BALTIMORE, Maryland September 7, 2014 - Low-Browed Dictators throughout history cannot be reigned in by concepts such as morality, values, religion, or just plain old common decency. No sir! Not Vlad. Russia can never be too big in this megalomaniac's world (and for me, calling Vlad a megalomaniac is being way too kind; in reality, he is just a mentally limited bully with a big army and a timid political opposition, if indeed any opposition worth talking about remains in dear old Russia, At least Peter the Great had a plan and some workable ideas.). And when your population as a whole has been through just one too many long cold winters, well, let us get up and push those borders outward. To Hell with Ukraine. That's what Vlad the Invader says.
Sadly, our President has no plan. When Vlad steps up the invasion, Obama steps up the rhetoric. It's like he'll avoid doing the hard work at all cost, because if he really did push back, his buddies on the uber left would have a coniption. Tell me I'm wrong. The last thing Obama wants is to have his buddies pissed off at him. He says, now, that if Vlad invades a NATO country, we'll fight. If I were a NATO nation, I'd be checking for loopholes in a big hurry.
I recall my parents and other adults when I was a kid just shaking their heads when I had "my music" on anywhere within their earshot. Now that I'm the adult, I'm doing much of the same with some of the rap stuff. I have nothing at all against the idea of those being adversely affected by being poor and downtrodden putting it in front of the public. That's purely American. It's just that rock was eminently more pleasant on my ears than so much of the rap. And why does so much of the rap just paint women as nothing but dogs? Why aren't more women appalled by that? Or, if they are appalled, why not speak up? So few do, especially left-leaning women who want us to believe they are really threatened by people like Romney but not rappers screaming literally for their lynching. Explain this to me.
There are people in College Park who are dreaming of being undefeated going into the Big Ten home opener against Ohio State. Their numbers grew somewhat today when the Terps rallied on the road to beat South Florida, 24-17. For these folk, the six turnovers committed by Maryland mean nothing. And you've read that correctly: Maryland committed six turnovers and still won by scoring ten unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Good thing. If they'd have lost with that many turnovers, the group who are dreaming instead of a new coach would be the one growing. Or, maybe they grew despite the win.
For Maryland to go into that game undefeated, they will have to beat West Virginia in College Park next weekend, Syracuse on the road the following week, and Indiana in their Big Ten opener in Bloomington the following week. If, somehow, Maryland was able to do that, they would be 5-0 going into the game with the Buckeyes. It is a nice thought. In reality, Maryland will be underdogs in all three games before Ohio State. I wonder what the line would be if Maryland did manage to win those three games? We Terrapin fans are a hardy lot with very thick skins. We wouldn't be Terrapin fans without that make-up. Imagine being a Maryland fan with thin skin.
The Orioles managed to lose their second straight to Tampa on Saturday afternoon. I wouldn't want to be a David Lough supporter this weekend. Twice picked off in two games. Last night, Alex Cobb picked Lough off first in the first inning, with only one out. Adam Jones followed with a single, but the Orioles failed to score in that inning on any other inning in the 3-0 loss. Today, he pinch ran in the 8th inning after the Orioles tied the game on a Nelson Cruz single. He was at second base when Delmon Young lined a ball down the line that Evan Longoria caught. He then threw to second to get Lough before he could get back to the base. Lough has argued in a respectable way for more playing time, and the main reason he hasn't gotten it is his lack of offense. He is often used in key late game situations as a defensive replacement and as a pinch runner. That latter group of opportunities may be relinquished now that the Orioles have added Quintin Berry, and Lough's back-to-back goofs won't help, either.
The Orioles have played far better than anyone expected. But runs like the last two games in Tampa show how fragile their success really is. Good pitching can shut down their offense, at least in spurts. I worry about their bench. When the Orioles were in Weaver's days, they always had a strong bench. Jim Dwyer, John Loewenstein, Pat Kelly, Terry Crowley, Chico Salmon, Floyd Rayford, Joe Nolan, the list goes on and on. This team has a few good bench players: Delmon Young, Ryan Flaherty...and that's about it. And more and more, those two guys are in the starting line-up. Quintin Berry is a good idea, but he is not eligible for the post-season. What's the magic number? And how many do we have left with New York?
I didn't get to the Maryland-UMBC game Friday, but it must've been a good one. 0-0 after two overtimes. Maryland apparently outplayed the Retrievers but did not score. They outshot UMBC, 13-6, and none of the Retrievers' shots required Zack Steffen to make a save. Maryland is now 1-1-1 while UMBC is 2-0-1 on a far weaker schedule. In three games and two exhibitions, Maryland has yet to take the field against an unranked team. Monday they are at Navy, which was No. 25 last I looked.
The Ravens open their season tomorrow when the Bengals play here. Then, four days later, the Steelers come here. If the Ravens can be 2-0 after those two games - and I believe they will be - than John Harbaugh hasn't been exagerating when he says this team is something special. In my humble opinion, a key to the Ravens making the playoffs is how many games Ladarius Webb plays. If he plays in at least 14 games, the Ravens will win at least 12 of them. You read it here, first.
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