Worn out: Everyone loses when uniform rule rules day

October 31, 2009

News item: The Hereford boys cross country team lost its Baltimore County championship because of a minor underwear violation by the fourth-place finisher.

Worn out: Everyone loses when uniform rule rules day

October 30, 2009

News item: The Hereford boys cross country team had the Baltimore County championship taken away because of a minor underwear violation by the fourth-place finisher.

O's head to offseason market with quite a list

October 28, 2009

While all of you are enjoying the New York Yankees' first appearance in the World Series since 2003, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and his staff will be mapping out the coming offseason and trying to figure out whether they have what it will take to make the team significantly more competitive than it was this year.

A well- deserved tribute to Mr. Oriole

October 27, 2009

It was typical Brooks. He might be the greatest third baseman who ever lived - and certainly one of Baltimore's most beloved figures - but he just about had to be dragged to Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on Monday night for "An Evening with Brooks" - a night of testimonials for the benefit of the Legends Sports Museum and the American Cancer Society.

Ravens of preseason and today's team are birds of a feather

October 25, 2009

If the bye week is a time for Ravens fans to pause and reflect, you might want to reflect on this:

Despite recent defeats, all is not lost for Ravens

October 24, 2009

Despite recent defeats, all is not lost for Ravens

October 23, 2009

News item: The Ravens get a breather this weekend after three straight tough losses cast serious doubt on whether they deserve a place among the AFC's elite teams.

Yawning disparity in MLB getting tiresome

October 21, 2009

Has it really been 15 years since the baseball work stoppage to end all baseball work stoppages caused the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and threatened the sport's reverential status as the national pastime?

No excuses for O's, but MLB should push for parity

October 20, 2009

Has it really been 15 years since the baseball work stoppage to end all baseball work stoppages caused the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and threatened the sport's reverential status as the National Pastime?

A complete game could complete task

October 18, 2009

It probably seems like a simple enough equation. The Ravens have to find a way to stop one of the best running backs of this era and also get sufficient pressure on one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history if they are to go into Minneapolis and score an important road victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

Talk of Vikings' dome-field advantage overblown

October 17, 2009

News item: The Ravens face what might be the pivotal challenge of the season Sunday when they visit the noisy Metrodome to take on Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.

Talk of Vikings' dome-field advantage overblown

October 16, 2009

News item: The Ravens face what might be the pivotal challenge of the season Sunday when they visit the noisy Metrodome to take on Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.

Don't panic, the real Ravens will show up against Vikings

October 14, 2009

It's probably natural to feel a sense of panic after watching the Ravens perform so poorly against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. It wasn't pretty, and it certainly didn't leave anybody with the lingering notion that reaching the playoffs this season is a formality.

Let me (and the defense) be blunt: Forget the flags

October 11, 2009

During the past week, the Ravens have had to come to grips with who they are and how they're perceived around the NFL … and we'll find out when they greet the Cincinnati Bengals today at M&T Bank Stadium whether they reached the same conclusion that I did in the aftermath of last week's officiating controversy.

Just call Trembley Mr. October

October 10, 2009

News item: The Orioles closed out their regular season with four straight victories to avoid 100 losses and allow Dave Trembley to enjoy his contract renewal.

Talk may not be cheap for Ravens' Lewis

October 5, 2009

There is a certain etiquette that usually prevails in the NFL post-game environment, where one of the first rules is to avoid any criticism of the officiating no matter how egregious and arbitrary it might have seemed.

O's message unclear in re-signing of Trembley

October 4, 2009

Andy MacPhail might have struck a blow for organizational stability Friday when he chose not to change managers in the middle of his rebuilding program, but the message he sent to the fans by picking up Dave Trembley's contract option remains a bit unclear.

The end of O's season brings a sigh of relief

October 3, 2009

Orioles owe Trembley a fair chance to finish rebuilding job

September 30, 2009

The Orioles' team bus is about to be put on blocks for the winter, which will make it a lot easier to throw Dave Trembley under it. So what if he can't reasonably be held responsible for the dismal performance of a dismal team? Somebody needs to give up a pound of flesh for this disaster, and that somebody is usually the manager.

Laying away some Matusz for later is smart

September 19, 2009

Ravens look in mirror and see Chargers

September 16, 2009

When the Ravens take the field at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday for their first road game of the regular season, they'll face an offensive team that looks a lot like their own.

Chargers have daunting similarities to Ravens

September 15, 2009

When the Ravens take the field at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday for their first road game of the regular season, they'll face an offensive team that looks a lot like their own.

Ravens open it up in opening win

September 14, 2009

Apparently, the Ravens' preseason emphasis on throwing the ball in just about every possible situation was not just a passing fancy.

Ravens fans betting against odds

September 13, 2009

When you arrive at M&T Bank Stadium for today's regular-season opener between the Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs, you're going to be hard-pressed to find anyone who doubts that Joe Flacco and friends are going to fight deep into the playoffs this season.

Line for Ravens-Chiefs game doesn't spread concern

September 12, 2009

News item: The Ravens open the season Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium as a 13-point favorite over the Kansas City Chiefs - equaling the biggest spread of any Week 1 matchup.

This Sunday, Ravens retrieve civic self-esteem

September 9, 2009

In just a few days, barring some unforeseen circumstance involving the beleaguered Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore is going to get its ego back.

Any hope Orioles' second act is better than its first?

September 6, 2009

Once again, Orioles fans are in the autumn of their discontent, and it's hard to make a case for anything short of despair as they watch their rebuilding team coming unglued at the end of another losing season.

Free-fallin' O's have fans ready for Ravens

September 5, 2009

News item: The Ravens just completed an undefeated preseason and have a long week to prepare for their regular-season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium.

Don't look for Billick to dish on the Ravens

September 2, 2009

When I heard that Brian Billick had written a book, I was pretty stoked. Finally, I thought, we'll get the inside story on his surprising dismissal by the Ravens, his up-and-down relationship with team owner Steve Bisciotti, that strange Super Bowl news conference during which he chastised the media for its treatment of Ray Lewis … and a lot of the other behind-the-purple-curtain stuff that we've all been wondering about since he was fired after the 2007 season.

Protecting young pitchers is all part of Orioles' plan

September 2, 2009

If you're like me, the primary reason you're still paying attention to the Orioles right now is to watch the early evolution of Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman. They are the cornerstones of the team's pitching future, and they are two of the main reasons to be interested in next season, which is what this really is all about.

Time for trial by fire for O's

August 30, 2009

It's time for the Orioles' annual September swoon, and a bunch of the biggest baseball planets are lined up to make them look like the worst baseball team in the universe.

There's proof the O's are making progress

August 29, 2009

It's time for the Orioles' annual September swoon, and a bunch of the biggest baseball planets are lined up to make them look like the worst baseball team in the universe.

My O's crystal ball needs an adjustment

August 29, 2009

News item: The Orioles entered Friday night's game on pace to win 66 games this season.

For now, Super Bowl reservations can wait

August 26, 2009

In the course of Monday night's 24-23 preseason victory over the New York Jets, the Ravens alternately looked like a team headed for the Super Bowl and a team that might be headed for trouble.

Nice to have Roberts back in leader role

August 23, 2009

For a few days, at least, the Orioles have jumped aboard the Brian Roberts Express and actually look like a major league baseball team.

Jumping aboard the Brian Roberts Express

August 22, 2009

For a few days, at least, the Orioles have jumped aboard the Brian Roberts Express and actually look like a major league baseball team.

Got those miss-Carroll County blues

August 22, 2009

News item: The Ravens break camp today and return to their Owings Mills training facility after 27 days of workouts at McDaniel College in Westminster.

O's will miss Huff, for now

August 19, 2009

We're going to miss Aubrey Huff, and not just because of his entertaining antics on satellite radio or his groundbreaking discovery that offseason conditioning is seriously overrated.

Two ways to look at the Huff trade

August 18, 2009

We're going to miss Aubrey Huff, and not just because of his entertaining antics on satellite radio or his groundbreaking discovery that offseason conditioning is seriously overrated.

Even now for O's, plenty to play for

August 16, 2009

On the same day that president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail confirmed that Dave Trembley would remain as manager at least through the end of this season, the Orioles exploded for their biggest offensive performance of the year and tied a couple of club records to boot.

Ravens' preseason win not necessarily a preview

August 15, 2009

News item: The Ravens passed for more than 400 yards and crushed the Washington Redskins, 23-0, in the first preseason game of 2009 on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium.

Ravens fans got their money's worth

August 14, 2009

News item: The Ravens passed for more than 400 yards and crushed the Washington Redskins, 23-0, in the first preseason game of 2009 on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium.

Orioles, fans on MacPhailcare: Let the town meeting begin

August 12, 2009

Clearly, what the Orioles need to do is hold one of those town hall meetings that are all the rage right now.

Suppose the O's held a town hall meeting on their progress

August 11, 2009

Clearly, what the Orioles need to do is hold one of those town hall meetings that are all the rage right now.

Hypocrisy reigns in opposition to betting plan

August 9, 2009

Let's all tip our caps to the National Football League and the governing bodies of the other major professional and college sports for taking a principled stand against Delaware's decision to add sports betting to its state lottery system.

Not same old song and dance at Ravens camp

August 8, 2009

News item: Hip-hop star Snoop Dogg visited Ravens training camp Thursday and put on quite a show, spoofing Ray Lewis' "What time is it?" pre-game ritual and showing some nice dance moves in the team's agility ladder drill.

At this stage, Mora's exit from O's all that's left

August 4, 2009

Melvin Mora was not in the starting lineup for the first game of the four-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Monday, and you have to wonder whether he succeeded in talking himself off the team with his verbal attack on manager Dave Trembley on Sunday morning.

Sherrill's gone but when will the wins arrive?

August 2, 2009

The wild final week of pre-waiver trading is over and the Orioles are clearly less-equipped to finish the 2009 season on an upswing than they were before closer George Sherrill headed off to Mannywood.

Steroid-test leaks deflating baseball

July 31, 2009

Skepticism about Hill's injury is to be expected

July 30, 2009

News item: The New York Times reported Friday that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz tested positive for illegal performance-enhancing drugs during Major League Baseball's supposedly anonymous survey testing in 2003, according to lawyers familiar with the test results.

Now it's OK to worry about the O's rebuilding

July 29, 2009

If you're an Orioles fan who has stood fast with Andy MacPhail's rebuilding program for the past 26 months, it's OK to be a little scared right now.

Now it's OK to be skeptical about O's rebuilding

July 28, 2009

If you're an Orioles fan who has stood fast with Andy MacPhail's rebuilding program for the past 26 months, it's OK to be a little scared right now.

Wait for O's roster to shake out before judging

July 23, 2009

News item: The Orioles need to show improvement over the course of the second half of the season, but have lost five of six games since the All-Star Break and were just swept again by the Yankees.

Even as SI muddies waters, Phelps' prize clearly visible

November 29, 2008

In the interest of building some modicum of suspense, the people at Sports Illustrated have assembled a large group of candidates for the magazine's Sportsman of the Year award, which will be announced Tuesday.

Mussina is a tough Hall call

November 23, 2008

News item: Former Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina, who won 20 games this year for the first time in his career, announced his retirement, saying he made the decision before the start of the season and never wavered on it.

Phelps golden with the media, too

August 24, 2008

Ravens' footing surest with Smith

August 23, 2008

Ravens coach John Harbaugh made a lot of sense when he explained why he has designated Troy Smith as the starter for tonight's Game3 of the preseason against the St.Louis Rams. Kyle Boller already has a long paper trail, and the Ravens have limited time to evaluate Smith, who played only a couple of games last year compared with Boller's 42career starts.

Steroid era lessens achievements of sluggers like Ramirez, Robinson

May 31, 2008

If you were not paying close attention, you probably missed much of the countdown to Manny Ramirez's imminent entry into the once-exclusive 500 Home Run Club.

New drug policy puts Mitchell Report in rearview

April 12, 2008

It would be great if we could say that Major League Baseball put a big punctuation mark on the sport's long-running steroid scandal, but I'll settle for the right decision at the right time for the right reasons.

Hear lyin' roar

February 14, 2008

OK, it's all becoming clear now.

Harbaugh's Day One energy good sign as Job One nears

January 20, 2008

New Ravens coach John Harbaugh said all the right things during his introductory news conference yesterday, but the most important thing came out sounding like a well-worn cliche rather than a call to arms.

Bisciotti gets back in game

January 19, 2008

So much for the mistaken notion that the Ravens did not have a Plan B.

Remember '08?

December 31, 2007

In my continuing effort to show how sophisticated I am, I'd like to quote the French poet Paul Valery: "The trouble with our times," he said, "is that the future is not what it used to be." Never mind that he uttered that cynical little gem several generations ago; no truer words have ever been spoken, particularly when 2007 is going to be such a tough act to follow.

Clemens' denials get boost from Grimsley affidavit

December 22, 2007

If the original release of the infamous Jason Grimsley affidavit - with the names of the alleged steroid and amphetamine users blacked out for public nonconsumption - helped pull the cover off baseball's performance-enhancement scandal, the release of the unredacted version Thursday might have been an even bigger blow to the integrity of the sport.

More O's woes

December 17, 2007

The great hope that blossomed around the Orioles organization with the arrival of new president Andy MacPhail was that - finally - it appeared there was a real sign owner Peter Angelos recognized that the revitalization of the franchise would require a totally new way of doing business.

Elusive football lets baseball take steroid hit

December 15, 2007

During the news conference Thursday in which former Sen. George Mitchell unveiled his 409-page report on baseball's performance-enhancement scandal, I kept waiting for him to announce that he had been hired by the NFL to perform a similar investigation to root out the cheaters in America's most popular television sport.

Baseball will long be haunted by steroid era

December 14, 2007

Not to get all biblical on you, but if the just-released Mitchell Report is any indication, the truth will not necessarily set you free.

Modell's Hall snub has analogy in baseball's O'Malley

December 10, 2007

Though it didn't garner giant headlines in Baltimore, the news last week that the late Walter O'Malley will be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., in July couldn't help but make me wonder anew when they'll get around to enshrining Art Modell in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Schmuck: O's run of the Hall about to hit a wall

July 31, 2007

There are several possible reasons Sunday's Hall of Fame induction ceremony drew an estimated crowd that was 50 percent larger than any other.

Schmuck: With glow, hope for a brighter day

July 30, 2007

Soon after Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. overcame their fear of public speaking, somebody tried to usher them back into the sad reality of sports in today's society.

Schmuck: With Ripken, Gwynn, town has true legends

July 28, 2007

It is the pleasant nature of this quaint little upstate village that makes it so easy to overlook the disconnect between truth and legend that allowed it to become the hometown of baseball history.

Schmuck: Ripken joy is a respite amid list of scandals

July 26, 2007

Orioles president Andy MacPhail has always looked young for his age, but don't mistake that for being short on perspective.

Schmuck: A life in the spotlight

July 22, 2007

It must have been terribly frustrating. Cal Ripken Jr. spent his entire Hall of Fame career trying to convey something that was so basic we all just assumed there had to be more to it.

Baseball's hallowed ground no shelter from steroid talk

May 11, 2007

Cal Ripken Jr. seemed to enjoy his orientation trip to upstate New York this week, but even in the idyllic small-town setting of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he could not escape the big-city questions about the troubling state of the game.

Bonds' excuses positively pathetic

January 12, 2007

Of all the days of all the weeks of all the months that have been tainted by baseball's performance-enhancement scandal, Barry Bonds had to stumble back into the drug spotlight on the same day that new Hall of Famers Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn were taking their post-election bows at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.

For fans in '95, Ripken's pen was mightier than his bat

January 10, 2007

Cal Ripken Jr.'s career speaks for itself.

McGwire might not mind being skipped in Hall's order

January 7, 2007

Sometime in the early afternoon on Tuesday, Cal Ripken will pick up the phone in Baltimore and Tony Gwynn will pick up the phone in San Diego, and it won't be to make a bet on the AFC championship game.

Throwing off players association, Grimsley hurls hGH into spotlight

June 11, 2006

Welcome to the worst nightmare of the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Dry spell over as juicy story hits home

June 9, 2006

Don't know about you, but I was feeling a little bit left out while Barry Bonds bore down on Babe Ruth the past couple of months. How could you help but pine for those halcyon days when Baltimore was -- for a couple of months -- the center of the steroid universe.

Hendricks' 'Oriole Way' gone, current O's are just wayward

December 30, 2005

It was an appropriate sendoff. Elrod Hendricks was remembered fondly by his family, friends and former teammates in a heartfelt and spiritual memorial service yesterday that drew 1,000 mourners to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. What else would you expect for a man so loved and respected in this close-knit community?

By reaching out to others, Hendricks touched us all

December 23, 2005

Maybe Elrod Hendricks could only have happened in Baltimore, where our heroes don't have to be bigger than life. They just have to be like us ... or, in Elrod's case, they just have to like us as much as we like them.

In a ballpark divided, reactions from fans provide potent mix

August 15, 2005

IT WAS the anabolic equivalent of "Tastes Great!" ... "Less Filling."

Wasted words hang over return and leave little worth hearing

August 12, 2005

HE COULD have had us at "Hello" ... but that was 10 days ago.

Silence speaks volumes in age of lost innocence

August 11, 2005

THE GREAT THING about being innocent is that you never have to make up a story to prove it.

Palmeiro didn't provide hard truth, but Congress asked soft questions

August 7, 2005

WHILE WE WAIT for Congress to figure out what it is going to do with Rafael Palmeiro and Major League Baseball's flawed drug policy, it might be a good time to point out something very important.

He may not fit the bill, but he will pay price

August 2, 2005

THE IMAGE still lingers. Rafael Palmeiro, called to testify before a congressional committee on March 17, pointed his finger at committee chairman Tom Davis and denied that he had ever used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Robinson still knows how to bring heat when needed

June 16, 2005

SO MUCH FOR the myth of the mellow Frank Robinson. So much for the kinder, gentler Washington Nationals manager who used to have every kind of sharp edge as a player -- and a few in his early incarnations as a manager -- but was widely believed to have gotten in touch with his softer side.

Orioles' Bancells earns huge save for waving Hendricks to hospital

April 18, 2005

IT WOULD have been so easy to make the wrong decision. The Orioles were getting ready to return home from St. Petersburg, Fla., on Thursday night, and longtime bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks just didn't feel right.