Maryland Fans

Many Maryland fans complained on Twitter that they missed the opening of today's Terps-Virginia game because the Richmond-New Hampshire television broadcast ran long on Comcast SportsNet. The Maryland game began at 3 p.m. Fans missed a portion of the opening quarter, which included a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by Stefon Diggs on the first play. Maryland released a statement attributed to Brian Potter of Comcast SportsNet (below): "In order to be fair to all teams and their fans, Comcast SportsNet's policy (which is similar to other sports networks)

— Joining the Big Ten means that Maryland's football team will soon have Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and other schools as new division opponents. But it also means the school's nonconference schedules are being upgraded and that some previously-scheduled games could be dropped. The Big Ten wants Maryland — which joins the conference in 2014 — and its other members to stop scheduling Football Championship Subdivision opponents. As a result, according to multiple officials, Maryland may drop at least some of their planned games with FCS schools in future seasons.

The debut of Maryland center Alex Len tonight against Albany brings to mind other first games for former Terps. Coming into College Park, most were more celebrated than 7-footer from the Ukraine, but few were as important as Len could be to this season's Maryland team. Len is something of a mystery, but there are well-respected coaches and scouts who believe that Len could become a first-round NBA draft choice. First-year Maryland coach Mark Turgeon has done his best to downplay Len's potential,  and probably won't start him right away to allow him to get acclimated.    But Len's debut certainly has Terps fans buzzing, and has Turgeon hoping that the freshman will help his young team continue to grow.

Here are thoughts on Maryland's victory over No. 2 Duke and a look ahead to the Terps' matchup with North Carolina today in the ACC tournament semifinals: Do good things come to those who wait? Maybe it's fortunate for Maryland that college basketball seasons are long. Terps fans waited this season -- not always patiently -- for young Maryland to grow up. Dez Wells said Maryland is “peaking” at just the right time. We'll see if the Terps can sustain their development.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke freshman Nate James knows the kind of reception he will get tomorrow afternoon from Maryland fans at Cole Field House. It won't be the kind usually reserved for visiting players, whether they be stars or stiffs.In James' case, that he chose the Blue Devils over the Terrapins will make it even worse."It was a pretty hard decision," James said recently, sitting at his locker in the Duke dressing room at Cameron Indoor Stadium. "A lot of people wanted me to go to Maryland, but you always have to decide what's best for yourself."

— Joining the Big Ten means that Maryland's football team will soon have Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and other schools as new division opponents. But it also means the school's nonconference schedules are being upgraded and that some previously-scheduled games could be dropped. The Big Ten wants Maryland — which joins the conference in 2014 — and its other members to stop scheduling Football Championship Subdivision opponents. As a result, according to multiple officials, Maryland may drop at least some of their planned games with FCS schools in future seasons.

It all still lives in Larry Gibson — the warm lights of Cole Field House, the coaching assistant who told him to remember "1, 2, 3, swish" before free throws, his shots that beat No. 1 Notre Dame and sent Maryland fans streaming onto the court on Super Bowl Sunday 1979. It is through pulsating, basketball-filled nights — through memories of sweat and rebounds and cheerleaders and fight songs — that Gibson, now 55, returns to his aging teammates in fleeting moments.

North Carolina@Virginia Tech 7 p.m. [ESPN] The Hokies are bubbling right along with the Terps, so Maryland fans should be rooting for Carolina. Plus, another victory for the Tar Heels makes the Terps' victory over them that much better. I think. To me, RPI still stands for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

For the next six weeks, Mondays are joining Wednesdays as "simulcast-only" days on the weekly horse-betting menu at all Maryland wagering outlets.Mondays formerly were darks days, but the change is being made so that Maryland fans can wager on Monday cards at the popular Saratoga, N.Y., and Del Mar, Calif., summer meets as well as on Monday cards from Philadelphia Park and Arlington International Racecourse.Maryland Jockey Club officials had said last week that the network would stay dark on Monday this summer, but changed their minds to accommodate fans who want to bet on the signals.

For the next six weeks, Mondays are joining Wednesdays as "simulcast-only" days on the weekly horse-betting menu at all Maryland wagering outlets.Mondays formerly were darks days, but the change is being made so that Maryland fans can wager on Monday cards at the popular Saratoga, N.Y., and Del Mar, Calif., summer meets as well as on Monday cards from Philadelphia Park and Arlington International Racecourse.

Alex Len played it coy Wednesday when asked if he'd return to Maryland for his junior season or declare for the NBA draft. The Terps' 7-foot-1 center actually prefaced his remarks by saying he hadn't thought about it, which is hard to believe, given he's projected as pretty much a consensus lottery pick if he goes pro. "I'm just trying to go ahead day by day and play every game," he told reporters in Greensboro, N.C., where the Terps will...

The regular season ended Sunday night with Maryland's opponent, Virginia, poised to claim all of the prizes that the Terps had once hoped to attain. After their 61-58 overtime victory, it is the Cavaliers - not the Terps - who are positioned for an NCAA tournament berth. It is Virginia that will boast that it didn't lose an Atlantic Coast Conference game all season at John Paul Jones Arena and has won 17 straight at home. Now the Cavaliers can also lay claim to its biggest comeback - they trailed Maryland by 17 points in the first half - since 2006 and the fifth biggest in the program's history.

What is it with Maryland and North Carolina when it comes to snowstorms? With a prediction of a major snowfall hitting the region starting Tuesday night and going well into Wednesday, the plans of many hoping to attend Wednesday night's game between the Terps and Tar Heels in College Park might be adjusted. It could mark the second time in four years that the arrival of North Carolina coincided with a blizzard. Snowpocalypse II hit the day of the 2010 game, which went on despite many Maryland fans not being able to get to Comcast Center.

Welcome back to Morning Shootaround, a regular feature this season the day after Maryland basketball games. While we can't bring you into the Terps' locker room after games - reporters haven't been allowed in there since the last couple of years under Gary Williams - we will recap what was said in the press conference afterward by Maryland coach Mark Turgeon and his players. We will give some of our own insight into what transpired on the court during the previous day's game and what the Terps will be working on at practice looking ahead to their next game.

When Maryland visited Cameron Indoor Stadium last month, Duke fans smugly expressed indifference at the impending end of a Terrapins-Blue Devils series that was once among the hottest in the country. "Don't come back," they chanted at the Terps. But there is no such exaggerated nonchalance at Maryland, where the rivalry is not fading away quietly. In College Park, it still seems personal. Maryland (17-7, 5-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) may be leaving the ACC to join the Big Ten in 2014, but players and fans still define the team's season partly by how they stack up against Duke (22-2, 9-2 ACC)

Here is a sampling of the bashing Maryland fans got on Twitter after storming the court Wednesday night when Alex Len's follow of a Pe'Shon Howard airball gave the Terps a 51-50 win over No. 14 North Carolina State. Did Maryland fans really storm the court after beating NC State or is that another hoax? -- Matt Smith ‏(@SamENole) So Maryland beat NC State for the 10th time in last 11 meetings and the fans storm the court? Apparently none of them bet on their team..

COLLEGE PARK -- What do Derrick Mercer, Tyrese Rice and Eric Maynor have in common? Maryland fans probably know all too well that each is a speedy guard who scored 18 or more points as his team - American, Boston College and Virginia Commonwealth, respectively - beat the Terrapins this season. Delaware@Maryland Tonight, 6, Comcast SportsNet, 1300 AM

St. Frances junior Dwayne Morgan took a trip down I-95 last weekend to check out Maryland's game against Georgia Southern. Morgan, a five-star prospect and the No. 3 small forward in the country according to Scout.com, apparently enjoyed his time in College Park. “It was a great visit. He had a chance to speak with the coaches. He loves the campus,” said Dwayne Wise , the general manager of Under Armour B'more's Finest, Morgan's AAU program. “He's a big fan of [Maryland coach Mark Turgeon ]

St. Frances junior Dwayne Morgan took a trip down I-95 last weekend to check out Maryland's game against Georgia Southern. Morgan, a five-star prospect and the No. 3 small forward in the country according to Scout.com, apparently enjoyed his time in College Park. “It was a great visit. He had a chance to speak with the coaches. He loves the campus,” said Dwayne Wise , the general manager of Under Armour B'more's Finest, Morgan's AAU program. “He's a big fan of [Maryland coach Mark Turgeon ]

Andy Geiger knows all about the benefits of leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference for the Big Ten. In the spring of 1994, Geiger resigned as the athletic director in College Park to take the same job at Ohio State, going from a program that was in financial distress to one that seemed to be printing money. As much as Ohio State's riches that helped fully fund 36 varsity sports at the time had to do with the passion of its fans, it also had to do with the support it received from the Big Ten. “The Big Ten is wired with the ability to change programs and grow things,” said Geiger, who earlier this year came out retirement to become the athletic director at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.