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The Roanoke Valley Chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association is hosting its 21st annual golf tournament on Friday, Aug. 7, and Virginia Tech football hall-of-famer and current Hokie color analyst Mike Burnop is the featured speaker.

For $85, you get 18 holes of golf at beautiful Hanging Rock Golf Club in Salem, Va., a golf cart, a cookout dinner following golf with guest speaker Mike Burnop, beverages during your round of golf, and chances to win great door prizes and if your golf game is good enough, more prizes!

VTHokieFans.com will be there along with sponsor GobblerGear.com, which has also signed on to sponsor the golf tournament. For more information, check out the brand spanking new Web site for the Roanoke Hokies Alumni Chapter (www.roanokehokies.com).

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According to HokieSports.com, the official Web site of Virginia Tech Athletics, the Hokies sold out its allotment of over 30,000 tickets to the 2009 Chick-fil-A College Kickoff, a game featuring the Hokies and the University of Alabama on Sept. 5 in Atlanta, Ga.

“The Hokie Nation has responded in typical fashion as it supports our football program in this exciting 2009 season opener,” said Director of Athletics Jim Weaver.

The game, which will be played in the Georgia Dome and televised nationally on ABC, will kick off at 8 p.m.

(Source: HokieSports.com)

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Relentless nagging and a $400 test that is not covered by insurance likely saved Virginia Tech’s offensive line coach Curt Newsome from a life-threatening blockage. Dough Doughty of the Roanoke Times wrote in an article yesterday afternoon that Newsome underwent double bypass surgery Friday morning. From all account, everything appeared to go smoothly and Newsome is expected to be back to 100 percent by the start of the fall practice season.

Read Doughty’s article Hokies assistant Newsome undergoes heart surgery.

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First Jay Cutler and now Brandon Marshall. The way things are going, there won’t be much of an offense left for the Denver Broncos; and new head coach Josh McDaniels hasn’t exactly endeared himself to the players, either. We do know that former Chicago Bears starting quarterback Kyle Orton is the new Broncos starter barring injury. And we know that the front office appears ready to replace troubled, but highly skilled, wide receiver Brandon Marshall with another Brandon … Lloyd, who was signed to a contract on Monday afternoon.

Where does this leave former Hokie standout Eddie Royal? Last year, the 2008 second round draft pick set Denver Bronco rookie receiving records with 91 receptions, 980 receiving yards, 1,089 total yards and five touchdowns. He also only committed one turnover in 15 games, all of which he started. So far Royal’s name seems to be getting left out of the conversation quite a bit when it comes to Marshall’s inevitable departure.

It would seem to reason that Royal benefited from having Marshall on the other side of the field often times being double-covered, leaving Royal with a chance to prove himself. Royal was an untested and undersized rookie that garnered little attention from opposing teams in the preseason. That all changed in week one of the regular season. Royal caught nine passes for 146 yards and 1 touchdown as the Broncos bombed the Oakland Raiders 41-14. Royal exploded onto the NFL scene in a big way.

Will there be a sophomore slump for Royal in 2009? He won’t have Jay Cutler to get him the ball and without Marshall drawing double coverage, it wouldn’t surprise me if Royal sees fewer open lanes. But, as Hokie fans know, Royal has a knack for getting open and he’s a very smart young man, so I’m sure he’s aware that he will have to work even harder this season with a new – and considerably less-talented – QB, as well as the team’s former No. 1 receiver.

If ever there was a time for Royal to step up and assume the role of the go-to guy, this is it. While I don’t expect a repeat of last year’s 1,000-yard output (mainly because of Orton at QB), I still expect Royal to make the most of the situation and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he surpasses last year’s record-setting rooking numbers.

Hear what Eddie Royal had to say about Jay Cutler leaving the Broncos.

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According to the Birmingham News, The University of Alabama’s football program appears to have avoided losing any scholarships, but is expected to be placed on three years probation and stripped of about 10 wins from the 2005 through 2007 seasons. The punishment comes after an investigation revealed athletes from various sports programs – including football – used their status as athletes to get free text books for other students who were not eligible.

The NCAA is expected to have an official announcement later today. Virginia Tech opens its 2009 season against the Crimson Tide in Atlanta on Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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Yesterday, the ACC announced game times for several early season games including two for the Virginia Tech. The Hokies home opener for the 2009 season against Marshall will be shown on ESPN360.com and will kick off at 1:30 p.m., on Sept. 12. The following week, Sept. 19, the Hokies host Nebraska. That game is scheduled to air regionally on ABC, but will also be available to most in the country on ESPN2. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m.

For more game times and broadcast information, read the ACC press release.

In other news…

Bishop Kearney High School’s (Rochester, N.Y.) Jerome Lewis, a 6-4, 225-pound tight end/defensive end, verbally committed to Virginia Tech this week. Lewis was a 5-9, 138-pound freshman when he got the call to play for the varsity squad but has since added 50 pounds and seven inches. According to Lewis, he also had official offers form Syracuse, Pittsburgh and East Carolina.

Lewis is slated to join the 2010 class and play either tight end or flanker for the Hokies. If that’s the case, I would expect Frank Beamer to redshirt Lewis in 2010 considering the extremely talented and deep pools of receivers currently in the program. A pool that will only be juniors by the time this kid arrives.

For more information about Jerome Lewis, check out Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle.

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