Quick to jump to supply those gift cards

As the General Assembly opened last week, Gov. Martin O'Malley scored a quick victory over Senate President Mike Miller. The subject of their wrangling: lighting the State House purple for the Ravens. O'Malley, who'd already had the governor's mansion aglow in Ravens purple, wanted to spread the team spirit to the State House. But it seems the governor alone can't decide such important matters of state. Miller and House Speaker Mike Busch have a say over the State House, too. And Miller, a history buff, didn't think purple was the way to go for the place where Washington resigned his commission. Busch, who played football in college, lined up with O'Malley, and the rest is history. ... Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich is trying to remind Maryland of the good ol' days: the Seinfeld administration. He's taking part in the Polar Bear Plunge on Jan. 24. "Please support my team - 'Team Shrinkage,'" Ehrlich writes in an e-mail. Donations benefit the Special Olympics ... The usual ceremonial bet was off, what with Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl apparently shy about wagering on today's AFC championship game with his just-indicted counterpart in Baltimore. City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake saw the hole and rushed through it, making a bet of her own with Pittsburgh Council President Doug Shields. The pol whose team loses will have to fork over $25 to two charities, St. Vincent De Paul in Baltimore and the Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.