Agreed

New York Mets reliever Armando Benitez yesterday agreed to a no-contact order with his former girlfriend after a court hearing in which she alleged that he hit her 15 times during their three-year relationship. Benitez, a former Oriole, denied ever hitting his one-time fiancee, Stacey O'Neil, 27, but agreed to stay away from her on the condition that O'Neil move out of their Federal Hill home by Jan. 31. O'Neil also agreed not to communicate with Benitez, 28. The agreement was hashed out in Baltimore District Court by lawyers after O'Neil testified that Benitez hit her several times, once leaving bruises "up and down" her arms and legs.

The Ravens today agreed to a four-year deal with linebacker Arthur Brown , leaving them with just two unsigned picks. Brown, a standout at Kansas State, was the second of the Ravens' 10 picks in last month's draft. The only two that have not signed are first-rounder Matt Elam , a safety from the Florida, and third-rounder Brandon Williams , a nose tackle who played at Missouri Southern. Brown's deal will be worth roughly $3.55 million and include a signing bonus of $964,896.

ROCKIES -- Agreed to terms with P Manny Corpas.

Maryland officials agreed Wednesday to buy the historic Annapolis post office building from the U.S. Postal Service for use as part of the government complex surrounding the State House. Without dissent, the three-member Board of Public Works agreed to pay $3.2 million for the 13,000-square-foot building on Church Circle. Built in 1901, the structure is listed on the Maryland Historical Trust inventory of historic properties. Under the deal, the state will lease space back to the Postal Service to continue services for eight to 20 months until it relocates.

BaseballAthletics: Named Mike Quade manager of Triple-A Edmonton.Diamondbacks: Agreed to $350,000, one-year contract with IF Andy Stankiewicz, who had been with Expos.Indians: Agreed to terms with P John Cummings, P John Ericks, P Jason Grimsley and P Jamie McAndrew on minor-league contracts.Mets: Agreed to minor-league contract with C Tim Spehr.Orioles: Double-A Bowie signed P Scott Conner, P Chas Curtis, P Gavin Osteen, P Rich Kelley and OF Duane Singleton.Padres: Agreed to $3.1 million, two-year contract with 2B Quilvio Veras.

Angels: C Ron Tingley (.226 with Tigers) agreed to minor-league contract.Astros: 2B Craig Biggio agreed to four-year contract with club option for fifth year.Brewers: P Kevin Wickander (2.60 ERA in 21 relief appearances for Tigers) agreed to one-year contract.Dodgers: P Mark Guthrie (3.66 ERA in 24 relief appearances) agreed to one-year contract for $870,000. 3B Dave Hansen (.287, 8 HRs) agreed to one-year contract for $400,000.Giants: Traded SS Royce Clayton (.244, 58 RBIs, 24 steals) to Cardinals for P Allen Watson (7-9, 4.69 ERA)

Baseball Angels: Agreed to terms with OF Orlando Palmeiro on one-year contract. Blue Jays: Agreed to terms with C Alberto Castillo on a two-year contract. Braves: Agreed to terms with 2B Quilvio Veras on one-year contract. Named Rafael Belliard minor-league infield instructor and Rick Adair minor-league pitching coordinator. Brewers: Agreed to terms with P Valerio De Los Santos, P Allen Levraault, P Bill Pulsipher, P Paul Stewart and P Jamey Wright on one-year contracts. Cubs: Agreed to terms with P Matt Karchner on one-year contract.

Moves Baseball ATHLETICS: Agreed to terms with former Orioles P Arthur Rhodes on three-year contract. BRAVES: Agreed to terms with P Armando Almanza on one-year contract. Designated P Chris Water for assignment. BREWERS: Agreed to terms with OF Ben Grieve and C Gary Bennett on one-year contracts. Agreed to terms with P Adrian Hernandez on a minor league contract. CARDINALS: Agreed to terms with P Jason Marquis on one-year contract. MARLINS: Agreed to terms with P Toby Borland on minor league contract.

ATLANTA -- Agreed to terms with P Greg Maddux. Traded Charlie Leibrandt and P Pat Gomez to the Rangers for minor-league 3B Jose Oliva.ORIOLES -- Traded IF Rodney Lofton to the Reds for P Jason Satre and P Reggie Leslie.BOSTON -- Acquired OF Ivan Calderon from the Expos for P Mike Gardiner and P Terry Powers. Agreed to contracts with P Scott Bankhead and OF Andre Dawson. Traded OF Phil Plantier to Padres for P Jose Melendez.CALIFORNIA -- Traded P Jim Abbott to the Yankees for P Jerry Nielsen, P Russ Springer and 1B J. T. Snow.

Holiday Spas, which has been beset by charges it illegally discriminated against blacks and males in the last several years, ended a federal bias probe by agreeing yesterday to pay $1.4 million to some black job seekers.It was the third discrimination settlement in the last year for Towson-based U.S. Health Inc., which owns about 40 East Coast Holiday Spas.Last summer, U.S. Health agreed to pay $9.5 million to black customers who were illegally quoted higher prices or steered away from predominately white clubs.

The State Archives had inadequate procedures to prevent loss or employee theft of its $31.4 million art collection, and outdated software left its computers vulnerable to attack, an audit released Tuesday found. The Department of Legislative Services audit did not find evidence that computers had been hacked or art lost or stolen, but recommended the State Archives improve its oversight. State Archives officials agreed with the auditors' findings and said they have put into place the recommendations or will soon do so. The State Archives, with a $8.7 million annual budget, keep historically significant documents and art, as well as certain government and private records.

In the year since Exelon Corp. acquired Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group, the company has donated more than $300,000 to first-responders in the region. It is handing out thousands of free trees to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers. It is helping fund energy-efficient homes for low-income residents. That's much like the year before the merger, nonprofits say. "They're carrying out their volunteer commitments at a very high level," said Elise Lee, chief development officer for United Way of Central Maryland.

Varsity baseball President's Cup film to premiere today "The President's Cup," a documentary film about an annual high school baseball tournament in Baltimore, will premiere at the University of Baltimore today at 6 p.m. The film, directed by Julie Simon , associate professor in the university's School of Communications Design, follows the progress of the second annual tournament, which took place in 2012, and makes its debut as this...

April 1 is the official start to the blue crab harvest in Maryland. But don't reach for your mallet just yet. "It's not time for crabs," said Jessica Borowski, a manager at Midtown BBQ and Brew. "It's too cold out. " The crabs seem to agree. The Chesapeake Bay's water temperature hasn't risen enough for the crabs to become active - and catchable. Consumers set on Maryland crabs will see limited availability for now - and prices to match. Prices for Chesapeake Bay crabs are typically high at the start of the season, and people who want them in April will have to pay even more than usual.

The Ravens continue to fill holes on their defense and at a significantly lower price than the players who departed. About a week after their long-time free safety Ed Reed signed a three-year, $15 million deal with the Houston Texans, the Ravens settled on a potential replacement, agreeing in principle to a three-year, $6 million pact with former Oakland Raider Michael Huff on Wednesday. Huff, who was released March 12 as part of the Raiders' roster purge, will be at the Ravens' facility Thursday to take his physical and sign his contract.

As the 2013 NCAA men's basketball tournament continues, a couple prominent voices have proposed changing how the field of 68 is composed. Former Maryland coach Gary Williams and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas have suggested eliminating automatic qualifiers and simply selecting the top 68 teams for the tournament. That got me thinking: could the same case be made for college lacrosse? Currently, half of the 16-team field in the tournament will be filled with programs that win their respective conference tournaments and the accompanying automatic bids.

An offseason of losses gave way to a big Ravens gain Sunday night as they announced that they have agreed in principle on a five-year deal with former Denver Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who had 63 ½ sacks and 16 forced fumbles in six seasons with the Broncos, will be at the Ravens' facility Tuesday to take a physical and - if all goes well - to sign a contract. “I think this move is awesome,” Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs told The Baltimore Sun. “It shows we're still in the business of winning and we have the best [general manager]

It took former Ravens safety Bernard Pollard a little over a week to find a new home. Pollard has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans, putting him back in the AFC South, his agent, Tory Dandy confirmed on Twitter this morning. Pollard, 28, played two seasons with the Houston Texans before signing with the Ravens. In a somewhat surprising move, the Ravens released Pollard on March 13 despite the fact that he was their leading tackler this past season.