Back To Baltimore

When Sean Farr takes the court for Baltimore City Community College on Tuesday in Danville, Ill., in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II men's basketball tournament, he'll have his friend and teammate Carlos Smith to thank. And Farr's thoughts won't be far from his late father, Sean. Basketball wasn't in Farr's plans when he was a senior at Dunbar in 2009. Considered to be one of the top 50 wide receiver recruits in the nation, he originally signed with Louisville to play football.

Matt Vensel, Sports Blitz: With the Ravens on the ropes, the team's two MVPs, Terrell Suggs and Ray Rice, sealed the AFC North championship with a pair of key plays late in the fourth quarter. Now with two weeks to rest, the Ravens are going to be a tough out in the playoffs, especially if they play all of their games at M&T Bank Stadium. Kevin Van Valkenburg, reporter: To be honest, I was impressed with the way the Ravens hung on and found a way to win this game, despite some injuries and a reoccurring bout of offensive narcolepsy.

The U.S. Air Force sent two F-16 jet fighters to intercept a civilian plane that had strayed into restricted air space over Washington, D.C., at about 8:30 p.m. Monday. The military planes, based at Andrews Air Force Base, escorted the smaller craft until the pilot landed at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration was unable to communicate with the pilot, the sole occupant of the Beechcraft 58 aircraft, a small, twin-engine plane.

Pointing to legal opposition that set the project back several months, the Cordish Cos. has scrapped plans to begin casino operations at Arundel Mills mall by the end of this year — a decision that will cost the state an estimated $70 million in expected revenue for education. The Baltimore-based company now plans to open its casino in stages, beginning next June with 2,750 machines. Cordish plans to have the entire 4,750-machine project completed by October 2012. While Arundel slots will be delayed, Baltimore City can move forward in its own lengthy battle to open a slots casino.

Professional ice hockey is returning to Baltimore for the first time since 1997. The Washington Capitals, 1st Mariner Arena and Baltimore city officials announced Monday that the Capitals will host the Nashville Predators in the Baltimore Hockey Classic, an NHL preseason game on Sept. 20. Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, Capitals general manager George McPhee and 1st Mariner Arena general manager Frank Remescht made the announcement in the lobby of the arena, which was decked out in the Capitals' signature scarlet.

I was born and raised in Baltimore, and while I know you prefer to hear from locals, I thought you might be interested in hearing from someone who no longer lives there, but had been considering returning. After returning home from a six-year tour in the Navy, I went to the University of Maryland, graduated with a degree in nuclear engineering and, unable to find a job in Maryland, took a position in North Carolina. I have lived in many states, both East and West, during my naval and civilian life and therefore I have a broad basis from which to compare various attributes of an area.

When Ron Griffin received a solicitation for Lyric Opera Baltimore a few weeks ago, he had some questions. The organization sounded a lot like the Baltimore Opera Company, which folded midseason in 2009 because of financial problems, leaving Griffin and many others holding worthless tickets. "It was an abrupt end, and it wasn't handled well," said Griffin, a property manager. He and his partner were subscribers and patrons of the old company for more than a dozen years. "I asked what kinds of changes had been made.

Every day for three years, when Darlene Love stepped onto a Broadway stage to sing, she was transported to Baltimore — to the city of big hair and 1960s dance music — playing a teenager who gives dance lessons to a girl longing to be on the Corny Collins Show. Tomorrow, her role in "Hairspray" long behind her, she comes to the city of Hon to host a live Maryland Public Television premiere of her new DVD, "Darlene Love: The Concert of Love. " For those who may not have grown up singing along on the radio to "He's sure the boy I am going to marry" or "Da Doo Ron Ron," Love was a voice behind many 1960s hits.

Steve Johnson, the 22-year-old right-hander from Baltimore whom the Orioles lost last December in the Rule 5 draft, is on his way back to the organization. The San Francisco Giants offered Johnson to the Orioles on Tuesday for $25,000 after Johnson allowed five hits and three runs in 4 2/3 innings this spring. The Giants paid $50,000 in December to acquire him in the draft. Johnson walked six and hit a batter in the three games with the Giants. He has been assigned to Double-A Bowie and will be sent to the Orioles' minor league camp.