Things are on the Up and Up for B-W Sports

As I look around the many sports leagues in our nation this morning, I'm starting to see a lot of promise surrounding many of the sports teams in the Baltimore/Washington area. This post will just give a brief overview of why things are on the up and up.

Baltimore Orioles: Pitchers and Catchers report in less then a week. The rest of the team will be joining them shortly. This team is offering a lot of promise this season, with all the splashes it made in free agency. Here are some of the names fans can look forward to seeing in an O's uniform this season; Justin Duchscherer, Kevin Gregg, Vladimir Guerrero, J.J Hardy, Derrek Lee, and Mark Reynolds. This team's numbers will definitely improve from last year. By how much? Only time will tell. With the season right around the corner, promise is in the air.

Baltimore Ravens: The NFL season came to an end Sunday night, with a Green Bay Packers win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the Steelers loosing, they will have to face that utter disappointment all off-season. Not only that but they will now have the 31st pick in this years up and coming draft. Pittsburgh losing the Super Bowl + a worse draft pick then the Ravens = a Baltimore victory in my mind.

Maryland Terps Basketball: With a little over a month to play before the madness begins, the Terrapins are sitting in the middle of the ACC, where the only place to go is up. Their schedule favors a late season surge, which is in turn favored by the selection committee for the big dance. The Terps could reasonably go 10-6 in the ACC, which should give them a legitimate chance to make the tournament.



Washington Capitals: Two big wins this past week, one over the Tampa Bay Lighting and one of their rivals, Pittsburgh Penguins. They are closing the gap on the Bolts, and every win over Pittsburgh is huge for morale. The defense is still playing stellar with the 5-2 and 3-0 victories. The offense is starting to show glimmers of what they should be. The next 8 games will define their season. They start off tonight with two consecutive games against Western Conference teams, who they always struggle with, then they will have six on the road. Its time to put up or shut up.

On a side note the Dallas Stars have lost 5 out of their last 6, while their divisional foe, the surging Sharks have won 7 of 8. The Stars are well known for selling the farm at the trade deadline. The more they struggle the better the chances they will be willing to sell Brad Richards on February the 28th. I will keep everyone posted on this situation as the deadline gets closer.

Washington Wizards: This coming Sunday they will have their best chance of getting their first win on the road of the season. On Sunday, the 13th, they will play at the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are currently on a 25 game skid. This promises to be a clash of the titans, of sorts. The Cavs are currently sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference in the 15th seed looking up at the high and mighty 14th seeded Wiz. Something will have to give this Sunday, and I think John Wall will walk away with his first ever win on the road in his young NBA career.

That is my wrap up for the week around the leagues. There is a lot of promise and potential for these teams in the up coming weeks.