By Zach Wilt, on January 27th, 2012  Sergio Kindle might be the exception to the saying “In Ozzie We Trust.”
The second year linebacker was the Ravens first pick in the 2009 draft, but he didn’t see the field until 2011 after he missed an entire season recovering from a fractured skull that he suffered falling down two flights of stairs.
The Ravens kept Kindle on their roster and worked with him this season. John Harbaugh answered few questions about Kindle in his Monday press conferences as he was inactive 14 weeks of the regular season.
Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com gave an update on Kindle for the fans that wondered what happened this season.
In short, the Ravens report that Kindle struggled learning the playbook and he worked closely with outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino to learn the team’s scheme.
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By Marco Romanell, on January 27th, 2012 Virginia Tech Hokies (12-8, 1-4 ACC)
At
Maryland Terrapins (12-7, 2-3 ACC)
Saturday 2:30pm Comcast Center, College Park, MD
Leading Scorer: VT- Erick Green 15.8ppg MD: Terrell Stoglin 20.9ppg
Last game: VT- lost to BYU 70-68 MD: lost to Duke 74-61
Outlook:
Does anyone hear that? Listen closer, we usually hear it around March, it’s the sound of Seth Greenberg pleading his team’s case to be in the NCAA Tournament. Maybe the Hokies have been “snubbed” in the past , but after a 1-4 start in conference play this season, Virginia Tech has a lot of work to do if they want to even be in the conversation come tourney time. Not only have the Hokies lost four games in conference, but they have lost to Boston College and Wake Forest. However, they did beat a good Virginia team in their last ACC game, despite scoring just 47 points. Not many expected the Hokies to be toiling around the cellar of the conference, but things like that don’t happen by accident. It just may be possible that this year’s Virginia Tech team is just not that talented, no matter how much Seth Greenberg wants to dispute the critics. Even after saying all that, it would not surprise anyone if they came into the Comcast Center and left with a win.
I know there is no such thing as a moral victory, and despite what anyone says, the Terps simply collapsed again Wednesday night. Despite leading the game in the second half, Maryland showed their usual ineptitude running the half- court offense, and failed to make shots for 40 minutes. While Duke couldn’t miss at the free throw stripe, MD couldn’t convert, and had noticeable breakdowns on the defensive end the floor. Alex Len is starting to look to like the second coming of Will Bowers, only weaker. And, Nick Faust has yet to show any sort of ability to make a three pointer. The one bright spot has been Ashton Pankey, who is a menace on the glass, and strong enough to play against players who have more size then he does. If I could not see the name on the back of their jersey, I might mistake Pankey for former Terp Byron Mouton, which is high praise for the red shirt freshman. Despite previous results against the Hokies, this is a game the Terps expect to win, and one they need to win if they want to finish in the top half of the conference.
Prediction:
Two bold predictions here: First ,Terrell Stoglin will lead the Terps in scoring this game. Second, Seth Greenberg will be running his mouth about his team’s tournament chances immediately after this game. Okay, okay I know neither of those is bold, but truthfully, this game is a complete coin flip. I give a slight advantage to the Terps being at home, and think they gained some confidence (if it’s possible to gain that from a 13 points loss) after their game against Duke. I look for a sloppy game from both teams with poor offensive execution. But, somehow the home team gets the job done.
Terps 65 Hokies 61.
By Zach Wilt, on January 27th, 2012 Poor Billy Cundiff.
He can’t even catch a break on the Ravens online store.
I’m not sure why you’d ever want a kicker’s jersey, but if for some reason you did maybe you saw this zinger when you searched for Cundiff.
Sean Tomlinson of The Score first pointed out the jab at Cundiff.
By Zach Wilt, on January 27th, 2012  The Indianapolis Colts formally introduced Chuck Pagano as their new head coach on Thursday. Pagano told the media that he was hoping to be making a trip to Indy for the Super Bowl, but said that he is excited to take the reins as the city’s head coach.
Pagano leaves Baltimore amidst reports that he finished his tenure in Baltimore with a “strained” relationship with John Harbaugh. A source told Mike Preston that Pagano had a “heated exchange” with Harbaugh during the Ravens playoff matchup with the Houston Texans.
During his introductory press conference, Pagano mentioned that teams have to be able to run out the clock to win games, which happened to be what his heated exchange with Harbaugh was about.
He also made reference to scoreboard-gate.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 27th, 2012  The Patriots fan that caught Billy Cundiff’s missed 32-yard game tying field goal is selling it.
I know you’re bitter, but it’s actually for a good cause.
Terry Oder, a physician from Hartford, caught Cundiff’s attempt and is looking to raise $50,000 for a scholarship fund in memory of his friend who recently passed away.
According to the Hartford Courant, Oder and a group of buddies who had been mourning the death of their friend decided to make the trip to the AFC Championship game to clear their minds.
The money raised with the ball will be used to fund the late friend’s 1-year old son’s education.
At least Cundiff’s kick will be helping someone in need.
By Zach Wilt, on January 27th, 2012 
The best remaining free agent, now that Prince Fielder is off the market, is starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. Coincidentally enough, both players are represented by Super Agent Scott Boras.
Dan Connolly of The Sun reports that the Orioles would consider offering Jackson a four year deal, but indicates that they are long shots to land him. The Red Sox are reportedly the favorites.
Not because he’s getting a better offer, but because he’d take a one-year deal from Boston or a multi-year deal from Baltimore.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 27th, 2012  The NHL All-Star fantasy draft was held on Thursday night. In case you missed it, Alex Ovechkin was selected
Ovechkin opted to skip the entire weekend after getting slapped with a three game suspension for his hit on Penguins defenseman Zbynek Michalek. He’s been spotted down in Miami, which sounds 1000 times better than Ottawa anyway.
His decision to steer clear of weekend has come under fire though. Andy McDonald of the St. Louis Blues called Ovechkin “classless” in a tweet on Wednesday.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 27th, 2012  Quite possibly the most exciting part of what has been a relatively boring offseason for Orioles fans were the trade rumors linked to star center fielder Adam Jones.
At one time it seemed that Jones definitely wouldn’t be wearing the new cartoon bird hat in Baltimore this season as he seemed to be linked to a deal that would send him to Atlanta for Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado. While Jones is the probably the face of the franchise, I don’t think Baltimore has anyone on their roster that is untouchable.
Throughout the rumors, Jones stayed positive to his fans on Twitter. Many have wondered if he has a desire to stay in Baltimore when his contract expires at the end of next season.
“I’m so hungry to win for Bmore,” Jones tweeted on Thursday. ”I’ll even try the damn crab cakes.”
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By BSR Staff, on January 26th, 2012  What do Heidi Klum and the Ravens have in common? What a crappy week. The Ravens gets bounced from the AFC Championship, then lose Chuck Pagano, the Orioles miss on Prince Fielder and Maryland loses to Duke.
If you need something to brighten your day, the BSR Podcast is the best we can do.
It’s not necessarily a positive spin on all the terrible news, but it should have you laughing and ignoring a terrible week in Baltimore.
You can get in touch with the BSR Podcast by sending your emails to podcast@baltimoresportsreport.com or leaving a voicemail at 443-379-4BSR (4377).
Here are some of topics discussed in this week’s show:
Breaking Down The AFC Championship
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By Zach Wilt, on January 26th, 2012  There aren’t too many guys that like Baltimore so much that they cry when they get traded. Koji Uehara was dealt by the Orioles to pitch for the American League Champion Texas Rangers and on his way out the door he thanked the organization that brought him to America.
I’ll always remember that.
Uehara’s love for the Charm City continued this offseason when he recommended the Orioles to free agents Tsuyoshi Wada of Japan and Wei-Yin Chen of Taiwan.
I love this guy.
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By Gregg Cobert, on January 26th, 2012  There was a lot of emotion in the Comcast Center with the court being named in honor of Gary Williams tonight. The Terps played strong again for 30 minutes and had the lead by 3 points with 8 minutes to play. However, the Terps went through 2 separate cold spells of not having a field goal for over 3 minutes which sealed their fate. They could not help themselves either as they were 3-10 from the line in the 2nd half. Maryland (12-7, 2-3) fell 74-61 to the Blue Devils (17-3, 5-1). The main problem for the Terps was the fact they could not stop Mason Plumlee as he had 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists. Let’s get to the report card.
Pe’Shon Howard B+
Howard had a very good all around game with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. He was aggressive looking for his shot and also looking to find teammates for shots. It might have been his best game since coming back from the broken foot. READ MORE >>>
By Zach Wilt, on January 26th, 2012  The guy pictured to right probably isn’t from Massachusetts or Maine or New Hamshire or Rhode Island or Vermont.
In all likelihood that guy is a bandwagon Patriots fan from Kansas for all we know.
I get chastised relentlessly for calling out frontrunning fan bases, but this time I can point to hard evidence.
Fox 25 in Boston is reporting that less than 10 percent of all Super Bowl tickets purchased through StubHub have been to New Englanders. Why? Because most of the Boston fans are outside of the city. Pats fans have popped up over the past decade and will vanish as soon as another dynasty emerges.
You don’t actually think that all of those Red Sox fans at Camden Yards are coming from Boston do you? NO. They’re coming from Virginia or Delaware.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 26th, 2012  This awkward handshake says it all... Chuck Pagano may have been the only Ravens coach that I was impressed with this season. Pagano returned the Ravens defense to their roots by getting back to an aggressive style and did a fantastic job masking a weak secondary.
The special teams and offensive coordinators as well as head coach John Harbaugh could all be questioned this season, but not Pagano and his third ranked defense.
Mike Preston of The Baltimore Sun reports that Pagano’s relationship with Harbaugh was “slightly strained.” A source told Preston that that Pagano got into “a heated argument with Harbaugh in the closing minutes of the playoff game against Houston when the Ravens offense failed to run out the clock.”
The source said it would have been interesting to see how the two would have worked things out if Pagano returned to Baltimore. ”Their exchange was very heated.”
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By Zach Wilt, on January 26th, 2012  Matt Hendricks is one tough SOB.
During the Capitals practice on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Alex Ovechkin took a shot that bounced off the glass and struck Hendricks in the ear.
“It hit me and it was kind of surprising,” Hendricks told Mike Vogel at Dump ‘N Chase. “It felt like somebody came up and hit me in the head with a baseball bat. It stunned me.”
Pittsburgh provided a plastic surgeon to stitch Hendricks’ ear and he’s worn a ear flap over his helmet in the Capitals last two games.
“It was pretty funny once the guys started coming off the ice. Their comments weren’t too comforting. They made it sound like it was a lot worse than it really was.”
If you want to see the disgusting picture of Hendricks’ split ear, check it out after the bump.
(It’s gross… you’ve been warned)
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By Zach Wilt, on January 26th, 2012  What does a future Hall of Famer tell his team after a devastating loss in the AFC Championship?
This.
Following the Ravens 23-20 loss to the Patriots, Ray Lewis encouraged his team to hold their heads high and told them to work to get even further next year.
READ MORE >>>
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Sergio Kindle might be the exception to the saying “In Ozzie We Trust.”
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