Sports & Recreation : Buzz

So you may have heard something about Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis retiring at the end of this season, after 17 years on the field. 

But No. 52 will likely remain in the public eye, according to Forbes. The publication speaks with the managing director of sports marketing agency Octagon First Call, who speculates that a stint with "Dancing With the Stars," speaking engagements and loads of endorsement deals are all in store for the football star. 

Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated reports that Ray Lewis is expected to join ESPN as a sports analyst, citing "multiple sources." 

 

The rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens is pretty intense  — to put it mildly.

But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers' hometown newspaper, tells its readers to spend some of their time and money in a "city that abounds with great food and art."

The travel story tells readers to check out the Baltimore Museum of Art, Fort McHenry, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Little Italy restaurants and other venues. "Today, its most famous site is the landmark Inner Harbor, a historic seaport that was redeveloped from the late 1960s through the '80s," the Post-Gazette writes about Baltimore.

We'll ignore the little tidbit on picking a good Steelers bar. 

Spencer Manio picks out the right music that meshes with a company's brand. 

And the 39-year-old Seattle resident is picking out "aggressive electronic music" to play at Under Armour stores, Manio tells NPR. 

He can't reveal the songs just yet, but NPR writes that "there will likely be mainstream songs by Skrillex and Calvin Harris, who soundtrack many a CrossFit and 'bootcamp' experience."

You could also hear Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, Baauer, Lunice and TNGHT next time you're buying Under Armour workout shorts. 

"If he pulls it off right, he'll communicate the brand, intrigue the consumer and expose people to extraordinary music," NPR writes.  "Essentially he's trying to help Under Armour convince you, whoever you are, even if your body is not a temple, that you could be in the Olympics."

Read more about Under Armour's music guru here. 

Maryland voters approved a massive expansion of gambling on Election Day. The Free State is getting a sixth casino in Prince George's County and Maryland Live at Arundel Mills and other casinos will get table games.

But Maryland isn't the only East Coast state doing this, writes the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Toronto and New York City are considering casino developments and Philadelphia is getting a downtown hotel and casino.

"There isn't an end in sight," writes the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Two gaming analysts believe there should be. In separate research reports, they said the populous Northeast and Atlantic Coast regions are close to reaching a casino saturation point."

You can read the rest of the story here. 

In a New York Times essay, the CEO of one Maryland company shares his love of the Baltimore Orioles, who made it to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years this season. 


Jack Dunn, CEO of FTI Consulting Inc., waxes nostalgic about the team that his family once owned when it was a minor league team. 

"My great-grandfather recruited Babe Ruth," Dunn tells Patricia Olsen of the New York Times.  "Babe’s parents had sent him, an unruly son, to an industrial school that served as an orphanage. After seeing him pitch when he was 19, my great-grandfather became his guardian and signed him to the team."

He also says he bought a stake in the Orioles in 1993.

FTI Consulting is based in West Palm Beach, Fla., and has offices in Baltimore and Annapolis. It employs 3,800.

Baltimore Ravens' Running Back Ray Rice is getting pumped about a new sports drink. 

Rice is one of five athletes that is investing in sports drink BodyArmor, launched last year by FUZE Beverage creator Lance Collins, Forbes writes. 

"'I first tried BodyArmor in training camp,'” Rice tells Forbes. “'I had been drinking other stuff, and the one thing I loved about BodyArmor was that it keeps me hydrated.'" 

"Through this partnership, the athletes will engage in events, promotions, product testing and campaigns both regionally and nationally," Forbes writes. "Additionally, there will be opportunities to support their own charities, such as The Ray Rice Charitable Fund, which helps aid youths in the Baltimore, Md., and New Rochelle, N.Y., areas."

You can read the entire story here. 

The Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore has one of the top 12 “head-turning” infinity pools, according to Conde Nast Traveler. From the complimentary sunscreen, private cabanas and sounds from the nearby Pier 6 Pavilion summer concerts, swimming is only one of the reasons guests should check out the pool, says the magazine.
 
Some of the other hotel pools on the list are located in Tanzania, Africa, Toronto, Turks & Caicos and Bali, Indonesia. 

Complaining about your commute? Rodgers Forge native Gabe Acheson puts you to shame.
 
The Park School of Baltimore graduate traveled roughly 400 miles on foot to Yale University where he was accepted, in order to follow through the promise he made in his admissions essay, according to the Baltimore Sun. "As I was writing essays, I thought about how I'd always wanted to do something like this," Acheson says.

"I figured if I put it in an essay, that would force me to follow through on my plan.” Acheson took on the Appalachian Trail, propelled by carbohydrate snacks and Google Maps.
 
Read more about his journey here.

We knew Michael Phelps would land a few more high-profile sponsorships after the London Olympics. First, the Rodgers Forge swimmer landed on the Wheaties box.

Now, the most decorated Olympian has wound up in the water again. No, not a swimming pool but a bathtub. Phelps joins Muhammad Ali and Angelina Jolie by becoming the latest face to grace ads for the French luxury line Louis Vuitton. 

"In a new ad for Louis Vuitton, Phelps can be seen partially submersed in a tub while wearing a suit and a pair of goggles with a duffle bag from the French fashion house sits conveniently beside him on a towel," E online writes. "The campaign was reportedly shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz."

The ad could get Phelps in hot water with the International Olympic Committee, which has a new rule that prohibits Olympic athletes from appearing in ads that aren't promoted by official sponsors, NBCNews.com writes. 

Everyone knows by now that Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history, with 22 medals. 

But he's struck gold in social media as well, according to a Reuters story that appeared in the Huffington Post. 

Reuters reports that Phelps added one million followers during the London Olympics, bringing his total count to nearly 1.3 million. He also has 800,000 Facebook fans. Jamaican track-and-field athlete Usain Bolt is ahead of the race, with 1.5 million Twitter followers. 

And in other Michael Phelps news, the Rodgers Forge native is set to appear in his own reality show. Don't get too excited. We probably won't see our hometown boy engage in crazy antics a la Real Housewives. He'll be playing golf on the Golf Channel's the Haney Project, the Hollywood Reporter writes. 

We know you can't get enough of Michael Phelps, now that the Rodgers Forge native is the most decorated Olympian of all time. 

And neither can Australian Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe. The five-time Olympic gold medalist says Michael Phelps' slow start at the Olympics, when he came in fourth in his opening final race, made his career that much more special. 

"People were stunned when he came fourth in his opening final," Thorpe writes on the BBC News website. "They can see he is human now and that makes him all the greater. He deserved his gold-medal finale on Saturday. I doubt we will ever see the likes of Phelps again, considering how strong swimming has become on a global stage."

You can read the rest of Ian Thorpe's column here. 

Now that Michael Phelps has retired from competitive swimming after winning 22 Olympic medals, you might wonder what he's going to do with his time.

It turns out that most decorated Olympian is going shark diving with his South African competitor Chad Le Clos. He told NBC's Bob Costas in a post-race interview that he's fascinated by the creature and plans to go diving in South Africa with the swimmer who has long regarded Phelps as his idol.

“That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and Chad (Le Clos) and I were talking, and Chad said ‘why don’t you come to South Africa?’ So I said ‘let’s dive with great whites together.’ And he said ‘OK, let’s set it up,’" Larry Brown Sports writes. 

He also talks about taking up golf to maintain his competitive edge. 

But will the Olympian stay in Baltimore after selling his Fells Point condo for a $400,000 loss? A source tells WBAL News that he purchased another property in Canton. 

It has gotten off to a rocky start, to say the least. 

But now there's some good news for the Baltimore Grand Prix. Organizers of the Baltimore Grand Prix announced that they have landed several new sponsors for this year’s race, including Sunoco, Dr. Pepper and Giant Food, CBS News reports. 

The city terminated its contract with Baltimore Racing Development, the group that put on last year’s event, and dissolved its contract with Downtown Racing. Now, could it be that the third time is the charm with Race On LLC?

We'll find out Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, when the second Baltimore Grand Prix is slated to run. 
 

Michael Phelps isn't the only Olympian from Maryland. 

Baltimore Fishbowl recently listed eight athletes from our state who are competing in the London games:

Julie Zetlin, born in Silver Spring, lives in Bethesda – rhythmic gymnastics
Bobby Lea, Easton – cycling
Keli Smith Puzo, University of Maryland  - field hockey
Sandra Uptagrafft, Annapolis – shooting
Andrew Gemmell, born in Columbia, lives in Wilmington, De. – swimming
Katie Ledecky, Bethesda – swimming
David Banks, Churchill High alum – rowing
Matt Centrowitz, Broadneck High alum – track and field

And last month, the online magazine ran a feature on Maryland Olympians, mentioning locals competing in sailing, field hockey and kayaking. 

The Washington Post has given a shout out to the fast-growing Howard County theater troupe Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. 

The theater made headlines recently when it announced that it is moving from the county to downtown Baltimore's Mercantile Trust Building in 2014. The move will make it the city's third largest theater company, after Center Stage and Everyman Theatre.

The Mercantile building is currently a nightclub, featuring liquor, a disco ball and a basement bar called the Bedroom.  The renovation to turn this nightclub into a theater fit for Shakespeare will take $4 million.
 
"The expansion into Baltimore is a major development for a $540,000-budget troupe that has grown steadily since it opened a decade ago with a Twelfth Night" that drew 100 people, the Post writes. 

You can read the entire story here.