Game Plan

MINNEAPOLIS - There are no secrets as far as Orioles right-hander Tommy Hunter is concerned. He figures he's been a good pitcher in the past - he went 13-4 with a 3.73 ERA for the Texas Rangers in 2010 - and he'll be a good pitcher in the future. So he's not even slightly surprised that he's currently a good pitcher - in fact he's arguably the Orioles' most effective one right now. He hasn't been scored on in his last nine appearances out of the bullpen, a span of 14 2/3 innings.

The cards did not look stacked in Salisbury's favor as the reigning national champion took on the unenviable task of trying to upend undefeated Dickinson. But that is exactly what the No. 12 Sea Gulls did as they evicted the No. 2 Red Devils, 11-9, from a NCAA tournament quarterfinal Wednesday. Salisbury improved to 17-5 and will meet No. 4 Stevenson (20-2) this Sunday night for the right to advance to the title game in Philadelphia on May 26. It is a development that coach Jim Berkman is thankful for. “It was a great win on the road against a team that had an unblemished season,” he said Thursday morning.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. The Ravens unveiled their team game plan for 2009, and they won't go far from the script if the team is to be successful. It's an upgrade over last season, but is it enough to get them back to the AFC championship game? We'll see. As far as the first teams are concerned, the Ravens played fairly well against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night. On defense, they only allowed a field goal in the first half and just one big play, which came in the first quarter. The Panthers had 104 yards of total offense in the first half, and just 18 rushing yards.

MINNEAPOLIS - There are no secrets as far as Orioles right-hander Tommy Hunter is concerned. He figures he's been a good pitcher in the past - he went 13-4 with a 3.73 ERA for the Texas Rangers in 2010 - and he'll be a good pitcher in the future. So he's not even slightly surprised that he's currently a good pitcher - in fact he's arguably the Orioles' most effective one right now. He hasn't been scored on in his last nine appearances out of the bullpen, a span of 14 2/3 innings.

What's the game plan for this franchise? Only a few days into free agency, that's the burning question for the Ravens. You can get excited about re-signing running back Jamal Lewis and adding defensive players like end Trevor Pryce and tackle Justin Bannan, but there are reasons for concern. The Ravens haven't upgraded. In fact, they haven't made one single addition to improve a team that finished 6-10 last season, the most disappointing season in franchise history. The offense is still the same, the one that was ranked No. 24 in the NFL. The defense has gotten worse, losing two starting linemen - end Tony Weaver and tackle Maake Kemoeatu - who were entering the primes of their careers.

Ted Marchibroda left something to remember him by yesterday.Answering all the critics who complained about unimaginative game plans, the Ravens' coach put in some new wrinkles against the Jacksonville Jaguars."

This is the big game: Carroll County vs. State of Maryland.Lining up for Carroll are Commissioners Donald Dell, Elmer Lippy and JuliaGouge, with their budget advisers on the sideline.For the State, Gov. William Donald Schaefer and the General Assembly, with Comptroller Louis Goldstein and Treasurer Lucille Maurer onthe sideline.The contest would appear to be a bit of a mismatch,to say the least. And it's a game the locals didn't want to play.On the field, a referee's whistle: Kick-off time.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Washington Redskins team that arrived at Super Bowl XXVI last night knows little more about the Buffalo Bills than your average fan.They've only watched them on television.The Redskins not only haven't played the Bills this season, but they haven't even had a peek at the coach's game plan yet.When the Redskins had their final practice at Redskin Park yesterday before flying here where they'll train at the Minnesota Vikings' facilities, coach Joe Gibbs worked them on generic plays.

San Francisco There's an old saying in boxing that to beat the champion, you have to knock him out.It also may apply to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, who is just two victories away from becoming the first quarterback to win five Super Bowls.If the New York Giants are to deny Montana his bid for the fifth ring, they may have to score a TKO, if not a knockout, of Montana.There's no secret about the Giants' game plan in the National Football Conference title game today at Candlestick Park: They want to put a lot of pressure on Montana.

Why isn't Dwayne Johnson a big star by now? The camera loves him. He's funny, self-deprecating and takes the occasional quirky chance with an off-the-mainstream-reservation experiment like the someday-to-be-released Southland Tales. Maybe having to carry around "The Rock" as an alias or alter ego - or whatever it's supposed to be - weighs down his upward mobility. Maybe he's not stoic enough to be an action guy or too brawny to be taken seriously as a comic actor. It could be that he hasn't quite found the right vehicle to drive home his persona.

The sweat and nerves that accompanied St. Mary's journey to the NCAA tournament turned into a leisurely jaunt after the team had upset reigning national champion Salisbury, 13-11, in Sunday's final of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament and earned the automatic qualifier. It was a relaxing moment for a Seahawks program that had never advanced to the NCAA tournament until Sunday. “Well, it definitely took a little pressure off,” coach Chris Hasbrouck said with a chuckle Monday afternoon.

Coach Chris Hasbrouck was pleased to see St. Mary's play with the emotion he had hoped the team would play with as it raced out to an 8-1 advantage in the first quarter en route to a 22-5 demolition of Wesley in the first round of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday. And the No. 3 Seahawks' reward is a return matchup with York, which edged St. Mary's, 9-8, last Saturday to gain the No. 2 seed, a first-round bye, and a semifinal contest at home. “We're glad we got there to have a chance,” Hasbrouck said Thursday morning.

ESPN analyst Quint Kessenich participated in a Q&A on Monday . The former Johns Hopkins All-American goalkeeper, who can be followed on Twitter via @QKessenich, also addressed a few questions about No. 6 Maryland, No. 8 Loyola, No. 13 Johns Hopkins, Towson and UMBC: How concerned should Maryland be with an offense that has averaged just 8.0 goals in its last four contests? They've been coasting. Only eight against Carolina, nine against Virginia, 11 against Navy and then only four against Johns Hopkins.

No. 15 Johns Hopkins' 7-4 upset of No. 4 Maryland on Saturday at Byrd Stadium in College Park has the potential to be a turning point for the program, which had just labored through a four-game stretch in which it had lost three times - including two in a row. But senior midfielder John Ranagan, who sparked the Blue Jays (7-4) with a three-point effort on two goals and one assist, did not take the bait on articulating the significance of the victory over the Terps. “I'm not really sure,” he said.

Johns Hopkins has won 10 of 11 meetings in this series with Albany. All 11 contests have taken place at Homewood Field. The No. 19 Great Danes (6-3) have won five of their past six games and have secured victories over No. 9 Syracuse and 2012 Colonial Athletic Association champion Massachusetts. Albany entered the week ranked first in Division I in goals, points and assists per game. The No. 12 Blue Jays (6-3) have dropped two of their past three contests. Sophomore attackman Wells Stanwick had a four-game streak of at least four points end with just a single assist in the team's 11-10 overtime loss to No. 3 North Carolina last Saturday.

Each week, The Baltimore Sun publishes a Q&A with a college lacrosse player or coach to get you more acquainted with the player and his/her team. Today's guest is Towson fifth-year senior goalkeeper Andrew Wascavage, who entered the week ranked fourth in Division I in saves per game (13.8), fifth in save percentage (.608) and 19th in goals-against average (8.79). A St. Mary's Ryken graduate, Wascavage has made double-digit saves in every game so far and has made at least 10 saves in 12 straight contests dating to last May 2. He has been instrumental in helping power the Tigers to their first three-game winning streak, which has lifted them above .500 for the first time this season.

DENVER -- There isn't much that happens around the Denver Broncos that doesn't pass the scrutiny of coach Mike Shanahan.When he watched defensive end Neil Smith make a halfhearted charge at Miami quarterback Dan Marino in last week's AFC divisional playoff game, he brought it to the attention of the 11-year veteran on the sideline."

COLLEGE PARK -- In the end, the day belonged to Dick Watts.Watts stunned the lacrosse world and his critics yesterday, coaching unranked University of Maryland Baltimore County to a 15-13 victory over third-ranked Maryland at Denton Field.It was one of the major upsets of the 1991 season and will moslikely cost the Terps (8-4) a bye in the opening round of the 12-team National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament and the home-field advantage in the quarterfinals.The win touched off a wild celebration by UMBC (8-6)

As a septuagenarian (and Democrat), I was happy that President Barack Obama won re-election, but sad that the morning-after TV news shows reported the win as "the election results validated the Obama team's game plan," rather than the election was the result of a real choice of the American people ("Re-election," Nov. 7). Our elections are now reported by commentators who appear to have been trained primarily as sportscasters and who speak of who "wins" rather than who was elected, how many points ahead or behind a candidate's "game plan" may be and generally cover campaigns as sporting events.

Welcome back to football season, other brides-to-be! We all know what that means - while we continue with the wedding planning, our wonderful fiancés may now find themselves consumed with football Thursday through Monday, leaving the load on our shoulders. So how do we make it through to February without having to make all the decisions ourselves? It's time to come up with a game plan and have a little season of our own. If your fiance is a football fanatic, just take these very well known football terms for example and see how they can apply to wedding planning.