My Top Ten Maryland Sports Moments as an Undergrad

Maryland students rush the court after beating No. 2 Duke on February 16, 2013

With Maryland falling to North Carolina on Senior Night at Comcast, nearly every major athletic event I will attend as an undergrad at this great university is over (with the exception of maybe a lacrosse game or two). So as my career here comes to an end, I wanted to put together a list of the top ten games I attended during my four years. Without further ado, here they are starting from the bottom:

Mychal Parker to Transfer.

Mychal Parker has announced his intent to transfer from the University of Maryland. While this may not seem like a very big deal with JakeLayman coming in next year as well as Nick Faust currently on the roster it does have some implications. From the sounds of his statement it sounds like Turgeon may have encouraged him to do this.

Parker entered College Park as the prize of the 2010 class,
but never put it all together as a Terp.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

In terms of recruiting this opens up a much coveted scholarship for the team. Before this Maryland had one scholarship remaining for this next season and only one available scholarship for the 2013 class. Now even if Turgeon brings in another recruit this year, which seems possible, he would still have 2 available for 2013 which of course is the Harrison twins class.

At this point I would expect either Sam Cassell Jr, who sorta committed a few weeks ago or Michigan transfer Evan Smotrycz to be that final recruit brought in for next year. Both of these players have many positives to them. Cassell has a lot of upside as well as furthering the Baltimore-Maryland connection for recruits. However he would be the sixth recruit in an already crowded 2012 recruiting class.

Smotrycz would have to sit out next season most likely and would not become eligible until 2013 when he would be a junior. This would mean he would be the third recruit to the Alex Len and Nick Faust class. Personally I am a little bit more in favor of this. Smotrycz is a known quality. He has produced at Michigan and has a lot of potential. He is a PF who can also shoot the outside shot and get rebounds. Much different than the other big man Turgeon already has brought in. Also it would even out the scholarship situation at Maryland so we don’t have one scholarship to give one year and seven the next which means lots of turnover. He is scheduled to visit this upcoming Friday.

Who knows who if anyone else will join Maryland before the next season? All we know now is that Mychal Parker will not be on the team next year. This had been rumored for a while but having it confirmed opens up the rumor mill for Maryland basketball. My guess would be either Cassell or Smotrycz to be on campus next year but maybe Turgeon will save the scholarship for 2013 and have a three man class or bring in someone else for next year. 

One down three to go

Today the Maryland Terrapins extended their basketball season by at least one by defeating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 82-60 in the first round of the ACC Tournament. With the Terps squarely on the bubble of the NIT, tomorrow's game against UNC is vital for the Terps to wrap up a spot in the NIT.

In terms of the big dance it is going to take a conference title to get the Terps in. With Maryland's record standing at 17-14 (6-10 ACC), it is going to take at least one more victory to secure the Terps spot in the NIT. Plus, if they can knock the top ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, then the road to the conference title game will get much easier. Maryland is capable of making a run; however, it might be unprobable. They made an unlikely run in 2004 when they ended the season at 20-12 (7-9 ACC) and were very much a bubble team before making their ACC Tournament run. If the team plays like they did today, then they may be able to channel their inner John Gilchrist, Nik Caner-Medley and Chris McCray.

Battle of the Beltway?

Maryland Athletic Director Kevin Anderson has recently turned up the heat in trying to schedule a men’s basketball game against Georgetown. Anderson has said that until the two schools agree upon a men's basketball game, they will no longer schedule games against each other in any sport. Men's Lacrosse, both men's and women's soccer, swimming and diving and baseball are teams that have either yearly or regular games between each other. These smaller sport rivalries are at risk until an agreement can be made. 

It appeared that progress was being made when last year the two AD's sat down to discuss the issue. However, according to Kevin Anderson there has been no talk of restarting the game since then. The two schools which are 11.2 miles apart have not played in a regular season game scheduled by the two schools since 1993. Since then the teams have only played twice. They met in the 2001 Sweet 16 in Anaheim, California on their way to a Final Four birth and more recently in the 2008 Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. 

Maryland looks to be Full(er) of Good Counsel players

Kendal Fuller, Rivals.com No. 4 player in the 2013 class announced his top eight Tuesday and Maryland was included. Michigan, Tennessee, Florida State, Alabama, Virginia Tech, and South Carolina round out his top eight. While we are far from a commitment for him just being in his top eight is a achievement in itself. 

Maryland was one of the first schools to offer him last year and has been recruiting the cornerback from Olney very hard. With Locksley on board as well as four other Good Counsel alums, (Brown, Diggs, Madaras, and Dancel) getting him would arguably be bigger than the recent commitment from Diggs. The last player this highly ranked to commit to the Terps was Melvin Alaeze, who never ended up suiting up for the Terps. 

Quick rant about Melvin Alaeze who at one point attended my alma mater Calvert Hall. Alaeze committed to Maryland twice in 2005 and later 2006 after attending Hargrave Military Academy. He is now in prison on assault charges. 

Oh what could have been. Credit: justice4melvinalaeze.com

Back to the positive things though. Fuller is one of five Good Counsel players considering the Terps according to ESPN.com from the 2013 class. Four of these players are already listed as a Top 150 recruit for 2013 by ESPN.com. Getting two or three of these players would be huge to continuing the pipeline that we may have opened up with Good Counsel. Having back to back five star recruits is also something that would build quite a bit of momentum for both recruiting as well as raising the level of play on the field.

The Fuller recruitment is just starting, but being named in the final eight for a top five recruit is a great step. Even if it happened the same week that Maryland lost the face of its football program in Danny O’Brien.

End of a (short) Era: DOB to leave Maryland

The breaking news out of College Park today is that QB Danny O’Brien has announced his intent to transfer from Maryland. Want further proof this is a big deal? Just like Stefon Diggs' commitment, this had made the front page of ESPN for their football section. DOB has yet to release a quote however in the Maryland press release DOB is said to have not been “all in” with the program. All things said this is reasonable considering the rocky three years that he has gone through at Maryland.

I want to preface any of my further comments by saying that I am very biased in writing this. I have had two separate classes with DOB as well as the opportunity to talk with him through my internship. He is a great quarterback, person and has handled himself with extreme class through the good times and the bad. He has been one of my favorite Terps since I have been on campus and even stops and talks with me when we pass one another on campus. Things like this are a reason that I will be rooting for him wherever he ends up in the future. I believe that he has a bright football and business future ahead of him and I wish him well.

The first question we should look into is why he would want to transfer. Since Danny has been on campus he has played under two head coaches, and would have been on his third offensive coordinator in the upcoming season with Locksley. Danny has said that he is looking for stability and a good football conference. I believe that Danny loved being here in the good times and even in the not good times. He really loves Maryland and has taken pride in being a Terp. He was a go to host when Maryland brought in recruits. However I think he feels it is time to move on. He will graduate at the end of the semester and as a result can transfer to any D1 or D1-AA college without sitting out a year so this is an opportune time for DOB to make his move. (More following the jump)

Early Look at Baltimore Ravens Offseason: Free Agency

As I sit here pondering what the Ravens need to do this off-season, I have to remind myself it hasn't even been a week since the Super Bowl. So much has yet to happen before 4 p.m., March 13th -- the official start of NFL free agency. With the NFL draft scheduled for April 26-28, it's a crapshoot trying to figure out where all of the free agents will end up at this point.

Nonetheless, I thought it would be interesting to look at all the Ravens free agents and take a look at the entire league list of them, and prematurely pencil in a few that I'd like to see in the purple and black next season. As we approach combine season in a few weeks, O's, Bros and Natty Bohs will take a closer look at the draft prospects that look intriguing and "play like a Raven" (just kidding, I feel we hear that phrase thrown around about each player they sign. Although it may be indeed be true)


Could Ray Rice actually don a new Uni in 2012?
Credit: ESPN.com

Without further ado, here are your Ravens 2012 free agents:

Unrestricted
Brendon Ayanbadejo, Reserve Linebacker, former Pro-Bowl ST, active tweeter
Matt Birk, Starting Former Pro-Bowl Center, Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year
Ben Grubbs, Starting Pro-Bowl Guard, did not block for Cam Newton at Auburn
Andre Gurode, Reserve Guard/Center, got stomped on once by one Albert Haynesworth
Jarrett Johnson, Universally regarded underrated Starting Outside Linebacker
Jameel McClain, Starting Middle Linebacker, Repping the Orangemen now that McNabb is done-zo
Brandon McKinney, Reserve Defensive lineman, have a feeling Pagano is going to grab him ASAP
Haruki Nakamura, Reserve Safety/Special teams, resides in wonderful Carroll County #whatsup
Cory Redding, Starting Defensive End, dubious honor of being on the 0-16 Lions
Ray Rice, Starting Pro-Bowl Running Back, Coverboy of new NFL Blitz video game
Kris Wilson, Reserve Tight End, swags out in postgame interviews
Tom Zbikowski, Reserve Safety/Special teams, not a silent Z

Restricted
Dannell Ellerbe, Reserve Inside Linebacker, posterboy of Harbs doghouse
Lardarius Webb, Starting Cornerback, caught in the Webb, deserved Pro-Bowl bid
Cary Williams, Starting Cornerback, serious note: interesting story to this man's life

*Sidebar* Because of the new CBA in the NFL some slight changes occured to restricted free agents. Here's a brief summary of how it works, and what the Ravens must do to keep Webb and Williams (I'm ok with losing Ellerbe, more on that later)

The Ravens must tender an offer to the RFAs. Once done, another team can sign the RFA to an RFA offer sheet, but the Ravens then have 7 days to match that offer sheet and retain the player under the terms of that offer sheet. If the Ravens were to choose not to match the offer sheet, then they would receive compensation based on which level of RFA tender was made to the player.

There are 3 RFA tenders (the new CBA did away with the “high” tender of 1st and 3rd round draft picks as compensation):

1st Round Tender: allows the team to receive the other team’s 1st round pick
2nd Round Tender: allows the team to receive the other team’s 2nd round pick
Low Tender: allows the team to receive a draft pick equal to the round in which the player was originally drafted or the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) for an undrafted player

Thanks to an article at ravens24x7.com for this nifty little summary.

So now that we're all clear on that, let's look at some names that make sense (at least in my purple-tinted view of the world) as Ravens for next season. (click read more below)

The First Press Release

The Mecca of Major League Baseball

And the big news is finally here: Tyler, Matt, and Vince of “O’s, Bros and Natty Bohs” are bringing their on-air talents to the internet with the release of the official blog of the radio show here at nattybros.blogspot.com. Unfortunately, O's GM Dan Duquette could not grace us with a statement about how we can contribute to bringing a winning attitude back to Baltimore, but we hope to have that statement soon.

Dan Duquette declined to comment on the addition of Tyler, Matt and Vince to the Baltimore blog world

We’ve been talking about doing this for some time, but finally decided to go ahead with the plan to expand our brand marketing to the blogosphere. We are very excited to bring you our candid analysis of everything Baltimore and Maryland related in the world of sports, just as we have done the past few months over at the WMUC studios. We currently do not have a schedule or format of how we are going to divide up topics among the three of us, but that’s what could make this so fun. Whenever one of us wants to get our opinion out there about the latest letdown by the Ravens offense, the inability of the Orioles to do anything productive this offseason, or the changing of the culture within the Maryland athletic department, we will go ahead and write about it. Heck, let’s not limit ourselves to just those areas: if we want to discuss MMA or bass fishing, we will do that too. So without further ado, this is our blog and we hope you enjoy the occasional commentary that the boys of 7210 will provide for you. Do the Dew, hon. Here's to some Orioles magic: