Personal Thoughts:
Ravens: Let's not focus on the
game, because we all know what we did wrong: Failed to Stop Manning and failed
to generate offense. Let's look at the season. I actually hit the doom and gloom
earlier this season after 3rd straight inexcusable loss (Minnesota), where luck
was not on our side. Since that point, we rebounded just enough to sneak in to
the playoffs and even claim our first ever win against the Patriots. Although we
had high hopes to start the season, which fizzled, we still had a great run and
made it a lot further than I thought we would have gone as of mid-season. Let me
highlight 3 positive things that came out of this season:
Sure, there were other things that could be added to that list, but those are the most significant in my opinion.
Although the NFL hasn't officially released the 2010 schedule due to the expiring collective bargaining agreement with the players, a few things are known. First of all, the NFL has announced that in future years, teams will not travel to both Seattle and San Francisco as part of the NFC West rotation, or to both Oakland and San Diego as part of the AFC West rotation. This does not affect the rotation of divisions or the games against like finishers within the conference, but can and does affect teams playing the AFC and NFC West in a given year. In summary, home and away might change, but will not affect our schedule for next year.
As a continuation of the previous rotational alignment and in addition to the usual divisional matchups, the Ravens will host Buffalo, Miami, New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Houston (Same 2009 Finish); and travel to New England, New York Jets, Atlanta, Carolina, and Denver (Same 2009 Finish).
Orioles: Fanfest is on Saturday. See website for details.
Luke Scott and Jeremy Guthrie filed for Salary Arbitration.
Crystal Palace Baltimore F.C. (Home games at UMBC): Crystal Palace Baltimore have signed 18-year old Korey Veeder to a three-year contract. The former US U-17 National Team midfielder/defender will spend the next several weeks training in Baltimore before heading over to Crystal Palace in London. The St. Petersburg, Florida native will then train with the English Championship club prior to a loan move to a continental European club, which will allow him to obtain E.U. work status.
Alouettes: Backup Quarterback Adrian McPherson has asked for a trade out of Montreal, seeking a starting position and to get out of the shadow of future Hall of Fame QB Anthony Calvillo.
Blast: The Baltimore Blast (5-4) lost the road match to the Monterrey La Raza (5-5) 7-6 on Sunday. The Blast are tied for first with Rockford, while Milwaukee and Monterrey are lurking only ½ game back. Last place Philadelphia is 3-5, 1½ games back.
Next game is a road trip to Milwaukee on Saturday, a team that traditionally presents the Blast with a very tough game.
I am still looking for 2 more people to see the Blast play Monterrey on Friday, February 19. Group discounts start at 10 people, so if you are interested please let me know ASAP. I plan to order tickets on January 22. Tickets will be about $22 (less if I can get a group discount, but maybe a few dollars more if I get hit with too many "convenience fees.")
Mariners (See website for more details): Robbie Robinson (WR) who excelled in track and field at Columbia, Maryland’s Wilde Lake High School and ran track for Morgan State University, before turning his attention to football with the Maryland Terps, has been signed by the Baltimore Mariners of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) for the 2010 season.
The Baltimore Mariners have signed a second member of the offensive line that protected the Baltimore Ravens’ Joe Flacco, when he led the Delaware Blue Hens to the national championship game in 2007. Rich Beverly, a four-year starter, who was previously signed by the Washington Redskins as an un-drafted free agent, has been signed by the Mariners for the 2010 season. The Mariners previously signed Kheon Hendricks of Delaware.
Capitals (See website for more details): At the time of this newsletter, the Caps (30-12-6) have won another 3 in a row, and 6 of the last 7 to extend their lead over Atlanta to 17 points in the standings. Caps now have the most points in the conference (66), and only trail Chicago (72), and San Jose (70) for the league lead.This week, they host the dreaded Detroit Red Wings (24-16-8) on Tuesday, travel to the Penguins (30-19-1) on Thursday and host the Coyote's (28-16-5) on Saturday.
Wizards (See website for more details): Since last report, the Wizards (13-26) have dropped 3 of 5, losing to Detroit, Atlanta and Chicago, before ending the losing streak and starting a winning streak (!) against Sacramento on Saturday, which continued on Monday afternoon with a home victory against Portland. The Wizards are still entrenched in last place of the Southeast division, now 5 games behind fourth place Charlotte and 12½ games out of first. This week, they continue their home stand with games against Dallas (Wednesday), Miami (Friday), and the Clippers (Sunday).What do you want to see in the Ravens report? What should be scrapped? Actually, nevermind. No one is reading this anyway so you probably won't know the difference. Send an email to iggy at tealdragon.net. Thanks!
| 2009 Preseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Time | Result | |
| Thursday, August 13 | Washington Redskins | 1-0-0 | W 23-0 | |
| Monday, August 24 | New York Jets | 2-0-0 | W 24-23 | |
| Saturday, August 29 | @Carolina Panthers | 3-0-0 | W 17-13 | |
| Thursday, September 3 | @Atlanta Falcons | 4-0-0 | W 20-3 | |
| 2009 Regular Season | ||||
| Date | Opponent | Record | Time | Result |
| Sunday, September 13 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1-0-0 | 1:00 PM | W 38-24 |
| Sunday, September 20 | @San Diego Chargers | 2-0-0 | 4:15 PM | W 31-26 |
| Sunday, September 27 | Cleveland Browns | 3-0-0 | 1:00 PM | W 34-3 |
| Sunday, October 4 | @New England Patriots | 3-1-0 | 1:00 PM | L 27-21 |
| Sunday, October 11 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-2-0 | 1:00 PM | L 17-14 |
| Sunday, October 18 | @Minnesota Vikings | 3-3-0 | 1:00 PM | L 33-31 |
| Sunday, November 1 | Denver Broncos | 4-3-0 | 1:00 PM | W 30-7 |
| Sunday, November 8 | @Cincinnati Bengals | 4-4-0 | 1:00 PM | L 17-7 |
| Monday, November 16 | @Cleveland Browns | 5-4-0 | 8:30 PM | W 16-0 |
| Sunday, November 22 | Indianapolis Colts | 5-5-0 | 1:00 PM | L 17-15 |
| Sunday, November 29 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-5-0 | 8:20 PM | W 20-17 (OT) |
| Monday, December 7 | @Green Bay Packers | 6-6-0 | 8:30 PM | L 27-14 |
| Sunday, December 13 | Detroit Lions | 7-6-0 | 1:00 PM | W 48-3 |
| Sunday, December 20 | Chicago Bears | 8-6-0 | 1:00 PM | W 31-7 |
| Sunday, December 27 | @Pittsburgh Steelers | 8-7-0 | 1:00 PM | L 23-20 |
| Sunday, January 3 | @Oakland Raiders | 9-7-0 | 4:15 PM | W 21-13 |
| Post Season | ||||
| Date | Opponent | Record | Time | Result |
| Sunday, January 10 | @3. New England Patriots | 10-7-0 | 1:00 PM | W 33-14 |
| Saturday, January 16 | @1. Indianapolis Colts | 10-8-0 | 8:15 PM | L 20-3 |