Tucker's Miracle in College Park, 2/20

What more can I say besides “WOW!” The Terps just wouldn’t be beaten on Saturday against GA Tech, and despite getting crushed by offensive rebounds, in particular by Derrick Favors, the Terps figured out a way to win. That to me is a great sign for this team moving into March Now I know it should never have come down to this, but it did, and it happens to even the best teams in D-1 ball. Hayes made some huge shots and GV made some great passes, but aside from the game winning shot by Tucker, I thought the defining moment was when Jordan Williams had the ball stripped out of his hands on an offensive rebound with about 3 minutes left in the game (or less), then dove for the ball as it was heading towards the sideline AND the arms of a Tech player to get control of it. I think he was fouled but either way, we got the ball back and it was a pure hustle play that you don’t typically see a 6’10” 260 lb player make. He simply wanted the ball more than the Tech player, and you just can’t have enough players with that kind of mentality. The kid continues to impress me and I am starting to wonder whether he will be around for 3 or 4 years. It’s looking less and less likely as his development has been quicker than I imagined.

The bench seems to be getting more playing time for a variety of reasons, but it can’t do anything but help this team as the season continues. Guys are tired as the regular season comes to a close, so a productive bench becomes even more important now. I really like this team, and hope that we can get a win tomorrow night against Clemson and have a chance for another win down in Blacksburg on Saturday. That to me will be the toughest game left on the schedule b/c, call me crazy, but I really believe that senior night against Duke on March 3rd will be a big victory for the Terps. I’m looking forward to the final weeks of the season and then of course being in Vegas for the start of the Spiders and Terps runs to the Final Four! Go Terps! Go Spiders! Web ‘Em!!!!

O's Starting Rotation - High Hopes!

If the list of opening day starters since 2005 below doesn’t give you hope for next year and beyond I am not sure what will. I mean the rotation that the O’s are going to throw out there this season, at a minimum, has a great deal of upside, in Matusz, Tillman and Bergesen. It’s almost impossible to believe that we have had these rotations to start each season since 2005. I feel better already, and while I know this isn’t likely to be the year we contend for the playoffs, though I will put some $$$ on my O’s next month in Vegas, I can’t wait to watch Bergy, Tillman, and Matusz develop, with the help of Guthrie and Millwood. I also have a feeling that Guthrie may benefit the most by the addition of Millwood and the young starters having some time from last year under their respective belts. I am not at all concerned about scoring runs, unless of course Brian Roberts back is an issue. Much like the Terps with Greivis, for the O’s, as Roberts go, so do they. Bring on the warm weather and first pitch! Go O’s

The starting five
Last season's statistics for the Orioles' projected starting rotation:
Pitcher Age W-L ERA
Kevin Millwood 35 13-10 3.67
Jeremy Guthrie 30 10-17 5.04
Brad Bergesen 24 7-5 3.43
Brian Matusz 23 5-2 4.63
Chris Tillman 21 2-5 5.40



Season-opening starting rotations
A year after going to spring training with three undecided spots in the rotation, the Orioles' starting staff is essentially set with veterans Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie and youngsters Brad Bergesen, Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman.

Here is a look at the Orioles' rotations to start the past five seasons:

2009: Jeremy Guthrie, Koji Uehara, Alfredo Simon, Mark Hendrickson, Adam Eaton

2008: Jeremy Guthrie, Daniel Cabrera, Steve Trachsel, Adam Loewen, Brian Burres

2007: Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera, Jaret Wright, Adam Loewen, Steve Trachsel

2006: Rodrigo Lopez, Erik Bedard, Kris Benson, Daniel Cabrera, Bruce Chen

2005: Rodrigo Lopez, Daniel Cabrera, Erik Bedard, Sidney Ponson, Bruce Chen

Terps beat NC State in Raleigh

What an absolutely fantastic win for the Terps on Wednesday night in Raleigh. I didn’t see any of the game nor any highlights, but from what I can tell it was an incredible finish to the game for the Terps. GV stepped up again and Jordan Williams had the best game of his brief career. Bowie stepped up huge too, with 2 big three pointers! Three wins on the road so far (and an OT loss to Wake) is outstanding, and we need to keep it going tomorrow at home against GA Tech. It’s going to be a tough one, but I just don’t see us losing. Assuming we win, there are still 4 tough games left and we need to keep doing what we do best: handle the ball well, pass well, rebound well, and play tough, tough defense. The FT’s need to improve and have fallen off a bit from last year, but I am confident we get the W. Go Terps!

UVA Comes to College Park, MD, 2/15

For only a two day layoff, being cooped up in College Park for days b/c of the snow, and coming off the Duke disaster, the Terps really came out strong. Obviously it helps to hit shots early while also having your opponent miss theirs, but there was clearly a sense of urgency and a much higher intensity level. They need to keep that going tonight in Raleigh, b/c this is a road game we need to win to stay in the top 4in the ACC. I believe we belong there, so we just need to win.

It was great to see James Padgett get into the game early and I think it’s obvious to Gary, especially after the Duke bigs owned us, that Padgett needs to start seeing more time. Jordan Williams had another double-double and I just love his intensity. What can you say about GV’s first half other than it was spectacular! The Terps came out strong and I knew it was going to be a good night when ESPNU showed the Terps going into a timeout and there was a great shot of my boy Troy Wainwright. My one criticism was not of the Terps, Troy, or the refs, but of one of the announcer’s on ESPNU, Dwight Freeman (sp?). The entire game he mispronounced GV’s name, saying Vazqwez! I don’t understand why broadcasting companies don’t demand that announcers pronounce names properly. It’s either ignorant or arrogant, but either way, it’s not acceptable! Come on ESPN/ABC!

At any rate, it was a fine win for the Terps, further knocking UVA down towards the bottom of the ACC, where Roy Williams and North Carolina reside. Tonight’s game in Raleigh is going to be very difficult, and if NC State can hit some open shots, further opening up the middle for Tracy Smith, it could be a long night. I have confidence the Terps will win, but I’d be surprised, though relieved, if it’s not a close one. It doesn’t appear to be on TV outside the Balt/DC area, so I’ll only have the box score for my report tomorrow. Go Terps!

Terps Disappointing Debacle at Cameron

Obviously there isn’t much to say about this incredibly disappointing game. The Terps were completely outhustled and outmuscled, and it was a huge letdown at a critical point in the season. Of course not many people beat Duke at Cameron, but the Terps have done so in the past (though a few years ago now I think), and I thought that Greivis would go off in his final game there. It was not to be, and Duke shut him completely down in the first half. As GV goes, so go the Terps until someone else steps up. Jordan Williams sure looked like a freshman, but I thought that Duke’s big men got away with an awful lot of banging, in particular on screens up top, over the backs, etc, but we’ve come to expect that. That isn’t why we lost though. We lost b/c we missed several open shots early bruising our confidence. Then we played scared, getting bullied by a better team. While I was hopeful that we’d at least show up, I look forward to the rematch in College Park on Senior Night! Go Terps!

An Outstanding Evening at The Tractor Tavern with the Gourds

A fun night was had by all before the show at Bad Albert’s and at the tractor. Shinyribs set was outstanding, and in particular I loved Country Cool. It was great to meet Kevin’s bass player Jeff and celebrate Keith’s b-day in fine fashion. Some of the band and an assortment of other riff raff showed up at Bad Albert’s, including the Missoula Mafia. JR, again on the down low, was in rare form and especially lubricated for the first night of this tour. It’s always great to see those guys and looking forward to another trip out to MT this spring to see those who couldn’t make it (especially Meg, we are thinking good thoughts for you this weekend!)

The Gourds played an outstanding, energized show and the band was in great form. The set list was pulled together by John Mollman, and it’s always great to see him and finally meet his wife Kimberly (I hope it’s Kimberly b/c that’s what I was calling her!). I thought it was a great crowd though I neglected to ask Dan, the owner of the Tractor, how many tickets were sold but my guess is 250 or so. Not bad for a Wednesday night, I suppose.

Set lists highlights for me included Lament, Boil My Strings, Best Of Me, High Highs (for Scratchcracker), County Orange, and a song that the boys played a ton of on their tour through the PNW in 2007 but one I hadn’t heard in quite some time, Fine Leather Truck! Now I know the bands library is just huge now, but am I ever gonna hear Blood of The Ram again? Kevin? Was my request too violent? Claude, do you really not have any clout regarding setlists? I’m really not complaining as I know there are many competing interests, I just need to hear it and Jericho again soon! It was a super fun night and I hope the rest of the trip through OR, ID and WY is safe and great for everyone. We look forward to the next time, and thanks for a great couple nights!

Now go beat Duke, GO TERPS!!!!!



2/10/10 - Keith's birthday

Gourds 2/10/2010
Halelulia shine
Boil my strings
Kicks in the sun
Out on the vine
Raining in port Arthur
Lament
Pine island bayou>
cotton eyed Joe>
pine island bayou
Gyroscopic
Luddite juice
Best of me
Burn the honeysuckle
Blanket show
High highs, low lows>
2000 man
God's house
Dark and true
Ants on the melon
Red letter day
(claude pretty things song)
Illegal oyster
County orange
Shreveport>
midnight special tease>
Shreveport
Shake the chandelier
E;
Chinese variety hour
Fine leather truck
My name is Jorge
Lower 48

-jam

The Gourds Tonight, Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA

I am really looking forward to the Gourds show tonight and we are sticking to what has become our standard pre-show warm-up, in meeting at Bad Alberts and then heading to the Tractor. Unexpectedly though, things got started last night as Shelby got a text from Claude at about 8:45 indicating that the boys were “ready to party” and where is Stano?” So, we got dressed, gathered some assorted sundries for the boyz, picked up a case of beer and headed down to meet them at their hotel. They were all in great form after a pretty easy flight from Austin, and we had a great time hanging out, listening to tunes and shooting the sh*t with them. The only thing missing was Keith, who is driving the van up and won't arrive until today. It's always nice to see another fellow local Baltimore boy too, in soundman mark! All in all, it was a great night and I can’t wait for the shows tonight. Tomorrow I’ll pull something together about tonight’s show!

North Carolina Continues to Sink in the ACC

Another convincing home win for the Terps, though not without a few moments of trepidation when the Tar Heels closed to within 3 pts after large Terp leads. The way this team passed the ball was a pleasure to watch, and GV was at his best. We are going to really, really miss him and Hayes at the guard spots next year, but I'm enjoying this team so much that I can't worry about that now.

I don't think there are too many big men who run the court better than Jordan Williams, and IS there even a freshman who is better? His enthusiasm is infectious and this team is having so much fun. Winning is fun, plain and simple. One player who has me a bit perplexed recently is Sean Mosley, and I am wondering if his ankle, or something else, is bothering him. He just hasn't seemed himself the last couple games and his shot has been really off, so maybe it is a leg issue (or hand, b/c you shoot with them). Whatever it is, and perhaps it's a blessing b/c Tucker and Bowie have provided solid minutes in Mosley's absence, I love Mosley's hustle and we are going to need him down the stretch.

I'd be very surprised if we lost to UVA Wednesday (now Monday b/c the game has been postponed due to snow), though of course it's possible. I wish we were playing in Charlottesville though, b/c this team is playing so well and can clearly win on the road. But, we just need to win the game. Saturday's at Cameron should be a barnburner...

Finally, why is it that Coach Williams is the head coach of North Carolina but Gary Williams is the head coach for MD? I'm so sick and tired of hearing announcers talk about Roy Williams and refer to him as “Coach Williams.” The amount of talent that Roy Williams has had on his teams in Kansas and Carolina, year in and year out, including THIS year's team, is as much or more than every other school in the country. I just wonder how good a coach he really is, and while I acknowledge that he has a team with young guards, I can't help but believe he should be getting more, far more, out of this team. Those young guards were high ranking recruits (Larry Drew II - #29 overall and #3 PG on ESPN’s Top 100 from 2008; Dexter Strickland - #27 overall and #8 SG on ESPN’s Top 100 from 2009), much like the majority of players on Carolina’s roster, but yet the talking heads are still making excuses for poor ‘ol Roy and Carolina. It's laughable really, and Gary Williams just keeps getting more out his teams, year in and year out, and we still call him Gary. Go Terps!

Sweep for Terps!

What a huge win for the Terps last night and it was truly a tale of two halves. The first was sloppy and ugly and we couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. But the way they started the 2nd half, in particular Eric Hayes, propelled them to the road win and sweep of FSU this season. Jordan Williams is becoming a man right in front of our eyes, and has been so much better offensively than I could have hoped. Game to game, he’s consistently a top rebounder as well, and he plays fantastic defense. If he sticks around for 4 years he is going to really be something.

Landon Milbourne provided senior leadership (as did GV) when we needed it most, and one of his offensive rebounds within the last few minutes of the game may have sealed the deal. He literally jumped through two FSU players and willed himself to the ball, getting fouled as he caught it. We hit big free throws too, including a couple by Dino Gregory.

At times it was a brutally frustrating game, not as much b/c the Terps played poorly, but the bounces really seemed to go FSU’s way until late in the 2nd half. I can’t recall a game in which there were so many balls that were knocked out of bounds that went in favor of the opposing team. That’s not to suggest there were a bunch of bad calls either, but as a player, I think I would have been terribly frustrated because we played hard the entire game and weren’t really rewarded until the end. If I am reading the box score correctly it indicated that FSU had 9 team rebounds to the Terps 2! That’s a huge difference, but to be able to overcome that speaks volumes about this team’s character. Which is to say, Gary’s character!

Overall though, it was a huge team win and I’m impressed with how they handled a bigger team, again. Sweeping FSU will likely be huge come March as well, since they too will likely be fighting for a bid to the tourney and we pushed ourselves ahead of them in that discussion now. We still have a long way to go to solidify our place in the dance, but this really helps. Gary was noticeably excited at the end of the game, as well he should have been. Now we need to embarrass Carolina on Sunday, and I am hopeful that the snow won’t keep the 18,500 loud Terps fans from continuing Carolina’s fall and making this Roy’s Williams toughest season ever. Poor ol’ Roy! Go Terps!

Been Gone Too Long

I’ve been away from this blog for what seems like an eternity, and after a great deal of talk with family and friends about resuming it, it’s almost time. My passion for baseball and the O’s, the Terps, the Mariners, the Sounders, Liverpool, curling, etc. has never wavered, but far more important things came up in August. My absence from the blog coincided with spending time with my family, both here in Seattle and back home in Baltimore. It was a terribly difficult Summer/Fall, as my Mom, Maureen Eiker, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August and passed away a mere three months later, and my wife, Shelby and I, lost our baby in early October. In between, we also lost a dear little kitty, Cassidy, who we had adopted four years earlier, so it’s been a long road so far and there is plenty of distance still to cover.

Mom knew how much I loved the blog, but I had a difficult time coming to terms with how to acknowledge the loss of her and the loss of our baby. Mom always encouraged me, much like ALL of you have, so I think the time has come to get back on the horse (there’s an OLD sheriff back in town, perhaps?). This however, is not to suggest Mom or the baby will ever be forgotten. It’s just that Mom would have wanted me to get back to this, and I want to as well. I think of her so frequently, and it’s still hard for all of us to believe she’s gone because it happened so fast. Please help advance the funding and research for pancreatic cancer and get involved, locally or nationally, at www.pancan.org

Not only did I have a Mom who was always so loving, caring and supportive, but I also have a wife with so many of those same qualities (and Mom knew this!). I could not have made it through all of this without you, Shelby, and love you so much. With the hope of a happy, healthy 2010 for all of our family and friends, the anticipation of Alan and Kate’s arrival of another wee one, and our hope of having a family of our own, I believe it is time to get going again. I can’t begin to tell you all how lucky we are to have such loving family and friends, and despite all of our loss, we know how blessed we are. Thanks for indulging me and man do we miss you Mom......

Earl