Baltimore-born hoop stars are building buzz, especially locally with the Washington Wizards and the Terps.

Justin Tucker hasn’t been great lately. But he believes the kicker he has been, setting the NFL’s standard for excellence, is still within him.

The Ravens gave up a season-high 428 yards to Joe Burrow and struggled to cover Ja’Marr Chase. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey said Baltimore’s victories are getting harder to enjoy.

Jackson is 6-1 against Burrow, throwing as many touchdowns, fewer interceptions and running for more yards in their head-to-head meetings.

After leading the NFL in sacks last season, Baltimore is in the bottom half of the league this year. Failing to upgrade the pass rush was a mistake.

With a preseason No. 18 ranking, the Terps are expecting to be deeper and have more size to improve on last year’s 19-14 record. But with 10 newcomers, the blend will take time to smooth out.

Baltimore’s historic offense is steamrolling teams, but it can’t crack the first hour of some of the most prominent sports talk shows on TV.

Trenton Simpson and Tavius Robinson were two of the second-year Ravens who made a big impact on an improved performance from Baltimore’s beleaguered defense.

Special teams are usually one of Baltimore's quiet strengths. This season, they’ve drawn attention for all the wrong reasons.

Orioles fans hope that Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander can be in Baltimore for life, but we live with the worry that big-market, big-money teams like the Dodgers will eventually sweep up the talent the Orioles have painstakingly cultivated.

Gay scored 17,642 points in 1,120 games in a career with the Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz.

There’s no fear factor to this defense — a problem that is rooted in a pass rush that can’t get home.

When the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson then signed him to a $220 million deal, enough was known about his sexual assault allegations to make the move contemptible. Now that Watson has failed so disastrously, it's impossible to feel sorry for Cleveland.

The Midshipmen are 6-0 with a Heisman candidate while running a retro offense and without any NIL money. What makes them successful? A stiff grounding in tradition.

The interesting part is not that the Ravens are good offensively, but it’s about how good they are. Some wild numbers give this offense an impressive sense of scale.

With the Ravens headed into another prime-time game Monday night against the Buccaneers, where does the team stand?

“I just didn’t think it was gonna work out like this,” panelist Kyle Brandt of “Good Morning Football” said of the Ravens’ offense. “It just has been so good and so badass.”

It’s long past time for the Ravens’ QB to get the respect he has earned.

A purple-and-black town can be a tough place for Washington fans, especially given the different paths they've been on for the last three decades.

The first reaction to the Week 5 win? Temporary insanity. The second reaction? The Ravens have a lot to work on.