Although Baltimore isn’t known for a professional basketball team, the city has groomed some of the best in the NBA—Mugsy Bogues, Will Barton, Reggie Lewis, and Carmelo Anthony, to name a few. Under Armour (UA) Basketball’s new YouTube series Home Court that launched on July 12 features some of Baltimore’s rising stars in basketball and focuses on the culture surrounding the sport.

“We wanted to create this series to start a conversation around the intersection between basketball and culture and how that cross-section varies between different cities,” said Justin Brown, brand manager for UA Basketball. “We chose Baltimore to launch the series not only because it’s home to UA, but also because the spirit of the city is so unique and powerful, and we are excited to spotlight it for those outside of the city.”

The first season of this inaugural series spotlights Baltimore by exploring the cultural impact that basketball, style, food, and music has on the city. The audience goes on a journey with Sarunas Jackson from HBO’s Insecure as he visits local basketball courts, goes to iconic establishments, and meets with local players.

“We looked for key players that were local or had a strong tie to the community while embodying the same tough yet charming attitude for which Baltimore is known,” said Brown. “There were so many triumphant stories of how each individual took their own experience with their resilient and resourceful nature to hustle harder than the rest and ultimately give back to the city, which was very inspiring for us to showcase.”

The first episode features local Baltimore legends Aquille Carr and Terry Hosley discussing the cross-town rivalry between East and West Baltimore ballers. The St. Frances Academy girls’ basketball team is featured, as well as NBA guard and Baltimore native Will Barton and his youth basketball squad, Team Thrill, which he founded to keep kids off the streets.

“It makes them want to do something good and it makes them feel better knowing that they are representing something other than themselves,” Barton says in the episode. “They are representing the city.”

In the episodes that follow, Jackson visits the East Baltimore hotspot Sunny’s Subs with rapper A$AP Ant from West Baltimore as they discuss the unique cuisine that is the chicken box. Jackson also meets up with Nacho Bangers owner Eric Williams in McElderry Park to talk about his love for food and giving back to the city that raised him.

“The high school kids, the athletes there, when they bring their energy to Nacho Bangers, we share our energy with them,” Williams said. “It’s to help them build. Baltimore inspired me to show you not only what we go through in our city, but how great we can be.”

In the final episode of the series, Jackson sits down with local musicians TT The Artist and Bond St. District to discuss the connections between music and sports in Baltimore.

“I think that the two worlds are so intersecting right now with hip-hop being such a big genre right now and sports being something that’s very much involved in the community,” TT said. “I think it’s just a natural intersection.”

According to UA Basketball, this series is the first of many. The ultimate goal is to show that “ball is life” for some in cities like Baltimore, and that it helps to shape the communities where the game is played.

“We wanted to explore how it specifically impacts these subcultures,” said Brown. “We know the influence of the game transcends the court.”

Jacoby Jones retires a Raven.
One of the heroes of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII run will announce his retirement today at the team’s facility in Owings Mills. Time to cue up the video of that 109-yard kickoff return . . . (or him catching the Miracle at Mile High, or dodging Mike Tomlin on Thanksgiving and saying afterward—while eating a turkey leg in the locker room—that he should have ran into the Steelers’ coach.) I think we can all agree on that.

A controversy wrapped in the flag.
One day, most likely a long time from now, if at all, maybe everyone will step back, take a deep breath, and think. About what this last week—which began Sunday morning with images from London of a dozen Ravens players (and Ray Lewis) kneeling during the national anthem in protest of our president, and continued the last few days with heated debate about it – has really meant.

But, for now, we’re still in it. 

What exactly will happen this Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium? We know that at least a few new voices, a trio from the U.S. Air Force, will bellow, “O, say…” before kickoff. Reservoir Hill native Joey Odoms, the team’s anthem singer since 2014 and a former national guardsman, resigned from his post amid the ongoing controversy, saying he doesn’t feel welcome anymore, citing the negative reactions of some fans to the nationwide signs of unity among NFL players.

Emotions have been stirred in all corners, including from 65,000-plus who’ve signed a petition to take down Lewis’ statue at the stadium, though he said this week he wasn’t necessarily protesting, but praying. In any case, intent has been blurred, jerseys burned, listening seemingly stopped, and we’ve been forced to consider our opinions on the whole issue, even if we’d normally prefer to watch a pro football game to escape our problems and, of course, primarily to see the Ravens beat the Steelers again.

There’s always next year?
Well, after flirting with a playoff run until the last few weeks, the Orioles’ 64th season will end unceremoniously in Tampa Bay on Sunday, when they play their last game of the regular season. It’s not the type of year the O’s, or we, hoped for; they’ll finish with a losing record for the first time since 2011, Buck Showalter’s first full year as manager.

But the season did have its moments, like on a hot afternoon Sunday, in the Camden Yards finale, when too-often-injured fan favorite J…J…Hardy smacked a two-run homer in the fourth inning, after receiving a standing ovation in the first in what might be his last game wearing an O’s uniform here. That’s a nice way to go out!

Friday night lghts.

St. Frances Academy, the private school located on East Chase Street just off the Jones Falls Expressway, has a long history, as in more than 185 years’ worth as the first and oldest predominantly African-American Catholic school in the country. Its 2017 football team is now part of its story, too.

With a 28-7 win over Calvert Hall last Friday night, the Panthers, who finished 0-6 in the MIAA two years ago, improved to 4-0 overall and rose to No. 22 in the USA Today National Top 25, while remaining tied with DeMatha for the top spot in the state poll. We’ll have to see how the team fares against Loyola Blakefield this afternoon at 4 p.m.