Wednesday January 13

UVA Men’s Basketball: versus #18 Georgia Tech

The UVA men’s basketball team (9-4, 1-0) was written off at the start of the season, predicted to finish eleventh or twelfth (out of 12) in the ACC by most “experts.” While that still could happen, I do not think it will (and as of press time they were tied for 1^st, this will mark the only time that will be true so Cavalier fans enjoy it while it lasts). I also do not think anyone expected the new coach Tony Bennett to be able to instill his defense first attitude so quickly. Bennett did inherit a young team with lots of potential, but they were certainly not used to doing anything but living and dying by the three, let alone defense. Even with all the adjustments on the fly both the team and the coach have had to make, they have only let up over 70 points once, and that was in the first game. Albeit not the strongest out of conference schedule, opposing teams are averaging only 59 points a game against the Cavaliers. In the Cavs four losses this year, three have them come by 5 or less points, including a tip-in as time expired loss at Auburn. I would not be surprised if the Cavs finish 6-10 in the ACC and beat UNC-Wilmington to finish off Bennett’s first regular season with a winning record of 15-14. The future is further brightened by the fact that we already have five recruits signed for next year headlined by two ESPN U top 100 players.

In the Cavaliers second game against a ranked opponent this season; they take on a Georgia Tech team very different than last year. After finishing last in the ACC, Georgia Tech had a recruiting class for the ages as they got four ESPN U top 100 players headlined by the #1 ranked Power Forward (and #2 ranked overall) Derrick Favors. Favors (11.7ppg, 8.7rpg) and Gani Lawal (15.4ppg, 9.4rpg) will be the x-factors in this game as the undersized Cavaliers will have to throw every “big” forward at them plus guards to stand a chance at stopping either around the basket. Though the future is getting brighter for UVA men’s basketball, barring the best game multiple UVA players have ever had, expect Georgia Tech to take care of business like they did against Duke last weekend.

Friday January 15

NBA: Phoenix Suns at Atlanta Hawks

Yes, you are reading correctly. The NBA game of the week is the Phoenix Suns at the Atlanta Hawks. This game will be a fast paced and high scoring, pitting the highest scoring team per game in the West against the highest scoring team per game in the East. Better yet, the Suns, though 24-14 and very much a playoff contender, allow the second most points per game. Both teams are currently sitting fourth in their respective conferences and will not be playing back to back, assuring a full lineup of stars playing almost the whole game. One interesting point to note, while both teams play up-tempo basketball, the average age of the starting lineup for the Hawks is below 26 while the starting lineup for the Suns is slightly over 30. Will youth or experience prevail? Given it is the middle of an east coast trip for the Suns versus a home stand for the Hawks, expect the Hawks to take this one with both teams scoring over 100 points.

Saturday January 16

Premiership: Manchester City at Everton

In the past month, Manchester City have fired Mark Hughes and brought in former Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini and former Arsenal and Inter Milan defensive midfielder Patrick Vieira. Though I never agreed with the hiring of Hughes to right the City ship to begin with, his firing was done after a win and after he was doing a respectable job; losing only twice in seventeen Premiership games as well as guiding them to the Carling Cup Semifinals. Hughes had to do all of that with a bunch of players that were bought in the past six months and for the most part had never played with each other. I wish Hughes all the best and do not think it will be too long before we see him at the helm of a Premiership or Championship side. Since Mancini took over, Man City have won four straight (three in the league, one the FA Cup fourth round matchup) and allowed only one goal. Mancini also made sure to bring in Vieira to have more leadership in a locker room full of young talent with no real leader. They will look to take their momentum to Goodison Park.

Everton on the other hand, have done very little this year differently from the past three where they finished in the top 6 (good enough to qualify for a spot in the former UEFA Cup/ present Europa League) apart from winning as many games. They started the season losing three of their first four and struggled against weaker opponents. After a heartbreaking loss to cross-town rivals Liverpool at the end of November, Everton seem to have gotten back on track. They have an unbeaten streak of six Premiership games which included draws with four teams (1^st place Chelsea, 3^rd place Arsenal, 5^th place Tottenham, 7^th place Birmingham City) in the top 7. Everton has just brought in USA Captain Landon Donovan to shore up their midfield and if he continues to play like he did against Arsenal they will look like geniuses. Expect a low scoring, hard fought contest ending in a draw or another heartbreaking loss for Everton.

NFL: Playoffs; NFC Divisional Round, Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints

I am sure by now every Packer fan is sick of hearing about it, but last week’s Wild-Card matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals was phenomenal. It re-wrote the record books with the amount of points scored, first downs reached, and total yards accumulated. A football fan without a team in the playoffs might (with good reason) ask themselves if that was the climax of the playoffs (with maybe only the commercials of the Super Bowl enough to make it the climax). I am not of this belief, in fact I think this game between the Cardinals and the Saints might be an even better battle of the passing game versus terrible secondaries. Though I do not agree with benching starts the last two games of the season (a discussion for another day), the three game losing streak to end the season for the Saints, who could have gone undefeated, should not matter. That said I do think it will take a quarter to a quarter and a half for Drew Brees to be as accurate as usual and his receivers to be in sync, something that would not have happened if they did not bench the starters so much. I think that the Cardinals left it all on the field against the Packers though, were lucky to pull out the victory, and can only keep pulling off these upsets so many times before they meet a team too good for them to upset. The Saints are that team and will be more than well rested. Expect the Saints to crush the Cardinals in a game that could see another 90+ combined points scored.

NFL: Playoffs; AFC Divisional Round, Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts

Like the Cardinals, the Ravens are trying to repeat last year’s upset specials. Again the Ravens were the lowest seed in the playoffs and again they take on the number 1 seed in the Divisional Round. This time though, they face four time MVP Peyton Manning (as opposed to Kerry Collins) and indoors. Though I would love to see the gritty Ravens defense stop the Colts like they did against the Wes Welker-less Patriots, I just do not see it happening. The Colts passing game was the second best overall this season in yards per game and the Ravens passing defense was only tied for eighth best. Expect the Colts to win this game, but not in a blowout.

Sunday January 17

NFL: Playoffs; NFC Divisional Round, Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings

The Dallas Cowboys have their first playoff win in 14 years under their belt, but they did it at home. Can they win on the road? Tony Romo is not the epitome of “clutch” but his performance against the fairly strong Eagles Defense, and more importantly his lack of mistakes, will need to be recreated against the much peskier Vikings defense. Felix Jones will also need to have another breakout game. On the defensive end, neutralizing Adrian Peterson will be key. If the run game is not working, Brett Favre does not have it in him to beat you if he has to pass over 40 times. In three of the last four games where Favre passed over 40 times, the Vikings lost. Weather will not be a factor in the dome. Given the last three games of the regular season and the destruction of the Eagles last week, I expect the red hot Cowboys to beat the Vikings who have struggled as of late.

NFL: Playoffs; AFC Divisional Round, New York Jets at San Diego Chargers

I still cannot get over the fact the only New York football team in the playoffs are the Jets with a first year quarterback and first year coach. Yet again, it still should not be a surprise though, given that the Jets had the best passing defense and the best rushing offense during the regular season. One must also note that the Jets offense would be nothing without UVA alums starting running back Thomas Jones and Offensive Tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. While the San Diego Chargers are on an 11 game winning streak and are my prediction for winning the Super Bowl, they have the second worst rushing offense and have the 20^th best rushing defense. If the Jets can shut down the Chargers’ 5^th best passing offense, do not be surprised if the Jets pull off the unthinkable. If Sanchez can limit his mistakes to a maximum of one interception or fumble and pass with such accuracy as last week, the Jets may just be the Cardinals/Ravens of last year. Though Darrelle Revis is arguably the best cornerback in the league and will shut down Vincent Jackson, he won’t be covering Antonio Gates who will be the x-factor in this game. Expect the Chargers to pull out a close one like they did against the Giants earlier in the regular season.

I would first like to explain an error on last week’s What to Watch for this Week in the World of Sports.  The premise of What to Watch for is simple, to preview the best games of the week in a wide range of sports including international and domestic, pro as well as college; and always with an eye out for at least one of UVA’s teams. As the men and women’s Soccer and women’s Field Hockey teams had either conference or NCAA tournament games, it appears I greatly let down all the readers as well as those very important teams who are underappreciated and deserve to be recognized, but it wasn’t done on purpose.

Unfortunately when I wrote the weekly column, the dates and opponents had not been released yet. This week the same mistake has not been made and this column is filled with UVA sports teams. Because I did not get to do it last week, I would like to recognize the outstanding performances by the UVA men’s soccer team, women’s soccer team and the Field Hockey team. The #6 men’s soccer team beat three ranked opponents to win the ACC tournament. It was UVA men’s soccer’s first ACC tournament championship since 2004. The women’s soccer team has won its first two NCAA tournament games to book their place in the sweet 16. The Field Hockey team has also won its two NCAA tournament games but as Field Hockey is a smaller sport, the two victories have booked them a spot in the final four.

Wednesday November 18

World Cup Qualifying UEFA Playoffs, Second Leg: Ireland at France

After not losing any of the 10 qualifying games en route to finishing second behind Italy in Group Eight of the UEFA qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, Ireland lost the first leg at home against France 1-0 (France only had one loss, to Austria 3-1,in Group Seven of the UEFA qualifying). Though the Irish are down 1-0 and headed back to France, if they are to win the second leg by scoring more than one goal they will go to the World Cup because they scored more away goals. France clearly outplayed the scrappy Irish, but France only had two more shots on goal. While Les Bleus control their own destiny this Wednesday, their play under Manager Raymond Domenech has been anything but consistent and anything could happen. With more established international stars, more pace and skill, France should comfortably book their spot in the 2010 World Cup. That said, crazier things have happened than coming back from down 1-0 away and the Irish are scrappy enough to score a goal and then pack in the box. Expect a France win but hopefully the Irish will make it interesting and even pull off the unthinkable; a World Cup without France.

Thursday November 19

College Basketball: #4UNC at #15Ohio State

The defending national champions UNC lost a lot of important players to the draft this past June with their starting point guard, shooting guard, and power forward going in the first round and their starting small forward going in the second round. The starting power forward Tyler Hansbrough left Chapel Hill with an amazing amount of records including most impressively most career points and rebounds, which is no small feat given the amount of NBA talent that has graduated from UNC. Most teams would be devastated and at least take a year to return to national prominence, but not UNC. They got another stellar recruiting class ranked fifth overall by Rivals.com and sophomore big man Ed Davis and senior forward Deon Thomas look very strong and ready to lead the team to another great season. Through their first three games the Tar Heels have not really been tested so this game will see just how good their program really is after losing so many key players. Ohio State only lost one player to the draft in Center B.J. Mullens. They are led by third year guard-forward Evan Turner who last year put up 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists per game. This year Turner has come up even bigger, granted against two weak opponents, putting up a whopping 19 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists per game. Many see him as arguably the best all around player in the nation. Though the game is being played in Ohio, expect the Tar Heels to come to play and send a pre-ACC-Big Ten Challenge message that the ACC is ready for its eleventh straight Challenge victory.

Friday November 20

NCAA Field Hockey Final Four: #2UVA versus #3UNC in Winston-Salem, NC

The UVA field hockey team started the year 11-0, beating ranked opponents in five of those games. The streak ended at College Park, MD in a 3-1 loss to #1 Maryland. The only other loss during the regular season came against UNC in overtime four games later. After finishing the regular season 16-2, the Cavaliers hosted the ACC Tournament in which they beat Duke in the quarterfinals and UNC in the semifinals before losing again to Maryland in the finals. Because of their strong showing both during the season and the ACC Tournament, UVA was awarded the 2 seed in the tournament. They have since beaten Richmond and Michigan State in the first two rounds of the tournament and are yet again playing UNC in a semifinal. The Cavaliers will look to team leading scorers and Midfielders Paige Selenski (24 goals, 7 assists) and Tara Puffenberger (10 goals) to continue their offensive prowess. They will also rely on Kim Kastuk’s consistently strong play in goal (8 complete game shutouts, a role in 4 more). After proving they can beat the Tar Heels in a semifinal already, expect the UVA field hockey team to meet undefeated Maryland in the finals again, this time in the NCAA Tournament finals. Maybe the third time will be a charm for the Cavaliers as they look for their first field hockey national championship.

NCAA Tournament, Women’s Soccer, Sweet Sixteen: UVA at #1UCLA

The UVA women’s soccer team has had a roller coaster year this year. They did not have a major winning, unbeaten, or losing streak, instead their wins, losses, and ties were all interspersed. They finished the regular season 9-6-4 (4-4-2) in ACC which seemingly is not impressive but considering 7 ACC women’s soccer teams made the NCAA tournament including two being given #1 seeds, their schedule was no easy task. In the ACC Tournament they valiantly fought, losing on penalty kicks to #6 Boston College. The NCAA Tournament selection committee took into account how hard of a schedule the Cavaliers played and they should not be disappointed in their choice. In the first round of the tournament, the Cavaliers beat St. John’s on penalty kicks. In the second round they played 4 seed Penn State at Penn State. After losing their first game of the season to Penn State at University Park, UVA showed they had come along way this season and crushed the Nittany Lions when it really mattered 6-2. Now another huge task lies ahead for the Cavaliers as they take on 1 seed UCLA in Los Angeles. UCLA has been almost unstoppable this season going 19-2-1, losing only to fellow 1 seeds UNC and undefeated Stanford. In addition to it being the NCAA Tournament where anything can happen, if you believe in the transitive property, UNC’s five goal victory over UCLA compared to its one goal victory over UVA gives the Cavaliers a four goal victory this Friday. Even if you don’t believe in the transitive property, the fact remains that while both the Pac-10 and ACC put 7 teams in the tournament, the Pac-10 only had two teams seeded while the ACC had six and only three Pac-10 teams remain compared to all seven of the ACC teams. Expect a close game that may even go to penalty kicks and for the Cavaliers to hopefully overcome the homecrowd and set up a potential match up against Virginia Tech in the Elite Eight.

Saturday November 21

College Football: Kansas State at Nebraska

No, this game does not have a ranked team in it. Neither of these teams may even make a “good” bowl game. This game does decide who wins the Big 12 North and the right to play Texas in the Big 12 Championship though. Neither of these teams played Texas this year, but both of them are better than the last two teams the Longhorns will face. If Texas is to lose any of its last three games, the winner of this game playing in the Big 12 championship is it. Nebraska started the season off very well, eliciting whispers of a possible return to respectability as a program. After getting robbed of a win at Virginia Tech, Nebraska seemed to be living up to the hype. After losing back to back games at home to Texas Tech and Iowa State though, most saw them as just another middle of the Big 12 team. Since then though, they have gotten it together winning three in a row including a victory over Oklahoma. Kansas State on the other hand started the season on quite the wrong foot. After barely beating FCS Massachusetts, they lost to Louisiana-Lafayette and UCLA. Luckily for KSU they have managed to win four of their seven conference games to put them in a position to still win the Big 12 North; albeit unimpressively. Although as this college football season has shown that anything can happen, expect Nebraska to win this game with ease and to beat Colorado the following week to finish a respectable 9-3. Though they will give Texas one last test before the National Championship, I don’t see this side as being able to beat Texas.

Sunday November 22

NCAA Tournament, Men’s Soccer, Second Round: #2 UVA versus Bucknell or Princeton

The UVA men’s soccer team has been on a tear. They are on an 11 game unbeaten streak that has included 9 wins, 2 ties, and 8 straight shutouts. The Cavaliers have not lost a game since an October 2^nd double overtime loss at then #5 UNC. They chose the right time to peak as well, ending the season as the ACC Tournament champions after victories over #6 Maryland, #3 Wake Forest and #20 NC State. It was their tenth ACC Tournament title and first since 2004. UVA even went undefeated in non-conference play (8-0-1). The NCAA Tournament selection committee rewarded them for these accolades by giving them the #2 seeding. This seeding ensures home games until the Final Four which will be hosted in Cary, NC where the ACC Tournament was hosted. UVA will look to make their first final since 1997 and win their first title since 1994 when they wrapped up a fourth straight College Cup. The Cavaliers (5 titles) will also look to close the trophy gap between them and the two more successful soccer programs Indiana (7 titles) and St. Louis (10 titles). They will hope to have Brian Ownby, Chris Agorsor, and Jimmy Simpson healthy but have managed without them so their addition will only be beneficial in adding more depth to a very deep team. Expect them to pull out victories at home leading them to the final four as the homefield advantage the Wahooligans coupled with a very strong squad will spell the end of the season for any team they play.

UVA Women’s Basketball: vs. Tennessee Lady Volunteers

The Tennessee Lady Vols have already been tested at this early stage in the season and shown why they were ranked 9 in the preseason polls; beating #4 Baylor 74-65 in Knoxville. The #14 UVA Women’s team on the other hand has instead played two weak teams to get their bearings and prepare for the long season ahead of them. They will also play one more weak opponent before getting the legitimate test of the Lady Volunteers. The only time that UVA women’s basketball has made it to the final of the NCAA tournament in 1991 they lost to Tennessee. Tennessee has won the most championships in Division I women’s basketball with eight, with the last coming in 2008. Along with UConn they are seen as the most successful and strong team year in and year out. With the homefield advantage, the Lady Cavaliers stand a chance but it will not come easy or by very much. Expect Virginia to hang with the Lady Volunteers until the very end but to be just edged out.

NFL: San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos

For the second year in a row the Denver Broncos started the season undefeated. Again they beat the San Diego Chargers the first time they played them. Last year the Broncos lost three of their last four and the Chargers won all four of their games as the Chargers to win the AFC West. After starting the season 6-0 with a three game lead over the Chargers in the division, the Broncos have lost all momentum and now only lead the division based on the fact they beat the Chargers (they are both 6-3). Since beating the Chargers and having a bye week, the Broncos have lost three in a row including losing this past weekend to the terrible Washington Deadskins. Since losing to the Broncos, the Chargers have had quite different fortunes. They have won four in a row including back to back wins over two of the better NFC East teams. Strangely enough LaDainian Tomlinson has not been much of a factor. It pains me to think his prime was reached so early. I think this might just be the game where Tomlinson breaks out. After the Deadskins put up 27 on the Broncos, look for the Chargers to win big and keep the Broncos reeling while taking the lead in the AFC West.