Shutting Blogger Down

For any readers that I have on this blog, I'm sorry to say that I won't be writing any more on Blogger. However, I will be writing in my WordPress blog from now on, and eventually Ben Linton and I will merge together on WordPress to cover our favorite teams in the Baltimore and Washington area, music, and anything else important. I will cover the Ravens, Wizards, Rap/Hip-Hop, and D.C. United/USA Soccer. Ben will cover the Redskins, Orioles, and Rock. We will both cover anything we feel is important to the sports world or anything we find interesting, Terps' Football and Basketball, and the Washington Capitals. Once the merge is complete, I'll post the link on my WordPress blog. Thanks for reading and I hope you continue.

Favre Post Also On WordPress

According to Dictionary.com, "Retire" means "to withdraw from office, business, or active life, usually because of age". As seen over the past few years, Brett Favre does not know what this means. After coming out of retirement last year to play for the New York Jets, Favre retired after missing the playoffs. I think more people believed he would stay retired this year, but, according to multiple news sources, this is not the case. Favre had surgery on his shoulder to repair his injury, and is frequently visited by Vikings' trainers. He is also back working out at his local high school. When asked about coming back, Favre said, "Um...maybe". WOW!! It looks like Brett Favre will be returning to the NFL to play for a team that he once hated.

But will the Vikings really be better off with Brett Favre than Tavaris Jackson (the probable starter)? Let's take a look:

Favre: **Whole season**

• 3472 yards
• 65.7% completion
• 22 TD's
• 22 INT's
• 81 overall QB rating

Jackson: **Did not play the whole season**

• 1056 yards
• 59.1% completion
• 9 TD's
• 2 INT's
• 95.4 overall QB rating

Although Tavaris Jackson played less games, he managed to be more accurate than Brett. Don't forget though, that Brett Favre did suffer a shoulder injury in his throwing arm, causing less accuracy and less power. Even though I believe that Favre is the better Quarterback, I don't think he will be a huge improvement. With this being said, I think Favre should stay retired. Packer fans are already upset with him for returning with the Jets, despite the fact that the Packers' GM did not want Brett back, and if he signed with their second biggest rival, I don't see how he will be able to step back in the Green Bay limits when he truly is retired. His image is already tarnished and fans are sick of hearing about all his news. My question is, "Why make it worse Brett?!" I know he has a very strong passion for the game, as do I for any sport I play, but do you really want to go from the most popular icon in that city since Vince Lombardi, to a hated icon? It's all up to you Brett, but know there are consequences for your actions.

Ravens' Preview Also On WordPress Blog

As most people know, I am a HUGE Baltimore Ravens fan. Last season was a great season, as the team overcame all the doubts, one of the hardest schedules in the NFL and injuries to make it to the AFC Championship game. The team was so close to playing in the Super Bowl, but after another hearbreaking loss to the Steelers (23-14), the team packed their bags and cleaned out their lockers, and the offseason quickly began. Former Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan left the team to become the Head Coach of the New York Jets, and two former defensive players, Bart Scott (Tavares Gooden is expected to replace him) and Jim Leonard, followed. The team managed to keep Ray Lewis, and became younger at the Cornerback position. Domonique Foxworth, former Maryland player, signed along with Chris Carr. Six-time pro bowler Matt Birk. In the draft, the Ravens selected Offensive Tackle Michael Oher. The organization, along with its fans, feel that these were good signings that can fill some of the holes the team has. After the draft, Head Coach John Harbough had this to say, “Think about where we were a year ago at this time. We’ve made so much progress. We keep taking steps up the ladder.”

Once the schedule came out, I, as well as many other Ravens fans, became very optimistic about the upcoming season. The team got a break from having one of the hardest schedules, to having one of the easiest. The two conferences, out of the AFC North, that the team will square off against are the NFC North and AFC West, two lackluster conferences that have most of the teams in a rebuilding mode.
The first four games of the season have two home games and two away games. Game one is at home against the Chiefs, game two is at San Diego, game three is at home against the Browns, and game four is in New England. The second quarter of the schedule is formatted the same way; vs. Bengals, at Vikings, vs. Broncos, at Bengals, with a Bye Week during week seven. The next four games appear to be the toughest part of the season for the Ravens. A Monday night game in Cleveland followed by a home game against the Colts and then a Sunday night game at home against Pittsburgh, and ending with a Monday night game in Green Bay. The last four games might be the easiest, with two home games against the Lions and Bears, and ending the season on the road in Pittsburgh and finally in Oakland. After these 16 regular season games, the team will look to make more noise than last year in the playoffs.

The biggest tasks for the Ravens this year will be defeating the Steelers (swept last year 3 games to none), Flacco avoiding a "sophomore slump", and the defense staying up to the greatness that Rex Ryan established over his tenure.

There is a lot of anticipation and optimism in and around the Baltimore Ravens' organization, and it's clear to see why.

Word Press

Since I'm at MSPA Camp right now, we have to make our own blog on Word Press. Check it out at http://jjones2.wordpress.com/

As the week goes on, more sports updates will be posted.

Can We Call Kobe Superman's Krpytonite Too?

As most know by now, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off the series win against the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals 4 games to 1. In my previous post about the finals, I predicted that the Magic's 3-point shooting and Dwight Howard would lead the team to 3 wins and a 7 game series. Clearly, this was not the case. The Laker big men, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, were very effective, as was Lamar Odom off the bench. Odom was a threat inside and his 3-point shot became a dagger to the Magic defense. Trevor Ariza had very impressive numbers, and Kobe was Kobe, putting on a show and making incredible shots. I guess it really is true that when you guard Kobe, if you have your hand down, you're a man down. For the Magic, their shots just did not fall consistently, from game to game or even half to half. Dwight Howard was the best defender on the floor, however he was extremely limited offensively, either being in foul trouble or missing many shots. He also shot poorly from the free throw line. Jameer Nelson, the Magic's All-Star point guard who was injured the second half of the season with a shoulder injury, returned to the line-up. After having an effective game one, he appeared to disrupt the team chemistry, and probably should have played less since Rafer Alston was "skipping to his lue" most of the series. All this consequently resulted in the Lakers winning their franchise 15th NBA Championship, two behind the Celtics. Kobe got his fourth title and first Final's MVP, and Phil Jackson won his 10th NBA Title.

As for Kobe, I feel somewhat happy he won, because he is too great of a player to be downplayed by winning his first three championships with Shaq. Kobe needed Shaq, Shaq needed Kobe. Magic needed Kareem, and Kareem needed Magic. Jordan needed Pippen, and vice-versa. The bottom line is, the team in general need each other.

With this championship, Phil Jackson can be called the greatest NBA coach ever. He has 10 championships, 209 playoff wins, the most by any coach, and a 71% career winning percent. I cannot see how anybody could say that he is not, unless you're a Celtic/Red Auerbach fan.

Obama and "The Fly"

In a recent interview, President Barack Obama shows this fly who's boss:

Will Superman Fly High?

On the eve of the NBA Finals, I found it appropriate to break things down as of now. The Orlando Magic, who have just recently denied LeBron James from winning a championship, keeping his count at ZERO, are trying to win their first championship. The Lakers are going for their 15th!! Not only that, but Kobe Bryant is going for his 4th! Now before the Conference Finals began, I predicted the NBA Finals would consist of the two underdogs, the Magic and the Nuggets. Well it seems that I got half of that right.
Even though I got that wrong, this matchup is still very intriguing to me, and should be to all the LeBron bandwagoners and the Nuggets fans. Both of these teams have great perimeter games. The Magic have Rashard Lewis, a very under-rated player, and Hedo Turkoglu. On the opposing side, the Lakers have Ariza, Kobe of course, and Sasha Vujacic. When it comes to the inside games, the Lakers clearly have the edge in this one. Pau Gasol is a force who can hit crazy shots, and Odom looked impressive the last two games, we just have to see if he can keep that up. Andrew Bynum can be a force, but still has not had a breakout game yet in the playoffs. The Magic have Dwight Howard mostly, but Tony Battie has some good games. If that's not a mismatch, what is?? The defenses look pretty similar to me, just from watching both teams in the playoffs.
With all that being said, I believe the Lakers will win in 7. Their inside game presents too much of a trouble to me, but the Magic will most certainly not go down easy. Expect a great series.

Brutal Cop

This is just rediculous, no reason to do this.

NHL Gets Its Fame

Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. These are the two most common names you will hear when the NHL is discussed. Ovechkin, the raining MVP, and Crosby, the MVP two years ago, both play in the Eastern Conference. Therefore, it was inevitable for the two to meet in the playoffs atleast once in their careers.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, they finally met. Washington was the 2 seed, and came behind from a 3 games to 1 deficit to the Rangers to advance, while the Penguins beat the Flyers in 6. When it became final that these two teams would meet, I could probably say that every hockey fan, a Caps or Pens fan or not, marked the games on his schedule. There was so much buzz to see the two best players in the NHL meet in the playoffs, and the two have not disappointed. Ovechkin has 7 goals and 6 assists in 6 games, and Crosby has 6 goals and 4 assists. In game 2 in Washington, both players recorded a hat-trick, one of the hardest things to do in a game. It was truly greatness.

The series began with a 2-0 lead by Washington, but the series shifted quickly. Pittsburgh took both games at home, by way of some lucky deflections, and game 5 in Washington. Game 6 was an elimination game for Washington, who was 6-1 in the past two years in elimination games. History was on their side, and the Caps added to that Win column. They won in OT, the third OT game of the series. Despite the series being 3-3, most say that the Penguins have outplayed the Capitals every single game of this series. I have to disagree with that. The first two games were clearly all Capitals, but since then the D has looked very shaky. I think this is because the team is focusing so much on offense, that the defense gets sucked too far up and when the puck is cleared, they find themselves in odd-man disadvantages. Game 6 was won by the Caps, as they came from behind to win in overtime to avoid elimination. That shows heart.

Game 7 will take place tomorrow night at 7 P.M. You better believe I will be going crazy.

Flip To The Wiz

The Washington Wizards have announced their new head coach for the next few seasons; Flip Saunders. Flip's recent coaching job was with the Detroit Pistons when the team went to four consecutive Eastern Conference Championships. Before that he coached the Minnesota Timberwolves, when they had Kevin Garnett and were in the playoffs constantly. Flip's winning percentage is 60% but is below .500 in the postseason. With a healthy line-up, the 2nd draft pick in the lottery, and Flip running the show, look out for the Wizards next year.

Bruce Pearl At It Again...

Bruce Pearl, the head coach of the University of Tennessee Men's Basketball program was at it again. I'm not quite sure what this event was, but whatever Pearl was at, he was rapping. Yes I said it, rapping. This just goes onto his growing list of embarrassing things that he has done, topped by going to a woman's game in body paint. This man is crazy, but he brings joy and laughter to college basketball. I wonder if he's ever been to any parties at the University...

Here's the video: It stops at 49 seconds so I don't know why it goes on longer than that.

Ravens' 2009 Schedule

NFL Schedules were released yesterday, and I must say, I'm quite pleased with the Ravens'. It happens to be one of the easiest in the NFL, whereas last year the team had one of the hardest schedules. The Ravens will play the NFC North and the AFC West, as well as their division and the Colts and Patriots.
And it is about time the Ravens will play the Steelers in a prime time game in BALTIMORE. The game will be held Sunday Night, November 29. However, Baltimore will have to wait until that night in Week 12 in order to see their team play the Steelers for the first time of the season, and the final match-up will be in Pittsburgh Week 16.
There are only two negatives I can find about this schedule. Both our Monday Night games are on the road in Cleveland and Green Bay late in the season. This means that it is going to be harsh weather. The other negative I can find is that the team ends the season with two road games.
Besides that, I feel pretty confident about the upcoming season for the Baltimore Ravens.

To take a look at the schedule, click the link:

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/Gameday/Schedule.aspx

Is She Serious?!

Everbody knows that Britney Spears is stupid...I mean she once shaved her head!!! But for those who want more proof, here's Britney saying Sacramento in San Jose:

What Is Cassie Thinking?!?!

I don't really know if there are any words to describe Cassie's new hair. Decide for yourself:

New T.I. in June

T.I. is expected to re-release his latest album Paper Trail in June. The catch is, the album will contain 5 new songs! This is real smart on T.I.'s part, so while he is in jail, he will continue to make money and continue to be played on the radio and all over the world.

Mayback Music 2

Rick Ross released his new single Maybach Music 2. The hit features Kanye, T-Pain, and Lil' Wayne.
Some might remember Maybach Music, which featured Jay-Z from his last album Trilla. This song was real nice, and I think Maybach Music 2 is up there.

Here's the link for Maybach Music 2:

http://www.rapbasement.com/audio/rick-ross-ft.-kanye-west-lil-wayne-t-pain-maybach-music-ii.html

Blake and Blair to the NBA

Blake Griffin announced a little less than an hour ago that he will be entering the NBA Draft. Griffin averaged a double-double which lead him to become the college basketball Player of the Year and should be drafted in the top 3 in the NBA Draft. Although he is 6-10, there are speculations that Griffin is really 6-8. I don't think that makes much of a difference because of his huge wing-span and his aggressiveness. Teams in need of a foward should seriously consider trading up to draft Blake Griffin.





DeJuan Blair also announced that he will enter the NBA Draft. Blair is only a 6-7 foward, but he is probably just as aggressive as Blake Griffin. Most probably remember him for ripping the ball out of Hasheem Thabeet's arm, and flipping him in the process. Blair shared the Big East Player of the Year with Hasheem Thabeet, a 7-3 center who is expected to enter the NBA Draft. Both players averaged a double-double, and any team to get these 3 players are making a good investment.

Kyle Boller is GONE!!!

The quarterback who made watching offense dreadful in Baltimore, Kyle Boller, is GONE! The majority of the Ravens fans have to be relieved to hear this. This man was always sacked, threw interceptions all the time, and is just not a good quarterback. He was a terrible first round pick and it's a shame we kept a spot on the payroll for him. He was a very good college player, but in the NFL he was a scrub. He did have a winning record, but everybody knows that is because of the defense the Ravens had/have. Maybe the Rams' quarterback will ge injured and he will get a chance to do something with that team...but I do not see anything near that in the future for Boller.

Escalator Girl

Check this crazy woman out. Mad props to this woman though, this is too funny!!!

Double-Double

Gilbert Arenas stayed true to his word and came back to the court Saturday night against the Detroit Pistons. Although the Wizards lost 98-96, Gilbert Arenas had a very good game. He scored 15 points and had 10 assists. Arenas took part in the team's first 11 points, as he had the first 4 assists and hit a three. Arenas had a chance to tie the game or even win the game for the Wiz, but the shot go "blocked" by Kwame Brown... I personally think that Arenas was fouled because Kwame Brown fell on him. It's whatever though because the season is done for the Wizards and the more losses the team accumulates, the higher percentage chance they get for getting the first pick. Blake Griffin is the likely number one pick, that is, if he comes out of college. The Wizards need atleast one more big man, but most importantly the team needs to be healthy. They've played most of the season with two starters, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. With a healthy line-up and a solid pick in the draft, expect big things next year from the Wizards.

T.I. Gets Two More Months

At his court sentence Friday, T.I. learned that he will have one to two months extra time before he has to appear in jail. Now although I do not know exactly why his 366 day sentencing to prison was delayed, I can bet that T.I. is somewhat relieved. He can almost finish his community service hours, which will be a major part of the sentence he received. He only needs about 450 more hours, as he has a little over 1,000 hours right now. A lot of those hours came from the TV show on MTV, T.I.'s Road to Redemption, where he went to troubled teams and showed them the horrors of drug dealing and being in gangs. The show was really powerful and changed a lot of the lives of the teens he helped out. Also, T.I. will be able to spend a few more weeks with his family, and hopefully make a new song...but I doubt that.

Coming Back?

Now I know there are only a few games left in the NBA regular season, but it's never too late to come back. There is a very high possibility that Gilbert Arenas will be back Saturday against Detroit. Even though the team has the second worst record in the NBA and there are only a few games left, I think it is a good decision. Let the team, fans, and rest of the league see where he is at right now with his game after having a third surgery and going through extensive rehab the whole season. Arenas has been allowed to participate in full-practices with the team for a short time now, and I think that this move shows the love he has for the game and the city/fans of D.C.

March Madness Time!

This tournament is about to be so crazy, I got 4 brackets for all my different possibilities, and maybe another one on the way. My favorite team Maryland pulled it through and got the tenth seed in the West Region. They play Cal (7) Thursday at 2:55. I'm pretty confident that the Terps win that game, but I'm not so sure about Memphis. They have a lot of speed and are just a solid all-around team surprisingly, since this team is very different from last year's runner-up. I can see it going any way, since Maryland is so inconsistent.
Now for my Final Fours. In one of my ESPN brackets, I have Memphis, Kansas, UNC and Pitt, with Kansas winning that one, mainly because of Sherron Collins. In my other ESPN bracket, I have Oklahoma, Pitt, Louisville, and UConn, Oklahoma winning it all. That is, if Blake Griffin is healthy and the guards play as best as they can. Now to the Facebook brackets. I have two brackets on here, and in on of them, I see the Final Four as Kansas, UConn, Pitt and UNC, with UNC winning the whole thing. My last bracket, for now, has Pitt, Oklahoma, Kansas and UConn, with UConn and Pitt meeting in the final. I can see Pittsburgh winning it all if this happens, because they clearly have an edge on UConn. Their only problem is, they go as far as DeJaun Blair. They better hope he doesn't get into foul trouble.
Those are all the possibilites that I can see right now. And for the record, Duke will lose to Nova in the second round.

T.I. Squashes Beef

Recenty, T.I. put the beef between himself and Shawty Lo in the past. As he was performing in one of his final shows, before serving his sentence in jail, he brought Shawty Lo to the stage, and announced the compainionship between the two.
If you follow hip-hop, you should know about the beef these two had. They got at each other on hits and albums, calling each other bluffs. The two rappers eventually worked things out, and are now cool. Maybe they'll make a hit?

Another piece of information about T.I. : He is working on a collaboration with Dr. Dre! This album will be nice. Look out for it.

Ravens' Free Agency So Far

So as of Friday, February 27, NFL Free Agency began. I'm not going to talk about every team, but just the Baltimore Ravens and the teams that have a connection to them because of Free Agency.

Let me start out with the good:
The Ravens kept Terrell Suggs, even though they had to franchise tag him to do it. They also signed Domonique Foxworth to a 4 year deal. If the name sounds familiar to some, it's because he played football at the University of Maryland. And since nobody signed Ray Lewis and gave him the deal he thought he would get, he is probably returning, which is a huge plus.

Now to the bad:
The Ravens released Chris McAlister. He has been on the Ravens for almost this whole decade, and is a pro-bowl player. However, in recent years he has been injury plagued, limiting his performance.

Another hit was the loss of Bart Scott. This really fired me up when he left for the Jets. Now I know he got more money and one more year on the contract, and he told reporters how he wanted to be the leader, not follow a leader (Ray Lewis), but he has a better chance of playing in the Super Bowl with the Ravens than the Jets. And I'm not just saying this because I'm just a Ravens fan, but it's the truth. Our defense is better than theirs, clearly, and our offense is up-and-coming. The Jets' offense...not so much. No quarterback, no wide receiver, Coles was just released, only two runnig backs. Have a good time with your money Bart! On Sundays, you won't get to watch much on the sideline.

Jason Brown, a young center, also left the Ravens for the RAMS. Look, I know that the Ravens could not have resigned every player from last year, nor did I want them too. I'm not even sure if we offered Jason Brown a contract. But if we did, I think you can take a few less million to be on a winning team than on a team that won 2 games last year. And then he wants to go and rip our offense from a few years ago? YOU SIGNED WITH A TEAM THAT HAS A WASHED UP WIDE RECEIVER AND QUARTERBACK!!! Steven Jackson is injured quite often, and the whole team is just horrible period. Coaches are in and out, fans don't attend games...WHY WOULD SOMEBODY WANT TO PLAY THERE?!?!?! It makes no sense to me.

Finally, Samari Rolle now wants out. This is because he feels the Ravens do not want him on the team and he wants to be a starter. I feel that he can start with Foxworth, and Fabian Washington can be the nickle, or Samari Rolle can man up and be the nickle. This whole situation for the Ravens' Free Agency is really just frustrating.

Chris Wifebeater Brown

Now I know I'm late on this, but I've been pretty busy with school work. For those who somehow do not know of this sad situation, Chris brown beat up Rihanna for a few reasons. Here are the alleged reasons:

1. She dumped him after she found out he cheated on her.
2. She threw his keys out of his car in a parking lot.
3. She gave him herpes.

If the whole herpes story happens to be true, I don't blame him for blowing up on her, however, beating up on her like a punching bag and knocking her unconscious?! That's a little overboard Chris "Breezy". For those who have not seen this brutal picture, I'll post it.
But BE CAUTIOUS. IT IS SERIOUS!



Somebody please tell me if all this was what Rihanna deserved. I personally do not believe so and think Chris "Wifebeater" Brown should get locked up for atleast a month for assault, since she passed out while he was choking her.

Let me know your opinion.

Martin Louis The King Jr.

This is the new alias for Kanye West. This announcement came from "Martin Louis The King Jr." very recently from a hotel room in Paris, France. He was attending a fashion show in Paris for Louis Vuitton, and wrote on his blog that he is aware of the nicknames given to him, a.k.a., The Louis Vuitton Don and The Don. When he was at this fashion shoe, he revealed his new kicks, and from there the nickname stuck.
I think he's taking all these nicknames too far. The original nicknames are cool, but is including them into the name of the greatest civil rights activist appropriate? Not to me. Kanye hasn't done very much with anything involved in civil rights, except calling out George Bush, which was the greatest thing he's done. Now don't get me wrong, I love his music, but Mr. West can come up with a more appropriate nickname that still is fly.

D.C.

Just incase you don't have any idea of how many people were in D.C. yesterday, here's a picture my friend sent to me, who was down there to witness the change:

One word, Amazing.

The 44th President

As everybody around the world knows, today the United States has inaugurated its 44th President, Barack Obama. Millions of people gathered outside, from the podium to the Washington Monument. Even people in other parts of the nation gathered outside giant televisions to catch the experience. This day marks huge change for our nation. Since the time of the slaves, people have been striving for freedom and equality. Now the time has come. From the times of Martin Luther King Jr., to now, the giant step has been made. We have our first black president. Here's the speech:

Long Time...

So it's been a VERY long time since I've posted something, and I've been thinking, I need to start writing again...so here I am! So if you haven't noticed, I've updated everything. New poll and new Pic of the Week. Also, I have a new addition to the blog; a Sports Video library, since I love sports. I'm working on getting a game on here for people to play, just to twist things up a bit.

If you haven't heard of this story, because this is news in the making and somewhat new, Jim Jones has been arrested and charged with a misdemeanor assault for getting into a fight with someone very close to Jay-Z at the Louis Vuitton store in NYC. Not all the details are known at the moment, as Jim Jones declined an interview with MTV and there are many stories about the incident. More information should be released soon, and if not soon, then on February 4th, when the court date has been posted.

Another incident regarding hip-hop deals with Soulja Boy, who I think is very overrated and cannot rap at all. Just a few days ago, Soulja Boy and some of his friends were held at gun point and robbed, in Soulja Boy's house! The police are involved, however there are speculations that Soulja Boy is not cooperating with the police. Honestly, did this even happen?! You get robbed at gun point and you don't want to solve things? Or are you that scared? Doesn't make sense to me, but hey, that's why you're YOUU!