Hokie Tracks are Flipping Over Walls

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Former Tech utility man/out fielder Austin Wates of the now Astros Double A Corpus Christi's Hooks makes a, to put it mildly, spectacular, over-the-wall, home run robbing catch.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto resigned (was fired by the league presidents) yesterday. As Brett McMurphy, who first broke the news wrote, "He was set up to fail by the league's presidents because they handcuffed his ability to make any relevant changes." Big East presidents turning down a nine-year new media rights deal worth $1.4 billion put the conference on shaky ground, and led to Pitt and Syracuse leaving for the ACC. Then the rest of the dominoes fell. Even if the presidents had accepted the media deal, brought in UCF, kept 'Cuse, Pitt, and TCU, and stayed strong at ten teams it would only have been a matter of time before the league failed, because it's impossible to serve the interests of the basketball only schools in today's football driven world.

Could the Big East's instability eventually lead to Notre Dame joining the ACC? As I've said before, I believe that was John Swofford's plan all along: invite 'Cuse and Pitt with the hopes of the move crippling the Big East so Notre Dame's non-revenue sports (and football) would have to find a new home. The ACC is the best fit among the conferences.

Jarrett Boykin was released by the Jags. Six months ago I believed he would have been third-day draft pick, now he might not even be on a franchise's roster this fall.

David Teel says Navy associate head coach Kurt Kanaskie is a target for James Johnson's staff. They were both at Penn State during the 2004-05 season, and Kanaskie has head coaching experience at Lock Haven State, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Drake. Kanaskie's resume doesn't exactly blow me away, but he's seasoned and fresh blood for the program.

Enter-the-Sandman. Roth's piece on James Johnson is terrific. Who doesn't want to see J.J. succeed?

Get your freak on. Marcus Davis is 7th on Bruce Feldman's "The Freak List".

The Hokies have produced more than their share of jaw-dropping 40 times in recent years, and they've done so again. Still, even the most skeptical would come away impressed with Davis, a 6-4, 228-pound former QB-turned-wideout, who set a VT record with a 44-inch vertical to go along with a 4.37 40, which for our purposes trumps (barely) the case of 260-pound DE James Gayle, who posted a position-record 39.5-inch vertical and a 4.44 40-time.

Do you guys like these kind of posts? My hope is they'll keep you updated on Tech, as well as, the rest of the college football (sports) world during the summer lull, and serve as a conversation starter. Feedback is encourage and welcomed. Thanks!

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