Movies, Sports, and Life


State of the Franchise: Baltimore Ravens




Okay maybe ESPN doesn't know all because I honestly totally disagree with who they and that dude from the Baltimore Sun projected to be drafted... Matt Ryan. However, their assumption is based on two situations that I do not believe will happen, such as:

1. The Falcons and Dolphins passing on Ryan.
2. The Patriots do not trade down.

It is hard to deny that if Matt Ryan is available at the 8 pick, the Ravens won't draft him. But I highly doubt that both the Dolphins and Falcons will pass on Ryan. Last year, I would probably say that the Falcons QB situation was a little bit worst than the Ravens. The Falcons disparately need to franchise QB after the Michael Vick situation and last year's performance.

I still believe that come September, Steve McNair will be the Baltimore Raven's starting QB. When McNair is healthy the man can still play football. Look at his first season (in 2006) with the Ravens, they went 13-3. Unlike in 2007, McNair had a solid O-line to actually protect him. He wasn't forced to leave the pocket as much as he did in 2007, where for some God unknown reason couldn't hold on to the ball to save his life. However, after a whole season to recover I believe McNair's only competition will be from Troy Smith. Ozzie Newsome really fell in love with Troy Smith and believes in his potential. He cautioned Brian Billick not to rush Smith and start him like they did with Kyle Boller (drafted #1 by Ravens). Newsome wants Smith to develop and mature under McNair and is viewed as an long term investment.


Even if Ryan is available and drafted by the Ravens , he will not start this year. The Ravens are still looking at possibly a sub-par 2008 season, unlikely to make the playoffs. The Ravens need to draft defense and arguably really need to get younger at CB. Chris Mcalister who will be 31 this year, got absolutely burned last year. He bit on too many routes by the WR and just got smoked. At times he looked absolutely sloppy and unfocused. Rolle was out more than half of the season with epilespy. And Cori Ivy? Common he was more suited for nickel or dime package, not opposite of Mcalister.

Let Smith develop for one to two more seasons, he showed positive signs and his potential in the last couple games of the season. They have more pressing needs on defense and the Raven's organization and philosophy has always been defense.

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ESPN knows all

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What happened to University of Maryland's Basketball program?

If:

1. You go to University of Maryland College Park or;
2. a UMD alumni;

You are probably thinking: 'What the hell happened to UMD's basketball program in a span of five years? Hell I am. Three out of four years playing in the National Invitation Tournament does not exactly equal a prestige college basketball university. It is not too pleasant sitting out the big dance when you baby sister school, UMBC, earns their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

That being said, I think the time has come for what I've coined an 'internal audit' (IA). My IA of UMD's basketball program should consist of three things:

1. Examining the state of UMD's basketball program,
2. Examining if Gary William's long tenure is done?
3. Recruiting

To die hard UMD supporters my IA might sound harsh, considering they went to the second round of the NCAA tournament last year. OR maybe not, it could be a wake up call. But when you win a national championship six years ago, the bar has been officially been raised and alumnus/students expect another trophy. Or at least advance to the second round in the ACC tournament.

A problem is with William's recruiting style. Williams known for developing moderate talent than attracting outstanding players. That's a shame since our own backyard, the Baltimore-Washington corridor, is rich with talent players leaving the state to play else where (e.g., Carmelo Anthony and Rudy Gay). All five of George Mason's starters on its Final Four team were from Maryland.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe William's operates at his best by recruiting 'blue-chip' players who need grooming. Steve Blake couldn't get a scholarship to North Carolina State, Dixon and Larry Baxter had mediocre first years. However, UMD needs to start being more aggressive in recruiting if it wants to constantly commit against UNC or Duke. Especially now that non-power house ACC basketball programs are starting to out preform UMD, such Miami-U, BC, VA Tech, Virgina. In 2002, we were National Champions; five years later UMD is still in the rebuilding stages (arguably in the 2nd recruiting class after the Dixon/Blake team). It is time for a change in recruiting practices now or what I have already told to KP: time for a new coach.

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RIP Minghella

Anthony Minghella an Oscar-winning director for The English Patient and his resume includes spectacular films, such as The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain (which should have been nominated and won Best Picture in 05), and Breaking and Entering died today (can read the story here). I guess my ignorance of foreign films only applies to: Spanish and Italian movies. That being said, I highly respected Anthony Minghella, a B-R-I-T-I-S-H director from the UK and not America, who honestly was one of the greatest directors in the last decade or so.

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NCAA March Madness



I challenge anyone to beat my bracket.... especially KP, D. Reed, or Blanken.

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Good for this man


Hopefully I make it to 100 years old and if i do i would like to go to Hooters too. If i'm lucky maybe D-Rock will join me and we can enjoy another 50 wings while watching the colts and redskins lose. Anyways, John Persinger just turned 100 years old and had his birthday party at Hooters. If the wings don't give him a heart attack I guess the women will.

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Song of the week










This song is sick (thanks KP for keepin it fresh like always). I can relate to the lyrics plus Kanye West drops some nice lines. Enjoy.

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Aqua Forest Aquarium




Aqua Forest Aquarium what I would do for one of those. I probably could buy one of these with all the money I managed to spend this year (damn exchange rates and fees that are killin' me).

Any how...Aqua Forest Aquarium (AFA) are little unique aquarium tanks for fish. Their store is located in the Bay area. They look like little Japanese nature parks or have some type of Japanese influence. Remember Big Boi had some ridiculous aquarium tank with a shark and had to be like 2,000+ gallon tank in his freakin' garage. That was cool. But these aquarium are ballin' just pick one up for my baby girl you heard.

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about 15 years too late


When I found out about this website I thought, "Damn that's like 15 years too late." Every person who was a huge fan of LEGO growing up knows how sick it would have been to build their castles with LEGO men carrying RPGs and machine guns. I probably would have peed by pants at the age of five if these existed or more likely cry for days until I got them but anyways check out the website. Pretty cool.

http://brickarms.com/

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