WEEK’S END The football oddsmakers have made “Bye” a 12-point favorite against the University of Virginia today.  And speaking of UVa in less snarky tones: Deborah Eisenberg writes acclaimed short stories and teaches at The University. This week she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant.“ The honor is richly deserved. And while we love college sports (and have been rumored to root for the Wahoos), excellence in academics, especially in the liberal arts, more purposefully reflects the idea of higher education. Sports can contribute to collegiate life, and to the education of participants, but they too often get out of hand. Eisenberg won her genius grant by virtue of her writing. The recognition redounds to UVa’s benefit.

Kudos to the University of Virginia for buying out Dave Leitao’s contract. All you hear is “Groh must go,“ whereas the truth is Leitao had to go. I am a U.Va. season ticket holder for football, and I appreciate the way the team competes in most every game. But in basketball, we have become a disgrace with the lackluster, undisciplined performances the past two years.

An occasional look back at what Richmond Newspapers said a quarter-century ago: Congratulations to the University of Virginia students who voted to preserve the honor system [and its] absolute prohibitions against lying, cheating, and stealing. Eight times in 11 years UVa students have been asked to vote on the single sanction . . . and eight times in 11 years they have affirmed it. But we wonder: Just how frequently ought a code of honor be subjected to the vicissitudes of an election?

From the last University of Virginia team to win in men’s basketball at Virginia Tech, only two players remain: Mamadi Diane and Tunji Soroye. Nearly three years have passed since that game, and three of U.Va.‘s current starters never have played at Cassell Coliseum, an inhospitable place for any visiting team, but especially one from Charlottesville.

An experimental drug that prompts the body to create more growth hormone may help elderly people increase muscle mass, researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have found.