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The Rotunda
Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Where to Begin?

I’m sitting here on a Sunday night in a great mood, despite the fact that I spilled warm coffee all over my laptop about an hour ago. It still works fine, mind you, but I digress. A new semester is upon us, and after almost two months without a column to my name, it seems that I have a lot of items to review over the next 800 words or so, so I’ll start. The first thing I did over break was go to the Longwood-Georgetown game at the Verizon Center back on Dec. 10. A ride into the nation’s capital on the ever- colorful Metro led my dad and I to the “Phone Booth,” a place that I’d sorely missed since I was last there my junior year of high school for a hockey game. Although the arena was barely one-fourth full, fans on both sides were actively rooting their teams on, and I will say that the Longwood contingent was particularly impressive, in terms of both size and volume. After I ran into Longwood alumni Nicole Dales and Corey Morris at halftime, the Lancers fell to the No. 23-ranked Hoyas, 89-53. The loss wasn’t unexpected, though, and the time spent in the District more than made up for it. In all honesty, I had a pretty uneventful time off. The week of the Georgetown game, I got my wisdom teeth out, and the aftermath wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. I was left without any swelling at all and made a full recovery within a couple of days. I’ll just say that I’m glad my post-mortem after the surgery wasn’t recorded and put on YouTube. I could barely walk and talked in gibberish to just about everyone I came in contact with, but I guess that comes with the territory of just waking up from general anesthesia. The only real negative was my steady diet of soup, pudding and Jell-O during my recovery. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Redskins and their seven-game winning streak to end the regular season. After the Giants' win I really began to believe in the possibility of the impossible. When we beat the Ravens, I knew destiny was on the side of the Burgundy & Gold. When Kirk Cousins stepped up and beat Cleveland, there was no doubt in my mind. The Philly game was too close for comfort, but by God, we beat ‘em. Suffice to say, I was ecstatic to beat those ever-hated, rarely-respected Cowboys on national television to complete the miracle and win the division for the first time since the Clinton administration. The Seattle game aside (which I freely admit I’m still somewhat bitter over), there was plenty to be proud of for Redskins Nation this year, and hopefully RGIII’s knee makes a full, fast recovery. And, by the way, Hail. To the delight of many around both Longwood and North America, the NHL lockout ended in the early morning hours of Jan. 6. I didn’t expect a deal to be made, but in the end, a federal mediator convinced the owners and players to sort out a deal. While I’m not engaging in a full boycott of the league, don’t expect a significant portion of my hard-earned money to go to them this season. The owners whined about not having any money and wanted a bigger share of the pie, never mind the 10-year, $10 million contracts popping up everywhere. I’m also without sympathy for the players, but I’m just glad to have the sport I love back. The Capitals’ Brooks Laich put it best when he said, “I feel like we just punched our sport in the face,” back on Jan. 10. Of course, Longwood basketball was in action over break. The women were particularly impressive, winning six of their nine games over break and starting their first-ever Big South schedule 4-1. They’ve been a pleasant surprise so far, and I personally can’t wait to see the rest of their games in Willett. On the other hand, the men’s team ended the academic break in a tailspin, losing seven in a row and not winning a single Division I game during break. The homestand toward the end featured four winnable games, but the Lancers came away empty-handed. Only time can tell if Mike Gillian and his team can turn the season around, as the longtime coach’s seat continues to heat up. I’ll end this column with a few random musings: It’s great to be back in Farmvegas, even if we don’t have a Jimmy John’s. The spring sports season is right around the corner, as the baseball, softball and women’s lacrosse teams get back in action. I want to thank Joey Schumacher for his fantastic work last semester at The Rotunda, and wish him the best as his time at LU draws to a close. The Rotunda is going to be there for you all semester giving you the best Longwood sports coverage possible. I personally guarantee that. *** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views of The Rotunda or Longwood University.

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