The Way It Was
I don't know what made me want to call musician Bruce Hornsby for an interview for Mad About U - the book that I am cowriting with "ACC Nation" cohost Patrick Hite on the history of University Hall and University of Virginia basketball that is on sale now (www.madaboutu.net).
OK, so I should admit it - it's because, one, he sang "The Way It Is," and two, he has long been UVa. basketball's SuperFan, our Ashley Judd, as it were.
(Which reminds me - when we do our treatise on Kentucky basketball, I've got dibs on calling Ashley Judd.)
Ahem - back to Bruce Hornsby, who was gracious with his time in answering a line of silly questions from me on the subjects of, among other things, his appearances as a celebrity coach in Virginia's annual Blue-Orange scrimmages.
His first appearance on the sidelines came in 1989, when he squared off with a team coached by Boston Celtics' legend John Havlicek - and challenged the Hall of Famer to a game of H-O-R-S-E at halftime.
"He beat me H-O-R-S-E to H-O-R. Of course, he was cheating his ass off on some of the shots," Hornsby said.
"He wouldn't shoot double-clutches. He would just shoot it from the spot. That's my whining version of it, anyway," Hornsby said.
Hornsby coached in the Blue-Orange game several times thereafter. The most memorable was the 1990 game that featured actor Woody Harrelson on the opposing sideline.
"We played one-on-one at halftime, and I waxed his hind parts - 11-2. Coming straight over from a Grateful Dead tour in Europe. I took the red-eye back from London after we played Wembley Stadium the night before with the Dead and played Woody at halftime," Hornsby said.
- Chris Graham