August was busy and I didn't have a chance to blog much. Here are my thoughts as September begins:
Ravens Preseason: The Ravens are not ready for the start of the season. You can already chalk up an 0-1 start, with Chad Johnson dancing around like a moron. It's so freakin' predictable and there's no excuse for it. This is probably the most talented team the Ravens have ever had. But they're not ready. Billick's management of the offensive line this summer has been terrible. Ogden's toe still isn't right yet Billick didn't bother moving the experienced Adam Terry to LT until the last preseason game, keeping rookie Jared Gaither there throughout the summer. Marc made an excellent point - Billick doesn't do a good job with teams with high expectations. His best coaching jobs - 2000, 02, & 06 were with teams with medium to low expectations. Meanwhile, he did a lousy job with the '04 & '05 Ravens, who talked Super Bowl both years and ended up with a 15-17 composite record. If this season is a disappointment, I'm beginning to think about Rex Ryan...
O's annual collapse: First, I'm very happy that the O's named Dave Trembley manager for '08. I love the guy. However, since he was named manager the O's are 1-10, including a 30-3 loss, giving up 11 8th-inning runs to Tampa, and being no-hit by a freakin' rookie. Andy McPhail made a terrific trade with Chicago this week, dumping Trachsel for 2 major-league ready prospects. Given how far the O's are away from contending, the dearth of major-league ready position players in the system, the amount of bad contracts they have, and the fact that Roberts, Tejada, and Bedard are free agents after '09, I've come to the conclusion that the O's need to trade all 3 players for high-level prospects. It's finally time to do the right thing, blow this thing up, and rebuild around Nick Markakis. I'd be a lot more excited about that prospect than staying the course with this crap.
IU football: What a great night at Memorial Stadium last night. A very nice tribute to Coach Hep. Then Kellen Lewis and James Hardy put on a show against an overmatched Indiana State team. A couple of complaints: (1) the ridiculous unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Hardy and (2) the starting time & length of the game. After Hardy scored a 1st quarter TD, he went to his knees, closed his eyes, & pointed the football into the air as a tribute to Hep. That is the ultimate display of SPORTSMANSHIP! And thanks to the Big 10 Network, the game started at about 8:10 and lasted until after 11:30. Do we need a commercial break after every 5 plays?
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