Preseason

Duke's Kyle Singler was the leading vote-getter and only repeat selection for the Associated Press preseason men's basketball All-America team announced Monday, while North Carolina's Harrison Barnes became the first freshman to make the list since voting began in 1986. Joining Singler (62 votes) and Barnes (17) on the team were Kansas State's Jacob Pullen (53), BYU's Jimmer Fredette (49) and Purdue's JaJuan Johnson (46). •Michigan State guard Korie Lucious , who pleaded guilty in September to misdemeanor reckless driving, was suspended by coach Tom Izzo for next week's regular-season opener against Eastern Michigan as well as Tuesday night's preseason game with Saginaw Valley State.

Right before the season started, Ed Encina. Pete Schmuck and I put together our predictions for the team. We published half of those prognostications before Opening Day. I held onto the other 10 for a while. I think it is more fun to see some of the predictions as the season begins to unfold. As you will read, we all thought Matt Wieters was primed to have the best year of any current Oriole. And we didn't think Freddy Garcia would get an extended look. Remember, before you rip us for being out of touch, not one game had been played before we made these calls.

Team (record)/Last season's rank 1. Northwestern (21-2)/1 2. Maryland (21-2)/2 3. Florida (16-4)/5 4. Duke (15-5)/4 5. North Carolina (15-6)/3 6. Princeton (12-7)/9 (tie) 7. (tie) Loyola (17-3)/6 7. (tie) Penn (11-6)/9 (tie) 9. Dartmouth (11-5)/13 10. Boston College (12-7)/12 11. Virginia (9-9)/15 12. Syracuse (10-8)/16 13. Georgetown (9-8)/18 14. James Madison (15-4)/11 15. Harvard (10-6)/NR 16. Albany (18-1)

The Ravens 2013 preseason schedule is highlighted by a prime-time home game against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, Aug. 22 at M&T Bank Stadium, the NFL announced today. That game, which will be the third of four preseason games for the Super Bowl XLVII champions, will start at 8 p.m. and be televised by ESPN. The Ravens will open up the preseason against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The exact date and time of the game has yet to be announced. In Week Two of the preseason, the Ravens will host the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday, Aug. 15 at M&T Bank Stadium.

Shannon Ryan's Preseason Top 25 1. Kansas: Every top player from last season's Sweet 16 returns for coach Bill Self. 2. Michigan State: Three starters are back from last season's national runner-up team. 3. Texas: With this much depth, the Longhorns can expect to be in the Final Four. 4. Kentucky: Coach John Calipari is playing with the big boys now in the Bluegrass State. 5: North Carolina: Huge losses? So what? North Carolina just reloads.

It's time for the games to begin. The Orioles open the exhibition season on Wednesday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays in what will be the O's' Grapefruit League debut as the permanent spring resident at Ed Smith Stadium. "Everybody is anxious to get the spring training games under way," said manager Dave Trembley. Jeremy Guthrie will take the mound for the O's against Tampa Bay's James Shields. Newly signed left-hander Will Ohman and right-hander Matt Albers also are scheduled to pitch for the Orioles, along with several other unannounced relievers.

A recap of the Ravens' 24-3 loss at the Washington Redskins on Saturday: Thumbs up Chris Redman quarterbacked the Ravens into Washington territory four times in the second half, but he failed to produce a point. ... Rookie quarterback Kyle Boller was 7-for-7 for 59 yards in his last - and only productive - drive. ... Former Morgan State receiver Marc Lester had the Ravens' lone catch over 15 yards, pulling down a 36-yard reception. ... Right tackle Orlando Brown played in his first game in three years.

College lacrosse Virginia men ranked preseason No. 1 The Virginia men's lacrosse team was picked by Lacrosse Magazine to repeat as NCAA champion, as was the Northwestern women's team. Three area Division I men's teams are ranked in the magazine's preseason Top 20: No. 3 Johns Hopkins, No. 7 Maryland and No. 19 Loyola. On the women's side, Maryland is ranked second in Division I and Loyola is 10th. Cornell senior attackman Rob Pannell was chosen as Division I men's preseason Player of the Year, and Northwestern senior midfielder-attacker Shannon Smith took the top women's honors.

Joe Flacco will have an abbreviated window to orchestrate the Ravens' offense Thursday night at the Georgia Dome. That's because coach John Harbaugh has no plans to deviate from his traditional blueprint for the opening preseason game. The starters will only make a brief appearance against the Atlanta Falcons. "Hopefully, my expectations will be we get the ball, whether it's to open the game or once they turn the ball over on downs or whatever happens and we go down and score a touchdown," Flacco said.

The Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches (MSABC) has named its preseason all-state baseball team. A banquet honoring the pre-season All-State team as well as the coaches of the year will be held Febr. 18 at Camden Yards.  For more information visit the MSABC's website at www.marylandbaseball.org . The 2012 Preseason All-Star Baseball Team Cody Acker, sr.  - Blake 1B Cody Brittain, sr. - North Harford P Brandon Cavil, sr. - Severna Park C Austin Clark, sr.  - Spalding P Jamal Clarke, sr.  - Spalding OF Canaan Cropper, jr. - JM Bennett P Michael Flack, sr.  - Whitman SS Nick Freeburger, sr.  - Spalding 1B Joe Kotler, sr. - Severn School P Lee Lawler, sr.  - Reservoir P Lee Lipinski, sr. - Calvert Hall 1B Andrew Massey, sr.  - Liberty P Sean Miller, sr.  - Spalding P Scott Mitchell, jr. - South River P Kevin Mooney, sr. - North Harford P Nick Moylan, sr. - DeMatha Catholic P Alex Murphy, jr. - Calvert Hall C Connor Oliver, sr. - DeMatha Catholic P Brandon O'Malley, sr.  -  Northeast P Alex Pastorius, sr. - Calvert Hall OF Travis Phelps, sr. - Thomas Johnson P Zach Piazza, jr.  - Huntingtown SS Bill Plante, sr. - Quince Orchard C Ryan Ripken, sr.  - Gilman 1B Bobby Schultz, sr. - St. Michael's- P Bryan Smith, sr.  - Frederick P Sean Stephenson, sr. - DeMatha Catholic...

Stephen Banick has yet to play in a game this season for Stevenson, and it appears that his absence will extend for the remainder of the year. The sophomore attackman suffered an injury in the preseason unrelated to the left leg that he broke in the Mustangs' loss to Salisbury in the semifinal round of the 2012 NCAA tournament on May 20. Coach Paul Cantabene said Thursday morning that sitting the rest of the season and applying for a medical redshirt...

1. Calvert Hall Coach: Bryan Kelly Last season: 16-2, No. 1 Postseason: MIAA A Conference champion Outlook: Despite graduating 21 players, including a number of key members from last year's title team, the Cardinals still have quality talent at every position. They also have something no other team has: Stephen Kelly. The All-Metro first-team midfielder is the area's best all-around player. 2. Boys' Latin Coach: Bob Shriver Last season: 14-7, No. 3 Postseason: MIAA A Conference semifinalist Outlook: The Lakers can make a strong argument for being No. 1 with impressive numbers to support it. They have seven of their eight top scorers back from last year - led by do-it-all attackman Shack Stanwick and All-Metro first-team defenseman Mac Pons.

Brady Acker Atholton, junior, outfielder After batting .351 with 21 stolen bases last season, Acker earned a spot on this year's Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches' preseason All-State team. UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Wilmington, George Mason and George Washington are among the schools recruiting the Raiders' leadoff hitter. Logan Dubbe Glenelg, senior, pitcher-outfielder An All-Howard County first-team selection, Dubbe was 6-2 with a 1.04 ERA and 56 strikeouts in a team-leading 52 innings pitched last season.

No. / School / Prev. 1. / McDonogh / 1 2. / Liberty / 2 3. / Hereford / 3 4. / Severna Park / 4 5. / South River / -- 6. / John Carroll / -- 7. / Dulaney / -- 8. / Milford Mill / -- 9. / Western Tech / 8 10. / Northwestern / -- Other teams considered: Franklin, Harford Tech, River Hill, Western

Over the last two weeks, the Ravens' starters have remained in preseason form. The first-team offense has gotten in the end zone once on seven total drives. The first-team defense has barely touched the opposing quarterback while the secondary has allowed a receiver to eclipse the 100-yard plateau in consecutive weeks. With the starters expected to play sparingly - if at all - in next week's preseason finale against the St. Louis Ramsat the Edward Jones Dome, the Ravens' Thursday night matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars at M&T Bank Stadium is essentially their last chance to build some momentum heading into the Sept.

Al Saunders has a saying about preseason contests. "The games don't count, but they matter," the Ravens senior offensive assistant has said on more than one occasion. That statement resonated with defensive tackle Lamar Divens. "I think Coach Saunders said it best," Divens said. "All of them matter to me. They're pretty big. " The significance of Thursday night's game at the St. Louis Rams — the final one of the preseason — looms large for several Ravens players who are not assured of a spot on the 53-man active roster.