It's almost hard to believe that the 2011 regular season has come down to this, since there were several seemingly golden opportunities for the Ravens to lock up a high playoff seed a lot earlier.

No use crying about it. The Ravens have not played well on the road and need a victory over the Bengals on Sunday to finish with a .500 record away from M&T Bank Stadium. That will be no small feat with all the issues that John Harbaugh and the Ravens staff have had to deal with the past week or two, but I do believe the Ravens are the better team, so I'm still picking them to win.

The case can be made that the Bengals have more to play for, but I'm not buying that. Obviously, the Bengals want to get to the playoffs, but they aren't a real Super Bowl contender. If they get in, they'll have to win three straight playoff games on the road, which is asking way too much of a team that hasn't beaten anybody of consequence this year.

The Ravens could face the same fate if they don't beat the Bengals, but they are an experienced playoff team that has beaten a lot of good teams on the road in the regular and postseason over the past four seasons.

If the Ravens win, however, they will be in position for a very strong Super Bowl bid. I think that should give them the edge in the motivation department.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Just football
        

Clearly, no one is feeling terribly apprehensive about today's game against the Cleveland Browns, who will be starting Seneca Wallace at quarterback and playing for absolutely nothing on a day they'd rather be home with their families.

This ought to be an episode of "Fear Factor" for them, because the Ravens are still smarting from last week's embarrassing loss to the San Diego Chargers and are going to be very motivated to put on a big offensive and defensive show.

The spread on this game is almost two touchdowns and it's still pretty attractive. I'll be very surprised if the Browns score a touchdown today. I won't be surprised if they don't score at all. The only way this is a game is if the Ravens get into the egg nog too early.

So, go ahead, enjoy this Christmas treat, because the angst will return in earnest on Monday when the Ravens start preparing to play the Bengals in Cincinnati in the final game of the regular season. That's no gimme, and it might just determine whether the Ravens have a real chance to reach the Super Bowl.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Just football
        

New baseball operations guru Dan Duquette has made no secret of his desire to make international player development a high priority in the Orioles organization, so the pursuit of several Asian pitchers should not be considered surprising and should not necessarily be criticized.

Perhaps Duquette -- unlike some his predecessors -- simply is being realistic and recognizing that none of the best free agents are going to come to Baltimore at just about any price unless he can show them that the club is close enough to being competitive for them to make a real difference.

Of course, all that depends on the Orioles signing foreign (and domestic) players who make a contribution, and every one of the players coming out of Japan, Taiwan and Korea -- with the possible exception of Yu Darvish -- is a gamble. It's almost impossible to predict what they will do in the American major leagues, but if Duquette guesses right, he's got a chance to have a book written about him in a few years.

Maybe they'll call it "Yen-ball."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It was a sloppy game that featured five turnovers (by both teams) and an off-side penalty on Army that iced the game for the Midshipman, but in this rivalry, a win is a win. The Midshipman took advantage of those mistakes and two late field goals by kicker Jon Teague to defeat the Black Knights for the 10th consecutive time.

What a finish for Teague, who had suffered through a very frustrating season that featured more special teams breakdowns and blocked kicks than he'd prefer to remember. I'll be weighing in on his big day in my column for the Web site and the Sunday print edition.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Just football
        

Army's Black Knights appeared to be falling out of the 112th Army-Navy Game in the second quarter, but they rallied for two touchdowns to tie the game at 14-14 going into intermission. The Midshipmen have answered back at the start of the second half, taking advantage of a 48-yard kickoff return by Alexander Teich to score on their first possession.

Kriss Proctor went in from two yards out for his second touchdown of the game to give Navy a 21-14 lead, but this game seems to be building up to an exciting finish. Army quarterback Trent Steelman just threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Brown to tie the game.

That was just the second completed pass of the game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Just football
        

Navy quarterback Kriss Proctor just scored on a keeper play to get the Mids on the scoreboard first. It took most of the first quarter for anyone to score, because Navy fumbled the ball deep in Army territory to end a sustained drive. The Black Knights returned the favor a few minutes later and Navy pounded the ball in with about a minute left in the quarter.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama made an appearance in the CBS broadcast booth. Obama is spending the first half of the game on the Navy side of the field. He will switch to the Army side at halftime.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Just football
        

Even though this is the 112th edition of the Army-Navy Game, it's hard not to get pumped up about it when you witness the pageantry -- from the morning march on by the Corps of Cadets and Brigade of Midshipmen to the moment when the President of the United States marches to the middle of the field to toss the coin.

For the record, Army called "tails" and it was tails. Navy, wearing blue jerseys and white helmets decorated with a gold anchor, kicked off.

President Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden were joined on the field by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and other Washington dignitaries. No doubt, the Cadets and Mids were eager for the game to begin, since they have been in their seats in the 36-degree cold.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Just football
        

Of course, I don't have to remind anybody on this blog of that. With Annapolis right in the neighborhood, we all appreciate the contribution every student at the Naval Academy and West Point makes to our country. The football players will get a little more attention today, but the entire Corps of Cadets and Brigade of Midshipmen is in the house to celebrate this friendly rivalry that dates back to 1890.

If you're keeping historical score at home. That was the year Idaho and Wyoming were admitted to the union and Yosemite National Park was created by an act of Congress. Before you give me credit for being a fount of arcane information, I lifted those facts from the year-by-year section of the game program.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: News of the day
        

Major League Baseball has released new dress guidelines for the media, which include admonitions against flip flops and exposed underwear at the ballpark. I’m pretty sure I’ll be okay on the underwear front.

The dress code apparently is directed at people who dress unprofessionally, whether it be wearing team logo stuff, beachwear or skimpy attire. Hopefully, the NFL won’t follow suit or there will be no reason to go to Super Bowl Media Day.

For me, there’s a gender equity issue here. If the reporter sitting next to me can wear open-toe high heels to the game (and I’m talking about you, Roch), then why can’t I wear a $50 pair of fancy Reef flip flops?

Personally, I think the powers that be have a lot better things to do that worry about how I’m dressed. It’s not like they’re going to hang my portrait in The Louvre no matter what I’m wearing.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

The Winter Meetings officially start tomorrow, but you'll hear some Orioles news late this afternoon after the O's contingent settles into its temporary headquarters at the Anatole Hotel in Dallas.

General manager Dan Duquette will announce some more front office additions and changes, presumably including the appointment of Lee Thomas as one of his special assistants.

Dan Connolly and I will be there to bring you interviews with the new additions and will be in Dallas throughout the meetings to keep you updated on Orioles Insider and Twitter. Should be fun.

For you, not us.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Just baseball