I have decided that in lieu of revamping the site (even though it would have been to a small degree), I'm just going to refocus on news and keeping Hokies informed.  After all, not all of us cruise the message board twelve times a day, so it's time to start passing the things I learn there and the articles that are linked there on to the masses via News and Notes.

Look for updates of the News and Notes section to pick up steam, while Sights and Sounds and Special Features will be updated less often.  Also, News and Notes will include many more links than what you're used to in the past, as I'll rely on other sources to deliver the meat of the news, while I'll still insert a jab or two for commentary.

Without further ado, let's get started...

In a surprise move, the Hokies have hired a new assistant football coach who most recently hailed from the ranks of the Alabama Crimson Tide.  The new coach is Danny Pearman, and Danny will coach the tackles and tight ends for the Hokies.   Here's a link to the full story:

Ex-UA assistant Pearman hired by Hokies - Alabama Live, 6/23/98

This move comes as a surprise, because it was thought that the Hokies' coaching staff was full.  In the last few months, the action on the staff has gone like this:

• OL coach J.B. Grimes left for Texas A&M
• TE coach Bryan Stinespring was promoted to OL coach to replace Grimes
• Receivers coach Terry Strock was switched to TE coach
• Tony Ball was hired from Louisville to coach the receivers

That's a full dance card, right?  OL, TE, and WR coaches all accounted for?

It turns out not.  Greg Roberts of Channel 10 reported Tuesday night that Strock is moving over to the administrative side of the athletic department to take over Tech's "Monogram Club," a program that keeps track of and maintains contact with former Hokie athletes.  Hence, the opening that Pearman now fills.

Pearman has apparently been criticized by Tide fans recently (but when the Tide goes 4-7 like they did last year, everybody within 100 miles of the program is meat) and was included in part of a staff housecleaning that saw many of former Tide coach Gene Stallings' assistants get canned.  A HokieCentral message board poster named "Tidester" had the following comments:

I understand the Hokies have hired former Alabama assistant Danny Pearman so I thought I'd give you a little info. on Pearman from the perspective of an Alabama fan.

First off, you might find Pearman's connections in the football coaching world interesting. He is married to the neice of former Clemson and Arkansas Coach Danny Ford (Ford's sister's daughter). He came to Alabama as a Grad.  Assistant during Coach Stallings first year at UA (1990), and was elevated to a fulltime assistant a few years later. He coached the offensive line (tackles) alongside another assistant (Jimmie Fuller) during most of his Bama tenure.

The OL was the most often criticized area of the team (along with Stallings' ultra-conservative offensive philosophy), but Jimmie Fuller was the target of most of the fans wrath. Pearman was moved to special teams this past year and was grilled by both fans and media alike over his players' performance. However, the calibre of players on our 1997 squad wasn't up to Bama standards as we suffered our worst record (4-7) in 40 years. Recruiting limitations hit the Tide very hard the past couple of seasons so its tough to say whether the lackluster performance on special teams is fully attributable to Pearman's coaching.

On a more positive note, Pearman is said to be a terrific recruiter and has a knack for establishing instant rapport with many prospective signees. Also, with the exception of 1997, Pearman has been on a staff that averaged nearly 10 wins a season from '92 until '96, including a perfect 13-0 national championship in 1992. He's well aware of what sacrifices must made to accomplish championship level performance. Best of luck to Danny Pearman and the Hokies!

Will here again:  Ah, he's a good recruiter.  Now I get it.   The same is said to be true of receivers coach Tony Ball, so hopefully, we can stand back and watch some more good recruiting classes (like this year's) roll in.

Message board poster  "L Co '61 Hokie" did some poking around and was able to get it from a pretty good source (the www.hokiesports.com webmaster) that the following Hokie football games will be telecast on the networks indicated:

Sept. 19 - at Miami, 8:07 p.m. (ESPN)
Sept. 26 - PITTSBURGH, noon, (ESPN2)
Oct. 8 - at Boston College 8:07 p.m. (Thurs., ESPN)
Nov. 28 - VIRGINIA, noon or 6 p.m. (ESPN)

In addition to the games listed, the WVU game on 10/31 is a CBS candidate (but we'll see how that goes), and you've got to figure that the Syracuse game, if the Orangemen and Donovan McNabb are having a good year, is at least a prime candidate for the Big East game of the week.

I have included the information provided by "L Co '61 Hokie" on my home page schedule until I find out otherwise.  Thanks, L Co!

In case you missed it ... the smoke has cleared, and all but three of Tech's football recruits from the 1998 recruiting season have qualified:  monster OL Anthony Nelson will be attending Fork Union next year, while OL Anthony Davis and DL Marlan Hicks will be attending Hargrave Military Academy.  All three players are now recruitable by other schools.

There were a couple of on-line articles about Nelson and Hicks, and they sounded like great kids who are wholly committed to VT, so things look good at this point for the Hokies.  I figure if the kids do well at military school and don't get home sick or anything like that, they'll stay locked into VT.  But a year is a long time, so we'll just have to wait and see.

The only other recruit who was in doubt was DB stud Tavarius "T.J." Jackson out of Florida, and T.J. qualified.

People are always asking about the status of the Merryman Center construction (and I swear I want to get over there and take some pics soon!).   Recently, someone emailed me a very cool link that you've got to see.  It details all of the construction projects going on at Tech, their status, and even photos of the construction.  Check this out at:

Virginia Tech Campus Construction

Yep, it's cool, all right.  As usual, the campus is changing more and more every year.  And at just 33 years old, I feel old.

Lastly, the recent implosion of the WAC has led to a new round of speculation on what is going to happen around the conference scene, and recently, columnist Wendell Barnhouse of the Forth Worth, Texas Star-Telegram threw his two cents in.  It sounded as good as what anyone else had to say, so take a look at one possible future of college football:

The future of collegiate conferences could lie in Notre Dame's decision
- Wendell Barnhouse, Star-Telegram, 6/20/98

Alas, no mention of Virginia Tech, but then again, after further review, Barnhouse's credibility is shot down with the following statement:

"Notre Dame is boxed out of the postseason if it fails to earn a spot in one of the four Bowl Championship Series games."

Wendell obviously missed the uproar here at HokieCentral when the Golden Domers muscled their way over Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese and right into the Big East's bowl lineup.  Don't worry about Notre Dame, Wendell - as long as Mikey's around, they'll always have a place to sit.

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