Happy Halloween, ladies and gentlemen.It’s more treat than trick for the Terps tonight, as forward Casey Townsend finally makes his long-awaited return to Ludwig Field tonight. It’s been 22 days in the making, but the sophomore forward finally appears healthy. Coincidentally, the last time he played (Oct. 9) was against another Commonwealth outfit — Virginia Tech.

Here’s the new-look starting 11, with one other surprise:

——————–MacMath——————-
—-Darko—–White—–Tangney—–Kemp—-
——————–Kassel——————-
—Saint Cyr——–Yates————-Cortes–
———–Townsend—–Herrick————-

Yes, that’s freshman Widner Saint Cyr in and sophomore Kaoru Forbess out. Saint Cyr played well in the team’s 1-0 loss Saturday night against No. 2 Wake Forest, and he’s come a long way since his rocky start to the season.

More later.

Jonas Shaffer is The Diamondback’s men’s soccer beat writer. He can be reached at shaffer@umdbk.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jonas_shaffer.

Eric Detweiler, Michael Katz and Greg Schimmel aren’t taking the week off just because the Terps are on their bye week. Listen here.

The guys talk about the Terps’ strategy for their remaining four games and what younger players to watch develop for the future. If you listen long enough you can even hear how the gang will spend their Saturday off.

For some reason, they thought you wanted to know.

Photo by Adam Fried/The Diamondback

Sadly, I’m not Bill Simmons.

It would be really nice to have all the space in the world to expound upon the trials and tribulations of the Terp football team in The Diamondback’s print edition.

That means that I had to leave some pretty interesting parts of my nearly 18-minute conversation with Terp tackle Bruce Campbell from Wednesday on the cutting room floor- err..the cluttered floor of my Commons 5 apartment.

Here’s some of what didn’t make my feature column about the Terps’ ailing behemoth:

• Campbell genuinely believes that if he was healthy, things would be different for this team. While the Terps have played some close games this season and an improved running game might’ve helped them grind out a couple extra wins, it’s hard to believe that’s true. But it does say something about how limited Campbell feels he’s been at times this season. Remember it’s his left knee and right toe that have been bothering him, so that has to be tough. “[It’s] a difference I can’t even explain, for real-for real,” Campbell said. “I can’t even imagine if I was 100 percent how things would be going for me at least. And I think if one person gets it going, it would really help the offensive line and we’d be rolling.”

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Need something to fill the void in your Saturday afternoon that’s been spent the last few weeks trying to locate the Terp football team on ESPN360?

The men’s basketball scrimmage would be a nice alternative.

Gary Williams’ boys will hold a public scrimmage on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Comcast Center.

It’s the last intrasquad tune-up before Tuesday’s exhibition opener against D-II Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The press release doesn’t say anything about coming in costume, but I’m sure it’s encouraged.

Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Men’s Basketball Team beat writer. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edetweiler.

Shame on you for thinking the Yankees and the Phillies were the only two teams still on the diamond.

The warm Fall this year has allowed plenty of time for college baseball teams around the country to get work in, and the Terps are no exception.

This tidbit came across my e-mail the other day compliments of SID Justin Moore. The idea for this new three-game “World Series” that will take place this weekend is no doubt the brainchild of the new coaching staff headed by Erik Bakich. He stressed to me this summer he was ready to create a “Maryland Baseball” brand that would attract fans and  alumni,  both on and off campus.

It is somewhat puzzling why this idea has never been hatched before. After all, the idea of holding a intra-squad scrimmage open to the public is not new.  Traditional power Florida State just held their 24th annual fall game, and Miami has an entire weekend devoted to the end of fall practice.

Both of those schools, as well as a number of other conference teams, have large and devoted fan bases, strong alumni networks, and very good baseball teams every year. The Terps  are starting from the back of the race, but at least the wheels are in motion.

 It will be interesting to see how many fans show up for  the games. Bakich has worked hard to make people notice and take interest in the program since he started, and the crowd will be a good indicator if people are listening.

Five months is not that far off. Thus, the games will provide a early look at the make-up and strengths of this team.  There will also be a good chance to get a first look at the freshmen, and to evaluate how some of the returnees have progressed after a full summer of baseball.

Read on after the jump for a few names to keep an ear and eye out for if you happen upon Shipley Field this weekend.

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Terps wide receiver Adrian Cannon is brought down by a host of Blue Devils. Photo by Jaclyn Borowski/The Diamondback

As much as any diehard Terrapin football fan doesn’t want to admit it, it is right about time to start looking ahead to what Gary Williams and his team have in store for the month of November and beyond.

Heading into a much-needed bye week at 2-6, the Terps need to win out if they want to make any sort of bowl game. Unfortunately the schedule doesn’t get any easier, especially for a team that has lost to Duke, Virginia, and Middle Tennessee State.

If you were foolishly hoping this week would unfog the conference picture in the ACC, think again. But, was Clemson’s win over Miami enough to push them ahead of the ‘Canes? How far did Boston College’s heart-breaking loss to Notre Dame cause them to fall?

Find out as our motley crue of sports writers and other Diamondback staffers take our best shot at organizing the contenders and the pretenders.

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Fork Union 14, Maryland 13.

That’s what the scoreboard read. Or should have read. There weren’t scoreboards at this afternoon’s Terp football junior varsity game, in which a bunch of scout team players and a few guys who occasionally play in games for the Terps lost to Fork Union Military Academy, home of several future Division 1 football players and few guys over the age of 19.

It was an ugly affair, to be sure. There were ballboy errors, referees cracking jokes on the sidelines and a number of turnovers. The game featured a running clock until the final few minutes of the fourth quarter, and fans were forced to line the hill next to the Terps’ practice field, where the game was played.

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As we head into the bye week it’s even more obvious this season will be the worst in coach Ralph Friedgen’s nine-year tenure.

Saturday’s 17-13 loss was the first time the Terps have lost to Duke since 1999 and drops the team to 2-6, their worst start under Friedgen and the team’s worst eight-game start since 1998.

Click here to listen to beat writer Greg Schimmel and columnist Eric Detweiler, two guys who braved the dry, window-protected Wallace Wade Stadium pressbox, dissect what went down Saturday in Durham.