Baltimore has always been a football town, and that will never change. Once the Ravens open training camp, the Orioles season is officially over, even if they have more than 50 games remaining.
Thank you Orioles for entertaining us the past four months, but you?re irrelevant now. Sure, we?ll check the box scores, but our attention is solely on the Ravens, you know, the team that actually has a chance of winning a championship after finishing 13-4 last year.
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The four local sports anchors will wander to Camden Yards when the Yankees and Red Sox come to town in the next two months, but they know where the big story is ? in Westminster, where the Ravens are preparing to make a run to the Super Bowl.
The NFL doesn?t have an offseason. It?s all football, all the time, 365 days a year. Ravens fans dissect the position battle for back-up guard during training camp as closely as they study Steve McNair during a real live game.
Need proof? What?s moreimportant to Baltimore sports fans right now ? the Orioles? series against Tampa Bay or the Ravens? scrimmage against the Redskins?
Both events will be televised on MASN, but that?s all they have in common. It?s not even close ? and the Ravens? scrimmage at noon Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium is really just a game of glorified two-hand touch played in front of thousands of spectators. There?s a big difference between a preseason game and a scrimmage.
Here?s what to expect Saturday. The first 20 minutes feature seven-on-seven drills during which hitting the quarterback is forbidden. There are no kickoffs, but each team will punt six times and hitting the punt returner is forbidden. Each team will begin a 10-play drive from the opponents? 45-yard line. If a team scores a touchdown or losses possession, the ball returns to the 45-yard line. Finally, each team will field 11 players and teams will begin the drive from the 35-yard line. However, it?s still against the rules to hit the quarterback, as coaches from both teams will be on the field to determine if the play would have resulted in a sack.
However, it gets better for football fans later in the day. The six-member Class of 2007, which includes Michael Irvin and Thurman Thomas, will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio beginning at 6 p.m. on ESPN. Two hours later, we?ll see our first tackles of the season when Pittsburgh plays New Orleans at Fawcett Stadium, located next to the Hall of Fame, at 8 on NFL Network. The Ravens? first preseason game is Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. against the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium.
Finally, after a summer spent watching the Orioles, we get to see Baltimore?s better birds.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.
