thundercleetz

This twitter account has some pretty cool future concepts of cities. Cool and depressing at the same time. twitter.com/future_pics

Good call. I just signed up for alternative gas (Ambit) and electric (ConEdison) providers while the rates are still good. Like you said no termination fee so it is an obvious choice to make. Thanks for the heads up on deregulation. I also found out my home is in-eligible for BGE PeakRewards because of our zone heating (radiator). Like you I'm learning a lot as a new homeowner!

I don't think the receivers are the problem. We have plenty of guys who can make plays. The pass protection is terrible. Joe is clearly not comfortable back there. There is no pocket. Guys are flying free up the middle. There is just not enough time for Joe to go through his progressions. Our line play is the worst I've seen from a Ravens team.

Good luck trading him with that cap number. After restructuring that contract so much the Steelers are stuck with him.

These insurance companies are no saints, I had a feeling they would try and sneak things through like this in response to industry reform. This is why I like some good aspects of health care reform, such as no lifetime limits, no barriers to enrollment, better transparency, and in theory a competitive marketplace. However there are still some potential flaws that I am worried about. For my parents, their plan was "dropped", which is understandable as companies now have to conform to new standards. I told them not to freak out but to register for the exchange, do all your research, and pick the best plan out there. Unfortunately all the plans on the marketplace that provided similar coverage to what they had were for a significantly higher premium. They do not need some of the extra benefits that are mentioned in the article above, but in effect they are having to pay for them. Now I understand, like DC said when you negotiate a group rate (which is essentially what health care reform was) not everyone is going to need everything you get. The optimist in me wants to believe premium prices are higher now because enrollment rates aren't up to speed yet, and medical companies are still adjusting to device tax. Maybe in a year when this thing is more wide spread there are enough participants where premium costs are competitive and decreased. The pessisimist in me thinks there are too many outside variables the system is dependent upon and it's hard to support something that is breaking the budgets of some middle class American families. Hopefully in ten years none of this matters and as a country we have a transparent health care market with competitive prices. Democrat or Republican, everyone could agree that what we had before was broken. The people voted, everything went through the political process, now we'll have to see how it plays out.

Wow that is ironic DC. Let me know what you end up deciding. I was looking at ConEdison as well. I just enrolled in the BGE PeakRewards, so that was my first project haha.

I would have traded him for Nick Foles.

Thanks for all the awesome info DC! I certainly do notice now that BGE's electricity rates are high. Gas looks comparable, but I'll have to look at old bills to see what seasonal fluctuation looks like. Who do you use for gas?

Hey DC I had never heard of Castlebridge up until you mentioned it. How hard is it to switch? I am enrolled in BGE Budget Billing so I'm trying to figure out what would save the most. What are your thoughts?

Like I said. Show me evidence of the Dolphins losing 10,000 seats and I'll admit I'm wrong. Until then I'm very skeptical there would be any negative effect for the Dolphins changing division. Unless you count the Dolphins getting their ass consistently handed to them by the Pats a legit rivalry, there is nothin worth saving in the AFC East in the last twenty years. And I believe that London team will spend more time actually in London than you're anticipating. That's why I believe staying on the east coast is much more important.

Like I said see the Florida teams in NHL realignment. And I'm sure putting London in the AFC East for overall league revenue trumps any minuscule difference in ticket sales the Dolphins could claim lost. Heck they can barely sell seats as is. You show me evidence the Dolphins sell out away team fan tickets for division games and I'll admit I'm wrong. Either way your guess is as good as mine. Who knows Buffalo could be the team moving to keep the big markets of London, Miami, New York and Boston in one division. I am confident the London team would be in the AFC East. If the league goes through with a team in London I guarantee they are going to maximize that opportunity fiscally and keeping the team in the east coast to minimize travel as much as possible. We can agree to disagree in the meantime.

A division change is hardly being kicked to the curb. I doubt it would spur a legal battle. Teams move divisions are realigned all the time. The league is shared revenue so I doubt the Dolphins would lose any money playing the Colts, Titans and Texans compared to the Pats, Jets and Bills. Look at the most recent NHL realignment. The two Florida teams got the shaft big time. They were unhappy but there was nothing they could do about it.

Good points. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Miami is not helping themselves with their stadium situation. London might only work in the same division as NY and Boston. With shared revenue, Miami May be a casualty for the greater good of the league. As far as fans I meant more so vice versa London fans coming to the US. Easier and more attractive to visit NYC and Boston than Indy, Nashville and Houston. Maybe Miami stays in the AFC East and Buffalo changes. Who knows. Also like you said, maybe the city of Jacksonville doesn't cooperate with the London team and they have to move.

Right yeah I'm not saying everything is geographical. I'm just saying with London I'm sure the league will want to pair them with East Coast teams like Boston and New York. Easier travel for not only the team but potential fans as well. And who's to say the training facility would be in Jacksonville?

I think I'm missing what you are saying. What do you mean?

Congrats to Manny on his first (of many) Gold Glove. Additional he also won the Fielding Bible award, which a lot of analysts consider a higher honor. It is going to be very difficult to move him off of third base.

Really good question. I'm thinking there's some sort of union unemployment benefit for players who have been recently cut that could cover them for a certain period of time.

Really good post! You make an excellent point about the saturation point in London before placing a team there. My thought would be to place the team there sooner rather than later. That way you could try and attract a younger generation of fans to embrace the Jags as their own team while still drawing the current fan bases whenever their team comes into town to play. Additionally placing a team sooner allows the NFL to still draw upon the novelty factor which they could use to create a fan base organically for the new team. Basically what you said already, so I agree with you! RavenMad, how do you see the prospect of corporate partnership between the new team and London businesses. Think there would be interest? A huge problem for smaller market teams in the US (Jags are a prime example) are there aren't enough local big businesses available to fill the premium seating and other sponsorship opportunities. This is why the NFL likely sees London as a gold mine. I'm sure corporate sponsorships are a major source of revenue for Premiere League teams. Hey definitely tell us when you know for sure when you will come visit Baltimore for a game. I, and I'm sure others here as well, would be happy to show you around. I know you've probably mentioned it in the past, but how did you become a Ravens fan over other teams?

I don't see a London team traveling to Nashville, Indy, and Houston on a yearly basis. Add in London and only two of the teams are in the South. The AFC East is perfect for London.

RavenMad, you're in the UK. What do you think of a London team? How would a 6 PM local start on Sundays work with competing against the Premier League or other top soccer leagues?

Right, traveling between London and New York and Boston is ideal for a London team. You could even schedule the Bills annual game in Toronto against the London team (assuming the Bills don't get a new stadium). Any one of San Diego, Oakland or St. Louis could stay where they are if they move to LA. In fact, St. Louis would benefit from better travel moving to LA. The league is reaching a plateu for growth. Sure this next television contract will be record breaking, but what about after that? We have Thursday games, Monday games, Sunday night games, and Saturday games after college football season. The only opporunity left for major revenue growth, outside of LA and London, is more games. The players do not want more games. I think placing teams in LA and London will be much easier for players to agree to then going to 18 games. Bottom line, placing a team in London has a chance to be revolutionary. Sure, soccer is the world's most popular sport, but no sports league in the world could match what the NFL would have with a team in London. Yes, football would be the fifth, sixth most popular sport in the UK. However the potential for attendence (80K eight times a season), the ability to reach Western Europe, and the potential for a TV contract would be ground breaking. You could not make the same claim with placing a Premier League team in the US. Not the same attendence potential (even in a place like NYC), nor would the TV contract come anywhere close to what the NFL could get in London. The NFL has already proven it can sell in London.

I LOVE the idea of a team in London! The Jags are a waste in Jacksonville. Move the Jags to London and the Chargers, Rams, or Raiders to LA. Surely there would be some division realignment. I'm guessing the Dolphins could go to the AFC South, Jags (London) would go to the AFC East.

Nicks would be an awesome fit but he would require a new contract immediately. Torrey needs to be taken care of first. Kenny Britt could be interesting. He played with Ray Rice at Rutgers. Maybe Rice could get Britt remotivated to get back to a near Pro Bowl level. Britt's value has to be dirt cheap.

@mattvensel: Anquan Boldin's last four games: 14 catches, 179 yards, 0 touchdowns. Tandon Doss's last four games: 13 catches, 239 yards, 0 touchdowns. @mattvensel: . @morris_russ Doss targets in past four games: 23. Boldin targets in pass four games: 26.

This is Harbs team. He won a Super Bowl and got an extension. Castillo represents Harbs long-term vision for a zone running scheme. He is not abandoning it this soon. This is no different than a coach wanting to go from a 4-3 to a 3-4. It takes time to get the guys with the right skills and the current guys to adjust to the system. We are just going to have to live through the growing pains.