The Charlottesville community and golfers around the Commonwealth will say goodbye to an old friend today when Wallace McDowell is laid to rest.

A year ago, Virginia’s basketball team limped out of Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, having suffered a 76-63 decision to a mediocre Boston College squad in the opening round of the ACC tournament.

Virginia’s nine-game losing streak was weighing heavily on Sammy Zeglinski and his teammates headed into Thursday’s opening round of the ACC tournament.

A shockwave made its way around John Paul Jones Arena about a half hour before game time when news broke that Virginia’s best player, sophomore Sylven Landesberg, had been suspended for the remainder of the season. Even visiting Maryland was stunned by the news.

The question is, will Bennett get more of the same from his squad that includes three seniors playing for the last time at John Paul Jones Arena, or will the visiting Terrapins just roll to a likely win, which would allow them to finish no less than tied for the ACC regular season title?

When Stephen Bruno smacked a Rhode Island fastball out of Davenport Field for a grand slam last week, the Virginia freshman never expected to see that cowhide again.

Still, in spite of its youth, and perhaps as a tribute to Wright’s leadership, Ryan’s Virginia team was picked fourth in the ACC women’s basketball preseason poll. After overcoming a sluggish first half Sunday, the Cavaliers polished off rival Virginia Tech 55-46 for the 21st win of the season and a third-place finish in the regular season standings.

Bennett may have felt like it prior to Sunday night’s home game against fifth-ranked and ACC measuring stick Duke, especially when the Virginia coach realized that his best player couldn’t answer the bell, then sat in horror as his second-best player couldn’t throw a beach ball into the ocean.

With Duke in town for tonight’s game against tailspinning Virginia, this columnist couldn’t help but remember Mike Krzyzewski’s start in Durham.

When the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 2010 class on Wednesday, frankly, I was disappointed.

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering what it’s going to take for Virginia to finish the season on a positive note ...

After being pummeled 72-49 on Saturday afternoon at Clemson, the Wahoos’ fifth straight loss in 11 days, they have to be stunned.

Florida State expected a basketball war when it came to John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday night. What the Seminoles got was more like a tea party.

Scattershooting around the ACC, while pointing out that tonight is gut check time in Charlottesville ...

Tony Bennett can take a loss. What he can’t take is a lack of effort.

When these crusty old rivals met a couple of weeks ago and Virginia Tech pulled out an overtime win over host Virginia, victorious coach Seth Greenberg described his team as not being aesthetically pleasing.

For years, college men’s tennis was dominated by UCLA, USC, and Georgia, programs that gobbled up national championships with regularity.

For the past two weeks, Virginia’s Jontel Evans had been itching for another shot at stopping Wake Forest point guard Ishmael Smith, the quickest cat in the ACC.

Bill Dudley, who died Thursday at the age of 88, was a humble man who never liked to talk about his own feats, preferring to just tell stories.

While the national recruiting services weren’t particularly impressed with Virginia’s 2010 class, coach Mike London begged to differ.

Dan Reeves, who coached the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons to success, has now become a new fan of the Wahoos after Virginia coach Mike London hired one of Reeves’ old protégés, new Cavalier offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.

The last thing I want to do is diminish Virginia’s win at North Carolina on Sunday night.

Used to be when Joe Gibbs was head coach of the Washington Redskins, staff meetings stretched deep into the night.

Greenberg’s Virginia Tech team clawed back from all sorts of adversity to steal a precious road win in Charlottesville, and sent most of the season’s largest crowd (13,449) scrambling for the exits with a heartbreaking defeat. Oh, yes, the Hokies improved to 16-3 (3-2 in the ACC) along the way while ending Virginia’s seven-game home winning streak.

Tony Bennett wished he had a Plan B when he glanced over at his bench during the first half of Saturday’s game at Wake Forest and saw his two leading scorers sitting there with foul trouble.

Until this season, Virginia basketball fans knew senior Jerome Meyinsse more for his brains than his brawn.

Just the way they drew it up on the chalkboard.

Virginia, the ACC’s hottest basketball team — that’s not a typo — just got hotter.

Most of the football world was surprised Friday when Al Groh agreed to become the new defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech rather than return to the NFL.

There’s nothing Shawn Moore would like better than to see Virginia football return to glory. Now, he has a chance to do something about it.