Morning quick hitters

Here's a couple of quick things I didn't get to posting last night. Then again, since this blog has only existed for a matter of hours and I'm not sure anyone has looked at it yet...well, not sure I have a point here. Anyway, on with the show...



As promised, if you haven't seen it yet, here is Alex Ovechkin's goal from last night.




I was glad I stayed up late last night working on this site because I was stunned, STUNNED, to see that this goal led off "Sportscenter" this morning and was #1 on top plays. Yes, "Sportscenter." Hockey actually got some play from the ESPN. It may be a fact more stunning than Ovie's goal, that the WWL interrupted its extensive basketball and poker schedule to show a hockey highlight.

In other news, the Ravens slapped Terrell Suggs with the franchise tag for the second straight year. I'm a little surprised they put the tag on him this early, unless it's to buy a little extra time to give T-Sizzle a new contract. Certainly Sizz was the Ravens top priority as far as resigning guys & slapping the tag on him seemed to work last year. Although I must admit, I was thinking they'd put the tag on Center Jason Brown, the team's other must-sign free agent, before Sizzle, since the payout for a center is lower than a DE/LB. Nonetheless, Sizzle is coming back and God knows he is, if nothing else, one of the most entertaining guys on the roster, if not exactly the most telegenic.



Quick Sizzle story: I've covered the Ravens home games for my paper, the Cape Gazette, for two seasons now. The first game I covered was against Arizona in 2007. I'd been warned beforehand by a (now former) colleague who'd worked for the Tribune-Review in Pittsburgh and covered the Steelers occassionally that NFL players are somewhat, how shall we say, casual, about their state of undress. Anyway, I finish with the game, head downstairs to hear Brian Billick's press conference and then go into the locker room. What is the first thing I see: Terrell Suggs in his birthday suit, walking right towards me (his locker is right next to the door). Needless to say, this was my "Welcome to the NFL" moment. Although I sure wish it would have been something...a little less graphic.

In other B-More sports news, the O's are close to locking up Brian Roberts to a new four-year contract. Nice deal all around. Roberts can put all those trade rumors behind him, while the O's lock up a top flight 2nd baseman and lead-off hitter for the next four years. Combine this with the Nick Markakis signing and the O's have locked up two huge pieces to the future puzzle. Gotta say, I think Andy MacPhail has done a good job this offseason. While he hasn't gotten a big bat for the middle of the order, he's locked up his two best players for the foreseeable future, he's tapped into the Japanese market with Koji Uehara and taken a flier on a low-risk, high-reward guy in Felix Pie. The pitching is still a mess, but the lineup looks very solid, particularly whenever you plus Matt Wieters in there.