Raiders

PASSING Att. Com. Pct. Yds. TD Int. Lg. Rat. J. Russell 232 111 47.8 1185 3 10 86t 49.6 Gradkowski 150 82 54.7 1007 6 3 75t 80.6 C. Frye 62 35 56.5 401 0 4 33 49.2 M. Bush 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 ...

News Roundup •••• "Tomb Raider," a reboot of the classic series, has been delayed until Q1 of 2013. Darrell Gallagher, head of Crystal Dynamics (who is developing the game), announced the news via a post on the Eidos forums. [ Gamespot ] •••• Investors are trying to recoup their losses on a failed "Stargate" MMORPG that was due to launch in 2010. Things have gone to court, with the game's developer alleged to have mislead investors to the tune of $50 million.

By the numbers 2 Years in a row the Ravens have made the playoffs under coach John Harbaugh. 3 Rushing touchdowns scored by Willis McGahee against the Raiders on Sunday. 14 Touchdowns by McGahee this season. 102 Season-low passing yardage by Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. 123 Catches by the Patriots' Wes Welker, who was injured Sunday and might be out for the postseason.

No. 7 Maryland's defensive approach to Saturday's road contest against No. 12 Colgate sounds like a simple task: pay a lot of attention to Peter Baum. That's easier said than done. The junior attackman leads Division I in points per game (5.7) and goals per game (3.9) and was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year last week. The Terps are still debating whether to assign sophomore Michael Ehrhardt or freshman Goran Murray to Baum, but Ehrhardt - who has shadowed Johns Hopkins senior atatckman Chris Boland and Navy sophomore attackman Tucker Hull this season - said Baum is unlike any other player the defense and defensive coordinator Kevin Warne has faced thus far. “He can do everything,” Ehrhardt said.

1 Run Ray Rice. It's stating the obvious, but the Raiders rank 29th against the run and have given up 21 rushing touchdowns. 2 Stop the Raiders' ground game. With the second-worst passing attack in the NFL, Oakland can only win by running the ball. 3 Finish off Oakland. The Raiders have outscored teams 136-80 in the second half this season. - Jamison Hensley

The Ravens' defensive intensity has been amazing in the postseason. Two tough, physical games and a cross-country flight could take a toll. But this team -- and especially this defense -- won't be denied. Ken Murray's prediction: Ravens, 14-12. When the Ravens have the ball The Ravens' offense has been hit-and-miss for a month now, struggling for points perhaps even more than in October's five-game touchdown drought. Back then, it produced field goals. The Ravens are averaging 78.3 rushing yards per game over the last three games, and just 104 passing yards over the last four.

Ravens quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson spent a third straight day in Oakland interviewing with the Raiders for a coaching position Thursday. Despite media reports that Raiders owner Al Davis has recently been interviewing candidates for an assistant coaching position, it should not come as a surprise if Raiders coach Tom Cable is fired and Jackson replaces him, according to a source. The Raiders could not be reached for comment. The Raiders like Jackson, 45, because he played a major part in the development of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, and Oakland also likes what he has done working with Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco the past two seasons.

Jamison Hensley Ravens, 31-10 The Raiders haven't won at an AFC North stadium since 2002. David Steele Ravens, 20-17 Even at home, they'll get a harder time from Oakland than from Miami. Edward Lee Ravens, 24-13 The Ravens have won four of the past five meetings. Make that five of the past six. Peter Schmuck Ravens, 26-12 Joe Flacco's education continues, and Matt Stover comes through with four field goals. Ken Murray Ravens, 31-0 Sebastian Janikowski will have to hit from 60 yards to get the Raiders on the board this week.

LOS ANGELES -- It began nearly four months ago on Labor Day at Candlestick Park, with the Los Angeles Raiders' great expectations giving way to grim reality and a dominant San Francisco 49ers team.Ever since, the Raiders have been fighting back, fighting to get to where they now stand.Today, the Raiders will earn the right to continue fighting.Or they will enter an off-season bathed in the disappointment of failed hopes.Against a Kansas City team that has regularly beaten them in recent years, the Raiders will try to clinch an AFC wild-card berth at the Coliseum before a sellout crowd, their first at home this season.

LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Hostetler now wants the reputation to go with the ring.Even though he quarterbacked the New York Giants to a Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills three years ago while filling in for Phil Simms, Hostetler has yet to be ranked among the game's top quarterbacks.But Hostetler took a step toward getting the respect he wants yesterday, when he bombed the Denver Broncos for 294 yards and three touchdowns to give the Los Angeles Raiders a 42-24, AFC wild-card playoff victory before 65,314 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Navy coach Rick Sowell had yet to meet his players for their first practice of the week, but he could guess at how they were feeling after Saturday's upset of No. 12 Colgate. “I think there's some hop in their giddy-up, that's for sure,” Sowell said Monday afternoon. “I think the players are excited and hopefully, that means we've got a good week of practice in store for us because it's like going from the frying pan to the fire with Lehigh up next. It certainly doesn't get any easier.

Saturday's contest between Navy and No. 11 Colgate is a showdown between two programs that have combined to capture six of the last eight Patriot League Tournament championships. The game is also a stage for the nation's top two scorers to meet on the same field. Midshipmen junior attackman Tucker Hull and Raiders junior midfielder Peter Baum have skyrocketed to the top of the chart in terms of points per game this season. Baum leads all Division I players in points per game (5.8)

Navy has cobbled together a three-game winning streak to help reduce the disappointment of a three-game losing skid earlier in the season. But victories over Lafayette, Towson and Holy Cross would pale in comparison to a triumph over Patriot League rival and No. 12 Colgate (7-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference), which plays host to the Midshipmen (4-3, 2-1) this Saturday. “We've done a good job of taking a lead into the fourth quarter and losing the games out, and hopefully, we'll find ourselves in that situation on Saturday and can get the job done,” Navy coach Rick Sowell said Thursday.

Peter Baum, Colgate Junior, Portland, Ore., midfielder Baum racked up 11 points in two victories as the Raiders improved to 7-1 and moved to No. 12. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound midfielder recorded three goals and two assists in a 17-8 rout of Binghamton on March 13 and added four goals and two assists in a 12-6 win against then-No. 15 Fairfield on Saturday. Baum, who earned his second Offensive Player of the Week award from the Patriot League this season, leads Division I in points per game (5.8)

Atholton boys basketball coach Jim Albert will go for his 400 th career win when his Raiders host Howard at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.  Albert, who is in his 31 st season, has led the Raiders to two state playoff appearances and a number of Howard County championships - the last for both coming in 2008-09 season.    

T he beeping you hear is coming from the AFC West champion Denver Broncos, who are moving in reverse, having lost three in a row. The bleeping you hear is coming from the Black Hole, which watched the Oakland Raiders blow a chance Sunday to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. How the West was won? This was more, does anybody want the West? The Broncos, who will host Pittsburgh in a first-round game, came into their finale against Kansas City in control of their own destiny.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Many Americans didn't think football should be played yesterday. The Los Angeles Raiders agreed.Instead, they observed three hours of silence, finally getting their wish in the middle of another dank Buffalo afternoon, when the Bills finally quit scoring. Fifty-one to three was quite enough.Maybe the Raiders should go back to snarling, to fighting. Maybe to spying. The Buffalo no-huddle offense that had terrorized Miami last week fell on them from above, undetected, in the AFC championship game.

Anyone who heard that Atholton completed only one pass and thatHammond's star running back Devon Paye rushed for more than 200 yards Friday night might have assumed that the host Golden Bears ran away with a victory. After all, the game was billed by some as Atholton's pass-heavy offense against Hammond's running attack. But, as it turns out, the Raiders can run the ball as effectively as they can throw it. Kenny Thomas and quarterback Brian McMahon each rushed for two touchdowns, and McMahon's lone completion was a 49-yard touchdown strike to Dequan Ellison, powering No. 6 Atholton to a 40-21 victory over No. 15 Hammond in a Howard County league game.

Of all the skills the Reservoir volleyball team showed Tuesday night, it was one you can't measure that made the biggest difference — mental toughness. The No. 11 Gators rallied from a big deficit in the first to defeat visiting No. 12 Atholton, 29-27, 25-18, 25-18, in a key Howard County league game. "When you play your rival, it's more personal," Reservoir senior Kelsea Belt said. "Some of us are good friends with the girls on that team, so we really wanted this one. The Gators (5-3, 5-2)