Training Camp

Instead of giving Ravens fans the game ball, head coach John Harbaugh should give them training camp in Westminster, Md. again.Harbaugh made a nice gesture after Saturday's win against Cleveland, and he presented fans with a game ball. He said the ball would be on display over at The Castle. The presentation was made to the fans because the Ravens finished the 2011 season undefeated at home.I'm sure fans appreciate this honor even though Harbaugh alienated quite a few of them when the Ravens announced several weeks ago they weren't going to have training camp in Westminster any longer.But if he really wanted to show how much he appreciates them he should re-open training camp in Westminster.

As the vice president of administration and finance at McDaniel College, Ethan Seidel negotiates a variety of contracts. He learned long ago that no matter how promising things look, there is always reason for a little angst until signatures have been put to paper. So even as Seidel continues to have conversations with the Ravens about keeping the Westminster school as the team's long-term training camp home, an agreement has yet to be reached between the two sides, and each passing day allows for more anxiety.

Restaurant owner Harry Sirinakis got a taste of summer in Westminster without the Ravens this year during the NFL lockout. When the team canceled its annual training camp at McDaniel College, fewer people visited Sirinakis' place on Main Street. He didn't hire the extra servers he had in summers past. On Friday, Sirinakis and others in the Carroll County town of 18,000 got the news that the Ravens would not return. The team announced that it would hold future training camps at its Owings Mills facility, ending a long-standing relationship with McDaniel and shutting out fans from most of its preseason workouts.

Calling it a "difficult" decision that admittedly "takes away an important part of our connection with our fans," Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and the team announced Friday, Dec. 2, that the Ravens will not return to McDaniel College in Westminster for its 2012 training camp, but instead will hold camp at the team's Owings Mills facility. "We've had long, serious discussions about this decision," said team president Dick Cass in a statement, "and, when all is said and done, we believe we can better prepare for the season by holding training camp here as opposed to McDaniel College or any other facility away from here.

Westminster, the Carroll County town that dresses up in purple each August, became one of the early casualties of the NFL lockout Wednesday when the Ravens cancelled this year's training camp at McDaniel College. Citing the uncertainty surrounding the lockout and the potential for a reduced training period, the Ravens announced they will practice at their Owings Mills facility this summer. While Westminster figures to take a hit of as much as $2.2 million without training camp, the big losers appear to be Ravens fans.

Through Aug. 18, McDaniel College, Westminster. Today: 8:15 a.m. to 10:35 a.m.; 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ONLINE For training camp updates, go to baltimoresun.com/ravenscentral

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Orioles are on the field doing some pre-workout stretching as I type.  It looks like we're going to avoid the thunderstorms that were predicted to go through the Sarasota area. The weather's been incredible here so far -- knock on wood. I talked a little bit to Orioles non-roster invitee Nick Johnson this morning. Everyone says if Johnson can stay healthy, he has a really good shot of making this team. He would be a nice compliment to Chris Davis at first and Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette likes his track record of having a good on-base percentage.