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| Tuesday December 31 |  | #DMD |  | Issue #1954 |
First of all, I hope all of you have a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve celebration this evening. If 2019 was a great year for you, I hope 2020 is even better! If 2019 wasn't great for some reason, I hope 2020 shows a marked improvement for you!
My 2019 was a year to remember. I'm looking forward to 2020 with great enthusiasm.
The older I get, the more value I see in prayer. Prayer has a lot of components within it, "hope" being among them.
Romans 5:5 -- And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Thanks to all of you for being part of my 2019. I hope your 2020 is awesome.
DF
Let's start with something fun...
Here, in my estimation, are the top 10 Ravens from the recently completed 2019 season.
#10 -- Matt Skura (C) - incredibly underrated and was terrific until a late November knee injury ended his season.
#9 -- Chuck Clark (S) - led the team in tackles (67) and was an instrumental part of the defensive calls supplied by Wink.
#8 -- Mark Andrews (TE) - emerged as Lamar's favorite receiving target and one of the league's best tight ends.
#7 -- Marcus Peters (CB) - only played half the season or he'd be higher on the list...definite game changer.
#6 -- Brandon Williams (DT) - a run stuffing star, when he was on point, few teams could use the ground against the Ravens.
#5 -- Marlon Humprhey (CB) - shut down corner, opportunistic ball hawk, legit All-Pro player for years to come.
#4 -- Matthew Judon (DE) - made himself a lot of 2020 money in 2019...a massive force getting after the opposing QB.
#3 -- Ronnie Stanley (OT) - keeping Lamar upright and healthy is largely on Stanley's watch and he was exceptional in '19.
#2 -- Mark Ingram (RB) - one of the best off-season signings in team history...run, catch, swagger, he did it all.
#1 -- Lamar Jackson (QB) - might not ever have another season like the one he had in '19...historically superb.
More fun...
At the beginning of the season here at #DMD, I had the Saints beating the Eagles in the NFC title game (I guess that could still happen) and the Patriots beating the Chargers in the AFC (that one, not so much).
In the Super Bowl, I had New Orleans beating New England, 27-23 (could still happen, but let's hope not).
Now, four months later, I'm saying it will be the Ravens and Saints in the Super Bowl in Miami.
Selfishly, if the Ravens somehow get eliminated, I sure would love to see Kansas City and Minnesota play in Miami on February 2nd. I'd be having a biiiigggg party somewhere if that happens. Greens fees and red wine on me. I entered a mid-season pool and had to pick two teams who -- at the time -- had more than 2 losses to make the Super Bowl. I took those the Chiefs and Vikings. Fingers crossed...but only if it's not the Ravens, obviously.
And this could be the most fun...
I am coordinating an AFC title game party for a client on January 19 and we have 8 spots available for anyone who is interested. We have reserved a heated tent adjacent to the stadium which will be open from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm.
You can purchase any number of spots at the party that you like. Solo purchasers are welcome.
Included in the package are the following things: a ticket to the AFC Championship Game between the Ravens and (?), a premium food buffet with filet, crab cakes, salads and much more, unlimited soda and beer (over 21), a Ravens hat and other trinkets, a VIP entrance to the stadium (rather than waiting in the general line) and (we're working on this) potentially a visit from a former Raven sometime during our party.
You must pay for your spot by this Friday, January 3rd. The cost is $600 (and, yes, that includes the game ticket). Obviously, if the game winds up not being played in Baltimore, you will get all of your money refunded.
I realize the uncertainty of the game and all, but the Ravens and the NFL don't play the "wait until you make it" game. They sell tickets and tents weeks in advance, which is why we're putting this together now.
If you're interested in our AFC Championship Game package, please email me: drew@drewsmorningdish.com
FYI: Individual game tickets on the secondary market are now rising over $500 each and most "decent" seats are in the $850 range at this point. Depending on who the opponent is on January 19, they could go up by another 15% or so. Our party price of $600 is a "locked in" price for the ticket, food, drinks, etc.
I recently participated in a national media survey distributed by Sirius-XM/PGA Tour Radio where they asked the participants to rank their top 5 stories from the world of golf from 2010 through 2019.
It took me a couple of days to wittle my original list of 12 down to 5. Oddly enough, my #1 story was also their #1 story and my #2 story was their #4 story. Other than that, my other three were different.
I'll post my Top 5 over the last five days of the decade.
#5 - McIlroy goes "major-less" for five years -- After winning four majors in three years, Rory McIlroy went from 2015-2019 without winning a major title.
#4 - Sergio Garcia wins a major -- The highly-charged Spaniard went 17 years without winning a major title before finally breaking through at the 2017 Masters.
#3 -- Jordan Spieth rises and falls -- Jordan Spieth won 3 majors in 3 years, rose to world #1, then lost his golf game in 2018 and 2019.
#2 -- Brooks Koepka wins four majors in 24 months -- From "just a guy" to the world's #1 player in two years. An amazing spike in success.
#1 -- Tiger's revival: He was done. Came back. Done again. Came back. Done again. Came back. Done again. Came back...and kicked everyone's tail. All within a decade.
The decade started off with a horribly organized press conference in February of 2010 where Woods met the the media for the first time since the discovery of his extra marital affairs in November of 2009.
Woods was still playing decent golf at that point, although his 2010 season was pretty much a loser. He did finish 4th at both the Masters and U.S. Open, but his personal life mirrored his golf game; in shambles.
After a winless 2010 and 2011, Tiger won three times in 2012 and five times in 2013. Folks kind of forget that Woods won EIGHT tournaments in 2012 and 2013. Some high quality players didn't win eight tournaments in their entire career.
And then...the second decline began. Quickly. Publicly.
Tiger couldn't hit a fairway. He developed the chipping yips. He had a bad neck. There was a surgery. Or two. He got arrested for driving while under the influence of something.
It was over.
But he came back in 2016 and gave it a whirl...again. Third time's the charm, maybe?
Again, his back went out and his game left him.
Another surgery.
He returned, yet again, but was more of a sideshow than anything. He'd play for two months, disappear for six months, return, disappear, and so on.
No wins in '14, '15, '16 or '17.
It was all over, now.
But he cobbled together four days of "the old Tiger" in October of 2018 at East Lake in the TOUR Championship, the closing event of the '17-'18 campaign, and won a golf tournament, the 80th of his career.
In 2019, he did the unthinkable. He won a major championship for the first time since 2008, capturing the Masters by a single shot over a bunch of guys who used to watch Tiger on TV when they were 12 years old. In winning at Augusta last April, Tiger also came from behind to win a major championship for the first time in his career.
And then, in October, after missing two months with knee surgery, Woods tied Sam Snead's record for career wins at 82 when he won the Zozo Championship in Japan.
The topper was a 3-0 performance at the Presidents Cup in early December, 2019, when Tiger -- the playing captain -- lugged Justin Thomas around for two winning partner-events on day one and two, then blistered Abraham Ancer in their singles match on day four as the U.S. came back to win the competition, 16-14.
The decade started off terrible, got better for two years, bottomed out for four years, and turned around completely in 2018 and 2019 when the greatest player the game has ever seen defied the odds and silenced his critics for good with a major championship and a record-tying win after not touching a club for two months.
No other story in golf from 2010-2019 could have moved the needle like Tiger's did over those ten years.
| Monday December 30 | | #DMD | | Issue #1953 |
Now, finally, the Ravens will face what the Patriots have faced time and time again over the years.
For the first time since John Harbaugh took over in 2008, everyone in the AFC will be hunting the Ravens in January.
No longer are they doing the hunting, as they've routinely done when finishing 10-6 and making the post-season as the 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th seed. This time around, the Ravens are the ones in the crosshairs as the dog top in the AFC.
It's a luxurious position, no doubt. But it's also filled with potential disappointment if the Ravens don't win two home games and move their way to Miami for Super Bow LIV on February 2nd.
As great as this regular season has been -- the greatest in franchise history, no question -- it will be greatly diminished if the Ravens squander this #1 seed opportunity they've earned. Not many people remember the Ravens' regular season record when they won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season. They just remember the three playoff wins and the thrilling victory over San Francisco in New Orleans.
On the other side of the coin, a loss in one of the upcoming AFC playoff games will take the luster off of this regular season. It won't mean Lamar Jackson misses out on the MVP award. He's winning that. It's a regular season award. And it won't take away John Harbaugh's Coach of the Year honor, either.
But if the Ravens lose on the weekend of January 11-12 or on January 19, it will be what we remember most about the 2019 season.
"Remember 2019? We had that awesome 14-2 regular season and then we lost at home in the playoffs..."
It's the way everyone couches their memory of 2006. "Remember the '06 team that went 13-3 and was the #2 seed in the playoffs?"
"You mean the one that laid the egg at home against Indianapolis when they couldn't score an offensive touchdown and lost 15-6?"
"Yeah, that team."
This position, of course, is far, far better than being the #3 seed and having to play three games to get to the Super Bowl. Being the #1 seed is light years better than scooting in on the last day as the #6 seed like Tennessee did yesterday.
But it's fair to remember that starting next Saturday, everyone's 0-0.
The Ravens' 14-2 regular season mark won't mean anything to the Titans, Bills or Texans when they come to town on January 11-12 to take their anticipated 35-16 beating.
There's a huge difference between being the hunter and the hunted. The mindset is completely different in both situations.
When you're doing the hunting, you're not necessarily expecting to catch anything. When you're being hunted, you expect that you'll survive. When you don't, it's shocking.
This Ravens team looks, feels and smells like a Super Bowl team. There's nothing about what we've seen over the last 12 weeks that tells us otherwise.
Other than a scare from the 49'ers in late November, the Ravens ran roughshod over everyone in their path from October 6th through December 29th. They didn't just "beat" people. They demolished them.
True story. If the Ravens would have needed to win yesterday's game, their team -- with full starters intact -- would have hung up a 56-10 win over the Steelers. They're that much better.
They punked the Seahawks, Rams, Patriots, Texans and Bills. Four of those five teams are in the playoffs and the other was just in the Super Bowl a season ago before floundering a bit this year.
I completely expect the Ravens to win twice in January and advance to the Super Bowl.
I will be shocked beyond all get out if they lose at home. Shocked.
And that's what makes the whole thing so unsettling. These magical, nothing-goes-wrong, 14-2 seasons don't come around very often. In fact, it's the first time the Ravens have ever experienced one. And when they do come around, you can't squander them.
You just can't let someone hunt you down.
The destination of four teams in the NFC was decided by six inches last night in Seattle.
The penultimate play of the 49'ers-Seahawks game determined four of the six seeds. It also decided who covered, betting wise, as well.
What a wild, crazy scene it was, as the Seahawks needed a touchdown to win the NFC West and secure the #3 seed in the conference. If Seattle scores on that next-to-last play, Green Bay is #1, New Orleans is #2, Seattle is #3, Philadelphia is #4, San Francisco is #5 and Minnesota is #6.
Russell Wilson's throw to the goalline looked like it was enough to get Jacob Hollister into the end zone. But replay confirmed that Hollister was stopped just inches shy of the end zone. With nine seconds remaining, San Francisco then ran one play forward to end the game at 26-21. Had they taken a safety there to make it 26-23, Seattle would have covered the 3.5 point spread. Instead, the 49'ers covered with the 5-point margin of victory.
One play sure meant a lot to a lot. It changed travel plans and betting window visits.
By winning, the 49'ers are now #1, Green Bay is #2, New Orleans is #3, Philadelphia is #4, Seattle is #5 and Minnesota is #6.
So the schedule is set for wild card weekend, with the Patriots facing the rare 3-weekend post-season after they choked -- as 16.5 point home favorites -- against the Dolphins on Sunday and coughed up the #2 seed to Kansas City in the process.
The AFC will play next Saturday and the NFC will play on Sunday.
BUFFALO AT HOUSTON, 4:35 PM
TENNESSEE AT NEW ENGLAND, 8:15 PM
MINNESOTA AT NEW ORLEANS, 1:05 PM
SEATTLE AT PHILADELPHIA, 4:40 PM
 |  "The Keen Eye" of | |
| DAVID ROSENFELD is a former sports publicist who still keeps his eye on the game. Looking at the game, the news or the players on an in-depth level is what he likes to do. Follow his work here at #DMD every Monday & Thursday, brought to you by Glory Days Grill. | ||
Fact. The Ravens are the top AFC seed, will play at home on either January 11 or January 12, and would then play at home again in the AFC Championship game on January 19 if they were to win.
Opinion. The Ravens are the best team in the AFC, and whatever happened with other teams on Sunday is of little importance to me. I’ll take anybody on. Wouldn’t you?
It’s no surprise that Tennessee, in position for a while now, snagged the No. 6 seed and could potentially be the Ravens’ divisional round opponent. Meanwhile, it’s been obvious for at least a month that Houston and/or Buffalo would be likely foes in that game. Would it be nice to play a .500-ish team in a playoff game? Sure. Would Houston play better than it did the last time it visited? Probably.
But it doesn’t matter to me. At all. Someone’s coming into town in two weeks, and the Ravens are going to play like the Ravens do. I don’t like to guarantee anything, but I’ll get as close as possible to it.
Lamar Jackson is going be his MVP self, the Ravens’ interior run defense will be strong, and the secondary will be interested in playing. The tight end group will all be out there, and Marquise Brown will be a constant threat to hit a big play.
Ok, there’s the one thing. It’s possible that Mark Ingram won’t be able to play, no matter what he says. The long break between games makes it likely that he’ll at least give it a try, of course.
Enough of all that, though. A team’s heading to town, and you ought to be as confident as you were in any other game this year.
I loved the way the Ravens played yesterday, except for the 4th-and-3 in the third quarter on the Pittsburgh 43 when they were only pretending to go for it. You know how I feel about that—RGIII, #LJ8 or whatever initials Trace McSorley goes by.
Anyway, the Ravens essentially did nothing. They gave nothing away. I came into the game thinking that they’d run the ball on literally every play until such time as a pass was absolutely necessary, and that’s exactly what they did.
They understood there would be somewhat limited energy in the stadium, and even less with the weather, and they did a good job of making their own energy. Plus, you can only put seven guys on the inactive list — a lot of starters were out there - and many of them played as well as they have the rest of the season. Matt Judon and Michael Pierce come to mind.
Honestly, the only thing John Harbaugh really did wrong (except for that silly thing I just mentioned above) was not challenge the spot when Justice Hill slid past the first-down marker in the fourth quarter. But hey…the fake punt on the 11-yard line a few moments earlier was downright awesome.
Meanwhile, whatever you think about a higher power in the universe, it was amazing how “stuff” happened in the final moments of the game that made the score closer to what it would have been had the Ravens been at their full strength. The suddenly biblical rain showers made the punter drop a perfectly good snap, and somehow the Ravens got close to 30 points again.
Ben Roethlisberger says he’s coming back next year, which I can understand after he was forced to watch the Steelers play offense without him this season. So, assuming he either shaves his beard or figures out a way to get it under his facemask, I have no reason to doubt his sincerity.
He turns 38 on March 2. After his injury, I wonder what he will be when he hits the field next season. Philip Rivers just turned 38, and he’s clearly not who he used to be. Tom Brady was still pretty good at 38; it’s taken a few more years after that for him to look average. Drew Brees is a short-passing specialist at 40 (soon to be 41 in January); can Roethlisberger be that kind of a quarterback? I’m not sure.
As for Mike Tomlin and the Steelers, turnabouts are fair play, right? The Ravens missed the playoffs three years in a row with mediocre teams that somehow found a way to be in the conversation at season’s end, at least for the final two years. That’s now happened two years in a row with Pittsburgh, one time with their quarterback and the other time without him.
Can a 38-year-old Roethlisberger lead a relatively untalented offense to better things in 2020? They are certain to be better than this season, but the Steelers have a great chance to be mediocre next year…much greater than they have to be good. I don’t think you can say the same thing about the Ravens.
Anyway, I’m done thinking about the Steelers for now. They were painful no matter who you root for.
Random notes. One…the Ravens have played a lot of games in the rain over the last two years. Obviously, the way the Ravens want to play is really made for the rain. I would note that Joe Flacco used to throw the ball in the rain as if it was 75 and sunny, and Lamar Jackson does not…nothing against Lamar Jackson.
Two…Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts of CBS were on the call for the Ravens five times this season, in games against the Chiefs, Steelers (both times), Texans and Bills. That exactly half of the 10 CBS games for the Ravens this year. I understand the way the world works, but I think it’s ridiculous that Jim Nantz and Tony Romo only had one Baltimore game this season. Back to Ian and Dan…Eagle is a great pro, no matter what the sport, and Fouts has seen better days.
Three…not to repeat something that was said on television, but I will only because I was thinking the exact same thing just moments before he said it. It was Nate Burleson, at halftime of the Ravens-Steelers game, when he mentioned that Robert Griffin III looked “frantic” running the same offense that Lamar Jackson does. I’m with Burleson…it’s hard making it look easy, and only a guy like Jackson can do it.
Four…this whole thing has been awesome, pretty much every second of every game since Marlon Humphrey recovered the fumble in overtime in Pittsburgh. The Ravens put together one of the greatest regular seasons in recent NFL history, scoring 531 points while allowing 282 and setting an NFL record for rushing yards in a season. You’ll remember this year for a long time, no matter what happens now.
I recently participated in a national media survey distributed by Sirius-XM/PGA Tour Radio where they asked the participants to rank their top 5 stories from the world of golf from 2010 through 2019.
It took me a couple of days to wittle my original list of 12 down to 5. Oddly enough, my #1 story was also their #1 story and my #2 story was their #4 story. Other than that, my other three were different.
I'll post my Top 5 over the last five days of the decade.
#5 - McIlroy goes "major-less" for five years -- After winning four majors in three years, Rory McIlroy went from 2015-2019 without winning a major title.
#4 - Sergio Garcia wins a major -- The highly-charged Spaniard went 17 years without winning a major title before finally breaking through at the 2017 Masters.
#3 -- Jordan Spieth rises and falls -- Jordan Spieth won 3 majors in 3 years, rose to world #1, then lost his golf game in 2018 and 2019.
#2 -- Brooks Koepka dominates -- There might be some recency bias in play here, but the performance by Brooks Koepka in 2017, 2018 and 2019 was so good and so dominating that he can't be ignored.
Koepka was a good player still trying to find his way on the PGA Tour as recently as 2016, which isn't really all that long ago. He won his first TOUR event in 2015 in Phoenix, but for the most part he was just another guy trying to make a living playing golf.
But that all changed in 2017.
Koepka won the U.S. Open at Erin Hills.
In 2018, he won the same event, this time at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, repeating at U.S. Open champion.
Two months later at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, he held off Tiger Woods to win the PGA Championship.
That was three major victories in six tries for Koepka. He won the 2017 U.S. Open, didn't win the British or PGA that year, missed the '18 Masters due to injury, then won the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.
Only other player over the last 20 years has won 3 majors in 6 major starts. Tiger Woods is his name.
Then, after finishing one shot behind Woods in the 2019 Masters, Koepka won the PGA at Bethpage Black (it was moved to May from its usual August spot).
Brooks Koepka won 4 majors in 8 tries.
Oh, and how about the other two majors in '19? He finished 2nd at the U.S. Open to Gary Woodland and tied for 4th at the British Open to Shane Lowry.
Oddly, Koepka now has 7 career TOUR wins. And four of them are majors.
But he has clearly become the game's most dominant player over the last three years.
Look at his run in majors since 2017.
2017 -- Masters (T11), U.S. Open (1st), British Open (T6), PGA (T13).
2018 -- Masters (DNP), U.S. Open (1st), British Open (T39), PGA (1st).
2019 -- Masters (T2), PGA (1st), U.S. Open (2nd), British Open (T4).
He made the cut in all 11 majors he played in that span, had one finish outside the Top 25 and had seven top 10-finishes in 11 events!
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#DMD GAME DAY |
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Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens 4:25 PM EST M&T Bank Stadium Baltimore, MD Spread: Ravens (-1.5) |
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The last of the boring visitors has finally arrived.
Starting in mid-January, the games and the visiting teams get serious again.
But please bear with the Ravens this one last Sunday in 2019, as they welcome the offensively challenged Pittsburgh Steelers to town for a game that means everything to the visitors and nothing to the hosts.
Like nearly every game we've seen since mid-October, expect this one to be over by the middle of the third quarter.
Unless the Ravens lay a colossal egg today, there's little chance the Steelers steal a win here. They simply don't have the offense to do it. Their defense is certainly decent enough to keep RGIII and his cast of back-ups in check, but even that might not be enough.
The Ravens second-stringers and their back-ups are good enough to beat this mostly lousy Pittsburgh team. In fact, that would likely be one of the few ways John Harbaugh could motivate the back-ups today. "If you lose to these bums, maybe we should find other back-ups and third stringers."
In a weird kind of way, it's a shame the shine has disappeared from this annual match-up in Baltimore. You only get one of them each regular season, after all, and it's without question the most anticipated game of the 16 regular season contests for Ravens fans -- and the players alike, probably.
But the Steelers are what they are these days. They're average, and that's being kind. They're an 8-7 team who couldn't beat the Bills at home or the Jets on the road in situations where wins in either of those spots would have gone a long way towards securing a playoff spot. Now, they need a win in Baltimore against the best (shorthanded) team in the league and a Tennessee loss in Houston for the right to make the post-season and get beat 37-10 next weekend in Kansas City.
Oh, and a dude named "Duck" is starting at quarterback for them today, although it's almost a slam-dunk guarantee that someone named Paxton Lynch winds up entering the game at some point today as Pittsburgh's signal caller. I'm sure the Ravens are scared to death of him...
I'll save the typical "How Drew sees today's game" space and just tell you here, now, that this one goes to the Ravens today, 20-10. If the weather forecasters are right, this one will be wet and sloppy from start to finish. Offense and ball security might be at a premium. But Robert Griffin III will get the team into the end zone a couple of times and Justin Tucker will do his thing two times and that will be more than enough.
As long as no one on the home team (or visiting team, for that matter) gets injured, the day is a success no matter the final score. But Baltimore wins this one. Easily.
This has been one heckuva regular season. A win today would qualify it as the best ever...even better than the 2006 team that went 13-3 before blowing it at home to Peyton and the Colts on the second weekend of the playoffs.
And it would be icing on the cake to end Pittsburgh's dwindling playoff hopes using the "B team" on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
The times sure have changed...
We're going to have a losing regular season, thanks in part to those choking dogs in Arizona and Washington D.C., who both squandered "in the books" covers earlier this season. Rat finks...
But it should be noted that we've bounced back from a lousy start to right the ship over the last six weeks. We're heading into the post-season as hot as Joe Burrow on a Saturday night facing LSU.
So, with that...let's make you some money to close out the year and help you start 2020 on a good financial note.
PACKERS AT LIONS (+12.0) -- Green Bay has everything to play for (or, a lot, at least) while the Lions haven't played meaningful game since early October. Green Bay blows them out here. 12 points is a lot of points, of course, and in particular it's a lot in a divisional road game. But Detroit has checked out. Green Bay wins going away, 34-19.
DOLPHINS AT PATRIOTS (-16.5) -- This is a weird one in Foxborough today. New England has the 2nd seed on the line and the Dolphins are just playing for fun. Miami's defense...not so good. Miami's offense...can be effective. That might not bode well for New England. We'll go with a Patriots win -- but wouldn't at all be surprised to see the Dolphins keep it close or pull off an upset victory. Miami covers the 16.5 points but Tom Brady and Company win the game, 26-22.
SAINTS AT PANTHERS (+13.5) -- Another one of those games where one team (New Orleans) is playing for something and the other (Carolina) is thinking about golf on Tuesday morning somewhere in Florida. This one, though, feels different. We're thinking Carolina puts up a fight in this one. And while the Saints have something on the line (top seed, potentially), they're also going to use their star players carefully. Michael Thomas might only see limited action, for example. We'll take the Panthers and the 13.5 points at home as New Orleans wins, 27-20.
EAGLES AT GIANTS (+3.5) -- Philadelphia needs a win to capture the NFC East and end the coaching tenure of Jason Garrett at the same time. Both of those reasons-to-win should be more than enough to handle a Giants team that you know would love to keep their southern neighbors from celebrating in their stadium. We'll take the Giants and the 3.5 points at home, but Philly wins by a field goal, 24-21.
49'ERS AT SEAHAWKS (+3.5) -- Wow...Seattle...at home...in a huge game, getting 3.5 points. My the mighty have fallen, huh? The 49'ers have something to prove in this one after getting squashed at home by the Falcons a couple of weeks back. The Seahawks have already lost three times this season in Seattle (New Orleans, Baltimore, Arizona) and today figures to be the fourth defeat for them within the confines of their park. 49er's win, but Seattle covers, as San Fran hits a field goal in overtime to win, 34-31.
RECORD TO DATE: 44-51-1*
LAST WEEK'S RECORD: 4-2
RAVENS AGAINST THE SPREAD: 7-9
BEST BET OF THE DAY: 7-9
*Indicates our record would be 46-49-1 if not for Arizona choking away an easy 9.5 point cover in the final 30 seconds of the game in San Francisco on November 17 and the Redskins giving up a meaningless TD on the final play of the game to squander a 6-point home cover against the Eagles on December 15.
It was a good day to be a great quarterback in college football.
Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence engineered their teams to win in the two college football playoff games on Saturday, with Burrow single-handedly destroying Oklahoma and Lawrence leading Clemson to an improbable 16-point comeback against a gritty Ohio State team.
LSU and Clemson will meet in the national championship game on January 13 in New Orleans.
Burrow, who will play for the Bengals next season unless they do something crazy and pass on him with the first pick in next April's draft, threw 7 first half touchdowns and finished with 8 for the day in a 63-28 romp over a completely overmatched Oklahoma team. It was 49-14 at the half.
Clemson's road to the title game was much different, as they fell behind 16-0, battled back to take the lead, lost it early in the 4th quarter and then Lawrence piloted a 94-yard drive that culminated with the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes remaining.
Lawrence and head coach Dabo Swinney also took time in their post-game remarks to give glory to God, which is always heartwarming to hear, particularly on a national stage with an audience of millions looking on. The more often the word of God gets spread in unfiltered forums like that, the better.
LSU are early 5-point favorites in the title game and it will take Clemson's best effort to challenge the SEC champions on January 13. While it might not be the blowout that the Oklahoma game turned out to be, Clemson hasn't faced an offense like the one they'll see in New Orleans.
I recently participated in a national media survey distributed by Sirius-XM/PGA Tour Radio where they asked the participants to rank their top 5 stories from the world of golf from 2010 through 2019.
It took me a couple of days to wittle my original list of 12 down to 5. Oddly enough, my #1 story was also their #1 story and my #2 story was their #4 story. Other than that, my other three were different.
I'll post my Top 5 over the last five days of the decade.
#5 - McIlroy goes "major-less" for five years -- After winning four majors in three years, Rory McIlroy went from 2015-2019 without winning a major title.
#4 - Sergio Garcia wins a major -- The highly-charged Spaniard went 17 years without winning a major title before finally breaking through at the 2017 Masters.
#3 -- Jordan Spieth sparkles and sputters -- Jordan Spieth was a childhood phenom in Texas and later starred for the national championship University of Texas golf team before turning professional in 2012. By 2013, he had a huge pocket of money from the folks at Under Armour and his first professional win -- at age 19 -- when he won the John Deere Classic in a playoff.
Spieth would share the 54 hole lead at the Masters in 2014 before Bubba Watson pulled away for his 2nd green jacket. But the following April, Spieth blew away the field at Augusta National, finishing at 18-under par for the Masters victory and his first major championship.
In June of 2015 at Chambers Bay in Washington, Spieth won his second major, although it's always fair to note that Dustin Johnson's sloppy 3-putt from 12-feet on the 72nd hole of regulation gift-wrapped that one for Jordan. Either way, he had as many championships as guys like Norman, Langer and Olazabal at that point.
Speith won the FedEx Cup title and the $10 million first place check in 2015. He was the #1 golfer in the world at that point.
At the 2016 Masters, Spieth was cruising along with a five-shot lead as he reached the 10th hole. One hour later, he trailed, having hit two balls in the water at the famous 12th hole. Danny Willett was the benefactor of Spieth's back nine collapse, as the Englishman captured the green jacket thanks to Spieth's poor golf on the incoming nine holes.
He then won the 2017 British Open with a stirring back-nine surge against Matt Kuchar. Spieth was "back", apparently.
Except...
It all stopped.
He hasn't won since that British Open victory.
And, in reality, he hasn't been all that close to winning, either.
He played so poorly in 2018-2019 that he didn't make the TOUR Championshp at the FedEx Cup last August. And he was bypassed as a captain's pick for the U.S. President's Cup team. He'll need to win a major, most likely, in 2020, in order to secure enough points to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team that plays in September at Whistling Straits.
Jordan Spieth went from the #1 player in the world to a guy trying to find his game again in two short years.
| Saturday December 28 | | #DMD | | Issue #1951 |
Winning is always better than losing. We know that, right?
As far as the Ravens go, all they have to do is win their last three games of the season and they'll capture the league's ultimate prize.
But with those three wins -- two in January and one in February -- come potential issues. And these aren't "little things". They could be of the "big" variety.
If the Ravens go on to win the Super Bowl, what will the players do about the traditional White House visit?
They could be, of course, the final NFL team of the President Trump era that's forced to make a decision on this topic.
Will the players go, en masse?
Will they stay away, in total, vowing to "go as a team" or "stay home as a team"?
Will a handful of players go -- say, 6 to 10 -- and the other 40-some stay at home and eschew the trip to Washington DC?
And, most importantly, what will the organization's public statement be concerning the President's invitation?
We all remember Steve Bisciotti's 4-word response in 2017 when 12 players took a knee during the playing of the national anthem in London.
"We support our players."
Those words and that response created a massive season of backlash, both from ticket buyers, corporate sponsors and general fans of the team.
So, if the Ravens win on February 2nd, what happens in March when President Trump invites the team to the White House?
The decision by the Ravens roster and coaching staff -- and the organization's public statement about those decisions, will be vitally important. And you just know the fan base will be waiting...
How would a Ravens Super Bowl victory impact Steve Bisciotti's ownership tenure?
Coupled with the potential backlash from a White House-visit "protest", would a Super Bowl win create a sell-the-team thought by Bisciotti? He'd have two Super Bowl titles as the team's owner. His $600 million purchase would now be worth well over one billion dollars, perhaps even as much as $1.5 billion, some analysts suggest.
When would a 60-year old man who loves the sun and spirit of Florida and still has the energy for 18 holes a day say "enough is enough?"
After two Super Bowl wins, perhaps?
Insiders have said for several years that Bisciotti's ownership "enthusiasm" took a massive hit during the Ray Rice saga. He was shocked at hearing his name muddied both locally and nationally and quietly told those around him, "I don't need this kind of aggravation."
What better time to sell the franchise than after a Super Bowl win?
And with the potential for a CBA-related work stoppage in 2021, would Bisciotti really want to endure another one of those situations where he has to actively support his 31 ownership "brothers" and stand tall against the players he obviously cares so much about?
And for those who think just any new football owner in Baltimore would be OK, take yourselves back to 1992 when the baseball ownership changed in Charm City.
Last but not least, this scenario would require more than just a winning Super Bowl this coming February. But it's completely possible that this particular chain of events is entirely within the realm of reason given what we've seen in 2018 and 2019.
Lamar Jackson is going to be the MVP this season. That's a done deal.
If the Ravens win the Super Bowl with Lamar at the helm, that's the double-whammy of all double whammies.
Just for kicks...what if he wins the Super Bowl MVP award?
And then...let's pretend he repeats his 2019 performance in 2020. Just for kicks and giggles, let's say he wins the MVP award again in 2020 and the Ravens finish 12-4 and again win the AFC North.
Jackson would be in position to demand the highest contract in the NFL at that point. Right then and there, three years into the league, his value would eclipse that of any other player.
And remember...a player must play at least THREE years before he's allowed to sign a new, re-negotiated contract.
Despite Jackson's humble, folksy personality, he would be under an immense amount of pressure from the NFLPA to re-do his deal after the third year and hammer the Ravens for something completely crazy...like $200 million for the next 4 years.
And if the Ravens objected, Jackson would then be pressed -- incredibly hard -- to sit out until a new, "fair" deal is given to him. That would go against the grain of his personality, it would seem, but the player's association has a way of making guys do things.
It's the way the game works.
"Get your money now!" the players would all be telling Lamar. "Get it now, get as much of it guaranteed as you can, and help the future stars of the league the way guys like Manning and Rodgers and Ryan helped you in the past."
A lot of things have to go Jackson's way for that scenario to play out, but ask yourself this: Since Lamar Jackson started playing mid-way through the 2018 season, what hasn't gone his way?
The Chargers playoff game is the only real down moment Lamar has had thus far.
I think he's a safe bet -- barring injury -- to continue this style of successful play well into 2020. And the Ravens, with gobs of money available on the '20 salary cap, don't look like they're going away anytime soon.
A Super Bowl victory on February 2nd would be awesome.
But with it would come three potential issues.
And each would have a unique challenge all to its own. Challenges that could potentially alter the Ravens franchise for a long time.
I recently participated in a national media survey distributed by Sirius-XM/PGA Tour Radio where they asked the participants to rank their top 5 stories from the world of golf from 2010 through 2019.
It took me a couple of days to wittle my original list of 12 down to 5. Oddly enough, my #1 story was also their #1 story and my #2 story was their #4 story. Other than that, my other three were different.
I'll post my Top 5 over the last five days of the decade.
#5 - McIlroy goes "major-less" for five years -- After winning four majors in three years, Rory McIlroy went from 2015-2019 without winning a major title.
#4 - Sergio Garcia finally wins a major -- The "Best Player Without A Major" label is a tough one for veteran players to own. In one way, it's a semi-compliment. It means you're a really good player -- with lots and lots of "regular" wins -- who hasn't had that breakthrough moment that everyone expects. But it's also a knock of sorts. You're "good enough to win one, but you haven't figured out a way to do it just yet."
Thankfully, most great players eventually figure out a way to win one. It took Mark O'Meara until the October of his career to win his first (a Masters), and then he followed that one up a few months later with a win at the British Open.
The same for Tom Kite. He had the "Best Player Without A Major" tag for a long time until he captured the '92 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Davis Love III was "that guy" until his win at the '97 PGA.
A couple of big names, unfortunately, never did find the major winner's circle; Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood. It's worth noting that Westwood is still playing, though his best days are likely behind him now.
Currently, Matt Kuchar wears the "Best Player Without A Major" merit badge, with Rickie Fowler close behind.
Sergio Garcia was the best player without a major championship for 17 years. That is, until he finally won the 2017 Masters.
The interesting element of Garcia's win at Augusta National was that the one thing that portrayed him for so long in crucial situations -- the putter -- bailed him out time and time again down the stretch at the '17 Masters.
It was as if, finally, Garcia's time had come.
He rolled in a birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Justin Rose.
Despite a controversial career, Garcia has been a sensational player both in the U.S. and Europe. His performances on the European Ryder Cup team are legendary. He's a slam-dunk Hall of Famer someday, but no great player considers his career complete without at least one major golfing championship to his credit.
Sergio had several near misses in majors, including a playoff loss to Padraig Harrington at the British Open in 2007. Ten years after that loss -- where he had a 10-foot putt to win on the 72nd hole and just missed it -- Garcia finally cashed in at Augusta National.
Our Capitals-Flyers road trip on January 8 is still on sale (see the "Caps-Flyers" link above the header) but we've reached "last call".
We'll leave the Towson area at 5 pm on Wednesday the 8th and head up I-95 for the final regular season meeting (in Philly) between the Caps and Flyers in 2019-2020. The puck drops at 7:30 pm.
We're offering lower concourse and upper concourse seating at the Wells Fargo Center.
I know someone's bound to ask, so I'll tell you now: Yes, Flyers fans are allowed to purchase seats and join us on the trip. There's no guarantee you'll get a ride home, but we'll at least ride you up there.
I'm kidding...
We'll give you plenty of food and drinks on the bus ride to Philly and we'll have a Caps trivia contest with a cash prize for the winner.
If you haven't been to a game in Philadelphia, it's well worth going. Yes, even though it's Philly...
Please join us for a great one-night trip to Philadelphia to see the Caps beat up on the Flyers.
| Friday December 27 | | #DMD | | Issue #1950 |
I stumbled upon a very unsettling Facebook post yesterday. It was both sad and terrifying at the same time. More on that in a minute.
When I first started working for the Blast in 1981, I quickly learned one of the most valuable lessons in sports. Get the media on your side.
As we see in today's political climate, what the media posts and publishes about you is paramount to the way you're viewed. If that media entity's agenda clashes with your platform, you're in for an uphill battle.
It wasn't much different in 1981 when I was part of the P.R. team with the Blast, trying every day to secure coverage for the young franchise in a fledgling league. Drawing 10,000 people a game didn't hurt our efforts, obviously, but it was still soccer -- and indoor soccer at that -- and this was a city of media folks, at the time, consumed only with the Colts and Orioles.
Yesterday's search through Facebook connected me with someone I worked with back in the mid 1980's. I was saddened, greatly, to read the news.
By now, most of you know that Bill Kistner passed away yesterday (December 25) after open heart surgery. He went in on Christmas Eve and had the procedure and came out of it OK but then overnight developed some complications. He was transported to a D.C. hospital for further care and sadly, he didn't make it.
As I read the words I couldn't believe it.
Just days before, I'd read Bill's Facebook post where he jokingly remarked that "doctors have found something wrong with my heart, confirming an idea many of the women I have dated over the years also discovered."
He later posted that quadruple-bypass surgery was initially set for Christmas Day, but that the surgeons were impressed with his platelet levels and that he was good to go for a Christmas Eve operation instead.
At some point on Christmas Eve, I read a post from a friend who said Bill was out of surgery and doing fine.
So you can imagine my shock yesterday when I read the news about Bill's passing. He leaves behind a girlfriend and two children. Bill was, I believe, 55 years old.
Bill was a producer at Channel 11 television in the mid 1980's. That's where I met him. While the on-air guys were the stars, the producers were the "in the trenches" types that sports P.R. people needed to connect with on a daily basis. They were the ones who created the daily 3-minute TV sportscast. They assigned photographers. If you wanted your team or player promoted for 45 seconds on the evening news, you had to somehow sell that idea first to the producer.
Bill Kistner was a good man. He, along with another solid fellow named Will Schwarz, were two TV producer-types I befriended with on a personal level back then, mostly because we were the same age. Will and I played a lot of golf together. Bill and I had some adult beverages and tried to impress young ladies in downtown Baltimore together back in the late 1980's. We were pretty good at the adult beverages part. The girl-chasing was much more successful for Bill. He was a funny, witty guy.
As I read the news on Facebook yesterday and saw the stream of messages from folks who were hurt by his passing, it reminded me of a time when a lot of people in Baltimore helped make those early Blast days a success.
From 35,000 feet, it probably looked pretty simple. There was a new team in a new league and the downtown area was being revitalized and this "thing" caught on like wildfire and, eventually, 12,000 people showed up for 56 consecutive games in the mid 1980's.
But the real truth of the matter is the TV media in town had a huge impact on the success of the Blast. And digging more deeply, the producers at the (then) three big stations in town were the engineers behind a lot of the coverage and promotion we received.
Mike Gathagan and Joe Hammond were the primary producers at Channel 2 back then. Jack Dawson Scott Garceau, Martin Wyatt, the late John Saunders...those guys all gave us respect and fair play when the team first came to town. Mike would actually go on to work for me with the Spirit (nee Blast) soccer team in the mid 1990's. He and I became good friends. He now serves as the Assistant Athletic Director at Towson University.
Over at Channel 11, I worked closely with Bill Kistner, Will Schwarz and Mark McGrath. Vince Bagli and I became golfing buddies. A little known fact, actually: I made the first eagle of life with Vince on the 9th hole at Wakefield Valley sometime in the late 1980's. You remember those things. Vernon Glenn and the late Chris Thomas were part of that Channel 11 team in the mid 1980's. I've shared several stories over the years about Vernon and Chris. Gerry Sandusky arrived in the early 1990's and was also a guy who treated the franchise with respect.
At Channel 13, Mike Pupo and Jeff Hoffman were the producers early-on. Those two guys were great. Gayle Gardner, Lou Tilley, Chris Ely, Keith Mills and John Buren were the on-air folks throughout the halcyon days of the Blast. Lou and Chris did some play-by-play of Blast soccer on TV. Keith and I actually lived near one another in Glen Burnie for a short time in the 1980's.
John -- or "Bevo" as I knew him -- became one of my best media friends. We played a lot of golf together until the late 80's when he (a 4-handicap) abruptly gave up the game one day on the 8th hole at Hunt Valley after shanking a 3-iron on his second shot at the par 5 hole. He would later become one of Maryland's best over 50 tennis players. John and I still talk today and have quarterly breakfast get-togethers to stay up to date with one another's lives.
The on-air guys in town are the ones you know. You see them, hear them and they get to be part of your life's routine, almost.
But the producers...the behind the scenes people...are like offensive linemen. The quarterback and wide receivers get mobbed at the mall, while the offensive linemen stroll through in relative anonymity.
Trust me on this: The producers are the ones to thank. I wish I would have had the chance to thank Bill Kistner one final time. He was a good man.
As for the other other producers in town, and the on air talent who helped the Blast get off the ground, I hope they can somehow see this and know they are still appreciated, even today, some 30 years later.
I recently participated in a national media survey distributed by Sirius-XM/PGA Tour Radio where they asked the participants to rank their top 5 stories from the world of golf from 2010 through 2019.
It took me a couple of days to wittle my original list of 12 down to 5. Oddly enough, my #1 story was also their #1 story and my #2 story was their #4 story. Other than that, my other three were different.
I'll post my Top 5 over the last five days of the decade.
#5 - McIlroy goes "major-less" for five years -- This one seems almost impossible, right? Rory McIlroy won four major titles in a little over three years. He was 25 and had four major championships already. There was, of course, some very early talk about the Irishman being the next guy to chase after Tiger (then, 14) and Jack (18) and their respective major championship accomplishments.
But something weird happened after that.
McIlroy didn't win a major in 2015. Or 2016. Or 2017. He didn't win one in 2018, either. And he didn't win one this year.
For the Flyers fans who are still reeling from too much Christmas egg nog, that's FIVE straight years without a major title for McIlroy.
He had several chances along the way, including the the hard-to-forget back nine blowup at Augusta National in 2015, where he gagged away a 4-shot lead over the final nine holes. That triumph would have given him the career grand slam. Instead, it seemingly kick-started a 5-year run of major failures.
McIlroy is still one of the game's top players, obviously. He already has 18 PGA Tour wins and captured the $10 million FedEx Cup first prize this past season. He will, presumably, win more major championships.
But after winning the U.S. Open in 2011, the PGA in 2012, the British Open in 2014 and the PGA, again, in 2014, it's almost shocking to realize that Rory hasn't won one of the four big ones in the five years since.
A player with that much talent and that much "aura" can't go five years -- especially in his late 20's -- without winning. Yet, that's what McIlroy has done.
Our Capitals-Flyers road trip on January 8 is still on sale (see the "Caps-Flyers" link above the header) but we've reached "last call".
We'll leave the Towson area at 5 pm on Wednesday the 8th and head up I-95 for the final regular season meeting (in Philly) between the Caps and Flyers in 2019-2020. The puck drops at 7:30 pm.
We're offering lower concourse and upper concourse seating at the Wells Fargo Center.
I know someone's bound to ask, so I'll tell you now: Yes, Flyers fans are allowed to purchase seats and join us on the trip. There's no guarantee you'll get a ride home, but we'll at least ride you up there.
I'm kidding...
We'll give you plenty of food and drinks on the bus ride to Philly and we'll have a Caps trivia contest with a cash prize for the winner.
If you haven't been to a game in Philadelphia, it's well worth going. Yes, even though it's Philly...
Please join us for a great one-night trip to Philadelphia to see the Caps beat up on the Flyers.
| Thursday December 26 | | #DMD | | Issue #1949 |
The NBA is the first league to do it, but you can bet that others are going to follow.
As the decade comes to a close, the league will change things up next year, reducing the number of regular season games (from 82 to 78) and introducing a new, mid-season "tournament" that will handsomely reward players who are willing to put some emphasis on the early part of the schedule.
They'll also "re-seed" during the playoffs, meaning, for example, the Lakers and Clippers could actually wind up playing one another for the NBA title instead of having a team from the Western Conference and a team from the Eastern Conference play in the Finals.
The mid-season tournament is an idea borrowed from European soccer, where there are as many as three different seasons going on within the actual regular season. It gives organizations more games to play, more tickets to sell, more TV rights to negotiate and, obviously, just more soccer for the people to enjoy.
Whether it boosts the NBA's popularity remains to be seen, but it's certainly a worthy gamble, particularly for a league that features a handful of teams who are never "in it" from day one of the season and just sort of cruise around for six months as everyone's homecoming game three nights a week.
I have no idea what 2020-2021 is going to look like for the other leagues in the U.S., but I'll take a swing at what two others might look like in 2030. Keep this on your refrigerator and check back with me and let's see how I do.
NFL --
The NFL will be the first team to go almost entirely to a pay-per-view format, as in 2025 they'll introduce a concept that has every team's regular season games available only on a pay-to-watch basis. You'll pay $299 per-season for the right to watch all of your team's games, only, plus several weekly team produced shows that will be included in the package.
You can watch the rest of the league (any game, including Thursday and Monday Night) and the first two playoff rounds for an additional $99.
Each team will play one "free" game each season on Sunday night. The league will air one game on Sunday night throughout the season that is "free" to the viewing public.
The AFC and NFC title games will be combined with the Super Bowl for one low price of $29.99.
Starting in 2025, each team will play 20 regular season games, spread out over 24 weeks from September through February, with the Super Bowl in early March, just prior to the NCAA basketball tournament.
By the time 2030 rolls around, the league will be down to 28 teams. Gone from the current rotation of teams will be Jacksonville, Miami, Arizona and Buffalo.
Starting in 2029, points will be rewarded based on length of kick. A "standard" kick of anything inside 49 yards will be worth 3 points. A "lengthy" kick of 50-59 yards will be worth 4 points. And a "mammoth" kick of anything outside 60 yards will be worth 5 points.
Additionally, teams will be permitted to choose the length of their extra point try based on the point value they need or feel can be most easily achieved.
MLB --
Major League Baseball will finally get the hint and reduce the number of games from 162 to 130 by the 2025 season. This will enable the league to begin its schedule in mid-April and end the regular season by late August and have the World Series completed by the end of September'ish.
Historians will be urged to consider statistical relevance on an average per-season basis rather than a total per-season basis. In other words, if someone hits 65 home runs in 130 games (average of .50 home runs per-game), he will be considered the all-time single-season home run leader (Bonds is the current leader at 73...or .45 per-game).
There will be 26 teams in the league by 2028. Gone from the current rotation: Tampa Bay, Miami, Seattle and Minnesota.
Starting in 2027, the scoring system in baseball will be altered, connecting run value to length of home run hit. In other words, a home run of 325 feet to 410 feet will still be worth one run. 411 feet to 429 feet will be worth two runs (to the hitter) and anything above 430 feet will be worth three runs. This means, obviously, a team within six runs in the bottom of the ninth could tie the game with a grand slam hit over 430 feet (three runners on base = 1 run each, hitter is rewarded with 3 runs).
Beginning in 2028, the league will introduce "one extra out" per-game. A team may, at any time, use one extra out, in any inning except the 9th. If the person who comes to the plate (using the extra out) gets on base by a hit, there is no penalty. If the person who comes to the plate doesn't get a hit of some kind, the team loses an out in the 9th inning.
Like basketball, Major League Baseball will introduce a 4-team round-robin tournament in mid-season that will replace the All-Star Game in 2028. The top three teams, win percentage wise, after the 60 game mark, will face off in a pre-determined city for a $7.5 million per-player winner's purse. Additionally, the team with the best record from the second half of the previous season also gets an automatic entry into the event. The four teams will play 6-inning games on Monday and Tuesday to determine the round robin winner and the 7-inning championship game will be held on Wednesday.
With one regular season game left in our "Pick the Winner" contest, two #DMD readers have the amazing possibility of going 17-for-17 with ALL ROAD WINNERS during the regular season!
David Stanmore and Scott Blick both have the maximum number of points through 16 weeks -- 48. They picked all road teams and haven't missed yet, although Stanmore was in trouble last week when he picked New Orleans to beat the Titans in Nashville and they fell behind early, 14-0. Blick is using New Orleans this weekend.
Dan Murtaugh's lone miss this year (he also picked all road teams) was earlier this month when the Eagles lost at Miami, 37-31. Jason Collier was perfect until this past Sunday when he had the Steelers beating the Jets in NY. Taylor McKay and Chris Phillips were both perfect until Week 15 when they each had Cleveland winning at Arizona.
Additionally, we have three players who are perfect for the season, but a majority of their picks were home teams, which is how they are perfect but not in the Top 10. Winning home picks are worth 1 point and winning road picks are worth 3 points. Joe Crumbling, Addison McCarthy and Jason Boniface are all 16 for 16.
1. David Stanmore (48 points - 16 road winners, Green Bay in Week 17)
Scott Blick (48 points - 16 road winners, New Orleans in Week 17)
3. Jason Collier (45 points - 15 road winners, Cleveland in Week 17)
Dan Murtaugh (45 points - 15 road winners, Green Bay in Week 17)
Taylor McKay (45 points - 15 road winners, New Orleans in Week 17)
Chris Phillips (45 points -- 15 road winners, Philadelphia in Week 17)
7. Bob Feltner (39 points -- 13 road winners)
Jeff Porter (39 points -- 13 road winners)
9. B.J. Carroll (32 points -- 10 road winners, 2 home winners)
10. M. Carbonetti (31 points) -- 9 road winners, 4 home winners)
We thought this contest would be difficult, but apparently not. A lot of folks have displayed some incredible game-picking prowess this year!
| "The Keen Eye" of | |
| DAVID ROSENFELD is a former sports publicist who still keeps his eye on the game. Looking at the game, the news or the players on an in-depth level is what he likes to do. Follow his work here at #DMD every Monday & Thursday, brought to you by Glory Days Grill. | ||
There’s not much else to say about the Ravens right now. I assume we’ll see the real team, hopefully with Mark Ingram, back at M&T Bank Stadium in about 17 days. That’ll be fun. Oh…and Lamar Jackson makes several reads/throws per game that would make Peyton Manning stand up and cheer.
I do want to bring up a pair of situations from this past Sunday’s game in Cleveland, however. After seeing reaction from fans in Maryland and Ohio, and reading opinions from veteran reporters, I feel the need to bring them up.
I’ll warn you…this is an analytics discussion. I’m not an expert on that subject, just someone who reads about it a lot. So I’m not preaching here…just asking people, including the “experts” who cover these teams every day, to do some of their own research, so they begin to understand that what seems so “obvious” to them isn’t so obvious.
Before I start up, it’s worth mentioning the background of all of this, which is play data that has been analyzed over many years to determine “win probability.” But I’ll translate that into columnist-speak, because we scribes like to make broad pronouncements as much as anyone and would rather not talk about DVOA or other acronyms.
The coach of an NFL team should make every decision based on what improves his team’s chances of winning more.
Not on keeping the score close, or giving the fans in the stands more hope, or on the belief that his experience as an expert X’s and O’s football coach (which he is!) must be more important than any data analysis, or because of hazy concepts like “momentum.”
The NFL coach in 2019 simply must understand, for instance, that if his team scores a touchdown to pull within two points in the third quarter, he is hurting his team by sending his kicker out on the field instead of trying to tie the game, even though “there’s a lot of time left.” Go for two and make it, and his team’s chances of winning go way up. Miss it, and the disadvantage of being down by two points instead of one is close to negligible.
But back to Situation #1 in Cleveland on Sunday, when Mark Andrews was stopped short of the line of gain on a short pass on third down. The Ravens were in 4th-and-3, on the Cleveland 41-yard line, with 7:16 left in the first quarter. There was no score in the game.
A team in that situation, that early in the game, should keep its offense on the field in the attempt to gain the first down 100 percent of the time. Any NFL team, with any NFL quarterback, should keep its offense on the field, not just a team with the likely league MVP who’s the best dual QB threat in league history.
The Ravens didn’t attempt to gain the first down Sunday in Cleveland because “that’s what they always do,” or because they were 12-2, feeling good and in love with each other and the Browns were 6-8, making tee times and yelling at each other. They did so because the situation made it the proper play.
If the Ravens had made the first down, it would have improved John Harbaugh’s team’s chances of winning more significantly than punting in that situation would have, while failing (which happened) made very little change at all to his team’s win probability considering the time and score of the game.
This has been proven, by data analysis, and it’s not that complicated. On 4th-and-3, from somewhere near midfield until a field goal is a better option, just go for it until the point in the game where time and score actually matter.
You’ll never be wrong, even if you don’t make it. Yet coaches and fans still believe that (maybe) pinning a team close to its end zone is a much better option than actually keeping the ball.
On to Situation #2, when the Browns scored a touchdown with 8:05 remaining in the game to cut the Ravens’ lead to 24-15. Like the Bills did against the Ravens several weeks ago in a similar situation, the Browns attempted a two-point conversion.
Buffalo converted, while Cleveland didn’t. As the quarter continued, the Bills had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, and the Browns didn’t, because Buffalo didn’t allow the Ravens to march down the field and score again.
But in both cases, you can make a case that it was the right move.
With a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, any team’s win probability is very low. From 1994 through 2011, for example, there were 81 instances when a team trailing by 15 points scored a fourth-quarter touchdown, and only five of those teams went on to win the game. Only nine of those 81 teams tried a two-point conversion down by nine points, and you can argue the other 72 were making a mistake.
Remember… the coach of an NFL team should make every decision based on what improves his team’s chances of winning more.
Is it potentially demoralizing in that situation to miss on the two-pointer? Of course. Is it any more demoralizing to miss the two-pointer in that situation than it is to miss the two-pointer with five seconds left when trying to the game? No. In fact, I’d say it’s way more demoralizing to miss in the final seconds, because at that point you have no chance to win the game.
Think about it this way…your team scores a touchdown to pull within 31-22. There are seven minutes remaining, and you kick the extra point, thinking you can tie the game later. Then you stop the other team with about four minutes left, forcing a punt. Sounds great, right? Your team has a chance.
The “problem” is that your team is then likely to take its time driving down the field, looking for that tying touchdown. They score with 30 seconds left, but then miss the two-point conversion. The game is over.
Had your team missed the conversion earlier, it would have played with more urgency. It would have tried to score more quickly, in the hope that a potential onside kick would allow more time to drive for a game-winning score. Remember…it’s a long shot to win no matter what.
Obviously, your team is trying for success on every two-point conversion. But if you’re going to miss one, doing it earlier significantly improves your odds of making the comeback…because if you miss it late, you have almost no chance.
And another thing…it’s not the fact that your team went for it “early” and missed that lowered its chances of winning…it’s just that you missed it. When you missed it makes no difference.
A team’s chances to win football games in the NFL have a lot to do with the players on the field, the schemes used by the coaching staff, and even a little luck. But there’s no reason any team should disadvantage itself by making tactical decisions that are more likely to lead to losses.
Our Capitals-Flyers road trip on January 8 is still on sale (see the "Caps-Flyers" link above the header) but we've reached "last call".
We'll leave the Towson area at 5 pm on Wednesday the 8th and head up I-95 for the final regular season meeting (in Philly) between the Caps and Flyers in 2019-2020. The puck drops at 7:30 pm.
We're offering lower concourse and upper concourse seating at the Wells Fargo Center.
I know someone's bound to ask, so I'll tell you now: Yes, Flyers fans are allowed to purchase seats and join us on the trip. There's no guarantee you'll get a ride home, but we'll at least ride you up there.
I'm kidding...
We'll give you plenty of food and drinks on the bus ride to Philly and we'll have a Caps trivia contest with a cash prize for the winner.
If you haven't been to a game in Philadelphia, it's well worth going. Yes, even though it's Philly...
Please join us for a great one-night trip to Philadelphia to see the Caps beat up on the Flyers.
| Wednesday December 25 | | #DMD | | Issue #1948 |
Luke 2 --
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating with family and friends.
Thanks to many of you reading this today, the men at Helping Up Mission received one of the best gifts they could possibly receive on Tuesday, December 17th.
The gift?
Someone cared enough about them to take time out of their day to provide the men with much needed clothing as they embark on a stay at Helping Up that very well might change their lives.
Once again this year, for the 11th straight December, Glenn Clark and I stood in awe as the men went through the clothing so many of you donated. We delivered over 3,000 pieces of winter apparel this year, ranging from sweatshirts and hoodies to winter jackets and heavy coats, plus a huge array of children's and women's clothing as well, all of which comes in handy at this time of year. Many of the men don't have money for a gift for their loved ones. So being able to give their child a shirt or a jacket or the woman in their lives a pair of gloves or a scarf means everything to those guys.
We couldn't do this without you. End of story. Glenn and I just carve four hours out of a December day to go down to Helping Up and distribute the apparel. Those of you who donate items are the ones that make it all happen.
It's also worthwhile to note the assistance of guys like Brad Foxwell and John Novak. They take time off of work to help us transport the clothing from various points in the Towson area to the downtown Helping Up facility on Baltimore Street.
We must have heard "Thank You" about 100 times on December 17. And I'm not talking about a wave and a "thanks". I'm talking about men coming up with clothes in their arms, hand extended, with a genuine "Thank You" and a smile on their face.
I wish all of you could be there to see it for yourself. But I hope this message and the videos below convey a little bit of the pride we all have in helping make the holiday season a little brighter for the men who are starting over again at Helping Up Mission.
More than anything, though, we say "Thank You" to those who donated clothing this year.
Our Capitals-Flyers road trip on January 8 is still on sale (see the "Caps-Flyers" link above the header) but we've reached "last call".
We'll leave the Towson area at 5 pm on Wednesday the 8th and head up I-95 for the final regular season meeting (in Philly) between the Caps and Flyers in 2019-2020. The puck drops at 7:30 pm.
We're offering lower concourse and upper concourse seating at the Wells Fargo Center.
I know someone's bound to ask, so I'll tell you now: Yes, Flyers fans are allowed to purchase seats and join us on the trip. There's no guarantee you'll get a ride home, but we'll at least ride you up there.
I'm kidding...
We'll give you plenty of food and drinks on the bus ride to Philly and we'll have a Caps trivia contest with a cash prize for the winner.
If you haven't been to a game in Philadelphia, it's well worth going. Yes, even though it's Philly...
Please join us for a great one-night trip to Philadelphia to see the Caps beat up on the Flyers.
| Tuesday December 24 | | #DMD | | Issue #1947 |
We don't do much around here on December 24 and 25. Unless the Ravens happen to play the day before or day after, we tend to slow things down for a couple of days and enjoy the Christmas holiday.
But we're still here today and we'll have a message tomorrow, too.
And in the spirit of the holiday, we thought it would be wise to hand out some much deserved gifts for the Ravens as they close in on what could be the best regular season finish in the team's 24-year history.
One player needs to make room in the trunk for all of his gifts.
I imagine you know who that is.
Let's go ahead and set the gifts out. I'm sure the guys are anxious to come downstairs and see who got what.
Biggest moment -- Despite all of the heroics from the quarterback, one play might have announced the Ravens' presence with authority in 2019. And it was turned in by Marcus Peters, who slipped in front of a Russell Wilson pass in Seattle on October 20 and returned it for a touchdown that put Baltimore in the lead for good in a 30-16 win over the Seahawks. That play seemed to do something to the Ravens. They haven't lost a game since then.
MVP -- We all know it's Lamar Jackson. The question is...how close is someone to Lamar's perch? The answer: Not close at all. The Ravens could win three games in a row with any other player on the team being injured. They might have to win three in a row without Mark Ingram, for example. And they can do that. But there's no way they can win three games in a row without Lamar Jackson. Not only is he the Ravens' MVP, he's the MVP of the entire league. And that race isn't really close, either.
Offensive MVP -- Stay by the tree, Lamar. We'll get the door for you while you put both of those gifts in the trunk. No player on offense did as much as Lamar Jackson.
Biggest surprise -- In what would turn out to be a critical development for the team's offense, Bradley Bozeman became a starter in just his 2nd year in the NFL and has been magnificent all season long. Some would say Chuck Clark has been a surprise as well, and that's true, but Clark has had a number of "down" moments in coverage, particularly over the last month of the season. Bozeman has operated with near flawless efficiency in 2019.
Best newcomer -- Football is a sport where leaders make a difference. Typically, you need one on both sides of the ball. And the locker room needs a couple of them during the good times and in the bad times. With all due respect once again to Marcus Peters, the best newcomer to this team and organization in 2019 is Earl Thomas. One look at the way the players entered the stadium in Cleveland last Sunday tells you a lot about the difference between the way Thomas views the game and the way others do. Player after player streamed into the Cleveland stadium from the team bus that was parked outside. Players strolled in wearing headphones, sunglasses (we're inside, guys, please take those off), crazy hats, and wild attire. Most of them pulled along a big suitcase or travel bag on wheels, as a lot of players will change on the flight home and head out for an evening on the town when they return to BWI airport from a road game. The "walk in" is a big show to a lot of players. They want to be seen. Earl Thomas walked in on Sunday wearing sneakers, jeans, and a long sleeved button down top. No hats, glasses, necklaces, travel bag, headphones, etc. He was walking in to "work". That moment struck me as acutely representative of the effort and energy he has brought to the organization. His arrival reminds me a lot of the way Rod Woodson helped the Ravens defense when he showed up two decades ago after a successful career in Pittsburgh.
Defensive MVP -- Some guys will gather around the tree to collect their gift for this one and they'll leave disappointed. It's nearly impossible to give the MVP award to a guy who came in roughly at mid-season, so that eliminates Marcus Peters. But it's worth noting how good he's been since arriving in mid-October. He's been better than good. Marlon Humphrey has also been very good. So, too, has Brandon Williams. One look at the way Nick Chubb and the Cleveland running game torched the Ravens in Baltimore on September 29 when Williams was out of the lineup tells you how valuable the big defensive tackle has been to the 2019 Ravens. But in a league where the quarterback and the passing game dictates just about everything, no Ravens defensive player has been more valuable than Matthew Judon. Eric DeCosta faces a huge decision at season's end. Judon will be a free agent and coveted by a number of teams around the league.
Unsung hero -- Patrick Ricard will saunter up to the tree in a minute to pick up this gift, but he'll simply be handing it off to Nick Boyle, who is the team's Unsung Hero in 2019. Ricard is an interesting asset, for sure, but he's simply a decent player on both sides of the ball. Nothing more, nothing less. Boyle has emerged as one of the top three blocking tight ends in the NFL and is critically responsible for some of Lamar Jackson's success in the RPO system. And Boyle is a competent pass-catching tight end as well. It's also interesting to note that Boyle is one of the lone offensive skill position players still in the mix from the Joe Flacco era.
Best rookie -- Only four of the team's seven picks in 2019 have played a role in the regular season (Brown, Ferguson, Boykin and Hill) and none of them have been extraordinarily impressive. Brown is just a go-route receiver at this point, but he has speed to burn. Ferguson has been good at times, but gets pushed around a lot by bigger offensive linemen. Boykin has been underused and not all that useful when he does get in. And Hill has faced an uphill battle for playing time with Ingram and Edwards ahead of him on the depth chart, but has showed flashes of "something" when he does get the ball. By default, Hollywood Brown gets the best rookie gift. He hasn't had a "bad year" by any means. He just has a lot of room for development in 2020 and beyond.
Most reliable -- Every year, this guy just shows up, does his job to near perfection, and remains one of the most unknown entities in the organization. He doesn't do a lot of Royal Farms commercials or anything like that. But Sam Koch is the most reliable performer, game in and game out, both with his punting duties and the very underrated "holder" role on all place kicks from Justin Tucker. The kicker's job is a tough one, of course. He has to put the ball through the uprights with the game on the line. But the holder has four jobs, basically. And all of them are critical and require incredible precision. He has to keep his eye on the clock, time everything perfectly, call for the snap, grab the ball, spin it so the laces face the goalpost, and position the ball perfectly on a slight backwards angle to ensure the kick's trajectory goes over the defensive line. All of this happens in about 2 seconds. Sam Koch can't play forever. When his days are done, the Ravens will have a huge hole in their 53-man roster.
Best story -- We finally have a gift for John Harbaugh. Coaches are interesting people. They typically have a set of core beliefs they stick with -- depending on the sport -- and they do their best to not stray from them. I have one in coaching golf. If you give me a young man who can hit the ball straight and find the fairway with regularity, no matter how far he hits it, I'll take him over the kid who can hit it 300 yards but half of his drives wind up in the woods or otherwise out of play. I tend not to stray from that philosphy. Teaching "distance" off the tee is far easier than teaching "accuracy", I've found. John Harbaugh, in my view, has strayed from a lot of his coaching axioms over the last year. An old school "ball coach" would look at Lamar Jackson and his style as too gimmicky or hard to fit into a team system. An old school coach wouldn't let the quarterback yell over to him "we're going to go for it here!" when it's 4th and 3 at their own 47 yard line. An old school coach wouldn't have a "leadership council" that meets with him every Monday to advise him how to handle practice that week and list the players that might need a day off. Harbaugh has coaching in his blood, going all the way back to his father, of course. The changes he's made to his own style and those of his team over the last year are extraordinary. It might pay off with a Coach of the Year award this year or it might not. But it might pay off with something even bigger in Miami on February 2nd, for if Harbaugh's Ravens win their second Super Bowl, it will likely be enough to get in the Hall of Fame someday. And he still has several years with Lamar Jackson, at the very least. There could be more rings on the way.
In the past, I've created Holiday CD's that have featured my all-time "best" from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. I add two songs per-day, they eventually total up to 14 or 16 songs (depending on total time) and it's my way of creating something for you that you might enjoy throughout the year.
This holiday season, I'm going with something different.
I'm putting together a CD of songs and/or artists that I'm hoping you might not have previously heard.
I probably won't go 16-for-16. In fact, I'm quite sure that somewhere along the way, you'll have heard of a couple of these artists and bands, at least. But I do think it's safe to say I'll open your eyes and ears to some new music that you might wind up enjoying throughout 2020.
I hope you've enjoyed the holiday CD. The last song is particularly meaningful. "One Day" has a message we can all hopefully agree on, regardless of our race, nationality, religious or political affiliations.
Song #15, "On Top Of The World" -- Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, lead guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their single "It's Time", followed by their award-winning debut studio album Night Visions (2012), which resulted in the chart-topping singles "Radioactive" and "Demons". Rolling Stone named "Radioactive", which holds the record for most weeks charted on the Billboard Hot 100, the "biggest rock hit of the year". MTV called them "the year's biggest breakout band", and Billboard named them their "Breakthrough Band of 2013" and "Biggest Band of 2017" and placed them at the top of their "Year In Rock" rankings for 2013, 2017, and 2018. Imagine Dragons topped the Billboard Year-End "Top Artists – Duo/Group" category in 2018.
Song #16, "One Day" -- Matisyahu is an American Jewish reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician. Born in West Chester, PA, Matthew Paul Miller has used "Matisyahu" as his stage name, which means "Gift of Yahu (God)" in Hebrew.
Known for blending Orthodox Jewish themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 single "King Without a Crown" was a Top 40 hit in the United States. Since 2004, he has released five studio albums as well as two live albums, two remix CDs and two DVDs featuring live concerts. In addition, Matisyahu played the role of Tzadok in The Possession, a supernatural horror film directed by Ole Bornedal and co-produced by Sam Raimi. Through his career, Matisyahu has worked with Bill Laswell, reggae producers Sly & Robbie, and Kool Kojak.
Our Capitals-Flyers road trip on January 8 is still on sale (see the "Caps-Flyers" link above the header) but we've reached "last call".
We'll leave the Towson area at 5 pm on Wednesday the 8th and head up I-95 for the final regular season meeting (in Philly) between the Caps and Flyers in 2019-2020. The puck drops at 7:30 pm.
We're offering lower concourse and upper concourse seating at the Wells Fargo Center.
I know someone's bound to ask, so I'll tell you now: Yes, Flyers fans are allowed to purchase seats and join us on the trip. There's no guarantee you'll get a ride home, but we'll at least ride you up there.
I'm kidding...
We'll give you plenty of food and drinks on the bus ride to Philly and we'll have a Caps trivia contest with a cash prize for the winner.
If you haven't been to a game in Philadelphia, it's well worth going. Yes, even though it's Philly...
Please join us for a great one-night trip to Philadelphia to see the Caps beat up on the Flyers.
| Monday December 23 | | #DMD | | Issue #1946 |
Lamar Jackson is the NFL MVP for the 2019. This, we know. It doesn't matter if he sits out next week and it doesn't matter if Russell Wilson goes 24-for-30 for 339 yards and 4 TD's in a thrilling 31-28 win over the 49'ers next Sunday night. The MVP race is over. I get it, Lamar isn't all that worked up about it...but it's a done deal. Pretty good for a running back.
The AFC playoff picture is still very much a muddied mess. Who gets the #6 spot? We don't know. If the Titans go to Houston and win, Tennessee is in as the 6 seed. If the Titans lose and the Steelers win in Baltimore, Pittsburgh is in. Oh, and Oakland could still make it, too. More on that in a second. Buffalo will travel to Houston in one of the AFC match-ups. That could send the Bills to Baltimore if they beat the Texans -- and if the 6 seed loses to the 3 seed.
There's a game next Sunday in Baltimore that doesn't matter at all to the Ravens. This, we know. There is zero reason to play Lamar Jackson next Sunday against the Steelers. And, no, he doesn't need to play a series or two or the first quarter "just to stay sharp". That's silly talk. If Jackson steps on the field for ONE play, you're risking an injury to him. Other starters who should sit next Sunday include Ingram, Andrews, Thomas, Brown, Smith and either Stanley or Yanda. Sit all of those guys so they're fresh and clean for January 11-12.
Who is going to be the NFL Coach of the Year? We don't know. But I would say this: Pittsburgh's loss to the Jets severely damages the chances of Mike Tomlin receiving strong consideration for the award. If the Steelers do make the playoffs next Sunday, Tomlin goes back in the hopper for discussion about the award. But if Pittsburgh doesn't make it, that definitely improves the chances of John Harbaugh being the winner. Sean McDermott of the Bills will also get some consideration. And rightfully so. In fact, an informal national media poll last week had him collecting the most first-place votes. But at this point, it's Harbaugh's award to lose, somehow. That is, if you ask me.
Prior to this past weekend's slate of games, Oakland needed a 10-team parlay to make the playoffs. This, we know. Well, guess what? They're halfway there. Yesterday, the Raiders needed the following five things to happen to stay alive in the playoff race: Raiders beat Chargers, Saints beat Titans, Jets beat Steelers, Ravens beat Browns and Colts beat Panthers. All five happened. Next weekend, they need five more things to go their way and the Raiders would be in at 8-8: Raiders beat Broncos, Browns beat Bengals, Ravens beat Steelers, Texans beat Titans, Colts beat Jaguars. That's all the Raiders need next Sunday and they're in.
Where would the Ravens be this season if they hadn't lost to Cleveland? We don't know. But it's more obvious by the day that something happened on September 29 when the Browns came to Charm City and trounced John Harbaugh's team, 40-25. I wouldn't say "panic" set in, but perhaps it did. The organization knew changes had to be made, even from just seeing things go haywire in the loss at Kansas City the week before coupled with that home shellacking at the hands of the Browns. New guys came in, veterans left. And those changes sparked what has now become an 11-game regular season winning streak and the #1 seed in the AFC. Remember this down the road, for it's true: Sometimes a loss isn't so bad after all.
There was a pass interference call in yesterday's game in Cleveland that was really weird. This, we know. On the play, Jimmy Smith was flagged for pass interference on Odell Beckham Jr. It looked like Smith made contact with Beckham. It also looked like Beckham might have initiated it. But the NFL being an offensive league and all, the flag went against Smith. And even though it might have been ticky-tack, you can understand how the call was made. But here's the weird part. The ball landed 3 yards out of bounds, at least. There was no way -- none -- that OBJ could have caught the ball, even without pass interference. So...why the flag? I just don't understand how a ball that's in no way catchable could be connected to a pass interference call.
How will the Ravens react to being the #1 seed? We don't know. It's crazy to think about this, but it's true. The Ravens have been in the NFL since 1996 and they've never been the #1 seed in the playoffs. It's not an automatic trip to the Super Bowl, despite what everyone might think. Kansas City, of course, lost the AFC title game at home just last January. Sure, the Ravens would rather be at home than on the road in their next two playoff games, but they won't be facing the Dolphins, Bengals, Browns or some other laughingstock on the weekend of January 11-12. That said, I hope you've been heeding my advice over the last month and getting those hotel reservations worked out in South Florida.
Let's make sure Eric DeCosta is remembered. He's been really good in 2019. This, we know. While Lamar Jackson and the revitalized Baltimore offense gets most of the credit for the team's 13-2 record, it's important to give some major props to general manager Eric DeCosta. He's the one who signed off on Mark Ingram and Earl Thomas, remember. He's the guy who moved Tim Williams out and ushered Marcus Peters in. It was DeCosta who plucked L.J. Fort and Josh Bynes out of the unemployment line, you might recall. When the dust settles in early February and you're calling out sick so you can go to the Ravens parade, remember DeCosta, please.
| "The Keen Eye" of | |
| DAVID ROSENFELD is a former sports publicist who still keeps his eye on the game. Looking at the game, the news or the players on an in-depth level is what he likes to do. Follow his work here at #DMD every Monday & Thursday, brought to you by Glory Days Grill. | ||
(Editor’s Note: This columnist was traveling during yesterday’s Ravens’ game)
The “problem” with Mark Turgeon, for some people anyway, is that he’s not in danger of losing his job, or on some kind of hot seat, no matter what it felt like when the Terps had just seven points 15 minutes into the first half against Seton Hall. Not even close.
Maryland is headed for a good season. The Terps are going to make the NCAA tournament, and likely with a seed of No. 5 or better. I’d be very surprised if Turgeon’s team finishes worse than 13-7 in conference play, and that’s being cautious.
That will make five NCAA tournament appearances in the last six seasons for a coach who in 2016 was signed to a four-year contract extension, in which he averages about $2.5 million per year, that has him locked up through the 2023 season.
In addition, there’s no buyout in Turgeon’s contract. It’s a little complicated, but if the university were to fire him, the only thing he’d miss out on are any bonuses he hadn’t reached. By the end of his contract term, he’d have all of his base and supplemental salary dollars.
He’s not going anywhere. He’s a successful coach, locked into a contract that was a big-time statement of confidence in him. Sure, the athletic director who signed him is gone, but the current athletic director was around then too.
The Terps would have to go into a serious tailspin of long duration, or something off-the-court would need to happen, before it would be “worth” firing Mark Turgeon, no matter what you think of him when his team plays like it did last week at Seton Hall.
The New England Patriots won the AFC East again, dominating the Bills in the final 20 minutes or so Saturday in Foxboro. For about an hour, against a very good defense, the Patriots actually looked like the Patriots.
Bill Belichick’s team has now won its division in 11 consecutive seasons. Including ties for the division lead, the Patriots haven’t finished with fewer wins than the division champion since 2000, when their division included Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts and Tom Brady was a rookie who saw action in one game behind Drew Bledsoe.
Not to beat a dead horse, but a first-place Patriots team of old would not have even been in a game with this Bills team. This Patriots team, however, isn’t really much better than Buffalo. This Patriots team would be a serious underdog against the Ravens on the road in a playoff game, which still sounds weird.
It was an exciting game in Foxboro. Was it a game that gave you confidence for great success in the playoffs if you are a fan of either team? I doubt it.
Tom Brady still does some things well, In particular, his play-action faking is still really good; I’ve always thought that was an underrated part of his game. Meanwhile, Josh Allen doesn’t seem like the smartest guy who ever played quarterback in the NFL, but at least he tries to make a play, and he’s got the athletic ability to do it sometimes.
Even though I’ve already seen both of those teams against the Ravens, watching Saturday’s game between them was heartening. I still don’t see any reason to believe either one of them is any better than they appeared earlier in the season.
Gerrit Cole signed a $324 million, nine-year contract with the Yankees last week. During his introductory press conference, he brought with him a sign from 18 years earlier, when he attended the 2001 World Series in New York as an 11-year-old.
“Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever,” the sign said.
Cole grew up in California—Newport Beach—but his father was raised in Syracuse, which like most of Upstate and Central New York is Yankees territory. Cute story, I guess. Way better than Jeffrey Maier, anyway. Kid brings a sign to a World Series game, a few photos are snapped, and 18 years later, there he is as the team’s ace.
For whatever reason, though, I keep thinking back to Maier. Not to what he did in 1996—which was hardly a crime—but to an article he wrote in Bleacher Report a few years ago, during Derek Jeter’s final year, actually.
I remember thinking that he was an excellent writer, not surprising for a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he was an outstanding baseball player. I laughed a bit when he mentioned that, in 2003, while working at a baseball camp in New Jersey, he found out that Tony Tarasco was coming to speak. They had a nice conversation, and Tarasco made it clear that he didn’t begrudge a young kid for wanting to catch a ball at a game.
One thing bothered me though. At the end, Maier said he’ll never look back on his infamous play with any regrets.
I would have preferred that he said that he was wrong to do what he did. But he’s never said that. He’s never said that he interfered with a ball in play, and that he wished he wouldn’t have done that. The Yankee fan in him doesn’t allow it.
In case you were wondering, the Ravens’ schedule is set for the 2020 season, now that the Patriots clinched the AFC East. As I mentioned last week, expect a lot of primetime games, and some 4:25 p.m. “national” slots as well.
At home, in addition to their three AFC North opponents, the Ravens will play Tennessee and Jacksonville from the AFC South, Dallas and New York from the NFC East and also Kansas City, the champion of the AFC West.
On the road, in addition to their three AFC North opponents, the Ravens will play Houston and Indianapolis from the AFC South, Philadelphia and Washington from the NFC East and also New England, the AFC East champion.
Let’s see. Neither the Titans (ok, a play or two in 2018) nor the Jaguars have played against Lamar Jackson yet. Assuming neither Dallas nor Philadelphia ends up being a potential Super Bowl opponent for the Ravens, add those two teams to the list for sure.
Indy will see Jackson for the first time too. The same can be said for the Redskins and Giants. So that’s at least seven wins right off the bat. You heard it here first…I predict that the Ravens will finish at least 7-9 next season.
In all seriousness, the schedule is a good one for fans who want to go on the road, as it always is when the NFC East and/or AFC East divisions are on the docket. And it’s a good one for the team as far as travel is concerned, as the longest trip is Houston.
And an interesting note. The Ravens’ “road” game against the Jaguars in 2017 was in London, not Florida. If the teams don’t play in 2021 or 2022, the 2023 game between the teams will only be the second in Jacksonville in a 12-year time period.
In the past, I've created Holiday CD's that have featured my all-time "best" from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. I add two songs per-day, they eventually total up to 14 or 16 songs (depending on total time) and it's my way of creating something for you that you might enjoy throughout the year.
This holiday season, I'm going with something different.
I'm putting together a CD of songs and/or artists that I'm hoping you might not have previously heard.
I probably won't go 16-for-16. In fact, I'm quite sure that somewhere along the way, you'll have heard of a couple of these artists and bands, at least. But I do think it's safe to say I'll open your eyes and ears to some new music that you might wind up enjoying throughout 2020.
I hope you've enjoyed the holiday CD. The last song is particularly meaningful. "One Day" has a message we can all hopefully agree on, regardless of our race, nationality, religious or political affiliations.
Song #15, "On Top Of The World" -- Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, lead guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their single "It's Time", followed by their award-winning debut studio album Night Visions (2012), which resulted in the chart-topping singles "Radioactive" and "Demons". Rolling Stone named "Radioactive", which holds the record for most weeks charted on the Billboard Hot 100, the "biggest rock hit of the year". MTV called them "the year's biggest breakout band", and Billboard named them their "Breakthrough Band of 2013" and "Biggest Band of 2017" and placed them at the top of their "Year In Rock" rankings for 2013, 2017, and 2018. Imagine Dragons topped the Billboard Year-End "Top Artists – Duo/Group" category in 2018.
Song #16, "One Day" -- Matisyahu is an American Jewish reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician. Born in West Chester, PA, Matthew Paul Miller has used "Matisyahu" as his stage name, which means "Gift of Yahu (God)" in Hebrew.
Known for blending Orthodox Jewish themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 single "King Without a Crown" was a Top 40 hit in the United States. Since 2004, he has released five studio albums as well as two live albums, two remix CDs and two DVDs featuring live concerts. In addition, Matisyahu played the role of Tzadok in The Possession, a supernatural horror film directed by Ole Bornedal and co-produced by Sam Raimi. Through his career, Matisyahu has worked with Bill Laswell, reggae producers Sly & Robbie, and Kool Kojak.
Our Capitals-Flyers road trip on January 8 is still on sale (see the "Caps-Flyers" link above the header) but we've reached "last call".
We'll leave the Towson area at 5 pm on Wednesday the 8th and head up I-95 for the final regular season meeting (in Philly) between the Caps and Flyers in 2019-2020. The puck drops at 7:30 pm.
We're offering lower concourse and upper concourse seating at the Wells Fargo Center.
I know someone's bound to ask, so I'll tell you now: Yes, Flyers fans are allowed to purchase seats and join us on the trip. There's no guarantee you'll get a ride home, but we'll at least ride you up there.
I'm kidding...
We'll give you plenty of food and drinks on the bus ride to Philly and we'll have a Caps trivia contest with a cash prize for the winner.
If you haven't been to a game in Philadelphia, it's well worth going. Yes, even though it's Philly...
Please join us for a great one-night trip to Philadelphia to see the Caps beat up on the Flyers.
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#DMD GAME DAY |
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Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns 1:00 PM EST First Energy Stadium Cleveland, OH Spread: Ravens (-10.0) |
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When the NFL schedule first got released back in April, everyone looked at Week 16, Baltimore at Cleveland, and thought, "That one might decide the AFC North."
Not so much.
The Browns got hosed by the schedule makers and never could dig themselves out of a very difficult early season slate. Their season highlight was a 40-25 win over the Ravens in Baltimore back in week four.
The Ravens, meanwhile, are one win away from hosting the AFC Championship Game in Charm City. Two more wins and they'll set a franchise record by going 14-2 in the regular season.
Yes, things are much different than most folks expected back in April when week #16 had the Ravens at Browns.
The question isn't which Ravens team will show up today. We know the answer to that one.
The question is...which Browns team will show up?
The outcome could very much depend on that answer.
If the 6-8 Browns team shows up, the one that got beat badly in Arizona last Sunday, this one will be a laugher. But if the Browns team that won three straight games last month and beat playoff-bound Buffalo six weeks ago shows up today, it could be a good football game.
The Browns have nothing to play for today...except pride.
The Ravens have everything to play for today. A win and they'll secure home field for two playoff games including, potentially, the AFC Championship Game on January 19. A loss and they'll have to beat Pittsburgh next Sunday or hope New England falls to the Dolphins at home.
It's also worth noting that the Ravens could possibly still finish as the 3 seed in the AFC if they lose out, New England wins next Sunday, and the Chiefs win their final two games. A longshot...but we mention it nonetheless just to put out all of the paremeters.
There's not a lot of unfinished business remaining for the Ravens in the regular season. Today's game is one of the lone pieces of collateral damage John Harbaugh's team would like to repair before the playoffs begin -- that 40-25 home loss back in week #4 that probably wasn't as close as the 40-25 score would indicate.
And a win today would give Harbaugh and his coaching staff the opportunity to rest some veteran players next Sunday in the season finale or at least treat the game like a pre-season contest if nothing else. That would be a valuable first step in reaching the AFC title game on January 19.
This one, I think, is all about "having something to play for". The Browns look around and says, "If we can just finish the season without getting hurt, we're in good shape."
The Ravens say: "We have to demolish these guys, secure the #1 seed, and get ready to win a couple of games in January and go to the Super Bowl."
One of those postures yields itself to good, quality football. The other lends itself to getting clobbered.
The Ravens will jump out to a quick 7-0 first quarter lead after Marlon Humphrey intercepts a Baker Mayfield pass and gives Lamar Jackson and the offense a short field. Jackson hits Mark Andrews with a big throw near the goalline and moments later, Mark Ingram plunges in from short distance.
It's 10-0 in the second quarter when Mayfield and the Cleveland offense generate some excitement for one of the few times all day. Mayfield hits Jarvis Landry with a long completion, then gets Landry the ball again in the end zone from 24 yards out and the Browns are to win 10-7 late in the 2nd quarter.
But Lamar and the offense go right down the field in 7 plays, capped off by a 29 yard TD throw to Hollywood Brown just as the half expires. It's 16-7 after Justin Tucker misses the extra point.
After a decent Cleveland drive to start the third quarter ends with a fumble on the Baltimore 15 yard line, the Ravens go down the field with ease and Jackson hits Mark Andrews from 10 yards out to put the Ravens up 23-7.
Mayfield and the Browns finally get on the scoreboard again with a TD throw to Landry, again, and it's 23-14 heading into the 4th quarter.
Marcus Peters gets in the act with a pick six on Cleveland's first drive of the 4th quarter to make it 30-14.
A Justin Tucker field goal with 3:00 remaining makes it 33-14.
Mayfield hits Landry for a third and final time with 20 seconds left in the game. The extra point is missed, and the Ravens win 33-20.
Don't let last week's 2-4 record fool you. We got ripped off by the gambling gods. Again. We had a 3-3 record all locked up until the Redskins fumbled the ball on the game's final play and turned a 6-point home cover into a loss because the Eagles rumbled down the field and scored a meaningless touchdown at the buzzer.
That's twice now this season we've been on the bad end of a horrible, horrible beat. It stinks. But we're back for six more games today, and hoping to put a little Christmas shopping money in our pocket at the same time.
You already know we're taking the Ravens and laying ten points today against Cleveland. Let's move on to the rest of the games and see what's in store.
BENGALS AT DOLPHINS (+2.0) -- How on earth the guys in Vegas have the Bengals as the favorite in this one is beyond me. I feel like this is easy money -- really easy money -- for anyone taking the Dolphins, which is what we're going to do. We love Miami plus the two points here, and we're calling an outright win to the tune of 30-23. Note: This is also our Best Bet of the Day selection.
STEELERS AT JETS (+3.5) -- Pittsburgh has everything to play for and the Jets are done. Seems like an easy play, right? Yes, it does, except for the fact that the Pittsburgh offense is lousy. They might not reach 20 points today. In fact, they probably won't. But the Jets aren't really any good, either, and they're looking like a team trying to get its coach fired if you ask me. We'll take the Jets plus the 3.5 points "just because", but Pittsburgh wins a tight one here, 19-17.
COWBOYS AT EAGLES (+2.5) -- Wow. It all (likely) comes down to one game in Philly, for the right to make the NFC playoffs as the East Division winner. Good job, schedule makers. This one feels like a Dallas win to me. Philly barely escaped a home thriller with the Giants back on December 9 and the Cowboys seem to be coming on a bit down the stretch. We're going with Dallas to win this one on a late field goal, 27-24.
CARDINALS AT SEAHAWKS (-9.0) -- Nothing about this game tells us the Cardinals should hang around. Their offense is OK, but their defense is really bad. And then, suddenly, the offense will go in a funk and their defense will man-up and have a good game. We can't imagine Seattle lays off the gas pedal in this one. Seahawks win at a home in a blowout, 34-17.
CHIEFS AT BEARS (+6.0) -- Kansas City still has a lot to play for. They can still finish as the #1, #2 or #3 seed in the AFC, although a Ravens win earlier in the day would eliminate the potential for a #1 seed. Nonetheless, the Chiefs have a lot on the line tonight and the Bears don't have much of anything to play for. We're going with the Chiefs, in a close one, as they win 27-20.
RECORD TO DATE: 40-49-1*
LAST WEEK'S RECORD:2-4**
RAVENS AGAINST THE SPREAD: 6-9
BEST BET OF THE DAY: 6-9
*Indicates our record should be 42-47-1 if not for Arizona choking away an easy 9.5 point cover in the final 30 seconds of the game in San Francisco on November 17 and **the Redskins giving up a meaningless TD on the final play of the game to squander a 6-point home cover against the Eagles on December 15.
Well, we had quite the turnaround on day two of voting for Baltimore's "Unsung Hero of the Decade".
Ravens punter Sam Koch held a comfortable lead after day one.
But he couldn't hold on to it.
Instead, it was Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy who came out on top by a mere three percentage points, finishing with 35% of the vote to Koch's 32% of the vote.
Darren O'Day was next with 17% of the vote, finishing in 3rd place.
Former Ravens center Matt Birk garnered 10% of the vote.
And Ravens kicking coach Randy Brown collected 6% of the vote.
So, congratulations to #2, J.J. Hardy, who wound up finishing #1.
| Saturday December 21 | | #DMD | | Issue #1944 |
We're a day late on this but Mark Turgeon has to be concerned with his team's every-game-habit of starting out more asleep than Buck Showalter in a Toronto dugout in October.
It's not a crime to lose to Seton Hall on the road. That is, until you realize that same Seton Hall team -- minus their two top players -- had just lost to Rutgers by 20 points five days earlier. Rutgers, you might know, isn't very good.
Oh, and nine days earlier, Maryland went up to Penn State and got beat -- again.
So, while Maryland is 10-2, there are too many troubling tendencies that stick out. They start out slow, find their sea legs about 15 minutes into the game, scratch their way to a lead and then fight for their lives to hold on to the lead. In his 8 year tenure at College Park (prior to this one), Turgeon's teams have typically been really good at winning five minute games. That's been a strength over the years: Keep it close for 35 minutes and then win the final 5 minutes.
But at some point, that sort of witchcraft comes to an end. It worked two weeks ago when Illinois forgot how to play in the final three minutes of a game they should have easily won at College Park, but Penn State and Seton Hall both came through down the stretch and the Terps...did not.
Someone asked me yesterday if I thought Turgeon was on the hot seat. "Of course he is," I said. "But that's because he's always on the hot seat around here. And always will be. The first guy to replace Gary Williams will be on the hot seat until the day he either A) wins the NCAA tournament in April or, B) gets fired or quits."
As Maryland rounds out the fantasyland portion of their schedule with a home game against something named Bryant on December 29 and gets ready for 10 weeks of Big Ten play, Turgeon needs to figure some things out about his predictable Terps team. If he doesn't, the seat's going to get hotter.
Today's slate of three NFL games is like Thanksgiving Day all over again except you won't be filled to the brim with turkey and mashed potatoes. But unlike those Thursday games last month, these three games today actually matter. Houston is at Tampa Bay (1 pm), where the Texans need to win to hold on to the top spot in the AFC South. Buffalo is at New England (4:30 pm) in a game that could decide the AFC East. And the Rams and their flickering playoff hopes head to San Francisco (8:30 pm) for a huge NFC West contest.
The Buffalo-New England game is one worth watching in Baltimore, because it very well might be that a Buffalo loss could propel them to a rematch with Baltimore on the weekend of January 11-12 in the Ravens playoff opener.
If the Bills finish as the top wild card team (#5 seed), they'll play the #4 seed in the first round of the playoffs, which is all but certain to be the AFC South winner. As long as the #6 seed (Pittsburgh? Tennessee?) doesn't upset the #3 seed in the first round, Buffalo -- assuming they win over Houston/Tennessee -- would come to Charm City the following weekend.
By the way, all of these scenarios assume the Ravens win one of their final two regular season games and clinch the #1 seed, which I'd say is about 97.5% certain.
The Bills are an interesting team. I'm not sure they're actually "good", but I'd say they're interesting. They might actually think they're really good, which makes them a tad bit dangerous come playoff time. I'm not saying the Ravens should be afraid of Buffalo. Not at all. But I also don't think you can sleepwalk your past them in January, no matter the venue.
Let's get a head start on Sunday's "Show Me The Money" feature here at #DMD. I like the Texans (-3.5) today, even though they haven't been all that hot on the road. Tampa Bay (7-7) is playing for nothing but pride. The Texans could still lose today and win the AFC South next week with a home win over the Titans, but I like Houston to cover and win today, 26-20.
I also love, love, love the 49'ers (-6.5) over the Rams in the evening game. San Fran is coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Falcons, while the Rams have finagled their way back into the playoff picture, although they need two wins and two Minnesota losses to snag the final NFC wild card spot. I can't see the 49'ers losing this one and I think it's more like a San Fran romp than a nailbiter, so we'll go with the 49'ers here in a bit of a blowout, 30-17.
We got ripped off again last week here at #DMD when the Redskins suffered the 2nd worst "bad beat" of the season when they allowed the Eagles to score a touchdown on the game's final play when the outcome had already been decided moments earlier.
Washington was getting six points at home over Philly, and led 27-24 until late in the game when the Eagles scored a TD and kicked the extra point to go up 31-27. No biggie, though. You're still in good shape if you have the Redskins plus 6.0, right? Wrong. On the last play of the game, near midfield, Philly's Nigel Bradham picked up a fumble and scooted 48 yards into the end zone to finalize the scoring at 37-27. Never mind that he could have just run out of bounds to end the game or fallen to the ground to end the game. No, no, no. He had to RUN INTO THE END ZONE! Merry Christmas.....to everyone who had the Eagles.
The Capitals rolled on last night with a 6-3 win over the hapless Devils, which gives me an opportunity to remind you that we're heading up to Philadelphia on January 8 to see the Capitals take on the worst franchise in the history of the sports.
We still have seats left on the bus and really good lower and upper concourse tickets available for those who want to go along with us.
The bus will leave from the Towson area at 4:45 pm. We'll provide dinner and drinks on the bus ride to Philly and we'll have a cool Caps trivia contest with a cash prize for the winner!
If you're interested in joining us, just click "Caps/Flyers" on the top of the page and you'll be directed to the order form.
OK, so this one requires some real thought. Unfortunately, we've narrowed down your choice to just five, but you can write-in a candidate in the comments section below if you like.
Who is Baltimore's Unsung Sports Hero...of the decade?
Wow. There's a lot to unpack there, huh?
Editor's note: We're running this poll a second day and will have the results tomorrow here at #DMD. It's a tight race thus far. Let's just say a certain football "figure" has the lead.
Recency bias being what it is and all, it takes a lot of revisionist thinking to go back to 2010 and start thinking about who played, who was really good but didn't get their due, and so on.
Truth of the matter, we had a hard time coming up with five. But we did, finally.
J.J. Hardy -- His slide into home plate in the 8th inning of Game 2 of the 2014 ALDS vs. Detroit was enough to get him on the list. But the quiet, talented shortstop did a lot more than that earlier this decade. Hardy spent 7 seasons in Charm City (2011-2017) and was a central figure in the three Orioles playoff teams ('12, '14, '16). He won three gold gloves in Baltimore and averaged .252 at the plate with 107 home runs in those 7 campaigns.
Sam Koch -- It feels like he's the only punter in Ravens history. That's not accurate...but it sure *feels* that way. Koch has been with the Ravens since 2006 and most certainly would be worthy of NFL Hall of Fame consideration if, in fact, they considered punters to be "football players" in Canton. As it is, the Ravens will have a quandry on their hands someday, because Koch -- without question -- should be in the team's Ring of Honor after he retires. He has performed at an extremely high level throughout this decade. But no one seems to notice.
Matt Birk -- He only played three seasons in the decade ('10, '11, '12) but Birk's arrival also connected with the Ravens offense perking up, culminating in two consecutive AFC title game appearances and a Super Bowl title in 2012. He was a 6-time Pro Bowl selection in Minnesota, then turned in a similar level of play in his four full seasons in Baltimore. The center position was in good hands when Matt Birk was in town, that's for sure.
Darren O'Day -- The O's right handed relief pitcher spent 7 seasons with the team in this decade, and was an integral part of the dominant bullpen in the 2014 campaign. He pitched to a superb 2.40 ERA in his 7 seasons, striking out 424 batters in 374 innings of work. As good as Zach Britton was back then, O'Day was the man who got through the eighth inning and presented Britton with his chance to shine.
Randy Brown -- Who? I know that's the first thing you said a second ago when you read: Randy Brown. Randy Brown is the guy who has served as the Ravens kicking coach throughout this decade. Yes, believe it or not, Justin Tucker has actually used some "coaching". So, too, has Sam Koch. Brown first joined the organization in 2008 as a "consultant", but has been part of the team's staff for the last six years and is largely responsible for the development of "The Wolfpack" (Cox, Koch, Tucker). Ask anyone at Owings Mills how important Randy Brown is to the team's success and they'll all answer with one word: Very.
In the past, I've created Holiday CD's that have featured my all-time "best" from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. I add two songs per-day, they eventually total up to 14 or 16 songs (depending on total time) and it's my way of creating something for you that you might enjoy throughout the year.
This holiday season, I'm going with something different.
I'm putting together a CD of songs and/or artists that I'm hoping you might not have previously heard.
I probably won't go 16-for-16. In fact, I'm quite sure that somewhere along the way, you'll have heard of a couple of these artists and bands, at least. But I do think it's safe to say I'll open your eyes and ears to some new music that you might wind up enjoying throughout 2020.
I'll add two songs per-day for the next eight days. When the 16 songs are finally available in full order, we'll figure out a way to make the full download available to you if you'd like to put them on a CD or add them to your playlist on your phone/tablet.
Song #13, "Give It Up" -- Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock group that combines traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel, and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, People (1988), was the most successful debut album in Irish history, reaching No. 1 in Ireland and No. 2 in the UK. After two more albums and extensive touring, the group separated in 1994. Since getting back together in 1998, the band members have been sporadically issuing new songs and touring, but also pursuing solo careers.
Song #14, "Teach Me To Know" -- The Lone Bellow is an American musical group from Brooklyn, New York. The Lone Bellow began as a songwriting project for Zach Williams, whose wife had suffered temporary paralysis following a horseback riding accident. During his wife's recovery, Williams coped with the experience by writing in a journal. At the urging of his friends, Williams learned how to play the guitar and turned his journal entries into songs. Following his wife's recovery, the couple moved to New York City in order to pursue their creative endeavors.
Previously, Williams had been performing as a solo act around Brooklyn and New York City, occasionally being backed by a hired band. Williams recalls when The Lone Bellow's guitarist and old friend, Brian Elmquist met at Dizzy's Diner in Park Slope. Williams invited fellow singer Kanene Pipkin to join them at the diner, and it was then that the trio was initially conceived. Initially known as Zach Williams and the Bellow, the band shortened its name to The Lone Bellow before putting out any official releases. In 2012, the group signed with Descendant Records, a newly formed imprint of Sony Music, and released its self-titled debut, produced by Charlie Peacock, in January 2013. It was recorded at local NYC venue Rockwood Music Hall over the course of three days.
| Friday December 20 | | #DMD | | Issue #1943 |
I can't believe Lamar Jackson spilled the beans earlier this week.
Who tipped him off?
While discussing his 2019 play during a mid-week gathering with the media, Jackson revealed who the real MVP is.......and much to everyone's shock, it's not the talented Ravens quarterback.
Asked what keeps him humble in the midst of the historical season he's having, Jackson gave credit to the real MVP: "The Lord," Jackson said.
“I give Him all his praise, the glory, the honor, because without Him I could have been doing anything,” Jackson continued. "I'll be thinking about it, talking to Him throughout the day like, ‘Man, appreciate You. I thank You.’ Because, when you feel like you’re bigger than the Lord, that's when all that success dies. It goes away. You have to let Him know He's the reason you're having that much success.”
Jackson also referenced his teammates, coaches and family.
“We’ve just got to keep going and let the Lord know he’s No. 1,” he said.
These days, with Christianity under constant attack from all angles, it's indeed refreshing to see or hear a prominent citizen step up with praise for God and his son, Jesus.
Instead of focusing on government and money and power and whistleblowers and debates and impeachments and parties that divide instead of connect, perhaps it's time to go back to church and start from the ground up. Every Sunday when I'm in church, no one there is fighting or bickering. No one is tearing one another down. No one is mean or filled with ill spirit. I've never been to my church and left there angry or outraged.
And funniest of all, I have no idea what anyone's political affiliation is in my church. We all just show up, shake hands, follow as best we can the word of God, and everything moves along from that starting point. Democrat? Republican? Aquarius? Scorpio? Wealthy? Middle class? I have no idea. Everyone in my church seems like a good person, which is all that matters.
Our nation can't seem to figure it out but Lamar Jackson has. Maybe he should run for President. I know one state that would vote for him.
Two warnings.
The #DMD podcast below (over 40 minutes in length) with ESPN's Kevin Van Valkenburg is 97% about golf and 3% about the Ravens.
And Van Valkenburg is a huge Tiger fan. So for those of you who constantly whine about how much the media loves Tiger, you should probably skip the first 12 minutes of the podcast so you don't spit up turkey and carrots on your bib.
But if you can tolerate two guys talking golf for 40 minutes, please give it a listen. We delve into the weird world of Patrick Reed, the Presidents Cup, the main cast of characters on the PGA Tour, and whether or not "ghosts" really do exist at Augusta National Golf Club.
OK, so this one requires some real thought. Unfortunately, we've narrowed down your choice to just five, but you can write-in a candidate in the comments section below if you like.
Who is Baltimore's Unsung Sports Hero...of the decade?
Wow. There's a lot to unpack there, huh?
Recency bias being what it is and all, it takes a lot of revisionist thinking to go back to 2010 and start thinking about who played, who was really good but didn't get their due, and so on.
Truth of the matter, we had a hard time coming up with five. But we did, finally.
J.J. Hardy -- His slide into home plate in the 8th inning of Game 2 of the 2014 ALDS vs. Detroit was enough to get him on the list. But the quiet, talented shortstop did a lot more than that earlier this decade. Hardy spent 7 seasons in Charm City (2011-2017) and was a central figure in the three Orioles playoff teams ('12, '14, '16). He won three gold gloves in Baltimore and averaged .252 at the plate with 107 home runs in those 7 campaigns.
Sam Koch -- It feels like he's the only punter in Ravens history. That's not accurate...but it sure *feels* that way. Koch has been with the Ravens since 2006 and most certainly would be worthy of NFL Hall of Fame consideration if, in fact, they considered punters to be "football players" in Canton. As it is, the Ravens will have a quandry on their hands someday, because Koch -- without question -- should be in the team's Ring of Honor after he retires. He has performed at an extremely high level throughout this decade. But no one seems to notice.
Matt Birk -- He only played three seasons in the decade ('10, '11, '12) but Birk's arrival also connected with the Ravens offense perking up, culminating in two consecutive AFC title game appearances and a Super Bowl title in 2012. He was a 6-time Pro Bowl selection in Minnesota, then turned in a similar level of play in his four full seasons in Baltimore. The center position was in good hands when Matt Birk was in town, that's for sure.
Darren O'Day -- The O's right handed relief pitcher spent 7 seasons with the team in this decade, and was an integral part of the dominant bullpen in the 2014 campaign. He pitched to a superb 2.40 ERA in his 7 seasons, striking out 424 batters in 374 innings of work. As good as Zach Britton was back then, O'Day was the man who got through the eighth inning and presented Britton with his chance to shine.
Randy Brown -- Who? I know that's the first thing you said a second ago when you read: Randy Brown. Randy Brown is the guy who has served as the Ravens kicking coach throughout this decade. Yes, believe it or not, Justin Tucker has actually used some "coaching". So, too, has Sam Koch. Brown first joined the organization in 2008 as a "consultant", but has been part of the team's staff for the last six years and is largely responsible for the development of "The Wolfpack" (Cox, Koch, Tucker). Ask anyone at Owings Mills how important Randy Brown is to the team's success and they'll all answer with one word: Very.
In the past, I've created Holiday CD's that have featured my all-time "best" from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. I add two songs per-day, they eventually total up to 14 or 16 songs (depending on total time) and it's my way of creating something for you that you might enjoy throughout the year.
This holiday season, I'm going with something different.
I'm putting together a CD of songs and/or artists that I'm hoping you might not have previously heard.
I probably won't go 16-for-16. In fact, I'm quite sure that somewhere along the way, you'll have heard of a couple of these artists and bands, at least. But I do think it's safe to say I'll open your eyes and ears to some new music that you might wind up enjoying throughout 2020.
I'll add two songs per-day for the next eight days. When the 16 songs are finally available in full order, we'll figure out a way to make the full download available to you if you'd like to put them on a CD or add them to your playlist on your phone/tablet.
Song #11, "This Is The Last Time" -- Keane are an English rock band from Battle, East Sussex, formed in 1995. The band currently comprises Tom Chaplin (lead vocals, electric/acoustic guitar), Tim Rice-Oxley (piano, synthesisers, bass guitar, backing vocals), Richard Hughes (drums, percussion, backing vocals), and Jesse Quin (bass guitar, acoustic/electric guitar, backing vocals). Their original line-up included founder and guitarist Dominic Scott, who left in 2001.
Keane achieved mainstream, international success with the release of their debut album, Hopes and Fears, in 2004. Topping the UK charts, the album won the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Album and was the second best-selling British album of 2004. It remains one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. Their second album, Under the Iron Sea, released in 2006, topped the UK album charts and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200. Their third album, Perfect Symmetry, was released in October 2008.
Keane are known for using keyboards as the lead instrument instead of guitars, differentiating them from most other rock bands. The inclusion of a distorted piano effect in 2006 and various synthesisers were a common feature in their music which developed on the second and third albums. Keane have sold over 13 million records worldwide.
The band released their fifth studio album Cause and Effect on 20 September 2019. It was announced on 6 June 2019 with the release of lead single "The Way I Feel".
Song #12, "Summertime" -- Victoria Vox is a singer, songwriter and musician specialising in the ukulele. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin and former Baltimore resident, Vox now resides in Costa Mesa, California when not on tour.
Listeners to Drew's radio show will recall Vox appearing several times in 2012 and 2013. The two originally met when Vox performed at a summer concert series in Towson, MD and Drew invited her on his show to sing Christmas songs.
Vox married musician Jack Maher in 2016 and the two currently perform as Jack & the Vox. Their honeymoon was spent on a tour of Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain and Ireland where they participated in the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival.
A considerable amount of Victoria's work can be found on YouTube.
| Thursday December 19 | | #DMD | | Issue #1942 |
I've been doing a lot of group discussions recently, both with parents and athletes alike. While I don't necessarily have an audience preference, I can say without hesitation I find parents of young athletes to be the more diverse group, if you will. Some parents were high level athletes, some merely dabbled in sports as a youth, and others didn't play at all.
So, a while back I created a "primer", for lack of a better term, that I think parents can find useful when trying to navigate the sometimes murky waters of youth sports.
Some of these you might have heard before. Some might be new to you.
We live in an age where parents are more prone to emphasizing their children's athletic success than the children do themselves.
Funny thing...no 8-year old who ever won the Little League championship or the Fall soccer tournament ever parlayed that particular event into being a great husband, wife, father or mother.
But parents, for some reason, are adamant about winning. And playing time. And the way their son or daughter is coached.
If you're a parent who has lost their way, these 10 comments could help get you back on track. Try them. Not only will it help your children, it will help you.
"I really enjoyed watching you play today." -- This is the very first thing you should say to your child at the completion of the game. Forget the result, how they played, what impact they had or didn't have. Just put your arm around them, kiss their forehead and say "I really enjoyed watching you play today." There is nothing else you can say that impacts them in a more positive way than this statement.
"The officials weren't the reason you lost." -- All you do when you agree that the officials lost this game is open the door for that same excuse to be used in the next game. "The officials weren't the reason you lost" is the best answer you can give if the subject of officiating comes up after a loss.
"Have Fun. Smile. Laugh. Enjoy yourself." -- This should be the last thing you say to your child before they head to the field for warm-ups. It's the ultimate message you want them to remember. Don't say "play well!" or "good luck!" or "score some goals!". Tell them to "Have Fun. Smile. Laugh. Enjoy yourself." If they do those things, the rest of that stuff (playing well, scoring, etc.) is more likely to happen.
"It won't be the last time you (do that)" -- When your child misses a big shot, strikes out with the bases loaded, misses a 3-foot putt, drops a pass, etc., it's important to remind them that there are certain realities in life and one of them is they will occasionally fail. It's part of competing. If one of my golfers makes a triple bogey and I sense it's lingering with him, I make a point of pulling him aside after the match and saying, "I have news for you. This will NOT be the last triple bogey you make in your life. There will be others. It's part of competing. The key is to not let it change the way you play in the future."
"The coach is right." -- This one is ultra important. Those four words are vital to the development of an athlete. Too many times, the players think they know more than the coach. The parents definitely believe they know more than the coach. And all that contention does is create confusion and a poor player-coach relationship. "The coach is right." It's clean, simple and doesn't leave much wiggle room for discussion. So, the next time your young athlete plops down in the car and starts bellyaching about the coach, it's helpful for you to simply say, "The coach is right."
"Take the day off." -- Vitally important. This doesn't mean skip practice or a game. It means, "take the day off" and don't touch a bat, a club, a stick, a ball, etc. I find it valuable with my golfers to tell them this in advance, say, a week or so out. "Next Friday is a day off. Do not touch a club, period. Don't go near the golf course. Get away from golf for a day." In times where a young athlete's schedule is really packed and intense, giving them two days off is even better. They're not going to forget how to play baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, golf, etc. if they don't play Thursday and Friday.
"You can't be a sore loser." In the same way that athletes have to learn how to win, they also have to learn how to lose. This is not to say that you have to "like" losing or be "comfortable" with it. There's an old saying: "Show me someone that likes to lose.....and I'll show you a loser." But there's a right way to lose. Shake hands, say, "Well done" and move on. Give them a real handshake. Look them in the eye. Be genuine. The other team/player tries, too.
"You're getting out of it what you put into it." -- Another awesome philosophical statement. This applies to virtually everything and works on both ends of the spectrum. If your child is working hard and getting good results, they're "getting out of it what they put into it." And if they're not working all that hard and not getting good results, they're "getting out of it what they put into it." Sometimes young athletes need to be reminded of this simple axiom. You're getting the results the system is designed to give you.
"You talk to the coach. I'm not doing it." -- This one is really hard for parents to accept, but it's a critical position to adopt with your young athlete. If they want to know why they aren't playing more, playing at all, playing a different position, etc., they'll often cry on your shoulder and you'll say, "Yeah, I agree. Let me talk to the coach." No, no, no. Let your child do the talking. Let them ask the questions. This will create a sense of independence with them and also do wonders for their relationship with the coach. "You talk to the coach. I'm not doing it." Try it. And stick with it.
"Be a great teammate." -- There's nothing in team sports more important than this. Nothing. If your child can be a great teammate, that's far more important than being a great player.
If any of you would like me to speak with your winter sports team, coaching group or parents, please reach out. I'd love to do it: drew@drewsmorningdish.com
OK, so we are living in a world that's dominated by video, right?
Everyone's doing it, whether it's with their cell phone, Go-Pro, etc. Likewise, we're taking stuff we see on TV or YouTube and making those moments into videos as well.
Well, someone on Twitter that goes by @puttoutgolf put the golf world into hysterics on Wednesday with the release of a video from the recent Presidents Cup. For those who didn't see what happened in real time, on the final hole of the Tiger Woods vs. Abraham Ancer match, Woods rolled in a 20-foot putt on the 16th hole that ended the match. As you'll see in the video below, Woods took off his hat to shake hands with Ancer just after the ball rolled over the edge of the cup and dipped into the hole.
After the match, Woods said he knew the putt was in and the match was over when the ball was still six feet from the hole.
And now the fun begins. @puttoutgolf took it a step further, creating a hilarious video that shows Woods taking off his hat when the ball is about five feet off his putter.
I've seen a lot of funny videos in 2019. I haven't seen one more funny than this one. And more well done. It's hard to discern the doctored video from the real highlight.
| "The Keen Eye" of | |
| DAVID ROSENFELD is a former sports publicist who still keeps his eye on the game. Looking at the game, the news or the players on an in-depth level is what he likes to do. Follow his work here at #DMD every Monday & Thursday, brought to you by Glory Days Grill. | ||
The Ravens don’t need any extra motivation as they head to Northeast Ohio this weekend. A win against the 6-8 Cleveland Browns would mean the No. 1 seed in the AFC, home field throughout the conference playoffs (finally) in their 12th trip to the postseason (1).
A win might also mean some unexpected rest in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers (2). Don’t think for a moment that a 13-year veteran like Marshal Yanda isn’t thinking how nice it would be to keep the pads off that day.
That said, the Ravens have a pair of opponents they need to pay back. It starts Sunday and, based on Patrick Mahomes’s performance in a Missouri snowstorm last weekend (3), it might come to a climax at M&T Bank Stadium against the Chiefs on the third weekend of January.
But let us start with the Browns, who came into Baltimore on a very warm September day and put on a performance that, these days, we’d describe as “Raven-like.” The score was 40-25, but it would have been 40-18 if not for a meaningless 50-yard touchdown catch by Willie Snead in the final 30 seconds.
We know now that the game was the catalyst for changes on the Ravens defense. Josh Bynes was sitting at home watching football on television that day; seven days later, he was intercepting a first-quarter pass in Pittsburgh. Kenny Young (4), who made a litany of poor plays against the Browns, went from starting to inactive and then traded.
It was proven weeks ago that Eric DeCosta and the coaching staff were right to make those changes. But it’ll probably feel better for everyone if they can make it right when they head to Cleveland. I don’t think the Ravens have been trying to beat teams 45-6 and 49-13. They’re just very efficient, with a bit of spectacular sprinkled in from time to time. This time, though? I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a number in mind, at least privately.
And there’s a real chance a blowout could happen.
The Browns just got routed in the second half by a lousy Arizona team that had lost six in a row. Mathematically, Freddie Kitchens’ team is still alive for the playoffs (5), but they know better than that. They’ve been done for a while now, and I wonder how much they really care about a potential sweep of the best team in the NFL.
Have you read any of the clips out of Cleveland in recent days? Odell Beckham (6) might want out already…what a surprise! News is that his friend Jarvis Landry is maybe thinking the same thing. Kareem Hunt said, publicly, that a lot of players didn’t give 100 percent on every play in Arizona.
That’s Cleveland. As for Baltimore, every NFL team gets one week with three extra days off thanks to Thursday Night football (7), and this happened to be that week for John Harbaugh’s team. The players were away from the building in Owings Mills for a few days, with the hope they’d be refreshed when they reported on Tuesday for a normal practice week. The extra time should help the players with “minor” injuries and gives hope that left tackle Ronnie Stanley can get out of concussion protocol.
Other teams, and other players besides Lamar Jackson, took the spotlight this past Sunday. Dallas (8) and Philadelphia will play essentially a winner-take-all game for the NFC East this Sunday. All of that is probably a good thing for the Ravens, who with three hours of focus can eliminate all the scenarios that might still be out there for others.
On the other hand, there’s a reason why the Browns and Chiefs have been the two teams to hand the Ravens a loss this season. They are, by far, the two most talented offensive teams on the schedule. They are among the most talented offensive teams in the NFL. They can make a defense uncomfortable in ways the Bills can’t, even in ways the Patriots and Seahawks can’t.
Nick Chubb is the leading rusher in the NFL with 1,408 yards, and he broke an 88-yarder back in Baltimore in September (9). For whatever reasons, Baker Mayfield had his most prolific passing day of the year that day too. In three career games against the Ravens, he’s thrown for almost 1,100 yards. He’s also thrown five balls to the other team, and I’m guessing at least one more of those is coming on Sunday.
And finally, even though Beckham and Landry like to take turns complaining about how many passes come their way, they’ll both be 1,000-yard receivers by year’s end (10).
In other words, the Browns can beat the Ravens on Sunday, in a way that the Steelers might not if the Ravens don’t rest any starters the following week. The Browns can outscore almost any opponent, and they have the kind of offense that can stay on the field for long drives.
They probably won’t, but I thought I’d at least remind you of the possibility.
Notes --
1 - Forget about the No. 1 seed. The Ravens have only hosted a game in the divisional round twice, against the Texans (a win) following the 2011 season and against the Colts (a loss) following the 2006 season.
2 - I almost think it would be smart to activate and start rookie Trace McSorley in that situation instead of Robert Griffin. More likely is that Lamar Jackson hits the field for one drive and then sits down.
3 - Football games in the snow are the coolest games to watch. Sitting in the upper deck in the first half of the 2013 Ravens-Vikings game was one of my favorite sports experiences ever.
4 - According to Pro Football Reference, Young has played a grand total of zero defensive snaps since joining the Rams after the trade. Let me repeat. Zero.
5 - The Browns can make the playoffs if they win both their remaining games, both the Titans and Steelers lose their remaining games and a bunch of other stuff happens.
6 - Seriously, did anybody with a decent head on his or her shoulders really think that OBJ was going to work out in Cleveland in the long term?
7 - As long as every team has the same advantage/disadvantage once during the season, I have no problem with Thursday Night football.
8 - I don’t understand how the Cowboys are 7-7. They absolutely have the talent to win the Super Bowl…once they get in the playoffs, of course.
9 - The kind of long run that Chubb had late in that game is the one thing the Ravens’ defense is most vulnerable to. The Ravens don’t tackle well at all at the “second level.”
10 - Mark Andrews needs 241 receiving yards in the Ravens’ final two games to get to 1,000 yards on the season. Unlikely, but possible I suppose.
In the past, I've created Holiday CD's that have featured my all-time "best" from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. I add two songs per-day, they eventually total up to 14 or 16 songs (depending on total time) and it's my way of creating something for you that you might enjoy throughout the year.
This holiday season, I'm going with something different.
I'm putting together a CD of songs and/or artists that I'm hoping you might not have previously heard.
I probably won't go 16-for-16. In fact, I'm quite sure that somewhere along the way, you'll have heard of a couple of these artists and bands, at least. But I do think it's safe to say I'll open your eyes and ears to some new music that you might wind up enjoying throughout 2020.
I'll add two songs per-day for the next eight days. When the 16 songs are finally available in full order, we'll figure out a way to make the full download available to you if you'd like to put them on a CD or add them to your playlist on your phone/tablet.
Song #9, "Mind Over Matter" -- Young the Giant is an American rock band that formed in Irvine, California, in 2004. The band's line-up consists of Sameer Gadhia (lead vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar), Payam Doostzadeh (bass guitar), and Francois Comtois (drums). Formerly known as The Jakes, Young the Giant was signed by Roadrunner Records in 2009, and they released their eponymous debut album in 2010. The band's first three singles, "My Body", "Cough Syrup", and "Apartment", all charted on the US Alternative Songs chart.
Song #10, "The Stoop" -- Little Jackie is an American duo consisting of Imani Coppola and Adam Pallin. Little Jackie, which derives its name from the 1989 hit song "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, released a hit single in 2008 called "The World Should Revolve Around Me" from their debut album The Stoop.
In 2008, Coppola and Pallin signed a contract with S-Curve, an independent label owned by Steve Greenberg, to issue an album. This coincided with the duo's television debut on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Album promotion is by Nabbr, a company that has created viral video campaigns for Justin Timberlake and Amy Winehouse. On August 3, 2011 Little Jackie digitally released their second album, Made4TV, on Bandcamp.com, a website that allows artists release their music and merchandise directly to their fans. They digitally released their third album, "Queen of Prospect Park," in 2014.
| Wednesday December 18 | | #DMD | | Issue #1941 |
I hope Ravens fans don't become new-age Patriots fans, but I sense a trend in that direction. One glance at your social media pages shows a fan base growing more obnoxious by the day. I understand our city very well. I'm born and raised here. I get the "chip on our shoulder" thing, tucked between New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC. I know we want our due and this season, at least up to now, the Ravens are giving it to us in Super Size form. But some of the complaining and whining and breathless demands for mea culpas and respect from the national media are very Patriots-fan-like. Let's do our best to avoid that scarlet letter.
I worry that the Orioles are going to be unwittingly impacted by the Ravens if the purple birds wind up winning the whole thing in Miami in early February. The Birds are already at rock bottom in terms of general fan interest, ticket plan buyers, and so on. Some of that, of course, is due to their rebuilding project. But a Ravens Super Bowl win would most certainly impact the baseball team in terms of sponsorship dollars in 2020 and 2021. There's only so much corporate money to go around. And if one team is winning the Super Bowl and one team is winning 50 of 162 games, you know where the money's going.
I hope Patrick Reed learned something from the last two weeks of his life. I think he's an extraordinary player. You don't play as well as he did in college and then win 9 times in 9 years -- including the Masters -- unless you're a world-class performer. But his answer to the question ("What did you learn?") wasn't great. “I think the biggest thing is just to continue grinding and not let the crowds or let people get in the way of what you’re trying to do, and that’s play golf,” he said. Better than involving others and trying to use their behavior to motivate himself, would have been this: "I have to understand that I'm responsible for the things I do on and off the course. There's an accountability level that perhaps I haven't embraced before. I need to realize this is on me to fix. I owe it to the sport."
I worry about two AFC teams in the upcoming playoffs and the Ravens will most certainly face one, if not both of them. And you know who they are: Kansas City and New England. I do think the Ravens match up better against the Patriots. I could see that one playing out in a similar fashion to the Sunday Night game back on November 3rd. Ravens win by 17 or so, in other words. But I'm also smart enough to know only a fool would take the Patriots for granted in a post-season game. Just ask the Chiefs from last January's AFC title game in Kansas City. As for this year's K.C. team, I'm leery of their offense. They're the one team that could put up 30 points on the Baltimore defense, no matter the venue. No one else but those two teams worry me and I'd say Kansas City worries me on a "7" scale and New England worries me to a "5". Buffalo, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Houston? They worry me to a "3". Ravens 35 - Any of them 14.
I hope local golf enthusiasts who read #DMD don't put any stock in some of the recent dumb comments here about the "stature" of the International team in last week's Presidents Cup. Some people apparently think professional golf is ONLY played in the United States. But folks who have a TV and the internet realize that the International side had just as many high-quality "young guns" as the U.S. team. Sungjae Im, Ben An, Cameron Smith and C.T. Pan are four extraordinarily talented players under the age of 30. Adam Scott and Marc Leishman are both multi-tournament winners on TOUR. Hideki Matsuyama might very well be the current "Best Player Without A Major" although Matt Kuchar fans would debate that claim. Trust me, the International team was much better than couch-potato-golf-followers realized.
I worry that Maryland football is in a state of flux that can't be repaired. "You can't get blood out of a stone" as the saying goes, and trying to get star-quality players to choose College Park over Ann Arbor, Columbus and Happy Valley is a defeat-in-waiting. That's not to say that Maryland shouldn't try and improve their football program. But there's a concern that perhaps they're spending more money on chasing a ghost than they should be spending. Spend the money on basketball, soccer and lacrosse and win national titles in those sports. Football is what it is at Maryland. They're closing in on being everyone's homecoming game.
I hope people in Baltimore now realize how exceptional John Harbaugh is at coaching a NFL team. Not only is he arguably the best coach in Charm City football history (Don Shula supporters step up, please), there's most certainly a debate that he's been the best coach in the NFL not named Bill Belichick since getting the head gig in Baltimore. Sean Payton would get some votes. Mike Tomlin and Andy Reid would as well. So, too, would Pete Carroll. But you can go ahead and make a case for those guys and I'll argue on Harbaugh's behalf and feel great about it. I've always been an unabashed Harbaugh fan. I believe he's an extraordinary person and a high quality head coach. We're lucky to have him. Very lucky, in fact.
I worry that we might have a conflict next September 10 in Baltimore. It's a Thursday. The Orioles play at home that night against Toronto. And, well, it's also the Thursday Night opener for the NFL. Typically the host of that game is the team that won the previous season's Super Bowl, although you might recall that didn't happen back in 2013 when the Orioles and the White Sox couldn't figure out a way to clear the schedule. The Orioles are also at home on Sunday afternoon, September 13 against Milwaukee.
You might recall that this season, the defending champs (New England) opened on Sunday night at home because the league wanted to honor its 100th anniversary by having the Bears and Packers play the traditional Thursday Night opener instead of having the Patriots host the game. One would assume next season's schedule would have the 2019 champion host the Thursday night game. You know where I'm going with this, of course. If the Ravens win the Super Bowl on February 2, 2020, the Orioles better announce the following day that they have worked something out with the Blue Jays (who play three series' in Baltimore in 2020) and the schedule is completely clear for the Ravens to host the Thursday Night opener on September 10.
No gimmicks, no tom foolery, no ballyhoo. The Orioles simply can't mess this up.
We shouldn't have to worry one minute about this come February 3, 2020.
So, you've figured out the travel arrangements and you've somehow secured a room in South Florida for early February.
Now, all you need are tickets to see the Ravens take on the Saints, Packers, 49'ers, Vikings or Cowboys. (Just seeing if you're paying attention).
Unless you're one of the fortunate PSL holders who get tickets through the Ravens' lottery, you're going to pay big bucks for tickets in Miami. The price will be based somewhat on the opponent, by the way. If Dallas were to make it, for example, the price of the tickets would shoot through the roof. The Saints getting in would also bump up the price. Green Bay and San Francisco would probably not impact ticket costs all that much.
But no matter who gets in, you're looking at a minimum of $3,000 to get in the stadium, and you'll probably only get a $3,000 ticket if you're willing to buy singles and/or having the patience to wait it out until Saturday night or Sunday morning.
How much are you honestly willing to pay for a Super Bowl ticket?
I did a lot of Super Bowls in my radio career and have become very familiar with ticket pricing over the last five years while running #DMD. If you're asking me, right now, I'd say you should plan on paying $3,000 at a minimum, but more like $3,500 or more.
You have the airfare, hotels and the time off of work. You just need the ticket.
What's the maximum you're willing to pay to see the Ravens in Miami?
In the past, I've created Holiday CD's that have featured my all-time "best" from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. I add two songs per-day, they eventually total up to 14 or 16 songs (depending on total time) and it's my way of creating something for you that you might enjoy throughout the year.
This holiday season, I'm going with something different.
I'm putting together a CD of songs and/or artists that I'm hoping you might not have previously heard.
I probably won't go 16-for-16. In fact, I'm quite sure that somewhere along the way, you'll have heard of a couple of these artists and bands, at least. But I do think it's safe to say I'll open your eyes and ears to some new music that you might wind up enjoying throughout 2020.
I'll add two songs per-day for the next eight days. When the 16 songs are finally available in full order, we'll figure out a way to make the full download available to you if you'd like to put them on a CD or add them to your playlist on your phone/tablet.
Song #7, "Windows Are Rolled Down" -- Amos Lee (born Ryan Anthony Massaro, June 20, 1977), is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk, rock, and soul. He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in English. After working as a schoolteacher and bartender he began to pursue a career in music. His manager Bill Eib, an artist manager and new artist development agent, submitted a demo recording to Blue Note Records which resulted in a recording contract and an association with singer Norah Jones.
Since that time Lee has recorded five albums on Blue Note Records and has toured as an opening act for Norah Jones, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Merle Haggard, Van Morrison, John Prine, Dave Matthews Band, Adele, the Zac Brown Band, Jack Johnson, The Avett Brothers, and David Gray. His music has appeared on the soundtracks of numerous TV shows and movies. He has performed on several late night TV shows and at a voter registration rally for Barack Obama. In 2011, his album Mission Bell debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Song #8, "Up All Night" -- Beck Hansen, known mononymously as Beck, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collages of wide genre styles. Today, he musically encompasses folk, funk, soul, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia. He has released 14 studio albums, as well as several non-album singles and a book of sheet music.
Born in Los Angeles in 1970, Beck grew towards hip-hop and folk in his teens and began to perform locally at coffeehouses and clubs. He moved to New York City in 1989 and became involved in the city's small but fiery anti-folk movement. Returning to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, he cut his breakthrough single "Loser," which became a worldwide hit in 1994, and released his first major album, Mellow Gold, the same year. Odelay, released in 1996, topped critic polls and won several awards. He released the country-influenced, twangy Mutations in 1998, and the funk-infused Midnite Vultures in 1999. The soft-acoustic Sea Change in 2002 showcased a more serious Beck, and 2005's Guero returned to Odelay's sample-based production. The Information in 2006 was inspired by electro-funk, hip hop, and psychedelia; 2008's Modern Guilt was inspired by '60s pop music; and 2014's folk-infused Morning Phase won Album of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards on February 8, 2015. His thirteenth studio album, Colors, was released in October 2017 after a long production process, and won awards for Best Alternative Album and Best Engineered Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. His fourteenth album, titled Hyperspace, was released on November 22, 2019.
| Tuesday December 17 | | #DMD | | Issue #1940 |
In honor of my friend Steve Pavlosky, owner of Chick fil-A Nottingham Square, I present these Tuesday nuggets. Steve rolled out the red carpet for everyone last night as we welcomed Bradley Bozeman of the Ravens (and his wife, Nikki) and local sports legend Mo Gaba to his White Marsh location. Those three were on hand to help us bring in coats and winter apparel for today's distribution at Helping Up Mission. We had an awesome night and Mo even got to ride in a big limousine, courtesy of Steve and his family.
I fully understand the Patriots have a long history of bending the rules. Some of those things were important (SpyGate, for one) and some were laughable-witch-hunts (DeflateGate was an embarrassment...QB's all over the league inflate and/or deflate the footballs to their liking). Lots of teams have bent the rules, by the way, including our own Ravens, who have been slapped on the hand for various training camp and OTA violations over the last 12 years. But this latest New England flap, with the filming of the Cincinnati sideline during a supposed "Do Your Job" series, is so silly it's -- well -- silly. If the Patriots don't know by now that every move they make is being watched, they're just dumb. It doesn't even matter if they were "trying to cheat" or just made an innocent mistake a couple of weeks ago. They were filming the sideline of an upcoming opponent. It's against the rules. Whatever punishment they get is justified. They need to be much smarter. End of story.
There's no doubt Terrell Suggs was an outstanding Raven. He's arguably on the team's Mount Rushmore, in fact. But there's also no arguing this: The Ravens don't need him. So I wasn't quite sure why everyone was so hot and bothered yesterday when the Chiefs snagged off the waiver wire. The Ravens are 12-2 without Suggs. They're likely going to go 14-2 without him, assuming they try to win that last game against Pittsburgh. Terrell Suggs being a Raven or not being a Raven for the team's final 5 games of the season will not dictate at all whether the club wins the Super Bowl. They'll be fine without him. They've been fine without him all season. There's a reason why the club didn't offer him $7 million last off-season to stick around. His time had come and gone.
Someone yesterday asked me to rank the 24 players in the Presidents Cup from best-to-worst over the four day event. I don't know if I have the energy for that, but I can easily do the top five performers from the 16-14 United States victory.
1) Tiger Woods -- By far, he played the best golf of anyone. It's the best he's putted in a long time.
2) Abraham Ancer -- Getting run out of the gym by Tiger was the only blemish on an otherwise terrific event. He had his coming out party in Melbourne. This guy has nerves of steel.
3) Sungjae Im -- The PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year was sensational, with an out-of-this-world short game on full display. The sky's the limit for that kid.
4) Patrick Cantlay -- Great driver of the golf ball, solid iron player, made gobs of 10-foot putts at Melbourne. He'll win something big in 2020, watch and see.
5) Xander Schauffele -- Disposed of local hero Adam Scott in the singles. One of the most complete tee-to-green players in the world. If he ever putts like Tiger did circa 2008, he'll win 5-6 times a year.
The NFC is totally up for grabs, still. New Orleans looked great last night, but didn't look so hot a few weeks back when Atlanta lit them up at home. The 49'ers didn't look so good against those same Falcons this past Sunday. Seattle got clobbered by the same Rams team that went down to Dallas last Sunday and got punched in the mouth by the Cowboys. Green Bay barely got past Washington and Chicago on back-to-back weekends. Which leaves...the team a lot of folks might not want to face in January: The Minnesota Vikings. I know people are going to say "They can't win a Super Bowl with Kirk Cousins at the helm". And I'll remind you that guys like Joe Namath (more career INT's than TD's), Trent Dilfer (journeyman, at best) and Brad Johnson (might not have even reached "journeyman" status) all won Super Bowl rings. If they can do it, so too can Cousins.
I'm admittedly not a NBA junkie but I follow it enough to know that what LeBron and the Lakers (24-3) are doing thus far is very impressive. I know their schedule was a little luke warm at the beginning of the season, but 24-3 is 24-3, especially in the NBA where players and teams are prone to taking every 5th night off "just because". LeBron has done a lot in his NBA career, obviously. But delivering a title to the Lakers would be his crowning moment given where the franchise was a few years back. It's one thing to prop up a Cleveland franchise that was lousy before he got there and will always be lousy without him. It's another thing, entirely, to restore the glory to one of the iconic sports "brands" in the world.
Twitter has been on fire over the last few days with "heat" about the Coach of the Year award. Baltimore football fans think John Harbaugh is a lock for the award. This Baltimore football fan, though, thinks otherwise. The Coach of the Year award does not automatically go to the coach of the team with the best record. If it did, we wouldn't really need any conjecture, right? The award goes to the Coach who did the best job with his team and shouldn't -- at least to me, anyway -- be totally connected to his team's final record. You want three guys to discuss at the water cooler besides Harbaugh? I've got them for you. Mike Tomlin, Sean McDermott and Brian Flores.
It's a miracle what the Steelers have done (8-6) with zero offensive talent. Sure, their defense is good, but you have to score some points occasionally to win. How Tomlin has crafted this group of offensive snoozers into a winning side is unreal. If Pittsburgh makes the playoff -- and that's a big IF -- Tomlin should receive serious consideration for the honor.
Sean McDermott has guided the Bills to the playoffs (10-4) and, possibly, the AFC East title if things roll their way over the next two weeks. I get it, they've played a light schedule. But they've won, somehow, even with a pedestrian offense (and that's being kind) and a recent history of losing. McDermott has done a nice job of changing the culture up there in Buffalo. They won't get run over by the Patriots in New England this weekend. It will be a dogfight.
As for Flores, they blew up the Dolphins (3-11) a week before the season started, getting rid of several quality players, benching the quarterback they picked up in the off-season, and starting a league neanderthal in Ryan Fitzpatrick for most of the season. Yes, they were easy fodder at the beginning of the season. But instead of "tanking" and throwing in the towel, the Dolphins have won 3 of their last 7 games and look nothing like the team the Ravens blew out 59-10 on opening day. Yes, I realize Brian Flores isn't really a candidate for the award, but it's worth nothing he's done a terrific job there this season despite the front office blowing up his team in late August.
By the way, I'm not saying John Harbaugh doesn't deserve significant consideration for the award. He's done a great job in 2019. I'm merely pointing out that just because the Ravens finish 14-2 doesn't necessarily mean the honor gets gifted to him. The Ravens have seven high quality offensive players (Jackson, Ingram, Andrews, Stanley, Yanda, Boyle and Brown Jr.). Pittsburgh has two (Pouncey, Smith-Schuster), Buffalo has one or two...maybe. Miami has one or two...maybe. Baltimore's lineup is LOADED on both sides of the ball.
And one last thing on Suggs. I'd say there's a 10% chance he ever plays one down for the Chiefs. My guess is he reports there, because he can collect money that way, but then figures out a way to simply make himself undesirable to Andy Reid and his staff. I can't imagine he wants to put himself through the trouble of six more weeks of football (potentially) for $350,000, plus playoff monies. And let's face it, he wouldn't really get any joy out of playing for Kansas City for two months and winning a Super Bowl with them. It would feel hollow. If he would have made it back to the Ravens and won a Super Bowl with them, it would have had a completely different feeling. I'd be shocked if he plays in Kansas City.
In the past, I've created Holiday CD's that have featured my all-time "best" from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. I add two songs per-day, they eventually total up to 14 or 16 songs (depending on total time) and it's my way of creating something for you that you might enjoy throughout the year.
This holiday season, I'm going with something different.
I'm putting together a CD of songs and/or artists that I'm hoping you might not have previously heard.
I probably won't go 16-for-16. In fact, I'm quite sure that somewhere along the way, you'll have heard of a couple of these artists and bands, at least. But I do think it's safe to say I'll open your eyes and ears to some new music that you might wind up enjoying throughout 2020.
I'll add two songs per-day for the next eight days. When the 16 songs are finally available in full order, we'll figure out a way to make the full download available to you if you'd like to put them on a CD or add them to your playlist on your phone/tablet.
Song #5, "How Long Do I Have To Wait?" -- Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were an American funk and soul band signed to Daptone Records. They were part of a revivalist movement recreating mid-1960s to mid-1970s style funk and soul music. In December 2014, the band was nominated for a Grammy, in the category Best R&B Album of the Year for "Give the People What They Want". Sharon Jones died in 2016, with the band releasing the posthumous final album "Soul of a Woman" in 2017.
Song #6, "The Only Place" -- Best Coast is an American rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. The band consists of songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Bethany Cosentino and guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno. Cosentino, a former child actress, began writing music as a teenager and was formerly a member of the experimentalist drone group Pocahaunted. After a brief tenure at college in New York City, Cosentino returned to the West Coast and began recording lo-fi demos with Bruno, whom she met in the Los Angeles music scene.
After a string of 7-inch and cassette-only singles, the band signed to Mexican Summer, who issued the band's debut, Crazy for You, in 2010. Crazy for You became an unexpected commercial success following Internet buzz surrounding the duo. Best Coast added a touring drummer, Ali Koehler of Vivian Girls, and spent much of 2011 on the road for festival appearances and tour dates. Best Coast's sophomore effort, The Only Place, was released in 2012 and featured a cleaner sound than their previous releases. In 2013, the duo released an EP, Fade Away, and their third studio album, California Nights, was released in May 2015.
| Monday December 16 | | #DMD | | Issue #1939 |
My wife says I always figure out a way to weave sports into a conversation, whether it's talking about my son's homework, or an issue she's having at work or, like last week, when I somehow knitted sports into a discussion with a local Pastor who was visiting our church in the days after the passing of Father Michael Carrion.
Most times she just raises her eyebrows but occasionally, sensing how awkward it is for her husband to always reference sports, she might say, "This is not about sports, dear."
You might be Presidents Cup'd out by now and you most certainly might be Tiger Woods'd out by now. If so, I get it. But if you're also someone who can see the good in anything, you might want to follow along. If you'd rather not, that's OK too. The world needs grumpy people for balance. I saw that on a bumper sticker somewhere.
The evolution of Tiger Woods reached new heights over the weekend when he led the U.S. to a come-from-behind win over a spirited International team at the Presidents Cup. From a golf history standpoint, the win was a win and really nothing more. It's the Presidents Cup, after all, a two-decade old event that is still trying to snag a piece of importance in a sport with four majors every year, a handful of other significant tournaments, and a season-ending playoff where a bunch of guys get the gift of playing golf for $10 million.
Oh, and there's the Ryder Cup, played every other year on alternating continents. That event does mean something to the players.
So, even when putting the Presidents Cup in its proper context, what happened over the weekend in Melbourne was yet another way we can learn from sports. We just have to be paying attention long enough to let it soak in.
Off topic but worthy of discussion nonetheless: It's really a shame Sports Illustrated couldn't have actually waited until the entire year was over to name their 2019 "Sportsperson of the Year", because Tiger most certainly did more in 12 months than Megan Rapinoe did in four weeks. But, as we know, Tiger wouldn't have fit S.I.'s agenda, either. So, anyway...
At 44 years old (in two weeks), Tiger is certainly on the back nine of his career. But a Masters win in April, an unlikely victory in Japan in October, and a glorious performance in the Presidents Cup have reminded us, again, that Woods can still make birdies on the 13th and 14th holes. In other words, back nine or not, he still has a lot of golf to play.
No, this isn't about Woods being, even now, the biggest needle mover in all of sports. We'd have to open up two bottles of wine to sift through the layers of that discussion.
This is about change.
This is about discovering what you missed, perhaps.
And it's about realizing that it's never too late.
If you saw Woods in 2019, you know what I'm talking about.
"There was a time, a while back, when Tiger was comfortable if you were uncomfortable around him," TV analyst Paul Azinger said during a broadcast over the weekend. "Now, Tiger's uncomfortable if you're not comfortable around him. I've seen it myself. He's a changed man."
I can't believe something so poignant came out of the mind of a golfer. Azinger was spot on.
There was a time, 15 years ago, when Woods wanted no one to be comfortable around him. He led a life few of us could ever understand, in the same way he likely couldn't have understood our lives, respectively. But it was in that time, circa 2006, when Woods was probably at his lowest point. He was clearly leading a double life of sorts, dodging the media, hiding things from his friends and family, and doing it all well enough to justify it in his mind.
Then it all fell apart and Woods was left without the one thing everyone needs: Friends.
Oh, it's true. Just watch It's A Wonderful Life and George Bailey will tell you all about it in the final scene.
Friends. If you pile up more of those than money, you've lived a great life.
Woods eventually recovered from his wrecked personal life and tried to play golf again, but his body wouldn't allow him to compete in the manner in which he was accustomed. Now, he was friendless and golfless, too.
And then somewhere, somehow, Tiger figured out he'd been missing the point all along.
He actually needed friends more than he needed golf.
And if you watched the Masters in April, or the Zozo Championship in October, or the Presidents Cup this past weekend, you've seen it all in high definition. Tiger has friends now. And he has friends now because he's allowed those people to get close to him in a way he never did a decade or more ago.
Oh, and guess what? Tiger's happier now. He might not win as much as he once did, but the other players are trying too, and Father Time is winning now more than ever before.
He's finally figured it out. If people close to you are happy, that often increases your happiness. Look no further than Saturday at the Presidents Cup, when Woods sat himself out in both matches so others could play. A decade ago? There's no chance Woods would have sat out twice. Not even once, actually. But he understands, now, that others need to be happy in order for you to be happy.
If you saw the way his players treated him on Saturday when the Cup was clinched, you understand. If you saw the way his family and friends treated him after the Masters win, you understand. And if saw the way other professional golfers treated him when he won for the 82nd time in October, you understand.
There was a time when those same people resented Tiger. In the grand scheme of things, ten years really isn't that long. And a decade ago, Woods didn't have those kind of friends, even though he was still winning golf tournaments, still driving TV ratings, and still generating gobs and gobs of money for people other than himself.
The scene at the trophy presentation on Saturday told us all a lot about change. Woods was presented with the Presidents Cup after the American victory. Rather than stand there with it, smile for the cameras, kiss the trophy, etc., the first thing he did was --- take it over to the team and share it with them. He shared it with his friends.
There was that moment immediately after the final putt at the Masters in April when Woods gave his caddie a hug and said, "We did it." A decade ago, that exchange wouldn't have included the word "we".
A decade ago, people were uncomfortable around Tiger and he liked it that way.
As we roll into 2020, his friends are comfortable around him, and he likes it that way.
Tiger figured something out -- in his mid 40's apparently -- that a lot of us realized in our mid 20's. Friends are priceless. You can't buy them. Not real ones, anyway. There's no price tag on the value of friendship. The more friends you have, the richer you are.
George Bailey lost everything and he figured it out, too. Friends and family matter more than anything else.
All of this is to say, simply: You can always change. Whatever might be going on in your life, just remember that. You can change. It's never too late.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 -- (16) Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (17) For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (18) So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Don't lose heart. Even though on the outside it might look like you're struggling, on the inside, if you are striving for change, you're being renewed every day.
Whether you have employment woes, addiction issues, personal and family troubles, or anything else that's limiting you and your pursuit of happiness, just remember that it's never too late to change.
| "The Keen Eye" of | |
| DAVID ROSENFELD is a former sports publicist who still keeps his eye on the game. Looking at the game, the news or the players on an in-depth level is what he likes to do. Follow his work here at #DMD every Monday & Thursday, brought to you by Glory Days Grill. | ||
Presented without comment…In 14 games, Lamar Jackson has thrown 33 touchdown passes and six interceptions. He has run for 1,103 yards on 159 attempts, an average of 6.9 yards per carry. Okay, I do have some comment. WTF? OMG! LOL and LMAO :)
Presented with comment…The Orioles traded Jonathan Villar to the Marlins on December 2 and sent Dylan Bundy to the Angels two days later. Why anybody would be upset about either of these transactions is beyond me. What is the point of having “established” Major Leaguers on the roster if those established players don’t help you win baseball games? As for Bundy, it’s always a shame when such a can’t-miss prospect doesn’t pan out exactly the way you’d hope. There were a couple games when you saw it, though. A one-hit shutout of the Mariners late in the 2017 season stands out.
Presented without comment…In the category of good starts, the Washington Capitals are 24-5-5. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers are each 24-3.
Presented with comment…The Ravens played three primetime games this season, outscoring those three opponents by a combined 124-47. The other day, this website’s owner said that he actually likes primetime games. Good news for him…he’s going to like next year’s Ravens’ schedule. I believe the NFL-imposed limit is five of those games for a team. Let’s see…we’ll have the Chiefs and (95% chance) the Patriots. The Cowboys for sure. Maybe the Steelers will get back in a primetime slot after a one-year hiatus. Also, in 2021…I hereby predict the Ravens as the Thanksgiving opponent for the Detroit Lions.
Presented without comment…There are 40 FBS bowl games, beginning with the Bahamas Bowl December 20 and concluding with the CFP championship game January 13.
Presented with comment…Former Raven and Gilman graduate Cyrus Jones had to undergo open heart surgery this past week in Denver after the discovery of a congenital heart malfunction. First, best wishes to Cyrus for a speedy recovery. Second, Cyrus made one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen live and in person. October 7, 2011. Gilman and Calvert Hall were tied at 21. Three minutes to go in regulation. For some reason, Cyrus picked up a bouncing ball on a punt at his own three-yard line. He should have let it go into the end zone. Except for the fact that he was Cyrus Jones, so he ran past 11 guys on the way to a 97-yard punt return. I don’t even think he got a block to do it either.
Presented without comment…Before Tuesday’s loss to Penn State, Maryland had moved up to a No. 1 seed in Joe Lunardi’s NCAA tournament “Bracketology” on espn.com.
Presented with comment…The U.S. Presidents Cup team performed better in foursomes (alternate shot) than it did in four-ball play. The Americans won the former 5.5-3.5 and lost the latter 6.5-2.5. This is actually unusual. American players are famously bad at the alternate shot format, and there are numerous theories behind that. Some say that Americans don’t grow up playing that format, which is much more common elsewhere in the world. Others say that the “teamwork” required in such a format has never been comfortable for us. I don’t know the answer, but I will say that I don’t understand how any serious golf competition can be decided by an alternate shot format.
Presented without comment…Scott Boras clients Gerrit Cole ($324 million), Anthony Rendon ($245 million) and Stephen Strasburg ($245 million) all landed free-agent contracts this past week.
Presented with comment…The Eagles and Cowboys meet next week in a game that might decide the NFC East title, and each team will be 7-7 heading into the game. There’s been more talk this week about changing the NFL playoffs, a conversation that happens every time a division champion finishes 8-8 or even worse. I’m all in for a compromise solution. Keep the divisions as they are, and keep the division winner as a playoff team no matter its record, but simply seed the teams by record after that. In last year’s AFC playoffs, the Ravens would have been the No. 5 seed and on the road for Wild Card weekend.
Presented without comment…The Ravens have won the outright AFC North title for the second straight year, the first time in franchise history they’ve accomplished that feat.
Presented with comment…Adam Gase’s Dolphins lost 38-6 in Baltimore in 2016 and 40-0 here in 2017. His Jets lost 42-21 on Thursday night in his third trip in four seasons. The 2016 game was, I think, the best regular-season game Joe Flacco had in a Baltimore uniform. He completed 36 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns. The following year, Flacco was the recipient of a cheap shot by Miami’s Kiko Alonso; the quarterback might have missed the next game with a concussion if not for extra days of rest after the Thursday night game. If I’m Adam Gase, I don’t want to come to Baltimore again for a long time.
Presented without comment…LeBron James, who’ll be 35 in two weeks, is averaging 25.9 points, 10.8 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game this season for the Lakers.
Presented with comment…In KenPom’s power rankings, Towson is the highest-ranked Baltimore-area college basketball team, at No. 148. After a down year in 2018-19, the Tigers have a real chance in this year’s Colonial Athletic Association race, as there doesn’t seem to be a dominant favorite. Loyola, inside the Top 200 for the first time in years, should finish much higher in the Patriot League standings than it has in its previous six years in the league. UMBC looks like it’s headed for a down year, as the Retrievers have won just twice in eight games against Division I opponents so far.
Presented without comment…The Ravens’ last loss was September 29 against Cleveland, the same days as the Orioles’ last loss, a game that concluded several hours later up in Boston.
Presented with comment…Navy beat Army 31-7 up in Philadelphia on Saturday. The win snapped an unusual three-game losing streak for the Mids in the series. Occasionally, you can see the option offenses of the service academies within the Ravens’ read option schemes. Once in a while, in short yardage, Lamar Jackson will fake to Mark Ingram and then simply dive in and hide behind him, as if Ingram was a wishbone fullback and not an NFL tailback. Honestly, though, I think most people are fine watching Navy play football once a year. It’s discipline, as would be expected, but it’s really boring.
Presented without comment…Tiger Woods will turn 44 on December 30. He was 20 years old when he won his first tournament, the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational.
Presented with comment…The 49ers beat the Saints 48-46 in the Superdome in Week 14. The teams combined for 53 first downs and nearly 1,000 yards. I can’t imagine playing consecutive games in more disparate conditions than the 49ers did on their recent road trip. It makes you wonder what scoring averages would be if every NFL game was played in a dome. Drew Brees is a Hall of Famer, of course, but there’s no doubt his gaudy numbers have been bolstered by at least eight climate-controlled games per year. Which reminds me…there’s no guarantee it won’t rain when the Ravens play in the Super Bowl in South Florida on February 2.
In the past, I've created Holiday CD's that have featured my all-time "best" from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. I add two songs per-day, they eventually total up to 14 or 16 songs (depending on total time) and it's my way of creating something for you that you might enjoy throughout the year.
This holiday season, I'm going with something different.
I'm putting together a CD of songs and/or artists that I'm hoping you might not have previously heard.
I probably won't go 16-for-16. In fact, I'm quite sure that somewhere along the way, you'll have heard of a couple of these artists and bands, at least. But I do think it's safe to say I'll open your eyes and ears to some new music that you might wind up enjoying throughout 2020.
I'll add two songs per-day for the next eight days. When the 16 songs are finally available in full order, we'll figure out a way to make the full download available to you if you'd like to put them on a CD or add them to your playlist on your phone/tablet.
Song #3, "The Borders" -- Samuel (Sam) Thomas Fender (born 25 April 1994) is an English actor, singer-songwriter and guitarist. After starting his acting career, he then was signed as a singer and released several singles independently, named one of the BBC's Sound of 2018. Fender signed to Polydor Records in June 2018 and released his debut EP, Dead Boys, in November 2018. He won the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards the following year and released his debut album, Hypersonic Missiles. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one in September 2019.
Song #4, "Give Me A Try" -- The Wombats are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Murphy, drummer Dan Haggis and bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen and has been since its inception. The band is signed to 14th Floor Records in the United Kingdom and Bright Antenna in the United States. The Wombats' albums have sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
The group met while they were in university and released several EPs before their 2006 album Girls, Boys and Marsupials, which was only released in Japan. Their debut studio album A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation was released the following year, featuring some tracks first released on Girls, Boys and Marsupials. After releasing another EP in 2008 touring for three years, the band released their second album This Modern Glitch in 2011. Two years later, in 2013, the single "Your Body Is a Weapon" was released ahead of their third album Glitterbug, which was not released until mid-2015. The band released their fourth album, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, on 9 February 2018.
For the 11th straight year, my old radio buddy Glenn Clark and I are teaming up for our "Winter Apparel Drive" to benefit the men at Helping Up Mission in downtown Baltimore.
We'd love to see you tonight, Monday, December 16, at Chick fil-A Nottingham Square! Glenn and I will be joined by Ravens offensive lineman Bradley Bozeman from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Can you kindly go through your closets, attics and other storage areas in the next week or two and pull out a dozen or so no-longer-used coats, jackets, sweatshirts and any other forms of winter apparel (gloves, hats, socks) that you might be able to donate to our cause? We'll deliver them to Helping Up Mission on Tuesday, December 17, and you'll be making the Christmas season a lot more enjoyable for over 400 men who are at the Mission in their various treatment programs.
This is always one of our most popular drop off events of the drive every year. We're excited to have Bradley there with us to meet Ravens fans and help accumulate a record setting number of pieces of apparel for the men at Helping Up Mission.
Please join us on tonight and meet Ravens' offensive lineman Bradley Bozeman or visit Jerry's Chevrolet or Jerry's Toyota and help us make the holiday season a great one for Helping Up Mission!