We are the Champions...

Of the Southeast Division!!!!!

Rejoice Caps fans, rejoice!!!

Caps get the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they'll take on either Ottawa (please, please, please??) or the Flyers. It all hinges on the Penguins/Flyers game this afternoon. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but GO PENS!!!!

(Oh, and I apologize for the crappiness of the above picture, but I took it with my cell phone, and didn't have time to adjust the settings when I snapped it. I was busy taking some pics with the digital.)

I'm the Voice Inside Your Head That You Refuse to Hear...

BEST.GAME.EVER. That's all I can say about Tuesday night's Caps game. Despite my last post talking about our playoff chances being slim, the Caps are showing that they're not giving up. After going 5-1 on their 6-game road trip, they came back to the Verizon Center last night with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The first game the Caps beat the Predators, but they really only played one decent period of hockey. They held on for the win. Then came the Caps's only loss on the trip. They succumbed to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks, and boy was it a beating. Final score: 5-0. It was bad. Caps fans were beginning to think that loss may have been the proverbially nail in the coffin. But the Caps bounced back, earning themselves the nickname of the Cardiac Caps in the process.

Up next was a road date with the entire Southeast Conference, with only a brief Easter visit in between games. The Caps took on the Thrashers, and they got a 5-3 victory. After that was their brief trip back home for some rest, and then back on the road to Carolina. Carolina. The Hurricanes. The leaders of the Southeast Division. The team 5 points ahead of us in the division. This is a win we needed badly.

The Caps still were not looking all that great, but neither were the Canes. The two goals the Canes scored were deflections off of Caps players. The first was a slapshot that deflected off Matt Bradley. The second goal was reviewed by the officials, but was basically knocked in by Shaone Morrison's skate. The puck ended up being stuffed under Huet's pad, but over the line because Shaone skated into Cristobal. The Caps got it to OT, which really wasn't the best move considering the Canes got a point out of it. Kozlov got the winning goal in the shootout, and the Caps were victorious. Onto Tampa Bay where the Lightning were waiting to play spoiler to the Caps's push for the playoffs.

The Caps drew first blood this time, on a shorthanded goal by Brooks Laich no less. The Lightning responded on the same power play. The Caps were actually down 3-2 in the 3rd period, but with a goal by the other Alex, Semin, that is, the Caps were back in business. We were in overtime, once again, but it didn't matter that the Ning got a point. All that mattered was that the Caps picked up two. Tomas Fleischmann, or "Flash", scored in OT to give the Caps the win. Again, the Caps pull off the victory on the road. Now the Caps have a 3-game win streak going into Sunrise, FL for a date with the Panthers.

The Caps dominated the Panthers 3-0, with Ovie scoring number 62 on the season, putting him one goal shy of Luc Robitaille's record of 63 goals scored in a season by a left winger. Viktor Kozlov got the game-winner, ultimately, with his goal in the second period. Towards the end of the second period, Mike Green finally scored, after a goal-drought in the month of March for Caps's defensemen. Green potted number 18 on the season, and put him one goal shy of the Blackhawks' Dustin Byfuglian's 19.

But even with that stretch of 5-1 on the road, the Caps still had a lot of hockey to play. Flash forward to Tuesday night. The Phone Booth was splashed in red, and I've never seen it so alive. With the Southeast Division leader Carolina Hurricanes playing the role of guest, the Caps were not about to play the role of kind host. The Caps were two points shy of tying the Canes for first in the divsion. Granted, the Canes had the tie break over the Caps, but everyone knew that this game was make or break for DC. The Caps knew it and the fans knew it. The fans were in full force, and I was among the many. I donned my red, and supersticiously let my sister wear my red Caps shirt. I was screaming at the top of my lungs for every player, every play! And I was not the only one. The place was electric. And the Caps were definitely feeding off of our excitement.

When the Canes score first they have a scary good record. The Caps knew they had to score first. And that they did. Mike Green hit a monster shot that bounced off of Cam Ward right to Matt Cooke's skate then stick, and the Caps led 1-0. At the end of the first period, as a power play was expiring, Tomas Fleischmann passed the puck to a streaking Brooks Laich who netted his 21st goal of the season. Going into the first intermission, the Caps received a standing ovation from the Verizon Center crowd. But this was the Hurricanes. They were not going to keel over and die. They came out big and ended up scoring first in the second period, to get within one goal of the Caps. But don't think because this is Carolina that the Caps would keel over and die, either. The Caps were energized and took back their two-goal advantage with a goal by Alexander Semin. Semin was playing great on Tuesday, and getting the goal was just the icing on the cake. Carolina was no friend of the stripes on Tuesday because it felt like they spent more time in the box than on the ice. Always a plus for the Caps. And the Caps were hitting hard and picking up their own penalites, as well.

The game could definitely be described as physical. Even Ovie got into the action. After a stupendous save by Huet, and a subsequent tap by Eric Staal, Ovie defended his goalie with a little roughing up of his own. But that wasn't all Ovie contributed. During a stretch of 4-on-4 play, Ovie snagged a pass from Backstrom in front of the Canes net, and, somehow in mid-spin, ripped one off the post and into the net. You had to see it to believe it! A-freakin-mazing!! That goal sealed the victory for the Caps.

Of course I can't talk about Ovie scoring without mentioning the "M-V-P!" chants filling the arena. I'm gonna give some credit for that to my fellow rowmates in section 413. They had been trying to start an Ovie "M-V-P!" chant for a solid period and a half before the chant picked up after Ovie's 63rd goal. They were pretty excited. I noticed the press really picked up on the "M-V-P!" chants, and, I'd like to think, the fact that my row was directly next to the press box may have been the reason for that.

But here the Caps sit. Knowing that even if they win out the rest of their games, they could possibly still not make the playoffs. I don't like to think that way. There are a lot of critical games on tap for the teams ahead of the Caps in the standings. The biggest game is the Ottawa/Boston game. The Caps need that game to end in regulation. If that game goes to OT, the odds of the Caps making the playoffs are slim to none. If it ends in regulation, the Caps are basically in. And with the way this team is playing, no one wants to face the Caps in the playoffs. They are scorching right now, home and away. The boys in DC are on the verge of greatness, but no one outside of this region wants to hear that!

When You're Hot, You're Hot. When You're Not...

So, yeah, things were looking up for the Caps, but not so much anymore. Not after this past weekend, anyways. To catch you up on things, the Caps ended up obtaining the rights to G Cristobal Huet from the Montreal Canadiens for next to nothing at the trade deadline. They also managed to get Sergei Fedorov (yes, the Sergei Fedorov) from the Blues and Matt Cooke from the Canucks for Matt Pettinger. So we compiled a nice little roster for our nice little playoff run.

Prior to the deadline, the Caps had to play the Devils, the best team in the Eastern Conference. The Caps lose on their home ice, 2-1 in OT. So, trade deadline done, Caps are looking pretty unstoppable at this point. First up is Minnesota at home. Not a bad matchup. Caps win, things look good. Next test is on the road against the Devils, who had just beat them, barely. Caps get a 4-1 win away from the Phone Booth. Then they have a minor slip up at home against the Maple Leafs. The Leafs are not too hot of a team, so to get beat at home to them kinda stinks, but we'll get over it. Next up at home are the Boston Bruins. In the first meeting between the two teams, the Caps lost 2-0, and they have historically always been able to stop Ovie.

Well Ovie finally got over his goal drought in the loss to the Leafs. So hopefully he could get number 50 against the Bruins. I was there for this game, so I was really hoping for an Ovechkin goal. And as luck would have it, Ovie got a hat trick --- in the first period. The Caps killed the B's 10-2, scoring 6 goals in the first period alone. It was an unbelievable game, and one that I will not soon forget. The Caps were winning, convinceably, too. If they kept up this pace, they would most certainly be fighting for and winning a spot in the playoffs.

Next stop for the Caps: Buffalo. With the roll that they were on, nothing could stop this team. Ollie gets the start, despite the whole 3 goalie controversy, and the Caps get the 3-1 win, and Ovie picked up his 53rd and 54th goal. So the Caps head back out onto the road to face the Bruins, who the Caps demoralized just 5 days earlier. Think revenge was on their minds?

So here it is, a tight game, the Caps up 1-0 and midway through the 3rd period. The older, wiser journeyman Donald "Brash" Brashear is on the ice. Usually, I wouldn't complain. The guy isn't the best skater, but he's an agitator that can get this team pumped. Well stupid Brash gets three minor penalties in two plays at the 6:41 mark, putting him in the box for 6:00. Great they have a 6:00 power play!! Then a phantom hooking call on Erskine gives the Bruins a 2-man advantage a minute later. They score. Tied game. At the 2:56 mark Tom Poti is called with another phantom call for slashing. Everyone had thought the penalty was against Boston, making it a 4-on-4 game, which is awesome for the Caps, but no. It's another 2-man advantage for Boston, and you guessed it, another goal. Game over. Caps lose.

I think the stupidness of Brash's actions is what ultimately cost them that game. The playoffs are not looking as obtainable at this point. Plus, the Caps have the Pens at home tomorrow with a healthy Sidney Crosby. Plus, we all lost an hour of sleep. Could the Caps bounce back?

The game was a good one. NBC was in the Phone Booth broadcasting nationally. The Caps were looking good. Caps drew first blood when Brooks Laich deflected an Alexander Semin shot into the net. Less than a minute later, the Pens netted one to tie things up. Later, as a Pens power play was expiring Sidney Crosby netted a Malkin rebound to put the Penguins up 2-1. The Caps caught a break at the end of the 2nd period when they got a 2-man advantage in the waning minute or so. Semin netted one to tie the game. Start of the third, Caps come out on the ice with a minute or so power play that they do nothing with. A hard fought period with both teams making great shots, and both Huet and Fleurry making great saves. I look at my dad with a little less than a minute left in the game and say, "We really just need to at least get a point out of this game." Here's a video clip that just explains the rest for you:

So with Nicklas Backstrom being the goat and scoring for the Pens, the Caps go on to lose the game, and most likely their playoff chances. Backstrom probably lost the Calder trophy on that shot, as well. But there are other individual milestones the team can strive for. Ovechkin is still on that quest to 60, and the Caps can do what no other team has done since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988-89: have the overall leading goal scorer and the most goal-prolific defenseman. Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey did it back then, and Ovie and Mike Green can do it this year. For now, I'm still rooting for our playoff miracle and holding out hope that the Southeast Division, minus the Caps, will crumble like stale saltines.

Oh and I'm going to the game on Friday against the Thrashers. Let the crumbling begin!!

Ice, Ice Baby

So I went to the Phone Booth the other night for the Caps/Islanders game. It was military night at the game, and we ended up scoring a couple of free hats. My dad says he saw Ted Leonis (aka the owner) coming out of a door when we were trying to get a hat. I didn't see him, and he never pointed him out to me, so we can't confirm that sighting. We had an awesome time and it was a pretty great game, except for the fact that we lost! We came away with a point, but it felt like we lost a point.

Alexander Semin drew first blood with a goal around the 2:17 mark in the first period. Brooks Laich got the 2nd goal a few minutes later after deflecting a Mike Green shot into the net. The first period was awesome and the Caps were on fire. Then it went downhill. The Caps were playing well, but the Isles got a goal as a Capitals power play was expiring, catching everyone off guard. Then a fluke goal later we had a tie game. Of course we have Islanders fans sitting with us, so they were pretty stoked. It was annoying that everytime we did a Caps cheer, they had to insert "Islanders" everytime "Caps" or "Capitals" was mentioned. Plus it was little kids. Did I mention they were wearing the Capitals camoflauge hats? Yeah, makes loads of sense!

Anyways, so overtime comes and there were some awesome shots, but some great saves on Rick DiPietro's part. We go to a shootout, and Ovechkin leaves a sure goal on the line with DiPietro falling to his right and Alex to his left. It was heartbreaking. Then Hilary Duff's boyfriend comes up with the game winner. Boo.

The Caps definitely should have won that one. But I still had a lot of fun. I scored some free tickets from work, and my dad and I ended up sitting in a suite right behind the goal. It was pretty sweet! My sister and I are planning to go to the next Student Rush night on March 3rd. It should be a good one.

Now let's hope that the Caps can get the win against Carolina this afternoon. Right now they trail Carolina by 4 points in the Southeast Division. The Canes have also played 3 more games than the Caps, too. So a win tonight is key! Let's Go Caps!!

I'm Cold as Fire, Baby, Hot as Ice

Ok, so I'm updating this bisquit...

Currently I'm obsessed with the Caps. My dad and I have always watched the Caps for as long as I can remember. We never went to games, though. We did go to an occasional Baltimore Skipjack game back in the day, but never to an NHL one. My dad finally scored some free tickets for opening night 2005 at the phone booth - right behind the goal, I might add. The NHL was coming off of a strike, and professional hockey was back. And Alexander "The Gr8" Ovechkin was making his debut.

What a game? Alex scored 2 goals in his NHL debut and is now considered one of, if not the best player in the NHL. But enough about that. Let's talk about the present day Caps. This season started out bad. It was looking like this team was going nowhere again. Ted Leonis fires Glen Hanlon (Thank God!!) and brings in Bruce Boudreau, and all was right in Caps world again! The Caps went on freakin tear, and now we're two points out of the lead in the Southeast division, behind the Carolina Hurricanes, who it just so happens has lost their best player, Rod Brind'Amour for the rest of the season.

Ah yes, things are finally looking up in Caps World! They just finished a brutal road test, where they only came away with 3 points, but seriously, they're 2 points out of first, so it's not a bad thing.

Now the Caps get the next few at home, and we fans cross our fingers and hope that Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay and Atlanta start losing, and the Caps start winning. If the Caps can make a playoff run, I think they can go far. When you have arguably the best player in the league in Ovechkin, coupled with a hot goalie like Ollie and a defenseman like Mike Green that is leading all defensemen in goals scored you are bound to have something good happen. I'm not saying Stanley Cup this year, but I feel it won't be long before the Caps finally get their paws on the coveted trophy.

And since I'm a girl, I feel the need to comment on the hotness of our team. Example number 1:

That would be Brooks Laich and Mike Green. I'm seriously love both of them. Two cuties!! Ok I'm done with my girlyness...carry on.

It's Been Awhile...

Ok so really, it's been quite awhile since I blogged on here. So much has happened beginning with the Ravens and ending with the Terps. The Ravens went on to kick some serious butt this year. They finished with a 13-3 regular season record: their best ever!! We even snagged a first round bye in the playoffs. We thought this would help tremendously, but instead I think it hindered our performance quite a bit. We came into the Divisional playoff round real cocky and with super egos. Granted, our regular season performance warranted some of these emotions, but we were playing the freakin' Colts for God's sake. We hate the Colts. They used to be us. We used to root for the horseshoe. Now we despise it, that is unless it's on our Johnny U throwback. They were coming to our house once again, and this time we really wanted to beat them, it meant more now than it ever did before.

Of course the Ravens choked. There wasn't a touchdown scored the entire game between either team. Here the Ravens defense held the top ranked Indy offense to zero, nada, nilch touchdowns. All our offense needed to do was a score a TD, get in the end zone, cross the goal line, whatever you want to call it. Could they do that? Could Steve "Air" McNair air it out to D-Mason or hit up Mark Clayton? Hells no. He pulled out his most suckiest performance of the year. Technically, he had better numbers than Peyton "HARF" Manning, but still, Peyton got the Colts into our territory and set up Adam Vinatieri for the field goals. Something McNair couldn't get done. The turning point of the entire game was the interception McNair threw on the Colts 1-yd line. We were going in for the score at the end of the first half and he threw it away. He made a stupid pass and threw into double coverage. Had he looked around a little he would have saw that open man in the far corner of the end zone waiting to catch the play-of-the-day!! Instead, we lose. We lose to the Colts in Baltimore. Oh yeah, and the Colts go on to win the Super Bowl. Screw the Irsays! Fo' realz, yo.

Anyway, so yeah, football is done, so what's left? Why Maryland basketball, of course. The perennially disappointing men's basketball team was starting to suck again. We looked solid at the beginning of the season with big wins over Illinois and Michigan State. Then we hit ACC play with a thud, starting out 3-6 in the conference. The big ACC win for the Terps during that stretch was against Clemson. The Tigers came into Comcast as the last unbeaten with a 17-0 record. The odds were stacked against them, they were bound to lose. And of course they lost to our up-and-down Terps. It was our one legitimate conference win at that point. Then, of course, Clemson goes on a major slide and pretty much has stunk up the joint in the past two months. Seriously, I just heard last night that they're pretty much, barring a fantastic run in the ACC Tourney, going to become the only team to ever go 17-0 and not make the tournament. So now what for the Terps?

Well 9 games into the ACC season we meet up with enemy of the state #1, the Duke Blue Devils. Duke has lost 3 straight at this point, and the last time they lost 4 straight was when they sucked back in 1996 or something crazy like that. So odds are pretty much on Duke's side. The Terps are all over the place coming into this game, so no one thinks they can win except Terp fans. I have been saying since the beginning of the season that Duke is overrated and just not as good as everyone seems to think they are. I told my dad that no matter how bad Maryland is, we will beat Duke at least once this year, if not sweep them. We leave it as a "we'll see" scenario. So the big game comes, and Maryland beats the crap out of the Devils. It was Duke's most lopsided loss of the season! YES!! Goooo TERPS!! Now, all they have to do is keep it up. So what do the Terps do? They keep on winning.

They go on the road and win. They come home against what is arguably the best team in the ACC, University of North Carolina, and they start looking like their old selves. UNC gets a 12 point lead, the largest of the game, and Maryland looks desperate. Then all of a sudden it's like a light switch turning on. Mike Jones comes down the court and sinks a three, cutting the lead to 9. They get a defensive stop at the other end, and DJ Strawberry comes down and sinks a 3. YES! Now the lead is at 6. Maryland just keeps chipping away and they get their first lead of the game with 2:55 left. They keep the lead and go on to win by 2!! So now we have a 5 game winning streak, and guess who's up next? That's right ya'll!! It's the Dukies!!

So cut to last night. Maryland is taking on the Blue Devils for the 2nd time in less than a month. This time it's on their turf. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Cameron Crazies, blah, blah, blah who cares? I certainly don't. And apparently Gary doesn't either!! Their fans are just robots using cheers that some committee came up with. That does not scare the Terps. Last night was no exception. Keeping up the win streak, the Terps stormed into Cameron looking for blood, and they returned to College Park the victors!! It was an insane game (you know between all the "technical difficulties" on ESPN's part and the commentators calling us on flops when Duke does it every drive), and it was good to see the freshmen's reaction to playing at Cameron. Here's a quote from Mr. Greivis Vasquez:

"I love when the crowd is on me," said Vasquez, who had 13 points, a career-high 12 assists and 9 rebounds. "They were trying to make me mad. They were talking about the president of Venezuela. I love it. It was so nice. I've got three more years, and it's going to be fun. They might be worried about me now."

The Terps have the best record at Cameron Indoor Stadium since the 99-00 season. The Terps have won 4 games, that's one more than Duke's "real" rival, UNC, and 3 more than anyone else. We're also the only team to sweep a season series with Duke since, well we did two seasons ago. We have Duke's number, and they need to recognize! A student writer who blogs at the Duke Chronicle had this to say about the Crazies last night:

"Covering tonight's loss to Maryland, I noticed that the environment was much better than it was at the Georgia Tech game. But for a game of this importance and against Duke's second-biggest rival, it was a little subdued. And I couldn't help but be dismayed at the lack of creativity of the Crazies as a whole and specifically the ones around my seat on press row.

I'm convinced there are a lot of creative, passionate Cameron Crazies out there. But it just seems like I'm sitting in front of those that really don't know the game and end up embarrassing the Crazie population.

I'm all for going after the referees. They're the only ones between the lines getting paid for this, so they are clearly fair game. But some Crazies spend so much time yelling at the refs, they don't even seem to be cheering for Duke or paying attention to the game. My fellow writer heard one Crazie near us tonight yell to the ref, 'I hope you get cancer and die soon.' Umm, a little much."

The Terps, who are not ranked in ESPN/USA Today Poll and are #24 in the AP Poll, are seriously on a roll. They have one game left on Saturday at home against N.C. State. They have the momentum and are a projected #6 seed and rising by Joe Lunardi, the bracketologist. I can't believe that the Terps are back. I thought for awhile that they were gone, but this team is only getting better. Hopefully they make a good run through the ACC Tourney, and start kicking butt in the NCAAs!! It's so great that they're finally going back after a 2 year absence. We had an 11 year streak before we had an awful 2004-05 season. I think it's time to go streaking again!!

Well Let Me Bring You Back to the Subject...

So much to talk about!! Ahh it's been too long my friends! So we're on to Week 3 of the NFL and the Ravens are still up in the air in my eyes, especially after yesterday's performance. The Ravens are 3-0, but you need to remember who they have played: Tampa Bay, Oakland and Cleveland. These are beatable teams, yet our offense has put up not-so-great numbers against both. Granted, the Bucs have/had a great defense, so I can see why the offensive numbers weren't that spectacular. The Raiders D, eh - so-so. But the Browns!?!? Ok so, yeah, they do have my man D'Qwell, but are they really that great that the Ravens can only score 15 points against them?

I'm still not convinced Steve McNair is/was the answer for this team. Maybe it's because I'm a Boller sympathizer, but I'm just thinking he hasn't proven he's great. We still see the same 5 yard passes on a third and 7!! Why?? I think it's all play calling - well a little. The QB needs to be aware of the sticks. They don't have that fancy, shmancy yellow line on the field to tell them where to throw. (Believe it or not I know people who actually thought that line was ON the field and that it was moved when a team got a first down! D'oh!) They need to know where the ball needs to be to get a first down. Baltimore has always sucked in the YAC category - Yards After Catch. You can't always expect to throw it 5 yards and get about 8 out of the play. It's just not going to happen. If fans watching the game realize this, then why can't the offensive coordinator *cough*GiantsRejectSuperBowlLoserToTheRavens*cough*?

The test for the Ravens comes this week against San Diego. The Chargers have an explosive offense with Philip "I can't beat Maryland - WAHHH" Rivers and LaDanian Tomlinson. I'm not even gonna talk about their defense. When your linebacker's nickname is "Lights Out", you're gonna have a good defense. By the way, Shawne Merriman is a Terp...not that I'm bragging or anything! :-) The Ravens have and will face three of the most awesome Terps players Maryland has seen in the past few years. First it was Lamont Jordan with the Raiders, then D'Qwell Jackson with the Browns and now the Chargers' Shawne Merriman!! Not to mention after the Chargers, they face the Broncos who have Dominique Foxworth and Curome Cox. Then they face Carolina who has Kris Jenkins!! Ahh loving my Terps, but not against the Ravens.

Speaking of the Terps....yeah I'm not going to go there. All I'm gonna say is this in response to the quality of players we have on the field: "I think Fridge's recruiting trips were based around his favorite places to eat, rather than the talent." There's my piece on that!

The Orioles on the other hand, whew. I'm pretty glad that season is pretty much over. The only good thing to happen in our last homestand against the Twins is that by us losing we eliminated the Red Sox from the playoffs. Ahh karma. It's funny how teams with winning records don't make the playoffs in baseball. It's kinda like, "Yeah, we may have sucked and you beat us a lot, but guess what buddy? You're sitting at home with a six pack watching postseason baseball just like me, LOSER!" haha The only shining light in an otherwise dark season was Nick Markakis. Forget that he is gorgeous. Instead, focus on the fact that the kid has a serious campaign for Rookie of the Year! Anyone remember the last Oriole to garner that award? What, it wasn't Cal Ripken, Jr.? damn Gregg Olson with 2 g's!! Anyway, you get my point. Markakis has great potential with the O's and I hope our shitty owner realizes this. Don't give him away like so many young prospects who have gone on to be awesome elsewhere!!

Speaking of the O's shitty owner, there was a protest here recently to "Free the Birds". While I didn't have a chance to participate, the idea was pretty great. Basically a bunch of disgruntled O's fans got together, bought upper deck seats for a makeup day game with the Tigers, wore all black, chanted and cheered on the O's, and then at 5:08pm (5 for Brooks Robinson, 8 for Cal Ripken) they left. They walked out of the stadium and protested. They chanted for Angelos to sell the team. Of course it didn't do anything but draw some media attention. And Angelos' reaction: you just bought 1,000 seats - that, otherwise, wouldn't have been sold - to a game for $8 a piece, SUCKERS!! I agree with the concept, but I don't like the idea of walking out. I paid $8 dammit, I'm watching my O's win!!! (Which they did, once all the stupid protesters left - They came back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3!) I hate Angelos as much as the next guy, but they shouldn't have bought tickets. They should have petitioned for "Baltimore" to be on the away jerseys. They should have stood outside his office and begged for a change. Maybe not in ownership, but in attitudes and the way the team is run. It's been 9 years since the O's have seen the postseason. We want it back in Baltimore. We want to know what October really feels like.

Hell, if the Tigers made it to the playoffs after 19 seasons, then it could happen!

Nice Guys Finish Last

Ok so maybe Andy didn't finish last, but you get the point. Andy fought hard, but couldn't outlast Roger Federer at the Open. Roger dominated Andy, as usual, but all hope is not lost. Andy jumped up to #6 in the World Rankings and is back to #1 in the US rankings. Andy is also now at third in the points system to qualify for the Masters tournament in Shanghai. Only the top 7 men will compete!!

Andy's resurgence this summer has been exactly what the doctor ordered. When Andy's cofidence is high, so is his game play. I think beating Roger has become more of a mental hurdle, rather than a physical. Roger made key mistakes in his win over Andy. Andy could have easily capitalized on them if he was on top of his game. I think Andy needs to prepare more mentally before playing Roger. If Andy hadn't taken so long to get his game in order in his first few service games, Andy could have easily taken the first 2 sets and put him in a more focused attitude. Instead, he started out antsy and nervous. By the time he settled down, it was too late. By the fourth set, Andy conceded to Federer. Being down 2 sets to 1 after losing a tough tie break in the previous set, probably didn't have Andy in the best mind set. Hopefully, he'll keep the winning ways up and play his heart out in the coming months.

Now onto football...All day on Sunday, I was thinking about Andy and the U.S. Open Final. Now that the tennis season is officially over, I can get back to football!! Ahh football. Saturday was spent at Byrd Stadium watching a mediocre team attempt to beat a presumably worse team. It was pathetic. The Terps are not looking good, and I'm worried about the West Virginia game on Thursday. The Mountainqueers... I mean Mountaineers are looking at possibly going undefeated this year. After Louisville lost it's star running back in the opening minutes of its season opener, WVU is poised for a conference sweep and a National Championship run. Of course, the pesky turtles in Maryland are known to suck and still beat good teams. Does anyone remember our insanely crazy win over Florida State in 2004? Hell, we beat FSU with Joel Statham behind center. Anything's possible with the Terps, I suppose. Of course, that was at home and we travel to the fiery hell that I call Morgantown. (By the way, Morgantown is the shittiest place in America I have ever been to. I had 5 year olds telling me to fuck off! I had friends who had beer and food thrown at them. And all of this happened before I got to the stadium! Fucking hillbillies!!)

Now you may think I was only referring to Andy with the title of the post, but alas you would be wrong. The Ravens are back to their ass whooping ways, and I couldn't be more happy about it!! The Ravens are not finishing last because they are not nice guys. Our defense devoured the Bucs offense!! There was not an ounce of nice of the field when Ray Ray and Company stepped onto it. It was all business. The Ravens got their first shut out since 2003, beating the Bucs 27-0. McNair looked awesome. The offense seemed to click for the first time in a long while. I'm not saying that I'm hopping on the McNair bandwagon like the rest of Baltimore. Before I can deem McNair the Ravens' savior, I have to see him in action. Honestly, I went to both of the Ravens' preseason games and he looked good on his first drive in the Giants game, and that was it. For me to say he is the reason the Ravens are playing so great, I have to see him beat a worthy opponent. The Bucs defense is not anywhere near as good as their Super Bowl one. And Chris Simms is probably worse than Kyle Boller when it comes to quarterbacking.

The Ravens play host to Oakland this weekend, and they are looking like one of the worst teams in football after last night's shut out loss at home versus the Chargers. Aaron Brooks was sacked more times than he completed a pass. He had 6 completions and was sacked 7 times. Not good. Of course, it's totally good for the Ravens. Granted, the Chargers defense is pretty awesome, mostly because of fellow Terp Shawne Merriman!! But I think the Ravens defense has a more complete group. With Ed Reed, Ray Ray, Bart Scott, CMac, etc. the Ravens are out for blood.

I still think the Ravens have a lot to prove, but it will take a few weeks for me to be totally sold on this turnaround.

So the moral of the story is: Screw Nice!!

I'm in the Hunt, I'm after you...

This is going to be a quick post, but I had to comment on the fact that Andy is back in a U.S. Open final!! I'm so excited for him and for his game. The "new" Andy is kicking ass and taking names!! Next up is his nemesis, Roger Federer. Roger is the Tiger Woods of tennis. He dominates everyone he plays, and he rarely loses. Great for him, bummer for everyone else. Andy has only beaten Roger once, and it was right after Andy won the U.S. Open in 2003. Andy has been preparing for this rematch with Federer for awhile and the time has arrived.

Hopefully, Andy can pull one out tomorrow!! I'm more excited for Andy playing in a Grand Slam final then I am for the start of the Ravens 2006 season. This is saying a lot about me right now!! haha

Go Andy!!! Good luck tomorrow!!

oh yeah....and Go Ravens!! Hopefully, McNair can win a few games before he gets hurt and Kyle steps in as the starter again!

I want to get back to my City by the Bay...

Ok, so I've recently realized, or more likely tried to forget, how much people outside of Baltimore hate on Baltimore. It's getting to the point of ridiculousness!! I mean most of these people have never even been to Baltimore, but feel the need to say how much it sucks and they hate it. The best part is how these people judge the city: by the sports in it.

Granted, I'll throw digs out there on Pittsburgh any day of the week, but from what I've heard, the city is a great one and very similar to Baltimore. I make fun of the team, but not the city. You're bound to get some ribbing from fans of teams that are rivals or yours, but to get shit from everyone is beyond crazy.

Our city is good enough for Boston and Yankee fans to come down and visit when their teams are playing the Orioles. From a restaurant stand point, we love when they come to town. They drive business in our city and we eat it up. I've met many people who thought they would hate the city and ended up falling in love with it. There's only a few places I've been in my travels of the U.S. that I have not liked the city at all. Columbus, OH, blows. And Jacksonville, FL, is nothing to write home about. I liked Atlanta, but I think the city is too small. But there are places I've been where, yes, I may hate the team there, but I love the city. New York is probably the greatest city in the world. But I loathe the Yankees. Even Cleveland is a great town, but I'm not a fan of the Brownies.

So what's up with the city hating? Yeah, Baltimore used to be a shit town, but it's been built up since those crazy days. There's so much to do in Baltimore, the list is endless. People need to get past the dislike for a sports franchise when they look at a city. Of course, I'm a Ravens and an Orioles fan. I don't get much O's hating these days because, well, they suck. That and the only argument you get from people is that Angelos sucks balls and any O's fan would agree with that statement. It's hard to even find true O's fans anymore. We're becoming extinct, I think. There is a movement in Baltimore to "Free the Birds". Let's hope that happens sometime in the near future!! As I'm writing this blog, the O's are beating up on the Yankees, 9-2! Hopefully it stays that way. Even self professed O's lovers don't care if they win after the All-Star break. The team has just become that bad! I assume it must be hard to hate on them. The Ravens, on the other hand, get all the hate.

Yeah so Ray Lewis saw a guy stab someone? He didn't do it, so stop saying he did. He served his time, let the man move on. Do you even realize how much Ray contributes to the Baltimore community? No. Because all you see is some irresponsible kid that got into trouble. He learned his lesson and turned into one of the most fiercest linebackers the league's ever seen. He stopped going out and partying, and instead he started to focus on football. Look what that led to...Super Bowl XXXV!!

Ok, so Baltimore stole Cleveland's team from them, and after you Baltimore people boo-hooed all those years about the Colts, you did the same thing to the Browns. Not exactly. Is there still a team called the "Cleveland Browns"? Yes. Because Art Modell told the city of Cleveland that he was losing money being in Cleveland. Cleveland needed to build the team a new stadium because Art couldn't finance one himself. Cleveland refused. Art didn't want to go completely bankrupt, so he moved the team to Baltimore. Not before he said he would leave the team name, colors and history with the city of Cleveland. Did Robert Irsay have the same kindness towards Baltimore when he uprooted our beloved Colts from Baltimore to Indianapolis? Not an ounce. Art said he was leaving well before he did. Irsay just left. And the old Colts of yore stood by the town, not the team.

When Johnny U (God rest his soul) passed in 2002, which city was the only one allowed to have a ceremony honoring him? Baltimore. Which quarterback was allowed to wear the nondescript black high tops that Johnny U made so popular? Not Peyton Manning, but Chris Redman, a Raven and fellow Louisville alum. (OK so Chris Redman may have been a bad move by the Ravens, but you get the point.) Indianapolis brags about how great the Colts are, but how many Colts championships were won in Indy? 0. I like to think of Indy not winning as some great curse. The Mayflower Curse, as I call it. This past season after the Indy meltdown against the Steelers, I was driving home from work, after just staying longer to watch the end of the game. I was turning onto 95 when across the highway stood, dead stopped and broken down, a Mayflower moving van. The same type that helped Irsay escape in the middle of the night in 1984. How fitting, I thought. It was poetic justice!!

Baltimore does not deserve the injustices it gets. We are a hard working city with pride. The freakin' National Anthem was inspired by our city. It was written in our harbor. Everytime you sing it at a sporting event, know that you're singing about Baltimore. It's our anthem and we'll "O" if we want to. No disrespect. Only love. You may continue to hate on us, but we'll kill you with kindness. We'll fill your bellies full of steamed crabs and Natty Boh. We'll let you sun on our free beach in Ocean City. (haha Jersey kids are suckers for paying to go to the beach!!) We'll give you the best crack you've ever had in your life. And if you are still hating on us, we'll knife you!! BLIEVE, HON!!

I have reason to believe that I have victories to taste

He did it again...Andy keeps his hopes alive at the U.S. Open. He finally got past the grandslam hurdle that is Lleyton Hewitt. Andy was winless against him in grandslams. The match was electrifying!! I swore it would go to 5 sets, but Andy surprised me and a few others by winning in straight sets.

He looked amazing! He was hitting these shots that just seemed impossible to make. I couldn't even describe the shots to you; they were that amazing. Hewitt looked old and outplayed. Andy dominated. He was in that mindframe where he knew he was going to win! It was awesome to see him play that way!

After the match, he was asked if the old Andy was back. Andy simply answered, "This is the new Andy Roddick!" I could not stop grinning after this comment from Andy and neither could he. I'm excited for the "new" Roddick and can't wait to see him continue with this great play! He needs to get his game in shape because I'm sure somewhere down the road Roger Federer is waiting.

As a closing remark, I'll leave you with this quote from John McEnroe at the end of the USA telecast last night, "At least there's one A-Rod playing well in New York!" (you know I had to get my Yankees dig in there! ;-))

Hey Hey! It's Andy Roddick!

Andy's Back! Thank the Lord. It took him long enough. After faltering for pretty much an entire year, whether it be to poor play or injury, Andy Roddick is finally back and in good form. He won his first tournament of the year in Cincinnati and, consequently, won the U.S. Open series. His game is back and better than ever!! He has hired Jimmy Connors as his co-coach. (His brother, John, is his primary coach, and I don't see them "parting ways" anytime soon!) Jimmy has been awesome for Andy. Who better to help Andy with his tennis shortcomings than a legend known for his strategic and dominating play?

Along with the awesome tennis play, Andy has brought back the emotion - or should I say the positive emotion. The fist pump and subsequent yell are back! I really think Andy has a terrific shot at the finals and even the championship. I've never seen his game at such an amazing level. I would even venture to say that it is equal, if not better than his play in 2003 when he won his first grandslam. Andy came into the Open as the 9 seed and ranked 10 in the world. (Technically, he is 9 in the world, but the official rankings aren't released until after a grandslam.)

Andy just beat Benjamin Becker from Germany (no - there is no relation to Boris!). As my friend, Stacy, and her boyfriend, Dave, pointed out, the match looked like Stifler vs. the 40-Year-Old Virgin!! lol I definitely could see it, and I'm glad Stifler won!! Becker ended the storied career of Andre Agassi two days ago after a hard fought bout. Andre did Benjamin and, in turn, Andy a favor by taking out 8 seed Marcos Baghdatis. Baghdatis had beat Andy in Australia, and that is where Andy's year really started to crumble. Andre helped American tennis with his win over Marcos. Who knows if Andy would be where he is right now in the tournament if Marcos was still around. I'd like to think that Andy would still be playing, but no one will ever really know. Tomorrow he plays Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals. As some of you may remember Lleyton dated Kim "the Dog Faced girl" Clijsters for years. They were even engaged at one point. They broke up sometime at the beginning of last year or the end of the year before that. A little after they broke up, Lleyton started dating some Australian model, got her pregnant and married her. Poor Kim! I'm not a Hewitt fan anymore!!

Andy became the first American man to reach a quarterfinal of a grandslam this year. That's not saying much for American tennis, but I think it's on the rise. James Blake is ranked 5th, so hopefully he can play well and make it to the end. Who wouldn't want an all-American final at the U.S. Open?

I Can't Drive...55!!

There should be traffic laws that forbid trucks, not pick ups or SUVs but TRUCKS, from being on the road at rush hour times. This law should also include old people. I haven't figured out the age of these so-called old people, but they should be banned from the road. Old people should only be able to drive from 10am to 11:30am, or something like that. Don't they go to bed at like noon anyway?

Oh and I forgot, police cars should also not be allowed on the road at said rush hour times. They only cause people to slow down when they're already going under the speed limit. Duh people, they're going to pull you over when you're speeding!! But remember, they can pull you over if you're going too far under the speed limit, so next time you see a cop and you're not going the speed limit, SPEED UP DAMMIT!!

Traffic sucks...especially in the rain! It's raining in Baltimore (I love Counting Crows), and traffic is abysmal. I hate how people have to go 30mph on I-95!! Please go at least 50mph if you're going to go slower than the posted speed. It's not like it just started raining, which is when you should be the most careful. It's been raining for 12 hours or more, I think it's ok to go a little bit faster.

Don't you forget about me...

Ok, I admit, I have forgotten all about this here blog. Not that anyone reads it, but I felt like I needed to update.

The Ravens didn't do so well, as my previous posts alluded. Onto MLB season, right!? Wrong. The Orioles are the Orioles and they haven't fared well at all. They're down right pathetic. I have done myself proud, though. I have gone to quite a few games this year. I only went to one last season, so I'm on a roll this year. If memory serves me right, I've been to five with at least two more to come. I have tickets for the 15th and 19th of July. The 15th is Brian Roberts bobblehead night. The 19th is Brian Roberts growth chart day. Do you see a trend?

Right now, I'm caught up in the Wimbledon buzz. I love tennis, and I have always enjoyed rooting for the Americans in the Grand Slams. I've been an Andy Roddick fan since I first saw him play. C'mon, he was hot!! and only a month younger than me!! You can't beat that! I've followed his career pretty intensely and was so excited when he won the U.S. Open in 2003! What a thrill!! (By the way, I get really into tennis when I'm watching on TV. I find myself yelling things as if I were at the match!! It's pure comedy.) He hasn't been playing so hot, as of late. He's bowed out pretty early in all of the past three majors. Wimbledon is where Andy shines!! This is the first year since 2000 he has come into Wimbledon without winning at least one tournament this season.

His ranking has dropped from 1 to 2 to 3 and now down to 5. Still, being the 5th best player in the world is a pretty good accomplishment!! Andy's looked great at Wimbledon, so far. I'm really hoping he can make his third straight final, and that he can finally beat the man, Roger Federer. He has been the bane of Andy's existent. Whenever Andy gets close to a title, Roger has squashed his hopes!! Damn Swiss!! Only good thing to come out of Switzerland is the cheese, army knives and banks!! Another exciting story at Wimbledon has to do with Andre Agassi. I was always a Pete fan, but when not playing Sampras, I rooted for Agassi. My first memory of him is a Canon commercial from the 80s. I think it was the mullet/headband combo that sticks out. I then realized afterwards that he was a tennis player. Forgive me, I was 6!

Andre has had an awesome career, and has won at every Grand Slam. What an accomplishment? This will be his last Wimbledon and will retire from tennis at the conclusion of the hard court season at the U.S. Open. As much as I want Andy to win, Agassi winning would be the ultimate!! What a way to leave the game!? (I still want Andy to win Wimbledon!)

As I'm writing this, I'm watching a replay of Agassi's second round match today. He won. He now has to face the French Open Champion and Number 2 seed Rafael Nadal. I don't like Nadal because he wears manpris. Enough said. He should carry his towel and water bottle in a man purse. It would work well. All this Wimbledon watching makes me want to travel. I would love to just be a tennis groupie. Think about it. Before the French Open, there is a clay court tournament in Rome. The French Open is in Paris. Then the short grass court season is throughout England/Britain. Then it's Wimbledon, right outside of London. Then it's hard court season. You travel back to the U.S. and tour the country for the summer. Then it's on to New York City for the U.S. Open. And don't forget the off season. It's mostly charity stuff here and there all around the world. Then it's hard court season again, and it's off to Sydney, Australia for the Australian Open. What a trip!!?? Why couldn't I have played tennis? Jeez.

I'm making a resolution to do a tour of Europe before I turn 30. That gives me 6 years and 28 days to plan and pay for my trip. I think I can do it. I'm a wimp, though, so I'll have to find someone to tag along. I hate doing things by myself. I moved to NYC and lived there for 6 months by myself, so I paid my "do it by yourself" dues. I need to do things with friends. Note to self: find some friends with money.

I'm out for tonight, but I'm sure I'll be back more often. I promise. Even if no one reads this, it's still good to get everything off my chest. Ahh, I can breathe now, thanks!!

ugh: Blogger is being a poohead with photos. I will jazz this post up when the issue is resolved!!

M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D What the hell are you wearing??

Two quick things:

1) WHAT THE HELL?? This is fugly!! This better be a one time thing...like the Byrd Blackout!!

2) After visiting the previous link...YES I am a girl!! I guess it's innate for me to notice these things!!

Slam Dunk da Funk

I love football...it's exciting and thrilling and fun, but nothing gets me going like college basketball. As I'm writing this I'm watching Maryland's first game of the season against Fairleigh Dickinson. Of course, the game's off to a typical Maryland start...slow!! The team is coming out a little rusty, and I'm beginning to think that the preseason ranking was very generous. This team has lost its cancer - John Gilchrist. He was becoming a me a player and it was affecting the team. When Gary basically benched him in the NIT, the team did pretty decent. Except for that South Carolina game that I attended at the Garden.

I love college basketball, and going to Maryland made me love it and appreciate it so much more. Basketball was my life at Maryland. I can count on one hand the games that I missed. I can recount losses and wins like its my religion. I made the 12 hour drive to Atlanta to see my Terps win their first National Championship. That is one of my top Maryland moments. I was lucky to go to Maryland when the bball team was at its peak.

I always get caught up in sports. I wait all summer for football. I follow all news on Training Camp and even mini-camps. And don't forget the draft. It comes at the most perfect time. College Basketball is just ending, spring football is starting, lacrosse season is in bloom and then it hits you...NFL Draft time!! Ahh its perfect. But once October rolls around and Midnight Madness is here, basketball becomes an obsession. Granted, I don't feel like a super crazed fan anymore since I graduated, but I love Maryland Basketball nonetheless.

It's a way of life in College Park. It brings people together. Especially at Maryland! (Riots, much!?) Everyone whoever attended Maryland hates Duke. I would say if I made a list of things I hate, Duke would be number 1 and probably number 2 because its that bad. I was watching Jeopardy! the other night and it was the college championships. There was a Duke girl there and I laughed everytime she got an answer wrong. I rooted against her to the point that I was reciting anti-Duke chants commonly heard at basketball games. It was bad.

Maryland has owned Duke in recent years, and their fans act like it doesn't bother them, but they know we have their number. It's soo bad that when I was living in NYC I went to a Terrapin Club game watch party for the Duke game at this nice sports bar and Duke was having their alumni party there as well and some old Duke guy started crap with a young Maryland guy. It was pathetic. But awesome because the police were called. My dad and I got a kick out of that!!

I can't wait for that first Maryland/Duke game this year. It's gonna be awesome!! Of course, it's not the same since I no longer attend Maryland, but I'm a proud alumni and Terrapin Club member so the Terps will always be my team. I will love them win or lose!!

Did I mention how much I love college basketball!!?? and that I hate Duke!!??


BTW...Fairleigh Dickinson's roster is beyond comical. First, Justin Timberlake's "brother" plays for them. Second, this guy's name is Peeples...I can't help but think of this guy!! Lastly, their head coach can blow a bubble with his bum, bum, bum!! Haha...hysterical!!

My Boyfriend's Back and You're Gonna be in Trouble...

...Ok maybe you won't be in trouble, but the Jacksonville Jaguars may be.

That's right folks, Kyle Boller is making his triumphant return this Sunday against the Jags. Hopefully he'll do alright, since he's only played 2 1/2 quarters this season, and he was cheered off the field.

He really needs to show the fans he can handle the job of NFL Quarterback. People in Baltimore have zero tolerance for formidable players/teams. Probably due to the fact that O's suck and pretty much have ruined our tolerance for bad seasons and players.

I have always said Kyle can be a good QB and lead this team the way the Ravens organization has planned. He has never had a good receiving corps, and I personally think the O-Line has declined immensely since his rookie season. Because of both of those factors, Kyle's job is pretty tough.

I remember watching football as a kid and feeling bad for the quarterbacks after they threw interceptions. My dad would say something about a receiver running a wrong route or dropping a pass into a waiting defenders hands. I piped in about feeling sorry for the QB. Everything always falls back on him, no matter if it's his fault or not.

That's why I've always had a weakness for QBs. I love them. Plus, it helps that most of them are pretty hot.

But in all seriousness the pressure is on Kyle to perform well. Right now, realistically, the Ravens are out of the playoff race. Unless we rock the socks off the rest of our games and the rest of our division falls apart...aka Carson Palmer being killed by lightning or Chad Johnson and Big Ben being hurt for real, like in a motorcycle accident (that seems to be a favorite).

Kyle has a lot to prove. He needs to prove he can lead this team into the redzone and score a touchdown. He needs to prove that he is the quarterback of the future for the Ravens. I don't know how anyone expected a rookie QB to come into this organization with the O-line and the receivers that were available and go to the Superbowl. The Defense can't carry this team anymore. They're not the studs that they were in 2000.

Kyle finally has some legitimate receivers in Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton (when healthy) and Todd Heap. Now is definitely make or break time. I want Kyle to stay in Baltimore, and not as a backup QB. I want him to excel. I want him to win. And not just because I think he's hot. It's more than that. I don't want the Ravens going through 10 more QBs to find the perfect one.

So hopefully Kyle can show Baltimore and the rest of the league that he deserves to be here. These last 8 games are more than a test for Kyle, they're a final exam. His fate in Baltimore and as the number one QB is riding on these last 8 games. No one expects him to take this under-achieving team to the playoffs. They just want him to put some points on the board, preferably not the Matt Stover kind.

I think Kyle will impress people, especially the ones who have been calling for his head here in Baltimore (that means you Mike Preston!) He's better than everyone thinks. He's ready, and trust me, here in Baltimore we're ready for anything.

But then again I may be a little biased!!

Were we watching the same game??

Last night, my beloved Ravens were featured on Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Of course, we were destined to lose.

I don't know a single Ravens fan who thought we could actually win, well at least before the game started. The Ravens came out strong. We looked good, for once this season. We made the big plays, for the most part. We drove down the field and got a touchdown on our opening drive. Something, I'm guessing, we haven't done in a loooooong time.

While the game was close the whole time, the Ravens seemed like they were dominating. We were always one play away from going up big time on the Steelers in Primetime!! Of course, we could never capitalize on anything, as always. We took the lead with 3 minutes left in the game. Up by 2 and Pittsburgh had the ball. After two big pass plays, the Steelers were in field goal range and most of us realized that the game was over. The Steelers would either be up by 1 or 5. Either way, the Ravens were going to have to score when they got the ball back, with no timeouts, either.

That's when we, or should I say Anthony Wright, reverted back to old form. Wright didn't even get a pass downfield. The seconds were ticking off the clock and we had 3rd and 10 and he didn't even launch a pass downfield. Instead he runs the ball!! RUNS THE BALL!!! YOU'RE A QUARTERBACK NOT JAMAL LEWIS OR BETTER YET CHESTER TAYLOR!!! What the hell. We didn't need to run the clock out. We needed to keep as much time on the board as possible.

This is what I don't get. Everyone seems to forget about the entire game, offensively, minus a few big pass plays to Derrick "The Man" Mason (btw, my new nickname for him). Wright was regular old Anthony "Dumbass" Wright. Plain and simple. So then why today do I hear people saying how great he is. Are they blind? He made stupid mistakes. He threw a sure TD pass over the head/intentionally out of bounds to Randy Hymes in double coverage when he had Mason in the endzone wide open waving his hands around like Tom Hanks in Cast Away!!

Why does everyone forget the dumb things he does CONSTANTLY?? Maybe I feel this way because I am a Boller supporter, but there are obvious reasons why Wright is a backup!! Sometimes he makes big plays that overshadow his thousands of mistakes.

I still blame this loss on Wright and the offensive play calling. We had a shot to go up before the break and instead took timeouts to conserve time and then throw 3 yard passes rather than make some big plays and get into field goal or rather TD position. We wasted time and plays. The defense played their hearts out considering they were missing their two biggest players, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. But depsite the heart of the defense, the offense let us down once again. And that is why we are 2-5 rather than 6-1, like we should be now. We had a cake schedule, minus the Indy game.

The Ravens have screwed themselves, and while I admit, that last night was probably one of our best performances this year, it was still par/sub-par. We can do so much better!!

Injuries or not, the Ravens are slacking and not playing their best football. Jamal admits it, so why doesn't the coaching staff or the rest of the team!?


Ok so now that that rant is done, I'm going to share a funny story/thought I had while visiting my good buddy Dre in Chicago last weekend....We are walking on Navy Pier and we see this guy with a Ray Lewis jersey on. Dre yells to him that "Ray Lewis is God." The man says, "Preach on Brother!" I then say to Dre, "If Ray Lewis is God, then is Ed Reed Jesus?" We have both decided that this statement is true. If Ray Lewis is God, then Ed Reed is Jesus! Plain and simple. Now my question to you is "Who's the Virgin Mary?" Ozzie Newsome or Brian Billick. I'm thinkin Ozzie!!

My Pumpkin ROCKS!!!

My pumpkin is freakin awesome....it pales in comparison to any other carved jack-o-lantern!! Ok so maybe the team didn't win last night, but that had to be the best performance we have put up this year!! We actually looked good, you know except for that whole Anthony Wright thing!!

Boller...DEMOTED!?!

Because I love Kyle, I can do this!

Captions for above photo:

• After three disappointing seasons at the helm of the Ravens offense, Kyle Boller was demoted to ball boy. Head Coach Brian Billick had this to say about the unexpected move, "Kyle is a great kid with lots of heart, and he has a great passion for this organization and team. But after Mike Preston said I might lose my job because of my love for Kyle, I decided to keep him on as a ball boy. It's a win-win situation. I hope."
• Kyle Boller tries to practice throwing four balls at the same time with the hopes of one of his receivers actually catching one of the thrown balls.
• In addition to rehabbing his hyperextended toe, Kyle Boller is required to carry every football he turned over during the preseason and opening game.

I'm sure I could keep going, but I'm having some writer's block when it comes to insulting my boy! By the way, I want that sweatshirt!! :-D