Home Basketball polls, CAA playoff contenders, ‘Skins can’t cover T.O., NFL refs can’t see
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Basketball polls, CAA playoff contenders, ‘Skins can’t cover T.O., NFL refs can’t see

Chris Graham

Winners and Losers column by Chris Graham
[email protected]

LOSERS: Virginia beats #17 Arizona, doesn’t get a sniff in national polls
I know – the polls don’t mean anything this time of year.
But still …
I’m guessing nobody saw the game – it ended early Sunday morning local time – and that somehow the final score escaped everybody as well.
You know, because ‘Zona didn’t drop a spot in the polls despite losing at home to an undermanned unranked team.
Interesting how that can happen, ain’t it?
And then there’s how N.C. State actually moved up two spots in one of the national polls after losing to New Orleans.
I checked, and it wasn’t the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets that the Pack lost to. It was little ol’ UNO.
Apparently, what Virginia should have done to get the attention of the pollsters was instead of going out and beating a top Pac 10 team on the road was play New Orleans and lose.
Maybe then the ‘Hoos could’ve sneaked into the polls.
Good grief.

WINNER: JMU, UR get playoff bids
At least UR is a winner here – they get Eastern Kentucky at home.
JMU gets to go to App State – yeah, the team that beat Michigan in the Big House a couple of months ago.
And … they might not have QB Rodney Landers to lead them to the upset.

WINNER: Me
I get to see VMI and JMU play tomorrow night in Lexington.
I’m a fan of offensive basketball – and since we’re expecting to see both teams break into the triple digits, hey, I’m the happiest of happy campers right about now.

LOSERS: ‘Skins let T.O. run wild
You know, that Terrell Owens guy, it might make sense to try to cover him every once in a while.
Especially when he’s streaking into the secondary unmolested.

LOSERS: Refs who can’t see field goals going through the uprights
I’d never seen it before in my life – and now we’re talking about it having happened twice in a year.
The Virginia-North Carolina game earlier this year turned on a field goal that went through the uprights that was originally ruled no good – and the Baltimore-Cleveland NFL game on Sunday had the same scenario happen.
Look, this isn’t that hard – either it went through, or it didn’t.
Right?
And if we’re going to have instant replay, it would seem to be tailor-made for this kind of thing.
Right?
So what’s the controversy all about again?

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," a zero-time Virginia Sportswriter of the Year, and a member of zero Halls of Fame, is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

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