week to prepare for the gimmick. After jumping out to a 14-0 lead, the Cavaliers let the Rambling Wreck back in the game with a missed field goal and pick six. Then Coach London figured out what VT Coach Beamer had enjoyed for years, beating up on an Al Groh coached defense. The Hoos gave the Yellow Jackets and their former coach a taste of their own medicine by running for their highest total in seven seasons, while holding them to their lowest offensive output in 20 games. UVA was even able to run out the last six minutes of the game as students ran out onto the field:

Now that Virginia is 4-2, they are only two wins away from bowl eligibility and luckily have home games coming up against NC State and Duke. Heck, they even received three votes in the AP poll on Sunday, capping a great weekend.

Three Defensive Plays Determine the Outcome for Browns, Redskins, and Cavs Games This Week

During the first week of the NFL season, and first week of D1 play for UVA, three remarkable defensive plays changed the outcome of my favorite teams’ games.

After redeeming themselves last week by defeating William and Mary in the season opener, Virginia travelled to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers. After going up 23-3 in the third quarter, the Cavaliers gave up 28 unanswered points to a program that has only been to one bowl game in 18 seasons. The Hoos answered with a 15 play drive to tie the game at 31-31 with under two minutes left. After a couple of ineffective plays, IU lined up for a third down and five on their own 23 with only a half a minute until overtime: (skip to the :36 mark):

Senior defensive end Cam Johnson comes around the end and not only sacks the QB, but strips the football and recovers the fumble with one hand…all before hitting the ground! A couple plays later, Robert Randolph hits a 23 yard FG with seconds left. Victory!

"In the past, we probably would have given up or tucked and said, 'Oh, what the heck.' But these guys just kept on playing,” Coach Mike London said. “And in the end we just made more plays than they made, and the play that Cam Johnson made was unbelievable."

Meanwhile on Sunday, the Browns opened their season at home against a similarly underdog opponent in the Cincinnati Bengals. Up 17-13 in the fourth quarter, Cleveland had already knocked out the Bengals starting QB and were a couple stops or turnover away from sealing the victory. With under five minutes left, Cincinnati put together a drive to move into Browns’ territory but were facing a third down and eleven (right click on picture to open play in new window):

Backup QB Bruce Gradkowski quick snaps the ball and finds rookie WR AJ Green wide open for his first NFL reception for a 41 yard score. Not only was the defense caught off guard, but they had 12 men on the field as well! Stunned by the sudden deficit, the Cleveland offense responded with 25 yards, seven incompletions and an interception on their final three drives combined as the Bengals offense later sealed the win with a 39 yard touchdown run.

“They caught the whole organization asleep on that one,” linebacker Scott Fujita said Monday. “We were all responsible,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “Which includes me.”

Later in the afternoon, the Redskins faced bitter rival New York Giants, which had won the previous six meetings. In a back and forth matchup, the teams came out of the locker room at half time tied 14-14 and the Giants started with the ball. New York quickly faced a third down and ten from the shadow of their own goal line minutes into the second half:

Rookie defensive end Ryan Kerrigan avoids the chop block by the right tackle and picks off Eli Manning’s quick screen attempt and rumbles into the end zone breaking the tie. While there was still almost a full half remaining in the game, the defensive touchdown set the tone for the rest of the game. Washington’s defense caused four sacks and three 3-and-outs, while only allowing four New York first downs and 93 yards for the rest of the half, clinching a 28-14 victory.

“He has great awareness for a big guy,” linebacker Brian Orakpo said of Kerrigan. “He made a great play, got to score a touchdown, and that’s all she wrote.”

Three separate third down defensive plays determined the outcome of my three favorite teams this weekend. While I hope Cam Johnson and Ryan Kerrigan’s performances are a glimpse of more things to come this season, first year Browns head coach Pat Shurmur better learn fast before the schedule gets tougher later in the season.

Quotes and Further Reading:

Cam Johnson Saves the Day for Virginia

Browns Regroup After Snap Blunder

Washington Rookie Ryan Kerrigan Breaks the Game Open