Iggy's Raven's Report - 8 July 2010

Commentary

News and Personal Thoughts:
Ravens: Marvin Lewis among 4 NFL coaches to visit troops in Afghanistan... Kyle Boller marries former Miss California... Training Camp opens on July 26 for Rookies, and July 28 for veterans.

Orioles: The O's (25-57) fell to 5 games behind 29th ranked pirates as they wrapped up their 4 game winning streak with another slump... Nick Markakis is again snubbed for the all-star game, as Ty Wigginton gets his first selection in his 9 year career.

Spider Watch: At 27 wins, are still 9 games behind the modern MLB record of 36 win seasons by the 1916 (36-117) and 1919 (36-104) Philadelphia Athletics. The O's are at the same win total as the 1988 "worst ever" Orioles. Season projections are down to 49 wins.

It's time for Iggy's annual MLB All-Star roster, selected by league leading statistics, and not fan popularity. These are the men who earned a spot. [Stats as of Tuesday, July 6]

Legend:  (Names in Bold actually made the team)
  2B:    Doubles
  3B:    Triples
  AVG:   Average
  BB:    Base on Balls (Walks)
  CG:    Complete Games
  CS%:   Caught Stealing PCT
  ERA:   Earned Runs Average
  FPCT:  Fielding PCT
  GF:    Games Finished
  H:     Hits (Batting)
  H:     Holds (Pitching)
  HR:    Homeruns
  IP:    Innings Pitched
  IRS:   Inherited Runners Scored
  OBA:   Opponents Average
  OBP:   On Base PCT
  PO:    Pick Offs
  R:     Runs
  RBI:   Runs Batted In
  SV:     Saves
  SB:    Stolen Bases
  SLG:   Slugging PCT
  SO:    Strike Outs
  TB:    Total Bases
  W:     Wins
  WHIP:  Walks & Hits per Innings Pitched

Crystal Palace Baltimore F.C. (Home games at UMBC): Crystal Palace (4-7-3, 4th place NASL Conference) rebounded from their home loss to the NSC Minnesota Stars (6-9-2, 4rd place USL) with a 1-0 4th of July road win against that same team. The Palace are back in action on Friday with another road trip, this time to face the USL conference last place Puerto Rico Islanders (4-6-2).

Alouettes: The Als dropped their season opener in overtime, 54-51, to their host Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Als blew a 21 point lead en route to the 3rd highest scoring game in CFL history. 2009 CFL MVP Anthony Calvillo had 368 passing, as rising team superstar Avon Cobourne only had 39 yards on the ground. Kerry Watkins lead Montreal receivers with 106 yards. The Als will play again on Sunday in Edmonton, who lost their openinger 25-10 to BC.

Blast: Manchester City versus Inter Milan on Saturday, July 31st at M&T Bank Stadium... Look for several Blast players participating in outdoor leagues this summer..

Mariners (See website for more details): The 2nd place Harrisburg Stampede (12-3) defeated the visiting 3rd place Erie Storm by a 52-48 score and will travel to play the Baltimore Mariners in Baltimore (14-0) for the East Division championship on Saturday, July 10. The winner will go on to play for the championship cup against the West division winner where 2nd place San Jose travels for a rematch of last weeks loss to the host 1st place Wyoming Calvary. With a win, the Mariners will host the AIFA Championship Bowl on Sunday, July 25. If they lose... who cares where the game is played? Not us.

Bayhawks: The Hawks (4-4) lost their road match to the Denver Outlaws (5-3) by a 12-10 score, pushing the Outlaws in to a tie for first place with the Boston Canons (5-3) who lost to the rising Toronto Nationals (3-5). The Hawks are only 1 game out of 1st, as the tight league standings has all 6 teams within 2 games of each other. The MLL All-Stars will play Team USA on Thursday before the Chesapeake hosts Boston on Saturday.

Capitals (See website for more details): Capitals sign forward Boyd Gordon and Goaltender Dany Sabourin.

Wizards (See website for more details): Nothing new to report.