This weekend, the University of Virginia has a chance to wrap up the title in the inaugural Commonwealth Challenge, presented by Adelphia. The Commonwealth Challenge is a point-based competition involving the athletic programs at Virginia and Virginia Tech.

UVa leads the competition, which involves all teams in the two schools' athletics programs with a points system determining the annual winner, by an 11-4 score currently. The Cavaliers can clinch the crown this weekend in Blacksburg at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships. If either of the Cav teams finish ahead of Virginia Tech, it will seal the victory for Virginia.

A trophy featuring a combination of the red brick prevalent at the University of Virginia and the limestone at Virginia Tech goes to the winning school. The trophy will be presented at the Commonwealth Day football game between the two schools the following fall. There are also traveling plaques for the winning team in each sport.

Staff Report
TheSabre.com

Johnnie Lett's high school career has come to an end. In his final season, the 6-9, 225-pound power forward/center averaged 15.6 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks per game in leading Ben C. Rain (Mobile, AL) to a 17-8 record. His numbers were similar to his junior season, when he finished averaging 18 points and 15 rebounds per contest.

Lett was a finalist for 5A State Player of the Year his junior year.

Lett, who has the frame to add maybe 40 more pounds, is expected to add more rebounding and defense to the Virginia roster for the 2006-2007 season.

Stay tuned to the Sabre EDGE for further updates on UVa's 2006 signees and commitments, as well as a look at the 2007 targets.

A top men's basketball target in the 2008 class will be 6-8, 215-pound Hanover (VA) forward Ed Davis. Davis' sophomore season recently came to an end, and the first-team Capital district performer averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks and two assists per game.

In women's basketball recruiting, Forest Park (Woodbridge, VA) star Monica Wright was named to the East squad on the McDonald's All-American team. Wright is a 5-11, 156-pound guard who averaged 21 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists per game this season.

The McDonald's All-American game is on March 29th at 7:30 EST.

Virginia has offered the following in-state 2007 football recruits . at least as far as we've been able to confirm.

• West Springfield QB Peter Lalich
• Hampton QB Tyrod Taylor
• Yorktown RB Max Milien
• Hylton OL William Alvarez
• Matoaca WR Kris Burd
• Kempsville WR Jay Smith
• Culpeper LB Terence Fells-Danzer
• Woodside LB Jared Detrick
• Gloucester LB Aaron Taliaferro
• Christchurch LB J'Courtney Williams

Of those prospects, Virginia is in very good shape with Lalich, Burd, Taliaferro and Williams right now and is certainly at least in serious contention with the rest.

Stay tuned to the Sabre Edge for further updates on UVa's 2006 recruits and a look into the 2007 class. You can sign up for Sabre Edge here.

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SabreMail Contest

Most recent contest: Write a haiku about Virginia's Sean Singletary. A haiku is a 17 syllable verse form, arranged in three lines of five, seven and five syllables. This week's winner comes from Haden Hopkins, who wins a one-month subscription to the Sabre Edge! His entry follows:

An honorable mention goes to Michael Benzian, who provides with a Charlottesville Haiku:

Thread of the Week

Subject: My 18th month old took a Sharpie marker
Posted by: lukat on Thu Feb 23 2006 5:11:57 PM
Message: to our flat screen computer monitor today. Good poll question, what is the most expensive thing your child has ruined?

Subject: Don't have kids, but when I was a kid I doodled on the rug with Mom's lipstick.
Posted by: 1995hoo on Fri Feb 24 2006 8:10:54 AM
Message: I do not REMEMBER doing it, but I have HEARD about it! Thankfully, it was not a wall-to-wall carpet, and they were able to clean it, but my guess is that I came down with a bad case of foot-in-butt disease that day.

Subject: 3 year old daughter: blue ink pen circles on the tan leather back seat of my
Posted by: 85atlanta-hoo on Thu Feb 23 2006 10:51:05 PM
Message: wife's new Lexus a couple years ago. Car was only a few months old at the time. Circles are still there, tried lots of methods to get them out, but they've faded some.

Subject: Reminds me of a good comic bit
Posted by: cavman'03 on Thu Feb 23 2006 9:59:22 PM
Message: This is from Foxworthy, but I think everyone can find this funny: Something along the lines of his kid draws on the wall with crayons and when he confronts the kid he blames the dog. Foxworthy says I've had that dog for 13 years and now he decides to start drawing on the walls.

Subject: Let's see, where to begin??? My daughter took a Sharpie to her baby brother's
Posted by: MsCFHoo on Thu Feb 23 2006 9:51:11 PM
Message: face when he was about 2. I have had our futon (sp?) sharpied, my youngest took a tube of lipstick to my sofa (fairly recently). There are the water marks on the tables, the time my daughter took a Sharpie and drew a "beautiful castle" on her bedroom wall, fingernail polish in the carpet, the carvings to the slat backs of the kitchen table chairs, the muddy foot prints on the back to the van seats, the time my daughter got into my Nair and used it as shampoo, the kids playing beauty parlor with each other........ the list seems endless :-)

The whole thread can be read on The Corner message board of the Sabre.

Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Two Cavs On Tewaaraton Watch List: Virginia lacrosse players Tyler Leachman and Nikki Lieb have been named to the 2006 preseason "watch list" by the Tewaaraton Trophy Women's Selection Committee. The Tewaaraton Trophy honors the top female and male varsity collegiate lacrosse player in the United States.
• Cavalier Women's Tennis Tops Marshall, 4-3: The Virginia women's tennis team improved to 6-1 on the season, already matching its win total from last season. UVa defeated Marshall 4-3 on Wednesday.

Fore more information on Virignia athletics, check out Virginiasports.com.

Sabre articles from the past week

Best Seat in the House: Coordinator of ACC Officials John Clougherty
Jed Williams welcomed Coordinator of ACC Officials John Clougherty to the Best Seat in the House this week. They talked about basketball scheduling, supervising officials, ACC officiating, and more. Check out this Edge audio feature for the full segment from the show.

Role Players Come Up Big Against BC
Shortly after his team's 72-56 loss to Virginia on Tuesday, Boston College coach Al Skinner said that the Cavaliers' role players made the difference in the outcome. Who could argue? While J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary combined for 44 points, the supporting cast came through with strong performances to push UVa past the Eagles. All told, the quartet of Adrian Joseph, Mamadi Diane, Laurynas Mikalauskas, and Tunji Soroye had their best combined effort of the ACC season.

Last Ball in U-Hall: Stith Remains a Wahoo Favorite
In his time at Virginia, Bryant Stith left quite an impresson on the basketball program and the Wahoo faithful. He remains at the top of the Cavalier record book in minutes played, free throws made, and scoring; he is also second in field goals made, fourth in rebounds, and sixth in steals. But what people remember most about Stith from his playing days are his iron will, toughness, and clutch performances for the Hoos.

Cavs Ground No. 11 Eagles
Virginia came into University Hall on Tuesday night following a disappointing loss at Florida State. The Cavaliers shot just 39.3 percent in that setback. Boston College entered the building as winners of 5 straight and 10 of its last 11. The Eagles had shot less than 40 percent just once in those contests.
Thanks to a strong shooting night from J.R. Reynolds and the Cavs' supporting cast, the two teams reversed roles in Tuesday night's ACC showdown. Reynolds poured in 28 points and the Hoos shot 52.1 percent as they prevailed 72-58 over No. 11 Boston College, who had a cold-shooting night of 35.2 percent.

Chalktalk: Late-Game Situations
The Cavaliers have battled through their fair share of close games this season, including two overtime games in University Hall. In each of the OT games, Dave Leitao drew up a pair of plays where Virginia had a chance to win at the end of regulation. Throw in the last-second win over Wake Forest and there have been three examples of final play opportunities for the Hoos at home. Leitao said game situations determine what kind of play he goes to late in games.

Cavaliers Hire Bernstein
Virginia filled out its football coaching staff Monday when Al Groh announced that Steve Bernstein has been hired as the Cavaliers' secondary coach. UVa had not had a full staff since the end of the regular season after several coaches left for positions at other schools. The Cavaliers defeated Minnesota in the Music City Bowl without a full staff of coaches.

Troubleshooting: A Road Fix?
314 of 692. 215 of 556. 10. 2. For the Virginia men's basketball team, those numbers seem to be the basic difference between winning and losing this season. The Cavaliers are 13-10 and 6-6 in the ACC after falling at Florida State on Saturday.

Seminoles Stop Virginia
Virginia rolled into Tallahassee on Saturday with a game plan in tow to deal with match-up problems against Florida State. In an effort to neutralize FSU's inside players, the strategy was to heavily utilize a 2-3 zone. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the Seminoles spent much of the afternoon, including a scorching second-half stretch, in the zone offensively en route to a 76-62 ACC victory.

Chalktalk: Seeking a Road Victory
No one would argue that this year's Virginia basketball team has surpassed expectations so far under Coach Dave Leitao. After all, there's even a little bit of bubble talk out there about the Hoos. But with 3 of the last 5 games on the road, any NCAA Tournament thoughts may be premature. And that's a matter of maturity.

Best Seat in the House: Sean Singletary, Part 2
Best Seat in the House host Jed Williams sat down for a one-on-one interview with Virginia point guard Sean Singletary this week. Part 2, which includes Singletary's thoughts on the NBA, being the face of UVa basketball, interviews, and more. Hear it all through this audio content from the Best Seat in the House.

Best Seat in the House: Sean Singletary, Part 1
Best Seat in the House host Jed Williams sat down for a one-on-one interview with Virginia point guard Sean Singletary this week. The interview will air tonight in Charlottesville on the WINA 1070 AM show, which begins at 5 p.m. The first part of the interview (discussion includes Coach Dave Leitao's style, practice drills, leadership, his work ethic, and more) can be heard here and you can catch the full interview, which includes Singletary's thoughts on the NBA, first on the Best Seat in the House this evening. Don't live in Charlottesville? Don't worry, Part 2 of the interview will be posted this evening after the show as part of TheSabre.com's Edge content.

Sabre Roundtable: Basketball's Final Stretch
Virginia's basketball teams face games with Florida State and Wake Forest this weekend. What does the postseason picture look like for the men's and women's teams? Besides Sean Singletary, which player has become a must-see player this season? Is it Jason Cain, J.R. Reynolds, or someone else? University Hall's final days are winding down, what memories does the building hold? The Sabre's Kris Wright, former basketball standout Anna Prillaman, ESPN radio host Wes McElroy (Charlottesville 840 AM), and Sabre user Asheville Hoo weigh in on these questions in a Sabre Roundtable.

2007 Target Profile: Piscataway OL Anthony Davis
As a freshman, Piscataway (N.J.) prospect Anthony Davis was only 6-2, 240 pounds. Now that's not bad for a freshman, but it doesn't compare to what he is now - a 6-6, 330-pound offensive tackle/defensive tackle. Davis' combination of size and athleticism makes him one of the top offensive line prospects in the East.

2007 Top Target: LB J'Courtney Williams
Because of an injury, J'Courtney Williams had only modest numbers in the 2005 season. A shortened-season aside, the 6-3, 218-pound Christchurch (Christchurch, VA) star is extremely athletic and talented and has earned five official Division 1A scholarship offers and is drawing interest from schools across the country.

Around the State
This edition of "Around the State" includes updates on two very good 2007 class running back prospects in Patrick Henry's D.J. Thomas and Pulaski's Kevin Crouse, an offer list update on J'Courtney Williams as well as the latest on Benedictine tight end Kevin Estes, Stone Bridge offensive lineman Andrew Nuss and more.

2007 Class: Morgan has two 1A offers
Once star senior running back Brandon Minor went down in the season opener, 6-0, 182-pound quarterback Davon Morgan was called upon to be the sole leader of the Varina offense. He responded brilliantly, leading the Blue Devils to a 9-1 record and finishing with 70 completions out of 138 attempts for 1,402 yards, 20 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He added 505 yards rushing on 75 carries and scored seven touchdowns. Morgan was named Capital district offensive player of the year for his performance.

Signee Update: PF/C Johnnie Lett
6-9, 225-pound power forward/center recruit Johnnie Lett recently concluded his senior season and thus his high school basketball career. The athletic Ben C. Rain (Mobile, AL) big man, a finalist for 5A state player of the year honors as a junior last year, continued his solid play in his final season - averaging 15.6 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks per game while leading his team to a 17-8 record.

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.

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