Ratcliffe On for Charlottesville Daily Progress

Peerman, Simpson are the real deal

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:40:00 EDT

Cedric Peerman and Mikell Simpson combined last season for 1,155 yards rushing, 501 yards receiving, 15 touchdowns and a whole lot of headaches for defensive coordinators.

RATCLIFFE ON: Collins ready for newest challenge

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:00:00 EDT

A nose tackle can play a perfect game and almost no one would know —there’s not a lot of glory tossed their way.

Dowling lets his play do the talking

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:44:00 EDT

Don’t expect any long-winded conversations with Virginia starting cornerback Ras-I Dowling. If a question can be answered in 20 words, Ras-I can do it in 10.

Trouble in ACC? Don’t tell league commish

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:39:00 EDT

John Swofford said Tuesday morning that if some think the ACC has a post-expansion image problem, he doesn’t share that opinion.

The son steps into a pressure cooker

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:39:00 EDT

When Clemson rewarded Tommy Bowden with a lucrative contract during the winter, expectations soared as high as his new salary. Bowden had flirted with an offer from Arkansas until Clemson opened its coffers.

Groh dusts off his old playbook

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:05:00 EDT

After the grades from the first semester were compiled, Sewell was placed on an academic suspension for the next two consecutive semesters, meaning he would miss spring practice and this coming season. So, Groh and his staff were forced to find another quarterback and return to a different style of play.

Grove captures City Championship

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:39:00 EDT

Grove went out like a champion, made the birdie for a final round of 1-under par 69 and a two-shot victory with a three-day total of 3-under 207.

Local golfers gear up for City Championship

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:46:00 EDT

The city championship has been the most unpredictable of all the local major tournaments over the past two decades.

Landesberg, UVa a match made in heaven

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:05:00 EDT

If you’re wondering why Virginia was eager to host the NBA Top 100 Camp the past two years, look no further than Sylven Landesberg.

Golfers seek their ‘Big Break’

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:33:00 EDT

Brian Skatell has a story to tell, and he has his fingers crossed that The Golf Channel’s “Big Break” series will be the avenue.

RATCLIFFE ON: Paying homage to Battle

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:24:00 EDT

Thirty-one golf balls sailed simultaneously down the 14th fairway at Farmington Country Club, each a memory of the late Bill Battle and what he meant to those assembled to celebrate his life.

Honoring a Virginia institution

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:39:00 EDT

The good doctor served not only the University of Virginia’s athletic teams and the general community here over that span, but also made regular trips to William & Mary, Richmond, VMI, even what was then Ferrum Junior College many moons ago. He would travel the state helping high school and college athletes recover from serious injuries suffered in their respective sports.

Patriots deserved better than VHSL decree

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:18:00 EDT

Albemarle High School’s baseball team was accustomed to bouncing back from adversity. In fact, the Patriots thrived on such situations.

Leaving a lasting legacy

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:35:00 EDT

While many of his accomplishments, coming to John Kennedy and PT 109’s rescue during World War II, helping Kennedy win the presidential election, serving as ambassador to Australia, running a major corporation, running for governor of Virginia, and many other deeds, have been well-documented in this newspaper the past two days, we knew Battle more from the golfing perspective.

Cavs’ new pro knows different area codes

Thu, 29 May 2008 23:34:00 EDT

When Virginia gained back-to-back commitments from football prospects in the talent-rich Tidewater recruiting area this week, more than a few eyebrows were raised.

Rubeor brings UVa back from the dead

Sun, 18 May 2008 00:10:00 EDT

Beware of Ben Rubeor, Virginia’s star goal producer on a Cavalier lacrosse team headed back to the Final Four.

UVa ready for Maryland rematch

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:46:00 EDT

There’s a note that’s been sitting on Dom Starsia’s desk for almost two years, one of his keepsakes from the 2006 national lacrosse championship that Virginia won under his direction.

RATCLIFFE ON: UVa’s win well worth the wait

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:46:00 EDT

When sixth-ranked UMBC, billed as the hottest lacrosse team in the nation with 11 straight wins, came to rain-soaked Klockner Stadium on Sunday, needless to say Virginia was ready.

UVa, old teammates embrace Gerard

Fri, 09 May 2008 23:47:01 EDT

More than 20 years had passed since Gus Gerard last set foot in Charlottesville. That’s when his life began to crumble as a result of his addiction to drugs and alcohol - an addiction that cost him his family, friends, and a small fortune accumulated as a pro basketball player.

A second job for former Cav Butler

Sat, 03 May 2008 23:52:00 EDT

When Brad Butler starred at right tackle for Virginia’s football team, he was dead serious about the game. However, he wasn’t a one-dimensional guy.

Dombrowski gets surprise from College Hall of Fame

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:11:00 EDT

When Jim Dombrowski came to the University of Virginia in the early 1980s, he figured his future was in medicine and not on the gridiron.

Focused Petit saves Cavs’ title challenge

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:46:00 EDT

Virginia’s players claimed they blocked any thoughts about Duke from their minds all week leading up to this weekend’s ACC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. First, the Cavaliers had to deal with Maryland, a team that had beaten them soundly a month ago at College Park.

McCarty helped to reinvent UVa hoops

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Perhaps it was God’s plan to reunite the “West Virginia Rifles” one more time last month in Charlotte at the ACC men’s basketball tournament.

Phillips on deck for ‘Tight End U’

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:08:00 EDT

The tight end is a forgotten soul in some of today’s aerial circus offenses.

Lax fans come to Klockner in droves

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:20:00 EDT

Lacrosse, which has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, has become a real hit in Charlottesville. A school-record crowd of 7,579 showed up for Virginia’s home victory over Johns Hopkins that day.

RATCLIFFE ON: Leitao looks to fix Cavs’ defensive problems

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:52:00 EDT

When Dave Leitao walked out of Virginia’s locker room the night that the Cavaliers’ basketball season came to an uneventful close last week, he chose his last words carefully.

Young QBs must mature

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:29:00 EDT

When incumbent quarterback and two-year starter Jameel Sewell was declared academically ineligible after UVa’s loss in the Gator Bowl, the focus turned toward Peter Lalich, one of the nation’s most highly sought-after prospects two years ago, and his fellow quarterbacks.

RATCLIFFE ON: Vahaly retires on his own terms

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:10:00 EDT

The phrase student-athlete gets thrown around rather loosely in our society these days. While covering sports for three decades, this columnist has interviewed some “student-athletes” that couldn’t spell ‘cat’ if you spotted them the ‘a’ and the ‘t.’

RATCLIFFE ON: Cavs run out of CBI miracles

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:36:00 EDT

So ended Virginia’s basketball season with a 96-85 setback by the Braves from Peoria, a team that was better than its 20-15 record may have suggested.

RATCLIFFE ON: UVa looks to rejoin NCAA elite

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:35:01 EDT

When the smallest player on the floor launched a confident shot from beyond the arc with seconds remaining in overtime, it proved to be the dagger that ended, or perhaps just delayed, Virginia’s return to the NCAA’s Sweet 16.

OUR LEAGUE: UVa tilt do-or-die for Maryland

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:03:00 EDT

Scattershooting around the ACC, while thinking that if Virginia can’t make it to the NCAA’s, then the Cavs could probably put a torpedo in Maryland’s chances come Sunday ...

RATCLIFFE ON: Cavs still not getting defensive message

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:03:00 EDT

Dave Leitao knew that his Virginia basketball team would have to play nearly perfect to be able to handle high-scoring Duke on Wednesday night. He also knew what would happen if his Cavaliers didn’t.

RATCLIFFE ON: Virginia big man brings the nasty

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:03:36 EDT

For 13 straight games from December through mid-February, Virginia’s most experienced big man sat on the bench, pining for the days when he made a difference.

RATCLIFFE ON: Singletary stays focused on ACC play

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:03:01 EDT

With time running down on his career as a Cavalier, Sean Singletary is hoping to go out with a bang.

RATCLIFFE ON: Virginia goes back to its roots

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:02:14 EDT

Dave Leitao’s Cavs have won back-to-back ACC games for the first time all season and who knows what might have happened in Atlanta last Thursday night if the roof at Alexander Memorial Coliseum hadn’t sprung a leak, causing postponement of the game until March 3.

RATCLIFFE ON: History repeats itself in Georgia

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:02:49 EDT

Not until Virginia’s and Georgia Tech’s men’s teams took the floor for their normal warm-ups did game officials spot a wet area on the floor and discovered a leak in the ceiling. After a 20-minute delay, the game was postponed.

RATCLIFFE: Can Groh turn things around-

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:09:00 EDT

Groh appeared to completely understand where his critics were coming from when he was grilled about the Wyoming massacre and the state of UVa’s football program. POST YOUR COMMENTS

Virginia working on counterattack

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 16:29:00 EDT

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering what scalpers will be asking for UVa-Duke tickets on Thursday ...