About Mark
April 18th, 2008Mark Keller is in his ninth year as sports editor of The Herald-Mail. He lives in Hagerstown with his wife, Stacy, and two kids: Melanie (14) and Wesley (3).
In fact, he has lived in Washington County for most of his life (save a two-year jaunt to Baltimore when he was young and stupid).
Mark likes walks on the beach and music from the 1980s. His wife also likes walks on the beach and wishes Mark would move at least into the mid-90s musically.
Mark plays bass and sings in his church band (Ps. 150 - we rock).
He is a longtime fan of the Cincinnati Reds, Miami Dolphins and Washington Capitals, which means he is a LONG-suffering fan.
Mark does not have a favorite NBA team and probably could not name 25 active NBA players and the teams they play for, because he just doesn’t care.
Oh … they’re saying “STEWWWWW”
January 3rd, 2008For the last month, I’ve been reading all of the stories about West Virginia’s preparations for the Fiesta Bowl and the mentions of interim coach Bill Stewart.
I figured I was much like my colleague, Bob Parasiliti, and wouldn’t know Bill Stewart from Jimmy Stewart.
It wasn’t until I flipped the game on Wednesday night that I started to wonder: “Do I know this guy?”
It couldn’t be that I know him … I mean, really, how could I? He must just be a guy that has a familiar face. And he’s a down-home kind of guy, so it must just be that his demeanor reminds me of someone.
But they kept showing him and I kept wondering: “Do I know him?”
If it looks like a choke and sounds like a choke …
December 3rd, 2007I’m not a big one on the “choke” label that so many sports fans throw around liberally.
However, what West Virginia did against Pitt on Saturday night … you can’t get a much bigger choke than that.
Yes, they’re rivals. Yes, Pitt had nothing to lose. Yes, WVU QB Pat White did miss some time in the game with an injury.
But if you are the No. 2 team in the country - or No. 1 in some polls - and you lose the way West Virginia lost, you gotta call a spade a spade. Or in this case, call a choke a choke.
I think this proved once and for all that WVU - and the Big East in general - was overrated all year long. They were never as good as advertised, from the time they were ranked as high as No. 3 in the preseason until they wet the bed in the Backyard Brawl.
Nor was anyone else in the Big East that good. All of those teams that were so highly ranked - WVU, Rutgers, Louisville, South Florida, UConn - at different times this season were pretenders.
And I’ve got a sneaky feeling Oklahoma is going to expose WVU and the Big East for the frauds that they are in the Fiesta Bowl. That could be ugly.
And starring, as big-headed Barry …
December 1st, 2007It looks like HBO will be making a movie out of the book “Game of Shadows” sometime soon.
The big question, however, is this: Who will play Barry Bonds in said movie?
My first choice was Terry Crews, but he might be a little too light-hearted to pull off the role.
How about Michael Clarke Duncan? Wouldn’t be a bad choice.
I don’t think there are any plans to delve into Barry’s days in Pittsburgh. I think Ralph Tresvant would be perfect to play Barry in that case.
T, U, V, X, Y, X, Z???
November 30th, 2007Anybody who knows me knows well of my disdain for Tony La Russa. Therefore, I would be remiss if I did not post this video of his DUI arrest in March.
A couple things about this video:
1. I think La Russa was thinking about his batting order when he was reciting the alphabet, given his “GENIUS” habit of batting the pitcher eighth when every other inferior manager in baseball history has batted the pitcher ninth. Hence … T, U, V, X, Y, X, Z.
2. Only a GENIUS would ask “Is that significant?” after it was explained to him that his two breathalyzer tests were over the legal limit.
3. La Russa nearly went for the GENIUS trifecta, but came up just short when he asked “Do you know what I do for a living?” A true GENIUS would have said, “Do you know who I am?”
Of course, the officers who roused him while he was “sleeping” at the wheel knew exactly who he was.
This is priceless video.
Uphill battle for Leopards, Warriors
November 13th, 2007The Smithsburg and Boonsboro football teams made the Class 1A West playoffs. Woo-hoo!
To say that the teams have an uphill battle (as the title suggests) is probably understating it. And I’m not talking uphill as in Sideling Hill, which the teams will scale when they travel to Cumberland for their games this weekend.
The prospect of playing Allegany and/or Fort Hill is a daunting one in just about any year - at least for Washington County teams. But this particular year, it seems it’s an even bigger task. Allegany and Fort Hill have established themselves as two of the best in the state this season.
Now, does that mean Boonsboro will be Allegany’s sacrificial lamb on its way to a rematch against Fort Hill, once the Sentinels dispose of Smithsburg? Not necessarily.
Yes, the local teams will be decided underdogs this weekend. But no team is unbeatable. Every team has some weakness, it simply may not have been exposed yet.
I’m not going to say that Smithsburg or Boonsboro are going to win this weekend. But I also will not say that they have no chance. The game still has to be played. Anything can happen. If you take the field, you have a chance, however remote.
Play hard, play strong, play like you want to play next week.
Now THAT’S taste …
March 9th, 2007I hammered Time magazine a few months back over its list of the All-TIME 100 albums, wondering how in the world there could be no Pink Floyd on ANY list of top 100 albums.
Well, here’s a group that got it right. In fact, there are TWO Pink Floyd albums in the top 25 on this list. How great is that?
Throw in “Wish You Were Here” (my personal favorite PF album) at No. 79 and this list kicks the snot out of Time’s list.
My only question: Where is “Chicago 17?”
You’re kidding, right?
March 9th, 2007Just when you think the Maryland men’s basketball team has it all together, just when everybody is recognizing them as one of the hottest teams (if not THE hottest team) in the country, they go out and lay an egg like this.
So much for the Terps getting a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tourney. They’ll be pushing to get a No. 6 now, and will undoubtedly end up in the West region (they’re almost always out there anyway).
How can you lose to Miami TWICE in the same season?
Terps fans had better hope that this was their reality check, and that the team that had been on fire for the last three weeks returns when the big dance starts next Thursday.
Simply the best
March 7th, 2007My perception of Bob Starkey has always been that he doesn’t much care what people think of him. His feeling is that he has a job to do, and he’s going to do it his way.
And why not? Starkey’s way has been successful everywhere he has coached boys or men’s basketball. Jefferson High is simply the latest in a long string.
Jefferson basketball had been something of a laughingstock before Starkey left South Hagerstown to coach the Cougars three season ago. With Starkey calling the shots, the Cougars are about to make their second trip to the West Virginia Class AAA state tournament in three years. Read the rest of this entry »
Catching on
March 6th, 2007Former Martinsburg High School quarterback Nate Sowers will now be known as West Virginia wide receiver Nate Sowers.
After two years of speculation about his future … will he transfer?, will he change positions?, will he move to defense? … the answers are no, sort of, and no.
WVU coach Rich Rodriguez knows he has a prime athlete in Sowers, one who is going to do him and the Mountaineers a whole lot more good on the field than off. He showed flashes as a redshirt freshman this year, including the hit of the game in the Gator Bowl.
But Sowers is mired behind Patrick White and Jarrett Brown at quarterback, leading Rodriguez to move Sowers to wide receiver, a position where he saw some playing time in 2006. Read the rest of this entry »