Scott to NY Jets; Homecoming for D. Foxworth

Feb. 27, 2009, 4:09 PM

On the first day of free agency, the Baltimore Ravens signed defensive back Dominique Foxworth to a four year contract reportedly worth $27.2 million. Foxworth, who attended Western Tech High School in Catonsville, was a standout corner at the University of Maryland.

Also, Bart Scott wasted no time in finding a new team. He has reunited with Rex Ryan as he joins the New York Jets. He signed a 5 year deal that will be worth $40 million.

I am excited about the signing of Foxworth, I always enjoyed watching him play as a member of the Terps. He is not big at all. But boy is he fast. He is coming off of an average year with the Atlanta Falcons after spending three in Denver.

As for Scott, I’m happy for him. He has played hard for the Ravens and deserves a big contract. I don’t know how he will do outside of Baltimore’s great defense, but being with his defensive coordinator of the past 3 years helps.

Week in Review: 2/23-2/26

Feb. 26, 2009, 10:33 PM

It’s time for another edition of the Week in Review.

~I have a few links regarding Wednesday night’s Duke-Maryland game. This first one is from Dan Steinberg’s blog on washingtonpost.com He goes into detail about how the Maryland students love to taunt Jon Scheyer and his facial expressions. There was even a Facebook group titled “Operation Scheyerface v2.0” to coordinate all of the fun. On the front page of the group, users can print out six different faces of Mr. Scheyer. They did that to the fullest extent the other night.

-In addition to the mass producing of Jon Scheyer’s face, some students got a hold of the phone numbers for the rooms that Duke players were in at the Greenbelt Marriott near College Park.

-And in case you missed it or just want to see it again, below is the clip of Dave Neal’s devastating screen on Nolan Smith.

-Tiger Woods made his return to golf after after a nine month absence on Wednesday, and there were two funny ads on the Golf Channel. There was a Nike one that I posted in my last entry. The other ad was from the PGA Tour, and you can watch it is below:

-Yesterday, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com made note of a little war of words between ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay. The two were discussing who will be drafted number one in this year’s NFL Draft during an episode of Sportscenter.

-The NBA is concerned about some of it’s teams not being able to handle the effects of the economy, and they are reportedly set to borrow $175 million.

-Earlier this week at the NFL Combine, the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen ran his annual 40 yard dash. I believe this is the third year in a row he has done this. Notice the red Under Armour kicks haha.

-And on Monday we learned that the Philadelphia Phillies’ bullpen will be the subject of a reality show on the new MLB network this season. The show, called “The Pen”, will make it’s debut on June 1.

Tiger Is Back

Feb. 25, 2009, 3:06 PM

I’m watching the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship and everyone seems to be excited about the return of Tiger Woods

I really enjoyed a Nike ad that was shown a few minutes after Tiger began his first hole, I think me trying to explain it won’t do the commercial justice, so I posted a link to the video below:

Will Ray Stay?

Feb. 23, 2009, 5:36 PM

Ray Lewis and the Ravens go hand in hand. It is hard to think of the organization without Ray. And the way this team has played football for the last 13 years, seems to be an extension of # 52’s style of play.

Yet there is a strong possibility that come Friday morning, Ray Lewis will be a unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. Over the weekend, Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome said that the two parties are working on getting a deal done, but my gut says that it’s not going to happen.

Normally, there is no way a team would pay a 13 year veteran at middle linebacker the kind of money Ray is asking for. But then again, this isn’t a normal player we are talking about. No one can ever question the intensity and effort that Ray has brought to the table each Sunday over the course of his career. Another point that I don’t think can be argued is the fact that he raises the level of play of those around him. He is extremely unique in that sense, so he is justified in wanting a lucrative contract.

The Ravens’ mindset right now is probably this: Ray, thank you for everything you’ve done. You have represented this team and city tremendously. We would love to keep you around, but we believe that we wouldn’t be doing what’s financially best for the team by giving you, a 33 year old (34 in May), the money you’re asking for.

As for Ray, he has been quoted as saying it’s always been his dream to wear the Dallas Cowboys’ star on his helmet. Now the Cowboys might want Ray just like he wants them, but they would have to pay up to sign Ray and I think their mindset is similar to the Ravens. They wouldn’t be getting the best bang for their buck by throwing the big money at Lewis.

So will Ray go to some team other than the Ravens or Cowboys? If he is chasing the best offer, sure. But the Ray Lewis I have seen for the past 10+ years wants to win championships. I would have a hard time seeing him agree to a deal with say… the Lions, if they happened to have the best deal.

If he does sign with the Ravens, he could get a good deal now or test the free agent market and possibly get a great deal. But if no team wants to take the plunge on Ray, the Ravens will still offer him what they believe is a fair and competitive contract. But the thing is by the time that second opportunity comes along, it could be a far lesser amount because of the money the Ravens will have spent on new free agents and draft picks. They may want to give Ray what they originally offered, but can’t without going over the cap.

The Ravens will not let Ray hold them hostage. They have got to be saying to Ray: it’s now or never; take it or leave it.

I really hope the two can agree to terms, but the reality is this: It could be a tough end to a great era in Baltimore football history.

Week in Review: 2/16-2/19

Feb. 20, 2009, 6:15 AM

Here are a few things I came across in my web travels this past week that I thought I’d share with you:

On Monday, Mike Hiestand of USA Today noted how Sunday’s wet weather pretty much ruined FOX’s coverage of the Daytona 500 and CBS’s coverage of the Pebble Beach National Pro-AM.

Mike Wilbon wrote a good piece in the Washington Post on Tuesday on how there are only really 4 teams that will grab your attention in the second half of the NBA season…and they are the same 4 that grabbed your attention in the first half.

On Wednesday, the blog Awful Announcing posted a news release from ESPN. The release talks about the company expanding west to a state-of-the-art facility in Los Angeles. From the new facility the network will do a live broadcast the 1 AM ET/10 PM PT edition of Sportscenter every night beginning Monday, April, 6.

Yesterday, Adam Schefter of the NFL Network/NFL.com blogged about how it seems like more players than ever before got slapped with the franchise tag this off-season…well, it turns out he was right.

And this last item is not really recent. It was written by Michael Sullivan back in November in Texas A&M’s student newspaper, The Battalion. But it is very interesting and it is about the story of Victor Palmer, the young A&M alum who started the popular sports gambling site called CentSports.com.

New Sports Blog…Check it out

Feb. 19, 2009, 10:15 PM

I would like to use this post to promote a new sports blog that was created earlier this week.

The blog is called Garbage Time and you can reach it by clicking here. I’ve also added it to the “My Favorite Blogs” area on the right hand part of your screen.

The two guys responsible for it, Eric Yde and Kufere Laing, I met this summer at a University of Maryland sportswriting camp. Eric, who lives right near College Park, is a huge Wisconsin sports fan. Packers, Brewers, Badgers…he loves them all. Kufere is one of the biggest Steeler fans I know, which makes sense because Pittsburgh, PA is where he lives.

So if you have a free moment, check out their work.

2/17/09: Maryland-Clemson Halftime Update

Feb. 17, 2009, 8:35 PM

-Hello everyone. It is halftime of the Maryland-Clemson game right now, with the Tigers up 34-28 on the Terps. I have a few thoughts on what happened in the first half

-Clemson’s press looked very good, it was giving the Terps quite a bit of trouble. Even when they were able to advance the ball past half-court, Clemson was playing tough man to man defense. They were able to steal the ball with under 10 seconds to play in the first half and get an easy layup.

-Dave Neal is working his tail off and is doing a solid job against Trevor Booker. He leads Maryland with 7 points. It would be huge to have him keep this intensity up for the entire game.

-Landon Milbourne is great at finishing, so it is very frustrating to see him miss 15 footers over and over again, especially when the Terps have numbers.

-Terrance Oglesby killed Maryland last year with his sharp-shooting from beyond the arc. He has been held in check for the most part this evening, scoring only one 3-pointer. If he is not contained in the 2nd half it could mean a loss for Maryland.

Looking forward to tonight’s Carolina-Maryland game

Feb. 3, 2009, 4:08 PM

There has been lots going on in College Park lately. The basketball team has been losing games in the worst possible ways, and Gary Williams and Debbie Yow are back to letting the public know how much “love” they have for each other.

As a fan of the team I am trying to pretend the war of words between Yow and Williams never happened, pretend the embarrassing loss to Duke never happened, and see how this team handles in my opinion the best team in the country tonight on the road in Chapel Hill.

I am not expecting the Terps to win, I don’t think anyone outside of Gary and his kids thinks they can win tonight. But I want to see the kind of basketball I know this team is capable of producing when they play smart and play tough. A ten point loss would be fine by me tonight…as long as it isn’t a ten point loss after being up by ten at some other point in the game.

The team should have some a new sense of confidence after a much needed win this past Saturday against Miami. Hey, they beat UNC in the Dean Dome last year, wouldn’t be something if they can find a way to do it again.