Another O's Embarrassment

Reason #762 it's hard to get passionate about the Orioles:

O's curb callers' access to club

I don't like the policy period. But even worse than the policy is the lie: "the club has always had the policy." Please. Just be honest with us, or at least come up with a believable lie. If they had said "we want to give our new broadcast partner some exclusive privileges" I could live with it. As a business person, I can understand the argument. (Although I still wouldn't do it - it's insulting to your customers.)

You would think after 14 years the team would become better liars. The excuses they use for the ridiculous moves they make are downright pathetic. I don't have enough time to list ALL of the asinine reasons they've given to us after unpopular moves, but here are a few:

• After forcing Davey Johnson out as manager, they tried to blame it on Johnson directing a fine to his wife's charity.
• After firing Frank Wren as GM, they said it was because he didn't hold a plane for a LATE Cal Ripken.
• After not offering Jon Miller a contract, they blamed the move on his wife wanting to move to San Francisco. (The Millers, including Mrs. Miller, maintained their off-season home in Baltimore for at least a couple of years after leaving the Orioles.)

Mr. Angelos, please sell the team!

2000 Ravens' Place in History

With the Ravens today announcing that they will not franchise Adalius Thomas, another member of the Super Bowl XXXV Champions is leaving Baltimore. In the salary cap era, it's inevitable. As much as I love AD as a player and as a member of the community, I honestly believe the Ravens are doing the right thing.

As more time has passed, it becomes more appropriate to judge the 2000 Ravens' place in history. And as more time has passed, I am more amazed by how talented that team was.

That team started 4 sure-fire Hall-of-Famers - Jonathan Ogden, Shannon Sharpe, Ray Lewis, and Rod Woodson. Adalius Thomas and Priest Holmes (multiple Pro Bowls each) were back-ups. Kelly Gregg, who is now considered one of the best nose tackles in football, was on the practice squad. Their rookie tailback - Jamal Lewis - owns the NFL record for most rushing yards in a game and has the second-highest single-season rushing total in history.

Despite all that talent, they don't get mentioned with the great Super Bowl champions. The reason - quarterback play. As much as I love what Trent Dilfer did for that team, he was a mediocre QB at best. And he was a big improvement over Tony Banks, who was downright terrible. Dilfer, though, understood how good the team around him was and played his role perfectly. My favorite stat about that team - they were 14-0 when they scored a touchdown. And they won two games in which they didn't score a single touchdown.

I understand that the NFL is a quarterback's league. And because of that the 2000 Ravens will never be mentioned as one of the great teams of all time. Maybe that's fair. But it is a shame.

Other overlooked 2000 Ravens' stats:

• Closest margin of victory in playoffs: 13 (16-3 over Raiders, AFC Championship Game)
• Cumulative Playoffs Score: Ravens 95 Opponents 23 (4 games)
• TD's allowed by defense in playoffs: 1
• TD's scored by defense in playoffs: 2
• TD's scored by special teams in playoffs: 2
• Shutouts (Reg Season): 4
• Games holding opposition to 10 or less points: 15 (incl all 4 playoff games)

Thank you San Diego!

The Chargers hired Norv Turner to be their new head coach today. This is excellent news on two fronts - (1) the team with possibly the most talent in football just hired a coach with a 58-82 lifetime record and (2) Rex Ryan will return as the Ravens' defensive coordinator.

Norv Turner has proven over and over again that he's a great offensive coordinator but a lousy head coach. Everywhere he's gone as an offensive coordinator he's had success. But everywhere he's gone as a head coach he's had trouble controlling an entire team. At best, the Chargers will have a pretty major adjustment period (4 other coaches from their staff left), which could hurt their seeding for the playoffs. At worst (or best in the Ravens' case), Turner will work his magic and bring the team down significantly.

Losing Rex Ryan to the Chargers would have been more damaging to the Ravens next season than the likely loss of Adalius Thomas. Last year's Ravens "D" was one of the most dominant in recent NFL history despite starting 4 players drafted in the 5th round or later (including AD) and starting 2 rookies. By comparison, the dominant Ravens defense in 2000 had only 2 players drafted in the 5th round or later (both of whom were on the D-line, coached by Ryan) and no rookies. Ryan has an incredible ability to get the most out of players, both from a scheme and motivational standpoint. It's just amazing that retreads like Norv Turner and Wade Phillips got jobs this year while Ryan didn't. Reminds me a little of 2001, when Buffalo (Gregg Williams) and Cleveland (Butch Davis) both passed on Marvin Lewis. (Both of those teams are on their 3rd coaches since then.)

Michigan 58 IU 55

Some random thoughts after watching IU battle valiantly, but again fall short in a winnable road game:

• IU should have won this game, even with the short rest and without Earl Calloway. IU has made huge strides this year but they still are not able to make the plays they need to make down the stretch on the road. I just don't understand how IU wins blowouts at home and plays from behind practically all game on the road against the same teams. Iowa, Michigan, and Purdue were all beatable on the road. IU just doesn't seem mentally tough enough yet to do it.
• How does Tommy Amaker keep his job? I thought Michigan looked like a better team in Bloomington than they did today. So many stupid turnovers and dumb fouls. If Michigan doesn't hit their 3's today (or IU executes down the stretch), they lose at home to a team with even (or maybe less) talent, playing on short rest, and without their starting point guard. This is now his 10th year as a head coach and he's been to ONE NCAA tourney. Just goes to show you the halo one gets from being a Dukie.
• I wonder how much Lance Stemler's early-season concussion has affected him. Before the concussion he was a 50% 3-point shooter. Since the concussion he's got to be below 30%, if not below 20%.
  
• Ben Allen has a big decision this off-season. Does he stay, get in really good shape, and truly dedicate himself to being a low-post player? Or does he transfer (to UAB?) so he can be a 7'0" shooting guard? I realize he may not be fully recovered from mono, but he didn't exactly impress before he got sick.
• I found it interesting that Sampson started Suhr at point and Bassett at 2-guard. IU really struggled offensively with that arrangement. When Sampson adjusted and moved Bassett to point (and Suhr to 2) to start the 2nd half, IU started clicking offensively. Down the stretch it seemed Suhr went back to point and IU struggled again. I like Suhr as a bit player but he just can't get IU's offense set up when teams put quick defenders on him and pressure him.

IU needs to take care of business Wednesday at home against Minnesota. Next Saturday at Michigan State will be IU's last chance for a QUALITY road win. I'd really like to see them get that game both for seeding purposes and to build their confidence for next season.

Pitchers and Catchers Report

While more snow falls today here in Indiana, those four words reminds me that baseball season is just around the corner. I got my Spring Training Preview issue of the Sporting News yesterday. I've been reading the O's articles on baltimoresun.com. Summer is close!

I have been and will continue to be critical of Peter Angelos and the way he runs the Orioles. But this time of year is a time of optimism. So I'm putting on my orange-colored goggles and drinking orange Kool-Aid. I'm beginning my season-long "Quest for 82", the O's journey to finish with a winning record.

It appeared the O's would have a major setback before Spring Training even started, with Kris Benson going down with a season-ending rotator cuff injury. How could the O's replace his 11 wins? Steve Trachsel! I actually have to give the O's credit for acting so quickly. Trachsel did win 15 games last year for a division champion. (Because I'm drinking the orange Kool-Aid, I'll ignore his 4.97 ERA playing in a league without the DH and in a home park bigger than Camden Yards.)

So how do the O's find 82 wins on their schedule? Well, I've done a simple analysis. The O's play 93 games against the AL powerhouses - Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Twins, Tigers, White Sox, A's, and Angels. They need to go 42-51 against those teams. It's a pretty big task but with the assistance of orange googles, it can be seen. Then the O's need to go 40-29 against the rest of their schedule - Devil Rays, Royals, Mariners, Rangers, Indians, Nationals, Rockies, D-backs, and Padres. Heck, if they can just go 18-7 against the Devil Rays and Royals, they can go .500 against the rest of the rest.

Let the Quest for 82 begin!

IU's Big Test: The Road

Beginning Thursday night, IU begins its toughest stretch of the season. Four of its next five games are on the road. It starts at Purdue, followed by a trip to Ann Arbor two days later. After a home game against Minnesota, IU goes to Michigan State and Northwestern.

When Kelvin Sampson was hired the first thing DJ White told him was "I want to win on the road." IU has shown progress in that area, playing Duke, Kentucky, and Ohio State down to the wire. When IU beat UConn in Hartford, I thought they had turned the corner. Ugly losses at Illinois (43 points!) and Iowa (completely dominated on the boards) prove otherwise. With that in mind, here are my thoughts on each upcoming game:

At Purdue: First of all, would Purdue stop the whining about Earl Calloway? Matt Painter is turning out to be as big a whiner as his mentor, Bruce Whiner. And I don't want to hear all this "lack of class" stuff. Calloway apologized - immediately! "Lack of class" is dancing and spitting on your opponents logo at half court after winning at their place and not apologizing for it, like Purdue did at IU in the 90's. Of course, Purdue's players probably can't remember that, since the last time Purdue won at Assembly Hall their freshmen were in 5th grade.

Now, back to tomorrow's game. For IU to win their 3rd straight at Mackey, and their 12th in their last 14 games against Purdue, they will first have to weather the incredible emotion that Purdue will come out with. This will especially show on the boards & when IU is trying to run their offense. If IU can avoid falling way behind, they'll have a chance. It's going to be very tough because Purdue seems to be a very different team than the one IU beat by 27 in January.

At Michigan: Prior to the Purdue game being postponed by a day, I would have felt very confident that IU would walk away with a win in Ann Arbor. Now, I'm not so sure. IU has to play at their biggest rival, get home very late Thursday/early Friday and then hit the road Friday night for a late Saturday afternoon game in Ann Arbor. This feels like the @Illinois game all over. I'm very concerned about a poor effort here.

At Michigan State: This doesn't look like a Tom Izzo team. I haven't seen them play very much, but they've had some clunkers. At East Lansing, though, they're a different team. This game has a stupid start time (9 pm) so their fans will have all day to get riled up. IU has only won once at the Breslin Center (1991). However, given the short rest before the Michigan game, this may be IU's best chance for victory out of the first 3.

At Northwestern: In the Mike Davis era this all of a sudden became a difficult place to play. I like Bill Carmody but Northwestern is not very good. (Neither was Mike Davis, but that's a different story.) If IU doesn't win this one, then they're not very good.

I used to hate when Davis would say before a stretch of road games "if we could win 1 I'd be happy." You can't say that as a coach. As a fan, though, it's OK. The players don't pay attention to me. Having said that, I would be very happy if IU can go 2-2 in these road games. Assuming they take care of business at home, that will leave them at 11-5 in the Big Ten and 21-8 overall. (BTW, 11-5 was IU's Big Ten record when they were co-champions in 2002.) That should get them a Top 3 seed in the Big Ten tourney. A win there and I would think they would get a 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA tourney. That would give them a good shot at the Sweet 16, which would make this season a resounding success.

24

WARNING: If you are a 24 fan & have not seen Monday's 2-hour episode yet, do not read this post.

I started watching 24 during Season 2, when Jack Bauer first saved us from a nuclear attack and then saved 3 innocent Middle East nations from being wrongly attacked by the US in retribution. I instantly became hooked, watching Season 1 on DVD in about 3 weeks that summer and loyally watching Seasons 3 and 4.

I watched the first episode of Season 5 but decided after the third assassination attempt on former President David Palmer was successful (not to mention his successor being shot down out of Air Force One) that I needed some time away from the show.

My hiatus appeared to be a good thing. Season 6 got off on the right foot with David Palmer's brother Wayne now in office. Bringing Jack's shady brother & father into the show added some great new intrigue. While the actual terrorist activity is old news (more nukes), the story felt fresh again. I was hooked again.

Then I watched the last 3 episodes. We have a potential coup in the White House of President Palmer. I think I saw that in Season 2. We have Jack potentially being falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit. I think I've seen that in every season. We have someone close to Jack betraying him. We saw that with the seemingly never-ending Nina in Seasons 1, 2, & 3.

I guess there's only so much "newness" you can have in an action-thriller about terrorism. But I'm burned out. I'm going to give it another episode or two. If the expected storylines come to fruition, then I think I'm done for good. There's only so many ways to tell the same story.

An Open Letter to Jim Irsay

Mr. Jim Irsay, Owner and CEO
Indianapolis Colts
7001 W. 56^th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46254

Dear Mr. Irsay,

Congratulations on your Super Bowl Championship. Your Indianapolis Colts showed great skill, character, and resolve in defeating four talented opponents. In addition, the people in your franchise demonstrated a great deal of class and dignity, both on and off the field.

Like you, I spent a great deal of my formative years in Maryland. And like you, I now live in Indiana. I have seen your franchise in both Baltimore and Indianapolis and have friends from both states who have supported the Colts, both emotionally and financially.

Fans from both states have very strong feelings about their Colts. My friends in Maryland have very fond memories of your franchise’s glorious run in Baltimore. Many of the older fans and players from the Baltimore era talk about the connection between the team and the city. In fact, many of the former players of that era still live in Baltimore, including Art Donovan, Lenny Moore, and Tom Matte. Of course, the greatest Colt of the Baltimore era, John Unitas, lived in Baltimore after his career until his death in 2002.

Similarly, the fine people of Indianapolis have a strong connection with the current Colts. Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and Dwight Freeney are their heroes. I can attest to the passion of Indianapolis Colts fans just by the sheer number of blue jerseys I see around the state during the football season.

While the nickname, colors, and logo traveled across the two cities, the fans did not. The fans of Indianapolis feel no connection to the Colt heroes of the Baltimore era. Likewise, the fans of Baltimore have their own team now, the Ravens, which they follow as passionately as they once did the Colts. To both the past and present Colts fans and players there is a clear demarcation of Colts eras: 1953-1983 and 1984-present.

Yet, in both the Hall of Fame and the Colts’ record book, the Baltimore and Indianapolis Colts are treated as one. Fans of both eras feel that this is a great disservice to them and to the players of their city. When fans in Indianapolis see the Colts’ record book, they want to see the players they (or their parents) remember playing in their city. Likewise, when old Baltimore Colts fans go to the Hall of Fame, they want to see their heroes immortalized as players who played in Baltimore.

Therefore, I would like to make two requests that would make the fans in both cities very happy:

1. Request that the Hall of Fame have both a Baltimore Colts and Indianapolis Colts area. The Baltimore Colts area would include players such as John Unitas, Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Art Donovan, and John Mackey. The Indianapolis Colts area would include Eric Dickerson now but will soon include Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and perhaps Dwight Freeney. And given how well-run your organization is it will likely include many more in the coming years.

2. Separate the two eras in the Colts record book. John Unitas never played a down in Indianapolis. Indianapolis fans have no connection to him or any of the Baltimore Colts. Twenty years from now, they will be interested if their next great QB can approach Peyton Manning’s records, not John Unitas’s. Likewise, Baltimore fans are pained to hear players from a rival team breaking the franchise records of their heroes.

These two simple moves will put final closure on the events of March 1984. The Baltimore fans will feel that a great injustice has been corrected. And the Indianapolis fans will feel a complete connection to their beloved Colts.

Sincerely,

Darren Klein

As I work on the Irsay letter...some thoughts on Peter Angelos

Thanks to those of you who emailed me about the Irsay letter. I want to make sure I put some thought behind it. This week has been a bit hectic but I should finish it this weekend.

With the NFL season behind us and IU off until Saturday, my thoughts have drifted toward baseball. Mostly I've thought about how much I miss getting excited about baseball. Who took my passion? Who else - Peter Angelos.

Don't get me wrong, the Orioles are and will always be my favorite team as long as they play in Baltimore. I will plop down the ridiculous amount of money DIRECTV charges for the baseball package so I can watch them regularly. I'll listen to them on my XM radio when I'm out and about. But I don't live and die with them the way I used to (or the way I live and die with the Ravens. While I'm not all the way back with IU basketball, Kelvin Sampson is helping me find that passion again.)

It's not just the 9 straight losing seasons, or the 4th place finishes in 8 of the past 9 years. It's the arrogance, heavy-handedness, and cluelessness. But mostly it's the loss of hope. Angelos claims that he's hardly involved in the day-to-day operations but when his "baseball people" want to make a key move they have to get his sign-off. As a result, the O's missed out on the opportunity to get Roy Oswalt or Ervin Santana last summer for Miguel Tejada. The year before, just a few games out of first & desperate for pitching, he refused to OK a deal for AJ Burnett, who went on to go 5-0 with a sub 2.00 ERA the next month. The O's tanked and finished, you guessed it, in 4th place with a losing record!

If I were to just look at the roster, there would be reason to have hope. Erik Bedard is one of the top lefties in the game. Chris Ray is an outstanding young closer. Nick Markakis looks like a potential consistent .300/25 HR guy. Brian Roberts is one of the top leadoff men in the game. Miguel Tejada is one of the 7 or 8 best players in the game. Daniel Cabrera, Adam Loewen, and Hayden Penn have tons of potential and are learning from Leo Mazzone. The bullpen looks vastly improved.

But let's say everything falls into place. The O's are within 5 games of the wild-card in July. If they can get another bat, they could stay in the race. Does anyone honestly believe Angelos will approve a deal? No way! The excuse will either be - "he's too expensive" or "he's going to be a free agent." Then he'll say something asinine like - "I don't want to have to raise ticket prices." Demoralized, the O's fall apart and finish 4th with a losing record.

On the bright side, Cal Ripken goes into the Hall of Fame in July. At least I have something baseball-related to look forward to.

Colts win the Super Bowl

For many years, that subject line was my worst sports-fan nightmare. How could a team that ripped a city's heart out and then hold their heritage hostage possibly win the biggest sporting event in the country? For 22 seasons it didn't happen. And I started to believe in the Curse of the Moving Vans.

For their first 15 seasons in Indy the Colts continued their pathetic "Irsay" ways of the late Baltimore years. I knew once the Colts hired Bill Polian that things would change. When Peyton Manning lived up to and then exceeded expectations, things did change. When Tony Dungy was hired I just hoped that the Curse was true, because there was too much collective talent in that organization NOT to win at least one Super Bowl.

Last night, my "nightmare" happened. Yet, surprisingly, this isn't the "nightmare" I thought it would be. Maybe it's because the Ravens have already won the Super Bowl (in only their 5th season!). Maybe because with the win the Colts finally have a legacy and identity in Indianapolis. Maybe it's the way Tony Dungy carries himself with such class. Or maybe its because I have so many friends and family in Indiana that get to enjoy the ultimate sports fan high - winning the Super Bowl.

For whatever reason, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be. (In fact, the Steelers winning last year was worse.) Enjoy your title Colts fans. And I look forward to the 2007 season, when the Ravens should be strong contenders to take your crown.

P.S. I still want Johnny U and his teammates recognized as Baltimore Colts in the Hall of Fame. Look for my open letter to Jim Irsay later, outlining a fair and feasible solution.

Facts for the "Get Over It" and "Hypocrites" Crowd

A few weeks ago the Ravens faced the Colts in the playoffs in Baltimore. Much was made at the time about the Baltimore fans and their continued anger regarding the Colts midnight move in 1984. Many national and Indiana media members told Baltimore fans to "get over it." Many even pointed out that Baltimore "stole" the Browns, and that Baltimore fans are "hypocrites" because they "did the same thing to Cleveland."

What the media failed to do in their rush to judgment is gather and share all of the facts. (What a surprise!) So here is the Baltimore perspective supported with the facts the media was too LAZY to provide:

• The vast majority of Baltimore fans are over the move. We have our own team, the Ravens, who have sold out EVERY one of their 91 regular season and playoff games since starting in Baltimore in 1996. How can fans who aren't "over it" "move on" to show such support for another team?

• Baltimoreans (including many former BALTIMORE Colts) DESPISE the Indianapolis Colts because they HOLD OUR HISTORY HOSTAGE! Go to the NFL Hall of Fame and you see Johnny U listed under the INDIANAPOLIS Colts. Believe me, if the Indianapolis Racers had played in Baltimore several weeks ago, you would not have seen near the anger.
  

Amazingly, there were some members of the media who actually talked to (or were themselves) old Baltimore Colts players and fans and got the story right:

All Baltimore wants is its Colts History

Former Baltimore Colts

Former Colts, Browns, Giants GM Ernie Accorsi

Set the Record Straight

 

Now, did Baltimore and the Ravens do "the same thing" to Cleveland that Indianapolis and the Colts (primarily) did to Baltimore? Again, here are some facts:

• In the early 90's Baltimore made a full effort to get an expansion team. Baltimore jumped through all of the hoops required by the NFL - they hosted a sold-out preseason game at Memorial Stadium, they committed to building a new state-of-the art stadium, and they had TWO solid ownership groups (the other cities only had one). Indianapolis built a stadium and then looked for an existing team. They never put together a formal ownership group to try to get an expansion team.
  
• Despite Baltimore having the strongest financial offer, the NFL expanded to Charlotte and Jacksonville. Amazingly, Jacksonville got a team despite the fact that they REMOVED THEMSELVES FROM CONSIDERATION! They had to be convinced by Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to re-enter the race. (BTW - Jacksonville has played in 2 AFC championship games and made the playoffs 3 other times in their 12 year history. Despite their success, the team has had to COVER SECTIONS OF SEATS because they CAN'T SELL THEM!)
• When interviewed on a Baltimore TV station after the charade of expansion, Tagliabue said that cities can choose "to build a museum" instead of trying to get an NFL team.
• Art Modell moved his franchise to Baltimore but LEFT THE NAME, COLORS, & HISTORY in Cleveland.
  
• The Cleveland Browns still compete in the NFL. The BALTIMORE Colts do not.
  
• The Cleveland Browns play in a brand-new stadium subsidized by the NFL. The Ravens play in a new stadium NOT subsidized by the NFL.
  
• Jim Brown, Otto Graham, and the rest of the Browns legends are in the Hall of Fame as CLEVELAND BROWNS.
  
• Jim Brown, Otto Graham, and the rest of the Browns legends are NOT in the record book of the Baltimore Ravens.
• Cleveland was guaranteed a new team named the Browns when Art Modell's franchise left. Baltimore was guaranteed NOTHING.
• Baltimore went 12 seasons without a team. Cleveland went 3.

Now that you have the facts, you can make your own judgment.