Heartbreak city

March 22, 2010 6:32 AM by Dan Kolko View Comments

It was a rough Sunday afternoon throughout the Maryland area.

The Terps' shocking second-half comeback in yesterday's second-round NCAA tournament game was trumped by a dramatic, buzzer-beating three-pointer from Michigan State, abruptly ending Maryland's season.

I guess we're conditioned, through Hollywood scripts and ESPN highlight reels, to just expect that the team that battles back from adversity and overcomes the odds will always get the dramatic victory and complete the heartwarming story.

Unfortunately for Garyland, that's not how things played out yesterday. The Terps turned a nine-point deficit with under two minutes left into a one-point lead with six seconds left, but it wasn't enough.

The loss surely will sting those of us in the area for a while (including yours truly), but man, oh man, what a thrilling finish.

Moving back to football, today is the start of the NFL owners meetings, which will take place down in Orlando.

There aren't a shortage of big-headline topics this year; a potential overtime rule change, the situation surrounding the CBA, and a possible Super Bowl in New York are the main national storylines going into the week.

The Ravens will obviously monitor all those topics and a couple others that I mentioned a few days ago, but in addition, front office personnel will be sure to take part in any discussions about the current pass interference rules.

GM Ozzie Newsome, who is on the league's competition committee, believes there's a very basic flaw with the rules that are currently in place.

"We have to draw a bright line so that the players, coaches and even the fans understand what pass interference is," Newsome said last month. "Right now, I don't think it's there.

"We cannot have 12 [officiating] crews that see it differently. So, I think there is some work to be done. Is it going to get cleared up in one year? I don't know, but I think we're going to push it in that direction."

The Ravens led the league in pass interference flags last season, and as could be expected, the players and coaches often didn't agree with the officials' ruling on the field.

The amount of contact allowed on receivers and the timing of the contact are the issues in question, and the Ravens figure to be very active in the conversations focused on those issues this week.

Go ahead, make a Frank Walker comment. I know you want to.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to re-watch the final five minutes of the Terps game...and shake my head in shock the whole time.