sports & recreation : Buzz

X Games icon and local hero Travis Pastrana is coming back to Baltimore -- in a monster truck.

From the source:

"Pastrana will be driving the Nitro Circus truck named after his MTV reality show. His good friend, Cam McQueen usually drives the truck, but Pastrana takes over for McQueen several times a year.

"Honestly, though, I just want to get as much experience as I can and try to do my best every time I am in the truck," Pastrana said.

Pastrana finished fifth in freestyle at the 2009 Monster Jam World Finals. Sixteen trucks will compete in the event at M&T Bank Stadium."

Read the full story here.

The Orioles went big last week and drafted a talented high school arm with their first pick in the 2011 MLB Draft.

From the source:

"Over the last couple of weeks, some big numbers started popping up in connection with high school pitcher Dylan Bundy, the prospect most prognosticators had going to the Orioles with the fourth overall pick in this year's draft.

Six years, $30 million, one report said.

That didn't scare off Baltimore, which took the hard-throwing right-hander with its first-round selection Monday."

Read the full story at the Carroll County Times.

Tongues continue to wag about the Baltimore Grand Prix and its impact on the city. Here's Evan Serpick at Baltimore Magazine:

"Now, I'm beginning to wonder if the Grand Prix will prove to be worth all of the hassle. It's a sentiment echoed all over town, and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake...who pushed hard to bring the Grand Prix to Baltimore, had better hope that that the event is truly the transcendent, lucrative experience we've been promised. Or else she'll have some tough questions to answer -- something she no doubt would like to avoid in this election year."

Read the full story.

The Dew Tour -- which made two stops in Baltimore before leaving due to scheduling issues -- is returning to Maryland. This time it's in Ocean City, and tickets are on sale.

From the source:

"The Dew Tour, the world's premier season-long action sports tour, announced this week that tickets are available for purchase for the Ocean City stop � the first of four events on the 2011 tour � set for July 21-24."

Read the full story.

The NCAA recently announced a $15,000 donation to the Baltimore City Middle School Lacrosse League.

From the source:

"As part of the Men's Lacrosse Championship weekend, the NCAA has made a $15,000 donation to the Baltimore City Middle School Lacrosse League (BCMSLL), an organization committed to providing additional opportunities for youth through sport. In addition to the donation, the NCAA will hold a free youth clinic with the IMLCA coaches and provided tickets to the Division II and Division III Championship games on Sunday."

Read more here.

Always quick with a well-considered (and well-delivered) opinion, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis spoke to ESPN about the ongoing NFL labor dispute.

From the source:

"One of the consequences of a lost NFL season will be an increase in crime, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said in a wide-raging one-on-one interview with ESPN.

"Do this research if we don't have a season -- watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game," Lewis told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio.

That's because, Lewis said, the NFL lockout affects "way more than us" -- the owners and the players.

"There's too many people that live through us, people live through us," he said. "Yeah, walk in the streets, the way I walk the streets, and I'm not talking about the people you see all the time."

Read the full ESPN report.

New Maryland basketball coach Mark Turgeon wasted no time in getting to know the Baltimore area. From Matt Bracken at the Sun's Recruiting Report blog:

"[Maryland assistant] coach Bino [Ranson], he texted me and said the new coach wants to come in and meet you and talk to you. He wanted to meet all the leadership of Baltimore," Young said Friday. "He came here today, spent about 45 minutes in my office. I had somewhere to go and I'm quite sure he had other people to meet. We just talked about basketball, expectations of kids who come from Baltimore [and then go to] Maryland. I found him to be a very likeable person, a straight shooter. I like people who are straight shooters. I look forward to working with him and helping him be successful here in Maryland."

Read the full article.