big east conference

DePaul forward Cleveland Melvin is the No. 1 selection in The Baltimore Sun's 2012 Sweet 16.

Eric Atkins, a Notre Dame point guard and Mount St. Joseph graduate, has been selected to The Baltimore Sun's Sweet 16.

DePaul Blue Demons point guard Brandon Young has been selected to The Baltimore Sun's Sweet 16.

Loyola women¿s lacrosse coach Jen Adams has been chosen as the Intercollegiate Women¿s Lacrosse Coaches Association¿s Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for the second time,

Georgetown sophomore Greg Whittington is the latest Baltimore Sun Sweet 16 selection.

Four years ago, when Jameel McClain was in his rookie season with the Ravens, the undrafted free agent out of Syracuse first made his presence felt as a pass rusher. The gritty linebacker only had 16 tackles in 2008, but he recorded 2.5 sacks and a pair of safeties -- one more than Ray Lewis has in his long career.

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports.

It was last Saturday's opening kickoff, and freshman kicker Brad Craddock realized he was the last Maryland Terrapin standing between Temple returner Matt Brown and 60 yards of inviting, open field.

UConn defensive end Tim Willman returns to Maryland Saturday

The ties between Maryland and Notre Dame in men's lacrosse already run deep.

A host of details are still being decided surrounding Notre Dame's move to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Here are some pros and cons that jump out upon first glance:

Notre Dame to join ACC in all sports except football and hockey but will play five football games a year against schools in the conference

On Saturday, Maryland (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) plays Connecticut (1-1, 0-0 Big East) —where Randy Edsall coached 12 seasons.

Maryland would like the running game to take the pressure off freshman quarterback Perry Hills in matchup with Temple

Matt Bracken previews The Sweet 16, his list of the best college basketball players from the Baltimore area.

Stan Ber's Bits & Pieces column

Loyola will leave the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to join the Patriot League, the university announced this morning.

There are 89 Baltimore-area football players on Division I Football Bowl Subdivision rosters this fall.

Going into his fifth season as Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo hasn't slept soundly since taking over for Paul Johnson

To those on the outside, it would appear that much has changed for Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo and the Midshipmen over the past year.

There were times Gary Williams second-guessed his decision to help rebuild a Maryland program still reeling from the scandal surrounding the cocaine-induced death of All-American Len Bias three years before, and the turmoil that enveloped the Terps during Bob Wade's tenure.

Maryland quarterback commitment Shane Cockerille was selected to be an Elite 11 QB.

Will Barton has done the research. He's poured over the numbers, he's tracked the stocks and he's talked with the experts. Something just doesn't add up. How could the most efficient swingman in college basketball not be considered a lottery pick in Thursday's NBA Draft?

Here's Henry Sims, sweating under the Georgetown logo at the Verizon Center. Sims, slapping high fives with Wizards assistant coach Sam Cassell after his workout for Washington. Sims, talking about the 16 or so teams he is working out for. Saying he doesn't want to think about which team is going to draft him, just that it's a blessing someone likely will.

Baltimore Ravens running back Anthony Allen spent most of his rookie season watching from the sidelines. But with Rice in a contract negotiation and Williams in retirement, Allen enjoyed his opportunity this spring.

Towson men's basketball coach Pat Skerry discusses the 2012-13 Tigers and recruiting.

An early attempt at looking into the crystal ball for next season's preseason rankings

Five new members were inducted into the Edgewood High School Hall of Fame Tuesday in conjunction with the EHS Class of 2012 commencement ceremonies the same day.

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and intern Connor Letourneau (The Diamondback's co-sports editor and men's lacrosse beat writer) weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports.

The start of the 2012-13 college basketball season is still more than five months away, but practice begins Tuesday.

Previewing the men's and women's NCAA lacrosse tournament semifinals

Close friends Cathy Reese, Jen Adams meet for the first time in NCAA quarterfinals as Loyola visits Maryland.

On a Notre Dame men's lacrosse team where everyone contributes, Clarksville's Jim Marlatt has grabbed the spotlight.

Previewing the week ahead in state lacrosse

Stoothoff made 10 saves in last weekend's 10-9 win over Penn to open the NCAA tournament, including two in overtime.

The Loyola women's lacrosse team has leaned on freshmen — all the way to the NCAA tournament.

Third in last week's rankings, Greyhounds return to first

Maryland coach Randy Edsall was ranked 65th among the 125 Football Bowl Subdivision coaches by The Sporting News.

The week ahead for Maryland lacrosse teams

Maryland's Katie Schwarzmann is one of five finalists for the 2012 Tewaaraton Award as the top player in women's college lacrosse.

Former Johns Hopkins All-American goalie shares thoughts on on the value of being the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the tournament, the most intriguing first-round contest, and one seeded team that may have the easiest path to the Final Four.

Women's Division I tournament may be tighter than ever at the top