Hokies Own Commonwealth Cup

It may come as no surprise to most, but Virginia Tech once again defeated Virginia 37-7 Saturday in Blacksburg.

Rivalry games are a funny thing and past dominance is in no way an accurate predictor of future outcomes—just ask USC.

When it comes to UVA of course, they're still really, REALLY bad. In fact Saturday marked day 2,191 of Tech's continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup. The gap, or shall I say chasm between the two programs grew wider by the minute under former head coach Al Groh and new head man Mike London has his work cut out for him in the coming years.

The biggest thing London has in his favor is that he isn't Groh. That by default leads me to believe the Wahoos will improve during his tenure and that bodes well for the rivalry. One-sided affairs aren't fun after several in a row—just ask Notre Dame.

Ultimately, the only poor decision made by Tech yesterday was the choice to drink from that dirty ol' cup. And don't worry, it's just Gatorade, see?

Time for a Statement

In addition to the intense instate rivalry taking place in Virginia today there is a similarly heated intersectional rivalry being conducted between two schools from Indiana and California.

With respect to the Hokies and Cavaliers, this post takes aim at the greatest intersectional rivalry in all of sport: Notre Dame vs. Southern Cal.

For those in need of a history refresher on the rivalry please google it. I would link as per normal protocol but I am currently on the road traveling and linking becomes increasingly more difficult on a phone. But I digress.

The bottom line is that the Trojans have owned Notre Dame for the better part of the past decade. Though the Trojans' eight game winning streak against the Irish pales in comparison to Notre Dame's 13 game undefeated streak (11 straight wins followed by 1 tie then another win) it is still an impressive feat. Moreover, the manner in which the Trojans have beaten, rather pummeled the Irish, has been particularly troubling, annoying, and long overdue to be rectified.

Tonight on ABC, depending on the region you're in, Coach Kelly and his men have an opportunity to make a statement win. Some will say the victory on senior day against Utah was a statement win given the defensive dominance on display, a rare sight by the home team inside Notre Dame stadium, but I don't buy it. It was the first ever meeting between the two schools and the Utes were ranked in the top 15 teams in the nation, but make no mistake they're no USC.

Even though the Trojans seemingly have nothing left to play for - postseason bowl game suspension to thank for that, compliments of Reggie Bush - this is still a game between two bitter rivals fighting for excellence both on and off the field. The past few years have seen the Irish succeed only in the latter while the Trojans have succeeded impressively but only in the former.

Both schools feature new coaches this season. Success has been hard to come by for either skipper this year as distractions and injuries have taken their toll on both programs.

Even through the turmoil of the 2010 season each team has something to play for: bragging rights. In addition, recruiting efforts will no doubt be impacted by the outcome of tonight's matchup for the Jeweled Shilelagh.

With that pressure abound, Coach Kelly seeks his first statement win in his first opportunity to do something not executed by an Irish coach since Bob Davie - beat 'SC.

Go Irish!

Virginia Tech vs. Virginia

Saturday at noon the Hokies host their upstate rivals from the University of Virginia in the 92nd gridiron meeting between the schools.

As a general service to the public, each year at this time I like to remind everyone why UVA sucks.

Whether it's the level of pretentiousness, or simply the student body's penchant for popped collars and fine cheeses there are plenty of reasons not to like Mr. Jefferson's university.

I won't wax poetic on the downsides of the "school up north" but below is my favorite UVA related video from recent years.

ND vs. Army Yankee Stadium Intro

A prelude to kickoff in good ol' New York. For more history on the series between the two storied programs check out Ivan Maisel's piece from ESPN.com.

Green Men Invade Yankee Stadium

AP Photo/Darron Cummings

Fresh off of a surprising victory over the now reeling Utah Utes' the Notre Dame football team will confidently march into Yankee Stadium next weekend for a primetime game donning green jerseys.

Head Coach Brian Kelly confirmed in his afternoon press conference that the Irish will in fact wear green this weekend. By all accounts, the jerseys will closely resemble this replica as seen on the University's athletic site.

Army and Notre Dame have an extensive history of playing at Yankee Stadium, albeit the 'old' Yankee Stadium. For an in depth run down of the history check out this article from the NY Times.

This will mark only the second time the Irish have worn green in the past five years. For the 2006 home finale against none other than Army Brady Quinn and other Irish seniors begged then Coach Charlie Weis to let them wear green. Weis obliged and the Irish dominated, ending string of losses in green.

Let's hope the matchup this weekend turns out like that Army game, rather than last time when the Irish paid homage to the '77 Green Machine team and was blown out by the Trojans.

Speaking of the '77 team here's a classic video of the infamous game against USC, complete with Trojan Horse.

My only further hope is that the Irish will this time follow through with the echoes of "Beat 'SC" that rang through Notre Dame stadium after the 41-9 victory over Army in 2006.

Michael Vick

Michael Vick just erupted on the first play from scrimmage connecting with DeSean Jackson on an 88-yard touchdown pass.

This is just the first of many such plays that will occur tonight in such fashion. Watch the Eagles take down the Redskins.

More to follow...

Virginia Tech Picks Off Tar Heels 26-10

Virginia Tech is rolling on offense and defense to the tune of an 8-2 overall record and a perfect 6-0 mark in ACC play following the win in Chapel Hill Saturday afternoon.

Tyrod Taylor threw two touchdown passes to Marcus Davis and the Hokie defense intercepted Carolina QB T.J. Yates four times, including the acrobatic play by free safety Eddie Whitley above.

Cornerback Jayron Hosley had two picks of his own and leads the team with seven on the season.

The Hokies head to Miami next week to take on the Hurricanes then finish up the regular season in Blacksburg against Virginia.

Tech stands an excellent chance to keep its streak of consecutive 10-win seasons alive and is on track to play for the ACC title for the third time in four seasons.

Hokies Defeat Georgia Tech 28-21

It was an excellent Thursday night in Blacksburg as my house christened our new (used) kegerator and the Hokies pulled off an exciting victory against the Yellow Jackets.

The nation was properly introduced to Virginia Tech's David Wilson who returned a kickoff for what would turn out being the winning touchdown.

With the win the Hokies are now 7-2 (5-0) and are in the driver's seat for the ACC Coastal Division crown.

Here's the kick return for those who missed it.

Ween: Roses Are Free

This is a cut off Ween's 1994 album Chocolate and Cheese. Ween is without a doubt one of the weirder groups, and their sound is about as eclectic as any group in existence.

The guitarists and founding members are Mickey Melchiondo (left) and Aaron Freeman (right), known and Dean Ween and Gene Ween.

This performance of "Roses Are Free" from the 2002 Bonnaroo DVD was the song that got me into them, though I'm still leery of their stranger tunes. It's the kind of music Frank Zappa would have made if he'd ever done drugs.

Regardless, this is a tight performance. I also thoroughly enjoy the use of guitar necks as cigarette holders.

Matt & Kim

I haven't the foggiest idea what's been going on lately. I've once again been neglecting my blogging duties and it's quite shameful indeed.

I've decided to make a mild comeback with a post regarding the musical world.

This song has gotten lots of play in some commercial but I hadn't heard the full version until somewhat recently. It's quite catchy, and that Kim Schifino is quite a fetching percussionist/vocalist.