SPORTS FOLDEROL

 

  Finally … at last … all’s well that ends … with  Hal Nunnally  going into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024. For reasons never articulated, the late Randolph-Macon College  basketball coach was by-passed for a long time … too long as far as  former rivals and players as well as anyone who knew and recognized  the genius of the man could understand. In fact, because nominations last only five years, his had to be re- submitted at least once before the Honors Committee -- which makes  the final choices – was moved to do the right thing. We’re told  Phil  Stanton , legendary R-MC sports information director, made a  thorough presentation to the committee ... that included making sure  every member was aware of former Maryland coach  Gary Williams’   heart-felt, best-we’ve-ever-seen letter of its kind on Nunnally’s behalf. Even so, despite having credentials that can only be described as first- ballot, Nunnally wasn’t a lock for admittance this time either … being  bypassed

  If University of Richmond linebacker  Tristan Wheeler  isn’t the best  defensive player in the CAA, then the Albany LB who won the award  would be best advised to enter the transfer portal … pronto! ... and  start counting his money. Of course, we’re assuming he has remaining  eligibility or can convince the NCAA he deserves a sixth or  seventh year … to pad his bank account. (Did you see where a tight end at Georgia Tech petitioned the NCAA  for an EIGHTH year? No wonder JMU tried to get the NCAA to ignore the rule regarding  post-season eligibility. It was worth a try. You never know what they  might do.) Wheeler, who has more than 400 tackles for his career, was the  Spiders’ best player in 2022, too, but a quarterback passing through for  one season as a graduate transfer,  Reece Udinski , was handed the  Dudley Award, emblematic of the state’s best, after being UR’s  nominee. … .  Made sense, of course. Anyone with big numbers on offense  invariably beats someone who was equally

 

  First, let’s hear it for  Pat Chun , Washington State AD … for not taking the party line but, instead, telling it like it is: “College athletics is beyond repair,” he said. DID YOU SEE  your Washington Football Team quit right before your  aching eyes Thursday in Dallas? Sorry about that … Let the high- volume scolding of coach  Ron Rivera  begin – again … as though it  ever stopped. Maybe local radio talk jocks should ignore the Commanders, at least  until season’s end … to keep a small measure of their sanity (such as it  is) … 45-10 final after a terrible, two-play sequence from the  Cowboys’ 41 with the score 21-10. Third and one, QB  Sam Howell   goes deep. Incomplete. Fourth and one, the Commanders run right …  for a two-yard loss.  They also went for it on fourth down from their 31 with about 12  minutes remaining, trailing by 13 points. All they needed was 36  inches (or less). So much for a quarterback sneak and potential “Tush  Push” when Howell lined up in shot-gun formati

 

  SO  …  Sam Hartman  left Wake Forest for Notre Dame and a projected $1.1 million pay day from Under Armor, Bojangles and three other NIL sponsors … and Wake coach  Dave Clawson  said he understood why the QB he developed for five years – and threw for 12,967 yards and 110 touchdowns -- did what he did despite having another year of eligibility. Then, after the Fighting Irish dismantled the Deacons 45-7 as Hartman  passed for four touchdowns and 277 yards in South Bend (Nov. 18),  the 6-1, 210-pound student/athlete majoring in communications was  serenaded by Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” as he left  the field after what was his final home game. And that set Clawson  off. “ We  love him.  They  rented him for a lot of money,” the former  University of Richmond coach said. “But, that’s what college football  has come to.” SO  … Hartman comes out of spring practice No. 1 … and No. 2  Tyler  Buchner  then transfers to Alabama where he starts Game 2 and is  replaced at halfti