Sunday, December 30, 2012

Go Ravens!


Friday, December 28, 2012

This week in OC.

What To Do In Ocean City This Week Including NYE Information

by Forum, oceancity.com December 28th 2012

What To Do This Week Editorial by Alexander Archer

This year has been a blur. We now find ourselves in the position to say goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013. If you are in Ocean City, MD this weekend chances are you are here to enjoy the various New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day festivities that will be taking place on Monday and Tuesday. So the list of things to do in Ocean City for this weekend will be focused toward helping you find the perfect event to ring in the new year.

Dining and Dancing

New Year’s Eve isn’t just about party favors. As such, there will be several Ocean City restaurants doing double duty as they provide fantastic cuisine and and serve as party headquarters for NYE revelers. The Clarion Ocean City Resort, featuring the Ocean Club and Horizons Oceanfront Restaurant, will be serving up their world famous gourmet dinner buffet from 8-10pm; with dancing and two live bands providing the entertainment from 9pm-3am. Tickets for a barstool -which include party favors open bar and hors d’oeuvres- are $90 per person. For the full buffet, tickets are $145 per person. Tickets must be purchased in advance and you must 21 to attend. Call 410-524-3535 for additional information and to make reservations.

The Princess Royale featuring one of the best Ocean City restaurants, Schooners, will also be offering a dining extravaganza. They are offering three dining and entertainment packages. The Palmetto Ballroom package features a 5 course gourmet meal, 6 hour open bar and champagne toast for $129. The Atrium Stars package comes with a buffet style dinner, assorted desserts, champagne toast and 6 hour open bar for $99. The Palmetto and the Atrium will both feature live entertainment and dancing. Schooners will be showcasing a prime rib style buffet, live entertainment from 9pm-1am, champagne toast and cash bar for $49.95 per person. Tickets should be purchase in advance. Call 1-800-4-ROYALE for more details.

Galaxy 66 is one of the best Ocean City restaurants and they will have dinner specials and rolling out their brand new menu for the New Year’s Eve celebration. Dinner seating will be a 5, 7 and 9pm. There will also be a complimentary champagne toast and party favors included. Live entertainment by the Philly George Project will run from 10pm-2am. Reservations are required. Nestled conveniently on the roof of Galaxy 66 is the Skye Bar. The Skye Bar is one of the most unique Ocean City bars. They will be having a tented and heated celebration from 9pm-2am. Tickets for the Skye Bar celebration are $75 per person and must be purchased in advance. The ticket price includes premium open bar, DJ, complimentary champagne and party favors.

Ocean City Night Life

There are too many bars in Ocean City to try and cover each and every NYE event. Here are a few of the perennial favorites and a couple of other place that will take you a little of the beaten path. Fager’s Island will be holding their traditional New Years Eve party beginning at 7pm. Tickets are $40 per person and included in that price is the admission fee, party favors and complimentary champagne toast. There is no seating and fashionable attire is required. Live entertainment will be provided by Animal House starting at 10pm inside. Dj Groove will be spinning out on the deck at 9pm. You can purchase tickets online or at Fager’s business office.

Seacrets in Ocean City, MD. is also throwing a big New Year’s Eve party. They will have five live bands over the course of the evening and a dj or two mixed in. No advanced ticket purchase is required but be aware that vip cards and local id’s will not be honored for cover charge waiving. They will begin charging cover at 5pm and the cover starts a $20. Keep in mind that as the night progresses the cover charge will increase. Call 410-524-4900 for more details.

The Party Block breaks their off-season hibernation just for NYE. Their success in pulling off this event follows one simple formula: Open bar all night long. That is correct. For one price every drink at every bar, even shots, is included. Tickets are $85 per person unless you purchased your tickets in advance. Party Block has sold out for 17 years in a row, so if you haven’t already gotten your ticket you may not get one.

Dead Freddies has their main man DJ Wax manning the fort for the entire night. He will be spinning all your favorite party and dance tunes.There is no cover charge and they will have their regular menu and special dishes available. For more information call 410-524-3733.

What To Do In Ocean City This Week Including NYE Information

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Tuck Yeah!

Justin Tucker wipes away questions about Ravens' kicking game with brilliant rookie season

Coaches, loved ones say he always had unusual stage presence, hatred of losing


6:04 p.m. EST, December 25, 2012

Justin Tucker's legs shook underneath him, and for a moment, he thought he might actually be nervous about kicking a field goal.

Then he realized, as he later told his father, that the movement didn't result from any internal tension but from 88,645 Texas A&M fans literally shaking the ground as they clamored for Tucker, the kicker from archrival Texas, to miss a decisive 40-yarder.

With that, Tucker knew he was exactly where he had always wanted to be, lining up to boot the biggest kick of his life at the center of a boiling football caldron, also known as Kyle Field.

"He had the pride of all the people in Texas who care about football on his shoulders, and he didn't blink," remembers Tucker's college coach, Mack Brown. "They called timeout, and he thought, 'Good for them. That just gives me more time to focus.' Everybody on the team knew he'd make it."

It's a confidence Ravens fans have learned to share as they've watched Tucker, the team's rookie kicker, burst onto the NFL scene. Kicking was among the team's biggest uncertainties entering training camp, with incumbent Billy Cundiff trying to bounce back from a devastating miss at the end of last season's conference championship game.

But as he coolly bested Cundiff in a kick-for-kick training camp battle, Tucker eased such worries. Now deep into his first season, he has rendered any doubts moot with every long field goal and every kickoff blasted through the end zone.

According to the statistically oriented website Football Outsiders, Tucker's excellence on both field goals and kickoffs has helped give the Ravens historically great special teams. He has been a consistent bright spot for a team that has struggled mightily at times on offense and defense.

The amazing thing, when you talk to coaches, family members and friends, is that none of them sound terribly surprised by what Tucker has accomplished in the NFL.

"I would like to tell you I'm shocked," says Doug Blevins, his first serious kicking coach. "But I'm really not at all."

"It blows my mind a little bit that it's my kid up there on national television," says his mother, Michelle. "But Justin is someone who, if he really wants to do something, he will make it happen. He's a really unusually driven person."

'I was out there to win'

Tucker's parents say he had two defining traits as a child growing up in Austin, Texas: an absolute comfort with performing on a public stage and an abhorrence of losing that bordered on concerning.

Michelle, herself a former drum major, remembers him crooning "Danke Schoen" at a middle school talent show. Tucker even sashayed down the steps and sang directly to a few teachers in the crowd, Wayne Newton-style. "They just loved him," Michelle says.

His embrace of the stage translated to sports, but there, his competitive dark side was more apt to surface.
Tucker flashes back to his first youth soccer season, when he was barely more than a toddler: "I remember losing my first rec soccer game and being so mad and so upset. Most kids don't think about that when they're 3 or 4 years old. They're just out there enjoying oranges and Lunchables at halftime, but I was out there to win. I remember that stark contrast."

"You know, in youth soccer, most of the kids are just happy to get a juice box at the end of the game," says Tucker's father, Paul, an Austin cardiologist. "But Justin would be in tears after a loss. We'd have to say, 'Justin, you've got to get a grip.'"

Tucker's parents certainly played a part in instilling his competitiveness. Paul never wanted to miss being named a "Super Doctor" by Texas Monthly magazine. He told his children that if they could be better than 99 percent of the world at something, success would follow.

Tucker always had a powerful right leg, even when soccer, not football, was his game. His younger sister, Samantha, remembers coaches yelling him at for kicking the ball far above the goal. Perhaps higher-trajectory kicks were simply his destiny.

When he started playing football in middle school (late for a Texan), he answered his coach's request for anyone willing to kick extra points. Sure enough, he was pretty good at it.

When Tucker was 15 and beginning to take his craft more seriously, his father read an article in Sports Illustrated about a coach named Doug Blevins. Adam Vinatieri had recently become a legend among kickers for making a 45-yard field goal in blizzard conditions to send the New England Patriots to overtime in an AFC divisional playoff game against the Oakland Raiders. Though relegated to a wheelchair by cerebral palsy, Blevins was Vinatieri's kicking guru.

Paul called him, and it turned out that Blevins required only a modest fee to fly from his home in Southwest Virginia and work with Justin. After watching the boy for a few hours, Blevins told his parents: "If he sticks with it, he can kick in the NFL."

The kicking expert saw a leg speed that could not be taught. "The pop and lift he got at that that age were just incredible," Blevins says.

Justin had more than talent. "You had to make him stop working," Blevins says. "He was consumed with it. Obsessed."

Paul remembers one Christmas Day when it was 40 degrees and raining. "Dad, let's go kick," Justin insisted. So they did.

Tucker's work with Blevins marked a new level of engagement with kicking. He continued to train with the coach every six months, sometimes traveling to stay with Blevins in Virginia. And as his high school career progressed, the Tuckers heard from more and more people that their son might kick on Sundays.
Blevins fine-tuned Justin's technique, but Paul says his son gleaned more about the mental approach to kicking. For example, Justin ended every practice with a pressure kick, and if he missed, he simply had to go into the house and stew over it until the next session.

Confident and upbeat

Mack Brown was not in the habit of offering full scholarships to kickers when he recruited Tucker from Austin's Westlake High School. But he liked that the kid wasn't some specialist; Tucker was also plenty good at safety and wide receiver. Brown saw a player talented and fierce enough to handle all three kicking roles — kickoffs, field goals and punts — for the powerful Longhorns.

"I really have not met such a confident young man since I've been here," says Brown, who has coached dozens of future pros. "He's the most upbeat human being I've ever been around."

Teammates learned that Tucker, who majored in music recording, could go from singing opera in a foreign language one minute to rapping the next, all with equal boldness. But when it came to the business of football, he never seemed to make a stupid mistake.

"The thing that makes him the best is that he never makes things that are supposed to be easy look hard," says Cade McCrary, who held for Tucker at Texas and has known him since they played for rival high schools.

Before every kick, Tucker tapped McCrary on his lowered helmet, and they exchanged a brief inside joke. "He had a way of calming the people around him, of calming me with his calmness," McCrary says. "Anything under 40 yards, I never worried at all."

Despite a strong senior season, Tucker was not drafted, a slight he says he tried to treat as a disguised blessing. The Ravens had their eye on him after special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg watched him work out in Austin. And they called shortly after the picking was done to invite him to training camp.

"I really liked his leg swing. He had power in his leg," Rosburg says. "But I said to Justin, 'I think you can be so much better than you are.'"

Seizing the opportunity

The outside narrative said the Ravens had signed Tucker simply to push Cundiff as the veteran regained his mojo after the playoff miss at New England. But that was not the message John Harbaugh and his staff conveyed to the rookie. Outperform the incumbent and the job is yours, they promised.

"It was that simple, and he really liked that," Paul Tucker says. "He trusted them, and Harbaugh was very honest with him from the beginning, for which we'll always be eternally grateful."

It's almost a cliche to say a kicker doesn't look like the rest of his NFL teammates. But when you watch Tucker bop around the Ravens training complex, it's hard to avoid the thought. His sweatshirt hangs loosely off his wiry frame and with his stubbly beard and slightly mussed brown hair, he looks more like the guy next to you at an undergraduate lecture than like a football star. Even his right leg is more lean and sinewy than thick and mighty.

Here's the thing, though: Tucker's teammates don't treat him like some oddity, off on his own specialty island. Almost from the start of camp, the Ravens' veteran stars appreciated his swagger as he popped 55-yarders through the uprights in his pitched battle with Cundiff. Tucker dresses in the same corner as Ray Lewis and Ray Rice — he calls himself the "maintenance man" in their gated community — and they treat him like one of the boys as he cracks wise on team staffers and competes in locker-room games of cornhole.

"A lot of kickers have that reputation for sitting off by themselves," Michelle Tucker says. "But Justin has never been that kind of kicker. He's in the mix."

Says Justin Tucker: "I think the best kickers think of themselves as football players who can kick."

There was nary a grumble when Harbaugh announced that the rookie had beaten out Cundiff. And from the first 46-yarder Tucker kicked through the uprights for the Ravens' first points of the season, he has made the decision look like genius.

Tucker says the technical adjustments he has made with Ravens kicking consultant Randy Brown — widening the position of his plant foot, staying over the ball longer, driving his body farther downfield on follow-through — have made him a "completely different kicker than I was in college."

Rosburg hesitates to evaluate Tucker's performance relative to the team's expectations. But when asked whether he feels calm in his gut every time the rookie lines up a big field goal, he says: "Oh, I have a lot of confidence in him. I've watched him kick a lot of balls, and there's very few balls he kicks poorly."

Crunch time

The one unknowable thing about Tucker is how he might respond to missing a game-ending, season-altering kick. Cundiff, for example, is out of the league 11 months after missing that 32-yarder against the Patriots. He was in the Pro Bowl two years ago.

Tucker, who has made 29 of 31 field-goal attempts this season, grasps that every kick is vital as he tries to establish a place among the 32 people in the world who make a great living doing what he does. The margin for error is tiny for NFL kickers, who have become so efficient as a species that an 80 percent success rate is mediocre and 70 percent leads to unemployment. But this reality seems to invigorate Tucker rather than gnaw at his guts.

"You don't instill that in a kid, that ice water," says Blevins, who regularly exchanges emails with Tucker. "Justin would not carry a big miss over to the next kick. He would be devastated. But he's not one of those guys that gets mental on you."

Tucker says that when he does miss, he puts a premium on making the next kick — a quick cube of sugar to drive the bad taste from his mouth.

That's why he rates a 39-yard kick he made in the Ravens' win at Pittsburgh the best of his career, even above the one at Texas A&M or his two NFL game-winners. Tucker had missed a 41-yarder in the second quarter, but he homed in on his technique, pushed any misgivings from the corners of his mind and made the next kick look easy. His field goal gave the Ravens the margin they needed to hold off their most bitter rivals.
"That's what's fun," he says of such moments. "If you don't want to be the kid to hit the walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth, you shouldn't be playing baseball. If you don't want that opportunity as a kicker, you shouldn't be kicking the ball."

childs.walker@baltsun.com

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-justin-tucker-profile-1226-20121225,0,3517977,full.story

Weekly Poop 12/26/12


Roost #44 Poop
  • Dates to Remember:
    • Tonight - Ravens Rap Show @ the Blue Ox.  From Eileen:  Hi All,
      • About Ravens Game day Sundays for the rest of this SEASON....Blue Ox WILL BE OPEN for the 1 and 4 pm AWAY games for the rest of the season, and ALL of the Post Season Games.  Please continue to let Jo Ann know if you plan to go to the Turtle for the home games.
      • Thanks so much, Eileen
  • Friday, – Water Conservation Group Meeting @ …
  • Tuesday – Penguin Swim!  The AGH web site is up and Gary has set up the RR44 team page.  Just go to "join a team" and click on RR44 to get registered. Come out and support our team!
  • Saturday, April 13, 2013 – Ravens Roost #44 Dance.  Details soon.
  • Roost Apparel: A number of shirts and jerseys which were ordered by folks are still unclaimed and have not been paid for.  There are also some extras available for purchase as well.  The next "apparel store" time for touching, trying on and otherwise fondling the merchandise will be at the next meeting on January 10th.  You can also call Maggie at 410-208-2756 or email her millermaggie@mchsi.com to make arrangements for pick up and payment at her home.  For those who did not order, but want one, the prices for the character shirts are:  $15 (short sleeved in purple, dark gray and ash and a variety of sizes from med to 3XL); $25 for ash gray sweatshirt zipped jackets; $30 for "old School" purple/black heathered sweatshirt jackets.  We also still have purple Roost 44 jerseys in a variety of sizes for sale as well and they cost $35.  Don't be left out in the cold!  When they are gone, they are gone!
  • RR44 Election of Officers Jan. 2013
    • Roost members running for office
  • President Tom Maly
  • Vice President Bill Cordwell
  • Recording Secretary Janet Rosensteel
  • Sergeant at Arms Larry Gerst
    Rob Carpenter
  • Treasurer Sandy Taras
  • Corresponding secretary Cindi Brought
    Donna Chaplinski
  • 1 year term on Board of Directors Gary Miller
  • 2 year term on Board of Directors Ron Apperson
    Marian Cicero
  • 3 year term on Board of Directors Mary Kendall
  • Chairman of Board (3 yr term) Trish Neal
  • Eric Leister is continuing 2 year term on Board
Ravens Poop
  • The Ravens dominated the New York football Giants 33-14 to win the AFC North crown for the second year in a row, and assuring the Ravens of a home playoff game. This week, in the final game of the regular season, the Ravens go to Cincinnati to play the Bengals, 1 pm. The Bengals are going to the playoffs as a wild card for their second straight year as well after beating (and eliminating) the Steelers last week.
  • Good news notes and nuggets from Sarah Ellison’s Blog here.  It’s getting to the point where I can hardly stand ESPN, but I do go Jamison Hensley’s Blog here to stay up to date with all of the AFC North news.  
  • Question: Which NFL team, besides the Ravens, have gone to the playoffs each of the last five seasons? Answer: Trick question – the Ravens are the only team to have made the playoffs the last five years.

    Local Poop
  • Now thru next Tuesday - Winterfest of Lights, Northside Park, 125th St. & Bay. Enjoy this award-winning holiday paradise created for the whole family! More than one million holiday lights sparkle throughout your favorite beach resort.  Tour the avenues of Ocean City to see seasonal decor then it’s on to Northside Park on 125th Street to see hundreds of animated lighted displays. Relax in the heated tent, enjoy entertainment on selected nights & sip hot chocolate at the Winterfest Village. Browse Yukon Cornelius' gift shop for a special gift and have a photo taken with Santa. Board the Winterfest Express to tour the lights, including the themed exhibits of your favorite fairy tales.  Admission is $4 per person. 9 years & under are free.  Sunday through Thursday, 5:30pm - 9:30pm.  Friday and Saturday 5:30pm - 10:30pm.  For more information call 1-800-OC-OCEAN (800-626-2326).  www.ococean.com.
  • Monday - New Year's Eve - Townwide Celebrations. Townwide celebrations at your favorite hotel or restaurant.  Enjoy ringing in the new year at your favorite summer place.  Many Ocean City hotels, clubs & restaurants offer special packages or menus for this special Saturday night.  Call your favorite spot or 800-OC-OCEAN for general information.  www.ococean.com.
  • Monday - New Year's Eve Free Bus Rides Throughout Ocean City. The Town of Ocean City offers free bus services for New Year’s Eve from 6am New Year's Eve to 6am New Year's Day. For more information, call 1-800-OC-OCEAN (1-800-626-2326).
  • Monday - New Year's Eve Fireworks 2013, Northside Park. As part of our Winterfest celebration, join us to ring in the New Year with a fireworks display at Northside Park at midnight. Winterfest will stay open extended hours for this special festive night!
Funny Poop
  • A couple was Christmas shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve and the mall was packed. As the wife walked through the mall she was surprised to look up and see her husband was nowhere around. She was quite upset because they had a lot to do. Because she was so worried, she called him on her mobile phone to ask him where he was. In a calm voice, the husband said "Honey, you remember the jewelery store we went into about 5 years ago where you fell in love with that diamond necklace that we could not afford and I told you that I would get it for you one day?" The wife choked up and started to cry and said "Yes, I remember that jewelery store". He said "Well, I'm in pub, right next to it".
Etcetera
  • Got poop?  Let me know!  I’m going to try to get this out every Wednesday so if you get it to me by Tuesday I’ll try to include it.  Your input is appreciated.
  • Be sure to visit our website @ www.ravensroost44.com or our blog @ http://ravensroost44.blogspot.com/ for the latest news, notes and nuggets.
  • Life is short.  Focus on the good.


Frank

Baltimore Ravens, let’s go
And put that ball across the line
So fly with talons spread wide
Go in and strike with Ravens pride
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Ravens dark wings take flight
Dive in and show them your might
For Baltimore and Maryland
You will fly on to victory

Friday, December 21, 2012

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Weekly Poop 12/19/12

Roost #44 Poop
      Dates to Remember:
      Tonight - Ravens Rap Show @ the Blue Ox.  From Eileen:  Hi All,
     About Ravens Game day Sundays for the rest of this SEASON....Blue Ox WILL BE OPEN for the 1 and 4 pm AWAY games for the rest of the season, and ALL of the Post Season Games.  Please continue to let JoAnn know if you plan to go to the Turtle for the home games.
     Thanks so much, Eileen
       Friday, – Water Conservation Group Meeting @ …
      Tuesday, January 1 - It is time to form the RR44 Penguin Swim Team once again!  The AGH web site is up and Gary has set up the RR44 team page.  Just go to "join a team" and click on RR44 to get registered.
      Saturday, April 13, 2013 – Ravens Roost #44 Dance.  Details soon.
       Roost Apparel:  Not many people picked up the t-shirts and sweatshirts they ordered this week at the Ox.  Please save Maggie from getting a hernia carrying these around and contact her Maggie at 410-208-2756 or email her millermaggie@mchsi.com to make arrangements for pick up and payment.  For those who did not order, but want one, the prices for these character shirts are:  $15 short sleeved T's (purple, dark grey and ash), $25 for ash grey sweatshirt zipped jackets, $30 for "old school" purple/black heathered sweatshirt jackets.  Have a variety of sizes still available.  We still have Roost 44 jerseys in a variety of sizes for sale as well.  Make great stocking stuffers!
      RR44 Election of Officers Jan. 2013
      Roost members running for office
       President                                                 Tom Maly
      Vice President                                         Bill Cordwell
      Recording Secretary                               Janet Rosensteel
      Sergeant at Arms                                    Larry Gerst
                                                                                                Rob Carpenter
       Treasurer                                                 Sandy Taras
      Corresponding secretary                       Cindi Brought
                                                                                                Donna Chaplinski
       1 year term on Board of Directors         Gary Miller
      2 year term on Board of Directors         Ron Apperson
                                                                                                Marian Cicero
       3 year term on Board of Directors         Mary Kendall
      Chairman of Board (3 yr term)               Trish Neal
      Eric Leister is continuing 2 year term on Board

Ravens Poop
      The Ravens lost to Peyton Manning and the Broncos 34-17 but still managed to back in to the playoffs when the Steelers lost to the Cowboys. Sunday, Brother Eli and the New York Football Giants come to town, 4:25 pm.  The bus will leave Ocean City @ 11 am sharp.
       Good news notes and nuggets from Sarah Ellison’s Blog here.  It’s getting to the point where I can hardly stand ESPN, but I do go Jamison Hensley’s Blog here to stay up to date with all of the AFC North news.  

Local Poop
       Now thru January 1, 2013 - Winterfest of Lights, Northside Park, 125th St. & Bay. Enjoy this award-winning holiday paradise created for the whole family! More than one million holiday lights sparkle throughout your favorite beach resort.  Tour the avenues of Ocean City to see seasonal decor then it’s on to Northside Park on 125th Street to see hundreds of animated lighted displays. Relax in the heated tent, enjoy entertainment on selected nights & sip hot chocolate at the Winterfest Village. Browse Yukon Cornelius' gift shop for a special gift and have a photo taken with Santa. Board the Winterfest Express to tour the lights, including the themed exhibits of your favorite fairy tales.  Admission is $4 per person. 9 years & under are free.  Sunday through Thursday, 5:30pm - 9:30pm.  Friday and Saturday 5:30pm - 10:30pm.  For more information call 1-800-OC-OCEAN (800-626-2326).  www.ococean.com.
       

Funny Poop
                    I've accidentally swallowed some Scrabble tiles.  My next poop could spell disaster.
                    A guy was standing at a bar and a beautiful woman was beside him so he leans over and says "You remind me of my little toe".  She replies "What?  You Mean I'm small and cute?"  He says "No.  I'll probably bang you on the coffee table later when I'm drunk".
                    Two gas company servicemen, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee, were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood.  They parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end.  At the last house, a woman watched the two men from her kitchen window as they checked her gas meter.  When they had finished the meter check, the senior supervisor challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race back to the truck to prove that an older guy could outrun a younger one.  The co-worker accepted the challenge.  As they approached the truck in full stride, the two men realized that the lady from the kitchen window was huffing and puffing right behind them.  They stopped in their tracks and asked the woman why she was running behind them.  Gasping for breath she replied "I'm not stupid...when I see two gas men running that fast, I figure I'd better run too!"

Etcetera
                     Got poop?  Let me know!  I’m going to try to get this out every Wednesday so if you get it to me by Tuesday I’ll try to include it.  Your input is appreciated.
                     Be sure to visit our website @ www.ravensroost44.com or our blog @ http://ravensroost44.blogspot.com/ for the latest news, notes and nuggets.
                     Life is short.  Focus on the good.


Frank


Baltimore Ravens, let’s go
And put that ball across the line
So fly with talons spread wide
Go in and strike with Ravens pride
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Ravens dark wings take flight
Dive in and show them your might
For Baltimore and Maryland
You will fly on to victory


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Weekly Poop 12/12/12


Roost #44 Poop
  • Dates to Remember:
    • Tonight - Ravens Rap Show @ the Blue Ox.  From Eileen:  Hi All,
      • About Ravens Game day Sundays for the rest of this SEASON....Blue Ox WILL BE OPEN for the 1 and 4 pm AWAY games for the rest of the season, and ALL of the Post Season Games.  Please continue to let JoAnn know if you plan to go to the Turtle for the home games.
      • Thanks so much, Eileen
  • Friday, – Water Conservation Group Meeting @ …
  • Saturday – Ravens Roost #44 Christmas Party, 7-11 p.m., Cove Bayside.
    • Cost: $25 per member and $30 per guest which includes: Veggie/cheese/cracker display, bread/butter, autumn salad with cranberries, apples and crumbled bleu cheese, topped with homemade vinaigrette
    • 2 Choices of entrees:  Dijon mustard and herb crusted roast pork loin (the new white meat) with fig and cranberry demi-glaze, served with roasted red potatoes and chef's choice of vegetables.
    • Grilled queen cut prime rib and single crab cake, served with roasted red potatoes and chef's choice of vegetable
    • Cheesecake for dessert, beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages and gratuity.  There will be a cash bar available for mixed drinks at happy hour prices.  Music will be provided by our DJ, Frank Berterman
    • A Chinese raffle will be held to benefit Atlantic General Hospital.  Cut off date for all monies is December 5th when the final count has to be submitted.  Sign up sheets will be available at the Roost meeting on November 8th or you can contact Tom Maly at 302-541-0780 or tmaly818@mchsi.com. Checks for this event can be mailed to Tom at 16 Avondale Drive, Ocean View, DE 19970
  • Tuesday, January 1 - It is time to form the RR44 Penguin Swim Team once again!  The AGH web site is up and Gary has set up the RR44 team page.  Just go to "join a team" and click on RR44 to get registered.
  • Saturday, April 13, 2013 – Ravens Roost #44 Dance.  Details soon.
  • Roost Apparel:  Not many people picked up the t-shirts and sweatshirts they ordered this week at the Ox.  Please save Maggie from getting a hernia carrying these around and contact her Maggie at 410-208-2756 or email her millermaggie@mchsi.com to make arrangements for pick up and payment.  For those who did not order, but want one, the prices for these character shirts are:  $15 short sleeved T's (purple, dark grey and ash), $25 for ash grey sweatshirt zipped jackets, $30 for "old school" purple/black heathered sweatshirt jackets.  Have a variety of sizes still available.  We still have Roost 44 jerseys in a variety of sizes for sale as well.  Make great stocking stuffers!
  • RR44 Election of Officers Jan. 2013
Roost members running for office
  • President Tom Maly
  • Vice President Bill Cordwell
  • Recording Secretary Janet Rosensteel
  • Sergeant at Arms Larry Gerst
    Rob Carpenter
  • Treasurer Sandy Taras
  • Corresponding secretary Cindi Brought
    Donna Chaplinski
  • 1 year term on Board of Directors Gary Miller
  • 2 year term on Board of Directors Ron Apperson
    Marian Cicero
  • 3 year term on Board of Directors Mary Kendall
  • Chairman of Board (3 yr term) Trish Neal
  • Eric Leister is continuing 2 year term on Board
Ravens Poop
  • The Ravens lost to the Redskins 31-28 and Failed once again to clinch the division. Sunday, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos come to town, 1 pm.
  • Sail on Cam, it was good to know ya!
  • Good news notes and nuggets from Sarah Ellison’s Blog here.  It’s getting to the point where I can hardly stand ESPN, but I do go Jamison Hensley’s Blog here to stay up to date with all of the AFC North news.  
Local Poop
  • Now thru January 1, 2013 - Winterfest of Lights, Northside Park, 125th St. & Bay. Enjoy this award-winning holiday paradise created for the whole family! More than one million holiday lights sparkle throughout your favorite beach resort.  Tour the avenues of Ocean City to see seasonal decor then it’s on to Northside Park on 125th Street to see hundreds of animated lighted displays. Relax in the heated tent, enjoy entertainment on selected nights & sip hot chocolate at the Winterfest Village. Browse Yukon Cornelius' gift shop for a special gift and have a photo taken with Santa. Board the Winterfest Express to tour the lights, including the themed exhibits of your favorite fairy tales.  Admission is $4 per person. 9 years & under are free.  Sunday through Thursday, 5:30pm - 9:30pm.  Friday and Saturday 5:30pm - 10:30pm.  For more information call 1-800-OC-OCEAN (800-626-2326).  www.ococean.com.
Funny Poop
  • A golfer was involved in a terrible car crash and was rushed to the hospital. Just before he was put under the surgeon popped in to see him. "I have some good news and some bad news" says the surgeon.
    "The bad news is that I have to remove your right arm!" "Oh God no!" cries the man "My golfing is over! Please doc, what's the good news?" "The good news is, I have another one to replace it with, but it's a woman's arm. I'll need your permission before I go ahead with the transplant". "Go for it doc" says the man. "As long as I can play golf again!"
    The operation went well and a year later the man was out on the golf course when he bumped into the surgeon.
    "Hi, how's the new arm?" asks the surgeon. "Just great" says the businessman. "I'm playing the best golf of my life. My new arm has a much finer touch and my putting has really improved". "That's great" said the surgeon.
    "Not only that" continued the golfer "my handwriting has improved, I've learned how to sew my own clothes and I've even taken up painting landscapes in watercolours!" "Unbelievable!" said the surgeon "I'm so glad to hear the transplant was such a great success. Are you having any side effects?" "Well just one problem" said the golfer... "Every time I get an erection, I also get a headache"
Etcetera
  • Got poop?  Let me know!  I’m going to try to get this out every Wednesday so if you get it to me by Tuesday I’ll try to include it.  Your input is appreciated.
  • Be sure to visit our website @ www.ravensroost44.com or our blog @ http://ravensroost44.blogspot.com/ for the latest news, notes and nuggets.
  • Life is short.  Focus on the good.


Frank


Baltimore Ravens, let’s go
And put that ball across the line
So fly with talons spread wide
Go in and strike with Ravens pride
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Ravens dark wings take flight
Dive in and show them your might
For Baltimore and Maryland
You will fly on to victory

Monday, December 10, 2012

Sail on Cam...


John Harbaugh: Decision Is Mine, Joe Flacco Not Consulted


The head coach made the coaching change after conversations with the team's senior leadership.




The Ravens made a bold decision on Monday by dismissing Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron and replacing him with Quarterbacks Coach Jim Caldwell.
The move ends a nearly five-year run in Baltimore for Cameron, who was one of the original members of John Harbaugh’s staff in 2008. Harbaugh called the move the "hardest thing I’ve ever had to do as a coach,” but he told the media that the call was his to make.
"This is my decision,” Harbaugh said during Monday’s press conference. "Really, there’s not a lot of places you go to make a decision like this.”
Harbaugh said that fifth-year quarterback Joe Flacco was not consulted in the process, explaining that "this is a coaching decision.”
Reporters also asked if Owner Steve Bisciotti was involved, but Harbaugh did not get into the specifics of all the factors and conversations that went into the move. Instead, Harbaugh wanted to keep those conversations private.
"I’m not getting into any of that,” Harbaugh said. "We do a great job in this organization of communicating and talking, and we have great leadership here, all across the board, and I’ll just leave it at that.”
Harbaugh did say that General Manager Ozzie Newsome is "on board” with the move.
The decision was reached after phone calls and conversations between members of the team’s senior leadership following the Ravens’ 31-28 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins Sunday. Harbaugh then met with Cameron early Monday morning.
"We have a great leadership group; we have a great owner, a great [general manager], great team president, right through our organization at that level who is involved in any kind of conversation, personnel-wise, whether it’s coach or player,” Harbaugh said. "I’m just privileged to be a part of that and be with these guys, and they’re a big help in all those kinds of things.”
It’s rare for a  playoff contender to fire an offensive coordinator with just three games left in the regular season, but Harbaugh felt like the offense needed a change.
The move has the potential to either disrupt or galvanize the locker room, and the reaction from the players was something Harbaugh considered before making a call.
"It’s always a consideration,” Harbaugh said. "It’s one of the things that you think about; there are a lot of considerations. You try to take all of that into account, and you try to come to a conclusion about what is best for your football team.”
Firing Cameron was not only challenging for Harbaugh from a professional sense, but also personally.
The two men have known each other for years and they first coached together in 1997 when Cameron was a head coach at Indiana and hired Harbaugh as an assistant. Cameron was also the quarterbacks coach at Michigan when Harbaugh’s brother Jim played there.
"It’s tough,” Harbaugh said. "It’s tough when you cut players. It’s tough at training camp when you have to tell guys they’re not going to play anymore, that their dream might be over.
"Cam is going to go on and coach. He is going to be coaching very soon in the National Football League. A five-year run as an offensive coordinator in this league is pretty good.”
The Ravens have been up-and-down as an offense this year and currently rank 18th in the league with 344.4 yards per game. The group is in the top 10 in the NFL in points per game.
Monday’s move came after a game on the road where the offense put up 28 points, one of the finer showings on the road of the season. The Ravens came up short, but Harbaugh said the move wasn’t related to one specific issue or incident from Sunday’s game.
"It’s not that,” he said. "I think that’s really important to point out. It’d be real easy to go the route that is saying it’s a result of something and somebody is taking the blame for something. It is not that. People are going to believe what they want to believe. It’s what I believe is best going forward for our offense and for our football team.”
After replacing Cameron, Caldwell quickly went to work as the Ravens new offensive coordinator. He met with players and the offensive staff Monday, and the group has already starting game planning for Sunday’s game against Denver.
The focus now is to wrap up a playoff spot and the AFC North title, which the Ravens have a chance to do this Sunday.
"The move was made to give us a chance to be the best that we can be,” Harbaugh said. "And that’s not saying anybody can’t do it, but it’s just an opportunity to try to get this thing going and become the best offense and the best team we can be, and we feel like it’s what is best for the team at this time. And, that’s why we made the move."


Saturday, December 8, 2012

Thirty Two Years Ago Today...

I remember watching Monday Night Football that night.  I could not believe what I was hearing.  Here is a special that ESPN's Outside the Lines did two years ago on the 30th anniversary.  Imagine all the people, living life in peace...





Ravens Ocean City Beach Bash

Once again, it seems as if the Council of Ravens Roosts' Annual Convention at the Castle in the Sand isn't good enough for the Baltimore Ravens...

Ravens Ocean City Beach Bash
Ocean City, MD
May 30- June 1, 2013

This summer will mark the 2nd annual Ravens Ocean City Beach Bash, presented by Miller Lite, May 30-June 1 in Ocean City, Md. Join Ravens Players, Cheerleaders, Playmakers, Poe, talent from 98Rock and Miller Lite as they turn Ocean City into Ravenstown for the weekend. By being a Ravens PSL holder, we are inviting you before the rest of Raven Nation and offering a 10% discount!  Organized activities will include -- but are not limited to -- the Ocean City Purple Friday Caravan, live broadcasts with 98Rock, bar crawls, the Annual Ravens Roosts parade, a bonfire and tailgate party at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel. Beach Bash logo ML
Packages to join the Beach Bash weekend are available through the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel and carry VIP benefits. Reserve your room before they sell out! 

Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel -- Official Beach Bash Headquarters
Providing you with a beach bag, koozies, one drink ticket, a commemorative Ravens/Clarion t-shirt, Ravens Player meet and greet and much more!
To reserve your Weekend VIP Package, please call 410-524-3535 or 1-800-638-2100 or reserve online (see links below). Use the Presale code in order to get 10% off is RBB13 (valid until 12/11)

Clarion Rates: 
2 night stay3 night stay  Marigot Beach Rates: 2 night stay ,3 night stay  

WEEKEND OF EVENTS - FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! 

Thursday, May 30

6am – 3pm: 98 Rock Live Broadcast, from Clarion Hotel (10100 Coastal Hwy, Ocean City, MD 21842)
3pm – 7pm: Miller Lite Welcome Party w/ 98 Rock Live Broadcast
5pm – 8pm: 98 Rock Tailgate at Clarion Hotel beach – Ticketed Event
o  To purchase tickets please go to http://www.clarionoc.com/

Friday, May 31- PURPLE FRIDAY!! 

6am – 10am: 98Rock Morning Show’s Bacon & Beer presented by Miller Lite
8am – 2pm: Purple Friday Caravan around Ocean City 
1pm-6pm: Playmakers and Miller Lite Bar Visits
3pm-7pm:  98Rock Live Broadcast from Clarion Hotel
7pm-10pm: 98Rock Live Broadcast presented by Miller Lite
 
Saturday, June 1

8am - 2pm: 98 Rock’s Live Broadcast from Clarion Hotel
10am-12:30pm: Ravens Roost Parade (19th St. & Baltimore Ave. to 26th St.)
12noon – 5pm: Ravens Beach Bash Presented by Miller Lite – Clarion Hotel
o  Ravens Flag Football Tournament, Beach Volleyball presented by M&T Bank and other beach games – sign up information available soon!
2pm – 6pm: Playmakers and Miller Lite Bar Visits 
8pm – 10pm: Bonfire at the Clarion Hotel beach