Chancellor's Improvement Important for Defense

The lone interception in Tech's scrimmage Friday came from free safety Kam Chancellor. The senior has built on his momentum from the Orange Bowl and had an excellent spring so far. That's good news for the Hokie secondary, which had major communication issues last season.

Last year was Chancellor's first as a free safety after moving from rover. At rover, he was allowed to roam the field and hit opposing pass catchers and quarterbacks like a Mack truck. He excelled at doing that in 2007 and hopes were high for him going into last season.

But the move to free meant he would have to quarterback the defense and in my opinion he struggled with that early in 2008. Chancellor's job was to call out the coverages for the secondary and the Hokies were burned for big plays through the air, especially the middle part of the field, where Chancellor and whoever was playing rover at the time patrolled.

These big plays hurt Tech most in its losses to BC and Florida State. Pass plays of 48 and 41 yards helped set up touchdowns for BC in the regular season game at Chestnut Hill.

Chancellor did improve as the season progressed and he built better communication with Dorian Porch. Porch took over the rover spot after Davon Morgan was lost for the season during the Nebraska game. Chancellor saved his best performance for the Orange Bowl where he had an interception and two pass breakups.

It's good to see his progress at free hasn't stopped with the Orange Bowl. If the Hokies secondary is going to survive in 2009 without Macho Harris, it will be up to him. Without Harris, the Hokies have less room for error defending the pass and can't afford to give up as many big plays through the air as they did last season.

ACC Tennis Tourney This Week

The men's and women's tennis teams will compete in the ACC tournament this week in Cary, NC, which hosts just about every non-rev tournament these days. The men (13-6) open play at 3 p.m. Thursday against Maryland. The Hokies are ranked No. 22 in the country.

The women (13-10) face Wake Forest at 9 a.m. Thursday. The ACC has neglected to either provide a video feed or live scoring for any of these matches.

Linkage

Hokies

- Summer will be lonelier without Harry Kalas. (Roth Report)
- Angela Tincher is blogging from Japan. (Angela Tincher)

Atlantic Coast Conference

- Defense stole the show at Clemson's spring game. (Block-C)
- Comparing Ponder in 2008 to Weatherford in 2007. (Tomahawk Nation)
- Are Miami fans worried about recruits leaving Dade Co.? (All Canes)
- Get your ACC Directors Cup standings. (StateFans Nation)
- Something we can all get behind: BC-BU as part of the Winter Classic. (BCI)

Stuff Only I Care About

- Why you have to love the Stanley Cup Playoffs. (The Kurtenblog)
- Hopefully Joe won't have to shave until at least after Round 2. (Buzz Blog)
- Why Lindy Ruff shouldn't coach Buffalo next year. (Die by the Blade)
- News for those going to the Atlanta show on Thursday. (Buffett News)
- The Barnhart visits the defending champs. (Mr. College Football)
- Amalie Benjamin (who I love and would in a heartbeat give up my hard-drinking, road-tripping bachelor ways for) reports the Sox SS troubles just got worse. (Globe)

Who should be on VT's Mt. Rushmore?

I am blatantly ripping off the guys over at BC Interruption, who in turn borrowed the idea from ESPN.

Basically, ESPN is doing a Mt. Rushmore of sports for all the states by picking the four most important sports figures they have to offer. So who should be on a Mt. Rushmore for Virginia Tech sports?

My Hokie Mt. Rushmore:

Frank Beamer. Made Virginia Tech football. This one is a given.

Bruce Smith. The Hokies' first No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Was a beast for the Hokies and had a Hall of Fame career in the NFL.

Angela Tincher. The most dominant player in their sport in Hokie sports history.

BomboBimbo Coles (apparently I decided to mate Bimbo Coles and Bombo Rivera). Beloved Hokie hoops player that had a solid pro career.

Also Considered: Michael Vick, Brad Clontz, Joe Saunders, Jim Druckenmiller, Dell Curry and of course Will Muthafuckin' Furrer.

The Michael Vick Question

Should Michael Vick be put on the Hokies' Mt. Rushmore? I say no. For something like this, you have to consider how the person has represented Virginia Tech even after leaving the university. Vick is no longer representative of what being a Hokie is about and I don't think he belongs.

So who would you put on the Hokies' Mt. Rushmore? Would you put Michael Vick on there? Let me know if I'm wrong.

2008 No. 3 - Tincher No-hits Team USA

We're counting down the Top 10 moments in Virginia Tech sports from the 2007-08 season. The moments are judged on level of pride it brought to Hokie Nation, how great the accomplishment was and how much attention it brought the Hokies.

No. 3

We were there for history.

Tincher's no-hitter made headlines across the country and was possibly the most unique and greatest accomplishment by a Virginia Tech athlete in the history of the athletics department.

Virginia Tech will always be a football school, but from the time of Tincher's no-hitter to the appearance in the WCWS, the fans of the program caught softball fever (which sounds like a terrible, terrible ailment without proper context).

Road to OKC: ESPN takes advantage of Tincher hype

If you watched ESPNU's coverage of the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament over the weekend, you saw Angela Tincher's face a lot during halftime and between games. The network ran a feature on Virginia Tech's softball win over Team USA several times during the weekend, especially on Sunday after the Hokies won the ACC softball tournament.

The game has rebroadcast several times on ESPN2, giving the country a glimpse at the Hokie program's greatest moment. Now, the Hokies have another chance to appear on the network.

If the Hokies beat Louisville Friday in the first round of their NCAA regional in Knoxville, they will face the winner of Tennessee-Winthrop. That game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 at noon EDT Saturday.

It is one of three regional games scheduled for ESPN2 this weekend. Games six and seven from Tuscaloosa will also be shown live. ESPNU has coverage of every game from the UCLA regional.

Tincher's No-hitter on ESPN2 Tonight

You can see the tape delay of Angela Tincher's no-hitter against Team USA at 7 p.m. EDT tonight on ESPN2. The Hokies beat Team USA, 1-0, March 26 in Oklahoma City. Click here for the original report and photos from the game.

This weekend, the Hokies travel to College Park, Md., for the ACC Tournament. Tech is the No. 2 seed and will face host Maryland in the first round at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. If the Hokies win, they will face the winner of the Florida State-Boston College game at 10 a.m. Friday. Should they fall to the Terps, they face the FSU-BC loser at 8 p.m. Saturday.

A look at Tech's side of the bracket:
(Rankings are ACC games only)

No. 3 Florida State
Regular Season: The Hokies took two of three from the Seminoles in Blacksburg April 18-19.
Pitching: 4th in the ACC with a 2.09 ERA...while she's only started nine games, freshman Sarah Hamilton has been FSU's best pitcher this year...she is 8-1, 1.46 in 17 appearances.
Hitting: 2nd in the ACC at .257...76 runs are second-most in ACC play this year...best run producer is Brittany Osman, who has nine doubles, six home runs and 41 RBIs this year.

No. 6 Boston College
Regular Season: The Hokies swept the Eagles in Chestnut Hill April 12-13.
Pitching: 7th in the ACC with a 4.01 ERA...opponents are hitting .277 against primary starter Allison Gage.
Hitting: 8th in the ACC at .192...also have most strikeouts in ACC play of any of the eight ACC teams...Renee Ramos is only player batting above .300 at .346.

No. 7 Maryland
Regular Season: The Hokies took two of three from the Terps in College Park March 29-30.
Pitching: 5th in the ACC with a 3.36 ERA...in 25 appearances, 13 starts, Meredith Nelles is 10-3, 2.17.
Hitting: 5th in the ACC at .225...Sarde Stewart leads the team in hitting (.345), home runs (10) and RBIs (47).

The Hokies and North Carolina are far and away the most complete teams in the conference and should have no trouble advancing to face one another in the championship game. All games will be webcast on ACCSelect.com. The championship game will be televised on various regional sports networks at noon Sunday.

Tincher Making Headlines

Two days later and it's still hard to believe what I saw Wednesday night. Anglela Tincher delivered the single most dominant individual performance I've ever seen in sport.

She faced the best there was in her sport and didn't let them sniff a hit. Bustos had one loud foul in her second at-bat, but that was it. There wasn't another time where you thought "there goes the no-no."

However, despite how dominating she was, the crowd never rallied around her. There was no "Rocky IV" moment where the underdog won over the crowd. She got her applause when it was over, but in my view it was more like the home team's fans applauding a no-hitter by an opposing pitcher than appreciation. It wasn't like she just no-hit OU, she no-hit the freaking Olympic team.

Tincher's "Miracle on Dirt," as HokieSports.com called it, has gotten her and the Hokie softball team a lot of recognition:

ESPN.com: Tincher ends USA Softball's streak, proves she can beat the best
Oklahoman: Hokies' Tincher no-hits Team USA
Oklahoman: Virginia Tech softball team finds connection on trip to Oklahoma City
Roanoke Times: Hokies still celebrating win over Olympic team
Collegiate Times: Hokies pull off monumental upset
TechSideline: A First-Hand Report of VTs Stunning Softball Win

Road Trip No. 1: Hokies vs. Team USA

Gobbler Country Road Trip No. 1
Softball: Hokies vs. Team USA
ASA Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Miles Round Trip: 60
Total Dollars Spent: $25 ($10 ticket, $15 Shirt)

Tinch > Finch.

The first ever Gobbler Country Road Trip was a home game for me. And the Hokies felt right at home in Oklahoma City as well. Hokie phenom pitcher Angela Tincher no-hit the best softball team in the world as the Hokies beat Team USA, 1-0.

To put that into perspective, Team USA came into the game 17-0 on its pre-Olympic tour. Only one previous team had scored on them and they had just finished beating DePaul, 23-0. And the one and only Jennie Finch was starting in the circle for the Red, White and Blue.

All Tincher did was not allow hit, not allow a ball out of the infield, walk one and strikeout 10. She dominated the world's elite.

I said earlier today that for the Hokies to win, Tincher would have to pitch the game of her life and Tech would have to get a gift run. That's pretty much what happened. Obviously, it was an incredible performance by Tincher. The Hokies scored in the second when Kelsey Hoffman led off the inning with a double. Pinch runner Anna Zitt advanced to third on an illegal pitch by Finch and then scored on a single by Caroline Stolle.

That was all Tincher needed. You'll be hard-pressed to find a more dominating performance by a pitcher at any level in either softball or baseball. Set your TiVos for 7 p.m. May 6 when the game is shown on ESPN2. Amazing performance.

Photos from OKC:

Entrance to Hall of Fame Stadium

Inside the stadium

Hokies pregame warm-ups

Jennie Finch

Angela Tincher

Tincher's first batter, Caitlin Lowe

Hokies get a runner to third in the second

Coach Scot Thomas congratulates the Hokies after scoring in the second

Facing Jennie Finch

Tincher and the Hokies between innings

Monica Abbott

The coaching staff before the bottom of the seventh

Tincher completes the no-no

Hokies 1, USA 0

Coach Thomas addresses the team after the game

Tincher interviewed by ESPN