Wahoo Wire

Tuesday September 28

MLB: Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers

The Fall Classic (a romanticized name for the playoffs in baseball) is a much anticipated time for baseball fans everywhere, especially when their team is involved. In the National League the playoffs spots are more or less determined, with the St. Louis Cardinals having clinched the NL Central, the Los Angeles Dodgers having clinched a playoff spot, the Philadelphia Phillies holding a five game lead in the NL East with five games left, and the Colorado Rockies holding a fairly safe three game lead on the Atlanta Braves for the Wild Card spot. In the American League, playoff spots for all but the Central division have been determined as The Yankees have clinched the AL East as well as home-field advantage throughout the playoffs (The AL won the All-Star Game giving the AL Champion home-field advantage in the World Series), the LA Angels have clinched the AL West, and the Boston Red Sox have clinched the Wild Card. In the AL Central Division, the Minnesota Twins are two games behind the Detroit Tigers. With only seven games left in the season before this four game series started, every one of these games is equally crucial. Having thus far split the first two, these last two games could make or break the Twins season. If you want to feel the drama of a playoff game during the regular season, this is a must see. Look for these teams to split the last two games in potentially thrilling fashion and for the Tigers to sneak into the playoffs.

Wednesday September 30

UVA Women’s Soccer: Versus Virginia Tech, 7pm Klockner Stadium

The eleventh ranked UVA Women’s Soccer team (Overall: 6-2-2, ACC: 1-1-0) enter this rivalry and conference game looking for revenge after last year saw the team lose twice to Virginia Tech; once during the season in Blacksburg and once in the ACC tournament. They play a Virginia Tech team (8-2-0, 2-0-0) that is coming off of five straight wins, including the last two against North Carolina State (who UVA lost to last week) and Clemson (who UVA also beat last week). The home-field advantage will be too much for the lady Hokies to handle as this Orange Passport game will be well attended for a women’s soccer game. This game should be a good one that will probably see UVA grind out at least a hard fought tie, if not a win. Go out and support the team against our athletic (not academic) rivals, and again at worst you’ll get better tickets for the basketball games this winter.

Friday October 2

UVA Men’s soccer: at UNC

The past three games have seen the eleventh ranked UVA men’s soccer team pull out a hard overtime victory over George Washington, lose 1-0 to unranked Clemson at home in the pouring rain, and with one minute left in double overtime beat VCU. After such chaos, the Cavaliers will look to stabilize their season in a major way at fourth ranked UNC. This is an important ACC clash. Having started conference play with two losses at home and an away win at Wake Forest, the team will not want to start conference play 1-3 especially with away games at second ranked Maryland and Virginia Tech still to come. The team will still be without second year forward Brian Ownby who is at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt (to read more on Ownby in the U-20 World Cup click here) but should still be able to give UNC a run for their money. Look for UVA to continue outshooting their opponents but to also continue not being to find the back of the net. Do not be surprised if they tie. Should the soccer team lose though, they will not be the only UVA football team losing in Chapel Hill this weekend.

Saturday October 3

College Football: #4 LSU Tigers at #18 Georgia Bulldogs

I have been let down by both of these teams this year. LSU has squeaked by Washington, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. Georgia hasn’t done much better having lost to Oklahoma State before barely beating South Carolina, Arkansas and Arizona State. The rankings are inflated by the unpredictability of college football this season. So why put this game in the What to Watch For This Week in the World of Sports you might ask? A game between two such storied football traditions is always a close shootout bound to be a classic. LSU will look to beat Georgia for the first time since 2003 and both teams will look to add a legitimate win to their resume as they head into the heart of a very tough conference schedule. With the rankings meaning nothing and either team unimpressive thus far, I think the home crowd pushes the Bulldogs over the top in this upset win.

Sunday October 4

NFL: New York Jets at New Orleans Saints

Another week and we again have another battle between two undefeated teams. One would think with a new coach, largely the same team as last year and a rookie quarterback that the New York Jets season would be doomed from the start. Granted it is only week four, the Jets are playing extremely well even looking, dare I say it, like a playoff contender. Even rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez looks experienced beyond his years. This great unexpected start is not flawless though as two of the three wins have come at home. This game will show us just how legitimate this Jets team is on the road. New Orleans has also been a surprise. After the past two years of mediocre showings, the offense has come out on fire. Along with averaging 40 points a game, the major story has been Drew Brees who has a passer rating of 118.1 and is averaging 280 yards and three touchdown passes a game. It remains to be seen if both this teams can keep up how they have started, but one thing is for sure, one team will remain undefeated. Look for a close game in the first half to turn into a second half blow out as the Saints high octane offense sends a message to the rest of the NFC that they are for real.

Premiership Soccer: Liverpool at Chelsea

Although Liverpool has failed to win a big game this year, anytime two “top 4” premiership clubs (the other two being Arsenal and Manchester United) play each other it is the match of the week. Liverpool, even with losses to Tottenham and Aston Villa are in third place with fifteen points through seven games. This placing is padded by the fact they have not had too hard of an opening schedule. They have also struggled in Europe having been beaten 2-0 to Italian club Fiorentina. Regardless of their form going into this game though, they will come to play and understand the importance of sending a message to such a top club as Chelsea. Chelsea before last weekend’s shock loss to mid-table side Wigan, were breezing through their season taking all possible eighteen points through their first six games. Every year there seems to be a loss by a top 4 club that wakes them up and gets their team back into that killer mentality and I think the loss to Wigan will be that for Chelsea. Expect Chelsea to come out firing and to take three points from this clash of premiership titans.