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Thousands of Virginians compete in 35th annual Commonwealth Games

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Thousands of Virginians compete in 35th annual Commonwealth Games


LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – This weekend, 5000 athletes and over 15,000 spectators from across Virginia came out to Liberty University for the largest multi-sport festival in the state.

“We are basically Virginia’s Olympics. There’s just about something for everybody,” said Charity Waldron, the Director of Operations and Media Relations for Virginia Amateur Sports.

People of all ages compete in dozens of sports for Virginia Amateur Sports’ 35th annual Commonwealth Games.

“It truly is like the Commonwealth coming together,” added Waldron.

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Youth basketball dominated the courts on Saturday as teams competed for several hours.

“We hoopin as you can see, getting buckets, you know,” said Jayden Reid, a 10th grader from Grassfield High School in Chesapeake.

Reid is one of the players on team Ground & Pound from Portsmouth. The team has been competing in the games for over 5 years.

“Our team, we brothers,” said Reid. ”We’ve been playing with each other for like, since we was in second grade. So like we have a tight bond. It’s a family at the end of the day,” he said.

Ground and Pound coaches Chris, Anwan, and Kenny bring the team back each year because of that brotherly bond and the chance for the players to make more.

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“Just seeing all the kids together, all of them getting along. No altercations,” said Chris. “I liked that part of it because you get to meet people from other parts of Virginia that we normally wouldn’t get to see. So I think that’s a good experience for them and them just sharing stories and the camaraderie that go along with them.”

All three coaches agreed their favorite part of the weekend is how the impact on the players goes beyond the courts.

“They get the college experience,” said Chris. “It kinda makes them want to go to college by seeing the campus and a facility. So we definitely love that part of it.”

They’re confident in the team as the second day of the tournament wraps up.

“We’ve been playing great so far. You know, they’re coming together, they’re gelling at the right time. So I think we got a legitimate shot to go this year,” said Chris.

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Although the 2024 games wrap up this weekend, the competition, fun and new friendships will be back. Registration is open in January on commonwealthgames.org for anyone who wants to join the Virginia Olympics next year.



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Virginia woman falls victim to bitcoin scam, loses more than $30,000 – WTOP News

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Virginia woman falls victim to bitcoin scam, loses more than ,000 – WTOP News


A Richmond, Virginia, woman lost more than $30,000 after police say she fell victim to a scam.

Click here for updates on this story

RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — A Richmond, Virginia, woman lost more than $30,000 after police say she fell victim to a scam.

CBS 6 Crime Insider Jon Burkett spoke to Frank Oley, her financial adviser and Greg Wade, a Richmond detective about how this happened.

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The woman got an email which appeared to be from PayPal.

“It was about the purchase of some type of malware and if you didn’t want it to call a certain number,” Wade said.

She then called the number and got swindled.

“After the transaction was done, he said, ‘You added too many zeroes,’ and, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to lose my job, it’s Christmas time and I have kids,’ laid it on thick to her. This client being such a nice, honest and decent person felt sorry for this guy,” Wade explained.

The woman felt so bad she withdrew a total of $34,300 from two banks in an effort to pay for what she thought was her mistake.

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The scammer instructed her to load the cash into a bitcoin machine along Azalea Avenue. It took her two hours and 873 separate transactions to do.

Detective Wade got a search warrant and told the store to shut the machine down. A representative came to open it, and the woman’s money was still there.

Her money is being held as evidence for now, but she will get it all back.

“The good news is with George, the Richmond City Police Department, we got the money back,” Oley said.

Wade says the scammer was traced to a location outside the United States.

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East Carolina CB Isaiah Brown-Murray Commits To Virginia Tech

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East Carolina CB Isaiah Brown-Murray Commits To Virginia Tech


East Carolina cornerback Isaiah Brown-Murray (26) committed to Virginia Tech on Saturday night. (East Carolina athletics)

Isaiah Brown-Murray 
Cornerback 
East Carolina 
5-10, 191 
2 years remaining (r-Jr.) 

Virginia Tech received a commitment from East Carolina cornerback Isaiah Brown-Murray on Saturday night.

The Charlotte, N.C, native tallied 63 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in three seasons with the Pirates. He deflected 11 passes over that span, intercepting one, while forcing a fumble and recovering one.

He led ECU’s defense with 830 snaps this season, per PFF. He graded out well, too: 74.0 overall, 74.1 in run defense, 80.4 in tackling and 73.2 in coverage. Those marks ranked 13th, 12th, sixth and 13th at his position in the AAC, respectively.

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For comparison, here’s where his grades stack up against Hokies cornerbacks Dorian Strong and Mansoor Delane:

In some ways, he’s a mix of Strong (coverage) and Delane (run defense, tackling). More than anything, though, he’s played 1,246 snaps in his career and is immediately the most experienced player in Tech’s cornerback room. With Strong and Delane gone, Dante Lovett has the most returning career snaps with 244.

Brown-Murray slid into ECU’s No. 1 cornerback role in Week 4 at Liberty after Shavon Revel, a projected first-round NFL Draft pick, tore his ACL in the third game of the season. The redshirt sophomore notched his first career interception against the Flames and returned it 34 yards, and he also forced his first career fumble that game. In the next outing vs. UTSA, he recovered a fumble for the first time.

A product of Hough High School in Cornelius, N.C., Brown-Murray was a three-star recruit in the 2022 class and a top-40 prospect in the state. He held Power Four offers from Arkansas, Louisville and Kansas while being heavily pursued from Group of Five schools like Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Liberty, Marshall and Old Dominion. He showed his versatility as a senior by scoring five all-purpose touchdowns: one interception return, two punt returns and two kickoff returns.

With the addition of Brown-Murray, the Hokies have eight scholarship cornerbacks for the 2025 season. He’ll slot in alongside Lovett and ahead of a young trio of Thomas Williams (r-So.), Krystian Williams (r-So.) and Joshua Clarke (r-Fr.). They’re all expected to see time in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. Minnesota on Jan. 3. Tech also has three incoming freshmen at that position in Knahlij Harrell, Jordan Crim and Jahmari DeLoatch.

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He’s the fifth transfer portal addition of the offseason for the Hokies, joining Clemson safety Sherrod Covil Jr., Bowling Green running back Terion Stewart, Central Missouri running back Marcellous Hawkins and Hampton defensive tackle Jahzari Priester.

For more information on Virginia Tech’s comings and goings in the portal, click here for Tech Sideline’s roster management page.

Isaiah Brown-Murray links: 

247Sports 
East Carolina bio 
ESPN 



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Reynolds scores 25 as Saint Joseph’s pulls away from Virginia Tech in 2nd half, win 82-62

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Reynolds scores 25 as Saint Joseph’s pulls away from Virginia Tech in 2nd half, win 82-62


Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Erik Reynolds II knocked down five 3-pointers and put up 25 points to help Saint Joseph’s pull away from Virginia Tech to earn an 82-62 win on Saturday.

The victory gave the Hawks their first back-to-back wins since they won three straight in November.

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Reynolds hit from behind the arc with 27 seconds left in the first half to send the Hawks (8-4) into intermission with a 32-30 lead. After the Hokies got two free throws to start the second half, Reynolds’ layup kicked off a 10-0 run to take a double-digit lead at 42-32. Derek Simpson’s second 3 of the half made it a 47-34 lead with under 16 to play. Ben Hammond hit from deep to get Virginia Tech within 10 at 54-44, but Anthony Finkley answered with a 3 and Reynolds followed with a layup as the Hawks pulled away.

Reynolds was 10 of 19 from the field, including 5 of 11 from deep, with three assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Simpson was 4 of 8 from 3-point range and scored 18 and Rasheer Fleming was 8 for 8 from the line to add 18 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Finkley chipped in 13 points by hitting 3 of 4 from deep. Saint Joseph’s was 15 of 32 from long range.

Hammond finished with 11 points and Ben Burnham was 3-for-3 from distance off the bench to add another 11.

Saint Joseph’s plays host to Delaware State December 28 before opening Atlantic 10 Conference play against UMass on New Year’s Eve.

Virginia Tech (5-7, 0-1) returns to Atlantic Coast Conference play New Year’s Eve at No. 5 Duke.

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