Saturday, June 5, 2010

UVa Baseball and Other Charlottesville News

Recent news in Charlottesville...
  • UVa is hosting the NCAA tournament baseball regionals this weekend, and we beat V.C.U. yesterday afternoon, in our opening game, 15-4.  I saw Howard yesterday and he said that he's optimistic about our chances. How is it that our baseball team has gotten so consistently good while basketball and football are mired in mediocrity?  Is it all attributable to Brian O'Connor's coaching?  Any chance that Mike London can similarly turn around the football program?  It's got to start with an improved attitude and building a sense of team, which Al Groh -- for one reason or another -- was never able to do.

  • Roger Voisinet said on Charlottesville Right Now this week that there is a prospective purchaser interested in the Ice Park.  We were on the Mall last night and it was another incredibly vibrant, crowded Friday night there -- but I still think that if the Ice Park and Landmark both sit empty for a couple of years it could spell trouble for the businesses.

  • A study/proposal for a new dam at Ragged Mountain came in way, way less than the Gannett Fleming one from a few years back -- I still don't have a clue how the water supply issue will play out but Dave Norris seems more and more to be the key discussion-leader (and decision-maker?).

  • The Republican primary for the 5th district nomination is this coming Tuesday (June 8), and the recurring complaint about signage in the public right-of-way has arisen.  Actually, there aren't as many signs as I'd have expected -- and practically none for Robert Hurt around here.  I predict that Hurt will win and then it will get interesting: will any of the challengers run under a Tea Party or other ticket?  I'm not sure who will come in second -- I guess it will probably be Ken Boyd, but his campaign hasn't caught on the way I thought it might.

  • There was a really intense thunderstorm on Thursday afternoon -- we lost power at the office and it stayed out in parts of downtown throughout yesterday.  Lots of trees and limbs came down, including a massive one on Rugby Avenue. The wind was described as "straight line, non-tornadic" (I'd never heard this before) and it came in fast and hard. I feel like this has been one of the rainier springs in memory.