ACC play concludes with Terps seeding still in question

Some quick hits from the Virginia game on Saturday night as the Terps wrap up ACC play:

1) Was that a physical game or what? From the opening whistle, I thought there were bodies flying everywhere. The officials were really content to swallow their whistles, which is usually what fans want. I thought it created a pretty dangerous environment though, as the players knew they could get away with virtually anything. It probably was not the best game for Casey Townsend to come back during, considering the style of play.

2) Speaking of Casey Townsend...boy, was it nice to see him back out on the field. I loved how the Terps tried to get him involved early; I firmly believe that when a player is coming back from injury, it is absolutely crucial to get them some touches early to restore their confidence. It looked like Townsend lost some of the hop in his step, but that was to be expected. He'll be back to full speed soon enough. It was good to see him get knocked down a few times and get up without a problem. He definitely looks ready to go down the home-stretch.

3) Interesting to see that Maryland was involved in two fights in the past two games. There was the minor scuffle during the Wake game and then a pretty big fight during the Virginia game. The Terps and the Cavaliers have a history of "extra-curricular" activity when they play, and Saturday night definitely continued that tradition. The cleats up slide into MacMath was a dirty play, and deserved a red card on its own. For those that were listening to WMUCsports.com's broadcast of the game, you probably remember Dan Baker and I yammering about the positives and negatives of defending your teammates in a situation like that. Personally, I am always a fan of walking away, no matter how heated you are. Sure, Billy Cortes stuck up for his teammate. But, I would have rather seen him walk away from the situation and not get ejected. Then, the Terps would've been playing man-up for the entire second half, which would have been really helpful for goal-scoring purposes. I understand that sometimes players get caught up in the heat of the moment, but in the future, I'd like to see Cortes walk away and settle for the advantage on the field.

That's all for now, folks. We'll see you tonight for Navy!