I see Utah, I see France ...

R&B artist Chris Brown was at Baltimore's ESPN Zone on Sunday with about 30 friends and family to mark the birthday of backup dancer Lil Scooter. In a private room with two bodyguards posted outside, they celebrated over football and two birthday cakes, one made to look like a scooter. So says the PR firm for ESPN Zone, which was excited enough about Brown's visit to issue a news release. ... Funny how those AirTran billboards with Steve McNair still work, even though the quarterback and his team are in the tank. "No. 9, you are cleared for takeoff" has a don't-let-the-door-hit-you-in-the-keiste r-on-your-way-out quality. And consider "Taking care of business. Mostly in the Air." On the field and on the bench, not so much. ... It's going to be a green Christmas in Maryland, since the state has decked its halls and trees with energy-efficient lights. All of the Christmas lights in the State House and governor's mansion have been replaced with light-emitting diodes, which use 10 percent of the energy of standard incandescent bulbs. There are 10,000 lights on the 21-foot Douglas fir in the State House Rotunda. Estimated energy savings over the course of the holiday season on that tree alone: $1,400. Cost to buy lights for that tree, about $225.