TechSideline.com Launches “Free Pass”

For the next two weeks or so, Techsideline.com will be testing out a new
concept that we think you’ll like. It’s called FreePass, and it’s a way to
give non-subscribers a taste of our great TSL Pass content for free, making sure
you’re aware of how much outstanding content we produce, and giving more
exposure to our sponsors.

Here’s a synopsis of how it works.

• Click a TSL Pass article
• Watch a one-minute commercial.
• Get 2 hours of access to TSL Pass content. (Note: You can read the
  subscriber boards but won’t be able to post on them.)
• Repeat!

In other words, if you’re not a current TSL Pass subscriber, you can access
that content by viewing a one-minute commercial from one of our sponsors. After
you watch the ad, you’ll be able to access TSL Pass content for two hours. You
can read all of the TSL Pass stories and recruiting updates, plus view the
recruiting databases and photo galleries. Once your two hours are up, you can
view another ad and get another 120 minutes of access.

Our hope is that once you familiarize yourself with everything the TSL Pass
has to offer, you’ll want to subscribe. It’s just $4.99 a month (with an
option to auto-bill to your credit card) or $49.99 for an entire year. For that,
you get the best recruiting coverage, in-depth analysis, commentary and
information about Virginia Tech athletics. Keep in mind the FreePass option is
limited. To get the full benefit of the TSL Pass, you need to be a subscriber.

Once you’re a subscriber, you’ll be able to access TSL Pass content
without having to watch any more commercials, and you’ll be able to post on the
subscriber boards. Our subscribers love the TSL Pass boards because they are
devoid of opposing fan static and are by far the best VT message boards on the
Internet for serious insight and discussion.

Please check this out and tell us what you think. Watch the ads, enjoy the
TSL Pass and feel free to email us with your thoughts.

The basketball career of Hokie freshman Hyman Taylor is over before it even
started. In a terse statement last week, head coach Seth Greenberg announced
that Taylor was dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. Greenberg
didn’t elaborate further, and Taylor later told Roanoke Times reporter Mark
Berman that he was dismissed for "discipline" reasons. Taylor didn’t
provide any additional information, either. Taylor was behind fellow freshmen
Cheick Diakate and Terrance Vinson and was not expected to play much this
season.

The bad news doesn’t end there for the team. Sophomore wing forward Wynton
Witherspoon fractured his left foot last Tuesday in practice and will miss 6-8
weeks, putting his earliest return date in the first week of December. And
yesterday the VT athletic department announced that sophomore center Robert
Krabbendam, who had been developing nicely, suffered a medial meniscus tear in
his left knee in practice on Saturday and will undergo surgery today. There is
no timetable on Krabbendam’s return.

Lastly Berman also reported that senior forward Allen Calloway, who has a
cancerous tumor in his left calf that has spread to his lungs, has lost about 40
pounds and is down to 170 pounds. The outlook for Calloway to play this year
looks grim, but Calloway is obviously facing bigger issues than basketball.

These developments thin the frontcourt for the Hokies. Their roster of wing
forwards, power forwards, and centers now looks like this:

In addition to the above-listed players, Markus Sailes (6-5, 210 r-Jr.) could
play some wing forward for short stretches.

The ideal lineup would have been Krabbendam at center and Coleman Collins at
power forward, with Deron Washington playing small (wing) forward. With
Krabbendam out, Collins will probably play center (again), and Diakite and
Vinson will be pressed into service quicker, probably as backups to Collins. If
the Hokies go with a big lineup, that will probably put Chris Tucker at power
forward, with Deron Washington manning the other forward spot, perhaps backed up
by A.D. Vassallo, who has missed some practice time because of an injury. If the
Hokies decide to go with a smaller lineup, Collins will play center while
Washington and perhaps Vassallo or Sailes start at the forward positions.