Five things for Baltimore fans to be thankful for

5. A game-changer like Marshal Yanda

How often have you heard of an offensive lineman being refered to as a game-changer? It’s not often. When even though the Ravens lost, it was clear that even a banged-up Marshal Yanda made a world of difference for the offense. The Ravens struggled to get their ground game going when Yanda was out with an injury that threatened at the possibility of him being put on injured reserve. He toughed out the paing, though suited up against Dallas, moved to left guard and they team ran right behind him for 6.3 yards per carry. Penalties hurt the Ravens ability to run in the second half, but in the first for sure they were very much in the game because Yanda was dominating the game like he was.

4. A star like Manny Machado

Baltimore baseball fans absolutely know we can’t take this run of success of the birds for granted. That team was not kind to us for a long, long time but they got things turned around and the continued hope of success lies more on one many than anybody else: Manny Machado. At just 24-years-old, Machado is on the short-list of the best players in the game. His incredible athleticism makes him a star defensively and his power and plate vision make thing a threat to hit a bomb every time he takes an at-bat. Machado already has three All-Star appearances and two gold gloves. Impressively, in just his fourth year as a pro he has 699 hits in his career and 105 home runs. The scary part is, he’s still getting better.

3. The possibility of bowl eligibility

Maryland only has one game left, but that could be an absolutely huge one for them. Going in as heavy favorites against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, a victory would make Maryland Bowl eligible. After just how miserable the Terps were last season, that would be a tremendous turnaround for the program. DJ Durkin seems like he truly is the right guy to turn Maryland into the football program the school has always dreamed of becoming. His first season can start with a real bang if they beat Rutgers. All Maryland wanted was a chance at the end of the year to possibly play in the postseason, and they got it.

2. Mid-Major depth

The Maryland men’s basketball team might not be a blue blood of the sport on the level of teams like Kentucky or Duke, but they are definitely one of the premier, power-house programs in the country. They will always be Maryland’s pride and joy when it comes to the hardwood, but local college basketball fans can be thankful that they definitely have more to be excited about this year than just one team. The Towson Tigers have everything a mid-major team needs to get to the NCAA Tournament. This year, really, truly could be their year to break out and into March Madness. So far, they are 2-2, but one of their losses was a close one at Maryland and their second one was against the ACC’s Boston College. Even in both losses Towson showed they are very good and will trouble everybody in the CAA. UMBC was in the NCAA Tournament nine years ago. They went through some rough times, but under new head coach Ryan Odom, they are 4-1, off to their best start since that championship year with a player like Jairus Lyles who certainly has to be considered to be in the running for America East Player of the Year. Morgan State, Coppin State, Navy, Loyola; Maryland is a special state with a ton of Division I colleges all in close proximity. If you love college basketball, you take a short drive anywhere and get to watch some games. It’s great.

1. Kevin Plank

Kevin Plank deserves a shout-out. Here is a guy who has made billions of dollars be creating this incredible athletic closing line Under Armour. He doesn’t have to do anything else by cash his paychecks, but Kevin Plank is a guy so passionate about sports and Baltimore that is is going everything he can to make the sports scene as great as it can be in his state. Aside from giving schools uniform deals, he’s had big interests in helping restore the state’s Horseracing tradition, he’s build sports field throughout the city so youths have great places to play. He’s invested a lot in this city, more than just in sports.

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Corey Johns

Editor in Chief

You could say Corey was born to become a sports journalist. His father won a national championship coaching college soccer. His mother is a baseball fanatic who hasn't missed seeing an Orioles game since 1983 (literally, sometimes it's annoying). His great uncle was a big-time boxing promoter and his maternal grandfather was once a department head at the Baltimore Sun. Basically, sports and journalism run through his blood. He played just about every little league sports there was when he was a kid and was a multi-sport athlete in high school; even playing in the first-ever high school sanction Rugby game in the country. Eventually he retired from sports as an undefeated Maryland state Rugby champion as a high school senior. Perhaps lack of athletic talent has more to do with the retirement, but he will tell you that it more had to do with a great desire to jump right into media. Upon his graduation from University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a triple communications major, Corey started the So Much Sports network and has continued to grow his websites and continues to work to make them premier sports media outlets.

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