Making predictions about Virginia's 2005 football season is tricky business. Athlon Magazine slots the 'Hoos at #22 in its preseason poll, but there's no sense in putting much stock in polls that come out in May. With the Cavs, especially, there are too many question marks coming out of spring practice.

Philip Brown and Vince Redd were among many Cavaliers out of uniform this spring.

Will Ahmad Brooks, Brennan Schmidt, Connor Hughes, Michael Johnson, Tom Santi, Keenan Carter, Bryan White, Philip Brown, Marshal Ausberry, Ron Darden and Kai Parham - all of whom missed all or part of the spring with injuries or illnesses - be healthy and productive this fall? How about Vince Redd and D.J. Bell, who sat out the spring to focus on academics? Can Virginia replace Elton Brown and Heath Miller, two of the best players in school history, not to mention Darryl Blackstock, Alvin Pearman, Chris Canty and Andrew Hoffman? Will the passing game be better? How about the pass defense?

No question the Cavs still have talent, but are they a legit top-25 team? Who knows? If all goes well, they could be a borderline top-10 team and an ACC championship contender. If things go poorly, they may end up in the middle of the league standings - or worse.

Edge subscribers can read my post-spring analysis of the offense and defense, but overall I can't remember a year when there was so much uncertainty going into the summer. There are just as many reasons to be optimistic as pessimistic. Heck, it's even hard to be realistic right now. Because until preseason camp begins, we won't know who's playing and what's for real.

Starting Monday, TheSabreShop will offer super deals (up to 70% off retail) on the great majority of our items. We need to make room for all of the new gear hitting the shelves for the upcoming football season, so shop now and save BIG TIME!

Here are just a few of the items on sale.

click here	Virginia and V-Sabres Embroidered Sweatshirt Only $29.99! Classic arched "Virginia" embroidered on left chest in white. V-Sabre logo embroidered on right sleeve. A HooStore original. Navy blue LEE Crossgrain super-heavyweight reverse-weave fleece. This crewneck is the softest, toughest sweatshirt we could find.
click here	Orange V-Sabres HardHat Only $15.99! The ultimate topper for the ultimate fan. This is an actual OSHA approved hardhat and can be used on the job site. The orange hat features a great vsabres logo in the front. Complete your Sea of Orange uniform with this GEM!
click here	V-Sabres Embroidered Knit Hat Only $9.99! A SabreShop original. Keep warm at the game with this embroidered V-Sabre knit winter hat. Contrast striped un-cuffed edge. Acrylic blend. Made by Big XSO. One size fits all.

Please feel free to browse the great selection of items we've got in-stock and ready to ship. Hundreds of items - Secure shopping - Fast, reliable shipping!

Basketball recruiting...

UVa will play host to the Southern Invitational, which begins tonight and lasts through Sunday. The Southern Invitational is just one of the many tournaments on the AAU basketball circuit, in which a number of top high school basketball players compete every year.

One team to watch this weekend is Boo Williams out of Hampton. Williams, who annually has one of the strongest AAU squads, boasts excellent talent this year as well. Potential UVa targets for the 2006 class include Bethel (Hampton, VA) 6-7 forward Duke Crews and Woodside (Newport News, VA) 6-2 combo guard Stefan Welsh. Welsh has been offered by UVa in football and is getting a look in basketball as well.

Other players to watch on Boo Williams' squad include 6-3 point guard Eric Hayes (a Maryland commit), 6-9 center/power forward Vernon Macklin (who is transferring from IC Norcom in Portsmouth to Oak Hill Academy) and Franklin County 6-8, 215-pound forward Lewis Witcher. Witcher boasts offers from Maryland and Virginia Tech.

In addition, talented rising juniors and rising sophomores will be on hand. 6-5 guard O.J. Mayo, who is one of the top overall players in the 2007 class, plans to be there.

Football recruiting...

Virginia is one of the early leaders for 6-3, 205-pound athlete Zach Luckett. Luckett, who plays running back for Holy Spirit (Absecon, N.J.) but projects as a wide receiver or safety on the next level, named UVa and Virginia Tech as his current top two schools. Luckett has received an official offer from each program as well as from Boston College, Iowa and North Carolina, among others.

UVa assistant coach Mike Groh visited Holy Spirit earlier this week.

--

Downingtown (Exton, PA) star Pat Devlin, who looks to be UVa's top target at the quarterback position for 2006, plans on making a decision before the start of his senior season. He has visited UVa on several occasions and seems impressed with what he has experienced so far.

This summer, Devlin plans a trip to the University of Miami and the University of Florida. The Miami trip could be key as the Canes have officially offered the 6-3, 200-pound signal caller. Penn State also appears to be heavily in the mix as Devlin has visited there on several occasions. Right now, Devlin says he has no leaders among a group of 14 Division 1-A scholarship offers.

Poker, poker, poker - it's everywhere these days. Even on ESPN. Since when is card-playing a "sport"? To be honest, I don't quite get the whole poker craze. But if you're into it, you're going to love our newest sponsor.

PartyPoker.com is the world's largest poker room, and you don't even have to leave your house to get there. (Saves money on that flight to Vegas.) The site has been around since 2001 and provides good fun for both the casual and serious poker player. It has all sorts of games and limits, plus excellent customer care and a reputation for integrity. So check it out, OK? And let us know what you think. If you enter the bonus code "THESABRE," you'll get $100 free. You'll get another $100 free if you join today. Good luck!

Post of the Week

TheSabre.com isn't all about sports. People can yap about any subject on "The Corner" board, like this funny thread about pet peeves...

Subject: Official Sabre Pet Peeves thread...
Posted by: Wiz92 on Thu May 5 2005 2:50:25 PM
Message: 1. Groups of widebody people walking side by side and taking up the entire hallway/sidewalk
2. People who drive the speed limit in the left lane (especially those who designate themselves as unofficial traffic police)
3. People at the gym who sit at their machine between sets, oblivious to the world, rather than allowing other people to "work in"
4. People at the gym who do fu-fu exercises (curls, etc) in the power racks
5. Going in through the out door, and vice-versa
6. Drivers who have the right-of-way but still insist on yielding to other drivers. Just follow the rules as they exist, and traffic will flow better.
7. People who sing every word to every song they hear (espcially white girls who rap to Eminem)
8. Dropping cigarette butts out of car windows (cars do come with ash trays)
9. Stupid improper English (misplaced apostrophes, "I could care less", etc.
Phew, I'm exhausted. And pretty fired up right now.

For the complete thread containing this post, please click the link below.

Hey, Sabre readers. If you haven't done so already, please take TheSabre.com Content Survey -- we need feedback from subscribers and non-subscribers -- and tell us what you really think about the site. This is your chance to help run the show yourself. All comments and feedback will be carefully read and considered! This is the final day of the survey. So please take a couple of minutes, click the link above and help us improve the site for you!

Sabre Edge articles and columns from the past week

Every month, Sabre Edge provides you with exclusive articles, columns, special features, interviews and recruiting news, including daily recruiting updates. There's even a special message board just for subscribers. And to top it off, you get 10 percent off all of your online purchases through TheSabreShop.com during your subscription.

All of the great Sabre Edge content can be yours for the price of $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. Try it for a month and cancel if you like. But we think you'll get hooked on the Edge and find out for yourself why the most knowledgeable Cavalier fans are Edge subscribers.

If you're a true Wahoo, then the Sabre Edge is right for you. Check it out!