Hokies Edge Clemson, Set Sights On Duke

Led by a gritty performance from sophomore guard Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech defeated #13 Clemson 80-77 on the road in Littlejohn Coliseum Wednesday night.

Despite landing hard on his right side while driving to the basket in the second half, Delaney recovered finishing the game with 26 points and 6 assists, including a blistering 4-7 from three point range.

Senior A.D. Vassallo added 21 points going an equally impressive 4-9 from beyond the arc. Vassallo also knocked down two crucial free throws in the final moments to give Tech the 3-point cushion that proved to be the final margin.

Diminutive sophomore guard Hank Thorns made his first start of the season and was a difference maker for the Hokies. Thorns played 30 minutes, scoring 10 points, dishing out 4 assists and grabbing 3 rebounds. He did a solid job helping Tech navigate the Clemson's full-court press, eventually causing the Tigers to abandon their pressure defense.

With the win, Tech is now 17-10 overall and 7-6 in the ACC. The much needed victory ended the Hokies' three-game losing streak, and has rekindled hopes of an NCAA Tournament birth but the road will be tough.

The Hokies' run through nationally ranked opponents continues Saturday in the friendly confines of Cassell Coliseum against the #7 Duke Blue Devils.

Tech looks to avenge an ugly 69-44 loss to Duke back on Jan. 4. Since joining the ACC, Tech-Duke games in Cassell have been very exciting and hotly contested. The Hokie faithful will certainly be more than ready to help the Hokies continue their run to postseason play.

To help get the juices flowing early, heres an amazingly bad no-call in a recent Duke home game. Of course, it would take a brave official to call something on Duke right in front of their bench.

There won't be such Devil-friendly calls come 3:30 on Saturday...

Comedy At The Oscars

I didn't watch the Oscars, instead choosing to indulge in spoilers (I just read the list of winners around 8:30) and waited for any good moments to make themselves available online. Much to my enjoyment, the plan worked flawlessly. Here is a nice little skit featuring Seth Rogen and James Franco reprising their roles from Pineapple Express as they watch clips from some of the Academy Award nominees and some films that got snubbed by the Academy.

As an aside, Our apologies for a lack of content in the last week or so. For some reason I haven't felt compelled to write much lately. As for Brian, well he has an actual job and thus legitimate excuses. Fear not, we'll be much more active in the near future.

Another Sad Loss For The Hokies

It’s not your typical story of inspiration and it doesn’t have a happy ending.

After battling cancer for nearly 4 years, former Virginia Tech basketball player Allen Calloway passed away Sunday morning in High Point, N.C., he was 25 years old.

In 2005, Calloway was diagnosed with alveolar soft part carcinoma, a rare soft tissue disease that was found in Allen’s left calf. The cancer was inoperable, interwoven as it was with blood vessels, and eventually spread to his lungs and later his brain.

Enduring treatments that left him weak and nauseous, he put up a bold front continuing to work towards his degree and trying to help his teammates. He was always quick with a smile and filled with laughter. He exhibited courage and maturity that belied someone so young, and so unfairly targeted by a disease that knows no bounds.

Calloway played in nearly every game his first three seasons in Blacksburg. His most successful year on the court coming in the 2003-2004 campaign when he was second on the team in blocked shots and averaged 3.7 points per game and 2.9 rebounds.

During his senior season, weakened by treatments, he was limited to just 7 minutes of game action. Despite not being able to play, Calloway continued to cheer on his teammates as he served as a pillar of strength. Somewhat fittingly, he made the only shot he attempted that season.

In the spring of 2006, Calloway developed brain tumors that required three surgeries. He managed to persevere and join his class at graduation ceremonies that May, later completing work on his degree in residential property management.

The Hokies will honor Calloway by wearing a special patch on their uniforms the rest of the season, a fitting tribute to a great Hokie.

"Allen's spirit was very special," head coach Seth Greenberg said. "He was just a joy to be around. Allen Calloway made everyone's day better. ... He was an amazing, amazing young man."

Top 10 Messages On Alex Rodriguez's Answering Machine

Offered without commentary...

Obama-ball: Steroids In MLB A Serious Issue

Newly elected President Barack Obama has not had much time in office to enact new bills and pass new legislature. He has, however, taken the time to weigh in on the revelation that yet another high-profile MLB player used steroids in a selfish attempt to enhance his own performance.

Here's what Barack had to say about Roid-Rod:

Justin and I have actually not had the chance to debate this topic amongst ourselves but I am almost certain we are both in agreement of President Obama's remarks. 

The dark era known by the presence and abuse of steroids in Major League Baseball became darker when it was revealed that Alex Rodriguez used steroids earlier in his career with the Texas Rangers. 

America's youth cannot continue to receive these embarrassing messages that the "American Past-time" is as tarnished as it was during the 1919 Chicago Black Sox World Series scandal. 

Whether or not Congress should be dealing with this issue is an entirely different story. However, the fact remains that one of the most prominent role models for the youth of America hit a bad 'dinger out of the park.

Yes, he has apologized. No, it still does not change the fact that what he did was selfish, immoral, and downright stupid.

While it may seem like Roid-Rod is being unfairly attacked (no chance he sues for libel, by the way, since he's already publicly admitted his faults) let it be known that my displeasure toward steroid abuse in athletics is equally distributed amongst all defenders, regardless of sport, fame, or notoriety.

As once proclaimed by Chris Cornell, formerly of Soundgarden and now pursuing his own solo musical career, Major League Baseball "Fell On Black Days."

Song Of The Day - Stockholm Syndrome

Today's song of the day is slightly more juiced (no pun intended from the prior post, A-rod fans) than our previous songs of the day. Muse formed more than 14 years ago in England and are still comprised by the original 3 members. Matthew Bellamy (vocals, guitar, piano), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass guitar, vocals, keyboards), and Dominic Howard (drums, percussion) are known for their high-energy shows with lighting displays akin to fireworks shows.

Falsetto vocals and eclectic key changes make Muse an easily distinguishable and undeniably unique band. The name "Stockholm Syndrome" was derived from a bank robbery that occurred in 1973 in Stockholm Sweden. Days after being held captive the victims defended their captors due to an emotional attachment developed during their days as hostages.

Originally recorded on their third studio album entitled "Absolution" this particular recording was performed as part of the AOL Music Sessions, an on-going series of live performances by musicians from all genres.

L-Rod

In case you are wondering, that "L" stands for the "lie" in "lie-Rod."

Alex Rodriguez, who has been what many proclaimed to be baseball's best shot at ridding the record books of the Asterisk Generation, appears to also belong to that shameless group of selfish individuals consisting of the likes of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and more.

More to come on this breaking news story. Indulge yourself for the next 30 minutes by watching his interview with ESPN's Peter Gammonds.

Irish Land Te'o

Not that recruiting rankings are the "end all, be all" in athletics, but I can't stop myself from congratulating the ND family for perhaps the biggest surprise on National Signing Day this past Wednesday: Manti T'eo, the highly touted "five-star" linebacker out of Punahou high school in Hawaii, officially committed to the Fighting Irish.

Safe money would have put him in a USC cap when he announced his decision live on ESPNU (video linked below) as part of their National Signing Day coverage, but even safe money provides no guaranteed return.

The link between Notre Dame - a Catholic institution - and Te'o - a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - may seem like an odd fit to outsiders. After all, Te'o only considered programs who would permit him to go on a two-year mission during his collegiate career.

"I basically told them, 'This is me,'" said Te'o, from Laie, Hawaii. "I'm LDS. I'm thinking of serving a mission, and I want that to be available to me. If that's not in the cards for your university, I have to respect that, but I have to consider others."

But the Notre Dame coaching staff was openly supportive and understanding of Manti's religious beliefs and commitment to his faith. In his interview below Manti explains just how supportive the ND community has been in accepting his faith.

One-on-one with Teo @ Rivals Video

An article written Ben Ford of  The Elkhart Truth Newspaper reveals the great lengths taken by Irish Special Teams coach Brian Polian to welcome and bring Manti into the ND family.

"I'd like to take this chance to thank the crew of United flight 81," Polian said with a smile. "I got to know them well, because I took the same flight every Wednesday from LAX to Honolulu."Polian, Notre Dame's special teams coordinator and lead West Coast recruiter, made that journey 10 times in the last 14 months -- including three trips in December and three more in January -- just to visit linebacker Manti Te'o, one of the highest-rated prospects in the country.

The people who have seen Hawaii as much as Coach Polian are typically locals who live there. In the end, the hard work of Polian and the rest of the coaching staff paid great dividends for both Te'o and the Irish.

Congratulations to Manti and his family!

Song Of The Day

Hahaha ok this is even better than yesterday's song comedy. Microsoft created a program called Songsmith and released it this year. The program is designed to automatically create a music backing track to any melody that is sung and recorded by the user. You can then adjust the tempo and the genre as well as the mood. Good idea in principle, but not in practice. Overall, the software pretty much sucks, but like many awesomely bad ideas it has led to a very comical online usage.

People have been taking the vocal tracks of real songs and putting them into Songsmith to see what it comes up with. The linked version below is Soulja Boy's Crank That done in an upbeat swing style. It's perhaps the best remix of the song yet. Embedding has been disabled, but it's certainly worth a look. There are some other great Songsmith remixes out there too if you're bored.

Soulja Boy

Song Of The Day

This isn't exactly a song, but it is Johnny Cash being very funny. In this clip, Mr. Cash does his "impression" of Elvis Presley. I quite literally laughed out loud the first time I saw this. Thanks to Mr. Sienkiewicz for pointing this out to me.

Boring Steelers Win Again

It was a strange game and nearly the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, but Pittsburgh had to go and ruin it. Oh what could have been had Jerome Harrison not dropped back in coverage on the goal line, or if someone could have tackled him before his lumbering touchdown return.

Tip O' the cap to Kurt Warner and his 3 touchdown, 377 yard performance. He almost got into the Hall of Fame tonight...maybe next year.

Oh and congratulations to the Steelers.

UPDATE

The day after, I'd like to post a link to a very enjoyable look back at the game from Bill Simmons here chronicling the big game. And no, it's NOT the greatest Super Bowl ever people.