How Nice, How Rude Motivation Monday: A double "How Nice" about how angels like to hang out in stores Double dose of kindness for this Monday. Weather: Mild temperatures today; tropical depression likely to bring rain to Outer Banks The National Weather Service says there already is a risk of dangerous rip currents along the coast. Virginian-Pilot editorial: The promise of Go Virginia The ramp-up of “Go Virginia” continues apace. Sen. Frank Wagner from Virginia Beach announces run for GOP nomination for governor of Virginia Virginia Beach Sen. Frank Wagner said Sunday he’s seeking the GOP nomination for governor, making him the only state lawmaker seeking the nomination as well as the only candidate from Hampton Roads. Frank Wagner lectures House Republicans on tolls, they stop his gas tax bill anywayFrank Wagner bill to change Hampton Roads gas tax passes SenateProposal to change regional gas tax among slew of Assembly transportation bills

Foreman Field turns 80 this football season. Here's a look at the stadium's underappreciated history The birthday comes after ODU officials announced the most historic parts of the stadium will be replaced with modern seating and amenities. That's no reason for sadness, but it's worth a look at Foreman Field's rich history.Soaker Tubs Ottawa Bobby Wilder to critics of ODU stadium plan: Be patientLegislators say ODU stadium plan should sail through General AssemblyStudents end up as big winners in ODU stadium expansionRhodesian Ridgeback Puppies For Sale MississippiMany people don’t bother to clip coupons for various reasons, mostly revolving around the belief that a fifty cent coupon doesn’t make it worth the effort. Red Goldendoodle Puppies For Sale In Wisconsin

On the surface, I agree – without a very clever coupon strategy, it’s probably not worth the effort. About two months ago, I was talking about this very fact with a friend of mine who works for Hy-Vee, the large grocery store chain here in Iowa. He gave me a tip: he said to take the coupon section out of the Sunday paper and put it aside for four weeks – don’t even bother to look at it. Four weeks later, open it up and clip everything that’s even remotely of interest, whether you’d buy it normally or not. At that point, take the wad of coupons to the store and just look at the shelves. Magically, most of those coupons you have will sync up very well with stuff that’s already on sale on the shelves. When you combine the sale price and the coupon, you’ll usually be able to get items for next to nothing. I tried this myself, actually. I saved the flyers from mid-December and then just cut them up earlier this week to take them to the store. What did I find? About 40% of the coupons I cut out matched up with items on sale.

I wound up getting T. Marzetti salad dressing for less than a dollar, a package of diapers at the cheapest rate I believe I’ve ever bought them for, and a container of quite good vanilla ice cream for $0.19 – and those are just the ones I remember. Why does this work? Coupons in the newspaper are usually the first wave of a product push from large companies. They’ll put out coupons to start bumping up the sales, then they’ll move onto sale prices later on in the promotion. The reason for doing these in waves is so that the overall product sales trend looks solidly positive and not just a big spike with a fall-off. Plus, coupon users who use the product, like it, return to the store, and notice the item on sale are often willing to buy the item again. I’ll admit to noticing this working for me in the past with products like V-8 Fusion. After discovering this nifty attribute, I’ve quickly moved to a big adjustment in my usual grocery shopping strategy. It no longer matters whether I “sync up” with the arrival of the Sunday paper – I just need to clip the coupons roughly a month after I receive the flyer and use them the next time I go to the grocery store.

So, as before, I make a shopping list each week. I just keep writing down staples that are getting low along with ingredients needed for any meals that I’m thinking about making. I usually use a notepad on the refrigerator for this, along with Remember the Milk. Sometime shortly before I go, I get out a month-old coupon flyer and clip everything that might match something on my list. I’ll also clip anything that I know we can always use – like diapers – along with anything that’s a potentially reasonable purchase, like salad dressings because we often eat salad. After that, I head out to the store when it’s convenient (often early on Saturday mornings) and use the coupons effectively. Whenever you see a sale item that you also have a coupon for, you’re usually doing quite well and can often get a pretty good item for just pennies – or at least far cheaper than the normal price and usually notably cheaper than the generic version. This technique saved me about $20 during my last grocery store visit – compared to normal retail prices – for about thirty minutes of extra effort at the breakfast table, cutting coupons and putting together the grocery list.

That $20 doesn’t include the fact that the grocery list kept me on task at the store, helping me find items I actually needed and ignore items I don’t. That’s a worthwhile frugal activity, in my opinion.Andy Katz The full Battle 4 Atlantis bracket: Andy Katz Battle 4 Atlantis still working on bracket but was told Michigan State and Louisville won't be on same side of bracket win or lose first-round game. MSU plays St. John's while Louisville plays Old Dominion. The other two games are Baylor-VCU and Wichita State-LSU on Nov. 23. 2017 Bracketology: No. 14 Seeds Midwest: Old Dominion Monarchs See the full bracket Bolomboy, Paige lead West over East in ASGWeber State's Joel Bolomboy had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the West to an 89-85 win over the East in the NCAA All-Star game Friday. Old Dominion edges Oakland 68-67 in Vegas 16 title gameTrey Freeman scored 24 points, including two late free throws, and Old Dominion held off Oakland 68-67 on Wednesday night to win the inaugural Vegas 16 Tournament.

Middle Tennessee wins C-USA tourney, 55-53 over Old DominionReggie Upshaw made two free throws with 2.9 seconds left to lift Middle Tennessee to a 55-53 victory over Old Dominion on Saturday in the Conference USA tournament. Middle Tennessee is going to Big DanceMiddle Tennessee's Reggie Upshaw sunk two free throws with the game tied and just 2.9 seconds left to defeat Old Dominion 55-53 in the Conference USA title game. Freeman's record 42 points leads ODU past WKU in C-USATrey Freeman scored 34 of his career-high 42 in the second half to set the Conference USA tournament record for points in a game and help No. 5 seed Old Dominion beat Western Kentucky 89-77 Frida Old Dominion tops Louisiana Tech 68-52 in C-USA tourneyTrey Freeman scored 25 points with seven rebounds and Old Dominion topped Louisiana Tech 68-52 in a Conference USA tournament quarterfinal game Thursday. Freeman, Old Dominion beat FAU; advance to C-USA quartersTrey Freeman scored 25, Aaron Bacote added 15 points and No. 5 seed Old Dominion beat 12th-seeded Florida Atlantic 72-46 in the second round of the Conference USA tournament Wednesday.

Old Dominion beats Rice 74-67Trey Freeman scored 33 points to lead Old Dominion to a 74-67 victory over Rice on Saturday, finishing the regular season with four-straight wins. Old Dominion takes down North Texas 76-70Trey Freeman scored 24 points with five rebounds and five assists to lead Old Dominion past North Texas 76-70 Thursday night. Old Dominion beats UTSA 78-56 to keep pace in C-USABrandan Stith had 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks, Trey Freeman added 21 points with six assists and Old Dominion beat Texas-San Antonio 78-56 on Saturday night. Old Dominion holds off UTEP's late rally for 74-53 winBrandan Stith had 16 points and 15 rebounds as Old Dominion held off a late UTEP rally for a 74-53 win on Thursday night. Taylor scores 23, Marshall beats Old Dominion 82-65Ryan Taylor scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Marshall beat Old Dominion 82-65 on Saturday night for their fourth-straight win and a sweep of the season series against the Monarchs.

Old Dominion downs Western Kentucky 59-56 to sweep seriesTrey Freeman scored 26 points on 11-of-27 shooting and Old Dominion beat Western Kentucky 59-56 on Thursday night for the Hilltoppers' third straight loss. Evans scores 20 points, leads Rice over Old Dominion 75-66Marcus Evans scored 20 points and Rice built a double-digit lead early in the second half and rolled to a 75-66 victory over Old Dominion on Saturday. Old Dominion sails past North Texas 67-47Brandan Stith scored 17 points and collected 11 rebounds as Old Dominion used a strong second half to post a 67-47 win over North Texas Thursday night. Freeman has 38, Old Dominion tops Charlotte 74-69 in OTTrey Freeman scored six of his career-high 38 points in overtime to give Old Dominion a 74-69 victory over Charlotte on Saturday night. Freeman's 25 points help Old Dominion hold off FIU, 64-60Trey Freeman scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds and helped Old Dominion hold off Florida International down the stretch to post a 64-60 win Saturday night.

Freeman gets 1,000th point; Old Dominion tops FAU, 78-66Trey Freeman matched his career high with 28 points to surpass 1,000 points at Old Dominion as the Monarchs handled Florida Atlantic, 78-66 in a Conference USA battle Thursday night. Kelly's late 3 helps Marshall edge Old DominionJames Kelly nailed a 3-pointer with four seconds to go and Marshall edged Old Dominion 78-75 on Saturday. Freeman has 28, Old Dominion beats Western Kentucky 68-62Trey Freeman had his third straight 28-point game, making 13 of 25 from the field, as Old Dominion held off Western Kentucky 68-62 on Thursday night to stop a three-game skid. Middle Tennessee holds on to beat Old Dominion 64-61Darnell Harris scored 19 points and Edward Simpson added 14 as Middle Tennessee pulled away late in second half and held on to beat Old Dominion 64-61 on Saturday. Lee, Norton help UAB beat Old Dominion 72-71 in overtimeWilliam Lee hit five 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, both career highs, and Nick Norton made a layup with three seconds left in overtime to help UAB beat Old Dominion 72-71 Thursday night