Honorable Mention: Boxing-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. John Duddy (Saturday 9pm from San Antonio live on Pay-Per-View); MLL Lacrosse: Toronto Nationals @ Chesapeake Bayhawks (Thursday 7:30pm Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium); WNBA: Los Angeles Sparks @ Washington Mystics (Thursday 7pm from Verizon Center live on Comcast SportsNet), Phoenix Mercury @ Washington Mystics (Sunday 4pm from Verizon Center live on Comcast SportsNet); “Grown Ups” and “Knight and Day” out in theaters (Friday)

10. Carole King & James Taylor (Wednesday 8pm Verizon Center), Peter Frampton & Yes (Thursday 7pm Pier Six Pavilion), Phish (Saturday & Sunday 6pm Merriweather Post Pavilion), Carbon Leaf (Friday 8pm Rams Head Live), Bruce in the USA (Saturday 8pm Rams Head Live), Adam Lambert & Orianthi (Sunday 7pm Rams Head Live), Thrice (Saturday 7pm Recher Theatre), Hole (Sunday 7pm 9:30 Club), Sister Hazel (Friday 8pm Rams Head On Stage), Silversun Pickups (Wednesday 7:30pm D.A.R. Constitution Hall); Eminem “Recovery“, Robert Randolph & The Family Band “We Walk This Road” and The Roots “How I Got Over” available in stores and iTunes (Tuesday), Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band “London Calling: Live in Hyde Park” and “Stones in Exile” available on DVD & Blu-Ray (Tuesday)

Well then, where to start? Columbia might look like one big Michael Phelps house party this weekend. The thing is…Trey Anastasio and company are sometimes really REALLY good, and not JUST when they’re hanging out with Jay-Z…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om2EQ7YXork[/youtube]

If you’ve never seen Carbon Leaf, I can’t recommend it enough. And not JUST because I’ve sobbed uncontrollably into a Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day while “The Boxer” was playing in the background. Don’t judge me…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt-HCioAWkY[/youtube]

Believe it or not, Sister Hazel actually had more than one good song. “All For You” is one of the greatest songs EVER…but “Happy” wasn’t too bad either. If you’re in the Annapolis area, they might just play it for you. Tell them I asked them to. It won’t help, but I’ll think it’s cool…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nZ3GCESf7Q[/youtube]

I got a hold of the new RR&TFB disc today. Don’t bother me for a while. I wish I could find a video for a song on the record that wasn’t a commercial for a TNT show (Memphis Beat) that looks like it will go down as a worse decision than “Alvin & The Chipmunks” for Jason Lee, but you can only work with what you have…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKQlyUtBaX4[/youtube]

9. Volleyball: AVP Belmar Open (Sunday 2pm live on ESPN2, 4pm live on Universal Sports. All beach action from Belmar, NJ)

I was thinking to myself last week “Why is it that a sport whose action looks like this…

always makes the Top 10, while a sport whose action looks like THIS…

Has a way of finding itself in “Honorable Mention”?

As you can see, I’ve corrected my mistakes. Also, a plug for the Barefoot Wine “AVP Next” events that go on at the “Baltimore Beach” near Rash Field in the Inner Harbor. And by “plug” I really mean “a suggestion.” My suggestion be that the competitors consider attire more similar to the picture of Misty May and Kerri Walsh above. This is Charm City, ladies. Visitors to town deserve to be charmed! That is all.

8. Indoor Football-AIFA: Reading Express @ Baltimore Mariners (Saturday 7pm 1st Mariner Arena), AFL: Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings @ Tampa Bay Storm (Friday 8pm from Tampa Bay live on NFL Network)

Sadly, I will be in Ocean City this weekend-so I will again miss out on the Mariners, who I really want to see. Especially considering they beat New Jersey last week by something like 654 points. 654? I think it was 654. It might have been more. When it comes to beating New Jersey, that’s really God’s work.

Of course, that means that while you’re checking out QB EJ Nemeth’s beard…

…which is awesome, don’t get me wrong….I’ll be in the same town as WNST’s own Intern Genna…

…a girl who recently changed her Facebook name to “IronLiver.” Yes. “IronLiver.” If you’re a company who ISN’T interested in hiring this girl, I would NEVER want to work for you.

7. Auto Racing: NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 (Sunday 1pm from Loudon, New Hampshire live on TNT)

Let’s cut the crap here. I could pretend I know anything about what’s going on this year on the Sprint Cup series, or we could watch Ricky Bobby’s prayer scene from “Talladega Nights”.

I figured we would agree…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A0-u85aAYg[/youtube]

6. Golf: PGA Tour Travelers Championship (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel, Saturday & Sunday 3pm live on CBS. All golf from Cromwell, Connecticut.); LPGA Championship (Thursday & Friday 12:30pm, Saturday & Sunday 4pm from Pittsford, New York live on Golf Channel); Champions Tour Dick’s Sporting Goods Open (Friday 6:30pm, Saturday & Sunday 1pm from Endicott, New York live on Golf Channel)

Coming off the excitement of Graeme McDowell winning the U.S. Open, I bet at least 3 people in the Old Line State (not named Drew Forrester) will watch Golf this weekend.

The LPGA Championship is the event that used to be held at Bulle Rock until McDonald’s dropped the sponsorship. I know that there aren’t a whole lot of you that would have wandered up to Harford County to watch the ladies play golf this weekend, but it certainly isn’t a good thing to have the event gone. Partly because it brought money to the area.

More because it means Melissa Reid won’t be coming to town…

5. NHL Entry Draft (Friday 7pm live on VERSUS, Saturday 1pm live on NHL Network from Los Angeles), NHL Awards Show (Wednesday 7:30pm from Las Vegas live on VERSUS)

“And the award for the biggest chokejob in the NHL Playoffs goes to…..”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzR7Vy48zHA[/youtube]

Heehee.

4. MMA-Strikeforce: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum (Saturday 10pm from San Jose live on Showtime), Bellator Fighting Championships XXIII (Thursday 8pm from Louisville live on Fox Sports Net)

Of course, the whole Mixed Martial Arts world is buzzing about the chance that former WWE wrestler Dave Batista may be headed to Strikeforce himself. I’m as much of a fan of “The Animal” as anyone else, but I will admit that I’m not so sure how excited I am to see a 40-some year old former wrestler suddenly try his hand at combat fighting.

That being said-if he DOES make the move, won’t EVERY opponent he ever has remind him about the whole “Deacon Batista” bit he had with “Reverend D-Von?”…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boqSq7oYzd8[/youtube]

3. Tennis: Wimbledon (Tuesday-Friday 7am & 12pm live on ESPN2, 9:30am & 2pm live on ESPNU; Saturday 7am live on ESPN2, 12pm live on NBC; Monday 6:30am & 1pm live on ESPN2, 10am live on NBC. All tennis from London.)

Do you have any idea how close we were to seeing Roger Federer eliminated while Andy Roddick rolled on Day 1 of the fortnight? I would have given ANYTHING for that.

Also, props to my buddy BJ for this. With both major events going on at the same time-it’s worth wondering. Have we ever seen John Harkes and Mary Carillo in the same room at the same time? Let’s start with Harkes, he’s the 2nd voice you hear in these highlights after JP Dellacamera…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1gH3wrfVDw[/youtube]

And now here’s Mary Carillo…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZDn0U0w78k[/youtube]

I’m just sayin’….

2. NBA Draft (Thursday 7pm from New York live on ESPN)

Here’s what we know about the NBA Draft:

1-The Wizards will take Kentucky’s John Wall with the #1 pick.

2-Whenever he’s picked, former Terrapins guard Greivis Vasquez will cry.

3-No one will look dumber than Joakim Noah did in 2007…

1. Soccer-World Cup: Mexico vs. Uruguay (Tuesday 10am from Rustenberg, South Africa live on ESPN), France vs. South Africa (Tuesday 10am from Bloemfontein, South Africa live on ESPN2), Nigeria vs. South Korea (Tuesday 2:30pm from Durban, South Africa live on ESPN2), Greece vs. Argentina (Tuesday 2:30pm from Polokwane, South Africa live on ESPN), Slovenia vs. England (Wednesday 10am from Port Elizabeth, South Africa live on ESPN2), United States vs. Algeria (Wednesday 10am from Pretoria, South Africa live on ESPN), Ghana vs. Germany (Wednesday 2:30pm from Johannesburg, South Africa live on ESPN), Australia vs. Serbia (Wednesday 2:30pm from Nelspruit, South Africa live on ESPN2), Slovakia vs. Italy (Thursday 10am from Johannesburg live on ESPN), Paraguay vs. New Zealand (Thursday 10am from Polokwane live on ESPN2), Denmark vs. Japan (Thursday 2:30pm from Rustenberg live on ESPN), Cameroon vs. Netherlands (Thursday 2:30pm from Cape Town, South Africa live on ESPN2), North Korea vs. Ivory Coast (Friday 10am from Nelspruit live on ESPN2), Portugal vs. Brazil (Friday 10am from Durban live on ESPN), Switzerland vs. Honduras (Friday 2:30pm from Bloemfontein live on ESPN2), Chile vs. Spain (Friday 2:30pm from Pretoria live on ESPN), Knockout Round Games (Saturday & Sunday 10am live on ESPN, 2:30pm live on ABC; Monday 10am & 2:30pm live on ESPN); NASL: NSC Minnesota Stars @ Crystal Palace Baltimore (Saturday 7pm UMBC Stadium); MLS: DC United @ Columbus Crew (Saturday 7:30pm Columbus live on MLS Direct Kick & Comcast SportsNet)

I know I’ve posted this before. Probably multiple times. But when it comes time for a crucial moment in American history, nothing prepares me for the moment quite as much as the gang from “Team America: World Police.” Video is NSFW. Unless you work at a place that loves America so much it makes you use the F-word.

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

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…

-G

Honorable Mention: MLL: Denver Outlaws @ Chesapeake Bayhawks (Saturday 7pm Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium); Volleyball: AVP Virginia Beach Open (Sunday 2pm live on ESPN2, 4pm live on Universal Sports from Virginia Beach); Auto Racing: NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sunday 3pm from Sonoma, CA live on TNT), IndyCar Series Iowa Corn Indy 250 (Sunday 1:30pm from Newton, IA live on VERSUS); Boxing: Andre Ward vs. Allan Green (Saturday 10pm from Oakland, CA live on Showtime)

10. M3 Rock Festival feat. The Scorpions, Cinderella, Vince Neil, Kix (Saturday 11am Merriweather Post Pavilion); Earth, Wind & Fire (Friday 6pm Pier Six Pavilion); Brooks & Dunn (Saturday 7:30pm Jiffy Lube Live); Maxwell and Jill Scott (Friday 7pm Verizon Center); Mr. Greengenes (Friday 8pm Power Plant Live), Pat Green (Saturday 8pm Power Plant Live); Los Lonely Boys (Tuesday 8pm Rams Head On Stage), Marc Broussard (Wednesday & Thursday 8pm Rams Head On Stage); Bryan Adams (Tuesday 8pm Weinberg Center for the Arts-Frederick); John Butler Trio (Wednesday 7pm Wolf Trap); “Weird Al” Yankovic (Friday 8pm Warner Theatre); African American Heritage Festival feat. Robin Thicke & Mario (Friday-Sunday M&T Bank Stadium); CMT Crossroads feat. Keith Urban & John Mayer premieres (Friday 10pm CMT)

First of all, as I said recently on Facebook-I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older that this song ABSOLUTELY deserves greater recognition amongst the greatest songs of all time…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bF9X7qnWro[/youtube]

Say whatever you want about country music, but NEVER knock this tune…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZSiBj4vCiY[/youtube]

I don’t expect anyone to drive to Wolf Trap to see John Butler Trio that isn’t already; but I can tell you this much…they’re REALLY FREAKING GOOD…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79cG_F1GxfI[/youtube]

Although it’s unlikely I get out to The Bank for the AAHF this weekend, I will admit that I would like nothing more than to see Robin Thicke jam out to this former “Greatest Song of All Time This Week”…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojAyFFfO2Po[/youtube]

And John Mayer and Keith Urban are so awesome that despite the fact that I want to hate them, I just can’t…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SabZCULoHQ0[/youtube]

9. “Toy Story 3″ opens in theaters (Friday), Family Guy Season 8 available on DVD and Blu-Ray (Tuesday), Man vs. Food season premiere (Wednesday 9pm Travel Channel)

Well…this wasn’t funny at all…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDURfLc9u0g[/youtube]

Oh, and don’t judge me for wanting to go see Toy Story next weekend. I don’t judge you for watching “Glee”.

(Edit from GMC: No wait…that’s me too. You know what? Screw you. You probably do something embarrassing too. You know, like eating something off the floor despite it moving PAST the 5 second rule? You see, I don’t do that! Unless it’s something really good. Like a turkey sandwich. It’s hard to make another one of those.)

Speaking of things I’d eat off the floor, if Adam Richman from Man vs. Food dropped any of his meat from Steak & Main up in Cecil County on the floor, I probably would have just let it go…

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

8. Indoor Football-AIFA: New Jersey Revolution @ Baltimore Mariners (Saturday 7pm 1st Mariner Arena); AFL: Jacksonville Sharks @ Orlando Predators (Friday 8pm from Orlando live on NFL Network)

You know what’s great about this? I hate New Jersey anyway! Mostly because this disaster is from The Garden State…

I really hope Snooki is a New York Jets fan. It would make me feel even that much better when the Ravens destroy them on Monday Night Football.

7. High School Football: Under Armour Combine (Friday-Sunday, M&T Bank Stadium)

I was never good enough at football…or anything…to attend something like this. I can’t even imagine it. My summer weekends at 16 years old were mostly spent trying to figure out how to solve Hole #4 at Churchville Putt & Cutt or how to get all of my friends into an R rated movie.

That and pretending not to like “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. That song sucks. I mean, it’s kinda catchy. But…they suck.

6. Pro Wrestling: WWE Fatal 4 Way (Sunday 8pm from New York live on Pay-Per-View)

There are a couple of things I like about this.

1-Jack Swagger is currently the champion. He went to Oklahoma, so he stinks. This gives them the chance to get the strap around CM Punk’s waist, who is MUCH more deserving.

2-Something something something Michelle McCool…

5. MMA-UFC The Ultimate Fighter Finale (Saturday 9pm from Las Vegas live on SpikeTV); WEC: Jamie Varner vs. Kamal Shalorus (Sunday 9pm from Edmonton live on VERSUS); Strikeforce Live (Wednesday 11pm from Los Angeles live on Showtime); Bellator Fighting Championships XXII (Thursday 8pm from Kansas City live on Fox Sports Net)

So it’s a big week in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. The cool thing here is that Kris McCray-who is from the DMV area and is a BIG fan of Shogun Fights is fighting for the TUF title Saturday night. He’s also a borderline MANIAC and broke a dude’s shoulder in his first UFC action…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNb92qWM-Xg[/youtube]

I’d try to fight him, but I’d be too busy PEEING MY PANTS.

4. Tennis: Wimbledon Opening Round (Monday 6:30am from Wimbledon, ENG live on ESPN2)

The good news? Andy Roddick usually does pretty well at Wimbledon. The bad news? Andy Roddick has never won Wimbledon.

The other news? Andy Roddick still has my heart….for now…

3. Golf: U.S. Open (Thursday & Friday 1pm & 5pm live on ESPN, 3pm live on NBC; Saturday 4:30pm live on NBC, Sunday 3pm live on NBC. All golf from Pebble Beach, CA); Shoprite LPGA Classic (Friday 3pm, Saturday 4:30pm, Sunday 3pm from Galloway, NJ live on Golf Channel)

This is once again a case of “if Tiger Woods does well”, I’ll take a peak at this Sunday afternoon. Otherwise, Father’s Day will be totally golf-free for “The Luckiest Dang Dad on the Face of the Planet.”

Unless of course Dad wants to play 18 holes at Pebble Beach via Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 on Wii. If that’s the case, I think I’ll play as the great John Daly…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6HXfA__e14[/youtube]

2. NBA Finals: Lakers/Celtics (Game 6 Tuesday 9pm from Los Angeles live on ABC, Game 7 if necessary Thursday 9pm from Los Angeles live on ABC)

If LA comes back to win this thing, do I somehow get to see more of Khloe Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian?

And more importantly, how is it that marrying Lamar Odom has made Khloe Kardashian attractive???

Oh, and screw Boston. Boston sucks. That is all.

1. Soccer-World Cup: New Zealand vs. Slovakia (Tuesday 7:30am from Rustenberg, South Africa live on ESPN), Ivory Coast vs. Portugal (Tuesday 10am from Port Elizabeth, South Africa live on ESPN), Brazil vs. North Korea (Tuesday 2:30pm from Johannesburg, South Africa live on ESPN), Honduras vs. Chile (Wednesday 7:30am from Nelspruit, South Africa live on ESPN), Spain vs. Switzerland (Wednesday 10am from Durban, South Africa live on ESPN), South Africa vs. Uruguay (Wednesday 2:30pm from Pretoria, South Africa live on ESPN), Argentina vs. South Korea (Thursday 7:30am from Johannesburg live on ESPN), Greece vs. Nigeria (Thursday 10am from Bloemfontein, South Africa live on ESPN), France vs. Mexico (Thursday 2:30pm from Polokwane, South Africa live on ESPN2), Germany vs. Serbia (Friday 7:30am from Port Elizabeth live on ESPN), Slovenia vs. United States (Friday 10am from Johannesburg live on ESPN), England vs. Algeria (Friday 2:30pm from Cape Town live on ESPN2), Netherlands vs. Japan (Saturday 7:30am from Durban live on ESPN), Ghana vs. Australia (Saturday 10am from Rustenberg live on ESPN), Cameroon vs. Denmark (Saturday 2:30pm from Pretoria live on ABC), Slovakia vs. Paraguay (Sunday 7:30am from Bloemfontein live on ESPN), Italy vs. New Zealand (Sunday 10am from Nelspruit live on ESPN), Brazil vs. Ivory Coast (Sunday 2:30pm from Johannesburg live on ABC), Portugal vs. North Korea (Monday 7:30am from Cape Town live on ESPN), Chile vs. Switzerland (Monday 10am from Port Elizabeth live on ESPN), Spain vs. Honduras (Monday 2:30pm from Johannesburg live on ESPN); El Salvador vs. DC United (Saturday 7:30pm RFK Stadium)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMxEycuSn0o[/youtube]

There is a legitimate part of me that considered buying a vuvuzela and playing it loudly behind Drew Forrester on “The Morning Reaction” on AM1570 WNST. In fact, if you have one and want to bring it by the studio-I’ll take it.

I’ll be rooting for the country Jessica Simpson roots for…

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…

-G

Happy Monday!

It’s a Happy Monday for me because this happened yesterday…

Need I explain more? The “Luckiest Dang Little Sister on the Face of the Planet” had a birthday, and I reaped the benefits.

Let’s see what everyone has to say…

1. The AP’s David Ginsburg says Kevin Millwood roughed up as Orioles swept by Mets

I decided to peek at Stephen Strasburg for a bit yesterday over on MASN2 as the Nats played in Cleveland-just because I didn’t want to be the only guy in the world NOT talking about him.

By the time I realized I had forgot to flip over and watch the start of the Birds game, it was already 5-0 in the first. At least it made it easier to stop watching and head outside for crabs and Moosehead.

I’m well aware that the game got back to 5-3 at one point; but the Orioles really DIDN’T ever have a chance. A special thanks to Mark Hendrickson for making sure it wasn’t AT ALL interesting at any point after he came in.

I’d like to say something poignant here to wrap this up. I think I’ll go with “The Orioles stink.” How’d that sound?

2. WNST.net/The AP provide numerical evidence of sweep

The crazy thing is that the team has been getting some hits recently. Over the last 6 games, they’ve collected 62 hits. Sadly, they’ve rarely turned into runs.

Of course, when you let the one RBI producer you have go (Aubrey Huff) and don’t replace him with someone who’s an acceptable replacement (like Matt Holliday or Jason Bay); this is what you get. It’s been piss poor all season. I don’t know why I’d bother being frustrated by it now.

I don’t know if you can tell by my tone early on, but this wasn’t exactly fun this weekend. I was hoping the World Cup would help to improve my spirits towards sports in general-but I got a bit too much sun Saturday, and then my allergies came racing back yesterday.

I still blame the Orioles. Why wouldn’t I?

3. WNST.net’s Luke Jones says with sweep, O’s now continue historic poor pace

There is no doubt that over the next few months, there will be plenty of attention paid to the Orioles’ potential assault of the 1962 New York Mets’ record for futility. I’m not the type of person that hopes they DO pursue the record down the stretch just to keep the season entertaining-as I don’t really want to have any part of that. The Mets have that record. I hope they keep it.

That being said, those that support the Orioles going on to finish with the worst record in baseball so that the team can finish with the #1 overall pick in next year’s MLB Entry Draft-I can probably get behind that. I won’t root for them to lose (of course, I can’t bring myself to watch the games at ALL half the time anyway), but I understand that losing games could help the team more than winning can after the All-Star Game.

This just keeps getting more and more depressing. Let’s take a look at a picture of January Jones (who may or may not have been involved in a car crash?) from over at WWTDD and then we’ll regroup and move forward.

4. MLB.com’s Noah Rosenstein says Birds activated Alfredo Simon, sent down Brad Bergesen

So we’ve got that much going for us, which is nice. Juan Samuel says he’ll use Alfredo Simon primarily as the closer. I’d probably prefer to keep using David Hernandez myself, but I think I’ll just accept EVER having another save situation again first.

As far as Brad Bergesen goes; this is a numbers game. Of the 4 young pitchers in the “cavalry”, he’s got the lesser pedigree of the bunch. It probably goes Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta then Bergesen. With the other 3 up and both Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie having not been dealt yet. That’s 6 guys for 5 spots. While Hernandez is probably best suited for the bullpen in the long term, Bergesen should probably remain a starter. In order to do that, he has to go to Norfolk, at least for now.

5. Baysox.com says Pasadena native Chorye Spoone matched MLB pitcher Ross Detweiler in Bowie’s win over Harrisburg on farm

And before we move on from the Orioles, a couple of things…

-A reminder that the Birds are back in action tonight, facing the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. First pitch between Chris Tillman and Jonathan Sanchez is at 10:15pm. The other starters for the Orioles this week are Arrieta and Guthrie; the Giants counter with Joe Martinez and Tim Lincecum. The hopes for a Madison Bumgarner-Jake Arrieta showdown were nice, but appear to be all but gone.

-Congratulations to our “Apologist of the Morning”, a former winner-”Neal S.” from The Loss Column. Neal was selected by “The Great Arbitrator” Drew Forrester. For a change, today’s winner didn’t win because of “apology”, but instead for being an apologist yet having the stones to say the right thing. Neal said…

“I’m getting frustrated with Andy MacPhail’s ultra-conservative, deliberate approach. I’m not getting at any larger point, necessarily, it’s just what it is. Frustration with an approach that seems to be growing less effective by the day.”

It’s time the uber-defenders of “The Plan” wise up and accept facts. The fact is, the manager has been fired but the team still stinks. Either that means there are two bad managers, or the general manager put a bad club together. I think I know which one it was in this case.

I don’t think Peter Angelos should FIRE Andy MacPhail, but I ABSOLUTELY believe his feet need to be held to the fire to MAKE THE TEAM BETTER.

I hope others will join Neal S. in having the courage to stand up and say “this isn’t okay.”

-While Bobby Valentine and Eric Wedge remain the only managers known to have interviewed for the job, I think there’s an obvious choice for the next interview. As I posted Saturday on Facebook, the recent meltdown from one time would-be Arizona Diamondbacks manager Wally Backman HAS to earn him an interview, correct?

(Edit from GMC: This video is ABSOLUTELY NSFW. Unless you work at a place that has the F word in the name of the company. If that’s the case, I would imagine the video is probably okay.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PJJUc2u0bs[/youtube]

6. The Sun’s Ken Murray says Ravens S Nakamura ‘well ahead of schedule’ in return from injury

The organization has to be happy with the quick returns from injury not only for Nakamura-but also for Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb. Washington & Webb still aren’t 100 percent, but all of these players have remained ahead of schedule. That’s good news for ALL Ravens fans.

A reminder that we will NOT be out at 1 Winning Drive for Passing Camp this week-because the NFL took away Passing Camp this week. The Ravens are still doing formal work with their rookies, but there is no availability for us. But as any news comes from Owings Mills, we’ll be sure to get it to you via Twitter (follow us @WNST), WNST.net and on air at AM1570.

7. D1scourse’s Patrick Stevens says only ‘money’ would make sense in potential Terrapins move to Big Ten

This is a great read from Patrick regarding the entire conference situation. I have said a few times that I don’t think it helps the Terps to go to the Big Ten, and I won’t waiver on that. That being said, if Big Ten commish Jim Delaney has $20 million a year to throw at the University for free, it would have to be considered by C.D. Mote or whoever replaces as him-even if it ends up going against the wishes of Debbie Yow.

We talked some college sports this morning on “The Morning Reaction”, as Morgan State Bears head coach Todd Bozeman joined the program to respond to the news of recent scholarship losses. If you missed the chat, you can head over to the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault here at WNST.net to listen, as Drew and Todd also discussed the Boston Celtics’ 3-2 lead on the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Other guests this morning were Baseball Prospectus’ Jay Jaffe and UMBC Soccer Coach Pete Caringi-who recapped the United States-England match, as well as all other things World Cup.

8. Inside Lacrosse’s Sean Burns has Maryland 5th, Johns Hopkins 11th, Loyola 15th in ‘way early’ 2011 lacrosse poll

The Dave Cottle defenders of the world pointed out that he deserved the chance to coach one more season, as this Maryland team is arguably the best he would have had.

Maybe so, but that’s of course not an option anymore. Speaking of which, nothing new on the Maryland lacrosse search front this weekend.

Speaking of which-if we’re going to put together ridiculous lists at the wrong time, I want to make a list of “gals from Australia who made the cover of Ralph Magazine and I would like to get to know better.” Gianna Pattison is number 1. (Thanks Guyism!)

9. The Sun’s Kevin Cowherd says Baltimore County World Soccer Festival part of “World Cup fever” coming over Charm City

If you didn’t come out to Patriot Plaza in Towson for the event Saturday, it was a GREAT time, even if the match ended in a fairly fortunate draw. Here’s a look courtesy of WNSTv…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJQ6uakWUQs[/youtube]

We will be out at Amicci’s in Little Italy this afternoon for Italy-Paraguay. The food is GREAT, the beer is cold, it’s going to be an awesome day. Forza Azzurri!!!

10. BaltimoreMariners.com says Mariners topped Erie on last second FG

Thankfully their long snapper isn’t named Matt Katula.

I’m kidding!!!! Matt’s a good man, and hopefully has moved past his elbow issues. Hopefully.

You know, I completely forgot to mention this when we were discussing World Cup, but have you seen Cristiano Ronaldo WAG Irina Shayk? Thanks Busted Coverage…

And finally, I leave you with this.

If you haven’t been paying attention to WWE Raw, you might not have noticed that they’ve been having guest hosts on the show every week. Some of been great (notably Shaquille O’Neal and Bob Barker), others have been Ashton Kutcher. My buddy Brandon Holthaus started a group on Facebook to try to get Kevin Smith to host the show. Check the group out here.

And how can THIS guy NOT make a good host? (Edit from GMC: Once again, this video is ABSOLUTELY NSFW. Unless you work for Kevin Smith. Or the WWE presumably.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-xKUU5sWS4[/youtube]

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…

-G

3:00-The Ravens have cut OLB William VanDeSteeg. This means they will have no one on their roster with lower case letters on the back of their jersey. I’m sorry if you already read me use that on Twitter (@WNST).

1:30-Here are some notes from practice today:

-A number of veterans were not present today for various reasons. Amongst those that were undisclosed were: LB Ray Lewis, DE Trevor Pryce, S Ed Reed, FB Le’Ron McClain, OT Oniel Cousins, C Matt Birk, LB Jarret Johnson and RB Willis McGahee

-OT Jared Gaither was also not present today. He was here yesterday and practiced according to John Harbaugh-who also said Gaither claimed his foot was better. Harbaugh believed today’s absence was not injury-related.

-CB Lardarius Webb (knee) and CB Fabian Washington (knee) again worked on the side today during practice. DT Haloti Ngata (chest) and DT Brandon McKinney (back) participated in individual drills, as did OT Ramon Harewood (knee). RB Matt Lawrence (knee) was dressed, but did not participate. Ngata said he believes he will be 100 percent for Training Camp.

-Harbaugh said the team has spent their final week of OTA’s working on regular season opponents. They worked on the New York Jets yesterday and the Cincinnati Bengals today. They will work on the Cleveland Browns tomorrow and the Pittsburgh Steelers Friday.

-John Harbaugh addressed the team’s loss of next week’s OTA’s in detail; explaining that during the team’s first week of OTA’s, 6 players were held too long in meetings and 2 players spent too much time on the field. Harbaugh said NFLPA Player Reps Todd Heap and Chris Carr approached him regarding the situation, and the team worked with the players and the league to resolve the issue. When asked about how much missing next week would hurt, he said “I don’t think it will hurt us at all…it’s a little bit embarrassing.”

-WNST.net’s Luke Jones was here with me at 1 Winning Drive today, he will have a full story-including player reaction-about the whistle blowing and OTA forfeit.

-Members of the Baltimore Mariners staff and Maryland Terrapins Offensive Coordinator James Franklin were on the field during practice today.

-Ravens TE Dennis Pitta will join Drew Forrester tomorrow morning on “The Morning Reaction” on AM1570 WNST at 6:30am.

-You can hear from John Harbaugh, Derrick Mason, Shayne Graham, Domonique Foxworth, Haloti Ngata, Todd Heap and Chris Carr NOW in the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault at WNST.net.

11:15-Greetings from 1 Winning Drive, where the Ravens are back at work for Passing Camp today. Before I head out to practice, I wanted to pass along the Training Camp schedule that the team released this morning. The important dates to remember for fans are:

July 27-First practice for rookies
July 30-First full team practice
Aug 2-Suite holders & Sponsors Day (not open to general public)
Aug 11-Practice not open for general public (Walk-through)
Aug 19-Final date practice is open to public
Aug 20-Camp breaks-closed to general public (Walk-through)

I’ll be back shortly with more after practice; in the meantime here’s the release:

For Immediate Release

2010 RAVENS TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE

The Baltimore Ravens kick off their 15^th training camp at McDaniel College with two practices (8:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.) on Tuesday, July 27, and break camp on Friday, Aug. 20. Ravens rookies, quarterbacks and select players will report to the Best Western Hotel (451 WMC Drive) on Monday, July 26, and then take part in four practices over two days – all open to fans and media – before all veterans arrive Wednesday, July 28.

On Thursday, July 29, the Ravens will hold an administrative day that is closed to the media and public. The first full-squad practices open to the public and media are scheduled for Friday, July 30, at 8:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.

The Ravens have scheduled 41 practices over their 26-day camp. Sessions are open to the media and public except on July 29 (administrative day), Aug. 11 (pre-game walk-through) and Aug. 20 (pre-game walk-through/camp breaks). Plus, on Monday, Aug. 2, the Ravens will hold their annual Suite Holders and Sponsors Day during the morning session. This practice is closed to the general public, but remains open to media members. (Note: There will not be any practices on Friday, Aug. 13, following the team’s first preseason game against Carolina.)

Baltimore opens the preseason by hosting the Panthers on Aug. 12 for a nationally-televised (ESPN) broadcast at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens then play at Washington on Aug. 21 and return home to face the New York Giants on Aug. 28. Baltimore rounds out the preseason at St. Louis on Sept. 2.

The Ravens’ final three preseason games will be televised by WBAL-TV and simulcast on MASN. The ESPN broadcast against Carolina will also air locally on WJZ-TV.

“We’re excited to get back to McDaniel [College] and do the things we need to do to be ready for the start of the season,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s a great atmosphere there with the fans up close. That adds a dimension to what we plan to achieve at camp. Training camp is the next step for our team after what we consider a very good offseason where our players worked hard. It’s all about getting better and being the best team we can be.”

The Ravens open the 2010 regular season at the New York Jets’ new Meadowlands Stadium on Monday night, Sept. 13, with the game nationally televised by ESPN. The Ravens’ difficult slate has the team opening with back-to-back road games against 2009 playoff teams. The Jets earned a spot in last year’s AFC Championship game, while Baltimore’s second opponent, the Bengals (Sept. 19), won the AFC North after sweeping the division with a 6-0 mark.

Along with the Carolina preseason game and opener at the Jets, the Ravens will play three other primetime games. Baltimore will be at Atlanta on Thursday night, Nov. 11, in a game televised by the NFL Network. The Ravens will host the Steelers on Sunday night, Dec. 5 (NBC), and then play the following Monday (Dec. 13) at the Houston Texans (ESPN).

After finishing with a 9-7 record in 2009, the Ravens produced their sixth playoff team of the decade (2000-09), third best (tied with Pittsburgh) in the AFC behind Indianapolis (nine) and New England (seven). Baltimore opened the ’09 campaign with three straight victories and won three of the last four entering the playoffs. Behind an offense that ranked ninth in NFL scoring (24.4 ppg) and a defense that finished third in total yards and points allowed (300.5 ypg/16.3 ppg), the Ravens upended the Patriots (33-14) in the Wild Card round, becoming the first road team to win a playoff game at New England since 1978. Baltimore then fell at Indy in the Divisional game (20-3). Harbaugh and QB Joe Flacco, who set the NFL record for most wins ever (13, including playoffs) by a rookie head coach starting a rookie QB in 2008, now own the league mark for earning the playoffs in their first two seasons by such a pair.

The Ravens, who have made the playoffs three of the last four seasons, have never earned the postseason three consecutive years.

Baltimore returns five Pro Bowlers from last season: LB Ray Lewis (11 Pro Bowls), S Ed Reed (six), FB Le’Ron McClain (two), DT Haloti Ngata (one) and RB Ray Rice (one). G Ben Grubbs, who earned a first-alternate Pro Bowl distinction, also returns, as does Flacco, who in 2009 became just the fourth starting quarterback since the 1970 merger to reach the playoffs in his first two seasons.

Complementing this core of standouts are C Matt Birk, NT Kelly Gregg, TE Todd Heap, OLB Jarret Johnson, S Dawan Landry, WR Derrick Mason, T Michael Oher and LB Terrell Suggs. The Ravens also added Pro Bowl WR Anquan Boldin via trade this offseason and bolstered the defense’s depth with the second-round selections of OLB Sergio Kindle and DT Terrence Cody in the NFL Draft.

-G

Honorable Mention: Auto Racing-NASCAR Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 (Sunday 1pm from Pocono Raceway live on TNT), IndyCar Series Firestone 550k (Saturday 8pm from Fort Worth, TX live on VERSUS); MLL: Boston Cannons @ Chesapeake Bayhawks (Friday 7:30pm Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium); WNBA: Atlanta Dream @ Washington Mystics (Saturday 7pm Verizon Center); Boxing: Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto (Saturday 10:15pm from New York live on HBO)

10. Hall & Oates (Sunday 6pm Pier Six Pavilion); Taylor Swift (Tuesday & Wednesday 7pm Verizon Center); WMZQfest Throwdown feat. Montgomery Gentry & Little Big Town (Sunday 2:15pm Jiffy Lube Live); Pscyhadelic Furs & She Wants Revenge (Tuesday 7pm Rams Head Live), Passion Pit (Wednesday 7pm Rams Head Live); Lil’ Kim (Saturday 9pm Sonar); Broken Bells (Monday 7:30pm 9:30 Club); Aisha Tyler (Thursday-Sunday DC Improv); Denis Leary (Wednesday 8pm Warner Theatre); Toby Keith (Saturday 7:30pm Aberdeen Proving Ground); Jeff Beck (Monday 7:30pm Wolf Trap); Jack Johnson “To The Sea” available in stores (Tuesday); U2-360 live from the Rose Bowl available on DVD & Blu-Ray (Tuesday)

I’d like to say there’s a lot of really good music on this list. Of course, I can’t actually say that-because I’m really bad at lying.

I feel like I should be more into Hall & Oates than I am…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_I4wtNPv5w[/youtube]

I’m not the biggest fan of country music, but I AM a fan of Little Big Town…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvOCO3_ZBO0[/youtube]

I have a friend who graduated from the University of Oklahoma. When she gets uppity about how good the Sooners are at football, I bring her back to earth by reminding her that Toby Keith played football for the Sooners, and he’s a clown. Although, he DID do this song…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1JOFhfoAD4[/youtube]

9. AIFA-Erie Storm @ Baltimore Mariners (Saturday 7pm 1st Mariner Arena); AFL-Jacksonville Sharks @ Chicago Rush (Friday 8pm from Chicago live on NFL Network)

I assume that folks in Erie, PA are Steelers fans, so I feel like they’re probably terrible people that I wouldn’t like. That being said, The Wonders are from Erie…

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

…and Tom Hanks > every other person on the planet. So I’m kinda torn…

8. Golf: PGA Tour-The Memorial presented by Morgan Stanley (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel, Saturday & Sunday 3pm live on CBS. All golf from Dublin, Ohio), Champions Tour Principal Charity Classic (Friday & Saturday 6:30pm, Sunday 7pm from West Des Moines, Iowa live on Golf Channel)

With Phil Mickelson on his heels, Tiger Woods returns this week. I’m getting to the point where I ALMOST feel bad for him. This guy’s life went from totally awesome to completely terrible. Of course, if it hadn’t-the only thing we’d be able to talk about is golf, and that’s freaking terrible.

You know, I could sit here and BS about a sport that I literally pay less attention to than I do to this season of Glee; or I could just post this video of Joslyn James talking about Tiger’s anatomy. Seriously, it’s golf. What am I supposed to do here? And I know you’ll be surprised by this, but this video is probably NSFW. Unless you work at a place where people talk about sex organs openly. You know, like the Hallmark store.

[metacafe]http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4407489/joslyn_james_talks_tiger_woods_s_penis_on_playboy_radio/[/metacafe

7. "Get Him To The Greek" opens in theaters (Friday), John Waters "Role Models" book signing (Saturday 7pm Atomic Books)

1-Forgetting Sarah Marshall was HILARIOUS. That doesn't mean Get Him To The Greek will definitely be hilarious, but it at least gives it a shot...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdNGab0HB9g[/youtube]

2-Russell Brand is married to or going to marry Katy Perry. I should look that up, but it sounds remarkably boring. However, Katy Perry isn’t unattractive. That makes Russell Brand movies better.

3-The John Waters book signing gives me an excuse to post his freaking great interview with David Letterman from 1986. Or as I like to call it, “the greatest moment of all time EVER.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU0yJ3benb4[/youtube]

6. Soccer: Team USA vs. Australia (Saturday 8:30am from Rustenberg, South Africa live on ESPN2); U.S. Open Cup: Real Salt Lake @ DC United (Wednesday 7:30pm RFK Stadium), MLS: Real Salt Lake @ DC United (Saturday 7:30pm from RFK Stadium live on Comcast SportsNet & MLS Direct Kick)

Chances of Glenn Clark being awake at 8:30 on Saturday to watch our boys kick some Kiwi ass? Slim. Unless of course you’re an establishment that makes beer mugs out of bacon…

5. Belmont Stakes (Saturday 5pm from Belmont Park, NY live on ABC)

Since I won’t be making the final leg of the Triple Crown, I would greatly appreciate it if someone would just be willing to come over and make me a handful of these…

And by “someone come over”, I really mean “The Luckiest Dang Gal on the Face of the Planet” needs to have Google searched “Belmont Breeze ingredients” before I finish this blog.

4. NHL Playoffs-Stanley Cup Finals: Flyers/Blackhawks (Game 3 Wednesday 8pm from Philadelphia live on VERSUS, Game 4 Friday 8pm from Philadelphia live on VERSUS, Game 5 if necessary Sunday 8pm from Chicago live on NBC)

I will be forced to admit that I haven’t watched even a second of the Stanley Cup Finals thus far. I watched lacrosse Saturday night, and WWE Raw Monday night. Apparently Game 1 got good ratings though, so Mazel Tov.

That being said, if the Blackhawks win the Cup-this is how I will celebrate…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YDwj-BRKwc[/youtube]

3. NBA Playoffs-NBA Finals: Lakers/Celtics (Game 1 Thursday 9pm from Los Angeles live on ABC, Game 2 Sunday 8pm from Los Angeles live on ABC)

I’m rooting for LA in this one by default, mostly because I hate everything that has to do with Boston. In fact, I think Everlast (from House of Pain-you’ll remember he wore a Celtics jersey in the “Jump Around” video) should be arrested for what he did to Johnny Cash…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YDwj-BRKwc[/youtube]

This is really difficult too, especially knowing that Maria Menounos roots for the C’s. She seems nice…

2. Tennis: French Open (Tuesday-Thursday 8am live on Tennis Channel, 12pm live on ESPN2; Friday 11am live on NBC; Saturday & Sunday 9am live on NBC. All action from Paris.)

So, Robby Ginepri’s loss to Novak Djokovic left no American men at Roland Garros. Again. My little cousins are better at playing in clay than American men are. I’ll revert back to rooting for Robin Soderling and whoever else is playing against Roger Federer. It’s pretty much how I’ve handled my love of tennis since Andre Agassi retired. And I can always root for Jelena Janokvic in the meantime???

Nope. Too weird.

1. Ravens Rookie Camp (Wednesday & Thursday, 1 Winning Drive), Ravens Rookie Show (Wednesday 7pm Casey’s in Towson-airing Thursday on AM1570 WNST), Ravens Roost Convention (Thursday-Sunday; Parade Saturday-Ocean City)

Don’t you dare be the guy that says “Is there gonna be enough food at Casey’s to feed Terrence Cody???” I expect better from you. And I’ve already giggled about it in my mind about a hundred times before now.

You know what the best thing is about the Ravens event in Ocean City this weekend? Intern Genna works in Ocean City…

Intern Genna > Santa Claus.

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…

-G

Happy Wednesday!

It’s a Happy Wednesday for me because I just got my copy of Justin Halpern’s book “Sh*t My Dad Says.” If you’re now familiar with his Twitter account, it’s absolutely BRILLIANT. The dude is 29 and lives with his 74 year old father, and his 74 year old father may be the greatest human being on the face of the planet…

-”A parent’s only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed.”
-“I lost 20 pounds…How? I drank bear piss and took up fencing. How the f*ck you think, son? I exercised.”
-“I didn’t say you were ugly. I said your girlfriend is better looking than you, and standing next to her, you look ugly.”
-“Do people your age know how to comb their hair? It looks like two squirrels crawled on their heads and started f*cking.”
-“I’m not sure you can call that roughing it, son… Well, for one, there was a f*cking minivan parked forty feet from your sleeping bags.”

I’m crying. Apparently the Twitter account/book are going to become a CBS sitcom starring William Shattner. Could anything…in the world…ever be better?

Let’s see what everyone has to say…

1. The AP’s David Ginsburg says Orioles touched up Royals bullpen after Greinke departed for 10 inning win

No, the Orioles did not “beat” Zack Greinke, despite what someone over at 105.7 (cough Jen Royle cough) said. They did however win a game started by Zack Greinke, which is ALMOST just as good.

(Edit from GMC: Some might say I’m obsessed with her. They’re right. It’s similar to how many of us are obsessed with “Snooki” from Jersey Shore. It’s just such a disaster that how can you possibly turn away? The reality is that as much as I say I want Jen Royle to do her job better, I probably REALLY don’t want her to.)

Those “I want to be Luke Scott’s bat” on MASN look really good this week. Of course, Everything related to Luke Scott usually looks really good for a week-or maybe even a month. Usually not for too much longer than that though.

Is it too late to get Corey Patterson on the ballot for the All-Star Game?

2. The AP/WNST.net offer numerical evidence of win

9,715 packed their way into Oriole Park at Camden Yards last night. I guess it was really 3,000 who packed their way in, but there were 9,715 tickets sold.

But our “Apologist of the Morning” as selected by “The Great Arbitrator” Drew Forrester is still going. Here’s his take…

“For my part, I’ll say again that the best response to the losing is to continue to support the team. Go to a few games and cheer loudly (or, as is my wont, get a Lucas Clap going). Proudly (defiantly?) rock the black-and-orange. Take what joy you can from this mess and discard the rest.

It’s not that hard. Despite the conditions last night I still enjoyed myself. All it takes to do that is wanting to do that. Some do, some don’t, but it’s simple either way.

Whichever way you go, the baseball they play will improve. It just will.”

It just will.

The question is, will it be while we’re still alive?

Or should the question be: “Will it get better before the crowds get so small that the team is forced to move to Nashville?”

3. WNST.net’s Luke Jones says Kevin Millwood still hasn’t picked up first victory of season despite Birds win

A quality outing from Kevin Millwood last night, but he once again had an inning that was particularly troubling.

I have an idea.

The next time Kevin Millwood pitches at OPACY, the guys in the production department should just go ahead and take down the inning number when the game gets to the 5th inning. They don’t need to put up a “6″ or anything like that, they just need to take down any electronic references to what inning it is. Pretend the 5th inning just doesn’t happen at all.

It might not work, and it might be laughed at over at sites like Deadspin-but Christ, they’re 13-27! Why not???

4. MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli and Pete Kerzel say Adam Jones’ dealings with ‘frustration’ lead to his helmet toss Monday night

If Adam Jones is so frustrated that he’s throwing his helmet, what’s the appropriate response from those of us who have been forced to watch him play this year?

Maybe something similar to this???

5. The Sun’s Dean Jones Jr. says Brandon Erbe, Brandon Snyder had rough night, Michael Aubrey had big night for O’s on farm

Before we move on from our beloved Baltimore Orioles; a few things.

-The Orioles finished their 8 game homestand with the Mariners, Indians and Royals at 4-4. I think anyone who tried to dismiss the early season struggles of the Orioles as being nothing more than a “tough schedule” might have learned something over the last 8 days.

-The Orioles return to action tonight in Arlington, Texas at the appropriately named Ballpark in Arlington against the Texas Rangers. First pitch on MASN2 is at 8:05pm, Jeremy Guthrie faces Rich Harden. The Rangers are in 1st place in the AL West and haven’t struggled-AT ALL-to score runs. The Birds of course have. Hopefully those trends will change.

6. WNST.net’s Glenn Clark says Jared Gaither (foot), Troy Smith (tonsilitis) amongst those absent from Ravens Passing Camp in Owings Mills

I wouldn’t read anything in to the timing of Troy Smith having his tonsils taken out now as some of you have. This is really the least important of the offseason work the Ravens are doing, so if this WAS something that had timing flexibility, this is a good time for him to have done it. Harbaugh said that the tonsilitis may have stemmed from his bout with the black plague or whatever it was back in 2008.

And Gaither is clearly dealing with SOMETHING with his foot, and while he almost certainly could be practicing (and would be playing), I don’t think it’s the end of the world that he isn’t on the field. I know they’d rather have him out there (Oniel Cousins was COMPLETELY beat a couple of times yesterday), but not the end of the world.

As far as the veterans that missed Camp are concerned; Ray Lewis and Derrick Mason can do whatever they want. Trevor Pryce is probably in that group as well. I would imagine John Harbaugh is pretty disappointed that Terrell Suggs isn’t there, but when you make as much money as Ol’ “T-Sizzle” does, you get your own rules. And Willis McGahee can only be hurting himself every time he doesn’t show up.

7. National Football Post’s Aaron Wilson says Lardarius Webb ‘significantly ahead of schedule’ according to John Harbaugh

I’m not a doctor, so don’t take anything I say too seriously; but the work Lardarius Webb was doing yesterday at 1 Winning Drive (in fairness-it was only running); made it look like he really MIGHT be ready to go before the end of Training Camp; and might have a shot to be on the field in East Rutherford on Monday Night Football against the New York Jets.

Before moving on from the Ravens-head on over to the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault here at WNST.net to hear from John Harbaugh, Joe Flacco, Billy Cundiff and Sergio Kindle yesterday at Passing Camp.

While you’re there, new Ravens CB Travis Fisher joined “The Morning Reaction” today on AM1570 WNST-make sure you check him out as well. Other guests this morning you can hear from include Maryland football Coach Ralph Friedgen (who will be at Field House in Canton tonight with Debbie Yow, Keith Booth and Brenda Frese for “Terps on Tour”), Bowie Baysox pitcher Steve Johnson, Washington Capitals GM George McPhee and Orlando Magic Executive VP Pat Williams. Check it all out!

8. GoMustangSports.com previews today’s DIII NCAA Tournament quarterfinal between Stevenson and Roanoke

I once dated a gal who went to Roanoke. The celebrity she most resembled was Adriana Lima (Thanks Busted Coverage!)…

I’m kidding of course, but she was a lovely gal. I think I got a parking ticket at Roanoke once, on a weekend trip where we ended up going to see John Mayer and Maroon 5 in Virginia Beach. I remember the show was on a Sunday and I was despondent because I had remembered there being a Chick-Fil-A on the way in to the venue, but forgot that it would be closed on Sunday.

Now you know the story of my life. Was there something about a lacrosse game?

(Edit from GMC: I’m kidding. I’ll be out at Caves Athletic Complex this afternoon at 4pm, come by and say hello. Let’s go Stangs!)

9. Inside Lacrosse’s Geoff Shannon says Boys Latin, St. Paul’s win MIAA ‘A’ Conference semis, will rematch for title at Unitas Stadium Saturday

I don’t know too much about the MIAA. As a proud Perry Hall High School alum, MIAA gals usually weren’t allowed to hand around guys like me. Humorously, “The Luckiest Dang Gal on the Face of the Planet” is actually a NDP alum.

When I found out she had graduated from Notre Dame Prep, I immediately had the wheels turning. “Catholic School Girl? This has potential.”

However, it did not. The NDP uniform looks like this…

I of course was hoping for this…

Why doesn’t it ever look like that?

10. Daily Racing Form’s Glenye Cain Oakford says 1986 Preakness winner Snow Chief dead at 27

This subject is a little sensitive for me. Not because there’s a dead horse, but because it involves the word snow. After this winter, the word “snow” alone makes me tremble…

And finally, I leave you with this.

Everybody is making a big deal about NBA official Joe DeRosa throwing the ball at a fan at the Orlando Magic-Boston Celtics game last night. It doesn’t look that bad to me…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppxKf6N_8-g[/youtube]

You know what’s a big deal to me? The pictures of Blake Lively that Guyism found…

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…

-G

Happy Friday!

It’s a Happy Friday for me…of course…because it’s Preakness weekend. I’ll eat more crabcakes and drink more Black-Eyed Susans over the next 3 days then anyone else would ever want to. In fact, I’m not even sure WHY I’ll do it, just for the hell of it I guess. What the hell else would I do this weekend? Go to Dover for the NASCAR race? No thanks…

The point of all of this is that I may be running a bit slow come Monday morning’s show. In fact, there’s a chance I’ll be running even slower than Bengie Molina (Thanks Deadspin!)…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbR-qslk87g[/youtube]

Let’s see what everyone else has to say…

1. The AP’s David Ginsburg says Luke Scott crushed grand slam to lift Orioles to late win over Mariners

In celebration of the win, a group of people stood outside the Maryland Science Center to express their joy…

It’s actually pretty impressive.

As ballpark reporter here at WNST, Glenn Clark is now 1-0. If you want to raise some funds to make sure I head out to OPACY more often, I’ll be more than willing to accept your money.

It was a LOT of fun yesterday-at least the last half hour of the game. Being more than fair to the staff of the O’s, “Field Trip Day” is a great idea. There was some actual energy in the building thanks to the 8,000 or so kids that were brought in to fill the upper deck, and when Luke Scott crushed the grand slam, the building was rocking.

I’ll just go ahead and assume that Dave Trembley already sent Don Wakamatsu a bottle of champagne today as a Thank You gesture for pulling Felix Hernandez, leaving Brandon League in after giving up a home run and loading the bases; and then watching 3rd base coach Mike Brumley send Josh Wilson when Corey Patterson was basically playing “deep short” in the 9th inning.

You take them however you can get them, folks. Especially when you’re sitting on 11.

2. The AP/WNST.net offer numerical evidence of win

Since Dave Trembley, Tom Davis and Dave Johnson were all ready to apologize for Kevin Millwood yesterday, I’ll be the one to say the truth.

He was BRUTAL yesterday. He gave up 5ER on 7 hits over 6 2/3 innings; including THREE HOME RUNS.

Mike Sweeney can’t hit ANYTHING and he hit a home run yesterday. Ichiro (who is AMAZING by the way) hit his first home run of the YEAR yesterday. Michael Saunders hasn’t even heard of Michael Saunders and he hit a home run yesterday.

It’s unacceptable for ANY pitcher to have given up a MLB-leading 10 home runs this season, but it’s especially unacceptable for the guy who is supposed to be the team’s #1 pitcher. Pitching well for 3 innings isn’t enough.

That was POOR yesterday.

Of course, over on 105.7 Tom Davis and Dave Johnson were busy dismissing the fact that Millwood has been taking over the Jeremy Guthrie role of giving up home runs this season.

And thanks to that, Tom and Dave were the winners of today’s “Apologist of the Morning” award, as selected by “The Great Arbitrator” (and defending winner) Drew Forrester today on “The Morning Reaction” on AM1570.

3. Carroll County Times’ Josh Land says Dave Trembley not considering removing David Hernandez from rotation

Hopefully we can end that statement with…”for now.”

I think most of us assume that David Hernandez is best suited for some sort of long relief role; but apparently Trembley (and I’m assuming Andy MacPhail as well) want to see a bit more from him.

I know the masses in Baltimore are clamoring to see Chris Tillman and/or Jake Arrieta at the big league level. I probably think it’s about time for one of them to come up as well. BUT, I’d be willing to give it another start or two from Hernandez before I call for his head.

Does that qualify me for Apologist of the Morning?

4. MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli says Jim Johnson to miss 8-10 weeks with elbow tear

Nothing good EVER comes from a visit to Dr. James Andrews.

Has ANYONE ever gone to Birmingham for a visit and came back saying “nope, it turns out it was just a sprain”?

My guess? Jimmie Johnson will win more NASCAR races the rest of the season than Jim Johnson will make appearances before September.

5. The Sun’s Dean Dones Jr. says Brandon Erbe had big night, Matt Hobgood struggled on farm

Before we move on from the Birds; a reminder that they open a series with the Cleveland Indians tonight at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Jeremy Guthrie faces Justin Masterson, first pitch on MASN is at 7:05pm.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s shameful that the Orioles are in town on Preakness weekend. But I’ll save that for another line of thought. Apparently Luke Jones is in Atlantic City this weekend (he does know tomorrow is Preakness, right?), but we’ll be chatting on Twitter and “Orange Crush”-ing it up as well.

6. BaltimoreRavens.com’s Ryan Mink says Ray Lewis hosting “Ray’s Summer Days” event this weekend

I will admit that I also find the timing of this event strange, but there’s still a chance I’ll give Chuck in Bel Air a call this afternoon after the BES and stop by Perry Hall Lanes to hang out with the gang.

I’m expecting Chuck to handle John Turturro’s role tonight…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqDhKFqDk34[/youtube]

7. D1scourse’s Patrick Stevens says Maryland added Harcum College PF Berend Weijs to class of ’10

Ummm….yay?!?!?

Weijs averaged 6.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game for the Bears last season. He doesn’t jump at me as someone who is going to really get any minutes and make any impact for Gary Williams’ team, but hey-how many teams can say they have a 6’10″ center from The Netherlands on their roster?!?!?

Do you think he knows Esha Janssen?

8. CSNWashington.com says Landon Milbourne worked out with Wizards yesterday

I think NBA scouts will probably see about the same thing in Landon Milbourne that we saw from him as Terrapins fans over the last few years. He really looks like he can play, but what exactly is his position?!?!?!

Milbourne might be able to play the 3 at the next level, but he’ll have to move quicker. With some more muscle he MIGHT be able to play the 4, but I’m skeptical at best.

There’s little to no chance he gets picked in the NBA Draft, but I certainly think he has a chance to go to Las Vegas and get on a Summer League roster, or end up in Training Camp with a NBA team. Sometimes all you need is a foot in the door. Ending up in Washington wouldn’t surprise me at all, as a number of former Terps (Steve Blake and Juan Dixon being the most prominent) have ended up there in the past.

9. The Sun’s Matt Bracken says Calvert Hall’s Jonathan Graham commit to Penn State

I think the fact that Jonathan is Ernie Graham’s son will leave a lot of folks asking “why isn’t he headed to College Park?”

The thing is, no one really wanted him. So…of course…he went where all of the other undesirables went. Western Pennsylvania.

LOL.

I’ll be (somewhat) pulling for Jonathan. I can’t POSSIBLY root for anything related to Happy Valley, but I’ll be happy myself if he scores 20 points in a Maryland win next November at the Bryce Jordan Center.

For the record, I’m rooting for Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper) more than I’m rooting for Jonathan Graham. Thanks Busted Coverage!

10. Lacrosse Magazine’s Joel Censer says Terps’ Will Yeatman can be difference maker in NCAA Tournament

AND I PRAY TO GOD HE IS!!!

I don’t think Dave Cottle’s squad will have much difficulty with Hofstra this weekend, but I do think playing Princeton AT Princeton could be trouble, and obviously Syracuse and Virginia are also looming should the Terps reach the Final Four at M&T Bank Stadium.

They’ll need a difference maker on attack. Yeatman can be that difference maker.

Here are my quick picks for the weekend…

Maryland 13, Hofstra 10
Cornell 9, Loyola 7
Duke 12, Johns Hopkins 11
Virginia 16, Mt. St. Mary’s 6

11. WNST.net’s Gary Quill says Black-Eyed Susan Stakes highlights Friday at Pimlico

I’ll be out there today. Apparently we’re supposed to wear pink.

Hopefully this young lady will be there…

12. Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman says Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver not getting overwhelming support heading into Preakness

I’ll be putting my money on Lookin At Lucky tomorrow, with Super Saver and Paddy O’Prado behind. Yep, I’m REALLY going off the board, aren’t I?

If you missed First Dude jockey Mike Smith with Drew Forrester this morning (or Governor Martin O’Malley discussing Preakness); click the Audio Tab above and head on over to the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault to check it out.

And finally, I leave you with this.

Jerry DePizzo from O.A.R. will be on with Rex Snider and Ray Bachman this afternoon to talk about their InfieldFest gig.

I love me some O.A.R….

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8i5vT2nOSo[/youtube]

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…

-G

Greetings from Oriole Park at Camden Yards; where Kevin Millwood and the Baltimore Orioles will close their 3 game series against Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners. It’s “Field Trip Day” here at OPACY, so there are a ton of school children in the upper deck.

Come talk about the game with us in our “Orange Crush” chat now!

-G

Happy Thursday!

It’s a Happy Thursday for me because I went over to Pimlico yesterday and they had ALL of my favorite things. Beer, oysters, and even crab balls…

They did something with the horses too-hopefully someone else was paying more attention than I.

Let’s see what everyone has to say…

1. WNST.net’s Luke Jones says Bergesen sparkled as Orioles topped Mariners

You know, some people look at the O’s and say “they only have 10 wins.”

I look at the O’s and say “they have 10 more wins then they had on Opening Day.”

Watching Brad Bergesen early on last night, I got the sense that he was again benefitting from “swinging in the rain”, as the M’s were hacking. However, as the game moved on-I felt as though Bergesen was mixing his pitches really well, and would have been effective no matter what the weather was.

It’s nice to say something like that. I hope I can say it again tomorrow.

I hope I can say Luke Scott and Adam Jones had multi-hit games again tomorrow as well.

There’s a lot of things I hope. None of them have anything to do with Felix Hernandez throwing a perfect game. PLEASE DON’T LET THAT HAPPEN!!!!!!

2. The AP/WNST.net offer numerical evidence of win

When do we just annoint Alfredo Simon our lord and savior?

Things got a little hairy for Koji Uehara late last night, but thank God “Special Sauce” or whatever the hell the kids are calling him came in to finish things off.

I’m REALLY not convinced that Alfredo Simon is the next coming of Randy Myers, but I’m all for riding the Simon train until it comes crashing down. I mean, we’ve had MUCH worse over this 13 year span.

You know what, I’d probably be all for riding Alfredo Simon even if he ends up failing, just because I’d simply like to have more games with SAVE SITUATIONS!!!

10-24.

Hey, if this was a football game-we’d only be trailing by two possessions!

3. WNST.net’s Jay Trucker says Corey Patterson called up by Birds

As even Jay said yesterday via Facebook-

“Only Corey can save us now.”

No one is REALLY excited about Corey Patterson being back in Baltimore. No one is REALLY excited about Nolan Reimold going back down.

Unfortunately, wins and losses have to count for at least SOMETHING. I know that’s not the on-field picture that’s been painted; but it HAS to.

Nolan Reimold wasn’t helping the Orioles win. You can’t just keep sending someone out to the field that doesn’t help your team win.

Insert your own Kyle Boller joke here.

4. WNST.net’s Drew Forrester defends Andy MacPhail for uncomfortably posted fan video

UNCOMFORTABLE?!?!?

I’m not even kidding about this-I think watching “2 Girls 1 Cup” was less awkward than watching this.

Holy crap.

I still don’t know what the point of this video was. I know he threw in a “keep the faith” quip at the end of the video, but…umm…there were 3,000 people at OPACY last night. How much faith is there to be kept?!?!?

There was no apology for the disastrous start. There was no “this is my fault, and I’m going to fix it.” There was nothing more than a basic rundown that Mike Gonzalez struggled, Garrett Atkins is amongst the players who haven’t produced, and the team has had to face the Yankees and Red Sox early.

Umm….didn’t we already know that?

However, ol’ Drew Forrester DEFENDED HIM! Unbelievable! He gave him the pass for this DISASTER of a video! Not only that, but he said in our “Orange Crush” chat that “82-80 isn’t far away” for the Birds.

And with that, Drew Forrester was named “Apologist of the Morning” by “The Great Arbitrator”-HIMSELF!

History made again!

5. The AP’s John Kekis says Nationals prospect Strasburg shut down Norfolk Tides on farm

I’m not sure how many people stayed up to watch this on MASN last night, but…ummm…this kid Strasburg…it looks like he might be pretty good.

I’m not going to say he IS good yet, as he hasn’t recorded a single out at the MLB level.

BUT…it looks like the Nats are going to benefit greatly from having drafted him.

Before we move on from the Orioles, a reminder that they head back to the field this afternoon at Oriole Park at Camden Yards to wrap their 3 game set with the Seattle Mariners at 12:35. Felix Hernandez goes against Kevin Millwood. There’s a rumor that Glenn Clark might make an appearance at the ballpark today, but we’ll see. It might be a brief stop in the press box and then 6 innings of sitting in the stands and drinking beer.

I like to call that “Thursday.”

6. The Sun’s Jamison Hensley says Lamar Divens expects to be cleared for practice next week

Divens joins a DT group that remains VERY deep for the Ravens despite the departures of Justin Bannan and Dwan Edwards this offseason.

Behind Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg there’s Terrence Cody-with Cory Redding splitting time with Trevor Pryce on the end.

Behind that group, there’s Kelly Talavou, Brandon McKinney and Arthur Jones even before you get to Lamar Divens. It’s a DEEP GROUP.

Should the Ravens be looking to make an upgrade at another position, this would likely be the position they have the depth to deal from. Do I expect them to? Not necessarily. But could it be possible? Absolutely it could be.

7. ESPN.com’s James Walker says Cam Cameron thinks Ravens’ offense can be ‘elite’

I don’t think anyone disagrees that they have the POTENTIAL to be elite.

Joe Flacco MUST progress in his development. Ray Rice needs to have another Pro Bowl caliber year. The impact of Anquan Boldin has to be both numbers for him and increased production from Derrick Mason, Todd Heap and Donte’ Stallworth. Jared Gaither and Michael Oher need to continue to hold down the tackle spots.

There are a lot of variables, but the pieces are there. If they remain healthy, there is absolutely a chance that Cam Cameron will be right.

I’ll say there’s a better chance of the Ravens having an elite offense than there is of me getting a date with Giorgia Palmas (Thanks Busted Coverage!)…

8. D1scourse’s Patrick Stevens says Maryland to visit Penn State in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

You guys have been talking about how much you’ve wanted to see the Terrapins play the Nittany Lions, and now you got your way!

Sadly…it’s not in football.

The Terps and Lions make for one of the worst matchups in the Challenge this year. Plus, State College is TERRIBLE, so I can’t fathom any Maryland fan wanting to drive up there for the game. I guess Talor Battle is pretty good, but does anyone in Happy Valley even know there are other sports after football season is over?!?!?

Ugh.

Michigan State would have been nice. Wisconsin would have been fine. Purdue would have been great. Ohio State would have been great.

Penn State is none of those things. Penn State is just….awful.

9. Inside Lacrosse’s Sean Burns and Tommy Kehoe say Duke/Hopkins best of 1st round games in NCAA Tournament

I don’t think I disagree. Loyola/Cornell could be (if the Greyhounds can summon the success they had earlier in the season); but given how the Blue Jays played down the stretch, they have at least a chance to knock off the Blue Devils.
Before I move on from college sports, here’s a look at UMBC’s new logo (as we first passed along via Twitter -@WNST- yesterday.)

I can dig it. Go Retrievers!

10. Maryland Jockey Club says Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver drew 8th post, named 5-2 favorite for Preakness

If you missed Paddy O’Prado jockey and former Preakness (as well as Derby and Belmont) winner Kent Desormeaux this morning, make sure you head over to the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault and check it out today. Drew also had the great John Feinstein and new Wake Forest coach (former UMBC coach) Jeff Bzdelik on the show this morning, check them out.

If you missed Alessandra Ambrosio over at Guyism, look what I found!

11. WNST.net’s Gary Quill says Lookin At Lucky 2nd choice at 3-1, drew 7th post

Bob Baffert seemed happy with the draw. Of course, Todd Pletcher seemed happy with the draw for Super Saver. A lof of people were happy at Pimlico yesterday. I mean, how could you not be? There were crab balls!!!

I’m starting to join the Bob Haynie bandwagon when it comes to Lookin At Lucky. I think he’ll get my money.

Or at least whatever money I have leftover after alcohol.

And finally, I leave you with this…

Congratulations to the Montreal Candiens for making sports fans in Pittsburgh sad this morning. Since they already made sports fans in Washington sad this postseason, they’re basically my heros!

Since it’s a big day in Canada today, here’s some Our Lady Peace…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CBBtorFg2I[/youtube]

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…

-G

Happy Wednesday!

It’s a Happy Wednesday for me because Ray Bachman passed this along to me, and it might be the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen.

Kenny “K-Strass” Strasser was apparently supposed to be some sort of yo-yo champion. It’s a 5 minute video, but it’s probably worth it to find out that he might not be what he was advertised to be…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGUqjO5Lf3g[/youtube]

Let’s see what everyone has to say…

1. The AP’s David Ginsburg says Birds never got going against Cliff Lee in loss to Mariners

That last night was a PERFECT example of 2010 Orioles baseball.

The hitting was completely absent, the defense was lost at times, the intensity was practicaly non-existent, the pitching was not QUITE good enough, and at no point was the game either relevant or fun.

It really IS a description of the ballclub in general.

Steve Melewski said David Hernandez “must be wondering what he has to do to get a win.”

If he is (which I doubt), I have a suggestion…PITCH BETTER.

The offense DIDN’T offer much help last night, but it doesn’t suddenly mean that Hernandez offered a quality start. He benefitted early from the fact that the M’s were “swinging in the rain” (Cute, huh? I just came up with it. I’m so awesome.), sorta like the Twins were last week when they faced Brad Bergesen. Once Seattle started making contact with their swings, he had some control issues and then came apart.

Sometimes pitchers are going to have to go up against the likes of Cliff Lee, Felix Hernandez, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, etc. When that happens, pitchers are asked to elevate.

Of course, Orioles pitchers have even been asked to elevate against the likes of Dana Eveland and Jeff Niemann this season due to the struggles of the offense.

That happens too.

There are no excuses.

The hitters need to hit. The pitchers need to pitch. Last night, both sides failed. Hopefully it won’t happen again tonight.

Hopefully.

2. The AP/WNST.net offer numerical evidence of loss

Nick Markakis had a couple of hits last night, thank God for him. Oh, and Jason Berken threw 2 and a third innings of scoreless relief. That’s good too!

Otherwise…umm…probably not something you really want to look much at.

The team announced 12,614 last night. Given the fact that Brian Matusz t-shirts probably upped the number and the weather probably lessened the number; it’s probably a very accurate count of tickets sold based on level of interest. Certainly not an accurate count of fans in seats (I was told that number was closer to 5,000); but I think it reflects how much interest there really was in last night’s game.

To quote Ian Eagle, “it’s not a low blow. It’s just a fact.”

3. WNST.net’s Luke Jones says Dave Trembley made his lack of confidence in Nolan Reimold evident after loss to Seattle

Which only means that Dave Trembley confirmed what EVERYONE IN THE WORLD KNEW.

Nolan Reimold has been about as effective as Times Square security in 2010. With Dan Connolly’s statement this morning that Corey Patterson’s “arrival is imminent” from Norfolk (by way of Syracuse), I think the comments from Dave Trembley make it evident that Reimold (not Lou Montanez) will be headed down.

Of course, Andy MacPhail could feel completely different-and no one would blame anyone in the organization if it was Montanez who was shipped back to the Tides instead of Reimold. Hell, I’d be okay if it was Adam Jones. It’s a no-win situation.

Which might as well be the motto for the 2010 Orioles.

4. Augusta Chronicle’s Billy Byler says Cal Ripken still talking to Orioles about role with team

Sadly, Cal Ripken accomplishes about as much in talks with Peter Angelos as I do whenever Guyism posts pictures of Tori Praver…

In fairness, how should I be expected to accomplish anything given the circumstances?

I remain torn when it comes to Cal Ripken’s involvement. I THINK I want him involved in the organization; but there’s another part of me that says “why should he be forced into this mess?”

I still think more Cal Ripken is better for the franchise, I’m just not sure it’s good for Cal Ripken.

5. The Sun’s Dean Jones Jr. says Joey Gathright, Brandon Waring had solid night for O’s on farm

And before we move on from the Orioles, a few things…

A-Congratulations to our “Apologist of the Morning” as selected by The Great Arbitrator on AM1570 WNST’s “The Morning Reaction.” It isn’t the first time Jen Royle has claimed the award, but it’s one of the funnier efforts from her this season. Via MASNSports.com…

“You think the Orioles have problems? Compared to the Mariners, they really don’t.”

Hmm…Cliff Lee last night-was he a problem for the Mariners? Or for the Orioles?

The statement is obviously ludicrous. The Orioles not only have as many (if not MORE) problems than the Mariners, they have more problems than Jay-Z…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etl9kkIGaHo[/youtube]

B-The Birds are back in action tonight against the M’s; first pitch from Oriole Park at Camden Yards is at 7:05pm, and the game can be seen on MASN. We’ll be chatting about it in the “Orange Crush” at WNST.net, Luke Jones is live at OPACY.

C-Riddle me this. The Nationals are playing the Mets today at 1:10pm on MASN. The Orioles are playing the Mariners at 7:05pm, also on MASN. So why can’t this Syracuse-Norfolk Steven Strasburg-Troy Patton matchup be shown live on MASN2 instead of being shown on tape delay after the Orioles’ postgame show? I’m the sure the answer has to do with not wanting competition for the Orioles game-but it’s unfair to the Nats fans who want to see Strasburg pitch; or to the Orioles fans who want to see ANYTHING ELSE ON THEIR TV.

6. National Football Post’s Aaron Wilson says veteran CB Travis Fisher will return for next OTA, likely to receive contract

Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network speculated yesterday on Bob Haynie’s show (if you missed it, check the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault) that Fisher could be a sleeper to make the Ravens’ roster; considering the injuries Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington are coming back from.

The Ravens would probably be quick to point out that Jim Leonhard was a tryout guy who stuck around through Training Camp and ended up being a really good player. Fisher is a 5’10″ Corner who has had SOME success during his career with the Rams, Lions and most recently the Seahawks. Is he “the answer” at Corner? I REALLY doubt it. But could he be in the picture as the team looks for depth? No doubt about it.

I feel like most people in Charm City will just be happy to see anyone besides Frank Walker.

7. BaltimoreRavens.com’s Mike Duffy says “Ray Lewis Way” officially unveiled yesterday in Baltimore

When asked for comment, #52 said “Bottom line is that Ray Lewis Way is going to be a tough street to drive on.”

I kid.

Very deserving honor for one of the greatest athletes in the history of the city of Baltimore, and certainly will be the first of many.

Before we move on from the Ravens, if you missed 3rd round pick Ed Dickson (Oregon TE) with Rex Snider and Ray Bachman yesterday; or 5th round pick Arthur Jones (Syracuse DT) with Bob Haynie and John Rallo; make sure you click the Audio Tab above and check them out.

8. Baltimore Business Journal’s Ryan Sharrow says Manchester City, Inter Milan to face off at M&T Bank Stadium July 31

Which was pretty much the worst kept secret in the city over the last few weeks.

It certainly isn’t as sexy as Chelsea/AC Milan was last year, but these are two major international clubs, and we will be coming right off the excitement of the World Cup. I’ll be there, but I’m desperate for things to talk about over the summer besides the baseball team.

And since we’re on the topic, our director of quality control-the lovely Ms. Emily Agueda posted this picture as the desktop image on the computer in the control room here at 1550 Hart Rd…..

Look, I enjoy Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba as much as the next guy, but I will have to admit that the picture made everyone here a bit uncomfortable.

Of course, we haven’t changed it yet…

9. LoyolaGreyhounds.com says Cooper MacDonnell, Jake Hagelin received top honors from ECAC

Hopefully Jake Hagelin will play more like the ECAC goalie of the year than the player that was pulled during the Johns Hopkins game when the Hounds face Cornell this weekend. If not, it will be a quick stay for them in the NCAA Tournament.

Which WOULD give them more time to look at pictures of Brooklyn Decker from What Would Tyler Durden Do…

10. Daily Racing Form’s David Grening says with A Little Warm out, Preakness has no ‘pacesetter’

We played the first rounds of “Band, Horse or Movie” today, and kudos to our winners for knowing that Genuine Risk was a horse and Hoobastank was a band. Drew Forrester DIDN’T know that Bottoms Up was a movie.

We’ll play much more of it tomorrow, with Preakness tickets on the line.

G.Q. (and quite possibly myself as well) will be out at Pimlico for the Preakness Post Position Draw today at 5pm. I’m sure G.Q. will have plenty of analysis afterwards. I’m just hoping for free black-eyed susans myself.

Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas was on with Drew this morning, that’s available in the Audio Vault as well.

11. Newark Star-Ledger’s Jerry Izenberg says Preakness an event Baltimore ‘respects but does not worship’

I really couldn’t agree with that statement any more, especially after going to Louisville to see the Kentucky Derby. In Baltimore, Preakness is a horse race. In Louisville, the Derby is Christmas.

And while we don’t necessarily worship Preakness here in town, we MIGHT worship Briana Lee (Thanks Busted Coverage!) now that we’ve found pictures of her…

And finally, I leave you with this.

There is NO EXCUSE for me to enjoy the song “California Gurls” by Katy Perry. SO WHY DO I?!?!?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTVJTt-Gfx8[/youtube]

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…

-G