Coffee Companion (9/23): Break up the O's; Ravens wide-outs

Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with 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:

The streaking Orioles beat the Tigers, 6-5, on Thursday night, giving them their eighth win in 10 games. ... Brian Matusz could get one more start. ... Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron defended the offense’s pace of play in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss. ... Domonique Foxworth conceded that his surgically repaired knee is preventing him from being an effective cornerback. ... Chris Carr plans to play Sunday. ... Three Ravens starters returned to practice on Thursday. ... Andre Gurode called the move to left guard "challenging." ... Navy is considering a possible football move to the Big East.

Hitting the links:

1. Preston: It's too early to give up on Torrey Smith [Baltimore Sun]

2. The young receivers are learning on the run [Baltimore Sun]

3. The rookie receivers are on the hot seat [CSN Baltimore]

4. I understand Terrence Cody's omission, but how are Ray Lewis and Ray Rice not on this list? [Muscle Prodigy]

5. Will LaQuan Williams return kicks Sunday? [Ravens Insider]

6. Memo to Haloti Ngata: Getting the money is the easy part [Toy Department]

7. The Ravens might have to use the franchise tag on Ray Rice this offseason [ESPN]

8. Quarterbacks like Joe Flacco helped pave the way for Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert [SI]

9. Somehow, the Orioles are better this year than they were last year [The Loss Column]

10. Anti-Moneyball: The story of the 1998 Baltimore Orioles [Baltimore Sports Report]

11. Pedro Strop has pitched well for the O's since the Michael Gonzalez deal [Orioles Insider]

12. Can Buck Showalter be both a manager and a GM? [CBS Sports]

13. The Terps are learning how to trust each other in trying times [CSN Baltimore]

14. The Capitals fan who threw the crab on the ice in Baltimore [D.C. Sports Bog]

15. The Capitals are going to win the Stanley Cup this season [ESPN]

16. The son of one of the guys from "Slap Shot" is trying to make it with the Caps [CSN Baltimore]

Video of the morning: 

The Batting Stance Guy is back with another entertaining video [via Hot Clicks]



Send me your funny and/or interesting links, photos, YouTube videos, blogs, Tweets, comments, emails, ideas, etc. and I’ll give you a plug. You can reach me at Matt.Vensel@baltsun.com and twitter.com/mattvensel.