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SabreMail - Dec. 15, 2008 |
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Ratcliffe Book Highlights Football History Virginia football fans have an exciting opportunity in 2008 thanks to a brand new book on the market that chronicles the history of UVa football. The University of Virginia Football VaultŪ: The History of the Cavaliers, written by Jerry Ratcliffe, takes you through the century-plus history of Virginia football from the first game in 1888 through the 2007 season. The "scrapbook" style book contains never-before-published photographs, reproductions of old game programs, historic tickets, numerous postcards and photos, a foreword by current Cavalier coach Al Groh, and an afterword by Hall of Fame Virginia coach George Welsh. The Sabre caught up with Ratcliffe recently for three quick questions about "The Vault" ... The Sabre: Why did you decide to write a book? Was it as much work and as much fun as you expected? Ratcliffe: Every since I entered the [sports journalist] profession decades ago, one of my goals was to some day write a book. I actually had a three-book deal with another company about six years ago, all about UVa sports. However, when I heard that group had been less than honest with writers about their compensation, I backed out of the deal. That was difficult to do at the time, but it turned out to be a wise decision. That company recently went belly-up and owed a whole lot of money to a whole lot of writers. When this new publisher came to me late last March, I was eager to try again. I can tell you that the Whitman people are great to work with and believe in putting out a quality product. They have been great every step of the way. Yes, it was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Putting together this book required a ton of research. Thanks to Michael Colley, UVa's archives are probably in the best shape they've ever been and he helped a lot as did Brian Morrison, assistant commissioner of the ACC. I spent countless hours going through old yearbooks, old clippings, microfilm, internet newspaper archives, anything I could get my hands on relating to UVa football going back to 1888. While some of it would lead to dead ends, there was no other way to research the material. Of course, there were lots of interviews conducted and both George Welsh and Al Groh were terrific to work with in terms of going back over their careers here and offering some behind-the-scenes material. All that said, it was incredible fun as well. I am a history nut and a football nut, so digging up all this was both interesting and fun. I actually had enough material to write twice as much, so some had to be condensed and some had to be saved for perhaps another project down the road. The Sabre: You've covered Virginia for more than 25 years, but was there a story that jumped out to you as 'Wow, I didn't know that but what a great story!'? Ratcliffe: Several stories actually. One was how Virginia dominated the South in football for many years and influenced the success of what is today many of the strongest ACC and SEC teams into beefing up their programs, believe or not by academic means. The backgrounds of some of the coaches was interesting and UVa's rise and fall, then rise and fall, and rise again had a lot of interesting sidebars. For years there has been a debate about whether an institution with such academic standards could succeed in big-time football and basketball and a strong debate about whether or not UVa should join the ACC or remain an independent. Lots of interesting stuff, not to mention how Welsh turned everything around. The Sabre: I'm sure the research for the book brought up plenty of memories from your time covering the team. Did you hear from any former players or have you heard from any former players that you covered about the book? Ratcliffe: Yes, the book did stir a lot of memories. I actually came to Charlottesville at the same time as George Welsh, so I got a close look at the reversal of football fortunes here. George and his staff were very open with me all of those 19 years and perhaps I knew a lot more than a sportswriter is supposed to know, but it helped me have a greater understanding of how they accomplished something akin to a college football miracle here. I have been fortunate to not only get to know many of the coaches and athletes that I have covered over my 26 seasons here, but equally fortunate to get to know coaches and players from yesteryears, some great people, and they have shared a lot of their stories with me over time. I have heard from several former players and hope to hear from even more now that news of the book is spreading. Unfortunately, I don't have a big PR machine behind me pushing news of the book, but have to depend on word of mouth. However, many of the stores carrying the book have already had to reorder at least once and report that sales are going well. If this book does sell well, then I'm hoping it leads to several more books about UVa football and basketball in the not-too-distant future. Thanks for allowing me to have some space on your web site so that Wahoo fans will know this book is available. So far, I have received great feedback from those who have bought the book and I hope Wahoos will enjoy reading it as much as I did putting it together. Interested in the book? You can buy it right now from long-time Sabre sponsor UVA Bookstores! Just click here. Remember, Sabre EDGE subscribers get 10% off with your subscription! And TODAY ONLY (Dec. 15, 2008 through 11:59 p.m. EST), you can get free shipping from Patrick Perkins and the UVA Bookstores Staff! Just enter use the code ship08 when checking out.
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Recruiting News | |||||
This Week In Recruiting Like all other Division 1A football programs, Virginia is in the stretch run in 2009 class recruiting. Only a handful of weekends remain for prospects to take official visits, and this past weekend was an important one for Virginia football recruiting. Lafayette (Williamsburg, VA) defensive William Hill, who committed to Virginia on Dec. 5, made it to Charlottesville for his official visit. Hill, a 6-4, 260-pound defensive end, had expressed concern with the letting go of defensive line coach Levern Belin, but the official visit experience seems to have put his concerns to rest. Check out an EDGE article for more on Hill, who plans to enroll at the University of Virginia next month. Also in town over the weekend was Xaverian (Brooklyn, N.Y.) offensive line recruit Oday Aboushi. The 6-6, 300-pound prospect, a 2008 UVa camp attendee, returned to Charlottesville over the weekend for an official visit. We'll check in with him this week for comments on his most recent Virginia experience as well as a look at his overall recruitment. Aboushi verbally committed to Boston College in late November, but he decided last week to step back from that decision. He is still considering Boston College, but Maryland, Rutgers and Virginia are now back in contention. We'll have more on Aboushi as well as other top remaining targets this week on the EDGE. This week, we'll also continue to get in touch with Virginia's 22 commitments for postseason updates. An update on Florida TE Paul Freedman will come out on Tuesday. The 6-6, 243-pound senior is firm in his commitment to Virginia, especially after talking with primary recruiter Bob Diaco last Monday. Check out postseason updates last week on defensive end Brent Urban and wide receiver Tim Smith, who both are very solid in their commitments. Smith, a 6-1, 190-pound prospect out of Oscar Smith High School (Chesapeake, VA), was fresh off of a 6-reception, 200+-yard and 4-touchdown performance in the Group AAA, Division 6 State Championship win over Osbourn.
Chris Horne, our resident recruiting expert, provides updates throughout the week for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please check out the Sabre Edge Sign Up and Information Page. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting. Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week ...
Postseason Check-in: WR Tim Smith
Recruiting Overview: Signing Day Approaches More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...
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News, Notes, and Fan Discussion | |||||
The Sabre Has RSS Feeds Remember, The Sabre features RSS News Feeds! These "feeds" provide subscribers of those feeds with updated content on a personalized site. So, for example, you can personalize a page at Google or My Yahoo! with continually updated headlines and content from your favorite feed-enabled websites. In effect, you are efficiently following many different sites at once using these "feeds." Setting up an RSS feed from The Sabre is simple and we've made a page to lead you through the steps. Just click here! Advertise With The Sabre! TheSabre.com has come a long way since its conception in 1996. We are the #1 media source and community covering UVa athletics, producing an average of 95,000 unique viewers and over 4 million page views each month. We reach a coveted demographic (you know Hoo you are) 24/7, 12 months out of the year. Rooting for their team clearly represents one of the big passions in the life of our Sabre community members. This site greatly enhances this never-ending passion through information, analysis, and most importantly through communal dialog/networking.Our advertising approach is different in that we make it abundantly clear in a direct and honest way that your company's commitment of sponsorship dollars is what enables the site to continue existing and improving into the future. To learn more, please contact [email protected]. The Sabre is a vital part of a unique collegiate sports network that reaches nearly 2 million individuals per month. Like the Sabre, each site in the SportsWar network is an organically grown community and the emotional home for its fans. To learn more about SportsWar network sponsorship opportunities, please contact [email protected] and visit the SportsWar media guide www.sportswar.com To view a list of our sponsors, please visit our Sponsors Page.
Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...
For more Hoo news or to read full releases, check out Virginiasports.com.
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UVa Bookstores - The Place for Wahoo Gear! | |||||
V-Sabre Basketball The composite Baden basketball is an offical size ball (great for indoors or outdoors) with the V-Sabre and Virginia on seperate composite panels. It is one of many items featured in the UVA Bookstores Holiday Sale - check it out. And TODAY ONLY (Dec. 15, 2008 through 11:59 p.m. EST), you can get free shipping from Patrick Perkins and the UVA Bookstores Staff! Just enter use the code ship08 when checking out!
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SabreMail History | |||||
Issue No. 118 - Dec. 19, 2003 UVa breaks bowl game ticket sales record The UVa ticket office announced this week that Continental Tire Bowl ticket sales have surpassed any previous UVa bowl tickets sales in the past. That includes all 13 previous bowl contests. UVa has sold over 22,000 tickets through their office since the announcement was made, and they are getting credit for at least 2,500 other tickets sales purchased by UVa fans through other venues. These numbers blow away the previous ticket sales totals of 18,500 for last year's Tire Bowl and the 1998 Peach Bowl. If you have not yet purchased your bowl tickets, please contact the UVa ticket office today. The UVa ticket office phone numbers are 800-542-8821 and (434) 924-8821. Prices are $27.50 to $67.50 per seat, depending on location. For information regarding the bowl game, please refer to TheSabre.com's Tire Bowl Game News page, linked below. Closer to the start of the contest, we will load this page with weather information, stats, depth chart, roster card and full media notes as well as tons of pre-game articles. Stay tuned.
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What's New on TheSabre.com? | |||||
Coming Soon The Sabre has you covered when it comes to Hoo news. Here are a few of the articles to expect on the site soon:
In Case You Missed It ... Sabre articles since the last SabreMail
Answering Popular Basketball Questions
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Sabre Edge | |||||
Get your Wahoo fix. Subscribe to Sabre Edge! 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! |
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