Saturday December 9, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3397

no ink to dry

That old saying, "the ink isn't even dry yet" apparently didn't apply to the Orioles and the state of Maryland yesterday when "someone" let it get out that an agreement on the new lease had been agreed upon.

Sure, they used the word "tentative" to describe the deal. But they were apparently convinced enough that a deal had been made that one of the two sides told a P.R. lackey to spread the word.

Not only was there no ink to dry, there wasn't even a ratified agreement.

As it turns out, the lease deal is still not complete.

Will it get done? Most certainly.

Has this been a laughable exercise between the Maryland State Authority, State of Maryland and the baseball franchise? Most certainly.

There's no other way to describe it.

Someone has now come along and decided that giving the Orioles the land surrounding the stadium is actually a problem after all.

Gee, ya think?

"Fundamentally, I believe that the long-term lease for the use of the ballpark should not be conditioned on whether or not a private owner receives a 99-year ground lease to develop land owned by Maryland taxpayers," Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said in a statement. "This is more relevant today, as recent news has heightened uncertainties about the future ownership of the team."

Here we are, at the proverbial 11th hour of the supposed-deadline of December 31, and someone with a brain is finally willing to acknowledge that giving the Orioles rights to develop land around the stadium that Maryland taxpayers "own" is not smart, nor fair.

Why is that just now coming out?

Shouldn't that have been addressed and solved months ago? A year ago? I mean, I'm a dummy from Glen Burnie and I can figure out that part of the deal.

Oh, and you want something else to drive you completely batty over your morning coffee?

John Angelos is telling people there is no plan to sell the team.

On Thursday, David Rubenstein of The Carlyle Group was buying the Orioles.

On Friday, John Angelos said the team actually isn't for sale.

It's more than fair to point out, of course, that there are zero direct or indirect quotes from Rubenstein indicating he's interested in buying the team. His name appeared on Thursday and every news agency in America ran with the story.

If you do connect-the-dots, it certainly adds up. But that doesn't mean in any way that Rubenstein is actually buying the Orioles.

And if you put any stock in anything John Angelos says -- your mileage may vary on that one -- it would appear Rubenstein isn't buying the Orioles because the current ownership group says they're not selling it.

That could also be a collosal smokescreen. Rubenstein could be flying to Baltimore today to sign the papers.

Angelos...fib? Twist a tale? Not be completely forthcoming?

Nah. That never happens.

I wrote this earlier in the week and it bears repeating now.

It stems from the fact that the fans never have a voice in these matters. But here's a quick and easy solution.

Hold off on buying your 2024 Orioles tickets until the lease is done. Keep your money. And when the O's ticket folks call you in mid-January to urge you to send along your payment -- they'll remind you that you don't want to miss a minute of Gunnar and Adley next season -- just tell them you'll send your money in as soon as the lease is signed.

I saw a headline on Wednesday: A's expect lowest attendance ever in 2024.

Gee, really? You mean the baseball fans of Oakland aren't going to rush out to the stadium to support a team that's leaving? That's hard to believe.

And so it should go in Baltimore, too.

Once the Orioles get their act together -- don't giggle, it could happen someday -- you can go ahead and send in your money for season tickets and mini plans.

That seems like a good idea to me.

If you'd rather send them your $300 now, go ahead. But all you're doing is confirming what John Angelos thinks and tells people over dinner at Petit Louis.

"These people in town are stooges. They'll send in their money as soon as we tell them to send in their money. Heck, I'm about to snag all the land around the stadium to develop myself so the Orioles can make even more money that we won't spend on Gunnar Henderson in 4 years when he goes to the Dodgers."

A lot of people around town laughed 15 or so years ago when that radio station in town stood up to the Orioles and said, "Enough's enough..."

Well, it's almost 2024 and enough still isn't enough.

They're still fumbling and bumbling like Earnest Byner on the goal line against the Broncos.

Not much has changed since 1993. Oh, sure, we've had some wins to enjoy. A division title here and there. Almost a trip or two to the World Series, even.

But for 30 years, the city (and the state) have been led around on a leash while the ownership group of the baseball team pretty much does whatever they want to do.

And most of what they've done has been aimed at making themselves more wealthy without regard for their obligation to provide Baltimore with a baseball team they can be proud of and support with dignity.

This week is Exhibit 159 at the Trial of Public Opinion.

Every person involved in this fiasco should be ashamed of themselves.

Guilty as charged.

Fallout and discussion continued on Friday in the wake of Jon Rahm leaving the PGA Tour and signing a mammoth deal with LIV Golf.

No one has yet come up with the exact number Rahm received. U.S. media has the figure at just under $400 million. Spanish media has it closer to $500 million. Other media folks in Europe are saying it's closer to $650 million.

One reason why the money is so secretive is because of the looming December 31st deadline for the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund (the controlling financial arm of LIV) to complete their "working agreement" that was rolled out back on June 6.

That deal still isn't done yet, although both sides met this week in an effort to hash out the final details.

If the initial report of the June 6 "leak" is right, the PGA Tour will effectively take over and run LIV Golf, with the PIF pouring billions of dollars into the TOUR's coffers in an effort to stitch the two sides into one somewhat-nice-neat enterprise.

Rahm might wind up back on the PGA Tour after all. Only as a LIV member instead. If you're confused, don't worry. Everyone else is, too.

And Rahm won't formally announce what he received this week because the Saudis have told him not to do that and, well, Rahm probably knows enough about recent history to know what happens when the Saudis tell you to do something and you fail to comply.

And it's certainly not in LIV's best interest to confirm the amount Rahm received. This is akin to the Deshaun Watson deal with the Browns a couple of years ago.

As soon as Watson's contract was fully guaranteed, every quarterback in the league wanted their deal guaranteed, too.

When "that guy" makes $250 million, your agent rubs his hands together and says, "That's great. Now we're getting $260 million."

If Jon Rahm is worth $500 million to LIV, let's say, what is Rory now worth? $750 million? More? Maybe.

Rumors persisted last year that Tiger turned down upwards of $900 million to join LIV.

No wonder Tiger turned it down. If Rahm's worth $500 million, Tiger's worth $1.5 billion.

So we're not going to find out -- at least not from Rahm or LIV -- how much money he got for selling himself to the folks who helped influence the attacks of September 11, 2001. Or the people who beheaded a Washington Post journalist. I'd go on, but those of you with a morsel of decency don't need me to tell you about the Saudi government. You know the deal.

The pushback on Rahm throughout the day on Friday was connected to his continued public statement about "growing the game" of golf by joining LIV.

If "growing the game" was vital, why didn't Rahm leave in 2022 and be part of the start-up group that defected from the PGA Tour?

He says he's watched LIV from afar over the last two years and has seen them make great strides. "They've changed and so have I," he said on Thursday.

LIV hasn't changed at all.

Their format is the same.

Their competitors are still not awarded world ranking points.

They still have that wonky environment at their tournaments that resembles more of a mid-May fraternity party than an actual golf tournament.

LIV hasn't changed.

All they've done is "stayed around" for three years and paid out massive amounts of money to get people like Talor Gooch, Charlie Howell and Pat Perez to play golf for them.

And now, they've convinced Jon Rahm to take their money, too.

If Rahm really wanted to change the game, he tell Callaway to keep their $10 million a year they give him and donate that to the First Tee so they have funding to help bring golf to the kids they're trying to connect with all over the world. That's "giving back".

I personally don't care that Jon Rahm went to LIV. In my golf world -- mine, not yours, but mine -- he's not a needle mover in the least. He made me some money last April when he won the Masters that I said he was going to win, but other than that, he's pretty much just another great player that I enjoy watching compete.

But he's the same as Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau, Jason Day and K.H. Lee. He's just a guy who can shoot 18 under and is enjoyable to watch. Other than last April when I had a vested interest in his performance, I'm not sure I've ever actually "rooted" for Jon Rahm to win a golf tournament.

My only contention with Rahm is the garbage about "growing the game". Golf is a sport built on honesty. You made a "4" there. You write down "4". You hit the wrong ball? You tell your competitors of your mistake and take the appropriate penalty.

Rahm took $400 to $600 million because it's $200 million more than LIV offered him last time around.

As Charley Eckman would have said: "It's a very simple game."

You took the money. And that's your call. Your wife and kids are thrilled with your decision.

But in no way, shape or form is golf "better" or "bigger" because Jon Rahm took money from LIV.

One thing for sure, though. The next guy to come along who is a few strokes better than Rahm is sure thrilled by his decision.

The Saudis have their Deshaun Watson now. His name is Jon Rahm.

If you're in the Towson area tonight and you'd like to get your holiday month off to a great start, the Outreach Office that I run at Immaculate Heart of Mary church is hosting a Live Nativity program at 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm right in front of the parish.

It's essentially a small "play", if you will, with IHM students serving in the role of the characters who were present on the night Jesus was born.

We'll have music from the IHM choir as well as free hot chocolate and cookies for all who come out.

The first showing is at 5:30 pm and should run until about 6:00 pm. The second showing is at 6:30 pm and should run until 7:00 pm.

Adults and children are welcome. It's free.

Come out and celebrate the birth of Jesus with us tonight!

IHM is located at 8501 Loch Raven Blvd. There's a 4 pm mass for those of you interested in attending service before the Live Nativity.

Friday December 8, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3396

o's for sale...rahm for sale...who else?

One piece of news was very surprising on Thursday.

The other...not so much.

A week of rumors connected to Jon Rahm signing with LIV Golf were put to rest, finally, late Thursday afternoon when the 2023 Masters champ took to FOX News to announce he has resigned his membership from the PGA Tour and joined LIV.

The reported price tag for Rahm to shred his integrity was just under $400 million.

In the twist-of-all-twists, it was that very $400 million number that Rahm specifically mentioned in June of 2022 when he pledged to stay put on the PGA Tour.

"Money is great, but when (wife) Kelley and I...when this first thing happened, we started talking about it, and we're like, will our lifestyle change if I got $400 million? No, it will not change one bit," Rahm said at the 2022 U.S. Open. "Truth be told, I could retire right now with what I've made and live a very happy life and not play golf again. So I've never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I've always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that."

18 months later, Rahm reportedly received an offer of just under $400 million to make the move.

And he took it.

Are you surprised?

I'm not.

Rahm is a great player. Where he ranks on your personal list of the top golfers in the world is your call, he's certainly in my top 5. He's a bit of a horse's for courses kind of player, but when the layout fits his game, he's extraordinarily tough to beat.

But this move to LIV shows us what we all might have suspected deep down in places we didn't talk about at parties. He wasn't a guy you could trust.

He said one thing.

And then did the other.

"I'm not leaving. The money doesn't matter to me."

"I'm leaving. I'd be lying if I said the money didn't matter. It did."

That summed up Jon Rahm's last 18 months.

And then to stand there yesterday and spew that hilarious rhetoric about "growing the game" (golf's most mysterious buzzwords) and having this deep desire to play "team golf" and blah, blah, blah.

Give it a rest, Rahmbo.

You left because they gave you $400 million.

You didn't leave because they gave you $25 million. Or $50 million. Or $100 million. All three of those sums are beyond what any of us who make up the great unwashed would ever fathom we would earn.

Had you taken $50 million and said, "I'm doing this because I think LIV is the best way for me to help grow the game," I might listen to that.

Instead, it took $400 million for you to sell your soul.

And it's all good, actually.

There are guys who didn't care about their legacy and their reputation and their ability to balance humanity with greed -- and all of them had one thing in common. They said "yes" to LIV.

There are other guys who care about their reputation and their history in the sport and how it would be perceived if they french kissed the Saudi government given their various atrocities and human rights violations. They said "no" to LIV.

Rahm said all the right things at one point, but his true colors were revealed yesterday when he showed up in the black and white motorcycle jacket with the LIV logo on it.

You can't possibly be surprised by his reversal.

I know I'm not.

He always had a sliver of "don't trust me" in his eyes, I thought.

It turns out I was right.

So on the same day it was confirmed Jon Rahm could be bought, we learned of a potentially earth-shattering story involving the sale of the Orioles to Baltimore native David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the wildly successful financial and investment firm, The Carlyle Group.

Some reports are saying the sale might not be completed until February or March. The two sides are now in the beginning stages of hammering out the important stuff; terms, asset acquisitions, financing the purchase, etc.

Just because the Orioles said to Rubenstein, "We want $1 billion for the team" and he replied with, "Done deal. I'll give you $1 billion for it," doesn't mean the sale is complete. Or anywhere near complete.

But the nuts and bolts of it can't be discussed until someone says "I'll buy it," which is apparently what has transpired thus far.

The biggest question, as we all know, is this: Will Rubenstein also acquire MASN with the purchase of the Orioles?

And if he does acquire the regional sports network, what happens to the (still) ongoing legal battle between MASN and the Washington Nationals?

And if Rubenstein's group doesn't purchase MASN in conjunction with the baseball franchise, how and where are the games going to be aired?

On MASN?

On another cable network?

Channel 13?

If it's the Angelos family who retains MASN, all that means is Rubenstein has to involve himself in negotiating with the family every five or ten years, which is a complete recipe for disaster.

Imagine "only" owning the baseball franchise and having to negotiate the MASN deal with John Angelos or his designated representative.

Talk about an exercise in futility.

It seems almost impossible to think, given MASN's on-going legal problems, that Rubenstein will buy both the Orioles and MASN.

I think we all hope it goes that way. That would certainly be a clean(er) way to do it.

But if I'm wagering on this one, I don't think Rubenstein is getting both the team and the TV network. I don't think that's something he'll want to involve himself in from a legal standpoint.

Either way, though, everyone in town is pretty happy with the news that David Rubenstein -- or anyone, honestly -- is willing to write a check to the Angelos family in exchange for the baseball team.

We've been dealing with these people for 30 years now. The highs (not many) and the lows (far too many), the unprofessional (at times) roster compilation and the disengagement with the Baltimore community circa 1995 when the organization was busy trying to collaborate with Washington DC in an effort to make the Birds a "regional" team.

If it's David Rubenstein who buys them, we'll take it. And we're taking it pretty much sight unseen.

Oh, sure, people are town speak favorably of Rubenstein. I know someone who has been a friend of his for 25 years. "Great guy. Loves Baltimore," that person said to me yesterday.

It's here where I'll remind you that you, back in 1993, could have found a number of people within his own community to say the same exact words about Peter Angelos.

"Great guy. Loves Baltimore."

And....yeah....we'll just let that one go now and move on from there.

I have no idea what a new owner would do for the Orioles, but I wonder, for example, if David Rubenstein would pony up $600 million for Shoheil Ohtani? Or a $250 million extension for Gunnar?

We know the Angelos family isn't forking over $600 million or $250 million. That's just not in their ownership DNA.

But it might be in Rubenstein's DNA. I have no idea.

I'm not going to tell you Rubenstein's proposed ownership is a slam-dunk "make the Orioles better" kind of move. I have no idea.

He has a lot of money, though.

And he knows a lot of people who have a lot of money, too.

If resources are the number one factor, Rubenstein's ownership group won't have to worry about that.

But as we all know, owning the team is more than just spending money. You have to treat your employees right. Treat the customers right. "Manage" the business right.

I'm excited about the potential for new baseball ownership in Baltimore.

But until the day of the press conference arrives, I'll proceed very carefully.

It feels like this might be the real deal.

But we need to give it time.

faith in sports

Dabo Swinney, as most of you know, is the ultra-successful head football coach at Clemson University.

He's also a man deeply rooted in faith, as he has shared on countless occasions throughout his career.

Do you know where Swinney's faith journey really commenced?

If you'll give this 3 minute video a quick watch today, you'll find out. And hopefully, be encouraged as well.

Thanks, as always, to our friends at Freestate Electrical for their continued support of Faith in Sports here at #DMD every Friday.

Thursday December 7, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3391

kimbrel, praying, terps and our jewish friends

As you probably heard yesterday, the Orioles turned on the hot stove in Nashville.

No, the Birds aren't moving down there.

But Craig Kimbrel is moving to Baltimore.

The veteran relief pitcher signed with the O's on Wednesday for $13 million for the 2024 campaign. Where he fits in is anyone's guess, but the initial thought is he'll likely serve as the team's closer while Felix Bautista recovers from off-season Tommy John surgery.

There are some baseball analysts who suggest Kimbrel will eventually settle into a role other than closer, with either Tyler Wells, D.L. Hall or some combination of those two closing games at some point in the '24 campaign.

As usual, social media was split on the right hander. Half the people think Mike Elias picked up a gem at a reasonable cost, others think Kimbrel is "washed" and a waste of money.

Me?

I don't mind the signing. I trust Elias and his analytics people.

I'm not sure Kimbrel's a 50 save arm any longer, but I don't think they're bringing him to Baltimore with that expectation. If he registers 25 saves and only blows a handful of chances, that will be more than sufficient. Wells, Hall and potentially another off-season acquisition can fill in the missing pieces.

In case you haven't noticed, this is the way the Orioles go about things these days.

Last year, it was Adam Frazier, Kyle Gibson, James McCann and, later, Shintaro Fujinami who showed up without a lot of fanfare and more questions than answers.

All four of those guys were reasonable contributors to the team that won 101 games. Championship-caliber teams are pieced together like that. The guess here is you'll see more of that this coming season.

The O's won't be signing guys like Ohtani or Bellinger. Instead, they'll ink the Kimbrels of the world and perhaps package some prospects and one or two bonafide major leaguers for a starting pitcher.

There have been persistent rumors that Elias and his staff are interested in bringing Tanner Scott back to Baltimore, which would really make sense if the club has a legitimate interest in giving D.L. Hall a shot at the closer role.

One thing for certain: The O's aren't suddenly going to shift their philosophy and spend a bunch of money on free agents. I mean, the team's ownership group basically told us this past summer they're likely not even going to sign their own guys when the time comes to fork over $300 or more million for them.

What would make anyone think the Orioles are going to give Cody Bellinger $300 million now when the O's are already saying they (likely) won't give Gunnar Henderson $350 million in a few years?

They're going to keep adding veterans at reasonable prices and hope the roster-meshing continues to be successful.

Unless you've been in a cave over the last two years, you have to agree that Elias and the blueprint he's devised are working quite well.

Mike Elias believes Craig Kimbrel is someone who can help the Orioles next season.

If that's the case, I believe it as well.

Those of you who watched the Monday night game this week between the Bengals and Jaguars saw Trevor Lawrence get hurt late in the game with what appeared, at the time, to potentially be a serious injury.

As Lawrence got up from the tackle, Cincinnati's Trey Hendrickson approached the Jacksonville quarterback and put his arm around him to assist him as he tried to walk off the field.

Lawrence walked a step or two and then went to the ground in obvious pain.

Hendrickson immediately took off his helmet, went down on one knee, took two or three seconds to pray, stood up, made a gesture at the sky, and moved back into formation with his teammates.

Nothing unusual about that, right?

Later that night, the NFL posted a message on their "X" platform that read the following: After Trevor Lawrence's injury, Trey Hendrickson got down on a knee and took a moment for Trevor.

Why wouldn't the NFL just write the word "pray", "prayed" or "prayer"??

Why would the NFL be afraid to give everyone the indication that Trey Hendrickson said a quick prayer for Trevor Lawrence?

"...got down on a knee and took a moment for Trevor."

"...got down on a knee and said a quick prayer for Trevor."

What's the difference?

The NFL knows that Hendrickson is a devout Christian. There's nothing to hide there.

He was praying.

What was wrong with acknowledging that on social media?

I just don't get it.

It's sad.

Dale Williams can handle all of the unpacking of last night's 81-75 overtime win for the Maryland Terps. You can see his game review below.

I'm not here to beat up Maryland.

They're 5-4 and sorta-kinda stumbling and bumbling their way through the early portion of the 2023-2024 Big Ten schedule.

I wouldn't say they were lucky to win last night. Penn State isn't very good, honestly, but the Terps are a hair or two better than the Nittany Lions. At least I think they are.

What's concerning about the Maryland team I've seen in the three games I've watched is how out of sorts they look.

And I have to assume that's tied directly into the way Kevin Willard has been forced to compile his roster.

It's not all related to the transfer portal, but I'm guessing a lot of it is. Just the mere thought of players having the freedom to transfer if things don't go well probably isn't helping college coaches in any sport.

There was a time when student-athletes were thrilled to have a scholarship and would have been incredibly nervous about somehow running against the grain of the coach and his or her style.

These days, if things don't go well, players get on their phone after practice, ship out a handful of texts and start their own recruiting tour.

I have no idea what's going on at Maryland. I know they've looked mostly "meh" through 9 games, without much real hope that they're going to vastly improve over the last 20-some games of the season.

Growing pains? Sure.

Will they be playing better basketball in early February than they are in early December? You would think so. I do.

But are the going to be a 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, catching fire after the New Year and winning 13 of their last 16 games? I can't see that happening.

Something is "off" down there. And I'm not sure it's anyone's fault in particular.

Sure, they need better basketball players.

That's not a secret.

But there's more to it than that.

There's just something "off" at College Park.

Earlier this week, three prominent U.S. colleges were asked a direct question about the treatment of Jewish people.

"Is it the position of your university that the suggested genocide of Jewish people doesn't fall under the category of harassment and bullying?" was the question.

Not one of the three college presidents who were questioned was willing to say "Yes, suggesting genocide of Jewish people is harassment and bullying."

All three were given ample opportunity to walk back their initial reluctance. And not one of them would.

Harvard, M.I.T. and the University of Pennsylvania all have Jewish students, faculty members and administrators on their campus.

That those three schools weren't willing to emphatically denounce genocide on Tuesday was reprehensible.

Yes, the mere mention of genocide is, by definition, harassment and/or bullying. It doesn't require action or context.

I am proud to have a significant number of Jewish friends.

The only perfect human being ever created, Jesus, was Jewish, of course.

We should never be comfortable with genocide of any nation or ethnicity. That goes without saying.

But in this case, as the situation in Israel continues to unfold, we in the United States are faced with protecting our friends and colleagues of Jewish descent.

And that should start with a firm and convincing statement: We denounce genocide and harm to the Jewish community. Period.

If we're not able to say that, we are, by default, supporters of the idea that genocide and harm to Jews is acceptable.

And it's simply not acceptable.

It's wrong. On every human level possible.

I stand with my friends in the Jewish community, both here and abroad.

I hope you do as well.

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 9th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2023-2024 season.

terps squeeze past penn state in ot

The Maryland Terrapins withstood another very poor shooting night from the field as well as some really dumb fouls on their part, to hand Penn State their fifth loss in a row last night while running their own home winning streak to 16 straight. It took overtime to finally hold off Penn State, 81-75.

The Terps improved to 5-4 with the win and are now 1-1 in Big Ten play.

Jahmir Young tossed in 28 points, including 14 in the second half and 4 in overtime. He also connected on all of his 12 foul shot attempts. Juju Reese added 24 points and 15 rebounds. On the court, he physically dominated Qudus Wahab, and from the foul line he converted a huge 9 of 11 chances in the second half.

Penn State was led by Kanye Clary’s 25 points and Ace Baldwin’s 16. Maryland made just 5 of 25 threes, and shot just 34.3% overall. Their 39 to 21 advantage in foul shots attempted was a major factor in this win.

Some bad fouls in critical situations robbed the Terps of a chance to put the game away in regulation.

Reese had just given the Terps a three-point lead with 6:08 left and momentum was building for Maryland. That’s when PSU’s Leo O’Boyle was left open for a three, which he buried while being fouled in the act. The 4-point play immediately returned the lead to Penn State. It was a bad play by Jordan Geronimo, but not nearly as impactful as the next too braindead fouls.

With just 4 seconds left in the game and Maryland clinging to a tiny 2-point cushion, Penn State inbounded the ball underneath their own bucket hoping for a chance to pull off the miracle. The pass went to the left side line, perhaps half way between the baseline and mid court on Penn State’s side of the court. Jahari Long decided an attempt at an interception was warranted, but instead, he wound up with what would be a pass interference call in football. That whistle sent Baldwin to the line where his 2 free throws sent the game into overtime.

The last not-so-smart foul came with 1:44 left in overtime and the Terps up by 5. A stop here and the Terps chances looked really good.

With the shot clock winding down, and PSU in possession way out on the right wing, Kaiser’s overly aggressive defense caused some contact and he was called for his 5th foul, ending his night. The Terps got away with the play, but it was not a smart play in that situation.

Speaking of Jamie Kaiser, his second half defense may have propelled Maryland to this win. He did add a massive timely 3, but his 3 steals in a 3-minute span were essential in turning a 4-point deficit into a 2-point lead midway through the second half. It was by far his biggest contribution as a Terp.

It was another ominous start for Maryland. The initial 5 plus minutes saw them turn the ball over 4 times and connect on 2 of 6 shots. Penn State capitalized on a pair of offensive rebounds as well as a couple of runouts to grab a 9-4 lead at the 14:37 mark of the first half.

A put back from Jordan Geronimo, after getting his first shot blocked, opened the scoring after the break. Wholesale Terrapin substitutions saw Noah Bachelor, Jahari Long, and Jamie Kaiser on the court together until Willard called for timeout after the Nittany Lions rolled off 6 straight points.

The game was just over 8 minutes old, and the numbers were very familiar for this group of Terps. They were 3 of 11 from the floor (27%) and 0-4 from the three-point line. Need I do the math on the second one? The scoreboard read 15-7 in favor of Penn State.

Each team then hit their first 3’s of the contest. Zack Hicks drained one from the right corner for Penn State while Young answered for the Terps. A scrappy bucket by Reese on a corralled loose ball was immediately followed by a nifty spinning layup by Young. The PSU lead was now 4, 20-16, with Maryland in possession of the ball. There was 7:35 left in the half.

Three successful Young foul shots brought the Terps to within a trio of points at 22-19. After Jahari Long made a single foul shot, the PSU advantage had dwindled to just 2 points. Clarey final hit a shot from the field, as both teams were in serious field goal droughts. His three made the score 25-20 going into the final TV break of the first half. The Terps had missed their last 5 field goal attempts spanning just shy of 4 minutes.

Kaiser single handedly closed the gap at 25 all with 2 foul shots and a made three. The score was finally tied at 25 all, but Penn State ran off 4 in a row before Long connected on the Terps third triple of the half. Penn State led 29-28 with 43 seconds left.

The half ended with Maryland trailing by just 2 points, 30-28. Notable stats were Maryland’s 28% shooting from the field, and their dominance on the offensive glass, 9-2.

Reese started the 2nd half scoring by hitting a little jumper in the lane while going to left. That was followed by a Geronimo jumper and the Terps finally had a lead. Wahab answered by scoring over Reese. The first 4-minute segment ended with a walking call on Donta Scott, but Maryland held a 37-35 lead.

Scott, again, was struggling mightily. His 4 rebounds were offset by 0-6 shooting with 2 turnovers.

Consecutive passing mistakes from Maryland led to 3 points for Penn State and they regained the lead by one, 38-37. It was at 13:58 that the Nittany Lions picked up their 6th team foul. Maryland would be shooting free throws from here on in. That would factor immensely in the eventual outcome.

The Terps had gone 3:35 without a score of any kind and trailed by 4 after Clary hit his 2nd three. The shifty guard had 21 of PSU’s 41 points on an efficient 7 of 10 shooting.

Maryland’s scoring woes reached 5:15 seconds. The Nittany Lions had dropped 9 in a row and built a 44-37 advantage. Let’s credit 6 Terp turnovers during that span with facilitating the PSU surge. There was 11:08 left in the game with Reese at the line.

Reese hit 2 and after a steal by Kaiser, Young was fouled and hit 2 more, cutting the lead to 3. The teams traded buckets, the last a three by Young. The under-8 TV timeout came at 7:39 with Maryland trailing 49-48 and Kaiser on the line shooting 2.

Kaiser, the freshman, had been giving his Terp mates some solid minutes defensively with a trio of steals. His 2 made free throws allowed the Terps to regain the lead, 50-49.

A Reese power drive gave him a conventional 3-point play, but Penn State answered with a 4-point play when Leo O’Boyle made a three while being fouled by Geronimo.

Two Terp foul shots were answered by 2 from PSU’s Baldwin. The score was now 57-56, Penn State. Maryland was staying in the game from the free throw line where they had gone 11 for 12 so far in the second half, and from their dominance on the offensive glass (21-7).

A monster 3 from Kaiser on the right wing put the Terps up by 2 with 3:18 left in the game. It was his second triple of the game to go along with his perfect 4 for 4 from the line.

With each possession now intensified, Maryland went to their #1 option. Young delivered with a bucket followed by 4 good foul shots. The Terps now led by 3 with under a minute left. But Penn State wasn’t finished.

Clary finished off a driving three-point play to tie the game at 69-69. On the critical next Terp trip, they continually dumped it to Reese on the right low post. On his second touch, he found a seam off the dribble and was fouled going to the bucket. He was 8 of 9 from the line at that point. His hot hand ended, but he made one, giving Penn State a chance at the lead with a final shot.

PSU got what they wanted, a short jumper from Clary going to his strong side. He missed. The Terps Deshawn Harris-Smith was immediately fouled with 4.6 seconds left. He went to the line shooting two, but making only the second attempt. The Nittany Lions had hope.

On the throw in, the unthinkable (for Terp fans) happened. Long went for the steal and knocked down Baldwin. The fans were upset with the call, but the refs got it right. It was a bonehead play. Baldwin made both. Looking for the win, Young raced down court for an uncontested 6-foot jumper. He airballed it, badly short-arming the potential game winner. Overtime.

Maryland drew first blood in OT. Kaiser missed a 3 from the left corner but Harris-Smith was fouled after hauling in the offensive rebound. He made 1. A tear drop on the right baseline by Young put the Terps up by 3.

Scott made a driving bucket putting the Terps up 5 before another dumb foul, this time by Kaiser, putting Baldwin back on the line to hit 2 more freebies. Kaiser had fouled out.

Two questionable 3 point tries by Harris-Smith and Young left Maryland with a dry possession. Clary followed that with 2 foul shots and the Terps lead was a single point with under a minute left.

On Maryland’s possession, Harris-Smith found himself with the ball on the left wing with time running out on the shot clock. He went to the hole strong, converting the layup and tacking on a foul shot as well.

PSU tossed up another miss (they shot 0-8 in OT). Young was then hacked after Maryland secured the rebound, and his 2 foul shots provided the final margin 81-75.

Scott had 10 rebounds for Maryland, but this guy is in an epic shooting funk. He did start the game last night, but went over 35 minutes of game time before making a shot. He hit only 1 of 10 shots in regulation and is shooting 5 for 25 in his last three games combined. He hasn’t made a three in his last 3 games and looks very tentative right now.

The Terrapins will play Alcorn State next Tuesday, followed by Nicholls the Tuesday after that. Their next “marquee” game will come on December 22nd when they travel to Los Angeles to take on the UCLA Bruins.

Wednesday December 6, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3390

it's almost "i told you so" time

I called this one.

Now, granted, this wasn't like calling, say, Brian Harman to win last year's British Open. That would have been an "out of nowhere" pick if ever there was one.

But the news released by the NCAA yesterday regarding future payments to college athletes is something I called as far back as 2010 when I was still on the radio.

I'm still not totally in "I told you so" territory yet, though. There's one missing piece, which is definitely looming sometime soon.

To be exact, roughly 13 years ago, I predicted the NCAA would someday create a "Super League" where 24-32 of the biggest schools in the country would break off from their respective conferences and form their own large entity. From there, they'd battle it out for the best players, be able to pay them, and even have "free agency" of sorts over the four or five years the "student-athletes" are actively playing.

Well, we have the money part already in place.

Student-athletes are now getting paid.

We have the "free agency" element, too, in the form of the transfer portal, which allows the athletes to peddle themselves to the highest bidder.

And now, yesterday, the NCAA essentially said the schools should be allowed to pay players themselves in exchange for their Name, Image and Likeness.

Here's a snippet from ESPN's article yesterday:

NCAA president Charlie Baker proposed rule changes Tuesday that would allow Division I schools for the first time to pay their athletes in ways that are not tied to educational resources.

Baker shared the proposed changes in a letter sent to member schools. If Division I schools choose to adopt the rules, they would be allowed to enter into name, image and likeness deals directly with their athletes. The new rules would also create a new subdivision of Division I schools that would be allowed to create its own set of rules for recruiting, transfers, roster size and a wide range of other policies. To be a part of that subdivision, each school would have to put millions of dollars each year into a trust fund for athletes.

Key words in that piece: The new rules would also create a new subdivision of Division I schools that would be allowed to create its own sets of rules...

There's one small catch. Title IX is still in place under the propsed new guidelines, which should make the female student-athletes happy since the proposed $30,000 annual payment has to go to an equal number of female athletes at each school.

But the biggest schools in the country will continue to do what they do now; feign enthusiastic support for women's sports, pay them whatever Title IX mandates they be paid, and move on from there to trying to win football and basketball games.

Oh, and in the fine print of the NCAA's suggested proposal yesterday was this beauty: Schools can decide to provide more money to their student-athletes if they so choose. $30,000 is apparently the suggested retail price, if you will.

In other words, the NCAA is pretty much saying: "Just pay them whatever you want. You've been doing that anyway."

Up next: The Super League.

You know it's coming.

Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Clemson, Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Texas, Oklahoma, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Notre Dame, Auburn, LSU -- there's the first group who will "apply" for admission. There are others, of course, who will want to be part of it.

In basketball, legendary programs like Villanova, UConn, Kentucky and Kansas won't be able to compete with the big boys in football, but the NCAA will figure out a way to appease them so they can still be successful in basketball even though they're losing 38-7 in football ten times a year.

The NCAA will follow the same formula as the NFL in terms of TV. The networks will all get a hunk of games and pay a billion dollars for the "right" to show Auburn vs. Alabama, they'll stream the Saturday "Game of the Week", and goofy people will shell out $9.99 to watch Michigan and Ohio State in late November every year.

What happens to everyone else?

Well, there will still be Maryland and South Carolina and Wake Forest and Illinois and Kansas State and TCU. They'll have to go back to being just regular old colleges again, with sports that matter, but their playing rosters will be comprised mainly of "B level" players that couldn't make the squad at Alabama, Penn State, Ohio State, Texas A&M and elsewhere.

You have to give the NCAA credit.

They might be 10 or 15 years too late on this, but they finally caved in and have decided to just get it over with and pay the players.

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

Student-athletes and big time coaches haven't been interested in playing by the rules for decades now.

40 years ago, when the NCAA first started sniffing around people like Jim Valvano, Jerry Tarkanian and Rollie Massimino, it was considered "shocking" to find out that a school gave a football player a first-class airline ticket for his Aunt Jenny to fly out to College Station to watch him play.

Then along came guys like Pitino, Calhourn and Calipari and they became a bit more brazen about it, but still acted totally surprised when one of their star players was seen cruising around town in a brand new Escalade.

Now......

It's no longer a secret.

Everyone's doing whatever they want. They have been for years, in fact.

And the NCAA finally said, "OK, we give up."

Have no fear, though. The NCAA isn't going broke or anything like that. Their upper level execs will still have big houses and huge swimming pools. Don't worry about them.

Along the way, I assume schools that still care about educating student-athletes -- you know, like Penn, Dartmouth, Princeton, Brown, Harvard, etc. -- will continue to have athletics and, in doing so, will aspire to weave sports and education together in the same way they have been doing since their inception(s).

They won't have the best players. They won't get the big bucks from NBC, CBS, ESPN and the others.

But if you're still around in 10 or 15 years and you're looking for a respite from the money-grubbing schools in the Super League, the "B Level" will be your place to turn.

The ongoing story about transgender athletes competing in both collegiate and amateur sports continues to percolate this week with a forum in Washington DC involving both political and sports figures in our country debating the topic.

I don't think the "topic" itself is a waste of time.

But I think trying to solve it is most certainly a collosal failure-waiting-to-happen.

If you believe a naturally-born male should be allowed to compete against females, I can't imagine there's much that's going to change your mind.

And if you, like me, believe naturally born males shouldn't be allowed to compete against females, I can't imagine there's much that will change your mind. Speaking for me, which is easy to do, I can assure you there's nothing you can say to me that will think it's OK for a naturally-born male to compete against females.

But I think there's a possible solution.

Why can't there be men's sports, women's sports and transgender sports?

Isn't that feasible?

If you're a male soccer player, I can only assume you're more than comfortable competing against other men.

If you're a female soccer player, I assume you're more than comfortable competing against other females.

And if you're a transgender athlete, wouldn't you be more than comfortable competing against other transgender athletes?

I mean, maybe that only makes sense to me. And if so, that's OK too.

But I don't see the harm in creating a "transgender division".

I can't imagine a male athlete or female athlete would be offended in any way with a "transgender division". I know, as a country, we've become ultra-sensitive to the feelings of the transgender community, but at the same time don't our male and female athletes deserve the same sensitivity?

Creating a "transgender" division for sports seems like a more-than-sensible option and allows for male and female athletes to fairly compete against one another within their own gender.

There was a report last spring where an athlete at a school (I honestly don't remember where) who considered themselves non-binary wanted the right to swim for their school as both a male and female. But what's odd is if they don't consider themselves a male or female, why swim as one of those genders?

Wouldn't that athlete be more comfortable simply swimming against other non-binary or transgender athletes?

They would avoid the conflict of swimming "against" a gender, per se.

And it would certainly make the playing field level for the males and females swimming in their traditional gender roles.

I don't know if there's a right answer, but I think we're at the point now where smart people need to figure this out so we're not spoiling amateur sports for men, women and those in the transgender community.

Sports is always about "fair". I show up on the first tee with my clubs. You show up with your clubs. You play by the rules, I play by the rules. Lowest score wins. See you on 18 green for the handshake.

We both show up with our team. There are 40 minutes on the clock. The ref throws the ball up to start the game and we shoot at a basket. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

If you asked the UConn women's basketball team to play a game against the UConn men's basketball team and that game counted in the standings for both teams, the women's team would most certainly object to that based on one thing: "It's not fair."

Sports is about "fair". I can accept losing if I lose fair and square. That's not to say I "like" losing. I don't like it at all.

But I'll accept losing if the competition was fair.

What's not fair, in my opinion, is to have a naturally-born male decide at age 19 that he is going to identify as a female and suddenly compete against naturally-born females. If you think that's fair to the females, we're just going to have to agree to disagree on that one.

What would be more than fair, though, would be to have that transgender athlete compete against other transgender athletes.

I assume that's where we're headed at some point. It makes the most sense.

Let's make it happen. And let's get back to making amateur sports fair for everyone involved.

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 9th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2023-2024 season.

terps host penn state tonight

The Penn State Nittany Lions roll into College Park for a 7pm game tonight.

First year head coach, Mike Rhoades, and his team of new faces are on a roll, and it’s not a good one. After beating up on the Morehead States of the NCAA hoop world, the Nittany Lions have lost 4 straight to Texas A&M, Butler, VCU, and Bucknell.

Penn State lost 95% of their scoring from last year. The roller coaster transfer landscape in college basketball has allowed Rhoades to replace that scoring with many new faces.

Some of those faces came from his former school, VCU. Leaving VCU after 6 years, he brought Ace Baldwin and Nick Kern with him. Penn State also has roster spots occupied by 2 former UNC players, and one each from Miami, Temple, and Georgetown. The Georgetown transfer should be familiar to Terrapin fans. It’s the former Terp, Qudus Wahab.

Wahab did a year at Maryland sandwiched between two stints at Georgetown. He’s seeing significant minutes (25) at Penn State and leads them in rebounds with 9.4 per game. He looks to have added a few pounds to his slim frame and has played with decent intensity in the two games I reviewed. He has led his team in scoring twice, getting 11 points per game on almost 70% shooting.

Juju Reese needs to play much better defense tonight than he did at Indiana. Letting Wahab get off will spell doom for Maryland’s chances to get a conference win.

It's the guard tandem of Kanye Clary and Ace Baldwin that gets the bulk of the PSU points.

Baldwin, the Baltimore product (St Francis Academy), is a VCU transfer who was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year as well as Defensive Player of the Year last season. He’s a strong, aggressive defender who I would suspect gets assigned to Maryland’s Jamir Young (maybe – see below). His 14.4 points per game is second on the team, but his 2.4 steals are first on the Nittany Lions. He’s tough.

The main Penn State offensive threat is Clary. He’s getting just over 15 a game, and has been the team’s high scorer in 5 of their 8 contests this season. That includes a 28-point burst in a loss to VCU. One of the few players in the main rotation to return to Penn State, the sophomore has seen his minutes rise to 27 from just over 10 last year. He’s shifty and strong while getting to the rim. Contain him, and Penn State will struggle to get the points needed to contend.

Zack Hicks (Temple transfer) and Puff Johnson (UNC) are both 6’8” forwards. Hicks has taken the most 3’s on the team, while Johnson does more work closer to the bucket. Both shoot about 31% from the three-point line, and warrant some attention when stepping outside. Each one lacks bulk, pushing about 205. Watchout for Puff, he uses his length to get scoring opportunities.

The sixth Penn State player to average at least 20 minutes a game is Nick Kern. Also a VCU transfer, Kern is listed at 6’6” and prefers the inside and slash game. In his career, the junior has only attempted 21 threes while connecting just twice.

Connecting at just 29%, Penn State won’t throw up a bunch of threes, instead electing for post ups to Wahab and allowing Clary, Balwin, and even Hicks to slash or create off of the dribble. They’ll also push the ball downcourt and straight to the bucket.

Like many Nittany Lion teams in the past, this is a scrappy bunch of athletes who like to pressure the ball. They thrive offensively by getting inside, and don’t shoot well as a team from the three-point line.

They have good athletes who have defensively smothered the weaker teams, but have given up a ton of points in their losses. Are the Terps a weaker team that gets smothered, or are they a team that can score on the Nittany Lions?

Perhaps even a bigger question is what lineup sees the floor to open the game tonight? Does Donta Scott sit? If so, who takes his place? Will it be Jahari Long? Or perhaps Willard goes with Jamie Kaiser. My guess is that Long gets the start, but that may be necessitated by the ankle injury to Jamir Young.

Young is questionable for tonight’s game and has missed several practices this week. He’ll be a gametime decision. If you follow Terp hoops at all, there’s no need for me to tell you his value to this team. If he’s out, the Terps will have to find other ways to get this win. Long and DeShawn Harris-Smith will have to run the point in Young’s absence, and that won’t be pretty.

Talent-wise, assuming a healthy Young, the Terps are on par with Penn State. The home court and the “red-out” should help the team maintain some energy. Reese plays better at home, and I expect him to outshine Wahab, especially after getting abused last week by Indiana’s Kel’el Ware.

If Maryland continues its horrendous long-range shooting (22%, 349th out of 351 D1 teams) they can’t win this game. Somebody needs to show the form that was expected before the season began.

Defensively, I watched Bucknell frustrate PSU with a 1-2-2, or 3-2 zone defense. I expect the Terps to employ some of that strategy to force the Nittany Lions to more of an outside game.

As for a prediction, there are too many variables for me to even try to post a likely score. Will Young play, and if so, how limited will his injury render him? Does Willard bench Scott? Who gets the nod if Scott gets benched? Does Reese step up tonight or does Wahab look at this game as a statement game against the guy that claimed his spot? Will the Terps try the zone or will the Terps try to contain the Nittany Lion guards with straight up man to man?

I’ll go with this, if Young is healthy then his Terps can win this game. Can they cover the 6.5 points by which they are favored? I’m not so sure about that.

At some point, Maryland has to break out of this all time low for shooting triples. Could it be tonight? Who knows? I’ll go two ways with this. One, if Young is 100%, the Terps win a close game. If he’s out, Penn State will win by 10 unless Maryland hits at least 8 threes.

All of the questions will be answered at 7 p.m. on BTN.

Tuesday December 5, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3389

well.....we're waiting

You'll recognize the 3-word headline from a great scene in the hilarious movie Caddyshack, where Ted Knight's character is pushing Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) to place a bet on a big golf match.

"Well...we're waiting," the Judge says in the movie.

And so it goes here in Bawlmer, where we're all still waiting for the O's and the state of Maryland to complete the stadium lease they told everyone they completed back on September 28.

The Baltimore Banner ran a piece on Monday telling us what we already (mostly) knew. There is no formal lease agreement in place, the O's are still bickering over money and other benefits they're chasing, and the deadline of December 31 is rapidly approaching.

Someone I've known for a long time in the Orioles organization says it's been business as usual in the Warehouse and they went as far as to predict a one-year "rollover" extension to give the two sides at least 12 more months to finalize the long term deal.

Another source familiar with the O's organization says he wouldn't be surprised if the team is trying to see what happens with the Ravens in the playoffs, potentially waiting until the day before a significant post-season home game to leak the news about the lease finally being signed.

"There's petty and then there's John Angelos," the source said.

Personally, I'll take the first remedy over the second one. I'd be far more inclined to believe the two sides are simply going to carry the current lease over one more season and continue to fine tune the language throughout 2024 before finally announcing something during the baseball season.

I realize the Angelos family has done some goofy stuff over the last 30 years, but I just don't see holding off on making an announcement about the lease in an effort to squelch community enthusiasm for the Ravens and a home playoff game. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think they're that awful.

What we do know, though, is this: On September 28, the message above was flashed on the screen at Camden Yards. The entire stadium erupted. Governor Moore was a hero. John Angelos was a hero. All was ending well.

That was then.

This is now.

And as of December 5, there's no lease.

Both parties distributed some vague commentary a couple of days later, re-wording the message to say the state and the Orioles had agreed on a "memorandum of understanding" but that the actual, formal lease hadn't yet been ratified.

Someone screwed up.

Was it Governor Moore and his office who jumped the gun?

Or was it the Orioles who blabbed about a lease being signed when that wasn't the case?

Or did both parties think an agreement had been reached, only for the Orioles to move the goalposts a day or two later, necessitating the reissued "memorandum of understanding" in an effort to save face?

The latter seems like the most realistic situation.

But no matter what happened in late September, someone, somewhere, owes the community a full and better explanation.

We're 26 days from the deadline. People are starting to get nervous, and rightfully so.

And more than anything else, the Baltimore sports community doesn't deserve this sort of treatment.

I know we're never surprised at the shenanigans the Orioles pull.

They once took my media credential from me because, they said, I created a "crusade" to have the word Baltimore on the road jerseys and turned some members of the Baltimore sports community against them while doing so.

Laughable, I know. But Orioles gonna Orioles.

This stuff has been going on for the better of three decades now. Most of their downfall they created themselves. But this lease situation is a total farce. The state is giving them $600 million and the Orioles are saying, "Yeah, I don't know. Let us get back to you on that."

And now we read in The Baltimore Banner that there's a chance a new lease won't be in place by December 31 after all.

Let's go back to September 28 in that case.

Someone needs to speak up. And spill the beans.

I know they've already commented on it once, but that story was a joke and everyone knows it.

What really happened?

There was a lease agreed upon. Both parties knew it was getting announced at the game. You know, given the delicate nature of the story, that both the state and the Orioles had to proof read and sign off on the scoreboard message that was posted that night.

And if anyone would have had full authority that night, it would be have been the team, obviously. Their game operations folks run the scoreboard. They typed the message into the scoreboard computer and hit "post".

So who isn't telling the truth?

And why?

If nothing else, Baltimore deserves to know the answer to those two questions.

Who isn't telling the truth about September 28?

And why?

Speaking of crusades, if we were well organized as a community, we'd somehow band together and say, "We're not purchasing ONE season ticket or mini-plan until the lease is signed."

That's the message the baseball fans of Baltimore should send to the Orioles.

I know it seems far-fetched to think the Orioles will care what the fans think about their dilly-dallying act. I mean, if they don't care about $600 million, why care about season tickets and mini-plans?

It's always been in their nature to not really care all that much about the fan base.

But if the Governor and the state of Maryland aren't willing to put their foot down, maybe the ticket buying community should.

No lease. No tickets sold.

We're waiting...

As discussion and opinions roar on regarding golf's "ball rollback", one thing is very clear: A lot of people yapping about the decision don't really know how it's going to impact them on the course. They're just mad for the sake of being mad.

I thought this through over the weekend when I was playing a round at Eagle's Nest. I enjoyed a solid day hitting the ball and finished at 71.

I only made 3 birdies. My two bogeys came at the 1st and 2nd holes. So let's discount those two and look at just a handful of other holes I've picked out to showcase why the ball rollback isn't going to be the game-killer a lot of people think it will be.

On the third hole, a 350 yard par 4, I hit a good (not great) driver into the fairway and a 70% pitching wedge from 105 yards out to within a few inches of the hole.

With the rollback, I might have had 110 yards in. It's still a pitching wedge from that distance. But I'm hitting it at 90 or 95% instead of 70%. No real difference there.

At #5, the number one handicap hole, I again hit a "good" drive on the 400 yard hole and had 135 yards to the pin. I hit a 9-iron, nearly full, to about 20 feet. With the rollback ball, I might have had 145 yards in. Now it's an 8-iron.

Again, I just don't see how that's going to present that much of a problem with the new ball.

On the two par 5's on the front, I had a lob wedge in for my 3rd at both. At #7 I was left with 70 yards and at #9 I had 65 yards in after my second shot.

With the rollback ball, I'd have 75 or so yards in at #7 and maybe 60 yards in at #9. Not a big deal in either case.

I understand the importance of length and how it relates to scoring. I get it.

But on par 5's you can't reach in two, what's the difference? At #12 and #15 on Saturday, I had a sand wedge in on both holes. With the ball rollback, assuming I hit two good shots in the first place, I'd still have a sand wedge in for my third on those two holes.

Length matters. A 350 yard hole is almost certainly easier to par than a 450 yard par four.

But I can take you to a short golf course like Rolling Road or Green Spring and you'll have just as much difficulty scoring there as you would at Woodholme or BCC's East Course.

Sure, when you have seven wedges into holes at a place like Rolling Road (#1, #5, #8, #9, #10, #11, and #12), you expect to light that place up. But you forget you have to hit it close and make the putt(s).

I played a lot of golf at Clifton Park in the late 1990's. For three or four years, I played there every Saturday and Sunday. There were a dozen or so low handicap players there on the weekend, there were some good, competitive money games, and I found the course to be very beneficial to me from a scoring standpoint.

I don't remember the exact number, but I went something like 15 or so consecutive rounds under par there. I mentioned that to a friend of mine who scoffed and said, "Anyone can do that at Clifton Park."

The next weekend, he came out and shot 75.

A couple of weeks later he played with our group again and shot 74.

He blamed the kids riding their motorcycles through the course, the occasional police siren wailing in the streets around us, golf balls bouncing into us from other nearby holes and "slow greens" for his mediocre play.

"It's not as easy as you think, even though it's 6100 yards," I said.

So they can go ahead with the golf ball rollback. Will it change some things for all of us? Sure, maybe a little bit? Enough to disrupt our game and our scoring? I don't know about that. Maybe a shot or two per-round. But it's not going to take a guy who shoots 75 regularly and suddenly turn him into a guy who doesn't break 80 very often.

If you can't break 100 yet, now, the rollback isn't going to permanently keep you from getting your score into the 90's.

Don't let the naysayers fool you. It's going to make a bit of a difference for the guys who make a living playing golf. The rest of us won't see much of a change at all.

And even if we have to hit 6-iron into that hole where we used to hit 7-iron or maybe even 8-iron, who cares? Just get better at hitting the 6-iron and you won't notice a change to your scorecard.

Monday December 4, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3388

afc north officially in the crosshairs now

It shouldn't take more than a couple of more weeks for the Ravens to wrap up another AFC North title.

They're separating themselves from the rest of the pack and they didn't even have to play this weekend.

Pittsburgh lost at home to Arizona yesterday.

Cleveland lost in Los Angeles yesterday.

And the Bengals will lose in Jacksonville tonight.

When the dust settles later this evening, the North will look like this:

1. Ravens - 9-3

2. Browns - 7-5

3. Steelers - 7-5

4. Bengals - 5-7

And all three of the rivals in the division don't have a real quarterback playing for them.

Cleveland has the ageless Joe Flacco at the helm now, which might be OK if he had any receivers to help him. The Browns do have the benefit of a couple of cupcake games remaining on their schedule, but they have their work cut out for them to get to 10 wins.

The Steelers are done with or without Kenny Pickett.

And the Bengals are finished, obviously, with Joe Burrow sidelined for the rest of the season.

In case you care and like doing this sort of thing, here's what's left for the three AFC North rivals.

Cleveland -- vs. Jacksonville, vs. Chicago, at Houston, vs. NY Jets, at Cincinnati

Pittsburgh -- vs. New England, at Indianapolis, vs. Cincinnati, at Seattle, at Baltimore

Cincinnati -- vs. Indianapolis, vs. Minnesota, at Pittsburgh, at Kansas City, vs. Cleveland

Flacco and the Browns have the best chance of getting to 10 wins. They have home "gimmes" against the Bears and Jets. That gets them to 9 wins. They need to win one more game from Jacksonville (at home) or at Houston or at Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh just lost at home to Arizona. How can they be trusted to beat anyone? Sure, they're probably going to beat New England next Sunday and they might beat Cincinnati in three weeks but that will probably be their last hope for a victory in 2023.

Cincinnati can only win 10 games if pigs learn to fly.

Sure, 9 wins might squeeze someone into the post-season. Denver, the Chargers, Indianapolis and Buffalo also have chances to win 9 or 10 games, too.

But 10 wins figures to be a slam dunk post-season spot.

The Ravens will cruise to at least 11 wins, if not 12 or maybe even 13.

The three AFC games remaining on Baltimore's schedule (at Jacksonville and home vs. Miami and Pittsburgh) are likely going to determine if the Ravens first 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the AFC.

Barring an injury to Lamar, the division title is pretty much a wrap at this point.

That said, it's critical for the Ravens to put their foot on the gas in an effort to garner that all-important #1 seed in the AFC.

We know from past history that the #1 seed doesn't yield a guaranteed trip to the Super Bowl, but it's certainly the most favorable spot in the playoff picture. You get an extra week's rest, for starters, and you only need to win two games to earn a trip to Las Vegas on February 11.

This Sunday's visit from the Rams will be particularly interesting given L.A.'s ability to throw the ball. A loss to a NFC team is far less crippling than a loss to an AFC squad, but make no mistake about it, the Ravens don't have any interest in losing to the Rams this Sunday.

The good news for Baltimore? In the John Harbaugh era, a Ravens team using their #1 quarterback has rarely lost to a NFC visitor in Baltimore.

I'm the first guy to admit I'm about a "5.5" when it comes to following college football. I've chronicled the reasons why I've lost my enthusiasm for college sports over the last decade. There's no use in going into it again here, today.

So because I'm a 5.5 on a scale of 1-to-10, I can honestly say "I don't have a dog in the hunt" when it comes to discussing and analyzing yesterday's announcement of Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama earning the four sports for the college football playoff.

None of those schools ring my bell in any way.

Other than Michigan, you can poke a hole in any of the other three in an effort to award either Georgia or Florida State a spot in the playoff.

If Alabama doesn't connect on that fluke-hail-mary against Auburn on 4th and 31, they're out.

Washington didn't lose a game all year, true be that, but go through their schedule and tell me how many powerhouse schools they beat along the way. I know they can score points. But they beat Oregon twice and 21st ranked Oregon State by two points.

And the same goes for Texas, who beat Alabama but lost to Oklahoma. Here's one thing I'm fairly certain we all agree on: Texas is in because Alabama got in. If Alabama didn't beat Georgia, it would have been Michigan, Washington, Florida State and Georgia.

When Alabama beat Georgia and the committee wanted Nick Saban's team in the playoff, they also knew they had to give Texas one of the four spots since they were the only team to beat Alabama.

Of the two programs who got the shaft, the one you feel the worst for is Florida State.

Georgia had the playoff spot on their racket and lost to Alabama. And they lost at home, sorta-kinda. If Georgia wins that game, they're in. And for those saying, "It's not fair to lose a game at the end of the season and have it impact you differently than an early-season loss" (like Alabama and Texas suffered), I counter by reminding you it works the same way in the NFL. You could go 16-1 in the regular season and play a 9-8 team in the playoffs and if you lose, you go home.

Georgia effectively played a playoff game on Saturday in Atlanta and lost. So be it.

Florida State had the playoff spot on their racket and they won. Sure, they "only" beat Louisville 16-6 and they lost their quarterback along the way, but the score or their roster's health shouldn't impact the committee's decision. When they had to play and beat LSU and Clemson to maintain a perfect season, they did that.

They lost their quarterback to injury and the committee used that against them? That takes some serious nerve.

What else could Florida State do?

They won every game they played this season.

They beat some good teams along the way.

When they had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, they did.

The committee's insistence that Alabama be in the playoff was the "X factor". It forced their hand on Texas and left out an undefeated team and a Georgia team that would likely beat Washington or Texas 5 out of 5 times.

You wanted Nick Saban in there. And you got him.

But while doing that, you shafted Florida State.

So Tiger Woods did something over the last four days in the Bahamas he was incapable of doing last April at Augusta National.

He played four rounds of competitive golf.

That Woods finished in 18th place in the 20 man field isn't at all a surprise. I said last week that anything inside the top 15 would have been a really good showing for him. Four days of even par golf for a guy who hasn't played a golf tournament in almost 8 months is certainly a favorable showing.

What was more important that Tiger shooting 3 straight rounds of par or better (after an opening 75 on Thursday) was the way he "looked" on Sunday. Coming down the stretch, he hit some great drives, made a few birdies and, critical to anyone who is a Tiger fan, the 15-time major champion walked along as if Sunday was round one instead of round four.

There were no visible signs of a limp or a change in his gait as he played the final round on Sunday.

Score aside, nothing was more important than that. That Woods could play 72 holes of golf without pain was far and away the best news of his trip to the Bahamas.

He'll be playing again this weekend in the Parent-Child event in Orlando. That's only two days and participants can ride in golf carts if they so choose. It's pretty much "hit and giggle" golf, so not much can be taken from it.

But the tournament in the Bahamas was exciting for anyone who is a Tiger Woods fan.

He'll be 48 later this month. The career calendar is definitely into November. But as he showed this weekend, there's plenty of quality golf left.

He made 19 birdies in four rounds.

His ball speed was well into the 170's.

And he drove the ball, distance wise, roughly the same as he did back in 2019 when he won the Masters.

Tiger's back.

2024 can't come soon enough.

We're now getting to the point in the NFL season where the MVP discussion is really starting to heat up.

Glenn Clark and I talk about this a lot during my Wednesday visits on his show.

Why is the default selection for MVP always the QB of one of the most successful teams in the league?

For years...it was either Brady, Peyton or Rodgers. Patrick Mahomes has started to dominate the award now.

Sure, occasionally a Lamar Jackson or Matt Ryan squeezes in there and gets the honor, but it's rare.

This year?

You can go ahead and name your favorite QB now. Jalen Hurts, Lamar, Mahomes and maybe even Brock Purdy are the guys starting to get the most "heat", if you will.

But there's at least one player far more valuable than all four of those guys.

There's a month left in the season, but Tyreek Hill of the Dolphins is the most valuable player in the league and the 49'ers' Christian McCaffrey is a close second.

If those two get hurt and don't finish out the season for their respective teams, there's no chance of playoff success in either Miami or San Francisco.

Hill has made the Dolphins into a legitimate championship contender. He can't be stopped.

McCaffrey is of a similar ilk. And he obviously does some things in the 49'ers offense that Hill doesn't do for Miami.

Forget about a quarterback this season. They're valuable and all. But it's Hill and McCaffrey at the top of the MVP list in 2023.

Sunday December 3, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3387

no football but lots of mail

The Ravens are off again today.

It's been a weird few weeks around here.

A Thursday night game. No game that following Sunday.

Then a Sunday night game in L.A.

No game today.

Hopefully the club is using this down time to get some ailing players back to full health.

Just like they did in the two previous years, the Ravens have moved into December with an excellent chance to make a deep post-season run. If they can keep the quarterback healthy and go at least 4-1 in their last five games, they could very well wind up with the #1 seed in the AFC.

So with the Ravens off again today let's tackle a bunch of e-mails that have piled up.

Dave P. asks -- "What do you make of the rumored move of Jon Rahm to LIV Golf and the $300 million payment he's supposed to receive? Would that force the PGA Tour's hand to expedite the merger with LIV?"

DF says -- "It would be incredibly hypocritical of Rahm to take the LIV offer after months and months of publicly speaking out in support of the TOUR and against LIV. That said, I'm never surprised when someone caves in. You never know if these people have integrity or not.

I also thought LIV had expressed some dismay at not generating any real revenue and overspending on their player roster. Giving $300 million to Rahm doesn't seem like a company worried about their finances.

I suspect they're going to work out the PGA/LIV "alliance" no matter if Rahm moves over there or turns down the money (if that story is even true).

I said when LIV first started trying to corrupt the PGA Tour that the ultimate easy "fix" would be to have the TOUR schedule run from mid-January through the end of August and then let LIV play their events (outside of the US) from September through December.

PGA Tour players would have the freedom to play both tours. I'm not sure why that's so hard to figure out."

Dave O. asks -- "I know the Masters is four months out but can you give a few names of some guys to possibly throw down some early futures money on before they win once or twice in February and March and their odds dramatically decrease? Thanks, Drew and Go Hall!"

DF says -- "I'm using the FanDuel odds that were posted on December 1, 2023, in case you're wondering. Viktor Hovland has to get some of your money at +1700. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him win.

I think Ludvig Aberg is incredibly underpriced at +4400. Grab him now before he wins twice early in the season and drops to +1600.

Min Woo Lee at +9000? Ummmm, yes please. We might even want to double the bet there. +9000 for one of the best players in the world is an outrageous steal.

And I'll give you two former champions who are both at +13000 that are worth a small wager; Adam Scott and Eldrick Woods. Former champions always have a shot to win at Augusta. Put down $100 and win $13,000? Yes, sign me up for that, please."

Adam asks -- "Hey Drew, any update on what's going on with the Blast and all of the veteran players they've lost like William Vanzela and Lucas Roque? The team sent out a press release saying Vanzela's contract was suspended due to interaction with the GM who is under indictment. What do you know?"

DF says -- "I have no idea what's happening other than what we've all read or heard in the media. I saw the statement from the team's legal team about William Vanzela. It was certainly an awkward way of telling the fans Vanzela is no longer with the team. Blaming his injuries was a weird take.

Anyway, I assume they want a younger roster. They certainly had several veteran players in their 30's who were nearing the end of their run. But I don't follow the league closely enough any longer to know if the guys they brought in will help keep the club competitive.

I don't know anything about the situation involving the team's former GM. I know his court case is in January. I guess we'll all learn more at that point. It's a sad story all the way around."

Chris asks -- "We're a quarter of the way through the NHL season. Are you shocked at the Capitals start to the season?"

DF says -- "Very surprised. They have no offense. Ovechkin is struggling. They only have one good goaltender (Lindgren). And yet somehow they're 12-7-2 (after last night's loss in Vegas). Obviously Strome is having a great start to the year and that's helped out a lot, but overall, the team just doesn't look all that good on paper.

You have to assume Ovi is going to hit a hot streak where he scores 6 or 8 goals over a 10-game period. He's not going to continue at this pace where he scores 5 goals every 20 games. At least I don't think he will.

I have to assume Caps management is just as surprised with this start as we all are. I figured this would be a "lost season" for them and my guess was they thought that internally as well. But so far, they're one of the surprise teams in the league. I hope it continues."

D.J. asks -- "Still feeling confident that Maryland basketball is going to turn this thing around and have a good season in the Big Ten?"

DF says -- "Well, I'm not sure what to think. They're only one game into Big Ten play, obviously, and Indiana isn't chopped liver. Let's see how they do against Penn State this week.

Dale Williams is our eyes-and-ears down there at College Park and his piece below looks at the team's loss at Assembly Hall and some of their early season woes.

I'll let him handle all of the heavy lifting as it relates to the Terps.

I'm definitely surprised at their slow start, but I assume Kevin Willard has things under control over the long haul. Reese and Young are too good to not have some degree of success down there this season."

T.C. asks -- "Who's the best coach in the NFL?"

DF says -- "Holy cow, I have no way of answering that. I mean, Andy Reid has to be in that conversation but he has Patrick Mahomes to thank for a lot of his success in recent years.

Look at the guys who have been around the longest; Harbaugh, Tomlin, Carroll, even Sean Payton, I guess. They'd have to be in the discussion, right?

The new guy in Miami is getting a lot of attention these days.

I think you'd have to go with Andy Reid. His "coaching tree" is extensive. He has made a lot of his assistants into NFL head coaches. And his teams keep winning. And his offense is always dangerous.

But that's such a tough question. I might even be missing someone. Dan Campbell? Sean McVay? I have no idea. Andy Reid, that's my final answer."

Alan asks -- "Hey Drew, just wondering if you have any musical artists or groups on your 2024 concert "must see list"?

DF says -- "Hmmmm, great question. I don't even know if they're touring next year but I need to see Kings of Leon at some point. They're probably the one band I haven't seen live that I'm desperate to see at least once.

I know Elvis Costello is doing some shows in the south in the early part of 2024. If he gets up this way, I'd love to see him as well.

Most of the bands I want to see aren't really around any longer!"

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 9th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2023-2024 season.

indiana review and other thoughts

If you only saw the box score of Maryland’s Friday night loss at the hands of Indiana, and you didn’t see the whole game, you might think that the 65-53 loss wasn’t too bad.

Maybe you’d assume it was a defensive game where the Terps played nice “D”, but failed (again) to put up enough points to contend. That would be incorrect.

The box score may also have you thinking that the Juju Reese / Kel’el Ware matchup was a standoff, with Reese getting 14 points and Ware tossing in just 4 more, with 18. In reality, Ware dominated Reese all night long and his Hoosiers handed the Terps an embarrassing blowout defeat.

The Hoosiers raced out to a 16-4 lead and were never challenged by a Maryland team that wasn’t ready to compete. The lead grew to 23 in the second half before Indiana slowed down the game, allowing Maryland to make the score look somewhat respectable. It wasn’t.

Ware was dominant on both ends. His 18 points were a team high and his 14 rebounds were a game high. He altered numerous shots and prevented others. Reese had no answer for him, and the other Terp bigs were manhandled too.

Maryland was outrebounded 46-30. The effort on the glass was so bad that Reese, at one point, screamed “Box out” at Donta Scott.

Speaking of Scott, his 2 point and 3 rebound performance warrants a spot on the bench, but I’m not sure Maryland has other options. Perhaps coach Willard will go to a three-guard lineup, but it’s hard to leave 6’8”, 230 on the bench when your team is getting smoked on the boards.

In his post-game interview, Willard mentioned that 1 or 2 players are causing breakdowns. Scott had to be one of those guys.

The 5th year senior was 1-8 from the field and at times played like a zombie on defense. You almost have to try to be that bad. Ill advised passes, air ball layups…you name it, he did it. Everything but consistently play hard.

Maryland did get a solid effort from Jamir Young on Friday night. His 20 points led all scorers, but the left hander struggled again from the three-point line where he made just 1 of 7 attempts.

As a team, the Terps made only 2 of 16 triples. They solidified their spot as one of the worst shooting teams in all of D1 basketball.

The game started with Indiana showing some interior dominance. They opened with 8 points in the paint being scored by 3 different players. The Terps tailed 8-4 at the first break, with only Jahmir Young scoring for Maryland. Juju Reese was being bothered by the length of Ware and badly missed his first 2 shots.

Coming out of the break, the Hoosiers knocked down back-to-back threes and pushed their lead to 16-4. By the under 12-minute timeout, the duo of Malik Reneau and Ware were a combined 5 for 5 and each had hit a three. The Terps, meanwhile, were 0-3 from long range and all of their points had been scored by guards. The paint was being owned by Indiana.

When Young drained a triple after Reese hit an inside jumper, the lead had been cut to 7, 18-11. Turnovers and poor foul shooting were keeping Maryland from cutting deeper into the Hoosier lead.

The Terps were 1-4 from the line and had committed all 5 of the game’s turnovers. The lead was still 9, 27-18 at the 7-minute mark.

Paint points favored Indiana 20-10 at this point, and fast break points were 7-0. Maryland’s defense just lacked the energy that the Hoosier’s offense had.

Indiana’s lead grew to 13, but a Terp mini-run closed it to 7. The run was cut short when the Hoosiers went back to Ware, who again easily roasted Reese. The Hoosier big man was now 5 for 5 from the floor and sent Reese to the bench with his second foul. The ensuing successful foul shot put the lead back to double digits, 34-24 with a little more than 3 minutes left in the half.

The lead returned to 13 points after Maryland missed two threes and Indiana made one. At this point of the game, the Terps were 1-8 from the three-point line, and just 1-5 from the foul line. Both Reese and Jordan Geronimo were riding the pine with 2 fouls.

The half ended with Indiana up 40-28. The Terps are too poor, offensively, to allow their opponent to out-hustle them like Indiana did in the first half and still contend. Add in the fact that the Hoosiers shot an uncharacteristic 50% from the three-point line, and you have a 12-point deficit at the half.

The first 20 minutes saw Indiana’s big men outscore the Maryland bigs, 30-8. Donta Scott was just 1-4 from the field and Reese had 6 points. That the Terps scored just 28 points in the half was bad, but the real story of the opening half was the lack of defensive intensity by Maryland.

The quick second half start that the Terps needed was not to be. Donta Scott missed three shots in a row, and Indiana’s Trey Galloway got to the rim three times in a row. Maryland was sloppy and without enthusiasm, and they paid the price for it, being down 52-31 at the first TV timeout. Ballgame.

Maryland was blown out before the first TV timeout of the second half. There were 15 insignificant minutes left to play.

I feel pretty foolish for thinking the trio of Reese, Scott, and Geronimo could hold their own against Ware, Reneau, and Mackenzie Mgbako.

Those 3 Terps were thoroughly outplayed on both ends of the court. I also thought, and still do, that the Terp guards were better than their Hoosier counterparts. But the Indiana backcourt played much harder and way smarter than Maryland’s.

This team has issues that extend beyond the court. It could be a really long season. Or should I say, a short one.

around the nfl

We're into December now.

All of the games are important throughout the season, but now they're really critical.

And because the league is completely watered down, there are only a handful of teams around the league who are pretty much out of the playoff picture at this point.

Even someone like Tampa Bay, at 4-7, is still fighting for their post-season lives.

All three AFC North teams not called the Ravens are in action today, with Joe Flacco getting the starting nod in a -- say it ain't so, Joe -- Browns uniform.

It's going to be a fun final month of the season.

Oh, and our friend Larry is back this week with four picks instead of his customary three. As you know, you're welcome to fade or follow Larry. He has no idea what he's doing. He's just making picks.

Here's how things shape up today.

COLTS (6-5) AT TITANS (4-7) -- This really is last-gasp-Sunday for the Titans. A loss today and a 4-8 mark would pretty much put the 6th and final nail in their 2023 coffin. The Colts, meanwhile, need to pick this one off today in Nashville and they'll have a decent shot at making the post-season with a fairly accommodating schedule still remaining for them.

CHARGERS (4-7) AT PATRIOTS (2-9) -- I think we all know the Chargers aren't making the post-season but they'll still be alive in the race after they go into New England and win today. The Patriots, meanwhile, are chugging along nicely in the direction of that first overall pick in the draft. You can bet Bill Belichick isn't all that concerned with what happens today vs. L.A. -- Larry says take the Chargers outright on the road in this one.

LIONS (8-3) AT SAINTS (5-6) -- We've been led to believe Detroit is the "real deal" this season, then they go out and stub their toe on Thanksgiving Day to the Packers. In Detroit, even. New Orleans is alive and well in the race for the NFC South, but they're in need of a win today for sure. Are the Lions really any good? Today will help us answer that question.

FALCONS (5-6) AT JETS (4-7) -- You could ask the same thing about the Falcons. Are you guys really any good? Because if they are, they'll go into the Meadowlands and win today. The Jets are trying to steal one today, win again next week over Houston, and at least present Aaron Rodgers with a puncher's chance of the post-season if he comes back for the 12/17 game in Miami. New York's final three games after that are against Washington, Cleveland and New England. New York really needs a win today.

CARDINALS (2-10) AT STEELERS (7-4) -- This would serve as the ultimate embarrassment if Pittsbugh somehow coughed up this automatic win. Arizona's battling New England for the #1 pick in the draft, but the Cardinals might actually still be trying to win for some weird reason. The Steelers awful offense gets a chance to put something together today. But will they? If Pittsburgh harbors any thought at all of still winning the AFC North, this one is pretty much must-win for them. --Larry says take Arizona to win outright in a collosal upset today in Pittsburgh.

DOLPHINS (8-3) AT COMMANDERS (4-8) -- Miami could still wind up as the AFC's #1 seed, but three losses is probably the max they can lose without getting into tiebreaker situations down the road. D.C., meanwhile, is clinging to playoff hopes and can't lose today or they're in deep doo-doo. The crappy mid-Atlantic weather should help the Commmanders today. -- Larry says take the Commanders in a surprising outright win.

BRONCOS (6-5) AT TEXANS (6-5) -- This has "Game of the Day" material written all over it, which is kind of hard to believe based on the teams playing. Denver has somehow lifted themselves from a horrendous start to the point where they control their own destiny. And despite last week's home loss to Jacksonville, Houston could still be an AFC South title contender if they keep on winning and put the heat on the Jaguars. Russell Wilson actually earning his gazillion paycheck? I didn't see that one coming.

PANTHERS (1-10) AT BUCCANEERS (4-7) -- Poor Carolina. Things looked so promising for them back in August. And....yikes. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, continues to hang on in the NFC South. This is about as close as a team can get to an automatic win in the regular season, but the Bucs aren't exactly a concrete lock in games like this one.

BROWNS (7-4) AT RAMS (5-6) -- Ol' Jersey Joe makes his debut for the Browns. Wouldn't it be something if the Browns somehow make the playoffs and come to Baltimore in the post-season? Holy cow would that be wild. The Rams can't afford to lose this one, though. They're not going to win the NFC West, obviously, but if they can get to 9-8 they have a 35% chance of making the playoffs and 10-7 would almost be a post-season lock. This is a huge game for both teams. -- Larry says take the Rams in an outright win over the Browns.

49'ERS (8-3) AT EAGLES (10-1) -- Is this the week Philly's charmed life gets spoiled? They've had several close calls this year, including wild home wins over Washington and Buffalo. If they're as good as they say they are up there, they'll need to beat the 49'ers to prove it. San Francisco, meanwhile, could still steal the #1 seed from the Eagles with a win today and some help down the road. Don't count out the 49'ers just yet.

CHIEFS (8-3) AT PACKERS (5-6) -- Green Bay is somehow still very much in the NFC playoff race. With no quarterback or offense to speak of, really. Kansas City is battling Baltimore and Jacksonville for the #1 seed in the AFC. They can't afford to drop this one tonight in Green Bay. Sunday Night Football at Lambeau Field in December? What's not to love, right?

Saturday December 2, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3386

rollback

My phone lit up yesterday when the various major golf media outlets broke the big news.

The golf ball is changing.

It's not a total shock, of course. The United States Golf Association (USGA) and Royal and Ancient Golf Association (R&A) have been hinting for the better part of 18 months about a golf ball "rollback" in an effort to gain more control on how far people are hitting the ball off the tee these days.

This has actually been in the works for at least a decade. It took five or six years for the USGA to complete a lengthy study about distance, another year or two to put their decision in place and evaluate the legalities of it and, now, they're finally ready to formally announce the rollback sometime next week.

The new ball will definitely travel a shorter distance.

But there are a lot of moving parts involved when it comes to answering the question everyone has: "How much shorter will I hit it?"

First of all, the news won't impact normal, recreational golfers until 2030 or so, when every golf ball that's manufactured will have to conform to the new standards.

Between now and then, the rollback will introduced gradually.

The USGA will likely use the "new ball" for their events in 2026.

The PGA Tour might not use it until 2028.

This is not something that will go into effect immediately, like a rule change would. Ball manufacturers are still making today's golf ball and will continue doing so in the short term.

So how much shorter will you hit the ball off the tee with the new ball? That depends on your swing speed, plain and simple.

The rollback is designed to create a maximum distance reduction of roughly 5%. A professional (or amateur, for that matter) who hits the ball 300 yards off the tee would see his/her driving distance reduced to somewhere around 285 yards.

Professional and high ranking amateur elite player with swing speeds in the 120 MPH range are the ones who will feel the most impact.

Amateurs with swing speeds under 110 MPH might only see a 3% reduction in total distance, according to a study that was done in 2022.

Why do it, though?

That answer is simple: Given the carry distances people are hitting the golf ball off the tee in 2023, there are just not enough golf courses in the U.S. who can structurally handle everything associated with hosting a significant professional or amateur golf tournament.

25 years ago, the USGA had roughly 60 courses in its portfolio that were "tried and true" host clubs for events like their U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur.

A significant number of those facilities can no longer host events, while others, like Congressional in Washington D.C., had to underdo significant changes to the course in an effort to get back on the "hosting" track for golf's biggest tournaments.

Even Augusta National had to re-design several of their holes over the last few years in an effort to keep pace with length.

It's a problem, for sure.

Designers that built courses a hundred years ago never thought players would carry the golf ball 300 yards. So they created movement throughout the golf course with a carry distance of between 230 and 260 in mind.

For those of you who have ever played Baltimore Country Club's East Course, the 6th -- called "the Barn Hole" -- is a perfect example.

When Tillinghast designed that hole, he assumed the player would ALWAYS play a straight tee ball to the right of the barn. That would leave a lay-up shot over a row of lateral fairway bunkers or, if your drive wasn't in the fairway, a lay-up short of those bunkers.

You were either going to have 100 yards in or 180 yards in.

I've played in many events at Baltimore Country Club over the last decade where long hitters simply hit their tee ball over the barn, carry it 280 or 300 yards, and leave themselves 200 yards into a par-5 that Tillinghast probably never dreamed of hitting in two shots.

For those more familiar with public courses in the area, #18 at Pine Ridge is another prime example. A large gathering of trees some 230 yards off the tee to the left make the "regular" player place his tee ball out to the right, leaving a 260 yard shot into a green that plays 10 or 15 yards uphill depending on conditions.

In the old days, you might hit that green in two shots once or twice per-summer, and everything had to be going in your favor. You needed a tail wind, firm fairways and draw spin off the tee to get the ball to finish may 215 yards from the hole.

Today? Players just hit their tee ball over the trees and they have a mid-to-short iron into the hole.

At our FCA Junior Match Play Championship this past August, all four of the semifinalists hit their drives over the trees on the left and each player had under 200 yards in on a 515 yard hole.

So, I'm one of the golf-playing enthusiasts who understands and accepts the golf ball rollback.

It's probably not great for my game. I'm at the stage where I'm losing a little bit of distance every year as it is.

I can still hit it 275 yards on occasion if I really catch one. But I'm far more likely to hit three or four in a row 250 or 260.

It's been three summers since I played in the U.S. Senior Open, but even out there in Omaha I saw firsthand how much longer off the tee the game's best players are over me. Retief Goosen is a long hitter, particularly (then) for a 52 year old. He hit it 60 yards past me on every tee shot.

Billy Andrade is not considered a long hitter at all and he was routinely 20 yards past me, if not a few more.

Now, let's circle back and understand something about the golf ball. It's not the golf ball that goes far on its own. The distance the ball travels is directly connected to clubhead speed.

People think golfers are hitting the ball longer these days because of "equipment". That's not entirely true.

They're hitting it longer distances off the tee because they're generating more clubhead speed. Part of that is equipment-related, particularly when it comes to driver shafts. But it's also connected to fitness and a much better understanding these days of what goes into creating a powerful golf swing.

But the USGA and R&A know one thing for certain: Players and instructors are going to continue their search for the perfect body, perfect swing techniques and perfect clubs to match their swings.

No one is going to say, "OK, keep the ball like it is and I'll stop working out and stop trying to understand how to use ground force more in my golf swing."

So the golf ball rollback is the only way to go.

I get it.

I'm not sure that's going to allow the USGA to go back to places like Oak Tree or Canterbury or Medinah, but it's worth the effort I suppose.

What the rollback is going to do more than anything is put a temporary hold, at least, on how far people are hitting the golf ball. They'll have a new five-year period to study distances off the tee and determine if rolling the ball back can help put more courses back into play.

It's also worth mentioning that club manufacturers will start trying to figure out how they can build clubs that still confirm within USGA specs and yet aren't impacted by the golf ball rollback.

There's also a small concern in the golf world about "knock off" balls and clubs that will deliver the same qualities as the current balls and clubs but "appear" to be legal once the rollback takes place.

It will be up to the players themselves to play within the rules of the game.

And it's reasonable to remember, too, that those of us who comprise "the rest of the golf playing world" will ultimately just hit it a bit shorter off the tee and with our irons, but our scores probably won't change all that much. Sure, we might hit have a few holes at our course that play differently with the new ball in play, but I can't imagine you're a guy shooting 80 now who will suddenly have difficulty breaking 90.

I don't think you'll see dramatic scoring differences in the pro game. Maybe a shot or two per round. Augusta National, for example, might see a score uptick because it might be harder for players to reach #2 and #8 in two shots (the front nine par 5's). But today's elite TOUR players will still hit #13 and #15 in two shots.

Everyone will be impacted a little bit, but I don't see scoring being all that dramatically different.

So I'm willing to accept the rollback without much pushback.

I don't like the thought of having a 6-iron into #8 at Eagle's Nest instead of the 8-iron I generally hit into that green now, but there's not much I can do about it.

I have friends who hit the ball a mile off the tee. They're going to be impacted by this more than I will.

And while I understand the nuances of course design and how 300 yard drives are hurting the playability of some of our country's best "old" layouts, I also think the game of golf can be played in a variety of ways. Just because you hit it 300 off the tee and I only hit it 270 doesn't mean you're a lock to beat me.

In the end, I'm a rollback supporter, if you will.

It's all fine by me.

Friday December 1, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3385

friday free-for-all

Before we move into other topics, let me first thank those of you who took the time to participate in our Helping Up Mission fund-raiser over the last two days.

We were able to successfully hit the $2,500 mark yesterday and two friends -- Mark McGrath and Eric Van Estel -- chipped in $250 to play golf with me (and they're bringing a guest) next spring. Those monies get tossed into our fund as well, so Glenn Clark and I are going to be well stocked with cash next week when we go on our annual shopping trip.

I'll write more about Helping Up Mission later this month, but the idea that this event has become an annual rite of passage is incredibly significant to me. And to Glenn, as well.

So, thank you, again, to all of you who contributed. You have no idea how much your generosity means to the men and women at Helping Up Mission.

Our friend Mark Suchy has been a regular advocate for the Orioles to sign the new stadium lease throughout most of the last six months.

As we know by now, there was an "announcement" at a September home game that was presented as a "lease agreement", then quickly revised the next day to something totally different.

Here we are on December 1st and there's no new lease yet.

No one is surprised, I assume.

Orioles gonna Orioles.

I mean, this is so much on point with "the Oriole way" that we'd all be shocked if a lease agreement actually does get announced sometime this month.

And the funniest part of the whole situation? The Orioles don't have any leverage. They're not going anywhere. John Angelos, representing his family who owns the franchise, is very aware that he has nowhere to go.

But he rolls on nonetheless.

I guess what I have a hard time understanding is why wouldn't the state of Maryland simply say to Angelos and Company, "The lease is either signed by December 1st or the offer we've made is off the table."?

Why would the state allow the Orioles to control this situation?

Just tell them how it's going to be: Sign the lease or we start all over.

What's wrong with adopting that strategy?

The Ravens -- you know, the good guys in town -- have long ago already agreed on their portion of the new lease.

Why are the Orioles dragging this out? Just to get more money?

Tell them to kick rocks. Sign the lease or take the deal off the table.

I just don't understand why the state allows the Orioles to control this entire narrative.

They only care about the money. We know that. They know that we know. We all know.

Orioles gonna Orioles. Always.

The Caps picked up another nice win last night, 5-4 on the road in Anaheim.

Tom Wilson was the big story, collecting his first career hat trick in the game.

But the sub-story to every Caps game, it seems, is the ongoing goal scoring chase being authored by Alex Ovechkin. We've now reached the 20-game mark of the '23-24 season and Ovi, after another night without a goal on Thursday, now has just 5 goals in 20 games.

And last night in Anaheim marked the lowest amount of ice time he's ever seen in a game in which he wasn't injured or ejected. Ovi played just 14:45 in the win.

It's fair to point out the Caps did play the night before in Los Angeles, so playing reduced minutes 24 hours later isn't all that much of a surprise.

But 5 goals in 20 games? That's a surprise.

And he's now on a pace of just over 20 goals for the entire season.

Caps officials have been privately hoping Ovechkin would score 40 or more this season and then they could start adequately planning for the '24-25 campaign when, barring some kind of long-term injury, it would be expected that Ovechkin would reach Gretzky's mark of 894 goals sometime in March of 2025.

It's now looking like he might need to play this season, next season and into the beginning of '25-26 before reaching 895 goals.

It's also looking like he might not reach the record at all.

He still needs 68 goals to break the record.

If he scores even 25 more this season to finish with 30, that will leave him needing 43 next year. That's a lot of goals for a guy clearly in the November of his career.

Two years ago, we figured this goal scoring chase was a slam dunk.

Now......maybe not so much.

The NFL Hall of Fame list has been narrowed down to 25 names. Unlike Major League Baseball, there aren't steroid issues in football to eliminate people the way, say, we're able to say "no" to A-Rod, Sheffield or Ramirez.

So you can make an argument for each of the 25 guys who made this year's semifinalists list.

As is always the case, some of those guys are "considerations", some are "gotta really think about this" and a few are "slam dunks".

Here are the 25: Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Willie Anderson, Tiki Barber, Anquan Boldin, Jahri Evans, London Fletcher, Dwight Freeney, Antonio Gates, Eddie George, James Harrison, Rodney Harrison, Devin Hester, Torry Holt, Andre Johnson, Robert Mathis, Julius Peppers, Steve Smith Sr., Fred Taylor, Hines Ward, Ricky Watters, Reggie Wayne, Vince Wilfork, Patrick Willis, Darren Woodson.

Guys like Barber, Evans, the two Harrisons, Mathis, Taylor and Wilfork are "considerations".

They were very good players. But unlikely to be football Hall of Fame selections.

You can make an argument for everyone else on the list, though.

And remember, football is different than baseball. You can only choose 5 from the list. The field of 25 will get reduced to 15 in January and then the final 5 will be announced on February 8.

In my mind, there are three no-brainer, "have to take them" guys on the list: Freeney, Gates and Jared Allen.

There are six others who are on the cusp of being no-brainers: Peppers, Holt, Wayne, Johnson, Ward and Willis.

The big knock on Willis is his 7-year career. Is that a big enough body of work to gain entry into Canton?

Peppers is getting in someday. It might be this year. I think Andre Johnson is also a definite at some point. Maybe this year, maybe next.

Ward and Wayne are likely to gain entry someday as well. Torry Holt should have already been in. Why he hasn't been inducted yet is a mystery.

So the question is, of the six above, which two am I taking?

I think I'd add Peppers and Holt.

That would make my five in 2024 the following: Freeney, Gates, Jared Allen, Holt and Peppers.

Your five would be?????

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 9th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2023-2024 season.

terps visit indiana tonight in big 10 opener

There may not be a better season-opening Big Ten road opponent for Maryland than the Hoosiers of Indiana. While I have yet to see the entire league, I’ve seen enough of Indiana to know that this could be an interesting game tonight at 7 p.m. int Assembly Hall.

Despite having 10 years of combined experience at the guard position (6 for Xavier Johnson and 4 for Trey Galloway), this isn’t a potent Hoosier backcourt. The scoring numbers for this pair currently read 10.5 and 8.7 respectively, but in their recent win over Harvard, they only scored a collective 7 points.

In fact, out of the 36 made Indiana field goals in that game, only 4 came from the guard position. Johnson is 50% from the three-point line, but he’s only attempted 10. Galloway is a very Maryland-like 3 for 18. The team, as a whole, only hits 24.1 from long range, but they don’t fire too many.

The Hoosiers are very much a team reliant upon points-in-the-paint. Kel’El Ware (the clear team leader and Oregon transfer) is going to be a major test for Juju Reese. Ware is averaging 17.7 points and 8.8 rebounds. When the long-armed and mobile center isn’t the focus of the Indiana offense, 6’9” sophomore Malik Reneau will be.

Reneau might be a bit too much for the Terp’s Donta Scott. Jordan Geronimo may be the better defensive option to stop Reneau from getting his 15 plus points per game. This guy will be a matchup problem for a lot of Big Ten teams, Maryland included. Like Ware, he is interior focused, having gone 0-4 from the three-point line.

Freshman Mackenzie Mgbako, (6’8” 217) is the remaining Indiana starter. After posting just 2 points against UConn and 4 against Louisville, he broke out for 18 in Indiana’s 89-76 win over Harvard. But that win may have exposed a crack in this Hoosier team.

Harvard’s sensational point guard, Malik Mack, toasted Indiana for 27 points in that contest. His game is similar to that of the Terp’s own Jahmir Young, with Young being a bit stronger. Mack was getting to the rim at will, and he hasn’t been the only one to penetrate the Hoosier defense.

I’ve seen similar issues with their defense against both Louisville and Connecticut. This weakness also bodes well for the slashing style of Deshawn Harris-Smith. His strong moves to the bucket with the left hand finish will be successful against the Hoosier defense.

The Terps have some advantages in this game, but they won’t prevail if they lack poise. “Poise” is what I have yet to see en masse, and it’s what this team needs. Now, the question is, is it achievable, and what effect would it have?

I saw a lack of poise in all 3 of Maryland’s losses and in segments of their wins against some inferior competition. The lack of poise, to me, was most obvious in their shot selection and the tentative nature of their “stroke”.

To make proper decisions with the ball (pass, dribble, shoot), and make a smooth stroke once you decide to fire, you need a clear and calm mind. Too many of the current Terps roster, both rookies and vets, just aren’t there yet. There’s a lot of indecision and questionable actions.

One might expect that from the newcomers, but the issue is prevalent throughout the lineup. Freshman Jamie Kaiser can flat out stroke it. Watch him in practice for a few minutes and you would immediately say, “This guy has the green light”.

But, coming into last Tuesday’s game he was just 3 for 23 from the three-point line. Why? I find it tough to believe that he lacks confidence. Rather, it’s a lack of poise.

It’s knowing you’ve made the right decision and then letting it go. It’s like trying to hit a great chip shot in golf while thinking, “Should I putt this?” The resulting blade or chunk won’t be pretty.

Noah Batchelor, a sophomore, is in the same boat. Some of his threes are so quick that he hasn’t had time to commit mentally to the decision. It’s like he’s thinking, “Is shooting this the right decision?”

Hopefully, the game will slow down for some of these guys, but it’s going to take some more time. Last Tuesday, he took a very quick and questionable three, and missed badly. His next shot was a shot-clock buzzer beater. He HAD to shoot it, and it was a bullseye.

In the first half of the UMBC game, the stat sheet would tell you that Kaiser went 1 for 4 from the three-point line. What it doesn’t tell you is that he missed all 3 conventional threes, while making a near half-court buzzer beater to end the first half.

The difference? One is a decision and the other is a shot that you have to take. No decision, no negative effects if you miss. Of course, the no-brainer goes in. There was no decision to be made. No doubting what you should do.

Juju Reese plays with more poise than he did as a freshman, but he’s in his third year and needs to be a leader on this team.

He has immense physical skills, but he needs to play with an abundance of poise to get his team, or himself, to the next level. In tonight’s game, he’s a key figure on both sides of the court. He needs to keep his head in the game and play smart.

Donta Scott has been here for half a decade and still does things that make me shake my head. Some of his decisions and shots totally lack (here’s that word again) poise. He makes contributions with his physical talent, but that talent is wasted without that certain court sense, and calm.

The Terps will need his defense and rebounding tonight against Indiana. Points from him will be a bonus.

The matchup against Indiana tonight slightly favors Maryland. Ware and Reneau could be a problem, and there’s always that Big Ten home court advantage also working against Maryland.

The game comes down to Reese and Ware. If Julian can hold his own, the Terp’s can win. Young should have a big night and Harris Smith could surprise with his offensive contribution. The Maryland backcourt advantage wins out over the frontcourt heavy Indiana team.

If the current three-point form holds up for both teams, Maryland can escape Assemblu Hall with a “W”. It’s a bit crazy to try to predict a score here being that the Terps have so many new parts and Indiana has 10 new players themselves, but I’ll go 68-65, in Maryland’s favor. You can watch it on BTN.

faith in sports

John Bostock was a 15-year old soccer playing phenom in England, signing at an early age for Crystal Palace.

What else could a kid want from England, right?

Well, as Bostock explains in today's edition of "Faith in Sports", he needed more.

And he found it by connecting his faith with the sport he loved.

Thanks, as always, to our friends at Freestate Electrical for their continued support of #DMD and our Friday "Faith in Sports" segment here. We hope you enjoy today's video.

Thursday November 30, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3384

we need your help...again

The story that Glenn Clark and I circulate around this time every year never really changes.

Some tales take on new twists and turns and, you know, the 10 pound fish you once caught on a sunny summer afternoon becomes 30 pounds a few years down the road.

How we got started with Helping Up Mission back in 2009 has never changed or needed embellishment.

Clark was my sturdy and occasionally overconfident morning show producer. "I don't care what you say, Maryland isn't losing to Duke in football..." he once said on a Friday afternoon. But I digress.

In the middle of November or so, I was talking on the air about the need for Clark and I to get involved in a community project we could call our own.

"I think we should collect coats for the homeless downtown," I said.

"Great idea," Clark countered. "It's going to get very cold soon. And we know there are people down there who need to stay warm over the next few months."

"We'll ask the listeners to help us out," I reasoned. "People can drop off new or gently used coats to us here at the studio and we'll give them to the homeless."

"I love it," Clark said. "How are we going to get them distributed?"

"I don't know," I replied. "Maybe we'll get a listener with a truck to drive us around. You and I will sit in the back of the truck and toss them out to people along the streets."

There was silence on the other side of the glass.

More silence.

And then Clark chimed in.

"You know, I have to think there's a better way of doing it than that."

And by the time the show ended that day, a better way had been created.

My friend Tony Young -- who helped launch Drew's Morning Dish five years later -- called in and mentioned Helping Up Mission. Tony suggested we reach out to Kris Sharrar there and organize an event where we could give the coats and winter clothing to the men who were in the program at HUM.

And so, we did that.

That very first year, Clark and I dropped off 440 coats and pieces of apparel to Helping Up Mission. We felt like kings.

Fast forward ten years later, and we were routinely dropping off 4,000 coats and pieces of apparel every December. Let's just say it grew into a significantly special event for Glenn and I.

A couple of years ago, Sharrar asked us to take the annual donation in a different direction.

"What we really need," he said, "are men's toiletry items. The guys who come in here often show up with nothing. No clean underwear, no soap, no toothpaste, no razors, etc."

And so a couple of years ago, Clark and I switched from collecting coats and apparel to simply collecting small donation amounts and going out in mid-December and spending a couple of thousand dollars on men's (and now women's, too) toiletry items.

We've been spending upwards of $2,500 or more on the items, then dropping them off to Helping Up Mission before the Christmas holiday.

And that's where you, hopefully, come in.

Glenn has created an awesome raffle opportunity that you'll read about by clicking the link below. If you'll donate $25 to our Helping Up Mission event, you'll get a raffle ticket and a chance to earn some great prizes, including a Ravens helmet autographed by a bunch of guys on the team.

I'm adding something special today. If you'll donate $250, you and a friend will join me for golf and lunch next spring at a private club in the Baltimore area.

You'll need to contact me directly if you're interested in making that donation so I know who it is that's doing the donating.

If you just want to donate $25, go ahead and follow the information Glenn provides in the link below.

But if you're interested in joining me for golf and lunch next spring (and you can bring a guest), just e-mail me today and I'll make that happen. Your $250 will go to our purchase of toiletries in a couple of weeks.

If you're interested in making the $250 donation, e-mail me: 18inarow@gmail.com

For those who would like to learn more about what we're doing and to get in the raffle and buy your $25 ticket, all you have to do is click here and you'll get all of the details.

Please consider making a $25 donation today and help us give the men and women at Helping Up Mission a special holiday season.

Thank you, as always, for supporting this unique event we created 14 years ago.

he's back, starting today

Sure, on the surface it looks like another silly season golf event where 20 guys get together and play four days of golf and someone wins a million bucks and giggles about it over a bottle of $500 wine sometime Sunday night.

But this year's edition of the Hero World Challege in the Bahamas is much different. The format is the same. It's still 72 holes and all. It's still a stroke play event. It's a regular, run of the mill golf tournament.

Except this year, Tiger Woods is competing.

And, unlike the last few times he beat it around the course down there, this year he's actually healthy.

At least that's what he says.

And by the looks of his golf swing and the way he's been moving around in practice rounds and pro ams, Woods appears to be experiencing a bit of a rebirth, if you will.

Time will tell.

There's no way of knowing what this latest version (4.0?) of Woods will provide all of us. But all of the pre-tournament stuff looks great.

If nothing else, today's 12 noon first round will be followed by a lot more people than usual. As is almost always the case when Woods tees it up these days, the tournament actually means something now.

The Orioles announced earlier this week they are introducing some new starting times for games in 2024 and "cleaning up" some of what they started this past season in regards to first pitch times.

In 2024, all weeknight (Mon-Thurs) games will begin at 6:35 pm. Last season, they did that during "school months", but in the summer, games started at 7:05 pm. In 2024, any weeknight game begins at 6:35 pm.

Friday night games now start at 7:05 pm instead of 7:35 pm.

Saturday games all now feature a 4:05 pm start time, a change from last year's 7:05 pm start for most of them.

And Sunday games begin at 1:35 pm.

There was some angst on Tuesday when all of this was announced.

I guess you only really care if you're someone who goes to a lot of games.

If you're like me and you go to 4-6 games a year, the games start when the games start. What do I care if they start at 4:05 pm on Saturday instead of 7:05 pm? I either go at 4:05 pm or I don't go to the game that day.

I personally don't like "day baseball". I never have. I don't know why, but I don't. I would never go to a 1:35 pm baseball game unless it was a playoff game. So the Sunday start at 1:35 pm doesn't faze me, because I'm not going if it starts at 1:05 pm or 2:05 pm.

Now, I will admit that a game starting at 4:05 pm on a Saturday might impact me. I'm less hesitant to go to a game that start at 4:05 pm in July or August.

But I don't do much weekend baseball anyway.

I went to 7 games last season and all 7 were in the middle of the week. I love Tuesday and Wednesday baseball. No one is generally in the ballpark, you can stretch out, watch the game, it's not searing hot, and it's just more appealing to me for some reason.

So I don't care about the start times all that much.

I totally understand the 6:35 pm first pitch times. With baseball's new rules to help speed up play, I was back home by 9:15 pm or thereabouts on several occasions last summer. I loved it.

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd made the news earlier this week after he ripped into an ESPN reporter who was questioning him about Kyrie Irving.

The clip is below. We're using the censored version but the "beep" you hear means he used bad language. There are lots of beeps.

The interesting part about this incident it is how out-of-character it was for Kidd to react like that.

He apparently reached his boiling point with the constant negativity he reads and hears concerning his team and players.

And, so, he snapped.

I remember a moment in time way back when Brian Billick was coaching the Ravens. They had just lost an early season home game (I think it was to Tampa Bay?) in a downpour and it was an ugly loss.

Billick stood at the podium after the game, drenched, fielding questions about the defeat.

As he was getting peppered with questions about poor individual performances, he said, "You know, the person that invented this idea of me standing up here and talking to you about the game that just ended 10 minutes ago probably never had to do it themselves."

That moment stuck with me.

It's indeed a difficult thing to finish a game, win or lose, and then be expected to offer insightful commentary on it that doesn't somehow impact the players you're talking about.

In a lot of cases, the coaches haven't had the opportunity to look at one minute of game film to see how that touchdown was scored, how that basket was scored or how that goal was scored.

But they're asked about it and expected to answer it right then and there.

I sat in hundreds of Ravens post-game press conferences in my radio career, both with Billick and Harbaugh. And I'll say, for sure, that Billick's commentary that day shaped the way I framed questions of my own if I even decided to ask one in the first place.

As for Jason Kidd, you'll see in the clip below his outburst this week had more to do with the negativity he perceives to encounter throughout the season.

It's hard to blame him for finally losing it.

Wednesday November 29, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3383

fall and end the game or score a td?

This seems like a cozy topic for a mid-week edition of #DMD.

It's been making the rounds the last two days in the aftermath of Sunday night's win over the Chargers.

Was Zay Flowers wrong for scampering into the end zone from 37 yards out in the final two minutes of the game?

All he needed to do was fall down once he was past the first down marker and the game was over and the Ravens would have themselves a 13-10 win.

Los Angeles only had one time-out remaining. Unless the Ravens somehow inexplicably fumbled the ball in the final 1:40 of the game, the win was in the books if Flowers just goes to the ground.

Instead, he runs into the end zone and it's a 20-10 lead with 1:36 remaining.

Right thing to do?

Wrong thing to do?

I think we all know the answer: Running into the end zone was the wrong thing to do.

But who gets the blame?

On Monday afternoon, offensive coordinator Todd Monken fell on the sword and took the heat, saying he should have specifically told Lamar Jackson to pass on his directive to fall down once any player gained a first down inside of 1:50 left in the game.

So, yes, Monken might have failed.

But should we expect professional football players to know that kind of stuff without being urged by their coaches?

I'm not sure about that one.

There's a lot going on in those final two minutes. And we're presupposing the scoreboard clock operator has the down, distance and time outs listed correctly. As we've seen in the past, there's no guarantee of that.

Should Zay Flowers know how to salt away a football game?

Logic says "Yes".

Reality says "Yes, as long as there's a coach explaining it all to him."

We all know -- or at least you know if you saw the end of the game -- that Flowers had an elaborate post-TD celebration planned for Sunday night. On his first one of the game, he threw a bouquet of flowers over his shoulder. On the second, he kicked a soccer penalty kick past a sprawling Odell Beckham Jr., who served as the imaginary goalkeeper.

I know what you're thinking: If only these players would spend as much time learning the nuances of the last two minutes of the game as they did practicing their post-TD stunts and skits.

You're right.

But those guys -- particularly wide receivers -- think "entertainment first" and all of the other stuff comes thereafter.

A lot of people laughed at the penalty kick skit that followed the late fourth quarter TD.

Those same people wouldn't have been laughing if the Chargers would have somehow scored 10 or 14 points in the final 1:36 after getting the ball back, down 20-10.

I know, I know. "Drew, come on, that's not happening."

I hear you. And I believe you.

That said, I've also seen the NFL. And the game officials.

With 1:36 remaining, Herbert throws a pass to the 50 yard line. He gets up to the line of scrimmage and spikes the ball. On the next play, he throws a deep ball to Keenan Allen.

"Pass interference, defense, #26."

Chargers have the ball on the Baltimore 8 yard line. One play later, they score a TD to make it 20-16 with 1:14 left in the game. The extra point is good. It's 20-17.

The onside kick is improbably recovered by the Chargers.

You can fill in the rest from here because you've seen how the Ravens can give away a game with the best of them. Chargers win, 24-20.

Suddenly, Flowers' faux pas isn't so funny and Mike Tirico isn't giggling up there in the booth.

And if you don't want to believe that wild late-game scenario above could actually occur, you can easily believe this one.

Flowers doesn't fall down. Chargers get the ball back with 1:36 remaining down 20-10. On the third play in that series, Roquan Smith crumbles to the ground with one of those "non-contact" injuries.

As he's driven to the locker room on the back of one of those medical carts, everyone is thinking the same thing.

"None of that happens if Zay just falls down instead of running into the end zone."

Now, yes, I realize we're playing the "if game" in those two instances and we all know about "if" and our "Aunt being our Uncle" and all that stuff. But we're also talking about the very reason why you play the game in the first place.

You're trying to win. If that takes 59:59, that's the way it goes. But if it takes 58:20, why bring anything else in play over the remaining 1:40 that could spoil the party and/or potentially impact the rest of the season?

Thankfully, none of that evil stuff happened and all's well that ended well.

I can't imagine Harbaugh, Monken and the team, even, were all that thrilled with Zay's late-game scamper.

Time will tell if Zay learned his lesson.

	The Stats Nerd And His Numbers
Contributed by #DMD's data and numbers analyst The Stats Nerd

2023 and 4th down decisions

Drew noted in his game recap Monday morning that he was surprised the Ravens didn’t go for it on 4th & 1 from the Chargers 26.

As you may recall, the Ravens were up by 3 with 3:02 on the clock when Harbaugh made the decision to send Justin Tucker out for what was a 44 yard attempt.

And Drew was right to question that decision. Both of the models I frequently review saw this as a STRONG Go For It spot. One model liked it as adding over 5% WP% (Win Probability %) and the other roughly 3.5%. That’s a big difference.

It is fair to argue that with Justin Tucker the FG make rates are certainly higher than average and thus the model’s WP% increases may be overstated for the Ravens. But as we saw his make rate isn't 100% as much as we were all surprised by the result.

But more than that, this is about closing games out. The Ravens had a chance to close out the game (more or less) right then and there with a successful first down conversion.

Of course, neither the FG or the conversion attempt are guaranteed, just as no other play through the course of a game is guaranteed. These big decisions just become more magnified because of the finality of the plays and their proximity to the end of the game.

I also think the jump from a 3 point lead to a 6 point lead is a bit overrated.

In fact, the modeling only reveals an increase in WP% of 3-4% being up 6 versus 3. The increased WP% from a successful 4th down conversion is more like 7-8%. Simply, getting the first makes it more likely that the team wins the game than adding 3 points. That’s what the modeling is telling us.

But why? Well conventional wisdom is that the 6 point lead is bigger and thus must be better. And it is. But in either case, a touchdown and extra point still takes the lead from either size lead.

Now it is true that an opponent’s FG no longer ties the game if the lead is 6. And that, of course, accounts for the increased WP%.

But a 6 point lead also gives clarity to the opposition about what to do. They know they need to score a TD and can play accordingly. They can use all 4 downs knowing that they must get in the end zone.

This is not to say I would rather be up by 3 than up by 6. That would be illogical.

But that isn’t the question. The question is would I rather be up 3 with a fresh set of downs and a chance to put the game away or be up 6 kicking to the opponent?

I’d rather take the former and not give the other team the chance to score a TD. And the data would back up that decision.

2023 Season –

If it seems like Harbaugh has been deciding to Go For It on 4th less frequently this year than in prior years, your perception would be correct.

In fact, after Sunday night’s game the Ravens went for it on 2nd the least percentage of times where the models said they “should” (defined as opportunities where the models calculate a +1.5% WP increase or greater).

Surprising? Yes. But to be fair they had the second fewest opportunities that fit that criteria (8). That was second only to San Francisco (3) in the number of opportunities to make the correct decision.

This is likely because the Ravens have had such large leads in games and the 4th down WP% aren’t as affected in games with sizable leads.

Interestingly, the teams around them that have also eschewed proper 4th down decisions are: Cincinnati (annual issue), Tampa, Pittsburgh (annual issue) New England (annual issue) and Denver. These are teams that either don’t believe in analytics as strongly as others or have been slow to warm to them.

What that means is that at least through week 12 the Ravens simply haven’t been in that many high leverage 4th down spots. Quite a contrast to prior years where it seems these 4th down decisions were a weekly occurrence.

Fourth down decisions are often extremely high leverage meaning they have a large impact on game results.

In Sunday evening’s game the Ravens overcame a poor decision late in the fourth quarter. Because they won, most fans and media members have forgotten about that play. The results overshadowed the decision, if you will.

But as I always warn, the key to long term results is stacking marginally beneficial decisions on top of each other. The teams that do that are the teams that give themselves the best chance to stack wins.

Harbaugh would never give us a straight answer as to why he elected to kick Sunday night. Nor do I think he owes anyone that decision analysis, by the way.

But I would hope he and his staff are analyzing these decisions after the fact and realizing they probably got it wrong there.

The Fix is In? –

I have seen a lot of people on social media implying that the league games are fixed or that Vegas can influence games in some way. I’ve even seen it implied in the comments on this very site. At this risk of sounding naive, are these people for real?

If you are a conspiracy theorist, let’s think through this a bit. I’ll concede that the officiating in the league is pretty bad and has impacted some games. If we agree that is the case, I suppose there are two possible reasons for the hot garbage officiating: 1) the league is fixed or 2) the officials just aren’t very good.

Occam’s Razor is a philosophical theory that the explanation that requires the fewest possible assumptions is usually the correct explanation. In this case, do we truly believe there is a cabal of nefarious NFL hangers on pulling the levers of each and every game to dictate outcomes?

Or is a simpler theory that there are 7 human beings on the field that are not nearly as good athletes as the people they are observing and they are attempting to make split second calls on the plays they observe? C’mon man….this needn’t be that hard.

Further, if the fix was in, why are 2 LA teams, 2 NY teams, Chicago team, Boston team and DC team allowed to lose while teams in Jacksonville, Detroit, Kansas City and, yes, Baltimore permitted to win?

It simply doesn’t make any sense to permit the largest TV markets in the country to lose while these small market teams win.

Tuesday November 28, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3382

say it isn't so

No, I'm not talking about the public, very ugly legal spat between Daryl Hall and John Oates.

I know, it breaks my heart as well to see those two fighting.

I'm talking about the big story that emerged on Monday connecting Sports Illustrated with AI-generated stories and writers, according to the fine folks at Futurism, whatever that might be.

Sports Illustrated quickly rushed to defend themselves and denounce the story, but if you put any stock in the investigative work of Futurism, it sure looks like there's smoke and a fire.

But why?

Why on earth would a long-standing, (mostly) reputable publication like Sports Illustrated stoop to the level of allowing AI-generated content on their website and in their sports writing?

I see how it starts. Quite easily, in fact.

These days, given the vast number of people out there who provide web-based content, it's incredibly easy to hide among the masses.

I'm not comparing Drew's Morning Dish to Sports Illustrated, but I see it here every single day. People comment here with great regularity using fake names, someone else's name and, in an almost daily occurrence, they'll post comments within minutes of one another using two different names.

It's the internet. It's supposed to be wacky and mysterious, right?

So it seems kind of natural for Sports Illustrated to try some trickery of their own, perhaps in an effort to save on editorial expenses such as writers, editors and so on.

"No one will ever find out," the S.I. higher-ups probably surmised in a board room somewhere.

And, in fairness, a lot of what you see these days from AI-generated content is so good and so well done that it really is hard to tell the difference.

Who gets hurt by it, anyway?

I mean, if you're a Sports Illustrated reader and "Bob Smith" writes a piece about the baseball off-season and an AI-generated platform constructs a similar piece, what's the harm as long as all the facts and data are correct?

That's the way the magazine thinks, anyway.

"What's the harm?"

We all know what the harm is.

The harm comes in the change itself. The acceptance that the human being is now getting replaced by a computer who can write about any subject better than we can write about it.

That's the harm.

Here's a small excerpt from the story Futurism broke on Monday.

Needless to say, neither fake authors who are suddenly replaced with different names nor deplorable-quality AI-generated content with no disclosure amount to anything resembling good journalism, and to see it published by a once-iconic magazine like Sports Illustrated is disheartening. Bylines exist for a reason: they give credit where it's due, and just as importantly, they let readers hold writers accountable.

The undisclosed AI content is a direct affront to the fabric of media ethics, in other words, not to mention a perfect recipe for eroding reader trust. And at the end of the day, it's just remarkably irresponsible behavior that we shouldn't see anywhere — let alone normalized by a high-visibility publisher.

That's called "taking Sports Illustrated to task", if you couldn't tell.

AI-generated stories and input from computers might be the wave of the future, but some things should always remain clean.

Sports Illustrated sold their soul? It just can't be.

I recently wrote a very lengthy piece for a national golf outlet about my experience at the 2021 U.S. Senior Open. I have no idea when they plan on running it, but an editor reached out to me recently and said, "Would it be OK if we touched up a few things?"

I objected to that, without even asking what it was they wanted to touch up.

It's my story. In my words. There's nothing about it I want to see different.

And the last thing I'd ever want -- or accept -- is for the outlet to feed my own 5,000 words into a computer and have the machine spit out something else. Even if, somehow, it was deemed "better", I still wouldn't tolerate it.

Sports Illustrated was, throughout most of my life, at least, the most well respected sports magazine of its kind.

Sure, maybe they lost their way a little bit with the advent of the "Swimsuit Issue", but, hey, sales are sales, especially in February when there's nothing else going on.

How has it come to pass that we're now learning -- again, assuming Monday's story is true -- even Sports Illustrated can't be trusted?

They've apparently made up names of writers, shared their "headshot" (an AI-generated picture/character that you, yourself, could purchase, much like clip art) with us, and then led us to believe the content those "people" provided was work produced by a human being.

Sports Illustrated sold their soul.

Say it isn't so.

Bill asks -- "Hi Drew, what's your take on the story about the Bengals hiding Joe Burrow's injury and the NFL's investigation into the whole thing? Do you think there's a chance they'll get fined or lose a draft pick?"

DF says -- "It's a joke. The league is a joke. Why on earth should any team have to report an injury that another team can take advantage of during the upcoming game? It's stupid. Of course Burrow's hand was hurt before the Ravens game. But why on earth should Cincinnati have to tell the Ravens and the whole league about it?

I know the reason. I know the answer. "Gambling". That's all it is, plain and simple. That's the only reason there's an injury report every day. Las Vegas demands it. And the league long ago caved in on that subject.

We all know Bill Belichick has disguised or not reported player injuries over the years. News flash -- HE WAS TRYING TO WIN FOOTBALL GAMES. I'm sure the Bengals were doing the same thing when they tried to hide Burrow's injury.

The NFL does a lot of dumb stuff (and still makes billions of dollars). Forcing teams to tell everyone else what's wrong with certain players is about the dumbest thing they do.

And, yes, I'm guessing there will be a fine or penalty of some kind. The league has to make sure Las Vegas is happy."

T.J. asks -- "What do you think would be a successful tournament for Tiger at the Hero next (this) week?"

DF says: "Considering he hasn't played in a real golf tournament since last April and looking at the field he's assembled in the Bahamas, I'd say anything in the top 10 would be really impressive.

I mean, there's definitely a chance he doesn't beat anyone in the field. All of the other 18 guys could beat him over the four day tournament. But if he can finish in the top 15, that's a nice start to his "new" season. Anything in the top 10 would be great.

My guess is he'll do something newsworthy the first two days. Maybe a 66 or 67 in there somewhere. But he'll run out of gas over the weekend. My official prediction? A tie for 17th place."

Daniel Covington asks -- "I'm a new reader of your website. I basically started reading it every day in late 2022. Congrats on a nice website. I'm curious why you don't cover Maryland football more closely? Thanks, Drew."

DF says -- "You might honestly be the first person that ever asked me that question. In almost 10 years of doing this, you might be the first. And therein lies the reason we don't cover Maryland football.

No one cares.

Maryland football is a nothing-burger in Baltimore.

It's pretty much a nothing-burger throughout Maryland and Washington DC, too.

I've opined on it a lot over the years. They have zero presence in Baltimore because they don't try to gain a presence in Baltimore.

No one in Baltimore can name four guys on the team.

That's not a low blow. It's just a fact."

David Obie asks -- "OK, Drew, you make the choice. Ravens get to the AFC Championship Game in January but lose at home to the Steelers, 33-7. But in exchange the Orioles win the World Series next October. Or Ravens beat the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, 33-7, but Orioles lose the World Series in 4 straight to the Phillies next October."

DF says -- "Come on, man, you know the answer to this before you even hit "send". The Orioles haven't been to the World Series since 1983. The Ravens have enjoyed plenty of success since they arrived here in 1996. I'd hate like heck to see Pittsburgh beat us in the playoffs in Baltimore (or anywhere), but the answer here, of course, is "the Orioles winning the World Series".

Now, if you would have said the Capitals losing to the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals or the Orioles winning the World Series...that one, I would have really needed to think that one through."

Carl in Owings Mills asks -- "I'm wondering if you see any similarities in the way John Harbaugh is being treated by the fan base over the last few years and the way Brian Billick was treated on his way out? And do you think there's any chance Bisciotti caves in to public pressure and fires John?"

DF says -- "I don't know. Maybe? I mean, Billick was only here from 1999 through 2007. John's been here since 2008. It's kind of inevitable people would eventually grow tired of John. The issue with Billick was he never really had a legitimate quarterback to work with. Sure, they brought in Steve McNair, but he was in the November of his career when he got here. The only reason they brought him in was because Boller had flopped.

Harbaugh, as we know, is never getting fired in Baltimore. At least not publicly, anyway. Steve would never do that to him. The only way John leaves is if he decides to leave. I've talked about this before. Bisciotti's making $100 million a year these days. What's he care if they win or lose on the field? He won a Super Bowl. It was nice. But if you said to Bisciotti, "Make $100 million and lose or make $50 million and win", I'm pretty sure he's taking the $100 million and losing like the other 30 guys in the league who don't win.

So when people say, "Bisciott's fed up with not winning", it's not like it was back in 2007 when the team was making $10 million a year and they couldn't win in Billick's final couple of years.

They're not winning now (the Super Bowl, that is) and yet they're raking in $100 million annually in profits. Who cares if they win?

So that's the biggest difference I see in the Billick era and the Harbaugh era. Bisciotti used to be really invested in how they did on the field because that's where he got the biggest bang for his investment, emotionally. Now, his emotional "bang" is tied into the bottom line, the league TV deal, and so on. I'm not saying Steve wants to lose. I don't think that's true at all. But I am saying he's fine with losing if they continue to make $100 million."

Monday November 27, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3381

chargers gonna chargers

I know, as someone who has seen every game in the John Harbaugh era, that we've all witnessed our fair share of "weird" Ravens games.

Last night's 20-10 win in Los Angeles goes right into the Top 5 list, for sure.

Neither team deserved to win.

That the Ravens could only muster 13 points in the flow of the game before they tacked on a weird, fluke touchdown late in the 4th quarter on what was almost a botched handoff was pretty much embarrassing.

The Chargers entered the game with the worst defense in the league.

The Ravens should have chewed them up.

Instead, it was a dogfight.

That said, the Chargers certainly didn't deserve to win.

Their Jake Plummer-clone at quarterback didn't do anything to distinguish himself. Without Keenan Allen, L.A. wouldn't put up 200 yards of offense in any game. The fact that they scored 10 points last night is a mini-miracle.

It was a weird, weird game.

The Ravens were a little bit lucky to win.

But they were always going to win.

Justin Herbert wasn't beating Lamar Jackson. He just wasn't.

That said, things got a little dicey when Justin Tucker missed the equivalent of a 3-foot putt (44 yard field goal) late in the game.

And when the Baltimore offense comes off the field on 4th and 1 on the play prior to that missed kick, you have to ask no one in particular, "What on earth is going on tonight?"

That was a perfect spot for the Ravens to go for it on 4th and 1. If they get the first down, one more first down would practically salt away the game.

Instead, Tucker came on, missed the kick, and suddenly the Chargers had life, trailing only 13-10.

In almost every similar circumstance over the last five years, the Ravens would have gone for it there. Get one yard, put the game away.

I don't know what went down in that situation, but it was bass-ackwards.

Oh, and the Ravens defense looked like it was going to do what it has a habit of doing -- coughing up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. Instead, they tightened up and suffocated the Chargers on the biggest drive of the game with just over 2 minutes left on the clock.

Baltimore scored 20 points against a terrible defense.

And the Ravens defense didn't collapse under the heat of a fourth quarter uprising by the Chargers.

I told you it was a weird game.

---

Let's pause for a second. Not for station identification. But to bring up Eric DeCosta.

Because we're a society that loves to hit-and-run and never return to the scene of the crime, DeCosta has been castigated at times by a knee-jerk fan base for the various rosters he and his staff have produced over the last five years.

Some of you -- and you know who you are -- owe that man an apology.

Kyle Hamilton.

Roquan Smith.

Keaton Mitchell.

Zay Flowers.

Jadeveon Clowney.

Those were your five MVP's of last night's win over the Chargers.

Oh, and it was DeCosta who finally put the Lamar Jackson contract saga to bed as well, don't forget.

I'm not only bringing up that game to support what DeCosta has done. Those guys and others he drafted or signed have played vital roles for the team throughout the last few years.

But as I watched last night's game unfold, it really dawned on me what kind of impact those specific players are having on the 2023 season and how all of them showcase DeCosta's fingerprints.

And it wasn't like all of those guys were slam-dunk, can't-miss-decisions by DeCosta. He put his acumen on full display with each of them.

Not many people had Hamilton going in the first round. DeCosta did.

Most experts thought Smith was going to be a rental and would bolt from the Ravens as soon as someone threw more money at him in the spring. DeCosta didn't think that.

Keaton Mitchell? Who is he?

The Ravens already had one failed experiment with a small, speedy wide receiver in the first round. DeCosta didn't let the Hollywood Brown experiment faze him. Enter Flowers in the first round.

Clowney? Isn't he "washed" as the kids like to say? DeCosta didn't think so.

Man up, guys. Those of you who bashed DeCosta have some humble pie to eat.

Don't worry, we brought enough for all of you.

---

And so, we'll file last night's victory away in the same manner we treat them all.

A win is a win.

There are no style points, despite the people crying on the internet throughout the game. Whether you win 7-6 or 37-36, it still counts as "1" in the win column.

That one should just about lock up a playoff spot for the Ravens. They're now 9-3, with 10-3 on the horizon when the Rams visit Baltimore on December 10. Then they'll finish up with road games at Jacksonville and San Francisco, followed by home contests with Miami and the Steelers.

I'm still thinking 12-5 is almost a definite and 13-4 is well within reach.

14-3 is a tad ambitious, particularly when you take into account that each of their final four opponents will be fighting for playoff seeding or, maybe in Pittsburgh's case, a playoff spot.

But 12-5, 13-4 or 14-3 will be good enough to make the Ravens dangerous in the post-season, especially if the defensive performance we saw last night continues into mid-January.

Sadly, though, the Ravens won't play a team like the Chargers again this season.

They'll breeze past the Rams in a couple of weeks and then stuff gets real for the final stretch run.

As long as Lamar stays healthy throughout December and into January, the Ravens will be a tough out when single elimination time rolls around.

let's start looking ahead

It's almost December.

Before you know it, the ESPN "playoff machine" will be up and running and you'll be able to plug every game in to see what happens if we win and they lose or they win and we lose. It's an awesome piece of technology.

In the meantime, here's what the schedules look like for the top 9 AFC playoff hopefuls.

Baltimore (9-3) -- vs. LA Rams, at Jacksonville, at San Francisco, vs. Miami, vs. Pittsburgh

Miami (8-3) -- at Washington, vs. Tennessee, vs. NY Jets, vs. Dallas, at Baltimore, vs. Buffalo

Kansas City (8-3) -- at Green Bay, vs. Buffalo, at New England, vs. Las Vegas, vs. Cincinnati, at LA Chargers

Jacksonville (8-3) -- vs. Cincinnati, at Cleveland, vs. Baltimore, at Tampa Bay, vs. Carolina, at Tennessee

Pittsburgh (7-4) -- vs. Arizona, vs. New England, at Indianapolis, vs. Cincinnati, at Seattle, at Baltimore

Cleveland (7-4) -- at LA Rams, vs. Jacksonville, vs. Chicago, at Houston, vs. NY Jets, at Cincinnati

Houston (6-5) -- vs. Denver, at NY Jets, at Tennessee, vs. Cleveland, vs. Tennessee, at Indianapolis

Denver (6-5) -- at Houston, at LA Chargers, at Detroit, vs. New England, vs. LA Chargers, at Las Vegas

Indianapolis (6-5) -- at Tennessee, at Cincinnati, vs. Pittsburgh, at Atlanta, vs. Las Vegas, vs. Houston

	#DMD GAME DAY Week 12 Sunday — November 26, 2023 Issue #3380
	Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers 8:20 EDT SoFi Stadium Los Angeles, CA Spread: Ravens (-3.0)

ravens aren't losing to justin herbert, right?

Tonight's game in L.A. is one the Ravens should win.

And I'm not saying that because the oddsmakers have the Ravens installed as a 3-point favorite in the game.

I'm saying the Ravens should win because the Chargers don't generally win "these kind" of games. Whenever the Chargers step up in class, they lose.

Home or away, it usually doesn't matter.

Chargers gonna Chargers.

They're 4-6. Their wins have come against the Vikings, Raiders, Bears and Jets. The University of Georgia might go 2-2 in those games.

The only win the Chargers have this season that was even close to "good" was in Minnesota and that was back when the Vikings were still trying to win a game themselves.

Their six losses? Miami, Tennessee, Dallas, Kansas City, Detroit and Green Bay.

On every occasion this season when Justin Herbert and the Chargers have had a chance to beat a good team, they've failed.

Why would tonight be any different?

Could the Ravens lose? Of course. John Harbaugh's team has figured out a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory three times themselves this season. They're 8-3 and coulda, shoulda, woulda have an 11-0 record (or at the least 10-1) if a few things were pieced together better for them in the waning moments of their three losses.

But in the same way the Chargers rarely win games like the one being played tonight, the Ravens -- at least in the Harbaugh/Lamar era -- rarely lose games like this one.

The Chargers are a horse in a mile-and-a-quarter race who would prefer to run six furlongs.

The Ravens are in a six-furlong race and they'll have tons of energy at the finish line, enough to keep running another couple of furlongs if the race allowed for it.

Other than the obvious "on any given Sunday" theme, there's almost nothing about tonight's game that suggests Los Angeles is going to win.

They're not going to be able to stop Lamar and the Baltimore offense. The Chargers have given up 20 or more points in 7 of their 10 games to date. At home, they've allowed 30 or more points in two of their five games.

The L.A. defense is lousy.

And while Justin Herbert is a good quarterback, they have trouble finishing off scoring drives. Dropped passes, fumbles and other mistakes have haunted them all season. Herbert generally does a good drive of getting them into position to score, but the offense can't get the ball into the end zone.

Oh, and L.A.'s Brandon Staley is probably the most maligned head coach in the entire league. He somehow creates a blunder or two in every loss that NFL critics point to as another example of why he shouldn't be the top guy with the Chargers.

Let's be clear on something: This would be a bad loss for the Ravens tonight if they don't leave SoFi with a win.

This is not a Chargers team that beats good teams, home or away. The fact that the game is in Los Angeles tonight just means the Ravens should win 27-20 instead of 34-17, like they would if the game happened to take place in Baltimore.

The Ravens will have too much offense, just enough defense, and better game-planning.

The Chargers, simply put, just don't win games like the one they have at home tonight.

It's not in their DNA, especially in the Brandon Staley era.

Sure, once upon time the Chargers came to Baltimore in the playoffs and stunned Lamar and Harbaugh, but that was a different team entirely. Different coach, different quarterback, different everything.

This version of the Chargers isn't beating a good team like the Ravens. At least nothing about their season or make up (other than "any given Sunday") suggests they have the horsepower for an upset tonight.

Lamar soaks up the national TV spotlight with one of his vintage performances, running for 81 yards and throwing for another 208 as the Ravens jump out to a 17-13 halftime lead, extend that to 23-16, then add a fourth quarter TD and field goal to win 33-23.

Justin Herbert beating Lamar Jackson?

I just don't see it happening tonight.

around the nfl

SAINTS (5-5) AT FALCONS (4-6) -- In the "anyone can win" division of the NFC South (well, except for Carolina), this is a big one today in Atlanta. The Falcons have once again handed the ball to Desmond Ridder, which should last for a few weeks until he costs them a couple of games and they kick him to the curb. New Orleans has looked the part at times this season, but on other occasions they look like a team that has Derek Carr at quarterback.

STEELERS (6-4) AT BENGALS (5-5) -- It's extremely unlikely that Cincinnati can survive without Joe Burrow. They have a better chance of finishing 6-11 than they do 9-8, most likely. But if they have any morsel of hope of making the playoffs, they have to win their home games, like this one today against the Steelers. Pittsburgh has a real quarterback, but only because he can walk and chew gum at the same time. Other than that, Kenny Pickett might as well be Desmond Ridder. If the Steelers don't win today, they should be charged with two losses in the standings. This is a 3-foot putt. Just roll it in...

PANTHERS (1-9) AT TITANS (3-7) -- I'm kinda surprised this one isn't on Sunday Night Football. Or Monday Night. It fits the theme of the games we've been saddled with recently. There are a lot of candidates for "worst game of the NFL season" on this year's schedule. This is definitely a leading contender for the award. Quick, name 4 guys on either team. Right, I couldn't either.

BUCCANEERS (4-6) AT COLTS (5-5) -- Two very similar teams lock horns today in Indianapolis. They both have QB's who everyone thought once upon a time might be good in the league. They both have wins this season that looked impressive at the time. And they're both still in the playoff hunt. This is a big game today. For both sides.

PATRIOTS (2-8) AT GIANTS (3-8) -- Geez, and I was making fun of Panthers vs. Titans. This one might be worse, actually. Bill Belichick is finally getting a visit from the Cleat of Reality. And the Giants are terrible and, yet, still might win today's game somehow. The final of this one could be 6-3. It might set the NFL back a few decades. How's life without Tom Brady, Bill?

JAGUARS (7-3) AT TEXANS (6-4) -- With all due respect to Ravens/Chargers, this is the game that should be on Sunday Night NFL. Of course, no one realized back in April that the Houston Texans would actually be somewhat legitimate in 2023. Jacksonville is a remarkable 4-0 on the road this season, but one of their home losses was to Houston earlier in the season. So the Jaguars desperately need this today or Houston owns the tiebreaker. A win for the Texans this afternoon would also go a long way in helping them feel confident about securing a playoff spot, division title or not. This is a huge game.

BROWNS (7-3) AT BRONCOS (5-5) -- Somehow, against virtually everything reasonable, Denver has worked their way into the playoff picture, without a real quarterback or running game. And their defense that once gave up 70 points in a game earlier this season has actually turned into a sturdy group. Cleveland also doesn't have a real quarterback, but their defense is better than Denver's. A win by the Browns today would all but wrap up a playoff spot since they still have both the Bears and Jets left to play in Cleveland. In a weird way, this should be a very entertaining game.

RAMS (4-6) AT CARDINALS (2-9) -- One would be wise to assume the Cardinals are trying to lose every game they can in an effort to potentially have the chance to draft Marvin Harrison, Jr. next April. The Rams are still barely clinging to playoff hopes in the watered-down NFC, but a loss today to the lowly Cardinals would just about put those hopes to bed. I can't imagine L.A. loses this one, but "on any given Sunday" might happen out in Glendale.

CHIEFS (7-3) AT RAIDERS (5-6) -- If the Raiders are seriously capable of a quick turnaround with Antonio Pierce now at the helm, this is one of those games they'll win...against all odds. Kansas City comes in on the heels of last Sunday night's loss to the Eagles, so they need a bit of a "rebound game" to get that taste out of their mouth. This one should be good. Vegas actually believes they're better than their 5-6 record indicates. Kansas City is good, obviously, but let's see how this one turns out for them today. Maybe they're not as good as they think they are.

BILLS (6-5) AT EAGLES (9-1) -- At some point, Buffalo is going to have to beat someone decent, right? Maybe it's today, in Philadelphia. The Bills are just hanging around, losing games they shouldn't and beating most of the bad teams they play. Are they a one-and-done playoff team or could they string together a couple of decent wins in the final month of the season and hit their stride at just the right time. Or might they flame out entirely and miss the playoffs? The Eagles, meanwhile, appear to be the best team in either conference. Another win today over a good team will further prove that statement.

Saturday November 25, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3379

pop! goes the coach

It's pretty late in the calendar year but I think I've found my most interesting sports story of 2023.

It's not only Gregg Popovich grabbing the microphone on Wednesday night and chiding the home crowd for booing Kawhi Leonard, who was in town playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. Leonard was once a member of the Spurs and his departure from the team was met with criticism from the fans.

Popovich doubled down last night, elaborating on the situation prior to San Antonio's home game vs. Golden State.

He might have even tripled-down, if that's possible.

It's an incredibly interesting story to me. Some folks think it's no big deal. Others see where Popovich is coming from.

I'll admit that in 2023 in the U.S., the concept of "decency" is pretty much a forbidden fruit. We either don't know what it is or we don't care that it's not present. Either way, we've pretty much stopped caring about being nice to one another. Our nation has a lot of problems, but that one, in my opinion, is probably our core issue.

So Popovich was asked on Friday night before the game if he had any regrets about standing up for Leonard and admonishing the crowd on Wednesday night.

"Absolutely not," Popovich said. "It's pretty easy to understand. I listened to it for a while and it just got louder and louder and uglier and uglier, and I felt sorry for him, and I was embarrassed for our city, for our organization. Because that's not who we are, that's not how we've conducted ourselves for the last 25 years. It's the opposite of the way we've conducted ourselves, the way we've worked in the community."

There's a lot to unpack right there. But there was more.

"It's kind of an indication of the world we live in today. It was hateful," Popovich said. "It was really disrespectful, it was just mean-spirited. We're the team that when somebody comes back to town after having been a Spur, so you first come back to town, we show a video of them. I can remember when Kawhi and Danny Green came back from Toronto, we showed videos of those guys and the crowd didn't react like that. That tells the whole story, and now it's five years later, six years later, and that's going to happen."

Gregg Popovich gets my Coach-of-the-Year vote and we're a month into the NBA season.

I'm not expecting his words to enact some kind of wholesale change in the way people behave at games in San Antonio. And I don't anticipate full compliance around the league, either.

But there's a saying in golf that's applicable here: You can't change something without changing something.

If you're hitting big high whiffs to the right with your driver and you want to change that, you're going to need to change the way the face of your club meets the ball at impact. And that probably means changing your takeaway. And that might also mean changing the way you bring the club into the golf ball on the downswing.

Popovich, as I see it, doesn't want to change the NBA. He just wants to change the way things are in San Antonio. He can't worry about what they do in Charlotte or Salt Lake City, but he can worry about his franchise.

When I first took over at Calvert Hall in 2013, there was a general disregard for a lot of simple things, like punctuality to practice, dress code and on course behavior. With all due respect to the coaches who were involved in the program before me, those issues just weren't considered important. It also didn't help that nearly every other team had issues keeping their shirts tucked in and wearing their hats the right way and on course behavior was, in some instances, embarrassing.

So in 2013, Calvert Hall Golf changed.

Shirts tucked in. Hats forward at all times. No club throwing. Like, none. Not even a frustrated club "toss". No swearing after a bad shot.

In 2023, the same rules still apply. Shirts tucked in at all times. Hat forward. We don't even think about throwing a club, let alone actually throwing one.

Other teams don't comply with those standards and I couldn't care less. I see kids from other teams milling around the course with their shirts untucked or their hats backwards. I see club throwing and hear foul language.

But as for Calvert Hall, as Gregg Popovich said this week, "that's not who we are".

Win or lose, we dress the right way. We play the right way. And, unlike some other coaches in the conference, when we lose we lose the right way, with a handshake and a tip of the cap.

If you don't do it, how do you expect others to follow suit?

So Popovich should be applauded for what he did this week. He stood up for someone who was once part of his team. He stood up for another human being as well.

Popovich knows he isn't going to change the world. He realizes people are still going to boo. But he also knows if he doesn't change something, nothing's getting changed.

And his words serve as a reminder to his players that San Antonio, hopefully, is a different place to set up camp and play basketball.

I've tried hard to do the same thing at Calvert Hall. Other high school coaches that I know -- both in golf and other sports -- try to do it as well. We're trying to show our young student-athletes that you can be everything you want to be and be successful and it can all be done without showboating, not dressing the right way, lashing out at the referees, showing up late, and so on.

Popovich was trying to remind the fans on Wednesday night that you can come to the game and be a great fan and it doesn't require you to be a flaming a-hole at the same time.

Of everything Popovich said, this really stood out to me: "Because that's not who we are, that's not how we've conducted ourselves for the last 25 years. It's the opposite of the way we've conducted ourselves, the way we've worked in the community."

"We" is a number of things.

"We" is Popovich himself.

"We" is the organization.

"We" is the basketball community, whether that's the fans, sponsors, etc.

It's a culture that Popovich has built.

Win or lose, he's trying to change something. And the only way he can change it is by changing it.

It's a simple effort.

I doubt it gets much traction because people are far more inclined to say, "F-him, I'll do whatever I want" rather than say, "You know, maybe being nice to people isn't such a bad idea after all."

But Gregg Popovich knows, if nothing else, that he's not going to change. He knows he isn't going to start mistreating visiting players or advocate creating a hostile in-arena environment.

So he'll work on trying to get others to change.

God Bless him.

Friday November 24, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3378

cashing in......on what?

While involved in several different sports conversations with friends yesterday, one of them turned the topic to college sports and a recent article about the NIL money student-athletes are raking in.

"Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders are both making over a million bucks," one friend proclaimed as he showed me the piece on something called Andscape.

I laughed.

"What's funny?" he asked. "I'm serious, they're both making over a million."

I laughed again.

"No one knows who those two guys are," I said.

"You're crazy," he replied. "They have over a million followers on TikTok."

There were 11 people in the room at that moment. Seven males and four females. The males ranged in age from 22 to 66. The females were all adults -- over the age of 40 (you know how women are about their age...).

"Time for a quick roll call," I said to the group. Some were watching football. Others were talking about a cruise several of the people in the room had just enjoyed last month.

"Who is Travis Hunter?" I asked.

"If you know, don't shout it out," I explained. "Just hold up your hand."

Two people raised their hand: The 22-year old I had been talking to and a 35 year old male. A 27-year old and 29 year old looked at me dumbfounded.

"Shedeur Sanders? Anyone know him?"

The same two hands went up.

"Back to what you were doing," I said.

"No one knows who those two guys are," I repeated to my young friend.

"And I'm not saying that makes them irrelevant or anything like that. They are relevant. In their own little world. College football fanatics know who they are. But even then, I'm guessing there are plenty of college football followers who don't know who they are, either."

"What's your point?" the young man asked.

"My point is these companies are out of their minds for giving away that kind of money to college athletes that no one knows anything about," I said.

I understand the realities of Name, Image, Likeness and from 35,000 feet, I see the fairness in it. I've always been an advocate of college athletes going to school and earning a degree in exchange for their participation as an athlete at said school.

These garbage hot-takes about the "school making all of the money" doesn't take into account the $250,000 (or more) the student-athlete saves by agreeing to play (insert sport here) for the school.

But if you're going to sell a kid's jersey in the school store, he should get $10 of that. Or whatever the decided-upon-fair-price-is for that kind of transaction. I do understand the fairness in that.

However, there's a big difference between peddling a player's jersey in the school store -- where almost everyone knows him -- and giving him $500,000 to hawk yogurt for you on national television.

The blame here goes to the yogurt people and the rental car people and the pizza people.

No wonder it's $18.99 for a (mediocre) large pizza at that pizza chain. They're giving a half-million dollars to some dude no one knows to help them market their product.

The kids are just taking the money that's out there for them. They might be lazy in some cases, but they're sure not dumb.

Meanwhile, these companies are aligning themselves with college athletes who are barely scratching the surface of "impact".

Here's the aforementioned article on Sanders and Hunter that outlines their respective NIL deals and income. If you're interested in what's transpiring in college sports, you can read it all right here.

Personally, I've been tuning out of college sports more and more over the last 10 years. I've had this discussion with a lot of my friends and written about it here as well on numerous occasions.

It's not one thing in particular that has soured me. It's a pizza kind of thing -- there are a lot of slices to go around.

More than anything, though, there was a time (way back when) when it felt like college sports had some purity and integrity embedded into its infrastracture.

I don't know when those days ended, but they're long gone.

And please understand: Everyone's to blame. The NCAA, the schools, the coaches, the players, their parents. Everyone has played a role in the dissolving of the basic goodness of high-level college sports. And when I say "high-level", yes, I'm talking mainly about men's football and basketball.

I realize there's dirty pool being played in women's sports as well, but no one cares at all about that. And I mean that with no disrespect to the fact that women are playing those sports. I'm saying no one cares if UConn or South Carolina bends the rules to improve their women's basketball team. It's a nothing-burger to 98% of the sporting world.

So when I hear about two football players from Colorado cashing in and making millions peddling pizza and jewelry and cars and yogurt, I just chalk that up to another example of how bass-ackwards it all is.

You're gonna buy a watch because some kid who plays college football for a team you've probably never watched once is telling you how great the watch is?

If so, maybe the joke is on you and not the watch company.

I'm also willing to admit I'm more of a lone wolf on this one and that's OK, too. I "vote", if you will, with my TV remote and my credit card. I rarely watch any college football and the only college basketball I'm really glued into these days are games involving the Terps.

And even then, I'm mostly just a casual observer, although I'm wise enough to know that Hakim Hart somehow convinced Villanova -- a better program than Maryland -- to take him for a season, which seems like the sales job of the century by Hart or his representative.

I'm also wise enough to know that I'm not renting a car or buying jewelry because a 19-year old who went around the country with hat in hand while he was in high school is telling me to do so. You might do that. Your neighbor might do that. The rental car folks and the jewelry honchos are banking on it, actually.

I'm in the minority, admittedly, but I find the entire thing laughable.

	RANDY MORGAN on American soccer
Americans are playing more and more of a vital role in international soccer these days, and Randy Morgan has his eyes on all of them for #DMD. Each week here, he looks at recent performances of American players and highlights upcoming games of importance.

european soccer recap

This weekend European leagues will reconvene after the short international break. Most leagues are fast approaching the midway point of their season and the Champions League has just two rounds left before heading to the knockout stage.

Today we’ll take a look at the highlights from the past month in the top leagues and where the title races stand as we head towards the winter.

But first we’ll take a quick look at how the US men fared in their recent CONCACAF Nations League games.

USMNT November Window –

The US men played a two game series with Trinidad & Tobago this past week, home and away, as part of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals. The games also served as the qualification for next summer’s important Copa America.

It was a mixed bag for the USMNT. They ultimately got the results they needed to advance in the Nations League and qualify for the Copa America, but they weren’t especially convincing in doing so.

In the home leg last Thursday, the US largely dominated, though it took them until late in the game to finally find the net. Trinidad & Tobago managed to hold the US off until the 82nd minute, when Ricardo Pepi directed in an Antonee Robinson cross and then the Americans quickly piled on two more with goals from Robinson and Gio Reyna.

With a 3-0 win and 26 shots for the US to just 1 for T&T, it’s hard to say the US needed to do better. However, this was another game where the team struggled to break down a lesser opponent with a deeply packed defense.

In this one the US even held a man advantage for a large chunk after a red card for T&T. Although they did eventually break through, it would have inspired more confidence if the US could have found goals more easy to come by.

The second leg was the more disappointing of the two, though there was one large mitigating factor. The US started the game off well, dictating the game with a large share of possession and creating several solid chances. They struck first when Antonee Robinson headed in a Sergino Dest cross in the 25th minute and looked on their way to an easy victory.

However, Dest had other ideas. The young right back proceeded to completely lose his mind late in the first half, punting a ball into the stands in protest of a simple out of bounds call and then going off on the referee to earn two yellow cards and a quick ejection.

The ejection of Dest certainly threw a wrench in the American plan, as Berhalter was forced to remove an attacker to introduce a defensive replacement for Dest and that happened to be their most creative player, Gio Reyna. It seems Reyna was scheduled to come off at halftime anyway due to injury concerns, thus the reason he was sacrificed.

Trinidad & Tobago quickly took advantage, equalizing just minutes after Dest’s departure. Then they took the lead early in the second half on a long free kick thanks to an absolute howler from Matt Turner, who had his worst day in a US shirt.

To be completely honest, after the reduction to ten men, it seemed the US was just playing out the string to preserve the four goal aggregate lead they held in order to secure their advancement in the competition. There was a lot of time wasting and conservative play in the second half and T&T was never realistically going to score three more goals. So it’s hard to take too much away from this game after the red card.

For Dest’s part, he apologized to the team and made a statement expressing his regret. He will be suspended for the March Nations League semifinals, and it is possible Berhalter may leave him home for that window entirely to consider his actions.

Nevertheless, he is too important to the team to suffer any extenuated punishment, there is no like for like replacement for him in the team, so I imagine he will have his spot back by the Copa America.

Champions League –

The sixteen team field for the knockout rounds is starting to take shape as the Champions League heads into the final two group stage games. Several groups have already been decided but a few remain closely contested.

Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all stayed perfect in the group stage. Bayern was tested both times by Turkish side Galatasaray but prevailed in both legs with three goals and an assist from Harry Kane.

Manchester City got two relatively easy victories over Switzerland’s Young Boys, winning 3-1 and 3-0 with Erling Haaland scoring four over the two games. Real Madrid downed Portuguese team Braga twice to stay atop Group C.

Group F has provided the most dramatic battle in the group stage, with all four teams still alive. Borussia Dortmund leads the group with seven points after picking up back to back wins over Newcastle United, 1-0 on the road and then 2-0 at home.

AC Milan and Paris St. Germain split their home-road series with the Parisians winning 3-0 in Paris but Milan bouncing back for a 2-1 in Italy. Christian Pulisic had a hand in creating the second goal of the home win.

Barcelona and Porto are now tied atop Group D after Shakhtar Donetsk shocked the Spanish giants with a 1-0 home win and Porto took care of Royal Antwerp fairly easily in both matches.

In Group D its Inter Milan and Real Sociedad in the driver’s seat after four games, tied with 10 points and both sure of advancement. Arsenal has a comfortable lead in Group B after beating Sevilla at home and away. PSV Eindhoven and Lens are tied behind Arsenal, with each having games against Arsenal and Sevilla remaining.

Group E is another tight competition after four rounds, with Atletico Madrid on top but Lazio and Feyenoord both within two points and the race still wide open.

England –

In the Premier League a familiar face is back on top. Manchester City has risen to the top of the standings once again, getting three wins and a draw over the past month to capture a one point advantage over second place Liverpool.

Liverpool has jumped into second place with an undefeated record over the past month, partially due to a favorable schedule. They are tied with Arsenal at 27 points. Arsenal lost to Newcastle but beat Sheffield United and Burnley.

Tottenham was knocked off their top spot and slid all the way down to fourth place, losing their last two in a row to Chelsea and Wolves. The first was unfortunate after they suffered a questionable early red card and the loss to Wolves was a total meltdown that saw them concede two goals in injury time to lose.

Upstarts Aston Villa have put themselves in the race for Champions League, moving up to fifth place by winning three of their last four, and sitting just three points from the top of the table.

Italy –

Serie A came out of the last international break with a pivotal showdown between Juventus and AC Milan where Juventus managed a 1-0 win to gain the upper hand. They then strung together three more one goal wins for a perfect month that moved them into second place, just two points behind leaders Inter Milan.

Inter got a perfect four wins from four in the league since the last break, moving to the top of the standings. Lautaro Martinez continues to lead the way for them, leading the league in scoring.

AC Milan dropped from the top spot with loses to Juventus and Udinese and draws in their other two games. Meanwhile, reigning champions Napoli faltered as well, winning just two of their last four and finding themselves in a tight race with Atalanta and Fiorentina for fourth place.

Germany –

After eleven rounds, both Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich remain undefeated in the Bundesliga. They each won all four games over the last month, allowing Leverkusen to maintain their two point edge over Bayern.

The title battle is beginning to look like a two horse race as the remaining contenders all dropped off a bit over the past month. Despite their success in the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund have struggled in the domestic league.

They were completely dominated by Bayern in a 4-0 Der Klassiker loss where Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel completely outmaneuvered Dortmund’s Edin Terzic. After failing to win in their last three league games, Dortmund has fallen to fifth place, ten points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Stuttgart dropped two of their last three as well, but managed to beat Dortmund to stay in third place, seven points off the top. RB Leipzig has moved into fourth place, winning three of their last four.

Spain –

Thirteen rounds into the La Liga season there is an extremely surprising leader, as Cinderella story Girona continued their magical start to the season with a perfect last month. The win streak has propelled them to a two point lead over second place Real Madrid.

At this point it seems no fluke that Girona is leading the league, as they have the highest scoring attack and are near the top in goal differential as well.

Real Madrid had a couple of disappointing draws while dealing with several key injuries, including missing Jude Bellingham for a few games. However, the season’s breakout star was available for the first El Clasico of the season against Barcelona and he only solidified his case as perhaps the best player in the world right now.

After an early Barcelona goal, Bellingham sparked a Madrid comeback with a rocket golazo from long range and then sealed the victory for Madrid with a late game winner from close range in the box.

The win put some separation between the country’s two biggest rivals, with Barcelona now trailing in third place, two points behind Real Madrid and four behind leaders Girona. Atletico Madrid are currently fourth, two points behind Barcelona.

Team of the Month –

G: Ter Stegen - Barcelona

D: Hakimi - PSG; Araujo - Barcelona; Tah - Bayer Leverkusen; Grimaldo - Bayer Leverkusen

M: Bellingham - Real Madrid; Rodri - Man City; Zaire-Emery - PSG

F: Simons - RB Leipzig; Kane - Bayern; Mbappe - PSG

Player of the Month –

Harry Kane - Bayern Munich

Yet another Englishman abroad takes the honors this month. Similar to his countryman Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane made a high profile move this summer, leaving Tottenham to join Bayern Munich. Also similar to Bellingham, Kane’s move has been a huge success.

Since the last break, Kane put up twelve goals and two assists between the Bundesliga and the Champions League, including a hat-trick in the 4-0 drubbing of Borussia Dortmund. Kane now leads the German league in goals and goals+assists. The latter of which he leads by a wide margin. He also leads the Champions League in goals and assists combined.

After struggling to find a true goal scoring striker since the departure of Robert Lewandowksi, it seems Bayern has found that man in Harry Kane. Not only has Kane been scoring goals, but his all-around skillset at the striker position and ability to set up his teammates has helped winger Leroy Sane to the best season of his career.

faith in sports

The Oklahoma Sooners made national news last spring when they won the national softball championship and spent most of their post-title press conference speaking openly about their faith.

That is not something new in Norman, Oklahoma. The Lady Sooners have been doing that for a long time.

To see how they've grown in their faith as a program, here's a 6-minute video of where it all started.

Thanks, as always, to our friends at Freestate Electrical for their support of #DMD and our Friday feature, "Faith in Sports".

Thursday November 23, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3377

enjoy your turkey

Thanksgiving Day is upon us.

I guess that officially makes it the "holiday season" in these parts.

I hope you and your family have a meaningful gathering today, wherever you might be settling in for food, fellowship and football.

I'll be starting my day with some friends from the Calvert Hall community. We'll have coffee and head to the Turkey Bowl, where the Cardinals and Loyola Dons will do battle at Towson University.

I'm obviously rooting for the Cardinals, but what I'm really hoping for is an injury free game from both teams where all of the participants can celebrate the holiday afterwards with their friends and family. If everyone who plays in the game is healthy at the final whistle, that's the biggest "win" there can be.

A crowd of close to 10,000 is expected for today's clash.

May the best team win.

There was an incident in a recent college basketball game that is important to highlight, I believe, for anyone who is connected to competitive sports.

There are many tentacles to the story involving Fardaws Aimaq, who plays for the California Golden Bears.

Aimaq is the son of an Afghan refugee who grew up in Vancouver. Throughout Monday's game, a fan constantly harrassed Aimaq and allegedly called him a "terrorist" on several occasions. After the game, the Cal player went into the stands to confront the heckler.

School officials are trying to have the fan banned from the arena for any games in the future.

Cal coach Mark Madsen said his player shouldn't have to put up with that kind of behavior from fans, but also criticized his player for taking matters into his own hands.

"Fardaws and I had an important conversation today about how he needs to maintain his composure regardless of what takes place in a game or what is said to him directly," Madsen said in a statement. "I am disturbed that Fardaws was allegedly on the receiving end of such language, and I'm disappointed that he confronted this fan in the stands. Fardaws understands my expectations for how he as a student-athlete conducts himself. The consequences related to this situation will be managed internally."

OK, I get it. The coach has to say all the right things after an incident like that. He's right, the young man can't go into the stands after the game. Those kinds of moments can blow up in a hurry.

But these people who go to games (in every league) and think they have a free pass to say anything and everything they want to the athletes and game officials are the real problem.

Schools try hard to offer friendly, positive messages before games. I hear them all the time when I go to MIAA high school games, whether they're at Calvert Hall or elsewhere.

People have listening issues.

And decorum issues.

Without mentioning the school, I'll just say that earlier this fall at a soccer game at Calvert Hall, a visiting female fan came down from the stands and stood next to the perimeter fence, right next to the track, some 10 yards or so from sideline.

She wasn't there 30 seconds when he started berating a Calvert Hall player who is small in stature. She called him "minnow" and "small fry", berated the referee for "not knowing there are two teams playing" and at one point said, "The league can't have us win this game, can they Mister Ref?"

Worst of all? There were several other parents of players from the visiting team standing down there near the fence and none of them said a word to her.

And "double worst of all"? She's a mother. Of a kid on the visiting team.

Eventually, a Calvert Hall parent tried to rein her in and that didn't work, either. It only made her more obnoxious.

She continually lashed out at the Cardinals player anytime he came near the sideline.

It made me wonder.

"What's wrong with you people? It's a high school soccer game. These are, still, "kids". You know, your own son is playing in the game, too, and he could be the victim of similar treatment from fans as well. Is that what you want?"

I bring that story up because it's one of the more recent episodes I've witnessed as it relates to "fan behavior".

Just last in fact, San Antonio head coach Greg Popovich went to the microphone during the game and admonished the crowd for booing Kawhi Leonard, a former member of his team that Spurs fans have turned against.

"Will you stop booing and just let these guys play?" Popovich asked the crowd.

I sent out an early morning message to my golf team today about this morning's football game. "Go have fun. Be respectful. Don't overdo it. You're there as a Calvert Hall student and member of the golf program today."

We all need to do our part, individually, to curb bad fan behavior at sporting events everywhere, whether it's at the rec level (where there's a lot of it), the high school level, the college level and even the the professional level.

It's gotten out of hand.

In some games, particularly in the pro sports, too much alcohol is a contributing factor.

In a lot of other cases, though, just being a goof is the main issue. Some people just don't get it.

I realize the young man at Cal was wrong for going in the stands. But everyone has a breaking point. He reached his when the man subjected him to "terrorist" taunts.

Let's blame the right party.

Adults who know better.

On this Thanksgiving Day, let's be grateful that we have children, grandchildren, friends and professional athletes to watch.

Let's be grateful for their willingness to compete and put themselves in the spotlight for everyone to watch and judge.

And, as fans, spectators or whatever term you want to use: Let's be better at being a human being.

It's really not that hard.

May God bless all of you with a wonderful Thanksgiving Day today. If you're driving to and from, please drive safely.

Wednesday November 22, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3376

wednesday mailbag

This is one of those really weird -- but awesome -- weeks of the year where everyone pretty much gets four straight days off starting at close of business today.

I know a lot of people who are actually off today as well, turning this into a 5-day llloooonnnnngg weekend.

Then there's our emergency responder professionals. Police, firefighters, doctors, nurses, ambulance/EMT. And you're welcome to even throw in utility professionals at BGE.

For those people, there's no 4-day Thanksgiving weekend. Some of them even work tomorrow, while 98% of the rest of the country eats turkey and watches football.

A few years ago, I started doing something every Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I'll continue the new tradition today.

While I'm out and about, any emergency responder I see in my immediate surroundings gets a "thanks for what you do" greeting.

I have actually tried to incorporate this into my daily routine over the last year or so. If I see a police officer in Royal Farms, I thank them. If I'm at the grocery store and I see an EMT, I thank them.

But today is a day for all of us to make it a point to say thank you anytime we encounter one of those emergency responders.

I'm not suggesting at all this could snowball into a nationwide thing when I say this, but how cool would it be if our country made this a "national effort" every Wednesday before Thanksgiving?

I realize we live in a time where people have developed this bizarre dislike for police officers, but the older I get and the more crazy stuff I see on TV and the internet, I'm actually more impressed with law enforcement professionals than ever before. They deserve our praise and appreciation, in the same way firefighters, doctors, nurses and EMT's do as well.

Anyway, if you're up for it today -- or at any point over the long weekend -- just a simple, "Hope you have (had) a great Thanksgiving, thank you for what you do!" would be an awesome gesture. And it might make someone's day as they help keep the rest of us safe while we enjoy our food, friends and football.

Oh, and if you're in one of those occupations and you're reading this right now, experience it here first: THANK YOU!!!

Jim asks -- "I enjoyed your coverage of the Hall of Fame voting today (Tuesday) and was wondering what you see long term for these five players. Max Scherzer, Manny Machado, J.D. Martinez, Adam Wainwright and Jose Altuve. Thanks and good luck to the Hall on Thanksgiving Day."

DF says -- "Scherzer's a lock. 214 career wins, 3.15 ERA. He's what Curt Schilling wanted to be. Probably a first ballot guy.

Manny is certainly on his way. 1,700 hits, 300+ home runs. Career average of .280. Kind of what we saw from Torii Hunter except people actually liked Hunter. If Machado plays six more years and creeps up near 3,000 hits, he'll make it for sure.

J.D. Martinez definitely gets a spot in the Hall of Very Good, but that's his zenith. Very good hitter. Very good career. But he won't even finish with 2,000 hits. Sorry, no Cooperstown for him.

Adam Wainwright is interesting. His numbers suggest he should definitely receive legitimate consideration but he's never really been a guy most of us thought about as a top pitcher in the game. 200 wins, a career ERA of 3.53 (albeit in the N.L.), a top 3 finish in Cy Young voting on 4 different occasions. Honestly, he's a bit of a "modern day" version of Mike Mussina. 200 wins in this day of baseball is like 275 or 300 in the old days. Anyway, I'm going to say "no" on Wainwright ever getting in, but I wouldn't call you crazy if you made a strong case for him.

Jose Altuve is 100% getting into Cooperstown someday. He has 2,000 hits now. Will probably play at least three or four "full time" years and get somewhere near 3,000, barring some kind of weird injury issue. Will also get close to 300 homers when it's all said and done. He's a former MVP, has a couple of rings, might get one or two more as well. He's a slam dunk."

M.C. asks -- "Hypothetical Tiger Woods question for your website. I know you always say we shouldn't expect much from him given his age and injuries but what if the reports out there are true that he's been playing a lot of golf in Florida and looks the best he's looked in five years? What do you think Tiger's ceiling is if everything came together great for him? What could he accomplish, in other words?"

DF says -- "Well, this one is hard to answer because I just can't imagine he's ever going to be healthy enough to play the number of competitive rounds he needs to play to maintain his sharpness. I know what you're asking. But even a hypothetical situation means I have to assume he's a "normal" 48 year old and I don't think that's realistic.

But I'll play along.

If Tiger were somehow healthy enough again to play 8-10 tournaments a year, sprinkled throughout the season to keep his game sharp, he could do anything, still. He can always win at Augusta. Even into his 50's he can still win there. The golf course can't get much longer. He knows the greens and the way to move the ball around the course better than anyone alive. He could (with your caveat of being fully healthy mixed in) win two or three more times there. I don't think he will. But that's the one course where he can still win and compete against the younger generation.

I also think he can win another British Open. Those layouts are generally flat and benign, so if there's one course, again, where length doesn't really matter, it's the rotation of courses they use for the British Open.

I don't know about winning any "regular" TOUR events. I mean, he could always win at Bay Hill or Torrey Pines, but, A) I don't see him play those events any longer, and B) The length of the course is working against him as he ages.

I'm really hoping we can get one more win out of Tiger and that will quench his desire to finish on a high note. I don't know if "82" drives him nuts or not, but to play your entire career and finish tied for the all-time lead in career wins would probably be maddening."

Sean asks -- "With (basically) one month left in the NFL season who is the darkhorse we should be watching for in the AFC? Denver? Houston? Who do you think?"

DF says -- "Well, here's the thing: I don't think Cleveland can win in January without a real quarterback. That said, I think their defense is definitely good enough to go into K.C., Baltimore, Jacksonville or Houston and beat one of those teams in the playoffs. And if they somehow got the right mix of teams in there -- like, say they somehow got to play Jacksonville in the second round after upsetting someone in the first round -- they could win two games with that defense.

I think Denver is a poor man's version of Cleveland, which is weird to say based on the fact they gave up 70 points in one game earlier this season. They have a "semi real quarterback" in Russell Wilson and a couple of decent wide receivers. Their defense is much better of late. Again, do I think they're going to the Super Bowl? I do not. But could they beat someone 19-13 in the first round of the playoffs? For sure.

I don't see Houston as a legit threat yet. But they're definitely on the uptick down there. Give them another year or two.

The only other team you shouldn't write off is Buffalo. I don't know what's going on up there, but it's certainly not "the same Buffalo team" we've seen in recent years. But maybe this is the year where they actually do something in the post-season. You know, the year they sneak into the post-season on the final weekend of the season and finish 10-7 turns out to be the year they put it all together in January.

The rest of the teams in the hunt aren't doing anything. Pittsburgh is done. Cincinnati is done. The L.A. Chargers are done. The Raiders are done. Those teams aren't beating anyone with their respective flaws.

My final answer as the darkhorse is Cleveland. I don't think they can win three games in January and go to the Super Bowl, but that defense is awfully good. If they somehow get any kind of representative play from one of their QB's, they could be a surprise."

Owen asks -- "Hi Drew, are you as shocked as the rest of us at what the Capitals have done so far with Ovechkin off to such a horrible start?"

DF says -- "Very much so. More than shocked. They don't have any goal-scorers at all. And somehow they're 9-1-1 in their last 11 games. It's bizarre.

Goaltending is a key for them. Kuemper isn't very good. I like Lindgren a lot, but he also gets nicked up quite a bit. If Lindgren can stay healthy, maybe that's the key for the Caps.

I still think Ovechkin will get untracked, but 5 goals in 15 games is very concerning. That averages out to right around 28 goals for the season. I highly doubt he finishes with 28 goals, but if he gets injured and misses a dozen games this season, he might be hard pressed to break 30 goals based on this awful start to the '23-24 season.

I haven't really changed my tune on them overall, though. I would be surprised if they make the playoffs. But I'd love to be wrong on that one. The NHL playoffs are no fun at all if your team doesn't get in. Just ask fans of the Flyers. They're used to that feeling."

Adam asks -- "Are you up for some Over Rated and Under Rated for your next Q & A at Drew's Morning Dish? If so, your thoughts on Depeche Mode, Green Day and Duran Duran?"

DF says -- Asking me questions about bands and musical artists is no fun because I think everyone is pretty much underrated except for the Beatles and Slipknot.

Anyone who can play an instrument or sing (well) is underrated in my book. I have a lot of respect for all three of those bands you listed. They're all underrated, especially Duran Duran.

Sorry I can't pontificate about how Green Day stinks, Duran Duran is "too poppy" or Depeche Mode is "too dark" but I think all three of them are really good.

Now, if you want an opinion on the Beatles or Slipknot, we can have some fun there."

Tuesday November 21, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3375

my cooperstown ballot

I don't get a vote.

But if I had a vote, I'm fairly convicted on the names I'd check off on my ballot.

I love the baseball Hall of Fame discussion that comes around every year. I enjoy the commentary about stats, and home stadiums, and how important things like wins, hits and saves are in the process we go through in determining someone's Hall of Fame status.

Todd Helton is an interesting example. His numbers were great. His detractors always point to the fact that he played his entire career in Colorado. They forget, of course, that 81 of his 162 games each season were NOT played in Colorado. But his albatross has always been Coors Field. And that's too bad.

Pitching wins used to matter, way back when pitchers actually wanted to pitch and they weren't afraid of throwing 120 pitches or more.

They don't matter much these days. 200 is now the old 300, as in "wins" for starting pitchers. There was a time when you were a lock if you earned 300 pitching victories. These days, 200 appears to be the magic number.

Below are the 26 players who are on the ballot this season and my thoughts on each of them, plus my seven picks.

James Shields, pitcher -- He was a good pitcher for most of his career, but nothing more. Won't be on the ballot for more than a few years. Probably wouldn't even qualify for the Hall of Very Good.

Victor Martinez, catcher/DH -- He was a very good offensive player (.295 career average, 2100+ hits) but certainly not worthy of a spot in Cooperstown. Might get some Hall of Very Good votes, though. Underrated performer throughout most of his career.

Brandon Phillips, 2B -- Another very underrated performer, but not nearly strong enough overall to warrant Hall of Fame consideration. Definitely one of the better 2nd baseman of his era though. Four-time Gold Glove winner and had decent power for a middle infielder.

Jose Reyes, SS -- I'm sure you're immediately poo-poo'ing the idea that Reyes is a Hall of Fame player. I did too. But understand this. Reyes is one of only eight players in MLB history with 2,000 hits, 300 doubles, 100 triples, 100 home runs and 500 steals, and with the exception of Kenny Lofton, everyone else on that list is in the Hall of Fame. Will he get in? Probably not. Is he worthy of discussing? Maybe.

Omar Vizquel, SS -- Was a great defensive player but hit with the same proficiency as Mark Belanger. If you're willing to concede he had fewer big hits than Hall and Oates and you're going to super-focus on his defense, then you can talk about Vizquel in Cooperstown. I'm not willing to make that concession. Hitting matters. Sorry, Omar.

Jose Bautista, OF -- Don't blame me. I didn't put him on the ballot. Sure, he had a 5-year run where he was one of the game's most dangerous power hitters. But you can't put a guy in the HOF because he had 5 or 6 great years. Albert Belle had 10 great years. He's nowhere to be found in Cooperstown. Bautista is a no-go.

Adrian Gonzalez, 1B -- A lot like Bautista, but a little bit better overall. Was a very good defensive player and could hit for power and average. Definitely a Hall of Very Good candidate, but not close to a Cooperstown invite.

Jimmy Rollins, SS -- Was a league MVP in 2007, but for the most part he was just a very good player for a long period of time. Was never really "great", other than in 2007. Not Cooperstown material.

Bartolo Colon, pitcher -- No, no, no. I realize we'd all like to give him the "great for the sport" vote, but Bartolo Colon wasn't a Hall of Fame pitcher. He had a good career with a few very good seasons scattered in there. He won the Cy Young award with the Angels in 2005 but that was his zenith. He did win 247 times, which is impressive. But a career ERA of 4.12 doesn't cut it.

Francisco Rodriguez, relief pitcher -- Was dominant for the better part of a decade. Not sure he's a Hall of Famer, but he was certainly one of the more reliable closers of his era. Doesn't get my vote, but if you're hellbent on voting for him, I won't fight you over it.

David Wright, 3B -- The first of several "sad stories" on the ballot. Was probably going to Cooperstown had he not encountered back issues in his late 20's. As it is, he still had a terrific career, but it was really only 6 (great) years in length. Not a Hall of Fame player because of his early retirement.

Matt Holliday, OF -- He's 100% a first ballot "Hall of Very Good" player but that's as far as he goes, unfortunately. 316 career home runs and 2100 hits. If he could have reached 400 and 2500, then you could really make a case for him. Sadly, there's no Cooperstown for him.

Torii Hunter, OF -- It's kind of crazy that Hunter, with his numbers, has never received more than 9.5% of the vote. 2400+ hits, 353 home runs, 9 Gold Glove awards. He was one of the best all around baseball players of his era. Yet he's been widely disrespected by the voters. I'm not sure what else he needed to do to earn selection to Cooperstown? 400 homers? 2700 hits? So we're keeping him out over 3 homers per-season and 15 hits per-season? He should be in Cooperstown just the way he is. Hunter would be on my ballot in 2024.

Mark Buehrle, pitcher -- It's a colossal embarrassment that Buehrle is still not in Cooperstown. Three years of eligibility and the best he's done is 10.8%. The voters...did they actually watch baseball in the 2000's? Buehrle made 30 or more starts in 15 consecutive years and threw 200 or more innings in 14 straight seasons. He won 214 games. Compiled a 3.81 career ERA while pitching every year but one in the American League during the roided-up period of MLB. He threw both a no-hitter and perfect game. How he isn't in the Hall of Fame is a bigger mystery then what happened to the career of Dido. If you only allowed me to pick one player for Cooperstown in 2024, I'd pick Buehrle. He's on my ballot.

Andy Pettitte, pitcher -- The PED issue clouds his candidacy, but the stats certainly support the southpaw's selection to the Hall of Fame. With 256 career wins and a 3.85 ERA in over 3100 regular season innings, he's really close to being Cooperstown-worthy. Throw in a 3.81 ERA in 276 innings of post-season pitching and now you have a real case for him. I, unfortunately, have a hard-and-fast rule as it relates to Cooperstown. I wouldn't vote for anyone who tested positive for PED's. And Pettitte did. If he's on your ballot because you don't care about that stuff, I won't argue with you. But he's not on my ballot due to the PED admission.

Bobby Abreu, OF -- Extremely productive and equally as underrated. Hall of Very Good without question. Hall of Fame? Nope. 2,500 hits. 288 home runs. 400 steals. If "WAR" is your thing, he was a 5-WAR player seven times. Outstanding career.

Billy Wagner, relief pitcher -- Almost made it last year with 68% of the vote. Just needs a few more votes this year (assuming those who voted for him last year vote for him this year) and he's going to make it. The stats would tell you he's the best left-handed closer of all-time. 2.31 career ERA. 1.00 career WHIP. Only two relief pitchers (Rivera and Hoffman) had a better career WAR than Wagner. Wagner is on my ballot in 2024.

Chase Utley, 2B -- Was very good once he became an everyday player, but that's not enough for Cooperstown. Didn't even reach 2,000 career hits. Solid career, but nothing more.

Gary Sheffield, OF -- Such a shame he was on the juice, because he was one of the more dynamic offensive players of his generation. Almost 2700 hits, 509 HR, 253 stolen bases. But all of that goes out the window thanks to his steroid admission and involvement in the BALCO scandal. Can't be a Hall of Famer when you admitted you were on the juice.

Todd Helton, 1B -- 2,500 hits. 369 homers. The argument against him is "he played in Colorado for 17 seasons." With a .287/.386/.469 career line on the road in his career, Helton was more than competent away from Coors Field. He was 11 votes shy of reaching the 75 percent threshold last year in his fifth year of eligibility after starting out with only 16.5 percent support in 2019. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't make it this year. Helton would be on my ballot in 2024.

Joe Mauer, C/1B -- Was one of the best hitters in all of baseball for a span of six years, but concussions forced him to first base and his career never fully blossomed into Hall of Fame worthy. Just not enough of a body of work to gain entry into Cooperstown. Great hitter, for sure. But needed to put in 15 or 18 years of that kind of production.

Carlos Beltran, OF -- He's one of only five players in MLB history with 400 home runs and 300 steals, joining Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays and Andre Dawson. Would be automatic had he reached 3,000 hits (finished with 2725) or 500 homers (435), but there's no doubt he was one of the most talented offensive players in either league throughout his career. The sign-stealing issue in Houston might be his black cloud and there were always rumors that he was on the juice. Received 46.5% of the vote last year in his first go-round of eligibility. Will likely get to 75% as long as the sign-stealing stuff doesn't haunt him. He's a sticky one for me because I *think* he was on PED's, but without a positive test or public admission, I can't hold that against him. Beltran would be on my ballot in 2024.

Manny Ramirez, OF -- Would have been a slam-dunk Hall of Fame player if not for two PED-related suspensions late in his career. Was one of the most feared hitters in baseball for 10-12 years, but there's little doubt that most of his career was spent fiddling around with steroids. 555 career homers should get him into Cooperstown without any thought, but it's unlikely he'll get the 75% vote that he needs. I wouldn't vote for him, despite his prolific offensive career.

Alex Rodriguez, SS/3B -- Well, you're talking about one of the best offensive baseball players in history. But he's an admitted steroid user. He's only received 35% of the vote in his first two years of eligibility. I can't imagine it's going to go up from there. There's no use in spewing his stats. They were all great. He was a tremendous player. But he can't go on my ballot.

Andruw Jones, OF -- If ever a player without 2,000 career hits deserved to be in the Hall of Fame, this is the guy. There have been four players IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL who hit 400 home runs and collected at least 10 Gold Glove awards. Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Schmidt and -- Andruw Jones. He reached 58.1% of the vote last year in his 4th year on the ballot. He's closing in on Cooperstown. Jones would be on my ballot in 2024.

Adrian Beltre, 3B -- What didn't he do? Had over 3,000 hits, hit 477 home runs, was a 5-time Gold Glove third baseman. Anything you wanted him to do on the baseball field, he did. Only 58 players have earned Hall of Fame selection in their first year on the ballot. He should be the 59th this December. There's no way Adrian Beltre isn't a Hall of Famer. Why the wait? Vote him in now. Beltre would be on my ballot in 2024.

So there's my 2024 ballot.

Adrian Beltre

Andruw Jones

Carlos Beltran

Todd Helton

Billy Wagner

Mark Buehrle

Torii Hunter

You've seen the 26 players on this year's ballot. Who are your picks? Remember, you're allowed to make anywhere from 0 to 10 selections.

Monday November 20, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3374

tiger's back....again

Declan sent me an e-mail on Sunday that got me to thinking.

And while I don't have an answer for him, I completely agree with his premise.

"Have you ever charted the bad beats you get vs. the lucky wins?," Declan wrote. "I think it's 5/1. For every 5 bad beats you get, you pick up 1 win where you were on the good end of the bad beat, if that makes any sense."

Of course it does.

I guess that depends on what your opinion of a "bad beat" is in gambling. I tend to say anything is a bad beat where you were on the wrong end of a half point in football or a basket in basketball. Those two are the worst.

I had one on Sunday, of course. I played an admittedly all-over-the-place small wager on the Browns/Steelers under (hit), the Lions/Bears over (hit), Dallas covering (hit), the Bills covering (hit), the Jaguars covering (hit) and Houston covering.

All I needed was Houston to beat Arizona by 5.5 points. Or six, as it were. They beat the Cardinals by 5, 21-16.

In my world, that's a bad beat. 5 of 6 right, all I needed was a team to win by 5.5 or more and they win by 5. You can't make that stuff up.

Now, let me also say this: It was one of those "shot in the dark" wagers where I knew all along I probably wouldn't win. It's hard enough to hit a 2-team parlay, let alone a 6-way parlay. But had it hit, I would have been one really happy guy.

And when it got down to Houston/Arizona (with Houston up 21-16 throughout the 4th quarter) and needing a 6 point win, I thought I was in good shape and out of harm's way.

Alas, the bad beat.

In fairness, "real" bad beats are more about when one side has the spread or the total in their hip pocket and something wacky happens and you go from holding the winning ticket to the losing ticket in a flash. Scott Van Pelt on ESPN does a wonderful job on Monday nights of chronicling a handful of bad beats from the weekend.

It's funny. And Van Pelt plays it perfectly, laughing along with what we're all about to see. But it's only funny if you didn't have Toledo minus 5.5 and they give up two meaningless three pointers in the final 3 seconds of the game to win 78-73.

Anyway, Declan says bad beats should be charted. Because, somehow, it's a 5/1 ratio. I don't know if that's right, but I'm going to pretend that it is.

And so, that begs the question: Why is that? Why isn't it 5/1 the other way around?

I think Declan is right. I think you see a lot more instances of the team you have getting snipped by a half point than you do the team you have squeaking out a win by a half point.

But why?

Any smart people in the room have an answer?

Matt P. sent me an e-mail about Tiger Woods that I thought was worth answering here.

"Drew, why do you continue to fly Tiger's flag? I'm surprised a guy like you wouldn't have figured it out by now. He's an attention whore and a less than stellar human being. As soon as he announces he's playing again in a made for TV tournament that benefits him, you're right back on the band wagon flying his flag. I'd rather read about the Ravens or Orioles any day of the week other than a washed up golfer with an ego the size of California."

DF says: "There's a lot to unpack with that one, Matt. Seems like you're not a Tiger fan. Well, I am. I always have been. I was "with him" during his good times and stuck with him during his "bad times".

It's very similar, I'd say, to being a fan of a sports team. You're with them when they're winning and things are going well. And you're with them (or supposed to be) when things go south, too. I mean, what's the logic in abandoning your favorite team or player when they're down? That's actually when they need you the most, I'd say."

So, yes, I'm still here, waving Tiger's flag as you say. I laughed at the "attention whore" comment because my guess is Tiger has had enough attention in his life. What he probably really wants is to not be Tiger Woods any longer. Of course, that's impossible. And he'll never have anonymity in his life.

But I highly doubt Tiger needs any more attention than he's already received. I don't know much about Tiger, but I think I know that. He can't go get a coffee in West Palm like you and I can. He can't go out for chinese food like you and I can. He can't go Christmas shopping like you and I can. Purely from an attention standpoint, I think he'd trade places with you and I tomorrow.

I'm excited he's playing again. Golf is way better and infinitely more interesting any weekend Tiger's playing. It just is. Anyone arguing golf is better without Woods is a candidate for "Moronic Comment of The Year". He has two records within his reach, although I think it's a massive longshot to believe he can win 3 more majors. But one more "regular" win and he sets the all-time record with 83 career wins. That's worth following, in my opinion. It's golf history, potentially.

Most people I know who don't like Tiger have disdain for him and his personal flaws, which have all been made very public over the years. I tend to compartmentalize those by acknowledging my own sins and blemishes. I have plenty of them, too. I'm just glad I don't have people following me around 24/7 holding out their cell phones to see what kind of cream I put in my coffee or what kind of running shoes I'm wearing.

I don't know Tiger at all. I've been in his presence twice. Both times it was in a "golf setting" and he was locked in, talking golf, and I saw him in his environment, comfortable and pleasant. Perhaps when he's not in a golf setting he's different. I wouldn't know. Neither do you, of course.

But what I see of Tiger is a guy who is just trying to move through life and do whatever it is he can to make an impact, whether that's by playing at a high level, designing courses, doting on his two children or running his charitable foundation that employs 40 people and raises millions of dollars for boys and girls in Southern California.

Skeptics always say, "Sure, Tiger has a foundation. For tax purposes." Saying that discounts any of the children Tiger's foundation has impacted. Would you rather a high profile athlete organize and run a foundation that benefits people or would you rather them not do that? I want the foundation being run and the community benefit, myself.

So, I just don't see why there's so much disdain and angst for Woods, other than the obvious issue that still rears its head in our country even though we're in the year 2023. Other than race, I'm not sure why you would have so much dislike for someone who hasn't ever done anything wrong to you, personally. Mistakes? He's had some, indeed. So have the rest of us.

I don't care much about the Hero World Challenge and I'm not even 100% I'll watch it, but when the Masters rolls around next April and Woods is in the field, the tournament will be bigger than life. That's why Tiger's iumportant to golf. He makes the Masters in 2024, not the other way around."

Brian T. asks -- "Can Joe Flacco help the Cleveland Browns, Drew?"

DF says -- "I'm not sure that's even the question, really. The question is can he help more than the other two guys (Thompson-Robinson and Walker) they already have?

And I don't know the answer to that question. I do know this, though. Joe's style is much different than the other two. That's 100% for certain.

And with that style comes a certain comfort level, I guess. The Browns know if they have to play Joe that they're going to get a guy with a wealth of experience who will probably protect the ball at all costs and not be quite as turnover prone as the others.

The Browns know they're not getting a fleet-footed guy who can run for 50 yards on a series just as easily as he can throw for 50.

But they also know they're getting a guy who won't vomit in the huddle when it's 24-20 with 1:30 to go and he has to drive the offense 70 yards for the winning touchdown.

Can he help?

I don't think he can hurt, that's for sure.

By signing him, the Browns also made sure the Bengals didn't sign him. That's another consideration that makes sense.

I don't think Joe is "washed", as the kids say, but I also think he's clearly in the December of his career.

Would it shock me if Joe makes little to no impact? Not at all.

Would it surprise me if he somehow engineers a couple of wins for the Browns that help them make the post-season? Not at all.

Cleveland's schedule is pretty easy, really: They have Denver (away), L.A. Rams (away), Jacksonville (home), Chicago (home), Houston (away), New York Jets (home) and Cincinnati (away).

They're 7-3 right now, somehow. That looks like a 10-7 record (or better) no matter who quarterbacks the team. They'll beat Chicago and the Jets in Cleveland and win one of those other games against Denver, the Rams or Jaguars.

Whether it's Flacco getting them to 10 wins remains to be seen, but my summary of his signing is this: He can't hurt."

around the nfl

BROWNS 13 - STEELERS 10 -- This was a real thriller in Cleveland. The Steelers showed us just how fraudulent they are. Couldn't beat the Browns with a back-up QB when they held them to just 13 points on the day.

TEXANS 21 - CARDINALS 16 -- Texans move to 6-4 and are very much alive and well in the AFC playoff picture. C.J. Stroud is on the fast track to Rookie of the Year honors and, frankly, should be a consideration for league MVP with the way he's helped the Texans come up off the mat. He did throw 3 interceptions in yesterday's win over hapless Arizona, though.

JAGUARS 34 - TITANS 14 -- Jacksonville: back on track. Tennessee: off the rails. Tennessee better find themselves a quarterback and quick.

DOLPHINS 20 - RAIDERS 13 -- Not the offensive explosion we thought we might see from the Dolphins but a win is a win. And the Raiders are back to earth after beating two JV teams.

COWBOYS 33 - PANTHERS 10 -- This was a good win for Dallas. Comfortable, methodical and without worry. Dak Prescott only had to throw for 189 yards in this one. The Dallas "D" did most of the work and the Cowboys scored almost at will.

LIONS 31 - BEARS 26 -- Bears gonna Bears. Or something like that. Chicago had this game locked up right up until they didn't. Detroit scores two touchdowns and a safety in the final 3 minutes of the game to steal one in Detroit and improve to 8-2. The Lions are dangerous. They're actually starting to believe they're a good team.

PACKERS 23 - CHARGERS 20 -- Justin Herbert has to be the best QB in the league who gets almost ZERO help from any of his offensive players. Dropped passes, fumbles near the goalline, etc. The Ravens will get to see him next Sunday night in Los Angeles. Let's hope L.A. offensive woes continue for just one more week.

GIANTS 31 - COMMANDERS 19 -- It's amazing how poorly Washington plays against the Giants. No matter how bad the Giants are, they can always beat D.C. I assume this game is the one Commanders' execs will point to when they fire Ron Rivera.

49'ERS 27 - BUCCANEERS 14 -- San Francisco is legit, but they were just "ho hum" yesterday against the Bucs. Tampa Bay is actually still alive in the NFC South despite being 4-6 now.

BILLS 32 - JETS 6 -- Holy cow, the Jets are bad. I guess we knew that, but yesterday it was in high definition. They are B-A-D, bad, bad, bad. Buffalo needed a breather like that to get their chakras back in life and scratch their way into the playoffs.

RAMS 17 - SEAHAWKS 16 -- Seattle missed a field goal at the buzzer to fall in this one. Los Angeles is still hanging in there despite not being able to score any points. The Seahawks, as we saw in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago, are very hot-and-cold. There's not much there, that's for sure.

BRONCOS 21 - VIKINGS 20 -- That loud bang you heard around 11:30 pm was Josh Dobbs falling back to earth. With a thud. Denver is pretty lousy, but Russell Wilson engineered a late drive that included a remarkable catch Courtland Sutton for the Broncos' only TD of the game. Maybe that was just an off night for Dobbs, but he looked out of his element at times. Denver's defense is decent, it's worth noting.

Sunday November 19, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3373

reflect and "experience" the day

This edition of #DMD has become a rite of passage around here during the NFL season.

I use the first weekend where the Ravens aren't playing and I take a trip down memory lane, if for no other reason than to remind myself that having a coach to ridicule or a quarterback to complain about is far better than what we had in these parts from 1984 through 1995.

A lot of you reading this only heard about the Colts leaving Baltimore. You've seen the video of that snowy night in March. You've seen or heard people like me talk about the uniforms, helmets and disdain for all things Indianapolis. You've sensed the tension in the stadium anytime the Colts come back to town, even some 40 years later.

I experienced it.

A number of you reading this experienced it with me. For some, like me, it might have been the first time you say your father cry.

I say this with absolutely zero disrespect intended for the Ravens and what they've built here. They have been a wonderful addition to our community and have impacted us all greatly since 1996. But if they announced tomorrow they were moving to (insert city here), I most certainly wouldn't shed a tear over it.

I bring that up more to point out what the Colts meant to the community back in those days.

The Ravens are a football team that plays in Baltimore.

The Colts were Baltimore. Embedded. Stitched in and unable to remove. The Colts gave Baltimore life.

And then, suddenly, in 1984, it was all gone.

Two decades ago when I was on the radio, the annual discussion about Art Modell being selected to the Hall of Fame would always present itself around this time of year.

From day one, I said it and I never changed my tune: I don't think any owner who moves a sports franchise should ever go into the Hall of Fame.

Including Art Modell.

That's just my opinion. You can obviously point to people like Al Davis and say "He's in, so shouldn't Art be in?" and that's your rebuttal and your argument to make and I'll hear it. But I'm not changing my stance. I didn't back then and here we are, in 2023, and I still feel the same.

Sure, the people in Cleveland got to keep their name, colors and history. And that, for sure, was an incredibly noble gesture by Modell, although there's little doubt that "Baltimore Browns" wouldn't have looked, felt or sounded "right" in the long run.

But the reality is, Modell did to Cleveland exactly what Irsay did to Baltimore. He took the team and left their stadium empty on Sundays in 1996.

But I digress...

I take this first "empty" Sunday of each football season and, personally, almost treat it like a holiday of sorts. Sure, I'm here today working (insert your quip here), writing, thinking about sports. But I use this day to reflect on what life was like back in 1984.

There was no mention of "Baltimore" in the NFL round-up.

No reference to the Baltimore team in the pre-game shows.

No halftime highlights or post-game discussion about the Baltimore whatever-they're-called.

Today, if you play along, this is what it was like in 1984. There was no football in Baltimore from September through December.

I'll spend my Sunday doing non-football stuff. Church this morning, some much needed yardwork and winter-prep in the afternoon, and then maybe I'll head to Eagle's Nest and hit some golf balls around 3:00 pm for an hour or so.

My 16-year old son will be hanging out today while his mother and sister go to the Mercy High School musical. I'll take some time to mention to him how we didn't have football for a decade or so. I'll tell him about the team moving. He's heard the stories before, but it's always going to remind him of what he has and what I didn't have.

I've said this here before. At the time the Colts left, I was knee-deep in the early days of my Blast front office career. It's certainly not a stretch to say we, the indoor soccer team, benefitted from the Colts leaving. There were more sponsor dollars available, for starters. And we didn't have to schedule around the Colts playing a home game, either.

But the best Blast seasons in Baltimore, from a combined attendance and general enthusiasm standpoint, came when the Colts were in Baltimore.

The Blast were on fire as a product from the 1981-82 season through the 1984-85 season. It was during that stretch we sold out the arena 56 consecutive nights.

Something happened when the Colts left, though. We stayed around and continued to draw good crowds and all, routinely putting 10,000 in the building, but the city lost a hunk of its zeal for sports circa 1985.

I bring up the Blast merely to reflect on my personal experience of the Colts leaving. It didn't impact me all that much simply because I worked nearly every weekend anyway. But I could feel what it did to my mom and dad and I could feel what it did to the community on the whole.

Like most boys who grew up in the 1960's and 1970's, perhaps my two fondest memories in my life were going to football and baseball games at Memorial Stadium with my father. I always used to joke with Toni Linhart when we see one another at a summer charity golf outing that I was one of those people who claim to have been at the "fog game" who actually was there. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Someone remarked here earlier in the week that Oriole Park is the "best stadium ever built". I realize that was mainly hyperbole and not intended to be a scientifically-proven statistical fact, but it's also wrong.

Oriole Park doesn't hold a candle to Memorial Stadium.

Memorial Stadium was a place where men showed up to play sports.

The field wasn't always perfect.

There were football lines on the infield in September.

The grass wasn't always green.

It reeked of beer and discarded mustard packs.

It was, for anyone my age who grew up back then, a cathedral unlike anything I'd ever seen.

In a lot of ways, I'm sad I never got to show Memorial Stadium to my son. All he knows are the two stadiums we have now, beautiful in their own right, but 100% fabricated and heartless.

In 1980, the biggest complaint about Memorial Stadium were the poles that made a number of lower deck seats "obstructed view".

These days, the biggest complaint is the food stands ran out of tartar sauce for your crabcake. Or the person next to you smokes enough weed to qualify as a Dave Matthews Band roadie.

But I digress...

Today, if you're so inclined, "feel" what it's like when you go to the store and no one is wearing their Ravens jersey.

"Feel" what it's like in church when your friends aren't quizzing you about your thoughts on today's game and whether we'll win and hang on to first place.

"Feel" what it's like when you run out to Home Depot and you find the Browns/Steelers game on the radio and you're hearing someone else play football while you're out stocking up on salt for the driveway.

Those "feels" should take you back to 1984, when we started a decade-long run of having no team in Charm City.

We're blessed to have the Ravens.

That's for sure.

But a lot of us still remember what it was like from 1984 through 1996.

Maybe, as I get older, I tend to let football losses drip off of my like water beads after a shower.

I don't like losing. Never have.

But even now, when the Ravens lose a game, I always know this: Losing a game is a lot easier to take than losing a team.

Enjoy your "off" Sunday.

We're back to the grind next Sunday night in Los Angeles.

around the nfl

No Ravens, but still plenty of games.

And some important ones, too.

Our friend Larry is back with another edition of "Fade or Follow". You make the call on the three games he presents.

STEELERS AT BROWNS -- This would have been a good game if Watson was under center for Cleveland. Instead, it will be another ugly win for Pittsburgh, I'm guessing, and we'll have to put up with another week of the "are the Steelers for real?" (Answer: no).

CARDINALS AT TEXANS -- Don't look now but the Texans are 5-4 and firmly in the AFC playoff picture. They should be 6-4 after today's win over Arizona. I realize "any given Sunday" and all, but the Cardinals aren't going to Houston and winning, right? Larry says take the Texans in this one.

TITANS AT JAGUARS -- The Jaguars need a win today to erase the memory of last Sunday's home whipping at the hands of the 49'ers and to also stay ahead of surging Houston. The Titans are 3-6 and just about done in the AFC playoff race. Larry says take the Jaguars in this one.

RAIDERS AT DOLPHINS -- After beating the two New York teams and everyone thinking Antonio Pierce is the next Vince Lombardi, we get to see the Raiders play a real team today. Good luck trying to stop Tyreek Hill, Mr. Pierce.

COWBOYS AT PANTHERS -- Dallas is prone to losing these kind of games. You know, where they face a 1-8 team and should go in there and beat them soundly (like that trip to Arizona a month ago) and somehow wind up in a dogfight with 3 minutes left. The Panthers are better than their 1-8 record indicates. Watch out, Cowboys fans.

BEARS AT LIONS -- This is an epic mismatch, which feels weird to say when the Lions are involved. Because we all know, the Lions are always capable of going back to being the Lions. I don't see that happening today, but I would never bet my house on Detroit's football team to win a game. Like, never. Larry says take the Lions in this one.

CHARGERS AT PACKERS -- Los Angeles really needs a win today to stay alive and vibrant in the AFC playoff picture, especially when they're 4-5 right now and have the Ravens coming to town next week. They could be 4-7 in a heartbeat.

GIANTS AT COMMANDERS -- Giants are done, Commanders are hanging on for dear life. Washington can not afford to lose today. Period. This is a 3-foot putt. Just take your time and ram into the bottom of the cup.

BUCCANEERS AT 49'ERS -- San Francisco got some life pumped back into them with last Sunday's win at Jacksonville. Tampa Bay is starting to look like a team that deceived us in the first month of the campaign.

JETS AT BILLS -- This was routinely a walk in the park for Buffalo, but the Bills aren't very good this season. Neither are the Jets, mind you, but Buffalo just lost at home to Denver. Anything could happen today.

SEAHAWKS AT RAMS -- Baltimore football fans should be rooting for Seattle in this one. The Rams still have to come to Baltimore next month. We'd much prefer the Rams come to town with nothing to play for. A loss today drops them to 3-7 and they're pretty much eliminated.

VIKINGS AT BRONCOS -- I guess this one is interesting because we get to see if Josh Dobbs is really that dude...or not. And we get to watch Russell Wilson "attempt" to play quarterback. Three weeks ago, this game was a mega-dud. Tonight? Might be worth watching.

quick hits

Tiger Woods gave golf fans an early Christmas gift yesterday when he announced he will play at the Hero World Challenge in two weeks in the Bahamas. Woods hasn't played in a tournament since April's Masters. The Hero World Challenge is an event he runs, inviting 20 of the world's top players to compete over four days. Tiger's back. And golf just got more interesting again.

That was a nice performance by Maryland football yesterday. It might have been as much about Michigan not having their coach, but the Terps hung tough with the #3 team in the country before losing 31-24. This is one of those rare occasions where you can say "the football team was more exciting than the basketball team" over the weekend.

Alex Ovechkin picked up his 5th goal of the season last night as the Caps beat Columbus, 4-3. Of course, I had a lovely 3-team (minus 1.5) parlay that would have helped pay for the Forrester family Christmas that went in the tank when Washington, up 3-1 entering the third period, couldn't win by 2 goals or more. And they had an empty net to shoot at and still couldn't finalize the scoring at 5-3. Rat finks...

Speaking of the Forrester family Christmas, it gets helped out big time today if Eric Cole (trailing by one) can win the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia. I won't even watch it. I'll just do what everyone else does in 2023. I'll refresh my phone every six minutes to see if he can hold on for me.

Towson football got a last minute touchdown yesterday to beat visiting Rhode Island, 31-30. The Tigers are now 5-6 in Coach Pete Shinnick's first season on York Road. Thanksgiving will taste a little better for the Tigers this Thursday after that nice win yesterday.

And speaking of Thanksgiving and Towson University, that will be the site of this Thursday's annual "Turkey Bowl" game between Calvert Hall and Loyola Blakefield. Tickets are available at either school. Kick-off is set for 10 am.

Saturday November 18, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3372

the afc is taking shape

OK, so that's the end of the Bengals season.

Cleveland was done earlier this week.

These are unfortunate circumstances and one has to be careful not to revel too much...but the season ending injuries to both Deshaun Watson and Joe Burrow have removed two teams who could have been problematic for the Ravens in January.

It goes without saying that every team in the league is always a quarterback-injury away from being done. See the Ravens in 2021 and 2022. As soon as Lamar went out, the Ravens were no longer a threat to do anything in the play offs.

And the same would go this January for Baltimore, Kansas City, Miami, Jacksonville and, if they make it, Buffalo. If the quarterback in those teams can't play in the post-season, that's the end of the road for them.

As it stands right now, only four AFC teams are capable of winning the conference title; Baltimore, Kansas City, Miami and Jacksonville.

In fairness, Jacksonville is a bit of a stretch. But if they get the right post-season draw and have a home game by virtue of winning the AFC South, they could pose a problem for the rest of the conference.

Buffalo is also a stretch. They have a quality QB and WR, but not much else, it appears. They just lost at home to Denver. It's kind of hard to take the Bills seriously.

Pittsburgh is somehow 6-3. It's more of a mystery than the end of The Departed, where Mark Wahlberg wound up being the only guy who survived the entire 2 hours and 20 minutes.

But they're incapable of winning the AFC. The Steelers offense is lousy and their defense is not going to be able to beat three or four really good teams in January (or December for that matter).

One of these four AFC teams is going to the Super Bowl: Baltimore, Kansas City, Miami and Jacksonville.

The Ravens lost Mark Andrews on Thursday, which isn't going to help their cause. He could potentially be back in mid-January, but that seems very unlikely.

Baltimore gets ten days to recover and hopefully have both Ronnie Humphrey and Marlon Humphrey back for the game in L.A. vs. the Chargers on November 26. But even if those two miss that game, they should definitely both return after the bye and be available for the final five games against Jacksonville, L.A. Rams, San Francisco, Miami and Pittsburgh.

The AFC North has been practically gift-wrapped for the Ravens. Their real goal now should be to secure the #1 or #2 seed in the AFC, which would likely mean they avoid Kansas City until the AFC title game.

In order to finish either #1 or #2, the Ravens will have to beat both the Dolphins and Steelers in Baltimore. Those two games will probably be the swing games that determine Baltimore's post-season seed.

Kansas City and Miami can both score points in bunches, obviously. Their offenses can do more than Baltimore's but neither of those teams have anything close to the same defense as the one in Charm City.

Home field will matter.

Health will matter.

And good fortune will matter.

But with Cincinnati and Cleveland now forced to play without a quality quarterback, the Ravens' chances of appearing in the AFC title game for the first time since the 2013 season.

Two more months of fun to go. Hang on, it's going to be a wild eight weeks.

The Mark Andrews injury on Thursday night sparked a lot of media debate on Friday as players and analysts alike talked about the "hip drop" tackle that contributed to the tight end's (potential) season-ending injury.

Cincinnati linebacker Logan Wilson was the guy who applied the tackle. It might be worth noting that later on in the game he was also involved in a bit of an "interesting" tackle on Lamar Jackson near the sideline. But the tackle Wilson put on Andrews is the one getting the most scrutiny.

A few of you e-mailed asking what I thought about the tackle and whether Wilson should be suspended based on the severity of Andrews' injury.

I could be wrong on this one, because in order to determine what I "think" about the tackle, I'd have to know Wilson's intent. Was he trying to hurt the Baltimore tight end? Or was it just a tackle gone wrong? I doubt Wilson would ever admit that he wanted to injure Andrews.

And I honestly don't think he did. I don't Logan Wilson wanted to end Mark Andrews' season. I think it was a tackle gone wrong.

It's worth nothing that at end of the play, Wilson gets up and gives Andrews a shove with his leg. It might not have been anything or it could have been one of those "how's that foot feel?" kind of reactions after you know you've put a hurtin' on the guy.

But overall, I think it was a tackle Wilson makes 20 times a year and on this occasion, the guy he was tackling got injured.

I'm not flatly defending Wilson by saying this, but I think it rings true in 2023: No one knows how to tackle anyone any longer. And by "knows", I'm talking about from a rules interpretation. Can't tackle the QB, it might be a penalty. Can't hit a wide receiver, it might draw a penalty.

No one knows what's a good tackle and what's a bad tackle. I realize the inherent dangers of the hip drop tackle. I'm assuming the NFL is going to do something about it this off-season. But when you eliminate the hip drop, you've now, once again, altered the landscape of "what's a tackle and what isn't a tackle?"

It's hard enough for these guys to play football and follow the rules. Adding new rules and forcing them into learning new techniques just makes it harder, not easier.

Andy asks -- "Should the NFL Network fire the female reporter who said she's been faking halftime interviews?"

DF says -- "From what I've read, she made those comments about a halftime interview from 15 years ago. It wasn't a current story. If I'm wrong on that, I'm sorry, but that's the way I read the story a couple of days ago.

Obviously, it's not a good thing for a reporter to admit. I mean, when you say, "I just talked with Coach Harbaugh and he told me....." we are all assuming you actually did speak with Coach Harbaugh. If you say you spoke with him and we find out you didn't, you've lost your credibility moving forward.

If the story was current, meaning if she would have admitted to doing that this season, I think she would eventually be fired.

But because it apparently happened 15 years ago, no harm, no foul.

You also know this, though. If she did it once, she probably did it again."

Bart asks -- "The lease still hasn't been signed by the Orioles. What's your gut tell you is the reason?"

DF says -- "Because the Orioles are holding out for more money? Is this a trick question? That can be the only answer, right? They're holding out for something and money seems to be the only thing it could be."

M.J. asks -- "Maryland just got trampled by Villanova tonight (Friday) and only scored 40 points. And now people on the web are asking "Where's Turgeon?". Is this Terps team going to get it together or are they in trouble this season?"

DF says -- "This is a question better suited for Dale Williams because he's the guy who knows everything about Maryland hoops. But it's now starting to look like something Kevin Willard should be concerned with when you see how they're losing. It's one thing if you fight Villanova tooth and nail and lose 77-74 or even 64-60.

Getting run out of the gym and only scoring 40 points? That's a double whammy.

I assume the Terps are going to figure some things out and be decent by the time conference play starts but this 1-3 start is most certainly concerning. They just can't score. You might win a few Big Ten games 53-50, but not many more than that. You need to get into the 60's and 70's regularly. This team looks ill equipped to do that on a consistently basis."

Craig asks -- "Hi Drew, golf question for you that you're welcome to answer in the mailbag instead of a personal reply. I'm a 12.5 index golfer. 44 years old. I hit my tee shot (when I use a driver) about 275 yards. My overall iron game is average and so is my putting but I find myself always having trouble with one aspect of my game. Anyway, my question is this, Is there any reason why playing from the blue tees than the white tees would help my game? At my club the difference in distance is about 300 yards. I'm curious if you think playing from the blues might help make my iron game better since I'll be hitting different clubs than I hit now? Thanks and good luck to Calvert Hall in The Turkey Bowl game."

DF says -- "I actually think the opposite is what you need, but I know you'd be hesitant to do it. You should play ten rounds from the red tees. Your short game will get much sharper that way, you'll hit more greens, make more putts and probably gain some confidence from shooting lower scores.

I know that seems odd given you're actually trying to get better by being able to compete from the blue tees, but I don't see how moving back a set of tees would help you. I tell people this all the time. The best golf I played in my life, from a competitive standpoint, happened from roughly 1998 through 2005 or so. Those also happened to be the years I played at Clifton Park nearly every weekend.

I was able to learn how to score there. I was able to learn how to get to 4 under par through 8 holes and not vomit all over myself. I was able to make birdies in bunches. And I could then take all of that and use it in tournament golf.

As a 12.5 handicap, you probably need to be better in every aspect of the game, but my guess is your short game probably needs a lot of work. Play ten rounds from the red tees, chart your scoring, your fairways hit, your proximity to the hole from 100 yards and in, and your putting, and see if doesn't help you. And check back in with an update please."

Friday November 17, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3371

that was easy

All the drama of last night's game ended within a 3-minute span midway through the 2nd quarter.

Joe Burrow left the game with a bad wrist.

The refs -- via the eye-in-the-sky in New York -- overturned a Bengals catch and first down that should be a catch in any game of any "reputable" professional football league.

Minutes later, they handed out a pass interference call on a deep ball thrown to Zay Flowers that was laughably not anywhere close to pass interference.

Oh, and earlier in the game they also stripped the Ravens of a touchdown on a phantom holding call.

But the football game changed on the three moments initially listed above.

Once Burrow went out with his injury, the game was over.

Any chance Cincinnati had of winning with his replacement, Jake Browning, at the helm was quickly erased by the video reversal and bad officiating.

The Ravens won, by the way. And that's a good thing.

The final score was 34-20.

With the win, Baltimore pretty much put an end to Cincinnati's division title hopes. The Ravens improved to 8-3 with the win while the Bengals fell to 5-5. And because they lost twice to the Ravens in the regular season, Cincy would have to finish with a better record than the Ravens to win the division.

That's not happening.

The evening wasn't all cake and ice cream, unfortunately. Mark Andrews suffered what is likely a season-ending ankle injury in the first quarter. The Ravens offense is already challenged enough without losing one of Lamar's favorite targets.

And Odell Beckham Jr. went down awkwardly on his shoulder late in the 3rd quarter and left the field with the team doctor. After the game, John Harbaugh said it didn't look too serious, but I think we all know about the history of reporting injuries in Baltimore and how "he'll miss a few days" turns into "6 to 8 weeks".

But, as we suggested would happen in yesterday's edition of #DMD, Lamar Jackson put on the cape and played like a franchise quarterback last night.

And for one night at least, because the team won, John Harbaugh, Todd Monken and Mike Macdonald are back in everyone's good graces.

Oddly, you didn't find many compliments on the internet for those three last night. Last Monday morning, in the aftermath of the loss to Cleveland, the fan base wanted those three chased out of town. This morning, those same people aren't giving the coaches any credit.

It always works that way.

But a win is a win, especially when it comes against one of your AFC North rivals.

The Ravens offense was efficient last night, even without Andrews for the bulk of the game.

The defense was good, although it's fair to point out that the Bengals offense moved the ball nicely when Burrow was in the game.

John Harbaugh's team is now 3-2 in the division with a home game against Pittsburgh remaining on the final weekend of the season.

Thursday's game was far more critical for the Bengals. They really needed a win. As it stands now, they're 5-5, might not have a healthy quarterback moving forward, and their schedule down the stretch is very difficult.

They didn't get it.

And the Ravens and Steelers are now on a collision course for the division title.

friday q&a

M.C. asks -- "What do you think the PECOTA predicted win total will be for the Orioles next spring?"

DF says -- "Great question. You're trying to create a number that will get people to really think about which end they want to take, right? I'll say their total is 85.5. Take the over and they have to go at least 86-76. Take the under and they have to go 85-77 or worse. I feel like they're a steal at 86 wins. But they always a Gunnar knee injury or back injury away from going 78-84. I'll remember to check it out next spring. You've piqued my interest now!"

Conway asks -- "I'm not sure if you read the article in Golfweek today about Rory leaving the Player Board and what Lanto Griffin had to say. If you did, what do you think? If you didn't, go read the article and then tell me what you think!"

DF says -- "I read it. Thoroughly, in fact. I get Lanto Griffin's point. The TOUR is tilted heavily towards rewarding the top 10 or 15 guys. There's no two ways about that. The fact is, though, no one's going to their TV set in mid June to watch Lanto Griffin play golf. I'm sure he realizes that.

His main point about going head to head with the top players in the FedEx Cup playoffs and not playing for the same amount of points in various events is definitely a fair one. At some stage, shouldn't all the players have to play one another on a completely level playing field?

But, again, what winds up flying under the radar is the obvious: Don't like the way McIlroy and the other top stars get a bunch of benefits? Play like them and join the club.

The scorecard is always the equalizer. Want the same benefits and treatment as Justin Thomas? Beat him."

B.R. asks -- "With Oakland's move to Las Vegas now official as of today (Thursday), are you willing to concede that the Orioles leaving for Nashville is now a little bit more of a reality. I've heard you say that 24 owners would never approve the Orioles leaving but 24 owners approved the A's moving to Vegas."

DF says -- "Get a chair. Take a seat. Listen to me. The Orioles are not moving to Nashville. One more time. The. Orioles. Are. Not. Moving. To. Nashville.

There have been two lousy franchises in baseball, attendance wise, over the last 15-20 years. Two teams. The Tampa Bay Rays. And the Oakland A's.

Tampa Bay has been rumored to move two or three times over the last 20 years. They got scared down there and did the smart thing. They're building the Rays a new stadium.

If they would have built the A's a new stadium in Oakland, they wouldn't have ever moved.

It's all about the stadium. No one goes to the games in Oakland. The team is pretty much irrelevant.

And without a stadium and with no one going to the games, why keep the team there?

I hate that any city loses their team. I hate it. Hate it. Hate it.

But this is all on the city of Oakland. They failed the A's.

The Orioles are not the Rays or A's in any way.

They have fan support. They have a functional, working stadium that is still very much a "modern" facility. The team's performance on the field is on the upswing.

The Orioles aren't going anywhere."

David Rosenfeld asks -- "DF, thought I'd throw a question(s) at you. What do you think of all the YouTube golf? Do you or your son watch a lot? I love it. Not gonna say I'm obsessed with it, but I absolutely spend hours watching it. I even bought some merchandise from Good Good. And why didn't I think of a career developing golf content for a living?"

I love "golf" on YouTube. I've discovered and follow the work of several outstanding instructors on YouTube. One of my favorite lessons is from an instructor named Milo Lines shown below.

It's all about the set-up. It's 5 minutes long. It's one of the best 5 minutes you can ever invest in your golf game.

I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of "Good Good". I don't feel like getting into it, but in general I just don't like the "presentation" the guys make. It's just not the way I think golf should "look".

But I respect the fact that they're producing quality golf content, as are plenty of others out there.

I love that all the Masters tournaments that have been televised are now on YouTube as well. I think most of the U.S. Opens are, too. It's great to have golf history available with a click.

faith in sports

There's been discussion here recently about the subject of athletes giving praise to God or Jesus in a press conference/interview type setting where their message gets broadcast to a large audience.

I found a very interesting interview with former professional wrestler Shawn Michaels that fits right in with the topic of athletes giving credit to God.

Michaels has an incredible personal story. It's filled with massive ups and downs. It's also filled with redemption, too.

Thanks, as always, to our friends at Freestate Electrical for their continued support of #DMD and our "Faith in Sports" section here every Friday.

	#DMD GAME DAY Week 11 Sunday — November 16, 2023 Issue #3370
	Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens 8:15 PM EDT M&T Bank Stadium Baltimore, MD Spread: Ravens (-3.5)

lamar to the rescue

This game, tonight, comes down to the quarterback.

The one in Baltimore, that is.

With Ronnie Stanley officially out, the burden increases on Lamar Jackson.

The bet here is he rises to the occasion in a big way.

It's very cliche-like to say it, but it's true: This is why you pay Lamar $50 million a year. He wins games for you like the one you're facing tonight.

Is this a game the Ravens could lose tonight? Of course. The Bengals aren't chopped liver, despite their injuries and wobbly 5-4 record.

But Lamar Jackson isn't going to take another home "L" tonight. He's just not.

Jackson shines brightest in these kind of games, particularly when they're in Baltimore. Joe Burrow is going to have to come to town and beat Lamar in his own building. I just don't see it working out that way.

Lamar will get some help from the running game this evening. Gus Edwards (77 yards), Keaton Mitchell (41 yards) and Justice Hill (19 yards) will rack up decent numbers to help support Jackson's 60 yards on the ground. The Ravens finish the night with 197 yards on the ground.

Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has done a super job game-planning against Burrow and the Cincy offense in his four efforts over the last two years. Whatever he's done previously, he should continue to do tonight. With wide receiver Tee Higgins expected to be out, Burrow's options are even more limited. Macdonald and the Baltimore defense should be able to feast this evening.

With Wednesday's news about Deshaun Watson's injury, the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers are now the only teams left in the division with a chance to win 11 or 12 games. 12 will most certainly win the division. 11 should easily garner a playoff spot. 10 wins would probably be enough, even.

But in terms of the AFC North title, tonight's game is critical for the Bengals. A loss this evening and they're cooked. They'd fall to 5-5 overall, 0-3 in the division, will have lost the tiebreaker to the Ravens, and will be pretty much eliminated from the division race.

A win and they're still in the hunt.

The Ravens need to win too. But they have a little bit of breathing room thanks in part to that week #2 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati.

The pressure is all on the Bengals tonight. A loss and they're in big trouble.

How will the Ravens attack this game? With Lamar doing the bulk of the heavy lifting is my guess.

Gus Edwards lugs it in for one TD and Jackson also rushes for a touchdown as well.

Lamar throws for 249 yards on the night, including a 44-yard paydirt strike to Zay Flowers in the 3rd quarter.

In the fourth quarter, up 24-19, Jackson engineers a critical 11-play, 81 yard drive that culminates in a Justin Tucker field goal to make it 27-19 with 2:44 remaining. The Bengals go down the field and score a touchdown with 38 seconds left, aided in part by two defensive penalties called against the Ravens.

But Cincinnati fails to successfully complete the 2-point conversion and the Ravens pull out a narrow 27-25 win.

thursday mailbag

Brian asks -- "At what age should junior golfers start a golf specific exercise and diet program? My 14 year old attends a public high school in Harford County (fall sport) and their "training" consists of practice two days a week. The coach doesn't care what they eat or drink or how much exercise or physical activity they do. Should he be involved in golf specific training at his age?"

DF says -- "Well, the answer to that question has to come after another question is answered first.

"How serious is he about golf?"

If the answer is "very serious", then now is the time to get him started. My suggestion would be to get him into a swimming pool regularly. I believe swimming and biking are two of the best forms of exercise you can do for golf. At Calvert Hall, we do a lot of work with 16 pound medicine balls. Those exercises are all over the internet (YouTube). Get him a 16-pound medicine ball and let him work with those.

I'd also suggest you get him involved in a very serious, daily, 15-20 minute stretching program. Again, the internet or a personal trainer is the way to go for this one. Stretching is one of the more simple, but vital, things a young golfer can do to start preparing their body for a lifetime of strenuous golf.

There is a direct correlation between exercise, training, stretching and playing better golf. It's also probably a good time to start working good foods into his diet. Research has showed that apples, carrots, green peppers and cucumbers are outstanding "snack foods" for young golfers. I know it's hard to do this at 14 years of age, but keep him away from soda and or any beverage with added sugars in them. Water and green tea are best.

If you can get him to buy into the swimming/biking/medicine ball plan and limit his soda/sugar intake, he'll see benefits in his golf game for sure. I hope it goes well for him!"

Rick C. asks -- "Is it over for the Boss? Canceled summer tour. Everything moved to next year. Have we seen him reach the end of "Thunder Road" so to speak?"

DF says -- "I can't imagine it's "over". It sounds like he had a legitimate health issue that required time off and rest. Once he gets the health concern under control, I'm sure he'll be back touring. I'm not very locked into the Springsteen underground, if you will, so I don't know what the streets are saying.

But I'm guessing he'll be back good as new next year."

Jerry G. asks -- "I know you wrote about the hockey situation in England a couple of weeks ago but now that there's been an arrest has your opinion changed about the intent of the kick to the throat? Just curious if you've changed your outlook."

DF says -- "Not really. I said from the start that I think he was definitely trying to hurt the guy. But I certainly don't think he thought he was going to kill him. Therein lies the issue, I guess. Was he trying to inflict pain on the guy or injure him in some way when he kicked at him? I think so.

But did he say to himself as the shift started, "You know, if I get a clean shot on that Johnson guy, I'm going to try to kick him in the throat, cut him, and maybe kill him."?? I don't believe that for one second.

It was a terrible hit. It was reckless and dangerous and negligent. But his intention wasn't to kill him. Should he be playing hockey again? No way. Should he be severely punished for what he did? Without question."

Wayne asks -- "Are we going to get any kind of update from you on the Blast's upcoming season? Any news involving Giani Tuminello, the ex-GM facing charges for signing bad checks and stealing money?"

DF says -- "I'd be fibbing to you if I said I follow the Blast closely enough to know anything about their upcoming season. I always make it out to a few games each season to catch up with old friends but I'm certainly not a day-to-day follower of what they do.

I sat with Kevin Healey -- their ex-coach and GM -- a month or so ago at a Calvert Hall soccer game and I got an update on the league and other things. Kevin is now the GM in Harrisburg where his son, Pat, is the head coach. But that's about the extent of my indoor soccer interest these days.

I don't have any kind of update on Giani's situation other than I know his court date is January 24 and he's facing a number of very serious charges.

The Blast's home opener is Saturday, December 2nd at Towson (nee SECU) Arena. I hope you can make it out there!"

	RANDY MORGAN on American soccer
Americans are playing more and more of a vital role in international soccer these days, and Randy Morgan has his eyes on all of them for #DMD. Each week here, he looks at recent performances of American players and highlights upcoming games of importance.

november u.s. soccer report

This week brings another break in the club soccer schedule for international games. With the first round of their playoffs completed, MLS is also breaking for this international window, ready to pick up with the conference semifinals late next week.

The US men will play a pair of games during this window in a home and away series with Trinidad & Tobago.

These games are technically the first meaningful games they will play since Gregg Berhalter was re-hired as head coach. The games are part of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals and more importantly will also serve as the qualifiers for next summer’s 2024 Copa America.

Despite some unpleasant memories from the failure in Trinidad during the 2018 World Cup qualification, the US should breeze to victory in this two game set, as they have dominated the small Caribbean nation ever since and also get the first leg at home.

The US will host Trinidad & Tobago on Thursday night at 9pm in Austin, Texas, then they will head to T&T for the return leg on Monday at 7pm. Even with important starters Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, and Tyler Adams missing with injuries, they have more than enough talent to easily secure Copa America qualification.

MLS Playoffs –

The MLS Playoffs wrapped up the best of three first round series this past weekend, narrowing the field to the final eight.

In the Eastern Conference, the favorites advanced in each series. Top seed FC Cincinnati lived up to their favorite status, sweeping the New York Red Bulls in two games with a dominant 3-0 win at home and a dramatic win in a penalty shootout to secure game two. They move on to face a dangerous Philadelphia Union team looking to defend their conference title after dispatching New England in two games, 3-1 at home and 1-0 on the road.

The Columbus Crew leaned on their league leading attack to pull out a 2-1 series win over Atlanta United, scoring eight goals over the three games including a 4-2 win in the decisive game three. They will see Orlando City in the quarterfinal round, who scraped by Nashville with two 1-0 wins, relying on a strong defensive approach and setting up an interesting contrast in styles.

Over in the Western Conference it was less chalky. Top seeded St. Louis City saw their impressive inaugural season come to an abrupt halt as Sporting Kansas City swept them with 4-1 and 2-1 wins. Sporting KC will face the fourth seeded Houston Dynamo in the next round, who won the closest series of the opening round, winning their two home games to defeat Real Salt Lake, with games two and three both going to penalties.

Reigning MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC have emerged from the first round as the co-favorites, easily dispatching Vancouver over two games with a 7-2 aggregate score line. They will be up for a stiff test though from a veteran Seattle Sounders team, setting up the most evenly matched of the quarterfinal pairings.

The second seeded Sounders knocked out FC Dallas in three games, winning both the home fixtures and seeing out a 1-0 win in the decisive game. They bring a wealth of playoff experience to their showdown with the highly talented LAFC.

Americans Abroad –

The past month in Europe since the last international break has been relatively quiet for the American contingent. A handful of players were out of action for nearly the whole period with injuries and others saw limited minutes for one reason or another.

Italy remains the center of attention for USMNT fans, with the duos at AC Milan and Juventus part of the Serie A title race. Since the last break, Juventus has been on the rise while AC Milan has dropped a bit in the standings while dealing with some injury issues.

The teams met just after the last international break with Pulisic and Yunus Musah starting for Milan and both Weston McKennie and Tim Weah starting for Juventus. The latter came out victorious with Tim Weah providing the assist on the only goal of a game that turned on a first half red card by Milan defender Malick Thiaw. That forced Pulisic off before the half as he was sacrificed for an extra defender.

Unfortunately for Weah, he would only play 45 more minutes the rest of the month. After earning the starting right wingback spot, he was forced to leave the next game with an injury that has kept him out since.

McKennie has picked up the slack, playing every minute for Juventus during the month, splitting time between Weah’s right wingback spot and central midfield as Juventus rattled off four straight league wins to second place in the standings.

At AC Milan, Yunus Musah has become a fixture of the midfield over the past month, with several players out injured. The 20 year old has played in every AC Milan game since the last break, starting all but one, including an impressive win over Paris St. Germain in the Champions League.

Pulisic was another player hit with the injury bug who will miss this window for the US. He managed to start both the Champions League matchups with PSG, and provided an assist against Napoli, but left that game at halftime and missed the past two league games. He continues to be an integral part of the Milan attack, with it noticeably suffering in his absence.

Over in the Netherlands, league leading PSV Eindhoven features a trio of Americans who have all been contributors to their commanding seven point lead at the top of the table. PSV is undefeated in all competitions since September and are also well positioned to advance from their Champions League group.

Sergino Dest has continued to be a regular starter, alternating between right back and left back. His move to PSV has led to a strong bounce back season for the young fullback, after poor spells at Barcelona and AC Milan over the past year.

Attacking midfielder Malik Tillman has been a rotational starter for PSV, gradually earning some more playing time over the past month and getting called back into the US team. Both he and Ricardo Pepi have managed to make an impact off the bench for PSV, with Tillman scoring five league goals and Pepi scoring three.

Over in the English Premier League, Fulham is home to another pair of Americans. Both Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson have played every Premier League minute for Fulham since the last break and both are back with the US team in November. Antonee Robinson should return to his starting left back spot for the US after missing out on the last window to recover from a nagging injury.

At Fulham their results have been mixed over the past month, with the team only managing one point from the last four league games. Ream has yet to reach the peak form he exhibited for Fulham last season, but Robinson has largely been a bright spot for Fulham.

Last weekend highlighted the up and down nature of their season, with Robinson giving up an own goal and committing a costly turnover that led to another, but then making up for it with three chances created and a nice assist on the only Fulham goal against Aston Villa.

Another young center back is gradually emerging in the Premier League at Sheffield United. Auston Trusty has become a regular for Sheffield, starting their last five EPL games, usually at the center of a three man back line.

The last two of those games included a win over Wolves and draw with Brighton which helped move Sheffield out of last place, though they still have a tough battle to avoid relegation. Trusty was not called in for the November US roster, but he could easily earn a spot in the team by next summer’s Copa America if he continues to hold his own in the Premier League.

Fellow young center back Chris Richards was called into the US team for November and is a possible starter for both games against T&T. However, Richards has found it difficult to get minutes at 13th place Crystal Palace, with just four minutes of playing time since the last break.

In Germany the playing time has mostly been limited for the Bundesliga Americans over the past month. However, one young player appears to have worked his way into a starting role. 20 year old Kevin Paredes, who was called into this US roster, has seen his minutes increase for Wolfsburg as the season has progressed.

Paredes has now started their last three Bundesliga matches and managed to find the back of the net in a 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen a couple weeks back. Paredes is a versatile player who could line up at left back or on either wing for the US. If he isn’t with the full team for the Copa America he could be one of the key players for the U-23 team at the Paris Olympics.

The only other Bundesliga player getting significant time is recent US debutant Lennard Maloney. The 24 year old defensive midfielder has been a regular for Heidenheim the past month, though they have struggled to compete in their first season back in the top division, winning just one of their last five games.

Maloney won’t likely see much time for the US in these two games but he has potential as a backup to Tyler Adams in midfield.

Over at Borussia Dortmund, Gio Reyna made a rare start after returning from US duty in October and has generally impressed when on the field. However, manager Edin Terzic has taken a more defensive approach and that has limited the minutes for Reyna, who has not shown the defensive rigor the coach demands.

Despite his limited time for Dortmund, Reyna figures to be a crucial player for the US in these two games as the main creative attacker with Pulisic and Weah both missing.

Joe Scally has continued to get regular playing time for 9th place Borussia Monchengladbach, shifting between right back and right center back. He has largely been competent but not exceptional, though he does arrive off one of his best games of the season, where he assisted one goal and earned a spot in the FotMob team of the week.

Both Aaronson brothers, Paxten and Brenden have seen sparse minutes for their clubs over the last month. Brenden was a starter early in the season but seems to have lost his place as Union Berlin has faltered and dropped into the relegation battle. Paxten has been a limited bench option for 7th place Eintracht Frankfurt. Both brothers did manage to get the call into this US roster and could see time with the aforementioned starters missing.

In Ligue 1, starting US striker Folarin Balogun has cooled off since returning from the last USMNT camp. He hasn’t found the net in his four games since the break as Monaco has dropped slightly from 1st to third place in Ligue 1, but remain just three points back of the lead. Despite his cold streak, Balogun will be a key figure in the two game Trinidad & Tobago series.

Lastly, midfielder Luca de la Torre has also found himself in a relegation fight in Spain’s La Liga, as his Celta Vigo team has dropped their past few games and sit in 18th place. His play has been decent enough to mostly maintain his starting role but it hasn’t been enough to lift the team out of trouble.

Wednesday November 15, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3369

gaslighting at its finest

It's amazing how difficult it is for people to accept honesty in the world of sports.

Last week in an interview with the New York Daily News, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said this about Giancarlo Stanton:

"We try to limit the time he's down," Cashman explained. "But I'm not gonna tell you he's gonna play every game next year because he's not. He's going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game."

There is nothing at all dishonest about that commentary.

Harsh?

Maybe.

Dishonest?

Not in the least.

Stanton is due to make $98 million over the next four years. In his five previous campaigns in New York, Stanton has played in 391 out of possible 708 regular season games.

Last season, he hit a robust .191 while collecting his $25 million.

Cashman was asked about Stanton's role in 2024 and whether the Yankees might consider trading him this off-season.

That's when he mentioned "getting hurt" in his response to the Daily News.

Stanton's agent got his feelings hurt when he read those words from Cashman.

"I read the context of the entire interview," Joel Wolfe said. "I think it's a good reminder for all free agents considering signing in New York both foreign and domestic that to play for that team you've got to be made of Teflon, both mentally and physically because you can never let your guard down even in the offseason."

"Made of Teflon..."

Wolfe's client is apparently allergic to Teflon.

He's also allergic to playing 162 games.

It would be one thing if Stanton played 140 games in 2019, 2021, 2022 and then, this year, only played in 40 games. The commentary from Cashman might seem a little out of line if Wolfe's client played nearly all of the games in exchange for the $25 million he's paid.

Here's the year-by-year data for Giancarlo Stanton in New York.

2018 -- 158 of 162 games

2019 -- 18 of 162 games

2020 -- 23 of 60 games

2021 -- 140 of 162 games

2022 -- 110 of 162 games

2023 -- 101 of 162 games

He played the full season in 2018 and 2021.

The rest of the time, he was just a check collector.

This a fact: Giancarlo Stanton is an injury prone baseball player.

That Joel Wolfe tried to gaslight the Yankees by encouraging free agents to think twice about signing with a team that would have the audacity to TELL THE TRUTH is Exhibit A of what's wrong with these goofy player representatives.

If Giancarlo Stanton would have played 140 games every season and wouldn't have spent 2 or 3 stints per-season on the disabled list, Brian Cashman wouldn't be bad mouthing him. And, again, it's not like Cashman called him a bum or a has-been. He basically said what everyone already knows: Stanton can't be counted on to play a full season. He's injury prone.

That's the truth. It's not out of line at all.

OK, play along if you will.

Your friend gives you $1,000 and says to you, "I only have one rule. You have to bet that $1,000 on Giancarlo Stanton's games played total for 2024. The over/under is 120 games."

Which way are you going?

Right, me too.

"Give me the under, please..."

We haven't handed out a #clownshoes award here in a few weeks, so I'm pleased to bring it back today and present it to none other than Mr. Joel Wolfe.

Enjoy your prize, gaslighter.

The Ravens and Bengals will do battle in Baltimore tomorrow night on national television.

The Bengals have lost 14 straight road games on prime time television (any game that starts after 6:30 pm), so something has to give on Thursday in Baltimore.

Either Cincinnati snaps a lengthy, embarrassing losing streak in front of a national audience.

Or the Ravens take advantage of an opportunity to bury the Bengals, who would all but be eliminated from winning the AFC North with a loss tomorrow night.

It's likely that Baltimore will be without Ronnie Stanley and Marlon Humphrey, at a minimum, tomorrow night. That means Patrick Mekari steps in for Stanley and Rock Ya-Sin gets the start in place of Humphrey.

Mekari is a capable short-term back-up for Stanley. He's no Pro Bowl candidate or anything like that, but Mekari isn't chopped liver.

Ya-Sin, though, is going to have his hands full, even without Tee Higgins in the lineup for the Bengals.

Those two injuries and how the Ravens rally around them are going to be critical keys to Thursday's game.

I mean, the Ravens just lost at home to the Browns, of all teams. If they can lose to Cleveland, they can lose to anyone. Tomorrow is not going to be a walk in the park, especially with Stanley and Humphrey absent.

Say what you will about John Harbaugh's teams over the years, but they're generally effective at home in prime time. They've lost here and there, but for the most part, the Ravens are stepping up when the lights are on at M&T Bank Stadium.

Can they do it one more time tomorrow night?

It's a short sample size, but Mike Macdonald has done a good job of slowing down Joe Burrow in his four games against the talented Cincinnati quarterback. Macdonald will have to produce another stellar defensive effort on Thursday.

Yes, it's a big game tomorrow night. No, it's not "must win".

But for the Ravens, it's most certainly a game they really need to win.

A loss to the Bengals tomorrow night -- on the heels of that collapse against the Browns -- and it will be a sticky ten days for John Harbaugh and his staff.

Mackie supplied a few questions yesterday in the Comments section. Here are the answers he asked for.

1. Do you think the Masters should let Angel Cabrera play now that he's out of jail and back on the course?

DF says -- "Sure. He's eligible to play because of his status as a past champion. I realize his domestic violence charge and jail time aren't necessarily things Augusta National is proud of, but he won the Masters and was told he could play the tournament again for the rest of his life. I realize Augusta has the right to invoke a "morality clause" of some kind, but Cabrera made a mistake, paid his debt to society and is apparently ready to resume his career. I hope he gets to play next April."

2. Aaron Nola to the Orioles no matter the cost? Yes or No?

DF says -- "Sure. I don't care what the cost is. The Orioles have a gazillion dollars. Spend it on a pitcher. If Elias thinks Aaron Nola is the right guy for the team, go get him. Pay whatever you have to pay him. This is all on Elias. If he wants him, I want him."

3. Bigger surprise this season so far? How good Clowney has been or how bad Rock Ya Sin has been?

DF says -- "Well, I didn't really think Ya-Sin was all that good to start with, so I'm not really surprised at his subpar play. I wasn't sure about Clowney. I'm not shocked he's playing well, mind you, but I just wasn't sure he was going to come here and make an impact. I guess I'm still reeling from Jason Pierre-Paul and Yannick Ngakoue coming to town and laying an egg for us. Clowney's definitely been a surprise to me."

4. In one of the Q & A segments someone asked you about high school housing for athletes. You said you think it's fine as long as the school is the one paying for the housing. Do you think the same thing about full scholarships for high school athletes? Should they be allowed?

DF says -- "It's important to clarify I think high school housing is fine for a student. He/she doesn't have to be an athlete. If the school pays for housing on their campus and they want to bring in 50 international students, who am I to judge that? It's their money. Full scholarships for high school athletes? No thanks. We've already seen what those have done to college sports. It creates as much bad as it does good."

And Mr. Underwood had a question as well:

Where was God on opening Sunday of the football season when Stroud and the Texans got beat by the Ravens? How come all of the sudden when the Texans win, God is on Stroud's side? But when they lose God isn't there?

DF says -- "I realize you're trolling, but the question is one that should be answered, troll or not. Where was God on opening Sunday of the NFL season? The same place he was this past Sunday. No one ever said the Texans beat the Bengals last Sunday because God wanted them to beat the Bengals. C.J. Stroud didn't say that in his press conference. All Stroud did was "give thanks". That's a very evergreen term, if you will.

I've been around a lot of faith-based athletes in my life, both past and current, and I've never heard one person ask for or pray for a win. We pray before every Calvert Hall Golf match. Verbatim, part of our prayer says: "Give us the ability to handle victory or defeat with equal degrees of humility. Give us peace no matter the outcome."

Athletes realize the blessings God bestowed upon them -- for which they are grateful -- are present whether you're winning or losing.

Non-faith-based people have a hard time understanding prayer and devotion. No hard feelings. It's difficult to understand if you're not immersed in it."

Tuesday November 14, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3368

"we might have to go get suh"

There have been occasions, after certain wins by the Orioles or Ravens -- or after Tiger won the Masters in 2019 or the Caps won the Stanley Cup in 2018 -- where I've said, "Doing radio today would be fun."

Doing radio yesterday...not much fun.

I mean, I guess it would be fun if you have a twisted mind and take glee in people calling in and saying completely insane stuff. But for every "rational" call I heard on Monday, I heard three or four incredibly dumb calls.

It's amazing that people watch the exact same game and come up with a variety of different observations.

I heard one guy clobber Lamar for missing Zay Flowers on that deep ball in the corner near the end zone.

Twenty minutes later, someone called in to take a jab at Flowers for not "selling the route earlier" and gaining separation at the 20 yard line which, the caller said, would have made the throw much easier for Lamar to make.

Lamar missed that throw. Plain and simple. No big deal. It happens. But to call in and somehow pin the blame on Zay Flowers was laughable.

A lot of people called in about Keaton Mitchell yesterday. I get it. Hot hand and all. Or "hot feet" as it were.

This, of course, is what we all do. We find something we think would have worked and we run that into the ground. And I'm one of those people that believes Mitchell deserved more activity on Sunday, remember. I'm in that camp.

But I'm also not going to say dumb stuff like, "I guarantee you if Mitchell gets 12 or 15 carries like he should have, we win that game going away."

I have no idea what would have happened. Mitchell might have fumbled on the 8 yard line for all I know.

Listening to the callers on Monday, you'd think the Ravens have themselves the 2023 version of Barry Sanders.

Lots of folks were hammering away at Marcus Williams, too.

The man's playing with one good arm and one non-functioning arm. Does everyone realize that? You can certainly say "Well, in that case he shouldn't be playing," but you have to admit the dude's a football warrior. He's out there busting his hump trying to make a play. And the next day people are calling in saying he's "washed" and stuff like that.

There was even a "Justin Tucker doesn't look good" call. You know you're scraping the bottom of the barrel when you're trying to light up the best kicker in football.

But the best one came from the guy who blasted Eric DeCosta for his roster compilation. "This defense is old and slow," the man said. "We might have to go out and get Suh this week and beef up that defensive line."

That's a great idea. In an effort to improve the defense you say is "old and slow", you want the team to sign Ndamukong Suh, a 36-year old, 13-year veteran.

It's all so funny. Sad, sort of, but still funny.

It's what we do.

"What's my hot take?"

"Oh, I know, I'll call in and say 'Lamar should have never been re-signed if this is the way he's gonna play.'"

Yeah, that 7-3 record this season is really bad.

People, man. They're unreal.

If the Ravens lose to the Bengals, don't even think about turning on your radio Friday. At least not the local stations, anyway.

You likely don't know and probably don't care, but U.S. women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe played the final game of her career this past Saturday in the championship of the National Women's Soccer League.

Rapinoe only played six minutes, unfortunately. She suffered an achilles injury and was forced to leave the contest, bringing to an end one of the best careers in the history of U.S. women's soccer.

That wasn't the biggest news Rapinoe made, though.

Afterwards, during an expletive-laden press conference, she said this: "I'm not a religious person or anything and if there was a God, like, this is proof that there isn't. This is f----d up. It's just f----d up. Six minutes in and I do my achilles."

A lot of folks took the "some role model she is" angle in the aftermath of those comments.

I think that's being unfair to Rapinoe and her career. She is a role model. But no one would look up to her if not for soccer.

She's not a role model because she's Megan Rapinoe. She's a role model because she's Megan Rapinoe, the professional soccer player.

Rapinoe made her mark in life through one thing: soccer. She was given those extraordinary abilities by God. She is (was) a role model because of soccer. But she's a role model because God granted her a wonderful gift.

What Rapinoe needs, frankly, is education.

She clearly doesn't understand how she got put on Earth in the first place.

While she was busy lamenting about the absence of God on Saturday night when she got hurt, she forgot about a lifetime of blessings God has bestowed upon her.

Someone has failed to educate her on those points, sadly.

She got raked over the coals on Saturday night once her comments started making the rounds on the internet.

I was actually shocked her comments didn't generate more heat. But that shows the level of interest -- or lack thereof -- that our country has for women's soccer.

Imagine after a game if Mike Trout said, "Well, I struck out 4 times tonight so that proves there is no God."

Or if LeBron said that after going 2-for-15 from the floor. Or, here, locally, if Lamar said after an "off game", "Well this proves once and all that God doesn't exist."

Thankfully, not many people heard about Rapinoe's comment. Or, if they did, they said, "Who is she?"

C.J. Stroud, meanwhile, spent the first 2 minutes of his post-game press conference on Sunday praising God.

The Texans quarterback sounded intelligent.

Rapinoe sounded goofy.

People who are afraid of God and the power of faith take umbrage witih athletes and celebrities who use their platform to -- like Stroud did on Sunday -- to show gratitude for God and His deeds.

God never decides who wins or who loses a game. That's a misnomer.

God does, though, give everyone whatever talents it is they possess.

You're an actuary? Great with numbers and data? God gave you that acumen.

You're a musician? Able to play the guitar or the drums? God gave you those skills.

You're an athlete? Able to throw a baseball 95 miles per hour or hit a golf ball 300 yards? God gave you those abilities.

Someone failed to get that message to Megan Rapinoe in a way she could understand.

So, while she thought Saturday night showed her that God doesn't exist, what really happened on Saturday was a career-closing moment for a woman who impacted many people for 15 years because of the abilities and skills God granted her.

MFC left some questions in the Comments section yesterday. I'm not going to answer them all, but I'll knock several of them out here today.

Would the Ravens have been better off with Huntley or Levis at QB and used the Lamar money for O-line and secondary help?

DF says -- "No, they wouldn't have been better off with Huntley or Levis instead of Lamar. They have a high-quality roster in 2023. They need a legitimate, top 10 quarterback on their roster. Huntley and Levis are not top 10 material. Lamar still has to prove he can win in the playoffs. But Huntley and Levis instead of Lamar? No thanks."

Has Odell Beckham paid dividends? Would the Ravens be just as good without him and used his money for other positions instead?

DF says -- "Beckham is in the November of his career. I think that's obvious. But for all I know, he's been a great influence in the locker room. I have no way of knowing that, but if he's been a good steward and a positive contributor on and off the field, he's a worthy investment. OBJ is the least of their problems at this point. Sure, they gave him a lot of money, but good wide receivers aren't cheap."

If DF's best golfer was caught drinking at the HS Xmas dance would he still be on the team? (I'm sure the kids a quality kid but HS kids do stupid things, it's not out of the question) And it's not a "trick or gotcha" question.

DF says -- "That sort of incident would never even reach me to adjudicate. That would be a school decision. And I would comply with whatever decision the school made. Every student-athlete at Calvert Hall knows the rules. So do the coaches. We do our best to make sure our players don't make bad decisions."

This could be a tough year for Willard at Maryland. He just lost 2 games that I'm sure he had circled as wins. The Big 10 awaits. What is he's under .500 for the year? How much of a leash does he have?

DF says -- "I have no idea how long his leash is, but I can assure you that Kevin Willard isn't under any kind of pressure to "perform or else" in 2023-2024. Maryland basketball will be just fine. I realize they don't have anyone coming in (yet) for next season and everyone's worried about that, but the transfer portal will take care of that next spring. The Terps will be fine this season."

Should the MIAA reinstate St. Frances in football? Should there be recruiting guidelines? Should there be guidelines for all sports? What about the schools that provide housing? McDonogh girls best athlete in the school is from NC. Boys Latin has a 7' basketball player from overseas. Should there be limits. My Gaels aren't clean having brought in a kid from Canada three years ago. John Carroll had an international thing going a few years back. Or should it just be open season and may the best recruited team win?

DF says -- "There's a lot of questions in there. Should St. Frances be reinstated? I don't know. I'd have to go through the pros and cons of it. There are a lot of moving parts to that question. There already are recruiting guidelines. To my knowledge, everyone follows them as I read them in the handbook. What about the schools that provide housing? I mean, they built the housing with their own money. What's the harm? If a student-athlete comes from another part of the country or world, I don't see any issue with that as long as they're going to class and they remain academically eligible. In a lot of cases, these young men and women might not be going to school at all if not for sports. Would you rather have them in school or out of school? I'd rather they be in school, learning."

In golf should the lost ball rule for amateurs be revised? Amateurs don't have volunteers along the fairway with little flags saying here's your ball. And should you be able to drop out of a divot in the fairway?

DF says -- "No, the lost ball rule is fine. I've never lost a ball in the middle of the fairway. If you hit it offline and it's lost, hit it straighter next time. And, no, you should not be allowed a drop out of a divot. We'd be out there all day arguing over whether this is actually a divot, or a new divot, old divot, etc. The game takes long enough. When you hit your ball, go find it and hit it again as quickly as you can."

Monday November 13, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3367

that one will shake everyone up

"Is Lamar the MVP front-runner at the halfway point."

"Are the Ravens the best team in the NFL?"

"Is anyone's defense better than Baltimore's?"

That's where we were a week ago today after the Ravens plastered the Seahawks.

The answer to those three questions on Tuesday of last week: Yes, Yes, and.....Yes.

This morning?

The answers aren't the same.

There are losses. "Standard" losses, if you will.

And then there are losses that sting a little more. Leave a bigger bruise. Put a dent in the team's framework.

Yesterday's 33-31 loss to Cleveland was most certainly not a "standard" loss.

The Ravens, again, gave away a game they otherwise had sewed up in the fourth quarter.

At home, no less, where once upon a time defeats like the one they suffered yesterday were almost impossible to imagine.

Make no mistake about it, Cleveland left BWI early Sunday evening feeling empowered. The Ravens went out to party in Baltimore and DC last night feeling a bit shaken, I'm sure.

The Browns came into M&T Bank Stadium and won. And they did so after falling behind 14-0, 24-9 and 31-17.

The Ravens collapsed on Sunday.

No two ways about it.

And not worth trying to sugarcoat it, either.

The Browns punched the Ravens in the mouth in the second half and John Harbaugh's team tapped out.

---

In another lifetime when I hosted the morning show on a local radio station and Glenn Clark was my producer, we had a regular caller during football season. His name was Merton from Indianpolis.

While we never confirmed his identity or his location, both Glenn and I were fairly confident Merton was not in Indianapolis. He was likely in Baltimore, somewhere, and he took delight in hearing himself on the radio.

I liked Merton.

He was, to me, "good radio".

I certainly didn't always like what he said. He was a Colts fan, obviously, and in that time they were at their zenith with Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Dwight Freeney, etc.

Anytime the Colts won or the Ravens lost, Merton would always call in on Monday promptly at 8:30 am.

It was part of the shtick.

In those days, Glenn and I would travel often to away games along the east coast or within the division. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, any of the New York or Philly trips, New England, etc.

On a road trip where the Ravens lost, Clark and I would take solace in the defeat by looking at one another as the clock ticked down. One of us would inevitably say: "Well, at least we know Monday morning will be fun..."

And, just like that, the next day at 8:30 am, Merton would call in and make fun of the Ravens, say something derogatory about Ray Lewis or Joe "Flunko", and the phone lines would light up for the next 30-45 minutes with agitated Baltimore football fans.

Clark and I would have a laugh about it every Monday.

There is something about losing that impacts people differently than winning.

I certainly can't explain it.

But ask anyone in a field that includes consumer response and they'll all tell you the same thing. There are infinitely more complaints than compliments.

We're just wired that way, for whatever weird reason.

Sports talk radio is a primary example of this concept.

Last Monday in Baltimore, the phones were eerily quiet. Hosts were practically begging for calls.

Who wants to call in and say "Harbaugh did a great job" or "Monken is a breath of fresh air over Greg Roman" or "that Roquan Smith acquisition last year might be one of the best moves the Ravens have made...ever"??

People just don't have the same energy to compliment as they do to complain. I wrote about it last week, remember. Our Monday "visits" numbers go down by about 4% after a Ravens win.

Watch and see. Our numbers here today will be much higher than they were last Monday after a Baltimore win.

People come here and participate in bigger numbers following a loss. They read, get agitated, comment more, etc.

It's the nature of people.

I'm not smart enough to understand why it's that way, but it is.

We'd much prefer to gripe than to say "well done".

And, so, yesterday's reaction to the loss was pretty much what you'd expect.

It was a massive overreaction, as it almost always is in Baltimore when the Ravens lose.

There's rarely an overreaction to a win.

But those losses, man. They really shake us up.

---

As is always the case, you can break down the game (in any sport) by using the "pizza theory" I created 15 years ago on the radio.

There are lots of slices that make up the pizza.

Yesterday's game probably has 8 slices.

Your mileage may vary on these, but here's how I cut them up.

Deshaun Watson.

He gets a slice. Operating with one legit wide receiver and one tight end, he looked like a world beater in the 3rd and 4th quarters. He made some great throws, kept drives alive with his legs and, for the most part, showed some heart that I frankly wasn't sure he had.

Watson, their quarterback, outplayed Jackson, our quarterback. It doesn't happen often, but it happened on Sunday.

Lamar wasn't his usual, sharp self. He threw a terrible ball on an interception late in the 2nd quarter. He wasn't nearly as elusive in the pocket as he normally would be, but Myles Garrett had something to do with that. Cleveland really pinned their ears back in the second half when it was apparent the Baltimore offensive line was gassed.

It just wasn't a great day for Lamar. He wasn't Daniel Jones or anything like that. But he also wasn't "Lamar", either.

Quarterback play was actually two slices on Sunday. Deshaun Watson with his fine play and Jackson with an "off day" for him.

The Ravens got some good early work from rookie running back Keaton Mitchell, who connected on a 39-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Somehow, mysteriously so, offensive coordinator Todd Monken didn't call Mitchell's number once in the second half. He only played four total snaps in the final two quarters, in fact. Mitchell finished the game with 3 carries, all in the first half.

That's a slice, for sure.

Would the Ravens have won the game if Mitchell would have carried the ball, say, 8 times instead of 3? Or 12 times instead of 3? I have no idea. Neither does anyone else.

But it was definitely odd that Mitchell never touched the ball in the second half. After the game, Harbaugh didn't dive in with public criticism of his offensive coordinator when asked why Mitchell didn't carry the ball more.

Harbaugh knows the truth.

Mitchell not carrying the ball in the second half was a mistake by Monken.

And I assume that Harbaugh will probably talk with Monken about that privately today, if it wasn't brought up on Sunday in the aftermath of the shocking loss.

It's also fair to point out that Mitchell dropped a touchdown pass in the second quarter. So it's not like Monken totally dismissed him after his early running success. But Mitchell's lack of activity in the second half was alarming.

Marcus Williams is playing with one arm in the secondary. He can't tackle a cardboard cut-out of David Njoku, let alone the Browns tight end in the flesh. He also can't tackle Amari Cooper. Or anyone. Not with one healthy arm, anyway.

One player doesn't win or lose a game for anyone. But Williams and his injury definitely contributed to Sunday's defeat.

Losing Marlon Humphrey and Ronnie Stanley in the second half was also a factor yesterday.

Cleveland's offense gained steam with every possession in the 3rd and 4th quarter. Humphrey leaving the game was a critical moment.

And with the Browns coming back in the second half and making a game of it, Baltimore needed to put some points on the board in the 4th quarter to offset Cleveland's rebound.

Once Stanley left the field, the Ravens offense stalled. Jackson threw a pick six. They were forced to punt. Cleveland's offense was rolling and the Baltimore offense wasn't. A lot of that started when Stanley was forced out of the game.

If you listed six players the Ravens simply can't afford to lose, that list would include these guys: Lamar, Roquan, Andrews, Humphrey, Stanley, and then you can pick the sixth out of guys like Queen, Madubuike, Flowers or Gus Edwards.

Well, they lost 2 of those 6 in the fourth quarter when there's an argument that's when they needed them the most.

The Ravens were probably due for a loss, truth be told.

Losing the way they did wasn't cool, but that's sports. They didn't really play all that well in Arizona a few weeks back but did enough to win. They weren't all that great in London against the Titans, either, but they got the benefit of playing a bottom feeder who doesn't have much quality.

The home wins over Detroit and Seattle were laughers. Almost too easy, really.

Yesterday, the first half looked a little bit like those two games. The Ravens moved the ball up and down the field like Penn State playing Maryland in College Park.

When they went ahead 24-9 in the 3rd quarter, it looked like the rout was on.

But the Browns were able to do something that Detroit and Seattle couldn't or didn't. They were able to move the ball on Baltimore's defense.

Whether it was Kevin Stefanski outfoxing Mike Macdonald in the second half. Or Baltimore's defense running out of gas while Cleveland refueled and got four new tires. Or just the inevitable "don't let a team hang around" that comes back to haunt you.

The Browns offense came to life in the second half and did something to the Ravens that Detroit and Seattle couldn't do.

Watson entered the game ranking near the bottom of the league in pass completions against a blitz. For reasons only he knows, Mike Macdonald either didn't draw up many blitz schemes in the second half or Cleveland handled them so well that Baltimore's pass rush was rendered ineffective.

Either way, the Browns got their offense in gear in part because Watson wasn't under pressure in the final two quarters.

Oh, and then there's the old bounce of the ball that came into play, too.

Odafe Oweh knocked the ball out of Deshaun Watson's hands late in the game. If the Ravens pounce on the fumble, the ballgame is probably signed, sealed and delivered. But it bounced directly in the arms of a Browns' lineman and Cleveland was still alive.

Of course, the Ravens themselves benefitted from the very same thing in the third quarter when James Proche -- the ex-Baltimore wide receiver -- muffed a punt that was recovered by Devin Duvernay. That gaffe by Proche led to Baltimore's final TD of the day with 11 minutes and some change left in the 4th quarter.

But Oweh's big play was negated by the one thing you can't control -- the way the ball bounces.

---

Overreacting.

It's a Baltimore specialty.

It might also be a specialty in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Dallas and so on. I have no idea. But I know this: in Baltimore, we overreact.

When the Ravens beat the Lions and Seahawks, John Harbaugh was great, Todd Monken was great and Mike Macdonald was great.

Yesterday, they were bums.

"It's all on Harbaugh," said many on the internet.

"When you go ahead 17-3 and you don't win, that's on the coaches. No one else," someone opined. "It's on the coaches. They have to know how to wrap that game up when they're ahead 17-3."

"Why couldn't they wake up Lamar in the third quarter?," another person wondered on Twitter. "He was in a trance. That's coaching. You get him on the sidelines, smack him upside the head and tell him to get his s**t together! If he don't (sic), he sits on the bench!"

I'm sure you're laughing now like I did then, when I read that stuff.

When the team wins, the players are great, Lamar's the MVP, Flowers is a "real dawg", Roquan's a beast, and so on.

When the team loses, Harbaugh's the worst, Monken's doesn't know how to use his guys and Macdonald got thoroughly outcoached.

It's amateur-hour stuff, if we're calling it like it is.

Teams win games. Teams lose games.

Coaches are definitely part of it.

But coaches don't throw interceptions, miss blocking assignments, drop passes in the end zone and fail to wrap up a guy on 2nd and 19 and allow him to gain 17 yards.

In the same fashion, coaches don't throw TD passes, run for 100 yards, kick 55 yard field goals and so on.

I noted where a few people wanted Harbaugh to put Monken on blast in the post-game press conference for the Keaton Mitchell situation.

A lot of things amaze me about sports fans.

Probably #2 or perhaps #1 on the list of "what amazes me" is when people (who contend they "know sports") want the head coach to publicly call out one of his coaches or staffers in the aftermath of a loss.

The Ravens were 8-2. Chugging along nicely. Headed to the playoffs. Might even win the division.

And yet, despite all of that, there are fans of the team who think Harbaugh should publicly berate Monken.

I've never understood why people put so much stock in what a coach says to the media. It's eye-wash. All of it. It's not supposed to be "transparent or forthcoming" because it's none of our business.

I'm quite certain Harbaugh said something to Monken after the game about Mitchell's lack of playing time. And because they're grown men and they're in a high-pressure situation where they both need the best out of the other guy, they know how to have those conversations without having to be overly critical or "personal" with their verbal attack.

Imagine something going wrong at your place of employment today and your boss gathers 15 members of the media into the conference room and says, "Schmedley was supposed to have that RFP completed by 11 am today and it didn't get done. The company is very disappointed with his inability to get the work done on time. It's terrible. We're not going to tolerate that kind of stuff here."

That's pretty much what some people want from Harbaugh.

"I just want Harbaugh to say, 'This is an unacceptable loss and I'm not taking it,' someone screamed on Twitter yesterday.

A) You have to take it. The game's over. So saying "I'm not taking it" is dumb. You lost. On to Cincinnati.

B) What is saying "This is unacceptable" supposed to do? The players know it was a bad loss. They played in the game. They know what they did right and what they did wrong. Lamar knows that was a horribly underthrown ball to Bateman that got picked off. You think it's a good idea for Harbaugh to say, "That's a horrendous throw from Lamar there...just horrendous."?

I have no idea how anyone thinks that would actually be productive. Now, addressing it privately? That could definitely be worth doing and productive. Yes, indeed.

But getting agitated at Harbaugh for not "being honest" with the media after the game is silly. He's not supposed to be honest with the media. Doing that doesn't help him win the game on Thursday night. And, despite what people might think, that's the only thing Harbaugh cares about.

Everyone contributed to Sunday's loss to the Browns, including Harbaugh, Monken, Macdonald and every player who suited up.

The Browns deserve some credit, you know. They're also on scholarship. We always do this, of course. When the Ravens win it's all about them and when they lose, it's all about them, too.

The other team tries just like your team tries.

Cleveland needed that game more than the Ravens did. And they got it.

Now, that doesn't dismiss the fact that Baltimore led by two touchdowns throughout a large chunk of the game and couldn't make the final three foot putt when they had it.

It was a bad loss, no two ways about it.

But the NFL, if you haven't noticed, is completely crazy.

It's the true definition of a week-to-week league.

The NFL wants it that way, as we've said here over and over.

It's good for business that Cleveland won yesterday.

It's good for the NFL.

It's good for talk radio and hot take cable TV shows.

It's even good for this website in Bawlmer.

Overreaction keeps everything percolating.

Until Thursday night when the Ravens beat the Bengals 30-13...

	#DMD GAME DAY Week 10 Sunday — November 12, 2023 Issue #3366
	Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens 1:00 PM EDT M&T Bank Stadium Baltimore, MD Spread: Ravens (-6.5)

give the 6.5, this is gonna be a clobberin'

When I saw the point spread for today's Ravens-Browns game, I did a double take.

"Is that 6.5 points per-half?" I said to myself.

Have the guys in Vegas followed what's going on in Cleveland?

The Browns offensive line is in shambles.

They're already not that good on offense as it is. Then you take away their starting tackles and what's left?

Thanksgiving gets served early today for the Ravens.

It's going to be a feast.

And this thought of mine has nothing at all to do with the 28-3 win the Ravens recorded earlier in the season when some kid from the junior varsity played quarterback for Cleveland because Deshaun Watson was out injured.

It's a week-to-week league, as the Ravens might very well find out this Thursday night when the Bengals make their annual visit. What happened in September doesn't matter in November.

But what's going to happen today is this: the Browns are going to get run out of the gym.

Sure, their defense is superior to Seattle's, but today's game profile mostly fits what we expected last week. A decent Seahawks offense, combined with a solid defense, should have contributed to a nip-and-tuck contest.

Alas, that didn't happen, mainly because Baltimore's defense clamped down on the Seahawks' offense and Seattle's defense held on for about 27 mintues before they finally got split in two like the Titanic over the last two quarters.

Expect much of the same today in Bawlmer.

Cleveland's offense won't do much. And their defense will hang on for a while before they finally cave in.

There's just nothing at all about the game that worries me.

How is Cleveland going to score any points? I mean, I guess they could intercept three Lamar passes and return two for touchdowns. And maybe they pick up a Lamar fumble and run into the end zone for another score. I guess that could happen. I also guess Jeff Lynne might call me tonight and ask me to sing some ELO songs with him at their next show.

The Browns can't put any points on the board. Can their defense man-up and stymie Baltimore's offense? Eh, maybe a little. But not for 60 minutes. No way.

There's just no reason to worry. Give the 6.5 points at the start of both halves, I say.

If the Browns were fully healthy? Yeah, maybe there's a sliver of worry. "Any given Sunday and all", right?

But on this Sunday, Cleveland's going home looking like Rocky in that first fight with Apollo Creed. It's gonna be ugly.

The Ravens are up 14-0 before the Browns know what hit them. The Browns do manage a field goal in the second quarter but a third Baltimore TD puts John Harbaugh's team up 21-3 at the intermission.

It's 27-3 late in the 3rd quarter before a special teams play puts Cleveland deep in Baltimore territory, but they're not able to punch it into the end zone. A Browns field goal makes it 27-6.

The Ravens tack on one late field goal to finalize the scoring at 30-6, as Baltimore improves to 8-2 on the season.

around the nfl

So, this is probably a bad idea. I'll say it right from the start.

And usually when you say "this is probably a bad idea", it turns out to be a bad idea.

#DMD reader "Larry" chimed in with a proposal for me.

I put "Larry" in quotes because this particular Larry says he's the real, honest to goodness "Larry" who posts regular comments but has subsequently been hacked several times by other people who use "Larry" like he does.

To his credit, Larry's e-mail address and name does match up with a Facebook profile so I'm guessing he's legit.

That said, you people are nothing if not devious and creative. For all I know, "Larry" might be Bob Johnson.

Anyway, "Larry" wants to start a weekly segment called "Fade or Follow". He'll give out three games he likes from a wagering standpoint and you can either fade (bet against) or follow (bet on) his selections.

Like I said, it's a bad idea. But 40 years ago, had I told you that someday we'd be carrying small phones around and most of our entire existence would be connected, somehow, to that phone, you would have thought that idea was bad as well.

Anyway, Larry's three selections are below. Feel free to fade his advice or follow it.

COLTS AT PATRIOTS -- Indianapolis sits at 4-5 and needs a win to stay firmly in the AFC playoff picture. New England is done. Tom Brady could come back and play for them and they'd still finish with a losing record. This one's in Germany. The NFL continues to do this dumb thing where they make teams play games in Europe when pretty much everyone over there couldn't care less about American football.

TEXANS AT BENGALS -- If ever Cincy was ripe for a home upset loss, it's this week. No Tee Higgins, no Sam Hubbard and, most likely, no Ja'Marr Chase. Or at the very least, a severely hampered Ja'Marr Chase. The Texans, meanwhile, are one of the surprise teams of the league. C.J. Stroud is looking like he might be the real deal. With Cincy coming to Baltimore Thursday night, a loss from the Bengals today and again on Thursday would pretty much eliminate them from the AFC North title picture. Larry says take the Texans to win this game outright.

SAINTS AT VIKINGS -- Two 5-4 teams doing battle, with both of them still hanging around the NFC playoff picture. Heck, the Saints might only need to finish 9-8 to win the NFC South and host a home playoff games. Minnesota is trying to figure out if they really can go on without Kirk Cousins or was last week's performance by Josh Dobbs more about beginner's luck than anything else?

PACKERS AT STEELERS -- This is one of those games the Steelers somehow win 19-16 on a late field goal and everyone around the country says, "Oh, no, here come the Steelers." Green Bay is awful. Pittsburgh's not really that much better, frankly. A Packers win today would be great. If not, Pittsburgh improves to 6-3 and we have to hear about them again for another week or two.

TITANS AT BUCCANEERS -- A pair of 3-5 clubs doing battle, with both teams pretty much on the outskirts of being eliminated from the post-season if they don't turn things around quickly. Tennessee is the lesser of these two teams, for sure. They might not win 7 games. Tampa Bay needs a win today to hang around in the NFC South. They're far from out of it if they post a "W" over the Titans.

49'ERS AT JAGUARS -- Three weeks ago, you would never have thought that San Francisco would be 5-3 and Jacksonville would be 6-2 when these two meet today in Jacksonville. Don't look now, but the 49'ers are reeling. They need a win this afternoon in the worst way. And further, the Jaguars are in the mix for the #1 seed in the AFC. A win today would go a long way in the direction of earning that top seed.

FALCONS AT CARDINALS -- The 4-5 Falcons are alive, somehow, in the NFC South. The 1-8 Cardinals are done. Cooked. That said, Atlanta is very capable of laying an egg out there in Arizona today. This should be a slam dunk for the Falcons, but it's far from that. Anything can happen in this one. Larry says take the Falcons to win this game outright.

LIONS AT CHARGERS -- It seems like Detroit has a difficult game almost every week, other than when they play Chicago and Green Bay. Los Angeles isn't very good, but they're at home and coming off a nice win over the Jets, so the Lions are facing a team that's feeling good about themselves today. And don't forget Detroit is 6-1 and just one game behind Philadelphia for the best record in the NFC.

GIANTS AT COWBOYS -- Dallas is a 17.5 point favorite in this one and probably should be 23.5 point favorites, truth be told. But weird things happen in the NFC East, even when your team (in this case, the Giants) doesn't have a real quarterback or a real offense. Everything under the sun points to Dallas winning 38-3.

COMMANDERS AT SEAHAWKS -- It will be interesting to see if Seattle has recovered from that fiasco of a performance in Baltimore last Sunday. A win today by Seattle and a loss by the 49'ers in Jacksonville and the 'Hawks are in first place in the NFC West. D.C., meanwhile, sits at 4-5 and they're still hanging around the NFC playoff picture by a thread. Larry says take Seattle to win this game outright.

JETS AT RAIDERS -- This could be the worst Sunday Night NFL match-up in the history of the league. Two teams, going nowhere, with very little to play for. I guess New York is hanging on to the thought that if they somehow stay around .500 for another 4-6 weeks that perhaps Aaron Rodgers can return and win a game or two for them at the end of the season that could propel them into the post-season. I don't see that coming to fruition, but it's the thought that counts, as the saying goes.

Saturday November 11, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3365

what were they supposed to do?

The Big Ten suspended Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh on Friday.

He'll miss the team's final three regular season games.

Michigan, as expected, immediately did what everyone knew they would do if an in-season suspension was handed down. They filed a temporary restraining order that, if granted, would permit Harbaugh to coach the Wolverines in today's clash with Penn State in State College, PA.

This all came as a result of "sign-gate", but the reasoning behind the suspension runs much deeper than the Wolverines stealing signs and violating NCAA rules.

In a 13-page letter sent to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the Big Ten said their decision was a sanction against the university, but they decided to suspend Harbaugh because it would allow the team to play out the rest of its season while still providing substantial consequences for the team violating the Big Ten's policies.

"This is not a sanction of Coach Harbaugh," the conference said in its report. "It is a sanction against the University that, under the extraordinary circumstance presented by this offensive conduct, best fits the violation."

That part of the Big Ten's ruling is a lie, of course. The penalty -- or "sanction", which is the fancy word -- is most certainly against Harbaugh. It removes him from today's game against Penn State.

Harbaugh's suspension bans him from the "game venue" on game days. He's allowed to coach the team the remainder of the week.

From the moment this story started circulating, the Big Ten says Michigan was uncooperative. That's not a surprise, really. Why cooperate when you know the evidence that's about to be found will incriminate you?

The school is going to pursue every legal remedy they can, obviously. Three more wins will will get them into the lucrative college football playoff. The Wolverines might win all three without Harbaugh, but the odds of that aren't nearly as high as they would be if Harbaugh is somehow permitted to coach against Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State.

While the suspension is certainly harsh and potentially season-threatening for the Wolverines what, exactly, was the Big Ten supposed to do once they pieced together the story and collected the evidence?

Was the answer to do nothing?

Should they have waited until next season to hand down a punishment?

Was the right move to basically allow Michigan to cheat, catch them, and then allow the Wolverines to decide for themselves what their penalty should be?

What was the Big Ten supposed to do?

They did the right thing.

They did the only thing they could have done.

Michigan's going to fight it, of course, because they're not going to let anyone tell them who coaches and doesn't coach.

Would I be surprised if a judge rules in Michigan's favor today and Harbaugh is on the field at 12 noon? Not one bit.

It's all part of the process.

Michigan breaks the rules. They immediately say "but what about everyone else that's doing it?". The evidence against them continues to mount. They try to delay the investigation until the season ends.

The Big Ten rolls in and sees what everyone else sees. Michigan was doing some high-level, super-duper cheating.

They suspend Harbaugh.

Michigan says, "you can't do that."

And here we are today, where the story about Jim Harbaugh's availability will be as big as the final score.

Maryland basketball suffered what everyone will consider a "bad loss" last night when they fell to Davidson, 64-61.

There will be an overreaction for sure.

In fact, there already was.

Within minutes of the game ending last night, all of the social media platforms were roasting the Terps for their lethargic play and early-season defeat to a massively inferior team.

It happens.

As our basketball analyst Dale Williams pointed out earlier this week, Kevin Willard has some work to do to get this Maryland team clicking on all cylinders. There are several newcomers in his lineup and there's also Donta Scott. There's no way of knowing which of those factors is more troubling for Maryland's coach.

It's too early to worry about losing a non-conference, means-nothing game.

We all know that.

But people are going to howl at the moon about it anyway.

The Terps will be fine.

It's one game.

Maryland's season is two games old.

Better days are ahead, for sure.

You can bank on that.

The Capitals picked up a nice win last night in New Jersey, beating the Devils, 4-2.

That's the good news. Washington is now 6-4-2 on the year, which means they're actually 6-6 because the "2" in their record stands for OT or shootout losses.

But anyway, last night was a solid performance for D.C., thanks in part to a nice outing from Charlie Lindgren in net and a pair of goals from an unlikely source, archaic Evgeny Kuznetsov.

The bad news?

Another no-goal night for Alex Ovechkin, who still has just two goals on the season. Ready for a real concerning stat? Here it is:

Ovechkin doesn't have a "real goal" this season.

One of his goals was a power play tally and the other was into an empty net.

Some dude named Beck Malenstyn scored a goal for the Caps last night. He has more real goals than Ovechkin thus far in '23-24.

12 games in and 2 goals.

I wrote here a week ago that the 20-game mark was the real barometer for Ovechkin and the level of concern we all might have in regard to his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record.

Ovechkin is far too talented to keep doing this. He'll eventually break out with a 2-goal game and then follow that up a game or two later with 2 more goals. That's the wishful thinking part, anyway.

He needs to get untracked soon, though. If he gets to that 20-game mark with only 4 or 5 goals, that's not a good thing.

Meanwhile, the Caps have a decent record even with Ovi stinking it up.

Sure, they haven't exactly played a murderer's row schedule, but 6-4-2 is better than 4-6-2.

If they can just get Ovechkin going, things might really start to perk up down there in D.C.

A few questions from the gallery.

J.T. asks -- "Hey Drew, rank these four baseball movies, please: Moneyball, A League Of Their Own, For Love Of The Game, Bull Durham. Thanks!!"

DF says -- This is impossible. It's like asking someone to choose the best Led Zeppelin song. All four of them are great movies. Only one was a real story, of course: Moneyball. So because we all sorta-kinda knew the ending before it even started, I'd rank that one fourth. But the story of Moneyball is remarkable. Billy Beane changed the way small market teams (and some big market teams, even) compiled their roster.

If you make me put the other three in order, I'll say 1) For Love Of The Game, 2) Bull Durham and 3) A League Of Their Own.

By the 7th inning of Billy Chapel's final start in New York, you're glued in like it's the 7th game of the World Series. And it's only a movie!

Bull Durham has so many memorable scenes. And some iconic lines and moments. In fact, I tell junior golfers all the time, "Don't think meat, just pitch" when I think they're trying to play "golf swing" instead of "golf".

Thanks for that question. It led me to find Moneyball on Amazon Prime tonight (Friday) and put it on while I was prepping this edition of #DMD."

Conway asks -- "For your next Mailbag Q&A, I have a question for you: What would be a bigger accomplishment in golf next season? Tiger Woods winning a tournament of any kind to set the new record or an amateur winning the Masters or U.S. Open?"

DF says -- "While I do think an amateur is going to do that someday soon, there's no doubt that Tiger winning a tournament in 2024 and setting the all-time wins record would eclipse any other story that professional golf could create, other than something outrageous like Scottie Scheffler or Jon Rahm winning all four major championships (or anyone, for that matter).

I think an amateur has a far better chance of winning the U.S. Open than he does a Masters. For the most part, everyone playing the U.S. Open course is seeing it the same way. Most of the top players play Augusta every April. Their experience at the course is extraordinarily important."

Mike P. asks -- "What did you think about the Orioles decision to non-tender Kyle Gibson and Adam Frazier?"

DF says -- "I guess I'm a little surprised they didn't try to do something with Gibson, but I'm also assuming he wants a multi-year contract after having a decent season in Baltimore and the O's didn't want to go that route.

Rumor has it both Arizona and the Cubs will give him a 2-year deal, so there's that.

I don't think losing Gibson is huge. They'll find someone like him, younger or older, to duplicate what he did in 2023. But it's fair to point out he came in and did what the O's wanted from him this past season.

As for Frazier, he was an upgrade over Rougned Odor, as we said here throughout the season, but second base belongs to Jordan Westburg now. There's no use for Frazier. He's not a league average hitter and he's far below a league average defensive player. Again, he served a nice role in 2023, but he's very expendable at this point. Someone will give him a deal in '24, though. He can still play a role in the majors."

Friday November 10, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3364

"what world do you live in?"

The Lane Kiffin story at Ole Miss is a real doozy.

It's sad. It's alarming. And it's probably all too common in today's world of college sports.

It all adds up to being a doozy of a scene in Oxford.

For the uninitiated, here's the crux of what's happening: Kiffin and Ole Miss are being sued for $40 million by a football player who says the head coach and, by extension, the school, ignored his mental health issues and essentially kicked him off the team for missing practices and failing to attend meetings with Kiffin.

DeSanto Rollins legally recorded a conversation with Kiffin without the coach's knowledge and provided transcripts of that meeting and conversation in the lawsuit. It was in that discussion with Kiffin where Rollins has the meat of his case.

Rollins was upset with Kiffin because the defensive lineman was told he was being moved to the scout team offensive line for practices in the spring of 2023. It was at that point he stopped attending practice and refused several requests to meet with Kiffin to discuss his absence.

When Rollins finally did meet with Kiffin, roughly three weeks after he was first asked to meet with the head coach, things went south rather quickly according to the recorded audio.

"This is a job. Guess what? If I have mental issues -- and I'm not diminishing them -- I can't not see my f---ing boss," Kiffin said, according to the lawsuit and the audio. "When you were told again and again the head coach needs to see you, it wasn't to make you practice, it wasn't to play a position you don't f---ing want to, OK? It was to talk to you and explain to you in the real world, OK? So I don't give a f--- what your mom says, OK, or what you think.

In the real f---ing world, you show up to work. And then you say, 'Hey, I have mental issues. I can't do anything for two weeks. But if you change my position I won't have mental issues.'

I guarantee if we f---ing called you in and said you're playing defense, would you have mental issues?"

Rollins replied: "I definitely would."

During the audio exchange, Rollins is heard saying, "I mean, you're acting like my issues aren't real."

"I didn't say they're not real," Kiffin replied. "You show up when your head -- when your boss -- wants to meet with you. It wouldn't have been like this...if you would've come here when you kept getting messages, the head coach wants to talk to you. And you say, 'I'm not ready to talk to him.'"

Said Rollins: "I wasn't."

"What f---ing world do you live in?" Kiffin asked.

Answered Rollins: "I don't see why you have to be disrespectful, honestly."

"Get out of here," Kiffin said. "Go. You're off the team. You're done. See ya. Go. And guess what? We can kick you off the team. So go read your f---ing rights about mental health. We can kick you off the team for not showing up. When the head coach asks to meet with you and you don't show up for weeks, we can remove you from the team.

"It's called being a p---y. It's called hiding behind s--- and not showing up to work."

I told you it was a doozy.

Ole Miss and Kiffin are, of course, asking the court to dismiss the $40 million lawsuit. They have plenty of legal mumbo-jumbo supporting their request for dismissal. Whether they win or not, I have no idea.

The story, though, is far more about "what did Ole Miss expect?" than it is "will the kid win $40 million?"

I'm certainly not dismissing the young man's mental health issues. Whether they're legitimate or, as Kiffin contends, more of a push-back to the move from defensive line to offensive line, we all know in 2023 that mental health isn't something to ignore.

Kiffin makes several valid points in his tirade. Perhaps his colorful language eventually hurts more than helps, but he makes legitimate points nonetheless.

In the real world, no one fails to show up for work for 3 weeks and then ignores calls and inquiries from their boss without having some sort of consequence attached to the back end.

Mental health issues or not, when you're working for someone -- and in this case, yes, Rollins "works" for Ole Miss football -- you can't just show up when you want and participate at the level of your choosing.

Kiffin probably could have painted that picture without the derogatory language, but a point made is a point made.

That said, college football players -- particularly those at big-time schools like Ole Miss -- have been primed for a long time to believe they don't have to follow rules or walk the same path as the rest of the great unwashed.

Some kids pay $50,000 to go to school.

They pay $10,000 for room and board.

They pay $5,000 for the school meal plan.

They pay $1,000 to park on school property.

Football players pay nada.

Education: free

Room and board: free

Meal plan: free

Parking: free

Well, maybe the parking isn't free. But they either get someone else to pay for their parking fees or they simply ignore the parking tickets when they get them. Either way, the player himself isn't forking over $1,000.

Everything's done for them.

They're never told "no".

The NCAA, college football and Ole Miss created this monster.

The kids don't live in the real world. From the minute they step on campus as a wide eyed 18 or 19 year old, there is no "real world" for a football player at Ole Miss or a basketball player at, say, Kentucky.

So Kiffin chases after this young man for a year or two, promises him the world if he'll come to Oxford to play football for him, discovers along the way the kid doesn't have the chops for the defensive line at Ole Miss, and then when the kid objects and goes into hiding, Kiffin acts stunned by the whole thing.

Sure, the kid's in the wrong here. No two ways about it. As soon as things unraveled for him at Ole Miss, he ghosted the football program.

But Kiffin helped manifest the very behavior he's railing against because from day one at Ole Miss, nothing about the life of DeSanto Rollins was similar to "the real world".

These young men (and women) get led into this way of life as a high profile college and they are all about as prepared for that as they would be prepared for flying a rocket to the moon tomorrow.

"Mental health" is an important topic in today's society. It's prevalent because, for a long time, it was largely ignored.

For every situation like the female (non-binary) motorist we've seen this week on Twitter (X) who said she couldn't take the field sobriety test for a suspected DUI because she had "mental health issues", there's are 10 other scenarios where someone's mental health really is fragile or fractured and they should be handled with care.

I have no idea what the level of "seriousness" was with regard to the mental health of DeSanto Rollins, but I'm going to assume it was legitimate and very real.

Something was bothering him.

It might have been football related. Or something that had nothing at all to do with football.

Either way, his lack of follow-up with the coach -- even a phone call or text -- created this whole thing.

Some might say, though, that Ole Miss created it by putting this young man into a situation that he simply wasn't in position to handle.

He thought he was going to Oxford to be a star football player.

He probably thought that because that's what Kiffin told him every time they spoke when Rollins was in high school.

And then it all went south, quickly, and Rollins didn't know how to deal with it.

$40 million later, here we are.

The coach is trying to teach his young football player how the "real world" works.

That's a novel concept.

The problem? The coach himself makes $7.35 million for coaching a dozen football games a year.

Professors, you know, the ones who actually teach the paying students at Ole Miss, make anywhere from $75,000 to $150,000 for working 250 days a year.

The football player wants $40 million for this misunderstanding. Not $4 million. Not $10 million.

He think he deserves $40 million because the football coach cussed him out and called him a couple of not-so-nice names.

That's not "real world" stuff, either.

None of it.

It's all fantasy land, honestly.

In the end, no associated with Ole Miss football is living in the real world.

A few questions came in over the last two days that are worth answering.

As always, if you have a question that you'd like me to answer here at #DMD, here's my e-mail: 18inarow@gmail.com

That's also the e-mail you use when one of your comments gets removed because you can't follow our simple rules. You're always welcome to reach out when that unfortunate event occurs and I'll be happy to explain things to you.

Michael G. asks -- "I loved your coverage of the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame today (Thursday) and was wondering what you think about these acts that also aren't in yet: Supertramp, Jethro Tull and Three Dog Night."

DF says -- "Don't do this to me, Michael. Not on a Friday. I didn't even realize those three weren't in. If you don't have those three bands in the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, you definitely should just close the doors. I realize people like Coldplay and Dave Matthews Band aren't in yet, either, but they've only been eligible for a very short period of time (25 years after your first album gets released starts your "clock" if you will). Supertramp, Jethro Tull and Three Dog Night should have been in after a year or two of their eligibility.

If those three aren't in, and Pat Benatar is, then you can pretty much just close the doors.

I swear, I would have lost that bet if you would have asked me "Are these three in the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame?" I would have bet you anything they were. It's complete garbage that they aren't in.

Speaking of Garbage, are they in? They should be as well. But that's a story for another day. Thanks for getting my Friday off to a terrible start!"

Ken asks -- "I saw your Twitter post about Donald Trump's golf swing and was wondering something and figured you could help. I'm a lousy golfer (18.4 index) but I enjoy competing and playing in some of my club tournaments. Trump's handicap is supposedly 2.4 but, as you noted, his swing doesn't look like that of a 2.4 handicap. Why would someone who is probably more like a 6 or 8 handicap parade around and tell people he's a 2 handicap? Wouldn't it be harder to compete in tournaments that way? Your insight would be appreciated."

DF says -- Well, this whole story about the former President's golf handicap and golf swing mirrors him in real life, if you want my honest opinion. His golf game is all bluster. Now, don't get me wrong, his golf swing is decent for a 78 year old man. And I suspect if you brought him along to your member-guest and he was sporting his real handicap (10, maybe?) you might even win your flight.

But he tells people he's a "2" and he shot 68 and won this and won that because he thinks that will impress people. If he's a "2 handicap" golfer I'm the lead singer for The Foo Fighters. In no world is he a 2 handicap. First, we all know from various published reports that he's a golf rules-breaker. That's well documented. He never posts a "real" score because he never finishes a hole, hits two balls if he doesn't like the result of the first one, moves his ball around the course into preferred lies, and so on.

His golf swing isn't bad, though. Not for someone of his age and size. And if he played a real round of golf and holed everything out, I suspect he could shoot something in the low 80's. He might even occasionally break 80 if his chakras were in line that day.

But he's not a "2". Nowhere close."

faith in sports

Lauren Holiday is the subject of today's "Faith in Sports" segment.

It's always a treat to see high profile athletes stand up and be unafraid to share their faith with those who follow her.

Holiday is an excellent representative of FCA and her church, in addition to being a world class professional soccer player.

If you have a daughter (athletic or not), be sure and sit down with her for six minutes today and share this video with her.

Holiday's message is outstanding for everyone, but for young female athletes it's especially poignant.

Thanks, as always, to our friends at Freestate Electrical for their continued support of #DMD and our "Faith in Sports" segment every Friday.

Thursday November 9, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3363

"have those nitwits ever heard black hole sun?"

Yesterday at Calvert Hall, I had one of those moments every coach relishes.

One of my senior golfers signed his letter of intent to play college golf.

Caleb Itzoe, a four-year member of my varsity golf team, will head up the road to Newark, Delaware to play for the University of Delaware.

I'm beyond thrilled for him.

Itzoe garnered his offer from the Blue Hens the old fashioned way: He earned it.

Three years ago when he started with me at Calvert Hall, he was a good young player trying to get his fundamentals in sound, working order.

From there, he needed to learn how to play tournament golf.

And once those two things were in place, he had to beat rivals on a regular basis in order to separate himself from the impressive number of junior golfers in the Mid-Atlantic who can shoot 72 at the drop of a hat.

Itzoe put the work in.

He got the fundamentals in order.

He started to play tournament golf, learning along the way how to turn 82 into 78, 77 into 74 and 75 into 72. A few weeks ago at a tournament, he was 4 under par through 12 holes. Learning how to "go low", as the kids like to say, is one of golf's toughest tasks.

Playing for me last season at Calvert Hall, Itzoe was an All-Conference MIAA player and a huge part of our championship-winning team.

He'll spend one more season as a Cardinal and then he becomes a Blue Hen.

It's always a blessing to see these young men come along and take their God given ability and use it to accomplish the goals they set for themselves.

At the very first meeting I had with Itzoe's freshman class back in the fall of 2020, I asked that group the same question I ask at the beginning of every season.

"Let me see a show of hands...how many of you in this room want to play college golf someday?"

Without fail, nearly every kid in the room raises his hand.

They all don't get to play in college, obviously. But some do.

On that day in 2020, Itzoe's hand went up.

And yesterday, his journey reached "full circle" status when he signed with the University of Delaware.

We have one more piece of business to attend to at Calvert Hall before he heads off to Newark. Itzoe and his teammates will defend our title next spring in what will once again be an extraordinarily competitive A-Conference in the MIAA.

But yesterday, for a moment, we took some time to celebrate what Caleb has done and what lies ahead.

It was, as I wrote above, a proud coaching moment for me.

I love seeing my players put in the work and reap the benefits they create for themselves.

And that's what Caleb did.

The latest in the Michigan sign-stealing saga is so funny it's actually hard to believe.

The University is telling the Big Ten to be prepared for legal action if they decide to penalize Jim Harbaugh and/or Michigan football in wake of the program stealing signs from conference opponents over the last few years.

Imagine having that kind of nerve, huh?

Caught.

Red Handed.

And having the audacity to gaslight the conference and their member teams by saying, "Yeah, well, what about Ohio State and what they did? And what about Rutgers and how they cheated?"

This is like you (or me) getting pulled over on I-95 for going 88 in a 65 MPH zone and then whining to the officer, "Wait, look at that guy who just went by...he was going at least 90. You didn't pull him over."

Michigan stole signs. They got caught. They should be penalized. End of the story.

Instead of saying, "You know, you're right. We're an upstanding institution of higher learning and cheating to win football games is not the kind of thing that makes us proud of ourselves", Michigan is now saying to the Big Ten, "We're just warning you. If you penalize us, we're coming after you and you won't like the fight we start."

The nerve of those people in Ann Arbor.

But it paints a very clear picture of what college football at Michigan really is all about. "We need to win. We're going to win. We don't care how, either. We're winning. And if you get in our way, you'll lose."

Yesterday's "new news" was almost laughable.

"Don't you dare penalize us," Michigan said. "If you do, you'll be sorry."

Here's hoping the Big Ten doesn't cave in. This is starting to get very interesting now.

During my weekly (mostly) appearance on Glenn Clark Radio yesterday, the show host and I got tired of talking about how the Ravens are going to run roughshod over the Browns and turned to something much more difficult to understand.

The Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame.

Clark unveiled a list of 24 prominent musical artists who aren't in the Hall of Fame.

Several of them are shocking.

I honestly don't follow this sort of thing all that closely. I know who got inducted this week in the Class of 2023 and I don't see any issue with those selections. Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Chaka Khan -- all four of those women are extremely talented, particularly the very underrated Kate Bush.

Rage Against The Machine might not be your (or my) type of music but, again, a very talented band.

The Spinners, George Michael and Bernie Taupin (composer) were also deserving. No arguing over those folks getting into Cleveland.

But because I don't follow the Hall of Fame selections all that closely, I had no idea these artists have not yet earned a spot in the Hall: Alice in Chains, Barry White, Styx, The Smiths, .38 Special, Bryan Adams, Beck, Stone Temple Pilots, Oasis, Jane's Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins.

None of them are in the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame.

Donovan is in.

Alice Cooper is in.

But Foreigner isn't.

Foreigner had more hits in 24 months than Donovan and Alice Cooper made right turns on red...combined.

But the two I can't get over are Soundgarden and Warren Zevon.

Jackson Browne's in -- and Warren Zevon isn't? What planet are we on?

Zevon forgot more about song writing than 75% of the people in the Hall of Fame ever knew. He was one of the great writers of his generation, with catchy music mixed in.

Underrated called into the show and said, "You have no idea how good Warren Zevon is." And yet, he somehow isn't in Cleveland.

But the biggest whiff of all is definitely Soundgarden. A Chris Davis kind of whiff. Colossal. Massive.

Soundgarden features perhaps the best voice of the last 50 years in music, the late, great Chris Cornell.

How on earth have these idiots in Cleveland somehow not agreed that Soundgarden is a "Hall of Fame" band?

As I said to Clark when he read the list of non-Hall bands: "Have those nitwits ever heard Black Hole Sun?"

How can you take a Hall of Fame seriously that doesn't include Barry White? Or Stone Temple Pilots? Or Styx?

It seems kind of fitting that Cleveland is the home of the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. "Mistake by the lake" for sure.

	The Stats Nerd And His Numbers
Contributed by #DMD's data and numbers analyst The Stats Nerd

ravens mid-season review

With Sunday’s beatdown of the Seattle Seahawks, the Ravens moved past the midpoint in the season. And by any measure the first half-plus has been a good one.

For starters, they are 7-2 and lead the AFC North by 1.5 games. They have played all 3 of their AWAY division games and beaten their most likely challenger, the Bengals. The back half of their schedule is certainly a bigger challenge but they have earned their place in the battle for a high playoff seed.

Given that we are just past the midpoint, let's take a look at some of the data as compared to last year.

Red Zone –

Much has been made of the Ravens’ success (or lack thereof) in the Red Zone last season. In 40 Red Zone trips thus far this season they have scored a TD 26 times (65%). Last year, they scored 1 more TD (27) in 59 trips (45.8%). So not only are they getting into the Red Zone more frequently (nearly 1 more trip per game) they are scoring 6 nearly 50% more often. That is massive and will be key to a deep playoff run.

Points per Drive –

With far more Red Zone efficiency it stands to reason that the Ravens are scoring more points. And they are.

Through the first 9 games they are averaging 2.26 pts per drive. For the entirety of the 2022 season they averaged 1.9 per drive. .36 points per drive may not seem like a ton but with an average of nearly 11 drives per game that difference compounds to nearly 4 extra offensive points per game.

Points Against per Drive –

I think we’ve all seen the development of the defense. Frankly, I thought it was starting to slip over the last 2 or 3 seasons. Whether the addition of Roquon Smith, the development of Kyle Hamilton, the interior pressure of Madibuke and his teammates, or other reasons, they are good at every level.

And while points against isn’t always a great metric to measure defensive success, this year the numbers jump off the page. The 2023 squad is allowing 1.11 points per drive (along with Cleveland far and away the best in the league). Last year’s D allowed 1.79.

Expected Points-Defense –

A few weeks ago I wrote about the defense allowing far fewer points than expected. Well that has continued. In fact, the Ravens and Browns (in one less game) have distanced themselves CONSIDERABLY from the rest of the league.

Both teams are +85 in Expected Points-Defense. On a per play basis which is generally how EPA is viewed, the Browns defense are leading the league (given they have played one less game).

Expected Points-Offense –

So the Ravens are 2nd in the all-important EPA/play (defense). How do they look in that metric on offense? Well they are 7th in offensive EPA/play. Unsurprisingly, they lead the league in Rushing EPA/play but are only 12th in passing EPA/play.

For what it is worth, the Browns with their stingy defense rank 28th in offensive EPA/play with neither their rushing attack nor passing game in the top half of the league. In a word, their offense is pretty inept. Is that a function of Watson being out of all those games or just that they are that bad? Time will tell.

The only 3 teams to be in the top 10 in EPA/play in both offense and defense? The Ravens, Cowboys and Chiefs (Niners are quite close as of this writing).

Anyway, if you believe that some of these statistics are predictive then the Ravens are among the elite in the league on both sides of the ball. They don’t have an “Easy” game on paper left (except perhaps the Rams) with matchups against Cleveland, Cincinnati, LAC, Jags, Niners and Dolphins. Ohhh, I almost forgot, they play that team from 4 hours northwest with their little yellow hankies to close out the season.

The Ravens are good enough, barring injuries, to beat them all. As we have seen in past years, however, there is certainly no guarantee.

Wednesday November 8, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3362

improvements? let the teams pay for them

Free money.

Who wouldn't want it?

This is almost a moot point by now, because the Ravens have gladly signed off on the $600 million of free money they'll utilize to help improve the football stadium in Baltimore.

The Orioles are still fighting over their share of the money. They want more than $600 million. And who wouldn't, of course? I mean, if someone's giving you $5,000, why not ask for $20,000 and see if you can get it?

The issue at hand extends far beyond the money both franchises are set to receive. It's not like they're given "cash". The funding they're receiving is generally going to stadium improvements and/or upgrades to the area immediately surrounding the complex, which means two things as I see it.

First, it's $600 million each of the teams don't have to spend.

Second, they're the ones who get to benefit from the improvements in the long run.

To sum it up: It's kind of a joke.

Both of the franchises are wildly successful from a financial standpoint.

The phrase "printing money" comes to mind, actually.

The Ravens generated $544 million in revenue in 2022.

The league salary cap was $208 million a year ago.

There are other expenses, of course, like staff salaries, coaching and executive salaries, travel, insurance, etc.

It's thought that the Ravens made a profit of somewhere around $120 million in 2022.

The Orioles reportedly made a profit of $64 million 2022.

That ain't chump change, as the saying goes.

And now the city and state are going to fork over $600 million in stadium improvements to both of them so they can -- wait for it -- potentially make even more money down the road?

I'm trying to make sense of that one, honestly. It's just not adding up.

Yes, we should be grateful, as a city, to have two relatively successful organizations in our midst. I won't argue that for a second.

But it's also important to remember that other areas of the city deserve our money and attention as well.

If the Ravens want to tear down the press box and put more suite level boxes and seats in that area, that sounds like a great idea to me. Let them pay for the improvements. It's their idea. It's their revenue. Why do outsiders have to pay for it?

The same with the Orioles. If John Angelos wants some glorious downtown entertainment section built near his baseball stadium, I think that's a wonderful idea. There's nothing wrong with the stadium as it is right now, though. Those new and extra things are just items of convenience that Angelos believes would help his franchise generate more revenue.

That's great.

You pay for it.

You build Camden Crossing with the gazillions of dollars you've hoarded over the last decade while the team went 55-107 every other year.

The city and state shouldn't have to fund your dreams. You fund them.

I was just in the football stadium on Sunday. It was fine. Hardly waited in line for food. Bathroom lines were short. Sound system was great. Video board was gorgeous. I didn't have one moment in that stadium on Sunday where I said, "You know what this place is missing?"

I went to a half dozen baseball games in 2023. Never once did I see something so wildly out of place that I said, "Well, that definitely needs to be fixed in the future."

Now, I understand I'm not the Ravens. And I'm not the Orioles. They both have a laundry list of things that need to be fixed, added, changed, etc. As John Angelos reported in a recent Baltimore Sun article, there are "behind the scenes" things that break all the time; boilers, air conditioners, light fixtures, etc. And those need to be repaired on occasion.

Guess what? When the organ needs to be cleaned or repaired at my chuch, you know who pays for it? The church. It's part of doing business.

So when a boiler breaks down in the baseball stadium, that's a darn shame. It's also not my concern. It's your boiler. You fix it.

We love sports. I love the teams. You love the teams. This very website exists because of my lifelong affection for sports.

But there comes a point where the level of comfort the state and city have afforded these two organizations reaches its zenith.

Take $200 million out of that $600 million you're giving the Ravens and figure out a way to get more educators into schools so we don't have high schools recording a 100% failure rate in standardized math testing.

Take $200 million out of that $600 million you're giving the Orioles and figure out a way to increase the number of law enforcement officers so people can walk their dogs at night without fear in their neighborhood(s).

Heck, here's something near and dear to my heart. Take $25 million of it and renovate Mount Pleasant golf course. Turn it back into the championship course it once was.

Put some money into upgrading places like Druid Hill Park or Lake Montibello. Places where, you know, every day people congregrate and enjoy themselves.

For all I care, you could take all $600 million of the money that's being appropriated for each sports team and use it for community services instead.

On a personal level, I see anywhere from 10 to 30 people a week in my position in the Outreach office of my church. They need food. They need $1,000 for their BGE bill or they're getting their electricity turned off in two weeks. They need $2,000 to avoid getting evicted with their three children a month before Christmas.

Give $100 million to those needs.

We're giving away $1.2 billion to two organizations that simply don't need the money.

The Ravens aren't going anywhere. They're Baltimore's football team. The stadium they play in is more than adequate.

The Orioles aren't going anywhere. They're Baltimore's baseball team. The stadium they play in is more than adequate.

Neither of them are leaving and going to Nashville or St. Louis or some other made-up city. It's like the scene from Caddyshack "You're going to play golf today and you're going to like it."

They're in Baltimore. End of story.

Their stadiums are fine. End of story.

If they do need repairs, upgrades or modifications, the franchises themselves should be responsible for a significant percentage of those expenses, if not all of them.

The poor-boy act, particularly from the Orioles, is definitely #clownshoes stuff. It's like your buddy who makes $300,000 asking you to Venmo him $4.00 for the coffee he just bought for you.

Let's not quibble over peanuts.

Or coffee.

You have plenty of money. Try spending some of it.

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 9th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2023-2024 season.

reese leads terps in opening win

There was a bit of a buzz last night in the XFINITY Center where the Maryland Terrapins methodically dispatched Mount St. Mary’s, 68-53.

Juju Reese dominated inside, getting 18 points and 8 rebounds, while freshman Deshawn Harris-Smith added 12 and 4 while playing the Terp’s best floor game. He was as advertised. Rough, tough, and relentless.

More students attended this first 2023-2024 home game than attended the first 8 games combined last year (excluding the UCLA contest), and they were a lively group. What they saw was a Terp team that was out of sync offensively, struggled from the three-point line, but showed that there is a lot to like about the possibilities for the upcoming season.

I’ll quickly highlight some key points about last night’s win.

DeShawn Harris-Smith is the real deal. He’s a badger on defense and gets to the rim. His outing was very impressive, but he needs to add some shooting range.

Jamie Kaiser Jr hit a spot up three and another bucket while creating his own shot. He can score, but needs to move better defensively. Kevin Willard used a multitude of combinations, exploring numerous lineup possibilities.

The Terp starters could have won this game by 40. Julian Reese had his way on offense, but still collects fouls in bunches. This team will get much better.

Like an NFL offensive line that hasn’t played together, it was unreasonable to expect a well-oiled offensive machine from a Maryland team that used countless combinations of players that have little to no game time together.

They looked sloppy and a bit tentative while running their offensive sets, but that’s excusable. What they did do was show some relentless defense and some good individual work on the offensive side.

The Terps will get better as they become more familiar with the offense and each other, and play with more confidence. They’ll shoot better than the 3-16 they posted from the three-point line last night. Some of those threes looked tentative and lacking confidence.

Shooting a basketball has a lot in common with a golf shot. If you’re worried about the water, or about missing a short putt, guess what the outcome will be? It’s essential to swing (or shoot) with confidence.

Some shots from Noah Batchelor, Jahmir Young, and the single shot from Mady Traore looked more like a guy trying not to miss instead of just putting a good stroke on the shot. That will improve with time.

I won’t be covering most of the early season “pay” games, but I wanted to share with you some thoughts on this opener. This team will grow offensively. The defense will be there all season. Coach Willard has a lot to accomplish before the Big Ten season begins, but the raw talent is there.

questions with answers

Dave K. asks -- "Wondering which of these three have the best chance of happening in your mind. O's sign Gunnar to a long term extension this off-season. Capitals trade Ovechkin to a contender at the trade deadline. Maryland makes it to the Final Four in April. Thanks and Go Hall at the Turkey Bowl."

DF says -- "Zero chance the Caps trade Ovi. Beyond zero, actually. There's no way they're trading him while he's in pursuit of the goal scoring record.

I don't think the Orioles are going to sign Gunnar in the off-season. I wouldn't say there's zero percent chance of that happening but it's very slim. Maybe like 5%? The O's would probably have to fork over somewhere around $125 million for 5 years or so just to keep him happy for 5 years until he hits the real payday. And they're not paying him $125 million.

Maryland in the Final Four? I have no idea. But of the three options you listed, they have the best chance of the three. Maybe 15%?"

Derek asks -- "If you're the Ravens are you keeping Patrick Queen at the end of the season or letting him sign elsewhere?"

DF says -- "I know the conventional thinking around town is you can't pay two linebackers $100 million or more each. I get that. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Ravens try to keep Queen around. As good as Roquan has been, Queen has really blossomed with Smith around him. Why risk breaking up that partnership if you can somehow keep them both?

I know it's going to be hard to do. But something tells me the Ravens will try to keep him. Will Queen wind up finding someone else to give him more money? Probably. But my hunch is the Ravens make Queen a serious offer and try to keep him in purple."

Nick asks -- "I was in a foursome last Saturday at Rocky Point where a player hit his first tee shot into the water way right at #11 and then hit his next shot from the tee to within one inch of the hole. He then said "I was that close to my first hole in one" and a guy in the group said it wouldn't have been a hole in one since it was his third shot after hitting one OB. What do you think about that? Would it count as a hole in one or not?"

DF says -- "It would not. A hole in one means it came on your first shot on that hole. Your friend -- who, by the way, could have played the ball from where it went out assuming it was marked with red stakes -- hit his 3rd shot from the tee. Had it gone in, that would have been a "3" on the card. Not a "1".

This exact thing happened to Fred Couples once on the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. He hit his first ball in the water and then holed his next shot for an unlikely par. It was not a hole in one. It was a hole in three, if you will."

Tuesday November 7, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3361

things we get bothered about in sports

I understand very well the age old saying: to each his own.

I don't particularly care for The Beatles, as a lot of you know. I gave them a try at a younger point in my life. It sounded like the Bay City Rollers jamming with Procol Harum, to me.

To each his own.

I'm not a fan of olives. I like the color olive, actually. But olives the food...not at all.

To each his own.

I'm not at all interested in clams or oysters. Tried 'em once or twice. Hated 'em both times.

To each his own.

I have friends who like The Beatles. And olives. And clams and oysters, too. Good for them, I say. I don't let it bother me.

I received three e-mails, one on Sunday and two yesterday, that gave me a minute to pause and reflect. On each occasion, I knew what my answer was going to be the minute I read the e-mails, but even then, I still had to consider my reply carefully and make sure I was saying what I wanted to say in response to them.

They're all sports-related, so they fit in with #DMD.

Pat is up in arms over the slate of Thursday, Sunday and Monday night football games.

Jason reached out to me late Sunday evening with an e-mail about C.J. Stroud of the Texans and mixed in a little bit of #DMD along the way.

Miles checked in with thoughts about the O's going 0-for-3 in Gold Glove voting and Kyle Bradish not being a Cy Young finalist.

Here's what Pat had to say:

"Here's one for your website. I hope you can answer it. Why is the NFL shoving these horrible games down my throat when all I want to do is sit back and watch good football? Have you seen the schedule for the next month?

Tonight (last night) it's the Chargers and Jets.

This Thursday it's the Bears vs. Panthers.

This Sunday it's the Jets vs. Raiders.

Next Monday it's the Broncos vs. Bills.

The following Sunday it's the Vikings vs. Broncos.

And the next Monday after that it's the Bears vs. Vikings.

Look at the line up Drew. It's filled with bad football teams. As you like to say I know I'm just howling at the moon about this but I'm really fustrated with this. What's the story?"

DF says -- "It's a terrible schedule of games. I agree with you. I don't understand it, either. That said, two things jump out at me. First, it's not as easy as we think to change the dates of games. So "flexing" new games into those slots isn't something you just do with the snap of a finger.

Don't forget, the Thursday games can't be touched anyway. So you're really only talking about Sunday night and Monday night. There's nothing that can be done with the Thursday "quality", if you will.

And, second, the other thing to consider is that perhaps the games on Sunday that you'd move are already locked in and protected by the networks they're currently scheduled for. I haven't even looked at the schedule to say "well, you have Ravens-Browns here...move that game to Sunday night instead of Jets/Raiders" (example) because it's not worth getting into it.

Would it be nice to have two really good teams go at it on Sunday night and Monday night? Of course. That Bengals/Bills game this past Sunday was a good one.

But in the end, who cares?

I mean, seriously. What's it matter? I didn't watch one second of the Chargers vs. Jets tonight (last night) and I don't think my life changed at all.

I have to assume the league would love to flex out of those games. There's a reason why they can't. I think I know what it is, but I really don't care one way or the other."

Jason is up next.

"Drew, maybe you'll answer this on your website or maybe you'd rather respond to me one-on-one. Either way is fine by me. I've been a reader at The Morning Dish for 5 or 6 years now. I thought of you today (Sunday) when I saw C.J. Stroud get interviewed and he made sure to tell the broadcaster he wanted to first thank his Lord and savior and he spent 20 seconds of the interview talking about that.

I know you're a man of faith and you're in that scene at Calvert Hall so I'm asking you a serious question. Why do athletes have to do that when they're probably only going to get 30 seconds of air time or maybe one minute max? I'm watching the games and the highlights to hear about sports, not about God.

And I know it's your website and you can promote whatever you want but why do you give space every week to the Faith videos that you publish? Do you think that's overkill? I do like your website but sometimes you and the athletes pushing God on everyone can be a big turn off."

DF says -- "I didn't see C.J. Stroud's interview, so I'm answering this without knowing exactly what he said. I hope you realize that. I'm assuming that Stroud brought up his faith in the interview because, like a lot of us, he feels moved to share it by the Holy Spirit. C.J. Stroud might get to talk to the media once or twice a week during the season. It's his opportunity -- or "platform" if you will -- to say whatever he wants to say. And Stroud evidently wants to use some of that time to publicly thank God for whatever blessings he feels have been given to him.

Why do you care? Why does anyone care what C.J. Stroud says for 20 seconds after a game or at a press conference? I can't imagine there's any way your life gets negatively impacted by anything C.J. Stroud says. On the flip side, the good news -- at least for Stroud and other "believers" -- is that Stroud's quick reference of his faith might reach someone in a positive way. That's always the hope.

And that's precisely why I dedicate a portion of my website every Friday to "Faith in Sports". I think it's important to showcase people who are dedicated to Christianity. That they are high profile athletes or entertainers is even better. People around the world put stock in what they say. Whether it's about car insurance, mortgage companies, sneakers or Jesus, when athletes speak, people listen.

So, by extension, I want to promote those athletes and entertainers who go out of their way to endorse God, Jesus and the teachings we have all read and learned from the Bible.

You are well within your rights to not click on the video every Friday.

To each his own.

I post "Faith in Sports" every Friday mainly for people who aren't believers -- if you can believe that, no pun intended -- and perhaps need a little motivation through public proclamation. I post the videos because I believe it's important for Christians to continue to showcase the great work Jesus did. That's my responsibility, just like it's C.J. Stroud's responsibility.

Gavin Sheets was my guest at our FCA golf tournament a few weeks ago and he said something very interesting to the group of golfers that were assembled there. "Don't be afraid to talk about your faith. Be up front about it. Be willing to talk openly about your love for God. Don't shy away from it. Stand up and be counted."

I thought that was awesome. It sounds like that's exactly what C.J. Stroud was doing after the game on Tuesday.

Whether you listen and appreciate the faith messages you hear or see or if you don't listen and tune it out is up to you. I'm never going to push you, as a Christian, because I don't think that's the way to help you understand God's word and message. When you're moved to understand it, you will. That's what I believe, anyway."

Miles was hot and bothered about "the disrespect the Orioles are getting" from the various end-of-season awards that are getting handed out now that the season is complete.

"Hi Drew, to borrow one of your phrases, this whole baseball awards thing is the ultimate CLOWNSHOES moment! What's going on with the awards and why don't any Orioles ever win anything? It's driving me nuts.

Austin Hays didn't make one error all season. How does he not win the Gold Glove? And how does Heim from Texas beat out Adley Rutschman? Kyle Bradish had better numbers than Gausman and Gray for Cy Young. Yet they're finalists and he's not.

It drives me crazy when we get disrespected by the national media. Help me understand it, Drew."

DF says -- "I hate to do this, Miles, but I'm going to have to do it. I'm not sure there's anything I care less about in sports than post-season awards. I just couldn't care less.

I never have cared.

If I'm being totally honest, I find it kind of funny that the Ravens announce Lamar Jackson out of the tunnel by reminding everyone he was the "2019 NFL MVP". Who cares? That was four years ago. It was nice to win it. Those days are long gone. That's how I read it.

OK, so Hays didn't win the Gold Glove. Who cares?

I don't even know if the players care, really. I mean, they might be miffed they didn't win, but then they open up their phone and check their bank account and all is well with the world, again.

Sure, some guys have bonuses built into their contracts that provide them extra money for winning MVP, Cy Young, Gold Glove, etc.

How does any of that impact you, though? If Austin Hays lost out on $250,000 because he didn't win the Gold Glove, what's it to you?

If you're just interested in the guys winning awards because you have pride in the team and you think it's awesome to have Kyle Bradish as a finalist for the Cy Young, that's all well and good. You should have pride in your team.

But don't get all hot and bothered about it. Don't go to Twitter and write 400 word threads barking about how the O's got ripped off and so-and-so should have won an award.

There's only one thing that matters in sports: winning games.

Awards and all of that other stuff is for the birds.

Except when they're not for the Birds.

In the end, it's not worth worrying about. That's how I see it."

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 9th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2023-2024 season.

terps open '23-24 campaign tonight

The Maryland Basketball season officially begins tonight when the Terps take on what should be a substantially inferior Mt. St. Mary’s team.

We won’t dissect the game tonight. I think we all know what’s bound to happen.

Our game-by-game breakdowns will come later when Maryland meets more formidable opponents. What we will do is focus on the big picture for this season. Here’s what you can expect – change!

Kevin Willard’s second team at College Park lost 4 of the top 7 players in minutes played.

That’s a ton of court time now available, and this team will fill it with something that they sorely lacked last year. Athleticism and muscle were in short supply in 2022-2023, but this deep squad will boast a much more physical style and some much-needed athleticism.

Gone are Hakim Hart, Don Carey, Ian Martinez, and Patrick Emilien. That translates to just short of half of the available playing time in a game, and those minutes are now up for grabs. The guys likely to get big chunks of that time are physical newcomers to Maryland who all have Big Ten ready bodies.

Deshawn Harris-Smith is a highly rated 4-star guard who has been described as having an NBA ready physique. He’s 6’5” and 215 and loves to attack the basket and get to the rim. He relies heavily on his left hand, and needs to add some off-hand efficiency, but he’s big, strong, and has a warrior mentality.

Many people are looking at him as a potential Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He’s a great “get” for coach Willard. Terp fans will love his ferocity.

Jamie Kaiser (6’6”, 205) and Jahnathan Lamothe (6’4”, 192) are also strong, tough freshmen who offer the Terps a solid rotation of defenders who play right into Willard’s pressing style.

Last year’s team was 19th in the country in the number of presses used, this team could press even more than that. My expectation is to see Kaiser play more minutes than Lamothe, but the Baltimore native, Lamothe, is the better long-range shooter. 3-pointers were a major issue last year, especially with Donta Scott falling off dramatically, but this team has better shooters.

Kaiser, Lamonth, and Noah Batchelor will be better than what Maryland had on the perimeter last season.

While I liked the intensity that Hart brought to the court, you just can’t compete for a Big Ten title or make a deep run in March with a guy like Hart leading your team in minutes played and starting at the 3 spot. The Terps will get an upgrade in that position, and part of the improvement will come from an Indiana transfer with a 40” vertical leap.

The Terps, last year, had nobody on the roster with the “hops” of incoming transfer Jordan Geronimo. The athletic and versatile 6’6” senior can defend any of four positions and can flat out get off of the floor.

He’s not an offensive threat away from the basket, but he can rebound by just outjumping the rest of the field. That was a major deficiency on this Terp team last season and Geronimo will provide some relief in that area. I loved this kid when he came into the Big 10 and I really look forward to seeing him in a Terp uniform.

A New Mexico State transfer, and potential wild card on this team is Mady Traore. At 6’11”, and with a wingspan 4 inches more than his height, Traore might give Maryland more than just a guy who spells Juju Reese when he needs a break or starts collecting fouls.

Traore can protect the rim, and can step out to hit a jumper. If I had to pick a guy who has the biggest gap between pre-season expectation and actual contribution, Mady’s my guy. He’s a bit light at around 200lbs, but he moves really well and is an interesting piece.

Returning starters Reese, and Jahmir Young are fairly known quantities. We’ll see continued growth from Reese, and a game controlling ballhandler in Young.

But the guy that needs to step up is Donta Scott. He can’t shoot 30% from the 3-point line, 38% from the field, and grab 6 rebounds per game like he did in 2022-2023. Maryland needs more from him, or his starting spot will be in jeopardy.

I opened this piece by saying that this season will feature change. There will be change in the mentality of the team and change in the degree of physicality that they bring to the floor.

There will also be a change in the tempo on both ends of the court and a change in the personnel options the coach has. More size, more muscle, and more athleticism. Does it all equate to more wins? We’ll see. It all starts tonight at 7 p.m. in College Park.

This team will be an exciting, blue-collar squad. They have some interesting pieces with a great mix of seniors and rookies. They’ll be 9 deep and won’t get punished so hard when Reese comes off the floor. For sure the freshman will need a bit of time to become adjusted to the college game, but they won’t be abused physically.

Maryland, potentially, could play Clemson and Villanova in back-to-back early games. The ‘Nova game is already on the schedule for Friday, November 17th, while the Clemson contest happens on November 12th if the Terps beat Davidson and Clemson beats UAB in the opening round of the Ashville Championship Tournament.

We’ll know a good bit more about the Terps after those battles.

Monday November 6, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3360

leave your january weekends open

The good news? The Ravens cruised past the helpless Seahawks yesterday, 37-3.

The bad news? The Ravens only face a NFC team twice more in the regular season.

More good news? Lamar Jackson improved to 17-1 in his career vs. NFC teams yesterday, which bodes very well for the Ravens if they can make it to February's Super Bowl in Las Vegas.

The game was a laugher from the jump, although it took the Ravens the better part of a quarter to flex their muscles. Seattle produced one of the more laughably inept performances in recent history. 37-3 was a fair indicator of Baltimore's dominance.

Complainers found some stuff to bellyache about yesterday; Zay Flowers was only targeted one time in the win. There was also some social media griping about Ronnie Stanley's play, which wasn't of All-Pro caliber. There's a reason why linebackers and edge rushers occasionally prosper against even the best like Stanley; they're also on scholarship.

There's still plenty of football left, obviously, but the Ravens are starting to come together like a team that's going to be a tough out come playoff time.

They have to stay healthy, of course. That's key fact #1. But assuming Lamar and the other key figures stay healthy, January could be a lot of fun in The Land of (cold) Pleasant Living.

The Ravnes defense is really, really good.

The offense is good. Lamar is great. That combination makes John Harbaugh's team dangerous on both sides of the ball.

As I sat in the stadium yesterday and watched the blowout in person, a haunting thought kept creeping into my mind. The performance I was watching was eerily similar to something we would have seen in 2019. You know what I mean: A 14-2 record, a solid defense, Lamar leading a high octane offense and home games a plenty in the post-season.

And then, just like that, the Titans came to town and suffocated Lamar. He was "off" from the first series, the Titans went ahead early, and everything fell apart in a miserable loss to Mike Vrabel's team.

It only takes one of those kind of games in January and everything you worked for goes away.

As I watched the Ravens repeatedly punch Seattle in the mouth yesterday, I just couldn't shake that thought. "This is all great now. It might continue to be great for the rest of the regular season. And then the Bills or Jaguars or some other team that has no business shutting us down comes to town and Lamar lays an egg and we lose 17-16."

That scenario seems almost impossible to believe right now, what with the way we've seen the Ravens dismantle both the Lions and Seahawks in their most recent two home games.

I sure hope it doesn't happen this January.

But I can't shake that weird feeling.

Another thing I can't shake is this: The Ravens might very well wind up with the AFC's best record in the regular season.

They're 7-2.

Make it 8-2 after next week's win over Cleveland.

And then their last seven games are against the Bengals, Chargers, Rams, Jaguars, 49'ers, Dolphins and Steelers.

I can see two more losses, tops. They're not losing to the Rams, Dolphins or Steelers. Of those other four, perhaps they drop two.

13-4 could be good enough for the #1 seed.

The Chiefs are 7-2, like the Ravens, and they have a handful of difficult games left to play as well. The good thing for KC: they're almost all at home. Eagles, Bills and Bengals all go to Kansas City. Mahomes and Company finish up the year at Los Angeles against the Chargers, who generally play the Chiefs tough.

Like the Ravens, Kansas City won't have much room for error down the stretch.

The Thursday night home game against the Bengals will be massive for Baltimore. So, too, will be the road games in L.A. (Chargers) and Jacksonville. A 2-1 record in those three would be fine. A 3-0 mark would go a long way in helping Baltimore earn the #1 seed.

It's really shaping up a lot like 2019 for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

Let's just hope it doesn't end the same way.

I thought about this yesterday on a beautiful Chamber of Commerce afternoon in Baltimore. I have seen at least one home game at M&T Bank Stadium every season since the facility opened in 1998.

And while I haven't made any in-depth notes on the stadium experience or anything like that, the more I attend football games in Baltimore, the more I realize something: the in-game product drags on far too much.

That's not to say that it isn't entertaining. There are parts of the game that are fun. The action can be exciting, yesterday's 37-3 snoozer nothwitstanding.

But the stadium "event", if you will, just drags on too much.

I know why. We all know why. Every time there's a stoppage in play, there's a TV commercial or three that someone's paying for.

And when players cash those $150,000 game checks, they're cashing them in part because of the TV money that comes in every August.

But the pace of the game, in the stadium, is just too slow.

The last two and a half minutes of the third quarter game clock took about 13 minutes yesterday.

It was so bad that molasses called and said "This game is way too slow..."

And unlike baseball, who found pockets of the game itself that could be sped up, football doesn't have the same luxury. The reason football is slow is because of everything that happens while the game isn't being played. There are just too many stoppages in play. And rather than get the ball back in play in, say, 45 seconds, the league would rather take 2 or 3 minutes to resume the action.

Some sports are made for TV. Some are made to be watched in person.

The NHL is not a TV sport. You can't follow the puck. But it's a great sport to attend in person.

Major League Baseball is working hard to improve the pace of their game in an effort to make it more appealing for those watching live and on TV.

Basketball is great to watch in person.

Football......not so much.

Then again, the dirty little secret is that the NFL has pretty much molded us all into accepting their sport as a "TV product".

The league wants us watching the games at home. That's where they make the most money.

The team wants you at the stadium watching the games, then they want you to rush home and watch the other games. The club needs people in the seats for a variety of reasons, including home field "advantage", sponsor fulfillment and, of course, the large chunk of food and beverage revenue they retain for themselves.

Alas, it wouldn't be a surprise if the NFL figures out in the near future what MLB is starting to accept. The stadiums are about as full as they're going to get right now. If you added, somehow, 12,000 seats at M&T Bank Stadium, you'd still see 71,000 people there next Sunday.

Ask your friends who try to sell their Ravens tickets how that's going for them. It's really hard to get rid of your seats. Oh, and for some weird reason yesterday, there were a lot of Seahawks fans in attendance. Butts in seats are butts in seats, of course, but there might have been 5,000 people in Seattle blue and green in the stadium on Sunday.

I sat next to a row of Seahawks fans. They were all from Fredericksburg, Virginia. I didn't bother to ask "why the Seahawks?". But they all made the drive up from Virginia to see their team.

Less seats in the football stadium wouldn't be a killer. I'm not saying that's going to happen. I'm just saying it wouldn't be the kind of thing that crushes the Ravens.

The Orioles, to look locally, actually reduced seating two years ago when they changed their configuation of the left field wall. They did that mostly to help them from a competitive angle, but the point is obvious: they don't care if they lose a couple of thousand seats because the TV money coming in far outweighs any concerns about loss of ticket revenue.

There were not many empty seats in Baltimore yesterday, by the way. I'm a pretty good judge of that kind of stuff having spent 17 years in the soccer business looking at countless arena attendance figures.

I'd say there were 3,500 no-shows yesterday. That's basically 5% of the capacity, which is very acceptable given the balmy weather, youth sports still going on and Seattle being a "meh" opponent.

But that doesn't change the fact that the NFL is just not a great in-person event.

And that's not at all a slight against the Ravens and their game ops people, who work extraordinarily hard at creating entertaintment throughout the 3-plus hours you're in their house.

It's simply a by-product of the league being married to television.

The real truth? If the league could make the quarters 18 minutes in length, they'd do it.

More commercials. More money. Everyone would be happy.

Except the folks who have to sit through it at the stadium.

everyone who reads #dmd -- this is for you!

OK, if you're a male reader of #DMD -- which, our data has showed us, is about 95% of you -- today's edition is particularly important for you.

In our on-going series with LifeMed's Eric Rittmeyer, we start to really delve into what LifeMed can do to help improve the health of every man out there reading this today.

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The best way to start this program is by doing exactly what I did. Reach out to Eric, tell him you'd like to come out and chat with him about your health, and that's all you need to do! You'll go out to their Timonium facility and sit down with Eric to learn more about what LifeMed can do for you.

Is your health worth a 30-minute free consultation with Eric and his staff? The obvious answer is "yes, you're worth it."

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You can reach Eric by phone at: 410-303-1844

Be sure and check out the Life Med website by clicking right here.

And by all means, give this video a watch today and start the journey of improving YOUR health!

	#DMD GAME DAY Week 9 Sunday — November 5, 2023 Issue #3359
	Seattle Seahawks at Baltimore Ravens 1:00 PM EDT M&T Bank Stadium Baltimore, MD Spread: Ravens (-6.0)

time to start pulling away

These next two weeks are crucial for the Ravens.

A win today and a win next Sunday and they're 8-2 and only a few wins away from securing, at the very least, yet another playoff berth in the AFC.

12 wins is almost assuredly going to be good enough to win the AFC North. 13 wins might snag them home field throughout the AFC post-season.

Today's game is critical.

There's nothing in the data that suggests Seattle's coming to Baltimore and winning today. The Ravens are the better team. But that doesn't automatically mean Pete Carroll's team is losing this afternoon.

This one figures to be a 60-minute football game. The Ravens can't sleepwalk through this one they way they did last Sunday in Arizona, that's for sure.

One of the key elements of today's game will be Seattle's passing offense against Baltimore's secondary. The Seahawks have four receivers with over 200 yards in receiving through 7 games thus far in 2023. Geno Smith has three wide receivers (Metcalf, Lockett and Smith-Njigba) and a tight end (Fant) to choose from. Mike Macdonald's secondary will need to be on point today.

The Ravens will look to duplicate the same style they used against Detroit a couple of weeks ago. Jump out to an early lead, minimize the turnovers on offense, control the ball on the ground, and give Lamar plenty of time to throw the ball when the passing game is called upon.

Seattle can run the ball somewhat effectively, too, but their two running backs (Walker, Charbonnet) are generally the only two who carry the ball. Geno Smith has carried it only 20 times all season. On the flip side, Lamar has carried the ball 78 times for the Ravens and is the team's second leading rusher with 380 yards.

The Seahawks bring a solid defense to Baltimore today. But they don't get to see the likes of Lamar Jackson every Sunday, either. The Lions came to town with a solid defense a few weeks back and got their hats handed to them.

The health of both teams is good. Seattle enters today's game the healthiest they've been all season. The Ravens have a few guys nicked up and safety Marcus Williams figures to be a game-time decision, but other than that all of John Harbaugh's key players are healthy and ready to go.

The Seahawks are 2-1 on the road, with wins at Detroit and New York (Giants) and a narrow 4-point loss at Cincinnati.

Likewise, the Ravens are 2-1 at home, with wins over Houston and Detroit and a loss to the Colts.

So who blinks today?

Pete Carroll's team?

John Harbaugh's team?

We just don't see the Seahawks making the trip east and beating a good team like the Ravens.

Lamar runs for one touchdown and finds Odell Beckham Jr. in the end zone for another one in the third quarter (finally) and the Baltimore defense creates a huge turnover in the 3rd quarter that helps the Ravens erase a concerning 19-13 deficit.

Justin Tucker hits three field goals on the day and a late Gus Edwards four-yard TD run gives the Ravens a 30-26 win.

around the nfl

DOLPHINS (6-2) AT CHIEFS (6-2) -- It's kind of weird this one's in Germany and not on Sunday Night Football, particularly given that Tyreek Hill is going up against his old team today. Nonetheless, it's a battle of two of the best teams in the entire NFL, across the pond, with the potential of this game impacting who holds home ice in the AFC playoffs. The scoreboard should be active today in Germany, that's for sure. English sports fans are used to seeing a lot of 0-0 soccer games. This NFL game figures to be 0-0 for roughly 5 minutes. If that long.

VIKINGS (4-4) AT FALCONS (4-4) -- Just when the Vikings had crept back into the playoff picture after a 1-3 start, they lose QB Kirk Cousins to an achilles tear and, BAM!, they're out of the post-season race once again. Maybe Cousins should experiment with that ayahuasca that helped Aaron Rodgers stay relevant despite his various injuries. Atlanta is still firmly in the NFC South playoff chase, but mainly because no one else in the division is all that great.

CARDINALS (1-7) AT BROWNS (4-3) -- If Cleveland doesn't win today, they should have to change records with Arizona. That should be a new league rule. "Lose at home to a 1-7 team and you have to take their record and they get your record." The Cardinals definitely could go 1-16 this season. That said, "Browns gonna Browns" is a famous football cliche for a reason.

RAMS (3-5) AT PACKERS (2-5) -- The Packers never had hopes of making the post-season in 2023, so this one today doesn't mean much. But the Rams fancied themselves legit contenders. And, well, they're almost in must-win territory today in Green Bay. A win and they're 4-5 and still have life. A loss and they're 3-6 and can probably only afford one more defeat for the rest of the regular season. Someone's season goes on life support today in Green Bay.

COMMANDERS (3-5) AT PATRIOTS (2-6) -- D.C. is one weird team. They're a couple of plays vs. the Eagles away from being 5-3 instead of 3-5. Oh, and they also lost to the Bears at home. So, yeah, they're really weird. New England, on the other hand, is just really bad. D.C. resembles the Rams. They need a win today to keep their playoff hopes moving along. A loss today to lowly New England (it still feels weird to write that) could doom them.

BEARS (2-6) AT SAINTS (4-4) -- This one should be a cakewalk for the Saints, but Derek Carr's no Patrick Mahomes. And when he has a stinker, it's usually a big one. But Chicago can't get out of its own way. There's very little left for them to play for, while New Orleans is fighting with Atlanta and Tampa Bay for the NFC South crown.

BUCCANEERS (3-4) AT TEXANS (3-4) -- Surprisingly, this is a pretty big game for both of these teams. Tampa Bay still has a puncher's chance in the NFC South and Houston could wind up fighting it out with a few other average AFC teams for the final playoff spot. There's an outside chance that someone might make it with a 9-8 record. And that "someone" could be the Texans if they can win today.

COLTS (3-5) AT PANTHERS (1-6) -- There are lots of "these kind of games" today. Where one team needs a win against an inferior team to keep their flickering playoff hopes still alive. Indianapolis should win this game, by all accounts, but Carolina seems to be a tick or two better than their 1-6 record suggests. Carolina has nothing to play for but pride, which might make them a dangerous team today.

GIANTS (2-6) AT RAIDERS (3-5) -- Now this is one lousy game. Two teams going nowhere, meeting in the middle of the season. One good thing, I guess, is that (likely) one of these two teams is going to get a "W" today.

COWBOYS (5-2) AT EAGLES (7-1) -- If Dallas wants to flex their muscles a bit, today would be a good day to do it. Philadelphia is clearly the king of the NFC at this point. A win today and they have a 2-game lead over Dallas. But a Cowboys win and they're a game out of first and they have the edge (for now) in the tiebreaker with Philly. This one feels like it could be a barnburner. Down to the last possession.

BILLS (5-3) AT BENGALS (4-3) -- One of these two teams is going to get a punch in the gut tonight. The winner is in good shape, the loser has a lot of work to do to make the playoffs. Buffalo has a little bigger margin for error, obviously, but the losing team in tonight's battle is up against it over the last half of the season. Both of these teams had Super Bowl aspirations at the beginning of the season. So far, neither of them are looking like a championship caliber club.

there is mail on sunday

Eric asks -- "Now that Colorado is 4-4 (4-5 after Saturday's loss) is Deion's star beginning to fall as a college football coach? It looks like it to me. Your thoughts?"

DF says -- "I assume Colorado's football team is 4-4 because that's the caliber of players they have. Good enough to beat average teams, maybe good enough on any given day to be a solid team, but not nearly talented enough to beat really good teams consistently.

I'm not sure how much Deion impacts Colorado in the game itself, just like I don't know how any coach impacts the game while it's being played.

Players play. Coaches coach.

I totally understand Deion's act -- if you will -- as a head coach. I get it. I see what he's trying to do. And I think it's probably one of the best ways to galvanize a group of young men to play above their talent level. "It's us against them" is how Deion coaches. It's what he preaches to those kids from day one, I'm guessing. "No one thinks you're good enough."

And while I do see the merit in putting that theme out there, I also know any success derived from that is usually short-lived. Once you've won a few games using the "us against the world" concept, you have to come up with something new. I don't know that Deion has anything new for his Colorado team that has now just settled in, if you will, and is forced to actually play football."

B.J. asks -- "The videos of Tiger circulating where he's caddying for his son are very encouraging. Are we about to see Tiger's return to glory, to borrow Jim Nantz's line? I hope so. What do you think, Drew?"

DF says -- "It certainly does say something about Tiger's health that he's able to walk and carry a golf bag for 18 holes. And I think (I'm not sure about this) that he did it for 3 straight days because the event his son played in was a 54-hole tournament.

So, yes, it's very encouraging to see him walk the course and all.

But I'd stop short of announcing a "comeback" for Tiger. You still have to play golf, too, and the golf move puts tremendous stress on the legs and lower body.

I've always said I didn't think Tiger would be dominant again because he can't walk 18 holes (or 72) pain-free. If he can do that, though, there's no telling what might happen.

It's been so long since he's been fully healthy that I'm not sure even Tiger knows what he's capable of doing any longer. But it sure would be great to see him back on the course and competing in 2024."

Carl asks -- "Hey Drew, for your mailbag this week, I was wondering what you think of Maryland's drubbing at the hands of Penn State today (Saturday)?"

DF says -- "What do I think of it? I think it's not a surprise. Maryland is never going to be as good as Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State. They're just not. Can they be as good as schools like Michigan State, Wisconsin and Purdue in football? For sure. But that's not really saying much.

I realize you can't promote the football program like this, because football does matter, but Maryland should be aiming for 7 wins a year, maybe 8 if they're really good, and take that as the mark of a successful season.

If every three or four years they somehow shock the world and beat a Top 20 program along the way, that would be great. In the meantime, just beat the rest of the "meh" Big Ten schools like Northwestern and Illinois (two teams they lost to this season) and let the chips fall where they may against Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

This 2023 season was going along just fine until they lost to Illinois and Northwestern. Those losses derailed them. Getting blown out by Penn State wasn't that big of a surprise. Losing to those other two, though, is sorta-kinda unacceptable."

Creston asks -- "OK Drew, after tonight's 2-1 win, the Capitals have played 10 games in the 2023-2024 season. Ovi has 2 goals in 10 games. That's a 16 goal pace basically. What do you think his goal total will be for the season based on his start to the year? I'm very worried personally."

DF says -- "Yeah, it's not good. The organization forgot to take into account that when you have a lousy offense in general that Ovechkin is going to feel the impact of that along the way.

The next 10 games are huge for him. If he only has 4 or 5 goals after 20 games, that's big trouble.

For all we know, he'll score 8 in the next 10 games and have 10 through 20 and be on a 40-goal pace.

Right now? I'd say -- providing he stays injury free -- he'll finish with 34. That would be a low total for him, for sure, but I don't see him getting any help offensively. Backstrom's done. Kuzy is pretty close to washed. Mantha is one of the most overrated players in the whole league. Wilson's OK, but it's not like other teams game plan to stop him from scoring.

The next 10 games are critical for Ovechkin. He still has a long way to go to catch Gretzky and he's not getting any younger."

Saturday November 4, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3358

how does harbaugh survive this?

I think we already know what's probably going to happen in Ann Arbor, but it's worth discussing at the very least, right?

Jim Harbaugh knew exactly what was going on.

We're now almost 100% sure of it. Jim Harbaugh knew his staffer, Connor Stalions, was involved in a high-level sign-stealing scheme that helped his Wolverines better prepare for their next opponent(s).

By "almost 100% sure of it", I mean it's become very obvious. There's no getting around it.

We know Harbaugh was in on it.

Stalions was reportedly fired on Friday, a few hours after a video surfaced that showed the staff yelling "that's pressure!" while standing just a few feet to the left of Harbaugh. The video showed what we all suspected. Stalions was working hand-in-hand with Harbaugh and other assistants on the sidelines, giving them up-to-the-second information on what plays opposing teams were going to run based on the signs he saw them flashing on the opposite sideline.

In an effort to save face late Friday evening, Michigan announced they hadn't fired the embattled sign-stealing coach. He had, of course, "resigned".

Michigan is trying to say, "We don't know what happened. This guy walked in to Human Resources earlier today and quit his job. We're not allowed to comment on it any further."

Either way, Stalions is no longer part of Michigans's football staff.

And, so, now, what happens?

I'm not talking about at the NCAA level.

What happens at Michigan? What do they do about this?

Defenders of the program far and wide will no doubt use the lazy, archaic argument we're all used to hearing: "It's no big deal. Let's not pretend every other school isn't doing it."

Every other school (or, more clearly, "other" schools) is probably trying to figure out their opponent's signs while the game is being played. That much is true. But, just like in baseball, there's a certain element of that practice that falls under "do a good job of disguising your signals and they won't get picked up on."

Every other school most certainly is not employing someone to travel to away games, finagle their way down to field level, and blend in with a team's coaching staff in an effort to garner information that can be useful to their employer in a week or two when those two teams meet.

So, Michigan defenders, the answer is: No, everyone else isn't doing it.

Your football program is doing it.

Your head coach is involved in it.

Your team is at the head of it, just like the Houston Astros were at the head of their own cheating scandal in 2017.

The NCAA will likely revisit the sign-stealing issue in the football off-season. There's no telling what they might wind up doing. As I've suggested here in the last 10 days, perhaps the NCAA will simply reverse their 1994 decision and allow sign-stealing to be a legal part of a team's "scouting".

I still think that's the easiest way to solve it. Just let everyone fly around the country and sit in the stands and steal signs. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

Or maybe the NCAA will double down and not only keep the no-sign-stealing rule in place, but upgrade and increase the punishment for those who are caught doing it.

Whatever they decide to do is fine by me.

But that's not the question at hand.

What is Michigan going to do with this current situation? Their football program broke the rules. Their head coach might have orchestrated it all. Or not. But he knew about it, for sure.

Is the University of Michigan going to allow this to go unchecked?

Harbaugh was already suspended once this season, remember, missing the program's first three games of the 2023 season after he violated recruiting rules during the Covid-19 "dead period".

Does Michigan have the guts to either suspend him again or outright fire him?

The likely answer to both of those is simple: No, they don't.

But that tells you something about the school.

It's not a surprise, of course. The school is indebted to the football program in Ann Harbor the same way David Lee Roth was indebted to the sound engineer in the recording studio.

At some point, though, isn't enough, enough?

Or is there just no integrity whatsoever at the school?

How does Harbaugh stay employed at this point?

He knew about the whole thing.

And participated in it, willingly.

We all know what Michigan should do. But will they?

Art C. asks -- "Hey Drew, my son-in-law got involved in a heated debate with a friend of his about Ravens tickets and I wanted to ask your opinion on it. My son-in-law's friend is from Cleveland and is a diehard Browns fan. My son-in-law offered him his 2 M&T Bank seats for the Browns-Ravens game. They're normally $160 per-game. My son-in-law offered them to him for $200 each. At the same time, he is unavailable to go this Sunday vs. Seattle because of an out of town soccer game his son is playing. He posted something on Facebook and offered the tickets for $160 each to anyone who wanted them. His friend is really mad that he is selling the Seattle tickets at face value but upcharged him for the Browns tickets. I was wondering what your take is on the situation?"

DF says -- "It sounds like your son and his friend aren't all that close. I don't know anything at all about the situation. So it's hard for me to comment on this.

Does your son really need $80 that bad that he wants to "upcharge" his friend for the tickets because he's a Browns fan? If he does need the $80, that's fine. Sell the tickets on one of the ticket re-selling websites and make more than $80 if you find the right person willing to pay the freight.

It definitely looks a little sketchy that he sold the two Cleveland tickets for $80 more (to a friend, no less) and then turned around and offered the same two tickets for face value for a different game. But he owns the tickets, he can do with them what he pleases.

And the "friend" buying the tickets didn't have to buy them from your son, either. He could have looked elsewhere for the two tickets he wanted to buy.

In the end, I'm assuming (again, not knowing the situation), the ticket buyer is more upset about getting upcharged and then seeing tickets for another game being offered at face value. I can see his point for sure."

Friday November 3, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3357

what's missing?

Two Las Vegas Raiders spoke on the record yesterday and one anonymously contributed some insight into this week's firing of head coach Josh McDaniels.

In-season coaching dismissals are rare. A coach getting canned with a 3-4 record is extra-rare.

Here's what we heard from the Raiders on Thursday.

"It's not a celebration that we have a new coach and there's been changes made," said Davante Adams. "We, obviously, think it was time, one way or the other, it was time for some sort of change. Just to bring a little juice in and revitalize the team a little bit. So, I think that's kind of the mindset we're having, just trying to have fun and enjoy our time in this building because I think as we speak to each other, it's been too much of, this has just been feeling like work too much and not having enough fun."

Defensive standout Maxx Crosby offered his insight. "I want to be in a great environment," Crosby said. "I want to show up to work every single day and feel great energy. I feel like that's more important than anything. At the end of the day, you've got to enjoy this. If you don't, you're not going to have much success and it's already hard enough to go out there and do what we do. So, if you're walking in the building, not enjoying it, it's going to be even harder."

An anonymous Raider told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday, "This just wasn't getting any better. Lack of trust, a lot of bad vibes floating around, coach not able to get everyone on the same page at times. And then we were losing games and everything built up and coach couldn't get it under control."

Read through those three quotes again, if you will, please.

Read them carefully.

Notice anything missing?

Nothing something in particular the players didn't mention?

Notice a theme that was left untouched and unsaid by the three players?

I noticed it right away.

I think you probably do, too.

I'll check the comments section around 2 or 3 pm today to see if anyone gets it right.

A few Friday quick hits for you to opine on.

Last spring, as the Ravens worked hard to get Lamar signed to a new long-term contract extension, there were rumors around town that Eric DeCosta and the Ravens scouting department were quietly enamored with draft-eligible quarterback Will Levis.

The prevailing thought around town was Levis would have been the team's first round pick (given that Anthony Richardson would have already been gone) if they hadn't been able to secure Lamar's contract extension before the draft.

Anyway, Levis is looking pretty sharp thus far in his very brief stint in Nashville.

No, I'm not saying the Ravens should have walked from Lamar and drafted Levis. Not in the least.

Just pointing out that DeCosta and his staff were very high on Levis, that's all. A lot of NFL teams weren't. The Ravens were.

The Capitals are in trouble, I'm afraid. That's not the first time you've read that here over the last few weeks. But after last night's dismal 3-0 loss to the Islanders, it's worth repeating.

I don't see much hope for the Caps in this '23-24 campaign.

They're old.

And slow.

And they don't have much offense at all.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

I don't put a lot of stock in what happens in the first few weeks of the season, but here's all you need to know about how bad Washington's offense is thus far; Dylan Strome leads the team with 6 goals.

Dylan. Strome.

Now, the good news, I suppose, is that Strome is off to a solid start. He scored 23 goals a year ago in his first season in DC. Not Gretzky-like numbers, obviously, but a 20-goal scorer in the NHL is a nice commodity to have.

This year, Strome is pretty much the whole offense.

That's...not....good news.

Oh, and don't look now, but Alex Oveckhin is off to a lousy start.

That's also not good news.

Last night's performance in D.C. was one of Ovi's more pedestrian efforts. He was on the ice for all three Islander goals and barely broke a sweat offensively. He has 2 goals in 9 games thus far and one of those was an empty-netter.

One "real" goal in 9 games.

Not the kind of start Ovechkin was hoping for.

As for the Caps, they are what they are.

Not very good.

I don't use Facebook all that much any longer. There's no particular reason why. I just don't use it much. If anything, I go to my page mainly to post pictures of my children for my friends to see and I occasionally post interesting tidbits about the FCA Maryland Golf program I'm involved in.

I think Facebook's great. It's just not part of my routine much these days.

But for kicks yesterday, I scrolled through my page to find "something". And find it I did.

Seven different people were on Facebook selling their Ravens tickets for this Sunday.

I didn't do an exact study, but I'd say I saw roughly 75 or 80 "profiles" from people in my sphere, if you will. And 7 of them were selling their tickets to the game vs. Seattle.

Weather looks good.

The Seahawks are a decent, if not formidable opponent.

And it's not like they come to Baltimore every year, either. If you're someone -- and I'm sorta-kinda like this -- who enjoys seeing a rare visit from a NFC team, this Sunday should be particularly appealing.

A quick visit to one of the online secondary ticket outlets shows almost 3,000 tickets available for purchase.

I don't get it.

People are buying the tickets in the summer, then not going to all of the games. It's so weird.

And it's not like you're buying season tickets and re-selling several of them to make a few extra bucks on the side. I can't imagine you're getting much more than face value for them if you're trying to peddle them on StubHub, SeatGeek, etc. The ones I saw being offered on Facebook all said the same thing: Looking for face value.

I do understand that not every ticket plan holder can make every game.

And if you're going to pick and choose a game or two to miss each season, you're probably picking opponents like Detroit and Seattle to miss.

But something just seems "off" with the Ravens and the level of fandom, if you will, that we've been experiencing in Baltimore over the last couple of years.

This isn't a "right now" thing, even though I started this off by mentioning the plethora of Seahawks' tickets available on my Facebook page timeline.

Tickets have been easy to come by for a while now.

Empty seats at the stadium have been the norm for a couple of years, at least.

If you do get out there on Sunday, make it a point to look around at the start of the second quarter and see how many empty seats there are in the stadium.

The number will surprise you.

Brett asks -- "I read today (Wednesday) that you think the Ravens did the right thing by not making any trades but don't you think honestly think they would be better defensively if they had Chase Young or Montez Sweat? I'm not sure how you could think they wouldn't be better."

DF says -- "Well, I thought they did the right thing when they traded for Ngakoue at the deadline back in 2020 and that was a colossal flop as it turned out. I wasn't sure Roquan Smith was the right guy last year at the deadline and, holy moly, he's like Ray Lewis-coming-back-for-a-second-tour-of-duty.

The point being: You never know who will work out and who will be a flop.

I think Young and Sweat are both good players. The issue with both of them, obviously, is it takes something to get them here. They're not "free". And DeCosta and his group of personnel experts must not have liked the trade value.

Or maybe the Commanders just didn't want to help their neighbors to the north. There might be some validity to that, too. "Trade them anywhere but Baltimore..."

In the end, I guess all I was saying is that Eric DeCosta -- and the Ravens as an organization -- have built up enough equity with me over time that I just assume what they're doing is the right thing to do. Some people around town don't share in that same level of faith and that's fine.

I'm not saying you're not allowed to second guess DeCosta or the Ravens. I think on any occasion they add a wide receiver to the team, you have to be concerned that he won't work out here, as nearly all of them eventually don't.

But on the whole, if the Ravens think "player A is a good fit for us", I'm just going to roll with it and assume he's a good fit.

And in the case of Young and Sweat, I'll assume the Ravens were right in not bringing them to town, if, in fact, it was of their doing."

faith in sports

I'm particularly excited to share today's "Faith in Sports" video because it involves people I actually know.

Well, to be clear, I only "know" Mark Viviano at Channel 13. I've known more for going on 30 years now, since my days back in the soccer business.

The Orioles who are featured in today's series, I only know from watching them play for our beloved baseball team.

But it warms my heart to see and hear their testimony nonetheless.

I also find it particularly interesting that Channel 13 actually allowed Mark to produce and air the piece you see below. With most of our country being led away from God these days by various powers and media entities, it's refreshing and welcoming to see Channel 13 giving Mark the opportunity to spread the good news about the three faith-led Orioles you'll see below.

Thanks, as always, to our friends at Freestate Electrical for their continued support of our Friday "Faith in Sports" series.

And a huge shout out to Mark Viviano for doing God's work on the front lines!

Thursday November 2, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3356

thursday stuff

The Texas Rangers did something in this baseball post-season that is almost unthinkable.

They played 11 post-season games on the road and won them all.

11 straight road wins. Against four very good teams, no less.

Two in Tampa.

Two in Baltimore.

Four in Houston.

Three in Arizona.

And that, obviously, is why they're the baseball champions of the world after last night's 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Baseball is a crazy, crazy game.

The Rangers basically gagged away the A.L. West by losing 3 of their last 4 in Seattle at the end of the regular season.

They drew the Rays in the first series and no one gave them much of a chance.

The buzzed through Tampa Bay, dismantled the Orioles, scratched out a crazy series win over Houston, then ran roughshod over the Diamondbacks by winning all three games in Arizona.

There are some sports streaks that are timeless.

DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak.

Cal Jr. playing 2,632 consecutive games.

Tiger playing 142 consecutive golf tournaments without missing a cut.

And, now, Texas going 11-0 on the road in the post-season.

We might not ever see those four records get eclipsed.

Oh, and don't look now, but the Rangers aren't likely going to be a flash-in-the-pan. Their team largely returns intact next season.

One thing for sure, though: Even if they're good again in 2024 and contend for a second straight title, there's no way they'll duplicate what they just pulled off to win their first World Series championship.

The 2023 post-season was one for the record books.

The Titans and Steelers play tonight in Pittsburgh.

Two bad teams...duking it out.

Tennessee has the 27th worst offense in football. The Steelers are dead last at 32.

I know exactly what you're thinking.

Which Bill Burr comedy show should you watch on YouTube instead of the football game?

Honestly, you'll laugh at either one. The Titans are ranked 29th in passing and the Steelers come in at 28th. Bill Burr is really funny. But watching the Titans and Steelers trying to throw the ball is hilarious, too.

The good news? You can't watch it tonight if you don't Amazon Prime.

The bad news? Next week's game is actually worse, if that's possible.

Next Thursday it's the Panthers and Bears. The over/under in that one might be 28.5 points. I don't know -- but you might want to consider the under.

Anyway, it does get better in two weeks. The Ravens host the Bengals on a Thursday night. That one should definitely be worth watching.

The NFL has done some dumb things in their time. They've also done lots and lots of good things. But along the way, they've made some major blunders.

None of those blunders comes close to being as massive as the creation of Thursday Night Football.

In a word, it's awful.

It's always been awful, actually.

No one wants to play in the Thursday games.

Coaches don't want to coach.

Honestly, I'm not even sure fans want to go to the game.

It's been awful since they started it and it's never gotten any better.

And yet, the NFL keeps trotting it out there, year after year, as if somehow, beyond all reasonable expectations, the Thursday game will suddenly be worth watching.

It would be one thing if the league decided, say, two weeks in advance, who would play on Thursday night. That would interfere with the other networks, obviously, but having the 49'ers-Jaguars next Thursday would be light years better than having Panthers-Bears.

Instead, they publish the Thursday schedule without any clue at all if the game will be worthy of national attention.

And, well, this week and next, the answer to that is a big "no".

One problem in 2023 might not be so obvious unless you're really glued in. The league is filled with meh-to-lousy teams this season.

Honestly, that might be a bigger issue than having bad football on Thursday nights.

In the AFC, you have Miami, Baltimore, Kansas City, and Jacksonville who look like they might be really good. You have Buffalo and Cincinnati who, perhaps, can be called "good".

Everyone else in the AFC is meh-to-lousy. 15 teams. 6 are worthy of watching.

In the NFC, it might be worse. Philadelphia, San Francisco and Detroit seem to be really good. And Dallas is a coin flip. They might be half-really-good.

The NFC South is so average that average called into the show and yawned.

The NFC North is bad. Maybe even really bad.

Seattle is "meh" in the West. The other two teams are not very good.

Washington and the Giants both stink.

The league is in one of those weird cycles where a handful of teams are really solid, a few are good, and everyone else can't break 80 on a 6,200 yard golf course.

Couple the average level of play with some of these dreadful Thursday Night match-ups and you have a lot of uninspiring football to watch.

This one tonight promises to be an all-time snoozer.

If we're lucky, the Steelers lose.

That will make it worth watching, I suppose.

But the idea of playing football on Thursday Night is silly no matter the winner or loser.

It's the worst idea in the history of the NFL.

Legendary basketball coach Bobby Knight died yesterday at the age of 83. He was, almost without question, the most polarizing figure in college basketball history.

There was a time when Knight's tactics and coaching style were accepted and well within the norm. Things changed over time, though, and Knight's act became less and less tolerable.

Whether the forced-softening of his personality was a positive for Knight is much-discussed even to this day. He was at his best when he was allowed to be Bobby Knight. When the powers-that-be turned him into something else, the coach lost a lot of his magic.

At his zenith, Knight was a tough, no-nonsense man who pushed people's buttons and limits.

He was, according to those who really knew him, a man who could be brilliant, punishing, loving and unfair. All within the same hour or two.

As a basketball coach, few could match him.

The mark of a great coach isn't all about wins and losses. It's also about what those who played for him (her) thought about him (her). In both of those accounts, Knight was a success.

He won on the court. And his players revered him.

Jay Bilas wrote a stirring piece on the ESPN website yesterday in the hours after Knight's death.

It's not our habit to promote that website. After all, you won't see any promotion of Drew's Morning Dish on ESPN's website.

But in this case, in fairness, the Bilas piece was so good, so authentic, and so informative that we'd be professionally negligent if we intentionally decided against passing it along to you here.

If you're a Bobby Knight fan, you'll love what Bilas had to say.

If you have mixed emotions about Knight or found his act to be irritating and/or unprofessional, you owe it to yourself to read the ESPN piece and decide what you think about Knight after you've had a chance to digest what Bilas had to say.

The title of the piece is "I liked the Bob Knight I knew." You can read it by clicking here.

After reading the words of Jay Bilas, I found myself liking Bobby Knight (more) as well.

He wasn't everyone's cup of tea. But then again, who is?

you want answers?

T.J. asks -- "You've played in a PGA Tour tournamnent before so that isn't an option but I'm wondering if you could do one thing in sports just one time what would it be? Attempt a field goal from 35 yards out in a NFL game? Have a shootout from center ice in a NHL game? Take an at-bat in a Major League Baseball game? Or something else that you choose? Thanks, Go Hall!"

DF says -- Yes, Go Hall! To clarify, I played in a professional golf tournament, but it wasn't a PGA Tour event, it was the U.S. Senior Open run by the United States Golf Association. I would love to play in a PGA Tour event.

But of the things you listed above, I will use the "choose something else" option, thank you very much.

I would love to drive a few laps in a NASCAR race. That would be my ultimate sports thrill.

I don't want to be in that car for the whole four hours. I don't think I could handle that. I don't even think I could handle a few laps. But, man, that would be so awesome. Great question, T.J.!"

Rich asks -- "With NFL teams wearing their throwback uniforms and the Texans recently announcing they're considering adding "Oilers blue" to their uniform scheme as early as 2024, is there any way the NFL would allow the Ravens to wear old Colts uniforms just once to show some respect to Baltimore's football heritage?"

DF says -- "Another great question! Alas, I have to assume the answer to that is "no". For starters, I'm not sure the Ravens would see any real value in that. There's no marketing appeal to owning a Colts "Jackson #8" jersey, right? I know what you're getting at and all, but I just don't see the value in it for the Baltimore Ravens.

And, even though I couldn't care less what the Colts actually think about it, I can't imagine the Colts would be all that excited about seeing the Ravens sporting their colors and helmets, even on a one-off occasion.

Novel idea and all, but most Baltimore football fans never saw the Colts play a home game in Memorial Stadium. That would be a really cool Ravens Stadium focus group this Sunday. How many of the 70,000 (or, as it these days, 60,000) people in the stadium this Sunday ever saw the Colts play a home game in Baltimore? I'm guessing maybe 25%, tops?"

Dan Clendenin asks -- "OK, Drew, we just saw the Texas-Arizona series conclude. Tell us right now who is in next year's World Series."

DF says -- "Geez, this e-mail rolled in at 11:32 pm on Wednesday night. The Rangers are still celebrating!

OK, here we go.

Drum roll please.........

And................

It's..............

The Orioles and Braves in next year's World Series!!!

I know who wins, too, but I'm not telling you that yet."

Wednesday November 1, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3355

no trades...no big deal

The NFL trade deadline came and went on Tuesday and the Ravens were not a participant in any deals.

There wasn't much action at all, in fact. The Ravens didn't get anyone and neither did most of the other teams in the league.

The Commanders quit on their season by trading away their two best defensive players, one of whom went to the Bears. Imagine that phone call.

"Hey, Montez, just letting you know we've traded you."

"Really, that's great. I'm finally out of this awful team. Thank you. Where am I going? Chiefs? Eagles? Bills?"

"Ummm, no. Chicago. Have fun."

The 49'ers picked up Chase Young from the Commanders. He actually got the "good" phone call from the D.C. team.

The Vikings needed a real quarterback to replace Kirk Cousins but instead went out and acquired the guy who just led Arizona to a 1-7 record to start their season. The Josh Dobbs era is officially underway in Minnesota. It should be a doozy.

And the Lions took wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones off the Browns' hands. I guess Detroit couldn't trade for a real pass catcher so instead they got a guy who catches half the passes thrown his way.

Other than that, nothing much happened.

The Ravens didn't do a thing.

That led to some late afternoon consternation from both fans and local radio folks.

"Once again, we sit on our hands at the deadline," caller "Tim" said yesterday.

I guess Tim forgot about last year's acquisition of Roquan Smith, who is now the team's best defensive player by a mile.

Talk show hosts were quick to lash out at Eric DeCosta for his inability to land either Montez Sweat or Chase Young from the Commanders.

I don't know what to say to that. Maybe DeCosta didn't want either of those guys. Maybe he felt the draft picks were too much to give up for them. Maybe he's an early riser. Maybe he doesn't have any friends. (Sorry, those last two lines were from the final courtroom scene in A Few Good Men.

I have no idea why DeCosta didn't acquire anyone yesterday, but my wild guess is that it wasn't because he was intentionally trying not to make his team better.

I can't imagine Eric woke up on Tuesday morning and said, "You know, we could get so much better today if I make a trade or two but I think I'll stand pat and see if we can lose a few games and tumble down the AFC North standings."

If DeCosta and his staff believe, in their expert opinion(s), that standing pat is the best recipe for success, I'm with them.

It's similar to what I said about the Orioles and Mike Elias throughout the 2023 season. "Whatever Elias decides is fine by me..."

101 wins later, I think it's safe to say Elias knows what he's doing, despite the Fujinami trade in July.

I'll keep giving DeCosta and his staff the leeway they deserve until proven otherwise as well.

The Ravens are 6-2 and have only played "good football" up to now. If their quarterback stays healthy and plays in December, there's no telling how far they might go. Adding Young, Sweat or Peoples-Jones wouldn't do much for my confidence level, honestly.

John Harbaugh's team will go as far as Lamar Jackson takes them in January. They could have added Sweat and Young and it would still be up to Lamar to get them to the promised land in the post-season. That is, unless one of those two defensive players can throw for 250 yards and run for another 80 in the same game.

Oddly enough, lots of people were clamoring for the Ravens to add a wide receiver at the deadline. That one made me laugh.

They brought in three new receivers prior to the season and that's apparently still not enough. Weird times.

And in case you haven't noticed, Lamar hasn't exactly been lighting it up thus far in 2023 when it comes to connecting with those wide receivers. His passer rating on throws intended for receivers? Roughly 85.

Lamar's passing rating on throws to tight ends? Roughly 145.

A stat nerd somewhere once determined that a perfect passer rating is 158.3.

You can do what you want with those numbers, but they're pretty simple to explain. Jackson's not great at getting the ball to his wide receivers, but he's more than great when it comes to hitting his tight ends.

Maybe DeCosta should have added another tight end yesterday.

I'm joking. Kind of.

The Ravens have searched for a season where they have three competent wide receivers about as long as The Beatles searched for a good song after they released "Let It Be". This was going to be the year where it all came together, remember? Zay Flowers in the draft along with veteran newcomers Nelson Agholor and Odell Beckham Jr. joining Rashod Bateman.

That's not three receivers. That's four!

Except Lamar hasn't been able to connect with them yet. At least not en masse, anyway.

One of them has a good game just about every Sunday, but not much more than that. But for every good game Flowers has, Bateman stinks it up. And when Bateman's solid, Agholor can't catch a cold. And when those guys are halfway decent, OBJ doesn't do anything.

If the Ravens receiving corps and Lamar ever all get their chakras in line on the same Sunday, who knows what might happen?

Alas, that seems like it's just not possible.

And so, the trade deadline came and went and the Ravens stayed the course.

I can't say I blame them.

They're rolling along nicely as it is. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

And even if they would have added a receiver yesterday, we all sorta-kinda know what would have happened anyway.

Stay the course and keep Lamar upright. That's evidently the Ravens profile for the rest of 2023.

It's all fine by me.

questions from y'all

E-mails keep piling up and I'm trying to get to as many as I can.

A few today, a few tomorrow, and maybe by the end of the weekend I'll be almost caught up.

Thanks to those of you who participate. If you have a question you'd like to see answered here, please send it in: 18inarow@gmail.com.

Note: That's also the e-mail you can use when your comment gets removed from the site and you just can't for the life of you figure out what it might have been that led to your comment getting removed. E-mail me and I'll be happy to tell you.

Russ asks -- "What's your opinion on the hockey player in England who kicked the guy in the neck and caused him to die? Should he be criminally charged?"

DF says -- "I'm not sure. Do I think he was reckless and dangerous with the way he used his leg to try and slow the guy down or stop him on the ice? Absolutely.

Do I think he was trying to kill the other player? Do I think he went into that moment thinking, "I'm going to do something right here that could end this guy's career or perhaps even kill him"?

I do not believe that.

But was it an uncalled for move and a dangerous move and one that had some sort of intent to it?

Yes.

I don't know that he should be criminally prosecuted, but given his track record of physical (violent) play, his season is over, for sure, and I suspect his 2024-2025 season might be over as well.

I do not believe he was trying to kill the other player. But he definitely went into the play with what looked to be an intent to injure him."

S.B. asks -- "Another story has circulated about the Michigan coach getting on the sidelines at Central Michigan and scouting Michigan State a few weeks before they play Michigan. Do you still think it's OK for Michigan to steal signs or are you coming around to the other idea that they should be penalized?" And do think you Central Michigan knew about it? It seems outlandish to me that they don't know who was on their own sideline."

DF says -- "Sometimes I feel like I'm on Earth and some of you are on Neptune. Or maybe it's the other way around. As I wrote here last week, "If Michigan has someone on their staff who is stealing signs, it's dead-red wrong."

I'll try to clean that up a little more if I need to do: Michigan should not be stealing signs. It's against the rules. And if they are stealing signs and they're caught (which, it appears, they have been), they should be penalized.

I then went on to say that one potential remedy to something like this is to simply allow sign stealing to be legal, in much the same way schools used to give money under the table to student-athletes and now, they've just gone ahead and made it legal for schools to give student-athletes money each semester.

I think the Central Michigan coach is being honest when he says he has no idea how the Michigan guy got on his sideline during the Michigan State game. As vigilant as most stadium security folks are, that Michigan guy could have had a pass from last year where he doctored it from 2022 to 2023 or he might have someone on the inside at CMU that got him the pass and the clothing he wore. Or maybe he got the stuff from the school store.

Maybe I'm just naive, but I doubt that CMU issued him the credential (and gear) knowing he was going to be on their sidelines stealing signs.

But, again, to clean this up: If the rules say "no sign stealing", there shouldn't be any sign stealing. That said, just make it legal and let everyone steal signs and there's no more issue with it. It would then cease to be "stealing" signs. It would fall under "sign acquisition" I suppose. Semantics..."

George Mackie asks -- "Hi Drew, hoping you'll answer this at DMD. What do you think about the new "TGL" that is starting this January where the golfers are going to play golf on a simulator in stadiums? Any chance that will work and we will all be watching it on Monday nights?"

DF says -- "I have no idea if we're going to watch it until I actually see it for myself. Tiger's involved -- supposedly playing for one of the teams -- so, you know if he's involved it will have some degree of appeal.

I saw yesterday where players will be hitting full golf shots, off of grass, into a huge 60-foot screen that people in attendance can easily see, as well as everyone at home watching. And then, once it's time to "go for the green", they'll be hitting into an actual green that is there, on the stadium surface. And they'll be doing "real" putting on that green as well.

It seems kind of wonky to me, honestly, but my guess is it will show those guys and professional golf in a different light. They'll have their shirts untucked, hats backwards, maybe even sipping their favorite (sponsored) cocktail while they play. And they'll be mic'd up, too, which should help generate interest.

It will likely be the exact opposite of what we generally see Thursday through Sunday. In their typical space, professional golfers are buttoned up, tight, laser-focused, etc.

This "league" sounds like what you find on Tuesday night at your club in the summer men's league. Everyone plays music, has a drink or two while they play and it's more about fun and less about "golf".

But I could be wrong on that. Maybe with the money that's floating around and Tiger's involvement, it will be "real golf". I'll watch week one and make my determination at that point. If I don't like it, I'll go back to re-watching all three years of Ted Lasso."

Tuesday October 31, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3354

seven nfl questions

Dabo Swinney and his Clemson Tigers are 4-4 to start the 2023 season.

That is, indeed, unfamiliar territory for the longtime Clemson coach.

On Monday, while fielding calls on his weekly radio show, Swinney came across a disgruntled fan who was ripping into him for his squad's lackluster performance so far this season.

This was apparently the proverbial straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back moment.

"You're part of the problem," Swinney told the caller, who introduced himself only as "Tyler in Spartanburg." "The expectation is greater than the appreciation. That's the problem. We've had twelve 10-plus-win seasons in a row. That's happened three times in 150 years. Clemson ain't sniff a national championship for 35 years; we've won two in seven years. And there's only two other teams that can say that: Georgia and Alabama."

Swinney went a step further.

"Is this a bad year? Yeah, and it's my responsibility. Take 100 percent responsibility for it. But all this bull crap you're thinking, all these narratives you read. Listen, man, you can have your opinion all you want, and you can apply for the job. And good luck to you."

I remember once Brian Billick saying something similar to a group of us at the Ravens facility while he was holding court following a press conference.

I don't have the exact quote. It was roughly 20 years ago. But it was something similar to what Swinney said to the caller, only Billick was turning to us as hosts of various shows in town.

"Everything you do on the air is about one thing: opinion. And I'll be listening to certain things you say either on the drive in or drive home and I'll scratch my head and say, "That's just factually wrong. Forget about your opinion. It's wrong. And then you base your opinion on that fact that you have wrong and you get yourself all worked up about it and then the callers get worked up about it and then all hell breaks loose."

Billick once pulled a few of us aside in Owings Mills and explained a delicate situation regarding Chris McAlister.

McAlister had missed a game in Miami and there was a lot of talk radio commentary about it on Monday.

"I'm going to tell you exactly what happened," Billick told the three of us. "But understand this. If you go on the air and say 'Brian Billick told me this', our relationship is over." He then explained that McAlister slipped out of the team hotel in the wee hours of the morning to, let's say, entertain a few friends in the area, and arrived back at the hotel at daybreak. And he was caught.

It was a smart move by Billick.

The next morning, while people were howling about the head coach benching a star player, I was able to maintain a level of calmness about the situation knowing what I knew. I was able to say, "I know, from a source, that McAlister missed curfew. And that's why he didn't play."

Other hosts and reporters around town got the same information from Billick and were able to accurately portray what had happened in Miami.

People on the other side of the radio still had their opinions, of course. Many of them didn't believe the story even after I shared it as a "sourced" confirmation from within the Ravens. What they didn't know, of course, is that I knew the truth, right from the head coach himself.

Billick didn't want to expose his star player by connection. To do so would have been damaging in the locker room. But Billick also didn't want his own name and the organization's name sullied in the media, either. That, he thought, wasn't fair.

I bring that up to serve as a reminder to people, in general, that you never really know what's going on unless you actually know what's going on.

I have no idea why Clemson football is 4-4, but I can't imagine it's because Dabo Swinney and his staff somehow got worse at their craft over the summer.

It's the age-old adage in sports. When the team wins, it must be the players. When the team loses, it must be the coaching.

And I bring that Billick story up to also remind folks that you don't know what you don't know.

As most of you surmised here yesterday, we're minus a writer at #DMD this week. Paul reached out to me on Saturday afternoon and informed me he was no longer going to contribute here.

I know the reason why. His health is fine, contrary to reports that surfaced in the Comments section yesterday. I actually reached out to Paul last night with personal concern and he responded quickly and told me there's nothing at all wrong with his health.

But I know exactly why he's no longer here. You don't, unless you saw the comment that was posted about him here sometime on Saturday morning. That was his straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back, if you will.

It wasn't mean or petty or rude, even. It was awful.

With what we've seen recently in Israel and with what our own nation experienced last week in Maine, I'd think we all should have a heightened sense of sensitivity for other human beings. It's sad that it takes moments like those to remind us to treat each other with kindness, but nonetheless, we should.

Dabo Swinney is trying his best to win football games and make Clemson look good.

#DMD is trying its best to publish a respectable product and keep you engaged and informed about Baltimore sports.

Remember that, please.

seven nfl questions

1. Who is the best team right now? -- Eight weeks in...it's the Eagles. Kansas City's loss at Denver set them back a tick or two. Philadelphia seems to have the right mix of everything at this point. But it's a thin line, for sure. They could lose two in a row at some point this season and it wouldn't be a shock.

2. Who is the mid-season MVP? -- It's almost always going to a quarterback, right? At this stage, I'd say it's a toss-up between Hurts and Tua. Tagovailoa was having a similar campaign last year until a concussion (or concussions, plural) ended his season. If he stays healthy and the Dolphins continue to pile up the points, Tua has a great shot at MVP. So does Hurts. Lamar's name will get bandied about, I'm sure, but the Baltimore offense is nowhere as prolific as the one they have in Miami.

3. Most disappointing team so far? -- Coin flip between the Rams and Patriots, I guess. We all knew the Bears would stink. Even though the Giants were a surprise team a year ago, I don't think anyone is shocked at how bad they are this season. But the Rams and Patriots were both teams that most folks thought were on the uptick. New England's defense was supposed to be really good. And L.A.'s offense was supposed to erupt. Neither of those things have happened.

4. Best coaching job? -- Despite their awful performance in Baltimore two weeks ago, Dan Campbell of the Lions has to get some consideration. They're still the Lions until they prove otherwise. And week by week, they're starting to lift that stigma. Mike McDaniel in Miami also has to get some attention. I'm not ready to annoint him the next "great coach" just yet, but there's definitely something going on down there in Miami that's working for him. Tua and Tyreek help, obviously. But McDaniel is connecting with the team.

5. Team to watch that hasn't done much? -- I would have said Minnesota had the Cousins injury not happened on Sunday. In the AFC, it's definitely Buffalo. They look like a one-and-done playoff team, if they even make it, but if Allen and Diggs get their chakras in line and Buffalo's defense steps up, they can win games. In the NFC we'll go with Dallas, just because there's pretty much no one else worth a hoot.

6. Besides injuries, what could wreck the Ravens? -- This one's easy. They're not a very good second half team, particularly on defense. They're especially suspect in the 4th quarter, on both sides of the football actually. But overall, what could wreck the Ravens would be a shabby secondary and the lack of a pass rush. If they can somehow get on the right side of the bracket and avoid both Kansas City and Miami in the post-season, at least until the AFC Championship Game, that would definitely help them. Teams who can throw the ball effectively for 60 minutes will present a problem for the Ravens. Closing games is not their forte.

7. One team to really watch -- Jacksonville. They've played a difficult schedule thus far. They've traveled to London, played on a Thursday night, and faced the Chiefs, Bills, Colts (twice) and Saints. They do still face Baltimore, Cincinnati and San Francisco, but all three of those games are at home. They're currently 6-2 and have won 5 in a row. They're quietly in command in the AFC South and don't look now, but they're a threat to claim one of the top two seeds in the AFC.

---

I noted in yesterday's comments a few folks taking shots at various radio hosts in town who provided not-so-positive commentary in the wake of the Ravens 31-24 win over Arizona.

As someone who did radio on Monday morning for 12 years, I can assure you it's nowhere near as easy as many of you might think it is.

In fact, if you want to hear one of the industry's dirty little secrets, here it is: Radio is much easier to do if the team isn't any good.

Losing is easy to cover.

When the team wins, what's there to say?

In fact, more behind-the-curtain stuff is right here for you at #DMD. The traffic this site generated yesterday, the morning after a win over Arizona, was 4.7% less than the morning after the Ravens lost to the Steelers back on October 8. Even here at #DMD, we experienced roughly 400 fewer "visits" yesterday after a win than we did after a loss earlier in the month.

Radio is exactly the same. When the team wins, what's there to say?

"Ravens won yesterday, 31-24. That's really all that matters. They're 6-2. On to the Seahawks. Coming up next, we'll talk about the first week of the NBA season and why Dame Lillard might not work out in Milwaukee."

So, after a win, you have to come up with things to talk about and break down.

And despite what people think, those "things" do actually matter.

What on earth was Todd Monken thinking in the first half? Throw, throw, throw, throw, throw, run, throw, throw, throw, throw, run. What got into him in Arizona?

Is Justin Tucker OK? A 53-yarder missed? Indoors? That's like Denny McCarthy missing a 3 foot putt on a flat green at Pebble Beach. It just doesn't happen.

What was Nelson Agholor doing on that first onside kick? The University of Delaware would have handled that one better.

There's more to nitpick, but you get the point.

You can either talk about the win for 30 seconds and then move on to the NBA, NHL or Maryland football, or you can look at every possible angle of the Ravens game and break it down.

Oh, and at the same time, don't forget, you're trying to keep the show interesting.

I realize a lot of listeners view sports radio hosts as de facto promotional arms for the team, but the good ones are far from that.

Fans can be promotional vehicles for the team on social media if they so choose. I get it. It's OK to think everything's coming up roses even when it's not.

But sports radio hosts are trying to do a show and keep you there, all the while bringing new people in every 15-20 minutes and giving them something to be entertained by as well.

Trust me, I know what a lot of you think about sports radio: "It's easy. You just turn the microphone on and talk about sports. How hard can it be?"

I know the answer: It's very hard.

And it's even harder when the team wins, believe it or not.

Monday October 30, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3353

on....to....seattle

Just like we thought, there wasn't much to Sunday's win over the Cardinals.

Sure, the Ravens cost some portion of the gambling world a bunch of money when they stopped playing defense in the last four minutes, but a win is a win.

31-24 is just like 41-3 or 17-16. It counts as "one".

Arizona's horrible.

The Ravens are good.

It was a mismatch from jump street. If those two teams played 5 times, the Ravens would go 5-0. If they played 10 times, the Ravens would either go 9-1 or 10-0.

And now it's on to the Seahawks, who come to town next Sunday on the heels of doing the Ravens a favor and beating the Browns yesterday.

The Ravens are now 6-2. That's a solid record in the AFC. And unless something really wacky happens (code word for: player injuries), John Harbaugh's team is headed to one of three records: 14-3, 13-4 or 12-5. They're not gonna run the table and finish 15-2 and they're not losing 4 of their last 9 to finish 11-6, either.

My guess? They'll finish 13-4. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Yesterday's game was, in some ways, "vintage" Ravens. Nothing special. Some mistakes. Some head-scratching schemes and play calls. A few breaks went their way. But they were never in any real danger of losing, either.

"We weren't great," John Harbaugh said afterwards. "We weren't really as crisp and sharp as we wanted to be, by any stretch. We kept grinding and kept fighting and found a way to get the job done."

In the NFL, grinding and fighting sometimes works better than "crisp and sharp". Just keep hanging in there. The other guys will eventually make a mistake or two.

And that's pretty much how the Ravens won yesterday. Nothing pretty. But plenty good enough.

Here's the thing I'm pretty sure we'll agree on: The Ravens aren't "great". They're not a world-beater. They're not the most feared team in the league.

But you don't have to great, a world-beater or the most feared team in the league.

You just have to be good in all three capacities of the game. Offense, defense and special teams.

And the Ravens are just that.

Their offense is good. It's not great. It's not Air Coryell or anything like that. But they have a wildly dynamic quarterback who can take over a game for a series or a quarter. And that's a good thing to have.

The Baltimore defense is good, too. It's not great. It's not the 2000 Ravens or anything close to that. But they're good against the run and good against the pass. Not great. But certainly good enough to compete week in and week out.

And special teams is good as well. Yes, Justin Tucker missed a 53-yarder yesterday -- a rarity for him -- and is now 1 of 4 from 50+ yards this season, which is a little bit unlike him. But overall, he's still the most dependable kicker in the league. Special teams in Baltimore are not a concern.

The Ravens are halfway through the season and, while they're not on cruise control, they're also now in a position where they can afford a slip or an "off week" and it won't crush them.

Having a little bit of margin for error is a good thing, in my mind. They're not looking to lose, obviously, but they can also play the last nine games with a certain level of freedom that perhaps they couldn't be doing if, say, their record was 4-4 at the 8-game mark.

I love where the Ravens are right now.

They're 2-1 in the AFC North and have all three division rivals left on the schedule for future trips to Charm City.

In addition to the Browns, Steelers and Bengals, the Ravens have home games against Seattle, the Rams and Miami, plus road games in Los Angeles (Chargers), Jacksonville and San Francisco.

I'm good with two losses sprinkled in there. It's not the easiest schedule in the world. 13-4 will be plenty good enough to win the AFC North and could -- could -- be good enough to secure home ice throughout the AFC playoffs.

Yesterday's win was always "in the books". The Ravens just aren't the kind of team to go out west and lay an egg against a lousy team like the Cardinals.

Next week against the Seahawks will be a step up in class. Seattle's offense is decent enough. Their defense is good. That said, the Lions came in here acting like King Kong Bundy last Sunday and they left with their tail between their legs.

Seattle will likely meet the same fate as the Lions met when they stomped into town ready to shock the world. 30-13 or something like that is the likely final score.

I understand the Ravens have played one great all-around game thus far in 2023; against Detroit.

The reality, though, is most good teams in the league might only have two or three of those "great" all-around games every season. Some teams will only have one of them. Some, like the Cardinals, won't have one "great" game all season long.

The Ravens are perfectly positioned through 8 games. They're 6-2 and, if we're being honest, probably deserve to be 6-2. They weren't able to finish off both the Colts and Steelers when they had the chance, so you are what your record says you are.

This time next Monday, I'm pretty confident we'll be 7-2. And rolling...

monday q & a

Chris asks -- "What happened to the Bet It All Paul segment today (Sunday)? Why isn't in the Dish?"

DF says -- "If Paul wants to post something in the comments or wants me to publish something on his behalf I'll be happy to do that. He informed me late Saturday that he would no longer publish his picks here.

I probably sound like John Harbaugh talking about injuries, but I'm really not going to say any more than that. It's up to Paul if he wants to comment any further."

Joe Paulson asks -- "I've seen you write on the site several times that you don't follow Major League Soccer. And then last week you had someone else write the MLS playoff preview column. I'm just curious why someone who spent 20 years in professional soccer with the Blast isn't interested in MLS? Any reasons behind that?

I enjoy Randy's soccer coverage at the site. He does a great job. I'm just wondering why you don't write more about soccer yourself?"

DF says -- "Good question and fair question. You'd think I'd be soccer-soccer-soccer all the time given my history in the game.

Truth of the matter? I was never really all that fond of outdoor soccer in the first place. I played it in high school because my friends played (and were good) and I figured if I didn't play I wouldn't get to hang around them very much.

I fell in love with indoor soccer for sure, though. I enjoyed my time with the Blast and really grew fond of indoor soccer.

When MLS started in 1995, it was an immediate threat to the indoor game. The league took many of our players, including several from my Baltimore Spirit roster. I don't know that I developed a distaste for the league as a whole because of that, but maybe I did...a little?

In the end, though, honestly, I'm just not a big fan of outdoor soccer. I haven't watched a MLS game in probably 15 years. Maybe more.

I'm fairly certain I couldn't tell you who the 29 teams are that make up MLS. Maybe I could go 25-for-29?

Now, I am a HUGE fan of the World Cup, though. And national team qualifying. So when those games come around, I'm all in and then some. And I'll watch an occasional game from England. I think the Premier League is awesome.

Randy does an excellent job with our soccer coverage and he's extremely wise about the game and all the various teams and leagues. He's the soccer eyes-and-ears for #DMD.

I'll chime in during World Cup and qualifying games because I love following along with the U.S. team(s), but other than that, I'm pretty much a non-soccer-guy these days."

Carter asks -- "I know you love your overrated and underrated discussions and this one is kind of a wide open ask but here goes: Most underrated Baltimore sports athlete ever? In any sport. Thanks, Drew."

DF says -- "Holy cow. I have no idea. Have to really give that one some thought. (20 minutes later) - OK, I have it narrowed down between J.J. Hardy and Jarret Johnson. Two J.J.'s, if you will.

And I don't know which to choose. My gut says J.J. Hardy, but I don't know. Either of those guys would be a great answer.

They epitomized "underrated" in my opinion. They were both high quality players who didn't get the necessary due they deserved.

Hardy was part of the "rebirth" years in 2012 and 2014.

Johnson was a key figure on the defense of those early-Harbaugh-era teams.

I just always felt we overlooked both of those guys because the teams the played on had bigger names.

Make your pick and you're right. I'd lean in the direction of Hardy by an inch, but Jarret Johnson was vastly underrated as well."

	#DMD GAME DAY Week 8 Sunday — October 29, 2023 Issue #3352
	Baltimore Ravens at Arizona Cardinals 4:25 PM EDT State Farm Stadium Glendale, AZ Spread: Ravens (-10.0)

nothing to gain...except a win

There are games like this that come around 2 or 3 times per-season for most of the NFL's good teams.

The Ravens are 10 point favorites today in Arizona. There are no indications whatsoever that this game will be a challenge for the visiting team. The Cardinals are, in a word, terrible.

You get these games when you're a good team, like the Ravens are, and everyone associated with the NFL assumes you're going to win.

But the game presents an interesting dichotomy for the Ravens.

Nothing to gain.

Everything to lose.

If they win by one point, people are going to bellyache about the close call.

If they win by 20 points, everyone will yawn and say, "We should have won by 20."

If they somehow lose, "Fire the coach" will be the call from the masses.

You have to go out there and win, plain and simple. It really doesn't matter at all if it's by one point or 20.

But if the Ravens somehow wind up losing today, it will go down as one of their all-time great gag jobs. The Cardinals might be the worst team in the NFL.

The second goal today, after winning, is to escape the game injury free. After they win this afternoon, Baltimore improves to 6-2 and can head into the second half of the season with momentum. What they don't need is to win the game but suffer a few significant injuries that could derail them in November and December.

This one should be a cakewalk for the Ravens. Arizona just doesn't have the horses to hang with John Harbaugh's team.

Sure, it's the NFL. The saying of "on any given Sunday" is used for a reason.

But on this Sunday, in particular, it just doesn't seem like the Cardinals have enough gas in the tank to hang with the Ravens.

Lamar will have a field day, on the ground and in the air.

The Baltimore defense will stiffen and create a couple of turnovers.

The Ravens will jump out to a 17-7 halftime lead.

They'll up that margin to 24-7 and 27-7 before Arizona makes it 27-14 heading into the 4th quarter.

The Ravens tack on a 4th quarter TD to finalize the scoring at 34-14.

And I'm probably giving Arizona more points than they're realistically going to score. I'm not sure they can find the end zone twice against the Baltimore defense unless they get a turnover or two along the way.

This could be one of those 30-6 blowouts where the home team kicks a couple of field goals and that's all the scoring they can muster.

It doesn't matter if it's 17-17 or 34-14. A win is a win.

But none of us want to be sitting around at 7 pm sweating out the last 2 minutes of today's game. This one should be over at halftime.

around the nfl

Here's a quick look at today's NFL schedule and what each game means to both teams.

PATRIOTS (2-5) AT DOLPHINS (5-2) -- Miami needs a win to stay ahead of Buffalo. The Dolphins come into this one on the heels of last Sunday's loss in Philadelphia while the Patriots snuck out a big home win over the Bills last Sunday. New England's pretty much already "done" for the year, but a loss today would just about seal the deal for them.

JETS (3-3) AT GIANTS (2-5) -- This one has to feel kind of weird for the Jets, who are "on the road" but playing at home against the New York Football Giants. As crazy as it sounds, the Jets are trying to stockpile enough wins to give Aaron Rodgers reason to come back in December (perhaps) and finish out the regular season. The Giants aren't very good, but a win today gives them a little bit of life.

JAGUARS (5-2) AT STEELERS (4-2) -- One of those "prove it" games in Pittsburgh, where the Jaguars, who think they're good, take on the Steelers, who also think they're good. If Jacksonville really is any good, they'll go into the Steel City and win this one. The Steelers are doing it with smoke and mirrors. This would classify as a "good win" for them today if they can pull it off.

FALCONS (4-3) AT TITANS (2-4) -- A semi-snoozer on the horizon in Nashville, where two offensively challenged teams do battle. Atlanta is still very much alive in the NFC South. A loss today really hurts the Titans.

TEXANS (3-3) AT PANTHERS (0-6) -- It might be a couple of weeks too early to start talking about this, but if the Panthers don't win today, they might be looking at a winless season if they're not careful. They do still have the Bears (away) in a few weeks, but other than that, they'll be underdogs in all of their remaining games.

RAMS (3-3) AT COWBOYS (4-2) -- Los Angeles is a weird, weird team. One week they're decent, the next week they're losing to the Steelers at home, albeit referee-aided and all. This one is a biggie for the Cowboys, who can't afford to fall to 4-3 and lose ground to the Eagles in the East.

VIKINGS (3-4) AT PACKERS (2-4) -- Don't look now, but here come the Vikings. And they're doing this without Justin Jefferson, don't forget. They're getting the Packers at a great time. Green Bay is in a full downward spiral. Minnesota needs a win to keep the heat on the Lions.

SAINTS (3-4) AT COLTS (3-4) -- Two puzzling teams do battle in Indianapolis. Are either of these squads actually any good? New Orleans could wind up winning the NFC South with 9 or 10 wins. Indianapolis will need at least 10 wins to make the AFC post-season. One of them will have 4 wins after today, barring a tie.

EAGLES (6-1) AT COMMANDERS (3-4) -- Which D.C. team shows up today? The one that lost at home to the Bears or the one that took the Eagles to OT in Philadelphia earlier this season? This one is going to be challenging for Philly, as most of the NFC East games are. This would be a massive win for D.C. if they can pull it off.

BROWNS (4-2) AT SEAHAWKS (4-2) -- A battle between two teams that probably have no real business being 4-2. Cleveland is doing it without a quarterback. The Seahawks are doing it without much of an offense. Both of these squads are potential playoff teams if they can get to 9 or 10 wins.

CHIEFS (6-1) AT BRONCOS (2-5) -- They're calling for 20 degree temperates and 6 to 10 inches of snow in Denver today. That's probably the only thing that can stop Mahomes and K.C.'s offense.

BENGALS (3-3) AT 49'ERS (5-2) -- Cincinnati is starting to percolate, but they're facing one of the NFL's best teams and the 49'ers come into this game having lost in Minnesota last Monday night. And San Francisco might not have Brock Purdy this afternoon, which would make things even more difficult for them. The Bengals could use a "signature win" like this one today to get their season on track.

BEARS (2-5) AT CHARGERS (2-4) -- Oh boy, this one should really be worth watching, huh? Chicago is awful and the Chargers only win games when they play terrible teams. There's no telling what's going to happen tonight. This one could be 13-10 or 48-10. Either way, though, it seems highly unlikely the Bears can win.

sunday q and a

Joe asks -- "Do you think the Ravens are grooming Mike Macdonald as their next head coach?"

DF says -- "That's hard to say. Will Steve Bisciotti still be the owner whenever John Harbaugh's days are over in Baltimore? If so, Macdonald is a logical choice for sure. But let's say, for kicks and giggles, that John's end-of-tenure coincides with Steve selling the team. If that were to happen, it's very likely a new owner would bring in all new people, at least the ones he/she can directly hire and influence.

But if John's done in 2024 or 2025 and Steve still owns the team, I could see Macdonald just getting the better parking spot and bigger office in Owings Mills.

I'm not as close to the organization as I was when I was on the radio, but it sure seems like they go out of their way to promote Macdonald's coaching virtues on their various social media shows.

And, obviously, Macdonald appears to be a very solid defensive coordinator. I think he's the next man up, as the Ravens like to say."

G.M. asks -- "I enjoyed your Overrated and Underrated segment earlier this week and wanted to give you three Ravens for a future Morning Dish. Marlon Humphrey, Ronnie Stanley and Gus Edwards. Thanks, Drew!"

DF says -- "All three of those guys are important to this year's Ravens team, so when I call two of them overrated, please know that I do realize how important they are overall. But Humphrey and Edwards are both overrated on the whole. Edwards is a running back. They're like good Rush songs -- they're everywhere. You can get anyone to running for 71 yards on 18 carries.

Humphrey is a solid cornerback, but the Ravens can win without him. If he got Covid4 next Sunday and couldn't play against Seattle, it's not like the Ravens go from 5.5 point favorites to 1.5 point underdogs.

Stanley is the one of those three who really matters. He's big time underrated. The problem, of course, is that he's also injured a lot. But when you're paying your QB $50 million a year, you better make sure he's not getting injured. Jackson is the most important player on the Ravens. Stanley might be the second most important player."

Tom asks -- "Hey Drew, golf question for you. What are the odds of the following happening in 2024? Tiger Woods plays in five or more tournaments. Tiger wins a tournament. Tiger plays in all four majors. Tiger wins a major. Thanks!"

DF says -- "I have no idea if Tiger's even going to play, so answering these questions is very hard. And I realize I'm just "guessing" and all. I do think Tiger's going to play. At least to start the year, anyway.

I'll say there's a 60% chance he plays in 5 or more tournaments. That could be his Genesis event in February, the Players, a couple of majors and maybe one other event during the year. I look at Tiger's health like this. "How many more surgeries can he get? Hasn't he had everything fixed?"

Tiger wins a tournament? I don't know about that one. The biggest issue he has now is that the only events he's playing in are the ones with the best fields. Not that a lot of his 82 wins didn't come in those kind of events anyway. But for him to win another tournament, it will have to come in a major or an event with an elite field. Odds of that happening in 2024? 10% maybe. The only two majors he can win are the Masters and the British Open. The other two he can no longer win.

I doubt he plays in all four majors. That would mean he has to play three times in two months (May, June, July) and I don't see him doing that. But I could be wrong. I'll put "playing in all four majors" at 20%.

Winning a major? Like I said, I think he can win at Augusta and the British Open. Pinehurst is interesting because it's VERY flat and if there's anyplace in the U.S. that hosts a major that will fit him, walking wise, it's Pinehurst. I'll say odds of him winning a major in 2024 are 5%."

Saturday October 28, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3351

saturday stuff

Baseball has done and continues to do some cheesy things, but the person who came up with "Fall Classic" to describe the World Series hit that one right on the button.

It is, indeed, the Fall Classic.

Last night's Game 1 of the World Series was an Instant Fall Classic, with Corey Seager tying it in the 9th with a homer and then Adolis Garcia, the new version of Mr. October, apparently, belting an opposite field home run in the 11th to give the Texas Rangers an improbable 6-5 win over Arizona.

Garcia can do no wrong these days it seems. Ever since getting plunked in the ALCS he's been a man on a mission.

If you're an Orioles fan and you watched last night's game, I'm sure you felt -- much like I did -- a small twinge of sadness watching the Rangers hosting Game 1.

Did you venture outside on Friday? Were you out and about early Friday evening? The Orioles would have hosted Game 1 of the 2023 World Series on a Chamber of Commerce night in Charm City. The first pitch temperature would have been 68 degrees without a breath of wind in the air.

Game 2 tonight would have featured even better weather, if that were even possible.

So as I watched Game 1 last night, a small cloud of envy and disappointment was in my midst, at least. What a night it would have been at Camden Yards.

The Rangers and their bats look like their still locked in from their offensive rampage in the three previous playoff rounds. If you throw those guys a strike, they're making contact. And in this case, "contact" means the ball is finding an open spot somewhere in the outfield.

Or, in the case of Seager and Garcia last night, somewhere in the seats.

The good news for us baseball folk in Baltimore? For the first time in a couple of decades, we can realistically watch this World Series and say, "We're gonna get there in one of the next three years."

I feel pretty good about thinking that and saying that. This O's team is primed for a nice run. Maybe this was a year or two too soon, even with the 101-win regular season. Maybe in 2024 we get to the ALCS and lose. Who knows?

Maybe it's not until 2025 that the Fall Class finally returns to Baltimore.

But as I watch the Rangers and Diamondbacks play in the 2023 World Series, I'm very confident we'll be watching our own "Fall Classic" someday in the not-too-distant future.

I just hope we can order up the same weather we have in Baltimore this weekend in 2024, 2025 or whenever that occasion might be.

Speaking of Fall Classic, my FCA Maryland Golf tournament season concludes this weekend with the 36-hole Tour Championship at The Suburban Club in Pikesville.

Special thanks to three very good friends who made this season of golf and the tournament happen; Kevin Fruman and Rob and Vania Ward.

Kevin and National Lumber are the proud supporters of this season-ending event at Suburban and we're delighted to partner with them for a second straight year. Suburban is an outstanding golf course and an excellent test for our accomplished junior players. They will see a championship caliber course, in great condition, set-up in tournament condition when they arrive at Suburban for today's first round.

Play begins at 12:30 pm off the first tee, with our top 20 players from the season-long points list teeing it up in the 36-hole championship event.

Rob and Vania Ward of CraftMasters of Maryland have been signature sponsors of our FCA Maryland Golf tournament series over the last two years. In 2022, we kicked off with 2 tournaments. In 2023, we expanded that to 7, including this weekend's big event at Suburban. Rob and Vania have been there with us every step of the way with their support and participation in all things we do at FCA Maryland Golf.

This weekend's tournament is actually two-events-in-one.

The players will be playing a 36-hole tournament with prizes and points available.

And points from this event will be included in the season long Tour Championship points race, with prizes awarded at the conclusion of Sunday's play.

Thank you to all of the players -- 66 different players total -- who have played in our events this season.

We're going to host 10 events in 2024 and look forward to an even bigger and better year next season.

God has blessed these junior golfers with extraodinary talent. It's a privilege to watch them compete on the golf course and grow in their faith at the same time.

Mike Camarelli asks -- "Hey Drew, wondering what you think about the Ravens possibly acquiring Derrick Henry at the deadline?

DF says -- "Well, the Ravens have a lot more intel on Derrick Henry than I do. I guess I'd give you the lame "whatever they think is best" line and leave it at that.

But I don't see running back as a real sore spot for them right now. I think they're doing fine with Gus Edwards and Justice Hill back there. Could they use another guy in short yardage situations? Yeah, maybe. But that's not really Henry's strength is it?

Lamar is far more dangerous on 3rd and 3 than is Henry. Heck, let's be honest. Lamar is more than dangerous than Gus and Justice on 3rd and 3.

I know there's been some chatter about possibly bringing in another wide receiver. Hollywood Brown, maybe? Despite the off-season upgrades there, Beckham hasn't set the world on fire and Agholor is Agholor. Makes a nice catch here and there but he's largely "just another guy".

I'd probably be more in favor of adding another pass catcher, honestly.

And I'm not saying I'm in favor of Hollywood Brown, per se. I think the Ravens already have him -- his name is Zay Flowers. But if there's a veteran wide receiver of some quality who is available, I'd take that move over bringing in Derrick Henry.

I also think the Ravens could use some more help with the pass rush, particularly with the uncertainty surrounding both Oweh and Ojabo from an injury standpoint. Jadeveon Clowney has been fine -- more than "fine" actually -- but he can only do so much.

A pass rusher? Yes.

A wide receiver? Yes.

Running back. Eh, if you have to, sure, but I don't see that as a critical need."

Friday October 27, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3350

the easiest solution of them all

This week has been filled with news, more news and opinions on the Michigan "sign stealing" scandal.

You can file the whole thing under "No Brainer of the Year".

Did Michigan steal signs?

Of course they did.

That's not even the question at this point. Not in my mind, anyway.

The question is: Did Jim Harbaugh know the staff member was stealing signs?

And did Jim Harbaugh use the information gathered by the sign-stealing-staff member?

It's entirely plausible that someone three or four rungs down the scouting ladder at the University of Michigan could determine on his own that stealing opposing team's signs would be a good thing to do.

"They told me to scout Iowa for the game in two weeks. I'll not only scout them...I'll super scout them. They're playing Michigan State this Saturday. I'll drive to East Lansing, buy a ticket, and then sit across from their sideline and do some super scouting."

That very easily could have happened.

Please note I don't think that happened. I don't find that story to be very realistic. But I'm willing to concede it's possible that Jim Harbaugh had no idea one of his staff members was going to various Big Ten games and stealing signs.

My guess? Harbaugh knew. He might not have known all of the intricate parts of the process. He didn't know the dude was buying a game ticket. Had no idea he was wearing a disguise. Didn't know who was paying for his travel expenses, hotel bill and so on.

But I'm guessing Harbaugh knew the signs and the schemes his coordinators were developing were somehow connected.

I also assume Harbaugh didn't care.

"We're trying to win football games here," is probably how he reasoned his way through the whole thing.

Let's be sure we all understand this: What Michigan did was dead-red wrong.

It's against the rules. It's not "chicanery" or tom foolery. It's a rules violation.

It's doctoring the ball as a pitcher. You can work your way around that all you want. but doctoring the baseball is wrong.

But here's the thing I can't seem to stop thinking about.

Should sign-stealing in college football actually be against the rules?

Why not just let the teams do whatever they want? What's the difference?

This whole thing is almost exactly what has happened over the last 10 years with regard to money being paid to college athletes.

For decades, schools and programs were cheating. Money was being funneled to players, parents, uncles, friends, agents, etc. It was all done in the most clandestine of manners, but it was happening nonetheless. You want good players? Gotta pay for 'em.

Eventually, even that wasn't good enough. There was only so much dirty money to go around. And the schools who had perfected cheating were simply distancing themselves from everyone else.

So what did the NCAA eventually do? They caved in and just basically said, "We don't care any longer. Just pay the players."

Of course they were pressured to allow that kind of exchange by legal battles and court cases that went against them. But in the end, the NCAA just gave up. And now, in 2023, it's the Wild Wild West.

Why not do the same thing with sign stealing?

Why worry about it?

What's the big deal, after all?

If your school can't afford a $40,000 entry level "football scout", that's just like it was back in the old days when you couldn't afford to give the starting QB a new car.

You have to make a decision. Are you "all in" as a football program or just sorta-kinda in?

I don't get all the agitation over this issue with Michigan.

Was it wrong? Of course it was.

Should they be punished? Of course they should.

Is it practical for the NCAA to continue to ban sign stealing? Definitely not.

Just let programs steal whatever they want.

If they want to send two or three people to games to figure out what plays the other team likes to run on 3rd and 4, let 'em send two or three people to the games.

Here's the dirty little secret we all know: If the rules stay as they are now, teams are still going to figure out new ways to steal signs.

Just open it up for everyone and give all of the schools the same opportunity to cheat.

Then it becomes the norm. And I figure the best teams are still going to win anyway.

I mentioned this on Glenn Clark Radio earlier this week when we were discussing the University of Michigan situation.

There's a "winter golf tour" in the York, PA area that plays every Friday from October through March. It's called the Penguin Tour. Guys up there love their golf. If the course is open, 100 guys show up and play an 18 hole event every Friday. I've played in 70 degree October temperatures and 35 degree January temperatures.

When the Tour first started circa 2000, the first couple of years were met with lots of accusations of cheating by players in the field.

They'd go in to see the Pro after the round and say, "Hey, by the way, guy in front of my group...orange sweater...I saw him move his ball from underneath a tree on the 11th hole."

Or, "The guy in the red shirt in front of me...what did he say he made on hole number 15? I definitely saw him roll his ball in the greenside bunker to give himself a better lie."

After about two years of that kind of stuff taking place every week, the folks who ran the Penguin Tour figured it out.

They simply started allowing all players to move their ball one club length ANYWHERE ON THE COURSE (except on the greens).

In the fairway...move it a club length.

In the rough...move it a club length.

In the bunkers...move it a club length.

What you can't do, though, is enter the score as a legitimate round into the handicap system. That is not permitted.

But they figured out how to stop the cheating that was going on with several players in the 100-man field.

They just allowed everyone to cheat.

Two and a half decades later, the Penguin Tour is going strong and everyone who plays has a great time every Friday.

The NCAA should just do the exact same thing.

Wanna make sign-stealing in college football a nothing-burger?

Just let everyone do it.

Problem solved.

Otherwise, the teams who want to cheat are going to do it. And the programs with integrity are going to continue complaining about the teams that cheat.

It will never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

Easiest solution: Make sign stealing legal.

Next problem? Bring it on.

In the aftermath of both the Browns and Steelers winning games last weekend in part due to completely botched officiating, there have been countless opinion pieces published this week where people are trying to figure out how to keep those kinds of things from happening in the NFL.

I still don't understand why this continues to be such a difficult task for the league to solve.

Here are the facts:

Officials do a good job, for the most part.

I have no way of substantiating how many calls they get right, but it's a lot. They miss some, for sure, but on the whole, NFL referees do a good job.

Another fact: Games are often decided by marginal or incorrect calls. And if they aren't flat-out "decided" -- which could be a stronger-than-needed term -- they're certainly "impacted" by strange or bad calls.

The way to fix this is so easy it's silly.

Let the officials continue to do their job. Keep the same number on the field. Allow them to patrol and make the calls in the same way they do now.

But here's the fix.

There's a person in the stadium (not in NY or some other city...in the stadium itself) situated by him/her self with a full array of TV's and camera views at their disposal.

They're watching the game live as is everyone else.

On any play during the game, they have the ability to stop the action and review the play.

Their determination is final.

"Hey Bill, on that play just now, the one you called pass interference on...that ball wasn't even close to catchable. Pick up the flag and give the ball to the Colts, first and 10 on Cleveland's 14 yard line."

Done.

"Hey Bill, I know you guys think Pickett picked up that first down there. He was a foot and a half short. Ball goes to the Rams."

Done.

It's really that easy. It might take an extra 10 seconds to figure it out.

What would you rather have -- those 10 seconds back or the right call made?

The most memorable situation of this happening came in Baltimore, actually, when Phil Dawson's game-winning field goal attempt was ruled no-good on the field and the Ravens thought they won the game.

Mysteriously, though, the refs huddled around the review booth even though that play wasn't reviewable by NFL rules back then. And then, as we all remember, roughly 5 minutes after most people -- including the players -- thought the game was over, the refs came back on the field and ruled the field goal was good.

Someone "above", either in the stadium or in a room in New York somewhere, buzzed in and said, "Psssst, hey, listen, you didn't hear me tell you this but that field goal -- it was actually good. It's a tie game."

And then, naturally, the Browns won that game in overtime.

As a Ravens fan, it was tough to stomach, but if you had any kind of "sports integrity", you had to at least feel good that the Browns didn't get ripped off by a bad call. The right decision was made. The right team wound up winning.

They could do the exact same thing now.

Easy peasy.

"You called roughing the passer there...pick the flag up. It was close. I know you guys are zeroing in on that kind of stuff. But in that case, the quarterback was just releasing the ball when the hit was applied by the lineman. That wasn't roughing the passer."

And the game rolls on.

It's either that or keep having these goofy calls impact who wins or loses the games.

I wouldn't care at all if four "wrong" calls were changed to "right" calls and cost the Ravens all four games. I'd much rather see that then have the officials continually botch critical calls in big moments.

And it's just not that hard to fix. I mean, to some degree they already do it with in-game challenges. There's no reason at all the NFL can't just make every play worthy of a review.

You're already in the stadium for 3 hours and 20 minutes as it is. What's another 10 minutes?

And you're glued to your TV set from 1 pm until 11 pm anyway on Sunday. What's the difference to you if the game ends at 4:28 pm instead of 4:14 pm?

faith in sports

George Foreman.

We all remember him as the bad-man-in-the-ring, a world champion boxer who was as tough as any man who ever stepped in the ring.

But there's a better story about Foreman that I wanted to share with you all here today.

It comes right from Foreman himself.

And it's a pretty compelling account of Foreman's loss to Muhammad Ali and what happened in the aftermath of that defeat that changed his life.

It's 7 minutes long. It's one of the best video features you'll ever watch.

George Foreman takes you along on his personal journey. 7 minutes is all you need.

Thanks, as always, to our friends at Freestate Electrical for their continued support of #DMD and our regular Friday "Faith in Sports" feature.

Thursday October 26, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3349

overrated....or underrated?

Dan Roark sent me an e-mail last week that I stored away for future use.

It turns out today is "future use".

"Drew, I used to love when you and Glenn Clark were on the radio together and you two would do the "Overrated or Underrated" segment. You two did a lot of good radio together but that was a classic segment in your show. I'm taking the liberty of listing 20 topics and was hoping you would do "Overrated or Underrated" at the Morning Dish for those of us out here who used to love your morning radio show. Thanks for considering."

"Dan, thanks for the note. I don't know why, but I always used to love that segment too. You know the saying we used: You can't be rated perfectly. You're either overrated. Or underrated. There's no fence sitting."

And with that, listed below are Dan's 20 topics. A bunch are sports related, some are music related and a few are entertainment related. Feel free to add your own "underrated" or "overrated" assessment in the Comments section today.

Mookie Betts -- "He's a really nice player. Like most guys who cut their teeth in Boston, he was definitely the benefactor of a favorable "hitter's park" 81 days/nights a year. Not that he's been a bum with the Dodgers or anything like that, but I thought he would have been a Hall of Fame kind of player if he would have spent his whole career in Boston/Fenway. But the dude can definitely hit, no matter the stadium." Verdict: Underrated.

Bradley Beal -- "I won't take the 5th on this one, but I just don't pay enough close attention to the NBA to tell you emphatically if I'm right about Bradley Beal. If you asked me about LeBron, as an example, I'd tell you he's "underrated" and I'd be right about that. With Beal, I don't know. But I'm predisposed to just assuming anyone associated with the Wizards at the outset of their career is pretty much "overrated". I don't think Beal is a winner. He's a very good professional basketball player, don't get me wrong. But I don't think I'd take him on my team." Verdict: Overrated.

Mike Tomlin -- "Really? You're throwing him in there on me? OK, look. I like Tomlin. I think his players play hard for him. I have no idea if he's a great football coach in terms of X's and O's, but I actually think part of NFL coaching is overrated. The coordinators and the position coaches are the ones who do most of the tactical "coaching". But the Steelers have not a had a very good roster for 6 or 7 years now and they somehow always figure out a way to hang around and either make the playoffs or throw a scare into everyone in the last week or two of the season." Verdict: Underrated.

Billy Idol -- "From Mike Tomlin to Billy Idol. I like your diversity, Dan. I have to admit I don't know much about Billy Idol's career catalog. How many albums did he put out? 6? 8? I have no idea. But his best 10 songs are really good. White Wedding, Rebel Yell, Eyes Without a Face, Catch My Fall, Flesh For Fantasy, just to name five. The guy put out some pretty good music in a relatively short amount of time. I wavered on this one for a few minutes." Verdict: Underrated.

Dak Prescott -- "This is one of those "perfect" examples of how overrated/underrated works. There's no sense in fence sitting on this one. If you put Prescott on any other NFL team, you'd get exactly what you get out of him in Dallas. He's a nice QB and all, but he's never leading a team to a championship of any kind. He's a scaled down version of Philip Rivers. Numbers are good, knows what he's doing, but there's a limit to his impact. I assume you know where I'm going with this." Verdict: Overrated.

Will Ferrell -- "OK, this is definitely where I go off the rails. If somewhere in this world there was an "Overrated Hall of Fame", Will Ferrell would get in on the first ballot. He's the most unfunny-funny-guy I've ever seen, and that's saying something in a world where Jim Carrey exists. Will Ferrell was funny in "Wedding Crashers". But only "just funny". He was funny in "Anchorman". But only "just funny". Nothing more. Will Ferrell is to comedy what Baker Mayfield is to football. Good enough to make it. But it all pretty much ends right there." Verdict: (Very) Overrated.

Squeeze -- "Those guys were really, really good. Their ten best songs are truly "Greatest Hits" material. A lot of people think bands have to have 20 or 25 "hits" to be great. Not true at all. It's really hard to have 10 "great" songs. Just ask The Foo Fighters, who are a legendary band and might have 10 or 12 great songs and that's it. Squeeze had 10 GREAT songs. They were so much better than given credit for during their heyday." Verdict: Underrated.

John Calipari -- "Ol' Money Bags, huh? The only reason he hasn't been chased out of Kentucky is because basketball is so important there that they don't care how much the coach cheats. He's been caught bending the rules in the NCAA, was a failed head coach in the NBA and has just one national championship to his credit despite having an unlimited player budget and some of the best college players cash could buy over the last 20 years. Dude's not a total fraud, but if we were playing HORSE, he'd have F-R-A." Verdict: Overrated.

Bryce Harper -- "Well, now I'll go the opposite of Will Ferrell. Harper would be in the "Underrated Hall of Fame". As it is, he'll be a first ball Hall of Famer in the "real" building in Cooperstown. Harper would make any team in the league better. Maybe even the Yankees. I realize his personality was a bit off-putting when he first came into the league with the Nationals, but now he's just an established mega-star who is a Top 5 or Top 3 player of his generation." Verdict: Underrated.

Stephen A. Smith -- "Now this one is interesting. I have to really evaluate whether SAS actually "knows" sports. I realize he talks about sports 5 days a week, but does he actually know the teams, players, history, etc.? In fairness to him, the folks at ESPN don't really care if he "knows" sports. They just want him to be loud and brash and try to maintain a perfect balance of "sane things" he says about sports and "wild, hot takes" that generate discussion and social media fodder. My guess on Smith is that he doesn't really care all that much about sports. I think he enjoys the nice things his career has provided him. And I think he also enjoys being a sports personality. But I doubt very seriously that he really follows sports all that much." Verdict: Overrated.

John Mayer -- "Are you asking me to evaluate him just as "John Mayer, music professional"? Or as a singer/songwriter? Or as a guitarist? I think he's extraordinarily talented. I wouldn't go as far as calling him a guitar virtuoso in the same breath as guys like John McLaughlin, Jorma Kaukonen or Joe Bonamassa, but Mayer is definitely a modern-day rock-n-roll version of those guys. He has really changed the direction of his career over the last 20 years. Broke in as a "heart throb who could sing" and evolved into a wildly talented musician. Mayer is the real deal." Verdict: Underrated.

Dustin Johnson -- "Finally, you gave me a golfer! I was wondering if I'd see one. And you gave me an interesting one. We'll obviously never know what would have happened had he stayed the course and not jumped over to those creeps at LIV Golf, but if he never plays another TOUR event, he's still a Hall of Fame golfer. He coulda-shoulda-woulda won 4 or 5 majors. Completely threw away the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay on the last hole and also squandered the PGA Championship when he grounded his club in the fairway bunker that he didn't realize was a fairway bunker (also on the last hole on Sunday). When he was at his zenith, he was one of the best drivers of the golf ball we've seen over the 30 years." Verdict: Underrated.

Megan Rapinoe -- "Well, this one's almost impossible to answer because we all evaluate her impact on a much greater scale than "just" a soccer player. She's part-soccer player, part-ambassador, part-advocate. I think there was a time when she was an outstanding soccer player, actually. Knew her role well, didn't seek the spotlight (on the field) and was mainly interested in winning and helping the team. Over the last decade, though, she's flipped from that role into something far less appealing. Her soccer skills slowly started to erode, so she became Megan Rapinoe the poster-child for whatever cause-of the-month she was devoting herself to. It was all done a little too abrasively, in my opinion. There was a time when I thought she was a terrific player on the field. The other stuff, though. I never bought it." Verdict: Overrated.

Kevin Costner -- "Really? This is a complete lay-up. But I needed one. Two words for you: Bull. Durham. Three more words for you: Wildly, wildly, underappreciated. I don't even have to pontificate about him or draw it out. It's very obvious." Verdict: (Very) Underrated.

Steve Martin -- "Coming to the Lyric this weekend, I believe. I assume that's why you threw his name in there? I think Steve Martin as an actor is very good. I always Steve Martin the funny guy pushed a little too hard to be ultra-funny. Kind of like what Will Ferrell tends to do. But Steve Martin the actor? Very, very underappreciated. He was so outstanding in "Father of the Bride". What a great movie that was." Verdict: Underrated.

Ocean City, MD -- "I think the answer to this is totally based on what it is about the beach that you like or dislike. For me, Ocean City is awesome. But I'm someone who can just go there for a week and basically do NOTHING and still have a great time. I don't need nightlife or anything like that. Give me good coffee in the morning, nice weather, a glass of wine or two at Happy Hour, some beach/ocean time...and I'm set. We tend to stay up in the 130th Street area, away from the mob scene. It's quiet up there. That's my style. I love Ocean City. In another life, I'd live there, own a breakfast place that serves great coffee and bagels, and be very content." Verdict: Underrated.

Home Field Advantage -- "I assume this is included because of what we've been seeing in the baseball playoffs? Well, I guess I'll put it like this. During the regular season (in any sport), I think it's an advantage any time you're playing at home. During the playoffs, I think that advantage gets negated in a big way for some reason. I just don't see playing at home to be nearly as "automatic" during the post-season as it usually is during the regular season. It's still an advantage to play at home, don't get me wrong. But I just don't see it as a massively important thing to be at home once you're in the playoffs and you're (presumably) hitting on all cylinders along with the opposing team you're facing." Verdict: Overrated.

Matthew Stafford -- "Man, I kinda hate this one. I always like him when he was with the Lions. Felt bad for him in the same way I felt bad for Carson Palmer. He just got picked by the wrong team. Who knows what would have happened in Stafford's career if a real franchise like the 49'ers or Seahawks or even the Ravens would have picked him. He just got the worst end of a draft day decision that was totally out of his hands. And then he went to L.A. and won a Super Bowl and everyone rallied around him like was a great QB who finally got what he deserved. I just don't know. I think he's a "good" QB who got very fortunate that year. Nothing more. I don't think he's a Hall of Famer, even though his numbers might suggest otherwise. I'd love to howl at the moon about how underrated he is, but alas, I can't do it." Verdict: Overrated.

Tom Wilson -- "A Capitals player finally. And one not named Ovechkin at that. Look, the reality is Tom Wilson plays a superb role in the NHL and he's carved out a very nice career for himself. But let's call it like it is: He's a headhunter. He always has been. He pushes the envelope, like a lot of players do, but there's always a sense with Wilson that he's eager to go overboard just a bit to prove that he's not to be messed with. The sad part about Tom Wilson? He's actually a technically sound player. If he stopped with the goon'ish head-hunting stuff and just played hockey...he'd be terrific. I'm not a fan, as you can tell." Verdict: Overrated

Heart -- "I assume you mean "the band" and not our main organ or the "character trait" of having heart. I think Heart's one of the most underappreciated bands of the 70's and 80's. "Dreamboat Annie" was a great album, and so was "Little Queen", which contained my all-time favorite Heart song; Love Alive. Now, you talk about a band's Greatest Hits album; these girls would have about 16 songs on their album. Maybe more. They put out some sensational music. I'm glad you included them. I love bragging about how great Heart was at their zenith." Verdict: Underrated

	RANDY MORGAN on American soccer
Americans are playing more and more of a vital role in international soccer these days, and Randy Morgan has his eyes on all of them for #DMD. Each week here, he looks at recent performances of American players and highlights upcoming games of importance.

mls playoff preview

The Major League Soccer regular season concluded this past weekend with a dramatic “Decision Day” of simultaneous kickoffs as teams fought for the last playoff spots. Albeit, a generous allotment of playoff spots as MLS follows the trend of most other American sports leagues by continually expanding the playoff field.

Playoff Format –

This season brings some new tweaks to the MLS playoffs, which kicked off last night with two Wild Card games and then begin the rest of the first round this weekend.

The new format allows for 18 of the league’s 29 teams to make the playoffs. The top seven seeds from both the Eastern and Western Conferences earn spots in the first round, with the 8th and 9th seeds playing in a knockout Wild Card game to determine the last spot in each conference.

The first round then proceeds with a new best of three format, with the higher seed hosting the first and third games. After the first round, the rest of the playoffs are a single elimination tournament with games hosted by the higher seed, culminating in the MLS Cup Final. In the first round, tie games go directly to penalty kicks, whereas in the remaining rounds, there is an overtime period first and then penalties.

OK, so where is Messi?

Before we get to the playoff field, let’s answer the question everyone just tuning in will be wondering. The story of the MLS season was the arrival of arguably the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi, still playing at a very high level. So why won’t we be seeing him in the playoffs?

The timing of his move from Paris St. Germain to Inter Miami is the main reason. After playing a full season plus a World Cup, Messi wasn’t ready to join Inter Miami until late July, well into the MLS season. Arriving when he did, Messi actually provided most of his highlights in two different competitions, the midseason Leagues Cup featuring all teams from both MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX, and the US Open Cup, the American equivalent to the English FA Cup.

Messi debuted for Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup, which took place in July and August during a planned pause in the MLS schedule. He, and fellow former Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, led Inter Miami to capture that trophy. They also helped push the team to the final of the US Open Cup, before getting injured for the final, which Inter Miami lost to Houston.

All this means that although he has been making highlights in the US since late July, Messi only played in three and a half MLS games before getting injured and only returning for parts of the last two games, which were relatively meaningless for the already eliminated Miami.

It was always going to be a longshot for Messi to propel Miami to the playoffs given that they were dead last when he arrived. Though they went undefeated in games he started, it was only enough to move them to second to last in the Eastern Conference. With a full year of Messi and more stars rumored to be on the way, Inter Miami should be a contender next year.

Supporters’ Shield Winners –

Given the large playoff field and the random nature of short playoff series, MLS crowns the regular season champions with a trophy called the Supporters’ Shield. The Shield winners also gain automatic entry to the regional CONCACAF Champions League competition, so it's not a totally meaningless award.

This year it was FC Cincinnati who comfortably took home the trophy as the top team in the league. Cincinnati won the league by a six point margin over Orlando City, who was second in the East. They will get the top seed in the East and home field throughout the entire playoffs.

Still a relatively new team in MLS after joining in 2019, this is the first Supporters’ Shield for FC Cincinnati. They were led by stars in both attack and defense. Occasional USMNT center back, Matt Miazga, revitalized his career with a move back to MLS from Europe last summer and was the rock of their back line this season. Miazga is the favorite to win the MLS Defender of the Year award.

While Messi garnered most of the headlines, it is another Argentine who is a near certainty to take home the MLS MVP award. Lucho Acosta paced the FC Cincinnati attack all season, leading the league with 27 combined goals and assists. He was also second in chances created, second in goals scored and fourth in assists. He will be the man opposing teams need to shutdown to upset Cincinnati in the playoffs.

The Supporters’ Shield winners enter the tournament as the betting favorites at +330. They will now play the winner of Wednesday’s Wild Card game, New York Red Bulls, who beat Charlotte FC, 5-2.

Rest of the Playoff Bracket –

The rest of the playoff matchups are as follows:

Eastern Conference

#2 Orlando City vs #7 Nashville SC

#3 Columbus Crew vs #6 Atlanta United

#4 Philadelphia Union vs #5 NE Revolution

Western Conference –

#1 St. Louis City vs #8 Sporting KC

#2 Seattle Sounders vs #7 FC Dallas

#3 LAFC vs #6 Vancouver Whitecaps

#4 Houston Dynamo vs #5 Real Salt Lake

Other Title Contenders –

Los Angeles FC (+600)

The reigning Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup winners will be the favorites to come out of the West despite finishing in third place. LA boasts Golden Boot (leading scorer) winner Denis Bouanga at the front of their attack and have talent at all levels. They still retain much of the roster that won everything last season and put up strong underlying numbers, finishing third in expected goals and sixth in expected goals conceded. They are a veteran-heavy team, with stars like Carlos Vela and Illie Sanchez, that will be tough to oust in the knockout competition.

Philadelphia Union (+1000)

Last season’s runners up who pushed LAFC to the limit in the MLS Cup final are dangerous once again. Their fourth place finish means they’ll have a tricky first round matchup with New England. Nevertheless, with a mix of veterans like Jakob Glesnes and young talent like Jack McGlynn, the Union are fully capable of making another run at a title.

Seattle Sounders (+1400)

Another veteran team with a plethora of past success to call upon, Seattle managed a second place finish in the West. The Sounders have one of the best defenses in MLS by both standard and underlying metrics and that can carry a team a long way in a playoff competition. Team legends Nico Lodeiro, Raul Ruidiaz, Jordan Morris, and Cristian Roldan would love to add another trophy to their collection.

Columbus Crew (+1200)

The third place team in the East, Columbus has thrived after bringing in new coach Wilfried Nancy from Montreal in the offseason. Nancy has created the best attack in the league, propelled by creative midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and striker Cucho Hernandez. US Olympic hopeful Aidan Morris has anchored the midfield as well. Columbus can outscore anyone, it will just be a matter of whether their defense can hold up enough for a long playoff run.

Orlando City (+1000)

The second place team in the East (and the league), Orlando is a balanced team able to attack and defend equally well. They enjoyed a breakout season from 22 year old rookie American striker Duncan McGuire who scored 13 goals. He pairs with Uruguayan Facundo Torres to trouble opposing defenses.

St. Louis City (+700)

The winners of the Western Conference, St. Louis City had one of the best debut seasons in MLS history. However, they only finished with one more point than the fourth and fifth place teams in the East (Philly and NE) and their underlying statistics would suggest the benefitted form quite a bit of good fortune. St. Louis also trailed off towards the end of the season, winning just two of their last eight. They have been led by a strong season from former Borussia Dortmund keeper Roman Burki, as well as standout midfielder Eduard Lowen.

Wednesday October 25, 2023

#DMD

Issue #3348

arizona and texas?

I'm not sure what your dream vacation is, but you could have taken it -- and brought along some friends, too -- had you put down $100 on an Arizona-Texas World Series way back in March.

I have no idea what that would have paid off. Arizona was 125-1 to make the World Series while Texas was a much more "bet worthy" 50-1.

But for both of them to make it and play one another? Big bucks.

So, in one way, this World Series is very interesting. A couple of new faces to the party dueling it out for the championship ring.

It seems like this is the Rangers' destiny, what with Texas rolling through Tampa Bay, Baltimore and Houston without losing once on the road. That offense in Texas is something to behold. If you throw a strike, they're hitting it.

The Diamondbacks were an 84-win regular season ballclub that just sorta-kinda hung around long enough to let the Cubs and Giants shoot themselves in the foot. Arizona was so "meh" they only nipped the Padres -- who came around late -- by two games in the race for the final playoff spot.

A team that won only six more games than they lost over a 6-month period is going to the World Series. And the 100-win teams like the Braves, Dodgers and Orioles were all watching last night's game from the comforts of their living room.

If you're a fan of "anything can happen", this World Series is right up your alley.

But if you're a fan of "I want to see the best teams face off in a 7-game series", there's a new Bill Burr movie on Netflix or you can always dig into Inventing Anna or Blackbird if you didn't catch those when they were first released.

I can't promise you I'm going to watch all 7 games (or, probably, 5) of this upcoming World Series, but I'm probably in the camp of those who are at least happy we're seeing two new teams battle it out instead of the Astros and someone or the Dodgers and someone.

Alas, I was hoping the Orioles would be one of those new teams doing the battling, but we all know how that turned out.

This all does bring to light the question about baseball's playoff format.

Too many teams? Too much to chance? Too much reward for mediocre-ish baseball?

Maybe, yes, to all three.

This isn't sour grapes about the Orioles, per se. They won their 101 games and were a legit playoff team. And they lost to a Texas club that didn't fluke their way in despite their late-season nosedive. The Rangers were one of the top 2 or 3 teams in all of baseball from April through August.

But 6 teams (out of 15) from each league in the post-season? Too much? Too watered down? Not if you ask the Diamondbacks.

I've always been of the mindset that the regular season should really count for something. So, too, should the playoffs. But the playoffs should be reserved for the teams who grind it out and earn their way in. Sure, teams like Miami and Arizona "earned their way in" by staying in it and scraping together 84 wins each, but they'd be sitting home like everyone else if, say, 4 teams made the post-season instead of 6 clubs making it.

I know what the owners are thinking.

"How do we create a format where 10 teams get in?"

The owners don't care about regular season records or "deserving it" or anything else that has to do with what we all call the "fairness" of the way the playoffs wind up shaking out.

They only care about the potential for increased revenue.

And, so, we're just howling at the moon about an 84-win team rolling through the Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies en-route to their improbable spot in the Fall Classic.

Oh, and while they didn't go 8-0 (thus far) in the playoffs, Arizona's road mark in October is an impressive 6-2. They swept two in Milwaukee, took two in Los Angeles and took 2 of 4 in Philadelphia, including the big two; Game 6 and Game 7.

In October, the two best teams in baseball have been Arizona and Texas. I'm not sure anyone who follows the sport would argue that.

But for 6 months prior to that...others were definitely better.

It's refreshing to see new guys in there. No two ways about it.

And if this World Series turns out to be a thriller, everyone goes home happy.

Maybe we'll even get a beanball or two along the way to really spike the enthusiasm.

I'm sure we'll get at least one ejection in the series. There's no way the umpire crew assigned to the event can not throw someone out along the way. I just know there's a memo somewhere.

And we might even get a couple of walk-off wins from someone as well. Despite the 6-win difference from the regular season, the Series should be a good one. I don't see Texas losing. But I also didn't see Arizona beating the Phillies, either.

Next season, maybe it will be our Orioles who fall from 101 wins to 86 wins, squeak in on the final weekend of the season, then blow through everyone in the playoffs to earn a World Series trip for the first time since 1983.

Which would you rather have? 101 wins in the regular season and a spot on the couch in the last week of October?

Or 86 wins and a World Series in Baltimore?

I agree.

Give me the World Series.

You know that's exactly what they're saying in Arizona this morning.

	The Stats Nerd And His Numbers
Contributed by #DMD's data and numbe