Virginia

ORLANDO - Cody Journell kicked a 22-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime to help Virginia Tech beat Rutgers, 13-10, in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Friday night. Virginia Tech (7-6) won its third straight game to avoid its first losing season since 1992. Rutgers (9-4) had a chance to tie it in overtime, but Nick Borgese missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt to the right. Virginia Tech trailed, 10-0, at the half, then rallied in the final 30 minutes thanks to some timely turnovers and offense.

Here is a comparison of the teams: RUTGERS (9-3)             VIRGINIA TECH (6-6) 24   at Tulane        12         20   Georgia Tech, 17 OT 26   Howard           0         42   Austin Peay       7    23   at South Florida 13      17   at Pittsburgh       35    35   at Arkansas        26         37   Bowling Green       0   ...

Rutgers has had to wait almost a month for the chance to erase the bad taste from a home loss to Louisville that prevented the Scarlet Knights from clinching their first Big East championship and a trip to a BCS bowl game. The Scarlet Knights finally get that chance Friday night, taking on Virginia Tech in the Russell Athletic Bowl at Orlando's Citrus Bowl Stadium. Rutgers (9-3) is looking to post only the third 10-win season since the university first played football in 1869.

Virginia Tech is honoring the school shooting victims in Newtown, Conn., with decals on players' helmets as it prepares for its bowl game, ESPN.com reported. The Hokies will play Rutgers on Friday in the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando. The Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in which 20 children and six faculty members died, was the second-deadliest school shooting in the country. The deadliest was April 16, 2007, on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, where a gunman killed 32 people and wounded 17 others.

'D ear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Other friends say there is a Santa Claus and bad Eagles fans hit him with snowballs. Papa says, 'If you see it in SportsWeek , it's so.' Please tell me the truth. Is there a Santa Claus and did Eagles fans hurt Santa?" Virginia O'Hanlon Fifth and Shunk South Philadelphia Virginia, your little friends are peddling half-truths. Eagles fans did pelt Santa, but they aren't bad people. Your pals are brainwashed by urban legend, fueled by the mindless chatter of national sports announcers and sports writers piling on Eagles fans as if they were Satan's green-garbed disciples, assaulting St. Nick without provocation.

Virginia Alice Meyer Smith, 89, of Chestnut Hill, the founder and major force behind the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank, died Sunday, Dec. 9, at Cathedral Village in Upper Roxborough. Mrs. Smith's experience in the Middle East in the 1940s, and her appointment in the 1970s to the Philadelphia Episcopal Task Force on Hunger, paved the way for her life's work - feeding the hungry. She established the food bank in 1981, and in 1983 became its executive director, a post she held until retiring in 1993.

DEAR ABBY: My 62-year-old husband was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and I have since learned that his co-workers spotted his troubles long before I did at home. Had I been informed, he could possibly have retired on disability and have Medicare today (which he does not now). Additionally, he would have known to have structured his retirement to include survivorship on his pension, which he did not. I realize his co-workers were in a difficult spot, so I'm not blaming them, but I'm hoping a few words from you might get the word out to others: Friends, when you notice someone is declining, please speak up. - Donna in Virginia DEAR DONNA: I'm sorry about your husband's diagnosis.

Virginia Halfmann's violin was just one voice among many, but her "monster" talent, colleagues said, contributed mightily to Eugene Ormandy's Philadelphia Sound. The violinist, 68, died Tuesday night of congestive heart failure, nephew John Halfmann said. Ms. Halfmann was hired by Ormandy in 1972 and retired from the second violin section in 2010. A gruff exterior belied a kind soul, friends said. "She was a real character, to say the least, a wonderful character," said Louis Lanza, Ms. Halfmann's stand partner in the orchestra for more than a decade.

KELSEY WOLFE scored 22 points as visiting Virginia overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to defeat Penn, 68-65, in a women's game at the Palestra Monday night. Alyssa Baron scored 21 points and Kara Bonenberger added 14 for the Quakers (0-2), who led by 35-20 just before intermission. Telia McCall had 14 points and Ataira Franklin added 13 for the Cavaliers (2-0).