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WHAT DOES it mean when you hear that a dear friend has had a heart attack and is in the hospital in critical condition? Just how bad is critical? You might call the hospital the next day and be told his condition is stable. Does that mean he is out of danger now?Perhaps you read about an accident on I-95 in which three local teen-agers are hurt. The paper says one of the passengers was hospitalized in critical condition. The next day you read that the teen's condition is guarded. Does that mean he is getting better or worse?

Most Ravens fans will tell you that inside linebacker Ray Lewis was the greatest draft pick in franchise history. But the fine stat heads over at ESPN have calculated that Lewis was the NFL's most valuable pick since 1994. In this week's ESPN the Magazine, they put together a chart of the best draft picks from each franchise based on Surplus Approximate Value (AV), which essentially measures the difference between what each player produced during his career compared to what he was expected to produce based on where he was drafted.

D. Wayne Lukas, the Hall of Fame trainer, has started 37 horses in the Preakness. He expects to have three more - Will Take Charge, Oxbow and Titletown Five - go to the post Saturday for the 138th running of the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. Does Lukas like Pimlico? Indeed he does. "I do like it here. We've only missed two, maybe only one in the last 33 years," Lukas said as he waited to accompany one of his horses to the track Wednesday morning. Standing just outside the stakes barn, Lukas was outfitted in his usual jeans, chaps, boots and spurs and a 10-gallon hat. Waiting patiently nearby was his stable pony Diamond, a reminder that while Lukas may have revolutionized the sport of horse racing with some of his methods, he's still a throwback when it comes to others.

Millennial Media's stock has lost three-fourths of its value since the Canton company went public a year ago as an established force in the mobile advertising market. Ask CEO Paul Palmieri about that, and he'll repeat what he deems wise words from a prominent contemporary. "I care very much about our share owners, and so I care very much about our long-term share price," Palmieri said, quoting from an interview Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos gave to the Harvard Business Review in January.

Rappers Pitbull and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will headline this year's Preakess InfieldFest May 18 at Pimlico Race Course, organizers announced Monday morning. In recent years, Pitbull has become one of Top 40's most consistent acts, both in the U.S. and Latin America. "Back in Time," his single for "Men in Black 3," has sold two million copies, and he recently performed as part of New Year's Rockin' Eve. "Pitbull is young and energetic," said Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas on Monday morning outside by Pimlico Race Course's finish line.

On his way to Virginia in January, Johnathan Thomas decided to make a quick stopover at Maryland. The three-star running back from St. John's Prep in Danvers, Mass., got a tour of the campus and met with coach Randy Edsall , who offered him a scholarship “right on the spot.” “He showed great interest in me. I was their No. 1 running back prospect,” Thomas said Sunday. “That just made me want to really think about the place and see what they had to offer. And I got to see what they had to offer.” Four months after this trip to College Park, Thomas decided to accept Edsall's offer.

Ignite the charcoal, crack the crabs. Then rise to your feet for a salute to another tradition of Maryland summer: the Admirals rocking Ocean City.The Baltimore band, formed by seven teen-agers at the Lutherville teen center in 1958, debuted in Ocean City in 1961. It inaugurates its 34th straight summer there next Monday, opening for seven days at the Sheraton Fontainebleau Hotel. The Admirals are also booked at the hotel Aug. 15-21 and Sept. 12-18."If you went around Ocean City and asked people, 'Of all the bands that have played clubs and hotels in the area, which one comes to mind?

They're tucked away in residential neighborhoods, alongside marinas and on the Chesapeake Bay's tributaries. But for those who don't have a navigational system in their car or boat, Anne Arundel County's picturesque waterfront restaurants can be tricky to find. A trek to Deep Creek Restaurant in Arnold, Windows on the Bay or the Cheshire Crab in Pasadena - with a left turn here and a right turn there - takes a visitor through tree-lined neighborhoods, past rows of boats suspended on lifts and ends in laid-back culinary delights.

Six players from Maryland and a Boston College transfer highlight Towson's 20-man football recruiting class. Tigers coach Rob Ambrose announced the signings Wednesday of the following local players: Calvert Hall defensive end Stefan Janik, Old Mill linebacker Joe McCargo, Calvert Hall offensive lineman Spencer Sutton and Northwestern running back Terrance West. Largo defensive end Olatungie Coker and Damascus quarterback Connor Frazier rounded out Towson's in-state class. "This recruiting class is going to be a special one," Ambrose said in a news release.

Most sailors can only imagine their dream boat. Annapolis advertising executive George Sass has just taken delivery of his. It is the product of his years on both sail and power boats, designed in Annapolis, built in Edgewater, and now berthed at the end of his yard on Spa Creek. Delivered June 30, it is being readied for the family's annual cruise to New England. At 43 feet, it is the latest model in the Thomas Point series off the drawing board of local naval architect Mike Kaufman, who worked closely with Sass to enable the new owner to have the some of the joys of a sailboat with the speed and comforts of a cruiser.