A to Z, The Orioles' Legacy: Rick Dempsey

Player: Rick Dempsey
Years of Service: 12 (1976-86, 1992)
Position: Catcher


Image via Camden Chat

To this day, Dempsey still enjoys folk hero status among the Oriole faithful. He was the MVP of the 1983 World Series. Known primarily for his defensive assets, Dempsey was a beast with bat in hand for that affair: .923 slugging percentage over the five-game series! That really would have been enough. But what truly endeared him to Baltimore fans was his sense of humor, providing comic entertainment during rain delays.

Hamming it up:


Photo via Deadspin

He was the on-field embodiment of Earl Weaver, the larger-than life manager of the Orioles through an era when they were the best operation in baseball. Dempsey has served stints as first base and bullpen coach for the club. His name comes up whenever the managerial job opens.

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For each letter of the A to Z Challenge, I will feature one player from Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns history. I hope you will join me. I hope you'll also check out the other 1200+ blogs participating. See the full list at Tossing It Out.

March Madness 2011: Tail Between Their Legs

Connecticut wins. What a terribly ordinary end to a terrifically extraordinary tournament. Without a doubt, UConn has had an amazing run through both the Big East and NCAA tournaments. Nonetheless, Butler's loss, not to mention their lackluster performance in the title game, is a horrible let down.



Let us not forget the astonishing accomplishment of the Butler Bulldogs. An awful lot of top-flight college basketball programs have never made the NCAA finals in two consecutive years. Connecticut, their conquerors this evening, have never done it. The University of Indiana Hoosiers, winners of five national titles, have never done it. Neither Purdue nor Notre Dame has ever made it to the national finals even once, never mind twice in a row.

The question, once again, is how long coach Brad Stevens will stay at Butler. One has to believe that he can pretty much write his ticket for any open job in the country. VCU's Shaka Smith passed on N.C. State. Will they make a play for Stevens now? Is he waiting for some unnamed dream job to come open one day? Bloomington, perhaps?

Both Butler's and VCU's runs this tournament were amazing but one wonders if we should expect more of this in years to come. With the high-profile schools unable to hold onto their superstars, will the smaller programs continually be able to threaten the pecking order with well-coached and experienced teams? Butler has fallen one game short each of the last two years but someday, someone's going to pull it off. Given the current dynamic of the college basketball world, perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised.

A to Z, The Orioles' Legacy: Terry Crowley

Player: Terry Crowley
Total Years of Service: 12 (1969-73, 1976-82)
Position: Utility Man


Image via Baseball Almanac

Crowley was the Orioles' first-ever designated hitter. He mostly earned his keep as a pinch hitter, with 108 career appearances in that capacity. Crowley won World Series titles with the O's in 1970 and also the Reds in 1975. He has also logged 16 years as the Birds' hitting coach.

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For each letter of the A to Z Challenge, I will feature one player from Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns history. I hope you will join me. I hope you'll also check out the other 1200+ blogs participating. See the full list at Tossing It Out.


In particular, check out Star Trek - Sci Fi Blog by my new blogger friend, Spacerguy.

My Tennis Fantasy: Berdych

Current Overall Ranking: 19th
My MVP for the Week: Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) with $75,500, losing to Rafael Nadal (Spain) in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open


Photo via Live Tennis Guide

Despite his strong performance, Berdych will lose ranking points this week as he made it all the way to the finals in Miami last year. Nonetheless, he has some time to build up points before Roland Garros. In last year's European clay season, Berdych made it to the third round in Monte Carlo, the second in Rome and the quarters in Madrid. Odds are good that he can improve on those results. After that he'll have big tests, what with semifinalist points to defend at the French and finalist points at Wimbledon. Was last year the real Berdych or will he return to his underachieving ways?

A to Z, The Orioles' Legacy: Mark Belanger

Player: Mark Belanger
Total Years of Service: 17 (1965-81)
Position: Shortstop


Photo via Baltimore Sports Then and Now

Belanger was the Birds' regular shortstop during the franchise's glory years. He won eight Gold Gloves in his career and was part of what has to be considered one of the greatest defensive infields in baseball history: the incomparable Brooks Robinson at third, Davey Johnson and later Bobby Grich at second and Boog Powell at first. Powell was the weak link defensively but jeez, you've gotta hide a bat somewhere! The 2B-SS-3B combination in Baltimore won Gold Gloves together in five different seasons.

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For each letter of the A to Z Challenge, I will feature one player from Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns history. I hope you will join me. I hope you'll also check out the other 1100+ blogs participating. See the full list at Tossing It Out.


In particular, I hope you'll check out the A to Z posts from a few of my friends:

Stay on target... by my buddy, Mock
Tossing It Out by Arlee Bird, the mastermind behind the whole concept
The Eagle's Aerial Perspective
A Writer's Reality
Armorian Empires Trilogy

Mock deserves extra thanks for (a) bringing the A to Z Challenge to my attention, (b) goading me into trying it and (c) unintentionally providing the inspiration for my theme. As a side note for Nate Wilson, Mock is a non-asinine Sox fan (his words, Mock, not mine) such as yourself. You should check out his blog if you have not already.

Rock Stars: Regina 2011

Tomorrow in Regina, capital city of Saskatchewan, the 2011 Ford World Men's Curling Championship begins.


Image via In My Own Words

The teams:

Canada
China
Czech Republic
Denmark
France
Germany
Norway
Scotland
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
USA

Canada qualifies as host and defending champion. The United States was the second highest placing team from the Americas at the last world championship and was unchallenged for its spot. China and South Korea were the top two teams at the 2010 Pacific Curling Championships. The European teams were the top eight at the 2010 European Curling Championships.

Canada is pretty much always the favorite to win this event. They've done so 32 times. The drop off from the top is steep. Scotland and Sweden are tied for second with five titles each. Canada will also enjoy the advantages offered by the home crowd and also by the only man in the field to have skipped a world champion before: Jeff Stoughton (pictured above). Stoughton's rink is based at the Charleswood Curling Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His team includes Jon Mead, Reid Carruthers, Steve Gould and alternate Garth Smith. They qualified by winning the Brier, Canada's national championship. Gould was part of Stoughton's rink when they won the world title in 1996.

The biggest threat to Canadian dominance may be Norway. The Norwegians, led by the too-handsome-for-curling Thomas Ulsrud, put their team and the whole sport on the pop culture map with their snazzy pants at the Vancouver Games:


Image via Technofranki's blog

The Norwegians have continued to explore the bounds of fashion since.


Image via SportsCenter.com

Here's an offering from the women's team:


Image via Harlequin American Romance Authors

The wheelchair team, too:


Image via RickMcCharles.com

Oh, and they're a pretty good team, too. They won the silver medal in Vancouver and they are the reigning European champions.

The United States is represented by Pete Fenson's rink, based in Bemidji, Minnesota. The US champion team includes Shawn Rojeski, Joe Polo, Ryan Brunt and Scott Baird. Fenson, Rojeski, Polo and Baird were all part of the bronze medal winning US team at the 2006 Olympics in Torino. Baird was, in fact, the oldest Winter Olympian ever and the oldest Olympic medalist ever, Summer or Winter Games. Team USA has won the world championship four times. But the last time was 1978.

A to Z, The Orioles' Legacy: Jimmy Austin

Player: Jimmy Austin
Total Years of Service: 16 (1911-23, 1925-26, 1929)
Position: Third Baseman


Photo via Evan Sklar

The Welsh-born Jimmy Austin was, of course, never a Baltimore Oriole. He played for the St. Louis Browns long before they moved to Maryland. He also served as coach for many years, including parts or all of three years as manager: 1913, 1918 and 1923. The highlight of his playing career was leading the American League in sacrifice hits in 1911 with 34.

Austin's strongest connection to baseball legend, however, is this photograph:


He is the third baseman. Ty Cobb is the base stealer. Austin played for the New York Highlanders at the time.

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For each letter of the A to Z Challenge, I will feature one player from Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns history. I hope you will join me. I hope you'll also check out the other 700+ blogs participating. See the full list at Tossing It Out.