Designated hitter Nelson Cruz triples to right, driving in three top-of-the-ninth runs Sunday against Tampa Bay, and later hit a two-run homer in the 11th — his second of the game, for a league-leading total of 39 — as the Orioles de- feated the Rays, 7-5, in extra innings.  Cruz single-handedly drove in all seven of the Birds’ runs as the O’s continued their drive toward the 2014 playoffs.

THE UPS AND DOWNS
OF THE 2014 BIRDS

Defying odds, overcoming injuries,
finding a way to excel all-around

COLT GREATS, NOT JUST UNITAS,
DESERVE STATUES WITH LEWIS
 
By David Maril
 
As the Orioles close in on wrapping up an Eastern Division regular-season crown, it’s interesting to note the following sports topics related to Baltimore and the Land of Pleasant Living:

  No objections here to a sculpture dedicated to former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis going up in front of the team’s stadium with John Unitas.

But what about one for Hall of Famer Lenny Moore, who has spent his life in Baltimore? And how about former greats Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry and Jim Parker, who all contributed to NFL Championships here with the Colts?

While some Lewis boosters are insisting he’s the greatest linebacker in the history of the NFL, you can also make rock-solid arguments that Moore, Marchetti, Berry and Parker were among the best to ever play their respective positions as well and are responsible for putting pro football on the map in Baltimore.

  If the Orioles reach the World Series, wouldn’t it be a classy, and well-deserved move, to invite former General Manager Andy MacPhail to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at one of the home games?

We shouldn’t forget that MacPhail was the one who hired Buck Showalter, the man most responsible for the team’s resurrecting the successful “Oriole Way,” as manager.

Along with refurbishing the farm system, MacPhail engineered two of the best trades in the franchise’s history: acquiring Adam Jones and Chris Tillman, for the fading Érik Bédard, from the Mariners, and Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter from Texas for reliever Koji Uehara.

  Tillman hasn’t had a lot of luck with run support the last two seasons. Last year, with a few breaks, he could have been a 20-game winner.

This season he continues to pitch well, helping the Orioles win, but not being credited with the victories himself as often as he should.

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The new Horseshoe Casino Baltimore opened last week with much fanfare, including promos by Md.’s governor & Baltimore’s mayor.

SKEPTICISM OF DOUBLE-TALKING LEADERS
DOESN’T MAKE AMERICANS ISOLATIONISTS

The Orioles will strike out
if they fail to quickly
re-sign J.J. Hardy

BASEBALL COMMISSIONER BUD SELIG
HAS BACKBONE OF A WEATHERVANE
 
By David Maril
 
While wondering years from now how the usually preaching and sermonizing Gov. Martin O’Malley is going to feel about his legacy closely connected to the introduction and establishment of casinos in Maryland, it’s interesting to note the following:

  Maybe I’m being too harsh and unrealistic, but it still seems to me elected officials, like the governor and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, are stepping over the line and doing too much to promote gambling.

It’s one thing to allow casino entertainment to keep some of this revenue from going out of state. And yes, it’s a plus that half of the casino jobs in the newly opened Horseshoe Casino Baltimore are filled by city residents.

But for the mayor and governor to continually participate in festive ceremonial photos and TV promo spots, encouraging the public to spend money on gambling, is not exhibiting wise judgment.

  O’Malley’s greatest challenge is keeping his political name alive after he finishes his second term at the end of the year.

While it seems as if he has been weighing a presidential run for the last 20 years, he practically needs to wear a sandwich-board sign with his name on it to be recognized when he campaigns outside of Maryland.

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Slow-moving vehicles in left lane of highways are frequent causes of traffic accidents and road rage.

OVERLY TIMID DRIVERS ARE AS DANGEROUS
AS THEIR AGGRESSIVE COUNTERPARTS,
AND CONCEIVABLY EVEN MORE SO

TOO MANY MOTORISTS ARE CLUELESS
ABOUT TRAFFIC FLOW AND SAFETY
 
By David Maril
 
It’s certainly a relief to know that local and state police in unmarked cars are frequently targeting aggressive drivers.

There’s little doubt we have too many foolhardy motorists going too fast, following other vehicles too closely, passing in breakdown lanes and zigzagging in and out and in defiance of other drivers.

However there’s another group out there too often ignored who are nearly as dangerous.

And many of these motorists have perfect driving records.

They don’t get in accidents — they cause them.

If police really want to make an impact on reducing accidents and road rage, they need to also monitor and discipline the army of overly slow and unskilled drivers who put many of us in danger with poor decisions behind the wheel.

Impatience with their inept driving habits causes many cases of road rage.

While aggressive drivers, operating as if they are the only ones on the road are serious hazards, there’s also a problem with motorists failing to grasp the importance of traffic flow.

We could use a fleet of unmarked patrol cars, maybe slow and conservative-looking Dodge Caravans, looking for these troublesome drivers, whose annoyingly sluggish driving habits we all witness every day.

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“Meet the Press” hasn’t been the same since sudden death of iconic host and tough interviewer Tim Russert, right, in 2008.

RAWLINGS-BLAKE RAILS AGAINST
BALTIMORE’S ROW HOUSE BLIGHT
FOR AMTRAK TRAVELERS’ BENEFIT

What’s next?  Rose-colored glasses?

“MEET THE PRESS” LOSES FOCUS — AND HOST
Gregory falls victim to flawed, superficial format
 
By David Maril
 
While wondering if Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is going to push for passengers on Amtrak trains to be given rose-colored glasses as they are passing by abandoned buildings and decaying, neglected streets in Baltimore, it’s interesting to note the following:

  The mayor’s push to demolish condemned row houses and other deteriorating buildings to refurbish city neighborhoods is a worthwhile goal and deserves high priority.

However, to promote this by saying Baltimore’s reputation suffers because of the blighted areas Amtrak travelers see as they pass within the city limits is ridiculous.

Quality of life in Baltimore is the major reason areas within the city need to be revitalized. What travelers see through train windows, while working on their laptops, talking on smartphones or napping, is inconsequential.

What’s next?

Will performers be hired to board the trains within the city limits to sing, dance and celebrate Baltimore and Maryland, extolling all the virtues of the Land of Pleasant Living?

The nature of train travel has always been associated with the passengers getting an unvarnished look of a city, traveling through the backyards of neighborhoods and seeing behind the industrial buildings and alleyways hidden from the expressways and interstates.

Too often in Baltimore, and most other urban centers, so much concern is placed on attracting tourists and generating extra business, the people who reside in the communities are overlooked.

This has been a valid criticism of development in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor but finally seems to be shifting a bit, with more consideration to create residential opportunities.

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NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Friday Aug. 15

[Scroll down for full week’s compendia]
 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
 
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond.   Your weekday morning look  (with links)  at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Friday:

Gordon F. May was selected by a student-faculty committee from a pool of 53 applicants and will begin his tenure at BCCC Sept. 2.

•  BCCC NAMES NEW PRESIDENT FOLLOWING TURMOIL

Nearly two years after its last president was forced out of her job, Baltimore City Community College has hired the former head of a Michigan community college campus to be its next leader.

Gordon F. May was selected by a student-faculty committee from a pool of 53 applicants and will begin his tenure at BCCC Sept. 2.

Read More at:  WBAL-TV (Channel 11)

•  BALTIMORE DEMONSTRATES TO PROTEST MISSOURI POLICE SHOOTING

The killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white cop in Ferguson has sparked violent riots in the Missouri town all week, as well as peaceful demonstrations in Baltimore and elsewhere.

Read More at:  WBAL-Radio (1090AM) | CBS News | CNN

•  WHOLE FOODS SETS OPENING IN ROUSE CO. HEADQUARTERS BUILDING IN COLUMBIA

Set to open Aug. 20, the 50,000-square-foot store will be the 44th in the mid-Atlantic region and the first in Howard County for the successful grocery chain, which prides itself on healthful offerings.

Read More at:  Baltimore Sun

•  BLIND-VOTER LAWSUIT AGAINST MARYLAND TO CONTINUE

A federal judge ruled Thursday there is enough evidence that disabled residents can’t take full advantage of absentee voting, to continue with a lawsuit filed by the National Federation of the Blind against the State of Maryland.

Read More at:  Associated Press

•  REDSKINS FIGHT FOR NAME IN COURT

The Washington, D.C. NFL team is appealing a judicial decision that stripped the franchise of its trademark and is suing to get it back.

Read More at:  WJZ-TV (Channel 13)

 
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