News Feed

Art Modell Field Dedicated at Mervo

pressbox — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:17:19 -0700

Obie Barnes Sr. has watched area high school football improve dramatically in both performance and participation since the Ravens moved to Baltimore 14 years ago, and now Art Modell's legacy will live on at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical in East Baltimore

Art Modell Field at Mervo was dedicated last week, triggering memories of a promise Modell made to the city when he moved his Browns in November 1995.

It's Time Out for Walter and Barnes

pressbox — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:13:40 -0700

It was back to school for most area students this week, although something was clearly missing at both Arundel and Forest Park High Schools. For the first time since Richard Nixon was president of the United States, Bernie Walter and Obie Barnes Sr. were not there.

"I know one thing, I didn't miss getting up early," Walter said. "I didn't have to set my alarm for 5:45 in the morning."

Phelps Had Great Models to Emulate

pressbox — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:48:00 -0700

As Michael Phelps stood on the victory stand last weekend in Beijing, wearing his eighth gold medal around his neck, Cal Ripken Jr. and Juan Dixon came to mind.

Like Phelps, Ripken and Dixon are homegrown high school athletes who reached the pinnacles of their sports while earning the respect of their coaches and teammates, the admiration of their opponents and the adulation of an entire nation.

Of course they weren't the first Baltimore natives to win championships on the national and international stages, and hopefully they won't be the last.

Youse's Orioles Win Sixth Straight Title

pressbox — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:42:01 -0700

Walter Youse would be proud. Youse was the sometimes gruff, always affable former Orioles scout and the architect of one of the country's premier amateur baseball teams -- the Leone's-Johnny's 16-19 age-group powerhouse. Youse died three years ago after 50 years of scouting and coaching in the Baltimore area, leaving the team and its immense tradition in the hands of one of his favorite players, Dean Albany.

Trip Unlocks a New World for Thompson

pressbox — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:41:41 -0700

Blake Thompson has just begun his final summer football training camp as the starting quarterback of the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders. He also played in the Mid-Atlantic High School Baseball Showcase two weeks ago and next week will participate in the Major League Scout Fall Showcase as a member of the Oriolelanders, one of the most prestigious amateur baseball teams in the country. In addition to that, he has been attracting a great deal of interest from college recruiters for football and baseball.

Local Players, Scouts Swarm to Showcases

pressbox — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:39:52 -0700

Once upon a time, UMBC baseball coach John Jancuska would plop down his lawn chair behind a backstop on a warm July night, take out his radar gun and stopwatch and go work.

"Years ago, you'd go to an American Legion game or the Baltimore Metro League, and you'd go and sit and watch kids play," Jancuska said. "Today, in the last five or six years, you come to these things."

"These things" would be the numerous baseball showcases, high school and college baseball's versions of the Five-Star Basketball Camp and the Top 205 Lacrosse Camp.

Bays Under-15 Team Wins National Title

pressbox — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:44:50 -0700

The Baltimore Casa Mia Bays Under-15 soccer team has done it again.

The Bays won the U.S. Youth Soccer championship last weekend, beating Solar Red of Texas, 2-1. A year ago, the Bays won the Under-14 national title, while two weeks ago, the Under-18 Casa Mia Bays won the National Soccer Academy championship in Carson City, California.

McDonogh coach Steve Nichols and Baltimore Blast president and general manager Kevin Healey coached the U-15 squad, which outscored the opposition, 10-1.

Retirement Can't Stop Ogden from Giving Back

pressbox — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:41:12 -0700

The big man stood in the corner of the practice field at McDaniel College with a hat, not a helmet, on his head and flip-flops, not cleats, on his feet. He was joined by three other former members of the Ravens who gathered for the first day of training camp with the future Hall of Famer not on the field but on the sidelines.

Jonathan Ogden has missed the start of training camp before, but this was the first time the Ravens took the field without him on the roster.

"Do you miss it?"

"Not this," Ogden laughed. "Talk to me on Sept. 7."

One Baltimore Group Growing

pressbox — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:30:42 -0700

The One Baltimore monthly gatherings of former area basketball standouts and coaches gained a little extra "pop" two weeks ago when Rodney "Pop" Wright visited from his adopted home town of Des Moines, Iowa.

Wright was a tremendous player for coach Woody Williams at Lake Clifton High School in the mid-1970s. He helped the Lakers win back-to-back Maryland State Athletics A Conference championships in 1975 and '76, and just like he did when he played, he announced his presence at One Baltimore with authority.

Casa Mia Bays Take Another National Title

pressbox — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:06:00 -0700

One down. One to go?

The Baltimore Bays Under-18 boys soccer team won the inaugural National Soccer Academy championship last weekend in California, beating Los Angeles Football Club, 4-2 in overtime. Meanwhile, the Under-15 boys team began its quest for a national title Wednesday in Little Rock, Ark.