Happy Tuesday!

It’s a Happy Tuesday for me because Tracy Morgan was on “The Late Show with David Letterman” last night. There should be a law forcing these two to work together more often…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_zEYoonWQ[/youtube]

Let’s see what everyone else has to say….

1. WNST.net’s Luke Jones says Greivis Vasquez scored 30 points as Terps trounced Virginia

It doesn’t make the Duke loss irrelevant, but it confirms exactly what I wrote about Maryland following the loss in Durham. They’re just a MUCH better shooting team in College Park than they are away. They play with a MUCH higher level of confidence in College Park than they do away. Playing better at home is a normal thing for college basketball teams, but the difference for Maryland this season is much greater than it is for most teams in many years.

2. WNST.net’s Glenn Clark says Vasquez certainly greatest player in Comcast Center history

It was a hotly contested battle between Vasquez and this guy…

I’m well aware that Mike Grinnon jokes are probably only funny to me. But since when was I supposed to care about anyone else?

Anyway, it really was just one more unbelievable performance from Greivis Vasquez, whose legacy will always include a “but”, “BUT” he’s been pretty damn good.

3. The Diamondback’s Greg Schimmel says Terps overcame short rest to pick up win over Cavaliers

No rest for the weary (or for the wicked if you ask Cage the Elephant), as the Terps get right back at it tomorrow night in Raleigh against NC State. The game has a Fox Sports regional broadcast, and will be seen locally on Comcast SportsNet. Going back on the road with a short turnaround like this will be tough for the Terps, but clearly a team like the Wolfpack are a team that Gary Williams’ bunch SHOULD be able to beat.

4. Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Michael Phillips says slowing down Cavs offensively not impressive for Terrapins, but breaking down UVa defense is

As my friend Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse on Twitter) and I discussed last night, it wouldn’t have been surprising for the Terps to beat a Tony Bennett-coached Hoos team by a score of 64-50. But it WAS surprising for them to score 52 points in the first half en route to an 85-66 victory; as Virginia has been a strong defensive team this season-which is the staple of a Tony Bennett or Dick Bennett-coached team.

Look, it wasn’t a “great” victory for the Terps, as I don’t think Virginia will ultimately end up being an NCAA Tournament team (or even a “bubble” team frankly). But it was exactly the type of performance you’d want from a team like Maryland in that situation.

5. The AP says long win streaks in MEAC play and at Hill Field House for Morgan State snapped by loss to South Carolina State

Boy, I REALLY thought that after getting past the Bethune-Cookman battle last Monday the Bears were on their way to an undefeated conference season. I will admit that I was surprised to see them lose, even to a pretty good SC State team.

That being said, the loss will be completely meaningless if Todd Bozeman’s team gets right back on the horse and marches to the MEAC regular season and MEAC Tournament titles. If the loss (and some close games recently) are an indication of a team that is cracking a bit, this could be a VERY bad sign.

The Bears return to action Wednesday night at Delaware State-another tough conference foe.

6. Coppin State Official Site says Quinston Reggins’ 15 points not enough as Eagles fell to Winston-Salem State

There’s really no excusing this type of loss. The Rams are not NEARLY good enough that they should be able to come to Baltimore and beat a Fang Mitchell-coached team, especially a team that appeared to be playing better basketball as of late.

The biggest issue for the Eagles continues to be the fact that no single player has stepped up to be a guy who can be counted on the 2nd half of games. They have 4 players who score between 9-11 points per game (Lenny Young, Kareem Brown, Michael Harper, Vince Goldsberry); and at times they have other players (like Reggins last night) who take the high water mark beyond that.

Coppin returns to action Saturday afternoon in Princess Anne when they visit UMES.

7. Towson Official Site previews Tigers’ trip to Old Dominion tonight

According to Sportsbook.com, the Monarchs are 22 point favorites in this game. Drew Forrester seemed surprised by that, which only makes me wonder if Drew Forrester is somehow not familiar with Towson basketball despite seeing them more than anyone who is not actually part of the team.

Obviously, this would be a great victory for Pat Kennedy’s bunch if they could go down to the Ted Constant Convocation Center and win. It would take a minor miracle though.

8. UMBC Official Site previews Matt Spadafora’s Senior Night tonight at RAC Arena against Stony Brook

2 days ago, if you had given me 12 guesses, I’m not sure I could have told you that the Sea Wolves were atop the America East standings. (That was a joke about how I wouldn’t have known the Sea Wolves were even in America East. Like I always say, if you want my jokes to make more than just ME laugh, you people better start paying me more.)

And much like Towson, a win tonight would be a really good win for Randy Monroe’s crew, especially considering that it is their final chance to win even a single game in Catonsville this season. Unfortunately, also a lot like Towson-it is unlikely.

9. The Sun’s Dan Connolly says even more responsibility resting on Wieters’ shoulders in first full season with Orioles

Yeah, but….

(Thanks Matt Wieters Facts!)

In all seriousness, there are clearly a lot of expectations surrounding Matt Wieters this season, both fair and unfair. He will have a lot of responsibility with a young pitching staff that this organization is clearly hoping will become a viable MLB staff by the end of the year. On top of that, there are a number of people very close to the organization that are hoping he’ll prove himself to be a middle of the lineup-type hitter; especially considering the team lacks players like that.

Is it too much to ask? I guess we’ll find out.

10. Ravens Official Site’s Mike Duffy says former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah believes Flacco has “Top 5 arm”

Great. Kyle Boller had an arm so strong that he threw a ball 60 yards through the uprights. It didn’t keep him from also doing this…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9n4DlmibDQ[/youtube]

Look, we ALL know Joe Flacco has a strong arm. But having a strong arm and having the mental capability to be a great NFL quarterback are too very different things. It also helps to have NFL-ready playmakers for a QB with a strong arm to throw the ball too.

Over the next 4-5 years, we will likely begin to find out if Joe Flacco is a QB with a strong arm or a GREAT NFL QB with a strong arm.

11. ESPN.com’s James Walker expects Ravens to ‘push’ to keep at least one of Justin Bannan, Dwan Edwards on roster

There’s no reason NOT to expect this, as the organization is very happy with both players, and expects them to continue to develop.

That being said, keeping players like Brandon McKinney and Kelly Talavou out of Training Camp a season has to be considered part of an insurance policy should they not be able to hold onto players like Bannan and Edwards.

12. Thoroughbred Times’ Frank Angst says Magna still looking for ‘stalking horse’ bid

Which sorta goes against what Jeff Seder from Blow Horn Equity had stated previously on AM1570 WNST, that his group had the “stalking horse bid.” This whole situation is really getting to be damningly frustrating. PNC Bank wants to get the money back that they loaned Magna; and they SHOULD be able to get it back. The other bidders want to know more about the future of their potential investment, the state wants to make sure it is keeping the Preakness, and the Maryland Jockey Club REALLY doesn’t want slots at Arundel Mills.

The bottom line….to all of this….is that SOMEONE needs to own and run the tracks and help horse racing in this state move forward. Right now, that is the only thing that ISN’T happening.

And finally, I leave you with this.

With Dave Matthews Band coming to Nationals Park July 23rd, a friend recently asked me if I could name my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs of all time.

I couldn’t.

I know “Louisiana Bayou” is in the mix, as are “Angel” and “So Right”, but there has to be an older song that gets on the list, and I’m not sure which one it would be. “Two Step” I guess. The point of all of this rambling is that I realized recently that a song on “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King” has made its way into my Top 5.

“Seven”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWAk9lyW_Ic[/youtube]

It’s just THAT good. Of course, maybe it’s the song title; as the Prince song of the same name was pretty good too…..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMjZm_C4Hhs[/youtube]

Talk to you later.

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…..

-G

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland had no time to dwell on the aftermath of the humbling loss at Duke when faced with playing its second game in three days.

After all, Virginia was coming off a tough loss of its own at Virginia Tech on Saturday night and was playing its second game in 48 hours, both on the road.

A short memory and a return to Comcast Center was just what the Terps needed as they rebounded to roll over the Cavaliers, 85-66, on Monday night.

Oh, and a banner night from their leader certainly helped the effort.

“I thought we came out pretty strong as a team,” Greivis Vasquez said. “We got it going early.”

To say Vasquez—and the Terps—got it going early would be an understatement as the senior guard exploded for 25 points in the first half, shooting 10-for-13 from the field to push the Terps to a 18-point halftime edge. In all, Vasquez accounted for 36 of the team’s 52 first-half points after dishing out five assists that led to 11 points.

It was the polar opposite of the two-point first half from the senior in his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

No matter who Virginia coach Tony Bennett assigned to guard the Terps’ leading scorer—as many as six different players matched up against Vasquez at different points in the game—the Cavaliers had no answers as Vasquez matched a season high of 30 points while also grabbing eight rebounds to improve Maryland’s home record to 12-1 for the season and a perfect 5-0 in conference play.

“I think he got all of his shots tonight as part of the offense, and he didn’t really force anything and when he does that he is really effective,” coach Gary Williams said. “He is such a great passer too, so when they started double-teaming him, he found the open man every time.”

Fellow senior Landon Milbourne—responding from a miserable, season-low two-point performance at Duke—scored 14 points while freshman Jordan Williams posted his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Maryland controlled the paint throughout the night, outscoring the Cavaliers 40-26 and outrebounding them 42-28.

“We wanted to go inside a lot more tonight and play close to the basket,” Gary Williams said about his frontcourt and the play of the freshman big man. “Tonight [Williams] got the ball in great positions and what he does best is that he is persistent.”

It was a competitive game in the first 11 minutes as an 8-0 run by Virginia cut the Terps’ first-half advantage to 24-21 with 9:04 to play before Maryland (17-7, 7-3) exploded on an 11-0 run to push the lead to 14 points. The Cavaliers (14-9, 5-5) would never recover on their way to a third loss in a row.

The Terps will continue its current stretch of three games in five days as they travel to Raleigh to take on NC State on Wednesday night. Following the win against Virginia, players were already shifting their focus to the Wolfpack and an opportunity to sweep the season series after winning the first meeting on Jan. 23.

“It’s going to take a lot of focus, a lot of mental preparation,” said Milbourne, who stressed the importance of being focused on NC State immediately during practice on Wednesday.

- Maryland has won its last four league home games by an average of 21.0 points. The Terps have won six in a row at Comcast Center.

- The Terps connected on 56.3 percent of their field goal attempts against the Cavaliers, their second-best mark of the season with only a 56.9 percent clip against Winston-Salem State besting Monday’s performance.

- Vasquez’s 30-point outing was the fourth 30-point game of his career, ranking him sixth on the career list at Maryland. Walt Williams is the all-time leader with 15 30-point games to his credit.

- Senior Eric Hayes has now made 20 consecutive free throws, a streak that started on Jan. 3 against UNC Greensboro. He went 1-for-1 from the charity stripe against the Cavaliers.

- Maryland shot 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, continuing its fine long-range shooting at Comcast Center.

In five conference home games, the Terps are shooting 49.3 percent from the 3-point line. In contrast, Maryland has shot just 32.8 percent from beyond the arc in its five ACC road games.

- Virginia suffered its largest margin of defeat for the season (19). The Cavaliers’ largest defeat had been a 66-49 defeat to USF on Nov. 16 for Monday’s loss.

“[The Terps] run their stuff hard, and they had something to prove after their tough loss, but they won,” Bennett said. “Any category you want to put up, they got it, as far as positive categories.”

Check out the final stats here and the live blog below.

___________________________________________

9:47 p.m. — This one’s in the books. Maryland wins it, 85-66.

Back soon with the post-game wrap.

9:45 p.m. — Levent scores coming off the screen. Great to see that.

One minute to go in this one.

9:43 p.m. — Here comes David Pearman and Ersin Levent to the score table. The fans are now chanting for Jerome Burney to enter the game.

9:40 p.m. — In case you had any doubts, Greivis Vasquez has been named tonight’s player of the game at Comcast Center. I’d say 30 points and eight rebounds is worthy of the honor, wouldn’t you?

9:38 p.m. — Milbourne hits a baseline jumper to give him 14 for the night.

We’ve reached the final media timeout of the evening with Maryland leading the Cavaliers, 83-54.

9:36 p.m. — While it’s certainly nice to be leading by 27 points with under 5:00 remaining in this one, it’s even better that Gary Williams has been able to spread out the minutes. With a trip to Raleigh in 48 hours, it’s nice to see Vasquez and company not have to play an extensive number of minutes.

Vasquez goes to the bench, presumably for the night, with 4:54 to go in this one.

9:34 p.m. — Milbourne scores again to give him 12 for the game. Not a sparkling performance but certainly a strong bounce-back from his outing in Durham.

On the next possession, Mosley travels. The Baltimore native has not scored in this one.

9:31 p.m. — We’ve reached the under-8 media timeout with Maryland pushing the lead to 27 points and leading the Cavaliers, 75-48.

9:29 p.m. — The season-high allowed by Virginia all year is 76 points. With a Vasquez three, the Terps now have 75 points.

9:27 p.m. — Padgett gets swarmed in the paint but decides to throw a wild shot toward the basket anyway. I’m sure Gary Williams will chat with him about that possession a little later.

Gregory scores plus the foul. He’s have a quality game off the bench and now has six points on the night.

9:25 p.m. — Bowie just picked up his third foul. I forgot he was even playing tonight. It’s amazing comparing how much he contributed a season ago to what he’s done to this point in the season. Night and day.

9:23 p.m. — With Maryland leading by 23 points with 10:59 remaining, I wanted to point out the Terps already have three ACC victories of 20+ points against NC State, Miami, and North Carolina.

Regardless of the ACC being down this year, this is a very impressive stat.

9:22 p.m. — Gregory shows the nice jump hook in the paint off the feed from Bowie.

Vasquez returns to the floor, but Virginia will take a timeout. After scoring 25 in the first half, Vasquez has yet to score after intermission, but it’s not like the Terps have needed him.

9:18 p.m. — We’ve reached the under-12 media timeout with Maryland in complete control, 65-44.

9:17 p.m. — Tucker’s triple gives the Terps a 19-point lead.

Padgett has checked into the game and just dunked home a missed shot, drawing the huge cheers from the Maryland crowd. It’s been interesting to see the Terps go with a frontcourt of Padgett and Gregory on a couple different occasions tonight.

9:14 p.m. — Landesberg gets inside and scores on the layup but then immediately picks up his third foul. Maryland finds the open shooter against the Virginia zone, but Hayes cannot hit the triple from the corner.

Following the Virginia miss, Tucker with a nice pass running in transition to find Milbourne for the lay-in. The senior forward now has 10 for the game.

9:09 p.m. — Very unselfish play by Vasquez on the fast break as he gives it to Williams who is fouled and will go to the line for two.

We’ve reached the first media timeout of the second half with Maryland maintaining the same 18-point advantage it enjoyed at the break. Terps lead the Cavaliers, 58-40.

9:07 p.m. — Nice effort by Sean Mosley to keep the possession alive off the Vasquez miss. Following another miss, Williams cleans up the glass and scores. He has six in the half already.

9:05 p.m. — Williams with the jump hook over Heyinsse to give the Terps a 22-point lead. He now has nine for the game.

Greivis who?

9:04 p.m. — We’ve started the second half and Williams scores inside off the assist from Hayes. On the other end, Williams ERASES the shot from Zeglinski.

Great start to the second half for the freshman big.

9:02 p.m. — The teams are back on the floor to warm up for the second half, and the big story for the second half will be how many more Vasquez can score. After scoring 25 points in the first half, he can eclipse his season high of 30 against Wake Forest, career high of 35 against North Carolina, the Comcast Center record of 35 (which Vasquez shares with Nik Caner-Medley), and the Maryland record of 44 set by the great Ernie Graham.

We’ll see what the senior guard can do.

8:55 p.m. — Despite the Terps holding a very comfortable 18-point lead, it’s important to point out Virginia’s second-half success this season. The Cavaliers are 5-3 this season when trailing at the half, the most wins in the ACC with no other teams recording more than three wins when trailing at the break.

Of course, an 18-point lead is a much different story as the Cavaliers’ biggest comeback from a half-time deficit came against Cleveland State when they trailed by seven at the break.

8:50 p.m. — We’ve reached the end of the first half with Maryland thoroughly in control against the Cavaliers. The Terps lead 52-34 with Vasquez leading the way with 25 points. Unbelievable.

8:44 p.m. — Hayes picks up the foul on Jones, sending him to the line for 1-and-1. Jones hits both to cut the lead to 16 points.

The Terps throw it away on the other end. One of the few mistakes we’ve seen here in the first half. By my count, that’s only the fifth turnover of the half for Maryland.

8:42 p.m. — Milbourne hits the mid-range jumper to give him eight for the half, and Maryland leads 48-30 before Landesberg hits the jumper on the other end.

Quite the offensive output as the Terps have doubled their first-half total from Saturday (24).

8:40 p.m. — Vasquez scores again to give him 23 in the first half. His season-high is 30 and career-high is 35. At this rate, he may have it before the first media timeout of the second half.

8:38 p.m. — Former Terp and Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis is in attendance tonight, and he has to love this first-half effort from the Terps.

8:36 p.m. — Hayes comes off the screen and hits the jumper at the foul line. He now has eight points in the first half.

For Virginia, Scott just hit a bucket, but he needs some help from Landesberg to keep the Wahoos in it.

Vasquez with a 3-ball, giving him 21 points in the first half. Unbelievable 17 minutes of basketball for the senior from Caracas!

8:34 p.m. — Maryland continues to do an outstanding job on Landesberg, as he hasn’t really been much of a factor other than one early bucket.

Williams is fouled going up for the shot in the paint and will go to the line. After missing the first, he’s perfect on the second, and Maryland’s lead has grown to 14 points.

It’s quite a different energy level than what we saw during the first half in Durham.

8:29 p.m. — I apologize for the delay in updates as I was dealing with some network issues here on press row. We’ve seen much of the same as when I left off as Vasquez is having an incredible night with 18 points already in the first half. His career high is 35 points against North Carolina last season.

Maryland has gone on an extended run, and now leads 34-21 with 6:26 remaining.

8:17 p.m. — James Padgett has checked in early and immediately contributes an offensive rebound, leading to an easy scoring chance for Vasquez. Nice to see the frosh get some early minutes in this one.

We’ve reached the second media timeout of the evening with Maryland leading the Cavaliers, 20-13 with 11:30 remaining.

8:15 p.m. — Vasquez hits a pair of freebies to give him 10 points already. On the Terps next possession, Milbourne throws down a thunderous dunk.

Dino Gregory has checked in for his first action and picks up the foul against Scott. The Maryland bench clearly wanted a walk on that one.

8:12 p.m. — With Vasquez having nearly a half-foot advantage on Zeglinski, it’s clear he’ll want to take the ball inside as much as possible.

Following a Milbourne bucket, old friend Jeff Jones hits a jumper for the Cavaliers.

8:09 p.m. — Mosley will clearly have a tough battle against Landesberg, but he got the best of that last possession as Virginia’s star is whistled for the push-off, turning it back over to the Terps.

We’ve reached our first media timeout with Maryland leading 10-5 with 15:58 to go.

Quite a different start for Vasquez, as the senior already has six points in this one after scoring only two in the first half at Duke.

8:08 p.m. — Milbourne is matched up against Scott who holds a definite size advantage over the senior forward. As I type that, Scott grabs the offensive board and is fouled going up by Williams.

Scott hits a pair of free throws to cut the Terps’ early lead to three points.

8:05 p.m. — Vasquez scores inside again, and the Terps are doing a fine job crashing the boards in the early going. Following another Virginia miss, Vasquez scores inside to give Maryland a 6-0 lead.

Landesberg answers with a 3-pointer to get the Cavaliers on the board. The Wahoos will need a big game from him tonight.

8:02 p.m. — Milbourne faces off against Meyinsse to get this one started, and Maryland controls the tip.

The Terps work it around the arc before Milbourne hits a mid-range jumper to give the Terps the early lead. Following the miss by Scott on the other end, Maryland tries to get it inside quickly to Jordan Williams, but he cannot handle the pass.

7:51 p.m. — Here are tonight’s starting lineups:

Virginia
G Jontel Evans
G Sammy Zeglinski
G Sylven Landesberg
F Mike Scott
F Jerome Meyinsse

Maryland
G Eric Hayes
G Greivis Vasquez
G Sean Mosley
F Landon Milbourne
F Jordan Williams

7:48 p.m. — Johnny Rhodes is tonight’s honorary captain, one of my all-time favorite Terps.

Maryland leads Virginia in the all-time series, 103-67. The two teams have split the series the last two season with both holding serve on their home courts in back-to-back years.

7:44 p.m. — For those of you belonging to the Jerome Burney fan club, he is once again dressed to play and warming up. As Gary Williams reiterated on Sunday, Burney is little more than an insurance policy for the Maryland frontcourt. The 6-foot-9 junior was serving as the assistant strength and conditioning coach this season after chronic foot issues were believed to have ended his Maryland career.

7:30 p.m. — Good evening from Comcast Center as the Terps (26-7, 6-3 ACC) look to rebound quickly from a humbling defeat at Duke on Saturday when they take on the Virginia Cavaliers (14-8, 5-4 ACC) at 8:00 p.m.

Both teams are in the midst of a brutal stretch, with Maryland playing its second of three games over a five-day stretch. After falling to Duke 77-56 on Saturday afternoon, the Terps host the Cavaliers this evening before traveling to Raleigh to take on NC State on Wednesday night. Despite the predicament of playing two games in three days, the Terps getting back on the court after the meltdown at Duke may be the best thing for them—against Virginia anyway. It remains to be seen how much Maryland will have left in the tank against the Wolfpack on Sunday night.

Not to be outdone, the Cavaliers are also playing their second game in three days after falling at Virginia Tech on Saturday evening, 61-55. Virginia is in the middle of a five-game stretch in 11 days, with four of those coming on the road in four different states.

Despite dropping their last two games, the Cavaliers are having a surprising season under new head coach Tony Bennett. Virginia began the conference schedule by winning its first three games before dropping four of its last six and finding itself in fifth place, just a game behind Maryland.

Junior guard Sylven Landesberg continues to etch a spot as one of the best players in the ACC, scoring 18.0 points per game (tied for third in the ACC with Greivis Vasquez) and twice being named ACC Player of the Week.

Landesberg gets help in the frontcourt from fellow junior Mike Scott who averages 13.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. The Terps must also be aware of senior forward Jerome Meyinsee, who at 6-foot-9 could provide a challenge in the paint. While the Cavaliers may not provide the same imposing size as the Blue Devils (and the one whose name rhymes with “Brew-beck”), but the Terps cannot allow second-chance opportunities in tonight’s game.

Virginia also does an impeccable job taking care of the basketball, ranking seventh in the nation in fewest turnovers a game at 10.6 per contest.

I do expect the Virginia backcourt of Jontel Evans (5-foot-11) and Sammy Zeglinski (6-foot) to struggle against Maryland’s taller guards. Vasquez was on the Comcast floor earlier in the evening working on his inside game, perhaps a sign of things to come against the Cavaliers.

Maryland will certainly hope to rebound from its poor shooting effort in Durham. The Terps have shot a remarkable .492 from 3-point range in four conference home games this season while shooting just .328 in five road games. In the Terps’ last three conference road games (Duke, Florida State, and Clemson), they’ve shot just 7-for-37 from beyond the arc, a putrid .189 clip.

Tonight’s game is the makeup from the snowed-out meeting scheduled for Feb. 10. And what more would you expect than more snow in the forecast for this evening? Thankfully, the forecast lacks the punch of our last two storms, and I have already safely arrived at press row.

The Terps will once again don the gold uniforms in tonight’s contest against the Wahoos. At this point, can we really call them “alternate” uniforms?

And as I’m sure you’re well aware, tonight’s game will only be shown on ESPN360, otherwise known as the flagship station of Maryland Terrapins football (and yes, I know that joke has been used already, but I still like it!). If you’re able to access 360, Quint Kessenich and Dwight Freeman will have the call.

If you’re unable to access 360, stay right here at WNST.net, as you’re always encouraged to comment at the bottom of the page. Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@WNST) as Glenn Clark and other WNST personalities will chime in with analysis and thoughts throughout the evening.

Happy Monday!

It’s a Happy Monday for me because…frankly…I went to Bojangles on Friday night….

Look, there’s not a whole lot of reasons to go to Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the stop in Henderson, NC on the way to Durham isn’t a bad stop at all. If you make it, I also suggest Smithfield’s Barbecue.

Let’s see what everyone has to say….

1. The Diamondback’s Eric Detweiler says Gary Williams didn’t have Terps revisit blowout loss to Duke during short prep for Virginia game

How many times do you think football players have wished that their coach would say something along the lines of “Let’s just go ahead and throw out that tape”?

The only good thing about having to play the Cavs just 2 days after a blowout loss to the Blue Devils is that there just really isn’t time for the players to have every little thing they did in a terrible game dissected and reviewed. Instead, they got to spend their Saturday night and Sunday looking at UVa tape and preparing for a tough ACC opponent. If they beat Virginia, it’s (almost) as if the Duke loss never happened.

If they lose….

Issues.

2. D1scourse’s Patrick Stevens says Tony Bennett hoping to before only 4th ACC coach to beat Gary Williams-lead team in initial attempt

Usually when an ACC team makes a head coaching move, it’s because the team isn’t particularly any good. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that Gary Williams is 16-3 against those coaches in his first try. That being said, there is clearly at least a bit more talent in Charlottesville (or if nothing else, they have a more outstanding guard in Sylvan Landesberg) than most teams have when a coach is fired.

Of course, seeing as how one of the 3 coaches to have defeated Gary was this guy…

I guess anything is possible.

3. The Sun’s Don Markus says Maryland president C.D. Mote would ‘gladly’ extend contract of Athletic Director Debbie Yow

Which won’t thrill the craziest of Maryland fans, but must be considered the right thing.

It’s easy to beat up Debbie Yow due to her frosty relationship with Gary Williams and the fact that the football team hasn’t won 10 games since I was (barely) attending class, but she has cleared up the “big picture” in College Park better than anyone could have asked for.

That being said, she could be facing the toughest test of her tenure if the football team DOESN’T improve this season under Ralph Friedgen-as she’ll have to choose between a head coach in waiting (James Franklin) that those surrounding the program really want to see become the next head man; or paying big money to fire an alum (Fridge) and hire a coach in hopes to “fix” the problem.

She also has to continue to figure out a way to continue to at least co-exist with Gary Williams. It ain’t easy…

4. Virginia Official Site previews Cavaliers’ battle with Terrapins tonight at Comcast Center

My official prediction: Terps 81, Wahoos 67.

As tough as playing 2 games in 3 days will be for the Terps, the Hoos are forced to play 2 games in 3 NIGHTS-both away from home. After seeing how they lost at Virginia Tech Saturday night, I get the feeling that something similar could be expected in College Park-but I think Maryland will be a bit more crisp.

Hell, I don’t really care what the final score is as long as Maryland comes out on top. I just can’t stomach seeing these idiots happy….

Look, I hate Duke as much as anyone, but I know their students are (probably) better than the rest of us. Virginia students just THINK they’re better than the rest of us….

5. Loyola Official Site says J’Hared Hall’s 14 points not enough as Greyhounds fell at Iona

Which is unfortunate, because Jimmy Patsos’ Hounds had a chance to win 3 straight MAAC games and improve to 6-9 in the conference. That doesn’t seem like all that much, but with seeding for the MAAC Tournament an issue, a win certainly would have done wonders for that team-knowing that their final 3 conference games are all at Reitz Arena; giving them a chance to finish .500.

The Greyhounds are back in action Wednesday night; making up the game against St. Peter’s that was scheduled last week.

6. Washington Post’s Kathy Orton says Maryland women blew out Clemson for most lopsided ACC victory of season

Which means that a win at Duke Sunday would get them right back into the NCAA Tournament picture.

Of course, that means having to win at Duke……

At 5-6 in the ACC, Brenda Frese’s team isn’t out of the NCAA Tournament picture. But with only one real win to sing about (beating Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena), they HAVE to win at Cameron Indoor Sunday to feel like they have any real chance of dancing for a 6th straight year.

Should they lose that game, they’ll sit at 5-7 in the ACC, needing to win at Boston College and beat Florida State at home just in order to be able to make the ACC Tournament some sort of resume builder.

7. South Carolina State Official Site previews tonight’s battle with Morgan State at Hill Field House on ESPNU

I’m sorry I won’t make it out there tonight. I had planned to, but the postponement of Maryland-Virginia will take me to College Park instead of Hill Field House. That being said, I would encourage everyone to try to get over there for the game, as the Bears are a team that are SERIOUSLY worth going to see.

As far as staying perfect in the MEAC is concerned, South Carolina State will pose a threat, as they are a tough 7-4 in conference play. That being said, they are coming off a loss to Coppin State Friday night. I expect Morgan to remain perfect; I’ll say 84-72.

8. Winston-Salem State Official Site previews tonight’s tilt with Coppin State at CSPEC

Wouldn’t you know….Fang Mitchell’s team is improving at the end of the season.

I don’t expect the Eagles to make a run towards the MEAC Championship or NCAA Tournament, but I’m not surprised that (even without a major go-to scoring threat), they are improving down the stretch. They’ll beat WSSU tonight, and they’ll have a chance to keep building the rest of the way.

9. Blast Official Site says Baltimore blow out 25-10 on road by Monterrey La Raza

I have not been able to get out to see the Blast AT ALL this season (I’ve tried-but the weather has stopped me), so I can’t REALLY comment on what’s gone wrong with them; but I know something has. They’ve now lost 5 in a row and 6 of their last 7 to fall to 5-7 overall.

They return to action with a rematch against La Raza Friday night at 1st Mariner Arena.

10. Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson says Bisciotti willing to take chance on troubled player like Brandon Marshall, Vincent Jackson

I don’t think this assessment should catch anyone off guard. There is no doubt in my mind that Steve Bisciotti wants to be more of a “splashy” owner. He made a splash in trying to trade for Terrell Owens, and he ABSOLUTELY wanted to hire “sexy” coaching candidate Jason Garrett before the Ravens hired John Harbaugh.

The question for the Ravens will be whether or not John Harbaugh, Ozzie Newsome and even Dick Cass think it is worthwhile to take a chance on guys like Marshall and Jackson. Does Harbaugh think he can work with a guy like Marshall? Does Ozzie Newsome think Marshall will fit with the rest of the Ravens’ roster? Does Dick Cass think Vincent Jackson will avoid embarrassing the franchise and city?

If those men are satisfied with the answers, then the Ravens might make this type of splash. If not, it is doubtful any will end up in Charm City.

11. Ravens Official Site’s Ryan Mink says team’s biggest needs are WR, CB, TE, S, DE

Which is BASICALLY what I have been saying here at WNST.net over the last few weeks. We all know receiver is the biggest area of need for the Ravens, but it is not the ONLY need. The Ravens WILL NOT just take a WR in the first round of the NFL Draft for the sake of taking a WR, but it would clearly be helpful if a WR was the best player available at 25.

Expect the Ravens to value size not only at WR, but also at TE and CB.

12. MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin says some Orioles players already in Sarasota for Spring Training

Hopefully none of them are shooting any commercials.

What, too soon???

And finally, I leave you with this…

Believe it or not, I actually did poke at both the Daytona 500 and NBA All-Star Game for a few minutes yesterday, despite the fact that they are amongst the absolute most unwatchable big events in all of sports. Actually, throw the Winter Olympics in there as well, which include some of the most unwatchable sports….ever. But I DID poke at all 3 of them for about 5 minutes yesterday. Fortunately for me, the 5 minutes that I poked at the NBA All-Star Game were during halftime. If you missed it, Shakira looked like this…

And Alicia Keys performed like this….

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRJyvq4X7Og[/youtube]

As I said last night on Facebook (search “Glenn Clark” and please feel free to add me as a friend), “Do you think I spend more time thinking about Alicia Keys or Alicia Keys spends more time thinking about me?”

Talk to you later….

-G

Kudos to the Terps, Cavs and ACC for doing the right thing here. Here is the official release….

Maryland-Virginia Game Postponed Until Monday, February 15^th

Unprecedented severe winter weather threatens campus, jeopardizes safety

College Park, MD—The Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball game between Maryland and Virginia scheduled at the Comcast Center for Wednesday, February 10^th has been postponed until Monday, February 15^th .  The game’s starting time and television broadcast information will be announced at a later time. All tickets for the originally scheduled game will be honored on the 15^th.

Due to the area’s continuing unprecedented winter weather conditions and historic snow accumulations, the University of Maryland, University of Virginia and ACC have agreed that the rare postponement is in the best interest of all involved, after consultation with the campus chief of police and the University’s Associate Vice President for Facilities Management.

The University of Maryland has been closed since Friday, February 5^th due to the conditions created by the past weekend’s blizzard. While University crews continue to work hard to remove snow from campus roads, sidewalks, steps and parking lots, there are still large portions of gameday parking lots and sidewalks which remain impassable due to the historic snow totals, to date.

An approaching storm is projected to dump more than a foot of new snow across the region, beginning Tuesday afternoon and continuing well into Wednesday, resulting in conditions that preclude the game from being played as originally scheduled.

Director of Athletics Deborah Yow and Head Men’s Basketball Coach Gary Williams have expressed their appreciation for all of the work done by campus employees and the Athletics staff that allowed the UNC game to be played under challenging circumstances. Those circumstances now move from being challenging to impossible for campus staff to manage, with the second major snowstorm approaching in less than a week.

-G

Happy Monday!

It’s a happy Monday for me for a few reasons (obviously), with the Terps winning and the Colts losing being chief among them. But don’t underestimate how good of a day it was thanks to “The Luckiest Dang Gal on the Face of the Planet”, who not only made breakfast and then buffalo chicken dip for the Super Bowl, she also delivered me this little number…

I don’t know what “Grand Cru” means….other than it means “DELICIOUS.”

Let’s see what everyone has to say…

1. The AP’s David Ginsburg says Vasquez scored 26, added 11 assists for Terps in win over Tar Heels

It wasn’t QUITE the “Mona Lisa”-type performance he put together last season in posting a triple double to beat the Heels, but he was pretty damn impressive yesterday. Clearly, the most impressive part of his day was his 6-11 shooting from beyond the arc, part of a 6-11 outside shooting day overall for the team.

The amazing thing is, for as many times as I’ve heard someone say “Maryland is a good shooting team”, they’re actually not. In fact, outside of Eric Hayes they’re probably a POOR outside shooting team. But something has happened this season that has turned them into good shooters when they’re at home. They still struggle from 3 point land away from College Park, but they’ve gotten so comfortable in shooting at home that they’ve really become a pretty good shooting team.

HOWEVER-For as great a day as Greivis had, I know someone who’s day was better….

How Jake beat Fava for Puppy Bowl MVP honors will be a mystery that might well take me years to solve.

2. WNST.net’s Glenn Clark says Gary Williams thought atmosphere in Comcast Center “amazing” as Terps crushed Carolina

It was really pretty surreal.

I’m not sure any atmosphere will ever match the intensity of the Maryland-Duke game in 2005,where there were some 21,000 people inside a 17,000 seat building. You’ll remember this as the night the Terps swept the Devils in OT and John Gilchrist just recently stopped his postgame jubilation. That being said, there was a very special intensity inside Comcast Center yesterday thanks to the school allowing extra students not only in the building, but allowing them to move down and help surround the court.

Hopefully the students saved SOME of their energy for Wednseday night, as Tony Bennett gets his first crack at Maryland. Sylvan Landesberg really can flat out play, and Virginia will be no easy out for this Maryland team.

3. Raleigh News & Observer’s Patrick Stevens says Terps handed Heels worst loss in Roy Williams era

The funniest thing about yesterday’s game was that UNC actually played about as well as they were capable of playing. They shaved a 16 point Maryland lead in the first half all the way down to 3 early on in the second half, and there were a few players and coaches who were a bit concerned as they watched on.

North Carolina is not a good team. They just aren’t. But it isn’t because they don’t have talent. Deon Thompson can PLAY. Ed Davis is tough. But their backcourt is just VERY disappointing. A team with Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson can just shoot their way to a victory over Maryland, a team with Larry Drew II and Will Graves just can’t.

If anything, this game was remarkably similar to last year’s game in Chapel Hill where the Terps fell 108-91 to the Heels. It wasn’t that Maryland was terrible, it was just that Carolina was that much better. This Carolina team isn’t terrible-in fact, a Maryland official said to me after the game yesterday “they’re gonna get better. Thank God we don’t have to go down to the Dean Smith Center this year.”

That being said, I think the difference in coaching styles between Gary Williams and Roy Williams is particularly evident right now. Maryland IS a better team, but I’m not totally convinced they’re a more talented team. Roy has his work cut out for him.

4. WNST.net’s Luke Jones says Gary Williams emotional in aftermath of Terrapins’ win

You can beat him up all you want, but this is the beauty of college sports. College sports aren’t about stats and rankings, college sports are about emotions. When the greatest coach in the history of a program is also an alum, there are going to be emotions; much like there are for every other alum and fan of the program worldwide.

Was this as big of a win over Carolina as some of the others the Terps have had in recent years? Of course not. But was it a win over Carolina in trying circumstances? Yeah it was. Were those of you that are Maryland alumni proud of the team after the game? That was what was reflected in Gary Williams’ emotions.

I couldn’t help but think back on another night where Gary got pretty emotional after a win over Carolina…..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eBreuzy15c[/youtube]

5. Morgan State Official Site says Reggie Holmes, Dewayne Jackson each scored 25 as Bears blew out Florida A&M

As I said on Twitter (follow us @WNST) after the game, “I sometimes wonder why MEAC teams even bother showing up at Hill Field House.”

That being said, the Bears now face what will likely be their toughest home test of the season. Bethune-Cookman visits Hill Field House tonight, meaning Morgan will have to play games on consecutive days for the 2nd time in as many weekends. The Wildcats have been off since a Friday night win over Coppin State-and they come into the game tied for 2nd place in the conference.

Todd Bozeman’s team knows it won’t be easy to try to finish with an undefeated MEAC record, but this is even a bit tougher than they likely expected.

On the flip side, Coppin gets a good chance to pick up their first conference victory, as they host FAMU tonight at the Coppin State Physical Education Complex. The Rattlers not only have struggled throughout MEAC play, but they are having to play back to back road games within a 25 hour span. If Fang Mitchell’s Eagles don’t get a win tonight, they might not get a win at all.

6. The AP says Shane Walker’s double double paced Loyola in victory at Manhattan

It doesn’t look like a huge victory because they’re only 5-9 now in MAAC play, but beating the Jaspers on the road was exactly what Jimmy Patsos’ crew needed. They now have off until Friday before hosting St. Peter’s at Reitz Arena, with a chance to improve their seed going into the MAAC Tournament.

Shane Walker’s transfer was probably expected to produce more for the Greyhounds than Andre Collins or Hassan Fofana, as Walker was more desired at Maryland than either of the other two. That only makes his struggles with the Hounds more disappointing, as he should be able to be a serious impact player in that league. Seeing Shane Walker get a double double really shouldn’t be so irregular.

7. Towson Official Site previews Tigers’ contest with James Madison tonight at Towson Center

You think there’s anyone in the entire Baltimore metro area that rooted for snow more than Pat Kennedy? After 59 and 42 point losses in the last two weeks, I just don’t think the Tigers were in a rush to play ANYONE this weekend. That being said, a home game against JMU is at least WINNABLE for Pat’s Cats, and there is nothing Pat needs more than a win.

8. Maine Official Site preivews tonight’s trip to Catonsville to face UMBC

Speaking of coaches who probably wouldn’t mind if another 20 inches of snow hit TODAY, I don’t think Randy Monroe is in a rush to face the Black Bears tonight at RAC Arena. I know the Retrievers actually managed to beat Maine on the road, but this will be a tough task tonight, especially knowing the Bears have that loss fresh on their mind.

I just hope UMBC doesn’t end up feeling like Betty White and Abe Vigoda this evening…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3rsaneyeXY[/youtube]

9. Maryland Official Site previews womens’ battle with Virginia tonight in College Park

Brenda Frese’s team needs a win, especially after a heartbreaking loss to Georgia Tech Friday afternoon. They beat the Cavaliers in Charlottesville earlier this season, but the Cavs have been a much more consistent team during ACC play.

There’s all the analysis you’re getting from me. Now let’s go back to Super Bowl-related things. I really liked the National Lampoon Vacation spoof…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cey36NRK0vQ[/youtube]

10. Ravens Official Site’s Ryan Mink says former Raven Matt Stover missed big FG in Colts’ SB loss to Saints

As I said last night, did ANYONE (not named Jim Caldwell) think Stover could make that kick? Even Jim Nantz noted a play earlier that Indianapolis was putting him on the edge of his range. I love Matt, but I was openly rooting against him yesterday and absolutely knew he couldn’t make that kick.

The one thing Matt wouldn’t answer for me last week was whether or not this trip to Miami would be it for him. He said he hadn’t really thought about his future, but wasn’t going to announce his retirement when questioned. Personally, I sorta hope this is it. It’s time for Matt to enjoy retirement and let us celebrate him and put him up in the Ring of Honor. In fact, I hope the Ravens can honor him and Jamal Lewis at the same game next season. I think that would be pretty special.

And before we move on from Super Bowl-related things, congratulations to Reggie Bush. Not just because he’s getting a ring-but because apparently this is a friend of his BEYOND the well known Kim Kardashian….

I bet she’s nice.

And finally, I leave you with this.

To everyone who complained that The Who are “old”, maybe you missed their ass-kicking last night. Sure, “Pinball Wizard” was a struggle at first, but they rocked for 13 minutes. Here’s the show in 2 parts….

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Io05fTLSg[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCqgtb3Nby4[/youtube]

I tell you what. Maybe Avril Lavigne is available to do next year’s halftime show. She’s not “too old.” Geez.

On second thought, that might not be so bad…..

Talk to you later.

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…..

-G

Honorable Mention: NBA-Wizards @ Raptors (Tuesday 7pm from Toronto live on Comcast SportsNet), Bucks @ Wizards (Wednesday 7pm from Verizon Center live on Comcast SportsNet), Raptors @ Wizards (Friday 7pm from Verizon Center live on Comcast SportsNet), Wizards @ Pistons (Sunday 6pm from Detroit live on Comcast SportsNet & NBA TV); Boxing: Bernard Hopkins vs. Enrique Ornelas (Wednesday 8pm from Liacouras Center in Philadelphia live on VERSUS), Roy Jones Jr. vs. Danny Green (Wednesday from Sydney, AUS-will air on Hopkins/Ornelas undercard); Paul Williams vs. Sergio Martinez (Saturday 9:30pm from Atlantic City live on HBO); “Sports Jobs with Junior Seau” premieres (Wednesday 10pm VERSUS)

10-Rob Zombie (Saturday 7pm 9:30 Club), Switchfoot (Monday 7pm Rams Head Live), Tony Bennett (Saturday 8pm Meyerhoff Symphony Hall), Grammy Nominations Concert (Wednesday 9pm from Los Angeles live on CBS)

If “BLACKsummers’night” by Maxwell is not nominated for Album of the Year, NARAS should just go ahead and cease operations…..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvKARVeMJ7I[/youtube]

(My gut on the other nominees? Green Day, Bruce Springsteen, U2, and Black Eyed Peas. Jay-Z’s was released too late; Lady Gaga and Kings of Leon were released too early to be nominated.)

9-Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (Tuesday 10pm from New York on CBS)

(Editor’s note: If I need to write anything more about this entry; you and I probably wouldn’t be friends.)

8-Golf: Chevron World Challenge (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel; Saturday & Sunday 3pm live on NBC. All golf from Thousand Oaks, California)

A week ago, there was NO CHANCE I would have included this on my list. NO CHANCE. There’s 16 players playing in this event, and none of them are named “Tiger” or “Mickelson.” However, the event is RUN by Tiger Woods; which suddenly makes it a bit interesting. Not the golf itself-but the things surrounding the golf. Like, “Will Tiger show up?”, “What will Tiger have to say?” and “Will they add a dented mailbox and claw marks to the face of the AWESOME trophy they give the winner?”

7-NHL: Panthers @ Capitals (Thursday 7pm from Verizon Center live on Comcast SportsNet), Capitals @ Flyers (Saturday 7pm from Philadelphia live on Comcast SportsNet), Capitals @ Lightning (Monday 7:30pm from Tampa Bay live on Comcast SportsNet)

I cannot BELIEVE I already committed to driving around Baltimore Saturday to watch college hoops with Drew Forrester. I would have NEVER made such a commitment had I known that my BELOVED Fly-as were hosting those rat-fink Caps on Saturday night at the Wachovia Center. Let’s go Fly-as! Here’s a little video at shot with some friends at the WNST studios Friday night…….

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7O2aNHy3o0[/youtube]

6-UFC Ultimate Fighter Finale (Saturday 9pm from Las Vegas live on SpikeTV)

So, Kimbo Slice is fighting again, huh?

I just hope we see THIS Kimbo Slice……

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsMNkFVQK3c[/youtube]

And NOT the Kimbo Slice that somehow managed to lose to Ray Bachman……

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glJCSrQEjho[/youtube]

5-Soccer: World Cup Draw (Friday 12pm from Cape Town, South Africa live on ESPN2); NCAA Tournament Elite 8: Maryland @ Virginia (Friday 7pm from Charlottesville)

As a broadcaster, there really is NOTHING worse than trying to do a broadcast of a “lottery”-type event. When I was on my spiritual journey to Phoenix two years ago, I was forced to do a live NBA Draft lottery show; as the Suns were the most popular team in town. Trying to take an hour to talk about where ping-pong balls might land was about as entertaining as listening to Jerry Coleman. (Love you Jerry.)

And as far as Virginia is concerned, after the pure misery of the last handful of times Maryland has faced Virginia in JUST ABOUT ANYTHING over the last few weeks, here’s some hard-hitting analysis:

“F*ck the Cavs.”

What?

4-College Football: Oregon State @ Oregon (Thursday 9pm from Eugene live on ESPN), Cincinnati @ Pitt (Saturday 12pm live on ABC), SEC Championship Game: Florida vs. Alabama (Saturday 4pm from Atlanta live on CBS), Big 12 Championship Game: Nebraska vs. Texas (Saturday 8pm from Arlington, TX live on ABC), ACC Championship Game: Georgia Tech vs. Clemson (Saturday 8pm from Tampa live on ESPN); BCS Selection Show (Sunday 8pm live on FOX), NCAA Division 3 Tournament Quarterfinals: Johns Hopkins @ Wesley (Sunday 12pm from Dover)

Boy, this Florida/Alabama matchup is pretty interesting. I mean, on the Gators side you have…..

But on the Tide side you have…….

Of course, the Florida side also has Tim Tebow’s girlfriend…….

(Edit from GMC: For the record, I have NO IDEA if that is Tim Tebow’s girlfriend, but it IS the picture that comes first when you Google image search “Tim Tebow’s girlfriend”, and a lot of people seem to think she IS Tim Tebow’s girlfriend. And if not, she should be. He’s better than the rest of us.)

3-High School Football State Finals: 1A Final-Catoctin vs. Joppatowne (Saturday 12pm) 2A Final-Eastern Tech vs. Queen Anne’s (Saturday 3:30pm), 4A Final-Wise vs. Old Mill (Friday 7:30pm), 3A Final-Huntingtown vs. Linganore (Saturday 7pm. All games at M&T Bank Stadium)

And for the final time this football season, if you’re headed out to one of the title games this weekend in Charm City, remember……

2-College Basketball-Big Ten/ACC Challenge: Maryland @ Indiana (Tuesday 7:30pm from Bloomington live on ESPN2), BB&T Classic: Maryland vs. Villanova (Sunday 7:30pm from Verizon Center live on MASN), UMBC @ Towson (Wednesday 7pm Towson Center), Hofstra @ Towson (Saturday 4pm Towson Center), Morgan State @ Loyola (Tuesday 7:30pm from Reitz Arena live on MASN), Morgan State @ Coppin State (Saturday 4pm Coppin State Physical Education Complex)

Is there ANY chance that before their game against the Hoosiers Tuesday night, Gary Williams could deliver THIS speech to the Terps?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Lhw4M-GTg[/youtube]

1-Ravens @ Packers (Monday 8:30pm from Green Bay live on ESPN)

Look, there’s no question who I’ll be rooting for Monday night, but I’ll have to admit that it’s hard to have much venom towards Aaron Rodgers and company; mostly because there is just NO WAY I can dislike the product their area is best known for…..

I mean-is there ANYTHING-IN THE WORLD-better than cheese??? We had broccoli and cheese as part of our family’s Thanksgiving celebration; and I actually tried to go swimming in the cheese that was left at the bottom of the serving bowl. I’m not kidding, either.

So while I hope the Pack lose this game 60-0, there will be a part of me that thinks “you know, maybe I should just move to Wisconsin already…..”

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…..

-G

The invitation is out there. If John Turner would like to come on with us (or just respond personally to my follow-up email) regarding our questions about his statements regarding Debbie Yow, I’d be happy to rescind my statements regarding him. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, I invite you to head over to the Audio Vault at WNST.net to listen to this morning’s “Cheap Shots From The Bleachers” segment.

Let’s see what everyone else has to say…..

Best of Wednesday’s WNST Blogs:

Glenn Clark says Harbaugh originally planned to have Ravens practice today as well

Drew Forrester says Ravens fans need bye week as much as Ravens players

Derek Arnold says Flacco, Ray Rice ‘played like a Raven’ in loss to Vikings

Ed Frankovic says Semin may miss Caps’ game against Thrashers tonight

RAVENS:

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Flacco missed practice this week with swollen ankle

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Frank Walker knows he needs to ‘improve’ after 2 pass interference calls in loss to Vikings

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Ray Rice so good even some people in front office surprised

The Official Site says Harbs went out of his way to defend Oher in final press conference before bye week

The Official Site says Lardarius Webb has been learning from Ed Reed, Domonique Foxworth, Fabian Washington, Frank Walker

The Sun’s Jamison Hensley says Flacco rolled right ankle after Jared Allen stepped on left ankle

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Ray Rice leads NFL with 766 yards from scrimmage

The Sun’s Kevin Cowherd says Derrick Mason brings passion to football field AND radio show

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Harbaugh thinks Oher has ‘tremendous respect’ for Jared Allen

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Le’Ron McClain has reached out to Lorenzo Neal for advice

The Sun’s Mike Preston says Ravens smart to mix in young D-Linemen Brandon McKinney, Dwan Edwards

Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson says Webb getting ‘comfortable’ in kick return, nickel back roles

Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson says contracts restructured for Kelly Gregg, Jarret Johnson

NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan says Harbaugh doesn’t necessarily think Ravens have become throwing team

NBC Sports’ Mike Florio says Flacco thinks ankle ‘not a big deal’

ESPN.com’s James Walker says Flacco competing with Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer to make Pro Bowl behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning

ESPN.com’s James Walker says Foxworth amongst biggest ‘underachievers’ in AFC North

TERRAPINS FOOTBALL:

The Sun’s Nancy Johnston thinks school should stick with “Fear The Turtle”

The Diamondback’s Aaron Kraut says Debbie Yow surprised by John Turner’s comments

The Diamondback’s Greg Schimmel says Fridge still thinks Terps can be Top 25 annually

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says James Franklin doesn’t think Terps better with Jamarr Robinson under center than Chris Turner

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Terps may run more ‘Wild Turtle’ with Torrey Smith

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Cavaliers wouldn’t kick towards Torrey Smith last Saturday

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Charles Bankins thinks Nick Ferrara will benefit from having Travis Baltz back

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Turner just ‘misunderstood’ Ralph’s comments about Robinson, Danny O’Brien

Washington Examiner’s Kevin Dunleavy says Pinegar went from walk-on hopeful to O-Line commodity in short time period

ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich says Devils might put a ton of points up Saturday in Durham

ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich thinks Terps will win ‘1 or 2’ more games

Terrapin Times’ Mike Ashley says Adrian Moten lifted spirits in practice Monday by crashing offensive huddle (must subscribe)

Terrapin Times’ Mike Ashley says Turner admitted to feeling ‘insecure’ after loss to Cavs (must subscribe)

Terrapin Times’ Keith Cavanaugh says Ben Pooler stepping up for Terps (must subscribe)

Inside MD Sports’ Seth Hoffman says Duke’s Thaddeus Lewis will provide Terps with another ‘test’ defensively

Turtle Sports Report’s Matt Owings says Porzel rare highlight in Maryland’s loss to Virginia

Turtle Sports Report’s Scott Kornberg checks in with ’11 prospect Ron Buchanan-Vernon Davis’ cousin (must subscribe)

Turtle Sports Report’s Scott Kornberg says ’11 prospect Sheldon Royster interested in Terps (must subscribe)

TERRAPINS BASKETBALL:

The Sun’s Jeff Barker says Gary Williams feels Lindy’s ranking ‘vindication’

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Jack Heise to be honored by team daily in practice

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Terps to participate in next year’s Coaches vs. Cancer Classic

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Gary wants to fly to away games besides UVa

Terrapin Times’ Dan Painter says Gbinije amongst best of ’11 prospects (must subscribe)

NAVY FOOTBALL:

The Official Site says Midshipmen to celebrate Halloween against Temple next Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

Annapolis Capital’s Bill Wagner says Ricky Dobbs could still play Saturday against WFU

Washington Post’s Camille Powell says Niumatalolo to make decision on Ricky Dobbs today

Washington Post’s Camille Powell says Mids 12th in NCAA on 3rd down

Washington Post’s Camille Powell says Mids have lost 3 straight Homecoming games-all to BCS opponents

Winston-Salem Journal’s Dan Collins says Josh Bush succeeding at safety for Demon Deacons

Go Mids’ David Ausiello says Ivin Jasper thinks Kriss Proctor similar to Kaheaku-Enhada

Go Mids’ Chris Rohe breaks down individual Navy-Wake Forest matchups (must subscribe)

TOWSON FOOTBALL:

The Official Site says Tigers to go ‘Green’ next Saturday against Richmond

MORGAN FOOTBALL:

The Sun’s Mike Klingaman says Bears RB Devan James thinks George Howard playing like ‘monster’

MCDANIEL FOOTBALL:

Carroll County Times’ Josh Land says Terror still ‘adjusting’ to new DC Mike Dailey

ORIOLES:

The Official Site’s Alden Gonzalez says Josh Bell, Brandon Snyder making strong case for Birds’ open corner infield positions in Arizona Fall League

The Sun’s Peter Schmuck says scout Deron Rombach left organization to join Braves

The Sun says Cal Ripken to attend Brooks Robinson tribute

The Sun’s Dean Jones Jr. says Snyder homered twice, drove in 7 for Phoenix Desert Dogs in win

Examiner Jay Trucker says Bell’s success in AFL, Sherrill’s struggles in NLCS making trade look pretty good for O’s

HORSE RACING:

Thoroughbred Times’ Jeff Lowe says Saturday’s De Francis Dash at Laurel Park ‘2nd chance’ for Vineyard Haven

The Sun says Fleet Valid 2nd choice for De Francis Dash behind Vineyard Haven

SWIMMING:

Washington Post’s Amy Shipley says Michael Phelps endorses PureSport even amidst questions about supplements

BALTIMORE MARINERS:

The Official Site says AIFA team named front office posts

SOME QUICK THOUGHTS:

-No reason to be concerned about Joe Flacco’s ankle. Which is kinda difficult to say because he has the most important ankles in the entire city of Baltimore.

Here’s an update on Terps in the NFL through Week 6…..

-Browns LB Eric Barton has tallied 49 tackles (31 solo, 1 TFL) and 2 pass defenses
-49ers TE Vernon Davis has 22 catches for 262 yards and 3 TD’s
-Vikings TE Jeff Dugan has 2 catches for 26 yards and 2 rushes for 7 yards
-Eagles LB Moise Fokou has 2 tackles (2 solo)
-Ravens CB Domonique Foxworth has 13 tackles (1 TFL), 1 INT (13 return yards) and 6 pass defenses
-Dolphins TE Joey Haynos has 2 catches for 38 yards
-Vikings LB E.J. Henderson has 47 tackles (36 solo, 3 TFL)
-Raiders WR Darrius Heyward-Bey has 2 catches for 36 yards and 2 rushes for 19 yards
-49ers QB Shaun Hill is 81/144 for 898 yards, 5 TD’s and 2 INT’s
-Browns LB D’Qwell Jackson has 59 tackles (46 solo, 2 TFL), forced 1 fumble, and has 2 pass defenses
-Jets DT Kris Jenkins has 13 tackles (11 solo, 4 TFL)-but will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL
-Broncos RB LaMont Jordan has rushed 20 times for 59 yards
-Chargers LB Shawne Merriman has 13 tackles (6 solo)
-Jaguars P Adam Podlesh has punted 27 times for 1,103 yards (40.9 yard average), inside 20 8 times
-Dolphins DT Randy Starks has 12 tackles (11 solo, 1 TFL)
-Vikings S Madieu Williams has 26 tackles (24 solo, 1 TFL) and defended 1 pass
-Seahawks CB Josh Wilson has 16 tackles (15 solo), 1 sack and defended 4 passes
-Redskins CB Kevin Barnes, Raiders LS Jon Condo, Ravens OT Jared Gaither, Vikings LB Erin Henderson, Redskins OT Stephon Heyer, Buccaneers DT Dre Moore, and Redskins OL Edwin Williams have not tallied statistics or play positions that don’t tally statistics

Also….
-Former Morgan State TE Visanthe Shiancoe has 17 catches for 164 yards and 5 TD’s for the Vikings
-Former Morgan State RB Chad Simpson has rushed 3 times for 9 yards for the Colts

Talk to you tomorrow.

-G

SI’s John Lopez throws out an intriguing trade possibility for the Ravens.

DT Brandon McKinney and a draft pick for Texans’ CB Dunta Robinson.

For the record, John Lopez is from Houston, and has covered the Texans. That doesn’t necessarily mean he has any inside sources in the organization; but it is possible.

It couldn’t POSSIBLY make more sense for the Ravens. Trade from strength (D-Line) to try to address a need (Secondary). Does it make sense for the Texans? Maybe.

It’s interesting if nothing else.

Let’s see what everyone else has to say….

Best of Wednesday’s WNST Blogs:

Glenn Clark says Derrick Mason accepted responsibility for no catches in loss to Bengals

Luke Jones says Cam Cameron’s offense needs to carry Ravens

Keith Melchior thinks Ravens fans should be ‘passionate’ but ‘grounded’

Lawson Lambert says defense must be ‘priority number 1’ for Friedgen in offseason

Thyrl Nelson doesn’t really think McGahee, Ray Rice great fantasy plays this week against Vikes

Nestor Aparicio says Blast will play rivals Milwaukee Wave four times this season

RAVENS:

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says addition of David Tyree will help Special Teams unit that recently lost Brendon Ayanbadejo

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Stover signing in Indianapolis brings reality to fact that his career in Baltimore is over

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says players thinking about Minnesota, not avoiding 3 game losing streak going into bye

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Gaither, Ngata, Jarret Johnson all missed practice

The Official Site’s Sarah Ellison says Vikings haven’t exactly been beating NFL’s best teams this season

The Official Site says Childress doesn’t think Vikings fans will be ‘mean-spirited’ towards Birk in return to Metrodome

The Official Site says Birk doesn’t know what to expect in return to Minnesota

The Official Site’s Mallory Steinberg says Ray Rice, Mark Clayton, Kelley Washington were out in community this week

Vikings Official Site’s Mike Wobschall says St. Paul native Birk ‘doesn’t regret’ leaving Vikings

Vikings Official Site’s Mike Wobschall says Ray Edwards, Steve Hutchinson, Loadholt, Reynaud, Tahi all limited in practice for Vikes

Vikings Official Site’s Mike Wobschall says Childress thinks Birk benefitting from facing Ngata in practice

The AP says Percy Harvin missed practice for Minnesota with shoulder injury

The AP says Vikes added OL Oldenburg for depth with starting RT Loadholt battling ankle injury

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Harbaugh, Childress have friendship stemming from time in Philadelphia

The Sun’s Kevin Van Valkenburg says Tyree in Baltimore ‘primarily to fill the void on special teams left by Brendon Ayanbadejo’

The Sun’s Ken Murray says Stover went to Indianapolis for chance to kick for Super Bowl contender

4 of 7 Sun analysts pick Ravens

The Sun’s Dean Jones Jr. and Matt Bracken clean up after me

The Sun’s Kevin Cowherd says Flacco, Ravens facing tough challenge with trip to Metrodome

The Sun’s Mike Preston says Greg Mattison should think about going back to 3-4

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Childress, Harbs different types of coaches

The Sun’s Jamison Hensley says Edgar Jones (hamstring) limited in practice

The Sun’s Jamison Hensley says Minneapolis only NFL city Ravens haven’t visited in regular season

Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson says Jared Allen represents ‘daunting task’ for Ravens

Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson says 52 expects to be fined for hit on Ochocinco

Frederick News-Post’s Stan Goldberg says Birk’s favorite Metrodome memory was attending Twins game on 5th birthday

Frederick News-Post’s Nick Knowsitall picks Ravens 24-21

The AP’s Michael Marot says Stover filling in for Colts while Vinatieri injured

Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Judd Zulgad says future Hall of Famers Ray Lewis, Favre have great respect for one another

St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Rick Alonzo says Ravens’ pass defense hasn’t been same without Chris McAlister, Samari Rolle

SI’s John P. Lopez thinks Ravens should try to package Brandon McKinney to acquire Texans CB Dunta Robinson

SI’s Don Banks has Ravens 12th in power rankings

5 of 8 USA Today analysts pick Ravens

USA Today has Ravens 12th in power rankings

NFL Network says Sterling Sharpe, Joe Theismann think Ravens will win; Brian Baldinger thinks Vikes will win

Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager picks Vikes 24-20

TERRAPINS FOOTBALL:

Virginia Official Site previews Saturday’s trip to College Park

The Diamondback’s Michael Katz says Phil Costa, Terps know they’ll be playing in front of a number of alumni with Homecoming this weekend

Washington Post’s Eric Prisbell says Chris Turner averaging 3.5 yards per carry on plays where he isn’t sacked

Washington Post’s Eric Prisbell says Fridge would rather not play Pete White

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says UVa beat writer Jeff White thinks Cavs have basically scrapped spread offense

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Don Brown knows Terps struggling on 3rd and long

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says John Donovan thinks Haroon Brown improving in recent weeks

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Demetrius Hartsfield continues to practice in preparation for Hoos

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Danny O’Brien closing in on Jamarr Robinson according to Ralph

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens picks Cavs 27-21

Richmond Times Dispatch’s Michael Phillips says Cavaliers RB Mikell Simpson broke out against Maryland 2 years ago

ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich picks Wahoos 21-17

ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich says a return from Bruce Campbell would help Terps ‘tremendously’ in protecting Chris Turner

Terrapin Times’ Keith Cavanaugh says Friedgen thinks Jamarr Robinson could play Saturday (must subscribe)

Terrapin Times’ Mark Clem says Adrian Cannon got to end zone in loss to Wake Forest (must subscribe)

Terrapin Times’ Keith Cavanaugh says Maryland CB Chism lost cousin in car accident this week (must subscribe)

Turtle Sports Report’s Matt Alkire says Oscar F. Smith (VA) prospect Darius Jennings likes Maryland, Florida State

Turtle Sports Report’s Danny Miller says ’11 prospect Landon Turner considering Maryland, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio State

Turtle Sports Report’s Matt Alkire says Maryland, Temple, Rutgers all interested in Dillon Romain

Turtle Sports Report’s Jeremy Schneider checks in with ’11 QB prospect C.J. Uzomah (must subscribe)

TERRAPINS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:

The Official Site says Frese knows Terps face challenge with Marissa Coleman, Toliver gone

The Diamondback’s Jonas Shaffer says Lori Bjork only senior on young Maryland team

The Diamondback’s Jonas Shaffer says Frese knows everyone besides Kizer facing steep learning curve

Washington Post’s Camille Powell says Bjork both veteran and rookie as transfer from Illinois

TERRAPINS BASKETBALL:

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Chris Bosh won court battle to get web name rights back for players like Greivis Vasquez

NAVY FOOTBALL:

Annapolis Capital’s Bill Wagner says Mids ‘unfazed’ by SMU’s high powered offense

Washington Post’s Camille Powell says Mike Walsh giving Mids depth at NG

Go Mids’ David Ausiello breaks down individual performances thus far for Midshipmen (must subscribe)

MORGAN FOOTBALL:

The Official Site previews tonight’s ESPNU showdown with Howard

The Official Site offers complete Bears-Bison release (pdf)

Howard Official Site previews tonight’s trip to Hughes Stadium

Washington Post says Bison come into game struggling offensively

TOWSON FOOTBALL:

Examiner Matthew Schlissel says Tigers-Blue Hens will give Unitas Stadium one of biggest crowds in history

TOWSON BASKETBALL:

The Official Site says Pat Kennedy’s Tigers begin practice Friday

UMBC LACROSSE:

Inside Lacrosse’s Terry Foy says Don Zimmerman working in 19 freshmen during Retrievers’ fall practice

MCDANIEL FOOTBALL:

Carroll County Times’ Josh Land says Green Terror want TE Woody Butler on field as much as possible

ORIOLES:

The Official Site’s Spencer Fordin says Terry Crowley coming back for 12th straight season-only Elrod Hendricks, Harry Breechen, Billy Hunter had longer tenures as coaches in Baltimore

The Sun’s Dean Jones Jr. says prospect Waring homered in Arizona Fall League debut

BLAST:

The Official Site says defending NISL Champions to open season against Rockford Rampage November 13

BALTIMORE COLTS:

The Sun’s Mike Klingaman ‘catches up with’ former Colt Marchetti

TENNIS:

The Sun’s Sandra McKee says Oudin, Isner to play in Pam Shriver’s event at 1st Mariner Arena December 9

HORSE RACING:

The Sun’s Hanah Cho says bankruptcy judge approved Magna’s plan to auction Pimlico, Laurel early next year

SOME QUICK THOUGHTS:

-Has a great time on the Bus Trip to RFK Stadium last night for USA-Costa Rica. The match was awesome too, and the end ranks up amongst the greatest game ending moments I’ve seen live. WOW.

Talk to you tomorrow.

-G

Barry Levinson’s documentary “The Band That Wouldn’t Die” last night on ESPN was OUTSTANDING.

It was a beautiful story told about the city of Baltimore, and the role the Baltimore Colts Marching Band played in bridging the gap between the Colts’ departure and the Ravens’ arrival.

It was a really well put together documentary. In fact, it made me FURIOUS that ESPN did not have Levinson put together their ’58 Championship Game doc last December-which they butchered terribly.

I can’t recommend you watching this enough. Jim Irsay’s insight was especially interesting. I thought he did a good job of saying he loved his father, but understood what a terrible person he had become.

I really can’t say this enough. The documentary was powerful. It was moving. It was probably what I should have expected from someone has talented as Barry Levinson.

Let’s see what everyone else has to say…..

Best of Tuesday’s WNST Blogs:

Glenn Clark, Drew Forrester say Ed Reed best Raven in loss to Bengals

Glenn Clark says Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf to call Ravens-Vikings for CBS

Mark Suchy was excited for “The Band That Wouldn’t Die” last night

Tom Clayton says Ravens looked ‘average’ in Sunday’s loss

RAVENS:

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Ravens stayed with ‘hot hand’ of Ray Rice in loss to Bengals, know McGahee will be needed to contribute more this season

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Ravens signed David Tyree, let Tony Curtis go

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Harbaugh thinks Gaither ‘a lot better now’ than he was before Cincinnati game

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Samari Rolle’s status unknown as he reaches stretch where he’s eligible to return

The Official Site says Tyree made 85 tackles during his 6 seasons with Giants

Vikings Official Site’s Josh Fiedler says Ravens looking for ‘bounce back’ result in Minnesota

The AP’s Jon Krawczynski’s says Vikings TE Shiancoe expects Ravens to be ‘pretty mad coming in’ to Metrodome

The Sun’s Ken Murray says Marshal Yanda hoping to return to native Iowa after playing career over

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Birk thinks O-Line still ‘work in progress’

The Sun’s Ken Murray says Matt Stover didn’t ‘want to hurt anybody’s feelings’ by working out with Colts

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Harbaugh believes Tyree will help Ravens ‘in whatever way he can’

The Sun’s Peter Schmuck expects Ravens to get things back together Sunday in Minneapolis

The Sun says Ravens must find different ways to use Derrick Mason

The Sun’s Mike Preston says Ravens must use Lardarius Webb more

The Sun’s Mike Preston says Samari Rolle showed up in Owings Mills wearing neck brace

The Sun’s Ken Murray says former Ravens WR Figurs signed with Bucs

The Sun’s Ken Murray says Matt Stover had chance to sign with Browns

Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson says Ravens have 26th ranked passing defense in NFL

Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson says Demetrius Williams’ active status could be affected with David Tyree in Baltimore

Washington Times’ David Elfin has Ravens 10th in power rankings

Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Chip Scoggins says Vikes bring 2nd most takeaways in NFL into game

St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Sean Jensen and Rick Alonzo say reaching 100 yards doesn’t matter to Peterson

Fox Sports’ Adrian Hasenmayer has Ravens 12th in power rankings

ESPN.com has Ravens 11th in power rankings

Yahoo! Sports’ Michael Silver has Ravens 11th in power rankings

NFL.com has Ravens 13th in power rankings

TERRAPINS FOOTBALL:

The Sun’s Sandra McKee says Friedgen knows Terps still alive in ACC race

The Sun’s Jeff Barker says Terps need to go 4-2 the rest of the way to get bowl eligible

The Sun’s Jeff Barker says Mikell Simpson could go for Hoos Saturday at Byrd Stadium

The Sun’s Jeff Barker says Fridge ‘proud’ of Terps

Carroll County Times’ Matt Zenitz says Cavaliers have similar offense to Middle Tennessee, James Madison-who gave Terps fits

The Diamondback’s Greg Schimmel says Hartsfield hasn’t decided when to have surgery on broken hand yet

The Diamondback’s Adi Joseph says max protection schemes have hurt James Franklin’s offense

The Diamondback’s Michael Katz says despite growing up in Virginia, Torrey Smith never rooted for UVa

The Diamondback’s Eric Detweiler says Don Brown thought first half against Wake ‘a huge step back’

The Diamondback has Terps 12th in ACC power rankings

Washington Post’s Eric Prisbell says Terps having to change philosophies due to injuries

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Chris Turner has become ‘threat’ on ground

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Wahoos continuing history of October success under Groh

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Ralph ‘optimistic’ regarding Bruce Campbell

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Hartsfield will miss two games no matter what

Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Michael Phillips says Cavaliers QB Jameel Sewell redeeming himself after missing ’08 campaign

Terrapin Times’ Mike Ashley says Terps, Hoos have good ‘rivalry’ because they genuinely don’t like each other (must subscribe)

Terrapin Times’ Claire Knudsen profiles freshman LB Ryan Donohue (must subscribe)

Terrapin Times’ Mark Clem says Lorne Goree ready to get to College Park for spring ball (must subscribe)

Turtle Sports Report’s Matt Birchenough says Jeremiah Johnson remains committed to Terps

Turtle Sports Report’s Carlos Olazagasti updates season for future Maryland opponents

Turtle Sports Report’s Ross Leonhart checks in with commit Brice Laughlin (must subscribe)

Turtle Sports Report’s Bill Greene says Hollywood Hills DE prospect Clarence Murphy to visit College Park this weekend (must subscribe)

TERRAPINS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:

The Sun’s Matt Bracken says ‘atmosphere’ brought Alyssa Thomas to College Park

NAVY FOOTBALL:

The Official Site says Niumatalolo thinks Teich ‘questionable’ again this week for SMU game

Annapolis Capital’s Bill Wagner says Mids won’t have easy go against Mustangs

Washington Post’s Camille Powell says trip to Texas big for Midshipmen recruiting-wise

Go Mids updates season for Navy opponents

TOWSON FOOTBALL:

The Official Site previews Saturday’s Homecoming showdown with Delaware

Delaware Official Site offers complete Tigers-Blue Hens release (pdf)

TOWSON LACROSSE:

The Official Site says fall season wraps up Saturday with Lacrosse for Leukemia event in Bel Air

TOWSON BASKETBALL:

The Official Site offers radio broadcast details for ’09-’10 season

UMBC BASKETBALL:

The Sun says Justin Fry will be out until January due to knee surgery

COPPIN BASKETBALL:

The Official Site offers details for Friday night’s Midnight Madness event at Coppin Center

HOPKINS FOOTBALL:

The Official Site previews contest with Ursinus

The Official Site offers complete JHU-Ursinus release (pdf)

HOPKINS LACROSSE:

Inside Lacrosse’s Geoff Shannon says ’11 prospect Wells Stanwick committed to Blue Jays

ORIOLES:

The Sun’s Dan Connolly says Trembley to bring back entire staff besides Jauss

The Sun’s Peter Schmuck thinks Birds should bring back Chad Moeller to mentor Wieters

BALTIMORE MARINERS:

The Official Site says AIFA team has one more open tryout left

SWIMMING:

Swimnetwork.com’s Bob Schaller says Phelps’ relay team drawing fans to sport

The Sun says Phelps amongst ‘most likeable’ celebrities

SOME QUICK THOUGHTS:

-Dave Jauss is gone, huh? I think BJ Surhoff would be a good fit in that role. Think he’s interested?

-Anyone have an American flag I can borrow for tonight’s game?

-Should I bet Eron Riley that if Maryland beats Duke, he has to go to the Ravens’ Halloween bash at Dave & Buster’s dressed as Gary Williams? If Duke beats Maryland, I would have to go as Coach K. Thoughts?

Talk to you from Owings Mills.

-G

RAVENS REPORT CARD:

Quarterback: B

I actually was going to give Joe a “B+” for the game, but after talking to national scouts and some people with the Ravens; I was told I was being OVERLY fair. Joe really struggled in the first half, looking nervous early on. He targeted Derrick Mason too much early on, and then zeroed in on his first receivers too much the rest of the game, not finishing progression. But he played well, almost well enough to win.

Running Backs/Fullbacks: B

Just a shame they didn’t get the ball more. Ray Rice had some stumbling problems, and they didn’t get one yard when they needed it most.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: C+

This was tough, as Derrick Mason was great early, but didn’t get going much the rest of the way. Kelley Washington and Todd Heap weren’t targeted much, and we all know what happened with Mark Clayton. It wasn’t as if they played poorly, but there wasn’t enough there to give them a high grade.

Offensive Line: B+

What Michael Oher did in moving from one side to the other was REALLY impressive, but it wasn’t the best game of the season for this unit otherwise. Chris Chester had a tough time after playing the best football of his career for the first 3 games.

Defensive Line: B

Actually a very good effort from this unit, but they did allow the Patriots some 6-9 yard rushes early in the game that opened things up for Tom Brady. The pressure was better though.

Linebackers: A-

I thought this group played really well. They got pressure; Terrell Suggs and Jarret Johnson made big plays, and Ray Lewis was all over the field. Even Dannell Ellerbe contributed in his first game action.

Secondary: B-

The safeties are not usually the issue in this unit. But Domonique Foxworth played pretty well (other than when Randy Moss pushed him out of the way) and Frank Walker made another really nice play.

Special Teams: B

Chris Carr’s gaffe really set the tone for the game, and it was a bad tone. Lardarius Webb played well. They’ll miss Brendon Ayanbadejo.

Coaching: B-

The play-calling was CLEARLY suspect from Cam Cameron. It might not have lost the game, but it didn’t help.

Let’s see what everyone else has to say…..

Best of Monday’s WNST Blogs:

Glenn Clark says Harbaugh claimed Ravens ‘not disappointed’ in Chris Carr

Drew Forrester says with Orioles season over, MacPhail should face media

Glenn Clark says Derrick Mason best Raven in loss, Drew Forrester picks Jarret Johnson

Nestor Aparicio says Birk doing community work in Baltimore AND Minnesota

Tom Clayton says Cam Cameron seemed to have ‘no interest’ in establishing control of ground game

Glenn Clark says Friedgen, Niumatalolo got ‘lucky’ over weekend

Rex Snider lost respect for Tom Brady after Ravens’ loss

Derek Arnold says Derrick Mason showing up everywhere

RAVENS:

The Official Site’s John Eisenberg says Patriots’ limited mistakes reason Ravens left New England on losing end

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Ravens expected to bring back Prescott Burgess with Ayanbadejo’s season believed to be over

The Official Site says Harbaugh just wants officiating to be ‘fair and consistent’

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Harbaugh ‘hopeful’ to have Jared Gaither Sunday against Cincinnati

The Official Site’s Mike Duffy says Flacco thought Ravens ‘took what (Patriots) gave (them)’ as far as play-calling was concerned

Bengals Official Site’s Geoff Hobson says Marvin Lewis expects all players to be available Sunday besides Andre Smith

The Sun’s Jamison Hensley says Harbaugh noted Flacco was hit 5 times, Pats got just 1 roughing call

The Sun’s Jamison Hensley breaks down roughing penalties that have gone against Ravens

The Sun’s Mike Preston says Ravens ‘more balanced and physical’ than New England

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Harbaugh didn’t define returner between Chris Carr, Lardarius Webb moving forward

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Harbaugh continued to describe Gaither’s injury as ‘not serious’

The Sun’s Edward Lee says NFL Network to re-broadcast Ravens-Patriots tonight

The Sun’s Edward Lee says Ravens took to Twitter after loss in Foxborough

Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson says Harbs doesn’t believe Ravens’ ‘reputation’ affects how games are called

Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson says Ravens not blaming Mark Clayton for loss to Patriots

The AP says Birk knows Ravens can’t dwell on officiating

The AP says Harbaugh knows Ayanbadejo a costly loss for Ravens

Cincinnati Enquirer’s Joe Reedy says Bengals will come to Baltimore struggling offensively

USA Today’s Sean Leahy says Belichick had informed Pats that Ron Winter’s crew was quick to throw flags

SI’s Peter King dropped Ravens to 8th in power rankings

Sporting News’ Clifton Brown drops Ravens to 9th in power rankings

CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco gives Ravens ‘B-‘ for effort in loss

NBC Sports’ Mike Florio has Ravens 6th in power rankings

TERRAPINS FOOTBALL:

The Official Site previews Saturday’s trip to Winston-Salem to face Wake Forest

The Official Site offers complete Terps-Demon Deacons release (pdf)

The Official Site says Nick Ferrara, Demetrius Hartsfield honored by ACC

The Sun says Terps, Cavs will kick off at 4pm on 10/17 (GET ON THE BUS!!!!)

The Sun’s Matt Bracken says future Terp Tyler Smith bounced back with big weekend

Examiner Matthew Bouchard says win over Clemson may have ‘saved’ season for Maryland

The Diamondback’s Greg Schimmel says Bruce Campbell underwent MRI yesterday, results expected in Ralph Friedgen’s press conference today

The Diamondback’s Aaron Kraut says Terps can’t rely on ‘luck’ moving forward (must subscribe)

The Diamondback’s Eric Detweiler says Ferrara shared specialist honor with Virginia’s Robert Randolph (ROBERT RANDOLPH?!?!?)

The Diamondback has Terps 8th in ACC power rankings

Washington Post’s Eric Prisbell says Terps two games up on Florida State, Clemson in loss column early on

Washington Post’s Eric Prisbell says Adrian Moten lead players only meeting last week

Washington Post’s Eric Prisbell says Chris Turner ‘settled down’ in Clemson victory

Washington Post’s Eric Prisbell says Torrey Smith continues to shine for Terps

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Ryan Donohue got first action against Clemson

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Lamar Young, Andrew Gonnella played well Saturday against Clemson

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Terps, ‘Hoos will be on ESPNU

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Hartsfield first freshman Terp to be honored since DHB

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Davin Meggett had most touches for Terps in win

Washington Examiner’s Kevin Dunleavy says Terps trust Don Brown

ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich says Fridge got ‘cocky’ after Maryland’s win

ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich says Hartsfield locked up weekly honor with final sack, strip of Kyle Parker

Terrapin Times’ Keith Cavanaugh says players-only meeting helped Terps get ‘focus’ for game against Tigers (must subscribe)

Terrapin Times’ Mark Clem says Adrian Moten ‘proud’ of Demetrius Hartsfield (must subscribe)

Turtle Sports Report’s Pete Volk says Jeremiah Wilson’s commitment ‘unwavering’

Scout.com’s John Wallpher profiles ’11 DeMatha prospect Kouandjio (must subscribe)

Scout.com’s John Wallpher profiles ’10 Gwynn Park prospect Khalek Shepherd (must subscribe)

TERRAPINS BASKETBALL:

The Sun’s Mike Klingaman says charges dropped against Maryland freshman Jordan Williams

The Diamondback’s Adi Joseph says Gary Williams ‘happy’ Jordan Williams issue is over

Washington Post’s Steve Yanda says Jordan Williams’ attorney Bill Stevens noted Jordan appeared to be trying to play role of peacemaker in incident

Washington Times’ Tim Lemke says film about Len Bias’ death will be part of ESPN Films’ “30 for 30” series

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Gary defended Jordan Williams as ‘outstanding person’, ‘great representative of (their) basketball team’

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says Jordan Williams ‘expected to contend for playing time’ with Terps

Washington Times’ Patrick Stevens says ESPN named Terps 14th best team of 2000’s

The AP says prosecutor Stilson says all parties in Jordan Williams case wanted charges dropped

Terrapin Times’ Dan Painter says St. Anthony prospect Ashton Pankey to visit College Park Oct. 16 (must subscribe)

TERRAPINS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:

Terrapin Times’ Dan Painter says future Terp Alicia DeVaughn got ‘motherly’ feeling from Brenda Frese (must subscribe)

NAVY FOOTBALL:

The Official Site previews Saturday’s trip to Houston to face Rice

The Official Site offers complete Midshipmen-Owls preview (pdf)

Annapolis Capital’s Bill Wagner says Greg Jones, Ross Pospisil recognized by coaching staff from win over AFA

Go Mids says Joe Buckley, Wyatt Middleton, Jon Teague top players from Air Force game

Go Mids grades Mids’ win over Falcons (must subscribe)

TOWSON FOOTBALL:

The Official Site previews Tigers’ trip to Rhode Island Saturday to face CAA foe

MORGAN FOOTBALL:

The Official Site says George Howard, Kemar Scarlett honored by MEAC

HOPKINS FOOTBALL:

The Official Site says Alex Lachman honored by Centennial Conference

SALISBURY FOOTBALL:

The Official Site says Brandon Norwood, Brandon Hudson, Paul Cynewski all honored by ACFC

ORIOLES:

The Sun’s Dan Connolly says Russell Branyan, Hank Blalock, Mark DeRosa, Prince Fielder could be offseason bat options for Birds to pursue

The Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec says Bergesen top Oriole in ‘09

The Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec says Brian Roberts Orioles’ MVP

Carroll County Times’ Josh Land says John Lackey, Rich Harden, Randy Wolf, Jason Marquis, Tim Hudson, Erik Bedard, Ben Sheets could be offseason pitching options for O’s to pursue

Frederick News-Post’s Stan Goldberg says Uehara Birds’ ‘biggest disappointment’

BALTIMORE MARINERS:

The Official Site says AIFA team added Jason Blackman, Ron Meehan, Bryan Milburn to coaching staff

SOME QUICK THOUGHTS:

-For the record, Brian Roberts would have been my Orioles MVP as well.

Talk to you tomorrow.

-G