Wahoo Wire

Monday September 7

College Football: Miami Hurricanes at #18 Florida State Seminoles

After the Atlantic Coast Conference’s debacle of a start to the season, including two losses to FCS teams, the more respected teams of Miami and Florida State look to partially restore the ACC’s reputation. They are also looking to restore their own reputations as FSU looks to improve upon their 9-4 season last year and Miami looks to restore the dominance that saw them win five national championships between 1983 and 2001. In years past this game would be a preview of the Orange Bowl if not the national championship game, though such is not the case anymore, look for a quality football game filling in for the usual NFL Monday Night Football spot. Look for Florida State to win a close one, probably by a field goal.

Wednesday September 9

Men’s Soccer World Cup Qualifier: Croatia at England

At the top of the Group Six Table for the European qualifying for the World Cup sits England with 21 points and Croatia with 17 points. With only two qualifying games left for Croatia and three for England this game is all the more important for the one automatic qualifying spot that group six is guaranteed. With Croatia having knocked England out of qualification for the European Championship two years ago at the opening of the new Wembley Stadium, England will look to at least guarantee themselves a spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and make it harder for Croatia to get into the European second place playoff as Ukraine have an extra game in hand, are only three points behind Croatia and play a weak Belarus team Wednesday. The player to watch for in this game is Croatia Striker Eduardo. He plays for London’s Arsenal Football Club and was recently accused of cheating to get a penalty kick and handed a two game ban by UEFA. Because of this, the British media has continually scrutinized Eduardo and what could be sweeter than yet again beating England at Wembley and proving the haters wrong. Though Eduardo has a chip on his shoulder, with the recent injury of Croatian midfield maestro Luka Modric a hard fought draw is the best case scenario for Croatia. With England and forward Jermain Defoe’s recent string of performances though, expect England to win and book their place in the World Cup.

Thursday September 10

NFL: Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers

Finally, the professional football season has arrived and what a game to kick it off with. The Tennessee Titans with their 13-3 record last year were the best regular season team in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the reigning Super Bowl champions, and what could be better than starting the season off a Thursday instead of a Sunday. The NFL yet again has started off the season with the defending champs playing another solid team. Last year’s New York Giants versus Washington Redskins game most definitely entertained (not to mention the better Giants won) and this year should be no different. Look for the Steelers to kick-off their season with a victory.

UVA women’s volleyball: Ameritas Players Challenge Tournament; at Nebraska (Thursday, September 10^th), versus UCLA (at Nebraska on Friday, September 11^th), and versus BYU (at Nebraska on Saturday, September 12^th)

Fresh off their sweep of the Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup that included easy wins over North Carolina central and Campbell as well as a well deserved and hard fought win over VCU, the 4-2 UVA Women’s Volleyball team will hope to keep their hot streak alive this weekend. They will have to do so against some very tough opposition though, including 2006 National Champions Nebraska, 2007 NCAA Quarterfinalists BYU and perennial powerhouse UCLA. Hopefully they can sneak up on their opponents and take one or two wins, though valiant efforts against such high quality opponents will be huge experience for them that will no doubt be utilized come in-conference schedule time.

Friday September 11

UVA Women’s Soccer: versus West Virginia, 6pm Klockner Stadium

This Orange Passport event is a must see for two reasons, the UVA Basketball Team is going to be solid and you will want tickets to their games and the high scoring UVA Women’s Soccer Team is ranked 11^th nationally with a 3-1-1 record. After a hard 0-1 away loss to start the season at #6 Penn State, the Cavaliers crushed Liberty and Hofstra, keeping two clean sheets and scoring 12 goals, as well as beating Arizona 4-1 and drawing with Arizona State in Arizona at the Sun Devil Desert Classic. Third year midfielder Sinead Farrelly was named the offensive MVP of the tournament and the team looks ready to take the ACC by storm. Look for the women’s team to crush West Virginia (and Seton Hall on Sunday) in the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic and fill Cavalier “real football” fans with pride.

UVA Men’s Soccer: versus Duke, 8pm Klockner Stadium

After a shaky pre-season saw the #22 UVA Men’s Soccer Team only score one goal in three games in which they lost two at home (often top three for average attendance in the nation), the Cavaliers have rebounded beautifully, winning the Portland Nike Invitational this past weekend by beating Washington and tournament hosts Portland. They beat Portland 3-0 with Forward Tony Tchani scoring a brace (writer’s note, a brace means two goals) and First Year Forward Will Bates coming on as a substitute to put the finishing touches on Portland by scoring the third goal. They beat Washington 2-1 in an overtime thriller that saw Defender Greg Monaco score his first goal for the orange and blue as well as Midfielder Neil Barlow net the game winner in the 100^th minute. Duke is always a strong opponent, usually ranked somewhere in the top 25, and starting off the ACC conference schedule is important (especially considering National Champions Maryland also play in the ACC), so get your Hoo Crew shirt on and support the team as they look to start off their conference schedule with a W. Also keep your eyes peeled in the next day or two for yours truly’s Men’s Soccer Season Preview Article exclusively for the Wahoo Wire.

MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants

With only around 24 games left in the Regular Season and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants of the NL West separated by only 5.5 games, three game series against each other become all the more important. With the Giants two games behind the Rockies for the Wild Card spot (and the Rockies only 3.5 games behind the Dodgers), the series starting Friday and ending Sunday night between the Dodgers and the Giants could blow the NL West race wide open, or end the hopes of October glory for the Giants. As the Rockies play seven games against under .500 teams in a row, winning in this series is crucial for both teams. Look for the Dodgers to take two of three and for the Giants to have a long road ahead of them to clinch a playoff spot.

Saturday September 12

NASCAR: Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway

In light of the terrible showing by the UVA football team versus William and Mary this past weekend, the only thing worth seeing this weekend for Cavalier football fans is the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at the Richmond international raceway. I am not even a NASCAR fan nor does this race have that important of an implication for who wins the Sprint Cup (as there are still 10 races this season after it), but anything will be better to watch than #17 Texas Christian University romp UVA in football. So grab a pair of ear plugs, a case of natural light and head over to Richmond for a cultural experience like no other.

College Football: #4USC at #6 Ohio State

The game of the week in college football pits last year’s Rose Bowl winners USC and their freshmen quarterback against an Ohio State team coming off a scare from Navy. With Ohio State’s poor showing at home possibly attributed to first game jitters, Jim Tressel will be strapped for time as he prepares his men for what will no doubt be a very tough game with strong BCS implications. After receiving two BCS bowl bids the past two seasons for some unexplicable reason, here is the Big Ten’s chance to show they are a legitimate football conference. The 33 time Big Ten conference football champions Ohio State will have to make very few offensive mistakes and on the defensive end will look to force the young USC quarterback to make many. As shown this past weekend, home-field advantage barely exists in Columbus so expect USC to win.

Sunday September 13

Washington Redskins at New York Giants

This timeless NFC East rivalry opened up the NFL regular season last year and did not disappoint, and this year will be no different. Even in years where one of these teams is far superior to the other, that is no guarantee of a victory. This year, the New York Giants, holders of the best record in the NFL last year despite the huge distraction of Plaxico Burress’ trial, will hope that with a $97 million contract signed, starting Quarterback Eli Manning continues to step up his game. They will also have to hope that rookie Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks can be half the option that Burress was because last year in the playoffs the G-men could not find an open receiver to save their season. The Washington Redskins on the other hand will have to pray that Jason Campbell gets better and does not get injured. They are only keeping two quarterbacks on the roster which is very risky and their backup isn’t worth mentioning because no one has ever heard of him. Expect to see the Giants defense suffocate the run first, run second Redskins offense and for them to run away with this season opener.