Sports

For the first time in the history of Loyola University Maryland men’s soccer, head coach Steve Nichols has recruited a nationally ranked recruiting class. After a couple of disappointing losses to open the season, this young, reenergized team has come into it’s own and is taking the Patriot League by storm.

Ever since Loyola’s 2-1 victory over the University of Pittsburgh, this team cannot be stopped. The Hounds are perfect in Patriot League play with a 3-0 record and they have won four consecutive games overall.

On September 7th McKenzie Coan and Alyssa Gialamas, two juniors on the women’s swimming and diving team, embarked on a journey of a lifetime to Rio for the 2016 Paralympic…

With the 2015 injury riddled season in the rear view mirror, the Baltimore Ravens are finally back to full strength and looking forward to the season. The Ravens have a number of players returning who missed a significant portion of last season including quarterback Joe Flacco, wide receiver Steve Smith Sr, and running back Justin Forsett. To go along with free agent acquisitions Mike Wallace and Eric Weddle, the Ravens have reloaded for the 2016 campaign as they look to rebound after a disappointing season last year.

Baltimore gets a lot of hype for developing some of the best lacrosse talent in the nation, but what is underappreciated is the amount of talent that Baltimore has generated on the hardwood. From NBA scoring champion, to FIBA World Champion, to NCAA Champion, Baltimore has produced a number of guys who have gone on to have success at the next level around the world.

Carmelo Anthony: Arguably the most famous athlete from Baltimore is New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony. Anthony is a 9 time all-star, 2 time Olympic Gold Medal winner, and he led the NBA in scoring in 2013. Anthony started his career at Towson Catholic High School before transferring to Oak Hill Academy. Anthony went on to attend Syracuse University in 2003 where he led his team to an NCAA championship in his only year at the school. Anthony was selected No. 3 overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. Anthony spent the first 8 years of his career in Denver before getting traded to the Knicks in 2011. Anthony has done a terrific job giving back to the Baltimore community as well. He hosts an annual 3-on-3 tournament called “Melo’s H.O.O.D.” (Holding Our Own Destiny). The purpose of this event is to help fund the revitalization of the local community center for the youth. He also founded “The Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center”, which he donated $1.5 million to the Living Classrooms Foundation.

Free baseball at Camden Yards? You heard that right! Come down to Oriole Park on Saturday April 16th at 1 pm to watch the 6th annual President’s Cup. The President’s…

The Baltimore Orioles are off to a terrific start to begin the 2016 season. They squared off against the Minnesota Twins in the first series of the year this week and they certainly took care of business. The O’s defeated them in all three games, holding them to two runs in each game. This was just the start that manager Buck Showalter wanted from his club as they look to get back on top as AL East champions.

The Baltimore Orioles had a relatively quiet offseason as they were unable to sign a big ace for their rotation. However, they did resign a bunch of their own guys who played pivotal roles for the team last season. Most notably, they resigned first basemen Chris Davis to a 7 year $161 million deal this offseason tying the slugger with Baltimore through the 2022 season. Another important bat making his return to Bird Land is catcher Matt Wieters, who accepted the 1 year $15.8 million qualifying offer. Wieters is a three time all-star, but he is coming off two injury riddled seasons. He is in a contract year so look for the former first round pick to bounce back in a big way this season. The last major contributor the O’s brought back was reliever Darren O’Day. O’Day was viewed as one of the top relievers in this years free agency class, but he opted to come back to Baltimore because he likes pitching under coach Buck Showalter and is familiar with the Orioles system.  

2016 March Madness Preview

Bubble Teams: There is no perfect system in figuring out who the top 36 at large bids should go to in the NCAA tournament, but I think that the NCAA got a lot wrong in the selection process. There are three teams that are in the field that have no business being in the tournament. Tulsa, Syracuse, and Vanderbilt should be incredibly appreciative of their bid. Tulsa had a very average season that was not worthy of the NCAA tournament. Tulsa went 20-11 including 12-6 in a mediocre American Athletic Conference. Nothing on their resume really stood out. They were 6-6 on the road, 4-5 vs the RPI top 50, and 8-8 vs the RPI top 100. Syracuse is another team that I did not think deserved a bid. They had a down year for their standards going 19-13. They went 3-8 in games on the road and had an RPI of 70. The last team that got into the tournament that I did not think belongs is Vanderbilt. They also went 19-13 and went 5-11 in games on the road or on a neutral court. They were 2-7 vs RPI top 50 teams. Instead of these teams getting in, I would have given their spots to mid major teams like Monmouth and St. Bonaventure. They did everything they had to do out of conference, but they got punished because their conference is not as strong as the teams who got in.

With five games remaining in the Patriot League regular season, the Loyola Greyhounds are right in the thick of things. They have a record of 8-16 overall, but they are 7-6 in the extremely competitive Patriot League. Loyola is currently tied for fifth place with Colgate, but there is still a lot of basketball to be played over the next several weeks. Second and ninth place is separated by only three games so, the Greyhounds still have an opportunity to climb up the Patriot League standings.

The 50^th edition of the world’s most popular sporting event will take place in Santa Clara, California at Levi’s Stadium on February 7^th. The game will feature two teams with completely different identities.

The Carolina Panthers had the best record in the NFL this season going 17-1, earning the #1 seed in the NFC. They led the NFL in total points thanks to former Heisman Trophy winner, Cam Newton. Many people counted the Panthers out of playoff contention when Newton’s number one target, Kelvin Benjamin, went down with a knee injury before the season started. However, that injury did not deter the Panthers at all. Newton responded with an MVP caliber season and Carolina’s second appearance in the Super Bowl in team history.