Back In Baltimore

Good morning--Army-Navy fans--It's exciting to have one of the greatest rivalries in sports back in Baltimore.

Kansas City Royals infielder Miguel Tejada, who spent five seasons with the Orioles, was back at Camden Yards on Tuesday for the first time as a visitor since 2008 when he was with the Houston Astros. “I'm excited, and not just because it is against my old team, but because I am playing,” said Tejada, who entered Tuesday hitting .313 (5-for-16) in a limited role. “I'm happy to come back here, to say hi to my old people and I'm happy with the way the team is playing, too.” Tejada, 38, played with the Orioles from 2004 to 2007 and again in 2010.

Comedian Lonnie Shorr, who would go on to appear on the Merv Griffin, Dean Martin and Tonight shows, was bitten by the acting bug while a 1950s City College student. He made his Baltimore debut when he landed a role in the student play Remains to be Seen, presented on his high school's 33rd Street stage. "I was always the class clown," he said. He was born in 1939 in Zebulon, N.C., and he likes to tell his audiences where he came from. "It's just a word and it's funnier than Baltimore.

Naval Petty Officer Alonzo M. Gladden Jr. had been back home for only four hours last October when an unknown person opened fire on him - killing him shortly after he dropped off his grandmother in South Baltimore. Months later, his killing remains unsolved, and city police have turned to Baltimore's Guardian Angels for help with the case. On Sunday, standing amid broken liquor bottles at the corner of Hollins Ferry Road and Patapsco Avenue, the volunteers and Gladden's relatives passed out fliers and held up signs asking passing motorists for leads in the case.

Senators of both parties decided that marriage conveys sufficient penalties without including taxes among them. Cong Ehrlich looked for the root cause of crime and found the appointment of Democrats as U.S. attorneys. Pity Bill. Imagine coming back jet-fatigued after foxing with Putin, to find the gang lurking for you at Camp David. Ospreys are back in Baltimore Harbor. Some birds of prey never left.

It was exactly one year ago today that Lee Mazzilli was fired as Orioles manager. "It doesn't seem that long," he said. He's not sorry to be gone. Trust me. I couldn't get Sidney Ponson's attention before the pre-game stretch, and I'm not sure he would have talked to me anyway. A New York television reporter asked Ponson if he had any special feelings being back in Baltimore. "None. Zero," he said. "I'm just happy to be on a winning team." roch.kubatko@baltsun.com For more "Roch Around the Clock," go to baltimoresun.

Susan Fragola Shelby, 32, of Ellicott City is a computer scientist with the Department of Defense. In her entry, she updated Poe's classic poem:Once upon a midnight dreary, while I slumbered, so securely,Oh, the sorrow thrust upon me, in forgotten Baltimore.While they nestled, nicely napping, suddenly there came a tapping,As of someone slyly stealing, stealing them from Baltimore." 'Tis the thiefman," they all muttered, "Come to make us play no more --& In beloved Baltimore."Ah, distinctly I remember 'twas in March but seemed December,As each separate saddened member of the team walked out the door.

Baltimore city, of course, is facing a similar fiasco, a whopping $54 million budget gap for next year. But, in stark contrast to Howard, when Mayor Schmoke gave employees the choice of enduring layoffs or giving up their scheduled pay increases, there were, really, no options. Members of the City Union of Baltimore reluctantly deferred the 6 percent raise the union had won in bargaining only a year ago. The bitterness of the disappointment among city workers was as palpable as the frustration.

GLASGOW - The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra arrived in Scotland last night safe and sound after an uneventful, ahead-of-schedule charter fight from Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The musicians get to enjoy time on their own today before plunging into a 12-city European tour - the BSO's first visit to this side of the Atlantic since 1987 - with an all-Brahms program conducted by music director Yuri Temirkanov on Thanksgiving Day at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. The tour moves on this week to three midland British cities (concerts in Leeds and Birmingham are sold out)

One veteran who is especially glad to be back in the Baltimore Football Club camp is wide receiver Robert Clark.After starting nine games and catching 16 passes for 294 yards last year, Clark's off-season got off to a disastrous start. About two weeks after Baltimore's Grey Cup loss, Clark drove home to Pittsboro, N.C. A few minutes from home, he swerved to avoid hitting a car that had suddenly stopped in front of him, lost control of his truck, rolled it and woke up in the hospital with a dislocated hip."

The Greater Baltimore Committee and The Baltimore Sun will be hosting a cocktail reception on March 4 to honor Orioles manager Buck Showalter, named Marylander of the Year for 2012 by The Sun. Showalter will return to Baltimore from spring training to receive his award and to participate in a Q&A session with Sun columnist Peter Schmuck, who will also be coming back from Sarasota, Fla., for the evening. The event at The Sun runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Cost is $65 for GBC members and Sun Readers, and $85 for non-GBD members.

When Wes Moore swings a sledgehammer, he does it with his whole body, with the easy confidence of someone who's used to manual labor. It's early on a Saturday morning, and Wes is one of a couple dozen volunteers who have gathered in the Oliver neighborhood of East Baltimore to break up the concrete of old row house foundations in preparation for a park. The project is called Operation Oliver, and it's orchestrated and executed by the 6th Branch, a group of military veterans who are hoping to make change at home.

One Baltimore woman eating out for her birthday got an extra treat when one of her favorite actresses, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, sat down at the next table. "OMG," Tweeted blogger Fadra Nally, who was turning 42 and celebrating at Cinghiale in Harbor East . "I'm out for my birthday dinner in downtown Baltimore and JULIA LOUIS DREYFUS just sat at the table next to me!!!!!" The actress returned to town last weekend to resume filming her HBO show "VEEP. " Nally, who was out with her husband, watched out of the corner of her eye as Louis-Dreyfus, in a party of three, sat down and slipped on some glasses to read the menu.

Anthony Bourdain brought his "Guts and Glory" tour to Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre on Saturday night.  In typical Bourdain fashion, he began his performance with a round of shots. "Guts and Glory" is essentially stand-up comedy about Bourdain's personal relationship with food, his experiences traveling the globe and his opinion of fellow celebrity chefs -- most notably Guy Fieri.  With the birth of his daughter, Bourdain said he's shifted his appearance to be more age appropriate.

Here's a phrase you probably didn't expect to hear associated with the housing market so soon after the crash: Bidding war. They've been roaring back into suddenly-hotter-again areas in recent months. Now they're a lot more common here, too -- in a milder way than during the bubble years, but surprising nonetheless. Online real estate brokerage Redfin says nearly half of its Baltimore-area buyers' offers in the first three months of the year had competition. Some buyers are using escalation clauses again to try to avoid being outbid.

Orioles left fielder Nolan Reimold will be sidelined for at least two more games with a bulging disk in his back, but the club is hopeful that the diagnosis explains the health problems the 28-year-old has been experiencing this season. Including Tuesday night, Reimold has missed six of the club's past 12 games, including four consecutive April 21-25, because of severe neck spasms. Although he was dealing with lingering neck discomfort, Reimold had started the Orioles' past five games, but after getting to the team hotel after Monday's contest, Reimold experienced tingling in his hands and contacted head athletic trainer Richie Bancells . Reimold "had some tingling and numbness in his fingers, which is common with a bulging disk," manager Buck Showalter said.

The Orioles fans' love-in with Eddie Murray began well before game time yesterday.There was plenty of chatter around the Orioles' dugout during batting practice, and fans were asking the media if Murray seemed happy to be back in Baltimore during his afternoon news conference. Scattered chants of "Ed-die! Ed-die!" could be heard throughout Camden Yards. A "Welcome Back Eddie" banner hung beyond the bullpens in left-center field.The crowd picked up again during the introduction of the starting lineup.

David Blumberg of Baltimore is the head of the city's Republican party and a delegate to the Republican National Convention. A librarian at the Baltimore City Detention Center, he is writing each day about his thoughts and experiences.Both of our congresswomen are with us this morning. Connie Morella is one of the most hospitable people I've ever met in political or private life. Her ever-present smile and pleasant demeanor make her a delight.Helen Bentley, however, is the better dresser.

Orioles left fielder Nolan Reimold has a bulging disk in his back - which the team believes may have been what has caused the spasms in his neck and tingling and numbness in his fingers. Manager Buck Showalter said Reimold has been treated in Baltimore with a Medrol Dosepak that is designed to alleviate inflammation. If all works as hoped, Reimold could join the team for the series against the Boston Red Sox that begins Friday, Showalter said. “We're going to try a Medrol Dosepak to see if we can get the swelling to go down.

A woman was shot Saturday morning near Johns Hopkins Hospital in the Gay Street neighborhood in East Baltimore, police said. The woman, who is in her 20s, was found about 9:30 a.m. in the 700 block of N. Broadway suffering from a gunshot wound in her back, spokesman Jeremy Silbert said. The woman told police that she was walking down the street when she was shot by an unknown person, he said. The victim's injury is not life-threatening. She was taken to an area hospital for treatment and was in stable condition Saturday night.