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Nice Thanksgiving Week surprise, huh? Stuff this, U of M. Yeah, yeah, yeah……….financially it may help dig the powers at large out of the hole they dug and an attempt to save face from the ridicule and embarasssment of losing 7 athletic programs. I liked the Lefthanders quotes – “What is the matter? Why are they so broke?” How can a major state university mis-appropriates monies and drop 7 sports? I still can’t get over that one. With all the successes of mens/womens basketball teams, mens/womens soccer, mens/womens lacrosse, womens filed hockey, etc. I just don’t buy it.

The Atlantic Coast Conference to me: Clemson, Duke, NC, NC State, Vigina, Wake Forest, maybe Georgia Tech (1978) and of course the Terps. That’s what I grew up with. That is what I will always remember. I didn’t buy Florida State coming in (1991) and my goodness when the Big East started invading, I basically boycotted those games. My most memorable ACC basketball coaches: the Lefthander, Gary, Coack K., Dean Smith, Norm Sloan, Jimmy V., Terry Holland, Dave Odom (the otter) and Bobby Cremins. Those days are gone, but oh the memories.

So, who did you root for this past week in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge? I was all over Michigan – “Go Wolverines beat State! and “How ’bout them Stinkin’ Badgers - beat those Wahoos!” I don’ think so……..but it was (as always) ”Anybody but Duke. Go Buckeyes!”  Basketball is going to be interesting. Football……….Terps don’t have a chance.

Brace yourself for the five (5) Super-Conferences. That is where Collegiate sports is heading. Throw out the traditional geographically correct conference locations. Some rivalries will remain, some will start anew, some will become a distant past memory. It’s all about the money and bragging rights. Not that any of this is “fixed” or there has been some mis/re-allocation of funds, because that would just absolutely crush me. Gosh darn, I sure hope greed hasn’t entered into the picture.

The student-athlete? I guess it depends on the sport and the individual. The athlete (how much money can you bring in) – student (which is questionable with the football/basketball programs), is more like it.  Will this move ”fix” the supposed struggling U of M Athletics? Only time will tell. Maybe the powers at be needed NEW money? Not that any of this is “fixed” or there has been some mis-allocation of funds, because that would just absolutely crush me. Gosh darn, I sure hope greed hasn’t entered into the picture.

The Big Ten? Currently most of those schools are in the mid-west and north right? So, when are we going to Minnesoda on a road trip. Terrapin Nation be travelin’ well to Nebraska or how about Iowa? Those destinations on your “bucket list”? I wonder how easy it will be to get a football ticket in Ann Arbor, for Terps / Michigan? Ok, going to that stadium with a full house might be cool. But I’m doing it in September!

Bottom line – the “Times They are a Changin’” – (Bob Dylan). Accept and roll or divert your energies. As an “old schooler” and traditionalist – it just ain’t right. As a realist – bring it on. It’s all a little heavy to digest at the moment. On a positive, no more Carolina refs on a consistent basis. I have heard gossip about those corrupt Michigan refs though. You kiddin’ me? GO TERPS!

D.I.Y.

Fedman

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New Maryland Football Helmets

Coach Randy Edsall seems confident that his second year will have a much better outcome then his first at Maryland. His Terrapins spun a dismal 2-10 season in his first, so as they say, things can only get better. Edsall and his players were in the spotlight at today’s Media Day Event at the Gossett Team House next to Byrd Stadium. Today’s hot topics were the new 3-4 defense, the FieldTurf, which former University of Maryland and NFL quarterback, Neil O’Donnell, spoke about, and C.J. Brown’s legs.

With C.J. Brown being the only quarterback on the roster with any collegiate experience all eyes are on him and his longevity. The other two QB’s, Perry Hills and Caleb Rowe are both freshman straight out of high school. Brown is the kind of quarterback that uses his athletic ability as his biggest strength, he’s never afraid to run and take a big hit. But with the lack of depth at quarterback with last season’s initial starter, Danny O’Brien departing to Wisconsin, there is no room for injury. “Anytime you think about getting hurt or playing different than you’re used to playing, you’re more prone to injury,” stated Brown.

Brown’s targets are plentiful this season led by fellow captain Kevin Dorsey, a senior who pulled in 45 receptions and three touchdowns last season. Kerry Boykins and Marcus Leak, who combined for 49 receptions a year ago, are for now the number two and three receivers respectively on the depth chart but all eyes are directly aimed at five-star recruit Stefon Diggs from Good Counsel High School. Edsall says that Diggs will be given an opportunity to show what he can do as a wide receiver and as a kick returner, but he’ll have to earn his playing time and he’ll have to continue to play well to keep it. Edsall’s favorite part of his offense is the tight end position. He believes they have an incredible tight end core led by senior Matt Furstenburg, who is on several first team All-ACC lists. Seniors Devonte Campbell and Ryan Schlothauer along with a healthy junior Dave Stinebaugh, give the Terps four reliable targets at the tight end position.

As for the defensive side, Edsall is very excited about the front seven of the Terps new 3-4 scheme brought in by new defensive coordinator, Brian Stewart. Edsall’s biggest concern on the defensive side of the ball is the depth at defensive back, but with Stewart’s specialty being defensive backs, Edsall believes that things can be pulled together to make the unit stronger as a whole. Stewart has been a defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys and the University of Houston Cougars. The Terps defense returns 10 of 11 starters from a year ago with the addition of Kenny Tate, the stand out linebacker who missed most of last season. The biggest name on the defensive squad is Joe Vellano. This season Vellano will be moving from his usual Nose Tackle spot to Defensive End but he isn’t worried about the position change, he’s excited. Vellano has gained national recognition and is a preseason First Team All-America according to Athlon and a USA Today First Team All-ACC member.

Of course it wouldn’t have been a Maryland press conference without the mentioning of the uniforms and new FieldTurf. Neil O’Donnell compared the new field to a coffee filter as he spoke about the draining system that will filter snow and water through the field creating no puddles. His biggest emphasis on the new field is that “it is actually safer than a natural grass field.” O’Donnell’s team hopes that the field severely decreases the amount of concussions and injuries mentioning that Junior Seau was a good friend of his and that concussions really cause problems to these athletes, something that nobody wants to see.

The new uniforms will have the player’s names on the back of both the home Red and the away white, but only those two. The pride uniforms and black alternate home uniforms will not have the player’s names on them. Captain Joe Vellano said that the players had no idea this was happening but that it was a nice surprise and something that the parents like.

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This essentially crowned Bobby Bowden as the winning-est Division-1 FBS coach, but don’t think that Bowden was happy to earn this prestige in this matter-via a statement from the former ACC Coach:

“I left the house early this morning to play golf, and after we had played nine holes someone from the golf course brought me a note telling me about the NCAA’s rulings; the vacating of 111 wins from Penn State among them. Understanding what that meant, I must say that there is no rejoicing in the Bowden household. Nobody would want to have a title given to him this way, you know it? No sanctions, no amount of money, and no penalties could ever repay or repair the damage done to those young boys. I just hate the way all of this has happened. Nothing that has transpired today has changed what our teams accomplished over the years one bit. All of this attention and focus should be on the innocent victims of this tragedy.”

—- Bobby Bowden

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The football program is left crippled. Barring a miracle, the immediate future of the Nittany Lions is in serious jeopardy. The NCAA is expected to announce severe penalties against Penn State in the coming days, which might even be more severe than the death penalty. In addition, Joe Paterno, who had built and later molded the Nittany Lions into a national contender, no longer roams the sidelines. Bill O’Brien, the former Patriots’ offensive coordinator, is the head coach.

Perhaps most important, the Sandusky scandal might cause football players to leave Penn State. Top recruits have already expressed worries about the incoming penalties and general uncertainty surrounding the program. Four-star recruit defensive lineman Greg Webb, for example, announced his decision to de-commit from Penn State in the last 24 hours. He joins a growing list of recruits who cut ties with the university, three of whom withdrew in December 2011.

Sadly, the rest of college football won’t mourn for Penn State, especially on the recruiting trail. While the Nittany Lions used to attract players from around the country, the majority of recruits came from nearby states. Penn State often looked toward Pennsylvania and New Jersey for many of its commitments.

One beneficiary could be the Terps, who heavily recruit from Maryland and Washington D.C. In fact, 13 of the Terps’ 25 commitments in the Recruiting Class of 2012 are from the area. Penn State, however, has robbed the Terps of other elite talent from the region for years. For instance, DeMatha graduate and current Dolphins’ Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Wake went to Penn State.

Randy Edsall is entering only his second season in College Park. His predecessor Ralph Friedgen struggled to recruit the area’s best players, but Edsall has already shown an ability to attract top prospects in the region, such as four-star athlete Stefon Diggs from Good Counsel. Penn State’s problems, then, should allow Edsall to recruit even more effectively in Maryland and Washington D.C.

Furthermore, Edsall’s recent strides in recruiting indicate that he can attract top prospects in other states, such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In the past, Penn State feasted on these states to bolster its recruiting classes, but Maryland could soon have the chance to replace the Nittany Lions both on the recruiting trail and, later, on the field as the region’s football powerhouse.

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The Washington Wizards are dead set on surrounding PG JohnWall with more perimeter talent.Having acquired Nene in the JaVale McGee trade and Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza for the expiring contract of Rashard Lewis — Washington has a veteran, defensive minded front line that will hopefully create more opportunities for John Wall & Co.  Who that company may be is the better question.  Second year guard Jordan Crawford showed flashes, but needs to find more consistency with his 3pt. shot and show greater defensive tenacity if he wants to be the full time starer. Aside from Wall and Crawford, there are no major perimeter scoring threats on this Wizards roster.  Expect this to be addressed in Round 1.

What about the rest of the roster? They have NBA quality starters in Nene and Okafor with solid depth in second year PF Chris Singleton and the surprising Kevin Seraphin – who finally showed flashes of developing at the end of 2011.  Ariza brings veteran experience and defensive leadership to the small forward position, giving second year forward Jan Vesely time to develop at his own pace (remember it took Dirk Nowitzki three years before he established himself as a consistent player).  I’m not even going to talk about SF/PW Andray Blatche, the main clubhouse cancer and holdover from the old regime.  The sooner Blatche is amnestied the better. The Wizards lack playmakers and should focus on drafting a player who can not only put theball in the net from the outside, but can create off the dribble and play solid defense.  If it sounds like its asking a lot, it is.

Assuming that Kentucky PF Anthony Davis is the #1 pick in tonight’s draft, here are the top prospects expected to be available for the Wizards at #3.

Michael Kidd-Gilcrist, SF, Kentucky: Smooth, athletic wing player does everything to help his team win.  Can get to the basket, plays solid on-ball defense and is a leader on the court.  Would combine with Wall to make one of the more athletic fast break combo’s in the league, however lacks the 3pt. shot to spread the floor.  Top tier prospect

Bradley Beal, SG, Florida: Long, athletic shooting guard would help Wall spread the floor.  Some compare his shot to Ray Allen’s – though I’m not going to put him there just yet.  Has the ability to create his own shot and is long enough to defend the biggest of 2-guards.   A bit raw but has an extremely high ceiling. Top prospect

Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina: Barnes averaged over 17ppg for the Tar Heels this pasty ear while improving his 3pt. shot and play making ability.   Highly touted out of high school, some have wondered why Barnes didn’t dominate at UNC.  My guess – he’s more of a team player than coaches give him credit, letting his All-American teammates at UNC get their shots as well.  Less high of a ceiling than Kidd-Gilcrest or Beal, Barnes has a more polished game and is NBA ready.  Top prospect.

Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas: Extremely athletic big man, Robinson is NBA ready now.  He scores in the post, rebounds, and plays high quality defense.  There’s no reason Robinson won’t be an All-Star within in three years.  Top prospect.

Wildcard: Austin Rivers, SG, Duke: The son of NBA coach Doc Rivers, Austin has the moxy to be a superstar in the NBA. Early comparison are to Kobe Bryant , though I don’t believe he posses Kobe type athleticism.  Needs to work on his defense and strength, but with the right coach and system, should thrive in today’s NBA.

Who should the Wizards take?

Harrison Barnes.  He gives John Wall an instant #1 option on the wing, has the ability to play shooting guard if necessary and gives Jordan Crawford one more year to develop.

Who will the Wizards take?

Beal.  He’s got more upside than Barnes and could develop into one of the most athletic two guards in the league.

Hard to argue with either pick, but if I were GM, Barnes would be my choice.  But that’s what is great about the NBA Draft, you just don’t know.

This article was written by Ryan Kerr, contestant in the ‘So you want to be a sports journalist competition’.

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When people talk about the football playoff system, many think about how it will give the Boise State’s and Houston’s of the world a shot at actually making it to the National Championship game. The truth is though, it could help schools in the smaller major conferences just as much. It gives teams in the ACC and Big East a chance to have a shot at earning their own title, despite having a hard time breaking into the elusive top-two in the polls.

The Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC are viewed as superior conferences compared to the Big East and ACC and that perception isn’t going to change. Whether it is true or not, the general belief in college football is the schedules of the other conferences are just harder than that of the ACC. While the the big four conferences have their fare share of teams like Indiana, Washington, Kentucky and Kansas, many think the ACC is too saturated with teams like Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, Boston College and Wake Forest. It causes ACC team’s to suffer in the BCS rankings, as well as in the AP and USA Today polls.

What this playoff sets up for a school like Maryland though, is a scenario that sees them go undefeated or only suffer one loss and, despite having the same record as one of the more powerful conferences, still have a shot at the title. In the past, a team from one of the power conferences would get the nod over Maryland, simply because of strength of schedule. Now though, the bigger conference teams may still get the higher votes, but it could still leave Maryland in the important top-four and with a shot at the championship game.

People will always moan about who is chosen to play in the games, but no matter what someone will be upset when only four teams make the playoff. What this system does is level the playing field for a football program, like the Terps’, to not be knocked out of the running for a championship simply because they play in a conference many believe is weaker.

Is it a perfect system? Not by any means, but what it is progress, something college football hasn’t made in a long time.

This system doesn’t take effect until 2014, which could be the first year Maryland has a real shot at challenging the big boys if all goes according to Randy Edsall’s plan. They are still going to have to work for it and will still most likely have to go unbeaten to even smell one of the four spots, but this system does give the Terps an advantage it didn’t have before.

The post New Four Team Playoff Improves Terps’ National Championship Chances appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

#3

Loyola’s 7-5 victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA Semi-finals

Ask anyone if the score of this game was in single digits and they would tell you that Notre Dame would probably come out on top. The Fighting Irish dominated the face-off X winning 13 of 14 draws, they held Loyola to just 28 shots and they limited the Greyhounds’ fast break offense but what they couldn’t do was solve Loyola Goalkeeper Jack Runkel. Runkel was a force, making 15 saves in the contest and keeping Notre Dame scoreless for long stretches.  The Greyhound offense was led by Eric Lusby. Lusby netted five goals on his way to a record setting NCAA tournament performance. Loyola midfielder Josh Hawkins scored a huge goal to give Loyola a 5-3 halftime lead and Lusby did the rest in the Greyhounds’ 7-5 victory on semi-final Saturday.

#2

Maryland’s 16-10 victory over Duke in the NCAA Semi-finals

Coming into this match-up the Terps were labeled as a team that needed to stall to win. The Terps shed that label by putting up 16 against the Blue Devils. At one point in the first half Maryland Head Coach John Tillman urged his team to pick up the tempo and boy did they ever respond. Drew Snider dented the twine four times and Owen Blye notched the hat trick in the Terps victory. Maryland built a 3-0 lead against the Blue Devils and held them at bay for the rest of the contest. Duke would challenge on a couple of occasions but everytime they got close Maryland had an answer. Christian Walsh got Duke within three late in the Second Quarter but Drew Snider would answer with a big goal with 14 seconds left in the first half. Snider would score two more in the third to build the Terps lead to 9-4. Back came Duke. Midfielder Rob Rotanz opened the Fourth Quarter with a goal to cut the Maryland lead to 10-8. It was Snider again who would stick the last dagger in the Blue Devils. Snider netted his fourth goal of the game 1:17 later and then the route was on. The Terps scored the next five goals of the game to pull away for the victory. Maryland Goalkeeper Niko Amato was solid again in a big game. Amato’s fast start gave Maryland momentum to start the game. Maryland face-off man Curtis Holmes held his own against Duke All-American C.J. Costabile and was also a big key in the victory.

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I get a feeling that I never, never, never had before, no no

I get a good feeling, yeah

Oh, oh sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah

I get a feling that I never, never never, never had before, no no

I get a good feeling, yeah

Yes I can, doubt that I’ll leave, I’m running with this plan

Pull me , grab me, crabs in the bucket can’t have me

I’ll be the President one day, January 1st

Oh, you like that gossip

Like you the one thinkin’ what God said

Now come, oh now I gotta work with your tongue

How many Rolling Stones you want?

Yeah I got a brand new spirit, speak it and it’s done

Woke up on the side of the bed like I won

Talk like a winner, G5 dealer, US to Taiwan

I hope you say that, I wanna play back

Mama knew I was a needle in a haystack

A Bugatti boy, plus a Maybach

I gotta feeling it’s a wrap, ASAP

Oh, oh sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah

I get a feeling that I never never, never, never had before, no no

I get a good feeling

Oh, oh sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah

I get a feeling that I never never, never, never had before, no no

I get a good feeling

The mountain top, walk on water

I got power, feel so royal

One second I’ma strike oil

Diamond, platinum, no more for you

That adrenaline, never giving in

Giving up’s not an option, gotta get it in

Witness I got the heart of 20 men

No fear, go to sleep in the lion’s den

That flow, that spark, that crown

You looking at the king of the jungle now

Stronger than ever can’t hold me down

A hundred miles comin’ from the pitcher’s mound

Straight game face, it’s game day

See me running through the crowd full of melee

No trick plays, I’m Bill Gates

Take a genius to understand me

Oh, oh sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah

I get a feeling that I never never, never, never had before, no no

I get a good feeling, yeah

Oh, oh sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah

I get a feeling that I never never, never, never had before, no no

I get a good feeling

Let’s get it, let’s get it

I know you got the good feelin’

Let’s get it, let’s get it – Gotta love the life that we livin’

Let’s get it, let’s get it – I know you got the good feelin’

Let’s get it, let’s get it – Gotta love the life that we livin’

Oh, oh sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah

I get a feeling that I never never, never, never had before, no no

I get a good feeling, yeah

Oh, oh sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah

I get a feeling that I never never, never, never had before, no no

I get a good feeling, yeah

HERE IS THE VIDEO FOR “GOOD FEELING”…ENJOY! – http://youtu.be/3OnnDqH6Wj8

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