Oct 5, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough (9) looks to pass against Southern Methodist Mustangs defensive end Elijah Roberts (5) during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images
After falling out of the Top 25 with back-to-back seven-point losses, Louisville will visit a surging Virginia squad Saturday afternoon for an Atlantic Coast Conference contest in Charlottesville, Va.
Coach Jeff Brohm believes that better communication on defense is crucial if his Cardinals (3-2, 1-1) hope to keep the Cavaliers (4-1, 2-0) from running up and down the court, er, field.
“Just like when you’re playing defense in basketball, you have to talk,” Brohm said. “It’s going to be loud, so we have to be better at communicating.”
Louisville climbed to No. 15 in the Associated Press poll before losing 31-24 at then-No. 16 Notre Dame on Sept. 28 and 34-27 at home last weekend against SMU.
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After falling behind 21-7 in the first quarter vs. the Fighting Irish, the Cardinals trailed by 11 at halftime against the Mustangs.
“I think it’s a hodgepodge of things that happen here and there that need to be cleaned up to make sure we don’t put ourselves in those situations,” Brohm said. “We all need to play better. We all need to coach better. It starts with me and goes all the way down.”
While Louisville’s rallies have fallen short, Virginia successfully engineered another comeback last weekend against Boston College. The Cavaliers scored 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for a 24-14 victory.
It was similar to Virginia’s ACC opener on Sept. 7 at Wake Forest, when the Cavaliers outscored the Demon Deacons 14-0 in the fourth quarter for a 31-30 win.
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Picked to finish 16th in the 17-team ACC in the preseason after consecutive three-win campaigns, Virginia began this week as one of five unbeaten schools in league play.
“It’s a great feeling, obviously, to be 4-1,” defensive end Chico Bennett Jr. said. “But overall, we know what we’ve got to do, because Coach (Tony) Elliott always emphasizes reload, recalibrate and attack. And so that’s the mindset.”
Louisville has won the last two meetings to take a 7-5 lead in the series. The Cardinals outscored the Cavaliers 17-3 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 31-24 home win last November.
Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” are appearing in rural parts of Virginia in opposition to gerrymandered maps being voted on in a special election.
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‘Don’t Fairfax Me’: Northern Virginians fight redistricting plan
As the special election that will determine the fate of a plan to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts approaches, the state’s largest jurisdiction has started being referenced as a verb in messaging opposing the initiative.
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Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” started appearing in rural parts of Virginia, Cardinal News reported. And on social media, Del. Wren Williams, whose district includes several counties in the southwestern portion of the state, defined “Fairfaxphobia.”
Early voting has been underway for weeks, but on April 21, voters will decide whether to OK a plan that would redraw Virginia’s congressional map. Currently, the state has elected six Democrats and five Republicans across its 11 districts. The proposed map could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage, experts say.
Virginia Democrats argue the step comes in response to President Donald Trump’s push for redistricting in Republican-led states. Republicans have been critical of the effort.
Williams is describing “Fairfaxphobia” as a fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state and create policies impacting some communities that they can’t afford.
“We don’t want to be Fairfax County,” Williams told WTOP. “We don’t want skyscrapers. I don’t want to have to go somewhere outside and walk around to find some patches of grass to touch. I am interested in rural life, a little bit easier, a little bit simpler, a little bit more laid back, not as fast paced.”
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“Fairfaxphobia” graphic circulated to represent the fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state. (Courtesy of Wren Williams)
As part of the proposed map, Williams said, “at least five districts run up and split up Fairfax County, which will eventually lead to five sitting congressional members from the county of Fairfax, and that’s just not representative of the entirety of the commonwealth.”
Jeannette, a longtime Northern Virginia resident, said people who live in the northern part of the state “are seen as an anomaly, maybe to the rest of Virginia, given our, I think, collective more liberal leaning. And I understand why they’re saying that, but I think we should separate that from the goal of the referendum.”
Dave Lincoln, meanwhile, said Friday he hadn’t heard about the signs in rural parts of the state but, “I guess it’s — we are what we are.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell called the campaign disappointing, because “Fairfax County does a lot for the entire state. If it wasn’t for Fairfax, our state would have the economy of Mississippi.”
The “Don’t Fairfax Me” signs say they’re paid for and authorized by a political action committee called “New Vision VA.” Dominion Energy made a $25,000 donation to the PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
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Yves Fischer, who lives in Alexandria, said the messaging and advertising on the redistricting referendum are confusing.
For Tiffany, “I guess they’re saying ‘Don’t Fairfax’ Virginia, because obviously we are a much more educated, classy, professional, employed area, and we, of course, are going to vote ‘yes’ on this.”
In Springfield on Friday afternoon, Ann said she hadn’t seen or heard about the signs, but, “It should be a big ‘no.’ It’s not right. It’s not fair to most Virginians.”
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ABINGDON, Va. (WCYB) — The made in Southwest Virginia artisan and craft market returns April 11, 2026.
The Southwest Virginia Cultural Center in Abingdon will host more than 20 local artists.
Those artisans will offer demonstrations of their work and they’ll also be selling some of their crafts.
“We want to give this opportunity for community members to come out, as the weather is warming up and as spring is rolling around, to meet these makers and take home a little bit of Southwest Virginia,” Ryan Vaughan with the Friends of Southwest Virginia said.
A new West Virginia law aims to boost the state’s coal and natural gas sectors while more than tripling its electricity generation capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2050.
The measure, signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey, is designed to turn West Virginia into an energy hub for the data center industry. By sending more electricity to the regional grid and leveraging his state’s relatively lax regulations, Morrisey and his allies are looking to lure data centers to the state, as well as power those beyond its borders.
“We know there’s virtually unlimited need for energy in our country,” Morrisey said at a bill signing of H.B. 5381. “PJM and our grid operators, they’re starving for states to step up and take the lead. And that’s what West Virginia is doing.”
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The new law calls for the state’s Office of Energy to produce rolling five-year plans to keep the state’s existing coal-fired power plants operating through 2050, while also developing new “baseload” energy powered by gas, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen.
