41 years later, Cinderella dances again

41 years later, Cinderella dances again MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports North Carolina State basketball clearly wins the prize as the winner of every year’s greatest sports weekend – the weekend baseball season begins and the NCAA Final Four teams are determined – as both the Wolfpack men’s and women’s teams clinched Final Four berths…

Why no Holliday? Boh knows …

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports Barring a last-minute transaction, there will be one rookie on the Baltimore Orioles Opening Day roster, but to the angst and outrage of a significant portion of the Orioles fanbase, that rookie will not be the rookie that all Orioles fans are excited to soon see in Baltimore. Which they…

A devoted son of Baltimore

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports The legacy of Peter Angelos is complex to say the least, but it really shouldn’t be. He did so many good things for so many people who needed good things, fueled by his deep love for his hometown of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. As one of the most…

This new culture is strong, and addicting

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports Not lost in the cloak of the Seoul, South Korea darkness with which Major League Baseball opened its 2024 season was the news that the Los Angeles Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and best buddy of international megastar Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani’s representatives have accused Ippei of engaging in “massive…

It’s a long season, and you gotta trust it

  MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports Look, I watched the baseball game on Tuesday, and I, too, am delighted to say that, yes, it’s a very giddy time for anyone who roots for the Baltimore Orioles. But, please … let’s keep some perspective. Let’s not forget who we are. We see silly things on social…

And to think, just one year ago …

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports What a difference a year makes, huh? For Maryland and West Virginia men’s basketball. At this time last year, both Maryland and West Virginia, while on their way to being bumped from their respective conference tournaments, were still flying sky-high knowing they were sure-fire locks to make it to March…

O’s can only bring 26 players with them

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports Don’t look now, but the Baltimore Orioles are currently 14-2 in Grapefruit League play, which is every bit as insignificant as the NFL-record 24-game preseason winning streak of the Baltimore Ravens, yet still seems to make John Harbaugh very proud. Whatever. The Orioles’ preseason success this spring is significant, though,…

Who says you can never go home again?

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports­­ It’s always fun to go back to College Park and particularly to the University of Maryland, even with a bad basketball game sandwiched into the middle of the day. It’s different, of course; the campus has continuously changed since the days when Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were just down…