MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports The bright lights were on Wednesday night and Maryland squinted like a frightened bat in front of a home sellout crowd and a national television audience. Then on Saturday afternoon, the Terps called gutcheck and averted catastrophe with an ugly win in a half-empty gym they hadn’t won in in…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports According to every NCAA Tournament analytic and every shred of information from a certified (?) bracketologist that could be found in a couple hours of searching, West Virginia currently has a 74% chance of making the Madness with an at-large bid, and is currently projected by those who do such…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports ESPN and Major League Baseball drew a line in the sand, and both proceeded to cross it. After MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred warned that baseball would walk away if ESPN opted out of its $550 million annual deal to air baseball, ESPN proceeded to do just that, opting out of…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports If XFINITY Center is not sold out and absolutely rocking on Wednesday night, then the University of Maryland basketball fanbase is in line for a collective lobotomy, or at least should be forced to watch an entire episode of “Get Up!” on ESPN. Trust me, the lobotomy would be far…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports It’s bad enough to look out the window to your front yard and see one of the scary trees from “The Wizard of Oz,” then look out to the back yard and see Lambeau Field; but when you turn on the radio in what you believe to be the warmth…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports Lost in the mass indifference to NBA All-Star Weekend was the great news that former West Virginia University wing Erik Stevenson had signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards. The son of Craig and Debbie Stevenson, Craig being a 1977 graduate of Fort Hill High School, the 25-year-old Erik…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports Admittedly, it sounds like a broken record every year at this time, and no one is tired of hearing it more than loyal but terribly skeptical fans of the team, but this really could be the season that the Pittsburgh Pirates begin to move the needle and move up in…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports Pitchers and catchers reported yesterday, with workouts starting today and full workouts beginning early next week; and while that doesn’t make it baseball season, baseball has returned even though spring training, particularly if you aren’t attending, is the longest Christmas Eve in the world. Then again, Christmas Eve is pretty…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports So … quite a game, eh? Yikes! Nobody outside of Philadelphia saw that coming. Not necessarily the winning team, but the severity of the beating the Eagles put on the Kansas City Chiefs. The final score of 40-22 just didn’t cut it for someone who hadn’t watched the game and…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports You get the feeling that someone knows who’s going to win the big game on Sunday, but it sure isn’t us, which, of course, is the point. Gotta keep the gambling partners happy, you know? Honestly, you have to figure Kansas City will win, but hope, unless you’re from Kansas…
