Beck

As miserable as things are in Baltimore this NFL season, they are four times worse in Miami ... four times as in the 0-13 Dolphins have four fewer wins. The percentage comparison may not be exactly mathematically sound, but you get my drift. So let's look in on the Dolphins -- a team that the 4-9 Ravens desperately need to beat to get out of this season with at least a shred of respectability. Miami has a rookie quarterback who was pressed into service as the starter after the team fell to 0-9. The fans clamored for it, and they got what they wanted.

The Rev. Allen Jack Beck, a retired Baptist minister and missionary who preached in Baltimore and Harford County, died of Parkinson's disease July 3 at Manor Care South in York, Pa. The longtime Jarrettsville resident was 83. "He was a man of prayer and had a great passion for the word of God," said the Rev. John W. Manry, who succeeded Mr. Beck as pastor of North Harford Baptist Church upon his retirement in 1989. "He used to type books of the Bible so he could meditate on them. It was his way of studying the Bible," he said.

For accused drug kingpin Darrell C. Long of Baltimore, 1999 has not been a good year.If Carroll County police and prosecutors have their way, his next century won't be so good either.Long, who will be 20 years old tomorrow and lives in the first block of Sturgis Court in Milford Mill, has been held in the Carroll County Detention Center since Aug. 5. He was arrested during a raid at the Village Square Apartments on Sullivan Avenue in connection with an undercover drug investigation on Westminster's west side.

Generation X -- that youthful, "slacker" generation -- is facing a quiet crisis. The leading edge of that group is turning 30. Time to grow up, get serious. Time for a major identity shake-up.Time to panic."We think of ourselves as not really that together and not really very grown up," said Kristin Beck, a Bay-area writer who hit the big 3-0 last April.After reading up on adult development, she and colleague Lauren Dockett interviewed more than 30 women about "lessons learned and dreams examined" as they reached their first scary "decade" birthday.

A decision on the Promenade, a proposed $32 shopping and theater complex in Eldersburg, once again falls to the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission.The county commissioners discussed the Promenade briefly yesterday but deferred comment to the planning commission, which must decide whether to appeal a circuit judge's opinion. Last week, the judge upheld a county zoning board decision allowing construction of the complex.The developer is preparing for the planning commission's review of a site plan for the 36-acre industrial site at Route 32 and Londontown Boulevard.

In the world of English rock guitar gods, all roads lead back to the Yardbirds.In 1963, the young combo began playing clubs around London, and immediately earned a reputation, both for its devotion to the blues and for a stunning young guitarist named Eric "Slowhand" Clapton (the nickname being an ironic acknowledgment of his speed on the fretboard).Two years later, Clapton left the group, disgusted at how pop-friendly the Yardbirds had become. Desperate for a replacement, the group turned to Jimmy Page, then the hottest session guitarist in England.

A 35-year-old Westminster man received a five-year prison sentence yesterday after admitting that he choked and hit the mother of his baby as she was preparing to move out of their home in September.Kenneth E. Kern of the 600 block of Washington Road pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. Carroll Circuit Judge Raymond E. Beck Sr. suspended half of a 10-year prison term and agreed to allow Kern to surrender April 6 to begin serving the sentence.Beck also ordered five years of supervised probation and told Kern to have no contact with Shelly Lea Shriver, 23, other than arranged visits with their year-old son.Kern and Shriver had been living together for about six weeks when Shriver said she planned to move out Sept.

Quote: "He brings good luck. A big guy like that comes to town to see the game -- it doesn't look too good if we lost." -- Sammy Sosa of the Cubs on President Clinton, who was at Wrigley Field yesterday when Sosa hit a game-winning homer.It's a fact: The Pirates had 38 home runs in June after hitting 36 in the season's first two months.Who's hot: The Giants' Ellis Burks is 7-for-15 with five homers and 12 RBIs in four games since being activated from the disabled list Saturday.Who's not: The Rockies have surrendered double digits in runs seven times in the past 12 games, yielding 110 in that span.

Carroll County's new multimillion-dollar District Courthouse appears to be back on track for design and construction money in state budgets for 2000 and 2001, county officials said yesterday.In December, officials discovered what they described as a glitch in the project: Construction money that was supposed to have been in the state's next fiscal budget was omitted from a preliminary draft.Steven D. Powell, county director of management and budget, said the project is expected to receive $7.6 million in construction funding in 2001, and $63,000 for design in the 2000 budget.

The Carroll Circuit Court has upheld a county zoning board decision that will allow construction of a $32 million shopping and theater complex on Route 32 in Eldersburg.Judge Raymond E. Beck Sr. issued his decision last week in the case that pitted Eldersburg residents against a Baltimore County developer. The Carroll Planning and Zoning Commission went to court in June after the county Board of Zoning Appeals ruled in favor of Talles-Robbins Development Co., a Pikesville investment company that plans to develop the shopping center.

It's hard to believe after witnessing the daily idiocy that pervades Maryland's roads, but there's a glimmer of hope that the state's drivers might be getting a little more serious about safety. The hopeful signs come in a recently released study by the University of Maryland School of Public Health in College Park, which surveyed 850 licensed drivers each year between 2003 and 2009 about their driving practices, attitudes and concerns. The findings are a mixed bag. It turns out we're increasingly concerned about cell phone use while driving.

ATLANTA - -To finish the preseason perfect, the Ravens had to beat a quick turnaround and illness. More importantly, their backups had to beat the Atlanta Falcons' starters. With only two starters making a first-quarter cameo, third-string quarterback John Beck and the rest of the Ravens' junior varsity stepped up in a 20-3 win over the Falcons at a nearly empty Georgia Dome. Beck's two touchdown passes led the Ravens to their first 4-0 preseason since the 2000 Super Bowl season. "Our goal was to play like Ravens tonight," said coach John Harbaugh, whose team opens the season against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept.

YELLOW FLAG WATCH: : Of the team's six penalties in the morning session, five were committed by the offense, including two illegal-formation calls. A flag was thrown when quarterback Troy Smith couldn't get the players lined up correctly. DEFENDING THEIR TURF: : Linebacker Jason Phillips and defensive tackle Will Johnson each sacked Smith, and cornerback Frank Walker intercepted a pass from Smith intended for wide receiver Jayson Foster in a one-on-one drill. THROW OF THE DAY: : Smith floated the football over a leaping Jameel McClain and into the hands of wide receiver Bradon Godfrey, who was promptly whacked by cornerback Domonique Foxworth.

Familiarity with Cam Cameron's offense and an open roster spot brought quarterback Cleo Lemon back to Westminster on Sunday for another stint with the Ravens. Lemon is the second quarterback added to the roster since John Beck suffered an undisclosed injury to his throwing shoulder in Thursday's preseason opener. Drew Willy, waived on June 18 after spending most of the offseason with the Ravens, rejoined the team Saturday. That gave the Ravens five quarterbacks at Sunday's practice, although Beck did not throw in the workout.

Ravens wide receiver Marcus Smith is out for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, his agent confirmed Friday. Smith, who was vying for one of the top four wide receiver spots, injured his knee in the second quarter of Thursday's 23-0 win over the Washington Redskins. There is no timetable for Smith's surgery, but it could be performed in the next week if the swelling goes down. "He was having a good camp and had an opportunity for a lot of reps," said Kevin Omell, Smith's agent.

Steve Hauschka didn't have to wait long to put a stamp on his candidacy to be the Ravens' primary kicker. Hauschka converted field goals of 37 and 21 yards to cap the offense's first two series and provided an extra point in the Ravens' 23-0 defeat of the Washington Redskins at M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday night. Hauschka, who is competing with rookie Graham Gano for the right to succeed Matt Stover, also put one kickoff in the end zone and two more at Washington's 2. "You just don't want to be noticed out there," said Hauschka, who handled kicking duties in the first half.

Col. Louis Beck, a retired career Army intelligence officer who served in three wars, died of liver failure Aug. 2 at the Veteran Administration's Extended Care and Rehabilitation Center in Northeast Baltimore. He was 90 and had lived in Northwest Baltimore. Colonel Beck, the son of parents from Lithuania and Belarus, was born and raised in Hartford, Conn., where he attended Hartford High School. In 1943, he was inducted into the Army, where he earned his General Educational Development diploma.

SETTING THE TONE: : The defense opened the morning session when defensive tackle Haloti Ngata tipped and intercepted a pass by Joe Flacco on the first play of a full-team, live drill. Cornerback Domonique Foxworth intercepted a pass from Flacco to wide receiver Marcus Smith, and cornerback Frank Walker broke up several passes. NEAR MISS: : Cornerback Fabian Washington appeared to join the interception parade when he got his hands on a pass from Flacco to wide receiver Justin Harper during a one-on-one exercise, but the ball squirted out of Washington's hands and into Harper's.

A month since he joined the Ravens, John Beck is starting to make himself at home. The backup quarterback is feeling more comfortable in his purple jersey after recently buying the No. 12 from wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright. He is beginning to get his bearings back in Cam Cameron's system after one season of being removed from it. Still, Beck's next biggest move - going from the Ravens' newest quarterback to becoming a legitimate contender for the No. 2 job - is not on his mind just yet. "Right now, I have day-to-day expectations," Beck said Tuesday during the Ravens' third week of minicamps.

A few days before the start of their first minicamp, the Ravens shuffled their quarterback group, signing John Beck to a one-year contract and cutting third-stringer Todd Bouman. Beck, a 2007 second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, is expected to compete against Troy Smith for the Ravens' backup quarterback job. "He was a very productive college player, but what also impressed our scouts was how competitive he is," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said Monday. "We like to bring in good athletes who love to compete, and he fits that."