Big Man

They've got to be one of the oddest-looking couples in rock: this big, hulking black man who looks like he just stepped off a football field, and this wiry, streetwise white guy, with his scruffy beard that, even when they met in the early 1970s, screamed beatnik chic. But Clarence Clemons and Bruce Springsteen have made for far more than some odd visuals over their 35-plus years together. They've made some great music, with Springsteen writing the songs and Clemons, immortalized as "The Big Man" on 1976's "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," blasting out some of the rock era's most powerful sax solos.

Bruce Springsteen was nearly an hour late starting his show at D.C.'s Verizon Center Sunday night, and the crowd was getting a little restless. But when he finally took to the stage about 8:30 p.m., it took all of about 30 seconds for that frustration to be forgotten. Nobody puts on shows like The Boss, and no one appreciates them more than his fans. In their eyes, the man can do no wrong. Not that he usually does. From the opening chords of "We Take Care of Our Own," the same song he used to open the 2012 Grammy Awards broadcast, Springsteen and his 17-piece E Street Band rocked out like nobody's business, with an energy and enthusiasm that belies the fact they've been doing this for some 35 years.

New Maryland men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon is holding a teleconference Tuesday afternoon, but he chatted with Ed Norris and Steve Davis of 105.7 The Fan on Tuesday morning about what he has been up to since he was introduced as Gary Williams’ replacement two weeks ago -- and it has been a lot. Turgeon has filled out his coaching staff, including super recruiter Dalonte Hill , and has convinced Nick Faust, the top player in the...

The debut of Maryland center Alex Len tonight against Albany brings to mind other first games for former Terps. Coming into College Park, most were more celebrated than 7-footer from the Ukraine, but few were as important as Len could be to this season's Maryland team. Len is something of a mystery, but there are well-respected coaches and scouts who believe that Len could become a first-round NBA draft choice. First-year Maryland coach Mark Turgeon has done his best to downplay Len's potential,  and probably won't start him right away to allow him to get acclimated.    But Len's debut certainly has Terps fans buzzing, and has Turgeon hoping that the freshman will help his young team continue to grow.

SAN FRANCISCO - Hail, Barry. The Big Man's World Series moments are already destined to live in a blaze of lightning-flash glory - even if his sluggish teammates never follow their leader. Too bad The Big Man doesn't pitch. The way Barry Bonds is locked in this October, he'd register 27 outs on 27 pitches, giving the Giants a jolt where they need it: stopping the Anaheim Angels' hit parade. Batting a team-leading .314 (11-for-35) with 15 runs, 14 RBIs and a postseason-record seven home runs, The Big Man is the super model of efficiency.

Gary Williams sat in the first row at last week's Capital Classic and proudly noted that Maryland had two recruits playing in the high school all-star game -- the same number as Duke. Keith Booth and Joe Smith indeed represent major coups for Maryland. The problem is, such players are the norm in the ACC.That's the maddening part of Williams' rebuilding program -- he's playing catch-up in the nation's best conference. Today is the day Booth officially joins the fold, signing a letter of intent.

Many people look at Russell DeMont and say it must be nice to be 6 feet 8 and playing high school basketball in Carroll County.There just aren't very many players in the county over 6-4, and none of them has the talent and potential that Westminster High's DeMont possesses.DeMont is easily the best big man in the county.But with all that potential comes a lot of high expectations from teammates, classmates, fans and coaches.And it's hard to hide when you're 6-8 and almost everybody else is 6-2 or smaller.

The sky was the color of scrap metal yesterday and thick dark clouds floated overhead as you nosed your car in the direction of Camden Yards for the Orioles Opening Day extravaganza. But you, you didn't care if the weatherman was calling for twisters to touch down. You were a man on a mission. It was time to sit down with the Big Man. Time to seek out Orioles owner Peter Angelos and present him with the results of a recent Sun poll that showed a clear majority of fans favor getting rid of John Denver's rube anthem "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" as the O's seventh-inning stretch song.

Bruce Springsteen was nearly an hour late starting his show at D.C.'s Verizon Center Sunday night, and the crowd was getting a little restless. But when he finally took to the stage about 8:30 p.m., it took all of about 30 seconds for that frustration to be forgotten. Nobody puts on shows like The Boss, and no one appreciates them more than his fans. In their eyes, the man can do no wrong. Not that he usually does. From the opening chords of "We Take Care of Our Own," the same song he used to open the 2012 Grammy Awards broadcast, Springsteen and his 17-piece E Street Band rocked out like nobody's business, with an energy and enthusiasm that belies the fact they've been doing this for some 35 years.

When St. Nick falls off a roof, a nonbeliever (Tim Allen, above) becomes the next big man in The Santa Clause (8 p.m.-10 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2).

The woman who came up with the idea - suggesting that a very large member of the Baltimore Ravens might hand off some XXXL clothing to a very large Towson University student who can't afford to buy his own - wishes to remain anonymous, and that's fine. Under the principles of her Jewish faith, such deeds are best if performed secretly, or at least quietly. So we'll call her Ruth, and leave it at that. Two years ago, Ruth and her husband started supporting a teenage boy from Middle River named Andrew Nagengast.

While many of the more high-profile high school football players spend the summer honing their skills and their competitive edge at 7-on-7 tournaments, linemen continue to toil away in anonymity in weight rooms and at camps and combines. For one day last month, however, the big guys took the main stage at the fourth annual Air It Out 7-on-7 and Big Man Competition in Bel Air. As their more nimble teammates played pass and catch, eight teams of big guys matched muscle at pushing a fire truck, tossing SUV tires and bench pressing 135 pounds.

They could go with the mop-haired, trash-talking forward who left his homeland of the Czech Republic four years ago to play in a basketball-crazed nation and beamed with pride as fans serenaded him after his last game for his team. Or they could choose the shy big man from Lithuania who remains unsure about whether he will even play in the NBA next season as his agent attempts to negotiate a buyout agreement with his current team. They could go with the confident forward from Turkey who is good friends with John Wall.

I think I may have figured out why Jordan Williams was in such a hurry to get to the NBA: the women. New Jersey power forward Kris Humphries is the latest mediocre NBA big man to net himself a model. The basketball vagabond, who has averaged 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in seven NBA seasons, is now engaged to reality show star Kim Kardashian . He gave her a 20.5-carat diamond engagement ring last week, which means he wasn’t making D-League money while coming off the bench for the Nets.

New Maryland men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon is holding a teleconference Tuesday afternoon, but he chatted with Ed Norris and Steve Davis of 105.7 The Fan on Tuesday morning about what he has been up to since he was introduced as Gary Williams’ replacement two weeks ago -- and it has been a lot. Turgeon has filled out his coaching staff, including super recruiter Dalonte Hill , and has convinced Nick Faust, the top player in the...

Cavs talking Turkey Dom Amore Hartford Courant After suffering a meek year after The LeBron Decision, Cleveland inherits the Earth, picking first and fourth. So they're not drafting a player, but a core, and it makes most sense for them to go point guard and big man, even if the latter is a project. They'll use that first pick on Duke's Kyrie Irving and the fourth pick on Enes Kanter, the 6-11 center who has been playing in Turkey. When you've already picked first you can afford a risk at No. 4. Arizona small forward Derrick Williams makes a lot of sense for the Timberwolves at No. 2. Point guard Brandon Knight makes sense for the Jazz at No. 3. The consensus has UConn's Kemba Walker going No. 7 to Sacramento.

Bill did so well in China, he should go back and stay.If a certain Big Man were to say, "Yes, I may have lied, but only to protect that young woman's reputation," 48 percent of the American public would approve, 29 percent would disapprove and 23 percent would have no opinion.In another life, Ken and Bill might have been friends.Cheer up. No need for interest rate hikes. The Asian slump is slowing America down.Pub Date: 7/06/98

The big man wishes to be struck by lightning and killed at the earliest possible moment. He wishes the entire immediate world to remove itself and leave him in his humiliation. He is built like a lumberjack. He is built to beat up linebackers for laughs. He is standing in this miserable courtroom, with the life he has known effectively finished, because the police found him intimately engaged in the front seat of a car with someone who was a man.What now? In Washington last week, the U.S. Senate votes down one measure to prohibit job discrimination against gays, and approves another measure barring federal recognition of gay marriages.

The 2011 NCAA tournament officially tips off tonight with a pair of play-in games -- I'm still scratching my head at UAB and Clemson playing for a No. 12 seed -- but the bracket bonanza for most pools begins Thursday afternoon with the Round of 64. That means we have approximately 48 hours to sort through statistics, break down matchups and finalize our brackets. I did all of my homework last night for our unofficial employee pool here at The Baltimore Sun , and I'm confident that I will win a pool for the first time since Maryland was last in the Sweet 16 (that was back in 2003 if you have forgotten)

The good began with a tragedy. The happy story has an awful beginning, the hero's vision turning to reality only after his death. This is probably the only way it would ever happen. Six months ago, a freakishly tall saint who made his home in Olathe, Kan., passed away from a mess of a disease contracted while saving lives. You might remember Manute Bol as the 7-foot-7 shot blocker in the NBA, designated by the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the tallest men in history, but there is so much more to his remarkable life.