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Mike Farrell is reporting on The Wagon Online that superstar cornerback Devin Hester has two favorites, Miami and Florida State. That's not a big surprise considering the clout of those two programs, the distance from Hester's home in Riviera Beach, Florida, and the fact that neither of those two schools have problems retaining top in-state talent.

Virginia does have one advantage over those two schools in this case. Hester is looking for immediate playing time at wide receiver, a position where UVa desperately needs speed and talent, and Miami and Florida State often red-shirt their incoming freshmen. Hester has visits lined up with those two schools, as well as Purdue, Missouri and Virginia. Hester's visit to Charlottesville on January 11th will be his last recruiting visit. That works to UVa's advantage, as long as he doesn't commit elsewhere before his visit.

QB? Make that a double

With the recent commitment of Patrick Henry quarterback Anthony Martinez, you'd expect prep phenom Marcus Vick to take Virginia off his list. Well, according to sources, Vick is still very much interested in UVa and the Hoos remain in his top two (Miami is the other primary school of interest). Vick told Mike Farrell that he'd strongly consider committing to Virginia if they can put together a top recruiting class. With several top in-state players already on board, and many of the state's top ten listing UVa in their top two, the Cavaliers are likely to have a strong class. Vick's visit to UVa is scheduled for January 18th, which is currently his last scheduled recruiting visit of the season.

Ahmad Brooks is leaning to.

Ahmad Brooks is the best football player in the state of Virginia. Not many would argue with that - certainly not the recruiting services, and definitely not the competition that has to face him every Friday night.

Brooks, a 6-4, 230-pound linebacker from C.D. Hylton H.S. in Woodbridge was considered one of the top linebacker recruits when he entered his junior year last season. A broken ankle cut his junior season short, but that didn't stop recruiting services such as SuperPrep and Tom Lemmings from ranking him as one of the nation's best at his position entering his senior year. Brooks has the hype, and he's certainly got the talent to back it up.

"When he was in 10th grade, he had 202 tackles and made first team All-State," said. Hylton Head Football Coach Bill Brown. "He's got two state championship rings while starting in his 9th and 10th grade years. I said before he got hurt and even after he got hurt, that if he never played another day here, he lived up to the hype.

"His junior year he sat out with a broken ankle. This year, he is playing on both sides [of the ball]. He's playing middle linebacker and halfback in our three-back offense. He's having a phenomenal year. He's doing everything that anyone could dream a high school kid could do. He's living up to all of the expectations that we would have had for him in his senior year. We're undefeated and he's a big part of that."

Rumors are that Brooks is leaning to Virginia Tech. Wait, other rumors and reports have him leaning to Virginia. So which is it?

"Virginia and Virginia Tech are very much on his interest list," Brown said. "He is going to do the smart thing. He's going to go to each school and spend a day or two on his official visit, and look it over from top to bottom and decide if that's a place that he can be comfortable to live the next four or five years of his life. He's not trying to do it based on what everybody else thinks he should do.

Bad news comes in three's

Our hearts and prayers go out to cornerback Almondo 'Muffin' Curry and his family. Muffin's younger brother Kenneth passed away Monday night due to complications from asthma. Kenneth was only 12 years old.

This is the third tragic death among the Virginia Football family this season. Earlier this season, offensive lineman Josh Lawson lost his brother Dustin (20). The cause of death has not been reported. Cornerback Randy Jones lost his brother Moses Wilson (19) in an automobile accident in North Carolina last month. Randy was also involved in the accident and is recovering from serious injuries at them moment. Randy just pulled out of a three-week coma last week.

If you are interested in writing letters of encouragement to these players and their families, please do so at the following address. Please remember, the NCAA prohibits any 'gifts' to athletes from supporters of athletic interests, so keep it simple.

[Player's Name]
c/o University of Virginia Football
McCue Center
P.O. Box 400837
Charlottesville, VA 22904

Welsh to be honored at GT game

Former UVa Head Football Coach George Welsh will be honored in a special ceremony this Saturday. The ceremony was originally scheduled to begin at 3:10, twenty minutes prior to kick-off against Georgia Tech. It has been changed to the beginning of halftime of that game. We hope you will attend and pay tribute to the greatest football coach ever at the University of Virginia.

Welsh compiled a career record of 134-86-3 at UVa, and 55-46-1 at Navy. He's the winningest coach at both programs, a feat only accomplished by one other - the legendary Bear Bryant. Welsh took Virginia to its first ever bowl game. The Cavaliers played in 12 bowl games in Welsh's 18-year career as head coach.

Penn State game time announced

The Penn State-Virginia football game is scheduled for noon on December 1st. ESPN is televising the game nationally.

11th ranked men's basketball team plays Sunday

The Virginia men's basketball team defeated the Nantucket Nectars in their opening exhibition game last Friday night, 82-70. The Hoos substituted freely, and every player got a change to get on the court. If you're interested in another dose of Wahoo exhibition basketball, the Hoos take on the Los Angeles Stars on Sunday, November 11th at 2:00 PM. The game will be played at University Hall. Admission is only $5.00 for children and adults.

Last Saturday, the Virginia Cavaliers lost their fifth game in a row. This Saturday, they will attempt to break this string of losses against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Scott Stadium. For information on weather, stats, two-deep, pregame articles and Internet radio, please see Georgia Tech Game News and Notes.

We could use your help

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Sabre Newsletter contest winners!

The contest to win two Sabre Newsletters, courtesy of 'crutch', is officially over. The winner of the distance from Charlottesville goes to Andrea Ozbolt, who lives in Sydney, Australia. The winner of the Wake Forest-Virginia football prediction goes to Robert Shelby. His prediction was UVa 34, Wake 31. The correct score was Wake 34, UVa 30. Congratulations to them both! If you're interested in subscribing to the Sabre Newsletter, please refer to the promotion at the end of this mailing.

Win a pair of UVa-Penn State football tickets!!

If you haven't signed up for the Sabre Newsletter, here's your chance to get on board AND have a chance at winning a pair of tickets to the UVa-Penn State football game on December 1st.

Here's how it works. Anyone subscribing to the Sabre Newsletter between now and next Wednesday at 5pm will have their name placed in a drawing to be conducted next Thursday morning. One winner will receive two tickets to the game, courtesy of an anonymous donor.

For those who have already subscribed, we haven't left you out. You can still participate by giving a Sabre Newsletter to a friend as a gift. You can sign up as many people as you like, and your name will be added to the drawing for every person you subscribe. This will increase your chances, as well as provide other Wahoos with a great source of information about UVa.

Note: If you're giving a newsletter to a friend, please email me and let me know the name of the person or persons you signed up. If you fail to do this, it will be your friends who get their names in the drawing and not you.

The holiday season is approaching!

Wouldn't it be great to avoid the long lines, the traffic and the constant battle for parking at the mall? Well, if you have some Wahoo fans in your family, there's no better way to shop the holiday season than from the comfort of your own home. TheSabreShop.com has over 300 items to choose from. Before you leave the house to shop this year, browse our store first.

Ordering is easy - we accept Mastercard and Visa (including check cards) through our secure system. Shipping is through UPS and we offer a variety of shipping methods, from Ground to Overnight Delivery. And if that gift for a special someone doesn't fit, or they would rather have something else, we have an excellent return policy.

SN is a monthly e-publication produced by TheSabre.com. We have assembled a great collection of profession writers to give you the finest coverage of the Hoos that you can get. The cost for a one-year subscription is only $24.95.