Some things in life, and in sports, for that matter, make so much sense you wonder why no one thought of it before. The reported move of Coppin State University to name Juan Dixon as its men?s basketball coach makes so much sense for both sides that some will no doubt ask, why didn?t this happen before?

One of the most intriguing questions of the NFL offseason has been is Colin Kaepernick being blackballed? For most of the first six years of his career, Kaepernick was the starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. Baltimore football fans should remember that it was Kaepernick that got the Niners to within a drive of tying or winning the 2012 Super Bowl against the Ravens. In the following season, Kaepernick helped lead San Francisco to the NFC championship game and a narrow loss to Seattle. Kaepernick not only possesses a strong arm, but, at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, he has a frame that makes him a dual threat, namely a quarterback who can run.

There?s an old trick among sports executives and marketers that if your team is devoid of talent or hope for the coming season, you instead play up anniversaries or even facilities. We?ll have an interesting indication of how good the Orioles brass think the team will be this year if they push the 25th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards . Not that the silver anniversary of the ballpark isn?t worth the attention. Oriole Park heralded in a new generation of smaller, retro-feel facilities that have been all the rage around the game. Seemingly, everybody?s got a new park. In the case of Atlanta, the Braves are opening their second new stadium since Camden Yards opened, but none are better than the original. But if all we?re talking about here in Baltimore is Oriole Park?s big milestone this summer, then 2017 will be a lousy season in Birdland. When we left the Orioles last October, they had advanced to the postseason for the third time since 2012 ? all in even-numbered years. The

If you?re a woman and you can handle a hockey stick, don?t wander far from your phone. You just might be getting a call to play for your country. The women?s world championships, the international competition just below the Olympics in terms of prestige, takes place starting Thursday in Plymouth, Michigan. The United States team, which has won the world championship seven times and won five Olympic medals over the last 17 years, should be a heavy favorite to do well in this year?s championships. That is, if USA Hockey, the governing body for international hockey in this country, can find enough talented players to play.

The NCAA men?s and women?s basketball tournaments, known in some circles as March Madness, officially launched last week to run through early April. But, if you ask Je?Nan Hayes, March Madness didn?t wait for last Thursday to get started. It had already begun. Hayes is a junior at Watkins Mill High School in Montgomery County. She?s a reserve on the school?s girls basketball team, which had a pretty successful 2017 season, getting all the way to the regional finals of the state tournament. As the Watkins Mill school newspaper first reported, Hayes, who is Muslim and wears a hijab, a head covering used by female practitioners of the faith, had played in the Wolverines? first 24 games.

One of the more attractive aspects of sports for many is the idea that in athletics, it?s actions that carry the day over words. Every so often, however, an athlete?s words far outpace his on-field performance and force us to take stock of what?s been said and done. Andre Iguodala is a reserve player with the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. He?s been a solid, if not spectacular player through his 13-year career, making an All-Star team once and winning a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team in London five years ago.

For three years now, the Ravens have been model citizens on the subject of domestic violence, assiduously avoiding any player who had a direct connection to inflicting hurt on a woman or child. The video of former running back Ray Rice that surfaced in the spring of 2014 and the fallout that followed pretty much ensured that team owner Steve Bischiotti would be highly circumspect bordering on hostile about any player carrying that baggage. But Bischiotti and his brain trust have a potentially significant challenge to their stance, namely a pressing need and a player with domestic violence issues who could fill that need. Brandon Marshall, who was just released by the New York Jets, is a six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver.