Iggy's Raven's Report - 11 March 2010

Commentary

News and Personal Thoughts:
Ravens: Anquan Boldin. Say it with me, "A N Q U A N B O L D I N." Now, we just need to add a Tight End and resign Mason. Baltimore Sun speculates that Jared Gaither is prime trade bait to reclaim our traded away early picks, but I think that it would be a huge mistake. The better option will be to market Troy Smith who has been asking to find a starting job, although I would hate to see him go.

Orioles: ...and the losing begins. Alas, it is too early to tell. Miguel is experiencing expected troubles at Third base, while Markakis has been knocking the cover off the ball. We'll see who is left standing to take the mound once April rolls around.

Crystal Palace Baltimore F.C. (Home games at UMBC): Crystal Palace Baltimore have made a double signing as they prepare for the upcoming season. Forward Yaikel Perez joins from Sevilla Bayamon FC of the Puerto Rico 1st Division, while Haitian midfielder Kenold Versailles arrives in Baltimore after spending last season at Vancouver Whitecaps FC. See website for more details.

Alouettes: Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman was named 2009 CFL Coach of the Year. The Montreal Alouettes have released defensive end Gavin Walls just days after acquiring him in a trade from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers because the team could not agree with him on a renegotiated contract. The trade last Friday sent defensive lineman Stan van Sichem to the Blue Bombers from the Alouettes.

The CFL may have a new overtime format heading into the 2010 season.
The league's rules committee has recommended a new system in which teams that score a touchdown in overtime be required to attempt a two-point conversion, as opposed to kicking an extra point.
"What's also exciting is the committee has again listened to our fans, and heeded their advice," said CFL Director of Officiating Tom Higgins in a media release.
CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon asked fans to give their opinions on league rules for the second straight year; and requested they focus on potentially improving the overtime format. Seventy-five percent of the suggestions the league received were on overtime.
The proposal will be presented to the league's Board of Govenors, who will make the final decision in the Spring.
Iggy's take: Would the NFL ever take input from the fans? Heavy money is going on the "NOT" option.

Blast: With 3 games left in the regular season, the Blast (10-7) have extended their winning streak to 5 games, to take over 2nd place, only 1 game behind Milwaukee (11-6), 1½ games ahead of Monterrey (9-9) by defeating Philadelphia 12-8 ohn Friday, and Monterrey 12-11 on Saturday. The Blast take on Rockford (6-11)and Philadelphia (6-9) this week, before closing out the season on Sunday, March 21st in Philly.

Mariners (See website for more details): The Mariners (1-0) opened the season last weekend with a 55-48 win over host Harrisburg. Melik Brown earned Defensive Player of the week. See website for details of the game.

Capitals (See website for more details): The Caps (44-13-9) had their team record 13 game home winning streak snapped on Monday, when they lost a shoot out to the Dallas Stars (29-24-12). The Caps now have a 4 point lead for best record in the NFL, ahead of San Jose (42-14-9). This week, the Caps host Carolina (27-31-7), and Tampa (27-26-11), before hitting the road for a 4 game road trip starting in Chicago (43-17-5).

Wizards (See website for more details): The Wizards (21-39) have dropped 3 in a row, and that will likely to extend that to 4 as they are losing to Houston (31-31) as I write this report. This week they host Atlanta (40-23), travel to Detroit (22-41), host Orlando (44-20) and then hit the road for a West coast trip, which starts in Utah (40-22), and then will carry on to Denver (42-21), Portland (37-28), and LA (Lakers, 46-18) for the following week. Since only Detroit has a losing record, this could be a very long 2 weeks.