Still Can’t Get Over Tuesday’s Orioles Game

 

Disclaimer: I still watch Orioles games. I talking big chunks of them, if not all nine innings. Despite football being right around the corner, I still care and watch a ton.

And to say that this season has been tough to watch would be a severe understatement. But nonetheless I still watch and part of me does so because with the sport of baseball, there is always the chance to see something new/different.

Take this past Tuesday evening for example. The Orioles and Yankees took just over three hours to play a nine inning ballgame. Pretty standard for a major league game. But pretty crazy when you toss in the fact that because of a four hour rain delay, first pitch wasn’t thrown until 11:08 PM…EASTERN TIME!

Because this was the last trip to New York the Orioles would make this year and there were no more dates on the schedule for make up games, Tuesday’s contest had to be played by any means necessary.

And did they ever.

Paul Folkemer of OriolesHangout.com summed it up pretty well at this point:

 

Is…is this a joke? Is this actually happening? We’re actually going to play a baseball game in a downpour, four hours after the scheduled start time, in rain-soaked conditions that Noah himself would consider a dealbreaker? Do I even need to point out how incredibly and recklessly dangerous that is to the players on the muddy, puddle-ridden field, any of whom could suffer a season-ending injury with one ill-fated slip on wet grass? What is going on? This isn’t baseball– this is a soggy debacle.

 

 

What ensued was a rather exciting baseball game. The Orioles fell behind early 2-0. But then tied it up on a Matt Wieters homerun.

The birds fell behind again, 3-2. This time Nick Markakis tied it up with an RBI double.

But thanks to back to back Yankee homeruns in the seventh from Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner, New York sealed the deal.

The Cercelli homer (see top picture) was eerily reminiscent of the 1996 ALCS when 12 year old Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall to catch a ball that was ultimately ruled a Yankee homerun.

Words don’t do justice, this game was crazy to watch. It ended at 2:15 am with no more than 1,000 fans in Yankee stadium.

Just a bizarre night.

CAN YOU HANDLE THE MADNESS??

Greetings. It is the eve before the real part of the NCAA Tournament begins. I know the TV networks want you to believe these “first four” games are part of the tournament but c’mon, who are they trying to kid? These are play-in games. The good stuff starts tomorrow.

The Thursday and Friday of the what used to be the 1st round (it is now called the 2nd round because of the play in games which makes things more confusing) are up there with Super Bowl Sunday as my favorite sports days of the year.

I have wonderful memories of coming home from middle school and high school on these two days and there waiting for me was the madness! Already in progress! Yes! No waiting ’til primetime to see how my bracket is faring. I get to see it NOW!

See ya later soap operas. For a few days in March, NCAA hoops rules the daytime airwaves and cause a dip in production in workplaces around the country. I love it.

One aspect of the big dance the lures me and so many others to watch countless hours of it, is the sheer unpredictability of the whole thing. Granted, there are only about 8-10 teams each ear who have a real shot at being the national champion. However, the chaos that ensues in the early rounds is exciting and people want to see it. Cinderella’s knocking off the big dogs. The favorites hanging on. It is as sure a thing as the sun rising tomorrow that there is gonna be some tight games that involve overtime and buzzer beaters.

And amazingly, is almost always a sure thing that CBS’s Gus Johnson will be calling those games! And that is a great thing as well.

Johnson’s memorable calls over the past 5 years have made him as much a part of March Madness as the players and the teams. The excitement in his voice is so much fun to listen to. He can make any game feel that much more important.

But back to why these next few weeks are so great and why they lure so many to watch. It is simple really. The tourney as a whole lives up to the hype. We expect great finishes, and we get ’em. We expect teams winning games they shouldn’t. Check. We expect those who know nothing about college basketball to win their respective office pools. Check. Lastly, we expect uncontrollable emotions from the players. Shock, grief, and the agony of defeat show themselves in full force during this tournament. On the flip side, the excitement, pure joy, and relief of surviving to play another day can be seen on the faces of the victors every year.

So follow me this month (not always a smart plan) and forget your worries or troubles. Sit back, relax, and let the wonderful thing that is the NCAA Tournament overwhelm you with more basketball than you can handle. They say too much of a good thing is bad and that moderation is key. But I liken this to Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone eats too much on that night, and it is certainly not a bad thing at all.

So stuff yourself with some hoops baby!

Happy holidays!!

Conference Tourneys Underway…March Madness Looms

-I’ve been hooked to Championship Week and its only Wednesday. Monday night I watched a fantastic CAA Championship Game between VCU and Old Dominion. The CAA is no slouch, I think George Mason assured all of us that back in March of 2006. But I still think the conference is flying under the radar to most. Do not be surprised if Mason or Old “D” get past two or three opponents in the dance.

-Yesterday and today I’ve taken breaks from studying to catch some the Big East tournament. The top seeds don’t even play until Thursday! But that doesn’t mean there isn’t exciting basketball being played at the Garden in rounds 1 and 2. Seton Hall and Rutgers provided quite a show in the “battle of New Jersey” yesterday afternoon. Hall’s Jeremy Hazell drained a last second three pointer to send the game into overtime. But the underdog Scarlet Knights were too much in OT and moved on to play St. John’s on Wednesday.

-South Florida upset Villanova after being down 16 in the second half. That’s right…South Florida! Nova’s season has taken an absolute free fall. At one point they were ranked sixth in the country. Since Jan. 17, they own a record of 15 and 5, capping that with their fifth straight defeat Tuesday night. I believe they have kissed their at-large bid goodbye.

-Throwing away at-large bids is something the Maryland Terrapins know all about. The Terps couldn’t win on Senior Day against Virginia, which was just sad. The good news is, the loss didn’t change much for Maryland’s situation. The Miami loss already screamed IGNORE ME to the selection committee. So they UVA loss was more of a downer for the Seniors than anyone else. There is still hope for the Terps…albeit a dim light of hope. They play their opening round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday against N.C. State.  They only shot the Terps have of making the NCAA Tournament is to flat-out win the ACC’s. Their path to the title should they beat the Wolfpack? Duke, most likely Florida State, and most likely UNC in the final. Yikes! Once again…they have to win their first game to even think about the others.

Video Blog?? Let’s Try It Out

Ok maybe this will be somewhat of a recurring segment of the ol’ blog…but here we go. I decided to plug in the trusty webcam and record two and a half minutes or so of me talking….YIKES. Let me know what you think. Cya.

Terps Handle ‘Noles 78-62

(AP) COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Freshman Terrell Stoglin scored 17 points, and Maryland used a strong second half to beat Florida State 78-62 Wednesday night and severely damage the Seminoles’ pursuit of their first Atlantic Coast Conference title.

The Terrapins (18-10, 7-6) had five players score in double figures. Jordan Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds, Dino Gregory scored 14, Adrian Bowie added 12 and Sean Mosley chipped in 10 in Maryland’s eighth straight home win over Florida State.

It was the 21st double-double of the season for Williams, who became the seventh sophomore in ACC history to collect at least 600 rebounds in his career.

Derwin Kitchen scored 16 and Deividas Dulkys had 14 points for the Seminoles (19-8, 9-4). The loss dropped Florida State three games behind first-place Duke with three games to play.

Thoughts on the win:

-Dino Gregory was key for the Terrapins in the second half. He bailed out their stagnant offense several times. From 10:57 to play to the 2:10 mark, Gregory was the only Terp to make a field goal as he connected on four. Dino finished 6 of 10 overall for 14 points.

-Terrell Stoglin can play! After back to back 25 point performances, the freshman point guard added another 17 on Wednesday night. He looks more and more comfortable running the offense and has no fear taking and making shots from beyond the arc, shooting 3 for 4 from downtown. He has truly earned his spot in the starting lineup.

-Gotta cut down on the turnovers. 16 turnovers may be OK against Florida State (who had 17 of their own). But it won’t get it done against the tougher teams of the ACC.

-Much better from the charity stripe. Over the past two games, Maryland has shot 80% from the foul line. This is a big positive for the team as it was clearly their weak spot for the better part of the season. Whether or not they can get to the line often and convert will be one of the key determining factors in this final stretch run.

-A bit of concern against the zone. The Seminoles zone on ‘D seemed to frustrate the Terps on quite a few offensive possessions. Maryland was able to hit some tough shots, take advantage on fast breaks, and draw fouls to rack up some points. However there were some stretches in the second half where the zone looked quite effective. And that was without the Noles’ top player Chris Singleton. It will be interesting to see if UNC, Miami, or Virginia try a similar style in the next three games when they face the Terps.

Caps End Power Outage; Defeat Ducks 7-6

(Washington Post) ANAHEIM, Calif. – For a night, the Washington Capitals didn’t want for goals. Facing an Anaheim Ducks squad that had scored at least three goals in each of its past four contests, the Capitals quickly accepted their roles as Western gunslingers in an old-fashioned, high-scoring shootout where defense was optional and it was an unwelcome night to be a goaltender.

All told, 11 players scored goals and 20 recorded points Wednesday night at Honda Center. But Alexander Semin’s tally with 1 minute 47 seconds to go proved decisive in a 7-6 Capitals victory that snapped a three game losing streak. The goal was Semin’s third of the night, marking his fourth hat trick of the season and a resounding return for the winger, who entered the game on a 17-game goal-scoring drought that stretched back to Nov. 28.

The contest marked the first time Washington posted seven goals since an Oct. 30 win in Calgary, the most combined goals scored in a Capitals’ game this season and only the fourth time they tallied five or more goals over the last 35 games. The up-and-down pace came at the expense of the team defense that had been the Capitals’ recent hallmark, as they allowed six goals for the first time since a 7-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Dec. 12.

Last night the Caps finally played some decent and exciting hockey. They came into last night’s contest having lost six of eight and in those losses they scored a total of six goals including two shutouts. The offense had clearly been in a funk since the new year began and the numbers back it up. In January, Washington ranked second to last in goals per game at 1.92. Even if you include last night’s seven goal outburst, they still rank 23rd out of 30 teams in goals per game for the month of February.

It will be interesting to see if they can kick it into gear with just under two months to play in the regular season. If the playoffs started today, they would be the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference. At four points behind Tampa Bay, a fourth consecutive division title is still very much in reach. However no one else in the East is close to scoring the way conference leader Philadelphia is this year. And at 11 points back, it looks as if the boys from D.C. won’t be entering the Stanley Cup playoffs as the top seed like they did a year ago.

Next up for the Caps is San Jose tonight at 10:30 followed by a nationally televised game against Buffalo this Sunday at 12:30.

Annoying Things Sports Fans Do

 

A fan wearing a LeBron James Miami Heat jersey at a Cleveland Indians game is escorted out of the ballpark by police

 

 

I was listening to the Scott Van Pelt Show yesterday on ESPN Radio and he mentioned Austin Schindel’s article/slide show on Bleacher Report titled “The 30 Most Annoying Things Sports Fans Do.”

It was a fun discussion and thought I’d point out a few fun ones from the list (some of which I’m guilty of)

-Wear a jersey to a game where that team isn’t playing.

Full disclosure…I did this once. I was fifteen so cut me some slack. I was invited by a friend to go to an A’s-Nationals baseball game during the team’s first season in D.C. It was June 2005 and at the time the Orioles happened to be playing quite well (first place in the AL East, four games ahead of Boston). I didn’t give a hoot about either team so I wore my Miguel Tejada shirt to the game and purposely went up to the upper deck to walk around and try to get some comments. After a few “Baltimore sucks” and “Tejada sucks” got showered my way I was happy and went back down to my seats. Nowadays I see people at the games wearing a totally unrelated jersey and I think they are morons. Not saying you have to adopt a team or pretend as if you like one of the teams that are playing. But leave your jersey at home. Don’t care if they are your team since birth. I will give exception to golf polo shirts and flat brim caps for fashion if they have a team logo on them. But the jerseys?? Get em outta here!!

-Saying that we should go for it on 4th down…in the middle of the first quarter.

The article says it perfectly here: THIS IS NOT MADDEN! I happen to sit in front of two whiny babies at Ravens games all season and they always want us to go for it. How old are you?? Do you understand football. Yes, it would be nice if we went for it on fourth down all the time. That would be gutsy. It would also be stupid and end up giving us horrible field position 70% of the time. Sit back, cheer for the team, and let the coaches make the call. There is nothing wrong with having an opinion. But if it is as juvenile as this one, keep it to yourself.

-Try to anticipate a play before it happens guy.

Oh I am totally busted. Ask my dad or any of my friends, I love calling the play before it happens. Most of the time I am wrong. And most of the time I’m just trying to look smart. Ravens on the goal line, play clock is running down and I confidently call “Toss right”. Play action to Heap instead. Yikes. Guess I should stop.

-Go behind sports announcers during post game and make stupid faces.

This is kind of annoying to me, but it doesn’t bother me that much. I’m going to take it a step further and bash the people who sit behind home plate at baseball games and have their cell up to their ear and wave all game. Guess what? You’re sitting behind the plate! You’re probably going to be on TV!! I don’t need you calling your friends and smiling and waving like you are at the Thanksgiving Day Parade asking “Am I on? Can you see me?” Just watch the game please.

-When people boo the guy in the shooting competion.

This is in reference to the on court shooting contests they let random fans participate in during timeouts/commercial breaks. But I gotta disagree on this one. See the fans want to see the guy do well. That part needs to be mentioned. They don’t want to see him fail. But if he does, he has the right to hear about it. And it is supposed to entertain everyone else in their seats. So if you are embarrassingly bad or just embarrassing period, I say it is fair game to boo. You could have said no when the arena staff asked you if you wanted to participate. So be prepared to suffer if you under perform, just like the players haha.

Wear a Jersey to Game Where That Team Is Not Playing

Virginia Tech Outlasts MD; Completes Season Sweep

(AP)—Malcolm Delaney scored 22 points to help Virginia Tech rally past Maryland 91-83 on Tuesday night.

The Hokies (17-7, 7-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won 13 of their past 16 games, trailed 76-75 after a basket by Maryland’s Jordan Williams with 5:21 remaining. But behind Delaney and Erick Green, Virginia Tech went on a 9-0 run to take control of the game. Green hit a 3-pointer in that run, and Delaney hit six free throws, including two with 1:14 left that gave the Hokies an 84-76 lead.

Maryland (16-10, 5-6) stopped the run with a 3-pointer by Dino Gregory with 1:09 left. The Terps cut the lead to 87-83 with 33 seconds left on two Terrell Stoglin free throws.

But Delaney hit two free throws with 28 seconds left push the lead back to six, and after Stoglin missed a 3-pointer, Delaney added two more with 14 seconds to go to account for the final margin.

 

Ahh a very tough defeat for the Maryland. They hung in there for most of the game and showed some very positive signs on offense. They led at the half and generated a handful of nice fast breaks. But they could not finish once again, dropping their record to 2-8 in games decided by single digits.

Virginia Tech’s seniors – Delaney, Jeff Allen, and Terrell Bell – were calm and clutch especially in the final minutes as collectively they made 7 of 8 free throws. The Hokies only had two turnovers in the second half, compared to the Terps’ eight.

A bright spot for Maryland however was the play of freshman guard Terrell Stoglin. He posted a career high 25 points coming off the bench and added six assists. Fellow freshman Pe’Shon Howard added ten points.

Maryland has four days off before hosting N.C. State late Sunday afternoon at Comcast Center.

 

Terps Visit Hokies Tonight; NCAA Tourney Hopes On The Line For Both Squads

It is hard to believe it was almost a year ago (2/27 to be exact) that Maryland toppled Virginia Tech one of the more memorable games I can recall as a Terps fan.

The tip time was originally scheduled for 4:00 pm, but a beer truck ran over a nearby fire hydrant hours before the game, fracturing a water line that led to the Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg.

The game was delayed nearly three hours, but once it got going, it was ACC basketball at its finest. It featured 24 lead changes, 15 ties, and two overtimes. Greivis Vasquez dropped 41 and Malcolm Delaney added 28. When all was said and done, Maryland came out on top with a 104-100 win, and a NCAA Tournament berth was all but secured.

Fast forward to tonight’s game where the Terrapins (16-9, 5-5) need a win much more than they did last year when they visited Tech. But the Hokies (16-7, 6-4), even with seniors Delaney and Jeff Allen, are not where they would like to be record-wise at this point in the season. They need this game just as bad as the Terps do if they want to make a run at the big dance, especially after getting snubbed by the selection committee a year ago.

Delaney has been a fantastic player in his four years as a Hokie, however, it has been Allen that has carried the load in the last few weeks. In the past five games, he hasn’t scored less than 15 points or grabbed fewer than 11 rebounds a single time. Over that span, he’s averaging 20.2 ppg and 13.2 rpg.

Maryland’s Jordan Williams has similar numbers for the season in 17.1 ppg and 11.8 rpg. It will be interesting to watch these two go at it and fight for boards. Allen has the edge at the foul line (66%) shooting a full ten percentage points higher than Williams (56%).

Back on January 20 of this season, the Hokies came into College Park and dealt the Maryland their worst loss ever in the Comcast Center, a 17 point defeat. You know that game is still fresh in the minds of players from both teams. Across the board, Tech is the more talented team. But if the Terps can play a complete game tonight, I really believe they can pull this off.

And a complete game means the following:

–Sean Mosely finally stepping up. 7.7 ppg in ACC games this year?? He has more than that in him. He knows this offense and can attack the rim well. I don’t see any reason why he can’t finish with 15 tonight.

–Hitting free throws. UMD is shooting 65.2% as a team…tied for 281st in the country. It has been said since those 2K Sports Classic games back in November against Pittsburgh and Illinois, the foul shooting have to improve.

–Cutting down on Turnovers. One stat that was critical to Maryland’s win in last year’s thriller against Tech was the turnovers, or lack thereof. In the entire second half (including both OT’s), they only committed two turnovers. Two! Possessions are so valuable, throwing them away with careless passes, charges, and moving screens cannot happen tonight if the Terps want to win. 13.6 is their season average. Keeping that number below double digits will would help immensely tonight.

Should be fun!! Tip is at 8:00 on ACC/Raycom

Peace

NBC’s SNF Crew In The House

From Top: WR Anquan Boldin, CB Josh Wilson, and LB Dannell Ellerbe get their headshots taken in preparation for NBC's Sunday Night Football broadcast

 

Ravens-Steelers Week…Feeling Like ’08

Well we have quite a matchup to look forward to this Sunday night. And it only seems appropriate that the Steelers come into town with the same record as the Ravens: 8-3.

High Stakes? You bet. But really, would you want it any other way?

The lead-up to this game feels an awful lot like the lead-up to the one 2 years ago on Dec. 14, 2008, when 10-3 Pittsburgh arrived to face 9-4 Baltimore.

That game more than lived up to the hype. It was a defensive slugfest and the Steelers came away with a memorable victory that clinched the division crown. Ben Roethlisberger drove his team 91 yards down the field and capped off the drive with this unforgettable play (which I recorded btw, sorry it is so blurry!!):

You’re going to hear many quotes from players of both teams this week that sound a lot like what Terrell Suggs said in his post-game interview last Sunday in regards to the the opposition this week:

“Our teams are similar, and we just don’t like them, but we respect them. It’s going to be championship football.”

The words are a little stronger on the internet between the fan bases. Venture over to the Scout.com Ravens page or read the comments to The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens Insider posts. The fans of these  teams can really fire up a war of words. Its quite entertaining and it proves  just how much this game means to the two cities involved.

The last two ravens victories over Pittsburgh have been great. An overtime win last year at home and a come from behind win this year at Heinz Field. However the guys under center for those two games? Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch respectively. Not to knock either of those two…but as a Ravens fan, I want to play Roethlisberger, and I want to beat him. Overcoming Pittsburgh just isn’t as satisfying or fulfilling when he isn’t playing.

Because like it or not, the man is an incredible quarterback. He is hard to bring down and he can improvise like no other when he gets flushed from the pocket.

Want to know what else is a hard pill to swallow for Ravens fans? The boys in purple haven’t defeated Big Ben at M&T Bank Stadium since November 2006, when he took that infamous hit from Bart Scott. Hard to believe its been that long, huh?? Granted, he didn’t play in ’07 or ’09…but still, its been 4 years!! And they last time they beat him period was just a month later when they took down Pittsburgh on the road to complete their first and only season sweep of the Steelers to date.

The big story this week will be the status of left tackle Michael Oher’s knee sprain. If he cannot go on Sunday, Oniel Cousins will get the start and faces the daunting task of protecting Joe Flacco from James Harrison for four quarters. More on that as the week progresses.

Peace.

Boise St – Nevada

Last Friday night I was amazed/stunned/mesmerized by the Western Athletic Conference showdown in Reno between Boise State and Nevada.

Now your first thought going into this game might have been: “Who cares about these two little schools. They are playing at 10:30 pm on a Friday night. I already got by football fix for the day! I saw a hell of a game between Auburn and Alabama, the big boys of college football. I am going to bed.”

Well if you did get your beauty sleep that night, you missed an unbelievable game. There were four plays I saw over the course of the second half that were simply jaw dropping. And if you want to see what I’m talking about, here is a link to the highlights. I’ll include where to skip to in the video to make it easy

– (:39 seconds in): With Boise ahead comfortably 24-7 on the third quarter, Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick rolled out of the pocket, pumped, took off, made a defender miss, and then leapt over the pylon with the ball in his hand to complete the 17 yard TD run. It was an amazing play that gave Nevada a huge burst of momentum and cut the deficit to 10. I thought it was Vick-esque and couldn’t stop saying “WOW!”.

– (:51 seconds in): Still down ten, Nevada got the ball back this time early in the fourth quarter. A little bit of trickery as Rishard Matthews got the handoff on an end around. Boise appeared to have the play sniffed out beautifully, with three men ready to bring Matthews down about eight yards behind the line of scrimmage. But Matthews darted through all three, broke through a  tackle around the first down marker, and then let his legs do the rest as he motored down the sideline for a 44 yard score. Nevada had narrowed the gap to just a field goal. UNREAL! At this point I was wide awake (keep in mind this is all happening at approx 12:30 am eastern time)

– (1:10 in): After a Nevada field goal to tie it up, Boise got the ball with a little over five minutes to go. They had faced adversity in their opener at FedEx Field against Virginia Tech yet still pulled out a W. I was thinking “Could they do it again? Could they do it here?” We didn’t have to wait long for an answer. On the first play of the drive, Boise QB Kellen Moore found Doug Martin on a screen pass underneath. Martin then got some stellar blocks down field, weaved through them, juked one defender, shed off another, and thanks to some poor pursuit angles by the Nevada safeties, went the rest of the way untouched for a 79 yard TD.

Talk about responding! It looked like Boise would prevail again. But Nevada had their own responding to do. They engineered a 14 play, 79 yard TD drive which tied the game up and ate up almost all of the clock. This leads to jaw dropping play #4.

– (1:41 in): Boise got one final chance with just nine seconds to play and the ball on their own 38. Moore heaved the ball deep down the field and Titus Young made a spectacular diving catch with just one second left. This was straight out of arena football, or an EA Sports video game! How could Nevada have allowed themselves to get beat deep?

Of course the end of the game was quite memorable, with Boise kicker Kyle Brotzman missing a field goal at the end of regulation and in overtime…both of which were under 30 yards.

Just an incredible game, it was as much fun watching a college football game as I can remember. It made it that much more memorable that the conclusion occurred at 1:52 a.m. and that it shook up the BCS standings (Boise entered the game ranked 4th).

Loving the Orioles Right Now

Have you been watching the Birds lately?? I know it can be hard to do so with football season now in full swing, but I encourage you to follow this team to the finish line. They are REALLY fun to watch. And they are beating the big dogs of their own division.

The O’s have been playing some outstanding baseball since new manager Buck Showalter arrived. The way they have been able to flat-out win in this final third of the season has been nothing short of remarkable. So with the help of the Orioles sections of baltimoresun.com, baseball-reference.com, and espn.com, I did a little bit of research…and the numbers are amazing.

They had a great August, going 17-11. Only one A.L. club, the Twins had a better record than the O’s. And at 12-7 this month, they are well on their way to producing the club’s first winning September since 1999 when they went 20-8.

Not surprisingly, the have gone hand in hand with a drastic change in the performance of the pitchers. During each of the first four months, Baltimore never ranked higher than 12th out of 14 A.L. teams in team ERA. In August they ranked 3rd, and this month they rank 5th

Here a few more notes to think about:

The Orioles have won 12 of their past 16 games. 10 of those 16 games were against either the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rays (all have appeared in the last three World Series’)

-They are 32-31 since the All-Star Break.

-Since Showalter took over, they are 29-17 overall and 13-7 on the road. (Road record under Trembley and Samuel? 14-40!!).

-And If the O’s can get a victory tonight, it would be their first three-game sweep of the Sox in Boston in 16 years.

Week 1 Preview: Baltimore Ravens @ New York Jets

January 16, 2010…that was the last time the Ravens played a game that mattered. Seems like a long time ago huh? Well the wait is over, September 13th has finally arrived, and what a game we have tonight!

The Jets and Ravens are very similar teams. They both have the young quarterbacks with plenty of experienced weapons on offense. Defensively, both squads play good ol’ “smash mouth football”.

There has been quite a bit of talking leading up to this game, and it’s fun, but I’m not gonna address the jabber. I want to look at the types of games both teams need to play to come away with a win tonight.

First off, believe the hype, Darrelle Revis is the real deal. He is as good as advertised and has to ability to take a whole side of a field away from the opposition. That opens up options for the New York defense to blitz, especially with their safeties. And everyone knows Rex Ryan loves to blitz. He will be sending extra guys at Joe Flacco early and often to try to fluster the third year signal caller. On the other side of the field will be Antonio Cromartie, who is also a very skilled corner, not as talented as Revis. However he does have lightning fast speed. If he comes up with an interception, he is likely to take it to the house.

That being said, Revis can only cover one guy at a time, tonight that guy will be Anquan Boldin. Baltimore has plenty of other options to go to other than Boldin when airing it out. Flacco will have to spread the ball around to targets Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Ray Rice in the flat.

Speaking of Rice, I believe he is more dangerous on those flare passes and toss plays tonight. Do not expect much from him rushing up the middle. The Jets have a beast in Kris Jenkins at nose tackle. He can take up so much space and will be a challenge for center Matt Birk on first and second downs. Against a defense as physical and brutal as New York’s, getting backs Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain at least half a dozen carries each is crucial. Rice isn’t built to take such a pounding for four quarters.

On to the Jets and their offense. Mark Sanchez enjoyed a solid rookie campaign and is looking to continue his growth as an NFL quarterback. He has plenty of viable options at his disposal to help him win not only tonight but throughout 2010. The addition of future Hall of Famer Ladainian Tomlinson as well as 15-year veteran Tony Richardson adds depth, experience, and stability to a young corps of backs in Shonn Greene and John Conner. Receivers Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes are solid options who have great hands as well as breakaway speed. However, Holmes is out for tonight’s game. He is missing the first four games of the season due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy this past offseason. Jerricho Cotchery will have to step up and fill in his place tonight. Tight end Dustin Keller averaged just over 11½ yards per catch last year but only hauled in two TD’s. I like him to have a big 2010, watch out for him across the middle.

This leads to the one glaring weakness of the Ravens, their secondary. With Ed Reed on the PUP list for the first six weeks of the season, and Dominique Foxworth gone for the year, the Ravens are vulnerable and everyone knows it. Baltimore will have to work with Fabian Washington, Josh Wilson, and Chris Carr at corner. Lardarius Webb is listed as a game time decision, however I expect him to suit up and get plenty up snaps. Tom Zbikowski fills in for Reed at free safety, while Dawan Landry provides the most experience and talent of the group at strong safety.

There are lots of big names at the skill positions for both teams, and they very well could be the difference in the outcome of the game. But I believe it will all come down to who can dominate in the trenches, specifically when New York is on offense. I already mentioned earlier that Kris Jenkins will cause disruption in the middle of the Ravens line, but more importantly is if the Jets big men can hold up against a tough Baltimore front seven. If they can, it gives Sanchez the necessary time to pick apart the corners and safeties. A poor effort up front will lead to sacks, hurries, and in turn, poor decisions by the second year QB.

I believe nose tackle Haloti Ngata is a bit better than Jenkins due to his speed and athleticism. Remember last year in the preseason (against the Jets) when Ngata droped back into coverage like a linebacker and picked off Sanchez and took it to the house? Center Nick Mangold, fresh off signing an 8-year, $57.4 million contract, will have the tall task of blocking Ngata all game. And a great matchup I’m excited to watch will be left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson against a leaner and quicker Terrell Suggs.

So many storylines and matchups to digest in this one. Both teams have “super” aspirations if you know what I mean. Lots of questions will have been answered by the conclusion of this evening’s battle. Time for the prediction: I say the Ravens get off to a slower than expected start, and possibly fall behind. But the offense has too many weapons and will unleash its firepower in the 2nd half. The defense will bend but not break, and limit the Jets to field goals when backed aginst the wall. BALTIMORE 27 – NEW YORK 16

Rejoice!! The NFL Is Back

Whats good everyone. Not gonnna do a full-fledged preview of tonight’s Vikings-Saints like I did for last season’s Thursday night opener, but I do have some thoughts on the game as well as a prediction.

-Just based on what happened last January in New Orleans, one would have to say Minnesota is the better team here. I mean they outplayed and out-gained New Orleans easily in the NFC Championship game and should have come away with the win. A pair of fumbles by star running back Adrian Peterson and a ill-timed interception by the ageless Brett Favre sealed the Vikings fate. Their third loss in the NFC Championship game in 11 years, and this one hurt more than ever because it came from self-inflicted wounds.

-Fast forward to tonight’s game. The Saints are looking very sharp. They have all of their key offensive weapons returning and the only weakness I sense with them is at the safety position with Darren Sharper who is starting the season on the PUP list. The Vikings have living legend Brett Favre back under center, however I expect him to be a bit rusty. I know he was amazing last year, putting up career high numbers in completion percentage and TD-INT ratio, but he is another year older. And at 40 years old, one more year equates to a sizeable drop in production. He will be without his go to receiver from a year ago, Sidney Rice, who is also starting the season on the PUP list. But with arguably the best running back in football, Favre doesn’t have to be perfect. He just has to avoid the costly mistakes. Tight end Visanthe Shianco hauled in 11 touchdowns in 2009 and is a great threat at in the redzone. If the Vikes want to have a shot at winning tonight, both Peterson and Shainco need to step up.

-Like I said earlier, this isn’t a complete preview, there are so many other aspects of this game I’d like to touch on, but in the interest of keeping this blog concise, it is time to wrap it up and leave you with one final thought and my prediction.

The Saints are the defending champs, and they are playing in front of their deafening home crowd. I can just see New Orleans coming out of the gate with the same type of intensity that they did in September of ’06, when they reopened the Superdome for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. Anyone who watched that game, specifically the first quarter, knew that the Saints were NOT going to lose on that night. SAINTS 27 – VIKINGS 16

P.S. – Ravens preview coming soon.

Buck Showalter & The Rejuvenated Orioles

The first four months of Orioles baseball in 2010 have been tough to bear witness to. Not to mention the twelve losing seasons that preceded them. But a different and exciting style of play has swept over the team since the debut of new manager Buck Showalter this past Tuesday.

Baltimore completed a three game sweep of the L.A. Angels last night, and they did so with an attitude of “This is how it should be.” It is hard to say how much a manager can really affect a ballclub. After all, skippers don’t hit, pitch, or field. But to anyone who saw the three victories the Orioles rattled off this week, the energy level was completely different, from the usual, as was the result on the scoreboard.

The games haven’t been perfect or pretty by any means. Take last night for example, when relief pitcher Jason Berken gave up a 3 run shot to Torii Hunter in the eighth to tie the game at 4. Showalter had the confidence to leave Berken in there, and he went on to retire four of the next five batters while recording the win.

The offense seems to have had a big spark as well. Adam Jones, Felix Pie, Luke Scott, Josh Bell, Matt Wieters, Brian Roberts, and Nick Markakis all swung the bat well and drove in runs in the three wins this week.

Buck summed it up pretty well in the post-game news conference last night: “Nothing’s as bad as it seems, and nothing’s as good as it seems. I tried to come into it with a real open mind. There’s enough track-record players here that you know they’re better than that, but things snowball. We all know that.”

The Birds finally have a guy who knows baseball, and knows baseball talent when he sees it. He is going to be evaluating the whole roster in these remaining two months to find out who are his guys are, who he can count on, who can handle adversity/injury, and who just doesn’t belong. I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of the club, it’s in the right hands. The foundation is set, and now the time has come for a winning team to emerge.

The King Chooses Miami, But Some VERY Sour Grapes in NE Ohio

Yeah I know I haven’t posted in a while. Rest assured I’ve been keeping up with sports, what else would I be spending my summer doing? Actually I’m trying to find a place that will hire me, so far no luck. Oh well.

I digress, this is a SPORTS blog, and I am posting today because of what happened in regards to “The Decision.”

So last night LeBron James, the most sought after free agent in the history of the NBA, made his decision on national television to sign with the Miami Heat. I’m excited by this move, I can’t wait to see James play alongside Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. I can already see some epic Eastern Conference playoff battles next May and barring injuries on either end…a Lakers-Heat NBA Finals in June 2011.

Obviously ‘Bron could only pick one team and a bunch of other cities were going to be disappointed. This had a special twist though because he is leaving his hometown Cavaliers, whom he spent 7 seasons with. The last two seasons saw the Cavs own the best record in the Eastern Conference, but fail to win a title.

The Cleveland fans are disappointed and heartbroken. I guess I can understand, but get over it! LeBron doesn’t owe that city a thing. He wants to win titles, he gives himself the best chance to do that in Miami.

All of this was to be expected, but what irritated me was the extremely childish reaction of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. Within a few minutes of LeBron making his decision he posted this open letter to fans on the Cavs official site.

I’ll quote a few sections in case you don’t feel like clicking the link, although I highly encourage you to read read the whole thing (only 421 words)

“As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

You simply don’t deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal. 

I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE” 

Hey now. Are you kidding me. Sounds like a bitter man who can’t accept the cold hard fact that LeBron wants to WIN.

‘Deserted”?, “Cowardly Betrayal”? 

Please, he played 7 years for your team, his contract is over and these are the rules the NBA has set up. Don’t like the fact that you were unable to build a strong enough team around him to win a title? Too bad. Choosing a team that gives him the best chance to win is NOT betrayal. I LOVE the fact that you guys waved the most money at him that anyone could offer and he STILL chose Miami. The guy wants to win, plain and simple. Money can buy lots of things these days, maybe Dan is just upset his high bid was a moot point.

Oh and that last line? Mr. Gilbert, with all due respect, let me respond to that bold guarantee with one of my favorite quotes. I don’t know who said it first. I don’t know if it was in a movie, a song, or a TV show. But here it is:

“Don’t let your mouth write a check that your ass can’t cash”

In other words, make sure you have a roster that can get out of the first round of the playoffs, better yet MAKE the playoffs next spring before you make the prophetic claim that your franchise will win a title before James wins one. That statement might stir up the emotions of the Cleveland faithful, who haven’t tasted a championship in any sport since 1964, but you better get to work shaping up that roster or it will be a LONG season.

I feel like this is an infomercial…But Wait! There’s More!!

Here is what Gilbert said to the AP late Thursday night in regards to James’ playoff performance:

“He quit, not just in Game 5, but in Games 2, 4 and 6. Watch the tape. The Boston series was unlike anything in the history of sports for a superstar.”

You want to talk about being a coward?? If Gilbert had any…(you can figure out what I mean), he would have made that cute little statement BEFORE LeBron left. It’s easy to say that trash AFTER he waved bye-bye to you and your team. If you were a real man you would have called him out right when it happened. What if he had signed with Cleveland? Would you have just kept that little blurb to yourself? I’m thinking yes.

So there you go. In conclusion, I’m fine if some feel upset and empty because LeBron left…but to write the absolute garbage that Dan Gilbert, a grown man, wrote last night? Wow. Speaks volumes in my opinion.

Hope LBJ drops 50 when the Heat visit Quicken Loans Arena this season.