Mike Flanagan’s sudden death tonight prompted many in Baltimore, especially those in Orioles circles, to react and reflect on what Flanagan meant to them. On a sad night, many are finding some comfort by remembering Flanagan for who he was; a great man who was a hero for Baltimore.
Both on and off the baseball field, Mike Flanagan had a profound impact on this city, and the lives of people around him.
The team’s decision to take the trade off the table is a sign they’re looking to nip this distraction in the bud, though it might only serve to further escalate Umenyiora’s anger over his claim the Giants promised to restructure his contract. If so, that might speed up the process here and bring a suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team” in play.
I have no idea what to make of this. I honestly think it is a game being played by the Giants. I believe Umenyiora will be traded by the start of the season, I just think the Giants wanted to show they had the upper hand.
Did Baltimore blow it by not offering a 1st Round Pick for the pass rusher?
If you read about sports on the internet at all (and if you’re here, I supposed to a certain extent you do), you’ve probably heard a thing our two about a little startup site called Grantland. I cannot pretend that I haven’t been guardedly excited about Grantland’s launch for months now. The brainchild of the most popular sports columnist in America, ESPN’s Bill Simmons, Grantland positions itself as the anti-blog, an online magazine featuring long-form pieces on sports and pop culture. The site also features contributions from Chuck Klosterman, who along with Simmons has spent the last decade throwing fastballs right down the plate of my generation.
It’s April 20th, and the Caps are once again looking like a team built for the regular season, down 3-0 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals to the New York Rangers.
Tipster J did what he is wont to do: took to Twitter to rant and rave about his team’s lack of postseason prowess.
As you can see, J writes that owner Ted Leonsis, head coach Bruce Boudreau, and general manager George McPhee are “ALL GARBAGE.” He also suggests that Alex Ovechkin should “go LeBron” and depart the Capitals for a winner.
And that’s where the fun started. After the Caps completed a miraculous 4-3 comeback in overtime, J got these two Facebook messages the next day from Capitals owner Ted Leonsis:
Warning Track Power, the guys that brought you “How Bout Dem O’s” in 2009, are back with their latest single. “Oh Oh Orioles” is a new rally song for Buck’s birds in 2011.
BSR continues our series of Q&A’s with Baltimore’s sports media this morning. Today we have the pleasure to talk with Matt Vensel who just concluded a three year tenure on Virtual Vensanity with B and now begins a new sports blog on The Baltimore Sun.
First things first, what’s with the flip flops?
My choice in footwear in my blog photo is a popular topic of discussion on the blog, but hey, I’ll take the hits however they come. I’ve been a big support of flip flops since high school, though I’ve traded in my Birkenstocks for slightly more upscale sandals. Fashion sense be damned, I wear flip flops pretty much every day during the summer, so why wouldn’t I rock them in my blog photo, too? At least I’m keeping it real.
We’re a passionate, sometimes crazy bunch of fans here in Baltimore. How do you think our insanity matches up against other fans’?
Baltimore fans are up there with the best of them, and there’s nothing wrong with being a little crazy, as long as fans don’t reach the full-scale insanity we see up in Philadelphia. Those guys are the worst. But I dig the fact that many fans here are intelligent and passionate. It makes my job fun — even when they’re attacking me (and my flip flops).
You caught some flack during the playoffs about being from Pittsburgh, I thought you handled it admirably. Were you surprised to get called out like that?
Without saying too much about the folks who outed me as a Pittsburgher, I can’t say the situation surprised me. I planned on outing myself eventually anyway, so I thank those gentlemen for the inspiration. Most of the feedback from the incident was positive, so I felt good about that. It is troubling, though, that some folks don’t understand the role of the media and that we are not supposed to be fans of the teams we cover. That doesn’t mean there aren’t players on the Ravens that I am fond of, and that I don’t at times pull for them for selfish reasons (like when I picked them to win it all). But needless to say, I can’t and won’t be wearing a Ravens jersey in the M&T Bank Stadium press box. READ MORE >>>
Special Thanks to Steve for giving us some of his time.
What is the most interesting team (ex. ’05 Keys, etc.) that you have ever covered?
***I think the most interesting team might have been, not a baseball team, but the Ravens the year they won the Super Bowl. I was working at WBAL at the time and that team was a quote machine waiting to happen. We couldn’t wait to get to the lockerroom to run to one side and get Tony Siragusa, Shannon Sharpe and Ray Lewis and them move on to Rod Woodson, Jonathon Ogden and Trent Dilfer, not to mention Billick. They were good on the field and in the interviews.
I really enjoyed my two seasons as play-by-play guy for Florida State baseball. I thought the 2005 team, which did not make the World Series and will not be fondly remember by FSU fans, is still a favorite of mine. READ MORE >>>
Monday night, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis was asked by the Boston Globe whether the Patriots would go after Chad Ochocinco. “Belichick’s smarter than that,” Lewis said with a laugh. Ochocinco noticed the comments and tweeted that he wants a cage match set up against Lewis and that it’s “AssWhoopnTime.“
This is a conversation between me and my good friend, Brian Bassett, of the wildly popular Jets Blog.
As you can probably tell from our modified branding, we are throwing our support behind the Jets this week. I hope you enjoy as Brian and I discuss the upcoming game.
Sadler: Brian, how are you doing today?
Bassett: ok, good, I am listening to Toto’s Africa right now
What’s up Baltimore? This is Dave Offord and I have somehow snuck onto enemy territory.. you see, I am a writer for a Pittsburgh sports website, the Terrible Blog. Don’t worry; I didn’t somehow hack into your site. I was invited here this week by the guys at the Baltimore Sports Report to give my point of view on this Saturday’s sure to be blood bath… and I am so excited about it.
I love writing about sports.. Pittsburgh sports especially.. but today it’s not just sports.. it’s Steelers/Ravens Round three. And wow, does this feel like the third round of a big UFC fight or what? This reminds me of Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir.. two heavyweights who just hate the ever loving Christ out of each other and neither will rest until the other is unable to continue. READ MORE >>>
This week we have Brian McGannon from the blog, Chiefs Command.
-Congrats on the turnaround season. What factors contributed to the big change?
A number of factors. You could point to the acquisitions of vets like Thomas Jones, Ryan Lilja, Shaun Smith and Casey Wiegmann. Then you look to the emergence of Matt Cassel, Dwayne Bowe, Jamaal Charles, Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali. But I think the real reason is the Chiefs’ coaching staff. Todd Haley swallowed a big old piece of his pride when he hired Chuck Weis and Romeo Crennel. The Chiefs coaching staff has the rings to prove that they’re the reason for the turnaround. They are not the only reason for the turnaround, but man, they’ve been a big part of it. READ MORE >>>
After a surprisingly slow start for the Saints, they are now on a tear. What is the difference between now and then?
In a word, offense. Our scoring has surged dramatically during our 6-game winning streak, with us scoring at least 30 points in 5 of the wins. Why the offensive surge? Some say Drew Brees finally got healthy in the knee (after getting it dinged up early in the year), others attribute it to Chris Ivory’s emergence as a factor at RB, and still others say we feasted on a bunch of patsies (although the streak began with a HUGE Sunday Night win against a pretty good team – - the Pittsburgh Steelers). READ MORE >>>
This week we have John Hallam from the Texans Bull Blog. Every indication points to this being a Ravens victory, we have heard that before………
1) What happens to Gary Kubiak if the Texans miss the play-offs?
Barring a poor finish (1-3 or 0-4), I think it is unlikely that Gary Kubiak is fired this off-season. There are three reasons that I believe this to be true. First, Bob McNair believes in organizational stability and will always err on the side of stability over instability. Second, unless the collective bargaining situation miraculously resolves itself by March, it will be practically impossible to make organizational changes in a seamless way that have the team ready for quality football in 2011. In addition to the shear level of uncertainty if there is a lockout, new coaches would not have any contact with the players (mini-camps, OTAs, etc..), which would make changing offensive and defensive philosophies and systems very, very messy. Finally, Bob McNair really likes Gary Kubiak. They share similar life philosophies and have genuine affection for each other. From McNair’s perspective, except for the winning, Gary Kubiak is the perfect representative for the Texan organization. READ MORE >>>
Happy Thanksgiving! This week we have Patrik from The Pewter Plank. Although the Bucs are 7-3, you’ll see that Patrik isn’t so confident about this game. Anyway, enjoy and give him hell before the game.
1- Raheem Morris has been getting the love over the national media. Does that spread throughout the fan base?
That’s really only come about in the past several weeks. If you’ll remember when Morris made his “best team in the NFC” proclamation a lot of people around the country scoffed and rolled their eyes. Raheem wasn’t as popular last season, but few coaches are when a team goes 3-13. He also made some personnel choices (along with GM Mark Dominik) that riled the fan base, most notably to let go of Derrick Brooks. It’s funny what winning can do though, now all of the sudden people really like Raheem Morris. He’s likely to get a fat extension at the end of the season and the team has completely bought into what he’s saying. He’s a perfect coach for this type of team, he’s young and brash and it rubs off on the players. The Bucs really seem to revel in their underdog, us-against-the-world mentality and that all comes from Morris. READ MORE >>>
Mike Flanagan’s sudden death tonight prompted many in Baltimore, especially those in Orioles circles, to react and reflect on what Flanagan meant to them. On a sad night, many are finding some comfort by remembering Flanagan for who he was; a great man who was a hero for Baltimore.
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