Yes, in this picture you can’t see his foot, but I’m saving that for another picture.

Sorry for MDP’s temporary hiatius over the last week.  Things got busy in the MDP photoquarters and we didn’t have a chance to update everything.    So, in honor of tomorrow’s ravens game, here’s a ravens picture. This is a bit old, but only by a year. That’s just a significantly out of date jersey.

What an end to the season.  I mean, it’s just like last years pointless rally, but at least this year we hurt Boston and I think that makes us all feel warm inside.

I don’t always travel with the same camera.   So sometimes I forget about the special features of one individual camera.  On Saturday, I remembered that the tiny camera I had brought has a really neat panorama tool.     So I tried it out and I think it worked well.  You can click into today’s picture to see the whole thing.

MDP took a trip to see the O’s on Saturday.   It was predicted to be so hot that it was difficult to get rid of some extra tickets we had for the game.   However, with a win and a with a generally good home team crowd, you barely felt the heat.  As you can see on the screen the official temperature of the game was 101 degrees.

This is the 7th hold of Mt. Pleasant golf course.  A little history about the course: it was, like many older public courses, once a part of the professional golf tour.    In fact it was the place where Arnold Plamer won his second professional tournament.

Do you remember when it was called the Jumbotron?  I suppose Sony has left the novelty screen business by now.

It’s on.  Lets keep the streak alive.    It’s sort of like that guy two years ago who resfused to leave his rooftop until the ravens won, except you know…strange as it is, here we are trying to keep on winning.

Though, I now have many new things to post as I’ve been busy taking photos for a while.   I’m tempted to keep posting a picture from Camden Yards as long as the O’s keep this winning streak alive.  Today’s shot comes from yesterday’s opening day, courtesy of Bryan.

At the end of Sunday’s game I heard an announcer say that this was the first time the O’s started a season 3-0 since 1997 and it was the first time they had done it on the road since the 70′s.

Just two more days until Camden Yards opens for the year.  Thanks to Bryan for allowing me to photograph his opening day tickets.

Here’s another shot of spring training from Bryan.  This time we have the pennants

MDP is taking a trip South.  With thanks to BryaninSarasota, who is now back to being BryaninTowson we have some great shots from Orioles Spring Training in Sarasota Florida.

As spring training is well under way, it will soon be time for another group of pictures from the ballpark.

I apologize for the lack of a post yesterday which was caused by unexpected travel.

What do Chicago, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Omaha, and Missouri (yes, the whole state) have in common?

There are only five places with a team from the MISL (the Major Indoor Soccer League).   The MISL plays their soccer games on fields that are sized down to hockey rinks.   They also have a basketball-like system of scoring where goals are worth two points.  That is unless they are kicked from beyond the three point line, at which point they are worth three.

Those from out of state may never have heard of this, but the Blast has been in Baltimore since 1980.  Their many championship season banners are proudly displayed all over the First Mariner Arena.

MDP is in!   It always makes me excited for any event when I receive the tickets for it in the mail.  It’s one of those feelings that the internet is trying hard to destroy.  This past Saturday I enjoyed it like never before as I’ve never had season tickets to anything before.  So when MDP’s package of tickets came in the mail there was a very “Kid at Christmas” response.     Let’s hope that this score is not repeated.

These tickets aren’t the only MDP highlight of the weekend.  There’s a lot of history coming your way this week.

Most people just ask for a picture.  This guy went in for the whole deal.  The bird, cool character that he is, knew exactly how to respond.

I don’t like to include people in pictures most of the time (after all they aren’t nearly as interesting as the rest of the things in our state),  but I enjoyed seeing this person watching batting practice at Camden Yards the other day.    When I was a kid I always wanted to get to the game early and take it all in for as long as I could.

Here’s a shot of the booths behind home plate at Camden Yards.    If you are interested in more pictures of the park, you should go to www.welcometobaltimorehon.com to check out their Daily Camden feature. Each day they have someone new from around town take a picture of the park.  You could even sign up to take one too.

Just a shot of the clock at the top of the scoreboard at Oriole Park.

You’re probably sick of pictures of the ballpark by now.  I’ve lost count of how many I’ve put up in the last two weeks.  So this will be the last one for a while.  Newscasters often talk about how great Camden Yards is, and it’s true.  It was the first of the new breed of ballpark.   It was also designed around a historic structure and it was intended to fit in with it’s surroundings, in both height and in it’s aesthetic, including the brickwork.   Fitting with the neighborhood was so important that the field is actually sunk a significant distance below ground level to keep the highest row of the upper deck from being too high.

I mentioned a while ago that I had visited the Orioles box office before the season opened and all of the retired numbers were missing as new bases were being built for them.  (if you missed it, there is a space outside the stadium where they have placed sculptures of the numbers of significant Orioles.   Last year people kept stealing the 8 sculpture. )  I returned yesterday to buy tickets and to see if the new Theft- Proof bases were completed.   They were, and they seem to be doing their job very well.

Just a shot to celebrate opening day at Camden Yards.

Today, the Orioles play their first game of the season, but not at Camden Yards.  They’ll be down in Tampa Bay so these turnstiles will remain covered until Friday.

I had this picture left over from a while back and I thought it would be appropriate as baseball season starts next week and the Camden Yards home opener is a week from today.

 At wednesday’s tennis challenge, Poe was on the scene to offer free t-shirts to the crowd.  Unfortunately none of the MDP staff got one.

The tennis challenge was a good time for all last night.   The attendance wasn’t quite as high as in the past, and there were some people (the Mayor) who were missing, but it was still a great event.  Here are a few highlights.  Above, I’ve put Lindsay Davenport serving becasue I think it’s a good picture and becasue the Orioles sign offers some proof of the location.  Below, well, there’s JohnMcEnroe playing his role for the crowd.

Though the Terrapins suffered a defeat on the road this week, this coming Saturday will be the first home game and will be a good chance for the team to get back on its feet.   

Byrd stadium, though 59 years old, has been growing for the last two decades.   The majority of the upper deck that you see in front of you was built in the 90′s and this year it is going to show off the completion of construction on new suites and press areas.

This picture comes from corresponding photographer Bryan, who attended Monday’s season opener at Camden Yards, where the Orioles handed the Yankees a severe beating that every fan really needed.  Look at that packed house.     

To end this mini-posting series about the tennis challenge, we have a picture of pam shriver and Mayor Shelia Dixon.  What’s significant about this is that the mayor was there, not only to make the commemorative first serve of the Orioles tennis challenge, but also to give Pam the key to the city. 

Here’s the other side of the match from Friday and the woman who won the tournament, Elena Dementieva. 

This past Friday, Baltimore hosted Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva in the annual PNC Bank Tennis Challenge.   Every year Pam Shriver organizes this even to raise money for the Baltimore Charitable Foundation.  The challenge is always headlined by one or two of the biggest names in tennis, and this year we were fortunate enough to see just about he biggest name there is.  Here’s a picture of Serena serving during the warmups.  I chose this shot, with the Oriole’s sponsor board as proof that it took place in Maryland. 

Since the Olympics have been focusing on swimming and gymnastics for the last few days, I thought I’d look for a good picture to go with them.  

This is the sister shot to this one

Good luck to the Ravens in the upcoming season.  Tonight’s game doesn’t really mean anything, but it will give us a chance to recall the almost amazing victory that the Ravens almost had the last time they played the Patriots.  We can all hope that this season is neither miserable nor tragic. 

 For many reasons, I think we are all looking forward to a later game when Flacco finnally gets to play.  Something about that guy just sounds right. 

Corresponding Photographer Bryan offers us this picture or Ernie Tyler, seen at the tenth anniversary of the 2131 game.  Ernie is the official ball boy for the Orioles and runs the the Umpire’s Room in the clubhouse.   With the exception of the games during and before Cal’s induction, he hasn’t missed a game since the 50′s.  The ’60 season was his first as ball boy, though he served as an usher in prior seasons.  

He’s certainly tough.  In some of the footage that they run now between innings (you know like when they aren’t doing the hat game/crab shuffle) there is a blooper reel where Ernie takes a hit from a player going after a ball and is apparently unfazed. 

Who else is glad that the A-Team donated their van in support of the Orioles?

Who out there has an opinion about the view from the ballpark without the tower in the background?  Did we really need a Hilton there?

This picture was taken at Photo Day in Camden Yards in 2004, along with some other pretty cool pictures that I’ll get around to sharing some day. 

In the mean time, enjoy this shot of the left field foul pole.  This pole has been in the park since it opened in 1992.    The right field pole (not pictured) was brought over to Camden Yards from Memorial Stadium, making it one of the few veterans left on the field this year. 

Also of note: the answer to Friday’s contest will be revealed tomorrow, though I will tell you that the answer has been given.

Today’s post comes from contributing photographer Lauren, who was smart enough to bring her camera to the O’s game we attended last August as I wasn’t smart enough to bring anything.  Please thank Lauren for her generous contribution.  Also of note, the reason why this picture was taken is becasue she had noticed a similar sign in Chicago.  I’m kind of curious as to how many ballparks have pictures of their mascots batting balls towards the fans.   

When I saw that the Oriole bird was on the wishlist, I thought of this shot right away becasue I knew I wanted a unique shot of the Bird. 

I didn’t have the shot on me, so before I asked for this picture, I wanted to see if there was any way I could find a picture from back in the mid 90′s when some drunk guy had beat up the bird, which resulted in the bird’s wearing of a band-aid for the next week.  Unforutnately, I have no such pictures.  If you do, let me know. 
This shot, which was first on my list anyway, is just plain perfect.  What’s also great about it is the outline of the stands, which you can see reflected in the sign.  

What’s the source of the bay?

While his reputation is far reaching, and he has been the source of inspiration for many a purchase of milk and sports apparel, Cal Ripken is not the source of the Chesapeake Bay.  If you’re looking for another link between the title of the post and the subject, you are on the right track.  I’ll tell you the following to help you along.

The bay is not 2,131 miles long.  It’s only about 200 miles long.

There aren’t 1995 species of fish in the bay. There are around 350.

If you’re really stretching it, you could point out that:

The average depth is 21 feet.  

There is a part of the bay, somewhere that is 31 miles wide.  (It’s widest part is 35 miles)   

So together these could be 2131.

However, none of these are the answer I’m looking for.  .

The link between the bay and Cal, is that the source of the Susquehanna River, which feeds the bay from the north, is Otsego Lake, located in Cooperstown, NY, where Cal was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the reason why Cal gets a nod after yesterday’s entry about the bay.

All these bay facts came from this site, just so you all know. 

Also, this photo was taken from the sidewalk in Fell’s Point. 

As we’re only posting on weekdays (MarylandWeekdayPhoto is just too odd to have as a domain name) Maryland Daily Photo will return on Monday with all new posts.    Thanks for making this a great first week.