dc.

Gary's never been great with the media... and he's never been the most "personable" guy... but a good coach and down to earth he always seemed to be. Now he's definitely losing the good coach status... and down to earth seems to be following... You can see the records yourself to see how far good coach has gone. Here's "down to earth" on its way out... Spatting with his own Athletics Department (the one that has saved his ass many a time) over how/why recruits didn't come here. But by far the most ridiculous and downright stupid comment from Gary is about Karthleen Worthington, the woman with whom this public spat is happening... saying you shouldn't believe her because "she never won a national championship." No shit, Gary. You're the coach. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college...0,2775922.story --- Also - word today that Korean freshman Kin Shoo Shamalama Ding Dong (sorry, never really knew his real name) is out and academically ineligible for the remainder of the season. Sweet. Just 6 months into his college career and he already can't handle it. I am sure that language has something to do with it, but this is about the 3rd or 4th guy in as many seasons that the Terps have lost to academics.

Yeah, but Polamalu's pick is also made with 5-6 minutes remaining in a game when you need to drive upwards of 50 yards. Which goes back to Stone's penalty and field position. If Ben were in a similar spot, maybe he doesn't make the same throw. But feeling "skittish" when down on a final drive with a lot of yardage ahead of you isn't necessarily a sign of inexperience. I can bet you plenty of guys, including Steelers, were skiddish.

Just saw the big black guy (delivery guy in commercials) from the Miller Genuine Draft commercials on Conan or something last night and he was talking about how they don't need 3 million dollars for a 30 second spot... they just need one second. So they revealed his official 1 second commercial and then many of the 'outtakes' of it... The guy himself is actually really funny and the commercials were too... just because it's only a second. I always used to joke with friends that this is the only kind of advertising you need to do... Who needs 'catchy' when you can just be like "PEPSI. YUM!" It's him standing in front of a big display of MGD with a big Miller sign behind it... and he yells HIGH LIFE! ... end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9GwHnU2ESE Favorites of the "didnt make the cut" ... "ONE MISSISSIPPI!" "CHAM-PAG-NEE of Beers" "Bonjour, Milwaukee!!" I also liked the guy (Wendell, i think) talking about how his mom and grandmom still call him and go "You were on with 3 minutes left in the first quarter, 2 times in the second quarter, none in the third quarter i dont know why... and then lots in the fourth"

Correction - found the replay. You're right. Bad pass. Bad decision. But still not agreeing on inexperience. Played a role? Certainly. But Flacco was never overwhelmed. I simply have to disagree. I have seen the replay as many times as anyone, I can never see the ball clearly. The TIP might... MIGHT... be on that white line... but there is nothing conclusive. ... And the Ward comment. Come on? I mean, Kudos to Ward for being great at what he does. But he is a master at baiting opponents into penalties. I have often said, I have no idea what he says or does to our guys when he's blocking them or standing next to them that gets them so riled up... but it must be REALLY good. Ward is known for holding his blocks a second too long, pushing and shoving just a bit after the whistle... but its never flag-worthy. And again, kudos to him for knowing the rule. But then our guy pushes back and... voila... flag!

Do either of you know how to fight clean? lol.

Girls basketball does tend to have blowouts... at least at the high school level. Even recent state championship games here in Maryland have been super-lopsided in recent memory. At the college level, blowouts aren't the norm... but the Top 10-15 teams in the nation are MILES ahead of the other teams. Meanwhile... the administration of the school has yet to say if the firing is even related to the game, so who knows. Maybe the coach has had problems with sportsmanship in the past. I think 100-0 is disgusting, but I doubt that was the single incident that put him down.

And yet, 10m a year for a pitcher is nothing given the recent history... and if he doesn't have to hit and can pitch 150 innings a season, he's worth it.

Just read something from Olney about this... He was laughing at the fact that Carlos Silva got 4/48 from the M's last year... and now no one is even going past 2/20 for Sheets. Go compare their stats yourself... see how that makes sense. I'd throw 5/50 at Sheets in a heartbeat.

Brian wants to be in Baltimore. He just wants a fair price. I honestly don't think his waiting has anything to do with market. He just wants fair. He deserves it. And also, between Pie and Jones, we probably have some other lead-off hitters if ever we really need them. But I would still love Roberts' leadership and community-sensibility around here. I think he has the ability to be a Ripken-esque personality for this team. I haven't seen that in Markakis or Jones yet.

Also- can't believe that they didn't include the biggest, most gag-worthy repetition from both films... Gump is tied together with that feather that floats around a few times and winds up in his briefcase. And it kind of works, somehow. In Button, the "feather" becomes a butterfly. And when one character dies, the imagery is perfect all by itself... and then the butterfly appears. And it appears twice more, I think, at least. And it is just RIDICULOUS. I almost threw up on myself.

I saw Button the 1st week it was out or something... couldn't stand it. It certainly was trying to be Forrest Gump and doing a horrible job of it. And then there were all kinds of stupid problems... not the least of which was why in the hell was Hurricane Katrina included and what did it have to do with anything? Never explained, never felt... Ugh. I was so utterly disappointed.

Meanwhile, BA... I never seem to read much from you these days except for items blasting me (or others) for having an opinion. I don't "have it in" for anyone. I never have. Especially not compared to the many (here and around town) who have consistently made it their sole job to bash the likes of Boller, McNair, Billick, etc... I mean, where is your disdain for their arbitrary hate? I think my criticism of players has a pretty consistent theme: I don't like "me first" players. Now, we can disagree all we want over who those are. Some people would probably put Ray Lewis in that category and he belongs there, to an extent. But my biggest criticisms this season have been of players with bad attitudes and stupid (not poor) play. I mean, who have I bashed this year? Hell, how much have I even bashed CMac, since you seem to think I do it with such consistency? By my count, the only few to make my shit list are McGahee and McAlister. And both for fair reason at times, if you ask me. But I don't think I 'have it in' for them. I'm man enough to admit that McGahee in his final few games of the season showed me something that I didn't expect to see. He proved me wrong. I am big enough to say that. Now, you're going to say that I just, in an earlier post, said that McAlister should be gone. And that if he's gone, there's no chance for him to prove me wrong. Which is true. But I still believe, based on what I've read about McAlister this season - from everyone from Peter Schmuck to Mike Preston to Anita Marks - that McAlister is not ready to be a part of Harbaugh's team.

Actually... both were in the same post... And in case you didn't read it all, I stated right afterwards "wait, maybe I shouldn't hold that against him because I haven't seen or heard from Gregg and Boller either." So, no. I didn't just hold it against him. It was a stream of consciousness... "CMac hasnt been around... but wait, neither have they... nevermind." In regards to this, it depends what you mean by evidence. Have I been in the locker room and seen it or personally spoken to any players? Of course not. But no one here has. But it has been reported pretty widely in our local media - beyond Preston even - that some players bought into the Harbaugh scheme and some players didn't. That can be evidenced by quotes from Ed Reed earlier in the season when he said that his problem with Harbaugh was that "Harbaugh didn't talk to them like men" and pretty much insinuated that he was disrespected by Harbaugh's coaching style. McAlister was in that group too, according to those same reports. That's all.

Again, it's the tight market. I also think the teams are playing a bit of a war of attrition... who can hold out the longest?? MacPhail just about said publicly a while ago, as I posted somewhere, that he was just waiting for the prices to come down. I think the O's should take a stab at him. Unless there is some serious injury bug we don't know about. Hell give him 5 years for 10, for all I care. I'd like to have a guy like Sheets on this team for a while. ... I'm gonna read up on Schmuck's blog. I know he has posted about Sheets a few times, or been asked, but I have only glanced.

I think Brian also realizes that he is one of very few good lead-off hitters in the league and one of very few good 2b in the league. Given his service time, he deserves as much as Markakis. He probably would also like a 4-5 year deal. I know many think that would be excessive for Roberts, but I think you have to pay a guy who's been loyal and worthwhile and upstanding as a member of the organization.

Terps are going to have this problem against all the good teams this year... or stereotypically good teams this year. They might be able to handle Davidson and Stephen Curry... But the tallest player on the Terps is like 6'8... and not very good. Meanwhile, Duke and UNC and all the other real teams out there have big men inside that are just going to destroy us. Get used to it. Sorry, Gary... but this is your fault. You didn't bring any big men in, you pay for it. I really believe this should be Gary's last year. He's not up to it anymore at his age. And the team needs some new inspiration. I appreciate all he has done for the program. 20 years is an amazing run. But we're just not competitive anymore.

I know the guy is the inspiration for your screen name and all, but take the blinders off a bit. Harbaugh hasn't sad a bad word about anyone all season - on our team or any other. It's not his style. But when he keeps his mouth shut and keeps to the textbook, as he has on CMac, and when a player mysteriously finds himself benched and then not talked about... you can be there is some underlying tension. And as for CMac? He said his piece and it mostly was kosher, but it wasn't too nice. The consistent "Ask John, Ask John" responses are another code for "We aren't getting along or communicating well." Perhaps most notable should be CMac's absolute disappearance from this team. I know he's on IR, but have we even seen or heard from him recently? Has he been at games and on sidelines? Then again, I haven't seen anyone that's been IR'd (Boller, Gregg)... but most of the others were pre-season... and Gregg we've heard that he'll be back, for sure.

1. Ben's receivers got open. Joe's didn't. Flacco made some bad throws, but only later in the game when he was forced to (remember his first INT was tipped by his own receiver). Flacco never looked fazed to me. He looked collected until the final drive or two, but 'inexperience' didn't look like the root of his problems. 2. Oh... now the truth comes out. Harrison's been held allllll year. He's a "special case?" Give me a break. Who's begging for flags now? Suggs and Pryce get held like beasts every game too. Ed Reed gets held on every punt he tries to block. My point is that in some games officials call holding. In some games they don't. Suggs was tackled from behind on two plays in the game as well. The refs just weren't calling it. My point overall is more that Holding is a ridiculous penalty - it's never called fairly or appropriately. So deciding to call it then just proved that more. 3. I must not remember the first call then. I do remember watching both plays and believing, at the time, they were both legit. But I can't argue specifics post-game without rewatching the play. 4. I still have never seen a replay that shows, CONCLUSIVELY, that the ball made it to the endzone. Even in the replays on CBS I see a white line, I see Holmes' hands... but when the ball is in Holmes' hands? Where is the tip of the ball? It's all a blur. Even "zoomed up." I'm not complaining about the rule, I'm complaining about replay. As for in the AFCC, again, in the spirit of the rule? Probably not. But by the letter of the law, it wasn't a catch. But when you watch the play at full-speed, not in slow motion, it looks more and more like a drop than a catch. The Ravens have been on the wrong side of that one plenty of times as well. 5. Again, last punch rule. It happens every game. Everyone knows it. Two guys are shoving back and forth (for whatever reason) and one guy gives one last shove... he gets the flag. Call it the Hines Ward effect. Ward holds his blocks just a second or two beyond the whistle... the opponent gets pissy and gives a shove... there goes a flag. --- I really don't see what you are arguing. I am not claiming that the call on Stone was a bad call. I'm claiming that Stone is a moron and cost his team the game. Regardless of what happened up to that point, it was a two point game and he cost his team 30 yards of field position by trying to be the "bigger man." We can call that the Corey Ivy effect (kind of the opposite of the Hines Ward effect).

Wieters on SportsNation chat... transcript: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=24732 Nothing too revealing, except that he's not stepping on any toes and knows how to act like the all american kid everyone wants him to be.

Sure, we can franchise Suggs and then trade him... but that just seems silly to me. It's a manipulation of the system in my mind and an insult to the player. "You aren't worth signing long-term... but we don't want to let you go... so we are going to use a special NFL rule that no other league has to show you how much we love you... we are going to force you into a contract that may actually be below your market value, and then trade you for something we'd rather have." It's just not an Ozzie move. I'd much rather see us move CMac, draft picks, some of our young depth at LB... or any combination of those items... than shaft Suggs like that.

Honestly... it's not Bart Scott that will get McAlister cut. Nor is it his ability. It's his attitude. He is one of a select few players to have pretty staunchly stood against John Harbaugh. Ed Reed was borderline there at times. Terrell Suggs was borderline there at times. Frank Walker, Willis McGahee were both there. CMac was the gang's leader. And if you think that after an 11-5 season with a trip to the AFC Championship that Ozzie Newsome and the front office are going to side with any player, even Ray Lewis, over the coaching staff or the team as a whole... you're wrong. McAlister will be gone because he no longer fits in with this club. The talent may be hard to replace, but I think Newsome and Harbaugh would rather have a million Le'Ron McClains, Jim Leonhards and Jason Browns (i.e. guys that may not be perfect in form or function) than a handful of CMacs.

Keith Law at ESPN... Wieters is #1, duh. Tillman and Matusz both in the 25-50 range. Arrieta is 50-100. 4 in top 100 is not bad. He ranks the O's organizational depth as #10 overall, which is a huge improvement from 2 years ago when we probably ranked #28 or so... and says with the proper development of a few guys or a good pair of draft picks, we could be higher. And we were hugely hurt by a bad 2007 draft. --- Great to think that this doesn't even include Felix Pie... simply because by Law's rules, Pie isn't a prospect anymore. But with fewer than a full season under his belt, I'd say he certainly is. Also, I was just reading about the prospect we got with Ryan Freel in the Hernandez trade... Turner, I think it is. 24, middle infielder. Has hit 290-330 every year in his minor league career... and continued his success as he as moved up. And his power and RBI numbers are very solid for a 2b/SS kind of guy. Would be nice to see him come up in the next year or so... not necessarily to replace Roberts, but to play along side Roberts. --- Bonus thought... Lou Montanez is now an odd man out on this team, which sucks. Starting him in the minors probably isn't a bad idea... but how about Montanez as a DH? He's been criticized for his defense and with Freel and Pie ready to play in LF, Montanez would make a killer DH from the right side along side Scott from the left. His numbers last year were pretty solid at the ML level and obviously amazing in the minors...

1. My claim is that it wasnt experience that separated Ben and Joe. 2. My claim is that if a crew isn't calling the holding all day, it shouldn't arbitrarily decide when to - both teams were guilty often. 3. The PI call you hate was a classic case of face guarding. 4. The Holmes call in week 15 followed neither the spirit nor the letter of the law. But another poster got it right - it is because of the first call that the second gets less attention. 5. The call on Kemoeatu was legit. Happens every game - last punch gets the flag.

Personally, I wish the flags would come more often so that the fines didn't have to come. But one way or another, the league needs to establish the helmet-to-helmet hits are not acceptable. Intentional or not, Clark aimed to make the tackle by putting his head down and forward... he was slightly sideways, but it was still his helmet leading the tackle, before the shoulder. On "First and 10" the other day, Bayless and Kordell Stewart were on there debating this. For once I agreed with Bayless. Stewart asked "how else is he supposed to make that tackle?" because that seems to be a common defense for Clark's hit. Both Bayless and the host looked at Stewart and said, "Uh, the way tackles have been made for the last 50 years..." go low, around his waist or legs, hit him with your arms in front of you... I don't care. Bottom line is that such hits shouldn't be allowed. If the flag isn't thrown, the league needs to get the point across.

Right, McNair won those 13... almost all of them, I think he was out for a few games. Between our 12 win Super Bowl season and our 13 win 2006, I don't think we ever topped 10 wins, either.