BALTIMORE — It’s safe to say Buck Showalter won’t be sending New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan any Orioles tickets for his comments criticizing the club for failing to move their Sept. 5 game to accommodate the Ravens in the NFL’s season-opening game.

The former Ravens defensive coordinator expressed his dissatisfaction with the Super Bowl XLVII champions’ inability to open the season at home as has become the custom over the last decade. Ryan went as far as suggesting that the Orioles should have just played in Chicago instead of hosting the White Sox that night, citing that it’s not a big deal considering major league teams play 81 home games.

While Ryan’s ties to Baltimore made it acceptable for him to share his disappointment over the situation, Showalter took exception to the New York coach’s suggestion that the Orioles simply give up a home game. To be clear, the Orioles manager was asked to respond to Ryan’s comments prior to the start of the club’s three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, but it seemed more than coincidental that Showalter knew the exact date of the Jets’ visit to Baltimore this coming season.

“I’d be a little more concerned about Nov. 24 when the Jets come here and trying to figure out a way to beat the Ravens, wouldn’t you?” said Showalter, who put the dates of the Ravens home games in his personal planner in hopes of attending one or two like he did last season. “I think that would be a little bit more of a challenge.

“I try to stay out of things that I don’t know about, like I don’t know about the NFL scheduling and the NFL challenges. That would be my advice. I would stay in what is my area of supposed expertise.”

Considering Ryan’s on shaky ground in New York with the Jets having missed the postseason in each of the last two years, many will find humor in Showalter’s use of the word “supposed” — intentional or not — with many wondering if the fifth-year coach will survive the 2013 season.

In the the Thursday conference call, Ryan expressed his continued fondness for Baltimore where he spent 10 years as a defensive line coach and defensive coordinator, but this was a subject he had no business broaching in such confrontational detail and with the complications being above his pay grade.

“Well, who really cares, you’ve got 81 at home, maybe you could have done the right thing and given one up and then played 82 on the road and then 80 at home,” Ryan said. “I really don’t think people are going to care about that game.

“Certainly, I can understand, if baseball only had a 16-game schedule you might understand it. But when they have 162 games, you might just [have] common courtesy and say, you know what, maybe I’ll play this one on the road or whatever.”

The conflict over the Sept. 5 date sparked much debate, polarizing many fans who elected to side with either the Orioles or the Ravens, but Ryan’s suggestion of simply giving up a home game is absurd for a club holding playoff aspirations after their first postseason appearance in 15 years last season.

Needless to say, it will be intriguing to see if Showalter circles the Jets’ trip to M&T Bank Stadium as one of the games he attends this fall. There certainly won’t be any doubt which team he’ll be rooting for.

To hear Showalter’s response to Ryan’s criticism, click HERE.

Orioles’ Return to Sunday Night Baseball Delivers Record 8.4 Baltimore Rating

The April 14 edition of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball – Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees – delivered a record 8.4 metered market rating in the Baltimore market, according to Nielsen. This is the best rating in Baltimore for a regular-season Major League Baseball game on ESPN. The game delivered a 4.4 in the New York City market and a 1.8 nationally.

ESPN’s new Sunday Night Baseball team – Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser, John Kruk with Buster Olney reporting – provided commentary for the game. The next Sunday Night Baseball telecast is April 21, at 8 p.m. ET, when the Philadelphia Phillies host the St. Louis Cardinals. Sunday Night Baseball is also available on ESPN Radio (with Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton), ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN. Fans on Twitter can use hashtag #PHIvsSTL to join the Sunday Night Baseball discussion.

Honorable Mention: Auto Racing-NASCAR STP Gas Booster 500 (Sunday 1pm from Martinsville, VA live on FOX), IndyCar Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (Sunday 3pm from Birmingham live on NBC Sports Network); Golf: PGA Tour Valero Texas Open (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel, Saturday & Sunday 1pm live on Golf Channel 3pm live on NBC. All golf from San Antonio), LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship (Thursday & Friday 12pm & 6pm Saturday & Sunday 5pm from Rancho Mirage, CA live on Golf Channel); Women’s College Basketball: NCAA Tournament Elite 8-Notre Dame vs. Duke(Tuesday 7:05pm from Norfolk live on ESPN), Tennessee vs. Louisville (Tuesday 9:10pm from Oklahoma City live on ESPN); Final Four (Sunday TBA from New Orleans live on ESPN); Mixed Martial Arts: UFC on FUEL TV-Alexander Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi (Saturday 11am from Stockholm, SWE live on FUEL TV); Bellator MMA (Thursday 10pm from Atlantic City live on SpikeTV)

10. Maroon 5/Neon Trees/Owl City (Wednesday 7:30pm Verizon Center); Green Day (Thursday 7:30pm Patriot Center); They Might Be Giants (Saturday 9pm Rams Head Live); Brigance Brigade Foundation Benefit feat. Charm City Devils/Loving The Lie (Saturday 8pm Baltimore Soundstage); Senses Fail (Friday 8pm Ottobar); Marc Broussard (Monday 8pm Rams Head on Stage); Meek Mill (Saturday 8pm Fillmore Silver Spring); Ozomatli (Wednesday 7pm 9:30 Club), Local Natives (Friday 8pm Saturday 7pm 9:30 Club), Black Crowes (Monday 7pm 9:30 Club); Carolina Chocolate Drops (Wednesday 7:30pm Birchmere); Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/Walk The Moon (Sunday George Washington University)

I like Charm City Devils. I LOVE supporting anything involving O.J. Brigance. Nice little Saturday night then.

Loving The Lie is another excellent Baltimore band playing the event Saturday night. I throw my support fully behind that.

Genuinely believe I’ve heard more about Local Natives in the last month than I’ve heard about U2 in my life. Pretty good reason for that.

I can get behind EVERYTHING about Carolina Chocolate Drops…

9. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Dragons (Tuesday-Sunday 1st Mariner Arena); Jon Lovitz/Chris Kattan/Tim Meadows (Thursday 7:30pm Birchmere); Louis C.K. (Saturday 8pm & 10:30pm Meyerhoff Symphony Hall); Brian Regan (Friday 8pm Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric); Shawn & Marlon Wayans (Thursday-Sunday DC Improv); Craig Shoemaker (Thursday 8pm Baltimore Comedy Factory), Bret Ernst (Friday & Saturday Baltimore Comedy Factory); Rich Vos (Thursday-Saturday Magooby’s Joke House); “That Thing You Do!” available on Blu-Ray (Tuesday)

Don’t kill me for this, but I searched “That Thing You Do!” on YouTube and discovered this video of ‘N Sync performing the song over a decade ago. I could have ignored the video, but instead I shared it with you here.

Language, but nothing not to enjoy about Louis C.K…

(Continued on Page 2…)

Maryland (25-12) vs. Iowa (24-12)

National Invitation Tournament – Semifinals

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 • 9 p.m. ET

New York, N.Y. • Madison Square Garden

TV: Semifinals – ESPN2 – Bob Wischusen (Play-by-Play), Bill Raftery (Analyst) & Dan Dakich (Analyst)

Radio: Terrapin Sports Radio Network – Johnny Holliday (Play-by-Play) & Chris Knoche (Analyst)

Storyline

• Maryland is playing in the National Invitation Tournament semifinals for the third time in history and first time since 2005 after dispatching No. 1 seed Alabama, 58-57, last Tuesday. The Terrapins are 14-6 all-time in the NIT and 1-1 in the semifinals; they captured the title in 1972 with wins over Jacksonville and Niagara, and fell in the 2005 semis to South Carolina.

• In winning at Alabama, Maryland captured its 25th victory of the season, the most for the program since 2006-07 when the Terps were 25-9. A win in the semifinals would give Maryland its most victories since it had 32 in the 2001-02 national championship season.

• Since opening postseason play in the ACC Tournament, Maryland has played some of its best basketball, winning five out of the last six games. Dez Wells has carried the scoring load in the postseason, averaging 18.3 points per game on .574 shooting from the field, including .727 (8-11) from 3-point range. Wells’ scoring surge goes back to the regular season – the sophomore is averaging 17.8 points per game on .558 (67-120) shooting in the last 10 games.

• Alex Len recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds at Alabama, his sixth of the season and first since the home win over Boston College on Jan. 22. Len also matched a career high with five blocks. At 11.5 points per game, the sophomore is one of four Terps averaging double-figure scoring in the postseason. Nick Faust is averaging 11.2 points per game and is shooting .400 (10-25) from 3-point range. The fourth, freshman Seth Allen, averaged 10.8 points per game off the bench in five postseason games, but fractured a bone in his shooting hand in practice on March 24 and will miss the rest of the postseason.

• The Terps are set to meet Iowa for just the third time in history. Maryland won each of the previous meetings, in 1984 and in 1999. Should they advance, the Terps would be playing their first ever game against either Baylor or BYU.

Caution: Objects in your rear view mirror are larger than they appear!

That line is from an old Far Side cartoon and pictured in that comic is a car mirror with a huge eye ball in it.

Well Southeast Division teams Winnipeg and Carolina, that  huge eye ball encompassing your rear view mirror is now none other than Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

The Caps, behind Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, who each had a goal, an assist, and a shootout goal, along with the goaltending of Braden Holtby (30 saves), knocked off the Rangers in a contest that went to the gimmick, 3-2, on Sunday night in Madison Square Garden.

It was a gigantic victory for Washington against a team that, on paper, appears to be Stanley Cup Contenders and it improves the Capitals record to 15-16-1.

What is more impressive is that this was three straight victories, on the road, in four nights for the Capitals. The Rangers were the more rested team yet Washington was able to jump out to a quick start, blow a 2-0 lead, and then hold serve until they could win it in the shootout. It was a gutsy Caps victory and getting the extra point is so critical to their playoff hopes right now. New York moves into 8th place but Washington is just two points behind.

The key for the Capitals, though, is the Southeast Division. Now that the club is healthy, they have a good chance to win the division if they can stay away from an injury to one of their top six forwards and their current defensive crew. That is a big if, but this team seems to be really bonding now that one of their leaders, Brooks Laich, has returned. The work ethic has been there in all four games since #21 came back and getting Mike Green, Dmitry Orlov, and even Jack Hillen healthy on defense has made a world of difference.

The Caps did a lot of things well on Sunday but two things they must improve on is their five on three power play and they can’t give up so many odd man rushes. Washington had nearly two minutes to take the lead early in period two with two Rags in the box but the Capitals overpassed the puck and when they shot, it was the wrong selection. Personally, I’d prefer Green out there on the point on the 5 on 3. So far this year the team is one for six in five on three situations while their opponents are a strong six for eight. The Rangers scored quickly on their two man advantage in period one to tie the game.

As for the odd man rushes, it was Green who got caught on the boards in the offensive zone that allowed Aaron Asham to score on a two on one and the Rangers had several other quality looks off of odd man breaks. Marian Gaborik had a second period breakaway but Holtby made his best save of the game to steady things for Washington at a critical time. The Rangers score there and this likely ends up a loss.

But despite some of the areas that need to be cleaned up, the big positive is the way this team is finally playing. Their puck movement and support is much better and they appear to be having fun again. Ovechkin is on a tear and now has 16 goals and 15 assists in the 32 games. In an 82 game season he is at a 41 goal pace (he had 38 goals in 78 games last season). So much for all of that over the hill garbage we’ve been hearing from guys like Mike Milbury. The Gr8 is producing at a better rate lately because Coach Adam Oates now has two lines that are a threat to score, making it tougher for opposing defensive men and coaches to focus totally on Ovechkin.

Hockey is a team game, it can’t be won by individuals and that is what is happening with the Caps right now. They finally have a healthy roster and they are playing together. They dug themselves a huge standings hole with the bad start but this 3-1 road trip that began with a tough loss in Pittsburgh appears to be huge cause for optimism.

Their next seven games are very critical with one against Carolina and the other six against teams sitting 10th to 15th in the Eastern Conference (h/t Corey Masisak). Washington has a solid lineup now, some momentum, and they are playing like a team.

They must take advantage of this upcoming stretch and put themselves into playoff position.

But for now, the teams above them should be awfully concerned when checking their rear view mirrors.

Notes: The Caps were outshot 32-24 but the attempted shots favored Washington at 65-55. The Rangers block a lot of shots…New York won the faceoff battle 27-25…John Carlson led the game in ice time with 26:26 and it was a super road trip for #74. He is playing at a high level for the Caps right now…Holtby’s stickhandling was a big factor in Washington’s ability to get out of their zone cleanly on a number of occassions. That skill is an underrated one and is a big help to the team’s defense…the Capitals can get to .500 with a victory at the Verizon Center on Tuesday against the New York Islanders. The Isles smoked the Caps, 5-2, on the Island back on March 9th.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Navy women’s basketball team learned its NCAA Tournament fate Monday night while attending a Selection Show party at Federal House Bar & Grille in Downtown Annapolis. The Midshipmen, winners of their third Patriot League Tournament title in as many years, garnered the No. 15 seed in the Bridgeport, Conn., Regional. Navy will face second-seeded Kentucky Sunday at Carnesecca Arena on the St. John’s campus in Queens, N.Y. The game will tip at 12:05 p.m. EDT and will be aired live on ESPNU.

The Navy Ticket Office will not be selling tickets for the game. Tickets can be purchased through the St. John’s Ticket Office either online at RedStormSports.com or by phone at 1-888-GoStorm. Single session ticket prices are $10 for students/youths, $10 for senior citizens and $15 for adults. An all-session pass that allows entry to both Sunday’s first round and Tuesday’s second round are $15 for students/youths, $15 for senior citizens and adults can purchase a pass for $25.

Kentucky posted a 27-5 record this season. The Wildcats advanced to the championship game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament where they fell to Texas A&M. Kentucky placed second in the SEC during the regular season with a record of 13-3, and was ranked seventh in both national polls that were released Monday by the Associated Press and USA Today.

Kentucky will be making its fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its 10th trip to the event in all. The Wildcats lost in the Elite Eight in both 2010 and 2012, with a loss in the round of 32 coming in 2011.

Navy, which compiled a 21-11 record this season and shared the Patriot League regular season crown with an 11-3 record, has faced a team out of the current SEC three times in its history. The Mids have lost a pair of games to Florida, most recently during the 2010-11 season, and defeated Mississippi once.

Navy is making its third trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history. The 14th-seeded Mids lost to No. 3 DePaul, 56-43, in a 2011 first-round game played at Penn State in their initial appearance in March Madness. Navy then received a No. 15 seed last season and lost, 59-44, to No. 2 Maryland in College Park.

Sunday’s second game at the site features No. 7 Dayton facing region-host and 10th-seeded St. John’s. The winners of the two games will meet Tuesday for the right to move on to Bridgeport.

“I’ve never seen Kentucky play,” said Alix Membreno (Jr., Loxahatchee, Fla.), who was tabbed as the MVP of the Patriot League Tournament. “They are a No. 2 seed, so obviously they are a great team. It is a great opportunity to go to Queens, my family is from New York, it’s just a great opportunity to play. The higher the seed gets, the less there is for us to lose. We’re going to go up there and give it our all.

“I think a 15 seed is great. We’re just so blessed to be in the same position we have been in the last two years. It is still exciting (with it being our third NCAA Tournament), but in different ways. Each year is different; it is a different team, a different vibe, but it is nice it is not something new. We’ve been in this position before.”

“I’m so happy we got a 15 seed,” said Jade Geif (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.), who received first-team all-league honors this season for a second year in a row. “I don’t know a lot about Kentucky. We’re just excited to get in there, try and get a win.

“Definitely, it is still exciting. You can just feel the nerves when you are watching the TV just waiting for it flip over and show Navy and see who we are playing. It is so exciting every time. Even walking over here, everyone was just so hyped.”

“It is a really, really strong opponent,” said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper of facing Kentucky. “They are going to be challenging the way Maryland was and not the way DePaul was. They are deep, tall, athletic, long and they have one of the best players in the country in A’dia Mathies.”

Game Preview
• The Navy men’s lacrosse team will play the first of two neutral site contests in consecutive weeks when it travels to Flushing, N.Y. on Sunday to take part in the Metropolitan Lacrosse Classic presented by Konica Minolta  … meeting for just the 10th time in series history, Navy and Holy Cross will face off at 12:00 pm at Citi Field.
• Following the Navy-Holy Cross tilt, Colgate and Michigan will take center stage with a 3:00 pm contest.
• Towson held the Midshipmen without a goal over the final 22 minutes of play while the Tigers scored the final three goals of the game to earn an 8-7 victory over Navy last Tuesday in Annapolis.  Navy twice held a 3-goal lead over the Tigers, but the Mids were unable to find the back of the net and their 4-game home winning streak came to an abrupt end.
• Holy Cross, meanwhile, is also looking to bounce back after a 14-6 loss to Patriot League foe Colgate.  The Raiders racedout to a 6-2 halftime lead and never opened the door to allow the Crusaders back into the game.
• Sunday’s contest will be carried live on ESPN3 with Eamon McAnaney (play by play), Quint Kessenich (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (analyst) calling the action.

Scouting the Crusaders
• In his third season as head coach Jim Morissey has led the Crusaders to a 3-3 record, including an 0-1 mark in Patriot League action.
• Holy Cross wins over Hartford (11-9), Sacred Heart (11-9) and Rutgers (9-8), while dropping decisions to St. John’s (11-9), Harvard (16-12) and Colgate (14-6).
• After opening the season with their first two games at home, the Crusaders have since played four in a row on the road and Sunday’s game will make the fifth away from Worcester.  Holy Cross has held its own, posting a 2-2 mark in its four road games.
• Leading the way for Holy Cross in the scoring column is sophomore attackman Clay Haarmann who owns 17 points on a team-high 15 goals and 2 assists.
• Senior midfielder John Hannan has produced 13 points on 12 goals and 1 assist, while senior attackman James Kennedy also owns 13 points on 6 goals and a team-best 7 assists.
• Junior Kenny O’Connor has started four games in goal for the Crusaders, while rookie Michael Ortlieb has made appearances in three games and started two.  O’Connor owns an 11.15 goals-against average with a 41.3 save percentage, while Orlieb his warded off 53.1 percent of the shots sent his way and is giving way to 11.19 goals per game.
• Perhaps the weakest link in the Crusaders’ game is faceoffs.  Holy Cross is ranked 61st out of 63 teams, winning just 36.9 (55 of 149) percent of its draws this season.  They have 7 different players at the “x” this season with sophomore Tyler Purdue (29 of 77, 37.7) and senior Tim Pond (19 of 52, 36.5) taking the majority of the faceoffs.
• The two areas that Holy Cross has flourished in this season are turnovers per game, where they are ranked  sixth and averaging just 12.67 per contest, and man-down defense, giving up goals on 30.8 percent of the opportunities.  The Crusaders stand 10th nationally in man-down defense.
• Nearly 70 percent (69.0) of Holy Cross’ goals have been unassisted this season, as the Crusaders have 18 assists on 58 goals.
• On the year Holy Cross has been outscored 67-58.  It owns a 32-29 advantage in the opening half, including an 18-10 margin in the second quarter, but the Crusaders’ opponents hold a 38-26 scoring advantage in the second half, including a 28-17 edge in the third quarter.

Navy vs. Holy Cross – The Series
• Sunday’s contest marks just the 10th meeting between Navy and Holy Cross … the Mids own a flawless 9-0 advantage in the series, including a 23-5 victory over the Crusaders in the inaugural meeting in Annapolis in 2004.
• Navy and Holy Cross are meeting at a neutral site for the third time in series history, as the Mids and Crusaders previously met in Dallas, Texas in back-to-back years.
• In 2007, the two programs faced one another at SMU’s Ford Stadium where the Mids dealt Holy Cross a 12-2 loss.  It was Navy’s first trip to Texas since the Mids defeated Johns Hopkins, 9-6, on May 8, 1971, at the Houston Astrodome.
• In 2008, Navy and Holy Cross were part of the Ford Patriot Cup which featured two high school games, along with two Div. I men’s lax games (Rutgers vs. Army).  Navy scored a 16-3 win over the Crusaders at Texas Stadium, the former home of the Dallas Cowboys.
• Navy and Holy Cross have played one another three times in Worcester, Mass. (2005, ‘09, ‘11) and four times in Annapolis (2004, ‘06, ‘10, ‘12).
• Navy has scored eight or more goals in all nine games, while putting up double-figure goals in seven of the nine (8 in 2005 and 2011) … the Mids’ defense, meanwhile, has held Holy Cross to five or fewer goals in eight of the nine games.  Last year the Crusaders scored a series-high seven goals in a losing effort.

Tuesday Rewind
• Navy jumped out to a 3-0 lead and later led 4-1, but was unable to keep the hot hand as Towson scored the final 3 goals of the game and held the Mids scoreless for the final 22 minutes in an 8-7 Tiger victory.
• It’s the second time this season Navy’s has been held scoreless for 20-plus minutes (51:08 by Bucknell).
• Junior attackman Tucker Hull punched in his ninth goal of the year at 7:17 in the third quarter in what would be his 100th collegiate point.  He is just one of 30 players in the program’s 106-year history to reach the milestone
• Junior attackman Sam Jones extended his point-scoring streak to 10 games and is the lone player on the roster to record a goal or an assist in every game this season.  He turned in a goal and 2 assists against the Tigers.
• Sophomore midfielder Gabe Voumard continues to create offense for himself as he ran his unassisted goal total to 10 on Tuesday.  He has scored 11 goals on the year.
• Senior midfielder Bryce Dabbs registered his fourth collegiate multi-goal effort and the second of the season with his 2 goals against Towson.
• Junior long pole Pat Kiernan played a whale of a game, picking up a career-high 12 ground balls while winning 8 of the 10 faceoffs he took.
• Senior Cade Norris played one of his best games in a Navy uniform, grabbing seven ground balls on the defensive end of the field while senior close defenseman Austin Miller matched his career best in caused turnovers with 4.

One-Goal Decisions
• Navy has played 74 one-goal games (of 246) since the start of the 1996 season, winning just 30 (40.5) of those contests.
• Among those 74 games, 26 of them have gone into extra minutes with Navy winning 11 (42.3).
• Over the last six seasons, 28 of the Mids’ 79 contests have been decided by one goal and Navy has produced wins in just 11 of those contests.  Over the last four seasons, the Mids are just 5-13 in one-goal affairs.
• In 2007, Navy played a program-record seven one-goal games, including five that were decided in overtime.
• Navy was 1-1 a year ago in one-goal decisions, marking the first time since 1996 that it had not played at least three one-goal games.
• The Mids are 1-3 this season in one-goal contests, dropping a 10-9 decision to 15th-ranked Fairfield, a 9-8 overtime game to Georgetown – both in the same week – and an 8-7 heartbreaker to Towson this past Tuesday in Annapolis.  Meanwhile, Navy gave up 2 goals in the final 17 seconds of its game against Lafayette to edge the Leopards, 12-11.

National Exposure
• Since the start of 2004, 54 Navy lacrosse games have been televised.
2004    4-2 (6)    CSTV 1-1    ESPN 2-1    WMAR 1-0
2005    3-3 (6)    CSTV 3-0    ESPN 0-3
2006    3-4 (7)    CSTV 2-4    ESPN 1-0
2007    2-3 (5)    CSTV 2-1    ESPN 0-1    MASN 0-1
2008    3-5 (8)    CBS C 1-2    ESPN 2-2    MASN 0-1
2009    5-2 (7)    CBS C 3-0    ESPN 1-2    MASN 1-0
2010    3-5 (8)    CBS C 3-3    ESPN 0-2
2011    0-3 (3)    CBS  0-2    ESPN 0-1
2012    1-3 (4)    CBS  1-2    ESPN 0-0    NBC 0-1
2013    0-0 (4)    CBS  0-0    ESPN 0-0    NBC 0-0
CBS Sports Network: 16-15    ESPN: 6-12
NBC Sports Network:  0-1    MASN: 1-2    WMAR: 1-0
• 4 regular-season contests are on tap to be aired this season, including 2 by CBS Sports Network.
• CBS Sports Network is airing both of the Patriot League Tournament semifinal contests (April 26 at 4:30 and 7:30) as well as the championship (April 28 at 3:00 pm).
• ESPN3 which is an internet-based affiliate will carry Sunday’s Metropolitan Lacrosse Classic from Citi Field which features the Mids against Holy Cross at 12:00 pm, followed by Colgate vs. Michigan.
• The Mids own a 24-30 record when their games are televised (since ‘04) … Navy is 16-15 on CBS Sports Network all-time and 6-12 on the ESPN family of networks … the Mids are also 1-0 on local Baltimore station WMAR, 1-2 on MASN and 0-1 on NBC Sports Network.
• The Mids own a 66-22 record in games that have not been televised since the start of 2004.

Patriot League Success
• Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy is 53-17 (75.7) against conference members, which includes an 11-2 (84.6) mark in the Patriot League Tournament … the Mids are 41-14 (74.5) in regular-season action.
• The Mids have lost regular-season contests to …
Army (3)    2008, ‘10, ‘11, ‘12
Bucknell (5)    2005, ‘09, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13
Colgate (3)    2006, ‘09, ‘11
Lafayette (1)    2010
Lehigh (2)    2011, ‘12
… and dropped the program’s first Patriot League Tournament contest at the 2008 semifinals against eventual champion Colgate and its second to Army in the 2010 championship contest.
• Twelve of the 17 losses were in games played either at the opponent’s field or at a neutral site.
• Navy owns a 25-5 record at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium against Patriot League competition since joining the conference in 2004 … the Mids are 19-5 during the regular season.
• The Mids have produced undefeated marks in conference action twice, 7-0 in 2004 and 6-0 in ‘07.
• Navy has won at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title in five (2004-05-06-07-08) of the nine years it has been a member of the league.
• Additionally, the Mids have claimed the league’s tournament crown five times (2004-05-06-07-09).
• 31 different Mids have garnered All-Patriot League recognition, while 19 of the 31 have earned honors multiple times.

Just when it looked like the Caps had worked themselves back into the playoff discussion, they come out and lay a total egg on the weekend.

Back to back three goal defeats to the New York Islanders and New York Rangers drop Washington to 10-13-1 and in a major standings hole at the mid point of this lockout shortened 48 game season.

It was a disappointing pair of games at a time when they needed their star players to step up, but the Capitals got very poor performances from both Alex Ovechkin (-5) and Mike Ribeiro (-4). Neither player registered a single point in the two games and each took an untimely penalty (a double minor in Ribeiro’s case). They both received a lot of ice time but their hockey focus and effort were downright terrible. To sum it up, you can pretty much hang these two losses on those two players.

Washington continues to play without Brooks Laich up front and Mike Green’s groin injury forced him out of the lineup for both weekend tilts. As a result the Caps power play, which was on fire early on, is struggling big time. Not having #52 is a big part of that as he is the team’s best point passer. Yes, John Carlson has a good shot but time after time #74′s passes are off the mark, and he is getting good at putting the biscuit into the skates of Ovechkin for his patented one timer. In the skates is not the place those feeds need to be.

So now the Caps face a daunting task. They are eight points out of the division lead with 24 games to go, however, they get the Southeast leaders, the Carolina Hurricanes, in their next two contests. These are must wins for Washington on Tuesday and Thursday if they want to stay in the playoff hunt.

If they get swept by Carolina, then management has some hard decisions to make, none more important as keeping or trading unrestricted free agent Ribeiro by the April 3rd deadline. If #9 plays like he did this weekend, the decision is pretty easy.

Bottom line though, the Caps put their playoff chances behind the eight ball with their two listless performances against the Islanders and the Rangers.

Notes: Philip Grubauer made his NHL debut and received the loss on Saturday. He played okay but turnovers and bad penalties cost the Caps that game…the best lines in that contest were the 3rd and 4th units…on Sunday, the Caps played a solid first 10 minutes but Braden Holtby gave up a bad goal and then the Rangers took over. The Rags have a very good team and are Cup contenders, in my book…Nicklas Backstrom was 14-0 on faceoffs against the Rangers…Steve Oleksy scored his first NHL goal on Sunday. The 27 year old d-man was one of the few weekend positives.

In their first spring meeting with the New York Yankees, the Orioles didn’t exactly face the 1927 Bronx Bombers in a 5-1 win in Sarasota on Monday afternoon.

New York right-hander Vidal Nuno made the start while Brett Gardner, Jayson Nix, Juan Rivera, and Francisco Cervelli were the most recognizable names in the Yankees’ batting order against left-hander Brian Matusz. The Orioles starter pitched two shutout innings to collect the victory while primarily using his fastball against an underwhelming lineup of hitters.

It’s only a snapshot, but here were five thoughts taken away from the Orioles’ first televised spring training contest:

1. You want to knock on wood when you say it — or pinch yourself because you assume you’re dreaming — but healthy versions of Brian Roberts and Nolan Reimold at the top of the order would do wonders for this offense. Roberts was the more impressive of the two Monday as he doubled from each side of the plate while hitting in the No. 2 spot in the order behind Reimold. The second baseman is also no longer wearing the double-flapped batting helmet he sported last season, another indication that his concussion-related symptoms might be behind him once and for all. Reimold was 0-for-2 against the Yankees after going 0-for-3 in his spring debut on Sunday, but he continues to build strength and confidence after being declared ready to go at the start of the spring.

Manager Buck Showalter has stated his preference to lower J.J. Hardy in the order after the shortstop was miscast as a top-of-the-lineup hitter in his first two seasons with the Orioles, and Roberts’ .351 career on-base percentage and Reimold’s .338 mark would fit nicely at the top of the lineup as long as you continue to see no health concerns for either player this spring. It would be a welcome change for a lineup that included low on-base percentage options such as Hardy and the departed Robert Andino at the top of the order before Nick Markakis and Nate McLouth moved into those roles out of necessity in the second half of last season.

It feels like a long shot to be able to count on a 35-year-old Roberts — who is trying to bounce back from season-ending hip surgery as well as offseason sports hernia surgery — after three injury-plagued seasons in a row, but the 29-year-old Reimold could still have plenty of good baseball in front of him if he can finally stay on the field.

2. The case of right-hander Tommy Hunter will be one to follow this spring as he is out of options. Hunter allowed two hits and struck out two in a scoreless inning of work on Monday, and it appears the 26-year-old will be eyed as a relief option this spring.

Hunter has made 75 career starts in the big leagues between Texas and Baltimore, but his stuff has never screamed starting pitcher as he’s averaged only 5.0 strikeouts per nine innings pitched and has a career 4.77 earned run average. In 12 2/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen last September, Hunter allowed one earned run and struck out 12 and featured fastball velocity in the upper 90s.

This becomes more interesting when considering Hunter would need to clear waivers to be sent to Triple-A Norfolk at the end of the spring. Other fringe starters such as Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton, and Steve Johnson all have at least one option remaining, making it possible that Hunter could be viewed in a more favorable light in starting the season as the long reliever out of the bullpen while at least some of the others could find themselves pitching with the Tides to start the year.

Showalter has said the club won’t make roster decisions based on option years, but it would appear Hunter would have the inside track on a bullpen role if he has a reasonably strong spring. On the other hand, a poor performance from the right-hander would also mean he’s more likely to pass through waivers unclaimed.

3. If you’re looking for this year’s version of Lew Ford or Steve Pearce, keep an eye on Russ Canzler. The 26-year-old is capable of playing first base and the corner outfield spots and hit 61 combined home runs in his last three minor-league seasons split between Double A and Triple A.

It was a crazy offseason for Canzler, who was selected off waivers four different times with executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette finally nabbing him from the Yankees on Feb. 5. The right-handed hitter drove in a run with a single in Monday’s 5-1 win and was strongly endorsed by Norfolk manager Ron Johnson prior to the Orioles acquiring him this winter.

It would be an upset to see Canzler break camp as a member of the 25-man roster — he also has two option years remaining — but his .819 on-base plus slugging percentage over nine minor-league seasons is the type of statistic that intrigues Duquette when searching for bargain-basement deals. Canzler was selected in the 30th round of the 2004 draft as an 18-year-old by the Chicago Cubs and spent seven years in that organization before spending a season each with Tampa Bay and Cleveland.

It’s a long shot, of course, that we’ll see Canzler making any tangible contribution to the 2013 Orioles, but no one expected Ford or Pearce to contribute to the Orioles’ first playoff team in 15 years at the start of the season, either.

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