News and Personal Thoughts:
Ravens: Now the rumors will start
flying. Let's go after Malcolm Floyd. Troy Smith wants to be traded. Ed Reed is
Retiring/Not Retiring. Salary Cap or no Salary cap. A lot of talk and no action,
and it will remain that way for the next month, because nothing can be done
until then. This is for certain: We need receivers, and possibly a backup QB,
especially if Troy Smith does get traded.
QB coach Hue Jackson leaves to become offensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders (why? Because it is a promotion, if he can do something with them) and form Redskins head coach Jim Zorn is the new QB coach. This is a role that Zorn has excelled at in the past. FYI - Ticket prices will NOT be going up next year.
Orioles: Tejada is back in an Orioles uniform, which should help the offense (if he can figure out how to run to first base), but could be disastrous on defense as he tries his hand at 3rd base. Mora is official gone, signing for 1 year in Colorado. Mark Hendrickson was resigned.
Crystal Palace Baltimore F.C. (Home games at UMBC): The City of Baltimore has approved a $100,000 study to determine the feasibility of building a 20,000 seat soccer only stadium just west of Camden yards. If approved, this could be the new home of D.C. United, who has been increasingly unhappy with their arrangements at the aging RFK stadium. United has promised to reimburse the city of Baltimore the cost of the study IF the decision is made to go forward with constructing the stadium.
In related news, Crystal Palace has officially changed it's name to Crystal Palace Baltimore (currently registered as Crystal Palace USA). The Palace, owned by a pair of Towson grads, is looking for a permanent home field, and is interested in building a 10,000 seats stadium in the same vicinity with their own money, should the study fail to recommend that the city build a new home for United.
Alouettes: The Montreal Alouettes re-signed veteran guard Paul Lambert and veteran linebacker Diamond Ferri to new contracts on Friday. Lambert signed for one year plus an option, and Ferri for two plus an option. Both players were potential free agents this February.
2010 schedule has been released. The Grey Cup Champion Als will open the season on the Road in Saskatchewan, at 7 PM on Thursday, July 1, reprising last years Grey Cup matchup.
Blast: The Baltimore Blast (5-6) lost their 4th in row and dropped to 4th place, 1½ games back, after losing away and home games to arch-nemesis Milwaukee. Next game is Friday, February 12 at home against Philadelphia.
Next game is a road trip to Milwaukee on Saturday, a team that traditionally presents the Blast with a very tough game.
Tickets have been ordered for the February 19 game.
Mariners (See website for more details): Nikkieda Rutland, an All-State prep star in Florida and an All-Central Region selection for the Tennessee State University Tigers, has signed with the Baltimore Mariners of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) for the upcoming 2010 season.
Jermaine Thaxton, a standout defensive back for the West Virginia Mountaineers, an All-Pro performer, and a veteran of five indoor and arena football seasons, has reached an agreement with the Baltimore Mariners for the 2010 season.
Single Game tickets went on sale January 22; Cheerleader try-outs were held this past Sunday (Miss them, darn it).
Capitals (See website for more details): The Caps (37-12-6) are on a franchise record 10-game winning streak, and now boast the best Eastern Conference record (8 points better than New Jersey), and 1 point behind San Jose for tops in the league.This week, they travel to Boston (23-21-9) on Tuesday, New York Rangers (25-24-7) on Thursday, and then return home to host Atlanta (24-22-8) on Friday and the penguins (35-21-1) on Sunday.
Wizards (See website for more details): Since last report, the Wizards (16-31) had their season long 2 game winning streak snapped by Boston on Monday, and more importantly, avoided losing to the potentially worst team in NBA history New Jersey Nets (4-42)This week, they travel to New York on Wednesday, Orlando on Friday and Charlotte on Tuesday. There is a Saturday home game in the middle against Atlanta.
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!
Although the NFL has not officially released their schedule for 2010, the matchups are predictable assuming a continuation of the current methodlogy.
| Home | Away |
|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals (15-13, 9-5) | Cincinnati Bengals (15-13, 6-8) |
| Cleveland Browns (15-7, 8-3) | Cleveland Browns (15-7, 7-4) |
| Pittsburgh Steelers (11-19, 7-8) | Pittsburgh Steelers (11-19, 4-11) |
| Buffalo Bills (2-2, 2-1) | New England Patriots (1-5, 1-3) |
| Miami Dolphins (4-5, 1-1) | New York Jets (5-1, 1-1) |
| Houston Texans (3-0, 1-0) | Denver Broncos (5-3, 1-3) |
| New Orleans Saints (3-1, 2-1) | Atlanta Falcons (2-1, 1-1) |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2, 0-1) | Carolina Panthers (0-3, 0-2) |