Wisconsin

Several of the Ravens' top decision makers predictably didn't tip their hands at their annual draft luncheon yesterday in Owings Mills. However, as General Manager Ozzie Newsome, Director of Player Personnel Eric DeCosta, Director of College Scouting Joe Hortiz and head coach John Harbaugh took turns answering questions from reporters in Owings Mills, the Ravens had a representative in Madison, Wisconsin, where former Badgers center Peter Konz was...

It worked for another post-graduate quarterback. Why not Danny O'Brien? The former Maryland star decided Tuesday to transfer to Wisconsin, which won last year's inaugural Big Ten championship game thanks in part to the play of North Carolina State transfer Russell Wilson. “Our paths are kind of similar coming from the [Atlantic Coast Conference] to Wisconsin specifically, but it's a new year,” he told reporters on a conference call. “The 2012 season has yet to be written.

MONDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS Autos Brit. Touring Champ.: Brands Hatch (T) SPEEDNoon FIA W. Touring Car Champ.: Brazil (T) SPEED2 M. bask. Brown@Iowa (T) BIGTENNoon Stetson@Indiana (T) BIGTEN2 Texas-Pan American@Ohio State (T) BIGTEN4 St. John's@Detroit Mercy ESPN27 Charleston Southern@Florida State ESPNU7 C. foot.

It's never over until it's over. Arkansas and Illinois rallied from double-digit deficits for exciting wins over Texas A&M and Northwestern, respectively. Navy and TCU also had big rallies but fell short in overtime. The Luke Fickell Era may be a footnote in Ohio State history. At 3-2 and with an offense that looks like it couldn't score against a JV squad, the Buckeyes have plenty of problems. Throw in games against Nebraska, Illinois and Wisconsin this month and that could spell trouble for the first-year coach.

If you weren't watching MSNBC Tuesday night, you missed not only a great night of American politics, but also a glimpse of some of the forces that will shape the big war of 2012 that's heating up. First of all, thanks and much praise to MSNBC for putting so many resources into covering the effort by Wisconsin Democrats to take back the state senate through a recall vote of six Republican senators. The effort was a long shot given that one of the districts in which the recall took place had been GOP for over a 100 years.

I disagree with the one-sided approach Ed Schultz and MSNBC have taken in covering today's recall vote of state legislators in Wisconsin, but I praise the cable channel and its host for going out to the Midwest and covering this bellwether political and economic vote today. And while I have criticized Schultz's partisan rabblerousing, I also praise him for his ability to craft a coherent (and even brilliant if overstated) narrative to help his viewers make sense of life-changing events that are being spun like crazy by both sides and several players.

There are outrages in life so horrible that choking someone might be a reasonable response. For instance, a chokehold might be appropriate for an extremely bad dancer at a nightclub or that annoying woman who keeps talking too loudly on her Bluetooth on the bus. One outrage that does not necessitate choking, however, is disagreement over arcane, technical legal points.  Hilariously, at the Wisconsin Supreme Court they do not see it this...

I used to think the protesters in Wisconsin opposed to budget cuts (and union-weakening) might have a point. But my position has now changed because of two very firm rules I've stuck to all my life: 1) Never side with crazy people; 2) Never side with extremely stupid people.  I'm not sure which category the following protesters fall into, but it's one of the above.  As Sarah Palin was being introduced at a recent tea party rally, she was greeted with these insightful comments from the mob.  1)

George Liebmann says the Wisconsin controversy has been framed as a controversy about money ("Maryland is ripe for backlash against teachers unions," March 10). Certainly that is how the Republicans and their media supporters have tried to frame it. But people who paid attention have known all along that it was primarily about collective bargaining rights. The unions had made concessions on money issues and were prepared to make some others, but not on bargaining. Roughly two-thirds of the people of Wisconsin agree with them.

Maryland is known as a strong union state, and it would seem improbable to Marylanders that the current battle in Wisconsin could be replicated here. Maryland's budget deficit is less pronounced than that of Wisconsin, though its combined state debt and pension deficits place it among the top 20 states in debt burden. It retains its triple A bond rating largely because of constitutional provisions that are being eroded and because its electorate has many public workers not resistant to new taxation.