AFP Podcasts

Virginia and Virginia Tech have both lost three of their last four, and sit at 2-3 in the ACC, heading into Wednesday’s in-state matchup at JPJ.

Chris Graham breaks down the Tech rotation, how we can expect Tony Bennett to try to match up, and sets the stakes in terms of postseason implications.

Then, the podcast switches gears to go in depth on a story from over the weekend on a tweet from a prominent UVA Athletics booster about NIL.

Stories referenced in this podcast:

• Preview: What Virginia Basketball fans need to know about Virginia Tech

Virginia's 66-47 loss at Wake Forest on Saturday was the fifth double-digit loss for the Cavaliers this season.

AFP editor Chris Graham shares his Five Observations from the game, recaps coach Tony Bennett's ACC teleconference and addresses the elephant in the room - why it's time for fans to push the panic button not only on this season, but the future of Virginia Basketball.

Links to stories referenced in this podcast:

• It’s time to push the panic button: Not just on this season, but on the future of Virginia Basketball

Virginia is looking to rebound from a couple of subpar efforts before the Christmas break when it hosts Morgan State on Wednesday at JPJ.

Chris Graham tells you a little about Morgan State, then shifts the focus of the podcast to Virginia Football.

The football talk starts with the latest on what former coach Bronco Mendenhall is doing out at New Mexico, which is, basically, he’s hiring all of his former Virginia staffers.

Then we take a look at the job that Tony Elliott and his staff are doing to add to the Virginia roster via the preps and the transfer portal.

At the 59-second mark of an 11-minute, 59-second phone call on Friday morning, Butch Wells, member of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors, trying to intimidate me, I would soon come to realize, into giving him the name of a person who would have given me information that I had included in a Freedom of Information Act request made to the county on Thursday, told me, forebodingly, that he had “a file started.”

My natural question back: “You’ve got a file started?”

Wells’ cryptic response: “Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, I’ve got a file started. They’re playing, they’re playing political games. I don't play political games. I play criminal games. And, yeah, I've got a file started.”

As the conversation played out, Wells would not answer questions directed back at him about who “they” are, and left to interpretation what his “criminal games” might involve.

Virginia escaped a tough test from a mid Northeastern team. Next up for the ‘Hoos: the first true road game of the season, at Memphis, a likely NCAA Tournament team.

Chris Graham tries to make sense of the struggle with Northeastern (it wasn’t an exam hangover), answers the Mailbag, and then puts the focus on Memphis, Penny Hardaway and the FedEx Forum.

I’ve been hiding depression as a fact of my life from myself for 51 years. I understand why; it’s hard for males to admit to what is perceived as a weakness.

It’s not a weakness to confront reality.

I hope, through this video and podcast, to encourage others who are afraid to begin to confront their truths.

AFP editor Chris Graham gets us ready for the return from the exam break, with the ‘Hoos set to face Northeastern on Saturday night in JPJ.

We also talk about how the Class of 2023 transfer class (the guys who left) are doing at their new schools.

When you talk about Virginia Basketball, you talk about the defense, but there are some things being done by coach Tony Bennett to open up the offense.

Chris Graham breaks down the trends – more transition, more triangle sets in the halfcourt – and offers thoughts on how it’s working out.

Photo: Mike Ingalls/AFP

The chatter around Virginia Football ahead of the opening of transfer portal season, almost entirely on message boards and social media, was that the Dec. 4 portal opening date would be the beginning of a mass exodus of players – which, you have to now assume at this point, isn’t going to happen.

Crystal Graham joins the show to discuss the latest in the case of an Augusta County man accused of shooting the service dog of a neighbor, a military veteran with PTSD.

We also get the details on a recent attempt by a scam artist to separate Crystal and $1,600 of her money, ostensibly the price for four tickets to a 2024 Taylor Swift concert, but when it seems too good to be true, it probably is – and was in this case.

We wrap with the latest on the wild Sunday weather forecast, which includes wind, thunderstorms and … snow?