Young Guys

COLLEGE PARK - The Maryland Terrapins needed six weeks of preseason practice to lay a foundation blending senior leadership and promising youngsters. They added two building blocks by earning victories in their new arena against opponents who are not in the class of the defending NCAA men's basketball champions. But the early-season schedule is about to provide a slap. Over the next two weeks, the No. 11 Terps could face three Top 20 teams, starting with their first road trip of the season on Tuesday.

Greivis Vasquez guarded Kobe Bryant over the summer at the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament. But you probably knew that already, and it didn't surprise you that the University of Maryland guard, coming off his freshman season, went chest to chest with possibly the best player on the planet. Vasquez also faced off last summer with the video of his Terps' NCAA tournament loss to Butler in March. You might not have known that. But all his coaches and teammates knew it. And for Vasquez, that might have been tougher than checking Kobe.

For a lengthy period of time, Maryland's coaching staff has raved about Joel Statham's potential. But the raves, though frequent over the past eight months, always came with caveats. If he could just relax in front of crowds, they said, he'd gain more confidence. If he could ignore his natural instincts, they said, focus instead on his footwork and his ability to read coverage, he'd get the ball to the right guy nearly every time. If he could simply cut down on his mistakes, they said, if he could take a sack or throw the ball away instead of forcing it, he'd give his team a chance to win every time out. All those statements are still true about Statham, but four games into his sophomore year, some of the raves no longer need caveats.

With their record-setting defense almost intact from last season, and the offense upgraded with the free-agent additions of quarterback Elvis Grbac and offensive tackle Leon Searcy, the Ravens turned their attention at training camp yesterday to a rebuilding group: special teams. The unit participated in its first full practice of the summer at Western Maryland College from 3 to 4 p.m., focusing on fundamentals and assignments. "Our depth and experience in special teams is my biggest concern right now," coach Brian Billick said.

DETROIT - - Officially, the Orioles lost their fourth straight Monday night, when Clete Thomas' 426-foot missile landed over the center field wall for a 6-5 Detroit Tigers victory in the bottom of the ninth. In reality, the Orioles handed the game over in the first, when their right-handed phenom struggled to preserve a five-run lead and their offense couldn't keep piling on after initially bashing one of baseball's best pitchers. The Orioles (44-61) have lost 13 of their 17 games since the All-Star break, and nine have come by two runs or fewer.

At 31, Anquan Boldin is the oldest receiver on the Ravens roster by a few years (newcomer Jacoby Jones is closest in age at 27). Some of his fellow wide-outs were in middle school when he broke into the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals nine years ago, and they no doubt grew up watching him score touchdowns on TV. Boldin laughed Wednesday when asked about resuming his leadership role among the Ravens' relatively inexperienced wide receiving corps....

Unable to lure any free-agent pitchers to Camden Yards for more than a visit, the Orioles are finding the trade market to be just as challenging. The Oakland Athletics sent right-hander Tim Hudson to the Atlanta Braves yesterday for three players after failing to work out a deal with the Orioles, who had engaged in talks with general manager Billy Beane during the winter meetings. Beane wanted the Orioles to relinquish young pitchers Erik Bedard, John Maine and Hayden Penn in exchange for Hudson, who can become a free agent after next season.

The Orioles assigned Gregg Zaun to the Florida Marlins yesterday, completing the trade for pitcher Terry Mathews. But Zaun did not go quietly, saying that he believes he was lied to and that some of his former veteran teammates did nothing to help young players."

TORONTO -- When Daniel Cabrera was hammered for seven runs by Boston in his 2006 debut, it was Orioles reliever LaTroy Hawkins who took a seat next to the 24-year-old starter, and told him to forget about the outing. When reliever Eric DuBose was optioned to Double-A Bowie, it was Hawkins who sought out the pitcher and reminded him that he was still relatively young and there would be better days ahead. In his short time with the Orioles, Hawkins, who was acquired in a December trade with San Francisco for Steve Kline, has become one of the clubhouse leaders.

Even though right-hander Jason Hammel is - at the age of 29 - the oldest pitcher in the Orioles' starting rotation, manager Buck Showalter has been careful in not labeling him the sage of the quintet. Instead, Showalter had lumped Hammel with the rest of his young starters - as promising arms still learning how to establish themselves. In fact, the Orioles weren't quite sure what they were getting in Hammel, who came to Baltimore with an ERA just south of 5.00. He was the odd man out on a young, talented Rays pitching staff and traded to Colorado following the 2008 season.