Terp Talk

       Happy days, if you have listened to what I have been pleading for in the past 2 years, the suddenly wise heads of the state have decided that yes Baltimore is a big league town that desparately needs a new , modern, 18000 seat arena that could possible house an NBA or NHL team one day!!!!!  The Civic Center has prevented so many big time events from ever coming to Baltimore and it stands as a 44 year old white elephant.  I am in favor of a 18,500 capacity over 21,000 because the sightlines in the new arena should be great, very similar to Comcast where there is no bad seat.  Public money through probably the Maryland lottery and entertainment taxes will fund this arena and history  has shown the state knows how to build sports complexes.  Commisioner Stern has told me personally that he is against expansion but that won’t stop a troubled franchise from moving to the Charm City.  It would behoove the Wizards to shift 4 or 5 of their home games to Baltimore to attempt to control the market.  Certainly Maryland will play a few games in the new arena just to help with recruiting the  fertile Baltimore area.  Expect perhaps an ACC Championship Tournament here, a NCAA regional final, bigger comcerts, an indoor football team in the A League and certainly a well deserved new home for  the Blast.  Bring it on Mayor Dixon, great job!!!!

   The Orioles fate for 2008 has now been sealed.  Sitting at 48-53 with the next 6 games against the Angels and Yankees, the Orioles will be mired in last place in the AL East and ready to entertain offers for George Sherrill and Aubrey Huff, 2 Orioles having career years. There is just no starting pitching on this squad with the exception of Guthrie. The next 7 days days should be very interesting.

      Maryland Grad and LA comedian , Mike Rosolio will be on Terp talk tonight on ESPN Radio. Dino joins in as co host Thursday night. Among topics of discussion will be all Maryland news, the continued ESPNU saga, the WNBA Brawl, the start of Ravens camp, and the trading deadline for the O’s. Mike is an alumni of the comedy troop Sketchups at College Park and currently writes, produces and sometimes stars in Mania TV. 

     As the Brett Favre sweepstakes begins, the Ravens opened camp with Boller, Troy Smith and Flacco battling for the #1 spot.  Every time I watch Boller with that short arm toss, my stomach crawls.  Look for Troy Smith to emerge as #1 and the Ravens to show no interest in #4 (Favre).

     Though he has relinquished his role as Off Coordinator, Ralph had plenty to say about his offense for the upcoming year–”Obviously, [we want to answer] who’s the starting quarterback. From that standpoint, it’s not like we’re going to play somebody who hasn’t played. Probably Josh Portis has the least amount of experience and he played as a freshman for Florida. I think Jordan Steffyhas come in and played in some big games. He was injured last year, and that hurt his development. Chris Turner played some phenomenal games last year and beat two top-10 teams. When I look at the quarterbacks, the biggest concern I have is do they have the experience because that’s the only way they learn. But our guys have experience, so I think that’s another position we have depth at. I’m optimistic about it.

“I think we have a chance to have a good football team. We have two new running backs, but Da’Rel Scott played last year and showed what he can do. He’s a big play-potential guy. We haven’t had a guy who could go all the way probably since (former Maryland running backs) Chris Downs and Bruce Perry, and this guy can go all the way. Morgan Green has been a guy that’s been around, and he’s hungry to play.  I like our offensive line. We have more offensive linemen in our program than we’ve ever had.

    The Orioles pitching continues to implode as they dropped a 10-8 decision to Toronto.  Gregg Olsen has become almost an afterthought as his era climbed to 6.31 last night.  Melvin Mora continued his torrid post all star game pace going 4 for 5 with 5 rbi.  Look for closer GeorgeSherrill to be traded in the next week, probably for a AAA shortstop prospect.

     Good fortune continues for the Terrapins today with the much sought after DJ Adams , 5′10″ 210 RB from Georgia Verball comitting to Maryland.  Along with Caleb Porzel, and hopefully Tavon Austin the Terps could have one of the strongest recruiting classes in the country.

Georgia RB DJ Adams.

       The Orioles behind the strong hitting Adam Jones and Melvin Mora, stormed past Toronto 8-3, as they continue to score runs at will. Liz picked up the win tonight before 12000 at the Yards. 

     Amazing that if we exclude Sunday games the Orioles are 47-35, but Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Tigers continues a weird streak that has ruined the season.  Adam Loewen has been forced to abandon his pitching career with O’s and will now pursue reestabling himself as a hitter. Many believe this is not as improbable as it sounds.

     I was away in Miami for the past 2 days where the uproar is over the incredible shrinking attendance of the Marlins.  The Marlins rank 30th in Baseball averaging less then 18000 per game.  Too much rain and obsessive heat are to blame.  Their new stadium (retractable roof stadium at the old Orange Bowl site) should stall thoughts of moving the franchise for a few years.

    Dan Snyder went deep into his pockets to trade for Jason Taylor, defensive end from the Dolphins.  Taylor cost the Skins 2 2nd round picks.

     Goalie Chris Seitz, Maurice Edu, and Robbie Rogers have been chosen to participate in the Beijing Olympics for the USA Soccer Squad.  All three were part of the Terrapins’ run to the NCAA Championship in 2005.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic for Maurice, Chris and Robbie,” said Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski. “Playing in the Olympics is the dream of every young athlete. I vividly remember telling all three during summer workouts that they had the ability to be on the Olympic team, and I’m delighted they’ve had those dreams come true.

“For these three young men to follow their national championship with budding pro careers and now the opportunity to play in the Olympics, it’s something the entire Terrapin soccer family and the entire University of Maryland community can take tremendous pride in.”

   The Orioles dropped a 6-5 game to Detroit Thursday night, falling to 45-49.  Can this free fall be stopped?  The starting pitching has just evaporated and there is not much help ready on the farm.

    The suspension of Harness racing at Rosecroft is a sad occurrence for Maryland sports.  The racing industry is collapsing and I surely hope the passage of the slots referendum can stop the bleeding.

Only in the strange world of Heavyweight Boxing could a fight occur as happened last night. After 2 rounds, Baltimore’s Hasim Rahman was controlling his opponent, James Toney. The 2 last fought to a draw in Atlantic City 2 years ago, despite the fact that Toney was pummeled round after round. In the middle of the 3rd round last night, Toney opened a gash over Hasim’s left eye with an accidental head butt. The blood was pouring into Hasim’s eye and thus after the round the ring doctor stopped the fight. Somehow (due to some home cooking), Toney was awarded the decision and the Heavyweight title (one of many). Typical ridiculous finish, which is why MMA is taking over the landscape.

        Caleb Porzel, 5′9 170 lb running back verbally committed to Coach Friedgen last night in a major get for the Terps.  A Steve Slaton type slasher, Porzel has benn timed in the 40 at 4.4.  Below is a listing of the verbals so far, courtesy of Terrapin Times.

        DJ Strawberry scored 22 in a summer league game for Phoenix, drawing praise from the entire organization.

          In a 4 hour 50 minute epic, the American League, down to their last player, outlasted the National League when Justin Morneau barely scored on a sac fly by Michael Young.  Both teams squandered opportunities in the late innings.  With the win the AL gains home field advantage in the World Series.  JD Drew of the Red Sox was named MVP.  Terry Francona used George Sherrill as a last resort, but the Orioles stopper came throughpitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings.