Age Groups

Sex doesn't stop at age 60, 70, 80 or beyond, according to a study published today that found many Americans stayed surprisingly frisky well into old age. The study of 3,005 adults ages 57 to 85 found the majority had an active sex life with a partner or spouse. More than half of sexually active older adults had sex two to three times a month - the same frequency reported among younger adults in a large 1992 national survey. The report, in the New England Journal of Medicine, found passions cooled as people aged, but said the declining interest in sex couldn't be attributed to age alone.

Don't trust the critics about the latest movies? Don't want to blindly follow the crowd to the current No. 1 box-office hit? Then you might be interested in a new Internet service that will tell you on Saturday morning how people your age, and your gender, responded to a movie that opened the night before.Cinemascore, Inc., a Las Vegas-based company that has been providing opening-weekend exit-poll data to the media and the movie industry for nearly two decades, is now not only putting the results on its free Web site -- www.cinemascore.

BIG THINGS come in small packages in New Windsor.And so, on Sunday, officials gathered to dedicate a one-fifth acre park packed with symbolism of the community.All the trees in the small park at the intersection of Routes 32 and 75 were donated by groups and residents. The large pine tree that is the town Christmas tree was donated years ago by the neighboring Warehime family upon their son's return from the Vietnam War, and another was recently planted by the local Brownie troop.Two flags -- an American flag that had flown over the Capitol provided by 6th District Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett and a state flag sent by Gov. Parris N. Glendening -- were hoisted by members of the town's volunteer fire department.

Late winter, 1995. Democrats everywhere were feeling merry as the Siege of Leningrad. The new Congress was ruled by Newt and Bob, the White House was lashed to a sinking health care plan, President Clinton appeared to be holding a one-way ticket to Palookaville. And if that wasn't bad enough, the College Democrats at the University of Maryland had lost their office.Grim, very grim.No one was paying attention and the reservation for the office lapsed, making it the exclusive province of the Pakistani Students Association.

HOSPICE OF THE Chesapeake has an exciting offer for Baltimore Orioles fans: a chance to win two club seat tickets for opening day April 1 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.The tickets are being raffled at $5 a chance. The drawing is March 25. Call 987-2003. Proceeds will help pay for hospice programs.One of those is a retreat for children and teen-agers ages 6 to 18 who have relatives or friends with a life-threatening illness, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 13 at the Annapolis Swim Center on Riva Road.

Murray Stephens will be very much in his element when he arrives in Atlanta this week. He has coached Olympic swimmers for the better part of the past two decades, and his appointment as an assistant coach for the 1996 Games was long overdue.His name brings nods of recognition throughout the swimming world, and yet he is relatively unknown here in his hometown -- even though his Meadowbrook Aquatic and Fitness Center might be the premier club swimming facility on the East Coast.This is the O-zone, after all, and soon to be in an NFL frenzy, too. But before the Orioles head down the stretch and the Ravens kick off their first season at Memorial Stadium, Stephens and two of his swimmers will try to put Baltimore in the international spotlight.

Pro baseball may be down and out, but the sport continues to grow at the youth level.Howard Babe Ruth League, Inc., the first sanctioned Babe Ruth League in Howard County, will conduct its inaugural registrations on Jan. 18 and 25 in the cafeteria at Centennial High School.This season, it hopes to offer players one practice and three games per week in four age groups (11-12, 13, 14-15 and 16-18).Open registration also will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Mall in Columbia.

What: State championship matches for boys teams in under-10 through U-18 age groups and girls teams in U-10 through U-17 age groups [Note: Boys U-19 and girls U-18 and U-19 to be played at later date.]Where: Carroll Community CollegeWhen: Tomorrow, starting at 10 a.m., and Sunday, beginning at 9 a.m.Why: Boys and girls teams in age groups U-12 and older qualify for U.S. Youth Soccer Region I championships July 1-4 in Niagara Falls, N.Y.Tomorrow's scheduleBoys: 10 a.m. -- U-11: Columbia Cobras vs. S.C. Baltimore Bays; 10:30 a.m. -- U-15: Pasadena Top Guns vs. S.C. Baltimore Stars; 2:30 p.m. -- U-14: Severna Park Sting vs. Baltimore F.C. '81; 4 p.m. -- U-10: Young Guns vs. Baltimore F.C. '85.Girls: Noon -- U-13: Severna Park Hurricanes vs. Bethesda Scorpions; 12:30 p.m. -- U-14: Parkville Panthers vs. Bethesda Broncos; 2 p.m. -- U-11: Columbia Dynamo vs. Bethesda Fury; 4:30 p.m. -- U-15: Columbia S.C. Majestic vs. S.A. Columbia Magic.

Of all the punts, passes and kicks Jeremy Burns and Sean Ireland have executed, none matched the excitement of those on Dec. 26.As two of 36 competitors in the Team Championships of the NFL Gatorade Punt, Pass and Kick Competition at RFK Stadium, Burns, 12, of Forest Hill, and Ireland, 11, of Fallston, displayed their passing skills during halftime of the Washington Redskins-Los Angeles Raiders game.Dressed in Redskins uniforms, they jogged onto the turf before more than 60,000 spectators, vying for a Feb. 7 trip to Honolulu to compete in the national finals during halftime of the NFL's Pro Bowl.

Staff Writer ason Rippon saw the help-wanted ad for an airlines ticket agent and, experienced job-seeker that he is, tried beat the rush by showing up early."

As a near-deafening refrain of techno music rocked the 1st Mariner Arena, Kathy Brown gathered her 16 girls in the quietest corner she could find, drew them into a tight circle and voiced a theme she hoped would propel them through their 150 seconds in the spotlight. "I don't want any attitudes," said Brown, coach of Coastal Xtreme, a Salisbury cheerleading squad in town yesterday to compete in the 18th annual Maryland State Cheer and Dance Championships. "Go out as there a team, and you'll take the title."

His brain felt like a ripe melon "ready to blow up." Former Maryland fullback Tim Cesa switched helmets four times during the 2006 season in search of one that would protect his head from additional concussions. None of them helped. After a series of five or six concussions over almost two seasons, Cesa's career ended with a final hit on the first play against Florida State on Oct. 28, 2006. Now, as a manager at R.J. Bentley's Filling Station, Cesa's only tie to the football program is through fans who pack the popular downtown bar. It's the only connection he can handle while he finishes school.

DEAR CAL -- What do you think about players and coaches using cell phones during an 11-year-old all-star game? I was watching my brother play, and my dad noticed that the other team was text-messaging what pitches were coming to the batter on the other team. Do you think there should be a rule for it, and is it fair play? Eddie Lowery, Audubon, Pa. DEAR EDDIE -- First, I don't think relaying another team's signs to batters is a good idea no matter how it is accomplished. If, by chance, the person relaying the pitches to the batter provides bad information -- which is possible -- the batter doesn't stand a chance.

Sex doesn't stop at age 60, 70, 80 or beyond, according to a study published today that found many Americans stayed surprisingly frisky well into old age. The study of 3,005 adults ages 57 to 85 found the majority had an active sex life with a partner or spouse. More than half of sexually active older adults had sex two to three times a month - the same frequency reported among younger adults in a large 1992 national survey. The report, in the New England Journal of Medicine, found passions cooled as people aged, but said the declining interest in sex couldn't be attributed to age alone.

Rudy Brown is among the busy basketball coaches this season in Anne Arundel County. He runs Harundale's 13-and-under boys team, which plays in the Anne Arundel County 13-and-under Maryland division on Saturdays and in the Harundale Sunday Select league. "The majority of this team was together last year also," Brown said. "We've stepped up this year and gone into an older age group." Brown's team has a 4-4 record in the Saturday league. Harundale is 5-1 in the Sunday league, and playing against tougher teams has helped them improve.

Howard County residents will be able to get flu shots without getting out of their cars at a Sunday drive-through clinic the Health Department is planning next month on Gateway Drive in Columbia. The county plans to use a two-mile loop of roadway in the Gateway Business Park -- normally empty on Sundays -- for the Oct. 15 clinic, which they say will be able to handle up to 500 people ages 5 and older per hour between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The clinic is intended to dispense flu vaccine but also test the ability to administer mass immunizations in a pandemic or other emergency.

Working in pairs, a group of youths entered the Yak Shack, removed a dozen green, purple, blue and red 8-foot kayaks and turned each upside-down to empty any water. With a strap in each hand, they carried the boats up a dirt trail and loaded them into a trailer, packing them tightly to ensure their cargo remained in place. The next day, the eight campers traveled from their day camp in Sykesville to the Monocacy River near Detour. For the next couple of hours, they ventured downstream, confronted class-one rapids, spotted a bald eagle and ate their lunches in their kayaks on a riverbank.

With a brief hint of spring teasing the area Saturday afternoon, over 350 girls - divided into six age groups - made their way to McDonogh School in Owings Mills to compete for a spot on this year's M&D lacrosse club teams. Founded in 2001 by former Mount Hebron coach and current McDonogh coach Chris Robinson, M&D lacrosse is one of the elite programs in the region. Girls come from as far away as Delaware and Northern Virginia for a chance to make the roster. They go in knowing that a commitment of two or three practices a week during the summer, Sunday practices and tournaments is expected.

Basketball is on the rebound, nationally and in Anne Arundel County. More college and professional games are on television almost every night, and more kids are taking an interest in it and wanting to find their way onto a court. That's one of the main reasons boys basketball continues to grow in popularity in the Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks leagues. There are five age groups, and there's no question how much local kids like to play the game. "I think [it's about] physical fitness and the college games that are on just about every night someplace on TV," said Ron Mox, a county recreation and sports supervisor.

A recent girls high school basketball game in the metro area that featured two very good players showed just how the sport has changed in recent years. Scouts from the University of North Carolina, University of Delaware, Georgetown University, McDaniel College and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County were there to watch two of the area's top-ranked teams and - they hoped - recruit some players. The good high school players these days usually have one thing in common: They had played in strong recreation basketball leagues before entering high school.