Absence

Ray Lewis showed up Tuesday for the first day of the Ravens' mandatory minicamp, looking considerably leaner after an offseason in which he dedicated himself to adjusting to a quicker and pass-oriented NFL. Lewis' longtime teammate, Ed Reed, meanwhile, made his own statement by not showing up, spurring even more questions about the mercurial safety's commitment and mindset heading into the 2012 season. While running back Ray Rice expectedly stayed away from the mandatory camp as his agent works on a long-term contract extension , Reed was an unexcused absence, his latest display of discontent with the team as he heads into the final year of his contract.

The 2012-13 Ravens will be well represented Wednesday when the team travels to the White House to be honored by President Barack Obama for its 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3. Linebacker Ray Lewis , who retired following his 17th season in Baltimore, and safety Ed Reed , who signed a free-agent deal with the Houston Texans in March after playing 11 seasons for the Ravens, are both expected to...

Pardon me while I rant: Are you kidding me? According to a report from the Center for American Progress, about 35 percent of Maryland teachers missed 10 or more days of the 2009-2010 school year. Excuse me? Don't most teachers work 10 months? Don't they get vacation? I'm a union man, but I'll tell you one thing: The men and women who fought for and won sick-day privileges for teachers did not think there would be this kind of abuse of the privilege. And you can get all huffy-and-puffy about my use of the word "abuse," but a sick-day rate like this smells of it. I know what every reasonable person knows: We get sick.

Loading his earthly belongings into a laundry cart that he rented from Campus Services, Johns Hopkins University freshman Austin Dennis made several trips from his dormitory room to his car on residential Greenway at North Charles Street, opposite the Homewood campus May 15. It was move-out week for Hopkins students as the school year ended, and Dennis, an economics major, was catching a flight that night to his hometown of Miami, Fla., where he...

Ravens coach John Harbaugh hasn't spoken to Ed Reed, but did acknowledge that the enigmatic safety was not excused to miss the first day of the Ravens' mandatory three-day minicamp. "I have not communicated with Ed so I'm not sure what the situation is on that," Harbaugh said. Asked if he was concerned with Reed's absence, which adds to a tumultuous offseason for the safety, Harbaugh said, "The [collective bargaining agreement] applies and I haven't talked to him. " The CBA stipulates that players under contract could be fined as much as $63,000 for missing the mandatory three-day minicamp, and another $9,000 for not taking a physical that precedes the workout.

Bryant McKinnie's continued absence due to personal reasons may have forced the Ravens offense to shift Michael Oher from right to left tackle and rotate rookies Kelechi Osemele and Jack Cornell and Cord Howard at right tackle, but offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said he's not worried about not having McKinnie in camp. In fact, Cameron said McKinnie's absence has opened the door for others along the offensive line to get reps in training camp that they might not have gotten. “You just let it play out,” Cameron said.

The loss of inside linebacker Ray Lewis to a torn right triceps suffered in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 31-29 win against the Dallas Cowboys saps the Ravens of their leading tackler and emotional sparkplug. But according to a pair of NFL Network analysts, the defense should fare fine even without the 13-time Pro Bowler. Speaking on “Thursday Night Kickoff,” former St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk pointed out that the unit hasn't been exactly suffocating through the first six games of the season and that was with Lewis in the starting lineup.

Two days ago, the third annual Beltway Classic looked to be as wide open as its predecessors, but Mount St. Mary's chances took a tumble when backcourt standout Kevin Booth suffered a serious knee injury in a 116-98 loss at Navy Monday.Seven minutes into the game, Booth hurt himself breaking free for an inbounds pass. It was originally feared that he had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left leg, but an examination near his West Chester, Pa., home yesterday found that was not the case.

News from this past weekend that Massachusetts senior attackman Will Manny would be out indefinitely with a broken thumb didn't impact the then-No. 14 Minutemen's ability to pull off a 12-11 upset of then-No. 6 North Carolina. But Manny's absence - if a long one - could have an impact on the race for the Tewaaraton Award. On the face of it, losing Manny - who recorded 44 goals and 33 assists in 2012 - would appear to open the race for candidates like Princeton junior midfielder Tom Schreiber (32, 28)

Theatre Project patrons will realize they're in for something different as soon as they see the physical set-up for Double Edge Theatre's "Song of Absence in the Fall of the Ashen Reign," which opens Wednesday. Instead of the usual bank of seats at one end of the room, the audience sits on elevatedbenches on either side of an elongated playing area.Doing things differently is practically a way of life for Double Edge founder and artistic director Stacy Klein, a native Baltimorean whose work is being seen in her hometown for the first time.

Senior Zach Palmer returned to No. 13 Johns Hopkins after sitting out two games with an undisclosed injury and finished with zero points on four shots in Saturday's 8-4 loss to then-No. 7 Loyola. But rather than take up his usual spot on attack with sophomore Wells Stanwick and junior Brandon Benn, Palmer ran with seniors John Ranagan and John Greeley as members of the second midfield. Senior John Kaestner made his third consecutive start with Stanwick and Benn for the Blue Jays (8-5)

Many teams would be hard-pressed to win at a consistent rate without their conference's Specialist of the Year and one of the top midfielders in the country. But that's exactly what Denver is doing. Despite the right knee injury that has sidelined senior Chase Carraro, the Pioneers have picked up three straight victories and risen to No. 8 in The Sun's rankings. Coach Bill Tierney said the posterior cruciate ligament in Carraro's right knee is improving to the point where he has returned to running on the practice field.

Midfielder Rob Guida will not play in No. 5 Johns Hopkins' home contest against Mount St. Mary's tonight, paving the way for a third consecutive start for the first midfield of seniors John Ranagan and John Greeley and junior Rex Sanders. But the junior's absence from the Blue Jays' 11-8 upset loss to No. 14 Princeton had no effect on the offense's shooting woes last Friday night. The team's inaccuracy was especially personified by Ranagan, Greeley and Sanders, who went 0-of-11, but coach Dave Pietramala said Guida's presence might not have changed anything.

News from this past weekend that Massachusetts senior attackman Will Manny would be out indefinitely with a broken thumb didn't impact the then-No. 14 Minutemen's ability to pull off a 12-11 upset of then-No. 6 North Carolina. But Manny's absence - if a long one - could have an impact on the race for the Tewaaraton Award. On the face of it, losing Manny - who recorded 44 goals and 33 assists in 2012 - would appear to open the race for candidates like Princeton junior midfielder Tom Schreiber (32, 28)

[UPDATE: A quote was attributed to the wrong person in an earlier version. The Sun regrets the error.] Reigning national champion Loyola will meet Towson Wednesday night and No. 3 Maryland Saturday without Josh Hawkins for at least one game. The senior short-stick defensive midfielder, who was named a preseason All American, did not play in the No. 1 Greyhounds' 9-8 win against Delaware last Saturday. Coach Charley Toomey said he doesn't anticipate that Hawkins will play Wednesday and that his status for Saturday's contest is uncertain.

As tens of thousands of Maryland families reveled in purple pride at M&T Bank Stadium on Tuesday, one mile away, the mood at Digital Harbor High School was blue. Students and staff questioned the Baltimore school system's decision not to amend school schedules or allow them to attend the parade celebrating the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl win against the San Francisco 49ers. "We are in a city that our kids are not always proud of," said Patrice LaHair, an English teacher at Digital Harbor.

BARCELONA, Spain -- In a summit marked as much by who was not there as who was, the European Union opened a two-day conference yesterday aimed at renewing its commitment to developing and democratizing Muslim nations on the Mediterranean's southern rim. Many of the North African and Middle Eastern leaders who had agreed to come to the meeting in Barcelona announced last week that they could not attend. Their absence weakens European claims that their approach to the Muslim world - based on economic development, dialogue, strengthening the rule of law and other forms of soft power - has greater credibility with the region's leaders than what they see as the Bush administration's more aggressive approach.

"Song of Absence in the Fall of the Ashen Reign" is like an over-ornamented, darkly woven tapestry in which bright imagesoccasionally shine through the busy stitching.Conceived and directed by former Baltimorean Stacy Klein for her Boston-based company, Double Edge Theatre, the 65-minute piece -- currently at the Theatre Project -- is intended as an hommage to the Eastern European Hasidic culture that perished in the Holocaust. However, the nightmarish tone of this impressionistic work accentuates death and destruction more than that which was destroyed.

The Indianapolis Colts' nine points in Sunday's 15-point loss to the Ravens in Sunday's AFC wild-card playoff round, matched a season low when the team fell to the New York Jets, 35-9, on Oct. 14. Critics might point to the absence of offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who was hospitalized at a Baltimore-area hospital Sunday morning with serious flu-like symptoms, but wide receiver Reggie Wayne downplayed the impact of having quarterbacks coach...

When two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger dislocated some ribs and sprained his right throwing shoulder in the Pittsburgh Steelers' 16-13 overtime win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 12, the offense was forced to turn to a pair of venerable veterans in Byron Leftwich and then Charlie Batch. Another option could have been Dennis Dixon, a fifth-round pick by the Steelers in 2008 who spent four seasons with the team. Pittsburgh could have signed Dixon from the Ravens' practice squad, but no such overture was extended.