Post 1

Orioles 4, Rangers 2, top 7 - we'll see if that holds. Starter Koji Uehara's still in the game, hanging in there pretty well w/ 6 Ks. Just gave up a HR to Hank Blalock though. O's started 6-2 on the year but have since fallen to 8-8. Once again, our pitching's gonna be the dealbreaker this year - behind Jeremy Guthrie, we don't have a quality starter. Cross your fingers. We'll pick up some more run support once they call up Matt Wieters from Triple-A Norfolk, but we've gotta hang in there til then.

Yanks beatin the BoSox 2-1, bottom 5
Toronto's already hung 4 on the ChiSox, bottom 3
Tampa Bay plays later @ Oakland

Ravens
Everybody's fired up about the draft tomorrow (4PM Eastern, ESPN). Ravens have pick #26 in the first round and 2 more in the top hundred (57 & 88), as well as one each in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds. Experts are saying our needs are at wideout, linebacker, defensive end and DB, but Ozzie Newsome's a believer in taking the best guy on the board, so I wouldn't be surprised if we took none of those positions (we have a bad history w/ wideouts anyway - see Travis Taylor, Practice All-Star). If I had my druthers, I'd go w/ WR Hakeem Nicks of UNC. He's not a burner, but he does have great hands and does the little things well. I love guys that pass the eye test, and he definitely does. If not him, I like Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland or any of the USC linebackers (Cushing, Maualuga, Matthews) that might still be on the board. Heyward-Bey ran the best 40 yd dash at the combine - the knock on him is, if he's not going deep, he's not nearly as effective. I watched him firsthand a few years ago when my school played his (shout out to the MIAA, St. Paul's and McDonough) and it would be cool to have a kid from the Baltimore area; however, Eric DeCosta demands that the guys he picks have intense passion for the game, and Heyward-Bey originally started playing football just as a way to stay in shape for track. Make of that what you will, but I like Nicks.

P.S. If you think we'll trade for Anquan Boldin, keep your shorts on. DeCosta's whole scheme involves having as many draft picks as possible, and there's no way we'd give Arizona a first and third rounder, even if Boldin is a Pro-Bowl caliber player. Apparently, the Cardinals have just lowered their demands to a second rounder, so it may be a workable deal. More on that as it develops.

P.P.S. I'm not sold on Matt Stafford. The Lions have got to get it right with the first pick, and I think Jason Smith is the safer bet. I hope for their sake that three years from now Stafford hasn't joined the Joey Harrington club.

Terps
Not much since both basketball teams lost in the NCAA tournament. Gary Williams has 2 recruits lined up for next season (both in the Rivals.com Top 150 for 2009), so that'll definitely help our rebounding presence (the kids are 6'7" and 6'10"). Lance Stephenson, ranked #11, still has yet to decide, but Maryland's in the running, and that would take a huge weight off Greivis Vazquez if we could get another scoring guard on the roster.

And 1 (more)...
That a baby, Caps! Washington's up 4-0 on the Rangers w/ 5 to go in the third period. We hang on & we can get the series back to 3-2. Ovechkin's scored in his second straight game. Keep truckin', buddy.
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Got a ton of work tomorrow - last classes are on Wednesday w/ exams starting next week, so I'll do my best to post when I can, but no guarantees. Keep it real.