Sun Trends: Sports
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As first-time backup, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco set to enter new, uncertain phase of his career
With his 34th birthday fast approaching and 163 NFL starts behind him, Joe Flacco has faced almost every dip, rise and curve professional football can throw at a man. For more than a decade, he’s held the job thousands of athletes pursue and few ever attain — unquestioned leader of an NFL offense....
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Path to the playoffs: Which Week 15 games can help or hurt the Ravens?
Four days after the Kansas City Chiefs secured a playoff spot with their win over the Ravens, the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday became the second AFC team to clinch — with their win over the Chiefs. Because life is far from fair, the hypercompetitive AFC West will send one of those teams on...
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'We're going to get up to speed as quickly as possible': Q&A with new Orioles GM Mike Elias
In the middle of his first winter meetings in charge of the Orioles, one that that included the hiring of manager Brandon Hyde as he continued to build the organization in his image, executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias had to do a lot of explaining on his philosophy regarding...
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How do the Ravens stop the NFL's top passing attack? It will start with their pass rush.
Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale did not want to talk about fourth-and-9. “I think that he made a great play,” Martindale said Thursday of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose game-saving, fourth-quarter, across-his-body completion to Tyreek Hill on Sunday spurred...
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Five things we learned from the Orioles' week at baseball's winter meetings
With the first winter meetings of the new era of Orioles baseball under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias wrapped Thursday, the first glimpse at how the team might be operated and what its short- and long-term goals are provided plenty to ponder. Some things remained the same,...
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Maryland standouts Bruno Fernando, Jalen Smith get first-round grades in NBA mock drafts
In its latest poll of the top 100 NBA prospects, ESPN lists Maryland big men Jalen Smith and Bruno Fernando at Nos. 31 and No. 75, respectively. It doesn’t mean that ESPN doesn’t think the 6-foot-10, 215-pound freshman from Baltimore and the 6-10, 245-pound sophomore from Angola wouldn’t be drafted...
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Winter meetings tech expo provides glimpse into Orioles' data-driven future
Just beside the sprawling media work room where hundreds of writers tapped out the day's news at this past week's baseball winter meetings in Las Vegas, baseball executives across a makeshift hallway had an eye on writing the game's future. Because of the collection of data and the fast pace of...
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AFC wild-card playoff reset: Ravens atop four-team pack, but AFC North's up for grabs
Go ahead, flip a coin. Heads, the Ravens make the playoffs. Tails, they miss it for a fourth straight year. How fitting that, after an overtime loss Sunday to the Kansas City Chiefs in which the game’s outcome seemed to teeter on a knife’s edge, the Ravens’ postseason odds are now essentially a...
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Orioles hire Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde as 20th manager in club history
Brandon Hyde will be the 20th manager in Orioles history, the club announced Friday, solidifying the selection that was first reported Tuesday at baseball's winter meetings but was deemed premature by executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias as it beamed from the television screen...
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After 11 seasons together, the end could be near for Ravens' Harbaugh-Flacco partnership
On Sunday, two of the NFL’s longest-tenured head coaches will meet for maybe their final time as AFC North foes. The Ravens’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals will be the 185th of John Harbaugh’s career and 257th of Marvin Lewis’, postseason included. The two have stood on opposing sidelines...