Athletes

That chronic groin pain sometimes felt by athletes may be called a sports hernia, but it's not really a hernia at all, according to Dr. Katherine G. Lamond, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a surgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center. She said they are different from what's normally thought of as a hernia and sometimes tough to diagnose. But once doctors determine that this is the cause, there is effective treatment. What is the difference between a sports hernia and other types of hernias?

The freshman attacking midfielder proved she's ready for prime time, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to seal the No. 2 Knights' 10-9 victory over then-No. 2 C. Milton Wright in the Class 3A-2A state semifinal. Warther, who also scored with 1:22 left in regulation to tie the game at 8, finished with four goals on six shots. She contributed five goals and an assist to the 14-2 regional semifinal win over North Hagerstown and a goal in the 14-3 regional final win over Middletown.

No matter how tear-resistant you may think you are, it will take superhuman effort to avoid a swelling in the throat when reading the last chapter of this brave and beautiful book. It is a letter Arthur Ashe wrote to his 6-year-old daughter, Camera, on Inauguration Day this year, saying, at the outset, that "by the time you read this letter . . . I may not be around to discuss with you what I have written here."Little more than two weeks later, Ashe, the greatest African-American tennis player in history, died, at 49, of pneumonia brought about by the AIDS virus.

The senior attackman took the lead role in the Dons' improbable run to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship, highlighted by his two-goal, four-assist performance in Friday's 10-9 upset win over previously undefeated Boys' Latin to win the title. Capping the standout performance for McNamara was the title-clinching goal with 1:56 to play. The Dons, who earned the sixth and final playoff spot in the final day of the regular season, trailed 6-0 after the first quarter and 9-7 in the closing minutes of regulation.

Five students at St. Vincent Pallotti High were named to All-MIAA teams for spring sports. Senior midfielder Billy Rodgers was named for B Conference lacrosse and senior Justin Clatworthy was named for B Conference golf. Juniors Matt Defrank (short stop) and Corey Dirks (catcher and pitcher), together with senior Jackson Souder (pitcher, third base, first base) were named All-MIAA for B Conference baseball.

University of Maryland teams posted their best Graduation Success Rate, 82 percent, in the most recent statistics announced Thursday. It was the third straight year that Maryland's GSR has risen. This year's numbers measure freshmen who entered the school from the 2002-2003 school year through 2005-2006. The men's basketball team went from 46 percent in 2011 to 50 percent this year, while women's basketball improved from 81 percent to 93 percent. The football team's rate improved from 59 percent to 65 percent.

Two recent news articles lead me to question the values of both our society and The Sun. The first was the announcement of the obscene amount of money Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata is being paid - $61 million - to play football through 2015. There is no other word for it at a time when teachers, police and firefighters - the people who actually affect other people's lives - are being laid off or underpaid, and when elected leaders at all levels don't earn anywhere near the amount athletes get. What contribution to society does an athlete make that deserves such an outrageous sum of money?

Well, that one struck a nerve. Write a column listing the coolest athletes ever to play in Maryland and you expect to get reaction. Oh, did I get reaction. My in-box blew up. I got phone calls. A guy cornered me at the 7-Eleven and said: "Two words: No Rick Dempsey?" "That's three words," I said. "And how did you get past my security detail?" Then I remembered I didn't have a security detail. But back to the list, which appeared in Thursday's column and was a direct rip-off of GQ magazine's list of 25 all-time coolest athletes.

Forbes released its list of the world's highest-paid athletes on Monday, and one of the biggest names on the Ravens defense is ranked 12th on the list. I'll give you a hint: It is not Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs or Ed Reed. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who signed a five-year, $61 million extension with the Ravens last September, earned $37.1 million in salary and bonuses over the past 12 months, which was more than any other athlete playing a team sport . Throw in the $200,000 that he made in endorsements and Ngata raked in $37.3 million.

Kenwood soccer player Angelique Abel felt a little panicked as she sat down for her first television interview last month. In a Kenwood classroom turned makeshift TV studio to shoot the October edition of "High School Sports Scene," the Bluebirds senior sat under the bright lights facing Towson sophomore Sydney Callahan, who was just as nervous preparing to conduct her first interview. As the camera rolled, however, both girls settled into a comfortable exchange. With Callahan's prompting, Abel talked easily about her experiences as a three-sport athlete and how playing sports has enriched her life.

Mike Waddell, whose 2 1/2-year tenure as Towson's athletic director was marked both by the tremendous growth in its football and men's basketball programs and by the controversy surrounding the elimination of men's soccer and the proposed dropping of baseball, is leaving to become a senior associate athletic director at Arkansas. Waddell's departure comes a few months before the school is scheduled to open Tiger Arena and several months after Waddell found himself embroiled in an often nasty debate that ultimately reached the state legislature and was - at least temporarily - resolved with extra funding for the baseball program.

Preakness had its share of glitterati in attendance this year. Kiss bassist Gene Simmons , and his wife - and "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" reality show co-star - Shannon Tweed hung out in the Jockey Club, while "House of Cards" star Kevin Spacey made the circuit in the Corporate Village, looking dapper in a cream blazer and fedora. Spacey's style was more on track than his handicapping. When caught at the betting window there, the actor was asked his pick in the next race (the No. 9)

In light of Johns Hopkins president Ronald J. Daniels accepting the recommendation of a seven-member special committee to explore joining a conference, university athletic director Tom Calder and men's lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala participated in a conference call Friday afternoon. Here are a few highlighted quotes from the conference call. Athletic director Tom Calder on the timetable for researching potential conference: “There really isn't any timeline. We've got to put a lot of time into this and make sure that if we are going to go into a conference, we do all of our homework and that we do what's best not only for the athletes and the team but the university also.” Coach Dave Pietramala on the timetable: “From our perspective, this is an exciting opportunity and the decision to seek conference affiliation is a monumental decision, which means the next decision is as equally as big because you want to continue to move into a positive direction, and you want to find the right place.

Almost three weeks after NBA player Jason Collins became the first openly gay active male athlete in a major American sport -- and yes, all those qualifiers are necessary -- new polling data shows a majority of Americans wouldn't care if their favorite athlete was gay. In a comprehensive survey conducted by Reason-Rupe, only 12 percent of those polled said they would be less likely to support their favorite jock if he or she came out, while 77...

Handlers used special massage techniques to soothe Goldencents' muscular frame and sudsy sponges to stimulate the shine and bloom on the Preakness competitor's chocolate-colored coat - while a sizable entourage seemed transfixed. Outside the Pimlico stables, a green oasis tucked inside urban Northwest Baltimore, a crowd had gathered around Goldencents. Photographers took pictures. A cluster of men, women and children from a sunrise tour stopped to stare. Security guards looked on. The list of helpers, assistants and advisers for Goldencents and the other Preakness all-stars is longer than Stacy Keibler's prep team on Oscar night - grooms, exercise riders, hot walkers, trainers, jockeys, veterinarians, stall muckers, chiropractors, ultrasound technicians and nutritionists.

The sophomore sprinter added to an already impressive running resume with four gold medals in leading the No. 1 Eagles to the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland track and field championship. She won the 100 and 200 meters and ran legs of the winning 800- and 1,600-meter relays. Undefeated in the 100 and 200, she has won seven IAAM titles in two years. An All-Metro first-team selection during the indoor track season, she helped the Eagles take that team title, too, by winning the 55 and 300 meters and anchoring the gold-medal 800 relay.

Mike Gimbel travels around Baltimore with a cache of energy drinks, everything from Red Bull to Monster to 5-Hour Energy shots. When he talks to teenage athletes, the Towson-based substance abuse expert uses his display to help them understand what they consume when downing an energy drink before practice. Sure, they get the caffeine and the sugar that provide the boost they're looking for, but Gimbel said the athletes — and their parents — would be surprised to discover what else is on the label.

The Baltimore Sun accepts nominations for its Athletes of the Week Sundays 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 410-332-6200 or 1-800-829-8000, Ext. 6200. Two athletes (one boy and one girl) will be selected each week and featured in Wednesday's editions. Athletes nominated must be available the next Monday to have their pictures taken. Only coaches can nominate Athletes of the Week.

When Dr. Charles Brown first looked into taking the athletic director job at UMBC in 1989, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native wasn't real savvy about the school. "I thought it was a military base when I showed up," he said with a chuckle. "It said UMBC. I didn't know what it was. I lived near USMA, the U.S. Military Academy [at West Point] when I lived in New York. " Now, after 24 years at the school, he's retiring as the longest-tenured Division I athletic director in Maryland history and the driving force behind UMBC's greatly enhanced profile in both intercollegiate and club sports.