gh-powered Oregon. Getting off to a good start and some positive initial reinforcement could set a tone for the early going.THE QBJohns has the respect of his teammates, but neither the arm

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Former BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall has brought a new way of doing things to Virginia, using his theories of earned, not given and there are two ways of doing things: right, or again in trying to steer the Cavaliers to the success that has been elusive for so long.The Cavaliers did not have a typical spring game, but instead a typical practice with fans watching. They did not have a starting quarterback when that was over, even with incumbent and team leader Matt Johns returning. Instead, Johns, Connor Brewer and transfer Kurt Benkert have been battling for the job ever since.The coach, who serves as his own defensive coordinator and typically runs a 3-4 scheme, has been pleased with the results so far.I love our team because of how willing they are to work and how hard theyve worked, he said as preseason camp began. Thats something theyve chosen to do, and my responsibility, as long as they keep that up, is to put them in the very best positions ... to have success.The biggest question is behind center. Johns threw 20 touchdown passes last season, but also threw 17 interceptions, and began the spring as the least familiar with the offense among the three contenders.Hopefully my experience will give me a little bit of an advantage, Johns said, but at the same time, its about earning the coaches trust and playing simple and decisive and really competing every single day.The winner will have plenty of playmaking options to look to, starting with tailback Taquan Mizzell and multipurpose speedster Olamide Zaccheaus and including receivers Andrew Levrone and Doni Dowling, both back from injuries. Virginia is deep at running back, and moving the ball doesnt seem to be a concern of the coaches.On defense, nose tackle Donte Wilkins, linebacker Micah Kiser and safety Quin Blanding give them stalwarts and signal callers at all three levels, and Blanding is comfortable that Mendenhall will have the unit ready.We love him, and were thankful for him to be here, he said. Were just ready to win games.Some things to watch with Virginia this season:CHAPTER ONEThe Mendenhall era starts with a game against very talented Richmond of the Championship Subdivision, and rarely has an opener meant more. Sure, the Spiders are a lower-level opponent, but the Cavaliers have had their hands full with Richmond a few times in recent seasons, and they travel in Week Two to high-powered Oregon. Getting off to a good start and some positive initial reinforcement could set a tone for the early going.THE QBJohns has the respect of his teammates, but neither the arm strength nor the ability to keep plays alive with his feet that Benkert has shown. Benkert also arrived after spring practice already more familiar with the teams offense, having run it at East Carolina.KEY GAMESThe Cavaliers would love for games later in the season to become more important because of bowl ramifications, but until that happens, games at Connecticut on Sept. 17, at recent nemesis Duke on Oct. 1 and the regular-season finale at Virginia Tech are the one fans will most hope show a new day is dawning for Virginia. The Hokies have won the last 12 meetings in the series.PREDICTIONMendenhall was pleasantly surprised with the talent available when he got to Virginia, and the players have universally professed total belief in the coach and his staff. That kind of mindset goes a long way, especially in crunch time of tight games, and with a non-league schedule not nearly as daunting as in recent years, the Cavaliers should expect to get six wins and their first bowl game in five seasons.---Online:The APs college football page: www.collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr Air Jordan Store On Sale . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Discount Jordan Shoes . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.airjordanoutlet.us/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Jordan Outlet Chicago . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Wholesale Jordans Authentic . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. The Seattle Mariners?have suspended Steve Clevenger?without pay for the remainder of the 2016 season after the backup catcher posted a pair of inflammatory tweets Thursday.As soon as we became aware of the tweets posted by Steve yesterday we began to examine all of our options in regard to his standing on the team, general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement Friday. Today we have informed him that he is suspended for the remainder of the season without pay.Clevengers tweets referenced the recent unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina, after police shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott on Tuesday. One tweet said in part that Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals!Clevenger later apologized, saying in a lengthy statement released through his agent that he was sickened by the idea that anyone would think of me in racist terms.First and foremost I would like to apologize to the Seattle Mariners, my teammates, my family and the fans of our great game for the distraction my tweets on my personal twitter page caused when they went public earlier today, Clevenger said in the statement.Clevenger, a 30-year-old journeyman who has spent time with the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs over parts of six seasons since 2011, had played in 22 games this year in his only season for the Mariners, batting .221 with one home run and seven RBIs in 68 at-bats.He said the tweets were in reaction to news out of Charlotte but that they were worded beyond poorly at best and I can see how and why someone could read into my tweets far more deeply than how I actually feel.I grew up on the streets of Baltimore, a city I love to this very day, Clevenger said. I grew up in a very culturally diverse area of America and I am very proud to come from there..dddddddddddd. I am also proud that my inner circle of friends has never been defined by race but by the content of their character. Any former teammate or anyone who has met me can attest to this and I pride myself on not being a judgemental person. I just ask that the public not judge me because of an ill worded tweet.He will lose about $34,000 in salary through the suspension.The Major League Baseball Players Association, which could challenge the discipline, had no comment.Clevenger had also mocked the civil rights campaign Black Lives Matter in referencing the Charlotte shooting of Scott -- a black man who was killed by police Tuesday -- and the violent protests in the city that have followed.Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black police officer, one of the tweets said, according to Seattle radio station KOMO reporter Jon Humbert, who published screen-grab images of Clevengers account, which was set to private Thursday night. Haha s--- cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the Anthem!In his statement, Clevenger said he hoped not to be judged based on social media posts.I do believe that supporting our First Amendment rights and supporting local law enforcement are not mutually exclusive, Clevenger said. With everything going on in the world I really just want what is best for everyone regardless of who they are. I like many Americans are frustrated by a lot of things in the world and I would like to be a part of the dialogue moving forward to make this a better world for everyone.Information from ESPN senior writer Darren Rovell and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '