Baltimore Ravens

IN BALTIMORE, when do blue and gray make green?When the blue-coated midshipmen of the Naval Academy and the gray-clad cadets from West Point meet at the Army-Navy game on Dec. 20, 2000, at PSINet Stadium.The classic college football game, whose return to Baltimore after a half-century seemed a long shot as recently as a year ago, could mean $15 million in economic spinoff. That was the impact of the game in Philadelphia, and there's no reason it can't be just as lucrative for Baltimore.The Baltimore Ravens and Maryland Stadium Authority, which will share profits after the service academies receive their cut, lobbied hard to land the event.

ONE DAY SOON, maybe we can all gaze upon the Baltimore Ravens professional football team without fear of being turned into a pillar of salt.Slowly, the emotional weather turns and the cloud of disgrace under which this franchise arrived here begins to fade from view. Professional football has now returned to Cleveland under its original name. That guilt is removed, almost. The Baltimore ballclub begins to show promise on the playing field. That helps.And now Art Modell, the man who did to Cleveland what Robert Irsay did to Baltimore, will go wherever it is people go who have nothing but money to sustain them.

Trivia time.He has never scored a touchdown, never kicked a field goal, never been in a huddle for that matter. But yesterday, he became the first man to represent the Baltimore Ravens in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Who is he?He's Gil Sadler, a 53-year-old sales representative from Carney. Yesterday, he was "enshrined" in the Canton, Ohio, hall as the ultimate Baltimore Ravens fan. His image will appear in a new exhibit dedicated to true football fanatics.The "Visa Hall of Fans" is the result of a season-long search by the credit card company and the National Football League to find the "ultimate fan" from each of the 31 NFL teams (including the new Cleveland franchise)

It's no surprise that felt-tip pens sell more briskly than bright purple baseball caps or jerseys at the Baltimore Ravens training camp souvenir shop at Western Maryland College.If you're seeking the coveted autograph of quarterback Jim Harbaugh, you'll need some patience and some persistence. But most of all, it helps to have a pen that works.Those pens have been especially busy in recent weeks as a steady crowd of autograph seekers and fans restless for the beginning of the season shows up daily in Westminster.

Here we are, in the checkout line at the big Kmart on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers, on the congested, overdeveloped Gulf Coast of Florida. A near-octogenarian in a red apron mans the register. He's trying to squeeze a large package of bathroom tissue into a plastic bag too small for the purpose. I'm standing there, wondering when the old man will give up and get a bigger bag, when I hear a voice say, "Baltimore," and the vibes are not good.The voice is coming from behind me. I am familiar with this voice.

As debate swells over slugger Mark McGwire's use of a "performance-enhancing" substance, many doctors say there's little reason to believe the compound is playing a significant role in the lofty home run totals he is putting up this year.Put away the asterisk, they say.Many who study the effects of hormones on athletic performance say the substance known as androstenedione (AN-dro-steen-DIE-own) probably adds little punch to someone who, for years, has shown himself to be one of the most powerful hitters in the game.

Trahan, Burden & Charles Inc., a Baltimore-based advertising and public relations firm, yesterday said it was chosen as the advertising agency of record for The Baltimore Sun Co.The agency, chosen after review by The Sun, replaces W.B. Doner. TBC will provide the company with general advertising, design, direct response and other communications services related to branding and product marketing."Obviously, we're very excited to be selected, because this is a time when there is such an exciting communications revolution going on," said Sandy Hillman, an executive vice president and one of TBC's principals.

THE COLTS vs. Baltimore. The billing has been in the making for 14 years, and it still sounds strange. Like the Celtics vs. Boston, the Yankees vs. New York, the Fighting Irish vs. Notre Dame.But here we are: The Colts are here in Baltimore for the first time since Robert Irsay broke the fragile hearts of tough football fans and punctured the area's collective ego when he moved the franchise to the Midwest.Now that Baltimore finally has regained its stature as an NFL city, it's time for payback.

A federal jury found yesterday that the Baltimore Ravens copied their team logo from a Pigtown amateur artist who submitted his drawings hoping to get an autographed helmet, but who might get more than $10 million because of copyright infringement."

Larry Webster knows about second chances.Webster is once again a defensive tackle in the National Football League. He thanks Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell for giving him a second chance. Webster was suspended for a year under the league's substance-abuse policy.He remembers the day league officials suspended him for a year for abusing alcohol. A friend with a curious sense of the macabre stopped by to take Webster out - for a drink."I had just finished half a beer when it hit me," Webster recalled.

Students at Corkran Middle School in Anne Arundel County had quite the exercise routine Tuesday. They ran agility drills on their school field with Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk. They stretched with Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo. They high-fived Gov. Martin O'Malley. And they heard repeatedly from some of their sports heroes that they should get out from in front of the computer and TV and get some exercise. Shannon Thomas, an eighth-grade student, bounced excitedly as she watched her classmates run and jump.

While tens of thousands of fans have been counting the days until the Baltimore Ravens' season opener Sunday, it's hard to imagine anyone happier to see the games begin than Jay Newman, general manager of WJZ -TV. Newman's CBS-owned station will carry 13 of the Ravens' 16 games this season, thanks to a network contract with the American Football Conference. For Channel 13 that means monster ratings - and a heavy flow of advertising revenue amid the worst economic downturn since the 1930s.

The lesson plan went something like this: Soccer practice with players from Baltimore's Crystal Palace pro soccer team, agility training and exercises with the Baltimore Ravens' youth coach and some healthy cooking alongside celebrity chef George Stella. Not your average day in the classroom. But for more than 200 kids from Baltimore-area schools the day of hands-on learning about health and fitness just may be a little more memorable. The kids and others who happened upon Port Discovery children's museum on Saturday were taking part in the Junior League of Baltimore's Kids in the Kitchen initiative.

You might say that Taylor Hicks tailor-made the role of Teen Angel in Grease to his precise specifications. The Angel appears in the 1950s-era musical just once, to sing "Beauty School Dropout." And Hicks' version differs in key ways from the renditions of such pop legends as Chubby Checkers, Frankie Avalon and Davy Jones, all of whom previously performed the role. As befitting a man who won the fifth season of American Idol with more than 63 million votes, Hicks brings his own brand of bling to his solo.

Warming skeptics resolve to respond Contrary to the suggestion in the editorial "A New Year's resolution" (Jan. 2), it is quite possible to be a concerned environmentalist and be a skeptic about man-made global warming. The Baltimore Sun suggests that the relevant scientific community has reached a clear consensus; this is only true of the politically motivated part of such community. Ironically, Friday's Wall Street Journal reported that "three independent research groups have concluded that 2008 was a comparatively cool year on planet Earth."

As the Baltimore Ravens kick off their preseason home schedule tonight, thousands of Ravens fans who formerly relied on state-operated express buses to get to the games are scrambling to find transportation that doesn't involve parking at or near M&T Bank Stadium. Some will find rides on private charter buses that are attempting to fill the void left after the Maryland Transit Administration discontinued its popular game-day runs from suburban destinations under pressure from the federal government.

The Ravens probably have enough on their plate right now, what with a new coach and a new quarterback and Derrick Martin's recent citation for alleged marijuana possession and impersonation of a Cincinnati Bengal, but they still found time to run afoul of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA has sent a letter of protest to Ravens vice president for marketing Gabrielle Dow concerning the team's plan to feature a pair of actual ravens during pre-game player introductions at M&T Bank Stadium during the coming season.

Jeremiah Conway has his senior year to look forward to - prom, graduation and eventually college. Also, Conway will have an added bonus as a senior football player at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School: a new, state-of-the-art field, thanks to a $1 million donation from a Baltimore Ravens foundation. "I'm happy, it's a good way to go out - on the [artificial] turf, not playing at other schools," the 18-year-old team captain said. Mervo athletes, including soccer, lacrosse and football players, will have new field turf, extra bleachers to double the seating and a ticket booth.

If the calendar on your wall says it's Dec. 29 - and it should - then that doesn't just mean it's my 56th birthday. It means it's time for my annual Chutzpah Awards, given at the end of each year to those whose audacity and gall would consistently register a 20 if measured on a scale of 1 to 10. Without any ado whatsoever, I'll get right to it. 10th place: The Baltimore Orioles, for having the nerve to pretend they're a major league baseball team....

An open letter to Ray Lewis, middle linebacker, Baltimore Ravens: Dear Ray, This is a word of advice from a loyal Baltimore Ravens fan: Shut up and play. You've been doing quite a bit of talking lately, Ray. Everybody knows your opinion about Ravens head coach Brian Billick's play-calling ability. And, frankly, I'm with you on that one. Billick came here being hailed as an offensive genius. During his tenure as head coach, we've seen very little offense, and we sure as heck haven't seen any genius.