One of the great advantages of being a webmaster is that the season sneaks up on you. It's really kind of funny: every year, I tell myself in May about all the great things I'm going to do during the summer, when the web site is relatively slow. I'm going to dress up the site, improve its organization and navigation, etc., etc.

And the next thing I know, it's August, and the non-stop routine that is Tech Sideline is in full gear, and will be until the following May.

I remember back before the Internet, and back before HokieCentral.com and TechSideline.com, the wait between the last game of the football season and the first game of the following season was interminable. Back then, I had no clue about recruiting (other than what the Hokie Huddler told me) and never went to the spring game, so it was a really long wait, with no information or Hokie football-related entertainment.

But these days � well, it seems like just yesterday that Michael Vick hit Jarrett Ferguson with that pass down the middle in Jacksonville, and the Gator Bowl rout was on.

This season promises to be one full of many questions, and possibly much tumult. If the Hokies, in particular their quarterback, do not perform up to snuff and -- gasp! -- lose to someone other than the mighty Hurricanes, it could get a little ugly. Think 1998, when some Hokie fans were howling for Frank Beamer to put Michael Vick in the game.

To prep you for the season, we've got our Big East preview -- along with a prediction you won't like, but hey, I was right last year -- and Big East team capsules. As is customary, we offer up an in-depth recruiting profile, this month's subject being offensive lineman Brandon Gore, and it's an interesting one. I love interviewing offensive linemen, because it reminds me of playing the o-line in my peewee football days. Yes, I'm only 5-8, 160 now, but I used to be big enough when I was a kid to play the offensive line. Truth is stranger than fiction.

We've got not just one, but two "Inside TSL" features this month. Since so many of you are fascinated by the business side of Tech Sideline, one of the "Inside TSL's" is a very frank discussion of the future of the web site, plus a call to arms, of sorts. The other one is a smattering of TSL-related topics.

When we meet here again, it will be two games deep into the season. I'm sure ya'll are dying to get started. Enjoy issue #10.

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