Ralph Sampson talks UVA-Ohio, 2019 national title run, his years at UVA

This installment of “The Jerry Ratcliffe Show” with Chris Graham welcomes UVA Basketball legend Ralph Sampson, who helps the guys break down UVA-Ohio, talks about his years as a megastar at UVA, and shares his thoughts on Terry Holland, Tony Bennett and more.

About Hootie

Jerry Ratcliffe established a reputation in covering University of Virginia athletics and the Atlantic Coast Conference in addition to many other sports during four decades, and brings to JerryRatcliffe.com his vast experience and knowledge.

Ratcliffe’s work has been recognized both statewide and nationally, resulting in more than 80 awards, from the Associated Press Sports Editors Association (first place nationally), the Virginia Press Association, the Football Writers of America, and the United States Basketball Writers of America during his career. He also was awarded the prestigious Earle Hellen Sports Media Award by the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America for outstanding media contributions toward the promotion and support of golf, the PGA, and the Middle Atlantic Section.

Ratcliffe has been selected as the Virginia Sportswriter of the Year on four occasions by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

During his career, Ratcliffe has covered national college championships in football, basketball, baseball, women’s basketball, golf, tennis, lacrosse, soccer, track & field, and cross country. He has covered dozens of bowl games and at least a dozen Final Fours.

He also covered eight Super Bowls and the Washington Redskins and NFL over the course of 16 years, has covered the Major League Baseball playoffs, NASCAR, and one of his great loves: golf. Ratcliffe has covered 10 U.S. Open championships, the Masters, the PGA Championship and numerous other golf events on the Tour and amateur events on the national, state, and local levels.

A Heisman Trophy voter since the early 1980s and a charter member voter of the John Wooden Award, Ratcliffe has served as an AP voter over the years in both major sports, as president of the Atlantic Coast Conference Sports Media Association, and created the ACC’s Bob Bradley Courage and Spirit Award, basketball’s equivilent to football’s Brian Piccolo Award.

He has also served on advisory boards for the First Tee of Charlottesville and the Virginia chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.

About Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the editor of The Augusta Free Press, an award-winning journalist and editor, is marking his 26th year in journalism in 2021.

An author of seven books, Chris co-wrote, with Jerry Ratcliffe, Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, published in 2019, and also co-wrote a book on the history of University of Virginia basketball, Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall, which was published in 2006.

Chris is a sports broadcaster with experience as a play-by-play man and color analyst on ESPN3 and ESPN+ broadcasts of college baseball, college football, collegiate wrestling and women’s water polo.

In the spring of 2021, Chris will serve as the play-by-play voice on radio broadcasts for VMI football, marking his fifth season as a broadcaster for Keydets’ radio broadcasts.

He is a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

From 2009-2014, Chris was the play-by-play voice of the Waynesboro Generals, a team competing in the Valley Baseball League, a premier college summer baseball league affiliated with Major League Baseball and the NCAA.

The former co-host of ACC Nation, a syndicated radio show that ran for four years, ending in 2007, and regular guest host of WMRA’s Virginia Insight, Chris is currently a contributor to The Mark Moses Show on 95.9-The Fan in Melbourne, Fla.

Chris also served as a member of the creative team and on-air TV commentator for Awesome Wrestling Entertainment on AWE’s Night of the Legends live pay-per-view event in 2011.

Chris wrote a book on that experience, The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, that was published in 2018.

He is also the former co-host of Viewpoints on WVPT, a weekly news affairs TV show that aired from 2016-2017.