Back To Baltimore

Joseph Carrington Howard, who grew up as a member of Payne Memorial A.M.E. Church and later served as a deacon there, died of a heart attack Monday in Washington. He was 83. Mr. Harrington was raised in Northwest Baltimore and graduated from Frederick Douglass Senior High School in 1941. After receiving a bachelor's degree in sociology and romance languages from Howard University, he graduated cum laude from its School of Religion. He later earned a doctorate from Syracuse University. At the University of Baltimore he taught religion and served as assistant to the president in the early 1970s.

Idon't know what the Ravens have planned for Saturday's pre-game ceremony, but if they really want to fire up the crowd at M&T Bank Stadium, why not bring back and introduce some of the old Colts? The place would go absolutely mad. Right before the pre-game, introduce Lenny Moore, then Tom Matte. Bring back Bert Jones or Lydell Mitchell. And, of course, then introduce the Ravens and let Ray Lewis dance. Wow! The excitement would register on the Richter scale. Colts owner Jim Irsay always attempts to wipe his hands of the Colts' move from Baltimore to Indianapolis, but he could have made a serious peace offer by giving the name and colors back to Baltimore.

Art Donovan remembers the first time he was introduced to the Baltimore football fans in 1950."Nobody knew who I was back then," said the Hall of Fame tackle. 'They saw some big, fat guy walk on the field and they said, 'Who the hell is this guy?' "The greeting was quite different last night when Donovan and his former Colts teammates and fellow Hall of Famers Lenny Moore and Johnny Unitas drew the wild cheers of more than 40,000 fans on becoming the first inductees into the Baltimore CFLs' "Ring of Honor.

Former Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Spencer Folau, 33, was born in the Pacific island nation of Tonga and grew up in Redwood City, Calif. After attending the University of Idaho, he joined the Baltimore Ravens in 1996 as a free agent. He played here for five years - the last as part of the team that won the Super Bowl. From Baltimore he went to the Miami Dolphins, and then the New Orleans Saints. Last year, Folau signed with the Washington Redskins, but was released because of injury.

THE COLTS CAME back to Baltimore. It was 1953, and the team returned after a two-year absence, during which we never stopped fighting for a place in the league, and the marching band remained together even though the team was gone. Dwight Eisenhower began his first term as president, and McCarthyism consumed Washington. Josef Stalin died, but the Cold War grew ever stronger. The uneasy Korean armistice was signed while Fulgencio Batista ruled in Cuba. Brown vs. Board of Education and the euphemism of "separate but equal" were still subjects of litigation.

When 22-year-old Kimberly B. Goldscher left her job each evening at an Owings Mills fitness center, she always tried to leave with a group of people for safety.But on Sunday morning, when Ms. Goldscher arrived for work at the Sinai Fitness Center on Painters Mill Road with her boyfriend, Eric Sean Cada, 24, of the 8300 block of Silver Trumpet Way, Columbia, her worst fears were realized.A man waving two handguns forced his way into the couple's Jeep Cherokee and demanded money. The robbery quickly became an 18-hour ordeal, in which both Ms. Goldscher and Mr. Cada were driven by the man to an amusement park near Richmond, Va., and then, inexplicably, driven back to Baltimore.

The Bandits, who missed out on their share of luck through much of last season, have received a little payback already.The fact that the New York Islanders no longer have an affiliate in the American Hockey League has led to the Bandits obtaining the services of Dave Sacco, one of their better performers last year, despite a series of injuries.Sacco, who previously was the property of Anaheim, signed with the Islanders during the summer, but did not make the parent-team roster during training camp.

On a cold night in Brooklyn, N.Y., this past December, members of the Baltimore band Ellen Cherry had just finished packing up the truck after recording their first album when they decided to nip back into the studio to say quick goodbyes. Just 20 minutes later, the group came back out to find the truck window broken and all the instruments stolen. "The cops told us, 'You're in New York City now; this isn't Baltimore,' " said Kristin Putchinski, Ellen Cherry singer / songwriter and a free-lance graphic artist.

R. Riggs Griffith IVDu Pont retireeR. Riggs Griffith IV, who held various positions in the treasurer's office of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. in Wilmington, Del., for 42 years before returning to his native Baltimore in 1969, died of cancer Aug. 24 at Keswick. He was 88.Private services were held Thursday.He was educated at Marston's School and the University of Maryland.He was a direct descendant of British Maj. Gen. John Hammond of Anne Arundel County and Henry Griffith, a Colonial legislator from Montgomery County.

CobrasHow about this ideal name for our new football team -- Baltimore Cobras.Our stadium would be nicknamed "The House of Venom." Just as Cleveland had its "Dawg Pound," our end zone would be the "Snake Pit." The uniform colors would be purple and gold, and a snake emblem could run up the side of each leg with a cobra head joined at the hip. The helmet would have a snake head with venomous fangs.Baltimore needs something different.%Kelly and Keith McLaughlinArbutusColtsWant to get Jimmy Irsay's attention?