Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with some reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.
Running it back:
Rookie pitcher Zach Britton was solid as the Orioles held on to beat the Twins, 5-4, on Wednesday night. ... Brian Matusz, who has missed the start of the season with an intercostal muscle strain, threw off flat ground in Sarasota. ... Matt Birk said Wednesday that he would "absolutely" tutor a rookie center if the Ravens draft one next week. ... The Capitals rallied from three goals down to defeat the Rangers, 4-3, in double overtime last night.
Hitting the links:
1. Even Adam Jones' critics would admit that he is playing very well defensively [Orioles Insider]
2. The Orioles could save money by extending Jeremy Guthrie now [PressBox]
3. How Zach Britton's start stacks up to other O's southpaws [MASN]
4. Camden Yards spawned a new era of retro ballparks [Lehigh Valley Express-Times]
5. Twins starter Scott Baker is an Orioles killer [Camden Chat]
6. Vladimir Guerrero is going backwards [Camden Depot]
7. The Ravens would draft a quarterback if they get good value [Baltimore Sun]
8. Here's how Todd McShay's latest mock draft impacts the Ravens [ESPN]
9. The Ravens are one of the teams who could handle Jimmy Smith [Ravens Insider]
10. The Ravens' 2011 schedule is easier than last year's [CSN Baltimore]
11. It didn't take long for Greg Mattison to get the attention of his new players at Michigan [ESPN]
12. The go-go Capitals have committed themselves to playing gritty, defense-first hockey [SI]
You said it:
"It's not a question whether the Ravens get [Joe] Flacco a deep threat, it is a question whether Cam will allow him to throw the rock down field." -- reader justaravenfan responds to this post
Video of the morning:
Someone shot video of Ray Lewis giving a speech to the Elon football team [hat tip to Deadspin]
Send me your funny and/or interesting links, photos, YouTube videos, blogs, Tweets, comments, emails, ideas, leads, etc. If I deem them to be worthy for the blog, I'll give you a plug. You can reach me at Matt.Vensel@baltsun.com and twitter.com/mattvensel.