Blog – Page 33 – Ravens Roost 4

Iggy’s Ravens Report – November 21, 2012

News & Commentary

News and Personal Thoughts:
In a surprise move, bucking 60 years of history, Maryland announced that they will be moving to the Big 10 for the 2014. This will be beneficial for Football Basketball, Baseball and Soccer, but detrimental to Lacrosse. The Big 10 will reported pay the $51M ACC separation fee, and Maryland stands to make $24.7M in broadcasting revenues (as opposed to the ACC’s $17M), with an anticipated increase to somewhere in the mid-$40M within 5 years. Lacrosse will suffer, no longer belong to the ACC. The Big 10 has no organized lacrosse league with only a handful of schools fielding teams, insufficient to hold a conference tournament and well short of the requirements to establish an automatic NCAA bid. Maryland could join an associate league, like the ECAC (Loyola) in Men’s lacrosse, or just play independent. Most notably, Maryland may suffer on the recruiting front without their ACC alliance with perennial powerhouses such as Duke, Virgina, and North Carolina. And, of course, leaving ACC buys local law enforcement about 10 years of riot-free route 1 traffic, without the twice a years Duke basketball games!

Ravens:
The Ravens did not win on Sunday night as much as pittsburgh gave the game away. The stealers failed to run the ball, left in an obviously injured Leftwich, failed to manage the clock, and lost the turnover battle. The Ravens, on the other hand, failed to produce any semblance of offense. Granted pittsburgh has the number 1 ranked D in the NFL, we still had no game plan AGAIN. The stealers made our defense look good. An injured 2nd string QB was rather ineffective, and the return of Suggs had the stealer O-line so confused, they didn’t know how to stop Kruger from breaking free. That pressure covered for the holes in the secondary, although the reserve players covered the field well. This week, the Ravens will need to do more against a better offensive team that isn’t running around like a chicken with it’s head chopped, as pittsburgh was doing on Sunday. Rivers will dissect us given the chance, and these west coast trips also seem to revive the twilight zone (No, not the cheesy teenage vampire books/flicks… we’re talking the realm where anything can happen.)

Roost #4 Merchandise – Cut-off for Christmas Orders Wednesday, December 5th!

Ravens Roost #4 is now accepting orders for embroidered merchandise!Â Attached are a flyer with pictures of the items available and an order form that includes pricing.Â Orders must be submitted no later than Wednesday, December 5th, for delivery in-time for Christmas.Â Please either print the order form and deliver to Tom ThompsonÂ or e-mail your order to Tom.Â Money will be due upon delivery of your order.

Flyer: Roost #4 Merchandise Flyer

Order Form: Roost #4 Merchandise Order Form

Please contact Tom if you have any questions.

Roost #4 Cosmic Bowling Challenge

Ravens Roost #4 will hold its annual Cosmic Bowling Challenge to benefit Special Olympics Maryland from 8-11 AM on Sunday, December 9th, at the Normandy Brunswick Lanes on Route 40 in Ellicott City.Â Links to a flyer with more details and the registration form are below:

Flyer:Â Cosmic_Bowling_Challenge_2012

Registration Form:Â Cosmic_Bowling_Form_2012

C’mon-out all you bowlers!Â Let’s get a whole bunch of Roost #4 members & friends out for a great time and a great cause!Â The bar will be open!Â Contact Frosty to register.

Iggy’s Ravens Report – November 13, 2012

News & Commentary

News and Personal Thoughts:
College basketball has started with Maryland losing on the road to defending national champion Kentucky. Maryland started slow, but came out strong in the second half, and even took a brief lead late in the game, before losing by 3. Although a loss, it shows good potential to start the season.

Ravens:
In an effort to show we don’t always play down to the level of our opponents, the Ravens came out strong and kept pushing the envelope all game as they stretched the field, and proved opportunistic on special teams. Defense played tough, but still showed holes in the secondary. Despite the team record 55 points, the 3 take aways (to our 1 give away) plus the excess of Oakland penalties helped set the tone for the game. Unfortunately, an analysis of the stats showed that Oakland out-gained the Ravens, matched them in first downs, and won the time of possession battle. Rushing yards was very low against a team that allowed a rookie to gain 251 yards the week before. Although a lot can be said for a convincing win, the real second half of the season starts this Sunday night in pittsburgh (prime time, per usual) where a win will create a 2 game buffer in the division, and a loss will drop us to 2nd place. This must win game starts a nasty stretch of games that can make or break this season, despite our present #2 conference standing… all this drama, and THEY might not have Brainlessberger!

Roost 4 Tailgate – Ravens Host Raiders

Roost 4 getting cranked-up for game vs. Raiders on 11/10.

Roost #4 Tailgate Party – Sunday, November 11th

The Ravens host theÂ Oakland RaidersÂ on Sunday, November 11th at 1:00 pm at M&T Bank Stadium.Â Roost #4 will holdÂ their normalÂ tailgate party before the game in the lot behind ABC Rental on the corner of Russell and Hamburg Streets.Â Y’all know the drill!Â Â Go Ravens!!!

Iggy’s Ravens Report – November 6, 2012

News & Commentary

News and Personal Thoughts:
Towson is planning to discontinue their Soccer and Baseball programs, much to the chagrin of students and alumni… Loyola is favored to win the MAAC in Basketball this season, after last years trip to the NCAA tournament.

Ravens:
When the dust settles, a W is a W. Moving on to the next game, the Ravens are back at home where they have been nearly invincible lately, demonstrating their Dr. Jeckyl offense. This is a must win, as the remaining schedule could be rather nightmarish if we truly have not turned the corner. After a rookie RB posted 251 yards on Oakland last week including 4 runs of 40+ yards (first time since 1930), the Ravens should be planning a strict heavy Rice diet on Sunday. The defense did better last week, but remember that it was Cleveland. Peas called the game from the booth, and this may have marked a turning point in his coaching style as he was better able to see the field and provide guidance and adjustments. This game should be a win where the Ravens tune up the changes made during the bye week in preparations for back to back road games where the Ravens first travel to arch-enemy stealer country and then head to the west coast for a twilight zone game in San Diego, where it feels like we play (and lose) every year. With stealers regrouped and posting the leagues best defense (again) despite all the injuries, the Ravens need to find a way to keep their opponents off guard, and our defense off the field in coming weeks. The future starts now.