Diamondback Blogs

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — We had a six-and-a-half hour car ride today, but by far, the most remarkable thing said came a few minutes ago inside the media dining room.

Deputy sports editor Adi Joseph made the trip instead of our regulars Mark Selig and Geremy Bass. His presence has already been felt.

After downing two monster-sized chili-cheese dogs, Adi proclaims, “I wish I hadn’t eaten lunch,” he said referring to the Wendy’s Baconator he ate around 1:30 p.m. “I would have had room for three, maybe four, of these.”

Yes, folks, we’re talking about one of these:

Thankfully for myself and photographer Adam Fried, it’s fast food the rest of the trip, and we don’t have to see Adi attempt to down four chili dogs.

And this came just 24 hours after our sports editor Jeff Amoros was spitting crackers everywhere trying to eat six Saltines in one minute. What is up with these sports editors? Boy, the position has certainly changed…

zuckermandbk@gmail.com

What would February in College Park be without some bubble talk?

Here we are again, talking Terps and the bubble - deservingly so - after a 78-63 loss to Miami. The Terps looked flat offensively and executed about as poorly as we’ve seen them all season.

So… where does that leave them in terms of the NCAA Tournament?

Well, thankfully for them the bubble field is pretty bad right now. If you’re a Terps fan - which I’m sure you are if you’re reading this - then you want to root against teams like Syracuse, Kentucky, Florida, Villanova, St. Joseph’s, Baylor, Oklahoma, Ohio State, UAB, Rhode Island and Davidson. There’s plenty of others, which means the best way for the Terps to get into the NCAA Tournament would be to just win games and not back their way in. But who knows with this team? There’s not a game left on the schedule that the Terps can’t win, and there’s not a game left that they can’t lose.

Their RPI is not good (in the 60s right now), and their record vs. Top-50 RPI teams is not good (1-4). That win against UNC can only do so much.

If I had to make a prediction, I’d say the Terps win at least one of the final three, and I honestly think they can pull off two. Even before this skid, I thought they would beat Clemson, and I’m sticking to that. A win against Wake Forest would also look very good, and it would do wonders for seeding purposes in the ACC tourney.

Either way, it should be an exciting final few weeks.

zuckermandbk@gmail.com

Crystal Langhorne wants more play in The Diamondback.

The senior forward first asked me for a Gameday layout in the paper before her Terrapin women’s basketball team played Ohio State back in November, and even after I told my editor about her specifically requesting the section, it didn’t happen.

Before I interviewed her this afternoon after practice, Langhorne asked me again for a Gameday section in Friday’s paper in anticipation of Senior Day on Sunday against Florida State.

I referred her to Monday’s coverage of the Terps’ win at Duke on Sunday, which included two stories about the team, the full box score, and the Up-and-Down and By The Numbers sections typically reserved for men’s games.

She said she’d seen it, and admitted she was impressed, but she still wanted something for Senior Day.

I told her I’d do what I could, and I started my interview.

Toward the end of the Q+A, I asked her “Senior Day’s Sunday. What do you think that’s going to be like?”

“Lots of tears,” Langhorne said. “It’s a lot of us so [pause…grin] I think it should be a big deal in The Diamondback. Who knows? I think they should have the old picture of when we were freshmen and like a new picture of when we’re seniors and compare them. So who knows what The Diamondback’s going to do, but it’s a big day.”

So Crystal Langhorne wants a Gameday layout and a photo montage in Friday’s Diamondback.

Crystal, I did what I could.

schimmeldbk@gmail.com

Terrapin coaches had to make some tough decisions in the fall regarding position battles. From Ralph Friedgen’s quarterback dilemma to Sasho Cirovski’s dual freshman goalie system, the coaches faced questions and second guessing as their seasons progressed.

With that said, men’s lacrosse coach Dave Cottle better be ready for some of the same with his goalie situation. He has declared open competition for the spot between redshirt junior Jason Carter and reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Brian Phipps.

The goalies are saying all the right things. A few weeks ago, Phipps expressed that he and Carter would support each other through out the season. Yesterday, Carter said he’s going to be excited no matter who wins the job, and the competition is bringing out the best in both of them.

It seems to be true. Phipps gave up a single goal in three quarters of play the first weekend of scrimmaging. Against Princeton last weekend, Carter gave up two goals in a half against the Tigers.

Cottle said he has complete confidence in both net-minders, and he has not named a front-runner with the regular season opener looming on Feb. 23.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t make the tough decision.

“There’s the old saying: if you have two goalies, you don’t have any. Well, we think we have two goalies. So this weekend will be a big weekend in determining who’s going to play,” Cottle said.

edetweilerdbk@gmail.com

DURHAM, N.C.–That was a sign one Duke fan held up at tonight’s game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

By now, it’s well-known that getting a ticket to a Duke basketball is no easy task for students. To score one, students must camp out in tents outside the arena for over a month.

After the game, as we were walking back to the car (in the snow), we saw students still camping out for some reason. So we asked a girl how long she was in the tents for, and she told us that since Jan. 8, her and 11 others have been rotating inside of an eight-person tent.

Let’s not forget that Duke is a pretty demanding academic institution and one of the top schools in the country. Imagine doing homework in a cold, cramped tent for over a month.

Maybe it’s not so bad. Maybe this can be a solution to Maryland’s housing crisis–just permanently house students in tents. Students did willingly camp out on McKeldin Mall last year to demonstrate their disappointment in the housing situation.

While putting my travel bag in the car I had an epiphany. Why stay in a hotel overnight, when we can just camp out in the snow for free?

So I’m writing this blog with frostbite and numb fingers. (No, not really, the others on the trip nixed my idea and instead we’re in a cozy Holiday Inn with cinnamon roll-scented shower toiletries.)

So to get back to that fan’s sign, which read “We tented for this?” I agree, tenting for a Maryland game probably isn’t worth it. And that has nothing to do with how well the Terps or Blue Devils played. Tenting for a month for any basketball game just doesn’t seem very logical. It might be a neat activity once or twice in your college career, but I would have to imagine it gets quite tiring.

Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy a nice, soft bed and cinnamon-roll toiletries.

mseligdbk@gmail.com