Women’s Soccer Kicks Off Season Tonight Against Colgate

As Steve Swanson enters his 19th season as the head coach of the Virginia women’s soccer team, he’s anxious to “put the boat on the water.” He’s also happy to have a few key players back in the mix heading into tonight’s home opener. As of Wednesday, Swanson’s eighth-ranked Cavaliers, who open the season at Klöckner Stadium at 7 p.m. against Colgate, have four important members of the squad back from a summer stint with the U-20 National Team. Second-year midfielder Taryn Torres, an All-ACC preseason selection who led the ‘Hoos in scoring as a freshman in 2017, is back […]

Listen To Hootie, Greg DePalma Break Down The ACC Races, Players

Hootie sat down with Greg DePalma of Ourlads (an NFL scouting service that has been scouting, evaluating, and rating college football talent as it pertains to the NFL Draft since the early 1980s) and the two broke down all 14 of the ACC football teams according to their strengths, weaknesses, stars and potential stars. In addition, the two looked at both division races in the ACC as well as how the schedules may or may not favor certain teams, and they even predicted the players of the year come season’s end. If you’d like to listen along, click below:

Just About Every Team In ACC This Season Has A Good QB

One reason that ACC teams will be difficult to beat this season is that practically every squad features a proven quarterback. The ACC has an abundance of experienced trigger men, many of them dual threats, which can cause opposing defensive coordinators some sleepless nights. Essentially 11 of the league’s 14 teams return a quarterback who had some level of success last season. The only three that don’t are Louisville, where former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson rewrote the record books; Wake Forest, which boasted underrated John Wolford the past few seasons, and Virginia’s Bryce Perkins, who tore up the junior […]

UVA Expecting Big Things This Year From “The Juan And Only”

Juan Thornhill comes up with an interception in last year’s 28-21 win over Duke Juan Thornhill appropriately named his Twitter account, “The_Juan_and_Only.” The senior free safety from Altavista, and admitted country boy, does not lack for confidence. Or athletic ability. That’s what Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall is banking on, moving Thornhill over from cornerback to free safety, where job demands are more physical. You want physical? Don’t mess with Thornhill. “Juan is a freak,” said Shawn Griswold, UVa’s strength and conditioning guru. There’s reason for Griz’s awe. In the final week of summer conditioning, when all the measurables are compiled, […]

Shawn Moore, Billy McMullen, Hootie and Jay Get Together

Jerry joined WINA Sports Director Jay James on Best Seat In The House tonight, along with former UVA greats Shawn Moore and Billy McMullen for a rather robust conversation. Needless to say, when this group gets together, they can’t contain their opinions in only one segment, so the conversation extended into two XL-sized interesting pieces. In case you missed it, here are the recordings of the segments, which you can listen to by clicking below: Moore, Mullen and Ratcliffe, Part 1 Moore, Mullen and Ratcliffe, Part 2

‘Hoos In The NFL: Benkert Gets Off To Quick Start For Falcons

Kurt Benkert finished 9 of 17 for 125 yards and an interception for the Atlanta Falcons in his pro debut Not one, but two former University of Virginia quarterbacks saw plenty of playing time for the Atlanta Falcons Friday night as NFL preseason action kicked off this weekend. That duo of Matt Schaub and Kurt Benkert also happen to be Nos. 1 and 2 on the Cavaliers’ all-time single-season passing yards list. Schaub, expected to be Atlanta’s primary backup QB, got the start as Matt Ryan watched from the sideline, and did not disappoint. Schaub, now back with the team […]

Oh, If Lambeth Field Could Talk; The Stories It Could Tell…

Historic Lambeth Field is where the Wahoos held their 6th fall practice Thursday. More than 100 Virginia football players made the short trek from the McCue Center across the footbridge over Emmet Street, spilling into sacred ground at Lambeth Field on a toasty August afternoon Thursday. Lambeth’s history goes unnoticed by today’s players. They know Virginia once played there, but that’s about it. Even most media attending the first 30 minutes of the practice had never been to Lambeth and knew nothing of the place. UVa coach Bronco Mendenhall likes to conduct practice there once in awhile because it’s the […]

There Will Never Be Another Like James Thomas “Monk” Bingler

James Thomas “Monk” Bingler We knew him simply as “Monk,” the man at the door of Scott Stadium’s press box and various spots around John Paul Jones Arena. Year after year, Monk was always there with a handshake, a ready smile, a twinkle in his eyes, and usually a really corny joke. James Thomas “Monk” Bingler, a Charlottesville legend, a University of Virginia “ambassador,” left us this week at the age of 94. Most media that walked through the double doors to the press box each autumn had no idea of Monk’s background. He must have told me a jillion […]

Media Veteran John Markon Joins Us As Contributing Photographer

We are pleased to announce that for the coming football season, newspaper veteran John Markon will be working with us as a contributing photographer, shooting photography of all home UVA football games for JerryRatcliffe.Com. Markon knows sports in the state of Virginia and UVA well. He is a UVA graduate, and was an award-winning sportswriter for several newspapers in the state, including 31 years with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. During that tenure, he covered six Olympic Games, 13 World Series, 19 Super Bowls, more than a few NCAA championship football games and more than 30 major golf tournaments. He has also […]

Bronco Not Happy With Lack Of Sharpness During 6th Practice

With historic Lambeth Field as a backdrop, Virginia’s football team finished its sixth practice of fall camp on Thursday. It wasn’t the best. Coach Bronco Mendenhall said he had been pleased with the five previous practices but wasn’t happy with the lack of sharpness. He quickly recognized that the competitiveness in practices building up to Thursday had taken its toll. “The team showed signs of a lot of work,” Mendenhall said. “We have been increasing the work capacity, pushing the limits in every possible way, and it showed today.” The coach plans on having a “significant” scrimmage on Saturday, and […]

Sometimes, Sports Can End Up Being More Than “Just A Game”

It’s easy to become cynical about sports. It’s equally easy to scoff “it’s just a game.” And then you have a morning like I did today. At 9:30 AM, my cellphone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize from an area code I couldn’t recall ever seeing. I didn’t answer, assuming it was either Rachel at Credit Card Services telling me of some incredible deal, the IRS saying if I didn’t mail them a check in the next two hours armed agents would be arresting me, or great news about some Disney vacation I’d allegedly just won. But when […]

New Rules Allow Players To Return After Declaring For Draft

The NCAA announced some significant rule changes today aimed at cleaning up college basketball, and they include such things as allowing a player to return to his college team if they’re not chosen in the NBA draft, and even the ability to sign with an agent if designated an “elite” player. The NCAA on its website listed these five rules changes that also include more official campus visits, a certification program for agents and the requirement that if a player leaves to play professionally but later returns to finish his or her degree, the schools must pay all costs. Here […]

Why Risk Company’s Brand Just To Recover 27,000 Followers?

If you follow media in the state, you couldn’t help but notice the story that broke this morning where the Roanoke Times decided to sue its former Virginia Tech beat writer – Andy Bitter – because Bitter would not give back his Twitter handle and its 27,000 followers when he left to go work for The Athletic. I read the comments of at least three sportswriters on Twitter this afternoon and they all said this case will be “interesting.” Which they have to say because the chain that owns the Roanoke Times owns most of the newspapers in the state, […]

International Experience Certainly Agreed With Brian O’Connor

Brian O’Connor got a taste of international baseball this summer in a 22-day stint with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. The experience whetted his appetite for more. O’Connor, Virginia’s longtime baseball coach, was the pitching coach on manager Paul Mainieri’s USA team that went 11-3 in series against Chinese Taipei, Japan and Cuba. The USA swept its five-game series against Taipei, won three of five against Japan, and went 3-1 vs. Cuba, with the final game rained out. Brian O’Connor Makes A Visit To The Mound For Team USA Certainly, O’Connor’s pitching staff did its job. The USA arms were […]

Will A True Freshman Be Virginia’s Answer As A Deep Threat?

Scattershooting around Wahoos World, while wondering if a true freshman will be Virginia’s answer as a deep threat … One of Bronco Mendenhall’s chief concerns in training camp is finding a vertical threat to replace Andre Levrone and Doni Dowling. It was a concern in the spring and remains one in August. “We have first-years coming in, Wooby Theork-Youmans (Naples, Fla.), Ugo Obasi (Baltimore, Md.), Billy Kemp (Highland Springs), and Tavares Kelly (Fort Launderdale, Fla.), and possibly (senior) Olamide Zaccheaus [at wide receiver] with one of the other guys playing his position in the slot,” Mendenhall said. “It’s a need […]

Bronco Doesn’t Hold Back About Value Of Perkins, Zaccheaus

As a lifelong sportswriter, I have really come to appreciate Bronco Mendenhall’s candor. Everyone huddled around the Virginia football coach after Friday night’s first practice, hoping to get some kind of scoop on the Cavaliers, got more than they bargained for. Bronco Mendenhall Talks To Reporters Yes, everyone who closely follows UVa’s football team already knew that transfer quarterback Bryce Perkins and speedy slot back Olamide Zaccheaus were going to be huge keys to the Cavaliers season. However, for a coach to come out and say it without hesitation on the first night of practice, well, that just doesn’t happen […]

Is Learning Curve For Virginia’s Football Team Less Of A Burden?

With eight returning starters on offense and eight on defense, is the learning curve for Virginia’s football team less of a burden as Bronco Mendenhall opened his training camp Friday night? Well, yes, and no. “Defensively, especially with eight of the 11 back … and then there’s this pause,” Mendenhall said after the Cavaliers’ first practice. “Without Micah, without Quin, and without who Andrew Brown became, those are still big shoes to fill. “The identity, the chemistry … there’s confidence and experience, but there’s still some uncertainty in who now replaces that production,” Mendenhall explained. “I think it will be […]

Is This Heaven? No, It’s A Full Room Of Virginia Offensive Line

Garett Tujague knows a little something about offensive lines. He started at left guard for LaVell Edwards at Brigham Young, and later became Bronco Mendenhall’s line coach at both BYU and Virginia. When he walked into the Cavaliers’ offensive linemen’s meeting room this week and saw 20 players greeting him, he was in football heaven. “I had to make sure I’m not in a dream,” Tujague (pronounced TOO-Jay) said after Friday night’s opening of UVa’s fall training camp. “It’s nice to have good numbers, good quality kids guys that are all about Bronco and his program, about hard work and […]

Much Will Be Expected Of Applefield This Season On Wahoo OL

On a Virginia offensive line that is thirsting for experience, graduate transfer Marcus Applefield should provide a ton of veteran leadership. The former Rutgers standout, who moves from right guard to right tackle, is settling in nicely in his new role in Charlottesville, and is eager to show his younger teammates the ropes. Marcus Applefield “I’m a big guy, obviously, with experience,” Applefield told reporters Friday. “I can move well on my feet and I’m a strong guy.” It will all take some getting used to, but after Friday’s first fall practice, the 6-foot-5 lineman who started 10 games for […]