Big Game

TORONTO -- It was a night for little people. Do we have enough fingers to count the ways?A night when Jack Morris, a pitcher making $5 million this year, lost to Alan Mills, a pitcher making only $4,863,000 less.A night when Todd Frohwirth struck out Joe Carter and Dave Winfield back-to-back with two runners on base -- using just six pitches.A night when Bill Ripken drove in the biggest run with what Morris called "a perfectly placed wedge shot."Little people, little hits.A night when Mark Parent, most recently of the Rochester Red Wings, drove in the second run with a bases-loaded walk.

Major League Lacrosse Streaking Rubeor scores 4 as Bayhawks rout Machine, 14-5 Attackman Ben Rubeor (Loyola High) had another big game as the Chesapeake Bayhawks manhandled the Ohio Machine, 14-5, in a game shortened to three quarters Saturday night because of lightning around Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Rubeor, who scored seven goals in a win over the New York Lizards last weekend, scored four goals and assisted another against the Machine. He now has at least one point in 32 consecutive games, and was named Player of the Game for the second straight time Saturday.

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers returned home at about 2 a.m. Monday after their victory over the New York Giants, coach Tony Dungy had to stop to fill up his gas tank."

Should the McDonogh boys lacrosse team enjoy an extended run in the upcoming Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs, the Eagles will likely look back on Tuesday's performance against visiting St. Paul's as a character-building foundation. Senior Austin Frederick was the catalyst, tying the game with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter with his sixth goal of the day. Hil Blaze won the faceoff to start overtime, and when Trey McGee found open space on the left side and buried a shot 13 seconds into the extra time, the No. 3 Eagles were celebrating a dramatic 11-10 win over the No. 2 Crusaders.

PITTSBURGH -- Obviously, they don't call him "Big Game Hunter" for nothing.During the regular season, not much about Dale Hunter is written because what he does is not headline material. He mucks. He digs. He gets under the skin of the opposing team's big men.When you want to find Hunter, you usually look for the players in the corner digging for the puck, or into the crowd that's involved in a pushing and shoving match.Or you look deep into the pile of bodies in front of the goal. Somewhere near the bottom you will find Hunter still trying to get position.

The first big party of the new year is about to kick off this weekend. And once again Super Bowl Sunday promises to be a blowout -- at least when it comes to food and drink. Sure, there's football being played. But somewhere between the first down and the final toss, the center of attention passes to the buffet table. But the groaning board doesn't have to pack a caloric wallop. Columbia cookbook author Ruth Glick -- also known for her romance novels -- has put together "The Diabetes Snack, Munch, Nibble, Nosh Book" (American Diabetes Association, 1998)

THERE'S been nothing like it in Maryland: A $160 million lottery jackpot that has people clamoring for Big Game tickets from lottery vendors. Expect long lines if you wait too late to buy your tickets before tonight's 11 p.m. drawing.Chances are very strong that someone tonight will win this jackpot -- $6.1 million annually for 26 years, or $84.5 million in cash. Lottery officials predict that only 10 percent of the Big Game combinations will be left unplayed by drawing time. That's more incentive for people to take a chance, despite the 76 million to 1 odds.

The nation's newest multistate lottery game begins in Maryland today, providing a crucial test of a new state lottery computer system that is not quite up to speed.Tickets for "The Big Game" go on sale in Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Georgia. For a buck, players can try their luck at winning a prize that starts at $5 million. Jackpots increase if no one wins and could eventually exceed $50 million.With its big, weekly prize, The Big Game is expected to lure more players, possibly taxing a 12-day-old computer system in Maryland that still contains some "bugs."

Tuesday's drawing in the $50 million, multistate Big Game lottery produced a $150,000 winner in Maryland who has not claimed the prize. The Giant Food store at 13600 Laurel-Bowie Road sold the winning ticket, a "Quick Pick" random selection. The winning numbers were 07, 08, 13, 35, 50 and the "Big Money Ball," 28. The $150,000 ticket-holder had five of the six numbers correct. No one had all six winning numbers, so the jackpot for tomorrow rises to $59 million. The lottery claim center is in Reisterstown Road Plaza in Baltimore.

It's called The Big Game, and lotteries in Maryland and four other states hope it will boost sales in a big way beginning Aug. 31.At a news conference in Chicago yesterday, lottery directors from the five states announced the creation of a new multistate game with jackpots that could exceed $50 million.Lottery retailers in Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia will begin selling the $1 tickets Aug. 31. The first weekly drawing will be Sept. 6 in Illinois.The Big Game resembles Powerball, played in 20 states and Washington, and the lottery directors hope it will compete directly with the older multistate game.

The sight of Matt Wieters' home-run trot ending in a frenetic pile at home plate conjured memories of the 16 straight extra-inning wins the Orioles orchestrated last season. But Thursday night's 10-inning 10-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays - which ended with the Orioles' first walk-off grand slam in 14 years - deserves its own spot in Orioles lore. The Orioles' first extra-inning game of 2013 came nearly a year to the date that Wieters hit a grand slam to help the Orioles to their first extra-inning win last season, a 10-4 win against the White Sox in Chicago last April 16. His blast Thursday was the Orioles' first walk-off grand slam since Harold Baines' on May 4, 1999 against the White Sox. “Any time you get a get a walk-off and get to celebrate with your teammates, it's a good day,” Wieters said.

Shannon Mangini scored her third goal of the game with 2:16 left in overtime to give host Pennsylvania a 10-9 win over No. 13 Princeton and clinch at least a share of a seventh consecutive Ivy League women's lacrosse championship on Wednesday. The Quakers (8-4, 6-0 Ivy League), who earned the right to host the league tournament, did not lead until there was 21:29 to play in the game, and led again only after Mangini's winning goal. The game never featured a lead of more than two goals and was tied five times.

The disappointment of St. Mary's 15-4 loss to No. 5 Salisbury, the reigning Division III national champion, last Saturday has given way to the excitement surrounding the team's upcoming home contest against Capital Athletic Conference foe York this Saturday. The Seahawks (9-5 overall and 4-1 in the conference) are battling the Spartans (12-3, 4-1) for the No. 2 seed in the CAC tournament, which begins next Wednesday. A victory would give either side a first-round bye in the six-team field and at least one home game.

Reigning national champion Loyola's showdown with top-ranked Denver this Saturday at Ridley Athletic Complex will probably be the first of two meetings between these Eastern College Athletic Conference rivals and potentially the first of three contests. The No. 8 Greyhounds (9-2 overall and 5-0 in the league) and the Pioneers (9-2, 4-0) are vying for the top seed in the conference tournament, and a loss for either team will likely mean a No. 2 seed. But coach Charley Toomey said a victory would enhance Loyola's RPI, which is ranked 10th in the first list released by the NCAA.

After six years battling Salisbury as members of the Capital Athletic Conference, Stevenson moved to the Middle Atlantic Conference for the current 2013 campaign. But the conference switch hasn't dulled the emotion that the rivalry has generated in 14 meetings between these two teams. “I don't think the tenor of the rivalry has changed,” Mustangs coach Paul Cantabene said Monday morning. “I still think both teams don't like each other very much, and I still think it's a very big game on the national landscape, and it always has been.

On behalf of the people of New Orleans, we want to thank you for allowing us to host your fans for Super Bowl XLVII. It was a great week and a great game between two great teams. And as we all experienced, no one does drama like New Orleans. Your fans are a real class act, and it was a joy to have them in our city, which we affectionately refer to as NOLA. Our lives in politics and media have allowed us to experience some pretty important and exciting events, but nothing has given us more pride than welcoming you to our city and representing New Orleans for this year's big game.

The success of a new, multi-state lottery game has calmed fears that the Maryland Stadium Authority will fall short of funds to build the Ravens stadium at Camden Yards.The weekly "Big Game," which had built up a pot of $77 million by yesterday, has met early projections. It should assure the Stadium Authority the $32 million a year in lottery proceeds it has budgeted for stadium construction and debt service on its other projects, chiefly Oriole Park."With some cautious optimism, we should be pretty close to where we should be," said Maryland Lottery spokesman Carroll H. Hynson.

I MET Teiana Shannon yesterday at BBX, a spacious liquor and wine store off U.S. 40 in Edgewood, where people were handing over their money so fast you wondered if they were printing it up in their basements. Outside on the large digital message board, the words "Big Game jackpot $200 mill" flashed in the morning sun, causing motorists who saw it at the last minute to hit their brakes and screech into the parking lot on two wheels like something out of a Smokey and the Bandit movie. It was why Shannon, 22, a warehouse worker who lives in the area, was standing at the lottery machine now with nine bucks in her hands and all these dreams in her head.

Minutes before Monday's flight to New Orleans, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was seen with his favorite treat: Haribo Gold-Bears. The original gummi bears are Flacco's go-to choice while prepping for the big game. Known for his sweet tooth, Flacco's favorite flavor is Pineapple. This has been a 4-minute Ravens-related post. Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood  

Having the Ravens in the post-season has been great for bars and taverns but not always for restaurants. The Jan. 16 divisional game against Denver, for instance, took a bite out of Saturday-night profits when it went into overtime. A Sunday night playoff game, like last week's conference championship, doesn't hurt as much. Restaurant business is traditionally slower on Sunday night, and there are places like Peter's Inn and Henninger's , both in Fells Point, that close every Sunday night.