All of a sudden this Ravens receiving corps doesnt look half bad.  Anquan Boldin is, in my opinion, a legit #1 that defenses will have to account for.  That means that Derrick Mason will now be covered by the other teams 2nd corner.  Donte Stallworth will be getting one on one coverage from  the other teams nickel back, and he has to abe accounted for as well.  So now on third downs, Mark Clayton will be spied on by the defenses dimeback.  I haven’t even mentioned the dangerous Ray Rice coming out of the backfield.  Its crazy talk, but all of a sudden the Ravens might finally be able to create matchup problems.

You never know quite what you’re getting when you draft or trade for a player in the NFL.  Some guys look great at the combine or with other teams but stink it up when they move up in class or to another city.  Without going down a long list a few come to mind …Kyle Boller, Elvis Grbac seem to jump out at you.  Usually I’m a little cautious about new additions to the team but I have a great feeling about Anquan Boldin.  Not only does he seem to fit the Play Like A Raven toughness as evidenced by his seven years with Arizona.  He loves going over the middle and is strong enough to break tackles and finally gives the Ravens the guy who can actually get some yards after the catch.   All that sounds great and we finally have a respectable receiving corps. However, the best part may be what he brings as far as his persona.  He plays a position populated by prima donnas and selfish players who are simply bad team mates.  By all accounts Boldin is nothing like that.  His former team mates speak highly of him, he has said all the right things at the press conference and after talking to the Arizona receiver’s coach I feel even better.  Mike Miller sounded genuinely sad to see Q leave Arizona and anytime you get someone that is missed by his former team that’s a really good sign.   So you can keep T.O. with his bad attitude, you can keep Brandon Marshall and his off field problems and Braylon Edwards and his iron hands I’ll take Anquan Boldin . 

The honors for MD Senior point guard Grevis Vasquez have begun to pour in.  ACC player of the year, Sporting News 1st team All American, and thats just for starters.  He will be a finalist for almost all national player of the year awards, and when he leaves College Park, he’ll most likely be the 2nd leader scorer in program history.  Next to the great Len Bias, Grevis Vasquez may be the the greatest Terp of them all.

Its no secret that Im a fan of Allen Iverson the basketball player.  To me, he’s the most dominant little man in the history of the NBA.  Im a little saddened to hear of all his problems.  Stephen A. Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Iverson has severe alcohol and gambling problems.  Is gambling has gotten so serious that he’s been banned from multiple casinos.  He’s also had his wife file for divorce, and his basketball career is ending.  On the court, he was one of the toughest players I ever saw.  Off the court its obvious he has many flaws.  I just hope he’ll be able to fight through them and come out somewhat whole on the other side.

I’m going to keep this brief today but I am really angry at the obvious double standard in our country regarding who gets to say what without penalty.  I’m speaking about the comment made by Dan Rather on the Chris Matthews show.  He was explaining how the Republicans were going to attack the Democrats this fall in various elections. 

He was trying to describe how people were going to highlight Obama’s inability to get things done and said he couldn’t sell watermelons on the road if state troopers were flagging down the cars.  Now I’m not going to insult your intelligence so please don’t insult mine. Using watermelons in any metaphor describing African Americans is insulting and meant to hurt.  My problem is the fact that no one is talking about this nationally. Could you imagine if anyone else made the comment?  Imus, Rush, Hannity or even me?  The fallout would be ridiculous.  The aforementioned big names would immediately be national news and someone like me with a local radio show would become national news.

Why should Dan Rather get a free pass? Why isn’t every news outlet in America playing the clip over and over?  We all know why but I for one am really tired of the double standard.

Yes I know the alleged rape was in Reno not Vegas sorry.  I was combining the gambling issues with the alleged rape mess.

Look , given what has happened to me in life I’m the last person to cast judgement without the facts. The conduct of the Steeler’s quarterback in this specific case is not what I want to discuss.  I’d like everyone to keep an open mind and remember that he has not been charged with anything yet, just the words of a 20 year old girl.

HOWEVER, my problem with Roethlisberger is not his desire to sleep with pretty young women (he’s a 28 year old ,man for God’s sake) but rather his lack of judgement over and over.

Please remember that he nearly died a few years ago because he was riding a very powerful motorcycle without the most basic safety gear. He face plants in somebody’s windshield and nearly checked out.  He recovers and plays but according to various sources had many health issues related to the crash (double vision etc) that had him playing at a level below his ability. Ok, it’s a close call so he hopefully woke up.

Well, maybe not…this latest incident comes on the heels of an accusation of sexual assault in Las Vegas. Granted the first woman’s credibility is in serious doubt and nothing at all may come of either case but I wonder where his head is at?  This guy is an elite NFL quarterback on the freaking Pittsburgh Steelers, a team with a reputation for not putting up with non-sense from its players. So who the hell is charged with keeping an eye on their franchise QB???  While neither accusation may be even the slightest bit true it’s the perception that’s a problem.  After the problem in Vegas should you really take over a VIP room in a small town bar and prevent any other men from entering while having a steady parade of young females? Now one has accused Big Ben of following her into a bath room and assaulting her.  He should never be in these situations in the first place.  He shouldn’t be drinking to excess in public, he shouldn’t be blowing $8,000 a hand on black jack ( who are you Charles Barkley?) . He just needs to have someone older to sit his big ass down and tell him what can be lost when the entire world has cross-hairs on you. Perhaps someone who has experienced a public humiliation and lost it all over nothing. Ben needs to understand that the downside of fame is tremendous. There are women who will say you raped them hoping for a cash payout, there are guys who will provoke you to fight hoping that they get hurt badly enough to get rich quick. And yes there are unethical prosecutors who will try to make their careers on your back (has anyone heard of Mike Nifong?). 

Believe me I’d rather not have to face Roetheisberger twice a season but not because of this kind of stuff. He needs a good old fashioned talkin’ to from someone who has some life experience and even better someone who has been on the canvas and had to get up.  Someone who has lost everything because their off duty conduct attracted so much attention people were willing to do almost anything to get their names in the newspaper at their expense. I’d like to take him out for a beer and tell him my story.

The Ravens went out and got a big name WR Friday, acquiring Anquan Boldin from the Arizona Cardinals for a 3rd and  4th round draft pick (the Ravens also received Arizona’s 5th round pick in the deal).  The pressure will now be on the shoulders of Joe Flacco because with the additions of Boldin and Donte Stallworth, you cant say he doesn’t have anyone to throw to anymore.  Personally, I cant wait to see what the Ravens do next.  Regardless, they are now the favorites in the AFC North.