Norfolk State pulls historic upset of second-seeded Mizzou

What has already been a historic year for Norfolk State University athletics reached epic proportions Saturday. The Spartans notched just the fifth 15-over-2 seed upset in NCAA Tournament history, stunning national No. 3 ranked Missouri 86-84 before a crowd of 16,829 at the CenturyLink Center Omaha. Eleven years to the day after MEAC rival Hampton…

Scott voted first-team All-ACC

Chris Graham

Virginia senior forward Mike Scott (Chesapeake, Va.) is a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection for the 2011-12 season and UVa junior guard Jontel Evans (Hampton, Va.) is a member of the ACC’s All-Defensive Team. Members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) selected the teams that were announced on Monday (March 5). Scott, who…

Warner, Webb urge Obama administration to select Mid-Atlantic region as test range for unmanned aircraft systems

Chris Graham

U.S. Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) on Wednesday sent a joint letter to the Secretaries of Defense, Transportation and the NASA Administrator urging them to select the Virginia/Maryland region to host an Unmanned Aircraft Systems test range. The Senators pointed out that UAS design and testing…

JMU women beat Mason

Chris Graham

James Madison held its eighth opponent under 50 points as the Dukes beat visiting George Mason 49-45 in Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball Sunday afternoon at the JMU Convocation Center. The Dukes improved their overall record to 16-5 and their CAA record to 8-3.  JMU’s win, combined with Hofstra’s loss to Old Dominion Sunday, moved…

UVa. announces football signing class

Chris Graham

The Virginia football program signed 25 student-athletes to a National Letters of Intent for the 2012-13 academic school year head coach Mike London announced.  One additional recruit enrolled at UVa in January, topping the class off at 26. Highlighting the nationally ranked class are 13 signees from the state of Virginia, including 10 signees from…

Mid-majors announce BracketBusters schedule

Chris Graham

Three CAA teams were selected for televised games in the 10th annual Sears BracketBusters, which will be held Feb. 17-18, 2012. The CAA had the second-most teams chosen for televised games of any of the participating 16 conferences, trailing only the Missouri Valley. It’s the fifth time in the past six years that at least…

Farm organization wants Sunday hunting ban upheld

Chris Graham

Allowing Sunday hunting would create a lose-lose situation for Virginia citizens, and the state’s largest farm advocacy group continues to oppose it. “Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, through its grassroots policy process, opposes hunting on Sunday,” said Wilmer Stoneman, VFBF associate director of governmental relations. “People are trying to couch this as a private property issue,…

Governor releases transportation plan

Chris Graham

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on Friday details of his 2012 General Assembly session transportation plan, wihch he said will provide additional funding for maintaining Virginia’s infrastructure and will continue the administration’s efforts to ensure greater accountability and transparency in Virginia’s transportation entities while delivering transportation projects more quickly and cost effectively. “Last year, working across…

McDonnell announces $1.2 million in Farmland Preservation Grants

Contributors

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on Tuesday the distribution of $1.2 million in farmland preservation grants from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to 13 Virginia localities. This is a significant increase from the $100,000 available last fiscal year for state matching funds.  Localities must use the grant monies to preserve farmland within their…