Join Our TechSideline.com Picks League on PicksPal.com!

PicksPal.com made some big changes to their site recently, including the ability to have leagues larger than ten pickers. So we did the first thing that came to mind and created a TechSideline.com league!

Our TSL league, appropriately named "TechSideline.com," currently stands at 64 members, and we're looking to make it bigger -- LOTS bigger. Imagine picking games against dozens of TSL board posters; that's what we're looking to do.

Welcome to a new breed of sports IQ picking site where members accumulate points by choosing real sporting events against real odds. It's a free service. The only thing you can lose is your pride.

PicksPal is a new type of site where friends can get together and compete for sports knowledge supremacy. We are proud to be a sponsor of TSL and encourage you to get a league together. Pick the NFL playoffs, NBA and NCAA hoops.

Click below or visit http://www.pickspal.com to:

• Set up leagues

• Communicate on the Smack Board

• Get real-time Vegas odds

• Create 1-on-1 challenges

• Read odds blogs

• Win prizes 

click here to pre-order from Amazon.com (ships in early August)

Harris’ book, which will be released in early August, covers the biggest games of 27 famous Hokies. Here is a look at each player that is included and a brief rundown of their fondest memories.

Dickie Beard - 10/2/1954, 18-7 victory over Clemson
“The Cumberland Flash” helped keep the Hokies undefeated with a big game on the road. But it wasn’t the only big win over an ACC team that season. Just a year after the ACC rejected Tech’s bid for entrance, the Hokies beat three ACC teams to open the season. Besides their victory over Clemson, VT beat NC State 30-21 and Wake Forest 32-0.

Carroll Dale - 11/8/1958, 27-24 victory over Richmond
The receiver didn’t catch too many passes, but two touchdown receptions helped him tie a Southern Conference record and helped Tech drop Richmond at home. He played on both sides of the ball for the Hokies, but played his best as a receiver. Dale led Virginia Tech in receiving for four consecutive seasons.

Chris Smith - 1/12/1959, 93-80 victory over Marshall
Just three days after getting 36 rebounds in a game, Smith had 31 rebounds and 30 points in a revenge victory over Marshall. Smith remains at the top of Tech’s record book in virtually all rebounding categories.

Bob Schweickert – 11/3/1962, 24-22 victory over Tulane
Schweickert’s injury-riddled season took a positive turn with a strong showing in New Orleans. It was Tech’s eighth game of the season, and he was finally able to play effectively. He ran and passed for 234 yards against the Green Wave. His 74 yard touchdown run propelled the Hokies to a narrow victory.

Tommy Francisco – 11/24/1966, 70-12 victory over VMI
For a day, Francisco was Touchdown Tommy with six against VMI. He scored a total of 13 touchdowns that season, with almost half of them coming in one game. He led the Hokies in rushing that season with 753 yards.

Glen Combs – 3/17/1967, 79-70 victory over Indiana
Tech was once a game away from the Final Four, thanks to Combs’ 29 points against Indiana in the NCAA regionals. The Hokies advanced to the Elite Eight, where they faced the Dayton Flyers. Unfortunately Tech came up a little short, falling to Dayton 71-66 in overtime.

Frank Beamer – 11/9/1968, 31-18 victory over Richmond
Beamer, Tech’s current head coach, scored a touchdown, completed a pass and met his wife on the same day. That was quite an accomplishment for a player who wasn’t big, but “made up for it by being slow.”

Mike Widger – 11/16/1968, 17-6 victory over South Carolina
Sports Illustrated took notice of Widger’s effort against South Carolina by naming him its national lineman of the week. He made an amazing 29 tackles against the Gamecocks that day, 15 solo and 14 assisted. He was named a First-Team All-American by the Associated Press and the Football Writers Association.

Don Strock – 10/7/1972, 27-27 tie with Houston
The future Miami Dolphin threw for a still-standing record 527 yards, yet zero touchdowns, in a shootout against Houston.

Bobby Stevens – 3/25/1973, 92-91 OT victory over Notre Dame
Stevens missed his first attempt at a game-winner but not his second, as the Hokies captured the NIT championship. This is perhaps the most famous shot in Virginia Tech basketball history. It gave the Hokies a victory over Digger Phelps’ Notre Dame Fighting Irish back when the NIT was a big deal.

Rick Razzano – 10/4/1975
A season turned with a victory at Auburn that was secured with a Razzano-led goal line stand in the closing minutes. The greatest tackler in Tech history, Razzano finished his career with a school-record 634 tackles. He holds the Tech record for tackles in a game (30) and is tied for the lead in single season tackles (177).

Les Henson –1/21/1980, 79-77 victory over Florida State
A left-handed Henson sank a right-handed shot from 89 feet to give the Hokies a victory. If you think Sean Dockery’s half court prayer against Tech was a miracle this past season, then you would be amazed by Henson’s heave.

Cyrus Lawrence – 11/28/81, a 20-3 victory over Virginia
The Hokies’ all-time rushing leader capped his junior season with the only 200-yard game of his career. Lawrence led the Hokies in rushing for three straight seasons from 1979-81. His 1,403 yards in 1981 was a Virginia Tech record until Kevin Jones rushed for 1,647 in 2003.

Bruce Smith – 10/8/1983, 27-14 victory over Duke
The NFL’s all-time sacks leader had his share of sacks in college, too, as Duke’s Ben Bennett will attest. Smith sacked Bennett four times that afternoon. Bennett discussed his day with Smith after the game: “Smith and I talked about my family, his family, world affairs, just about everything. We had plenty of time to get to know each other. He spent the afternoon with me. I’ve played against a lot of great defensive players and Smith has got to be one of the best, if not the best.”

Dell Curry 2/1/1986, a 76-72 victory over Memphis State.
Memphis State’s chance of rising to the top of the rankings ended with a Curry-led four-point loss at Virginia Tech. With a victory over the Hokies, Memphis State would have moved to #1 in the nation thanks to a UNC loss to UVA earlier in the week. But it was not to be. The top two teams in the nation were knocked off by both Virginia schools in the same week.

Jim Pyne, 11/13/1993, 45-24 victory over Syracuse
A 45-24 victory over Syracuse helped Tech start a bowl game streak that is still alive, and Pyne’s work against the Orangemen’s Kevin Mitchell was crucial. Pyne went on to become Virginia Tech’s first Unanimous All-American. He was later drafted by Tampa Bay in the 1994 NFL Draft.

Bryan Still, 12/31/1995, a 28-10 victory over Texas
A 28-10 victory over Texas. Still’s dream that he’d be Most Valuable Player in the Sugar Bowl came true. Still used the game as a springboard into the NFL Draft. He was picked in the 2nd round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. Although his NFL career never panned out, his Sugar Bowl performance against the Longhorns will never be forgotten.

Corey Moore – 9/23/1999, 31-11 victory over Clemson
The man Frank Beamer called “the disruptor” disrupted Clemson in a nationally televised Thursday night game. As he sacked Clemson quarterback Brandon Streeter, picked up the ball and rumbled in for a touchdown, ESPN color analyst Lee Corso exclaimed, “Give him the Lombardi Trophy right now!” Moore didn’t get the Lombardi that night, but he got it, as well as the Nagurski Award, at the end of the season after amassing 17 sacks.

Shayne Graham – 11/6/1999, 22-20 victory over West Virginia
Eager to atone for a miss against Miami the previous season, Graham made good with the unbeaten season on the line. His 44-yard field goal lifted the Hokies to the “Miracle in Morgantown”, preserved an undefeated season and propelled Tech to the National Championship Game against Florida State.

Michael Vick – 1/4/2000, 46-29 loss to Florida State
Though Tech lost in a game for the national championship, Vick showed what all the fuss was about with a scintillating show. Vick rushed for 97 yards during the game. He also passed for 225 yards and had a touchdown through the air and on the ground. Despite Tech’s loss, Vick stole the show.

Andre Davis – 10/12/2000, 48-20 victory over West Virginia
In six minutes, Davis scored three touchdowns three different ways to lead the Hokies. The Hokies were trailing 14-7 at halftime, but Davis exploded in the second half. He caught a 64-yard bomb from Michael Vick, scored on a 30-yard reverse and returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown.

David Pugh – 1/1/2001, 41-20 victory over Clemson
Pugh was an unassuming guy and, on this day against Clemson in the Gator Bowl, he was unblockable as well. Pugh blew up the Tiger offensive line on two of the first three plays of the game, and spent most of his day in the Clemson backfield.

Ernest Wilford – 12/1/2001, 26-24 loss to Miami
The two-point conversion would have tied the game at 26, but Wilford dropped the pass and Miami escaped with the victory. Though Wilford didn’t catch the conversion, handling the disappointment so well helped turned him into a pro. Wilford went on to become Virginia Tech’s all-time leading receiver.

Lee Suggs – 9/12/2002, 47-21 victory over Marshall
Even when he had to share the ball “TD Lee” was the man. He and Kevin Jones combined for 324 yards in a victory over Marshall and Byron Leftwich. Suggs currently plays for the Cleveland Browns.

Bryan Randall – 10/28/2004, 34-20 victory over Georgia Tech
Down eight points with five minutes to play, Randall led the Hokies to a victory – his first “Elway” moment at Tech. The comeback was one of the shining moments of Tech’s 2004 season, which saw them win their last eight regular season games en route to the ACC Championship.

Mike Imoh – 11/6/2004, 27-24 victory over North Carolina
Imoh set a single-game rushing record with 243 yards, but didn’t find out about it until the next day. A seven yard run by Imoh was accidentally given to Justin Hamilton, and the mistake wasn’t corrected until the day after the game, giving Imoh the single-game record. The Hokies won 27-24 and went on to win the ACC in their first season in the conference.