No intro this week. Just straight sports ruthlessness.

[1] Baltimore got another reason to hate Patriots QB Tom Brady this week when he said he doesn’t mind “begging for preferential treatment” and that he tries to “butter up to those officials.” We all saw that back in Week 4, Tom, but thanks for admitting it. Still, if the Ravens are to win Sunday, they can’t play “two-hand touch,” like Terrell Suggs suggested they had to do against Brady. They need to go after him. Hard.

[2] Speaking of that tough loss, Ravens WR Mark Clayton, who was the goat of the game after dropping a fourth-down pass that sealed the Patriots’ win, says he hasn’t thought about the costly drop unless someone brought it up. Liar! I don’t think he sits around and dwells on it, but c’mon, Mark, it hasn’t crossed your mind once or twice? Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Ravens, b the paper, sports | Add Comment »

Who would you take on Sunday: Flacco (left) or Brady? {thanks, The Baltimore Sun and AP}

Football ability
Flacco: One of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks
Brady: One of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Period.
Edge: Brady

Nicknames
Flacco: Joe Cool, Average Joe
Brady: Tom Terrific, F#@&ing Brady
Edge: Flacco

Weapons
Flacco: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, Derrick Mason, Todd Heap
Brady: Randy Moss — if he feels like playing
Edge: Flacco

Charm
Flacco: Humility and childlike wonder
Brady: Man-model features and a billion-watt smile
Brady
Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Ravens, b the paper, sports | Add Comment »

Colts: 3-1 Peyton Manning and the comeback Colts will be tough to put away
Saints: 7-2 Few teams can keep pace with their offense, especially when the defense generates turnovers
Chargers: 6-1 Would be the favorite if Norv Turner didn’t have the fiery disposition of a log
Vikings: 6-1 And the odds of Brett Favre’s right arm falling off in January are even money
Packers: 10-1 A top QB + plenty of offensive weapons + a stout ‘D’ = a recipe for playoff success
Eagles: 12-1 In McNabb I do not trust
Patriots: 15-1 As long as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are around, they’ll be serious contenders
Ravens: 20-1 They have trouble winning two games in a row. How will they string four together?
Cowboys: 20-1 Dallas hasn’t won a playoff game since 1996, so how are you gonna bet on the Cowboys?
Cardinals: 25-1 Arizona hopes another miracle run is in the Cards. Ha. Get it?
Bengals: 50-1 They’re the Bungles. Enough said.
Jets: 1,000-1 They’re here by default, so karma — and the lack of any semblance of a passing game — will right this wrong

Matt Vensel is a content creator for b. E-mail him at matt@bthesite.com.

Posted in Ravens, b the paper, sports | Add Comment »

Maybe if Joe Flacco doesn’t pass as much, this won’t happen… {thanks, The Baltimore Sun}

The Ravens (9-7) on Sunday face the difficult task of beating the Patriots (10-6) in frigid Foxborough, Mass., in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs. The Patriots have an 8-0 record at home this season, with one of those wins coming against the Ravens, 27-21, in Week 4.

As if you could forget about a painfully close game like that.

The Ravens don’t seem to be taking much solace in that they could have (and maybe should have) beaten the Patriots the last time around if not for a few critical mistakes.

“Close doesn’t work in nothing but horseshoes and hand grenades,” wide receiver Derrick Mason said. “So, it didn’t help a lot at all. We can just go in there and hope that we make the best of every opportunity that we get and that we don’t allow opportunities to slip by us this time.”

Missed chances cost the Ravens the last time around, but if they can shore up these four faux pas from that early October loss, they’ll be in good shape to advance Sunday: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Ravens, b the paper, sports | Add Comment »

Andy Roddick + koalas = unrequited love {thanks, AP}

Happy new mayor … uh, we mean, new year!

Just eight days into twenty-ten (our official pronunciation choice) and Mayor Dixon (and her prized assortment of sweater-shawl-blankets) is out and Stephanie Rawlings-Blake-Jolie-Pitt is in.

Plus, it took only eight days for something bad to happen to Lindsay Lohan (granted, it was just a friend stealing her “fashion line” designs. But it’s a situation that’s perfectly Lohanian).

Tear yourself away from listening to “Tik Tok,” and take in our pop-culture review of the first week of 2010.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in b the paper, entertainment, movies, music, pop culture | Add Comment »

Mayor Sheila Dixon announces her resignation at a press conference Wednesday afternoon {thanks, AP}

There’s a saying derived from scripture that says, “The first will be last, and the last will be first.”

When Sheila Dixon assumed the office of mayor, succeeding now Gov. Martin O’Malley, many took note that Dixon was the first African-American female mayor of Baltimore. For Dixon, a lifelong Baltimorean, it was the fulfillment of her political ambitions. For some, it was a sign of someone, who presumably had two strikes against her (race and gender), that had been able to write her own success story.

Now, a day after Dixon announced her intention to resign as mayor on Feb. 4, journalists, bloggers and those in between are again discussing a historic fete achieved by Dixon — she will become the first mayor of the city to resign from office, not to assume another office, but in disgrace. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Baltimore, baltimore crime, baltimore news, baltimore politics, politics | 2 Comments »

Erin KcKeown’s mix tape featuers Lucinda Williams and Regina Spektor {thanks, MICHAEL WEINTROB}

Last month, Erin McKeown stopped by WTMD to perform songs from her album Hundreds of Lions. The singer-songwriter is equally comfortable behind drums, guitar, bass or a piano. And the experimental chamber-pop songs of Hundreds of Lions are filled with all these instruments and then some.

But in our studio, McKeown delivered two solo versions of “Santa Cruz,” one on acoustic guitar and the other on keyboard. It was a revelation to hear the track stripped down two different ways — and reminiscent of one of her favorite artists, Lucinda Williams.

“I’ve probably seen her 10, 11, 12 times, always different bands, always different records, different parts of the country,” McKeown says. “And I love her every time.”

McKeown stops by WTMD Thursday night to take over the airwaves with tracks from Williams and other artists who continue to reinvent themselves.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in WTMD, b the paper, music | Add Comment »

“The Tooth Fairy”
starring: Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, Julie Andrews
opens: Jan. 22

What can you really say about a movie which boasts possibly the worst tagline in history: “You Can’t Handle The Tooth”? Yes, this one looks painful.

Dwayne “formerly The Rock” Johnson stars in this kid fantasy as a hockey player (last time we checked, hockey players weren’t known as the most muscular bunch) who seems to be kind of an ass. How much of an ass? He’s willing to tell some kid that the Tooth Fairy doesn’t exist! Sooo wrong.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in movies | Add Comment »

Joe Flacco gets an opportunity to showcase his growth as an NFL quarterback on Sunday {thanks, THE BALTIMORE SUN}

All eyes were on second-year quarterback Joe Flacco in late July when the Ravens, the media and seemingly half of Baltimore descended on quiet, unassuming Westminster for training camp. Expectations were sky high after last season, when Flacco, then a cool, calculating rookie hot shot, smartly guided Baltimore to the AFC title game. Every move, every throw was scrutinized.

More than five months later, with the Ravens traveling to Foxborough, Mass., to play the Patriots in the wild-card round Sunday, Flacco is again the center of attention. In the playoffs, where legends are born every year, Flacco will get an opportunity to show everyone how much he has grown since that cold, disappointing night in Pittsburgh last January.

But exactly how much has he progressed? That’s tough to say. Flacco is clearly a better player in Year Two than he was this time a year ago. But he’s gone through his fair share of growing pains after starting the season on a tear.

Those struggles stood out the past two weeks against the Steelers and Raiders, when the only times he looked comfortable throwing the football were when his Pizza Hut commercial came on TV. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in NFL, Ravens, b the paper, sports | 6 Comments »

20 years of “The Simpsons” {thanks, FOX}

Twenty years after its debut, “The Simpsons” remains an indeedily-doodily delicious treat — as both pure entertainment and subversive satire. Sure, the show contains many typical comedy conventions — running physical gags (Homer choking Bart), exxxxcellent character catchphrases and character-foil-driven situations (boss vs. employee, smart vs. dumb students, rednecks vs. normal folks). But even as American culture and tastes shifted and evolved (some say de-volved), “The Simpsons,” an animated half-hour series, has been able to achieve what’s often impossible: changing with the times without losing its voice and heart. Managing the delicate balancing act of both celebrating and mocking society, staying sweet-natured while still blistering with criticism, “The Simpsons,” though several years past its peak, still stands alone in a TV world filled with tired procedurals, stereotyped characters and mindless “reality.” “The Simpsons” still winks at culture, tongue firmly in cheek. Here’s a look at how the residents of Springfield (aka: Anytown, U.S.A.) have shaped modern culture. JORDAN BARTEL, B

TURNING ‘FAMILY COMEDY’ ON ITS HEAD
Soon after “The Simpsons” premiered, it aired against the TV juggernaut of the day — “The Cosby Show.” In many ways, the Cosby clan was the yellow-hued family’s opposite. There was no ironic tinge to, well, anything the Cosbys did. But the success of “The Simpsons” proved that America was ready for something different, a more challenging family dynamic. Television comedy was never the same — or as safe. Even shows masked as “traditional family comedy,” such as “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Bernie Mac Show,” contain glimmers of mocking self-awareness previously absent. And you could practically see and feel the “Simpsons” influence in its most obvious live-action descendant — “Arrested Development.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Baltimore, TV, b the paper | 3 Comments »