Training Camp

Jonathan Ogden hopped on a plane in Los Angeles late Monday night, made it here early yesterday, signed a contract that made him a rich man, then went to bed during the first training-camp practice in Ravens history.By noon, the team's top draft pick was smiling, though looking a little groggy, and sounding eager to put on some pads, which he donned for his first practice at Western Maryland College yesterday afternoon.Ogden, 6 feet 8 and 320 pounds, was by far the biggest and most expensive rookie on the field.

The common conclusion from the Ravens' decision to re-sign Bryant McKinnie was that the organization wasn't yet comfortable with the idea of Kelechi Osemele starting at left tackle. I'm sure there is plenty of truth to that even though team officials suggest that's not the case. However, the reason why the McKinnie move was a no-brainer - at least in my mind - was that the Ravens couldn't risk potentially weakening two positions along the offensive line. Osemele may very well develop into a quality left tackle in the NFL. However, who replaces Osemele at left guard?

Purple, black and gold will be the prevailing colors in Westminster during the next three weeks as the Baltimore Ravens football team converges for its annual training camp at McDaniel College. With the city's 11th temporary transformation into Ravenstown, staffers with the college, the Ravens and local businesses prepared for an influx that county officials estimate could amount to as many as 100,000 visitors. "It's always nice to give the fans a good experience out here," said Brian Kasabula, fan development coordinator for the Ravens.

After three weekends of training camp, the defending Major League Lacrosse champion Chesapeake Bayhawks have announced their 25-man roster heading into Saturday night's season opener at the Rochester Rattlers. The Bayhawks, one of the most experienced and deepest teams in MLL, return numerous veteran standouts, including 2012 Championship Weekend MVP Ben Rubeor (Loyola High). But there are also talented new faces who made a big impression on coach Dave Cottle during training camp, including Germantown native Grant Kaleikau and J.P. Dalton (Loyola University, St Mary's)

Purple, black and gold will be the prevailing colors in Westminster during the next three weeks as the Baltimore Ravens football team converges for its annual training camp at McDaniel College. With the city's 11th temporary transformation into Ravenstown, staffers with the college, the Ravens and local businesses prepared for an influx that county officials estimate could amount to as many as 100,000 visitors. "It's always nice to give the fans a good experience out here," said Brian Kasabula, fan development coordinator for the Ravens.

When the new-look Ravens open minicamp in two weeks, they will welcome back a familiar face. Running back Jamal Lewis will return to the practice field for the first time since suffering a season-ending knee injury on Aug. 8. The Ravens' leading rusher during their Super Bowl championship run in 2000, Lewis is expected to participate in the non-contact camp that runs from April 26 to April 28. "Everybody's anxious to see him actually out there," Ravens...

AND THE WINNER IS…: During a full-team exercise pitting the first offense against the first defense, the defense stood supreme. In five snaps, quarterback Joe Flacco was sacked by defensive end Trevor Pryce, linebacker Jarret Johnson and strong safety Dawan Landry. The defense jumped offsides once and Flacco completed a mid-range pass to wide receiver Anquan Boldin. PLAY OF THE DAY: That's not to say, however, that the offense was a complete failure. Backup quarterback Marc Bulger and wide receiver Donte' Stallworth connected on a perfect up-and-out that left cornerback Cary Williams several yards behind and Stallworth streaking to the end zone for a 78-yard touchdown.

The last time training camp was really important was in 1992. That was the year before the NFL allowed its teams to have organized team activities. Combined with passing camps, OTAs diminished the importance of training camps, which are now more for working out kinks, adding a few wrinkles and building camaraderie. That's contrary to the philosophy in past decades, when training camps were used to get players in shape for the coming season. But now, we're back to the old days.

The Ravens will open three practices to the public during training camp for free, the team announced. Players will begin reporting to the Under Armour Performance Center the week of July 22. Training camp will officially begin July 26. The three open practices to the public will be: *Aug. 4 at M&T Bank Stadium at 5 p.m. *Aug. 12 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at 5 p.m. *Aug. 19 at Mustang Stadium at Stevenson University at 3:30 p.m. All dates are subject to change.

The Ravens have finalized a one-year contract with veteran quarterback Caleb Hanie, according to a league source. Hanie is in Baltimore today and will immediately join the Ravens' offseason conditioning program. The Ravens later announced the deal. In Hanie, the Ravens have added another quarterback for training camp and provided Tyrod Taylor with competition for the backup job. "He's a talented guy," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "He's played in games and maybe hasn't been in the ideal situation for him yet. Based on the evaluation of our pro personnel department and our coaches, they felt like he fit us pretty well.

The Chesapeake Bayhawks and Denver Outlaws will conduct a joint open tryout Saturday, March 9 in Gambrills to fill out their training camp rosters. All players must be registered in the Major League Lacrosse Player Pool in order to try out. The nonrefundable registration fee is $125. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged. Players can register here . At least one player each season has been invited to training camp. The tryout will consists of a brief combine testing each player's height, weight, 40-yard dash time and vertical jump. Players will then run through competitive drills and gamelike situations led by coaches and staff.

Colleges Johns Hopkins football piles up Centennial honors Johns Hopkins nearly pulled off a clean sweep of the Centennial Conference's major football awards, landing the league's Offensive Player, Defensive Player and Coach of the Year honors. Senior running back Jonathan Rigaud was named Offensive Player of the Year, while senior linebacker Taylor Maciow was named Defensive Player of the Year and Jim Margraff nabbed Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season.

Many NFL coaches are quick to suggest that the rigors of training camp can shape a player's propensity for success during the regular season. Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt may be the poster boy who dispels that notion. Watt leads the league in sacks (9 1/2) and ranks first on the team in both tackles (48) and tipped passes (eight). He has tied a franchise record with a sack in six straight games to open the season, and he accomplished all this in just his second year as a pro despite missing the bulk of training camp and every preseason game due to a dislocated left elbow.

Billy Cundiff won't get his chance for redemption, at least not in a Ravens' uniform. A little more than seven months after he missed a 32-yard field goal that thwarted the Ravens' Super Bowl hopes and just three days after he was benched for an undrafted rookie in the third preseason game, Cundiff was waived by the Ravens today, according to multiple sources. The move, which was extremely unexpected when training camp began but became self evident when Cundiff did not kick at all in the team's 48-17 victory over the Detroit Lions on Thursday, leaves the Ravens' kicking job to Justin Tucker, a rookie free agent out of Texas.

Dannell Ellerbe thought about the question for a moment and then respectfully requested a minute to think about an appropriate answer. The truth was that it had been a long time since the Ravens' inside linebacker had last felt 100 percent, but he smiled when he finally recalled the day. "Oh, [it was] St. Louis last year," Ellerbe said following the Ravens' practice at Stevenson University. Ellerbe, 26, hurt his hamstring in the Ravens' Week 3 blowout of the Rams last season.

When Bryant McKinnie reported to Ravens training camp on July 30, the thought was that it wouldn't be too long before the 11-year veteran regained his role as the starting left tackle. But two games into the preseason, Michael Oher is still the starting left tackle, rookie Kelechi Osemele is the starting right tackle, and McKinnie is anchoring the left side of the second offensive line. If McKinnie is supposed to frustrated at the delay, that's news to him. “I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do,” he said after the team's 27-12 loss to the Detroit Lions Friday night at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Second-year offensive tackle Jah Reid , a potential key reserve along the offensive line, is practicing today for the first time during training camp. Reid had been sidelined with a strained right calf muscle that he initially hurt during the mandatory veteran minicamp in mid-June. Reid then aggravated the injury preparing for training camp. Wide receiver Tandon Doss (hamstring) and cornerback Chykie Brown (hamstring) also returned to practice today, and linebacker and special teams ace Brendon Ayanbadejo , who left yesterday's practice early because of some knee discomfort, is participating as well.