Maryland Takes Center Stage

The weather was perfect this weekend for an exciting and eventful array of sports around the state. From horse racing to cycling to extreme races, there was something for everyone to participate in. Here is a snapshot of why Maryland is a growing Sports destination:

Maryland will have another, as the 137^th Preakness featured the largest crowd ever. Over 120,000 people donned their snazziest outfits, partied, jammed and celebrated horse racing at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore City. The horse racing did not disappoint either. I Will Have Another narrowly defeated Bodemeister to put itself in position to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. Stay tuned to see if I Will Have Another attempts to make history at the Belmont Stakes on June 9^th.    

Annapolis Rocks out to the Land Rover TriRock Triathlon

The Land Rover TriRock Triathlon Series made its second stop of the tour in Annapolis this past weekend. Over 1,400 athletes came out to swim, bike and run amongst the scenic backdrop of Annapolis. Other unique features in the race include: rock bands playing at different stretches along the course, red carpet finish, hot breakfast, tech tee and swag bag and a two day health and fitness expo.   Awards were given for competitors that finished in the top three of their age group, which ranged from 16-19 to 70-74 for both male and female participants. In addition, there was a Specialty division and Relay division for teams.

Marylanders Shine in First Day of Olympic Trials for Canoe Slalom

Reporting somewhat live from Charlotte, North Carolina is Suzanne- one of the leads on the Deep Creek 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championship.

Thursday, April 12th

Lots of excitement here in Charlotte, where 75 athletes are competing to achieve their life long dream of representing their country on the biggest stage of all – the Olympics.  The Road to London comes down to this competition paired with the World Cup in Cardiff Wales in early June.

There are four available Olympic slots – women’s kayak (WK-1), men’s kayak (K-1), men’s canoe (C-1), and men’s double canoe (C-2). The current leaders for two of these call Maryland home.  In a kayak, the paddler sits in the boat and uses a 2-bladed paddle and in a canoe, the paddler sits and uses a single blade paddle.  Both are closed deck boats.

Caroline Queen (Darnestown, Md.) continues her airtight competition with Ashley Nee (Darnestown, Md.). Queen finished with the top overall time in Women’s K1 – a second run time of 124.28, 1.20 seconds faster than Nee’s top time.

Two-time Olympian Scott Parsons (Bethesda, Md.) currently leads the pack by 2.5 seconds in the ultra competitive Men’s K1 class after turning in a second run time of 100.24.

Additionally, Casey Eichfeld (Part-time, McHenry, Md.) is making a strong showing in both C-1 and C-2.

I can’t wait to see what kind of speed we will see today by these amazing athletes who make slicing through the water seem so effortless.

This is my first visit to the whitewater course here in Charlotte. It is a pretty cool facility with lots of activities other than whitewater. The course itself is a traditional manmade course, with high concrete embankments – a sharp contrast to my home course at the Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI) located in Garrett County; where the course not only sits on a mountaintop, but utilized the over 40 million pounds of rock excavated to make the riverbed.

M&T Bank Stadium to Host Premier League Soccer Match on July 28

Tottenham Hotspur to play Liverpool this summer in Baltimore

Baltimore, Md. – The Baltimore Ravens, Maryland Stadium Authority and Maryland Office of Sports Marketing today announced Tottenham Hotspur Football Club will play Liverpool Football Club in an all-Premier League soccer match on Saturday, July 28 at 1:00 p.m. EST at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. The match-up features two of the most popular teams in the Barclays Premier League, widely regarded as the most competitive and elite soccer league in the world.

A Classic Park Gets a Modern Twist, Part 2

With less than a month until Opening Day on April 6^th, we re-visited Camden Yards to see the improvements and modifications that have been made to the stadium. Over a month ago, we highlighted the renovations that were starting to take place this off season at Camden Yards to make Oriole Park more of a year-round facility. These improvements were designed to coincide with the celebration of 20 years at Camden Yards for the Orioles.

Let the Madness Begin!

In Under Armour’s most recent, Under the Armour episode, Brandon Jennings, the starting point guard for the Milwaukee Bucks emphatically said, “The harder you work when nobody is watching, the less you bleed when you go out there and perform.” A sports season can reveal a person character, span a lifetime of emotions- the highest highs and the lowest lows- but in the end; when tournament time rolls around, no matter what sport he/she plays, the team who works the hardest and overcomes those lows walks out on top.