Happy Opening Day from The Dogs! We’ll recap our Media Day at Nationals Park, plus a Nats’ 2026 preview, and some more bracket bustin’ as we head into the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Brought to you by Energy Windows LLC. Dave can help make your vision come to life with energy-efficient doors, siding, gutters, roofing, even attic insulation! Call 540-671-9243 or visithttps://energywindowsllc.com
3/18/26- The Dogs take a bite out of their Tournament brackets, and look back at a great weekend at VCU for our area basketball teams including:
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(Posted 3-13-2026)
Greetings from The Booth!
If you have a “Basketball Jones” (a nod to the great song by “Tyrone Shoelaces”), this is the weekend for you! Locally, six teams are playing for VHSL State Championships over a 2-day period at VCU in Richmond. Best wishes to the Clarke County girls, Woodstock Central boys, the Handley boys, Skyline girls, and both the Luray boys and girls. Godspeed, and best wishes as they try to bring some hardware back to the Shenandoah Valley!
This weekend also puts the wraps on college basketball’s conference tournaments, as tickets (and guts) are punched to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The weekend concludes with one of my favorite days, Selection Sunday. I love the live cut-ins to various arenas, gyms, and Student Unions, where teams anxiously await their tournament fates. Some already know they are in, while the bubble teams nervously listen for their name to be called. It’s great TV.
For me, there’s no drama, as my up-and-down WVU Mountaineers finished at 18-14 and have no shot at the Big Dance. Virginia Tech will probably be headed to the NIT, while Virginia could be a top-4 seed, depending on what happens in the ACC Tournament. As for the women, my “Mountain Mamas” are really, really good and should get a home weekend in Morgantown in the first round after their Big 12 Tournament Championship. Be on the lookout for a possible second-round game between WVU and the Sun Belt Champion JMU Dukes. Could that mean a friendly wager with The Duke? Hmmmm….
I’m writing this edition of VFB on Friday the 13th, which made me think about superstitions. Sports fans and players alike are probably the most superstitious people in the world. Whether eating a certain kind of food on Game Day, wearing our favorite team garment, or sitting in a certain place on the couch, we are all absolutely convinced that our little rituals are the difference between victory and defeat for our favorite teams. An oldie but goodie for me was (and sometimes still is) moving from the recliner to the floor when the ‘Skins or Mounties weren’t playing well. I’m certain that I’ve pulled my teams from the jaws of defeat many times by doing this.
Something that almost never works for me, but I continue the routine (definition of insanity?), is wearing team garb the day of a big game. Time and time again, I do this, only to see WVU or Washington get thumped. But I can’t help myself. Surely, the odds are with me this time. Another sure loser is taking a run on the morning of game day. That exercise (pardon the pun) has contributed more to losing than any fumble or missed shot. But that morning jog (and these days, walk) is a release of nervous energy before kickoff or tip-off. Some pound back Bloody Marys–I pound the pavement.
In truth, my sports superstitions and rituals probably have absolutely nothing to do with winning or (in my case) losing. It could be that my teams are just not good. That being said, where did I put that WVU sweatshirt?
Until the next visit from the Booth…Go Eagles, Falcons, Judges, Hawks, and Bulldogs!
RW
The Dogs recap their recent Media Day tour of Nationals Park and preview the 2025 Washington Nationals…plus a look at the remaining teams in their NCAA brackets heading into the “Sweet Sixteen” games.
Greetings from The Booth!
I’m pretty sure I’m through with college sports…at least until football season. I’m very sure that I’m done with the NCAA.
To the disbelief of many experts and analysts around the sports world yesterday, the West Virginia University men’s basketball team was left out of the NCAA Basketball Tournament on Selection Sunday. Like many WVU fans, I was expecting my team to have its name called, but as each region’s bracket was announced, reality set in. WVU was on the outside looking in, the first team out of the tournament. Despite many “bracketologists,” including Joe Lunardi, deeming the Mountaineers safely in the 68-team field in the hours leading up to Selection Sunday. The NCAA Selection Committee felt differently.
However, the committee did feel like North Carolina and 15-loss Texas were deserving of a spot, and also invited 14, count ’em, 14 teams from the SEC to the party, a new record for a conference. UNC seems to be the team that displaced West Virginia, so let’s consider the following:
The 19-13 Mountaineers had 6 Quad 1 wins (wins against tournament-quality teams), while the 22-13 Tar Heels had a Quad 1 record of 1-12. WVU had quality wins, albeit early in the season against Gonzaga, Arizona, and Kansas (at Kansas). The Mountaineers also had a very bad loss to 16-seed Colorado in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament, and probably would have been a lock had they won that game. WVU was also 10-10 in the Big 12, one of the toughest basketball conferences in the country. Admittedly, West Virginia did not play well in the second half of the season, but if the committee considers the entire body of work, as they say they do, there’s no question that the Mountaineers are deserving of a place in the big dance. Carolina is clearly in the tournament field on blue blood reputation.
It’s not a good look for the selection committee that its chairman is Bubba Cunningham, who is the AD at…wait for it…North Carolina. With a name like Bubba, surely there couldn’t be any backroom backslapping, right? Cunningham supposedly left the room during any discussion about his Tar Heels, but I’m not buying into the purity of that. Committee members know who their chairman is. I might also point out that Cunningham has a bonus system that increases the further Carolina advances in the tournament. Also not a good look.
Bubba’s reason (excuse) for WVU being left out? The Mountaineers would be without the injured Tucker DeVries in the tournament. DeVries, the son of West Virginia Head Coach Darian DeVries, hasn’t played since December, and suited up for a grand total of 8 games for West Virginia. Tucker DeVries hasn’t played for most of the season, so this reasoning makes absolutely no sense. Obviously, Cunningham didn’t do his homework, or had to pull something out of his backside to explain himself.
And, let’s not forget that WVU sued the NCAA in the 2023-24 season to get ineligible player RaeQuan Battle reinstated. The Mountaineers won that case and Battle returned to the court in the second half of the season. Would the NCAA hold a grudge against West Virginia because of that lawsuit? Just asking for a friend.
I wrote recently that doing the eye test would show that WVU is not tournament-worthy. But to be left out this way reeks of something like the infamous WWE “Montreal Screwjob.” However, there is little that can be done. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey held a presser today (Monday) and hinted at litigation, but I’m not sure anything will come of this. It will be difficult to prove that there was a conspiracy to leave the Mountaineers out of the NCAA Tournament . I still like the move, as it continues to keep the kitchen light on as the roaches scurry.
In the meantime, dominos have started to fall at WVU. The Mountaineers have declined invitations from the NIT, and a new 16-team postseason tournament called The Crown. Freshman 3-point ace Jonathan Powell has entered the transfer portal, and rumors that Coach DeVries is leaving for Iowa continue to grow.
It is not a great day to be a Mountaineer.
RW
Greetings from The Booth!
The book is now officially closed on our area high school basketball season, but not without congratulations to the Handley boys, the Luray boys, and the Clarke County girls, who all made it to their respective VHSL state semifinal games. While that doesn’t add any hardware to the trophy case, making it to the rarefied air of your state “final 4” is a great accomplishment. Falling just short also gives returning players a measuring stick for next season, and for graduating seniors, provides some great memories for later in life.
We now turn our attention to college hoop and this week’s conference tournaments. Let’s be honest, with the NCAA going five, six, seven deep into the major conferences on Selection Sunday, conference tournaments have become simply money-makers for the ACC, the Big 12, the SEC, and the Big 10. But for the mid-majors and smaller conferences whose tournament champion may be their only team in the Big Dance, there is more on the line.
I’m old enough to remember a time when the NCAA field was 25 teams, and the only way to get into the NCAA Tournament was to win your conference tournament. Growing up a fan of “The ACC Game of the Week” (brought to you by Jefferson Pilot, with Jim Thacker and Billy Packer) every Saturday, the ACC Tournament was a must-watch every year, and provided much drama. On many occasions, the team coming out of the ACC had nothing left for the NCAA Tournament after playing 3 games in the ACC soiree.
Once in a while, a team catches lightning in a bottle in its conference tournament and rides that momentum all the way to the National Championship game. Case in point, the now-famous “Jimmy V” 1983 NC State squad, who made an improbable run through the ACC Tournament, nipping Wake Forest 71-70 in the quarterfinals, then beating #5 North Carolina and #2 Virginia to get the automatic NCAA berth. The Wolfpack would “survive and advance” through the West Region, where they would beat UVA again, this time in the Regional Final, 63-62. NC State would eventually cut down the nets after a memorable National Championship game by beating Houston (nicknamed “Phi Slamma Jamma”) on the game’s final play.
While we’re talking about “cinderellas,” let’s mention George Mason. The small commuter school from nearby Fairfax, Va., didn’t even win it’s conference tournament in 2006, losing in the CAA semifinals. However, the Patriots would get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, and playing close to home as an 11-seed, shocked 1-seed UConn in the Washington DC Regional Final. George Mason would eventually fall in the Final Four to Florida, but became the darlings of the tournament.
Bottom line, the pressure may be diminished somewhat, as many conferences get multiple entries into the 68-team field. But there are still surprises, upsets, and stolen bids lurking in the conference tournaments, and make for great appetizers for next week’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. Get those brackets ready and get ready for the madness!
RW
Greetings from The Booth!
With so many things happening out there in the sports (and “sports entertainment”) world, I thought I would do one of my occasional “tidbits” VFBs this time, with some random thoughts…
As I’ve written many times, the cream usually rises to the top in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, and sure enough, two nunber-one seeds will do battle in tomorrow night’s Championship Game. It’ll be Purdue versus UConn out in the desert for all the marbles, and a contrast in styles, with the Boilermakers’ 7-foot-4 Zach Eady against a high-scoring Huskies’ offense. Should be fun, but you can tell me about it Tuesday, because for some reason, tip-off isn’t until 9:20 pm. Why not something more reasonable, like 8pm?
This weekend marks the annual extravaganza known as Wrestlemania, this time it’s number XL. I was a big fan of pro wrestling in it’s 80′ and 90’s heyday, but I couldn’t name you five current wrestlers if you threatened to suplex me off the top rope. I do know that The Rock has returned to the WWE for Wrestlemania XL, which should create plenty of buzz.
Maybe The Rock needed a paycheck. You might think that if you saw the opening weekend of the UFL, of which The Rock is a part-owner. The UFL is the latest attempt at Spring football, and is a merger of the XFL and USFL. The Rock made an appearance on the mic at one of the opening games last weekend and thanked all the fans who made the UFL possible–all 128 of them. In all seriousness, I’m not sure the stands were half-full, and the challenge for the camera crews was avoiding shots of empty seats. I love the DC Defenders, but it may be time to give up on the idea of post-NFL football, although I think the league will make money because of it’s TV deal.
Finally, the Washington Capitals are picking the absolute wrong time to spiral downward. After basically going into “sell” mode and dumping longtime players like Evgeny Kuznetzov, a funny thing happened. The Caps clawed their way into playoff contention, even grabbing the eighth and final Wild Card spot for about a week. Since then, the Capitals have, at the time of this blog, lost five in a row and are now on the outside-looking-in. Alex Ovechkin, who continues to close in on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal mark, has tried to saddle up the team on his back, but he needs some help. In arguably the Caps’ biggest game of the year earlier this week against rival Pittsburgh, Washington wilted like a daffodil caught in an early spring snowfall. To have the playoff spot and lose it is disappointing, especially when the team showed no sense of urgency.
As for the Nationals, you can revisit my VFB from last week. Bells, clocks, and whistles for the stadium are nice, but “Curly W’s” ultimately put fannies in the seats. Unless you’re the UFL…
Can you smell what the Booth is cooking? Until next time…
RW
As we head into the final weekend of the college basketball season, will The Duke have his “One Shining Moment,” or will he clang some bricks off the back iron. Step up to the foul line and play along, as we try to Stump The Duke, brought to you by Play Favorites, Front Royal’s Favorite Toy Store!
Greetings from The Booth!
This is arguably the most exciting weekend in sports, even if you are not a fan of college basketball. All of our cynicism about NIL, the transfer portal, and our feelings about the changing of college athletics gets put on the back burner for a while as the NCAA Basketball Tournament takes center stage. As I’ve said before, the cream usually rises to the top in the later rounds, but the real surprises happen in the first weekend of play.
How’s your bracket looking so far? As we enter Sunday’s second round play. I’m a respectable 32-8 overall, including a 7-1 day yesterday. I’m not sure where that puts me in the ol’ office pool, but as they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. So, as we wrap up this first weekend of the Big Dance, here are some randon thoughts and observations…
If you’re looking for upsets, always start with the 12 versus 5 natchups. Of the four 12-seed versus 5-seed games this year, there were 2 upsets (both of which I called correctly). Grand Canyon took down St. Mary’s 75-66. The 30-4 Antelopes from the Western Athletic Conference will now face 4-seed Alabama in the second round and if the Tide is looking ahead to the Sweet Sixteen, we could have another upset today. The other 12-5 “upset” was the area’s own JMU Dukes’ decisive 72-61 win over Wisconsin. JMU raced to an early 18-5 lead and never looked back. I don’t have the Dukes taking out Duke today, but watch out. JMU has a number of scoring options in their lineup, and plays pretty good defense.
UVA is an embarrasment. The Cavaliers, one of the last teams to sneak into the NCAA Tourney, were shown the door by Colorado State in one of the so-called “First Four” games. In that 67-42 blowout loss, Virginia scored only 14 points in the first half. I said a few weeks ago that UVA had done enough to get into the tournament, but in retrospect, the teams that felt they were snubbed at the expense of Virginia were justified in feeling that way.
I felt going into the NCAA Tournament that Kansas was vastly overrated, especially with some late-season injuries. But who saw the 4-seed Jayhawks being ousted by 13-seed Samford (and Son)? Apparently, Kansas overlooked the talents of Fred, Lamont, Grady, and company and got sent to the junkyard of upset victims. In the words of Redd Foxx’ character in the 70’s sitcom, “Elizabeth…this is the big one, I’m comin’ to greet you!”
Finally, my Final Four? I have UConn, Baylor, Houston, and Gonzaga , with the Cougars winning the whole thing in the Championship against the Bears in an all-Texas Final. As I said earlier, the cream usually rises to the top in the later rounds, and all of the above four teams are solid, top-notch programs who so far have avoided any early upsets. But, the weekend ain’t over yet, so watch out for some bracket-bustin’ upsets today!
Until the next visit from The Booth…enjoy the March Madness!
RW
The Sports Dogs are barkin’! Ryan is a bit nervous about his JMU basketball team, despite their 28-3 record. Will they get a bid to the NCAA Tournament? The picture will be a little clearer after the Sun Belt Tournament (I think they’re in). I’ll try to talk him off the ledge, plus some exciting news about the Dogs goin’ to DC, and a big snag for the Commanders!
RW
