The Loss Column — Baltimore Sports Blog and Community

I kind of took the weekend off from Loss Column-related matters so that I could attend to playing Wii and having a cookout. I think I needed the refresher.

It helped remind me that I can’t — shouldn’t — focus too exclusively on Orioles-related matters here. They’re the biggest thing going, but Baltimore sports is still about more than that. Even in May.

So, first, the good: major props to the Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team, which took down the hated Duke Blue Devils on Saturday in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I championships. Nobody seemed to think this was possible — every knowledgeable commentator I’ve read/heard ranks it as an impressive upset. That the Blue Jays subsequently lost to Syracuse in the finals does nothing to diminish the accomplishment. Whenever a team from Maryland takes down Duke — at any time, in any sport — it’s a victory for us all.

Not only that, but the Blue Jays’ baseball team is battling for a national title at this very moment. I’ll try to remember to dig up and post the results.

Now, on to Gary Williams and his Terps, who chose Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend (they’re pros, after all) to drop the news that troubled-but-talented recruit Tyree Evans has asked out of his commitment and won’t be attending College Park.

For those of you who haven’t followed the Evans story, the gist of it is: Gary wanted to bring him in despite a rather checkered past, and Debbie Yow wasn’t quite on board (or even aware). Know-it-all media types started getting angry, and the whole thing went to hell.

The reaction to Evans’ withdrawal has been predictable enough. Lots of “they never should have gone after him to begin with” and “this is a stain on the Maryland program” and yadda yadda. Lots of armchair moralizing, in other words, from the same people who call for firings when the team fails to make the field of 64.

But here’s the truth: Gary didn’t do anything wrong, and neither he nor the program should be raked over the coals.

Evans is a talented player — on this even his detractors agree — who would have helped breathe life into Maryland Basketball. His JuCo coach vouched for his commitment, and his legal troubles are all at least as old as 2006. The kid looked at Maryland and saw a chance to redeem himself, and Gary was willing to give it to him. Yes, it was a risk. Maybe even a bad idea. But a stain on the program? A shameful episode?

Nonsense.

Congratulations to Friend-of-The Loss Column Sara, who has claimed the coveted prize of bragging rights in our Bracket Bonanza. Nobody had Kansas — surprise — but her pick of Memphis was close enough.

Yours truly finished near the bottom, which will happen when you buy into misguided Big East hype and subsequently lose two of your Final Four teams in the second round.

But what a finish last night, no? How Memphis forgets to foul in that situation is beyond me, but it certainly made for great drama. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a title game quite like that before — in any sport.

– Speaking of prizes, some of you may be wondering what became of the Featured Comments Feature. It’ll be back either later today or tomorrow, but with different rules. I really like the idea of featuring comments because it highlights the strength of our growing community. I thought a small, token prize would be a nice gesture from me to you. I was sort of surprised when I got negative feedback on that notion, and then I was downright bothered when the prize started showing up as an object of ridicule in the comments themselves.

So, I ditched it.

From now on I’ll feature comments on a quasi-weekly basis for no reason other than to bring the best aspects of the discussions up to the front. That, I believe, is still very much worth doing.

– Lost in all of the Opening Day/5-game winning streak hype is the fact that our area has no fewer than three teams currently gearing up for a playoff push.

The Baltimore Blast open up their playoff series on Thursday at 1st Mariner Arena against the hated New Jersey Ironmen. The Washington Captials open up against the doubly hated Philadelphia Phlyers at home on Friday night. And, eventually, the Washington Wizards will themselves embark on a title quest.

All in all it’s a pretty exciting time, especially if your scope isn’t limited to just the Orioles and Ravens. And, really, it shouldn’t be.

– Finally, have you all heard about Muxtape yet? It’s so rad, especially for anyone who grew up actually making mix tapes. The only problem is it’ll probably get shut down in about ten minutes. In the meantime, though, head on over and have a listen to a few of my selections. Feel free to make your own and post links in the comments.

ed. note: the following post is by UMBC student Zak Bratcher, who attended last week’s game in Raleigh. It’s long, but worth it.

I remember going to my first UMBC basketball game two years ago. My roommate and I, both sports-obsessed freshmen who considered ourselves diehard Terps fans in our formative years, felt it natural to support our Division I men’s basketball team. We were playing Delaware sometime in December, a non-conference contest that meant practically nothing. Considering the Retrievers were coming off three forgettable losing seasons, the RAC arena was noticeably void of fans. My roommate and I represented two of about 30 less-than-crazed students composing the less-than-intimidating Dawg Pound student section.

I glanced at my buddy, “You think we’ll ever make the Tournament?”

Mostly out of courtesy, he didn’t respond.

At the time, we both realized our men’s basketball team had an arduous journey ahead to become relevant – probably too laborious for us to witness the resurrection in just four years. Hell, all we really wanted was for the Dogs to play a meaningful conference game in February. We weren’t holding our breath.

Last Thursday morning, a hoard of eight of my closest friends loaded into two cars, fueled up on coffee and donuts, and trekked down to Raleigh, N.C. Two weekends prior, we had logged over a thousand miles to support the Retrievers in their quest for a first ever America East Conference title, so following the Retrievers to their first ever NCAA Tournament game seemed only natural. After all, the 300-plus-mile retreat to the Mecca of College Hoops wasn’t a bad way to spend Spring Break.

Upon arrival, we followed Tobacco Road from Durham, home of the rigid, gothic architecture of Duke University, into Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina. UNC’s campus has an overwhelmingly communal feel, highlighted by Franklin Street, a pathway connecting the university with downtown shops, restaurants, and bars. Clad in our gold and black, we felt right at home in the prototypical college town’s expanse of sky blue.

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UMBC did what they could today against Georgetown, but it wasn’t enough. They played it close, showed a ton of heart, and can leave their 66-47 defeat with their heads held high.

Hell of a run for sure. Hopefully we’ll have an on-the-scene report in a few days. Stay tuned.

Oh, by the way: the Terps got embarrassed by Syracuse in the NIT. Thus ends the Bambale Osby/James Gist era.

Soon there’ll be lots of college basketball on TV. But with college basketball on TV comes college mascots on TV, and you’re gonna need to be prepared.

People either love mascots or hate mascots. But there’s one thing you can’t do: ignore mascots. Here’s the best and the worst from the place where athletics meets community theatre and puts on a costume.

Worst:

5. St. Joseph’s University – The Hawk (view)

A school as over-priced as SJU should be able to pay for an actual mascot costume instead of getting the equipment manager’s mom to sew something together in her free time. The fuzzy sweatpants and Down Syndrome eyes and non-stop arm-flapping and delusions of immortality (The Hawk Will Never Die) inspire involuntary hospitalization as opposed to school pride. It’s telling when people find out you’re an alumnus and immediately ask “What’s the deal with that hawk?”

4. University of Southern Illinois – Grey Dog (yeah, that’s the official name of the mascot) (view)

Good old-fashioned nightmare fuel.

3. Three-way tie:
Purdue - Purdue Pete (view)
UMASS – The Minuteman (view)
New England Patriots - Pat Patriot (view)

People are ugly and scary. Mascots that look like giant plastic people are even uglier and scarier. The clever names are telling of the laziness involved in opting for these cop-out mascots. Two of these horrid things are from Massachusetts. Go figure.

2. Notre Dame – The Leprechaun (view)

Short, bearded, red-headed guys in green vests are made to be ridiculed and hated so it kinda makes sense that Notre Dame chose one to be the face of their school.

1. Philadelphia 76ers - Hip Hop (view)

Hip-Hop is the mascot equivalent of Poochie the Rockin’ Dog meets Chester Cheetah meets The Worst Attempt at Urban Youth-Focused Marketing Since Boost Mobile Phones.

Best:

5. UC Santa Cruz - Sammy the Slug (view)

Look at how hard he’s chillin’. That kind of easy unflappability can’t be bought. It can only be earned. Insect mascots are difficult to pull off. Where Buzz the Georgia Tech Yellowjacket goes so wrong with it’s translucent fish bowl eyes, Sammy goes so right. He looks like a less creepy Gelfling from the Dark Crystal. Plus he’s a slug.

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CBS tripped me up a bit, but here’s how you join the Loss Column Brackets Hoedown:

Go to http://losscolumn.mayhem.sportsline.com/e
Our password is: chuckwagon

I know this is late, and I know there aren’t any prizes, but join anyway.

Tonight was a good night for local hoops…sort of.

Mount Saint Mary’s took down Coppin State 69-60. After that, the Terps continued the ACC’s domination of the Big Ten by beating Minnesota — on the road in the NIT — by 68-58.

It’s a shame Coppin had to go home, but they did lose 20 games this season.

Here’s what I really want to talk about, though: the so-called “opening round” game, which we all understand as the “play-in” game. As in, here are two teams not really good enough to be in the tournament, so they have to “play in” to the field of 64.

It’s nonsense. It unfairly penalizes two teams who earned a spot. Coppin State deserved the same chance to stare down a #1 seed that Mount now gets. Why make them fight for it?

There’s an easy fix for this, and it’s one where everybody wins: have four play-in games instead of one. One play-in game per region.

Make Tuesday night a “do or die” night where eight teams square off for a chance to make the show. But instead of making these games a struggle among small conference champions, make them a struggle among all the major conference teams who were “on the bubble” on Selection Sunday. Give teams like Virginia Tech and Arizona State a chance to really play their way in. Then reward the winners with, say, #12 seeds. Continue to reserve the lowest seeds for conference championship winners who have already earned their shot.

Who wouldn’t come out ahead in this scenario?

I’d like to take a moment to officially invite everyone to participate in the Second Annual Loss Column Brackets Hoedown. Simply click here to register, then fill out your brackets and watch the fun pour in.

Unfortunately, there will not be any actual money or prizes or anything like that. This is strictly for fun and bragging rights. But, hey, isn’t that enough?

Remember to sign up before Thursday morning.