Monday, September 25, 2006

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!

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

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!!

Saturday, September 09, 2006

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!

Friday, September 08, 2006

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!!

blieve hon

Thursday, September 07, 2006

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! ;-))

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

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.