Most recent contest: What's your New Year's Resolution?

That's right Sabre-heads, the weekly SabreMail contest is back after a brief hiatus!

Since this is my first contest after signing on at the Sabre, I thought I'd set up a little something special for the winner. In past weeks, the winner has received a free one-month subscription to Sabre Edge, our premium content covering University of Virginia athletics. This week's SabreMail winner gets a bonus prize as well!

The bonus? A prize pack from one of music's newest up-and-coming stars: Niki Barr. Niki writes her own music, rocks out on the guitar, and puts on great live shows. Her tours have taken her to Japan, Alaska, Singapore, Diego Garcia the Balkans, Western Europe the UK and Central Asia, as well as around the United States. Niki often plays shows in and around the Balitmore/Washington D.C. area, where many of you Hoos are located. I've seen Niki play on several occasions. Simply put: She's Awesome! Check out some up-coming shows at the following locations.

Niki has quickly become a hot topic in the music industry. So get to work on this SabreMail contest and you could win a copy of Niki's latest CD "Lush" and a promotional copy of her DVD "Wasted Time." If you don't win, don't worry. You can download Niki's music at places like iTunes, MusicMatch, Napster, MusicNow and many more!

So without further delay this week's contest ...

In honor of our prize pack, Write a short song lyric about new Virginia basketball coach Dave Leitao. For example to the tune of The Devil Went Down to Georgia:

Dave Leitao went down to Virginia, he was looking for an ACC title to steal.
He was in a bind 'cause the team was way behind but he was willin' to make a deal
When he came across this young man dribblin' a ball and shooting it hot
He jumped into U-Hall and said: Sean, let me tell you what.

Make sure your lyrics are clean and fun. Please send your entry to [email protected] with the header: SabreMail Contest. Thanks, and good luck!

Kris Wright
Editor
TheSabre.com

UVa will not host any official visitors this weekend, as the January weekends of the 20th and the 27th will be the two big recruiting weekends. The Cavs have 20 verbal commitments and could potentially sign about 27 players in this year's recruiting class.

The in-state targets list got a little bit smaller in the past week, with a pair of in-state prospects making their verbal commitments since last Friday.

Last weekend, Highland Springs (VA) linebacker Jarrell Miller verbally committed to UNC over Florida, Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Also, Robinson (Fairfax, VA) athlete Lucas Caparelli chose Wake Forest following his official visit there last weekend.

A new target to the list is Winston Churchill (Bethesda, MD) safety Matt Leemhuis. The 6-2, 192-pound prospect made an official visit to Cal last weekend and will likely take an official to UVa before making a decision. Leemhuis attended UVa's summer camp, but was only offered officially by Al Groh a few weeks ago.

A Washington Post second-team all-metro selection, Leemhuis will decide between the Golden Bears and the Cavaliers. In his senior season, he tallied around 100 tackles and had three interceptions as Winston Churchill went 5-5 on the year.

West Springfield (VA) quarterback Peter Lalich did very well during last weekend's national junior combine. The 6-5, 235-pound junior signal caller, who has official offers from Virginia and Ohio and is drawing interest from Arizona State, Michigan, Nebraska and Notre Dame, among others, was named to the first-team all-combine squad.

Also impressive was Orange (VA) quarterback Bradley Starks. A good athlete, Starks could play wide receiver on the next level. He played quarterback and receiver down at the combine. At Orange High, Starks is the quarterback and a defensive back.

On the basketball recruiting front, Cavalier commitment Will Harris is having a solid season. The 6-6, 230-pound forward has had a strong start for Brewster Academy. Averaging around 20 points per game, the University of Virginia signee has helped Brewster to an 11-4 record so far this season. Harris has scored more than 20 points on six occasions, including two games with more than 30. His season high is 33 points and, in that game, he brought down 12 rebounds as well. Harris projects as a small forward for UVa.

For more recruiting information and updates, please sign up for Sabre Edge.

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Post of the Week

Subject: I do have realistic expectations for the season, but the next 4 games...
Posted by: RaleighHOO on Mon Jan 9 2006 9:34:02 AM
Message: ... Will define just how this season, W/L wise will turn out.

Our next 4 games are very winnable:
vs FSU (Editor's note: UVa lost 87-82 in overtime)
@ VTU
vs UNC
vs Miami

Now obviously we could lose all these as well, particularly the middle two games. But it is also very concievable we win all 4. Honestly, if we go 2-2 and are sitting 3-3 in the conference, I will be pretty happy. But can you imagine, the positive press we would get, if we win all 4 of these games. We would be sitting 5-1 in the conference, (mostly a result of a favorable early season ACC schedule), and all the headlines will talk about how we were picked last, but are sitting 5-1 in the conference, on how Leitao is turning things around fast, etc. Great pub for recruiting, and getting a great vibe going for the program.

However after that it just gets brutal.
@ Duke
@ NCSU
vs Wake
@ Maryland

Then two winnable games:
vs VTU
vs Longwood

Then another brutal stretch:
@ FSU
vs BC
@ Clemson
@ UNC
vs Maryland

I think there is no way we get enough wins to be even a bubble team for the NCAA this year. BUT, we have a great opportunity in front of us, to get off to a great start in the conference, something we haven't seen in years. And get alot of good pub for our young coach and program. After these next 4 it gets brutal fast, but the opportunity is there young Hoos, sieze the day!

To read the entire thread, Edge subscribers can click the link below.

Nike Play Action Hooded Sweatshirt The Nike Play Action Hooded Sweatshirt is a heavyweight fleece hoody with "Virginia" chenille stitch embroidered on the center chest with the Nike Swoosh above. Twill tape adorns the left front pocket and a hidden zipper pocket is on the front pouch pocket. The hood is lined with orange and white stripes. Regular Price: $60.00 Sale Price: $48.00

Notice to Sabre Edge subscribers from UVa Bookstores

The UVA Bookstores/Sabre Edge Discount Cards are ready for pick up! Sabre Edge members will need to come to the UVA Bookstore atop the Central Grounds Parking Garage and go to the Customer Service Desk (located at the front of the store to your right as you walk in). Your card will be there and you can start saving on great products throughout the Bookstore and TJ's Locker.

If you aren't going to be in town in the near future, remember to use your online discount.

Enjoy your savings! We are excited to be a part of TheSabre.com community.

Bannister's Return Should Help Virginia
T.J. Bannister wanted to be back on the basketball court. Soon. He wanted to help his teammates and his new coach. Most of all, Bannister just wanted to play. After two short stints earlier this season, Bannister got his wish against Florida State. The other Cavaliers might have had the same wish granted as well. Why? Because Bannister will make life a little bit easier for the Cavs, especially Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds.

Best Seat in the House Audio Feature: The Sabre's Chris Horne
The Sabre's recruiting guru Chris Horne appeared on "The Best Seat in the House" with Jed Williams on Wednesday night. Where does Virginia stand with this year's football class? Who are the top targets as signing day approaches? Find out by checking out this audio conversation about Virginia recruiting.

Clemson at UVa Photo Gallery
The ACC portion of the Last Ball in U-Hall got off to a solid start for the Cavaliers as they defeated Clemson 64-58 on Saturday. Adrian Joseph led the way with 19 points, but several other Cavaliers had big games as well. In this photo gallery, you'll find great shots of Joseph, Sean Singletary, J.R. Reynolds and Dave Leitao. There's also a few former Hoos in there as well (think staple gun)!

Virginia Finds 'Drive to Succeed' vs. Clemson
Essentially everyone who follows ACC men's basketball looked at this year's edition of the Virginia Cavaliers and made a handful of observations. 1) UVa's roster is limited in its number of scholarship athletes. 2) The Cavs would have to overcome adversity all season long. 3) Any league wins would probably come in a lot of down-to-the-wire games. 4) The guards, namely Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, would have to carry the team. Well, when the Hoos gave Dave Leitao his first ACC victory Saturday by defeating Clemson 64-58, Singletary and Reynolds showed they were up to the challenge.

Music City Bowl Photos - Part Deux!
So you checked out Part 1 -- that's right, this game had so many photos, we needed two galleries! -- of our exclusive photos from Virginia's 34-31 win over Minnesota in the Music City Bowl. But what you're really wanting to see are some shots from that determined second-half comeback effort? Wait no more. There are 103 photos in this edition, bringing our exclusive two-part total to 187 photos! This gallery includes a wealth of second-half game action, some excited Wahoo fans, post-game celebration photos, MVP Marques Hagans, Chris Long, Tom Santi, Connor Hughes, and more.

Best Seat in the House Audio Feature: Mike London
"The Best Seat in the House" is a Charlottesville area sports talk show hosted by Jed Williams on WINA 1070-AM. On Thursday, Jed welcomed current Houston Texans assistant coach Mike London, a former Virginia assistant, as his guest. London discussed his current coaching situation on the show. Click the link below to hear the interview.

Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week

Our resident recruiting expert, Chris Horne, provides updates for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please see the sign-up promotion below. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting.

Football

• Countdown to Signing Day: Part 2
• Two Visits Remain for All-State WR
• Godfrey to Decide Around Signing Day
• Oscar Smith WR Getting UVa Look
• Commitment Update: RB/S Raynard Horne
• Bond Down to 3
• Troutman Makes Second Official Visit
• Winston Churchill Star Close to a Decision
• Wright Changes Visits
• UVa 2007 Target Lalich Shines in Combine

Every week, 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 UVa Bookstores purchases 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!

• Sabre Edge Info and Sign Up