Hip

Brian Roberts knew going into his minor league rehab assignment with short-season Class-A Aberdeen that it might be the last few innings of baseball he would play this season. A second opinion on the torn labrum in his right hip gave the second baseman optimism that he might be able to return to help the Orioles for the stretch run. An initial review suggested surgery. Roberts wanted to test his own limits, and in his first game with Aberdeen on Saturday, he played the entire game.

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts will begin an injury-rehab assignment tonight in Aberdeen -- Baltimore's short season Single-A affiliate -- as first reported by MASNsports.com. Roberts has been on the disabled list since July 3 with a labral tear in his right hip, and has been trying to avoid season-ending surgery. Roberts missed time earlier in the year with concussion symptoms, but hit only .182 in his 17 games with the club before injuring his hip. He hasn't played in a game since July 1. He is expected to start at second base tonight for the IronBirds, but it's unclear whether or not he is ready to play in an entire game yet. If Roberts' rehab stint doesn't go according to plan, he is facing surgery that generally carries a 4-6 week recovery time, effectively ending his season.

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is still considering his options after receiving a second opinion on his injured hip earlier this week, a club source said. Roberts was disagnosed with a right labral hip tear after returning to Baltimore from the west coast for an MRA. Roberts visited a hip specialist in Atlanta to seek a second opinion. Roberts is deciding whether he will opt for surgery, which would take at least two months of recovery time, or try to rehab the injury on his own. The 34-year-old Roberts made an emotional return from a 13-month absence from multiple concussions last month, but his return lasted just 17 games.

The Orioles received bad news regarding the health of second baseman Brian Roberts on Friday. The results of an MRA taken Thursday revealed that Roberts has a right hip labral tear. It is a tear in the cartilage that surrounds the outside of the hip bone.  The injury would likely require surgery, but Roberts will first get a second opinion from a hip specialist in Atlanta before deciding his next step. “I traded texts with [Roberts] back and forth, obviously a little depressed about the physical issue,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

When Baltimore rapper DDm began writing the songs for his new mixtape, he looked to Omar Little, the ruthless-yet-honorable stickup man from "The Wire," for inspiration. Omar, like DDm, was raw, aggressive — and gay. DDm saw enough in common with Omar that he named his mixtape, which drops next month, "The Omar Tape. " "Omar was, of course, homosexual — but was respected and feared in a lot of cases, and I feel such a correlation in terms of that," said DDm, who performs on the main stage at the Baltimore Pride Block Party on Saturday.

Ravens cornerback Cary Williams attended Wednesday's organized team activity, marking the second straight week he has been on hand for the voluntary workouts. His presence was notable because he is recovering from offseason hip surgery and also because of his clouded contract situation. The 27-year-old began the offseason as a restricted free agent, but signed his one-year tender in early May. The Ravens had expressed an interest in reaching a long-term contract extension with Williams and have had discussions with his agent, who also represents fellow Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb.

Even a sore left hip won't prevent Steele Stanwick from making his customary start in Saturday's showdown between No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 Johns Hopkins. The senior attackman has been bothered by a hip injury that was most noticeable during the Cavaliers' 9-8 overtime win against Cornell at the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic on March 10. The pain flares up occasionally as it did during practice Monday when he doubled over after scoring a goal. But Stanwick said the injury is not serious.

Atlanta rapper talks 'TM103,' not making 'Hottest MCs' list Last week, MTV's hip-hop brain trust revealed its annual "Hottest MCs in the Game" list - seemingly one of the few measuring sticks rap artists take seriously, and thus take issue with - and Young Jeezy was conspicuously missing from it. Excluding the Atlanta rap veteran from the Top 10 ignores the recent triumph of his oft-delayed fourth album, "Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz...

Jordan Wolf is expected to return to practice Tuesday after suffering a hip injury in No. 9 Duke's 7-3 loss to No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday. The sophomore attackman left the game in the second half and did not return, but coach John Danowski said Tuesday morning that he is optimistic that Wolf will practice and be available for Friday night's contest against No. 15 Penn. “If he's at practice today, yeah, sure,” Danowski said of whether Wolf could play Friday. “We haven't practiced yet, so I don't know what's going to happen.

He is one of the city's most promising rappers, but Kane Mayfield has yet to release a solo debut - because the 29-year-old and his label, Baltimore's Mania Music Group, "believe in quality control. " Mayfield says he submits six to 10 recordings to Mania each month, but most of it is never heard by the public. "Everything I write ain't good," he said bluntly. Maintaining high standards makes it easier for Mayfield to draw fans, he said. One song deemed worthy of hearing is "Hello," the first single from his solo project due out later this year.