With under a month until Virginia Tech takes on East Carolina in the football opener, several questions keep popping up about how Charlotte's Bank of America will handle the big crowd for the Aug. 30 clash.

hokiesports.com has posted parking and tailgating information, along with directions and other useful information here for those venturing to the Queen City.

Four Hokies took part in the "Bound 4 Beijing" Tour for the second time Thursday night as part of the Salem All-Stars, a group of local college athletes assembled to take on the USA Softball National Team at Kiwanis Park. While the USA won 9-0, the crowd of over 4,000 was treated to a nice of great softball.

Tech graduate assistant and former player Anthony Midget will be leaving his position as a graduate assistant here in Blacksburg to take a position as the defensive backs coach at Georgia State, which announced back earlier this year that it will be adding football starting with the 2010 season. Georgia State named former Georgia Tech, Alabama and Kentucky head coach Bill Curry its first head coach back in June.

“It’s all about opportunities,” Midget said. “I’ll be able to coach my guys and I’ll be working for a former coach of the year [Curry was the national coach of the year in 1989]. The former head coach at East Carolina, John Thompson, is our defensive coordinator and [offensive coordinator] John Bond was the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech last year. I feel I can learn a lot from these guys and I just can’t pass up that opportunity.”

Curry and Tech head coach Frank Beamer are close friends, while Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster and Thompson and friends in the profession as well. The two of them gave Midget glowing recommendations.

Midget begins his new job on Aug. 1st. Georgia State, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, will sign its first recruiting class in February.

Midget, a native of Clewiston, Fla., played as a true freshman in 1996 and lettered four straight years. His final game was the national championship game against Florida State in January of 2000.  

Several members of the Virginia Tech softball squad will suit up for the Salem All-Stars Thursday night as the USA National Team comes to town for one of its last exhibitions. The USA comes in at 57-1 with its lone loss coming to the Hokies back in March. A dozen or so local college players from Tech, Radford, UNC Greensboro, Appalachian State, Virginia, Winthrop and West Virginia Wesleyan. Most of the players have some tie to the area, either playing college or high school ball in the area.

For Tech, Beth and Amber Walker, Jess Everhart and Jenna Rhodes will suit up. The team will be led by Scot Thomas with assistance from Al Brauns and another college coach.

The game will start at 7 o’clock Thursday night at Salem Kiwanis Field and is sold out. Other notables playing will be Radford’s Ashley Taylor and Jennifer Everhart, Virginia’s Kelly Haller and Winthop’s Cari Wooldridge.

Angela Tincher survived a re-match with the Red, White & Blue last night as her Akron Racers took on the world’s best. Tincher no-hit the Olympians in March and the team was surely looking forward to making amends. But Tincher once again held them in check, setting them down in order in the first two innings. She allowed a run on two singles in the third inning, but left the game leading 2-1. The Racers gave up four runs in the seventh and lost 6-2. Tincher got a no-decision, throwing 3.0 innings. She gave up one earned run on two hits and a walk while striking out five.

The USA will play one last exhibition game in Irvine, Calif., before heading to Beijing to defend its three Olympic gold medals.

GREENSBORO, Ga. – Virginia Tech football players Sean Glennon and Orion Martin spent the weekend in the heat of Georgia discussing the upcoming season with members of the media at the annual ACC Kickoff, being held at the posh Ritz Carlton Lodge at Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee.

After arriving Saturday, the players from each school were taken to the driving range to hit balls with provided clubs, with help from the Reynolds Plantation staff. Glennon gets the most dedicated award as he was the only player to bring his own clubs. Martin was like a lot of the players who were picking up clubs for the first time, struggling at times and hitting a good one every now and then. He said it “may have been the second time I have been on a range” but came around after some helpful tips. University of Virginia tight end John Phillips blasted several near-300 yard drives while others were happy hitting it at all.

After a monstrous dinner, the players had a round of night putting with glow sticks lighting the putting green and glow-in-the-dark balls rolling all around. The group was excused for the night after that, but Glennon went to bed early as he worked some magic with the staff and was able to get an early tee time on the course Sunday morning with Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper.

The two teed off around 7:45 and were able to get in nine holes on the tough course before having to come back for a brunch with Commissioner Swofford and bowl representatives. Glennon was happy to report he shot a 10-over 46, beating Harper’s 52.

After the brunch, all 24 players headed down to the landing for a group picture with the Commissioner and then the two retreated back to their room for some rest before meeting with the press corps. Martin took a nap while Glennon was glued to the television, watching the Open Championship. Clearly rooting for Greg Norman, he cheered and groaned several times, waking up Martin occasionally.

At 12:30, the group headed down for a long session with the print media where the topics were the usual. The quarterback situation was Glennon’s No. 1 question while Martin fielded several questions about Tech’s inexperienced defense. Other questions dealt with Tech’s running back and wide receiver situation, the weight loss program of several key players and dealing with the pressure of being the defending champions, along with the typical off-the-wall random questions to lighten the mood before the action begins. The two clearly carried the most media attention of the Coastal Division teams, with writers two-deep most of the session. After finishing with the media, the two hopped from room to room doing television and radio interviews with Glennon occasionally asking for golf updates.

Tech's 2008 media guide cover also drew a lot of talk as it features a lenticular cover, a form of a hologram, for the first time. Fans will certainly enjoy the unique look this year, celebrating Tech's 2007 ACC title.

After a long day of non-stop talking, the two took the plane back to Blacksburg, thus ending their trip. Monday is the coaches’ turn to deal with the hacks as the 12 men will have to deal with them for three hours and 45 minutes. The preseason player of the year and predicted order of finish, as voted on by the over 200 media members in attendance, will be released Monday at 3:30 p.m., and the preseason All-ACC team will be released Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Tech’s players report to campus on Sunday, Aug. 3 and the first practice is set for the next afternoon.

Of the 20 Virginia Tech baseball players who are taking part in summer leagues around the country this summer, six of them have been named to, or have already played in, mid-season all-star games.

Rising sophomore Tony Balisteri was the starting shortstop for the North Division of the Northwoods League, and he went 1-for-4 with a run scored. Through 33 games with the Rochester Honkers, where he plays with fellow Hokie Austin Wates, Balisteri was hitting .284 with eight doubles, three home runs and 14 runs batted in.

Brothers Anthony and Buddy Sosnoskie are both playing for the Lake Norman Copperheads of the Southern Collegiate League, and both saw action in the recent all-star game for the North Division. Anthony started at catcher and went 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored, while Buddy subbed in at first base and doubled and scored a run. Anthony has twice been named the league’s player of the week and was batting .400 through 36 games with seven home runs, 17 doubles and 35 runs batted in. Buddy was batting .284 in 28 games with six steals.

Ty Hohman started at second base for the Eastern Division All-Stars in the New York Collegiate League and went 1-for-2 with a run scored. He plays for the Saratoga Phillies, and was hitting .303 as of July 17th with four doubles in 17 starts.

Relief pitcher Kyle Cichy plays for the Luray Wranglers of the Valley League and pitched a scoreless, one-hit sixth inning for the North in the all-star game. Cichy has appeared in 13 games, making three starts, and had compiled a 1.76 earned run average and a 3-0 record with two saves. In 30.2 innings pitched, he has fanned 43 batters, while walking just seven.

Finally, left-handed starter Justin Wright has made the all-star game of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League after a first half in which he started a league-high seven games for the Bethesda Big Train and finished with a 2.45 earned run average. He has gone 3-1 in 33 innings pitched with 26 strikeouts and a .227 opponents’ batting average.

For a complete list of the Hokies playing in summer leagues this year and links to their stat pages, visit http://www.hokiesports.com/baseball/2008_league.html

InterMat Wrestling, one of the top wrestling Web sites around, has released its final ranking for the 2008 signing classes with Virginia Tech coming in at 14th nationally. Here’s what the site had to say about Tech’s class:

“Kevin Dresser’s rebuilding job is still in the works. After starting as many as nine true or redshirt freshmen in the line-up last season, He’ll have another incoming class of wrestlers with loads of accolades, but still are under the proverbial radar. The best of the class is either Georgia’s Peter Yates, the Beast of the East Champ, or National Prep champion Brock Livorio of Kiski Prep in Pennsylvania. Jarrod Garnett of Delaware had his senior season slowed due to injury, but is still very good. Schuyler Swanton of Florida has some good credentials, while Ohio’s Jesse Dong is a kid who finds ways to win. Virginia’s Brian Wood shoots down 81 from the Roanoke area.”

Former Virginia Tech pitcher Joe Saunders – the third Hokie to ever be named to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game – pitched a scoreless third inning for the American League on Tuesday in a game the A.L. would go on to win 4-3 in 15 innings.

Saunders pitched for the Hokies from 2000-02, totaling a 27-7 overall record and a 3.43 earned run average. He registered 255 strikeouts and 115 walks in 315 career innings pitched. The Springfield, Va., native left Blacksburg following his junior season after being selected 12th overall by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2002.

Though he had appeared in games for the Angels during the past two seasons, 2008 is his first full season as a starter, and he was selected to the All-Star team after finishing the first half tied for the A.L. lead with 12 wins.

Saunders relieved A.L. starter Cliff Lee at the top of third inning on Tuesday, and got out of the frame by throwing just 12 pitches, eight for strikes. He got Cubs’ outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to ground out to first and Cubs’ catcher Geovany Soto to fly out to center before allowing Marlins’ shortstop Hanley Ramirez to single to right. He then ended the inning by forcing the Phillies’ Chase Utley to ground out to first.

Saunders was able to pitch on Tuesday after being scratched from his Sunday start to be at the birth of his first child, Matea, over the weekend. Saunders is married to former Hokie softball player Shanel Garofalo. He will next pitch on Saturday against the Red Sox in a game that will be televised by FOX.

Along with former Hokie Deron Washington, three other recent Virginia Tech graduates will play in the NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports.  The 21-team league will be held in Las Vegas, on the campus of UNLV, from July 11-20 at both the Thomas & Mack Center and COX Pavilion.

Zabian Dowdell, who graduated in 2007, will play for the Sacramento Kings this summer. Dowdell played in France this past season. Coleman Collins, who graduated in 2006 and finished his career in 2007, will play for the Toronto Raptors summer league team in Las Vegas. He played in Germany this past season.  Jamon Gordon, who also graduated in 2007, will play for the Denver Nuggets in the summer league in Las Vegas. Gordon played in Turkey this past season

Many summer league games can be seen on NBA TV and others are available on web broadcasts through the teams’ websites.

Former Virginia Tech player Deron Washington will play for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports.

The 21-team league will be held in Las Vegas, on the campus of UNLV, from July 11-20 at both the Thomas & Mack Center and COX Pavilion. Washington was a second round selection of the Pistons in the June 26 NBA Draft.

The Pistons will play five games in the summer league, beginning with a meeting with the Lakers at 5 p.m. PST on July 11, in a game to be televised by NBA TV.

Following is the Pistons schedule for summer league:

DATE        GAME                             TIME             TV
July 11     Detroit vs. L.A. Lakers         5:00 p.m. PST     NBA TV
July 13     Detroit vs. L.A. Clippers       7:00 p.m. PST     none
July 15     Detroit vs. Milwaukee           3:00 p.m. PST     none
July 17     Detroit vs. Dallas                 1:00 p.m. PST     NBA TV
July 18     Detroit vs. Charlotte              3:00 p.m. PST     none

Former Virginia Tech pitcher Joe Saunders, who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, has been selected as a Major League Baseball All-Star and will represent the American League at the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in New York on July 15.

Saunders, in his first full season in the rotation after two seasons as a spot starter, led the A.L. in wins with 12 as of July 6. He was 5-0 in April with a 2.04 ERA in six starts and has maintained his consistency throughout the first half, yielding two or fewer runs in 12 of his 17 starts with a 3.04 ERA.

Saunders becomes just the third former Hokie to ever be named to an MLB All-Star Team, joining Mike Williams (Pirates, 2002 and 2003), who pitched at Tech from 1988-90; and Toby Atwell (Cubs, 1952), who was a catcher in Blacksburg in 1943.

The left-handed Saunders graduated from West Springfield High School in northern Virginia in 1999 and enrolled at Tech that fall, turning down a $150,000 contract from the Philadelphia Phillies, who had drafted him in the fifth round of Major League Baseball's amateur draft that June. He left Tech after his junior season after the Angels took him in the first round of the 2002 draft with the 12th overall pick - the highest a Tech player has ever been taken in baseball's amateur draft.

Saunders finished his junior season at Tech with a 9-2 record and a 2.86 earned run average. He appeared in 15 games, including 14 as a starter, and struck out 102 batters and walked just 22 during his 97.2 innings of work. Saunders posted two shutouts and five complete games on the way to first-team All-BIG EAST Conference honors.

Saunders is tied for third in career pitching victories at Tech with 27, following three consecutive nine-win seasons. He ranks second among Tech left-handers in career wins behind Brian Fitzgerald (28). Saunders led the BIG EAST in strikeouts in 2002 with 102. His 1.81 ERA in BIG EAST games was the best of any league starter and the second-best overall.

During his three seasons at Tech, Saunders compiled a 27-7 overall record and a 3.43 earned run average. He registered 255 strikeouts and 115 walks in 315 career innings pitched. Both his strikeout and innings pitched totals rank fourth all-time at Tech.

The 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage.

(photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)

Patrick Daciek, an incoming freshman from Severna Park, Md., captured the National Collegiate Clay Court Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa. over the weekend. Daciek cruised through the event without the loss of a set in winning six matches.

The ITA Summer Circuit is made up of seven regional circuits (East, Southeast, Midwest, Central, Mountain, Southwest and West) for collegiate players. Each region consists of four consecutive tournaments played during the month of July. The ITA Summer Circuit began in 1993 and over 22,000 players have competed in circuit events since its inception. The three remaining East region events are scheduled for Hanover, N.H. (July 12-15), University Park, Pa. (July 19-22) and Ithaca, N.Y. (July 26-29). The ITA National Summer Championships will take place Aug. 11-15 at Indiana University.

Daciek, seeded third in the event, defeated Bradley Portnoy, 6-1, 6-2, in his opening match before blanking Christopher Nixon, 6-0, 6-0. He was almost as impressive with a 6-1, 6-1, win over Ethan Arenstein, then defeated 12th-seed Preetham Moras, 6-2, 7-5, in the quarterfinals. Daciek eliminated No. 8 seed Mikhael Rasner 6-1, 6-1, in the semifinals, then won took the title with a 6-3, 6-2, victory against No. 7 seed Jeremy McClelland.

The National Collegiate Clay Court Championship actually began 120 years ago in 1889. Past tournament champions include Bill Tilden, Peter Fleming and Vitas Gerulaitis.

EUGENE, Ore. – Virginia Tech hurdler Kristi Castlin concluded the Hokies’ participation in the 2008 U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials by running in the semifinals of the women’s 100-meter hurdles on Sunday.

The rising junior from Douglasville, Ga., finished 13^th in the field of 16 after completing the race in 13.00 seconds. She made it to the semis after placing 11^th in the quarterfinal heats on Saturday with a time of 12.93 seconds.

Virginia Tech golfer Drew Weaver shot one-over-par 71 in the second round of the AT&T National, hosted by Tiger Woods, on Friday afternoon at the 7,255-yard, par 70 Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. He missed the cut by three strokes.

Weaver, a rising senior from High Point, N.C., shot 75 on Thursday and was two-over at the turn on Friday, but shot one-under on the inward nine to finish with a two-day total of 146. He tied for 101^st place.

Former Hokie Johnson Wagner followed his opening round even-par 70 with a four-under-par 66 and comfortably made the cut. He enters Saturday’s third round tied for 18^th place.

Virginia Tech golfer Drew Weaver shot five-over-par 75 in the opening round of the AT&T National, hosted by Tiger Woods, on Thursday afternoon at the 7,255-yard, par 70 Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

Weaver, a rising senior from High Point, N.C., was five-over at the turn, heading to the first tee, his tenth hole of the day. He shot even-par on the inward nine, with one bogey and one birdie. He is tied for 102^nd in the event.

His group will tee off in the second round on Friday morning at 9:02 a.m. from the first tee. This is Weaver’s third professional and second PGA Tour event of the season. He also competed in the Masters and the Memorial Tournament. 

Former Hokie Johnson Wagner shot an opening round even-par 70 and is tied for 35^th. Steve Marino shot a five-under-par 65 and leads Jeff Overton, Frank Lickliter II, Rod Pampling and Bob Estes by one stroke.