Tuesday Morning Links

Last night felt very, very good if you're a Maryland fan. Hopefully the next few games will feel just as good, though my bet is that they'll lose at least one game between now and ACC play. There were some other things that felt pretty good recently, too.

• Maryland Picks Up New VA WR Commit

Maryland went into Virginia for its most recent verbal commitment.

Falmouth, Va., defensive back Dexter McDougle, 5 feet 11, 180 pounds, pledged to the Terps on Saturday, according to Rivals.com.

"It was my first official visit and I went to Maryland," he said. "They showed me around, showed me the educational opportunities which are real important to me. They aren’t just worried about me as a football player, but also as a person. They care about me and it’s a family thing there. I figure I could help the program out. Plus, it’s not too far from home. That’s why I committed."

• Barack Obama + Steve Goins

That's right, Goins, who has played nine minutes this season, is in January's Special Inauguration Issue of Washingtonian, a monthly magazine about all things D.C.-metro area.  It rarely delves into sports, but Goins' mugshot appears on page 12 as part of president-elect Barack Obama's 2009 Dream Team.  The subhead reads:

Basketball junkie Barack Obama has to assemble a new gang for pickup games.  Here's a dream team--good players who'd also be good company.

Under Goins' picture it reads: "The University of Maryland freshman played high-school ball not far from Obama's home in Chicago."

• Facing Nevada's Pistol Offense (Okay, maybe this one didn't feel so good.)

  In the pistol, the quarterback lines up in shotgun formation, but closer to the line. A running back is set directly behind.

  The pistol is designed to give the quarterback the shotgun formation’s advantage of reading the defense. But it puts added pressure on the defense because the quarterback can also hand off or run.

  Nevada coach Chris Ault said the offense suits quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Ault had seen Kaepernick at a football camp while the quarterback was in high school and wanted an offense to capitalize on his multi-dimensional skills.

In case you care, yes, one of these will likely be in tomorrow's top 5.