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Ravens secondary faces another challenge against Detroit

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Ravens secondary faces another challenge against Detroit

Posted on 15 August 2012 by Luke Jones

Last week it was wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White and this week it’s Calvin Johnson, but the Ravens secondary isn’t backing down despite a rough start in the preseason opener.

In fact, the unit is embracing the early challenges against some of the best receivers in football. Against the Detroit Lions on Friday night, the Ravens will arguably see the best receiver in the NFL as the 6-foot-5 Johnson comes off an incredible 2011 season in which he caught 96 passes for 1,681 and 16 touchdowns.

“I am looking to go against anyone,” cornerback Lardarius Webb said. “It’s not that it’s just ‘Megatron.’ But, it’s going to be a nice challenge going against one of the best receivers in the league. Why not start it off in preseason going against him? Getting your confidence up, getting back used to the game, like I said.”

The Baltimore defense is hoping to avoid a repeat of last week when Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and Jones burned the secondary repeatedly, with cornerback Cary Williams receiving most of the attention. Jones caught six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter as the Ravens allowed 191 total yards in the first 15 minutes of play.

However, defensive coordinator Dean Pees credited Ryan’s pinpoint accuracy on several passes and reminded everyone how the front seven was unable to get consistent pressure on the Atlanta quarterback. The Ravens hope to generate more heat on Stafford to aid defensive backs in the battle against Johnson.

A three-and-out as opposed to the touchdown the Ravens allowed on the Falcons’ opening drive would be a fine way to erase the ugly beginning to the preseason.

“We need to get off to a fast start,” Pees said. “That’s the thing that disappointed us Thursday is we got off to a slow start, and we don’t want to let anybody ever drive the ball on us, let alone go down and score on the first possession – certainly not a way you want to start the game. Now, that being said, I’ve played in enough games in 40 years of football that they have scored on the first drive, and we won the game 41-7. You have to also let that go and it’s over with and done. You make corrections on the sideline, you come back and win the game.”

Webb and the Baltimore secondary aren’t panicking over the poor showing against Atlanta after finishing with the fourth-ranked pass defense in the league last season. Pressure will be on the secondary to play at an even higher level after the loss of linebacker Terrell Suggs and how his absence will likely leave a major void in the pass rush.

Webb is expecting Friday’s performance to look much more like the unit that played at an exceptional level last season.

“When you come into the first game, you get a little anxious,” Webb said. “You want to get the interception here, you want to jump here, but it’s all about feeling the game out, feeling the team out. We kind of jumped the gun, tried to jump too much stuff. This game, I think, we are just going to let it come to us – just play football and let the defense open up to us.”

Increased workload for starters?

Starters will see more action in the second preseason game of the summer, but after last week’s nine-play, nine-yard first quarter, the Ravens will shy away from specifying a concrete amount of time the starters will play against the Lions.

As is always the case, certain veteran starters such as linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed will likely be lifted earlier than the rest of their starting mates.

“We will play it by ear right now,” coach John Harbaugh said. “It could be as much as a half, it might not be. We’ll just play it by ear, see how it’s going, and see how many reps we get. Again, it will be more individual. There will be some guys staying longer than other guys. Starters, I think there are categories in there as well.”

Special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg expressed his preference for Billy Cundiff and Justin Tucker to receive more opportunities on Friday as the Ravens try to decide who will be their place kicker. As was the case last week, Cundiff is expected to start the game before Tucker receives his chance later in the night.

It remains to be seen whether recently-injured players such as Torrey Smith, Jimmy Smith, and Courtney Upshaw will play on Friday, and Harbaugh wasn’t tipping his hand about the status of any players when he spoke to reporters on Wednesday.

“We’ll see,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t really want to mention anyone particularly right now. We will just see how it goes.”

Fight like a Raven

CONTINUE >>>

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Top 10 Baseball Distractions

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Top 10 Baseball Distractions

Posted on 14 August 2012 by Glenn Clark

Honorable MentionGolf: PGA Tour Wyndham Championship (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel Saturday & Sunday 3pm live on CBS. All golf from Greensboro, NC), Champions Tour Dick’s Sporting Goods Open (Friday 12:30pm Saturday & Sunday 3pm from Endicott, NY live on Golf Channel), LPGA Tour Safeway Classic (Friday & Saturday 6:30pm Sunday 7:30pm from North Plains, OR live on Golf Channel); WNBA: Washington Mystics @ Indiana Fever (Thursday 7pm from Indianapolis live on WNBA.com), Washington Mystics @ Minnesota Lynx (Friday 8pm from Minneapolis live on NBA TV), Chicago Sky @ Washington Mystics (Sunday 4pm from Chicago live on Comcast SportsNet/NBA TV); Auto Racing: NASCAR Pure Michigan 400 (Sunday 12pm from Brooklyn, MI live on ESPN)

10. My Morning Jacket (Saturday 5:30pm Merriweather Post Pavilion); John Prine/Emmylou Harris (Wednesday 7:30pm Wolf Trap); Cinderella (Friday 7:30pm Rams Head Live); Bob Schneider (Wednesday 8pm Rams Head on Stage), Soul Asylum (Saturday 8:30pm Rams Head on Stage); Dirty Projectors/Wye Oak (Friday & Saturday 8pm 9:30 Club); Chrisette Michelle (Tuesday & Wednesday 8pm Howard Theatre); Jane’s Addiction (Tuesday 7pm Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric); Hot August Blues feat. Trombone Shorty/Gov’t Mule/Cris Jacobs Band (Saturday 11:30am Oregon Ridge); Nonpoint (Monday 8pm Baltimore Soundstage)

Dude I’ve probably watched the video of Emmylou Harris playing “Long Black Veil” with Dave Matthews SIX MILLION TIMES in my life….

Bob Schneider does a song called “Honeypot” that as far as I’m concerned is just the bees knees…

Jane’s Addiction taught me so much about prostitution when I was a young man…

If you’re into Trombone Shorty you’re just likely not into anything human beings should possibly enjoy…

9. Baltimore County Restaurant Week (Thursday-Sunday throughout Baltimore County); Baltimore Improv Festival (Thursday-Sunday Creative Alliance); Wayans Brothers (Tuesday & Wednesday Baltimore Comedy Factory); Godfrey (Thursday-Saturday Baltimore Comedy Factory); “The Expendables 2″ in theaters (Friday); Shark Week (Tuesday-Thursday Discovery Channel)

A recommendation. Go to Jimmy’s Famous Seafood during Restaurant Week. Order the Kung Pao Shrimp Tacos. Don’t bother wearing pants.

And since it’s Shark Week, here’s Tracy Morgan…

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Locals Barton, English selected in NBA Draft

Posted on 28 June 2012 by WNST Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. — (AP) The Portland Trail Blazers selected guard Will Barton out of Memphis (Lake Clifton) with the 40th overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft.

The Conference USA player of the year last season as a sophomore, the 6-foot-6 Barton averaged 18 points and 6.5 rebounds.

The Blazers also took point guard Damian Lillard out of Weber State with the sixth pick and 7-foot-1 center Meyers Leonard out of Illinois with the 11th overall selection Thursday.

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Capitals announce preseason schedule

Posted on 12 June 2012 by WNST Staff

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have released their 2012 preseason schedule, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. The schedule features seven games against four opponents and includes three games at Verizon Center. The Capitals will face-off against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second-annual Baltimore Hockey Classic at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore on September 26.

Washington will open the preseason on Tuesday, Sept. 25 (7 p.m.), at Verizon Center in a rematch of the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals vs. the Boston Bruins. The Capitals will begin their preseason road schedule on Sunday, Sept. 30 (5 p.m.), at Detroit versus the Red Wings.

The team’s preseason home schedule includes the Nashville Predators on Friday, Oct. 5 (7 p.m.), and Detroit on Sunday, Oct. 7 (5 p.m.). In addition, Washington will play exhibition games on the road against Columbus on Monday, Oct. 1 (7 p.m.), and at Boston on Wednesday, Oct. 3 (7 p.m.).

The Capitals were 3-3-1 in the preseason last year, and their all-time preseason record is 143-115-29-10.

Each preseason game will be broadcast live on WashingtonCaps.com. The complete 2012-13 NHL regular season schedule will be released at a later date.

2012 WASHINGTON CAPITALS PRESEASON SCHEDULE
DATE VISITOR HOME TIME (ET)
TUES., SEPT. 25 BRUINS CAPITALS 7 PM
WED., SEPT. 26** BLUE JACKETS** CAPITALS** 7 PM**
SUN., SEPT. 30 CAPITALS RED WINGS 5 PM
MON., OCT. 1 CAPITALS BLUE JACKETS 7 PM
WED., OCT. 3 CAPITALS BRUINS 7 PM
FRI., OCT. 5 PREDATORS CAPITALS 7 PM
SUN., OCT. 7 RED WINGS CAPITALS 5 PM

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Top 10 Baseball Distractions

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Top 10 Baseball Distractions

Posted on 28 May 2012 by WNST Staff

Honorable Mention: Boxing-Antonio Tarver vs. Lateef Kayode (Saturday 9pm from Carson, CA live on Showtime), Gabriel Rosado vs. Joel Julio (Friday 9pm from Bethlehem, PA live on NBC Sports Network); WNBA: Minnesota Lynx @ Washington Mystics (Wednesday 7pm from Verizon Center live on Comcast SportsNet); Pro Lacrosse: MLL Chesapeake Bayhawks @ Denver Outlaws (Saturday 9pm from Denver live on ESPN3.com)

10. Zac Brown Band (Thursday 5:30pm Merriweather Post Pavilion); Capital Jazz Fest feat. Indie.Arie, Bill Cosby (Friday-Sunday Merriweather Post Pavilion); Radiohead (Sunday 7:30pm Verizon Center); Miranda Lambert/Jerrod Niemann (Sunday 4pm Jiffy Lube Live);  City and Colour (Wednesday 7pm Rams Head Live); Smile Empty Soul (Saturday 5pm Recher Theatre); Crossfade (Monday 7pm Baltimore Soundstage); Dandy Warhols (Tuesday 7pm 9:30 Club); The Used (Wednesday 7:30pm Fillmore Silver Spring); Victor Wooten (Thursday 8pm Howard Theatre); Dr. John (Friday 7:30pm Birchmere); Rhett Miller (Monday 8pm Jammin Java)

I’d watch ZBB do just about anything, but this was as good as anything I’ve seen them do…

My favorite tune from Thom Yorke and the boys?

For more traditional country folk, I sorta dig this Jerrod Niemann tune…

I wish I didn’t have to admit to digging this tune…

9. Great Grapes Wine & Food Festival (Saturday & Sunday 12pm Oregon Ridge); Guy Torry (Thursday-Saturday Baltimore Comedy Factory); Corey Holcomb (Thursday-Sunday DC Improv); “Man on a Ledge” available on Blu-Ray/DVD (Tuesday); Glenn Clark’s first ever “Hogfest” (Saturday)

That’s right. For the first time in my (still?) young life, I will be roasting a pig Saturday. It’s all thanks in part to ABC Rental Store in Rosedale. A talented young man I listen to on the radio is always talking to me about them. I think his show is called “The Reality Check.” I PRAY my results make me as happy as George W. Bush…

Also, I will be hosting a qualifier for the Olympic KanJam team Saturday (more on Twitter @OlympicKanJam). I expect the day to look much like this…

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Maryland battles Hopkins again with hopes for Final Four return

Posted on 18 May 2012 by WNST Staff

COLLEGE PARK, MD. - The next chaper in “Lacrosse’s Greatest Rivalry” will be for a trip to the 2012 Final Four as Maryland and No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins will meet in the quarterfinals of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The 109th meeting between the Terps and the Blue Jays will take place on Saturday, May 12, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with faceoff set for noon.

• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2, as well as streamed on ESPN3.com. Fans can also watch the game on their wireless device with the WatchESPN app. Eamon McEnaney will provide the play-by-play, while the analysis will come from Quint Kessenich. Paul Carcaterra will be the sideline reporter.

• The Terps, who received an at-large bid, are making their 35th NCAA Tournament appearance, the second most of any school in NCAA history, while Hopkins, which also received an at-large berth, is making its 41st consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament.

• The winner of the Maryland/Hopkins game will advance to the Final Four in Foxborough, Mass., and will face the winner of the No. 3 seed Duke (14-4)/Colgate (14-3) game on Saturday, May 26 at Gillette Stadium. The Blue Devils and the Raiders play in the second game on Sunday, which is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start at PPL Park in Philadelphia.

• Maryland is 10-5 on the season following a 10-9 win over No. 7 seed Lehigh on May 13 in Bethlehem, Pa. The Terps are the one of three unseeded teams to advance to this year’s quarterfinals. The Terps are led by senior attackman Joe Cummings, who has 29 goals and 14 assists for 43 points. Junior attackman Owen Blye is the team leader with 16 assists on the season. Maryland’s defense is led the co-ACC Defensive Player of the Year Jesse Bernhardt, who is tops on the squad with 55 groundballs and 29 caused turnovers.

• Johns Hopkins is 12-3 after defeating Stony Brook, 19-9, in the first round on Sunday afternoon at Homewood Field. The Blue Jays are led on offense by junior attackman Zach Palmer, who has 26 goals and 26 assists for 52 points. Fellow Canadian, Brandon Benn is the team leader in goals with 29. The Hopkins defense is ranked third in the NCAA in scoring defense, allowing just 7.13 goals per game. That unit is led by junior defender Tucker Durkin (32 gb, 18 ct) and junior goalie Pierce Bassett, who boasts a 7.23 goals-against average.

The Count Down
10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 91 of the 100 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .910 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 109-24 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .820 winning percentage.
8 … All eight teams remaining in the tournament field rank among the top 15 in the NCAA in scoring defense.
7 … Mike Chanenchuk has totaled seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) in Maryland’s last two games.
6 … Joe Cummings has six points in four career meetings with Johns Hopkins.
5 … Joe Cummings and Drew Snider each have five goals in their last four NCAA tournament games.
4 … Owen Blye tied his career high with four goals vs. the Blue Jays earlier this season at Homewood Field.
3 … Three unseeded teams advanced into the 2012 quarterfinals.
2 … Maryland is playing the No. 2 seed in the tournament for the 15th time in program history.
1 … This will be the first meeting between Maryland and Johns Hopkins in the NCAA tournament since the tournament expanded to its current 16-team format.

Coaching Match-Up
• John Tillman is in his fifth season as a head coach, and second with the Terps, with a 43-29 career record for a 59.7 winning percentage. Tillman is 23-10 (.697) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Hopkins’ Dave Pietramala is in his 12th season at Hopkins and has a 138-44 (75.8) record with the Jays. He is 161-61 overall in 15 years as a coach for a 72.5 win percentage at both Hopkins and Cornell.

• Tillman has a 1-1 career record against Hopkins, losing 11-10 in OT at home in 2011 and winning 9-6 at Homewood Field earlier this season.


Tillman in the NCAA Tournament
• The meeting with Johns Hopkins will be John Tillman’s sixth NCAA tournament game as a head coach.

• Last Sunday’s 10-9 victory at No. 7 seed Lehigh made Tillman 2-0 in first round games and 4-1 in the NCAA tournament.

• Maryland’s run to the 2011 NCAA title game gave Tillman his first four NCAA tournament games as a head coach. He had a 3-1 record after the Terps defeated No. 8 seed UNC in the first round on May 15, No. 1 seed Syracuse on May 22 and No. 5 seed Duke on May 28 before losing to No. 7 seed Virginia.

• As an assistant coach, Tillman helped guide Navy to four consecutive NCAA tournaments from 2004-07, including a run to the 2004 championship game.


Maryland’s 35th Time in the NCAA Tournament
All-Time NCAA Tournament Results

• Maryland is making its 35th overall NCAA Tournament appearance in 2012. The Terps have played in the second-most tournaments since the event began in 1971. Only Hopkins has played in more, making its 41st appearance this season. Virginia is also making its 35th NCAA appearance.

• The Terps have captured two NCAA championships, 1973 and 1975.


Maryland’s Record in the NCAA Tournament
• The Terps have won the fourth-most Division I NCAA Tournament games, compiling a 46-32 overall record in 77 games. Only Johns Hopkins (67-31), Syracuse (59-21) and Virginia (48-29) have won more Division I tournament games.

• Maryland is seventh by percentage (.590) among all teams ever to play in the tournament. Only Syracuse (59-21, .738), Johns Hopkins (67-31, .684), Princeton (30-14, .682), Virginia (48-29, .623) and Duke (23-14, .622) are ahead of the Terps.

• The Terps have captured two titles. Only seven other schools have ever won the NCAA Championship: Syracuse (10), Johns Hopkins (9), Princeton (6), North Carolina (4), Virginia (5), Cornell (3) and Duke (1).


Maryland Unseeded in the NCAA Tournament
• This season marks the sixth time that Maryland has been unseeded since the tournament began in 1972. The Terps were previously unseeded in 1993, 1994, 1997, 2009 and 2011. Maryland is 8-5 (.615) all-time as an unseeded team.

• In those first two unseeded-years Maryland lost its first round game to the No. 8-seeded team, which were Army and Duke, respectively.

• The Terrapins were much more successful in 1997, advancing to the NCAA championship game. Maryland defeated No. 7-seed Georgetown in the first round before knocking off No. 2 Virginia in the quarters. In the 1997 Final Four Maryland upset No. 3 Syracuse, but couldn’t topple No. 1-seed Princeton in the finals.

• The 2009 Terps were the lone unseeded team to win a first round game, knocking off previously unbeaten Notre Dame, 7-3. The Terps lost to eventual national champion Syracuse in the quarterfinals.

• Last season saw the Terps head into the tournament unseeded, but Maryland advanced to the NCAA title game, knocking off No. 8 seed North Carolina in the first round, No. 1 seed Syracuse in the quarterfinals and No. 5 seed Duke in the semifinals. The Terrapins’ run ended with a 9-7 loss to No. 7 seed Virginia in the championship game.

• In the first round this season, Maryland knocked off No. 7 seed Lehigh, 10-9, on a goal by Joe Cummings with just six seconds left in the fourth quarter.


The Terps vs. the No. 2 Seed
• This marks the 15th time that Maryland has faced the No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Maryland is 3-11 all-time when playing the No. 2 seed.

1971 Semifinals: #3 Maryland 10, #2 Navy 7
1973 Championship: #1 Maryland 10, #2 Johns Hopkins 9, 2OT
1974 Championship: #2 Johns Hopkins 17, #1 Maryland 12
1976 Championship: #2 Cornell 16, #1 Maryland 13, OT
1977 Semifinals: #2 Johns Hopkins 16, #3 Maryland 9
1978 Semifinals: #2 Johns Hopkins 17, #3 Maryland 11
1982 First Round/Quarterfinals: #2 Johns Hopkins 14, #7 Maryland 9
1983 Semifinals: #2 Syracuse 12, #6 Maryland 5
1991 Quarterfinals: #7 Maryland 16, #2 Brown 13
1998 Championship: #2 Princeton 15, #5 Maryland 5
2003 Semifinals: #2 Virginia 14, #3 Maryland 4
2005 Semifinals: #2 Duke 18, #3 Maryland 9
2008 Quarterfinals: #2 Virginia 8, #7 Maryland 7, OT
2009 Quarterfinals: #2 Syracuse 11, Maryland 6

• This will mark just the second time that Maryland has played the No. 2 seed as an unseeded team.


Series History vs. Johns Hopkins
• Maryland and Hopkins are the two most storied lacrosse programs in the nation, with the rivalry beginning with back in 1895 as Hopkins defeated the Maryland Agricultural College. The Blue Jays (41) and Terps (35) have played in the first and third most NCAA Tournaments since the event began in 1971, respectively. Maryland (111) and Hopkins (181) have produced the most first team All-Americans in the history of lacrosse dating to the first awards in 1922.

• While this will be the 109th meeting between the two schools, Maryland’s official record vs. Hopkins is 39-61-1. The first seven meetings between the two happened before lacrosse was an official sport at Maryland.

• The return to Homewood Field for the first time since 2008 was a memorable one for the Terps as Owen Blye scored four goals, all in the second half, and the Maryland defense held the Blue Jays scoreless for the final 29:17 in a 9-6 Maryland win.

• The 100th official meeting for Maryland between the Terps and the Jays was another classic, but it was Hopkins’ Kyle Wharton scoring the game-winning goal with just 16 seconds left in the first overtime to give the Jays a 12-11 victory in College Park. Joe Cummings led the Terps with four goals, while Ryan Young had a goal and two assists. Niko Amato made 12 saves in the game, while Curtis Holmes won 15-of-27 faceoffs with a career-high nine groundballs.

• In 2010 the Terps and Blue Jays once again played at the Smartlink Day of Rivals at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and again the game ended with a 10-9 final. But this time it was Maryland that took home the victory thanks in large part to its quartet of attackmen - Grant Catalino, Travis Reed, Will Yeatman and Ryan Young - who combined for six goals and 11 points. The Terps trailed 4-1 early in the second quarter, but scored eight of the next nine goals to take control of the game. Maryland never trailed after taking the lead, but Hopkins pulled to within a goal by scoring twice in the last two minutes to make it a another one-goal game.

• The 2009 match-up was another one-goal game with the Blue Jays edging the Terps, 10-9, at the inaugural Smartlink Day of Rivals at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Hopkins was the beneficiary of nine second-half penalties called against the Terps. Dan Groot had a hat trick for the Terps, while Grant Catalino (2-1=3), Jeremy Sieverts (2-1=3) and Ryan Young (1-2=3) also had three points apiece.

• The 2008 game was not a one-goal affair as Hopkins controlled the game on their home field and took a 10-4 decision. The game was tight in the first half, with the Blue Jays taking a 3-2 lead into halftime. But the third quarter saw Hopkins outscore the Terps 6-1 to put the game out of reach. Grant Catalino was the Terps’ lone multi-point scorer with a goal and an assist, but the highlight of the game for Maryland came on Brian Farrell’s highlight-reel one-handed bounce shot with a pair of Blue Jay defenders draped on him.

• The series returned to its one-goal history in 2007 with the Blue Jays pulling out an 8-7 victory in overtime. Paul Rabil hit a running left-handed shot just 43 seconds into the extra session. Senior midfielder Chris Feifs had the finest outing of his college career in the game, scoring his first-ever hat trick.

• The Terps snapped a four-game losing skid to Hopkins in 2006 with a decisive 11-4 win at Homewood Field on April 14. Leading the way was Attackman of the Year Joe Walters, who scored six goals and added two assists. Eight points and six goals were the most ever by a Maryland player against the Blue Jays. Bill McGlone chipped in with a pair of goals, while junior goalie Harry Alford was solid in the cage, stopping nine shots.

• The 2005 game saw the Blue Jays use a four-goal run in the third quarter to secure an 11-6 victory over the ninth-ranked Terrapins on April 15. Six different Terps scored in the game, led by Joe Walters, Xander Ritz and Dave Matz, who each scored one and added an assist. The loss dropped the Terps to 5-5 on the season, but they would go on a six-game winning streak en route to an ACC Tournament championship and a berth in the Final Four.

• At Homewood Field on April 17, 2004, Hopkins raced out to an 8-1 lead in the first quarter en route to a 14-10 victory in the 100th meeting between the two schools. Sophomore Brendan Healy led the Terps with three goals.

• In the 2003 meeting at Byrd Stadium, on April 12, Joe McDermott scored the game-winner 1:21 into overtime for the 6-5 Hopkins win in front of 8,183 in attendance. Dan LaMonica was the only Terp with multiple points with three on a goal and two assists. Michael Howley finished with a game-high six groundballs.

• Mike Mollot had three goals and an assist to lead the Terps, but Hopkins’ Kyle Barrie scored the game-winning goal at the 1:45 mark of the first overtime to give the Blue Jays a 9-8 victory at Homewood Field. The game was tied at 7-7 going into the fourh, but Mollot’s third goal of the game gave Maryland an 8-7 lead with 13:12 to go in the fourth. The defense tried to hold off the third-ranked Blue Jays, but Kevin Boland scored his only goal of the game at the 3:59 mark of the fourth to tie the score and send the game to overtime.


Maryland vs. Hopkins in the NCAA Tournament
• Maryland and Johns Hopkins have player 108 times, but despite playing in a combined 76 tournaments only 12 of those games have come in NCAA tournament play. The Blue Jays hold a 9-3 series advantage in NCAA tournament games vs. the Terrapins.

• The Terps and Blue Jays have met in the quarterfinals four times with Hopkins winning the first three. Maryland won the last meeting between the two in the quarters, 11-10 in OT, in 1998 (see page 5 for a complete recap). That game was the last time the Terps and Blue Jays met in the tournament.

• Five times the two teams have met in the semifinals (4-1 Hopkins) and three times for the NCAA championship (2-1 Hopkins).

1972 Semifinals: #4 Johns Hopkins 9, #1 Maryland 6
1973 Championship: #1 Maryland 10, #2 Johns Hopkins 9, 2OT
1974 Championship: #2 Johns Hopkins 17, #1 Maryland 12
1977 Semifinals: #2 Johns Hopkins 22, #3 Maryland 12
1978 Semifinals: #2 Johns Hopkins 17, #3 Maryland 11
1979 Championship: #1 Johns Hopkins 15, #2 Maryland 9
1981 First Round/Quarterfinals: #1 Johns Hopkins 19, #8 Maryland 14
1982 First Round/Quarterfinals: #2 Johns Hopkins 14, #7 Maryland 9
1987 Semifinals: #4 Johns Hopkins 13, #1 Maryland 8
1995 Semifinals: #4 Maryland 16, #1 Johns Hopkins 8
1996 Quarterfinals: #7 Johns Hopkins 9, #2 Maryland 7
1998 Quarterfinals: #5 Maryland 11, #4 Johns Hopkins 10, OT


Cummings Named Male Athlete of the Year at the Inaugural Terp Awards
• Senior Joe Cummings took home the top honor at the inaugural Terp Awards celebration on Tuesday, May 8, being selected as the 2012 Male Athlete of the Year. The Towson, Md., native was also recognized by the ACC for his community service efforts.

• Junior Owen Blye was the recipient of the men’s lacrosse Academic Achievement Award, which is presented to the junior or senior from each team with the highest cumulative GPA.

• Senior Jake Bernhardt may have been sidelined from the field this season due to injury, but that didn’t stop him from contributing in the community and he was honored with the men’s lacrosse Community Service Award.


Bernhardt, Murray Earn Annual ACC Awards
• Junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt and freshman defender Goran Murray were among the five student-athletes recognized as recipients of the annual ACC men’s lacrosse individual awards, the conference announced Tuesday.

• Bernhardt, a native of Longwood, Fla., shares the inaugural ACC Defensive Player of the Year award with Duke’s CJ Costabile. Bernhardt, who is also a 2012 Tewaaraton Trophy nominee, leads the Terps with 22 caused turnovers and leads the conference with 2.0 caused turnovers per game. He is also averaging 3.3 groundballs per game and is the captain of a Maryland defense that currently ranks seventh in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 7.45 goals per game.

• Murray, a native of Merion Station, Pa., becomes the seventh Terp to be named the ACC Freshman of the Year. He is the first since 2007 when Brian Phipps earned the honor and the first Maryland defender since Michael Howley won the honor. Murray was a long-pole midfielder coming into preseason practice, but was converted to close defense and has become Maryland’s shutdown defender. Murray has started all 11 games for the Terps and became the first freshman close defender to start a season opener since 2008. He currently ranks sixth in the conference with 1.1 caused turnovers per game.

• Virginia senior Steele Stanwick earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors, while Duke’s John Danowski was named the ACC Coach of the Year.


League-Best Four Terps Named To All-ACC Team
• Maryland placed a league-high four players on the 2012 All-ACC Men’s Lacrosse Team, which was announced today by the Atlantic Coast Conference. Senior attackman Joe Cummings and sophomore goalie Niko Amato made the team for the second-straight season, while junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt and junior midfielder John Haus are first-time selections.

• All four ACC men’s programs are represented on the annual All-ACC team, which was determined by a vote of the four head coaches. Maryland’s four honorees were the most by any school. Duke and Virginia each had three selections, while North Carolina had one player make the team.

Going Purple
• Once again this season, the Terps will be wearing purple “MY” stickers, to show their support for the fight against pancreatic cancer, which touched everyone in the Maryland lacrosse family last season with the passing of Maria Young on April 17.

• This past fall the Terps, Maryland alums and family and friends came together for the inaugural Forever Young Walk/Run for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness. More on Ms. Young and her amazing story can be found here: Forever Young.

• If you’re interested in more information about the Lustgarten Foundation, including how to make a donation, click here to visit the foundation’s website. You can also get more information on pancreatic cancer at CurePC.org.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about pancreatic cancer from the American Cancer Society:
· More than 43,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer present each year
· There are more than 36,000 deaths from pancreatic cancer each year
· The lifetime risk of having pancreatic cancer is about 1 in 71.
· The risk is about the same for both men and women.


Going Gray
• Maryland players will also be wearing gray stickers with the number 42 in honor of Zack Wholley’s father, John, who passed away from brain cancer on August 28, 2011.

• If you’re interested in more information, please visit the National Brain Tumor Society website.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about brain and spinal cord tumors from the American Cancer Society:
· About 22,910 malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord (12,630 in males and 10,280 in females) will be diagnosed. These numbers would likely be much higher if benign tumors were also included.
· About 13,700 people (7,720 males and 5,980 females) will die from these tumors.
· Overall, the chance that a person will develop a malignant tumor of the brain or spinal cord in his or her lifetime is about one in 150 for a man and one in 185 for a woman.


Get To 10 And Win
• One axiom of lacrosse is that if you score 10 goals or more your chances of winning are pretty good. Well, a look at the results since 2002 shows that when Maryland scores 10 or more goals there’s not just a pretty good chance the Terrapins will win; it’s an almost certainty. Since 2002 Maryland has won 91 of the 100 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .910 winning percentage.

• Maryland scored 10, but fell at North Carolina, 11-10, on March 24, 2012 and again came out on the losing end, despite scoring 11 in a 13-11 loss at Colgate on May 5, 2012. The Terps scored 11 vs. Johns Hopkins on April 16, 2011, but the Blue Jays won the game in overtime, 12-11. On April 3 of last season the Terps lost to No. 1 Virginia by a final of 11-10, giving Maryland its only loss when scoring 10 or more goals in 2010. In 2009 the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10 on Feb. 21 and lost again when scoring 10 in the ACC Semifinals in a 16-10 defeat at North Carolina. Prior to that, Maryland had not lost when scoring 10 or more goals since dropping an 11-10 decision to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Terrapins got to 10 goals in the 100th game against Johns Hopkins, but the Blue Jays took the game 14-10. Virginia is the only team to beat the Terps twice when allowing 10 or more goals. The Wahoos did it first in 2002 with another 11-10 decision.

Holding Opponents To Single-Digits
• The Terps have been extremely impressive (winning 91.0 percent of its games since 2002) when it scores 10 or more goals, they have been nearly as impressive when holding opponents to less than 10 goals during that span.

• Since 2002 Maryland is 109-24 in games, for a .820 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 174 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 76.4 percent of the time.


Shooting Tells The Story
• The difference between winning and losing for Maryland this season is simple – when the Terps shoot well they win. As it turns out 30% is the magic number for the Terps this season. Maryland is 10-5 on the year and has shot 30% or better in eight of its 10 victories. In four of the Terps’ five losses Maryland failed to shoot 30%.

W- Hartford: 12 goals, 40 shots = 30%
W- at Georgetown: 16 goals, 41 shots = 39.0%
W- Duke: 10 goals, 28 shots = 35.7%
L- at UMBC: 7 goals, 30 shots = 23.3%
W- Marist: 17 goals, 43 shots = 39.5%
W- Villanova: 11 goals, 31 shots = 35.5%
L- at North Carolina: 10 goals, 35 shots = 28.6%
L- Virginia: 8 goals, 32 shots = 25.0%
W- Navy: 13 goals, 52 shots = 25.0%
W- at Johns Hopkins: 9 goals, 28 shots = 32.1%
L- vs. Duke: 5 goals, 31 shots = 16.1%
W- at Mount St. Mary’s: 12 goals, 29 shots = 41.4%
W- Bellarmine: 12 goals, 33 shots = 36.4%
L- at Colgate: 11 goals, 31 shots = 35.5%

W- at Lehigh: 10 goals, 37 shots = 27.0%

• Since 2005 the Terps are a remarkable 53-4 (.930) when shooting 30% or better in a game. The only four losses were: 13-10 to Georgetown in 2009 (the Terps shot 10 of 30 for 33.3% vs. the Hoyas), 11-10 to No. 1 Virginia on April 3, 2010 (10 of 33 for 30.3%), 12-11 in overtime on April 16, 2011 to No. 3 Johns Hopkins (11 of 28 for 39.3%) and 13-11 at Colgate on May 5, 2012 (11 of 31 for 35.5%).


Elite Company
• With four points in the Terps’ 12-8 win at Mount St. Mary’s on April 25, senior attackman Joe Cummings became a member of an elite club at Maryland – The 100-Point Club. Cummings became just the 38th player in the program’s 87-year history to reach the 100 point plateau. He is passed Bud Beardmore (1960-62) for sole possession of 34th on the all-time points list with 109 after scoring two goals at Lehigh in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

• Since men’s lacrosse became a fully-recognized championship sport by the NCAA in 1971 only 25 Maryland players have reached 100 career points. (Players who played their entire careers in the championship era).

• Cummings also joined another elite club with his 11th career hat trick at The Mount, becoming one of just 20 Terrapins players to have scored at least 75 career goals. He currently stands in 19th on the career goals list at Maryland with 84.


Consecutive 10-Win Seasons
• Maryland’s 10-9 win over the Mountain Hawks extended the Terps’ streak of double-digit win seasons to 10. (Special thanks to Patrick Stevens of the Washington Times).

• How does Maryland’s string of 10+ win seasons stack up against the rest of the college lacrosse programs? Take a look at programs with at least six-straight 10-win seasons:

Maryland (10): 2012 (10-5), 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-4), 2009 (10-7), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6), 2006 (12-5), 2005 (11-6), 2004 (13-3), 2003 (12-4)
Virginia (8): 2012 (12-3) 2011 (13-5), 2010 (16-2), 2009 (14-2), 2008 (14-4), 2007 (12-4), 2006 (17-0), 2005 (11-4)
Notre Dame (7): 2012 (12-2), 2011 (11-3), 2010 (10-7), 2009 (15-1), 2008 (14-3), 2007 (11-4), 2006 (10-5)
Duke (6): 2012 (14-4) 2011 (14-6), 2010 (16-4), 2009 (15-4), 2008 (18-2), 2007 ( 17-3)
Siena (6): 2012 (11-5), 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-5), 2009 (12-6), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6)

• Cornell’s string of seven-straight 10+ win seasons came to an end this season with a 9-4 final mark.


The 700 Club
• Maryland’s 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 was the program’s 700th victory in 84 seasons of varsity men’s lacrosse. The Terps join Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy and Army as the only programs with 700 or more Division I wins.

• Two things that make Maryland’s accomplishment all the more impressive is that the Terps reached the 700-win plateau in just their 84th season. Only Syracuse reached win No. 700 in as few seasons, but it took the Orange 53 more games than Maryland. In fact, Maryland needed only 940 games to reach 700 wins and only Johns Hopkins needed fewer games (932) to hit the historic number, but the Blue Jays did so in their 105th season.

Terps’ 87th Season Of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 738-252-4 (.744), dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 85 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 10-6. The program reached the 700-win milestone with a 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 at Ludwig Field.

• During the decade of the 2000s, Maryland went 111-49 for a .694 win percentage, making it the winningest decade in Terrapin lacrosse history. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland’s win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage. So far, Maryland is 25-9 in the 2010′s for a .735 winning percentage.


Youth Is Served
• Maryland started two sophomores (Michael Ehrhardt and Brian Cooper) and a freshman (Goran Murray) at close defense in the 2012 season-opening win over Hartford. The last time Maryland’s defense had two sophomore and one freshman starting was 2005 when sophomores Steve Whittenberg and Ray Megill started alongside freshman Joe Cinosky. The first game that group started together was April 23, 2005 at Fairfield (a 9-6 Terrapin win).

• Goran Murray became the first Maryland freshman to start at close defense in a season opener since 2008 when Max Schmidt started in an 11-6 win at Georgetown.


Face-Off Firsts
• Junior Curtis Holmes’ 19-of-20 (.950) performance facing-off vs. Hartford in the 2012 season opener is just the fifth time since 2000 that a Maryland face-off man has won at least 90% of his draws with at least 10 attempts.

• Holmes joins Andy Claxton and Brian Haggerty as the only Terps with multiple games of 19 or more face-off wins. Claxton did it three times (27 at Towson in 1991, 21 vs. Duke in 1991 and 19 at Brown in 1991), while Haggerty did it twice (20 vs. Butler in 1998 and 19 vs. Virginia in 1998). Holmes had 20 wins vs. Georgetown last season to go along with his 19 vs. the Hawks, which makes him the only Terp to win 19 or more face-offs in different seasons.

• The last 90% performance was in 2008 when Bryn Holmes, Curtis’ older brother, won 9-of-10 face-offs at Mount St. Mary’s.

• The last time a Terp faced-off with a winning percentage above 90% was on March 21, 2006 when David Tamberrino won 12-of-13 in a 14-2 win over Dartmouth.

Best Face-Off Performances Since 2000
Curtis Holmes - 19/20 (.950) vs. Hartford 2/18/12
Brian Carroll - 12/13 (.923) at Delaware 3/17/01
Davin Tamberrino – 12/13 (.923) vs. Dartmouth 3/21/06
Jeremy Pastula - 11/12 (.917) at Towson 3/8/03
Bryn Holmes - 9/10 (.900) at Mount St. Mary’s 2/26/08
Bryn Holmes - 12/14 (.857) vs. Presbyterian 2/13/09
Brian Carroll - 11/13 (.846) vs. Mount St. Mary’s 2/26/02
Bryn Holmes - 11/13 (.846) vs. Air Force 2/14/09
Ryan Moran - 10/12 (.833) vs. Bucknell 3/11/03
Will Dalton - 18/22 (.818) vs. Vermont 2/20/07
Curtis Holmes - 17/21 (.810) vs. Detroit Mercy 2/19/11


The Stretch: Carolina, Virginia, Navy, Hopkins
• Since 1978 Maryland’s schedule has been highlighted by a four-game stretch in the middle of its season: North Carolina, Virginia, Navy and Johns Hopkins. In the 35-year span only four times has the stretch been interrupted with another game added in between one of these traditional four (1981, 1997, 2001, 2003).

• Overall, Maryland is 64-76 (.457) since 1978 vs. those four teams during that time.

• The Terps have swept the four games only once – in 1987. Only twice (1981 & 1988) has Maryland lost all four games. Six times (1978, 1979, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001) the Terps have won three of the four games. Johns Hopkins broke up the Terps’ bid for a perfect stretch four times, while Carolina and Virginia broke it up one time each.


The Terps On ESPNU
• Maryland has had 43 games on ESPNU since 2006. Maryland is 23-19 (.558) all-time in games broadcast on ESPNU.

• The Terps played five games (at UNC, vs. Virginia, at Johns Hopkis, vs. Duke at the ACC tournament and at Lehigh in the NCAA tournament) on ESPNU in 2012.


First-Time Opponents
• Maryland has played 78 different opponents in its 87 seasons. The 2012 season added Hartford (a 12-6 win on 2/18) and will add Marist (3/10) to that list. In the Terps’ 78 first-time meetings Maryland is 74-4 (.949) in those games. Adelphi (12-13, 1982), Army (0-3, 1923), Syracuse (3-10, 1927) and Yale (3-5, 1925) are the only schools to beat the Terps the first time the schools met on a lacrosse field.


Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland has a 83-3-1 (.960) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 19 openers and 26 of the last 27, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell to Duke 9-5 on March 6.

• After losing their 1925 opener to Yale, 5-3, the Terps went on to win 40 consecutive season openers from 1926 through 1967. The streak was broken when Maryland tied Princeton, 6-6, in the 1968 opener. Following the deadlock, Maryland went on to win its next 14 openers, giving the Terps a 54-0-1 record over a 57-year span (Maryland did not field a team in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.)

19 Straight in Season Openers
• After beating Hartford to open the 2012 season the Terps have an 19-game winning streak in season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last nine over Denver, Mount St. Mary’s, Air Force, Hobart, Duke, Georgetown (four times), Bellarmine (twice), Presbyterian, Detroit Mercy and Hartford. Over the 19-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 267-99 (an average score of 14.1-5.2) in those games.

• The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 18 years. Maryland has not allowed an opponent to score 10 or more goals in a season opener since Syracuse beat the Terps, 16-13 on March 9, 1983.

A Family Affair
• Many school’s refer to their sports programs as families, but the Maryland men’s lacrosse program is truely a family affair. Since 2002, the Terps have had 13 sets of brothers, including three on this season’s roster, don the red and black together for at least one season.

Harry & Thomas Alford: 2004-05-06-07
Jake & Jesse Bernhardt: 2010-11-12
Justin & Owen Blye: 2009-10-11
Brian & Kevin Cooper: 2011-12
Billy & Bobby Gribbin: 2012
Brendan & Ian Healy: 2003-04-05
Bryn & Curtis Holmes: 2010
Bryn & Travis Holmes: 2007
Dan & Mike LaMonica: 2002
Chris & Willy Passavia: 2002-03
Brian & Michael Phipps: 2007
Max & Xander Ritz: 2005-06
Mark & Michael White: 2008-09-10-11

Three Taken In MLL Draft
• Three University of Maryland men’s lacrosse seniors were selected in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft. Midfielder Jake Bernhardt was the highest pick, being selected with the 12th overall selection by the Hamilton Nationals. Midfielder/attackman Joe Cummings was the next Terp taken, going 17th overall to the Rochester Rattlers (his rights have since been traded to the Chesapeake Bayhawks). Midfielder Drew Snider went 45th overall by the Bayhawks.


2012 Team Captains
• Five players have been named team captains for the 2012 season. The quintet, which was selected by a combination of team vote and coaches’ input, consists of seniors Jake Bernhardt, Joe Cummings and Drew Snider and juniors Jesse Bernhardt and Owen Blye. Blye and Jesse Bernhardt are the first pair of juniors to be named team captains since Bob Ott and Randy Ratliff were among four captains in 1978.

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Former Ravens exec Bailey joins new USFL

Posted on 16 May 2012 by WNST Staff

San Diego, Calif. (May 16, 2012) — The United States Football League (USFL) announced today that Jeff Garcia, a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback during his 12-year NFL career, has been named to the USFL’s board of advisors.

Garcia will serve on the player development branch of the USFL’s advisory board. The Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. resident joins Pro Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff and former NFL and San Diego Chargers executive Jim Steeg – Chairman of the USFL board of advisors – along with former Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens executive vice president James Bailey and sports consultant/coach Terrell Jones on the board.

“We are thrilled to have Jeff involved and to be able to tap into his knowledge and experience in the professional football world as we look forward to re-launching the USFL in 2013,” USFL President and Chief Executive Officer Jaime Cuadra said. “Jeff’s extensive background and networks with professional football players will undoubtedly help carry out the USFL’s mission of helping our players live successfully and responsibly as positive citizens on and off the field.”

The USFL is planning to field eight teams for its inaugural 14-game season in 2013, kicking off in March and concluding with a championship game in June. The league has targeted a number of U.S. cities for franchises.

The USFL’s board of advisors will be responsible for guiding and advising USFL management on various areas of operations and, eventually, focus on identifying candidates and selecting the league’s commissioner.

Garcia began his NFL stint with the San Francisco 49ers in 1999 and went on to play with the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans. He led the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders to the 1998 Grey Cup championship and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, providing his springboard to the NFL.

Garcia, retired from football, is the owner of Beyond Wealth Sports, a company representing professional athletes on and off the field. It is focused on mentoring athletes and helping them prepare for the transition from sports to secondary careers. Garcia’s business practice is directly in line with the USFL’s long-term goals for its players.

The USFL is designed to allow players not drafted by the NFL, or those that have been released by NFL teams, an opportunity to play professional football under the same rules as the NFL. In order to maintain financial responsibility and sustainability, the USFL will structure itself under a single-entity business model. All player and coach contracts will be owned by the USFL, and each team owner will be a member operator of the league.  

The USFL intends to create a working relationship with the NFL by allowing access to its players and personnel. This relationship will be one of respect and collaboration, but the USFL will operate independently with a focus on developing its players and creating the best fan experience possible.

The USFL will also endeavor to prepare players for life after playing football by providing mentorship and counsel to expand the athletes’ awareness of opportunities inside and, especially, outside of football.  Additionally, the USFL wishes to enhance the fan experience by providing greater access to its players and employing technology to enhance the viewing experience for its fans.

Biletnikoff was a six-time All-Pro wide receiver who totaled 589 receptions for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns during his 14-year NFL career with the Raiders. He began his professional coaching career in the original USFL, coaching with the Oakland Invaders and the Arizona Wranglers.

Steeg is a 35-year veteran as an NFL executive and the former COO of the San Diego Chargers. Prior to joining the Chargers, Steeg was instrumental in the growth of the NFL’s Super Bowl, having worked for the NFL for 26 years, where he was Senior Vice President of Special Events.

Bailey was responsible for the management of all business, financial and legal operations in his 21-year tenure with the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens franchise. He facilitated and oversaw the relocation of the franchise to Baltimore.

Jones, CEO and founder of TJones Group, LLC, has been involved in professional sports as a coach and consultant for more than 16 years. He has worked with the NFL, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League. Jones has successfully negotiated endorsement deals for his clients as well as sponsorship deals with major corporations, and will consult with the USFL on its business operations.

About The United States Football League

The United States Football League, LLC, a Delaware LLC, is a professional spring outdoor football league owned by EndZone Sports Management and is headquartered in San Diego, Calif. Jaime Cuadra is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the USFL. The USFL’s vision is provide a high-level competitive environment to help develop players for the National Football League, while preparing its players for succeeding as professionals and in life on and off of the field during and after their football careers. While the USFL initially operated from 1983-87, the new USFL plans to debut in the spring of 2013 by fielding eight teams nationwide to play a 14-game season, including a four-team playoff tournament, and providing fans with an exciting and innovative brand of football. The USFL plans to adopt all playing rules of the National Football League. For more information on the USFL’s 2013 launch, please visit the USFL online at www.theusfl.net and via social media on Facebook (www.facebook.com/TheUSFL) and on Twitter (@TheUSFL).

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Terps Host Bellarmine Saturday In Home Finale

Posted on 27 April 2012 by WNST Staff

COLLEGE PARK, MD. - The No. 9 Maryland men’s lacrosse team closes out its regular season home slate by hosting Bellarmine on Saturday, April 28, at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. Faceoff is scheduled for noon.

• The game will mark the final regular season game for seven Terrapin seniors: Joe Cummings, MJ Leonard, David Miller, Pat Morrison, Tim Shaeffer, Michael Shakespeare and Drew Snider. The 2012 senior class has compiled a 43-20 (.683) record during its time in College Park, helped bring the Terps the 2011 ACC Championship and were key to Maryland’s run to the 2011 NCAA championship game. They have also helped Maryland to three NCAA tournament bids with a fourth a near certainty when the 2012 field is announced on May 6.

• Maryland (8-4, 1-2 ACC) is coming off of a 12-8 victory at Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday, April 25. Senior Joe Cummings became just the 38th player in the 87-year history of the Maryland men’s lacrosse program to reach 100 career points with four points on three goals and an assist vs. the Mount. Owen Blye led the Terps with five points on two goals and three assists.

• The Knights are 4-7 on the year and are coming off of a 9-8 victory over Detroit Mercy on April 21. Bellarmine opened the season winning three of its first five games, but then went on a five-game losing skid before beating the Titans. This season the Knights are led by senior midfielder Colton Clark, who has 30 points on 18 goals and 12 assists. Junior attackman Michael Ward is the team leader in goals with 22. Junior Dylan Ward has started all 11 of Bellarmine’s 11 games in cage and has a .515 save percentage and a 10.25 goals-against average.

The Count Down
10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 89 of the 97 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .918 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 107-24 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .817 winning percentage.
8 … Owen Blye needs eight points to reach 75 for his career.
7 … Seven Terps will be playing in their final regular season game at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.
6 … Joe Cummings has had six games this season with at least three points.
5 … Niko Amato is fifth in the lastest NCAA rankings with a 6.94 goals-against average.
4 … This will be the Terps’ fourth meeting all-time with Bellarmine.
3 … Three Terps have totaled 20 or more points so far this season.
2 … Goran Murray is just the second close defender to be named the ACC Freshman of the Year in the last 12 years.
1 … Head coach John Tillman is 1-0 all-time vs. Bellarmine.

Coaching Match-Up
• John Tillman is in his fifth season as a head coach, and second with the Terps, with a 40-28 career record for a 58.8 winning percentage. Tillman is 20-9 (.690) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Bellarmine’s Kevin Burns is in his first season as a head coach and has a 4-7 (.364) record at Bellarmine.

• This will be Tillman’s second game vs. the Knights as a head coach. He is 1-0 vs. Bellarmine, winning 12-8 in College Park in his first season as Maryland’s head coach.


Series History vs. Bellarmine
• There’s not much of a series history, but Maryland holds an 3-0 advantage in it.

• Last season the Terps hosted Bellarmine in a Monday matinee and Maryland, behind hat tricks by seniors Travis Reed and Ryan Young, raced out to an 11-3 lead through three quarters and won the game 12-8. Niko Amato played the first three quarters and made eight saves, while allowing just three goals.

• Maryland played its 2010 season opener at Bellarmine as the Knights dedicated the plaza area of its stadium to Jack McGetrick, the former head coach who founded the Knights’ lacrosse program. McGetrick passed away from prostate cancer in October of 2010. The Terps went on to win their 17th straight season opener, 11-6, behind four different Maryland players each scoring a pair of goals. Grant Catalino led the way with six points on two goals and four assists. Brian Phipps made 12 saves to lead the Terrapin defense.

• The first meeting between the two clubs came in the 2007 season opener with the Terps taking an 11-6 victory at Maryland’s Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. The game was the Terrapin debut for some highly touted freshmen and they did not disappoint. Long pole Brian Farrell scored twice in his college debut to go along with four groundballs. Goalie Brian Phipps was pressed into duty from the start due to injuries to Harry Alford and Jason Carter, but he responded with nine saves and three groundballs to pick up his first career victory. Overall, 11 different Terps registered points in the game, led by attackmen Michael Phipps and Max Ritz, who had three apiece.


Bernhardt, Murray Earn Annual ACC Awards
• Junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt and freshman defender Goran Murray were among the five student-athletes recognized as recipients of the annual ACC men’s lacrosse individual awards, the conference announced Tuesday.

• Bernhardt, a native of Longwood, Fla., shares the inaugural ACC Defensive Player of the Year award with Duke’s CJ Costabile. Bernhardt, who is also a 2012 Tewaaraton Trophy nominee, leads the Terps with 22 caused turnovers and leads the conference with 2.0 caused turnovers per game. He is also averaging 3.3 groundballs per game and is the captain of a Maryland defense that currently ranks seventh in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 7.45 goals per game.

• Murray, a native of Merion Station, Pa., becomes the seventh Terp to be named the ACC Freshman of the Year. He is the first since 2007 when Brian Phipps earned the honor and the first Maryland defender since Michael Howley won the honor. Murray was a long-pole midfielder coming into preseason practice, but was converted to close defense and has become Maryland’s shutdown defender. Murray has started all 11 games for the Terps and became the first freshman close defender to start a season opener since 2008. He currently ranks sixth in the conference with 1.1 caused turnovers per game.

• Virginia senior Steele Stanwick earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors, while Duke’s John Danowski was named the ACC Coach of the Year.


League-Best Four Terps Named To All-ACC Team
• Maryland placed a league-high four players on the 2012 All-ACC Men’s Lacrosse Team, which was announced today by the Atlantic Coast Conference. Senior attackman Joe Cummings and sophomore goalie Niko Amato made the team for the second-straight season, while junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt and junior midfielder John Haus are first-time selections.

• All four ACC men’s programs are represented on the annual All-ACC team, which was determined by a vote of the four head coaches. Maryland’s four honorees were the most by any school. Duke and Virginia each had three selections, while North Carolina had one player make the team.

Going Purple
• Once again this season, the Terps will be wearing purple “MY” stickers, to show their support for the fight against pancreatic cancer, which touched everyone in the Maryland lacrosse family last season with the passing of Maria Young on April 17.

• This past fall the Terps, Maryland alums and family and friends came together for the inaugural Forever Young Walk/Run for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness. More on Ms. Young and her amazing story can be found here: Forever Young.

• If you’re interested in more information about the Lustgarten Foundation, including how to make a donation, click here to visit the foundation’s website. You can also get more information on pancreatic cancer at CurePC.org.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about pancreatic cancer from the American Cancer Society:
· More than 43,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer present each year
· There are more than 36,000 deaths from pancreatic cancer each year
· The lifetime risk of having pancreatic cancer is about 1 in 71.
· The risk is about the same for both men and women.


Going Gray
• Maryland players will also be wearing gray stickers with the number 42 in honor of Zack Wholley’s father, John, who passed away from brain cancer on August 28, 2011.

• If you’re interested in more information, please visit the National Brain Tumor Society website.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about brain and spinal cord tumors from the American Cancer Society:
· About 22,910 malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord (12,630 in males and 10,280 in females) will be diagnosed. These numbers would likely be much higher if benign tumors were also included.
· About 13,700 people (7,720 males and 5,980 females) will die from these tumors.
· Overall, the chance that a person will develop a malignant tumor of the brain or spinal cord in his or her lifetime is about one in 150 for a man and one in 185 for a woman.


Get To 10 And Win
• One axiom of lacrosse is that if you score 10 goals or more your chances of winning are pretty good. Well, a look at the results since 2002 shows that when Maryland scores 10 or more goals there’s not just a pretty good chance the Terrapins will win; it’s an almost certainty. Since 2002 Maryland has won 89 of the 97 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .918 winning percentage.

• Maryland scored 10, but fell at North Carolina, 11-10, on March 24, 2012. The Terps scored 11 vs. Johns Hopkins on April 16, 2011, but the Blue Jays won the game in overtime, 12-11. On April 3 of last season the Terps lost to No. 1 Virginia by a final of 11-10, giving Maryland its only loss when scoring 10 or more goals in 2010. In 2009 the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10 on Feb. 21 and lost again when scoring 10 in the ACC Semifinals in a 16-10 defeat at North Carolina. Prior to that, Maryland had not lost when scoring 10 or more goals since dropping an 11-10 decision to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Terrapins got to 10 goals in the 100th game against Johns Hopkins, but the Blue Jays took the game 14-10. Virginia is the only team to beat the Terps twice when allowing 10 or more goals. The Wahoos did it first in 2002 with another 11-10 decision.

Holding Opponents To Single-Digits
• The Terps have been extremely impressive (winning 91.6 percent of its games since 2002) when it scores 10 or more goals, they have been nearly as impressive when holding opponents to less than 10 goals during that span.

• Since 2002 Maryland is 107-24 in games, for a .817 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 172 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 75.6 percent of the time.


Shooting Tells The Story
• The difference between winning and losing for Maryland this season is simple – when the Terps shoot well they win. As it turns out 30% is the magic number for the Terps this season. Maryland is 8-4 on the year and has shot 30% or better in seven of its eight victories.

Hartford: 12 goals, 40 shots = 30%
at Georgetown: 16 goals, 41 shots = 39.0%
Duke: 10 goals, 28 shots = 35.7%
at UMBC: 7 goals, 30 shots = 23.3%
Marist: 17 goals, 43 shots = 39.5%
Villanova: 11 goals, 31 shots = 35.5%
at North Carolina: 10 goals, 35 shots = 28.6%
Virginia: 8 goals, 32 shots = 25%
Navy: 13 goals, 52 shots = 25%
at Johns Hopkins: 9 goals, 28 shots = 32.1%
vs. Duke: 5 goals, 31 shots = 16.1%
at Mount St. Mary’s: 12 goals, 29 shots = 41.4%

• Since 2005 the Terps are a remarkable 52-3 (.945) when shooting 30% or better in a game. The first game Maryland lost during that stretch was a 13-10 decision to Georgetown in 2009 (the Terps shot 10 of 30 for 33.3% vs. the Hoyas). The second loss came in 2010 in the controversial 11-10 loss to No. 1 Virginia on April 3. The Terps shot 10 of 33 for 30.3%. The most recent came on April 16, 2011 in a 12-11 overtime loss to No. 3 Johns Hopkins.


Elite Company
• With four points in the Terps’ 12-8 win at Mount St. Mary’s on April 25, senior attackman Joe Cummings became a member of an elite club at Maryland – The 100-Point Club. Cummings became just the 38th player in the program’s 87-year history to reach the 100 point plateau.

• Since men’s lacrosse became a fully-recognized championship sport by the NCAA in 1971 only 25 Maryland players have reached 100 career points. (Players who played their entire careers in the championship era).

• Cummings also joined another elite club with his 11th career hat trick at The Mount, becoming one of just 20 Terrapins players to have scored at least 75 career goals. He currently stands in 19th on the career goals list at Maryland with 77.


Fast Starts
• Since 2002 only nine players (for a total of 15 times) have totaled 30 points or more in the first 12 games of a season. Only one of those is on the 2012 team.

• Joe Cummings has been a consistent threat during his tenure as a Terp, but since moving to his natural position of attack this season he has been an even more potent point producer. Through nine games Cummings has 34 points on 22 goals and 12 assists. Last year as a midfielder he had 26 points on 24 goals and two assists through 12 games.


Youth Is Served
• Maryland started two sophomores (Michael Ehrhardt and Brian Cooper) and a freshman (Goran Murray) at close defense in the 2012 season-opening win over Hartford. The last time Maryland’s defense had two sophomore and one freshman starting was 2005 when sophomores Steve Whittenberg and Ray Megill started alongside freshman Joe Cinosky. The first game that group started together was April 23, 2005 at Fairfield (a 9-6 Terrapin win).

• Goran Murray became the first Maryland freshman to start at close defense in a season opener since 2008 when Max Schmidt started in an 11-6 win at Georgetown.


Face-Off Firsts
• Junior Curtis Holmes’ 19-of-20 (.950) performance facing-off vs. Hartford in the 2012 season opener is just the fifth time since 2000 that a Maryland face-off man has won at least 90% of his draws with at least 10 attempts.

• Holmes joins Andy Claxton and Brian Haggerty as the only Terps with multiple games of 19 or more face-off wins. Claxton did it three times (27 at Towson in 1991, 21 vs. Duke in 1991 and 19 at Brown in 1991), while Haggerty did it twice (20 vs. Butler in 1998 and 19 vs. Virginia in 1998). Holmes had 20 wins vs. Georgetown last season to go along with his 19 vs. the Hawks, which makes him the only Terp to win 19 or more face-offs in different seasons.

• The last 90% performance was in 2008 when Bryn Holmes, Curtis’ older brother, won 9-of-10 face-offs at Mount St. Mary’s.

• The last time a Terp faced-off with a winning percentage above 90% was on March 21, 2006 when David Tamberrino won 12-of-13 in a 14-2 win over Dartmouth.

Best Face-Off Performances Since 2000
Curtis Holmes - 19/20 (.950) vs. Hartford 2/18/12
Brian Carroll - 12/13 (.923) at Delaware 3/17/01
Davin Tamberrino – 12/13 (.923) vs. Dartmouth 3/21/06
Jeremy Pastula - 11/12 (.917) at Towson 3/8/03
Bryn Holmes - 9/10 (.900) at Mount St. Mary’s 2/26/08
Bryn Holmes - 12/14 (.857) vs. Presbyterian 2/13/09
Brian Carroll - 11/13 (.846) vs. Mount St. Mary’s 2/26/02
Bryn Holmes - 11/13 (.846) vs. Air Force 2/14/09
Ryan Moran - 10/12 (.833) vs. Bucknell 3/11/03
Will Dalton - 18/22 (.818) vs. Vermont 2/20/07
Curtis Holmes - 17/21 (.810) vs. Detroit Mercy 2/19/11


The 700 Club
• Maryland’s 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 was the program’s 700th victory in 84 seasons of varsity men’s lacrosse. The Terps join Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy and Army as the only programs with 700 or more Division I wins.

• Two things that make Maryland’s accomplishment all the more impressive is that the Terps reached the 700-win plateau in just their 84th season. Only Syracuse reached win No. 700 in as few seasons, but it took the Orange 53 more games than Maryland. In fact, Maryland needed only 940 games to reach 700 wins and only Johns Hopkins needed fewer games (932) to hit the historic number, but the Blue Jays did so in their 105th season.

Terps’ 87th Season Of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 736-251-4 (.745), dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 85 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 10-6. The program reached the 700-win milestone with a 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 at Ludwig Field.

• During the decade of the 2000s, Maryland went 111-49 for a .694 win percentage, making it the winningest decade in Terrapin lacrosse history. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland’s win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage. So far, Maryland is 25-9 in the 2010′s for a .735 winning percentage.


The Terps On ESPNU
• Maryland has had 42 games on ESPNU since 2006. Maryland is 23-19 (.548) all-time in games broadcast on ESPNU.

• The Terps will have at least four games (at UNC, vs. Virginia, at Johns Hopkins, at ACC tournament) Maryland will play on ESPNU in 2012.


The Stretch: Carolina, Virginia, Navy, Hopkins
• Since 1978 Maryland’s schedule has been highlighted by a four-game stretch in the middle of its season: North Carolina, Virginia, Navy and Johns Hopkins. In the 35-year span only four times has the stretch been interrupted with another game added in between one of these traditional four (1981, 1997, 2001, 2003).

• Overall, Maryland is 64-76 (.457) since 1978 vs. those four teams during that time.

• The Terps have swept the four games only once – in 1987. Only twice (1981 & 1988) has Maryland lost all four games. Six times (1978, 1979, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001) the Terps have won three of the four games. Johns Hopkins broke up the Terps’ bid for a perfect stretch four times, while Carolina and Virginia broke it up one time each.


First-Time Opponents
• Maryland has played 78 different opponents in its 87 seasons. The 2012 season added Hartford (a 12-6 win on 2/18) and will add Marist (3/10) to that list. In the Terps’ 78 first-time meetings Maryland is 74-4 (.949) in those games. Adelphi (12-13, 1982), Army (0-3, 1923), Syracuse (3-10, 1927) and Yale (3-5, 1925) are the only schools to beat the Terps the first time the schools met on a lacrosse field.


Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland has a 83-3-1 (.960) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 19 openers and 26 of the last 27, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell to Duke 9-5 on March 6.

• After losing their 1925 opener to Yale, 5-3, the Terps went on to win 40 consecutive season openers from 1926 through 1967. The streak was broken when Maryland tied Princeton, 6-6, in the 1968 opener. Following the deadlock, Maryland went on to win its next 14 openers, giving the Terps a 54-0-1 record over a 57-year span (Maryland did not field a team in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.)

19 Straight in Season Openers
• After beating Hartford to open the 2012 season the Terps have an 19-game winning streak in season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last nine over Denver, Mount St. Mary’s, Air Force, Hobart, Duke, Georgetown (four times), Bellarmine (twice), Presbyterian, Detroit Mercy and Hartford. Over the 19-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 267-99 (an average score of 14.1-5.2) in those games.

• The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 18 years. Maryland has not allowed an opponent to score 10 or more goals in a season opener since Syracuse beat the Terps, 16-13 on March 9, 1983.

Consecutive 10-Win Seasons
• The 11-9 victory over Duke on April 24, 2011 was the 10th of the year for Maryland, giving it nine straight seasons with double-digit wins. (Special thanks to Patrick Stevens of the D1Scourse.com).

• How does that stack up against the rest of the college lacrosse programs? Take a look at programs with at least five-straight 10-win seasons:
Maryland (9): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-4), 2009 (10-7), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6), 2006 (12-5), 2005 (11-6), 2004 (13-3), 2003 (12-4)
Virginia (8): 2012 (10-3), 2011 (13-5), 2010 (16-2), 2009 (14-2), 2008 (14-4), 2007 (12-4), 2006 (17-0), 2005 (11-4)
Cornell (7): 2011 (12-3), 2010 (12-6), 2009 (11-3), 2008 (11-4), 2007 (15-1), 2006 (11-3), 2005 (11-3)
Notre Dame (7): 2012 (10-1), 2011 (11-3), 2010 (10-7), 2009 (15-1), 2008 (14-3), 2007 (11-4), 2006 (10-5)
Duke (6): 2012 (13-3), 2011 (14-6), 2010 (16-4), 2009 (15-4), 2008 (18-2), 2007 ( 17-3)
Siena (5): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-5), 2009 (12-6), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6)


A Family Affair
• Many school’s refer to their sports programs as families, but the Maryland men’s lacrosse program is truely a family affair. Since 2002, the Terps have had 13 sets of brothers, including three on this season’s roster, don the red and black together for at least one season.

Harry & Thomas Alford: 2004-05-06-07
Jake & Jesse Bernhardt: 2010-11-12
Justin & Owen Blye: 2009-10-11
Brian & Kevin Cooper: 2011-12
Billy & Bobby Gribbin: 2012
Brendan & Ian Healy: 2003-04-05
Bryn & Curtis Holmes: 2010
Bryn & Travis Holmes: 2007
Dan & Mike LaMonica: 2002
Chris & Willy Passavia: 2002-03
Brian & Michael Phipps: 2007
Max & Xander Ritz: 2005-06
Mark & Michael White: 2008-09-10-11

Three Taken In MLL Draft
• Three University of Maryland men’s lacrosse seniors were selected in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft. Midfielder Jake Bernhardt was the highest pick, being selected with the 12th overall selection by the Hamilton Nationals. Midfielder/attackman Joe Cummings was the next Terp taken, going 17th overall to the Rochester Rattlers (his rights have since been traded to the Chesapeake Bayhawks). Midfielder Drew Snider went 45th overall by the Bayhawks.


2012 Team Captains
• Five players have been named team captains for the 2012 season. The quintet, which was selected by a combination of team vote and coaches’ input, consists of seniors Jake Bernhardt, Joe Cummings and Drew Snider and juniors Jesse Bernhardt and Owen Blye. Blye and Jesse Bernhardt are the first pair of juniors to be named team captains since Bob Ott and Randy Ratliff were among four captains in 1978.

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Perhaps Trade Good Business, But Ravens Need Good Players

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Perhaps Trade Good Business, But Ravens Need Good Players

Posted on 27 April 2012 by Glenn Clark

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — I almost thought about just re-posting the column I wrote two years ago.

I DEFINITELY thought about writing nothing at all.

But after the Baltimore Ravens traded their first round pick in the NFL Draft to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikes’ 2nd and 4th round picks Thursday night, I had a few thoughts cross my mind.

After making the trade, General Manager Ozzie Newsome described the decision as “good business” for the Ravens. He might very well be correct. According to the famous Jimmy Johnson trade chart, the Ravens’ 29th overall pick was worth 640 points. The two picks acquired by the Ravens (35th and 98th overall) are worth a combined 658 points. Based on the chart alone, the trade really does appear to be “good business.”

Let’s drag this out a little bit though. The combined value of having the 129th-160th picks in the Draft (or ROUGHLY the entire 5th round) is 1,093.5 points. The 14th pick in the first round of the draft is 1,100 points. The value is almost exactly the same.

So with that in mind-which would you rather have? Would you rather have the 14th pick in the NFL Draft or the entire 5th round in the NFL Draft?

Don’t think about this TOO much. I don’t think there’s really a correct answer here.

The point I’m trying to drive home is that the acquisition of an additional pick or the breakdown of picks based on a numerical chart does not guarantee a selection in the draft is necessarily “good business.”

The last time the Ravens traded out of the first round was in 2010, when the team famously dealt the 25th overall pick in the first round of the Draft to the Denver Broncos for the 43rd, 70th and 114th overall picks in the Draft. The team would go on to select LB Sergio Kindle with the 43rd pick, TE Ed Dickson with the 70th and TE Dennis Pitta with the 114th. While Kindle has been almost a complete non-factor in the two seasons since the deal (and it is hard to imagine him becoming much more than that), Dickson and Pitta have established themselves as capable contributors at the pro level.

The player selected in the 25th spot was now New York Jets QB (and Special Teamer?) Tim Tebow. At first blush, the deal appears to have been “good business” indeed for the Baltimore Ravens.

But if we step back even a bit more, it’s worth identifying some of the players selected between the 25th and 43rd spot in the 2010 Draft. The list includes New England Patriots Pro Bowl CB Devin McCourty and TE Rob Gronkowski, as well as players like New Orleans Saints CB Patrick Robinson (4 interceptions in 2011), Miami Dolphins DL Jared Odrick (6 sacks in 2011), Detroit Lions RB Jahvid Best (over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 6 combined TD’s in 2010 before an injury shortened 2011 campaign) and other promising young players.

The Ravens picked up Kindle, Dickson and Pitta but could have had Gronkowski.

This “which would you rather?” argument is nearly as compelling as the earlier one presented. In the spirit of full disclosure, the Ravens have said Gronkowski failed a physical before the 2010 Draft that took him off their board.

The 2010 deal could perhaps prove to ultimately be known as “good business” or it could ultimately be known as the year the Ravens missed on a chance to get one of the more dynamic players in the National Football League. Moreover, two of the players selected between the time the Ravens traded out of the 25th pick and ultimately selected with the 43rd pick in 2010 went on to help a Pats team eliminate the Ravens in the 2012 AFC Championship Game and prevent the Purple & Black from reaching their first Super Bowl in over a decade.

So while we’re quick to accept the idea that trading out of the first round with talented players still on the board like LB Courtney Upshaw, WR Stephen Hill, OL Peter Konz and OT Jonathan Martin was “good business” for the Ravens Thursday night, let’s tell the whole story and paint the entire picture. Trading out of the first round MIGHT have been good business for the Ravens.

It MIGHT be looked upon as the time the Ravens missed out on a future superstar like Vikings S Harrison Smith, San Francisco 49ers WR AJ Jenkins, New York Giants RB David Wilson or (perhaps) Indianapolis Colts LB Upshaw.

As the headline of this column suggested, the Baltimore Ravens may have pulled off “good business” by dealing out of the first round, but the more important need for the team is to acquire good players. If the Ravens acquire good players with the 35th and 98th picks this year, the deal will ultimately prove to truly be good business.

If the Ravens instead miss out on those picks, the deal will be known more as the year where a team looking to make the next step towards a Super Bowl title failed to acquire good players.

You’ll probably tell me I’m being negative. I’d like to think I’m just being realistic.

-G

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Navy Home Football Games To Kick Off At 3:30PM, Air On CBS Sports Net

Posted on 25 April 2012 by WNST Staff

Navy Home Football Games To Kick At 3:30 PM And Will Be Televised Live By CBS Sports Network

ANNAPOLIS, Md.—The five home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium will kickoff at 3:30 PM and will be televised live by CBS Sports Network.

Navy will kick-off the 2012 season on Sept. 1 in Dublin, Ireland against Notre Dame.  The game will be played at Aviva Stadium, located in the heart of Dublin, and marks the first time the stadium has hosted an American football game.

It will also be the first time in program history that Navy has opened up against Notre Dame and the second time the two teams have met in Dublin.  Navy played the Irish at Croke Park in Dublin in 1996.   The game will be broadcast by CBS Sports and kick at 2:00 PM in Dublin, which is 9:00 AM on the East Coast.

After a week off, the Mids will travel to Happy Valley on Sept. 15 to take on Bill O’Brien’s Penn State Nittany Lions.  It will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1974 when Navy shocked Penn State in State College, 7-6.   A kickoff time has not yet been announced by Penn State and the BIG Ten Conference.

VMI comes to town on Sept. 22 for the home opener at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It will be the ninth meeting between the two schools and the first since 2003 when Navy defeated the Keydets, 37-10, in the season opener.

The Mids will have revenge on their minds when San Jose State comes calling on Sept. 29. Last fall, the Spartans eliminated the Midshipmen from bowl contention with a 27-24 victory in San Jose.

Navy will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo. for the first leg of the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy on Oct. 6.  The Falcons won the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy last year thanks to a 35-34 overtime victory over Navy in Annapolis.  Air Force and the Mountain West Conference have not yet released a game time.

The Mids will travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich. the following week, as Navy will play at Central Michigan on Friday, Oct. 12 at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN2.  It will be the first time Navy has played at Central Michigan and the first time Navy has played in the state of Michigan since 2006 when the Mids beat Eastern Michigan at Ford Field in Detroit.

The Indiana Hoosiers come to Annapolis the following week (Oct. 20) for Homecoming.  It will be just the third time in school history that the two teams have met and it will be Indiana’s first trip to Annapolis.  The Hoosiers will be the first Big 10 team to play at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since Northwestern beat Navy in 2002.

East Carolina will play host to Navy on Oct. 27 in Greenville.  The Pirates knocked off Navy last year in a thriller, 38-35. East Carolina and Conference USA have not yet announced a game time.

Navy and Florida Atlantic will meet on the gridiron for the first time the following week as new head coach Carl Pelini brings his Owls North to Annapolis on Nov. 3.

Navy will make its first trip to Troy, Ala. on Nov. 10 when the Mids take on the Troy Trojans. Navy defeated Troy last year, 42-14.  Troy and the Sun Belt Conference have not yet announced a game time.

The home finale takes place on Nov. 17, when Dennis Franchione and the Texas State Bobcats come to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Senior Day.

The 2012 Army-Navy Game Presented by USAA will take place at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Dec. 8.  Navy leads the all-time series, 56-49-7, and has won a series-record 10-consecutive games against the Black Knights.  CBS has not announced a game time as of yet.

Season tickets are on sale now for $180.   Standing room only tickets for the grass hill located at the North end zone of Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium are $100 for the season and the Billy the Kid Package (age 12 and under) is $60 forstanding room only tickets for the grass hill.  Children two and under do not need a ticket unless the child is occupying a sea. You can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY or by going to www.navysports.com.

For information about how to get CBS Sports Network, including a full programming schedule, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com  

2012 Navy Football Schedule
Sept. 1                        vs. Notre Dame (Dublin, Ireland)
Sept. 15            at Penn State                               
Sept. 22            VMI
Sept. 29             at San Jose State
Oct. 6                        at Air Force
Oct. 13                        at Central Michigan
Oct. 20                        Indiana (Homecoming)
Oct. 27                        at East Carolina
Nov. 3                        Florida Atlantic
Nov. 10            at Troy
Nov. 17            Texas State
Dec. 8                        vs. Army (Philadelphia)

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