Tuesday March 31, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4236

"slow news cycle"? not in the nfl

Ravens President Sashi Brown finally made it into the news on Monday. If he thought his comments about the Maxx Crosby trade were going to go unchased, he obviously doesn't follow the very league he works in closely enough.

Brown, for some reason speaking to reporters at the annual league meetings in Phoenix, chalked up the criticism the Ravens faced in the aftermath of the Crosby saga to a "slow news cycle".

He added a bunch of other stuff, too, most of which made a little bit of sense. For instance, he pushed back against the notion that teams around the league might be hesitant to engage in trade talks with the Ravens.

"We've got strong and long relationships across the league," Brown said on Monday. "We have emphasized the importance of doing things the right way. We'll continue to do that. And we understand that it is a headline story because of its profile and significance. We believe our relationships, to the extent that you need time to repair them, people understand who we are and what we're about."

For the record, I believe that statement and sentiment from Brown. I don't think teams around the league are gun-shy about doing deals with the Ravens moving forward. Teams and general managers all know the truth. The dude's knee is not worth a 3-year deal and two first round draft picks, which is precisely why Crosby's back in Las Vegas and no other NFL clubs have jumped at the chance to trade for him.

So, from the standpoint of the Ravens still being a reputable trade partner around the league, I totally agree with that concept.

Now, are there going to be players in the future with "iffy" medical reports who might tell their agents to be careful dealing with Baltimore because of how the Crosby thing went down? Sure. But every team in the league does their due diligence when it comes to health and injuries and long-term viability.

There's a huge difference between a fully healthy player considering a trade or a free agent deal with the Ravens and a player with an injury history or an off-season surgery considering the Ravens.

I've said from jump street I absolutely think the Ravens did the right thing once their medical staff took an in-depth look at Crosby's knee. You can't fork over $90 million to a guy and surrender two (almost) automatic starters via the draft without knowing for certain that you're going to get three productive years out of him.

So on the surface, Brown's commentary was fairly reasonable and accurate.

But the "slow news cycle" claim? That was a shanked punt, to borrow a football term.

The NFL is a 12-month, 365 days-a-year product. There are no slow news days in the world of NFL football. Blaming the abundance of coverage on the Crosby deal on a "slow news cycle" was a really silly thing to say.

It probably doesn't matter much, anyway. Brown is hardly ever asked to speak to the media as it is. Anything he says will likely just circle down the drain in a few days.

But the quote and the discussion about Crosby's departure lends itself to murky opinions on what happened and why.

The Ravens didn't get raked over the coals because they were in the midst of a "slow news cycle".

They got blistered mainly because they turned around and signed Trey Hendrickson later that day.

When you broke up with your high school girlfriend because "you needed space", you were probably going to avoid her wrath unless she saw you with a new girl the following weekend. You have to at least let a few weeks go by before you start hanging out with someone new.

The Ravens dumped Crosby and started dating Hendrickson before Crosby's plane landed back in Las Vegas later that night.

It had nothing to do with a "slow news cycle" and everything to do with optics and what appeared to be something sketchy about how everything unfolded.

And while my opinion is the Ravens weren't really trying to be nefarious, it doesn't help their public image to have their President yapping about stuff that doesn't really connect with the story at all.

There's a long way to go before I make a final call on whether I like the "challenge system" in Major League Baseball, but I'll say, at first blush, I'm not a fan.

And it's not that I'm against automation and getting the calls right and so on.

It's more about the esthetics of the game, I think. No matter what anyone says, challenging a call right then and there at home plate is showing up the umpire. Or, hoping to show up the umpire. "You're wrong. I'm right. Let's watch the replay."

The Yankees went 5-for-5 in last night's 2-1 loss to Seattle. Five requests for a replay, five times they got the call reversed. That's either incredible luck or bad umpiring.

Now, I'm first in line for keeping the umpires in check. Anyone who has read #DMD over the years knows as much.

One of my top 5 pet peeves in all of sports are those goofy umpires who eject someone for a benign incident or because they had the audacity to shake their head when they disagreed with a call made by the umpire.

I'm definitely all for anything that brings the umps down a notch or two in that regard.

But I'm just not sure I like the ABS challenge system.

It obviously holds up the game for a second or two. Or three. But it's not really that big of a deal. It takes nowhere near as long as a "regular" in-game challenge for a missed tag at 2nd base or a ball that was thought to be caught that wasn't (or was).

There's just something about the whole thing that's unsettling to me. Maybe the answer is to just do away with umpires behind home plate or, at the very least, strip him/her of their ability to call balls and strikes. Perhaps that's it. Just let the machine call all of the pitches at home plate.

I'll give it time to marinate a little more before I come around in May and make a definitive statement.

But on my first lap around the track, I don't like the challenge system.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that tonight the Capitals have a chance to do something glorious in Washington D.C., and that's pretty much drive a final nail in the Flyers playoff coffin.

A Caps win and Flyers loss tonight wouldn't completely eliminate the Flyers, sadly. I guess you can't be that fortunate. But a Philly loss tonight would really hurt their playoff hopes.

And Washington, I might add, is still technically alive for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference although their hopes are far slimmer than that of the Flyers.

The Flyers, Ottawa and Detroit are all sitting at 86 points. Columbus currently holds the final playoff spot with 88 points but they've played one more game than those three.

A Philly win tonight and they're in a dead-heat with the Blue Jackets.

A Caps win tonight would be sooooooooo heartwarming.

Washington missing the NHL playoffs is not good. But Washington missing and the Flyers somehow sneaking in? Now that would be absolutely awful.

There's just no way I can stomach having to watch the Flyers make it while the Caps sit home.

Come on boys, don't let those creeps beat you tonight. Go Caps!

#dmd's top 10 masters preview

"A tradition unlike any other..."

Jim Nantz has authored some great lines in his broadcasting day, but none of them are on par (sorry) with that phrase he uses to describe the Masters tournament.

It is, truly, a tradition unlike any other.

It's spring time in Augusta, Georgia, which is a beautiful sight indeed. And this year's event features a wealth of incredible story lines to consider as the first major of the year approaches.

Can Rory, after a decade-plus chasing the green jacket, repeat as the champion and win his 6th career major?

Is Scottie Scheffler going to win his 3rd green jacket and 5th career major at Augusta in 2026? Scheffler's season has been fine, but with only one win thus far, he's not coming into the event as the absolutely, gazillion-percent favorite we all expected he'd be.

Can Xander Schauffele win a Masters title and move, like Scheffler, within a U.S. Open victory of the career grand slam?

What about the LIV guys? Mickelson has three Masters wins. He can't win a 4th at age 55, right? I wouldn't be opposed to throwing a few bucks down on "Lefty". You never know.

The course has long been perplexing for Bryson DeChambeau, but he did get himself firmly in the hunt last year. Could he nail career major #3 this April?

And what about Jon Rahm, the '23 champion? We haven't heard much of him over the last two years, but another moment in the winner's circle wouldn't be at all surprising.

#DMD will break down our proverbial Top 10 here until we get around to telling you who we think is going to win on Wednesday, April 8.

From the standpoint of accumulating wagering information, we're thinking all ten of these guys could win or finish Top 10 or better. These are the names we expect to see on the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon, April 12.

#10 on our list was Patrick Cantlay.

#9 Cameron Young -- In some ways I almost wish Young wouldn't have won at The Players earlier this month. Then he would have come into Augusta truly "under the radar".

Yet, he's still listed at +2700, which demonstrates he's still not getting the respect he deserves for winning golf's proverbial "5th major" and churning out three straight Top 10 finishes.

He's had a wonky fun at Augusta. In four visits to the Masters he has two missed cuts and T7 and a T9.

Those two Top 10 finishes show us Young can play the course and handle the nuances of Augusta National.

A further examination into his current 2026 season shows a guy who is doing virtually everything well for the better part of three months. And all of those things dovetail perfectly into having a chance to win the green jacket this year.

He's 8th in shots gained: total, he's 3rd in all of golf in shots gained: tee to green, he's 26th in shots gained: approach to green, he's 42nd in shots gaind: putting, and he's 13th in total driving. And perhaps the most important data-piece of them all, he's 3rd in proximity to the hole.

If you're outside the top 100 on TOUR in any statistical category kept by the PGA Tour, it's listed in "red" on your stats page. Inside the top 100 and your number appears in "green".

There are 19 statistical categories kept. He's green in every single one of them. His highest number is 72nd in scrambling from the rough. Other than that, his stats are among the best of any player on TOUR this year.

I'd like to keep it as quiet as possible, but hear me tell you this and no one else. Shhhhhhhhh. Ready?

Cameron Young can win the Masters.

He's statistically almost perfect for the golf course. He hits it plenty far enough, plenty straight enough and plenty close enough.

He's going to chew up the par 5's, I think, particularly if he continues to drive it off the tee like he has this year thus far.

There's nothing about his game that's concerning. Nothing.

He has a spotty track record at Augusta, sure, but let's not overlook the two Top 10 finishes he's produced there. He can play the golf course.

We love his chances next week.

Monday March 30, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4235

"do anything.....but that"

I don't even think "instant classic" does justice to what happened in yesterday's Duke/UConn college basketball game.

It was an unreal finish, one that you could always sorta-kinda feel might be happening, but Duke kept hitting shots down the stretch to maintain their narrowing lead.

But never, in a thousand years, did any of us see the game ending the way it ended.

I'm sure Jon Scheyer didn't see it happening that way, either. If he knew his player -- Cayden Boozer -- was going to cough up the ball at midcourt with 7 seconds left, he probably would have had someone else out there.

Alas, for Duke, the worst thing happened. Braylon Mullins nailed a 35-footer with four-tenths of a second left and the Huskies came all the way back from an earlier 19-point deficit to win, 73-72. They'll be making their 3rd appearance in the Final Four next weekend in Indianapolis, taking on a hard-charging Illinois squad that is most certainly the underdog of the remaining four teams.

I know UConn's Dan Hurley isn't the most popular dude in the world, but give that guy some serious big-stones credit for the way he keeps his team in the game, fighting, and believing they still have a chance. I'm not savvy enough to get into the discussion that took over the internet last night regarding Hurley thoroughly outcoaching Scheyer, but Hurley is one heckuva basketball coach, sour demeanor and all.

And that UConn program is really something else. They just "get there". Every year, it seems. That's honestly why I picked them to win it all in my bracket (over Iowa State, sadly, who were bounced out in their Sweet Sixteen game). They just always do what's necessary to win games in the big moments, even when their regular season play wouldn't suggest they're the best team in the country.

Back to Boozer and the ill-fated moment where the game slipped away from Duke.

When he received the ball in his end of the court, there were 7 seconds remaining. If you listed all of the things Boozer could have done with the ball, perhaps the only one you definitely didn't want him to do was get the ball knocked out of the air on an ill-advised pass attempt.

Anything else he decided to do and the game was "likely" over. It wasn't 100% over, as some critics on Twitter noted yesterday. He could have held the ball and been fouled, missed the free throw attempt(s), and UConn could have still hit a miraculous buzzer-beater.

But the one thing he needed to avoid was giving the ball to UConn. And that's what he did.

The easiest, smartest and game-ending thing to do would have been to just hold the ball or toss it right back to the guy who gave it to him (who then could have heaved it baseball style all the way down the court) or, even better, he could have just thrown the ball straight up in the air as high as he could to help chew off the remaining seconds.

Someone on Twitter noted the absolute best thing to do was catch the ball (like he did) with his back to the middle of the court and, instead of turning around with it, just throw it over his back high in the air down to the other end of the court. He did have a couple of players already down there to collect a ball thrown to that end.

I guess that would have worked. Too bad he didn't have eyes in the back of his head, right?

But in all reality, any of those decisions and the game (likely) ends with Duke moving on and UConn going home.

I remember watching a college game a long time ago when a player got the ball in a similar situation but it was more along the side of the court and he actually just bowled the ball all the way down the playing surface to let the final five or six seconds tick off.

It was one of the more genius-moves in sports I ever remembering seeing. By the time the other team scampered down to get the ball, the clock was pretty much down to one second and the game ended.

But it's easy to say "you should do (this) when the game is on the line and you're playing in front of 18,000 screaming people and the ball comes to you and you have to make a quick decision."

I'm sure, by now, Boozer has gone through the five other things he could have done and is asking himself, "Why didn't I do that?"

Maybe Jon Scheyer is doing the same thing. "Why didn't I coach my guy to (insert different decision here)?"

Sports, man.

On a weekend where golf needed a nice pick-me-up after the Tiger Woods news on Friday, Gary Woodland delivered the goods with a five shot win at the Houston Open on Sunday.

It was Woodland's first win since he captured the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

And it was his biggest moment since having brain surgery to remove a non-cancerous lesion in September of 2023.

Woodland has been openly discussing the PTSD symptoms he's experiencing in the aftermath of that surgery. Three weeks ago, he told the world via The Golf Channel that constant fear and anxiety causes him to break down and cry in the middle of golf tournaments, often needing to use a portable bathroom to gather himself before continuing his round.

But it all came together for Woodland in Houston, where he needed a win to qualify for next week's Masters.

He's not only "in" at Augusta, but he's now exempt on TOUR for the better part of two-and-a-half full years. The quest to secure your playing status on TOUR is about 80% of the fight. Once you get yourself situated and you can plan your schedule, good things seem to flow from there.

Woodland's win was as popular as any you could find on the PGA Tour this season. There's probably not another player the entire field would say "I'm glad he won". It was a huge, huge moment for him.

On a weekend when the golf gods needed to come through, they did.

And so did Gary Woodland.

#dmd's top 10 masters preview

"A tradition unlike any other..."

Jim Nantz has authored some great lines in his broadcasting day, but none of them are on par (sorry) with that phrase he uses to describe the Masters tournament.

It is, truly, a tradition unlike any other.

It's spring time in Augusta, Georgia, which is a beautiful sight indeed. And this year's event features a wealth of incredible story lines to consider as the first major of the year approaches.

Can Rory, after a decade-plus chasing the green jacket, repeat as the champion and win his 6th career major?

Is Scottie Scheffler going to win his 3rd green jacket and 5th career major at Augusta in 2026? Scheffler's season has been fine, but with only one win thus far, he's not coming into the event as the absolutely, gazillion-percent favorite we all expected he'd be.

Can Xander Schauffele win a Masters title and move, like Scheffler, within a U.S. Open victory of the career grand slam?

What about the LIV guys? Mickelson has three Masters wins. He can't win a 4th at age 55, right? I wouldn't be opposed to throwing a few bucks down on "Lefty". You never know.

The course has long been perplexing for Bryson DeChambeau, but he did get himself firmly in the hunt last year. Could he nail career major #3 this April?

And what about Jon Rahm, the '23 champion? We haven't heard much of him over the last two years, but another moment in the winner's circle wouldn't be at all surprising.

#DMD will break down our proverbial Top 10 here until we get around to telling you who we think is going to win on Wednesday, April 8.

From the standpoint of accumulating wagering information, we're thinking all ten of these guys could win or finish Top 10 or better. These are the names we expect to see on the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon, April 12.

#10 Patrick Cantlay -- The 8-time PGA Tour winner has only missed one cut at Augusta since 2019. It was also in that year -- 2019 -- that he actually held a share of the lead through his 15th hole on Sunday, but he couldn't get the horse into the barn over the final three holes and eventually settled for a carer-best Masters finish of 9th that year.

Cantlay is coming off of a terrible 2025, where the only cut he made in a major was, in fact, at Augusta National.

His 2026 hasn't been out-of-this-world great, either, but he's also starting play better golf of late. Overall he's made 5 of 7 cuts with three Top 25 finishes on the season.

He hasn't played since a T7 finish at The Valspar last week.

Our line of thinking on Cantlay? He was long considered "the best player without a major", but over the last two years or so, that unofficial title has been lifted from him. Now, he's just another really good player without a major. Perhaps the removal of that monkey off of his back is what pushes him to play well this time around at Augusta National.

Most of his data for 2026 is solid. The one area he's "off" a bit is in his putting, where he's 91st in the shots gained category with the flat stick. He's never been a guy who hits it a long way off the tee, so his 298 yard driving average isn't a big deal. And if you're going to hit it "short" off the tee at a major, Augusta is the one place where you won't get crushed giving up 20 yards or more to the big boys.

Cantlay's season and data might not fully support a Top 10 finish or a win, but he is still one of those guys you assume is going to somehow find his way to the winner's circle in a major. And with distance being his one big issue, the Masters feels like the place he's most likely going to win.

And coming off the radar screen to win "out of nowhere" is also something Cantlay would do. He's a big of an enigma out there, with his slower-than-slow pace and a quiet personality that leads people to wonder what's going on with him.

We like his chances next week. We're not claiming him as our favorite, by any means. But we think there's a chance Cantlay is sniffing around the lead when play begins on Sunday.

And from there...who knows what might happen?

Sunday March 29, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4234

oh captain, my not captain?

Maybe it's just not in the cards for Tiger Woods to ever captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

I'm not sure that would break his heart or anything. I mean, the Bethpage job in 2025 was handed to him in a gift-wrapped box and he gave it back to the PGA of America and said, "You know what? I'm good. I don't need any more gifts."

There has been widespread speculation that the 2027 job for the Ryder Cup in Ireland is also Tiger's to have if he wants it. In fact, if you believe the rumor/media mill, Woods has until the end of the Masters, April 12, to inform the PGA of America of his decision to captain the squad heading over to Adare Manor next year.

But now.......

Now what?

And the question is no longer, "Is Tiger going to take the captaincy role in Ireland?"

The question has now shifted to, "Will the PGA of America still want him to be the captain in light of Friday's arrest on suspicion of DUI in Florida?"

The PGA has not responded to several media inquiries over the weekend, so there's nothing official from them on the situation.

But the issue at hand is obvious. On one side of the coin, you have the greatest player of the last 50 years -- the "builder" of international golf, if you will -- plus a conference room leader on all matters of the PGA Tour, and, a U.S. team that hasn't won on foreign soil since 1993.

On the other side, you have the embarrassing nature of his most recent arrest plus several other high profile brushes with the law over the last 10 years.

And while it's fair to point out, at least right now, that Tiger hasn't been formally found "guilty" of Friday's DUI charge, that's actually a more murky situation for the PGA of America. What if Woods takes the job on April 10 and then in June, he's found guilty and has to serve, let's say, 5 days in jail as part of his punishment?

Do you really want the captain of your U.S. Ryder Cup serving jail time?

But even if he's somehow found not guilty of the recent charge -- and let's be real here, unless he pleads guilty, it's a coin-flip as to the verdict -- how do you put Tiger's picture all over the place for the next 18 months as the captain of your top American golf team given what has happened with him?

Answer: You can't. And......you don't.

Sadly, Tiger can't be the captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2027. At least I don't think he can be the captain.

Maybe the PGA of America looks at those recent TGL ratings for a Tuesday night in March (1 million people tuned in for hit-and-giggle simulator golf, their best ratings night ever) and says, "It doesn't matter if Tiger was involved in a chainsaw massacre, more people are going to watch the Ryder Cup on TV if he's involved."

I understand business. If Tiger's the captain, the PGA might be able to charge (I'm making up numbers here) $70,000 for a 30-second commercial but if Stewart Cink (I know you don't know who that is, but trust me, he's a golfer) is the captain, that freight goes down to $50,000 per-30-second-spot.

There's no doubt at all about this: The PGA of America will make more money, across the board, if Tiger's the captain. They know that and, of course, Tiger does as well. Mama didn't raise a dummy, even if she also didn't raise a good driver.

But the PGA of America has to tell Tiger "Sorry, bud, we have to go in a different direction."

He can't be the captain of the team. Not this time around, anyway.

Maybe in 2029, yes. Or 2031.

But 2027 is too soon. And it's also too valuable of a position to just hand over to someone who is going through whatever it is that Tiger's going through right now.

Sorry, not sorry.

And let's also be fair. If Tiger really wanted to captain the team, he would have told them "yes!" with enthusiasm six months ago.

Tiger wouldn't mind being the captain. But there's a big difference between "I really want this gig!" and "I wouldn't mind having this gig if it fits my schedule."

The biggest benefit for Tiger (and let's always remember, "the benefit" is important to all of us) to serve as the captain in 2027 is he could do something that no other captain has been able to do for 30-plus years. And that is, of course, win a Ryder Cup for the U.S. on European soil.

82 career wins, 15 major championship victories and the captain of the Ryder Cup team that broke a 34 year losing streak? Great stuff indeed.

Alas, it shouldn't happen next September.

Their should be a certainy amount of dignity that goes with being your country's captain. I realize we're in day and age in our great nation where "dignity" is not a trait of some of our elected officials, but when it comes to the Ryder Cup, at least, the captain should be presentable and dignified.

Say what you will about the job Zach Johnson did in Italy a few years back or some of the decisions Keegan Bradley made at Bethpage, but at least they were honorable stewards of the sport and the event while they captained losing Ryder Cup teams.

Right now, I don't think you can say the same thing about Woods.

The PGA of America won't "fire" Tiger, of course. They're not that dumb. If it comes to pass that they are going to withdraw their offer to Tiger, they will, in concert with Woods, create a public relations missive that basically says, "Tiger has informed us he is not going to captain the 2027 team".

In other words, he didn't get fired. He resigned.

But the PGA of America should be reaching out to Tiger and his people right now to let him know that 2027 is off the table. Your captain can't be involved in the stuff Woods has been involved in over the last several years.

And the sooner that announcement is made, the sooner we can start tearing apart their decision to give the job to Stewart Cink.

I'm thinking today we'll see the O's offense erupt, for those interested in those kind of things for, you know, money making opportunities.

It has to be better than we've seen in the two games thus far, right?

Five hits and two runs on Thursday in the opener.

Five hits and one run in yesterday's 4-1 loss to the Twins.

And on Saturday, 16 of the O's 27 outs were strikeouts. 16!! That's more whiffs than a double-album from The Fab Four.

Gunnar struck out 3 times on Saturday. Ward, Alonso and Basallo each struck out twice.

Every starter k'd at least once, in fact.

Kyle Bradish got the start on the mound and he was, let's say, "OK" in his 4.2 innings of work. He allowed 2 earned runs and 2 hits, but walked three hitters along the way while striking out four Minnesota batters.

Bradish certainly wasn't terrible on Saturday. But he wasn't Trevor Rogers, either.

We all assumed the O's pitching was going to be much improved this season and the offense would simply "take care of itself".

Two games in, the O's offense has been -- wait for it -- "offensive".

It gets cleaned up today, I suspect.

How about a home run parlay from Gunnar and Alonso? That will get you about $50 on a $5 wager.

I'll also take the O's to win by more than 1.5 runs and score more than 5.5 runs on the day.

Two games, ten total hits and three runs...

Something has to give today.

The Capitals will not let the hospital aides pull the plug on their '25-26 season, as D.C. continues to cling to their ever-faint playoff hopes after last night's 5-4 shootout win in Las Vegas.

The Caps are now 37-37 on the year, with nine of those 37 defeats coming in overtime/shootout, where you get one point for your efforts.

Washington still trails four teams in the chase for that final Eastern Conference wild card spot. Columbus (73 games played) currently owns that final berth with 87 points. The Caps have 83 points. But Washington has played 74 games.

And the teams immediately ahead of D.C. have all played fewer games and have more points, still. Ottawa and Detroit both have 86 points with 73 games in the books. The Flyers The World Franchise In The History Of Professional Sports has only played 72 games and they have 84 points. And Philly is in D.C. on March 31 for a big late-season showdown.

It's interesting that the Caps' play has perked up of late, what with that win in Utah on Thursday night and then last night's triumph in Vegas. It might be too-little-too-late, but it's better to see their play spike in a positive direction than to see them go through the motions and get skated out of the gym over the last two weeks of the season.

	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.

u.s. soccer march preview: the final audition, part 2

The Midfield Puzzle --

This might be the most fascinating area to watch. With Adams out, the midfield configuration will depend heavily on what Pochettino wants to prioritize against different types of opponents.

Weston McKennie is having arguably the best season of his career at Juventus. He’s racked up four goals and four assists in Serie A, added four more goals in the Champions League, including becoming only the third Juve midfielder to score 10 career goals in the competition alongside Pavel Nedved and Michel Platini.

He just signed a contract extension through 2030. Pochettino himself declared that “Juventus is Weston McKennie plus 10 players.” McKennie is going to play, but the question is where.

At Juve, McKennie has been deployed in a more advanced role under Luciano Spalletti.

For the US, he’s traditionally played deeper as a box-to-box midfielder. Given his current form, does Pochettino unleash him further forward and let him be the attacking threat he’s been all season for Juventus?

Or does he need McKennie’s energy and work rate in a deeper role, especially without Adams?

Then there’s Gio Reyna, the eternal enigma. Reyna has logged a grand total of 26 Bundesliga minutes since New Year’s Day for Borussia Mönchengladbach. Twenty-six minutes.

He’s been an unused substitute on four occasions and dealt with yet another muscle injury. The frustrating pattern that has plagued his career since his early days at Dortmund continues unabated. And yet, Pochettino keeps calling him in.

His November appearances were encouraging, picking up a goal against Paraguay and an assist against Uruguay. The talent is undeniable, but at what point does chronic unavailability at club level outweigh national team flashes? These games could determine whether Reyna makes the 26.

Malik Tillman has arguably earned a larger role after his Gold Cup performance, where he led the team in goals plus assists and looked like the most creative player on the field for stretches.

He’s since backed that up with an impressive first season at Bayer Leverkusen. He has seven goals across all competitions this season, including five in the Bundesliga and a standout brace against Villarreal in the Champions League that helped Leverkusen secure their spot in the knockout rounds.

Tanner Tessmann has been growing by the day at Lyon, featuring in the Europa League knockout rounds, and could be the next man up as the defensive midfield option behind Adams.

Johnny Cardoso has been a regular starter for Atletico Madrid in both La Liga and Champions League this season. Can he finally translate his club form to the US shirt? He disappointed in the Gold Cup last summer, so these games are an opportunity to prove that was an aberration.

The Back of the Roster --

Perhaps the most cutthroat battle of all is for the final few roster spots. In a 26-man squad, there’s room for depth, but every spot is precious.

Along the back line, Alex Freeman has had a terrific trajectory, winning MLS Young Player of the Year before moving to Villarreal in La Liga in January.

Max Arfsten has earned regular call- ups from his spot at the Columbus Crew and performed well in the absence of Antonee Robinson.

In midfield, Brenden Aaronson has been a regular starter for Leeds United in the Premier League and brings 56 caps of experience.

Cristian Roldan is a veteran presence from Seattle who knows his role, while Sebastian Berhalter showed some nice set piece ability in the Gold Cup.

Aidan Morris was once considered the heir apparent to Adams at defensive midfield but has seen his stock dip with injuries and a managerial change at Middlesbrough.

At forward, Patrick Agyemang has had a productive season at Derby County with 10 goals, but his limitations against quality defenses were exposed in the Gold Cup. Is he the right profile for a World Cup squad?

Haji Wright, who missed this roster with an injury, will also be fighting for one of those final spots when the time comes.

One absence worth noting is Yunus Musah, who had been a regular in prior cycles but was not called in. Whether that’s a signal about his standing or simply a reflection of the deep midfield pool is unclear.

What I’m Looking For --

There are two lineups I would really like to see get on the field in one or both of these games. The formations are not all that different.

Though one is listed as a 3-4-3 and the other a 4-2-3-1, they can easily shift into similar states during different phases of the game.

Both of these lineups give us a chance to see what Weston McKennie can do in a more advanced midfield role, tucking into the right attacking half-space.

With Dest out, Tim Weah is the most dynamic choice as a right back or right wingback, so that opens a spot for McKennie higher up. I would not be upset to also see him in a deeper role with either Tillman or Reyna in the attacking role in one of the games, though it remains to be seen how fit Reyna is given his limited playing time at his club.

These lineups both test out the Cardoso-Tessman duo in midfield that the team may need to rely on in the absence of Tyler Adams.

Note: The U.S. lost to Belgium on Saturday in Atlanta, 5-2.

Saturday March 28, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4233

don't let tiger drive to augusta

I have nothing to add to the Tiger Woods saga that hasn't been said already.

I didn't address it at-length this morning because, frankly, I don't know what I can say that makes any difference at all.

And even this, what I'm going to publish here, won't make a difference.

Contrary to what some of you weird people think, I wasn't "trolling" or riling anyone up. I just don't know what you want me to add to the subject that will resonate with you.

If you want me to say, "Tiger Woods is an awful human being" because you think he's an awful human being, I'm not joining you in that camp.

I think Tiger Woods is a "troubled" human being, not an "awful" one, filled with physical pain and anguish that I'm sure is continually hampering him every day he's alive on this planet.

I have friends -- many of them, honestly -- who have been involved in drinking and driving and/or driving while impaired and never once did I think "they're my friend but they're also an awful human being".

I always hope and pray for the best for them and hope things get turned around in their life.

I don't know Tiger Woods at all. So he's far from "friend" territory for me. But I hope the same thing for him I would hope for anyone in his situation.

I hope he gets the help he needs and can overcome whatever it is that he's fighting these days.

It's also important to remember that our great country has a set of rules and laws that all of us -- not just a world champion golfer, but every single one of us -- gets to utilize. And one of those is, "innocent until proven guilty".

Tiger will get his day in court and he'll be able to present his side of the story and at that point we can all get re-interested in the story again. If, in fact, the court finds that he was driving under the influence of some kind of medication or illegal drug that altered his ability to safely operate a motor vehicle, he should receive whatever punishment the court deems fair for that sort of violation.

I never excuse anyone for driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

I'm sure Tiger has a daily regimen of medications he has to take to deal with the pain and physical limitations his body yields, but that doesn't exempt him from also abiding by the law.

Like I said above, he's not an awful human being. He's a troubled one. Woods has done a lot of great, meaningful work (off the course) in his life. He's also been involved in a number of other personal incidents that weren't "great" and "meaningful".

His golf was always spectacular. His personal choices, not so much.

But what he needs now is help. It's easy for people to distance themselves from someone when they do something dumb or hurtful. To the contrary, that's the time when you buckle up with your friend and say, "I'm here for you. What can I do to help?"

I'm not Tiger's friend. But if I was your friend and you were having trouble, that's what I would say to you: "I'm here for you. What can I do to help?"

And in an effort to appease some of you who read waaaaaayyyy more into that comment than was necessary, I've changed the word "father" to "best friend" in the story about the NFL Draft. I hope we can shake hands and move on from that one.

---

this and that

Saturday mornings around here are usually good for a "notes" kind of day. Hence, we call this edition of #DMD, "This and That", jumping around from topic to topic to cover whatever we deem important and topical with the masses who come here to be part of the fun.

Duke advanced to the Elite Eight last night with a 5-point win over St. John's. In the old days, we would have all watched the game with disdain in our heart for the Blue Devils.

Sadly, Maryland's money-grabbing transfer to the Big Ten has eased some of that dislike of Duke. I mean, at least to me the dislike is far less than it once was.

There was a time when we knew every Duke player, knew who flopped, knew who could hit the big shot, knew who we wanted to beat the most, and so on. Now that we pretty much don't see Duke until the tournament comes around every March, there's just not as much ammunition in place to turn against them.

They're just another school, mostly. Maybe it was the Coach K influence that drove us all nuts as well? The current coach seems like a nice enough guy.

Take heart, though. You can still root against the Flyers. It doesn't matter who plays for them or who the coach is in Philadelphia, you can always hope the Flyers lose a hockey game.

For reasons I can't fully explain, I've watched a lot of the NCAA basketball tournament this month. It's probably the first time in a long, long while I've actually maintained a thorough interest despite Maryland not "dancing".

One thing I find interesting is the large disparity in scoring from game-to-game. You see some final scores in the 60's and other final scores in the 80's. How can two teams score, say, 40 more points in 40 minutes of basketball than two other teams (of similar ability) managed to score?

I also believe the 3-point arc is too close in college basketball. I don't know how far it should be, but maybe add another 10-12 inches?

The arc (at its center distance) in college basketball is 22.175 inches. That alone is funny enough. It's not 22.1 inches or 22.2 inches. It's 22.175 inches.

Anyway, the NBA arc is 23.9 feet from the center.

To me, if you extend the college arc to, say, 23 feet, you have a sport that becomes a little less reliant on the 3-point shot. Now, that might reduce scoring. But it also might make teams focus more on ball movement and set plays.

Or, you can move the arc to 23 feet in college basketball and they'll just keep on jacking three pointers all night and miss more of them over 40 minutes.

In that case, moving it back wouldn't do much good.

I don't know, maybe I'm just nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking. It just seems like the college game has morphed mostly into "shoot a 3 and hope it goes in".

All that said, I've thoroughly enjoyed the games I've watched so far. I've witnessed very few blowouts. Most of the time, the contest is in the balance with 5 minutes remaining.

It feels like the Ravens have slipped to the back burner a bit over the last few weeks now that CrosbyGate has settled down and Lamar's contract situation has, if nothing else, not become an albatross around the team's neck in 2026.

We're moving on to the draft next, I suppose.

There was a five-day period earlier this month where the Ravens weren't going to be making a pick in the first round. But now they have pick at #14 once again, so let's start talking about who they might take with that selection.

One popular name you're hearing more and more about is offensive guard Vega Ioane (Penn State). The Ravens are definitely going to beef up "the trenches" on both sides of the ball this off-season and I assume they're going to use the draft to a bulk of that work. Ioane is drawing rave reviews as a "can't miss" product in the NFL.

Offensive tackle Spencer Fano (Utah) is another name you'll hear bandied about in the first round. One of those two makes perfect sense for Eric DeCosta -- and Lamar Jackson.

The Trey Hendrickson signing will hopefully cure some of the Ravens' pass rush blues from that defensive end/edge position, but that still might not stop Jesse Minter and Eric DeCosta from considering Miami's Akheem Mesidor (edge). You're going to hear a lot of the common buzzwords about this guy leading up to the draft: "plays like a Raven", "high motor", "total package" and so on.

About a month ago, pre-Crosby-to-Baltimore, a bird on a tree told me the Ravens were interested in defensive tackle Kayden McDonald of Ohio State. I assume that wouldn't come at #14, but rather in the form of a trade-back to somewhere in the late teens or early 20's of the first round.

We'll know what happens in less than a month. I'm not a draftnik by any means, but I do enjoy the event, particularly on the first night when Roger Goodell embarrasses himself by bear hugging 32 guys like he's the best friend they haven't seen in 15 years.

You don't even have to be an ardent follower of the PGA Tour to smile at the news from the world of golf on Friday. It was so cool to see.

Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland is the 36-hole leader at the Houston Open. He owns a 3-shot lead heading into the weekend.

Woodland needs to win this week (or next week) to guarantee himself a spot in the Masters. It seems crazy to think the 2019 U.S. Open champion isn't exempt to play at Augusta National in two weeks, but he's not.

Woodland's game has dropped off of late as he battles some mental health challenges. A couple of weeks ago, Woodland revealed in an in-depth interview with The Golf Channel that he has a PTSD-related condition stemming from brain surgery he underwent two years ago.

The operation was performed to remove a benign tumor on Woodland's brain that was causing him extreme stress and fear. But even after the tumor was successfully removed, those issues continued to plague Woodland, both on the golf course and in his normal, every day life.

There might not be a more popular winner on TOUR this week than Gary Woodland. He still has a long way to go, of course. Anything can happen over the final 36 holes. But the storyline is starting to build right before our eyes. If he can hang on and win it would be so, so awesome.

You might remember Woodland and Special Olympics athlete Amy Bockerstette back in February of 2019 at the Phoenix Open. Four months later, he won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

It would be so awesome to see Woodland win this weekend in Houston so he can make plans for that big trip to Georgia in two weeks.

In the meantime, the video below relives that special visit Woodland got from Amy in 2019.

	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.

u.s. soccer march preview: the final audition

It’s almost here. After years of anticipation, the 2026 World Cup on home soil is less than three months away.

But before the US gets to take the field at SoFi Stadium for the opener against Paraguay on June 12th, there are still some questions to answer and some spots to win. This week’s friendlies represent the last chance for players to make their case before Pochettino names his 26-man World Cup roster in late May.

The US will host Belgium today, Saturday, at 3:30pm ET and then Portugal on Tuesday at 7:00pm ET. Both games will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and broadcast on TNT and HBO Max.

These are elite opponents, ranked 9th and 6th in the world respectively, and both are legitimate World Cup contenders.

Belgium brings a star-studded midfield featuring Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans, along with attackers like Jérémy Doku and Loïs Openda.

Portugal, the reigning UEFA Nations League champions, need no introduction. This is a significant step up in class from the opponents the US has faced in most of the Pochettino era thus far.

If the results under Pochettino have been encouraging, with a 5-1 hammering of Uruguay in November serving as the high water mark, it’s fair to point out that the competition hasn’t exactly been World Cup-caliber in most of those games. Belgium and Portugal will provide a much better gauge of where this team truly stands.

After this window, the team won’t reconvene until after Pochettino announces his final 26-man roster. From there, the chosen squad will have two more tune-up games: Senegal on May 31st at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and then four-time World Cup champions Germany on June 6th at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Those games will be about building chemistry and sharpening the tactical plan with the finalized group, not about earning spots. This week in Atlanta is the last chance to do that.

The Roster --

Pochettino called up 27 players for this camp, and there weren’t too many surprises. The squad is largely what you’d expect the World Cup roster to look like, plus a few extras fighting for those final spots.

GOALKEEPERS: Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

DEFENDERS: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic)

MIDFIELDERS: Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johnny Cardoso (Atletico Madrid), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Tanner Tessmann (Lyon), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen)

FORWARDS: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Patrick Agyemang (Derby County), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille)

The biggest absence is Tyler Adams, who picked up yet another injury, this time missing Bournemouth’s match the weekend before the roster was announced. The good news is it doesn’t appear to be serious, with Pochettino indicating a 2-3 week absence.

The bad news is that it’s yet another camp where Adams can’t build chemistry with his midfield partners. Adams tore his MCL back in December and only returned in February.

Though he is scheduled to be back for the World Cup, this window will give Pochettino the opportunity to consider his tactics and observe the lineup without Adams, in the event he does pick up another injury.

The other notable absence is Sergiño Dest, who suffered a hamstring injury with PSV in early March. He’s expected to need four to six weeks of recovery, which should get him back in time for the World Cup, but it does mean we lose another camp where Pochettino could evaluate his options at right back.

Haji Wright and Diego Luna were also left off with minor injuries, and Noahkai Banks was omitted as his dual-national situation with Germany remains unresolved.

There was also a late change at goalkeeper, where Roman Celentano was initially called up but was replaced by Patrick Schulte to avoid a potential injury risk.

The Burning Questions --

With the World Cup roster essentially being finalized after this window, let’s dig into where the real competition lies.

Goalkeeper: Who Gets the Nod?

For as long as most of us can remember, the US has had one clear-cut starting goalkeeper heading into a major tournament. That isn’t the case right now.

Matt Freese has seemingly taken the inside track, earning 13 caps and starting most of the meaningful games under Pochettino. He’s been solid if unspectacular, coming up with clutch saves in the Gold Cup penalty shootout against Costa Rica last summer but also showing some shakiness with the ball at his feet.

But Matt Turner, the starter at the 2022 World Cup, is still lurking. Turner moved to the New England Revolution after losing his starting job in Europe, and while the move back to MLS was seen by some as a step down, he remains the most experienced option with 52 caps.

Then there’s Patrick Schulte, the late addition from the Columbus Crew, who could be a dark horse for that third keeper spot.

Who Pochettino gives the start against Belgium and especially against Portugal could be very telling. If Freese gets both starts, it’s essentially a coronation. If Turner gets one of the two, the competition is still alive.

Center Back: Who Partners with Richards?

Chris Richards is locked in as a starter and rightfully so. He was named the 2025 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year and has been the team’s most indispensable defender throughout Pochettino’s tenure. He was dominant in the Gold Cup and he’s a regular at Crystal Palace. There’s no question about Richards.

The question is who plays next to him. Pochettino has favored a back three for much of his tenure, which could mean two partners rather than one, but the identity of those center backs remains fluid.

Tim Ream, now 38 and playing for Charlotte FC in MLS, has been a Pochettino favorite despite the mounting evidence that Father Time is finally winning the battle.

As we saw in the Gold Cup final against Mexico, his lack of pace was exposed on the equalizing goal and Mexico’s attackers targeted the space behind him all night. Ream reportedly has struggled in the early going of the MLS season as well. But Ream’s experience, leadership and ability on the ball still carry weight, particularly in a tournament setting where composure under pressure is paramount.

Mark McKenzie is probably the most athletic of the options, having settled in well at Toulouse in France’s Ligue 1.

Miles Robinson has the physical tools but his move to FC Cincinnati in MLS, while lucrative, left some wondering if his career might stagnate without the challenge of a European league. Auston Trusty adds another option from his perch at Celtic in Scotland.

If Pochettino does go with a back three, it's not a guarantee that the third will come from the center back pool, as one could easily envision Joe Scally, Alex Freeman or Antonee Robinson slotting in as a third center back or a hybrid center back/fullback role.

Pochettino needs to use these games to figure out his preferred combinations. With the back three, he may have some mix-and-match flexibility, but against the quality of attackers the US will face this summer, the center back pairing could be the difference between advancing and going home early.

Randy Morgan's U.S. soccer preview continues tomorrow with more in-depth analysis of the roster and the formations the American squad might use this summer.

Friday March 27, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4232

a great day for the o's

Alex Ovechkin scored more goals (3) than the Orioles scored runs (2) on Thursday.

But both teams won, so who cares, right?

Our baseball team produced a nifty 2-1 win on opening day, backed by yet another sterling effort from Trevor Rogers and a 3-strikeout top of the 9th from new closer Ryan Helsley. The Baltimore offense wasn't much to write home about, but the other team's pitchers try, too.

Our hockey team stayed alive in the NHL playoff race with a 7-4 win in Utah that saw the Capitals rally for four goals in the final 20 minutes to beat the Mammoth, with Alex Ovechkin capping off the evening with an empty netter to complete the hat trick out west.

Thursday was, indeed, a good day for the O's. Both of them.

Over 42,000 made their way into Camden Yards on a Chamber-of-Commerce afternoon. The weather was glorious for opening day. God is great, indeed.

And even though the team's big off-season pick-up didn't do anything of note, just watching Pete Alonso play baseball in that white Orioles uniform was plenty good enough for me to call the day a success.

A friend of mine, known to yell at clouds on a mostly sunny day, said to me as we watched a couple of at-bats in the second inning on TV, "People around here act like this guy is the next coming of Babe Ruth."

I didn't even know what to say. I took a sip of my coffee and said, "Have you been following the Orioles for the last 40 years? We don't ever buy really good baseball players. This is the first free agent other than Miquel Tejada who we actually wooed to play for us in Baltimore. Be happy. It's the first game. He'll get a hit at some point this year."

I guess folks thought Alonso would go 4-for-5 in his debut with a home run and 4 RBI. You know, to earn his salary and all.

Trevor Rogers earned his salary yesterday. And more. He was once again outstanding, an expectation these days, going 7 innings and allowing just 3 hits on the day. His control was spotty, with four walks, but when your pitcher doesn't allow a run in 7 innings, I don't care if he walks 10 guys as long as none of them cross that white thing near where the catcher stands.

Both teams only mustered 5 hits on the day. "Good pitching always beats good hitting" they say. It certainly did yesterday in The Land of (Very) Pleasant Living.

Speaking of "hits", we needed two bases from Gunnar yesterday to nail our "total bases" parlay with Rutschman, who fulfilled his end of the parlay. Alas, Gunnar went 0-for-4, so we lost out on that one and we lost out on the Alonso/O'Neill opening day home run parlay because neither of them did anything, either.

As for the "other O", Alex Ovechkin closed in on yet another 30-goal campaign with his 27th, 28th and 29th goals of the season in that 7-4 win.

D.C. trailed 3-1 after one period last night and it looked like this was going to be nail number three (out of four) in the Capitals playoff coffin. But Washington rallied to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the final stanza and then scored four goals in just over seven minutes before the 3rd period reached its halfway point to put the game away.

It's still a longshot that the Caps can squeeze into one of those two available wild card spots that are currently occupied by Boston and the Islanders. Washington not only has to play spotless hockey over the last two-plus weeks of the season, but they need some big help as well from the teams above them in the Eastern Conference standings.

1. Boston, 88 points (10 games left)

2. NY Islanders, 87 points (9 games left)

3. Ottawa, 86 points (10 games left)

4. Detroit, 84 points (11 games left)

5. Philadelphia, 82 points (11 games left)

6. Capitals, 81 points (9 games left)

Longshot called and said, "It doesn't look good for you guys, sorry."

But if there's still a chance, you keep on playing.

The only problem -- or at least, one BIG problem for the Caps -- is that they only play one team (Philly) ahead of them in the standings in their last 9 games. They don't get to face Boston or the Islanders or Ottawa or Detroit in one of those proverbial "4 point games" that can impact the standings in a big way.

The Caps are in Las Vegas tomorrow night to take on Nic Dowd and the Golden Knights.

Who else is getting fired up for The Masters? It's my favorite golf tournament of the year, by far. It's not even close.

Our Masters Top 10 starts this coming Monday, as we preview our ten "favorites", including our projected winner on Wednesday, April 8.

On another note, I'll be there, at Augusta National, on Monday the 6th for the practice round and I'm happy to purchase some Masters memorabilia/souvenirs/apparel for #DMD readers. As you know, they only sell Masters "stuff" at Augusta National. You can't order it online or buy it at the PGA Superstore.

If you'd like a Masters shirt, hat, jacket, etc., I'll be get it for you. Be aware it's expensive. Like, $100 for a shirt kind of expensive and $35 for a hat kind of expensive.

If you're interested, send me an e-mail (18inarow@gmail.com) and I'll give you the specifics, limits, etc. Because you can't take cell phones in, I don't have the ability to contact you during the day, so whatever you buy will have to either be size specific or "without size" (like a Masters flag, for example).

Also note that I'm not returning right away, so I'm going to have everything shipped back home and we'll figure out a day/time to meet at Eagle's Nest for me to distribute everything.

I'm going to ask for a small donation to FCA Maryland Golf in exchange for my efforts. I'll handle that with you privately when you reach out with your inquiry. Consider it a gratuity except it's actually tax deductible and I'm not actually getting it.

faith in sports

There's a program called College Golf Fellowship that has actually been partially funded by PGA Tour players Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth and it is really gaining popularity among male and female college golfers.

Brad Payne, Scheffler's close friend, is currently the man in charge at CGF. One of his key people, Stephen Bunn, is featured in today's video below.

College Golf Fellowship is similar to what we're trying to do with FCA Maryland Golf, namely, bringing young junior golfers closer to Jesus and their faith while also teaching them how to enjoy the sport of golf through their journey with Jesus.

The video below is "golf-centric", yes, but they hardly talk about golf. They talk about faith and the TOUR players who are helping make College Golf Fellowship an important part of the college golf scene.

If you want to know why so many college golfers are growing in their relationship with Jesus, watch this video and you'll see how and why it's happening.

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

Thursday March 26, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4231

play freakin' ball!

Opening day is here.

While I'm not willing to tempt the weather gods by saying, "Spring has officially arrived for good!", it always feels like baseball's opening day is the real, honest-to-goodness first day of spring.

Every October when the O's season ends, one of the first things I think about a week or two later is spring training and then, a month or so thereafter, the start of the regular season. It helps me get through the winter, honestly.

Speaking of "winter again", those of you with tickets to this Saturday's game better bundle up. It will feel more like a Ravens game in November or December.

I'm excited to usher in another season of O's baseball. Could this be the year? You know, "the year" where the 43 year streak of not advancing to the World Series ends?

That's why we always keep coming back, right?

Maybe this will be the year. And we all have FOMO because, per the way things go, the first year you stop supporting the O's is when they're going to make it to the World Series for the first time since 1983.

Oh, and let's not forget about money-making opportunities today. Tyler O'Neill hits a home run every year on opening day. He might not do much of anything else for the rest of the season, but an opening day homer is definitely his calling card. As I write this I have no idea if he's in the lineup today at 3 pm, but if he starts, you have to put $20 on O'Neill to hit a homer. Right?

Want another home run candidate for your wagering slip? Sure thing. His name is Pete Alonso. He'll homer as well in today's 7-3 win over the Twins. Doesn't it always work that way for the new hometown hero? Gets paid the big bucks and immediately endears himself to the locals with a big blast in his debut.

And how about a friendly parlay of 2+ total bases for Gunnar and Adley Rutschman? Maybe throw $10 on that and see what comes of it?

Whatever the case may be, let's root, root, root for the home team today. Go O's!

I note in the comments section some dialogue about Tiger Woods, including one submission from an old friend still beating the same dead horse. "Fanboys", "sycophants", allegations of steroid use and so on.

I noted where someone else made a remark putting down the notion of "ball speed" as a metric for evaluating someone's game.

I'll handle that one first, I guess, since it's the easiest thing to address. Like it or not, those kind of advanced metrics are part of our sports landscape these days. Baseball uses them, too, and I can't stand it.

"Well, Ben, that might have been the third out of the inning as the O's still trail, 5-1, but the exit velocity on that ball Gunnar hit to end the inning was 104 mph. He really got into that one."

Code word for: Gunnar made the third out with runners on second and third and we'll try to gloss over that fact by referencing how hard he hit the ball.

There's also "launch angle" now in baseball, too, which is all the rage from hitting instructors at the high school, college and minor league levels. Sadly, I guess, baseball stole that term and its importance from the sport of golf. A decade or so ago, the world's best golf instructors started emphasizing this "jumping at impact" move designed to elevate a player's launch angle off tee to help improve the amount of carry and length he or she gets off the tee.

I'm in my early 60's. I'm old school when it comes to that stuff. But I'm also smart enough (insert joke here) to know there's math involved in these things that can't be argued. How fast you swing the golf club and how fast the ball travels at its zenith directly correlates to how far you hit it.

So, when you have a 50-year old athlete who has had 15 surgeries and nearly lost his leg in a car accident five years ago, you're always looking for ways to evaluate if he's "back" or, at the very least, has made significant enough improvement to be potentially return to glory (sorry, Jim Nantz).

Clubhead speed and ball speed are two of those metrics you can use to evaluate Tiger without actually seeing him play "real" golf.

If he's swinging the club at 104 miles per-hour and the ball is leaving the club face at 144 miles per-hour, there's no doubt that's not enough "juice" (see what I did there?) to compete in today's world of professional golf, no matter what color shirt you wear and how many times you've won.

But if you're moving it out there at 115 mph (clubhead) and 170 mph (ball speed), that's at least "data enough" to say, "OK, the athlete can still do the things that are necessary to compete from a golf-only standpoint."

So, that's why the discussion about Tiger's data matters. It's showing you (and him, more importantly) that he still has the physical capabilities to make the swings that could keep him competitive. Now, we all know Tiger has a lot of other issues to deal with that have nothing to do with the swing, namely getting his legs and back ready for the rigors of competition.

I have no idea if Tiger can still compete over four days on the PGA Tour. As I've said here a lot, I don't think he can. But based on what I watched Tuesday night, he can still "play golf" at the very least.

As for the personal attacks on him and the whole idea that he's a "bad guy", I've also consistently said I don't really care about any of that. That's Tiger's cross to bear.

The music world is filled with arists, singers, etc. who haven't always been the greatest people in the world. I just listen to the music. What they do in their personal life is their call.

Sports is the same. It's filled with guys (and gals) who have made a lot of mistakes. Guess what? You have made a lot of mistakes as well. So have I. If I went around picking and choosing who I admired based on their number of sins and mistakes, I'd have a short list of friends.

But, again, I'm not really all that interested or worried about what Tiger Woods does or did in his personal life. And if I were going to "worry" about it, I'd also have to willingly add in all of the good stuff he does or did. Right?

Unless it's just a witch hunt where you're looking to pile on with the bad and ignore the good -- and Lord knows this place is pretty adept at the witch hunt -- you at least have to give Woods credit for the positive contributions he makes in his life.

The thing is, I don't know much about those contributions because that's not what I'm interested in with him.

I just care about Tiger Woods the golfer, just like I care, let's say, about Dave Grohl the singer and musician. I don't care that Grohl had some "off the stage" issues a couple of years ago that were embarrassing to him and his family. Just sing "Monkey Wrench" for me and I'll be happy.

And, because I'm an American, I guess, I love the redemption story. Isn't that what we're known for here? We build you up, just to tear you down, so we can celebrate with you when you come back and return to greatness again.

Tiger's story is probably close to being finished, but there might still be one more thing he accomplishes that sews it all up. I'm not sure. But I'm interested in seeing it unfold.

Oh, and one final thing about Woods that's very interesting to me. I find it amazing how many kids I ask these days "who is your favorite golfer?" (a routine ice breaker type question at any golf camp or clinic I particiate in) that say, "Tiger Woods". It's at least half, if not more, of young golfers ages 10 to 18.

None of them ever saw Tiger live, at his zenith, yet he's somehow their favorite player. And there's a massive amount of (now) adults who were born in the mid 1990's and into the 2000's who took up the sport solely because of Tiger. Ask any of the 20-something guys on the PGA Tour who their favorite player was growing up and 95% of them will say "Tiger".

If you love golf, and I do, you owe a debt of gratitude to Tiger for what he did for the sport. Who was gonna carry the game of golf into the next century in the late 1990's? Nick Faldo? Greg Norman? Sergio Garcia? Phil Mickelson?

Tiger's international appeal helped build golf all over the world. Did he get wealthy in the meantime? He sure did. I'm fine with that, too, given that we're supposedly the "land of opportunity".

So, you can keep hating Tiger (and Dave Grohl, if you want) and I'll keep hoping he comes back and does something great to help the game of golf.

Either way, though, I still like you.

Wednesday March 25, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4230

OK, OK, you want Houston open picks? You got 'em.

I love, love, love Brooks Koepka this week. Oddly enough, I'm secretly thinking about him as one of my Masters faves, so I'm almost hoping he plays well this week but doesn't win. That said, I'll have Top 10 and win tickets on Brooksie this week in Houston.

I know Michael Thorbjornsen had a rough final day at The Players, but this dude is totally ready for prime time and I think Houston might be the place for him. He could be another Chris Gotterup. Once he gets a win under his belt, two or three more might follow shortly thereafter.

I'm going back on the Jake Knapp bandwagon again this week. He's gonna win soon. This week in Houston might be the occasion where he gets it done.

How about Pierceson Coody, back in his home state of Texas, needing a big finish this week to get into the Masters? Why not just win and get it all taken care of in one fell swoop? This kid's gonna be a star.

The golf course, Memorial Park, is a bomber's paradise. Just smash it, find it, and hit it again. Try to make as many birdies as you can. That fits the profile of Ryan Fox perfectly. He's a bomber and a gouger who, when his putter cooperates, can put a bunch of circles on the card.

Two semi-long shots for you to chew on are Tony Finau and Sam Stevens. I'll have both of them on a few parlay cards for Top 20 and Top 10 finishes.

Want a couple of first-round leader bets? How about Kurt Kitayama and Ryan Gerard. Both are playing well of late and I can see one of those two lighting it up on Thursday in round one.

---

the seattle two-step?

The Seahawks were the champions of the football world in February of 2026.

I don't think the Kraken are going to sniff the NHL title this June.

But Seattle might have another championship to celebrate in 2026. In October.

The Mariners are the real deal.

If you caught our fearless #DMD baseball predictions earlier this week, you know we're calling a Dodgers vs. Mariners World Series this season.

Seattle has never seen a baseball World Series in their town. We think that changes this year. And we also think -- OK, more than "think" -- the Mariners have a very real chance to win the title.

In fact, that is our prediction for 2026.

The Mariners will beat the Dodgers in the World Series.

Let's face it. Los Angeles really should have lost last October to the Blue Jays. All it took was the dude running through home plate instead of sliding into it in Game 7 and Toronto wins.

So for anyone who says, "No way. The Dodgers are too good to lose the World Series," they shoulda, coulda, woulda lost it last season.

This year, there won't be another Game 7 rabbit for Shohei and Company to pull out of their hat.

The Mariners put it all together and wins in six games.

Ringless in Seattle? Nope, no longer.

---

Los Angeles made quick work of Jupiter Links last night and won the TGL title, 2 games to 0, after a 9-2 romp in the 2nd game of the best-of-3 series in South Florida.

The biggest news of the night wasn't the L.A. win or the $9 million split between the four players (Rose, Fleetwood, Theegala and (injured) Morikawa) on the winning side.

No, no.

The big news of the night was the return of Tiger Woods, who was playing his first golf event since the Parent/Child event in Orlando, Florida in December of 2024.

Woods returned last night, replacing Kevin Kisner, and, other than a missed 3-foot putt, was more than able to hold his own in the hit-and-giggle money grab.

As I wrote here yesterday, playing indoor golf where you walk a total of about 200 yards ALL NIGHT is nothing like playing real golf on a 7,200 yard course and walking somewhere around 8 miles over 5 hours.

The two are in no way similar.

But the golf swing and golf ball have no idea if you're in a refurbished college gymnasium in Florida or the hallowed grounds of Augusta National. You make the swing, you hit the ball and it goes where you send it, indoors or out.

Woods made great contact all night, whether with his driver or irons. He doesn't look like Tiger circa 2008 and his golf swing is a little flatter than during his heyday, but the man can still play golf. Had you just arrived on planet Earth last night after spending 10 years on Pluto, you wouldn't think 2026 Tiger is all that different from 2016 Tiger.

Now, we all know the '26 version is a lot different. No doubt about it. And I'm still pretty much a non-believer when it comes to Woods returning to the PGA Tour and being competitive any longer. I know that's dangerous. Not believing in Tiger, I mean. But I just don't see how he can stay upright and flexible for four straight days of tournament golf.

But...

He can definitely still play golf and make good swings and get the ball from point A to point B like an elite player. What he can't do, I don't think, is walk around a golf course for four days. And last night's 90-minute TV show didn't do anything to make me think otherwise.

That said, it sure would be cool to see him tee it up at Augusta National in two weeks.

There's probably no other course in America except for Augusta where Woods could play after a 14 month layoff and compete right away.

I spoke for a few minutes with (Old) George yesterday just to catch up and see how he was doing and I mentioned to him that the Masters is the one spot where Tiger could limp around and cobble together a few rounds of 69 and be hovering around the lead after 36 holes.

Par 72 layouts with four par 5 holes were always his meal ticket when he was toying with the rest of the world's best golfers from 2000 through 2008.

That's one of the reasons why he won 5 Masters titles in a 22 year span. He ate up those four par 5 holes at Augusta National.

He could still do that, I think.

Now, there are 14 other holes to play besides #2, #8, #13 and #15, but if Woods was ever going to hang around a Masters leaderboard again, it would be because he carved up the par 5 holes like the old days.

I could see a scenario where Schauffle or Fitzpatrick or Scheffler is at 9-under through 36 holes and Tiger's at 5 or 6 under and on the bottom of the first page of the leaderboard. He would have to play great to get there, obviously, but, again, it's Augusta National, which fits perfectly with his remodeled game.

First things first, though. Woods has to actually enter the Masters, which is still an unknown at this point. He conveniently danced around the question after last night's TGL finale, saying exactly what we thought he'd say: "I'm working hard. Trying to get there if I can. But I don't know yet. I'm doing everything I can to see if I'm ready."

My "hunch" on this changes about every other day. Three weeks ago I didn't think he was playing. Then I heard him drop a cryptic hint or two on the CBS broadcast from the Genesis and I thought he is going to play. But without the formal announcement last week or this week, I figured, once again, he was NOT going to play.

Now? I'm thinking he's going to play.

Last night's performance certainly didn't do anything to suggest he's closer to not playing than playing.

In fact, he looked plenty good enough last night.

"Fore please, now playing, Mr. Tiger Woods."

Wouldn't that just be awesome to hear on April 9?

---

My friend Steve reached out yesterday with a question about opening day tickets and wanted my opinion on the matter.

"Four lower level tickets for Thursday, 3rd base line, $275 each. Should I do it?"

How do you answer that?

"Are you out of your mind? $275 for a baseball game in March? No friggin' way!"

Or...

"Dude, it's opening day. They're decent seats. I assume you don't have any tickets to speak of. So you're paying $275 for seats that are probably $75 each? Who cares? Do it!"

It all depends on what you value, both money wise and experience wise.

Five years ago or so, a friend of mine reached out with an amazing offer. He had one extra ticket to see the Springsteen "Broadway show" and the ticket was offered to me at face value.

Face value turned out to be $750.

"No thanks," I texted him back. "Really appreciate the offer but can't pull the trigger on $750."

I don't know what the magic number would have been for me, but I know what the number for me wasn't. $750.

If you're going to see anything in New York, add $250 for the train ride. If you have to spend the night, that's another $250. Food, drinks, etc. is easily another $100.

It's not $750. It's more like $1,300 or more.

But even if it would have been $750 and only $750, I still wouldn't do it.

I've seen Bruce in concert 29 times since 1978. One more time, even on Broadway with the cool "story telling theme", wasn't going to change my life. Not for $750 plus-plus, at least.

TPC Sawgrass is $800 to play. Now that is one great golf course, no doubt. But I'm not paying $800 to play it. In fact, I'm not paying $800 to play anywhere.

Well, I take that back. I'd pay $800 to play Augusta National.

But I'm not paying $800 to play TPC Sawgrass or anywhere else.

Here's where I'll readily admit it's all a matter of your personal finances and what you have in "disposable funny money".

If you make a million dollars a year, $750 to see Bruce on Broadway or $800 to play TPC Sawgrass is like you and I paying $50 for each of those things.

It all depends on your financial situation.

So when Steve reached out about his opening day question, I basically said this to him: "If you can afford $1,100 for four tickets, do it."

I wouldn't pay $275 for an opening day ticket. I just don't think opening day is that big of a deal.

But I definitely would pay $275 for an ALCS or World Series ticket. Gladly, in fact.

If you're going out to opening day tomorrow, I hope you have an awesome afternoon. The weather looks accommodating, which is about 80% of the afternoon, in my opinion. I don't care where your seats are or how much you paid for them, but if you have to sit there on a 46 degree day all bundled up and miserable, it's a drag of a day.

I've waited about five months to write this...

Baseball season is here!!!

---

Marc G. asks -- "DF, quick golf for you. What's the reasoning behind not letting pro golfers wear shorts when they play? Do you let your high school golfers wear them?"

DF says -- "On the PGA Tour, I think it's mainly about maintaining 'the look', if you will, that has become standard in professional golf. You wear long pants in events. Those charlatans on LIV allow shorts and when I see pictures of them, it just looks werid. That said, the PGA Tour and the USGA have both relaxed their position on shorts for practice rounds.

Until two years ago, we did not allow shorts in MIAA matches. We now do, providing that they are all the same style and model within the team. At the high school (and collegiate) level, it's mainly about abiding by the policies of the club where you're playing that day. Some clubs are VERY strict about shorts 'touching the knee' and there are times when young men who are growing quickly might have fit in those shorts last summer but, this summer, they're a little 'too short' for club standards.

That's one reason we've avoided it in high school golf. We just don't want to ever create any kind of ill will with a club. And from a coaching standpoint, now you're policing the length of your player's shorts and there are way bigger fish to fry on the day of a match. I allow my players to wear shorts in practice but I still mandate they wear long pants in our matches. If we ever had to play on a 90-degree day, I could potentially be swayed to allow shorts for a match."

Aaron asks -- "I'm curious about your hate of the Beatles. Serious question for you, what started it?"

DF says -- "I feel like this is an annual question that gets asked. It's like the Kentucky Derby running on the first Saturday in May. I have to answer this every year.

I do not hate the Beatles. To me, they're just like Billy Squier and Loverboy. All three of them have several good songs. I certainly don't hate the Beatles music. I think they're overrated, though. That's it. Nothing else. I just don't think they're the end all, be all of modern 'rock music'.

I can't think of any band or musician that I 'hate'. I don't listen to the Grateful Dead for example. Or Metallica. Or Jimmy Buffett. I've never owned one album from any of those three and they're all incredibly popular. But I don't hate them. It's just not my thing.

The Beatles were never my thing. And then when everyone in the 1970's and 1980's said, 'Oh, wow, you can't tell how great the Beatles are by listening to I Wanna Hold Your Hand?' I said, 'No, I can't. They sound like the Bay City Rollers to me.' I've just always found them overrated. They have a bunch of good songs, though. No doubt about it. So did Madonna."

James asks -- "A friend of mine in New York wants to bet me 'anything I want' that the Giants and Harbaugh finish with the same or a better record than the Ravens and Minter this season. Look into your crystal ball and tell me I'm right for taking the bet and betting him $500."

DF says -- "You don't like money? Why only bet him $500 if he gave you that 'anything you want' offer? Unless something happens to Lamar (and I might make that part of the offer...if Lamar or Dart gets hurt and misses more than, say, 4 games, the bet is off), there's almost no way the Giants can equal or better the Ravens in 2026.

I realize the draft is still to come and all, but just a quick glance at their respective schedules (the Giants have the NFC West and AFC South) tells me the best NY can do is probably 7-10. They might only win one or two games on the road. They have a really tough away slate to deal with.

The Ravens will be an 11 or 12 win team at the worst.

I just can't see the Giants having any chance of playing .500 football.

If I'm you, I call my friend and say, 'On second thought, make it two grand.'"

Tuesday March 24, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4229

will the 43 year streak finally end?

The last time the Orioles went to the World Series was, believe it or not, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Three.

Amazing, right?

1983.

What's even more crazy is there were really only three teams in the last 43 years that had a legit chance of getting to the World Series: 1996, 1997 and 2014.

Other than that, the O's haven't been close to a return visit to the final playoff series of the season.

Three times in 43 years.

And nothing to show from any of those post-season ventures, either.

The last time the O's were "legitimately" in the hunt was 2014 and the Royals made quick, embarrassing work of the O's in a 4-0 sweep in the ALCS.

There was that 2016 foray into the post-season when Buck took a catnap in Toronto and the O's lost the wild card game, 5-2.

And there were the two playoff appearances under erstwhile skipper Brandon Hyde that resulted in sweeps at the hands of the Rangers and Royals.

But those three teams were never really "close" to being a World Series contender.

The teams in '96, '97 and '14 had the goods to go all the way. They just didn't do it.

Which brings us to this year...

The O's made some daring off-season moves, adding a potent bat (Alonso), a heralded young starter (Baz) and a gritty veteran who will do whatever you ask of him on the mound (Bassitt).

They're also returning an injury-plagued starter (Eflin) who could effectively be looked at like an off-season signing as well since no one was quite sure what was going to happen to him over the winter.

Oh, and let's not forget Taylor Ward (we almost did), who seems like the kind of guy who just routinely hits 25 homers and knocks in 90 runs, all while "only" hitting somewhere around .245.

Ward could be a huge addition for the O's in 2026.

There are some early issues to sort through, namely injuries to Westburg and Holliday that will keep both of them from running down the orange carpet this Thursday afternoon in the home opener.

But as long as the O's stay above water for the first four weeks of the campaign, all should be well moving forward.

I wrote here last week about three key things I see for the O's and all of them I referenced above. They need a big year from Alonso. They need Eflin to return to the pitcher he was prior to '24 when the Birds got him from Tampa Bay. And they need Westburg to not be on the disabled list three different times.

There are other keys, obviously. Those three things alone won't take the Birds to 95 wins. But if those three guys don't come through as planned, a wild card spot is probably not possible.

Another big question, of course, is what will the rest of the A.L. East look like?

The Yankees are the Yankees, which is to say they'll win 85 games by accident. But can they win those 10 extra games that makes them the division champion? Or do they only win 5 more and snag a wild card berth?

Toronto's back, minus Bichette but plus Cease. Can they put it all together again this season? Their offense should once again be formidable, even with Bichette's departure. But will their pitching hold up for seven months? That's the question with the Blue Jays.

Boston has great pitching. It's their offense that needs to come around. But if Boston gets any sort of consistency with the bats, they might be a tough out come September.

And the Rays are, well, the Rays. Which means they're going to be in the race until August because that's what they do. Whether they can cobble together enough wins to stay in the hunt until mid-September is another story. But Tampa Bay always figures out a way to parlay a bunch of guys you've never heard of into at least 80 wins.

Something has to give in the A.L. East.

I mean, it is possible for all three Wild Card teams to come from the same division. That's legal and all. But it seems unlikely that four teams from the East, for example, would all win 90-plus games, leaving one division winner and three others to serve as wild card participants.

So, something has to give in the division. Who will break?

A.L. West --

This is almost certainly a Mariners win, with somewhere around 98 wins, we think. Houston is always decent but the loss of Framber Valdez will drop them down a notch. The Rangers are trying to figure things out down in Arlington, but they have the look of a 75 win team, tops. The Angels and Athletics will not be factors, although it's fair to point the A's are probably going to play the role of spoiler in late September. Don't just assume Oakland, Las Vegas, Sacramento is going to be terrible.

One thing to watch for: Seattle could wind up having the best record in the entire American League. They're very good, top to bottom. Anyone winning the West other than the Mariners would be a complete stunner.

A.L. Central --

This is going to be a doozy of a division race. The Tigers appear to be the cream of the crop, particularly with the addition of Framber on the mound. Cleveland always seems to be in the hunt, even though we only know 3 or 4 players on their team. And the Royals have perhaps the top overall player in the sport not named Shohei (Bobby Witt Jr.) and a solid, young pitching staff that could give the Tigers and Guardians fits. The Twins and White Sox will not be involved in any games that matter (to them, anyway) in September. We're going with the Tigers to do just enough to win the division with 94 wins. Kansas City snags a wild card berth with 92 wins. Cleveland hangs around until September and then goes away quietly after Labor Day.

One thing to watch for: Kansas City could turn the tables on Detroit and wind up winning the division. The Royals have everything except massive playoff experience going for them.

A.L. East --

Let's get it out of the way: We like the Red Sox to win the division with 94 wins. Too much pitching and just enough Anthony Roman Roman Anthony (I'm probably going to make that mistake 10 times this season, so get used to it) will get the job done for Boston. The Orioles will be in it all year under new manager Craig Albernaz and we're very confident the Birds will be playing "fall ball" in October, as the O's grab a wild card spot with a 90-72 mark. And the Yankees somehow hang on for dear life down the stretch to collect the final wild card berth with 87 wins, beating out Houston and Toronto, both of whom finish with 85 wins. The Rays will be hard pressed to win more than 75 games.

One thing to watch for: The Blue Jays need an offensive performance like they got a year ago in order to return to the post-season. If they happen to get that, though, watch out. Toronto could be a thorn in everyone's side again this season if their offense turns it up like it did in '25.

A.L. Playoffs --

Detroit beats New York

Baltimore beats Kansas City

Seattle beats Baltimore

Boston beats Detroit

Seattle beats Boston

Tomorrow here at #DMD we'll break down the World Series and who wins and why.

---

If you put any stock in what is going to happen tonight in Game 2 of the TGL "championship series", then there's good news on the horizon.

Tiger is playing tonight.

Which, you would think, means he's gearing up for a journey to Augusta National in two weeks to play in a little tournament tooonament they call "The Masters".

Moments after his Jupiter Links team dropped a hearbreaking 6-5 decision to Los Angeles in last night's Game 1, Woods confirmed what the rumors mills were producing earlier in the day.

"I'm playing tomorrow night," Tiger told the show host. "It's now or never for this team," the 15-time major champion said. "I've been working hard to get ready to compete and this is another step for me."

Woods will replace Kevin Kisner, who was playing on Monday night because Akshay Bhatia, normally in the rotation for Jupiter Links, is playing the Indian Open this week on the European Tour.

Now.....before everyone starts breaking out in hives.

There's a HUGE difference between playing in an indoor simulator and walking 18 holes for 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 straight days. Tiger returning tonight for Jupiter Links is not an automatic slam dunk that he's playing at Augusta National.

But it is certainly great news if you're someone who hopes he's returning for his 27th Masters starting on April 9.

It stands to reason that Woods wouldn't be coming back tonight if there wasn't "something" on the horizon for him, golf wise. I mean, sure, he has this silly proud-papa-pride about the whole TGL thing since its his and Rory's baby, so to speak, and he's definitely a competitor who wants to win and his team needs a win tonight or they lose the championship series.

But all in all, Woods wouldn't be playing tonight if he didn't have a real reason to play. They have Kisner healthy and able to compete, as lukewarm as his game is these days. And let's be real, it's a hit-and-giggle indoor golf league that was developed almost entirely to give popular PGA Tour players more money to offset being lured over to that slimy, icky LIV Golf tour.

So Tiger stepping up and playing tonight means something, we're thinking. It's not like his Wiki page changes tonight if Woods somehow leads Jupiter Links to a win in Game 2 (with the third and final game set to take place immediately thereafter). He's playing for a reason.

Oh, and don't let it be lost on you that Woods is playing on a night where he might actually have to play two different matches. He could have played last night and guaranteed he'd only have to play once. Instead, by waiting until tonight, he might have to play in Game 2 and Game 3, although he could always throw Kiz back in there for Game 3 if he wasn't feeling up to the task of playing two times.

If nothing else, Tiger's a marketer. And now, the golf world will tune in tonight to see how the G.O.A.T. looks after being out of action for almost a year. Momma didn't raise no (promotional) dummy.

7 pm, ESPN. Tonight. The great returns. Sort of.

Monday March 23, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4228

it's baseball week!

I know they've actually been playing baseball in Florida and Arizona since mid-February, but I don't count Grapefruit and Cactcus League games.

"Real" baseball starts later this week, with the Yankees and Giants kicking off the season in San Francisco on Wednesday. The O's get going on Thursday at 3:05 pm in Baltimore when the Twins come to town for a 3-game series.

We'll spend some time over the next few days giving you our bold predictions for the season. I know what you're thinking and you're probably right: "Let's see what #DMD says and I'll just expect the opposite."

Now is a good time to remind you I did have the Dodgers winning the World Series last year. That wasn't much of a "call", though. It would be like going to see McCartney in concert and saying to your buddy before the show starts, "I bet you the old dude sounds like crap tonight."

Some predictions almost can't be missed.

I'll save my playoff and World Series thoughts for Wednesday's edition of #DMD, but let me just say this: I do have a surprise in store for everyone. I'll leave it at that.

We'll dive into the National League today and the American League tomorrow.

N.L. East --

It feels like anyone but the Nationals and Marlins could win this division. And I don't think the Marlins will actually be "awful". In fact, I could see Miami hanging around through the trade deadline before they finally peter out in August and September.

This one comes down to a battle of attrition, I think. In the end, the Mets will prevail in the final week of the season with an 88 win total. Philadelphia snags second with 85 wins but it won't be enough for the post-season. Atlanta wins 83 games to finish 3rd, with Miami and Washington both "eased" with a quarter-mile left in the season.

One thing to watch for: The East could wind up having only one team above .500 when it's all said and done. Maybe the Mets wind up winning the division at 87-75 and the 2nd place finisher is 81-81? This is not a good division in 2026.

N.L. Central --

OK, the Central could be one of the more competitive divisions in all of baseball. Barring key injuries, any of the five teams can make the post-season, although it feels like the Reds might require a mini-miracle to get there. The Cubs lost Kyle Tucker, of course, but Alex Bregman is a decent-enough off-season consolation prize. The Pirates have Paul Skenes, of course, which means they start the season with 25 wins. But can they win another 65 games and make the playoffs?

We'll stick with the Cubs to win the division with 93 victories. Pittsburgh sticks around long enough to make a game of it and the Pirates snag a wild card berth at 88-74. We'll go ahead and sell our Brewers stock, which we do every year, and figure Milwaukee is looking at an 82-80 record. St. Louis and Cincinnati don't have the horses to stay in it.

One thing to watch for: It seems outrageous to say "the Pirates might win the division" but.....the Pirates might win the division. Their offense isn't great, but maybe Ryan O'Hearn can help. And Pittsburgh's starting pitching is among the best in the National League. Have you heard of Paul Skenes? He's pretty good.

N.L. West --

This seems kind of silly to even write about, but we'll go ahead and do it anyway. The Dodgers are going to win the division. By a lot. Last year they managed to squeeze out the West by just three games and it went down to the season's final week. That won't happen in 2026. The question is, who will finish second and third and could the West actually have three post-season teams?

It's the Dodgers, of course, with 104 wins and a cakewalk to the division title. We're going to go with San Francisco to sneak into second place with 90 wins and the final wild card spot goes to Arizona, surprisingly, who somehow win 87 games without a great starting rotation. The Padres take a dive and the Rockies start to improve, but both of them will be available for golf in October.

One thing to watch for -- This whole division feels so "slam dunk" that I can only think of one thing to watch for and that would be the Dodgers winning 120 games if they stay healthy all season and really want to do something special in the regular season. I doubt it happens. But who knows...

N.L. Playoffs --

Mets beat Diamondbacks

Pirates beat Giants

Dodgers beat Pirates

Cubs beat Mets

Dodgers beat Cubs in NLCS, 4-games-to-1

---

Even without the Terps in the NCAA Tournament, the first four days of the event were beyond magnificent. The games, man. Some of them were downright overly thrilling.

We got it kicked off in grand fashion on Friday night with Villanova getting summarily dismissed by Utah State. Someone noted here that Villanova losing was comparable to Maryland winning. I don't know if that's exactly accurate, but I get the sentiment. Seeing Kevin Willard lose and meltdown was very close to as satisfying as watching Maryland win a game before they got dumped on Saturday or Sunday.

A number of other games were truly instant classics. The Iowa win over Florida last night was outstanding. Nebraska dumping Vanderbilt on Saturday night was, I think, "the game of the tournament" thus far. St. John's letting Kansas come back from a 14-point deficit yesterday only to win on a buzzer-beating layup was also a remarkable 40 minutes of basketball.

There's something about "one and done" that just makes March Madness incredibly captivating. And all you need to do is win a few games and, voila!, you're in the hunt for a trip to the Final Four. Now, winning three games is a lot easier said than done. but if you win three games, you're one more win away from being one of the last four teams standing.

I have three of my projected Final Four still alive. I have UConn beating Iowa State in the championship game. I also have Houston and Gonzaga in the Final Four. Gonzaga won't be there. But the other three might.

A lot of brackets got busted last night when #1 seed Florida got eliminated by Iowa. There goes the idea that all four #1 seeds would make the Final Four. It's only happened twice since 2008, remember.

Some dude went 43-0 in his ESPN bracket before he finally got dinged with a loss after Tennessee beat Virginia on Sunday night. But, still, correctly picking the first 43 games of the tournament was amazing.

I read on the internet last night that 43-0 was the 3rd best recorded bracket "start" within the ESPN contest. Someone in 2019 once started 49-0 and last year someone started off 45-0. No one, as we all know, has ever produced a verified "perfect bracket" in the NCAA tournament.

About 5 years ago I had a friend get a hit in 37 consecutive games in the ESPN baseball contest where you pick a player to get a hit in ANY baseball game in an effort to match DiMaggio's 56-game streak with a hit. The night his streak ended his pick was Mike Trout.

But I think picking 43 straight winners in the NCAA tournament is better than picking a Major League Baseball player to get a hit in 37 consecutive games.

43-0! Wow.

The Maryland women's team met with an early tournament dismissal on Sunday in a 74-66 loss to North Carolina. But that wasn't what people were talking about afterwards.

Because we've created a culture where we're afraid of hurting someone's feelings, the biggest talking point from that game was an in-game incident involving Lady Terps coach Brenda Frese and her star player, Oluchi Okananwa.

"Terrible look from a coach who knows better!" someone wrote on Twitter once the viral video of the confrontation started circulating.

"Ouch! Awkward. Hey coach get outa (sic) my face before I punch ya" someone else wrote.

Those are just two of many pieces of commentary where people chastisted Frese for the moment where she confronted Okananwa and appeared to put her finger into the player's chest while saying to her, loudly, "I believe in you, but you have to want this moment!"

Fortunately, the only two people in the story who matter, the coach and the player, both quickly diffused the situation after the game when both were asked about it.

"Coach understands I'm a competitor at heart, and I've told her this before and I'll keep on telling her this until forever: I love to be coached hard, and that's what she does with me every single day," Okananwa said.

Frese explained how a player-coach relationship makes those moments not only possible, but productive as well.

"I think for me, it's always been a pulse that I've been able to have with individuals and players. And we do have to at times have those tough conversations," Frese said. "You can't have them without a relationship, you've gotta be able to have that. The best of the best, the elite of the elite want to be coached hard. At that moment I had watched Oluchi struggle within this tournament, and she's just too gifted. I wanted to implore how much belief I had in her and just challenge her."

End of story.

Coach knows how to coach Player A "this way" and also knows how to coach Player B "that way". Perhaps another lady on her team would not have responded favorably to that sort of in-game heat the way Okanankwa did.

And Okananwa basically asked for the treatment, even admitting in her post-game comments she needs that sort of reminder in order to keep her game in top shape.

Charles Barkley had an interesting comment over the weekend when one member of the post-game analysis crew referenced Michigan State's Tom Izzo getting into yet another heated discussion with one of his players and drawing criticism from members of the media and basketball followers on social media.

"If their parents and friends get mad because you're getting yelled at, you need better parents and better friends," Barkley said.

In the moment yesterday, it looked like Frese was going overboard with Okananwa. We've built a society over the last two decades that believes confrontation and demanding excellence of someone is only "positive" if it's done in a light, casual way.

I have a friend (he reads #DMD, hope the story doesn't open up new wounds, pal) who has a 25-year old daughter who started working in D.C. for a big company last summer. As part of her pre-employment negotiations, she was able to secure one-week of vacation within the first eight months of her employment and wouldn't be eligible for a second week until she completed twelve months of employment.

In December, she took off for five days to serve as a bridesmaid in a college friend's wedding in the Dominican Republic. All good.

But in late February, she asked for an additional week off to go skiing with her fiance and his "friend group" in Colorado. Her boss denied her request. She went above him and asked his boss and she was again denied.

There were some words exchanged between her and her boss the day after and her boss "wrote her up", which further infuriated her.

Two days later, she called my friend (her dad) and told him she quit her job and wondered if he knew of anyone hiring.

My friend was more than infuriated with his daughter. 4 years of college and a year of grad school -- not to mention the $250,000 he spent in those 5 years -- turned into an amazing job with a top company in D.C. and you quit because you couldn't go skiing and then got written up when you said something to your boss in front of co-workers you shouldn't have said?

We can't tell anyone "no" or "you need to do better" any longer. When we do that, we become the bad guy.

Brenda Frese was trying to coach her player yesterday. She was doing it, funny enough, in a way the player herself not only wants, but needs.

Fortunately both of them were on the same page afterwards and all of the internet psychologists who thought the confrontation was evil and demeaning quickly learned otherwise.

Sunday March 22, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4227

tiger's not playing...or is he?

So the biggest tease of the spring has been released by the folks at Augusta National Golf Club.

Well, it wasn't really "released" as much as it was leaked, but either way, the folks who run the Masters have posted information on their website about all of the players who have indicated they are playing and information on those who have informed the tournament they won't be playing in 2026.

There's an area of the website where it reads "Former champions not playing in this year's event" and players are then pictured with statistical information.

Tiger Woods is not listed among "Former champions not playing in this year's event".

In fact, there's information included in Tiger's bio that suggests he is playing, including the words "Tiger Woods will be making his 27th appearance at the Masters..."

The likes of Nicklaus, Player, Faldo and Langer have told Masters officials they won't compete in 2026. They still attend the event, of course, and take part in all of the glorious freebies you earn as a green jacket winner. But players who elect not to compete have to inform tournament officials in advance of that decision.

Unless something weird is going on, Tiger apparently plans to play.

We're two weeks away, basically, from the first practice round on April 6. You have to assume the Masters wants to know if you're playing or not by, say, March 1, or March 15 at the absolute latest.

They have information brochures to print up, for example, plus heightened security measures to employ if Woods shows up at the course to play a practice round on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

Now, because he is Tiger Woods and he won the tournament five times, perhaps he gets a sliver of special treatement from tournament officials.

"Everyone has to let us know by March 15 if they're playing," they might say. "But we'll give Tiger a few extra days. Maybe a week. Tell Tiger he has to let us know by March 27."

That seems like a reasonable approach. But Masters officials are also known for their rules and their strict use of guidelines and protocols.

So it would stand to reason that Woods knew the cut-off date. And it came and went without him informing the Masters he is going to bypass this year's event.

I would personally be shocked if he plays.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love for Tiger to play the Masters. Anytime he's in the field, the tournament is better.

But when I watch him limp around during the telecasts of TGL action -- like he did last week during Jupiter Links' win -- I just can't see any way he can play golf in less than a month.

And like we always stress when it comes to Tiger and his health and "playing golf", it's not the actual golf that he can't do. It's the walking, and the difficult terrain of Augusta National, and the potential need to do it four, five or six days in a row. Those are the issues.

"Golf" is not an issue for Tiger. But walking 18 holes on Thursday and coming back out and walking 18 holes on Friday? That seems almost impossible, even for him.

And then, if he's fortunate enough to make the cut, he has to do it all over again on Saturday and Sunday.

I just don't see it happening.

I hope Woods isn't on the list of "former champions not in the field" for a reason. I'd love to see him tee it up.

But I'm not going to believe it until I see it happen for myself on Thursday, April 9.

Dean Kremer being assigned to minor league camp yesterday was the stunner of spring training as far as the Orioles go.

Kremer has been the club's most durable arm over the last four years. But with the return of Zach Eflin and the off-season acquisition of Shane Baz, plus a light schedule to start the season (3 off days in the first 15 days of the campaign), there's really no need for six starters when the Birds come to town for good this Thursday.

That said, it's still surprising to see Kremer not come north with the big league club.

He'll get his starts in '26, of course. He might not make 32 of them, but he'll be back in Baltimore in time to make two dozen starts, I'm guessing.

Meanwhile, nagging injuries continue to plague Andrew Kittredge, who will not be on the opening day roster because of shoulder inflammation. And yesterday, just in time for opening day, Keegan Akin complained of "something not right" in his hip.

On the good news front, if you put any stock in spring training performance, you're seeing guys like Rutschman (.308), Alonso (.275), and Mountcastle (.308) putting their best foot forward in March. I know the games don't count and they're occasionally facing pitchers that will never see the light of day in the Majors, but if they were hitting .150 we'd be beating them up for it.

So the new darling of the NCAA tournament, for me at least, is Nebraska. That was a total, 100% "instant classic" last night against Vanderbilt, with the 'Huskers winning 74-72 on a bucket with 2.2 seconds remaining.

Vandy had a 3-pointer at the buzzer rattle in and out of the basket in heartbreaking fashion.

The win earned Nebraska their first-ever trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

There was a time, when a lot of you reading this were either not yet born or were still pooping in your diapers, when Nebraska football was a perennial national title contender.

Nebraska football meant something circa 1976.

Nebraska basketball? Always an afterthought. In fact, afterthought called and said, "Who are you again?"

But they've been getting better, little by little, for a few years now. Basketball, that is. And this year, they finally broke through with a win on Thursday night.

And now they're headed to the Sweet Sixteen after last night's heartstopping win over Vanderbilt.

As I wrote here earlier this week, some "weird" team you weren't expecting always seems to weave their way through the bracket and get to the Final Four. Maybe this year it's Nebraska?

If so, I'm totally cool with it.

Friday it was Kevin Willard in hot water and then, on Saturday, Hubert Davis of North Carolina found himself under the microscope after reports surfaced that UNC was "evaluating" his future in the wake of the Tar Heels' first round loss to VCU on Thursday.

It wasn't only the loss that aggravated UNC officials. According to sources, school officials were dismayed with the way Davis spoke to the media after the game, offering bland, one-sentence replies or, in one instance, simply answering a question by saying, "Because that was my decision."

I have no idea if Hubert Davis is a "good" basketball coach, a "great" one, or someone who could easily be replaced if North Carolina wanted to part ways with him.

I just don't follow UNC basketball enough to know if Davis is the best guy for the job.

But I do know this: What a coach says to the media after a game should almost never be part of his (or her) evaluation.

Hubert Davis probably didn't have any answers after that loss to VCU. He certainly went into the game assuming his team would win. So when those questions come at him fast and furious asking him to explain how how his team just lost, he's not quite sure what to say.

Someone asked him why he went to a six-man rotation late in the game and Davis said, "Because that was my decision." I mean, that actually is the real, right answer.

Davis doesn't have to disclose his in-game strategy decisions to anyone. But he did confirm, at the very least, that it was his decision to run that lineup out there.

Another reporter asked Davis "What went wrong down the stretch?" and he replied by saying, "With what?"

I'm not a huge fan of coaches intentionally trying to make a reporter's job more difficult than it already is.

But I'm also not a big fan of forcing a coach to come into a room 10 minutes after a game has ended and make him or her offer a detailed analysis of what just took place when they haven't had the opportunity to look at the film, talk to their assistant coaches and, in general, digest the important parts of the game that either led to them winning or losing.

If Hubert Davis is no longer the best coach for North Carolina, so be it. Maybe they need a new voice.

But if UNC is considering firing him because he got snarky with the media on Thursday night, they're goofy.

Saturday March 21, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4226

kevin willard was......right

Man, isn't it great when the worm turns?

I mean, sure, Maryland was terrible this year and they didn't even make the NCAA tournament. So in that regard, maybe it's weird for all of us to revel in the first round dismissal of Villanova last night.

But I'll be weird and revel.

Feel free to join me.

A year after blowing up Maryland's men's basketball program with an abrupt departure that made Lane Kiffin's exit from Ole Miss look honorable, Willard and his Wildcats were knocked off by Utah State on Friday evening, 86-76.

It wasn't a mammoth upset by any means. Villanova was an 8 seed and the Aggies were a 9 seed. But Utah State has no basketball pedigree whatsoever while Willard's school is twice a national champion in the last ten years.

Make no mistake about it, regardless of seeding, Utah State beating Villanova in basketball will almost always be a surprise result.

And that's what makes what unfolded on Friday evening more delightful.

Editor's note: The city of Philadelphia should be primed for more bad sports news in the next two weeks. The Flyers are slowly starting to circle the proverbial playoff drain and should be eliminated by the time the Orioles are 3-1 after their first four games of the 2026 season.

Not only did Villanova lose to a team no one ever heard of, but Willard became the viral centerpiece of Friday's first round action when he told an in-game sideline reporter he was going to "fire (my) his staff" after several early defensive lapses graced Utah State with some easy buckets.

Willard's nothing if not a funny guy. He's not quite Gregg Popovich-acerbic, but he has that way about him that he thinks is cute and smarmy when, in reality, it makes him look like a horse's ass.

There was that moment earlier this year when an in-game reporter said, "Coach, you're down 10 early on. What's going on with your team's defense?" and he replied with something like, "Well, you see, the object is to put the ball through that round cylinder that has the net underneath. And they've put the ball in that cylinder more times than we have so far. So that's why they're winning."

And, so, when he was asked about Utah State's ability to score easy baskets "in the paint" on Friday, the only thing Willard could offer was a quip about firing his coaching staff.

No analysis of any kind. Nothing about "basketball" at all. Just an attempt at humor and then a quick dash back to the huddle.

And, look, I'm the first guy to say those in-game sideline reporter questions are beyond dumb. No coach wants to take 20 seconds out of a 60-second timeout telling someone why his (her) team is winning or losing. They'd much rather -- wait for it -- coach their team.

That said, one of the reasons why guys like Kevin Willard are vastly overpaid is because the TV networks vastly overpay for the right to televise the games in March.

You want your $5 million a year? Answer a few dumb questions from people who have nothing else to ask you other than, "What do you need to do to be better in the second half?"

Willard couldn't play along on Friday night, though. He just had to be cute and funny and make the female reporter's job a little harder. And then he became a viral sensation when Villanova got dumped by Utah State.

Afterwards, a reporter gamely asked him about the in-game commentary, to which Willard quickly snapped, "It's a joke."

He was agitated by the fact he was even asked the question. His sports information contact at Villanova most certainly told him that question was coming in the aftermath of the loss. That's one of the first things a really good SID does with a coach. "Here's what they're going to ask about, Coach."

Pressed for more after his initial 3-word reply, Willard repeated the same thing. "Welcome to my life. It's a joke."

What he meant, of course, is that his quip about firing his staff was intended to be humorous. But on a deeper level, the "Welcome to my life" addendum was interesting.

"Welcome to my life", as in, "Come on into my inner circle and feel what it's like to be hassled and berated by the fans on social media."

Except Willard has earned all of the disdain everyone has for him.

Especially down here in Maryland.

It was only a few weeks ago in Washington D.C. when a few Terp fans gathered for the Villanova-Georgetown game and afterwards someone in the media asked Willard about the fans coming out to boo him.

“They wasted a Saturday," Willard said. "I don't know what the f*** they were doing. They got nothing better to do on a Saturday than come look at my bald ass? I don't know what they're doing."

The high road would have been the better way to travel with that one. "I know there's still frustration with the way I left College Park and went to Philadelphia. I get it. But I'm the Villanova coach now. Let's talk about this game we just played."

Instead, again, Willard said the wrong thing last month, too.

That Villanova loss last night was better than Duke losing. Better than Michigan or Michigan State losing. Better than anyone else losing, really.

I mean, other than a wagering-connected loss you needed, name anything better than seeing Kevin Willard get summarily dismissed by Utah State in the first round of the NCAA tournament and, as well, having Willard become the butt of national internet scorn.

I'm here. Still waiting for you to tell me anything better than Villanova losing last night.

Still here...

It turns out Coach Willard was right. The whole night was a joke. He was very prophetic with that statement.

And even though he thought he had the best punch line of the evening, it turns out Utah State delivered it for all us of in Maryland at just the right moment.

Let's move on to the mailbag for some more questions from #DMD readers. I'm trying to answer more and more of them these days. Apologies if you've sent me something recently I haven't answered yet.

J.K. asks -- "Drew, for the Mail Bag feature, I'm wondering who you think are the three most important Orioles of the 2026 season?"

DF says -- "Good question, JK. For sure Pete Alonso is one of them. You don't spend that kind of money and woo a star player to Baltimore and then expect anything other than a great, bang-up season. They need a "Pete Alonso year" from him. 45 home runs. 120 RBI. On base percentage of somewhere around .345. Alonso needs to come up big.

I think Jordan Westburg returning and -- I know you're going to snicker when I write this -- staying healthy is massively important to the Orioles in 2026. If he somehow stumbles and bumbles through another injury riddled season where he plays somewhere around 90 or 100 games, the Birds probably can't win 90 games and make the playoffs. Westburg's health and regular lineup availability are huge.

And I'll bring up one pitcher who fits this profile. Zach Eflin. If he can return to his pre-2025 form and be the pitcher the O's thought they were getting from Tampa Bay in 2024, the Birds will be cooking with gas. He was outstanding yesterday vs. the Yankees, by the way. 7 strikeout and 1 hit allowed in 5.1 innings pitched. If that's the kind of performance the O's are going to get from him in 16 of the 32 starts he makes, they're in great shape. Pitching is critical, of course. But Eflin, to me, is their most important pitcher in 2026. They really need him to have an excellent, healthy campaign."

Greg asks -- "I know you've written about Akshay Bhatia's long putter and how you're sure he's not anchoring it but it's very clear on the "Chasing Sunday" You Tube video that Bhatia was anchoring the putter at The Players championship. Are you 100% sure he's not anchoring, Drew?"

DF says -- "It's funny you bring up the Chasing Sunday series because I watched it for the first time last night and actually saw a couple of clips of Bhatia putting last weekend. The key word in the whole discussion is "anchoring". I do believe his top hand is touching his shirt at address. That is allowed. What's not allowed is for his hand or the butt of the putter to touch his body (upper chest) during the stroke.

I've watched it as closely as TV would allow and I'm more than convinced he's not anchoring. I do believe his hand is making contact with his shirt, yes. But that's not a rules violation.

It's worth noting that long before I had the privilege of playing with Bernhard Langer for two days back in 2021 that I heard the whispers about Langer anchoring his long putter. Once I was with him on the greens at Omaha CC and could see it up close and personal, there was absolutely NO DOUBT in my mind that Langer wasn't anchoring the putter. No doubt about it. He was not anchoring.

Trust me, if Akshay Bhatia anchored his putter, the entire roster of PGA Tour players would be up in arms over it and you'd be hearing about player meetings, inquiries, video reviews, etc. There's just too much at stake out there -- tournaments, major championship exemptions, money, etc. -- for players to ignore a guy breaking the rules. And playing well while he's doing it."

Don G. asks -- "In light of what happened with the Maxx Crosby deal and the way he says he was treated in Owings Mills by the team's front office, I'm curious if you think that's something that wouldn't have happened had John Harbaugh still been the head coach of the Ravens?"

DF says -- "Who knows? John was definitely a "meet you at the door" kind of guy and maybe that's just not Jesse Minter's style. I don't know. I also don't really put much stock in the things Crosby says happened at the facility, truth be told. He twisted and distorted the travel plans and the travel to Baltimore during that podcast recently, so I can't really say I believe him when it comes to telling us "no one met me for 5 hours".

I sense your question is trying to hint at a sea change of sorts within the organization now that Harbaugh is gone. Less "chummy" and more "business like", maybe? I don't buy that. I think the people there are still going to get overly excited about any new player or draft pick they bring in. If the story is true that Crosby stayed there for 5 hours without as much as a "hello" from Minter and/or DeCosta, that's definitely a bad look on their part(s).

It doesn't seem like the way the Ravens do business, though. They're nothing if not overly welcoming when they want you in the building in the first place.

Would Harbaugh have done it differently? I think so, yes. But then again, I'm not sure the way it was portrayed by Crosby was actually the way it all went down in the first place. Maybe he didn't get to "chop it up" (his words) and talk football with Minter and/or Eric. Perhaps that's because they were in a room somewhere hearing doctors give them bad news after bad news about his knee.

But that doesn't mean he was completely ignored and left to sit in the lobby with a copy of the team's 2025 yearbook to read for five hours, either."

Friday March 20, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4225

big boys go home

I'm sure some brackets are already busted, even though no top seeds were sent packing yesterday in the opening round of the NCAA basketball tournaments.

There are definitely people out there who had the likes of North Carolina and Wisconsin making some second-weekend noise in the Big Dance and both of them will be back in class today, or by Monday at the very least, after they were dismissed from the tournament on Thursday by VCU and High Point, respectively.

While both were definitely "upsets", I also wouldn't go as far as saying the winners "shocked the world" or anything like that. North Carolina and Wisconsin both have long standing tournament pedigrees, yes, but neither team this year was a world-beater by any means.

Still, little old High Point beating anyone of stature is, as the saying goes, why they play the games. And top it off with the High Point coach chirping afterwards like Ric Flair in a wrestling promo circa 1990 and you have yourselves a good old fashioned opening weekend fan favorite right there.

High Point head coach Flynn Clayman said afterwards, "Nobody wanted to play us" and then threw in a barb about no one wanting to play Miami of Ohio, either, which was a double-guns salute to the RedHawks who went 31-1 this season and won their play-in opener over SMU earlier this week.

It is, of course, easy to bark and howl that "Nobody wanted to play us" after you beat the likes of Wisconsin, who is presumably exactly the kind of team Clayman would like to schedule in a November or December game to test his team's mettle before conference play.

That said, you don't hear Clayman -- or any reasonable coach, in fairness -- saying that stuff before the Wisconsin game.

"We're looking forward to playing the Badgers on Thursday. You know, we've tried to schedule a game with those creeps for three or four years now and it never happens. That's probably because they're afraid of us. But they can't run on Thursday. We're coming for them with our belt in our hand."

Now...if Clayman said that on Tuesday in the lead-up to the game. And his High Point team than applied that belt to Wisconsin on Thursday. I might be overly impressed.

Saying it afterwards is cool. That's what the national spotlight does for you. As the energy drink commercial says, it gives you wings, so to speak. But bring me the guy who says it before the game. I'll take him to coach my team. (But only if they follow through and win, of course.)

The VCU win over North Carolina wasn't a shocker at all. The Rams made a late run to win the A-10 tournament last weekend while North Carolina was a good ACC team this season, but I'd venture to say almost no one outside of Chapel Hill had the Tar Heels advancing much past the Sweet Sixteen this season.

But one thing both wins did yesterday was remind the tournament committee that mid-major basketball is far better and competitive than they probably are willing to admit when they're sitting around the table in their $2,500 suits sipping bottled water direct from the source and talking about how teams like VCU simply "don't belong".

VCU, in fact, would not have been in the tournament had they failed to win the A-10 title last weekend. The tournament chairman said that, point blank, during last Sunday's bracket reveal show on CBS.

And now they've disposed of a longtime tournament icon on day one of the madness.

High Point, with one more win, would immediately become the darling of the tournament. If the Panthers get punched in the face by Arkansas tomorrow night, no one outside of the school itself will really remember much about them. But if High Point somehow wins again, they're immediately a national fan favorite.

We love an underdog story here in America.

And their coach will definitely do his part to remind everyone they're an underdog.

Buckle up for more upsets and great stories today. They don't call it March Joy or March Thrills.

It's called March Madness for a reason.

Perusing the Comments section this morning doing a little bit of clean up in there along the way, I noticed a few pertinent things worth addressing.

I agree about Andy Etchebarren being an Orioles Hall of Famer. Not sure why or how that didn't happen or hasn't yet happened. I mean, Chris Hoiles is in there, right?

Hoiles was a good Oriole, no doubt.

What's the barometer, though? Good...or great?

He was an offensive-minded catcher who played 10 big league seasons -- all in Baltimore -- and had three seasons of 20 or more home runs, a lifetime .262 average and as many All Star Game appearances as you, me and your Uncle Ned. Combined.

Hoiles was a good baseball player and a good Oriole.

He definitely doesn't strike me as a Hall of Fame caliber player.

Etchebarren was a "catcher's catcher", if you will. He was not known at all for his offense, but he was known for catching some of the best pitchers in baseball at the height of their respective careers and was part of that decade-long dominant run from the mid 60's through the mid 70's in The Land of Pleasant Living.

He was a great Oriole.

At the very least, given that Hoiles is in, Etchebarren should be in.

It remains baffling to me how many people are still talking about Maxx Crosby and continue to ignore the condition of his knee. Do people really want the Ravens to take a player -- and rely on him heavily in a position of a need -- who a half-dozen highly qualified medical professionals say is a health risk?

If you have a sore throat and congestion and you go to the doctor and he or she says "You have a sinus infection, take these antibiotics and feel better soon", do you go home and say, "You know what, that doctor is a goof. I don't have a sinus infection. I'm not taking those pills, either."?

95% of the time, you don't even go to another doctor for a second opinion. Heck, it's probably 99% of the time, not 95%. You go to the pharmacy, fill the prescription and take the medicine.

Six different doctors told the Ravens, "Don't take this guy, his knee is bad."

Should Eric DeCosta then say, "You know, I hear you, but we really want the player. We'll take our chances."?

And, please, don't be one of those neanderthals who says "They should have known all of that medical stuff before they made the deal."

It doesn't work that way. These aren't doctors and knee specialists who sit around and wait for people to come into town. They're in surgery, have regular patients to see and are, as most doctors tend to be, very busy five days a week.

When the Ravens brought Crosby to town, it was with the express purpose of letting some of their people take a look at him and his medical records. That's why the words come out like this, "Pending the completion of a physical, the Ravens have acquired..."

I don't know why you would want a player who is hurt or has some sort of degenerative condition in his knee under any kind of long term agreement with your team. It makes zero sense to me.

And I'll once again ask the question no one has yet answered to completion: If this guy was so great and so healthy and so "ready to kick ass" next season and beyond, how come the Raiders wanted to let him go?

I don't see the Ravens trying to trade Derrick Henry.

We have a non-golfer in our midst who wondered why my Calvert Hall golf team didn't "take their foot off the pedal" in two matches earlier this week.

There's a simple answer for that one: Because golf doesn't work like that.

And our format, in particular, doesn't work like that.

We play a match play format in the MIAA that rewards players for holes won. In a weird quirk, you and I could go out and play our standard 12 hole match and I could shoot 1 under par for 12 holes and you could shoot even par for 12 holes and I'd win 2.5 points and you would win only one half point (0.5).

If that happened in all six matches that are scored in MIAA golf, my team would win 18-3. And yet, we basically won six more holes than you out of the 72 that were played.

So, this week, we won by scores of 20-1 and 20.5 to 0.5. Yes, by the look of the score, those were blowouts. That said, neither match (against B-Conference teams, Saints Peter and Paul and Curley) was as lopsided as the final score showed. There were several "sides" we won on the "front six" that were won on the 6th hole and a couple of sides we won on the "back six" we won on the 12th hole.

Did we play better golf than our two opponents? We obviously did. But were both of those teams competitive and a worthy foe? Very much so. They will both be among the better B Conference schools this spring, I believe. I've known both head coaches for a long time and they're each building very good programs.

Alas, in golf, you don't take your foot off the gas pedal. If you hit the 3rd green in two shots at Country Club of Maryland and your opponent is having a tough hole and he makes a "7", you might cozy your first putt down there to ensure a four, but you're certainly not saying to yourself, "Well, he made a 7 so I'll just make a 6 to make him feel good."

No, no, no. If you're a golfer of any caliber at all, you say to yourself, "I'd like to make this birdie putt but if I don't, I'm making a four and moving on to the next hole."

We're trying to build and practice good habits all the time. Our goal -- as is the case with anyone who actually knows how to play competitive golf -- is to shoot the lowest score we can. On every hole. Always.

So the "take your foot off the gas pedal" thing doesn't work in golf. It might work in other sports, but it does not work in golf.

If you play golf, you know that. If you don't play golf and just like to write about it and quibble about it, you're clueless.

faith in sports

OK, now I have to go out and buy a San Francisco Giants tee shirt.

Man, I had no idea Patrick Bailey was such an awesome, inspiring dude until I watched this week's video-cast with the Giants catcher.

What a guy!

Give this video below 17 minutes of your time today to hear how Bailey is honoring his relationship with Jesus through his work behind the plate in San Fran. He talks about life, his identity as a major leaguer and how his faith ties into all of it.

This is one of Sports Spectrum's best efforts of 2026.

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

Thursday March 19, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4224

my guess? uconn figures out a way (again)

My total amount of research and study on this year's March Madness was exactly zero minutes.

I mean, sure, I watched a lot of college basketball over the last five months, like a lot of you presumably did as well.

I looked at the bracket last night and counted 28 teams I saw play at least "some portion" of a game this past season. The Big Ten teams, I saw the most, for obvious reasons.

So I've seen not quite half of the teams in the bracket play basketball this season. But study or research them in an effort to nail the NCAA Tournament and have a "great" bracket? Not really.

My Final Four is comprised of favorites; UConn, Houston, Gonzaga and Iowa State.

I'll confirm going in there's almost no chance of those four being correct, in the same way I'm 95% sure your Final Four won't be correct.

Someone always winds up losing who shouldn't and someone always winds up winning who shouldn't.

Here are the Final Four teams just over last five seasons.

2021 -- Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA. (Two #1's, a #2 and a #11 in UCLA. No one had UCLA going to the Final Four.)

2022 -- Kansas, North Carolina, Villanova and Duke. (One #1, two #2's and a #8 in North Carolina. That was an "off" UNC team who sizzled at the right time. They were very much a surprise Final Four squad.)

2023 -- UConn, San Diego State, Miami and Florida Atlantic. (One #4, Two #5's and a 9 seed in Florida Atlantic. Frankly, not only did 95% of the people not have Florida Atlantic in the Final Four, 95% of the people filling out a bracket didn't, A) know Florida Atlantic was even a college and, B) have them winning more than one game in the tournament.)

2024 -- UConn, Purdue, Alabama and N.C. State. (Two #1's, one #4 and a #11 in N.C. State. No one, not even N.C. State, thought N.C. State was making the Final Four.)

2025 -- Florida, Houston, Duke and Auburn. (All four were #1's. That almost NEVER happens. And because it almost never happens, hardly anyone had all 4 #1's going to the Final Four last year.)

Editor's note: Before last year, the last time all four #1 seeds made the Final Four was 2008.

So, here's one thing you can almost always bet on when you're filling out your bracket. Some team you otherwise never even considered has a very real chance of making the Final Four.

That means, if you're one of those who just plays hunches, that someone like St. John's, Virginia, Iowa or Wisconsin has as good of a chance of making the Final Four as anyone else in your bracket.

My Final Four consists of three #2 seeds and a #3 seed. Those numbers just don't seem likely to hit.

Alas, that's what my expert analysis led me to when I put my bracket together.

My reasoning? Very simple.

UConn always gets there. Well, not "always", but pretty much always. Why ignore them and then be forced to say, "They always get there and I knew that...why didn't I just go ahead and put UConn in my Final Four?" So I'm not ignoring them. I have UConn in there again.

Houston is really good. Kelvin Sampson is the proverbial bridesmaid who never wears the wedding gown himself. But his teams seem to always be in the hunt, knocking on the door. They'll knock again this year.

I feel like Gonzaga always seems to do better when they're just off the radar screen a little bit. There was a decade or so where they were always #1 or #2 seed and they'd always stub their toe despite having great teams. I'm a believer in "big game DNA" and I think their program has a lot of that.

And then there's Iowa State as the sleeper of the group, albeit at #2. I'm trying to find the one really good team that no one is thinking about. And that brings me to the Cyclones. The Big 12 was very good this season. Two teams from that conference seems very reasonable to me.

I have UConn beating Iowa State in the final, by the way, by the score of 67-60.

My other bracket has Duke beating Wisconsin, 74-64.

I also have a bracket where Houston beats Texas Tech in an OT thriller, 82-80.

Oh, and then I have one other bracket where Arizona knocks off Kansas, 79-73.

I have a bunch of other brackets, too, but those all feature really obscure winners, like Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina, Purdue, Miami and Clemson.

Good luck with your bracket. May your Final Four wishes come true.

Let's get to a bunch of questions from the mailbag and that line item down to less than 50 in my inbox.

As always, if you have a question for #DMD to answer in a future issue, e-mail it to me at: 18inarow@gmail.com

Dan asks -- "Why don't more players use the long broomstick putter in pro golf? It seems like the players who use it are really good at it. And do you think it's a good rule to allow the broomstick putter or should it be banned?"

DF says: "Well, I sure hope they don't ban it or I might not ever play competitively again. I've been using the long putter since around 2005. I had one brief spell in 2009-2010 where I went back to the short (standard length) putter and during that time I also putted left handed for a while. But for the most part, I've putted with the long putter since 2005.

Why don't more people putt with it? I'd say it's 75% "vanity" and 25% they're not in need of any kind of putting help.

PGA Tour players don't want to deal with the snickers and whispers..."Look at him, he's putting so poorly he has to use the long putter now!" That's the vanity part of it.

The late, great Dave Pelz once said "Every six year old boy or girl who takes up golf should start putting with a long putter right away and they'll never putt with anything else."

That said, very few people use the long putter until they're forced to because they're out of other options. That certainly fits me and the reasons why I went to it.

I started "flinching" at impact with the short putter and I couldn't stop doing it. I was hitting 14 greens a round and shooting 78 because I was putting like Stevie Wonder. I went to the long putter and almost immediately my life changed. I actually put the putter in play on a Thursday -- out of desperation -- and that very next weekend I won the Baltimore Public Links using the long putter. I birdied the first five holes at Mount Pleasant using the long putter in my first competitive round ever. It sounds crazy, but it's true.

So, I was sold. And have been ever since.

There are some technical reasons why I think the long putter is the way to go, but mainly I think it's valuable because it takes a player's hands out of the putting stroke and that's where "nerves" come into play. Without a nervy, jumpy stroke, your odds of hitting a good putt increase dramatically.

Do I honestly think it should be banned? Not at all. It takes talent and technique to use the long putter properly, just like it takes talent and technique to square up a 460cc metal headed driver with an "X" shaft.

I do agree, though, with the rule surrounding "anchoring" the putter. I've never anchored the long putter, so none of that stuff applies to me, anyway, but being able to rest the butt end of the putter against your body would definitely give you "assistance" in keeping the putter on line during the back stroke and forward stroke.

As long as a guy (or gal) isn't anchoring the putter, I think it's more than fair to use and enjoy."

Phil asks -- "I'm curious what you think about the O's announcement of Chris and Storm Davis in the team's Hall of Fame for 2026?"

DF says -- "Glenn Clark and I actually talked about this on his show yesterday. I think both of them are Hall-of-Good candidates who get into the team's Hall of Fame because they don't really have anyone else to put in this year.

And, look, that's not to say that Chris Davis didn't have some fantastic years in Baltimore. So, too, did Storm Davis. But are they really to be considered among the "best" Baltimore Orioles ever? I definitely think the answer to that is "no".

In the case of Chris Davis, we know all about the home runs and the one great year he had and the two other "really good" years he enjoyed. But what about the three seasons where he hit under .200 for the entire season? Do we just ignore those and only count the really good seasons?

I just don't see him as a guy we'll all remember as a "great Oriole". I think we'll remember him as a guy who had one monster season where he hit 53 homers. And we'll remember he suffered through one of the worst seasons a professional hitter ever endured in 2018.

Hall of Fame player? Not in my book. But he had a few nice years for sure.

In general, I'd say the same for Storm Davis. He was certainly a competent, reliable pitcher. But the most games he ever won in a season (in Baltimore) was 14. And that was in an era when pitching wins mattered.

Again, when you start talking about pitchers in that '82-86 era that made the Orioles a perennial contender, I don't really think "Storm Davis" comes to mind. He was good, yes. But really not much more than that.

All that said, Davis and Davis won't be the only two head scratchers in the Hall of Fame when they're inducted this August. Joe Orsulak, Gary Roenicke and Terry Crowley are in there already. All three of them were the same, which is to say they were "good" and "contributors" but hardly longtime GREAT Orioles.

These "Hall of Fame" and "Ring of Honor" clubs created by sports franchises are largely sponsor driven and that's sadly what winds up motivating teams to add someone (or two) in a given season.

In order to hit up the sponsor for $250,000 for the season, there has to be some kind of event that drives people to the games and puts the sponsor's name in the spotlight.

So the team says, "OK, who can we put in this year?" instead of saying, "OK, who deserves to go in this year?"

If someone in the front office said, "No one deserves to go in, so tell the jewelry company or auto dealer to keep their $250,000 and we'll circle back next season", that employee would be shown the door.

If a sponsor wants to sponsor it, the team is going to create an event for them.

Chris Davis was a good Oriole who had a few great seasons.

Storm Davis was a good Oriole who had a couple of good seasons.

Hall of Fame worthy? Not really."

Tom B. asks -- "Now that it's over and the Ravens got Hendrickson but didn't get Crosby, what do you think that does for them football wise?"

DF says -- "The consensus from "football people" is that Crosby is a superior player to Hendrickson. It's not like Crosby's a 9.5 and Hendrickson's a 5.5. The difference isn't that vast. But most people will tell you if you could have your pick of the two, you're taking Crosby.

But......

There was something about the way Crosby laid waste to the Ravens this week on that podcast that I didn't really care for. And not because he trashed them. But more because he twisted some of the truth -- or at the very least, distorted it -- in an effort to make sure he didn't bear any responsibility for the way it transpired.

There's a saying I use in golf all the time. "I'm not looking for the 12 best players at Calvert Hall. I'm looking for the 12 right players."

I don't know if Crosby is a "right" player in that regard.

He shamed the Ravens about making him and his travel party fly into D.C. when it was own entitled personality that created that from the jump. "I'm not flying anywhere unless it's a direct flight." Fair enough, you need to fly into D.C. or Philadelphia, then. We'll honor that request, but you can't fly into Baltimore in that case.

And then the whole "we" had to drive two hours commentary was also a bad look. No, sir, you didn't drive at all. You sat in the back of an executive-style Suburban, stretched out, and slept throughout the ride to Baltimore.

Those are little things, granted. Some would even call them semantics. And none of that is meant to diminish how the whole thing unraveled and the Ravens' part in all of it. They aren't blameless for the clumsy way the whole thing went down.

But watching him throw out f-bomb after f-bomb on that podcast -- knowing there are probably young Raiders fans watching it -- and then trashing the Ravens like that without even attempting to bear any responsibility for the whole way it fell apart left me saying, "I'm sure glad the Ravens didn't wind up getting that maniac."

Character does still matter. At least to me. Some people don't care. "See quarterback, get quarterback." It's only about football. There's a reason the Raiders were willing to peddle the dude in the first place. My guess -- and it's just a guess -- is his knee isn't the only thing that's grown old and tiring out there. I'm not sure he's the "right" kind of a player.

Trey Hendrickson, on the other side, appears to be a model citizen. That's how he comes across, at least. Time will tell how the football side of it works out, but I think the Ravens got the better of the two "people" for what it's worth."

Wednesday March 18, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4223

not a great look

I don't know where to start.

Maxx Crosby spilling the beans about the way the Ravens treated him during his very brief visit to The Land of Pleasant (?) Living last week?

Aaron Judge and the rest of the American hitters getting stymied in a big moment once again last night in their loss to Venezuela?

UMBC stumbling out of the gate like it was 1:40 am in Federal Hill on a Friday night, only to produce a spirited rally that came up just short in last night's loss to Howard?

We can talk about it all, I guess. None of it, sadly, is "good news".

Wait, there is some good news, that is if you had Jupiter Links +140 to win last night's TGL playoff match vs. Boston. The Tiger-led group sent Rory, Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott out of the playoffs with their victory on Tuesday evening and that sends Jupiter Links to the championship series (best 2 of 3) against Los Angeles next week.

No, if Jupiter Links wins it doesn't count as career victory #83 for the G.O.A.T. Tiger still has 82 victories no matter what happens in the championship.

Back to the bad news.

Maxx Crosby appeared on a Raiders-centric podcast and laid waste to the Ravens over the way he was treated last week when he came to town to formally complete and announce his trade from Las Vegas to Baltimore.

Most of what Crosby said in the interview can't really be refuted since, for now at least, the Ravens aren't talking about how it all went down. A few things, though, weren't exactly as Crosby painted them.

For instance, the veteran defensive end made a big deal about the team flying him into Washington DC and then "making us drive 2 hours" to Baltimore.

That one, actually, gets laid at the feet of Crosby, who insisted he would only fly first class and non-stop from Vegas to Baltimore and wouldn't fly Southwest. Given that stipulation, the Ravens had to utilize another airline to get him to Baltimore and that carrier did not offer a direct flight, with first class, to BWI.

So Crosby and his traveling group were flown from Vegas to D.C. direct, with first class seating. They were then picked up at the airport with executive-style transportation and transported to Baltimore.

To hear Crosby's account you'd think he wound up getting seat number 24E on a Southwest flight and then his agent had to rent a car from Enterprise and the party then had to navigate their way around the D.C. Beltway before making the 40 mile journey to Charm City.

Crosby's travel itinerary was essentially created by Crosby and his various needs, all of which were understandable. But to suggest the Ravens "fouled up" by sending him to a D.C. airport instead of a Baltimore airport and then "making them drive" to town was a little bit shady on Crosby's part.

The rest of the story? It doesn't paint the Ravens in a good light.

There's nothing else to say until the Ravens explain themselves or I can dig up more than I've been able to dig up thus far.

What I do know is the Ravens were initially "OK" with the exams on Crosby's knee when they looked at it through the lens of the surgery he had in mid-January. What started to become problematic for them were other areas of his knee that were not impacted by the surgery. Areas that appeared to be showing signs of wear and tear that weren't surgically repaired.

The more people who saw Crosby's MRI, the more the Ravens heard "That's not a knee that can tolerate 3 more years of football."

The Ravens would have liked, for example, to hear a couple of people say to them, "It's not that bad." Or, "It looks like a typical knee of a guy who has played football for the last decade or so. There's still tread on those tires."

Instead, every new person who looked at Crosby's knee said, "Yikes. That doesn't look good."

How any of this involves Trey Hendrickson I have no idea. I know the Ravens told Hendrickson their goal was to employ both he and Crosby at opposite ends of the defensive line. I have no way of knowing if that's true. I have heard that a "popular veteran" would have been cut to make room for both of them. My guess is that player would have been Marlon Humphrey. But I don't know that for certain.

Anyway...

The Ravens are still coming out of this looking clumsy and awkward and, at this point, there's probably not much that's going to change that appearance in the future.

While Crosby's bad knee is the root of the entire story, the way the Raiders and the Crosby team decided to leak the news of the deal before the Ravens could confirm it, medically, is still the bigger issue no one seems to care about.

Crosby had the microphone yesterday and did his very best to make it seem like the Ravens were the ones who fouled everything up.

The truth, really, is that the whole thing was fouled up from jump street. You have a veteran player with a bad knee and a proclivity for talking when perhaps silence was the better route, and a team that was anxious to tell the league they had fleeced the Ravens for two first round picks for a guy who was last seen hobbling around their facility on crutches.

Once the trade was announced, Baltimore erupted in flames over the excitement of having Maxx Crosby. The Ravens were now in a corner they couldn't get out of and it all wound up unraveling when every doctor who looked at his knee said, "That's not good."

People are, of course, going to say the Ravens merely decided to switch it up and go with Hendrickson over Crosby and they used his bum knee as a condition for that decision. I have no idea if that's true. It's certainly plausible.

The U.S. baseball team lost 3-2 to Venezuela last night to fall in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic for the second straight time by the same 3-2 score. In 2023 they fell to Japan in the final.

O's shortstop Gunnar Henderson did not start in the game. He came up as a pinch hitter with one out in the 9th inning and popped out.

The vaunted U.S. lineup created just three hits on the night. Around here, we call that a "Beatles for Sale" kind of performance. In other words, a few hits and mostly duds.

It's amazing to consider that American roster could only muster three hits against six different Venezuelan pitchers. The only one of the night that made any real impact at all came from Bryce Harper in the 8th inning when he homered to momentarily tie the game at 2-2.

Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 to finish the tournament with a .222 batting average.

I realize he's a MVP kind of guy and a future Hall of Famer and all that stuff, but the dude almost NEVER rises to the occasion in a big moment. Like, just, NEVER.

What do Judge and The Wallflowers have in common?

Neither of them has produced a big hit in this decade.

Playoffs...international tournaments...it doesn't matter. Judge is a strikeout waiting to happen when the lights are the brightest.

It's also worth noting that the U.S. certainly didn't have their best roster of players available to them for last night's game.

Not to bellyache about it, because other teams probably had the same issues, but the U.S. team started Nolan McLean on the mound with Tarik Skubal sitting in the dugout chewing gum. The Tigers only wanted Skubal to pitch once in the WBC and that's what wound up happening, but it's worth remembering the U.S. lineup was shorthanded throughout the tournament because of Major League obligations.

Oh, and the goofy U.S. manager somehow thought Alex Bregman was better to have in the lineup than Gunnar Henderson. So "mismanagement" didn't help, either. And I like Bregman as a player, remember. I just don't think he was head-and-shoulders better than Gunnar.

In the end though, for baseball, the right one team won.

No one in the U.S. really cares about the WBC. They'll be partying in Venezuela for a month after last night's championship win.

It all worked out for the best in the end. The best team probably didn't win. But the right team did.

And the run for UMBC ended last night with an 83-81 loss to Howard in the play-in game in Dayton, Ohio. The Retrievers got off to a slow start and were down by eight at the half, only to rally to within a single bucket on several occasions late in the game.

A last gasp three pointer failed to connect and the Bison hung on for the win. It felt like an upset, but maybe that's because I don't watch a lot of Howard University basketball.

In the other play-in game last night to determine an 11-seed, Texas beat North Carolina State, 68-66.

I've said everything I needed to say about making two 16-seeds who won their respective conference tournaments "play in" to the tournament, so I won't beat that dead horse any longer. It's an awful thing to do to UMBC and Howard. Just awful. There, I beat the horse one final time.

---

The PGA Tour moves to the Tampa Bay area this week for the Valspar Championship on one of the harder golf courses the guys will play all year, Innisbrook.

The field is actually "close" to really good for this one, as the location and the run-up to the Masters creates an inviting event from some of the game's bigger names.

This tournament is not one for the bombers. You have to hit your golf ball straight at Innisbrook and you have to be good around and on the greens. Viktor Hovland's win there last year remains one of the big outliers of the last decade. He is NOT a great chipper/putter, but he managed to do enough to win at Innisbrook in 2025.

Our guess is we go back to the straightest hitters and best ball strikers being in the hunt in 2026.

Xander Schauffele is the current favorite at +1100 and it would be silly to ignore him on your wagering cards. He's played very well of late and looks like he's rounding very nicely into form to be a contender at Augusta. If the winning score at Innisbrook hovers around the 10 under number, that means it winds up smelling like a major championship, difficulty wise. And that's perfect for "X".

We're not a "favorites" kind of guy all the time, but Schauffele is on our cards this week.

J.J. Spaun has the game to take down Innisbrook, particularly if the event and the course are going to resemble a major championship. Spaun has inviting odds of +3000 in this one. While his play of late hasn't been great, the style of golf you need to play fits him too well to ignore.

Now we're going to go to the back of the rack for our others.

Ryo Hisatsune is an unthinkable +6600 this week. He's sniffed around the leaderboard on several prior occasions this season and seems like he is ready to win soon. This could be the week. He hits it straight off the tee and is an outstanding iron player. We love him again this week. A win is coming soon for this guy.

The same goes for Matt McCarty, who comes in at +6300. He's 6 for 8 in cuts made this season and quietly has 3 top 25 finishes along the way. He's coming off a MC at The Players, which is a little concerning, but the course fits him well this week and we expect a rebound.

And Austin Smotherman is on one of those 3-week heaters we talk about here, so we're going to ride that streak this week and see what comes of it. Smotherman is at +8400. He's been feast or famine this season. In three tournaments (of 7) where he's made the cut, he's finished T8, T2 and T13. Valspar seems like the kind of event a guy like Smotherman wins for his first career title. He either plays well again this week or he stinks it up and misses the cut. We are assuming he plays well.

As always, here are two longer-than-longshots for you to sprinkle in along the way. William Mouw at +11000 and Auston Eckroat at +15000.

And for those who like first-round leader wagers, we're going with David Ford, Wyndham Clark and Jordan Spieth.

can anyone be "perfect"?

Well, here we are.

March Madness is upon us.

Today, at least here in the mid-Atlantic, it feels like December Madness, what with high temps in the low 40's and the wind howling at 15-20 mph all day.

But there's basketball today/tonight in Dayton, Ohio and then, starting on Thursday, it's three weeks of crazy-good fun. It helps if you have your favorite team in the Big Dance, but even when you don't, the NCAA tournament is something to behold.

Everyone -- pretty much, everyone -- fills out at least one bracket, just for the sake of following along to see how you do against friends, co-workers, family members and so on.

In another life, back when I was on the radio, in other words, I'd spend hours looking at the teams and the strengths and the weaknesses of all of them and carefully fill out a bracket. It was usually busted by either the end of the first weekend or early in the second weekend.

Then there was that time my wife was one of like 82 people in the entire country to have George Mason in the Final Four in her bracket (the year they went to the Final Four) and when I stared at her bracket, dumbfounded, and said, "How on earth did you pick George Mason to go to the Final Four?" she said, "I went to see Matchbox Twenty at the arena at George Mason a couple of years ago and it was a great show and I remember walking around the campus and thought it was beautiful."

I spent hours figuring out who was going to win and lose and my wife nailed the most obscure NCAA Final Four participant ever because of Rob Thomas. Got it.

That was one of those "a ha!" moments where I started to consider spending less time doing research on things like the NCAA tournament.

These days, the great equalizer always seems to be the neutral court. A team that was great in the regular season and earned their #2 seed on the heels of a dominating campaign suddenly flatlines in their third game because they no longer have the comfort of their own home gym to rely on.

Some team who snuck in as a 12 seed wins a game or two and, suddenly, they're the new darlings of the tournament.

The college basketball tournament proves this theory of mine true every single year: A team that thinks they're really good is often times more dangerous than the team that actually is really good.

You know it's coming over the next couple of weeks. A team above, say, a 10-seed, will wind up winning two or three games out of nowhere. They'll suddenly look around and say to themselves, "We're as good as any of these #1 and #2 seeds!" And they might very well wind up beating one of them along the way.

For the last 7 years or so, we've provided our own unique "bracket contest" here at #DMD and it has nothing to do with an actual bracket.

You simply have to answer a bunch of questions, rack up points, and we'll see who has the most points at the end of the tournament.

I have some great Chick fil-A food (gift cards) for the top 5 finishers this year, thanks to my friends at Chick fil-A Nottingham Square over in White Marsh.

Worst case scenario, you don't win the #DMD Bracket Contest and you still visit Chick fil-A in White Marsh!

Entry rules: Submit your answers using the sample below. Please put: DMD hoops contest in the subject line of your e-mail entry so it gets filed properly and my intern can record all of the points and entries properly. Include your name, please. I will only publish your first name and last initial in the standings that I update and publish here at #DMD. If you're a top 5 finisher, I'll reach out to get a mailing address for the gift cards.

E-mail your entry to me at: dmdscore@gmail.com

One entry per-person. No use of multiple e-mails. Be honorable, please.

Here are the 10 questions you need to answer and their accompanying points.

1. Will Michigan beat the UMBC/Howard winner by 30 or more points on Thursday, March 19? Yes / No (5 points)

2. Will any game played on the first weekend (Thurs through Sun) feature a team scoring at least 100 points? Yes / No (5 points)

3. Pick any ten teams that will advance past the first weekend and list them. (5 points for each correct team)

4. Will a #1 or #2 seed lose on the opening weekend? Yes / No (10 points)

5. Will any 12 seed win both of their games on the opening weekend? Yes / No (10 points)

6. Who will be the first #1 seed to lose? (20 points)

7. How many games will go to overtime in the entire tournament? More than 2.5? Less than 2.5? (20 points)

8. List your "Elite Eight" teams. (10 points for each correct team)

9. Who will play in the Championship Game? (25 points for each correct team)

10. Who will win the National Championship? (25 points if correct)

Tiebreaker question: How many points will be scored in the championship game?

Here's the sample of how I'd like you to submit your answers: Note, this is NOT my entry. Just a sample of the entry form.

1. Yes

2. No

3. Duke, Virginia, St. John's, UConn, Michigan, Arizona, Maryland, Towson, Lees-McRae, Villanova

4. No

5. Yes

6. Michigan

7. More than 2.5

8. Virginia, Purdue, Texas A&M, Florida, Wisconsin, Towson, Maryland, Clemson

9. UConn vs. Virginia

10. UConn

Tiebreaker: 126 points

For the record, I'll have my entry published here tomorrow at #DMD. I'm doing some research today. And asking my wife what concerts she's attended recently that were memorable.

Good luck to all of you and have fun!

Tuesday March 17, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4222

can anyone be "perfect"?

Well, here we are.

March Madness is upon us.

Today, at least here in the mid-Atlantic, it feels like December Madness, what with high temps in the low 40's and the wind howling at 15-20 mph all day.

But there's basketball today/tonight in Dayton, Ohio and then, starting on Thursday, it's three weeks of crazy-good fun. It helps if you have your favorite team in the Big Dance, but even when you don't, the NCAA tournament is something to behold.

Everyone -- pretty much, everyone -- fills out at least one bracket, just for the sake of following along to see how you do against friends, co-workers, family members and so on.

In another life, back when I was on the radio, in other words, I'd spend hours looking at the teams and the strengths and the weaknesses of all of them and carefully fill out a bracket. It was usually busted by either the end of the first weekend or early in the second weekend.

Then there was that time my wife was one of like 82 people in the entire country to have George Mason in the Final Four in her bracket (the year they went to the Final Four) and when I stared at her bracket, dumbfounded, and said, "How on earth did you pick George Mason to go to the Final Four?" she said, "I went to see Matchbox Twenty at the arena at George Mason a couple of years ago and it was a great show and I remember walking around the campus and thought it was beautiful."

I spent hours figuring out who was going to win and lose and my wife nailed the most obscure NCAA Final Four participant ever because of Rob Thomas. Got it.

That was one of those "a ha!" moments where I started to consider spending less time doing research on things like the NCAA tournament.

These days, the great equalizer always seems to be the neutral court. A team that was great in the regular season and earned their #2 seed on the heels of a dominating campaign suddenly flatlines in their third game because they no longer have the comfort of their own home gym to rely on.

Some team who snuck in as a 12 seed wins a game or two and, suddenly, they're the new darlings of the tournament.

The college basketball tournament proves this theory of mine true every single year: A team that thinks they're really good is often times more dangerous than the team that actually is really good.

You know it's coming over the next couple of weeks. A team above, say, a 10-seed, will wind up winning two or three games out of nowhere. They'll suddenly look around and say to themselves, "We're as good as any of these #1 and #2 seeds!" And they might very well wind up beating one of them along the way.

For the last 7 years or so, we've provided our own unique "bracket contest" here at #DMD and it has nothing to do with an actual bracket.

You simply have to answer a bunch of questions, rack up points, and we'll see who has the most points at the end of the tournament.

I have some great Chick fil-A food (gift cards) for the top 5 finishers this year, thanks to my friends at Chick fil-A Nottingham Square over in White Marsh.

Worst case scenario, you don't win the #DMD Bracket Contest and you still visit Chick fil-A in White Marsh!

Entry rules: Submit your answers using the sample below. Please put: DMD hoops contest in the subject line of your e-mail entry so it gets filed properly and my intern can record all of the points and entries properly. Include your name, please. I will only publish your first name and last initial in the standings that I update and publish here at #DMD. If you're a top 5 finisher, I'll reach out to get a mailing address for the gift cards.

E-mail your entry to me at: dmdscore@gmail.com

One entry per-person. No use of multiple e-mails. Be honorable, please.

Here are the 10 questions you need to answer and their accompanying points.

1. Will Michigan beat the UMBC/Howard winner by 30 or more points on Thursday, March 19? Yes / No (5 points)

2. Will any game played on the first weekend (Thurs through Sun) feature a team scoring at least 100 points? Yes / No (5 points)

3. Pick any ten teams that will advance past the first weekend and list them. (5 points for each correct team)

4. Will a #1 or #2 seed lose on the opening weekend? Yes / No (10 points)

5. Will any 12 seed win both of their games on the opening weekend? Yes / No (10 points)

6. Who will be the first #1 seed to lose? (20 points)

7. How many games will go to overtime in the entire tournament? More than 2.5? Less than 2.5? (20 points)

8. List your "Elite Eight" teams. (10 points for each correct team)

9. Who will play in the Championship Game? (25 points for each correct team)

10. Who will win the National Championship? (25 points if correct)

Tiebreaker question: How many points will be scored in the championship game?

Here's the sample of how I'd like you to submit your answers: Note, this is NOT my entry. Just a sample of the entry form.

1. Yes

2. No

3. Duke, Virginia, St. John's, UConn, Michigan, Arizona, Maryland, Towson, Lees-McRae, Villanova

4. No

5. Yes

6. Michigan

7. More than 2.5

8. Virginia, Purdue, Texas A&M, Florida, Wisconsin, Towson, Maryland, Clemson

9. UConn vs. Virginia

10. UConn

Tiebreaker: 126 points

For the record, I'll have my entry published here tomorrow at #DMD. I'm doing some research today. And asking my wife what concerts she's attended recently that were memorable.

Good luck to all of you and have fun!

Monday March 16, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4221

an instant classic controversy

Let's get to the good stuff first, then we'll take the NCAA out to the woodshed for a backyard beating.

It looks like we are continuing to make America great again. First it was in hockey recently at the winter Olympics and now it's in baseball, where last night the U.S. won a big showdown with the Dominican Republic, 2-1, in Miami.

Sunday's win puts the Americans in tomorrow night's final against the winner of this evening's contest between Venezuela and upstart Italy, making their first-ever appearance in the WBC semifinals.

Last night's game fell short of being a true "instant classic", but it was still a heckuva game. At least that's how I saw it.

A lot of baseball people jammed the internet with claims of "best game of the century" and "a game for the ages" and "everything we dreamed it would be" but I just didn't get that feeling as I watched it.

Americans think soccer is a joke because others can watch a 1-0 soccer game and talk about the "beauty" of it. Personally, I'm a guy who fancies a 3-2 or 4-3 soccer game. And I'm also a guy who prefers a 7-5 or 6-5 baseball game wwaaaaaaayyyyy more than I like a 2-1 or 1-0 baseball game.

Last night did have drama, though. No two ways about it. It was a tight one.

Paul Skenes of the Pirates, save for one clumsy pitch to Junior Caminero, was his Cy Young self on the mound for the Americans. I dread the day when the O's have to face him 3 or 4 times a season when he pitches for the Yankees. That dude is some kind of good.

The U.S. squad got their runs courtesy of solo homers from our own Gunnar Henderson and Boston's Roman Anthony. They also nearly had a third dinger from Aaron Judge, but Julio Rodriguez scaled the centerfield wall and snared it just before it headed over the wall.

Judge, though, did wind up being the quasi-hero anyway, throwing a bullet to third base to get Fernando Tatis as he tried to advance from first to third in the third inning. That was a Roberto Clemente moment from Judge that, at the time, just looked like a "great play". But when the final score showed 2-1 U.S., it might have been the pivotal defensive play of the game.

The game was filled with strikeouts at the plate, which somewhat led to the tedious, pedestrian nature of the game. 23 of the game's 54 outs were whiffs at the plate. Those can be fun, too, of course, and they certainly lead to dramatic reactions on the mound, particularly from Dominican pitchers.

But a 2-1 game is, generally, a 2-1 game. People want to see scoring. It's like the AFC Championship Game ending with a 10-7 final. Sure, it was fun to watch a game like that being played in the snow in Denver, but it was a snoozefest for the ages from a spectacle standpoint.

There was some controversy at the end, though, and it's a shame it came down to a pitch from U.S. closer Mason Miller that was called a strike that wasn't really close to being a strike.

The game's final pitch to Geraldo Perdomo was totally ball four, which would have brought Miller's San Diego teammate, Fernando Tatis Jr. to the plate with the chance to plate the tying or go ahead runs.

Now that...teammates going up against one another...would have offered some incredible drama.

But Mason's sinker on a 3-2 count dove over the front of the plate and was beautifully framed by catcher Will Smith. Strike three was called and the game was over.

It was actually ball four, sadly, but that's umpiring and that's baseball.

And fully to their credit, and I mean, FULLY, the Dominicans did not publicly squabble about the call afterwards. In fact, they accepted it for it was -- baseball.

"One-hundred-percent a ball," Perdomo said. "It's all right. It's baseball."

"I'm not going to focus on that last pitch," D.R. manager Albert Pujols said. "This has been a tremendous game between two tremendous teams. I feel incredibly grateful for the guys who represented us in this Classic. Once more, we raised our flag high in this Classic and left our mark, and I think our country is very proud."

It's also worth noting Juan Soto was rung up on a questionable strike three call in the 8th inning. It wasn't a great night for the home plate umpire.

But that's baseball and that's what happens when you're not using the automated ball/strike system the Majors are going to utilize this season.

"It's part of the game," Dominican Republic general manager Nelson Cruz said afterwards. "You lost by inches. We'll have ABS in a few years, so hopefully next time we can challenge plays like that."

It certainly didn't overshadow the game itself, though, which essentially boiled down to that old baseball adage once again winning out. "Good pitching beats good hitting." The American work on the mound outfoxed the brilliance of the Dominican team at the plate.

Now, the U.S. gets to see if they'll face Venezuela or Italy for the title tomorrow night.

The NCAA published their 68 team basketball bracket last night at 6:00 pm and the controversy in Baltimore and Washington started shortly thereafter.

That's when we learned that both UMBC and Howard University, who won the America East and MEAC Conference titles respectively, don't actually get to play in the "real" portion of the NCAA tournament. They're actually going to face each other in the idiotic "play in game" with the winner moving on to become a 16 seed and face Michigan on Thursday night.

So, by winning their conference tournament, which supposedly (key word there, supposedly) earned them an automatic berth into March Madness, their reward is actually one additional game against a team of similar caliber to see if they can win that one. And if they can, then they get to go play a real team in the real tournament.

Bush league called the NCAA office last night and said, "You can't be serious..."

And, please, miss me with all of the talk about teams that win the play-in game get paid for that win by the NCAA and the conference and the schools are privately quite happy to be in the play in game and they "make more money this way" and all of that other stuff that we do today to try to sugarcoat everything so people's feelings don't get dinged.

Playing in the play in game to determine if you're a 16 seed is NOT what the players earned or want. UMBC (and Howard) wants to play Michigan on Thursday night. They want to go to Buffalo, with their families in tow, and play against one of the powerhouse schools in the tournament.

They can play Howard next November on a Thursday night during the non-conference portion of their '26-27 schedule.

It's beyond a slap-in-the-face to schools like UMBC and Howard that they did exactly what the committee told them they had to do to get into the tournament (win their conference) and then, when they did, they moved the goalposts on them and said, "Well, right, hold on, there is one more small thing you need to take care of and then...then...then you can actually play in the real tournament."

The players and the coaches deserve way better than getting shuttled out to Dayton, Ohio on a Tuesday night in front of 4,000 people and playing for the right to move on.

Now, if you're an 11-seed who barely snuck into the bracket because you weren't good enough in the regular season to earn a higher seed or win your conference tournament and you have to play another 11 seed in a "play in" style game? That's on you. You should have won more games or won your conference tourney.

But to tell teams like UMBC and Howard that the ONLY way they can make the tournament is to win their conference tourney and then not allow them in the 64 team field is beyond awful.

One of those two teams will be back in school on Wednesday afternoon watching the rest of the NCAA tournament unfold and they will, without question, feel like they were never really in it.

What a terrible thing to do to those kids and those programs.

As I wrote here yesterday, Ludvig Aberg's three shot lead through 54 holes at The Players was anything but a walk in the park for him at TPC Sawgrass.

I noted that lead can evaporate in the snap of a finger.

I wasn't hoping that on the kid. I didn't have a dog in the hunt since my two predicted winners, Jake Knapp and Chris Gotterup, did not play championship caliber golf at Sawgrass. I would have liked to have seen Aberg hold on and win.

Alas, he collapsed.

He was in the lead and looking good through 10 holes in Sunday's final round, then hit a horrendous shot from 268 yards on the par 5 11th hole -- when he had no reason at all to go for the green there -- and that started his downfall.

After a bogey at 11, he hit his tee shot in the water at the 12th hole, made double bogey there, and limped to the finish line a beaten man.

Cameron Young was the winner, as Matt Fitzpatrick of England bogeyed the final hole to lose by one. Young made a brilliant birdie at 17 to pull even with Fitzpatrick and then the American hit a mammoth 375 yard drive on the 18th to set up an easy two putt par that ultimately made the difference.

Fitzpatrick, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, hit his drive at the 18th into the pine straw and couldn't get to the putting surface with his approach shot. His chip left him about 10 feet above the hole. And when his par putt just slid right of the cup, Young was the winner.

But make no mistake about it. Aberg was the big loser. And Cameron was, if you will, "the little" winner. It was Aberg's tournament to wrap up in the final eight holes and he couldn't do it.

The decision to go for the green in two shots at the 11th hole was beyond bizarre.

It wasn't like he had 218 or even 238 yards to the green. Those two distances are fairly easy to negotiate for TOUR players. He had 268 yards to the hole and water running the entire length of the hole in front of him. Any kind of mishit shot or whiff to the right and his ball was wet.

And the ensuing 2nd shot didn't miss by a couple of feet or a yard or two. He came up 25 yards short.

Golf is hard.

Winning is really hard.

Closing out a golf tournament when you have the lead and you say to yourself, "OK then, all I need now is to not do anything dumb and I have this thing wrapped up" is sometimes impossible to do.

Ludvig Aberg is a great player.

He just wasn't great on the back nine yesterday.

And there's a sneaky suspicion that Sunday's Players win for Cameron Young might be just what he needs to begin his climb towards becoming a Top 5 player in the world. He won in Greensboro last August, was a star at the Ryder Cup in September and now, finally, has an elusive "big win" on his Wiki page.

The golf gods giveth and they taketh away, too.

Sunday March 15, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4220

great scenes everywhere

Saturday was filled with great scenes, as the headline above suggests.

One of them happened in Baltimore, even, where UMBC rallied from a mid-second-half deficit to turn back a spirited Vermont team, 74-59, to win the America East title and return to the NCAA tournament.

This year's trip will make the 3rd time the Retrievers have "danced" in March. In 2018 the 'Dawgs became the first-ever #16 seed to beat a #1 in the tournament's opening game, as they boatraced Virginia, 74-54. And just to prove that result and their play wasn't a fluke, the Retrievers gave #9 seed Kansas State all they could handle in the second round before eventually losing, 50-43.

In the 2008 NCAA tournament, the Retrievers lost to Georgetown (I believe a 2 seed?)- under then-coach Randy Monroe and standout guard Jay Greene.

Watching the final minutes unfold yesterday at UMBC was awesome. The Retrievers led by 10 with 90 seconds left when Vermont started putting them at the foul line. And on each occasion, UMBC calmly hit their foul shots until, with 30 ticks of the clock remaining, Vermont called off the dogs.

Let the celebration begin.

I realize every conference is different and some of the mid-majors use their conference tournament as a money-maker by playing all of the games in one weekend and/or one building over several days, but watching (on TV) the game and the environment in Baltimore yesterday should show mid-major head honchos that the way to do it is to reward the higher seeded team with the home game in the final.

It should be noted that Navy had the Patriot League opener on their home court and it didn't help them. Sports and all...

But in general, at the mid-major level at least, you can create some very powerful and memorable events that can boost your school's program in their community by having that championship game on their home court.

That was a great scene yesterday at UMBC.

I'm fairly certain the Retrievers will be a #16 seed next week. And if they are, you can bet the likes of Arizona, Duke, etc. would prefer not to draw them just because of that one night back in 2018 that everyone still remembers.

There was another great scene up in Philadelphia yesterday where the Flyers had their playoff hopes all but extinguished when they dropped a 2-1 shootout decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Columbus is one of the teams ahead of Philly, so yesterday was one of those proverbial "4 point" games the hockey nerds love. You win and you get 2 points, meanwhile, the team you're playing against had a chance for two and wound up getting zero while you got your two.

Flyers fans, I know that reads like fancy math and it might be more like a "2 point game" but just trust me, it's the "4 point" game theory works.

Alas, the Blue Jackets won, picked up two points, and the Flyers lost, getting just one point via the shootout defeat.

The Detroit Red Wings have 80 points with 15 games remaining. The Flyers have 74 points with 16 games to play. It's not over yet, and you know we'll be around with a "recap" on the day it all becomes official, but it's looking more and more like another April, May and June without the Flyers in the NHL post-season.

And that's always a great scene.

Ludvig Aberg doesn't really need an official coronation on the PGA Tour, because everyone has known for several years now how much of a rock star the young Swede has become in the world of professional golf.

But this, today, is his chance to prove that all of the talk and the accolades are spot on. Aberg owns a 3-shot lead with 18 holes to play at The Players Championship.

The good news? He has three shots to play with.

The bad news? A three-shot lead in golf can disappear quickly. You can lead by three on hole 7 and trail by one on hole 9. You're playing against the best players in the world who can all go birdie-birdie-birdie in the same stretch you go bogey-bogey-bogey.

And this event, The Players, is held on one of the most demanding golf courses ever built.

TPC Sawgrass always offers an incredible scene when the players come down the stretch.

You can own a 3-shot lead standing on 16 tee and there's no guarantee whatsoever that you're going to win.

In a regular TOUR event, a guy with a 3-shot advantage on 16 tee would probably just try to guide his ball around those final three holes, playing irons off the tee and hiting his approach shots to the safe part of the green.

At TPC Sawgrass, the 16th hole is a par 5 that every player in the field can reach in two shots for a potential eagle. But it's also a hole with peril off the tee and on your 2nd shot. You can make a "3" at #16 or you can make a "6" if something goes wrong.

The 17th is a simple 130 yard hole.

130 yards for a TOUR player is some kind of wedge. Pitching, gap, sand wedge, etc.

It's easy, right?

On the contrary, it might be the hardest par 3 in golf, given the island green setting, the pressure of the moment and the fact that if you happen to miss the green with your first shot and wind up in the water, you're pretty much faced with the same shot again a minute or two later (just from a shorter distance, if you prefer).

And the 18th hole has water all the way down the left hand side. You can rinse your tee ball on 18 just by pulling it 5 yards off line.

Aberg might take a 5-shot lead to 16 today and the tournament is FAR from over. He still has to navigate those last three holes.

He has a couple of interesting players chasing him, including former Stanford standout Michael Thorbjornsen, looking to become the first player since Tim Clark in 2010 to have his first PGA Tour win come at The Players.

Xander Schauffele, who suffered through an injury-filled 2025, was right there with Aberg yesterday but didn't have his "A game". A rally and a win from "X" today would go a long way in announcing that's fully and officially back and ready to chase McIlroy (#2) and Scheffler (#1) for top player in the world honors.

The Players isn't a golf major, because they have four of those and that's that. But it requires every bit of golfing skill and acumen as any of the four major tournaments. There's a lot at stake, career wise, and generally speaking only the best-of-the-best figure out a way to win at TPC Sawgrass.

Ludvig Aberg has been annointed one of the next great European players for the last couple of years. Today is his chance to prove those people right.

And this should be a great scene tonight in Miami when the U.S. and Dominican Republic clash in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic.

The winner moves on to face either Italy or Venezuela in the tournament final. Venezuela shocked the world (not really) last night by knocking off Japan, 8-5, rallying from an early 5-1 deficit to earn their way into the semifinal against a surprising Italian squad.

The U.S. will send Pirates star and reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes to the mound while the D.R. counters with Luis Severino. Both of those pitchers are likely only to 2 or 3 innings at most, although Yamamoto went 4 innings for Japan last night.

The lineups for the 8 pm game don't come out until mid-afteroon, but it will be interesting to see if U.S. manager Mark DeRosa caves in to the pressure and gives O's star Gunnar Henderson a start in tonight's pivotal contest.

DeRosa has been criticized for his use of Henderson, who had a 4-hit game earlier in the tournament and has "looked the part" offensively and defensively any time he's been on the field.

Tonight's game will also serve to spotlight the way the two countries play baseball. As one noted baseball analyst said on Twitter yesterday, "The U.S. plays the game to win. The Dominican Republic plays the game to celebrate. In both instances, their needs can only be met by scoring more run than the other team."

It should be a great scene tonight. For March baseball, it's about as good as it gets.

Saturday March 14, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4219

should we......shake on it?

I haven't really followed the World Baseball Classic all that much, honestly.

But I know the U.S. and the Dominican Republic are set to lock horns tomorrow night in what should be an epic semifinal clash.

And I also know all about "ShakeGate".

Editor's note: I didn't coin that phrase -- ShakeGate -- so please save the barbs.

U.S. catcher Cal Raleigh has been thrust into the WBC spotlight this week for his rather "cold" approach to seeing teammates, friends and former teammates when they're at the plate and he's behind the dish.

Mariners buddy Randy Arozarena tried to shake Raleigh's hand during the U.S./Mexico game and Raleigh simply looked at it the way I would look at Bobby Clarke of Philadelphia Flyers fame trying to shake my hand at a charity golf outing.

"Well, that's interesting," the TV analyst pointed out. "Raleigh says, 'No thanks' to the warm handshake from his teammate in Seattle."

Afterwards, Raleigh made it abundantly clear he wasn't trying to personally offend his teammate.

“To me, it shouldn't be that big of a deal,” Raleigh said. “But these games do matter. I think it's important to each individual's country; the emotions are running high. They're not just exhibition games. These are super important. And I have a responsibility to my teammates and my country to be locked in and focused each game and do everything I can to win. And like I said, I'm here to win the World Baseball Classic for my country.”

It's also worth noting that from a rules standpoint, catchers want to avoid getting pine tar on their hands, as there are strict rules about such substances benefiting a pitcher's grip. Shaking hands with a player at the plate greatly enhances the possibility of a pine-tar exchange.

Arozarena, though...not so happy.

“The only thing he should be thankful for is having such great parents,” Arozarena told Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert in Spanish after the Americans beat Mexico. “He’s very well educated, thank God. I was lucky enough to see them a few days ago at the hotel. They came over to greet me, gave me a big hug, and were genuinely proud to see me again."

Then, Arozarena launched into profanity-laced criticism, suggesting Raleigh should “f— off” and “go to hell.”

Now, also in fairness, because sometimes things do get lost in the translation, there are some in Arozarena's inner circle who suggest his post-game commentary was laced with sarcasm.

And in the days after the game, the Mariners power-hitting catcher tried to clear the air one final time.

“I reached out to Randy and told him, essentially, 'I'm sorry if you felt disrespected,' or whatever it may be,” Raleigh said. “But we're just playing the game. I think he would want the same if I was his teammate and we were playing somebody in a playoff game. Or he'd want that same kind of energy from me. So I think that's kind of how I see it. And I reached out and put it to bed.”

It all then happened again last night, this time in the U.S./Canada game, where Josh Naylor approached the plate and stuck out his fist in an attempt to generate a friendly fist-bump.

Nothing.

Raleigh sat behind the plate, motionless, and Naylor went on with his at-bat.

Now, unlike the Arozarena incident, Naylor and Raleigh did have a pre-game text exchange where Naylor playfully suggested he was going to come up to the plate and try to shake Raleigh's hand and the catcher said, "Please don't."

So their in-game moment last night during the 5-3 U.S. win was more theater than anything else.

But it does make for interesting moments in these games, since most of the players competing are, in some way, teammates and friends of the very guy(s) they're competing against.

We just saw it on the ice in the Olympics.

You occasionally see it during World Cup soccer and Olympic or World Championship Basketball.

Where do you draw the line, as a competitor, when you're facing friends or teammates in a serious competition?

I've experienced this a lot over the years playing in the ultra-serious MSGA State Team Matches, a March Madness kind of event that pits all of the state's golf clubs against one another in a single-elimination format.

Rarely will a match come along where I don't know someone personally from the other team. Occasionally, even, I'll draw a friend in my match and have to oppose them. While what's at stake on a Saturday in April at a local Maryland golf course isn't comparable to playing in the World Baseball Classic, the "friends playing against friends" scenario is similar for sure.

I handle those matches with friendship in mind first, and competition in mind, second.

In other words, I'm not losing a friend over a golf match. I'm going to be congenial and friendly, yet I'm going to compete as hard as I can to win.

I'm probably not trying to "beat my friend" in as much as I'm "trying to win the match". That he happens to oppose me is just the luck of the pairings draw.

Then, when it's over, we hustle back to the clubhouse and grab a cocktail or two in the bar and catch up on what's important in our lives; our families, the upcoming golf season and so on.

Because it's "Smaltimore" and I've been coaching for 14 years at the high school level, I'm now starting to see kids I watched grow up at Eagle's Nest and other clubs compete against my Calvert Hall team every spring.

I'm always careful how I handle any interactions with them when it comes to discussing our respective programs. My general rule is I don't ask them anything about what's going on with their team(s) and, if they happen to ask me about mine, I come up with the most benign, "blah" reply I can.

"Hey coach, how's your team looking this year? Who are your starting six going to be?" one player from a rival school asked me a couple of weeks ago at Pine Ridge.

"All is well," I said. "I'm not sure. We're just getting around to practicing."

That's about the most I'm willing to say. I'm not interested in talking about Calvert Hall golf with anyone except the kids who play for Calvert Hall golf.

And I do it in a nice, polite, respectful manner. As the guy said to Ethan Hawke in Training Day as they were pulling him out of the bathtub after beating him within an inch of his life, "It's just business."

But I do get where Raleigh is coming from.

And from what I saw, his resistance to the home plate handshake was done respectfully. "I'm good. Let's play ball."

As much as I don't think a handshake or fist bump would have kept him from being "locked in", it's also worth pointing out that perhaps Raleigh is doing his very best to make sure he doesn't show any kind of favoritism to one of his buddies at the plate.

"Don't let him throw me one low and away with two strikes," Josh Naylor might have said last night. "You know I'm a sucker for that pitch during the season. We talk about it all the time."

And then what does Raleigh do? Call for the "low and away" pitch with two strikes or take it easy on his buddy?

Naylor knows, fist bump or not, he's probably not going to earn any favoritism from his Mariners teammate. But just the concern and wonder about it might be enough to throw him off.

Like we always do in moments like this, we -- the media and the "analysts" with a home-theater-podcast set up -- make way too big of a deal about it.

It was a handshake. And a fist bump.

It's not like Raleigh wiped a booger on Arozarena's pants while he was at the plate.

They're playing for a very prestigious title and Raleigh didn't want to buddy-buddy with the guys he was playing against.

I get it.

You can be friends and teammates again next week.

Friday March 13, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4218

miami of...oh no

A week ago here we wrote about it.

What if?

What if Miami of Ohio goes through their regular season at 31-0 and then stubs their toe in the MAC conference tournament?

Well, it happened yesterday.

The RedHawks fell to UMass in the MAC quarterfinals, thus ending their quest for an automatic entry into the upcoming NCAA tournament.

And now the controversy gets rolling.

Should they receive an at-large bid to March Madness? Or does a mid-major program who couldn't win their conference tournament lose out to, say, a SEC or ACC team that finished middle of the pack in a much more difficult conference?

I could go into the "why" first and hold out on you until the end to create suspense. But you're here. So I'll just give it to you now.

It would be a colossal outrage to not include Miami of Ohio in the tournament.

For the record, I'm guessing they're going to get left out. I have no idea what the wagering odds are (I'm sure they exist), but I'd bet that the committee says "Sorry, guys, we can't let you in."

But they should be in. By all means, they should get a chance to play in the NCAA tournament.

They went undefeated in the regular season. In the event you're a Flyers fan and winning remains sort of a foreign concept to you -- it's probably foreign when you haven't won anything since 1975, right? -- going "undefeated" means you won every single game they asked you to play.

And, look, the MAC isn't the SEC or the Big Ten or the ACC. We know that. But go back and read through the brackets of the last 10 years of the NCAA tournament and you'll find a bunch of mid-major teams win a game or two -- or more, some years -- in the NCAA tournament.

I have no idea what Miami of Ohio would do if they got in this year. But I know they should get the chance to prove themselves.

Not that going 31-0 isn't proof enough, right?

And here's the other thing. The way the NCAA is going these days, with the best big-boy programs stealing any available halfway-decent mid-major player after his freshman or sophomore year, the days of a legitimate mid-major pulling off an upset or three in the tournament are going the way of New Coke.

We better appreciate it while it's still a thing, in other words.

Any kid worth his salt at Miami of Ohio or Towson or Boston University is going to be scooped up and paid a bundle because that's the direction the sport is going now. It's great for the player and his family, sure. But it's terrible for the sport of college basketball. That said, the NCAA knows it's terrible and there's really nothing they can do about it.

But there is something they can do about this Miami of Ohio quandary.

They can let them in the Big Dance.

In every game from November until mid-March, those kids laced up their shoes and their head coach said, "Need to win a game tonight, boys", and that's exactly what they did.

There should be a reward for that.

No one else in the country did what Miami of Ohio did.

Their record was unblemished. Until yesterday, of course, which we all sorta-kinda assumed was going to happen because.....well.....sports.

So now we have something to debate. And it's going to be a heated conversation over the next few days, I think.

In?

Or out?

They should be "in" and, frankly, it shouldn't even really be a conversation.

B.K. asks -- "I'm just wondering what you think of the opposite reactions you and Mike Preston of The Sun had this week about the Crosby trade situation? Preston slammed the Ravens for it and said it will take a long time for them to recover from the damage they caused in the league and it seems like it's just water under the bridge to you. I'm wondering what you think when you read Preston's take?"

DF says -- "I didn't know he wrote that until you sent me this e-mail. He's entitled to his opinion. We're always looking for a conspiracy or a "gotcha!" moment these days. I don't think there's really all that much more to analyze about the situation.

The Ravens took a much deeper look into the condition of the player's knee and were told by a number of knee "experts" that they weren't going to get three years of high-level football out of it. Had the Raiders and/or Crosby and his agent waited to announce the trade until the Ravens were able to get the player to town, none of this would have transpired. Alas, they didn't.

So, the Ravens wind up looking either neglectful or clumsy with the deal and that's really not how it went down at all. The guy has a bad knee. It's not going to get any better, either. They don't want to invest $90 million on him and get $30 million out of him. Seems smart to me."

Rich asks -- "Time is winding down on the Caps. What happened in your estimation and what's the prognosis for next season?"

DF says -- "First off, none of this is really all that surprising. I said back at the start of the season it would go down to the last week of the campaign before they clinched a playoff spot. I knew it was going to be close. As it turns out, they'll probably be eliminated early in the final week of the season.

The injuries to Dubois and Leonard definitely hurt them. Connor McMichael looking nothing like the same guy we saw last season from a scoring standpoint also hurt them.

Their offense was just good enough to be dangerous about 40% of the time. The other 60%, they were a 2 goals-a-game outfit and that's just not going to cut it.

Ovi had a decent year, albeit nothing spectacular. Father Time is winning that battle, of course.

The goaltending was always middle-of-the-road stuff. Thompson and Lindgren aren't terrible, obviously. But neither of those guys could do what Holtby did once upon a time. The Caps weren't winning 16 games in April, May and June with that goaltending duo.

The real answer to your question of "what happened?" is that no one, save perhaps Chychrun and Wilson, had what I'd consider a "big year". It's hard to win 40-plus games and make the playoffs when you only have two guys standing out above everyone else.

They have decent "ditch digger" guys like Strome and Beauvillier and Protas who can score a goal here and there, but no team in the league is having a pre-game meeting and writing "#1 goal tonight, stop Dylan Strome" up on the chalkboard.

As for next year, we'll see who they add and how some of their young, ready-to-go prospects in Hershey respond. I assume '26-27 will be Ovi's last season. If nothing else, that will make for a fun 8 months."

T.J. asks -- "Hey Drew, with Morikawa's WD today (yesterday) in the Players, there's some internet scuttlebutt that maybe playing in the TGL and hitting all of those balls off of a hard mat is contributing to these back injuries we're seeing. What's your take on that?"

DF says -- "I don't think there's anything to it at all. For starters, the only body part that might be impacted by constant club-to-turf contact is your arm. More specifically, your elbows or your wrists. I don't think your back is impacted at all.

But more than that, you're talking about some of the best athletes in the world, with personal trainers and exercise regimens they follow every single day. And they also hit 200-400 golf balls per-day (on grass) depending on what day it is and what they're getting ready to play in.

It's actually a miracle they ALL don't have back problems as much golf as they play and as many balls as they hit. That they're mostly 100% healthy is a testament to the trainers they employ and the work they put in along the way to make sure they stay healthy."

P.B. asks -- "Three weeks into spring training do you have any thoughts on the Orioles?"

DF says -- "I do not. I'm sorry. I pay very little attention at all to spring training baseball. I know they're around .500, which I guess is OK. I know Pete Alonso got off to a hot start and has since cooled off a lot.

I just don't follow it, nor do I put any stock in it at all. I remember one year Jake Fox led all of baseball with something like 13 homer runs in spring training and then he was gone by mid-June, I think.

I'll start getting amped up for the O's in the next week or so and I'll have my season predictions for the Birds and the rest of the Major League teams by the end of the month. I think the Orioles have a legit chance to be really good this season. Maybe the '26 Birds wind up being like those '25 birds up in Toronto?"

faith in sports

I'm an ardent viewer and supporter of Sports Spectrum and, to me, every interview and video they put out is outstanding.

Sometimes, though, you watch one and you say, "Wow, I didn't know anything about that person and what a deep, interesting man (or woman) they are!"

Such is the case in the video below with Matt Forte, the host, and Robbie Chosen of the NFL. This is an amazing discussion about Chosen's upbringing, the decision to change his name and how his faith impacted him every step of the way.

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

Thursday March 12, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4217

chaos!

Maxx Crosby in.

Maxx Crosby out.

Trey Hendrickson in...

And we assume he's staying.

Lamar Jackson's contract extension never did materialize, even though Eric DeCosta ackowledged they tried.

"We just ran out of time," the GM said yesterday when asked about not being able to create a contract extension with their veteran quarterback.

But the Ravens did restructure Jackson's current deal and, in the meantime, managed to open up nearly $40 million on their salary cap by creating a void year (2030) in Lamar's current deal. I don't know the mechanics of how and why that helped them save $40 million. I don't even care to know, really. But they now have $40 million more to work. Which is nice.

And they can still work with Jackson on a contract extension if they so choose. It's the best of both worlds, even if there's a small air of concern about "running out of time" on a project that has pretty much been on the stove for 12 months.

As I have written here before, Lamar's not the easiest guy to pin down in the off-season. Without the aid of a professional sports agent, it's Lamar doing the talking. And that only happens when you can actually get a hold of him.

When you want to play golf or go out for a beer with a buddy, you text him or call him and he either replies right away or picks up the phone.

When you try to reach Lamar in January, February or March, you might not actually make contact for days, plural.

That said, "running out of time" on something important like a contract extension seems like something you probably wouldn't want to admit to in public.

The whole thing, of course, is simply part and parcel of doing business with Lamar. I'd stop short of calling him "mercurial". That word doesn't seem to fit him. But it's definitely odd to be dealing with one of the sport's top players in such an unconventional manner and it winds up creating awkward situations like the one Ravens just went through with him.

In the end, though, maybe it's for the best that a new, long(er) term extension didn't get hammered out just yet. The Ravens have a minute to reflect, push back from the table, and see what else they can do right now to improve their roster moving forward.

After all, if Lamar didn't think the new contract extension was all that important, maybe the Ravens shouldn't either.

The Maxx Crosby story was back in the spotlight yesterday as Eric DeCosta faced the media for the first time to discuss free agency in general, knowing full well Crosby would be topic number one.

Abiding by laws regarding publicly sharing a person's medical history, DeCosta stopped short of saying "Crosby failed a physical." But that's precisely what happened. The team not only had their own set of doctors look deeply into the condition of Crosby's knee, they shared exams and x-rays with other medical professionals around the country who all came to the same conclusion: This is not a knee that will be able to handle 3 more years of football.

DeCosta countered rumors and whispers of "dirty pool" surrounding the Hendrickson signing by stating that the Ravens' ultimate plan was to bookend Crosby and Hendrickson at the defensive end position.

"We wanted both players," DeCosta said. "We thought that was a great plan."

Alas, it was. Or it would have been, had Crosby been healthy enough to warrant the contract the Ravens were inherting from the Raiders.

As it stands now, the Ravens have Trey Hendrickson and their two first-round draft picks back in the fold. They don't have Crosby, of course, but they do have a B version of him in the former Bengals defensive end. So all's well that ends well, sorta-kinda.

And now the Ravens have an extra $40 million to throw around during free agency, plus potentially even more money if they make other roster and contract moves with veteran players.

There are always going to be people who buy into conspiracy theories and rake the Ravens over the coals for the clumsy way the Crosby deal happened and then unraveled.

People will believe what they want.

As I wrote here yesterday, the burden of the chaos should be placed mostly on the shoulders of Crosby and his agent, both of whom were involved initially in leaking the news that he was headed to Baltimore.

They're also the ones -- the Raiders, that is -- who sent out the social media message on Tuesday that read: The Ravens have backed out of the trade for Maxx Crosby.

Eh, they didn't really "back out". They were not able to complete the trade because the player the Raiders tried to peddle to them had a far worse injury and knee condition than Las Vegas shared with the Ravens at the outset of their discussions.

Saying the Ravens "backed out" of the deal was actually dirty pool by the Raiders. But because they're the Raiders, no one cares and no one's really surprised.

The Ravens, as you probably know, never once said they had completed a trade for Crosby. Before making it official, the Ravens wanted to bring Crosby to town to have his knee examined by their own group of doctors. They brought him in, took a look, did a deep dive, and decided against the trade.

Sure, they knew he had a "knee issue" last season when they engaged in trade talks with the Raiders. And they also knew Crosby had surgery in January to repair some torn cartilage.

But what they didn't know -- and couldn't know -- was the overall condition of Crosby's knee until they were able to have their doctors take a look at it and then share those x-rays and images with others they trust in the medical field.

Hendrickson's not the healthiest dude on the planet, either, but he comes to town without as much "health baggage" as Crosby, that's for sure.

And the Ravens still have that pick at #14 in the first round this April.

We won't know if it "ends well" until next January or February, but the Ravens pass rush woes have, apparently, been remedied for the time being.

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 10th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2025-2026 season.

terps fall to iowa by 11 as season ends

The Terrapins battled Iowa for 22 minutes yesterday before falling apart mentally and physically, giving up 21 consecutive second half points, and getting bounced from the Big Ten tournament, 75-64.

The Maryland team we saw in the second half of this game was the awful one we had seen so many times earlier this season. They gave up 50 second half points and turned the ball over 16 times in the game.

After taking an 11-point lead with 8:40 left in the first half, Maryland was outclassed. The next 17 minutes of play produced an Iowa domination to the tune of 41-13.

The decisive 21-point run-out featured 5 three-pointers by Iowa, and a ton of turnovers by Andre Mills. The run also featured back-to-back threes by both Coooper Koch and Bennett Stirtz in just a three-minute period. Koch added another one 2 minutes later.

Mills struggled mightily today. He was 1 for 13 from the field and turned it over 4 times. His inability to finish around the basket was glaring. Some of his passes were so telegraphed, he might as well have just handed it off or rolled it out of bounds.

Cooper Koch killed the Terps today. His game high 19 points featured 4 second half threes with 3 of those coming in the decisive 21-point Iowa burst.

For Maryland, Darius Adams led the team with 14 points, going 6 of 7 from the field. However, he had 4 costly turnovers. As a team, the Terps had 16 turnovers and 8 assists. You can’t beat a good team with numbers like that.

The game opened with three consecutive turnovers. Two were by Iowa and the Terps had one also. Solomon Washington finally put a point on the board when he hit 1 of 2 foul shots as both teams looked a little sleepy in the early going of this noon start.

The initial TV timeout came with 15:21 left to go in the half. Both teams had made just a single shot from the field and each had committed a trio of turnovers. The score was tied, 3-3.

The game was very much looking like the first time these teams played, when Iowa harassed the Terp guards into a horrible performance.

Each team hit a three before the next break, but the Terp’s offense was stymied by 6 turnovers. Maryland led 11-10 because Iowa gave up the rock 4 times and hit just 4 of 12 shots. One big difference at this point was the Terp turnovers were directly leading to Iowa points (8) while Maryland only cashed in for a single point off the Iowa miscues.

As the Hawkeye shots continued to miss, the Terps began to find seams and hit shots. Isaiah Watts hit his second triple, Darius Adams hit a short jumper, and Metcalf scored inside. In a flash, the Terps had an 8-point lead.

That advantage grew to 11 after a 15-2 run by Maryland. It settled at 9, 21-12, when the under 8-minute break came at 7:29. It was Isaiah Watts and his 3 for 4 three-point shooting that was carrying the Terps offensively. Adams was also 3 for 4, with his made shots coming from around the rim. Iowa was hitting 31% from the field. The Terps were also being the more physical squad.

At this point, Maryland began to fall in love with the three pointers, and the misses put them into a 4-minute scoring drought. Adams finally hit a long one for Maryland, but that shot was the only one of their last 9 to fall.

The Terp lead had shrunk to just 4, causing Buzz Williams to talk to his team after calling a timeout. There was 2:23 left in the half with the score 24-20. The Terrapins had made just 1 shot over the last 6 minutes.

Andre Mills was 0-3 shooting and turned it over 3 times. Del Pino was hurting his team with horribly missed threes that were shot too early in the possession. He was 0-5 and his team was now just up by 1 point, 26-25. That’s the way the half ended.

Maryland took too many threes in the first 20 minutes. Of their 24 tries from the field, 15 came from behind the arc. Only 4 of those shots connected, 26%. Couple the poor shooting with 8 turnovers, and it’s easy to see how the Terps only put 26 points on the board.

Iowa was dominating the paint, outscoring Maryland 18-6 inside. Those three stats needed to change if the Terps were going to hold off Iowa.

To start half 2, an offensive rebound by the Terps led to Mills hitting his first three of the game, but Maryland was still allowing Iowa to get to the rim. When Copper Koch buried a pair of threes the Hawkeyes had pulled ahead, 36-34 at first TV timeout.

Bennett Stirtz then got into the act by hitting a shot clock beating prayer triple. He then dropped another three right behind it, giving Iowa a 12-0 run (all three-pointers) and an 8-point lead.

I had feared that the Terps would run out of gas, and it appeared that’s exactly what was happening.

After a timeout by Buzz Williams, Adams turned it over, leading to a tradition 3-point play and an 11-point bulge for Iowa. The Hawkeye run was now 15-0. Make that 17-0, oops 20 straight points for Iowa.

Another Terp turnover and another three for the Hawkeyes. The board read 50-34. 12 points in a half by Oregon was strange enough, but that didn’t compare to a 20-0 run. Game over.

The rest of the game does not need to be detailed. Suffice it to say that all of the Terrapin deficiencies were masked by poor Iowa shooting in the initial 20 minutes.

Those flaws (no size, bad ball handling, poor shooting) all surfaced in the second half. Once the physicality disappeared, Maryland was overmatched, and they were also sub 50% (5-11) from the foul line with 6 minutes left in the game.

One play seemed to be a microcosm of the Terrapin frustrations. With a bit over 1 minute left in the game, Maryland threw the ball in after a made Hawkeye free throw. Coit caught it off a bounce, and walked out of bounds with it like he was going to throw it in. It was the last of Coit’s 5 turnovers.

A perfect way to end an historically bad Terrapin season.

If you combine the scoring in the two tournament games played by the Terps, the numbers would tell you that Maryland gave up just 37 first half points. The second half was totally different with Oregon and Iowa totaling 98 second half points. We could reason away some of that, but hopefully it’s something Buzz Williams won’t see next season.

Wednesday March 11, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4216

xx-rays didn't look good

The year is 2035 and a friend says to you, "Were you living in Maryland the year the Terps finished with 4 conference wins in the regular season and then stormed through the Big Ten tournament to shock the world and make it to the Tournament?"

You laugh and say, "Yeah, I sure was. That was also right around the time the Ravens acquired Maxx Crosby and then three days later decided they didn't want him any longer."

As you know, one of those two actually did happen.

The other? Well, Maryland's still alive, at least for another day, after beating Oregon 70-60 in their Big Ten tourney opener yesterday.

The news that shocked the NFL started circulating early last evening. The Ravens were withdrawing from the trade with Crosby and keeping the two first round picks they originally gave up to acquire the defensive end from Las Vegas.

It was the Raiders who first broke the news. The Ravens have yet to comment.

I reached out to two different people in Owings Mills and both were predictably tight lipped. HIPAA laws and all. No one wants to be the person caught commenting on someone else's medical condition these days. So no one is saying a word.

But the conclusion most folks are coming to is that the Ravens took a deep dive into the knee injury Crosby battled at the end of the 2025 season and that gave them and their medical team reason to raise a red flag. If that's the case and the only case, it's understandable.

You can't give a guy upwards of $90 million and enter the relationship knowing there's a good chance he's not going to earn his keep.

Now, it's fair to ask, "Why didn't the Ravens do that deep dive on his knee before the trade was announced?"

The answer to that would be: "Because that's just not the way the NFL works."

The right way to do that trade would be for no one -- not Crosby's agent, not Crosby, not the Raiders or Ravens -- to say a word about it in advance of Crosby being thoroughly examined by team doctors in Baltimore. That would be the best method for trying to complete a trade of that magnitude.

But in today's world, that's simply not the way the league or the parties involved do their business. The agent, in particular, wants the word out right away.

"Look what (insert name here) did for his (or her) client!!"

Agents are only interested in one thing. Getting another client. And the best way to get another client is to show off what you just did for another client.

Teams want to show off, too.

"We're losing a great player but look what we just fleeced the (insert team here) for by making that trade!"

"Look who we just acquired! We told you, the fans, we were serious about winning. And this trade should definitely prove that."

Everyone wants to say "Look at me!" before everything is signed, sealed and delivered.

It's a weird, wonky way to do business if you ask me.

In the real world, you fill out an employment application and background check before you get hired. The company then does its work in the background, decides if they want you and if you're a good, proper fit, and then a decision is made.

I'm not sure why that same simple process doesn't just gracefully slide over into the NFL, but it doesn't.

"Look who we've hired!" teams say.

Then they ask the person they've hired to fill out the forms and complete the info for the background and medical check.

Now.......if the Ravens somehow just got cold feet and decided, days later, the deal wasn't right for them, that's going to be a problem moving forward. Teams will side-eye the Ravens anytime a trade discussion comes about.

I can't imagine that happened. Eric DeCosta and the organization are hell bent on improving their pass rush and in acquiring Crosby, they got perhaps the 2nd best player at that position in all of football.

It had to be a physical gone bad.

And that's a shame.

The Ravens have now lost 9 total players, including two on Tuesday; Pat Ricard (Giants) and Jake Hummel (Texans). They've signed one free agent thus far in former Jets offensive lineman John Simpson.

And while it's true that Crosby not coming to Baltimore frees up some money to pursue others, the Ravens wanted Crosby way more than they wanted extra money.

Oh, and Lamar Jackson's extension has to be worked out by today at 4 pm, don't forget.

Today will certainly yield more news.

Perhaps Baltimore signs former Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson as their reply to the Crosby fiasco. If so, that's definitely not a bad 2nd option.

Or maybe the Lamar news we're all expecting finally gets announced and the Ravens and their reconfigured salary cap can go on a spending spree like we've never seen from them in the past.

Oh, and maybe the Terps' improbable run through the Big Ten tourney continues with a win over Iowa later today.

Remember that year when.........

The Players Championship rolls into famed TPC Sawgrass this week for what the players quietly call, "The 5th Major" in golf.

The course is demanding. The prize money is enormous. And, in general, only the best of the best wind up winning at Sawgrass. Sure, there's an occasional Craig Perks and Fred Funk on the winner's trophy, but more times than not, only a rock star wins The Players.

Handicapping The Players is easy. Sort of. The last 15 years have revealed a very obvious pattern. In general, the course and the tournament winds up being about players who have fared well through the first two months of the season.

If you played well in California and then again early in the Florida swing, that generally bodes well for your chances at Sawgrass.

For the most part, this event historically speaking is not going to yield a surprise winner. We'll go with trends and patterns here over longshots and warm stories. Denny McCarthy, who has yet to win a PGA Tour event in his career, would be a warm, longshot story, for example.

History says McCarthy, given his very slow start to the '26 season, is not going to be standing in the winner's circle on Sunday evening.

So who do we like? I'm glad you asked.

Even though he hasn't been exactly Scottie Scheffler over the last few weeks, it's not like Scheffler has suddenly become a 4 handicap. He has a win this season and several other excellent finishes. He claims he "found something" with his iron game last Sunday in the final round of the API at Bay Hill. If so, that's bad news for everyone else.

You can't go wrong playing Scheffler on any of your wagering cards this week. The two-time Players winner is at +350.

Collin Morikawa should be right in the hunt on Sunday. He's having a great start to his season and his sublime ball striking skills dovetail perfectly with what's required to win at TPC Sawgrass. You can get him at +2500, which is a really nice number for someone who has all the statistical data to back up a strong finish this weekend.

The same goes for Chris Gotterup, who has won twice already in '26 and comes in on the heels of a nice finish at the API last week. If Gotterup is indeed "for real" -- and you should know we think he is -- it stands to reason he'll perform well this week at Sawgrass. It's a mini-major, yes, but that shouldn't stop him from scoring well and being in the hunt come Sunday. He's at +4500, which is incredibly inviting for a 2-time winner this season.

Perhaps the most intriguing name on the board is Jake Knapp at +5500. If you use all of the TOUR's detailed shots gained data coupled with current-season tournament finishes and threw that stuff into a computer and asked the computer to spit out the player with the best all-round statistical season so far, the name you'd see would be Jake Knapp. The only issue: He did withdraw from the API last week due to "illness". Because it's hard to win when you're not 100%, we have to be sure he's primed and ready to go before we throw down any money on him. But all things being equal, we're very bullish on Jake Knapp this week at Sawgrass.

It feels like Min Woo Lee is on the verge of winning something big on TOUR. The Players would be one such event for him. He's also at +5500. Lee is a complete player, for sure. He just needs that one big win to get him into the discussion as one of the world's top players.

We've been high on Sepp Straka for two years now and he has, if we're being honest, added several nice bottles of Insignia to the wine rack at home. Straka is one of the more underrated players in the game. He's made 4 of 5 cuts this year and has 3 Top 25 finishes to date. When his putter behaves, he can win any tournament he enters. Ball striking wise, there's nothing to worry about with him.

We always suggest Top 10 and Top 20 wagers on our guys. Any of those five could win and it wouldn't surprise us one bit.

If you, like us, enjoy sprinkling a little bit of longshot money around in hopes of catching the big fish, here are three names we're going to add to our cards hoping they come through. None of them are unfamiliar, per se. They just don't have the same cachet -- from a performance standpoint in '26 -- as the others we listed. Sahith Theegala is at +9200. Corey Conners is at +11000. And Ryo Hisatsune is somehow at +19000. That one, we can't figure out.

We've loved Hisatsune all season long. Asking him to win The Players might be ambitious, but don't be surprised if he sniffs around the leaderboard going into Sunday.

If you're someone who likes to throw a few bucks on first-round leaders, we'll offer up Cameron Young and Russell Henley in that category.

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 10th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2025-2026 season.

terps win tourney opener

In the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament, the Oregon Ducks came out with an epically cold shooting hand, making just 3 first half field goals and got way behind early.

By halftime, Maryland owned a 21-point lead.

The slow start was too much for Oregon to overcome, as they dropped a 70-60 tournament-ending decision to the Terrapins.

In the second half, Oregon got the Terps attention by cutting a once 24-point lead down to 9, but they could get no closer. The hot three-point shooting of Elijah Sauders helped keep the Ducks at bay with his 3 for 3 second half performance from deep.

Diggy Coit led the Terps with 17 points, but went 3 for 12 from behind the arc. He was effective from closer in, hitting 4 of 5.

Oregon got off to such a bad start that their shooting numbers were never going to be impressive, but finishing 4 of 21 (19%) from behind the arc doomed the Ducks.

The Terps sealed the game by making 7 out of 8 shots from the foul line.

For once, Maryland got off to a strong start, leading 15-3 after 8:30 of play. Oregon missed every one of its first 10 shots. The foul line was their only source of points.

By the 10:16 mark, the Terps had missed 7 of their last 8 attempts, allowing Oregon to remain within striking distance. Both defenses were playing OK ball, but it was the offenses playing poorly that was the defining feature of the first 11 minutes of the game.

The Ducks were still without a field goal until the 8:46 mark when Bittle beat his defender downcourt for an easy layup making the score 17-8. The Maryland shooting futility continued, having made just 1 of their last 10 shots.

At the under 8-minute TV break, Maryland had accumulated 6 offensive boards and had yet to turn the ball over. Oregon was 1 for 12 shooting, but with Maryland managing to hit just 6 of 20, the Ducks found themselves down by just 11. Maryland led 19-8.

The second Duck field goal was a tip in follow, again by Bittle. That bucket was countered by a short little floater by Coit, and Washington followed that with a layup coming of a real heady cut by the Terp senior.

An Oregon timeout stopped play with Maryland leading 25-10 and 3:32 left in the half. The Ducks were 0 for 7 from 3 and just 2 of 17 from the floor overall.

After Diggy Coit and Elijah Saunders drilled consecutive threes, Maryland had a 21-point gap between them and the frigid shooting Ducks.

The half ended with a Washington dunk coming off a well-designed in-bound play from under their own basket. Those 2 points offset the third short shot converted by Bittle.

The half ended with the Terps leading 33-12. That’s not a typo. Oregon scored 12 total points in 20 minutes of play.

The Ducks made just 3 field goals in the first half, with all of them being shorties around the rim by Bittle. The rest of the Oregon team was 0 for 15 with 10 of those shots being three-point tries.

When Oregon missed, the Terps rebounded. They held the Ducks to just 3 offensive boards on 19 misses. Maryland held a dominant 17-10 advantage in total rebounds.

Maryland added some zone wrinkles to their defensive repertoire, and did a decent job of challenging the Duck threes, but mostly Oregon just threw up bricks. Surely the Terps halftime locker room featured a warning that Ducks would be better in half two. Expect it and don’t collapse.

Right on cue, Bittle opened up the second half with a three and the Terps immediately turned it over.

Maryland needed to up its defensive intensity, as they had been beaten downcourt for easy scores 3 times in the early going of the second half.

The teams combined to be successful on 4 of their first 5 three-point attempts, 2 by each squad. Before the first TV timeout, Maryland had turned it over twice and had allowed Oregon to score 14 points.

There was an air of carelessness and perhaps nervousness from a Terp team not used to protecting a big lead against a Big Ten op0ponent.

Oregon slashed the lead to 14 points in just 4 minutes of play. The Ducks were clearly now the aggressor.

After another Terp turnover which led to an Oregon layup, the lead was just 12 points and coach Buzz Williams need a timeout. The Maryland offensive possessions were now either a turnover or a Coit missed three. These were the familiar Terrapins that we had seen all season.

A Collin Metcalf tip-in, Bittle turnover, and Mills “and-one” three-point play gave Maryland a much-needed end to the Duck rush. The Terp lead had quickly zoomed from 12 to 17.

Another Oregon turnover, this time a steal by Darius Adams, led to a three by Saunders that was assisted by a smart pass from Washington. The lead was 20 points again, 51-31. Breathing room.

By the under 8 break, the second half script had been flipped. What once was a Duck rally had morphed into a dominant Terrapin response. Saunders was a perfect 3 for 3 stroking second half triples and leading his Terps to a game high 24-point lead.

Oregon was still full-court pressing and putting pressure on the Terps. They now trailed by just 15 after running off 9 straight points while the Terps got three-point happy, and those bombs weren’t connecting.

With 5:37 left in the game, Maryland had taken 19 second half shots, 13 of them were threes. The Oregon run became 12 points after a Coit turnover led to an Evans three. A traditional three-point play by Evans dropped the lead to 11 after a Washington dunk.

The Ducks were now scoring at will, and the once 24-point lead had collapsed to 9 with 2:13 remaining. You really had to question the Terp strategy of forsaking running your normal offense in exchange for taking time off the clock. It’s akin to a prevent defense with a three- man rush in football.

As the game clock dwindled down, Maryland just needed to make foul shots and not give up three pointers. Mills made his. Washington missed the front end, but Adams picked him up by making a pair.

Oregon kept scoring and also kept putting the Terps on the foul line. The score was 67-58 with 50 seconds remaining before Adams made 4 consecutive foul shots.

Time eventually ran out on the Ducks and Maryland moved on with a 70-60 victory.

Maryland now moves on to that rubber match with Iowa. Iowa rolled the Terps, 83 to 64 in Iowa. The Terps returned the favor by topping the Hawkeyes 77-70 in College Park.

I’d lean towards Maryland in today's game if they didn’t have to go so hard in the second half of yesterday’s contest. That extra effort had to extract a toll on a Terp team that has to play again in less than 17 hours.

In the Iowa win back in December, the Hawkeyes put severe pressure on the young Terrapin guards. Maryland had more turnovers than shots made in that loss. The Maryland guards were overmatched for 40 minutes.

In the rematch late last month, the Terp guards extracted revenge, blowing by their Iowa defenders for countless layups while posting the 77-70 win.

The neutral court version of this three-game match is likely to finish somewhere between the two previous scores. Count on Bennett Stirtz to get his 20 plus points. He had 32 and 25 in the first two games this season.

When the Terps win, it’s because they are the more physical team playing relentless ball on both ends of the court. I don’t see how they maintain that type of effort having played one game just a few hours ago and two tough games in less than 48 hours. It’s too much to ask against a very capable Iowa team.

My feeling is the Terps can keep it close for a while, unless Iowa gets exceedingly hot from 3. I’m not so confident that they can keep up that type of effort for a full 40 minutes.

I’m looking at a 68-60 Iowa victory. The line came out at Iowa -10.5. You’ll again need Peacock if you want to watch this 12-noon start.

Tuesday March 10, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4215

roster raided

Get it?

Roster raided.

"Raided", like, you know, Tyler Linderbaum swooped up and signed by the Raiders after the Ravens thought they had a deal done with their erstwhile center on Sunday.

I'm here all week, evening shows at 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm. Tip your servers kindly.

All joking aside, the Ravens roster was certainly raided, gutted, ripped apart, etc., on Monday when the first "unofficial" day of free agency commenced and teams could say they signed guys without actually signing them.

The Ravens brought back offensive lineman John Simpson, most recently with the Jets. So they have that going for them, which is nice.

But they lost a center, tight end x 2, safety, wide receiver, punter, edge rusher and cornerback on Monday.

Now, let's keep this in mind. Several of those who departed on Monday weren't really in the Ravens plans for 2026.

Edge rusher Dre'Mont Jones was a rental they acquired in the middle of the '25 campaign and unless he completely knocked their socks off (which, he didn't) there was no way the Ravens were going to be able to make room for him in '26. Jones signed with New England yesterday. Decent player, yes. But he was never staying in Baltimore.

Alohi Gilman was the guy the Ravens got in the Odafe Oweh trade last season. Like Jones, he was a nice pick-up for the time being, but the Ravens weren't going to bend over backwards to keep him in purple in 2026 and beyond. Gilman signed with the Chiefs yesterday. No big loss there.

Role players Tylan Wallace (WR) and Ar'Darius Washington (DB) went to the Jets and Giants respectively. Nothing to see there, really, although Washington in particular had brief moments of excellence in Baltimore.

The rest of the losses, though, left bruises.

Tyler Linderbaum headed off to Las Vegas to join the Raiders, a day after the Ravens thought they had a deal in place to keep the center in Charm City. When the Raiders made the former 1st round pick the highest paid interior lineman in the history of the NFL with an $81 million deal, that's all he needed to jump ship.

While not a complete surprise, the Linderbaum departure certainly stings. He was a legit, All-Pro player.

Tight ends Isaiah Likely (Giants) and Charlie Kolar (Chargers) bolted within minutes of one another on Monday. Likely got a nice $40 million haul from his former boss, John Harbaugh, while Kolar got $24 million from the other Harbaugh. The Ravens will need to beef up the tight end position in the draft, obviously.

And punter Jordan Stout, coming off of a terrific (finally) year, is also heading to New Jersey to rejoin John Harbaugh. Not many people think the punter matters until he starts screwing up and then everyone's up in arms about him. The Ravens can find another punter, of course, but Stout was finally turning into a weapon and now he's gone.

Hey, did you hear the Ravens got Maxx Crosby?

At this point, the Crosby news is still the big off-season focus and celebratory moment for the Ravens. And well it should be. On the surface, trading a 29-year old game-changing defensive end for a center seems more than reasonable.

Throw in the two first-round draft picks the Ravens had to give up for Crosby makes it look like Baltimore merely "swapped" one expensive guy (Linderbaum) for another expensive guy (Crosby) and then Baltimore had to cough up two first-round picks just to make it all happen. In that lens, maybe the whole thing doesn't look "reasonable".

Alas, Linderbaum was a free agent who was free to go anywhere. He could have signed with Atlanta or Green Bay and then the Crosby scenario with the Raiders is moot.

The two tight ends leaving is more problematic, to me, than the center leaving. Kolar, in particular, would have been a nice piece to keep on the roster, especially with Likely leaving. Again, this isn't a departure that's going to cost the Ravens a shot at the Super Bowl, but Kolar had developed into a very nice blocking tight end and he was capable in the pass catching department as well.

Likely, as we all know, was more hot and cold than a Beatles album. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. But he certainly did have moments of excellence in Baltimore.

The next boulder to fall is the big one in Baltimore, though. It's really the only one that truly matters. Will the Ravens announce a contract extension with Lamar Jackson sometime today?

That's the story that drives the rest of the off-season for the Ravens.

If Jackson agrees to an extension that helps soften the team's salary cap woes in 2026, all is well. If he somehow doesn't agree to a new deal, Eric DeCosta is in deep doo-doo.

We'll stick with what we've said here all along. This extension will get done. Jackson and the Ravens have effectively been moving in the direction of a new deal for several years now. The veteran quarterback knew when he signed his mammoth contract three years ago that he'd eventually be asked to re-structure the deal to help with the salary cap.

And now, here we are. The Ravens need relief and Jackson has to provide it.

If he doesn't, the Ravens will be faced with a $74.5 million salary cap hit this coming season. Those players they lost yesterday would almost all need to be replaced with rookies making the minimum. A salary cap expert I'm not, so I won't pretend to sit here and go through the numbers, except to say: If the Ravens can't somehow strike a new deal with Jackson, it would be catastrophic in terms of putting together a championship-caliber roster for the '26 campaign.

I think it gets done today and all's well that ends well.

In the meantime, though, this free agency stuff is pretty fascinating to watch from 35,000 feet. Unlike baseball, which starts slow and just sort of creeps along, football money grabs start fast and furious. You want to get your "bag" quickly so there's still money left in the vault for you. It's the NFL's version of March Madness. There's basically a signing every half hour.

Once this Lamar news gets out and the Ravens have their salary cap in a better spot, they'll join the rest of the teams in chasing down players to add to their already high-functioning roster.

One thing for sure, based on yesterday: Eric DeCosta has a lot of work to do.

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 10th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2025-2026 season.

terps take on oregon in tourney opener

While watching a replay, I’m also looking at the box score of the January 2nd game between Maryland and Oregon. Those two teams will open up the Big Ten Tournament with a 5 pm tussle in Chicago’s United Center.

The Terps are still not a good team, but they aren’t nearly as hideous as the squad in white that I’m seeing and reading about right now.

The January 2nd edition of this team started that game going just 4 for 21 from the floor. They ended the first half shooting 27% overall and just 22% (4-18) from the three-point line.

No one is confusing the Ducks’ defense with Nolan Richardson’s “40 minutes of hell” Razorback defense. Still, Oregon shut down a Maryland team that looked timid and not in sync with one another. They are way better now than they were in the first week of January.

A big reason they aren’t as bad now as they were then is who gets the Terp minutes. Isaiah Watts got the start in January, and produced acceptable offensive numbers in his 23 minutes.

However, Maryland is a much better team with Collin Metcalf getting the starting nod. While having limited offensive influence, Metcalf’s presence greatly changes the defensive matchups for Maryland. The Terps are better with him on the floor.

The emergence of Andre Mills as a legitimate scoring threat is the biggest change in favor of the Terps. In the first game, Mills went 1-10 from the floor and missed all 4 of his threes. I didn’t see him go to the hole with the same authority as he does now. He should be a factor tonight.

Darius Adams also had a rough night back in January, going 3-15 and giving the ball away 3 times. He looked exactly as you would expect a freshman to look when he’s forced to handle the ball, but isn’t a true point guard.

Oregon only produced 5 wins in the conference this year. They are certainly not invincible, but they have few guys that can give Maryland trouble. As our site host likes to say, “They are going to try too”, and the Ducks have a few guys that can hurt you.

The most crucial piece for Oregon is Nate Bittle. The 7-foot senior center dropped 16 on the Terps in that first encounter. He also had 7 rebounds, but perhaps his greatest contribution was the paint protection he provided. He blocked a few shots, and altered 5 times that amount.

Accounting for Bittle is the key to this game. Yes, Kwame Evans is another big who can hurt you if he gets the ball deep in the paint, but Bittle has a greater impact.

Coach Williams, here’s the plan. First, don’t let Bittle hurt you from the three-point line. He makes just enough of those (32%) to keep a defender honest. Play him to his chest. He’s weak when putting the ball on the floor from outside. Take away that three.

Second, double him inside, and do the same to Evans. You can live with the kick-outs when the Duck team only features a single three-point threat that connects on over 33% of their tries. Maryland will need to cover Takai Simkins (36%), but if the rest of Oregon’s shooters attempt to beat you from long range, I’d say, “Have at it”.

We saved the best for last. Dear Maryland, please go right at Bittle with your paint penetrations. No fade-away off-balance weak looking tries that get swatted away. Go right at the Oregon big man. Go up high and make him go higher. Draw fouls, and get to the line.

Maryland shot 35 three balls in the first match-up. They made just 7 of those. That’s a bad shooting team they have down there in College Park, but they will absolutely not miss 28 three-pointers tonight.

The boys in Vegas see a close game in round 1 of the Big Ten tournament. They opened up with Oregon listed as a 3.5-point favorite. Could this week in Chicago start with an upset? You’ll have to tune in to Peacock to watch it live.

My call? Terps win 72-70 and earn a rubber match with Iowa.

Monday March 9, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4214

the thrill of victory...and...

If you're old enough to remember the phrase, it was uttered by the late, great Jim McKay (a Marylander, you may or may not know) and it was first brought to light during the opening moments of Saturday's Wide World of Sports on ABC, circa 1975.

"Spanning the globe, to bring you the constant variety of sport. The thrill of victory...and the agony of defeat." As McKay said those last five words, a downhill ski jumper suffered a spectacular crash and "the agony of defeat" was etched into our sports lexicon forever.

We sure saw the agony of defeat on Sunday in the world of sports.

The #1 seed Naval Academy men's basketball team hit a driving layup in the game's final seconds to take a 2-point lead over Boston University in the semifinals of the Patriot League tournament. "The thrill of victory" unfortunately turned into agony when BU hit a 3-pointer from about 40 feet to end Navy's dreams of an NCAA tournament berth.

Imagine cruising through the regular season with a 17-1 record in conference play, having the tournament on your home court, and then getting beat by a (nearly) half-court heave against a team you beat twice in the regular season.

Agony, indeed.

There was also agony on the PGA Tour yesterday, where Daniel Berger led the Arnold Palmer Invitational from Thursday's opening round until the 71st hole on Sunday, when his missed 7-foot par putt at #17 pushed him into a tie with Akshay Bhatia.

After a miraculous par at #18 -- which included a slippery 13-foot tournament-saving putt -- Berger then badly missed another 7-footer at the first playoff hole to help gift wrap the title to Bhatia, who put together the 2nd best final round of putting since the Shots Gained: Putting stat started to be an official statistic in 2015.

Talk about agony. Berger lost out on the $4 million first place check, a 3-year exemption (as a Signature event, the winner gets 3 years on TOUR, not the 2 years you'd get by winning a "regular" tournamnent), entry into the Masters and the other majors, plus valuable Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup points.

There was one small consolation for Berger to help ease some of the agony. His 2nd place finish earned him a spot in the Open Championship British Open later this summer at Royal Birkdale.

The thrill of victory surrounded Bhatia on the occasion of his 3rd career win. He's now put himself into early discussion for the '27 U.S. Ryder Cup team. There's still some ongoing whispering about his use of the long putter and whether he's anchoring it (against the rules) during the putting stroke.

If you want my opinion, I'm guessing the putter is touching his shirt (allowed) during the backstroke but is not touching his chest or torso (not allowed). When you're playing for a $4 million first place check, the guys you're competing against are keeping a close eye on everything you do. I can't imagine Bhatia is openly breaking the rules of golf, in plain view of both players and TV cameras.

That said, it's very close.

Three players who didn't win continue to play outstanding golf as the circuit creeps in the direction of the Masters next month.

Collin Morikawa, who won three weeks ago at Pebble Beach, finished in 5th place at Bay Hill. So far this year, he's 4 of 5 in cuts made, with a win and a T7 at the Genesis adding to his 5th place finish yesterday. He ranks in the Top 25 in all five Shots Gained categories and ranks T9 in Driving Accuracy and 24th in Driving Distance. To say he's off to a great start in '26 would be selling him very short.

Rickie Fowler, having the best statistical start to a season in (pretty much forever) a decade, finished T9 at the API to produce his 5th straight Top 25 finish on TOUR. Fowler is 5/5 in cuts made so far in '26 and is Top 10 in three critical categories: Shots Gained Off The Tee (T9), Shots Gained, Putting (5th) and Shots Gained, Overall (T9). Fowler also ranks 5th on the entire TOUR in driving accuracy. All of those notes would bode well for him at Augusta except...he's not yet in.

And Jordan Spieth, who has now made 4 of 5 cuts this year, finished T11 for his 2nd straight strong finish. After battling a nagging wrist injury for the better part of two seasons, it's starting to look like perhaps the 3-time major champion has found his groove once again. Spieth ranks in the Top 30 in all of the Shots Gained categories.

Morikawa and Spieth are both in the Masters. A quick wagering heads up in case one of those two wins a tournament prior to Augusta. I'd grab both Morikawa and Spieth at whatever odds you can get right now for the Masters. If Fowler gets in, don't hesitate to add him as well.

And while it didn't fit exactly into the "thrill of victory" category, Baltimore and its sports community were reveling in the crowd of 72,000 that packed Ravens Stadium on Saturday night for the MLS game between Miami and D.C. United.

"If this doesn't get us a MLS team, we'll never get one," someone shouted on Twitter.

News flash: We're not getting one.

Baltimore is mostly very good at those one-off kind of events, particularly when it comes to soccer and/or college football, where the regional fit for our great city serves the event well.

Indy-style racing folks would probably beg to differ about the city being a great fit for events like they ran here once upon a time, but that concept was ill-fitting from the start.

Number one, in order for that event to work, the racing folks needed the full cooperation of the baseball team due to the need for stadium-related parking lots to be integrated with the race. That, as we all found out, turned out to an issue right from the start.

Number two, no one in Baltimore knows anything about auto racing, particularly a race within the city limits where the cars aren't in front of you all the time like they are in a traditional "race track" event.

But soccer games and college football games at the football stadium? And concerts at both downtown stadiums? Those work.

That said, Baltimore on its own, given to offering full, every day, seasonal support to a soccer team? I don't see that happening.

Messi in town, once, able to draw from all over the Mid-Atlantic? That works.

Finding someone in Baltimore or the neighboring area to cough up $500 million for the expansion fee just to get in the league? I don't know about that one.

And, let's not forget, both the D.C. and Philadelphia teams would logically oppose a Baltimore franchise. It would be akin to the Capitals or Wizards allowing a competing NHL or NBA team in Charm City. They'd be nuts for doing that.

So, the argument about whether or not Baltimore could and would support a MLS team will rage on. Every few years, an international soccer game in mid-July will roll into town and 60,000 people will pile in to see Arsenal play Aston Villa and folks will point to that as a reason why Charm City would be a great MLS fit.

I don't see Baltimore supporting soccer on a full-time basis. Heck, they hardly support the Orioles on a full-time basis and they're embedded in our community's soul.

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 10th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2025-2026 season.

terps battle hard, but fall to illinois

Maryland put up a tremendous fight yesterday in College Park, only to drop a 78-72 closely contested game to Illinois.

The Illini helped the Terp cause by shooting just 5 of 24 from the three-point stripe. But, in defending the three, the Terps were vulnerable to the dribble drive and got torched around the rim by David Mirkovic.

The Illinois forward powered his way to the rim, hitting 9 of 13 shots, almost all of them layups or dunks while scoring a team high 22 points.

For Maryland, Andre Mills dropped 30 points, but received almost zero second half help from 3 of the 5 regular starters. Solomon Washington, Elijah Saunders, and Collin Metcalf combined to get off just 3 second half shots, missing all three.

The Illini made 26 shots on Sunday and 19 of those were layups (13) or dunks (6). The Terps also made 19 shots, but they had just 1 dunk and 6 layups. The 2-point buckets came easy for a good shooting team that only converted 9 of 30 threes (30%).

Maryland kept it close, but just couldn’t get over the hump or get a key stop when it mattered most. Illinois was never behind for the last 22 minutes of the game. The Illinois size was too much for UMD.

Coach Williams started his seniors in the contest, adhering to Senior Day tradition.

In the first few minutes, any chance that Maryland had of getting off to a fast start was squelched by 3 Illinois offensive rebounds and a pair of Terp turnovers. The extra Illini possessions gave them 3 more shots than Maryland. At the 15:19 mark of the first half. The game was tied at 7 all.

A three-point Terp lead, courtesy of a Solomon Washinton undefended three, was partially erased by a careless inbound pass turnover by Darius Adams who had just been inserted into the game.

Those 2 points were matched by Maryland when Washington hit a cutting Elijah Saunders for an easy bucket. The score was now 14-11, Maryland, at the second TV timeout.

This was an eerily similar number as the same point of the first meeting between these two teams. At this juncture, Illinois was 1-7 shooting threes.

Maryland maintained a lead, 21-19, going into the under 8-minute media timeout. The Maryland defense was moving well and presenting double teams at opportune moments, but the Fighting Illini were now finding the open man on the perimeter and their threes began to drop.

The visitors connected on two in row, providing Illinoi with some much-needed offense. The Terps countered with some nifty midrange game from Adams.

Disaster almost struck for Maryland when Washington was whistled for his third personal foul on a rather cheap looking blocking charge. He was removed from the game, but a referee review cited Collin Metcalf with one of those fouls. The Terps could ill-afford to have Washington lose valuable court time.

A 26-26 tie saw the final media stoppage. Both teams were 4-12 from three-point land. Illinois was 4-4 from the foul line, while the Terps had yet to gain a trip to the charity stripe.

Unusual to college hoops, the mid-range game was valuable to Maryland. They were 7 for 11 inside the three-point line, but only 2 of those buckets came in the paint. The remainder were mid-range jumpers.

Shooting short jumpers wasn’t the case for Illinois, as they were ringing up a succession of dunks and layups. The Illini were feasting on the openings that the Terp double-teams created. Coach Willims would need to re-evaluate that strategy for the final 20 minutes.

The half ended with the Fighting Illini squeezing out a 37-34 lead. Maryland was getting demolished in the paint. Illinois, the tallest team in the country, held a dominant 20-6 advantage in points-in-the paint. Many of the chippies were uncontested dunks.

Maryland had no answer for the size of Illinois.

The Terps were also badly hurt by the 5 Illinois steals, most of which came from bad passing decisions made by Mills. He had 3 turnovers in the first half, but also led Maryland with 11 points.

Washington’s foul trouble limited him to just 10 first half minutes. One of the Big Ten’s top scorers, Keaton Wagler, was 0-3 and had zero points in the first 20 minutes for Illinois.

Adams opened the scoring in half 2 when he nailed a three from the right corner. Wagler wasted no time getting on the scoreboard when he drove past Washington for a layup, picking up a foul on the Terp senior and getting the three-point play in the process.

Illinois was now beginning to flex their muscle. They had extended their lead to a game-high six points as they seemed to hit a higher gear than they had showed for most of the first half. The Illini outscored the Terps 11-8 prior to the first TV break, but it was the ease with which they scored those points that had to concern coach Willimas and the Terp faithful.

All of their 4 made field goals to start the 2nd half were point blank layups.

Another Illinois layup, and a foul shot off an offensive rebound layup put the Illini lead back to six after an Adams three had cut the lead to just 3. Another Adams triple made the score 51-48. The Terps were showing no signs of folding.

The crowd was starting to buzz when Mills was fouled in the act and converting a pair of foul shots, closing the gap to just a single point, 51-50, There was 12:50 on the game clock and Maryland had regained possession of the ball with a chance to regain the lead.

That possession ended with Mills converting 1 of 2 from the foul line, tying the game. Wagler and Mills then traded buckets, with the Wagler shot being another layup. Paint points now favored Illinois 32-8. They had yet to convert a second half three.

At 10:39, Washington was hit with his 4 th foul when he stuck out his leg in an effort to pick up a call while shooting a three. The refs deemed that a flagrant 1 foul, giving Illinois 2 foul shots. They hit both. The score was now 57-53.

Maryland was now stuck in an almost 4-minute scoring drought and had made just 1 of their last 7 attempts.

Mills took care of ending the scoreless stretch with an “and-one” layup, followed by a steal and dish leading to another three-point play. This time by Adams.

The back-and-forth game reached the under 8-minute break with Illinois ahead 63-61, and 6:53 left in the game. Maryland’s Isaiah Watts was headed to the line with a chance to tie the game. He could only hit 1, leaving the Terps trailing by a single point.

As I often say, when you miss foul shots in crucial parts of a tight game against good teams, bad things follow. True to form, Illinois quickly drained an immediate three, their first of the second half, and then backed that up with a bucket in the paint.

A potential tie game quickly became a 6-point Illinois gap. That lead was increased to 8 when Zvonimir Ivisic knocked down a pair of foul shots.

Paint points favored Illinois by a vast 40-14 margin at the under 4-minute stoppage as Illinois took a 72-64 lead into the final four minutes.

To their credit, Maryland fought and clawed their way back into the game. A paint jumper by Mills, followed by a weaving layup by Adams, and then a second layup by Mills, trimmed the margin to a deuce, 72-70.

Illinois had the ball with 1:02 left in the game, up by 2 points.

That lead was extended to 4 on yet another driving layup by David Mirkovic.

The Terp hopes of an improbable win ended with a missed three by Mills with Maryland down 74-70 and 29 seconds remaining on the game clock.

It was a strong effort from a much smaller team who were dominated around the backet by the bigger Illinois. The final was 78-72.

Maryland did themselves proud yesterday. They played hard hoops all day long, but just didn’t have the bodies to match up with Illinois.

The Terps will head into the Big Ten tournament as the #17 seed and face an opening round date with Oregon on Tuesday in Chicago.

The Ducks beat the Terps, 64-54, in College Park back on January 2nd. There’s good reason to believe the outcome could be different this time around. Gametime is 5 pm and can be seen on Peacock.

Sunday March 8, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4213

don't let the sun go down on me

This is one of my favorite days of the entire year.

That Sunday in March -- I think it's always the second Sunday, as long as it's before the 10th, someone once told me? -- when the clocks jump forward and, voila!, suddenly tonight we're graced with an extra hour of sunlight.

Last night it got dark at 6:10. Tonight it gets dark at 7:10. I love it. More daylight is very good for golf.

Me? If I ran things, we'd do super-duper daylight savings time and we'd bump up the clocks by two hours and we'd have sunlight and evening delight until 10:00 pm mid-summer, sorta-kinda like northern Michigan in the summer months.

Yeah, yeah, I know that means it would be dark at 8:00 and 9:00 am in the morning for a month or two, but that's the price you pay for more daylight later on in the evening.

Anyway...today's a great day. Like, one of my favorites.

Speaking of "great" and "favorites", Elton John turns 79 years old later this month. That feels like about how many hit singles he's produced in his stellar career.

When the conversation shifts to concerts that we've attended and we all share some of our favorites or most memorable, Elton's appearance at the University of Delaware about 20 years ago is on my list. It's the only time I've seen him live and it was an amazing experience.

Yes, I'm sure you wondering, what on earth was Elton John doing playing a show at the Carpenter Center on the campus of UD in Newark, Delaware?

I recall reading a story where he was having a pre-show hot tea in somewhere USA and he asked his manager if he had, in fact, done a show in every state in America.

The manager apparently included Delaware as one of the few states that Elton hadn't ever played live and the (real) piano man said, "Book me in Delaware" and that, as the great Paul Harvey would always say, is the rest of the story.

I remember the show started with Elton simply walking out on stage with a huge bottle of Evian water. There was a piano on stage and that was it. "I'm going to sing for you until I'm finished this bottle of water," he told us.

He settled in and the show was on. Elton John was playing Delaware.

"It's a little bit funny...this feeling inside," he sang, starting the night with Your Song.

And he reeled off about 25 songs over the next 2 hours. No on-stage antics. No pontificating about political views we had no interest in hearing. He just played the hits, as it were.

The final song of the evening was Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me. It's not one of my favorites, but I'm a little more of a "back of the rack" guy when it comes to Elton's stuff. Sure, I love Rocket Man, Honky Cat and Crocodile Rock, but none of those songs are my personal Top 10.

My favorite Elton John song is Teacher I Need You from the amazing album, "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player". There are a bunch of awesome, under the radar screen songs on that album, including Elderberry Wine and Blues For Baby And Me.

My favorite Elton album is definitely "Madman Across The Water". The title track from that album is probably my second favorite Elton song.

I can see very well

There's a boat on the reef with a broken back

And I can see it very well

There's a joke and I know it very well

It's one of those that I told you long ago

Take my word I'm a madman, don't you know

So, anyway, there's my Daylight Savings Time connection with the great Elton John. The two of them are just awesome.

The town is still buzzing with the Ravens acquisition of Maxx Crosby and with good reason. There aren't many areas where the Ravens have been wildly shortchanged over the last decade, but defensive end/outside linebacker is certainly the most prominent of all.

Crosby, if healthy, is a premier quarterback-chaser in the league. He's precisely what the Ravens need.

Are there risks? Of course. There are always risks.

Crosby and the Raiders clashed in 2025 and there was a bit of a messy divorce at the end of the season. That said, I'm sure Eric DeCosta vetted that situation quite well and he's convinced Crosby isn't a loose cannon. My guess is Mad Maxx got tired of the Raiders not trying to win and finally let it get the best of him. It happens.

Some national analysts were less enthusiastic about the deal on Saturday, but, I'll say it again for those in the back of the room who don't hear well -- the Ravens have pretty much displayed zero pass rush (of any real consistency) for the last 10 years. They've had a season or two along the way where they've been competent in that department, sure, but defensive end has not been a "position of strength" for quite a while.

And here's the other thing people don't want to talk about parties because most folks just assume Lamar's going to play forever.

The Ravens are entering the September of Lamar's expected league-wide dominance. He's starting his 9th season in the NFL next September.

I'm guessing he's a 15 year guy and that he can still "be Lamar" for at least three more years, but he does have an expiration date.

So, with that in mind, the time for the Ravens to strike is right now. Derrick Henry isn't getting younger, either, although I'm not sure there's any way to prove that. It seems like maybe he is actually getting younger.

Could DeCosta and his staff done wonders with that 14th pick in this year's draft? Sure. They have a nice track record with first round guys. And even though the draft in 2026 is considered "off" by some industry experts, you just know the Ravens would have pulled a rabbit out of their hat at #14.

But would they have pulled a Maxx Crosby out of their hat? I don't think so.

As I always say, there's no way to know if it's a great trade or a lousy trade until we see the results. If Crosby comes to Baltimore and the Ravens win a Super Bowl in the next year or two (or while he's here), it was a great trade indeed.

If Crosby comes to Baltimore and the Ravens don't win a Super Bowl, it wasn't a great trade.

This much I know, though: It was the only trade that could have been made at this point that would lift them up into that Super Bowl "favorite" category. There's no other player they could have acquired this off-season that can do for the Ravens what Crosby might be able to do.

So, whether it was a great trade or lousy trade, this is true...it was the ONLY trade to make.

Daniel Berger had a 6-shot lead at one point during Saturday's third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and now it's down to just two shots and Berger still has holes to play this morning to finish round three. Bad weather rolled into Orlando late yesterday afternoon and the final few groups weren't able to complete play before darkness set in.

Berger is in rare territory this week. He hasn't won on TOUR since 2021. It would be great to see him hold on and capture win number five in his career.

But there are a host of quality players lurking. And if Berger, currently at 14-under (finishing his 3rd round) as I write this, slides back at all, he's going to feel the heat from the likes of Akshay Bhatia (-11), Sepp Straka (-9), Cameron Young (-9) and the recent Pebble Beach winner, Collin Morikawa (-9).

For Berger, a win would be massive. First, he's exempt for the next two full years (plus the remainder of the current season). That's the biggest "win" you get from posting a victory on TOUR. Next, he's in the 2026 Masters. Prior to this week, Berger was not in the field at Augusta National.

There's also that nifty $4 million first-place check for winning at Bay Hill this week. Sure, Berger's doing well for himself, with career earnings of $30 million, but $4 million helps.

I'd love to see him hold on and win. Berger missed almost two years from '22 to '24 with a back injury and has said on numerous occasions that he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to play on the PGA Tour again.

Golf is hard enough without a bulging disc wrecking your ability to make a swing.

	dale williams aims the terps spotlight
DALE WILLIAMS returns for his 10th season of covering all things Maryland men's basketball for #DMD. Terps Spotlight will preview and review all games in the 2025-2026 season.

terps host illinois today

Hey Terp fans, do you want some good news related to the Terrapin/Illinois game today?

Here’s a ray of sunshine for the Maryland faithful. These two teams already played on January 21st.

In that game in Champagne Illinois, after 11 minutes of play, Maryland led the 11th ranked Illini 24-19. The bad news was the Terps got smoked from that point on.

The Fightin’ Illini closed out the half with a brutal 28-6 run. The same Terp team that posted 24 points in 11-minutes, could only manage 2 foul shots and a paint bucket from Solomon Washington, plus a layup from Diggy Coit, in the last 9 minutes. That’s it.

A big helping of Terp bricks with a healthy side of turnovers was not the recipe to maintain contact with an Illinois team that features the biggest roster in the country, a bundle of solid three-point shooters, and one of the Big Ten’s best scorers in Keaton Wagler.

The halftime score was 47-30. When the game clock finally read all zeros, the normal horn did not sound, it yelled “Uncle”.

Maryland kept pace with Illinois in half number two, but I’m pretty sure that Maryland did not get the best Illini effort for the final 20-minutes.

In today’s affair, the Terrapin starting lineup will have radical changes from the one that began the January 21st game. Gone as starters are Diggy Coit, George Turkson Jr, and Isaiah Watts.

They have been replaced by Andre Mills, Solomon Washington, and Collin Metcalf. Myles Rice, who has been out of commission for a long time, even logged 19 minutes in that game.

The Terp lineup will be vastly different this time, but the final outcome is unlikely to change. Illinois has legit size throughout their lineup and Wagler could be the Big Ten Freshman Player of the year.

But even with all that going for the Illini, I’m not going to buy this game being a 30- point blowout.

Maryland barely has a Big Ten roster, but Mills, Washington, and Metcalf have all improved since January and are an upgrade as starters.

I also am encouraged when I see that the Illini guards failed to forced even 1 turnover out of the Terp guards. Maryland committed just 5 turnovers in that first game, all by big men.

Maryland was really hurt by Andrej Stojakovic’s 30 points in the first clash. He’s nice, but not a 30-bag nice. In the two games before his big 30-point night, he posted 4 and 7 points.

In the three after the Maryland game, he had 5, 8, and 8.

He won’t get 30 today, or even 20.

What all this means is that Maryland closes out the season with another loss and finishes 4-16 in the Big Ten. Can they keep it close on senior night? That depends on how you define “close”.

I think they can keep it to about 15. I’m looking at 85-70, Illinois.

As an aside, how sad (pathetic) is it that the Terps have 5 seniors on this roster and all of them have only played a single season in College Park?

Senior Night (or day) clearly doesn’t have the same meaning in the XFINITY Center, or in a whole host of other venues across the country.

Saturday March 7, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4212

now that's exxciting news

Eric DeCosta heard the criticism and said, "It's time for a game of chess."

The oft-criticized Ravens GM put the team squarely in the spotlight as Super Bowl favorites on Friday night, agreeing to send two first round draft picks to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for rush end wrecking ball Maxx Crosby.

Give the Raiders credit. They fielded "over a dozen" calls on Crosby over the last two months -- that's what they said, at least -- and told every suitor the same thing. "It's two first-round picks or you can't have him." And they stuck to their guns.

It probably pains DeCosta greatly to part company with two first-rounders. The draft is, to him, like watching the Flyers miss the playoffs every year is, to me. It's something he looks forward to for 51 weeks. And while there will still be a draft for the Ravens in 2026, not having a first-round pick takes a lot of the steam out of it.

Alas, they're getting one of the best pass rushers in all of football. They're also getting a locker room leader. Once upon a time, Crosby was a bit of an issue, but he's now sober and has both feet firmly on the ground. The Ravens are getting a dominant defensive player at a position of desperate need at the peak of his career.

Oh, and they're also getting a guy who makes $30 million a year. He ain't cheap, that's for sure.

Editor's note: Yes, I know there are two xx's in the word "exciting" in the headline. I didn't make a mistake there. We're just having some fun on a Saturday morning.

Crosby's arrival is costly, yes. But it's also the price DeCosta and the Ravens have to pay in exchange for their own inability to draft, groom or otherwise acquire a legitimate, game-changing pass rusher. Some would say the last good one the Ravens had was Terrell Suggs. It's been that long.

And with Mad Maxx's arrival comes another behind-the-scenes note. DeCosta must either have a new contract extension hammered out with Lamar Jackson or he's 99.99999% sure he's going to have one done by next Wednesday when the new season technically begins. There's no way the Ravens can handle Crosby's bulging contract and Lamar's $74.5 million salary cap hit, along with the other big contracts the Ravens are paying out in '26.

So DeCosta gets a double golf-clap. He got his pass rusher and he's getting the quarterback to take on a new contract that will help ease the Ravens' salary cup pains this coming season.

Now, here comes the bad news.

What? You didn't think there was some bad news too?

Well, there is.

And it's not really "bad news", per se, but it could be depending on how you look at it.

The Ravens are now, without question, the favorite to win the 2026 Super Bowl (in '27).

Game over. Hold my beer. Blah, blah, blah.

The Ravens have to win the Super Bowl. Like, now. Or, at the very least, in the next two or three years while they have this lethal combination at quarterback, running back and defensive end.

But if they don't win it this year, people are gonna talk.

Everything is in place. Every. Thing.

They canned their 18 year head coach in favor of the new, more glamorous model and Jesse Minter in turn put together a rock star staff filled with promising NFL minds.

As the great Judge Smails said in Caddyshack: "Weeellllll...we're waiting."

There's no time like the present, there, Jess. Let's get going. The GM has given you all the pieces.

Remember that scene in Karate Kid III when Miyagi goes into the dojo to confront Terry Silver, the owner, because some of Silver's students beat up Daniel LaRusso?

Silver and Miyagi square off to fight and Silver, a karate black belt, says to Miyagi, "Let's see how good you really are..."

(And then Silver gets his ass handed to him by the diminutive Japanese father figure. But you knew that already because, like me, you've watched that movie 89 times.)

We're all saying the same thing to Jesse Minter now.

"Let's see how good you really are."

We said it to DeCosta and his counterpunch was acquiring Maxx Crosby and restructuring Lamar Jackson's deal to help fit the talented edge rusher into the fold in Baltimore.

Now, we get to say it to Minter.

He has allllllll the pieces. His new team is the Super Bowl favorite.

Let's see how good you really are, Coach.

OK, so Miami of Ohio did it. They finished 31-0, albeit needing overtime to do it last night. The RedHawks ended their '26-27 regular season undefeated after a 110-108 win at Ohio University on Friday evening.

They will now be the big favorite in the MAC conference tournament, with the winner of that event securing a trip to the NCAA tournament.

But what if they don't win?

That's now the big question.

(By the way, the guess here is they will not win the MAC tournament.)

If the RedHawks stub their toe in the conference tourney, do they still get an at-large bid after rolling through their entire season without a loss?

"But they didn't play anybody" is the only real defense to not allowing them if they lose in the conference tournament.

You can't say, "Well, they lost to Toledo in the last week of the season and they stink."

You can't say, "Well, they lost to Ohio University in their final regular season game and they stink."

Sure, both of those games went down to the wire before Miami of Ohio prevailed but you can't say they lost. They won them both.

I see both sides of this one. And a fence-sitter I am definitely not.

I understand how hard it is to win every game, particularly at the mid-major level where the talent from school-to-school is just not that dramatically different. Talk about the proverbial "on any given (day)". Anyone can beat anyone in the MAC, CAA, MEAC, etc.

Going 31-0 should almost get you some kind of automatic bid, no matter what conference you play in. I mean, seriously, if you go 31-0 in the CAA and you win at College of Charleston, at Drexel, at Towson, at Elon, etc., you should get a limousine ride to March Madness.

That said...

Other than their conference schedule -- which featured a lot of "meh" teams and a couple of good ones -- they didn't (here's that line again you're going to hear over and over) play anybody.

They beat up on a couple of teams that actually lost in overtime to The Little Sisters of the Poor.

So, if they do lose in the MAC tourney, can't you look MOO in the eye and say, "Sorry, you needed to win three more games to convince us and you couldn't do that..."

In some ways, that's really what you have to say to them in advance of the MAC tournament.

"You're almost there, boys. You just need to win three more games."

Oddly enough, those involved in the NCAA tournament selection committee are obstensibly going to wind up saying the same thing to Miami of Ohio that we're all saying to Jesse Minter in Baltimore.

"Let's see how good you really are."

I only briefly touched on the John Carlson trade yesterday morning because the news of the Caps trade came out just as I was hitting "publish" at #DMD on Friday.

Like the departure of Nic Dowd to Las Vegas, Carlson's move to Anaheim is equally -- probably even more, honestly -- disappointing.

Both guys were valuable parts of the D.C. locker room. Carlson was a far more impactful player overall than was Dowd, but both guys served their purpose on the ice and served it well.

Dowd, as I noted yesterday, was (is) a ditch digger.

Carlson was (is) the supervisor who tells the guys how deep to dig the ditch.

Both are veterans in the November of their careers, that much is true.

But they still have good hockey left in them.

More than the on-ice piece, though, is the void left in the locker room. Several Caps were seen misty-eyed yesterday during media availability and Tom Wilson got choked up talking about Carlson in particular.

Eveyone knows it's a business. Everyone clings to that oft-used phrase because they know deep-down it's true.

But when it happens to you or someone you're close to, it's hard to wrap your head around. John Carlson...anywhere but Washington? It just seems ultra-weird.

It wasn't a wholesale clean-out by the Capitals. They did pick up a piece or two as well, although those going are far more valuable than those coming in.

The message, though, was pretty clear from team management. "We know what we are and where we're going and it's probably not far."

There's still a sliver of hope that Washington will rally in the final 6 weeks of the season and make the post-season, but that's looking a lot less likely now.

We can all now shift from hoping the Caps make it to rooting against the Flyers to help ensure they don't make the playoffs. Again.

Friday March 6, 2026

#DMD

Issue #4211

caps move is a dowder downer

Remember, if you will, who the two third period heroes were for the Capitals in their Stanley Cup clinching Game 5 win in Las Vegas back in 2018.

Can you recall?

I know that's a while back, but it's not like I'm asking you to rattle off the names of the guys who were on the Flyers the last time they won the Stanley Cup. I mean, you'd have to go all the way back to........1975.........for that.

By the way, that's 51 years ago. Time flies when you're (not) having fun, huh?

Anyway, the two guys who came through for the Caps in the third period of Game 5 in Sin City were Devante Smith-Pelly (tying goal) and Lars Eller (game-winner).

It wasn't Alex Ovechkin or Kuznetsov or Backstrom with the big goals. No, no, no. Instead, it was a couple of "grunt" guys who battled in front of the net to tie it up and then put the Caps ahead for good.

Don't get me wrong, the Caps don't win that Cup without Ovi, Kuzy and Backstrom. That's obvious.

But as the great Judge Smails opined in Caddyshack, the world needs ditch diggers, too.

Smith-Pelly and Eller were ditch diggers on that team.

Nic Dowd joined the Capitals on July 1, 2018, less than a month after that glorious Stanley Cup triumph over Las Vegas.

He became a ditch digger. Dowd is one of those guys who just does the work, the hard work, and never wants or leans into the spotlight. He is, to borrow an oft-used and potentially over-the-top sports term, a "warrior".

The Capitals dealt him to Las Vegas yesterday in a bit of a stunning trade deadline deal. They didn't receive much of anything in return. A goaltender with some promise but nothing more than that, plus a future draft pick.

All good things come to an end, the saying goes.

But losing Nic Dowd is a jagged pill to swallow. He's getting long in the tooth, at 35. And Justin Sourdif has stepped up his game and is 11 years younger, all of which made Dowd expendable.

It's still hard seeing Dowd go, though.

"Tough morning, to say the least," Caps head coach Spencer Carbery told the media. "The guys are down. They love Nic. He's our guy. But it's a business. And sometimes these things happen and it hurts."

The Capitals, according to industry experts, are trying to play both ends in this trade deadline lead-up. They're trying to be buyers and sellers. Washington was apparently trying to get Artemi Panarin before the Olympics but he was traded to the Kings. That would have been a nice "buy" for a team that needs help offensively.

And the Dowd trade to Vegas for practically nothing is more of a "sell" move. I mean, the Caps have lots of other issues besides Nic Dowd, that's for certain.

Alas, it's hard to see a "team first" guy get shown the door. He wasn't a great goal scorer or anything like that, although he'd pop the occasional surprise tally in the net at just the right time. But he was a lunch-pail, "let's get to work" player that has a value you almost can't calculate.

I like those ditch digger guys like Smith-Pelly, Eller and Dowd. I always have. Every team needs them. You can't win without them, in fact.

Judge Smails was spot-on, as it turned out.

Editor's note: Late last night, the Caps shipped longtime defenseman John Carlson to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for future draft picks. It was another one of those "hate to do this, but we sorta-kinda have to do it" moves. That's two gone and none in so far. Looks like "selling" is the theme. At this point, anyway. Stay tuned.

A few #DMD commenters were looking for answers on some local and national sports topics, so here we go:

Jon wants to know about Lamar Jackson. So do I. So do you, probably.

I have no idea what's going on with Lamar. No one at the Castle is talking. I'm not hearing much of anything, other than they're obviously trying to work on a new deal with him that will de-stress their salary cap situation.

I love predictions. So do you. We all love predictions. Mine is that the Ravens and Lamar will hammer out something favorable for both sides by March 11.

Jon also asked about Vance Honeycutt, the O's prospect-hotshot who is 4-for-4 in spring training with four home runs.

Jon wants to know what the O's should do with Honeycutt.

That reminds me of a story once involving the late, great J.C. Snead.

Snead was a former PGA Tour winner who was known more for his caustic, abrasive personality than his putting skills.

He was on the practice tee at a TOUR event once upon a time when he saw a group of fellow TOUR players watching a young player stripe iron shot after iron shot on the driving range.

"Who you boys watching?" Snead asked.

"John Cook," one of them said.

"Never heard of him," Snead snarled.

"Just won the U.S. Amateur last month," another guy remarked.

Snead stood there for a second and watched Cook hit a couple of more shots.

"Amateur golf........." Snead said, waiting a few seconds to finish his thought. ".......don't mean s**t out here."

So what do I think about Vance Honeycutt?

I think I'll be really impressed when he's hitting homers off of Suarez at Fenway Park or Cole in Yankee Stadium or Skubal in Tiger Stadium.

If you get my point.

Jon also wondered about the draft. I don't know, I hope we don't have one. I'm not really all that keen on sending people overseas to fight if they aren't interested in going over there. That seems potentially more harmful than productive in my mind.

Jeff wants to know what I think about Lionel Messi stopping by to see the President along with the rest of his MLS Miami teammates.

I don't know what to say.

They got invited to visit the White House by the President. Where I'm from, in my lifetime, you don't say "no" to that offer. There have been U.S. Presidents along the way that I wasn't totally enthralled with, but if they asked me to come and break bread with them at the White House, I'd definitely go.

I've never understood this faux patriotism, "I'm not going" stuff that people do. It's the President. He (she, maybe, someday?) asks you to visit. I always thought that wasn't something you could or should turn down.

Leave your politics at the door and go in and say "hi".

Or, better yet, take your politics in with you and say, "Hey, while I'm here...what about this new health insurance protocol you're trying to launch with all of us?" and see if you can get a word or two with him. I don't know. I just think when the President says "Show up" you should show up.

Messi being there makes all the sense in the world. He's the best soccer player on the planet. He got the invite. He's going. Good for him.

Mitch wants to know about improved and upgraded "clubhead speed" that TOUR players are chasing these days in an effort to play better golf.

It's all math. And very simple. Every mile of speed you add is roughly 3 more yards of distance. Add 3 miles an hour and you hit your driver 9 additional yards. That's almost another club, distance wise.

Go from 115 miles an hour of clubhead speed to 120 miles an hour and you're pumping it out there 15 more yards than before. That's a big distance jump.

So when guys like Fowler and Thomas are trying to add clubhead speed, what they're really trying to do is hit the ball further (farther?) and use a higher lofted club for their next shot, if possible.

Let's say J.T. was hitting his 7 iron 170 yards with 102 miles an hour of clubhead speed. If he can get that up to 104 miles an hour, he's now able to hit his 7 iron 176 yards. Get it up to 106 miles an hour and now he's hitting his 7 iron roughly 182 yards. He has probably gained a full club, distance wise, by adding those four MPH.

The driver is where it's most important. Adding speed there really changes things. If you're hitting it 300 off the tee and suddenly you start hitting it 320, you're cookin' with gas, as they say.

I hate when people say "I don't care what you say" and then tell you what they think, as if to dismiss your thoughts before even getting them.

So I'll go ahead and do it.

I don't care what you say. The driver is the most important club in the bag. If you can't get off the tee and "out there", distance wise, you can't play golf.

If I hit my driver 240 yards and you hit your driver 300 yards, you're going to win every time.

Distance really matters.

And that's why the TOUR pros are constantly chasing it.

faith in sports

If you watch this 12 minute video, you'll see some interesting people and testimonies, including a certain former member of the Ravens talking about his faith.

I love highlighting these athletes and coaches who enjoy spreading the gospel via the microphone that's put in front of them. It never gets old -- to me -- hearing these men and women praise God and Jesus.

I hope you'll give this video your time today. Listen to the pride in their voices as they talking about playing for an audience of ONE.

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

O's SCOREBOARD
Monday, March 30
Orioles 2	Rangers 5
WP: J. Leiter (1-0) LP: C. Bassitt (0-1) HR: Henderson (1) RECORD / PLACE: 2-2, 4th

SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, March 24
CAPITALS 5 (SO)	AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4
CAPS GOALS: Lapierre (4), Sourdif (15), Strome (17), Beauvillier (14) GOALTENDER: Thompson RECORD: 37-28-9 NEXT GAME: March 31 vs. Philadelphia

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