Iggy’s Baltimore Sports Report for October 29, 2013

Ravens:
We didn’t lose! And actually, we gained a little with the Browns and steelers losing. The Ravens signed Free Agent Running Back Bernard Scott to strengthen our backfield with Rice and Pierce nursing injuries. This weekend starts a string of 8 must win games, but Cleveland will be no cake walk. Jason Campbell put up good numbers against an undefeated Kansas City Team, only losing by 6 points. In our first meeting in Baltimore, the Ravens depended on 2 second half touchdowns to post a win, but this time it’s in Cleveland, where they seem to bring extra venom for some reason.

Orioles:
Orioles were determined to be the 7th most valuable franchise in MLB… Orioles fielded 6 finalist for Gold Gloves, including Wieters, Davis, Hardy, Machado, Jones, and Markakis. This is not unexpected since the team set several major league records by traditional defensive metrics, committing 54 errors and recording 119 errorless games while amassing a .991 fielding percentage. Wieters, Jones, Hardy and Markakis have all won the award at least once in the past. The Orioles led the majors in finalists. Gold Gloves were announced, with Hardy, Machado and Jones all winning. The Orioles tied Kansas City for most Gold Gloves this year… The Orioles also hired Dave Wallace (Atlanta Minor League Pitching Coordinator) as their pitching coach.

Alouettes
The Als (7-10, 3rd) lost to 2nd place Hamilton (9-8) 27-24 on Sunday guaranteeing them a 3rd place finish, and a road trip back to Hamilton for the first round of the playoffs on Sunday, November 10. The Als will travel to play first place Toronto to conclude the regular season this Friday night.

Blast:
2013-14 Schedule has been released. (Nothing new to report)

Chesapeake Bayhawks: (Home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
Nothing to report.

Charm:
Nothing to Report.

Capitals (See website for more details):
After rebounding to the virtual .500, they have lost 2 in a row on the road, 4 games in to a 5 game road trip, concluding on Friday in Philadelphia.

Wizards (See website for more details):
In the biggest news, the Wizards acquired center Marcin Gortat along with guards Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee and Kendall Marshall in exchange for center Emeka Okafor and a 2014 protected first round draft pick. Their season opens on Wednesday in Detroit.

Mystics (See website for more details):
Nothing to report.

D.C.United (See website for more details):
DC United (3-24-7) lost 2-1 to Houston to end the season that technically ended after they won the America’s Open Cup.


What do you want to see in the Ravens report? What should be scrapped? Actually, never mind. No one is reading this anyway so you probably won’t know the difference. Send an email to iggy at tealdragon.net. Thanks!


Schedule

2013 Preseason
Date Opponent Time Result
Th, Aug 8 @Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7:30 PM W 44-16
Th, Aug 15 Atlanta Falcons 7:30 PM W 27-23
Th, Aug 22 Carolina Panthers 8:00 PM L 34-27
Th, Aug 29 @Saint Louis Rams 8:00 PM L 24-21
2013 Regular Season
Date Opponent Record Time Result
Th, Sep 5 @Denver Broncos 7-4 Overall
2-3 Away
8:30 PM L 49-27
Su, Sep 15 Cleveland Browns 21-7 Overall
11-3 Home
1:00 PM W 14-6
Su, Sep 22 Houston Texans 6-1 Overall
3-0 Home
1:00 PM W 30-9
Su, Sep 29 @Buffalo Bills 3-2 Overall
0-1 Away
1:00 PM L 23-20
Su, Oct 6 @Miami Dolphins 5-5 Overall
3-4 Away
1:00 PM W 26-23
Su, Oct 13 Green Bay Packers 1-3 Overall
1-0 Home
1:00 PM L 19-17
Su, Oct 20 @pittsburgh steelers 15-22 Overall
7-12 Away
4:25 PM L 19-16
Su, Nov 3 @Cleveland Browns 22-7 Overall
10-4 Away
4:25 PM
Su, Nov 10 Cincinnati Bengals 19-15 Overall
12-5 Home
1:00 PM
Su, Nov 17 @Chicago Bears 2-2 Overall
0-2 Away
1:00 PM
Su, Nov 24 New York Jets 7-1 Overall
5-0 Home
1:00 PM
Th, Nov 28 pittsburgh steelers 15-23 Overall
8-10 Home
8:30 PM
Su, Dec 8 Minnesota Vikings 2-2 Overall
2-1 Home
1:00 PM
M, Dec 16 @Detroit Lions 2-1 Overall
0-1 Away
8:40 PM
Su, Dec 22 New England Patriots 3-7 Overall
1-2 Home
8:30 PM
Su, Dec 29 @Cincinnati Bengals 19-15 Overall
7-10 Away
1:00 PM

Relevant Football Links


Iggy’s Predictions


“Past performance does not guarantee future success, but it sure is the way to bet!”

  • NFL Week 8:
    • Carolina over Tampa (+6.5). Carolina has been coming on strong after a slow start. Do Tampa and Jacksonville play each other?
    • Cowboys (+2.5) over Detroit. Detroit has some injuries, and Boys are 3-0 as the Dog. Well, the were over them… and then they weren’t!
    • Niners over Jax (+16.5). Niners are 5-1 as the Favorite, and Jacksonville is 1-6 as the Dog. Niners put on a show in London.
    • Chiefs over Cleveland (+7.5). Cleveland is having some major injury issues, although I was very tempted by those points and Cleveland’s Defense. Cleveland actually looked good (by Cleveland standards, of course)
    • Pats over Fins (+6.5) but take the points. Miami is bad, just not great. Pats are on a downward spiral, but can do better with their TE back. Brady looks like crap this year.
    • Saints over Bills (+12.5), but take the points. Buffalo is 5-2 as the underdog. I guess the Bills only play well at home.
    • Eagles over Giants (+6.5), but take the points. Heads or tails, call it in the air! Eagles have no healthy QBs
    • steelers over Raiders (+2.5). Ravens gave them what they didn’t need: Momentum and Confidence, damn it! Black hole swallows them up!
    • Bengals over Jets (+6.5), but take the points. Cincy has made a habit of sneaking away with a late score to win. Bengals clubbed them like a baby seal.
    • Cardinals over Falcons (+2.5). Going with the Home team in a game of failing teams. How did Atlanta win 2 games this season already?
    • Denver over Washington (+12.5), but take the points. Look for another major shootout as Denver looks to avenge that loss to the Colts. First I was cheering for Denver because they were losing (!), then I was cheering for the skins to cover the spread. WTF?
    • Packers over Minnesota (+9.5). After Monday’s debacle, Vikings are in COMPLETE disarray. Vikings did well, but not well enough to cover.
    • Hawks over Rams (+10.5). Playing the odds again, Seattle is 5-2 as the favorite and the Rams are 1-4 as the dog. Rams shutdown Hawks, but Seattle still wins.
    • Last Week:: 10-3 Straight Up, and 6-7 Against the Spread
    • Season:: 75-45 Straight Up, and 55-65 Against the Spread
  • NFL Week 9:
    • Bengals over Fins (+2.5). Bengals are on a roll.
    • Chiefs over Bills (+3.5), but take the points. This game is in Buffalo, where the Bills have done well, and after KC barely beat Cleveland, their undefeated record ain’t gonna last much longer.
    • Panthers over Atlanta (+7.5). Don’t look now, but the Panthers might actually be good.
    • Cowboys over Vikings (+10.5), but take the points. Dallas giving up too many points already, without the help of the odds makers.
    • Saints over Jets (+5.5), but take the points. Comes down to how well these teams play at home and on the road. Should be a closer game than one would think.
    • Tennessee over Rams (+3.5), but take the points. Rams home field can be tough.
    • Chargers over skins (+0.5). Chargers are actually in the #6 seed right now.
    • Raiders over Eagles (+1.5). Eagles are out of QBs.
    • Seattle over Tampa (+16.5). Those points would have tempted me if the game was in Tampa.
    • Baltimore over Cleveland (+2.5), but take the points. I usually refrain from taking points less than a FG, but I don’t get a warm fuzzy on this one.
    • pats over steelers (+6.5), but take the points. steelers still pack a little bit of a punch, and Brady has no real weapons.
    • Colts over Houston (+2.5). Houston to start Case Keenum (?) at QB on Sunday. Need I say more?
    • Packers over Bears (+10.5). Packers average margin of victory at home over 3 games is 17 points.
  • MLB (5-3)
    • Cards over Sox in 6. They say offense wins games, but defense wins championships… well… St. Louis has a better defense (fielding and pitching). If Cards can pull it off, it will have to be 7 games.

Please send comments to Iggy at tealdragon.net