2011’s top 10 Baltimore sports stories
Towson University football has one of the greatest turnarounds in the college game. A 9-3 record and first-ever NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearance gets students and alumni excited about the program again -- and even causes traffic jams on Osler Drive! (Lloyd Fox / The Baltimore Sun)
Baltimore Sun
The biggest stories about the Ravens, Orioles, Terps, Grand Prix and more.
Orioles GM Andy MacPhail resigns and is replaced by former Expos and Red Sox GM Dan Duquette (above). After 14 straight losing seasons Duquette boldly -- or foolishly, depending on your point of view -- declares the Orioles want to be “.500 or better” this season (Amy Davis / The Baltimore Sun)
The NFL lockout ends, thanks in no small part to work done by Domonique Foxworth, a member of the players’ executive committee. But Foxworth is placed on injured reserve and the Ravens leave Westminster to hold training camp at The Castle in Owings Mills. Four months later, they announce the move is likely permanent. (Rob Carr / Getty Images)
Maryland hires Randy Edsall to replace Ralph Friedgen as head coach and Terps go 2-10 his first season, with players leaving in droves. There’s a shake-up in the coaching staff, too: offensive coordinator is asked to step down after publicly expressing interest in the head coaching job at Colorado State. (Karl Merton Ferron / The Baltimore Sun)
Long-time Maryland men’s basketball coach Gary Williams resigns in a surprise move, leaving the Terps scrambling to find his replacement. It turns out to be Texas A&M’s Mark Turgeon. In an emotional farewell ceremony, Williams throws one last fist pump to the Comcast Center crowd as long-time Terps broadcaster Johnny Holliday intones: “Welcome to the house that Gary built. Today marks the end of an era.” (Gene Sweeney Jr. / The Baltimore Sun)
Ravens lose in the playoffs to the Steelers in January, igniting months and months of talk about whether Joe Flacco will ever be an elite quarterback and if Cam Cameron is the right offensive coordinator for him. Ravens get a measure of revenge by sweeping the Steelers in the 2011 season, including a 35-7 drubbing of Pittsburgh in the season opener that sets the tone for another run at a Super Bowl. (Doug Kapustin / The Baltimore Sun)
