Throw another log on the fire and let’s discuss just how good these Virginia Cavaliers really are.

Look for Al Groh to jump back into coaching football by the end of the week.

Call it the reawakening of Mike Scott if you wish. Or maybe the Virginia junior was just smart enough to follow orders.

When Alabama-Birmingham coach Mike Davis put his schedule together, he believed taking a Dec. 30 game at Virginia wouldn’t be a bad deal for his basketball team.

While Mike and Regina London are used to moving around from one coaching post to another, returning to Charlottesville is like coming home to their children.

Usually when someone points out that they’re Tony Bennett fans, the conversation turns to music.

If he thought that was whirlwind, then I don’t know how he would describe his first 10 days on the job.

The legendary Bear Bryant once told this columnist that there really weren’t any secrets to winning, but there was one thing that is absolutely necessary: talented players.

Instead, his whirlwind continued Monday afternoon after he was named Virginia’s new head football coach. Press conference, meet and greets, photo ops, meeting his new team, chatting it up with former Cavalier players about what needs to be done to restore Wahoo football.

Now that some of the smoke — or rather, smokescreens — have cleared, it’s time to update Virginia’s football coaching search.

After holding the Nittany Lions to a mere 21 points in the first half, their fewest at the break since scoring 17 at Illinois 18 games ago, the Cavaliers lost their focus at intermission and paid dearly for the defensive lapse.

Considering that Groh has coached in two Super Bowls, coached some Hall of Fame players, worked alongside Hall of Fame coaches, it was somewhat surprising that after being fired by his alma mater on Sunday, Groh said his most memorable coaching experience was being the head coach at the University of Virginia.

When Al Groh walked out of Scott Stadium on Saturday night, most likely for the last time, the Virginia football coach was surrounded by his family.

Denzel Burrell is haunted by the memories of Virginia’s locker room last season when the Cavaliers failed to pull off the upset against archrival Virginia Tech.

If this is Al Groh’s final week as Virginia’s head football coach, don’t expect him to talk about it.

A year ago, Summitt was playing with a highly-rated freshman class and took some lumps along the way. Now, her Lady Vols are ranked No. 6 in the land and every bit as good as advertised.

For a half, Virginia’s offense looked like what everyone expected 12 weeks ago.

If Al Groh wasn’t such a moral man, he’d probably be tempted to sell his soul for an offense.

This afternoon, Michele Madison’s team will be playing in the Final Four, its fourth straight NCAA tournament.

For the past few weeks, I have spent some of my spare time trying to figure out what went wrong with Virginia football.

C.J. Spiller just might be the most exciting football player in the ACC and it’s obvious why. He can kill you in so many ways.

A few inches less, and maybe Boston College quarterback Dave Shinskie doesn’t sneak into the end zone for the eventual winning touchdown.

The Tony Bennett Era of Virginia basketball got off to a successful start on Friday night, but not without a struggle.

How strange that Boston College and Virginia have been members of the ACC for five years and have met only once on the gridiron leading into Saturday’s visit by the Eagles to UVa’s Scott Stadium.

Al Groh trotted off the field for the 110th time as Virginia’s head football coach on Saturday at Miami’s Land Shark Stadium.

I still consider a chance meeting in 1977 as part of my football education as a sportswriter.

Thus far, 14 true freshmen have appeared in games this season along with 11 redshirt freshmen, meaning that 39 percent of the team that has gained playing time in the first eight games have been freshmen (29 of 75).

Over the Al Groh era at Virginia, passing statistics generally have been losing statistics.

Defensive backs dream about games like Virginia’s matchup today against visiting Duke. Well, they dream about them as long as things go their way.

With Virginia’s men’s basketball season opener little more than two weeks away, one would think the fan base would be less than enthusiastic, considering the program is coming off its worst season since they used peach baskets and this edition of Cavaliers were picked to finish 11th in the 12-team ACC.