Players must abide by a strict set of rules when playing for Woodson, and it starts with school work. Each player not only has to stay on top of his marks, but also must enroll in an after-school program to ensure that their work is done before their practice.

Cassidy had heard about an exceptional pitcher across Afton Mountain in Waynesboro that might be the weapon that the team would need to get themselves over the hump. So Cassidy decided to visit this pitcher and try to convince him to join his squad. However, he ended up signing this pitcher’s teammate, Harry Hise, who as it turned out would lead them to greatness.

At age 62, Phil Franssen’s major motivation is to grow old gracefully. After a series of setbacks at an early age, he’s doing everything in his power at this point in his life to maintain a healthy routine, and also to help others who wish to do the same.

As customers enter a busy gym in San Francisco, former Charlottesville resident Ron Harris greets them at the front desk.

The Tarheel Tour has agreed to a three-year deal for Spring Creek to host the tour’s championship event beginning this October.

For the longest while, it was difficult to detect who was wearing the biggest smile.

After capturing back-to-back Battle Trophy championships and winning every local tournament that he entered this summer, local golf fans wondered just what Nick Little was going to do for an encore.

The best amateur golfers in Central Virginia discovered something during Saturday’s first two rounds of the area’s match play championship at Spring Creek Golf Club: there’s no free lunches.

The top six seeds from this year’s Battle Trophy list and three of last year’s four semifinalists return for the second annual Central Virginia Match Play Championships this weekend at Spring Creek Golf Club.

With his come-from-behind victory in the Jefferson Cup Invitational golf tournament at Birdwood over the weekend, Nick Little blew away the competition for the top spot in the 2008 Battle Trophy competition’s final standings.

It seems that if Nick Little is participating in a local golf event you can just about be certain that he’ll be walking away with the hardware.

Albemarle freshman Lauren Eklund held off defending champion Cindy Thompson in a three-hole playoff to win this year’s Reines Jewelers Ladies City Championship.

Radford-bound Weston Eklund was the only member of the field to shoot under par in the opening round, and his 2-under round of 70 gave him a two-stroke lead.

Little, who has dominated Central Virginia amateur golf for the past two years, will lead the field heading into today’s 54-hole annual Jefferson Cup Invitational at Birdwood Golf Club. It is one of only two local tournaments that Little hasn’t won.

Using the screams and applause as a gauge, it was hard to tell which of the 16 teams was on the way to the Jefferson Swim League Championship title as the massive event came to a halt.

Some of the swimmers on hand at the opening day of the JSL Championships Friday didn’t need but about those two minutes to make their mark on the event. Two records fell during the Friday 200-yard medley relays, with Fairview’s 9-10 year-old boys squad and ACAC’s 15-18 year-old boys team both breaking records in their events.

The annual JSL championship meet, a two-day meet at Virginia’s Aquatics and Fitness Center will start today and crown a champion Saturday evening.

PRATO NEVOSO, Italy — Frank Schleck of Luxembourg seized the overall lead in the Tour de France on Sunday, drawing on his strength in the mountains and getting an assist from his brother as the three-week race headed into the Italian Alps.

Fourteen players from Central Virginia, seven professionals and seven amateurs, will tee it up today in the opening round of the SunTrust State Open of Virginia at Independence Golf Club in Midlothian.

The 11th-stage victory Wednesday by Norwegian veteran Kurt-Asle Arvesen took a back seat to the arrest of Spain’s Moises Duenas Nevado after he tested positive for the banned performance enhancer EPO in the second doping bust this Tour.

In the deciding game of the District 14 Championship, the McIntire All-Stars got things started early and held off Louisa’s All-Stars 13-4 on Sunday

Leader Jeff Toms and contender Phillip Mahone have been competing in the Reines Jewelers Charlottesville City Golf Championship for years, but have yet to taste victory. So today’s final round of the 21st annual event at Meadowcreek Golf Course presents an unforgettable opportunity for the two players and a short list of competitiors within striking distance.

Facing elimination in a must-win game, the Monticello 10-11 year-old All-Stars got help from their big hitters in the lineup and a strong pitching performance to defeat Louisa’s All-Stars 7-3 on Saturday afternoon. Monticello’s win forced a deciding contest today for the right to move on to the state tournament later this month.

That’s just fine with Ty Grove, who shot a 3-under 67 late Friday evening to claim the first round lead. Grove, a Crozet resident who plays out of Old Trail, holds a one-stroke lead over Birdwood’s Toms and Jerry Burton of Spring Creek. Farmington’s Mahone is two back at 69, and Meadowcreek’s Bill Hamilton is within striking distance at 1-over 71.

In Virginia Beach, Suffolk’s Lauren Doughtie used a strong short game to claim a 5 and 3 victory over Norfolk’s Kristen Simpson — a graduate student at Virginia — in the 83rd Virginia State Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship.

While Carl Frischkorn missed the television coverage of Will’s greatest day in the sport, he did have the chance to talk to his son shortly after Monday’s stage.

In Purcellville, Donald Robertson of Earlysville finished one shot out of first place at the VSGA Masters Championship at Loudoun Golf and Country Club.

So it came as no surprise to Troy when he turned on the local news Monday night and learned that his former pupil had nearly won the third stage of the Tour de France. Frischkorn, who graduated from STAB in 1999 and is competing in his first-ever Grand Tour, finished second.

Mikey Moyers, the 2007 VSGA Junior Match Play champion, got off to a good start on his title defense on Tuesday at Birdwood.

Albemarle Post 74 manager Mike Maynard ran the gamut on Thursday as he witnessed his youth-laden squad’s 12-5 victory over Waynesboro Post 340. It was the second straight seven-run win in a two-day window for Albemarle over Waynesboro.