By Zach Wilt, on January 10th, 2012  Orioles GM Dan Duquette has proven that he’s serious about scouting outside the United States. On Monday, the Orioles reached an agreement with another Asian pitcher, Chen Wei-Yin of Taiwan. The Orioles signed Japanese lefty Tsuyoshi Wada in December.
As Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports, Chen is a 26 year old left-hander who throws in the low-90s and went 8-10 with a 2.68 ERA in 25 games with the Chuncichi Dragons of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. He pitched for the Chinese Taipei national team in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and won the ERA title with the Dragons in 2009 posting a 1.54 mark.
While Chen provides more depth for the Orioles rotation, I personally am always leery of any player making the jump to the Major Leagues. Chen will be facing the best of the best in the toughest division in baseball. He’ll be pitching in a foreign country, eating different food, learning another language, moving away from his friends and family and trying to learn an entirely different league. It’s a lot to take on and it’s the reason that I would have re-signed C.J. Wilson over bidding on Yu Darvish if I were Nolan Ryan.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 10th, 2012  Last night I didn’t watch a second of the BCS Championship game. I wish the Capitals weren’t on the west coast, so I could have used them as my excuse. Honestly, I don’t care about college football. I know it’s the argument that everyone uses, but the BCS doesn’t get me excited about the sport.
I think about it this way. Mark Viviano tweeted during last night’s snooze fest that the BCS structure would be the same as the Patriots playing the Packers while the Ravens and 49ers played in a “Meaningless Consolation Bowl.” That’s exactly what I think of college football and exactly why I don’t care.
Someone will have to explain to me what is exciting about the Bowl games or how a champion can truly be declared without a playoff structure. I watch sports for the upsets, for the Broncos over the Steelers or the VCUs.
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By Edgar Walker, on January 9th, 2012 Welcome to the fifth installment of BSR’s weekly top 15 rankings.
Mount St. Joseph’s continues to hold the top spot in the rankings, but after their loss to underachieving Calvert Hall on Friday evening, the Gaels’ perch atop Baltimore has begun to dip.
I know it feels like I say it every week, but now we are really getting into the meat of conference play, where the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders. Several highly-anticipated league contests this week should lead to some major shake-ups in the rankings come next Monday.
As will be the case all season, these rankings reward results, taking into account opponent strength and margin of victory/loss. Teams will not be ranked highly because of the hype or publicity surrounding their teams, but rather the consistency and impressiveness of their play. Rankings will typically be released every Monday.
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See past rankings: Preseason || Week 1 || Week 2 || Week 3 || Week 4
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By Lindsey, on January 7th, 2012  At times, Baltimore fans are like high schoolers – they want the coolest friends, the newest gadgets. What they fail to realize is that the cell phone they have does its job, and their friends are good friends -regardless if they are head cheerleader. Joe Flacco is not Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or Aaron Rodgers. He does not have a perfect quarterback rating, or outstanding stats for that matter. But he does his job, and he is good at what he does. While there is room for improvement, he does not get enough credit.
People seem to overlook the fact that he has the most wins of any NFL quarterback in four years. Also, keep in mind, none of the current Ravens wide receivers or tight ends had been on the roster prior to 2010. While he is not Rodgers or Brees, he is also not any of the following quarterbacks – and, Baltimore, you should be thankful.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 6th, 2012  It’s another frustrating day for Orioles fans. Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun reported on Friday that O’s right fielder Nick Markakis underwent surgery on his abdomen for an injury he suffered at the end of the 2011 season.
Offseason surgeries are always concerning, especially for guys making $11 million a year. I’m scratching my head trying to figure out who’s to blame for letting this one slip by for so long. The training staff? Markakis? Either way it’s another blunder for a team that seems to be set up for another disappointing season.
Just how serious was the injury? Markakis told Connolly that Dr. William Meyers, who performed the surgery” called it a “very severe injury” and “didn’t know the extent until he got in there and cleaned it up.”
Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman had a similar surgery performed by Meyers last season and took six weeks to recover. Connolly points out that Zimmerman was not 100 percent upon his return.
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By Weston Bruner, on January 6th, 2012  Bill O'Brien's job will be much easier if his administration is able to reform its practices and prevent another Sandusky. Well, it looks like Penn State finally has their man. Of course, by “their man” I mean “someone who was willing to take the position.” Bill O’Brien won’t inspire wonder in the hearts of Penn State fans or recruits though his resume is certainly one to respect as a head coaching candidate.
He has served in a host of assistant roles in college at programs like Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke, which will be helpful if he hopes to reach outside of Pennsylvania to recruit the fertile southeast. Despite the history of Belichick assistants flaming out as head coaches (see Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel, Josh McDaniels, Eric Mangini, etc.) it is certainly not a poor background to have. If nothing else, the heavy-handed dictatorial approach that Belichick assistants tend to have would serve him well in a place that needs a head coach with firm control over every aspect of the program after decades of moral decay and stagnation. At the end of the day however, we have no idea what kind of a head coach Bill O’Brien will be, and to me that will be far less important than what kind of university Penn State decides to be.
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By Dave Gilmore, on January 6th, 2012  What’s not to love about the NHL’s annual outdoor hockey extravaganza known as the Winter Classic? It’s a great event that unites hardcore and casual fans in what is truly the best annual celebration of a sport going. The Super Bowl doesn’t celebrate the sport of football as well as the Winter Classic espouses the joys of hockey. With the ancillary coverage, throwback sweaters, and incredible visuals, it’s a fantastic pep rally for a sport so near to many of our hearts. As postulated on this very web site, the Capitals may be hosting a Classic in the next two or three years in one of our excellent stadiums.
It’s no secret the Capitals are big and getting bigger here in Baltimore. I don’t know anyone in the 410 who loves the Caps as much as I do (my self-imposed vacation was a complete failure, by the way). And still, I feel the beginnings of an anxiety attack when I think about my favorite team playing on national television in my favorite city on New Year’s Day 2014 or 2015. READ MORE >>>
By Dave Gilmore, on January 3rd, 2012  The Baltimore Ravens wrapped up their 16th regular season NFL campaign yesterday. On paper and on the turf, this season was a complete success. Perhaps it’s an indication that we’re a little spoiled, given that such a campaign might not even be in the top three seasons in the team’s brief history.
This felt like an amazing season, but of course it’s easy to say that when it’s fresh in our hearts and minds. Still, I think it stacks up nicely among the best ever played by the franchise. READ MORE >>>
By Matt Lund, on January 2nd, 2012 Looking to secure their first AFC North Division Championship since 2006 with a victory, the Baltimore Ravens traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in front of a mostly-Bengal crowd that had trouble selling out the game earlier in the week. Not to mention, a loyal legion of Ravens fans making the trip to the Queen City for the New Year’s Day tilt, but also by Pittsburgh Steelers fans who made the trip to Cincinnati - buying up a number of tickets the Bengals could not sell to their own fans – hell bent on seeing the possibility of the Ravens choking away their grasp of the division lead.
But it was never to be.
The Ravens went to their strength, running the football effectively and the defense made stops when called upon, leading to a 24-16 victory at  Paul Brown Stadium in front of 63,439 fans. The game felt like a playoff game and the Ravens treated it as such, clinching their third AFC North title in team history. The Ravens secured the much-needed first-round bye and a home playoff game - a first in the John Harbaugh era - something that both he and Ravens players stated before the season was important to them. READ MORE >>>
By Edgar Walker, on January 1st, 2012
As I’ve watched some of the area’s top teams and produced my top 15 rankings each week, I have had the opportunity to see some of the best players in Baltimore play. Charm City is always a hotbed for basketball recruiting, and the current senior and junior classes are full of Division 1 talent. With that said, I’ve put together rankings of the top 20 Baltimore prospects in the classes of 2012 and 2013.
As we go through the season, I’ll post a few more specific scouting reports on certain players.
By Dave Gilmore, on December 30th, 2011  I spent four years of my life in Cincinnati while attending college. These are the four years of your life where you’re supposed to have a blast and begin to figure out who you are. Whether I accomplished either of those things is debatable, but I did learn a good amount about the Cincinnati Bengals and their fans.
With the Ravens matchup in Cincy looming on Sunday, I’ve been reflecting a lot on my time in the ‘Nati and how the Bengals and “Who Dey Nation” intertwine with our reality as Baltimore fans. In many ways I dislike the Bengals more than any other NFL team. In others I feel empathy for their plight. More often than not, they simply confuse me. READ MORE >>>
By Weston Bruner, on December 30th, 2011 2011 was a strange year in sports. There was the Green Bay Packers reclaiming their spot among the NFL elite by winning the Super
 If you squint really hard, it almost makes sense. Bowl and starting the 2011 season 13-0. There was the thrilling baseball season that saw the Cardinals and Rays get in on the last day of the season and the Cardinals end Tony LaRussa’s career with a championship (and, incidentally, Albert Puhols’ St. Louis career). College football’s Jim Tressel was fired/resigned/retired (depending on which Ohio State statement you choose to read) in disgrace after lying at least 4 times to the NCAA, one time to get his star players eligible for the Sugar Bowl. The NBA and NFL both hit lockouts, but only NFL fans seemed to care (hopefully that was a wake-up call to Emperor Stern). VCU and Butler joined the Final Four, making for one of the most confused and bracket-busting of NCAA tournament memory. And of course, in the saddest of news, Penn State stood by and allowed Jerry Sandusky to molest children in their football facilities for at least a decade.
However, the 2011 story that fans will see the most impact in 2012 may have been the most transparent act of self-preservation of all- conference expansion. READ MORE >>>
By Edgar Walker, on December 27th, 2011 Before we dive into the rankings, I’d like to apologize for the delay in posting them. I decided it would be best to let the holiday fervor die down before posting.
The top teams in this weeks’ rankings remain virtually unchanged, but the middle and lower parts of the top 15 will see a lot of changes. A couple new teams have been added, and the position of certain teams has changed quite a bit. It seems that at this point in the season, we’re starting to see which teams are a bit more consistent. Those teams will continue to hang around in the rankings.
As will be the case all season, these rankings reward results, taking into account opponent strength and margin of victory/loss. Teams will not be ranked highly because of the hype or publicity surrounding their teams, but rather the consistency and impressiveness of their play. Rankings will typically be released every Monday.
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See past rankings: Preseason || Week 1 || Week 2
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By Matt Lund, on December 25th, 2011 The Baltimore Ravens entered their final home game of the 2011 season looking to make franchise history against their divisional opponent, the Cleveland Browns. The chance to wrap up the home schedule with an 8-0 record hung in the balance, giving them the distinction of becoming the first team in the 16-year history of the franchise to finish with a perfect home record. The Ravens wanted to deliver not only an early Christmas present to the fans on Christmas Eve, but also to send a message to not be counted out after the loss to the San Diego Chargers.
 The Ravens breezed through the first half leading 17-0 as the Cleveland Browns showcased some of the worst coaching and mis-managing of the game clock in NFL history. The Ravens were aided by the Browns having exactly zero timeouts when they received the ball back for the final time of the 1st half. Driving the distance of the field, Browns RB Peyton Hillis was stopped for no gain at the 3-yard line and without a timeout, the Browns and their head coach Pat Shurmur could only watch in disbelief as time expired in the half.
With the way the Browns had played in the 1st half, one would think the airplane taking the team back to Cleveland would be fired up and on stand-by at BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, but they actually made a game out of it and the Ravens at times, seemed to almost want the Browns to get back into the game.
Very questionable play-calling and lack of execution by the Ravens in the 2nd half and a couple of long drives by Cleveland brought the Browns to within six points after TE Evan Moore caught a six-yard TD from QB Seneca Wallace to cut the Ravens lead to 20-14. The Ravens bent all game, but didn’t break as they looked at a 4th and 2 at the Cleveland 37-yard line. True to form, the Browns promptly shot themselves in the foot that held open the door of opportunity in this game.
After Joe Flacco barked out a few hard counts, somehow he lured Browns’ defensive tackle Phil Taylor off-sides on a play the Ravens were never actually going to get off. The penalty gave the Ravens a first down and after running out the clock on the next three plays, gave them a 20-14 victory, their eighth straight win against Cleveland in front of 71,083 fans at M&T Bank Stadium.
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By Weston Bruner, on December 23rd, 2011
 Colts will need more than just Andrew Luck to turn 2-12 into a playoff season in 2012. There has been a lot of consternation this morning about whether Indianapolis has ruined their chances at the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, but frankly I am not sure I would be nearly as concerned. Even if Indy should lose out on the #1 overall selection, there is a good chance they may still wind up with Andrew Luck and even if not, end up with a player who might be better able to turn this team back into a contender in 2012.
I don’t need to list the quarterbacks taken #1 overall since Peyton Manning went in 1998, but I will anyway. They include a few gems like Michael Vick (though he needed a prison stay to get his mind straight), Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Matt Stafford, and Cam Newton (Sam Bradford will need to turn things around next season). But just as often, they include duds like David Carr, Tim Couch, and JaMarcus Russell (jury is still out on Alex Smith). Even among the gems, only Michael Vick and Eli Manning could be considered among the elite NFL quarterbacks right now; Palmer hasn’t been close to elite in years. But Andrew Luck is different, right? READ MORE >>>
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Orioles GM Dan Duquette has proven that he’s serious about scouting outside the United States. On Monday, the Orioles reached an agreement with another Asian pitcher, Chen Wei-Yin of Taiwan. The Orioles signed Japanese lefty Tsuyoshi Wada in December.
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