Vick Gains New Fans, Supporters on the Road to Redemption

My partner works in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation field. She is a licensed and certified drug counselor, has a masters of divinity degree and is a seminary-trained ordained minister. She works in the field of Redemption, where people who have made mistakes and messed up their lives try and make amends and become better people.

It's hard work. It requires patience, commitment and forgiveness. It's also not always successful. Life's highways are littered with ruined lives. It's nice to see when someone can get up, dust themselves off and try to walk the straight and narrow.

Weekends, she likes to relax by watching cooking shows and knitting. This past weekend, I watched the first half of the Giants-Eagles game, thought the Giants were going to win and retired to read, turning the remote over to my partner.

It was with some surprise that a few chapters in I heard a "Woo Hoo!" coming from the living room.

Mmm, I thought, must have been a great recipe.

A few minutes later, another "Woo Hoo!" That can't be a cooking show, I thought.

Sure enough, it wasn't. During the commercials for the cooking show, she had turned over to the Eagles-Giants game and watched the Eagles recover an onside kick. The second whoop was from a Mike Vick touchdown pass that brought the Eagles within a touchdown.

My partner is a Mike Vick supporter. She was excited to see him doing well. She had read the Sports Illustrated article on Vick and was moved by it. The Eagles coach, Andy Reid, knows about Redemption as his sons have struggled with addictions.

I sat down with her and watched the rest of the game. It was wonderful to see Vick playing the way I saw him play in college for Virginia Tech. He was unstoppable.

Vick played two years for the Hokies. His record in games he started was 22-1. The only loss came in a national championship game against Florida State.

Vick's fall from Grace has been well documented. He spent 18 months in jail. It has been pointed out that people are more upset and less forgiving of Vick than other athletes who beat their wives, cheat on their wives and sexually assault women.

There are some people who will never forgive Vick. My partner works every day with people who have ruined other people's lives, spent time in jail, and are struggling to become better. She shares Vick's story with those she counsels. They understand.

They understand there are no guarantees, that every day is a struggle and that there will be setbacks. But they get up, dust themselves off and try and walk the straight and narrow.

It's good to see Vick doing well on and off the field.

There are few people that have Vick's athletic abilities, but there are many people that have fallen from Grace. They are in rehab facilities across the country. They are looking to turn their lives around. Not all of them will make it. But like Vick, if they do, they deserve Redemption, too.
Here's a 'Holiday Shout Out' for all those trying to turn their lives around. "Woo Hoo!"

Hokies Smack Seminoles; Win ACC Championship

Eleven in a row. It may take awhile for that to sink in. Looks like we get a month to savor it. Saturday's 44-33 win was the 11th in a row for the Virginia Tech Hokies since the loss to James Madison in September.
I am partying like its 1999. That's the last time the Hokies won 11 in a row. Michael Vick was the quarterback. Virginia Tech went 11-0 in the regular season, the Hokies were in the Big East, and played Florida State for the National Championship.
The Hokies led 29-28 going into the fourth quarter before falling to the Seminoles, then coached by Bobby Bowden. Saturday, the Hokies played Florida State for the ACC Championship, no longer coached by Bowden.
Tyrod Taylor, who reminds some people of Vick, quarterbacked the Hokies, still coached by Frank Beamer, to a convincing 11 point win over Florida State. The turning points in the game, all in the first quarter, set the tone and momentum.
Whenever the Hokies win the opening toss, they defer to the second half, the other team gets the ball, and marches down the field to score a touchdown.
The Hokies start slow, get close at halftime and then dominate the second half to seal the deal. This game was different.
The first turning point was a 3rd and 2 at the Hokies 14 yard line. Safety Eddie Whitley broke up a pass intended for Taiwan Easterling in the corner of the end zone. The Seminoles settled for a field goal. That made it 3-0 Seminoles.
On a wet, slippery field, Taylor had three incomplete passes opening drive and the Hokies had to punt. That was a shame, because Ryan Williams looked good, rushing three times for 31 yards.
One play after the punt, Seminole quarterback E.J. Manuel's pass was tipped by lunging linebacker Bruce Taylor. Instinctively, Jeron Gouveia-Wilson gathered the pass in and ran 24 yards for the score. The extra point by Chris Hazely put Tech up 7-3.
The next turning point was on the Seminoles' next possession. On a 2nd and 8, Steven Friday tackled Manuel for a three yard loss. Manuel's eight yard gain on third down wasn't enough and Florida State had to punt.
After a touch pass to Williams for five yards, Darren Evans burst through the middle for a 51 yard gain. On the next play, Evans scored from nine yards out. With Hazley's kick, the Hokies were up 14-3. They never relinquished the lead and never let the Seminoles back in the game. The Hokies were in control rest of the way.
Remarkably, both teams went on to score 30 points each. Sometimes a bad field can favor the offense.
Taylor was magnificent, throwing for 263 yards and three touchdowns. The Seminoles for some reason decided not to cover Danny Coales, who was wide open for many of his six catches. But Taylor's signature moment in the game was a run.
On a third and goal from the five yard line, Taylor weaved and juked his way through numerous Seminoles for a touchdown. Even a botched extra point didn't detract, putting the Hokies up 41-26.
It has been a joy watching Taylor take snaps for the Hokies these past four years. Knowing there will be one more game, the Orange Bowl, is something to look forward to, a sports memory to treasure.
What a year! It would be nice to be playing for the national championship. Looking at other teams, TCU seems to be the only one that could beat the Hokies. They aren't playing for a national championship, either.
By the way, JMU finished 6-5.

Hokies Trump Canes To Win Ninth

I watch football games on my computer these days. Partly because my computer monitor works better than our TV. But mainly because we don't get to see the Virginia Tech Hokies on TV much up here in the New York City area.

Even though the Miami-Virginia Tech was on ESPN I still watched it on my computer. Three times. Every time, the score came out the same and the Hokies beat the Hurricanes by two touchdowns.

Based on those three viewings, I offer these 'turning points' that made the difference between winning for the Hokies and losing for the 'Canes.
First, Miami's offensive line is HUGE. They average 6'6 and 318. That's what the program says, but they way they looked on the field, they are much bigger than their 318 average. Tech's defensive line is quick and small. To win, I felt Tech would have to get ahead and force Miami to throw the ball.

Miami's Lamar Miller ran for 163 yards and would have run for more if he hadn't cramped up in the fourth quarter. The 'Canes other three backs ran well, but that is largely due to their terrific offensive line.

Early in the game, Tyrod Taylor appeared stunned at how fast Miami was on defense. I attribute his early fumble and shakiness at the start to playing against a defense as fast as he is. He adjusted as the game went on, a tribute to his senior smarts, and made some key plays. Still, Taylor completed only seven passes for 94 yards, a tribute to Miami's passing defense.

The Hokies also learned early on that they couldn't run wide, either. The big running play by Ryan Williams for the long score was a quick hitter up the gut.

In the first half Miami freshman quarterback Stephen Morris was able to hit standout receiver Leonard Hankerson at will for big plays and one touchdown. In the second half, the Hokie defense limited Hankerson to one catch.

After Taylor hit Danny Coale on a catch and run TD pass to put Tech up 17-10, I was thinking Miami might panic and start to throw the ball. But no, they kept their composure, ran Miller four times for 62 yards and tied it at 17-17.

After the teams traded punts the Hokies were deep in their own territory at the start of the fourth quarter. Then came the turning point of the game.

Williams followed some devastating blocks, the block by Hokie fullback Kenny Younger on a linebacker was key, and burst through the defense untouched for an 84-yard score that put Tech up 24-17.

At this point, Miami did panic and tried to catch up by throwing the ball. After Travis Benjamin dropped what could have been a game-tying touchdown, Morris threw three interceptions in the 'Canes next three possessions and the Hokies sealed the deal.

It was a hard fought, physical game. The Hokies won because they made adjustments and capitalized on Miami's numerous mistakes. Taylor's experience and leadership helped the Hokies win against a talented team with a freshman quarterback who made some mistakes at the end.

It's been a good year for the Hokies. And it could get better.

P.S. What is up with Miami's green helmets? At first, I thought Oregon had taken the field. Huh? Green helmets?