Absurd

Riddick Bowe's lifelong dream of being a U.S. Marine lasted all of 11 days before he tossed in the towel.The former heavyweight boxing champion was granted permission yesterday to be released from boot camp in Parris Island, S.C.There was a time when Bowe, 29, was considered the world's toughest man. But he apparently found it too difficult to adjust to the rigors of military life after years of experiencing the adulation, luxuries and sweet life of a...

Being negative is hotter than ever - if you're trying to sell ionic household products and beautyware. Fuzzy science and savvy marketing have produced a range of merchandise trying to convince you that ions - those tiny, charged particles - will change your life. Whether it's a fridge that sprays negative ions at food or rock salt candle holders that release negative ions to fend off bad, positive ions emitted by electronics, products are being hawked that claim to cure everything from bad hair to asthma.

The following letter was sent to Randy Cerveny, President of the Harford County Education Association. A copy was provided for publication. My wife is a teacher at Church Creek Elementary School and has been a member of the HCEA for several years. Up until recently, my wife and I have given very little thought to the current (or future) bargaining agreement between DOE and the HCEA. Admittedly, it took this bonus "crisis" for either of us to really pay much attention. In the past several months we have become acutely aware that there are fundamental differences in opinion between the two sides on this issue.

Fundamental problems with the two different classes of subsidized units explain why the Section 8 program is in trouble.First, roughly two-thirds of the properties, almost all constructed after 1974, are oversubsidized - that is, they receive federal subsidies based on rents above those on comparable nonsubsidized units in the same neighborhood.Indeed, more than 40 percent of the properties have assisted rents exceeding 120 percent of average market rents in their locations.The General Accounting Office cites examples of Section 8 apartments renting for twice as much as nonsubsidized apartments across the street.

So Act II begins as a flashback sequence. We see Rafael Palmeiro, the embattled protagonist sitting in a closed room, pleading his case before a three-person arbitration committee. He knew what was on the line: his reputation, his baseball legacy, his spot in the Hall of Fame alongside the game's immortals. The positive steroid test had already tainted all that. But what he said could have been even more damaging. It was a tainted supplement, Raffy insinuated to those three people. I didn't think it was bad, he said.

As you watch Ryan Conrad zip around the lacrosse field, dodging defenders and pounding the net with an endless variety of shots, it's easy to forget his age. Talk to him on the phone, however, and the Loyola High sophomore sounds like, well, a high school sophomore. A great many things in his life are summed up by the catchall adjective "amazing!" Young players such as Conrad - equal parts precocious and normal teenager - stand at the center of a debate raging across the lacrosse landscape.

As a businessman I read The Sun to be informed and educated, not for snide and misinformed comments such as those in commentator Matt Patterson's piece on the nomination of Thomas Perez as labor secretary ("Why do we need a labor department?" March 22). It was difficult to determine whether the author meant to be taken seriously. To suggest that we don't need an agency to look out for the interests of workers, when their jobs have so often been shipped overseas and their salaries are stagnant at a time of record corporate profits that primarily benefit shareholders, is simply foolish.

Among those who offered testimony in opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Maryland was Peter Sprigg, senior fellow with the conservative Family Research Council, resident of Montgomery County and the "Sprigg" in this exchange with Chris Matthews onMSNBC's "Hardball" in 2010: Matthews: Do you think we should outlaw gay behavior? Sprigg: Well, I think certainly - Matthews: I'm just asking you, should we outlaw gay behavior? Sprigg: I think that the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which overturned the sodomy laws in this country, was wrongly decided.

The four winners of last year's American League awards had humbling seasons this year. Rookie of the Year Angel Berroa got to Double-A at midseason by the Kansas City Royals. He came back to the big leagues and is batting .263. Manager of the Year Tony Pena, who guided the Royals to an 83-79 record in 2003, watched them lose more than 100 games this year. Cy Young winner Roy Halladay missed 10 weeks with right shoulder problems and went 8-8 after finishing last year 22-7. Finally, there's reigning Most Valuable Player Alex Rodriguez, who got his wish when the Texas Rangers traded him to the New York Yankees, but was batting .160 on April 19. He's batting .288 with 36 home runs and 105 RBIs -- solid numbers, but nowhere near his production from Texas.