A new American Legion post with a bar, a conference room, slot machines and an outdoor grill hosted an open house over the weekend.

American Legion Post 13 at 3445 Washington Blvd replaces a previous Legion building with a smaller footprint, which was demolished in 2020. The Virginia Square facility now sits at the foot of 160 units of affordable housing, half of which is set aside for veterans.

“The new Post 139 features a modern meeting and activity room, available for rentals with an 85-person capacity and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment,” a press release said. “A well-appointed, modern kitchen is adjacent. Members, auxiliary and their guests have access to a street-front post lounge, complete with bar, plush seating, wide-screen televisions and gaming machines.”

Among the post’s most prominent features is a 22-by-15-foot mural displaying three young Legion representatives and several Arlington landmarks, finished last summer.

The full press release about the open house is below.

American Legion Post 139 opens its doors on Saturday, April 27, giving the public a first look inside the unique Virginia Square facility that serves as a welcoming home for the veterans group while providing key affordable housing to the community.

The new Post 139 features a modern meeting and activity room, available for rentals with an 85-person capacity and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment. A well-appointed, modern kitchen is adjacent. Members, auxiliary and their guests have access to a street-front post lounge, complete with bar, plush seating, wide-screen televisions and gaming machines.

The Legion site, on property owned by the post since the 1930s, occupies 6,000 square feet of the ground floor of the new seven-story building developed by the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing. APAH bought the land in 2016 with an agreement that half of the future 160 Terwilliger Place apartments would be set aside for veterans for the next 75 years. The building’s first residents arrived in August 2022.

The previous Post 139 building, known for its American flag mural and cannon, was built in the 1950s and occupied a much smaller footprint with two floors and a basement. It was demolished in 2020.

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The April 27 open house is free for the public and will offer chances to meet Post 139 members, discuss special resources and partnerships available and view artwork by veterans. Live music. A variety of foods including grill items will be served.

The post, at 3445 Washington Blvd., is a short walk from Virginia Square-GMU Metro station and is also served by several bus routes. There is limited on-site parking; use street spaces or the GMU Van Metre garage.

Spring ball is now in the rearview mirror and West Virginia head coach Neal Brown found out some valuable things about his football team over the course of the 15 practices.

For now, this version of the Mountaineers is similar to the one that surpassed expectations last year in the sense that it’s a hungry football team that wants to compete at every level.

That was evident how the players handled business across the first 14 practices of the spring and it’s a group that likes to practice.

“Been stressing to our coaching staff that we want the best people that love football,” he said.

The winter program benefited his team as well and West Virginia emerged from that bigger and stronger on both of the line of scrimmages. Across the board, the Mountaineers are a team that embraces physicality and that revealed itself throughout the spring as well.

“We tackle. We’ve tackled a bunch. We’re better,” Brown said.

West Virginia also has developed some depth on the offensive and defensive lines, while the linebacker group has as much competition as it has at any point under Brown. The young wide receivers on the roster also have taken steps forward in their second year in a major role which has eased most of the concerns there.

So overall, the program exits the spring in a good spot but there are still some pitfalls ahead. West Virginia must navigate the next few days when it comes to the transfer portal but due to scheduling won’t have to do that for long.

The spring window will remain open until April 30 which puts college programs in a difficult position with players electing to move on this late in the game. Brown is not a fan of the second window but understands where the priority must be when it comes to his team moving forward with spring ball done.

“Most important thing is to continue to hold our roster together and we’ll look to add some pieces potentially in May,” he said.

The Mountaineers have already started with that last part adding Charlotte cornerback transfer Dontez Fagan over the weekend. The senior cornerback spent one year with the 49ers where he played 623 snaps and posted strong coverage numbers with 21 tackles and an interception overall to go along with 5 passes defended.

The Oklahoma native entered the portal this past week and quickly scheduled a visit to campus in order to fill a need in the secondary. He has one year left and that likely isn’t the last addition the program will make in the coming weeks.

Fresh of a visit to UCLA this weekend, former Colorado and Houston running back Alton McCaskill has a visit with Virginia Tech lined up, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports.

McCaskill is one of the top prospects on the NCAA transfer market despite a down year at Colorado in 2023.

He spent just one season in Colorado and did not have nearly the kind of impact he would have hoped for. He saw just 14 carries and logged 59 yards, while also catching two passes for 19 yards.

He entered the transfer portal as a result, seeking a new home where he can return to form.

Because McCaskill was widely regarded as one of college’s best after his freshman season at Houston in 2022. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry and racked up 961 yards and 16 touchdowns rushing. He also recorded 21 catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

For whatever reason, that didn’t translate at Colorado and McCaskill found playing time difficult to come by.

Virginia Tech is a program that could certainly use the boost in the backfield, and the Hokies will hope they’re able to win out over some stiff competition in the portal.

Prior to enrolling at Houston, Alton McCaskill was a four-star prospect and the No. 386 overall recruit in the 2021 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

He also checked in as the No. 26 running back in the class and the No. 54 overall player from the state of Texas, hailing from Conroe (TX) Oak Ridge.

Virginia Tech QB Dylan Wittke commits to Minnesota

Virginia Tech quarterback Dylan Wittke has committed to Minnesota out of the NCAA transfer portal, he announced on his Twitter account on Tuesday night.

Wittke left Virginia Tech following the spring after it appeared the backup job might instead go to William “Pop” Watson III.

In one season at Virginia Tech, Wittke did not see the field and instead took a redshirt. His next collegiate action in a game will be his first.