Bank Stadium

Young professional Morgan Bukszar describes her style as "classy, but comfortable." The 25-year-old Catonsville resident likes to look her best, whether she's out around town - like when we "Glimpsed" her at Believe In Tomorrow Children's Foundation's Benefit and Auction at M&T Bank Stadium - or working as continuing education coordinator for the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. The look: Lipstick-red faux wrap cotton jersey top. Black and white cotton blend knit Trulli pencil skirt.

PPL Park in Chester, Pa., will host the Atlantic Coast Conference men's lacrosse tournament in 2014 and 2015, the conference announced Wednesday. It will mark the first time in eight years that the tournament has been held at a neutral site. The 18,500-seat stadium, home to Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, will be the host venue for the ACC on April 25-27, 2014, and again in the spring of 2015. Next season will be the fourth time in the 26-year history of the tournament that the event has been held at a neutral site.

A booming crack and a cloud of smoke from a small metallic device caused hundreds to scream, clutch their bodies and quickly head to the exits of M&T Bank Stadium yesterday. Soon, the parking lots outside the stadium were filled with flashing lights from firetrucks as emergency response workers tended to hundreds of disaster drill participants portraying ailing sports fans. The three-hour exercise, "Operation Purple Haze," gave 300 local first-response providers an opportunity to prepare for a terrorist attack involving a simulated nuclear weapon.

George G. Litz, former owner of one of the Baltimore area's largest brick distribution companies, died Feb. 11 of cancer at his Owings Mills home. He was 64. The son of a brick company executive and a homemaker, George Galvin Litz was born in Baltimore and raised on Cedarcroft Road. He was a 1967 graduate of City College and attended Loyola University Maryland. He then joined L & L Supply Co., the Lutherville business that had been founded in 1955 by his father, Donald P. Litz Sr., and John F. Leonard, who had worked together at the old United Clay & Supply Co. In 1975, he inherited L & L Supply Co. and continued operating it until last year when he sold it to Glen-Gery Brick, a division of Oldcastle Co. Mr. Litz had said that one of his "great passions in life" was the fact that his company supplied the brick that built Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium.

Jack Kidwell watches his six-man crew lay the strips of sod that will cover the field for M&T Bank Stadium's first soccer game next week with the peaceful air of a farmer who knows his land has been well-tilled. "I've been doing this for 50 years," says Kidwell, 76, a native of tiny Boydton, Va., in a drawl as gentle as a Tidewater breeze. "You learn a few things in that time. One of them is it takes time to do this and do it right." Kidwell is founder, president and co-owner of Duraturf Service Corp.

The bad news for Karen Williams was that she had to miss soccer practice. The good news was that she still got her kicks in. The Forest Hill resident skipped out on her coed indoor soccer team to challenge Ravens guard Jason Brown in a little punting contest at M&T Bank Stadium last night. Williams and Brown stood at the 15-yard line and tried to boot the football between the uprights. Williams 1, Brown 0. "This is my first time coming to the stadium and being on the field," Williams said.

The doors at Slainte, an Irish pub in Fells Point, will open early today, and by midafternoon the place should be packed with soccer fans, many of them headed for M&T Bank Stadium. Bill Irvin, director of operations at the pub and restaurant, knows what's in store - he's witnessed similar scenes for televised broadcasts of top international soccer matches many times before. Baltimore, on the other hand, might be in for something much different from anything it has ever seen as two of the world's elite soccer clubs, Chelsea FC and AC Milan, square off at 8 p.m. before a flag-waving, anthem-chanting sellout crowd of more than 71,000 at a venue typically reserved for American football.

Where will you be at 4:15 p.m. today? For those not fortunate enough to have tickets to M&T Bank Stadium, the destination of choice is in front of a television set. With a victory today over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Baltimore Ravens can clinch a spot in the NFL playoffs. This is big. This is really big. Not because the Ravens are favored to march through the playoffs and make another trip to the Super Bowl. They are not, although anything is possible. But rather because the Ravens' ascendancy this season has been so unexpected and so joyful to witness.

Running Baltimore Running Festival Where -- Starts at M&T Bank Stadium When -- Tomorrow, 8 a.m. What for -- Probably the running event of the year. Online -- www.thebaltimoremarathon.com Pro Football Carolina Panthers@Ravens Where -- M&T Bank Stadium When -- Sunday, 1 p.m. What for -- To see if the Ravens can rebound from their loss to the Broncos. Online -- www.baltimoreravens.com College football Massachusetts@Towson Where -- Johnny Unitas Stadium When -- Tomorrow, 3 p.m. What for -- Won't be as fun as Howard's homecoming tomorrow against Morgan State, but you can actually get a ticket for this one. And the teams are better.

The Central Maryland Football and Cheer League's recreational football season ended on a positive note for Howard County teams this past weekend, with the locals winning seven championships - including six captured in games at M&T Bank Stadium. Mike Milani, the community sports supervisor for the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks and the football league's president, said that eight age groups played championship games Saturday on the Baltimore Ravens' home field. "It's a win-win situation for everybody," Milani said.

Coleen Deems sat down after every Ravens season and wrote a letter to the team, asking it to ban smoking at the stadium. This year, when her 10-year-old grandson looked up and said, “I have to hold my breath,” while walking past a designated smoking area at M&T Bank Stadium, the 11-year season-ticket holder became more determined and considered tracking down the personal email address of team owner Steve Bisciotti. She didn't have to, and the Ravens won't need to decide how to deal with the divisive issue.

Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake will bring their "Legends of the Summer" stadium tour to M&T Bank Stadium on Aug. 8, Live Nation announced this morning. Tickets go on sale Feb. 28, but fans can RSVP for early access to presale tickets on this Facebook page . The tour kicks off at Toronto's Rogers Centre on July 17, and will cover 12 dates total. The tour ends in Miami on Aug. 16. Concerts at the Ravens' stadium are typically reserved for pop music's most significant acts.

The four new LED boards will give Ravens' fans constant updates of out-of-town scores and fantasy football stats, along with different vantage points on replays. Two new high-definition boards will greet those who enter M&T Bank Stadium from Gates A or D, showing live game broadcasts and Ravens' highlights. The lower concourse will have a completely new look with open-kitchen styled concession stands, expanded team retail stores, wood and steel columns and purple lighting. The upper concourse will undergo a similar transformation one year later.

Fresh off their second Super Bowl title, the Ravens will raise ticket prices at M&T Bank Stadium for the 2013-14 season, their first increase in four years and their sixth since their downtown stadium opened in 1998. When season ticket holders get their renewal letters this week, they'll see an average increase of 10 percent per ticket in the seating bowl area, according to Kevin Byrne, the Ravens senior vice president for public and community relations. That does not include club or suite level seats, which will likely see a smaller increase from last season.

The Lombardi Trophy finally made it inside M&T Bank Stadium after the Ravens' championship parade snaked through the streets of Baltimore. Tens of thousands of fans lined the streets of Baltimore, and M&T Bank Stadium is at full capacity. Police and stadium officials had to start turning down other fans at the doors. Downtown was so packed, even the Ravens were a little late for their own parade. After stopping off at City Hall, the Ravens arrived at the stadium via handmade floats and high-tech military vehicles.

The folks at Aramark sent over some game-day recipes from M&T Bank Stadium's Executive Chef Joe Bachman . There was one for Maryland crab cakes, another for pit beef sandwiches, but I thou ght you'd want to see the one for Maryland Crab Tots. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Aramark is the exclusive food and beverage partner for M&T Bank Stadium. Here's the recipe for Maryland Crab Tots from M&T Bank Stadium: •    2 pounds tots (any supermarket brand will do)

The Ravens placed starting guard Marshal Yanda and backup linebacker Tavares Gooden on injured reserve yesterday. Yanda, who injured his knee in the final two minutes of Sunday's 31-3 loss at Indianapolis, is expected to have surgery soon. Gooden, a rookie third-round pick, had played in four games this season. To replace those players, the Ravens signed tight end Edgar Jones and wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright from the practice squad. Two rookies - defensive back Derrick Roberson (Rutgers)

One reason the Ravens have the NFL's best regular-season home record since 2000 is the noise created by their fans. Another factor is an unspoken rule: No one runs on the Ravens on their home field. Teams have to become one-dimensional on offense at M&T Bank Stadium because they can't expect to establish a ground game. The Ravens haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in their past 12 home games. The Houston Texans' Domanick Davis was the last to do so when he gained 155 yards Dec. 4, 2005.

Baltimore might have missed out on hosting World Cup matches when the U.S. lost its bid for the quadrennial event in 2022, but M&T Stadium will be part of another prestigious international soccer tournament when the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup comes to the city in July. M&T Bank Stadium is one of 13 venues that were announced Wednesday as hosts for the regional championship event. CONCACAF is the governing body for association soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Minutes after a grinning Ray Lewis swaggered out of the tunnel and did his trademark dance much to the delight of fans and teammates, the Ravens' star middle linebacker was suddenly all business again. The smile quickly left Lewis' face as kickoff approached for the linebacker, who announced Wednesday he will retire at the end of the season. Seventeen years of experience was on display Sunday during Lewis' emotionally-charged final game at M&T Bank Stadium. Lewis recorded a game-high 13 tackles in a 24-9 AFC wild-card victory over the Indianapolis Colts and will join his teammates in Denver for Saturday's divisional game against the Broncos.