Sweet Music....

..... Music City Bowl - that is. The Hoos overcame a 11 point halftime deficit to sneak out of Nashville with a win against the 2nd ranked rushing attack of the Minnesota Gophers. The gophers put on a rushing clinic in the first half - with All-American running back Laurence Maroney rushing for 90 yards and their underrated passer Cupito throwing for three scores. But even with all the injuries, suspensions, and missing coordinators, the Hoos tightned down on defense (Maroney only producing 19 yards in the second half) and Hagans (25 of 32 for 358 yards, 2 TD's) and company lit it up, scoring three consecutive touchdowns and allowing Wali Lundy to break the ACC all time touchdown record with 52 in his career. And D'Brickashaw Ferguson solidified his first round draft pick, making sure Hagans had all day to find his targets. His is currently listed as the #3 draft pick behind Bush and Leinart and could go number 1 (see here)

As for Hagans, I will really miss him - he had his ups and downs - but one thing is for certain - there was never a dull moment (well - if you exclude this year's North Carolina debacle) in his entire career. It will be interesting to see what position he ends up playing in the NFL.

Well - I guess all's well that ends well!

Technological Sheep

This term, first uttered to me by my son, describes me to the tee. I am the type of consumer that electronics manufacturers target - a slave to the latest technology advances for home use. Here are a few examples:

• I own over 250 CD's, but after hearing the competing standards of DVD-A and SACD, I am now trying to replace my favorite recordings with one of these standards. Have you ever heard the planes taking off at the beginning of the Eagles "Hotel California"? The answer is no if all you have ever heard is the mixed channel recording. It's like hearing the real recordings for the first time. If you really want to compare - buy a really intricate recording like Bryan Ferry's "Boys and Girls" on Hybrid SACD. Play it in the CD mode, then switch to Multi-Channel. The difference is astounding. This is also why I am becoming less and less enthused with MP3, AAC, WMA, Apple Lossless, etc. because although the convenience factor is high, they really sound awful on a high end stereo system when compared to the multi-channel digital recordings.

• Then, there is the DVD Video formats. Now - I am in the process of replacing my favorite DVD's with the Superbit versions. The difference - more digital data which equates to an incredible improvement in picture quality. And thanks to Best Buy's inexplicable Superbit sales, which happen 3-4 times per year - I have replaced them for under $10 a piece.

• And the one that takes the cake is HDTV. Since buying my 42 inch LG DLP, I am just amazed at the picture quality at 1080i. The bad news is that it has reduced me to watching 10 -15 channels, since I cannot stand to watch non HD channels now.

What does the future hold? Well, for one - I'll be buying new GPS hardware that is compatible with Galileo in 2008. Soon, I'll be buying either Blu-Ray or HD DVD hardware that supports HD resolutions. The war still rages on between these formats, but my money is on HD DVD, since it appears Microsoft is supporting it and is integrating it in Vista, as well as offering OEM incentives for HD DVD development.

Then there is the 1080p standard, which is hitting the market as we speak. It will have a beautiful picture, but at a cost of double the bandwidth of 1080i and 720p. To get a peek at this standard -check out Microsoft's 1080p videos (make sure you meet the minimum hardware requirements).

So - I'll be one of those consumers, blindly following new hardware and standards in search of the ultimate in sound, video, and exact positioning..... A technological sheep.

Too busy to post.....

I have just been way to busy to post anything lately - so here is a catch up post.

The HOO's finished the season a ho-hum 6-5, and take on a tough Minnesota team on Friday. This should be a real challenge for UVA, going up against the 2nd best rushing team without Ahmad Brooks (Injury), Tony Franklin (weed suspension), and Nate Lyles (Injury). Throw in the fact that virtually all of Groh's assistants took coaching positions, and things aren't looking too bright in C'Ville..... Which is why a win in Nashville would be HUGE.

The Dave Leito era has started in C'Ville, and as expected- this is a tough year with only a few scholarship players and more walk-ons being added even as late as a few weeks ago. I just got home from watching them squeak by UMBC at a game played at the Siegel Center in Richmond (part of my Christmas present). I saw them earlier when the played the University of Richmond last month. It's good to see some wins, but we will get absolutely crushed in ACC play. The good news - we are playing and winning with defense, something never-before seen in the Gillen era. That and Leito is doing well recruiting. We will have the best arena in the ACC next year - and hopefully by year three of the Leito era, we'll have a team to match it.

The job has been crazy lately, as I have been in serious training and it has involved some significant travel. A couple of trips to N.C., one to St. Louis & Philadelphia, and then two weeks of intensive training in Richmond right before the Christmas break. It picks back up in January, with trips to Charlotte, N.C. and Irvine, CA. February brings rumors of possible trips to Bologna, Italy and another trip to Irvine. This summer, there will be a trip to Las Vegas, and we are planning a vacation trip to Ireland.

Christmas was great and now I am on dietary repentance. Adam and his new girlfriend, Becky, came home for a while, and it was great to see them. She seems like a really great girl, and all of the grandparents label her "a keeper".

I got a great surprise for Christmas from my honey - a GPS system for the car (Garmin Street Pilot c320). I am amazed at the accuracy of these systems, as well as the huge amount of data at my fingertips. It's so awesome to be on the road, and be able to look at the gas stations, restaurants, etc. available at the next exit. I put a 1 gig SD card in it - so I have from about Colorado --> east loaded. I am sure that Adam played a big part in this surprise.

Well -that's a quick catch-up post - I'll try to do better in 2006!