The internet rumor mill was churning out news this weekend about Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby considering retirement after suffering a concussion in the Winter Classic against the Washington Capitals. Bob McCown of Fan590 in Canada reported on Friday that he heard the Crosby family was attempting to convince Sidney to hang up the skates, but the report has since been...

HardballTalk.com is reporting that Orioles starting pitcher Justin Duchscherer could start the 2011 season in the disabled list after he was scratched from an intrasquad appearance on Sunday due to hip discomfort. Orioles skipper Buck Schowalter acknowledged after the the scratching that Duchscherer probably isn’t going to be able to fit in the 20 or so innings that he needs to...

Catcher is always a thin position, but one that will give you a nice offensive boost if you have the right guy. Here are my personal top 20 catcher rankings: Joe Mauer (MIN) Buster Posey (SF) Victor Martinez (DET) Carlos Santana (CLE) Matt Wieters (BAL) Brian McCann (ATL) Miguel Montero (ARI) Mike Napoli (TEX) Geovany Soto (CHC) Kurt Suzuki (OAK) Jorge Posada (NYY) J.P. Arencibia...

The North Carolina Tarheels and Duke Blue Devils met for the 11th time in the championship game for the ACC Tournament. These two teams have had the most success in the ACC Tournament as they both have been in the championship game 30 times and coming into the game Duke held the all time lead for tournament titles 18-17. Championship Game: Duke 75, North Carolina 58 In North Carolina’s...

We all know what happened with Brian Roberts last year.  Between a herniated disk and other aches and pains, Roberts only got into 59 games, and missed the last week or so of the season after suffering a self-imposed concussion. Reports this offseason were that Roberts was feeling better than ever.  At Orioles Fanfest, Brian answered questions left and right about his health, and...

With their 21 year old goaltender in the net, the Washington Capitals are 7-2-2 this season. Braden Holtby has filled in admirably for Washington in Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth’s absence, including goaltending in the last five of the Cap’s eight straight wins. While goalie debates have been a frequent topic of conversation around our nation’s capital,...

Photo: The Baltimore Sun Vlad the Impaler is bringing his talents to Baltimore. For a year, that is.  Andy MacPhail and company signed Vladimir Guerrero to a one year deal worth $8 million, with $3 million being deferred to future payments in ’15-’16.  Guerrero was brought on to be the Orioles full time designated hitter, thus most likely pushing Luke Scott to left...

On selection Sunday, the Maryland Terps knew that they wouldn’t be dancing in the NCAA tournament. Now they won’t even being dancing in National Invitational Tournament (NIT) either. For the first time since 1993, the Maryland Terps mens basketball team will not appear in the postseason. .bbpBox47111939729539070 {background:url(http://a2.twimg.com/profile_background_images...

For those who read my stuff, you should know that I am a big Brandon Snyder. He was the 1st interview that we had when we started blogging. He is energetic, super cool, and one of the nicest people I have ever met. Energetic, super cool, and nice are all great attributes as a human, but they don’t translate into being a great baseball player, and for Snyder, the time is now...

The semifinal Saturday of the ACC tournament provided entertaining games. A high-scoring, entertaining matchup between North Carolina and Clemson preceded a chippy, physical affair between the Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Tech Hokies. However, the favorites survived and will meet on Sunday for the ACC Tournament title and perhaps a top seed in the NCAA tournament. North Carolina...

Hopefully Ravens fans didn’t fork over fifty bucks to watch safety Tom Zbikowski in his second professional boxing match. If they did, they only got to see Zbi fight for a minute and 45 seconds as he scored a technical knock out on his opponent Rich Bryant early in the first round. .bbpBox46773286570442750 {background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/177493486...

The NFL owners have locked out the players. .bbpBox46436416321896450 {background:url(http://a2.twimg.com/profile_background_images/193861533/NewTwitterBG.jpg) #9AE4E8;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span...

Quarterfinal Friday was an interesting mixed bag of results for the ACC. There were blowouts, comebacks, a disconcerting injury and close games at the Greensboro Coliseum. Needless to say there was plenty of good things to be had for ACC fans so let’s break down day two at the tourney. Game 1: North Carolina 61, Miami 59 With 9:56 to play in the game, the Miami Hurricanes...

The Orioles are playing surprisingly well during Spring Training (the losses have mostly been due to players we will not see on the 40-man roster), and that should not be lost on anyone who saw the way they tanked last season.  I remain concerned about Derrek Lee and Brian Roberts, the latter of whom I doubt will be able to make it through the season without at least one trip to...

Day one of the 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament started with a roar but went out like a lamb as 3 of the 4 games were for the most part mismatches.  And judging by the sparse crowds on hand in Greensboro, the fans must have seen it coming.Or maybe the poor turnout was more the result of fans not wanting to make the effort to watch the bottom 8 teams...

Leading up to opening day we will be running an advanced metric primer series. The goal of the series is to introduce readers to advanced baseball metrics in a fun and Orioles-centric context. Today’s entry is on Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) and it represents the first entry in the series. If you do not have time to read this whole article please at least watch the youtube...

As Maryland makes their trek through the ACC tournament, former CBS college basketball analyst Billy Packer told Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post that Maryland should never be out of the Top 25. .bbpBox45972289384222720 {background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/a/1298664727/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #C0DEED;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin...

The Washington Capitals are riding a six game winning streak and getting star studded performances from their star studs. The formula seems to be simple for Washington, let Alex Semin score. When Semin finds the back of the net, Washington is 16-0.

One of the O’s biggest concerns heading into the 2011 season was finding a consistent first baseman on both sides of the ball. There were a few free-agent first baseman available this past off-season like Prince Fielder, which as a long shot, Adam LaRoche and Derrek Lee. The O’s were close to signing LaRoche to a three-year deal worth around $21 million, but LaRoche rejected...

With Varly still out and Michael Neuvirth on the sidelines still, Braden Holtby got his first start for the Caps since January 24th.  Called up to be Neuvirth’s backup, Holtby saw his first game action of March just three days ago when Neuvy suffered his eye injury in a crucial game at the Lightning.  Coming in that night and not only saving all 21 shots on goal from Tampa...

In 2009 the Baltimore Orioles called Chris Tillman up in late July to give him a taste of pitching against big league hitters and to begin to evaluate the capabilities of the young right hander.  Understandably, the 21-year old showed some flashes but often struggled to get guys out.  In 2010 Tillman was given the opportunity to win a job in the starting rotation, but he was...

The Toronto Blue Jays aren’t all that different than the Baltimore Orioles coming into 2011.  They both are more or less overlooked (even the O’s get more hype than the Jays), both are relying on a young, unproven staff, and both are coming into Spring Training with a new(ish) manager.  The bullpen is going to be a strength after losing Kevin Gregg (you’re welcome), with...

Nick Markakis has a big season coming up. After years of trying to find his spot in the lineup, being an RBI machine with Brian Roberts ahead of him, and looking for the power in his swing, Markakis may be ready to make strides in all of those areas this year for multiple reasons. With Roberts healthy (sort of) and the new bats added to the order, Markakis can finally settle into...

Former Ravens head coach and current broadcaster Brian Billick took to his blog on Wednesday morning to weigh in on the current NFL labor dispute. Billick said that the players and owners are in the early stages of the negotiations, or as he calls it the “throw away” part, but that the players have all the relevant data that they need to get a deal done. This is more...

The annual Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament will get underway Thursday afternoon when the No. 8 seed University of Virginia Cavaliers face the No. 9 seed Miami (FL) Hurricanes. Each team finished under the .500 in the conference and fighting for the right to face the No. 1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels. Thursday will have three more games featuring No. 5 Boston College against...