I’ve been so super busy with business-related endeavors the past few weeks (New York trip, 10th Anniversary, basic getting ready for football stuff) that my blogs have been rare.
Trust me, I have a LOT on my mind. Just haven’t had time to sit down and collect all of my thoughts and present them in a proper blog.
Some snippets: Much to say about the Ravens camp coming later in the week. I’m also hosting Drew’s show on Thursday and Friday as well as appearing in studio on Tuesday to pick the winner of the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports bracket contest.
Believe it or not, I also met and spoke with Andy McPhail on Friday at the Orioles Hall of Fame luncheon. I’ll keep that conversation private for the time being but let’s just say he was a gentleman and quite honest. The entire afternoon was quite bizarre (and thoroughly enjoyable) to be honest with you.
In the meantime, I continue to write twice a week for b. Here’s my Monday column…
As more of a traditional sports fan, I’m not usually one to be sucked in by the Olympics but the beginning of these Games from Beijing has brought me dangerously to the brink of obsession during the first 72 hours.
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The grandeur of the Opening Ceremonies and the more than one billion proud Chinese people had to catch your attention on Friday. Having visited Beijing last fall, the heinous murder on Saturday morning was shocking when I considered how safe I felt walking the streets in what is an incredibly non-violent culture.
The Michael Phelps “local” storyline has been laid out and along with Dara Torres and another local in Katie Hoff involved, I feel the need for the first time in years to watch people swim for gold. If you saw Phelps do heats on Saturday afternoon or his big win on Saturday night, you know what I mean. You almost feel sorry for the others in the pool because he feels unstoppable. But you can’t take your eyes off it.
The basketball games have become intriguing because the original “Dream Teams” felt unbeatable while this team could go either way. Of course, yesterday’s whitewashing of Yao Ming and the host Chinese reminded me of the original Michael Jordan-led troop many years ago.
And my favorite part of these Olympic Games? Keeping up on the internet while several channels dole it all out to me live in high def from halfway around the world.
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The Ravens are hard at work after what was a pedestrian effort albeit a 16-15 victory on Thursday night against the Patriots. It’s pretty hard to pass judgment on anything that happens in these games where the units are so patchwork and the outcomes are meaningless.
Does Kyle Boller get credit for moving the ball while playing with most of the second string? Or does he get criticism for fumbling again or throwing late interceptions? Can we evaluate anything Troy Smith or Joe Flacco are doing when they’re playing with and against depth chart players and ragamuffins?
And it doesn’t take long to have the wet blanket effect when you watch preseason NFL football. All of the pre-game excitement leads to an empty stadium and a sleepy second half even when a rookie quarterback like Flacco is involved. Do you think folks are going to hang out late into the night on Saturday at M&T Bank to see Flacco throw his first Baltimore pass vs. Minnesota?
