Back In Baltimore

The Carnival Pride cruise ship will arrive back at the Port of Baltimore on Saturday, a day earlier than scheduled, in an effort to avoid Hurricane Irene. Passengers will begin debarkation from the ship at 7 a.m. Afterwards, the cruise ship will be positioned at an alternate location on the bay as directed by the U.S. Coast Guard, where it will ride out the storm, said Jennifer de la Cruz, a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines. Carnival sails year-round from the Port of Baltimore and another cruise was set to depart on Sunday.

The Ravens signed center Casey Rabach to a two-year contract Tuesday, gaining insurance in case Matt Birk 's balky left knee leaves them short at the position. According to an ESPN report, Birk, 35, needs arthroscopic surgery on the knee. Birk played through the pain a year ago, when he needed to have fluid drained almost every week but didn't miss a start. Coach John Harbaugh wasn't available to address Birk's situation - it wasn't his day to meet with the media - but offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said Birk had an MRI on Tuesday morning.

A 49-year-old man was shot in the back Sunday in Northwest Baltimore. A spokesman for the Baltimore City Police said that about 5:20 p.m. police found the victim in the 5300 block of Wabash Ave. in the West Arlington neighborhood. Detective Jeremy Silbert, the spokesman, said the victim was taken to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his back. He did not provide the victim's condition. Detectives believe that the victim was standing in the 4200 block of Hayward Ave. when two men approached.

He has traveled to so many cities and countries since the Olympics ended, when he wakes up in the morning, it's almost impossible for Michael Phelps to remember the date, or even what day it is. Is today Friday? Or is it Thursday? Without looking at his BlackBerry, he has no clue. Luckily for him, he has people - mainly his agent, Peter Carlisle, and his media manager, Drew Johnson, both of Octagon - to tell him where his schedules dictate that he needs to be. His schedule called for him to be in Baltimore yesterday, marking just the second time he has been home since he won eight gold medals in Beijing.

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.

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

Tonight, it's Pigtown. Taps struts up front. Strider falls in behind. In between, more than a dozen neighborhood residents linger in the chilly winter air. In a nearby neighborhood bar, several people peer quizzically through a glass door at the two men and several others in their signature sleek red jackets and berets. "It's the Guardian Angels!" one exclaims. More than 15 years after the once-controversial Baltimore chapter withered away, it is back on the streets of Baltimore. The brash citizens patrol group is walking the streets, scouting possible sites for a headquarters and starting to recruit members.

Baltimore's downtown buildings and streets stood in this week as substitutes for Washington for a new Die Hard film. Movie companies take liberties all the time, and when the films are completed, it's fun to see how the sleight-of-hand works. But could the two cities, Baltimore and Washington, be more different? The things that separate Baltimore and Washington are far larger than 38 miles. I spent four undergraduate years at the Catholic University of America in Northeast Washington (the part of the capital no tourist visits)

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.