Briana

" 'The Watsons Go To Birmingham' is a story about the bombings of Alabama and the Southern states of the United States of America. This book was written by Christopher Paul Curtis. It is a wonderful novel that explains how America has changed."- Briana MyersCromwell Valley Elementary Magnet School of Technology" 'Angelina Ballerina' by Katharine Holabird is a stupendous book, especially if you're a girl who likes to dance. There are some funny parts, like when Angelina jumped in her mother's sewing basket!"

OCEAN CITY -- The bride stands barefoot in the still-steamy bathroom, reviewing her checklist with her reflection."Garter, penny, veil, perfume. I'm going without a watch. Got my teeth brushed. I need lipstick. What time is it? Whoa!"Downstairs, the groom stands beside the minister on the porch, shifting from one foot to the other. "Got my rings," he says, his hand feeling his pants pocket. "I'm set." His eyes are fixed on the door.The bride reaches with a trembling hand for a bouquet of plastic lilies.

Where are the more arresting characters, the most plausible plots?A California news reporter, Irene, whose past appearances include catching the culprits who kidnapped her policeman fiance and going after a death-dealing poison-penner to stem her own demise, now finds herself in the midst of another personal crisis when Aunt Briana gets killed in a hit-and-run accident and she becomes a suspect for inheriting Briana's paltry estate. Solving that case calls for finding her cousin, Briana's illegitimate son, Travis, who is in danger from the killers of his wealthy-despite-illiterate father, Arthur, who, years earlier, was a suspect in the murder of his much-older, rich wife, whose relatives, the DeMonts, would have motive to kill the lot of them.

Player of the YearBriana Zolak, Centennial, senior, hitter: "There was pressure on her to be the leader, the one everybody looked at, and she never shrank back from that or said she didn't want it," said Centennial coach Mike Bossom. "She met the challenge and I think exceeded some people's expectations." Zolak pushes herself hard to be the best, and rarely is satisfied with everything she does in a match. But make no mistake, Zolak does a lot of things well. "She's one of the most complete players I've coached," said Bossom, who has seen many talented players in his four seasons at the Ellicott City school.

Mission accomplished.Centennial is once again a state champion.The Eagles, who had their four-year state championship run stopped last year by Mount Hebron in a region final, earned their sixth state title last night with a 13-15, 15-13, 15-7, 15-4 victory over Thomas Johnson of Frederick County at Catonsville Community College.The Eagles (19-0) completed their third unbeaten season in school history, and will finish the season as they started it -- with the No. 1 ranking."This has been our goal since we lost to Mount Hebron last year," said Meredith Price, the only senior on the team.

Briana Porte Shimer: An obituary in The Sun May 23 about Briana Porte Shimer, 47, a former speech therapist and meeting facilitator who lived in Severna Park, omitted her middle name.

Annapolis struggled early last night against visiting Severna Park. The Panthers watched the Falcons dominate the last half of the first period and take a two-goal lead.But scoring 11 straight goals took care of that problem.Tucker Meneely scored four goals and Jon Brianas added three to help No. 10 Annapolis register the final 11 goals of the game and post a 13-4 victory over No. 13 Severna Park.Severna Park (8-2, 7-1) was in control early. The Falcons got two goals from Mickey O'Connor, plus one apiece from Darrin McCalister and Charles Robinson for a 4-2 lead after one.The Falcons dominated play in the final five minutes of the quarter.

Another article yesterday misstated the level of lead in the bloodstream of Briana Hines, a 2-year-old West Baltimore child whose parents are suing the state. The child's original lead level was 39 micrograms per deciliter.The Sun regrets the errors.In the case of Briana Hines, only one thing is clear: A bright, cheerful 2-year-old lived for more than a year in a home that was slowly poisoning her.Why that happened is in dispute.Her parents, Andre and Bertha Hines, contend their landlord "dragged her feet" in fixing the peeling lead-based paint that was likely poisoning Briana in their West Baltimore rowhouse.