Some small links...

Get it? Sometimes I just kill myself! Anyway, here's your usual batch of links at a much later hour than usual, keeping you abreast of what's going on in the world of the Ravens, Caps, Orioles, THE Towson University Tigers, sprinkled with a liberal dose of pop culture. Can you count, SUCKAS!


- Jersey Joe Flacco made the rounds today at the Entertainment Steeler Programming Network (that's ESPN for those who can't figure your acronyms). The Sun has all the details. Of course, the Unibrowbomber was asked about one of ESPN's favorite butt boys, the recently released Terrell Owens, and whether the Ravens would have any interest in him. Quick answer: Absolutely, 100 percent fucking NO! As is his wont, Joe Cool (that's three Flacco nicknames in one segment. Impressive Ryan. Most impressive) deflected these queries with his usual Joe-speak. Do any of these ESPN guys remember how Terrell pretty much told the Ravens to go fuck themselves when they traded for him in 2004? Or how he mocked the recently re-signed Ray Lewis' pregame dance after scoring a touchdown against the Ravens in 2004? Or trying to justify his actions by saying he wasn't so bad since he never faced double murder charges like Ray? Or how in his book, Owens accused Ozzie Newsome of being a closet racist? I think Oz would rather do this...

...than sign Owens to play for the Ravens.

-By the way, Big Mike Preston has been on a roll this off-season. I love this idea, even though Ozzie would never do it.

- New Raven Matt Birk is happy to be in Baltmo. Glad to have you too Matt.

- O's win again in exhibition play with a 5-2 win over the Florida Marlins. Last year's first-round pick Brian Matusz looked impressive. A very good sign for the O's future pitching prospects.

- Caps try to get off the schniede (lost 3 of 4 at home) tonight against the bottom-dwelling Toronto Maple Leafs at the Phone Booth. Tank El-Bashir is reporting that Michael Nylander will be back in and Alex Ovechkin, Tom Poti and Jose Theodore are all expected to play.

-Not Caps related but a worthy read from Deadspin on ex-Flyer and current Tampa Bay headcase Steve Downie.

"You ain't got no future Steve! You're a A-1 nutboy, Grissom knows it."

Non-Sporting Links:

-Our resident movie reviewer Greg "Snake" Maki has his take on "Watchmen."

-Per The Big Lead and Vanity Fair. This a long but fascinating read from Michael "Moneyball" Lewis on the collapse of Iceland's economy. And here I thought Iceland was only known for this...


-Finally, today's YouTube clip to swing your heavy metal hair to is "Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden (it does have a short Chris Cornell interview at the beginning with Spanish, I think, subtitles!). If this clip doesn't give you an epileptic seizure, I don't know what will.

Ravens signings...

Despite all his posturing, despite all his claims to want to play elsewhere, despite his best attempts to drop a deuce on his legacy, I, as a Baltimore Ravens fan, am proud to say... HEEEEEEE'S BAAAAACK!!!!

I don't care that he tried to court another team. I don't care that he'll be 34 years old by the time next season rolls around. I don't care that he may be an asshole. So what? He's our asshole and we love him for it. Getting to see #52 finish his career here is how it should be. For better of for worse, Ray Lewis IS the Baltimore Ravens. As Big Mike says, the public relations fiasco that was this unrestricted free agency period will soon be forgotten the minute "Hot In Herrre" comes on the sound system and Ray Lew comes out and does his pregame dance. By the way, another good read on this comes from David Steele who correctly asserts that Ozzie Newsome pretty much pwned Ray's agent.

- Lost in the shuffle of the return of Sugar Ray, the Ravens were able to find a replacement for Jason Brown in the person of former Minnesota Viking and six-time Pro Bowler center Matt Birk to the tune of three years, $12 million.


I like this one. If Birk has something left in the tank (he's 32) he can provide a veteran presence on a young O-line, keep Chris Chester as a swing center/guard and keep Marshal Yanda at right guard where he really excelled last year before getting injured. Also, remember, Matt Birk. He went to Harvard.

So basically the Ravens have replaced Chris McAlister with Domonique Foxworth, replaced Brown with Birk, lost Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard and retained Ray Lewis. I think I can live with those trade offs.

A few links...

There won't be much activity here at Hangar 39 today. Besides a busy day of work (writing stories for my day job) I'll be on the road today, travelling back up to the Easton Town Limits to make my big Easton public access TV debut on Gary "The Woo" Wooters and Justin Williams' sports show. I'll be talking Caps and other hockey stuff for what it's worth. Thus, since I'll be trekking through the icy terrain of the Mid-Atlantic, there won't be much time for blogging. Not that I'll be missed at this point. So I'll post up a few links first and come back a little later with my thoughts on the Caps trade deadline activity. So let's prepare the ship for metamorphosis. Ready Kafka?

-Baltimore North has added a new member. Jim Leonhard has signed on with Rex Ryan's boys. Maybe Rex figures if Modell was able to move the whole franchise, he can certainly take the players. Sucks losing Big Jim, he was a terrific pickup last year and was absolutely invaluable when Yamon Figurs stunk and Dawan Landry got hurt. Unfortunately, with Landry coming back the Ravens had other fish to fry and there was no guarantee Leonhard would have a starting spot next year.

-Per The Sun again, the Ravens are looking into signing free agent center Matt Birk to replace Jason Brown. Matt Birk. He went to Harvard.


- Nice piece from the Schmucker on Adam Jones and his efforts to try to get more African-Americans interested in baseball.

- Our annual "Watch Out For Hayden Penn!" story. It might be the new "Daniel Cabrera Has Turned The Corner!"

-THE Towson Univerity hoops team will face Drexel in the CAA tournament starting Friday night in Richmond. The Tiggers have lost twice to the Dragons already this year but have won their first-round game the last two years. Doing better than their abysmal 14-27 from the foul line performance the first time they played Drexel (a 60-53 loss) would help.

- From the "Can It Get Worse" files: After two straight humiliating home losses, the Caps get a scare when Alex Ovechkin left practice today gingerly after taking a shot to the foot. Tank says he's OK though. How much you want to bet the shooter was either Jeff Schultz or John Erskine?

-Per Deadspin, this prank from last night's Maryland-Wake Forest hoops game.

-Finally, today's YouTube clip to swing your heavy metal hair to is "Seasons In The Abyss" by Slayer.