Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez {thanks, AP}

1. ACC Tournament
(Thursday-Sunday on RAYCOM and ESPN): If you’re not hardcore enough to travel to Greensboro, N.C., to see if Gary Williams’ Terps can win their first ACC tourney since 2004, I guess you’ll have to tune in on TV. The downside: Duke players won’t be able to hear your boos. MATT VENSEL, B

2. ARTBus Tour
Six hours on a bus is rough, no matter your destination. But we make an exception for the annual Evergreen Museum and Library’s ARTBus, with artist/indie curator Jason Hughes leading an insidery look at the rising stars of Baltimore’s arts scene. Stops include AREA 405 and the H&H Arts Building, and feature artist and gallery owner meet-and-greets and chances to buy artwork. Originates Saturday from Evergreen (4545 N. Charles St., Charles Village) at 9:30 a.m., returns at 4 p.m. $80 (also includes box lunch, snacks and receptions). museums.jhu.edu or 410.516.0341. JORDAN BARTEL, B

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Sports fans love to talk about sports — especially here in Baltimore — so we’d like to give our readers with sports-savvy an opportunity to rant and rave about what’s going on in the world of sports, both locally and nationally. Each weekday, we’ll pose a new question for you to discuss at the water cooler. Here’s your chance to be an armchair quarterback. Now speak up, play nice and let us know what you think.

Today’s topic at the water cooler:
What’s the Ravens’ biggest need now?

Finally, the Ravens have made the big move you’ve all been clamoring for.

According to Jamison Hensley of The Baltimore Sun, the Ravens are on the verge of trading for Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin. The Ravens will send a third-round pick and a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft to Arizona for Boldin and a fifth-round pick in next month’s draft. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Ravens will sign Boldin to a four-year, $28-million deal.

So what are the Ravens getting in Boldin? Well, based on the physicality he brings to the football field, Boldin is like a younger, more explosive version of Steelers receiver Hines Ward (I know you hate Ward, but admit it, at least once you’ve thought that he wouldn’t look bad in purple). Boldin is a valuable possession receiver with a running-back mentality. He doesn’t shy away from contact, and he can turn routine catches underneath coverage into big plays. He also has the speed to get downfield, too, but he’s not a total burner.

There is one concern, though, now that a new contract already appears to have been hammered out. While Boldin reminds me a lot of Ward, he doesn’t possess that same sort of durability, which is worrisome considering the way Boldin plays the game. He’s missed nine games over the past three seasons. That’s not too alarming, but it’s something that probably gave the Ravens a little pause. Still, for the low cost at which he was required, Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome smartly overlooked the small amount of risk.

Make no mistake, acquiring Boldin is a home run.

In seven seasons, Boldin has made 586 catches for 7,520 yards and 44 touchdowns. He’s the go-to guy the offense sorely lacked (no offense to Derrick Mason). Joe Flacco should be doing cartwheels right now. With the trade for Boldin and the signing of Donte’ Stallworth, his weapons have been considerably upgraded. Now the pressure is on Flacco, as Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti suggested a few weeks ago, to take the team to the next level.

I’ve got a lot of thoughts running through my head right now, which I will scribble down and convert into a print column early next week, but I wanted to get the news out there. What do you all think of the deal?

Of course Greivis Vasquez won his last game at Comcast Center {thanks, AP}

A lot went down the past few days, with the O’s starting the spring season and the Ravens getting tender with players, but let’s be honest: This week was all about Greivis and the Terps.

[1] The Terps secured their signature win of the season Wednesday night, beating Duke to pull in a first-place tie with the Blue Devils in the ACC. The Terps are red-hot at the right time, but don’t worry about brackets and seeding and selection committees just yet. Take a few days to celebrate this win — though not like what went down in College Park (but hey, if you want to set the family sofa on fire, go nuts.) I’m all for a good sports-related riot, but I’ll admit, I was surprised by this one. Did they really think there was any way Greivis Vasquez would lose his last game at Comcast Center?

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Sports fans love to talk about sports — especially here in Baltimore — so we’d like to give our readers with sports-savvy an opportunity to rant and rave about what’s going on in the world of sports, both locally and nationally. Each weekday, we’ll pose a new question for you to discuss at the water cooler. Here’s your chance to be an armchair quarterback. Now speak up, play nice and let us know what you think.

Today’s topic at the water cooler:
Who is the most overrated player in this year’s NFL draft?

The NFL’s annual meat market, the scouting combine, wrapped up Tuesday. As always, these draft hopefuls’ performances in spandex — and sans shoulder pads — will cause the stock of some to soar (Taylor Mays and Jason Pierre-Paul) and others to decline (Joe Haden and Jonathan Dwyer).

That’s why it’s a good time to make market adjustments to my first mock draft from three weeks ago. The workouts in Indy did nothing to affect the first three picks. But things are all shook up after that in mock No. 2.

1. Rams: Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska. Speculation is growing that the Rams will take a quarterback first overall because it makes more sense financially. But how smart will St. Louis look if that QB is a bust? I hope this struggling franchise does the right thing and takes Suh.
2. Lions: Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma. I’ll be stunned if the Lions don’t take one of the big two defensive tackles at this spot. And I don’t know who they would pick if the Rams passed on Suh.
3. Bucs: Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, S. Florida. Pierre-Paul, at South Florida for only a year, didn’t disappoint scouts at the combine who were eager for him to show off his freakish but untapped potential.
4. Redskins: Russell Okung, OT, Okla. State. It appears Mike Shanahan is leaning toward giving QB Jason Campbell another chance, so look for the team to address its most glaring need.
5. Chiefs: Eric Berry, S, Tennessee. The Chiefs have a lot of holes, so they are in a good spot here. They’ll get great value on a star player such as Berry who gets passed in the first few picks. Read the rest of this entry »

Sports fans love to talk about sports — especially here in Baltimore — so we’d like to give our readers with sports-savvy an opportunity to rant and rave about what’s going on in the world of sports, both locally and nationally. Each weekday, we’ll pose a new question for you to discuss at the water cooler. Here’s your chance to be an armchair quarterback. Now speak up, play nice and let us know what you think.

Today’s topic at the water cooler:
Who is the most underrated player in this year’s NFL draft?

I’m not going to lie, I was downright giddy this weekend when I heard the Ravens — well, maybe just their head coach — were officially “interested” in mercurial wide receiver Terrell Owens.

The T.O. show finally coming to Baltimore? Based on history, it probably won’t happen, but I’m still getting my popcorn ready.

My voice recorder and reporter’s notepad, too.

It is a columnist’s dream to cover a drama queen like T.O. (I don’t care if you want to lump me in with Owens in the selfish category).

But I also think adding the 36-year-old future Hall-of-Famer — and specifically his volatility and big-play ability — to the Ravens offense could be the spark needed to ignite Joe Flacco.

Admit it: There have been times when you desperately wanted to see Flacco show some fire. It was fun at first to call him “Joe Cool” as the Ravens carried him to the AFC championship game in his rookie season. But these past two seasons, we have rarely seen him show his emotions. In big spots, he’s been too-laid back, too much of an automaton.

Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are cool customers, but they know when to flip the switch in crunch time.

I guarantee you Owens’ antics, in moderation, would help Flacco find his switch. Read the rest of this entry »

Sports fans love to talk about sports — especially here in Baltimore — so we’d like to give our readers with sports-savvy an opportunity to rant and rave about what’s going on in the world of sports, both locally and nationally. Each weekday, we’ll pose a new question for you to discuss at the water cooler. Here’s your chance to be an armchair quarterback. Now speak up, play nice and let us know what you think.

Today’s topic at the water cooler:

Should Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez be the ACC’s Player of the Year?

Sports fans love to talk about sports — especially here in Baltimore — so we’d like to give our readers with sports-savvy an opportunity to rant and rave about what’s going on in the world of sports, both locally and nationally. Each weekday, we’ll pose a new question for you to discuss at the water cooler. Here’s your chance to be an armchair quarterback. Now speak up, play nice and let us know what you think.

Today’s topic at the water cooler:
What is the Orioles’ biggest question mark entering 2010?