Chemistry

In the eight consecutive starts that Torrey Smith has made, it's clear that his speed has helped the rookie wide receiver connect with quarterback Joe Flacco. After all, Smith ranks second to the Cincinnati Bengals' A.J. Green in receiving yards by a rookie, and Smith leads the Ravens in receiving touchdowns with five. But could Flacco's chemistry with Smith impact his relationship with Lee Evans, Smith's predecessor who returned on Sunday after a seven-game absence because of a left ankle injury?

Wedding date: Jan. 19, 2013 Her story: Palma Botterell, 31, grew up in Fairfax, Va. She is a graduate student at the University of Maryland's geochemistry program and a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Her father, John, is a computer engineer and her mother, Stephanie, is a science teacher. His story: Kevin Jarboe, 32, grew up in Washington. He is a scientist for Lockheed Martin. His father, A.J., is a retired computer engineer and his mother, Karyn, is a cosmetics representative.

Maryland's brief flirtation with Arizona men's basketball coach Sean Miller didn't end because it was outbid, according to multiple sources who said Wednesday that there was more to it than money. Miller and Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson met Saturday at a Las Vegas hotel to explore the possibility that Miller — who led the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament's West Regional final — might be hired to replace the retiring Gary Williams. Late Saturday night, Arizona said Miller was signing a contract extension to remain with the school.

What did you expect after such an uplifting 2012 season? The Orioles clubhouse is full of players who think that they can go even farther into October this year if they can stay reasonably healthy for the duration. “I do," said catcher Matt Wieters. “One, we're getting a healthy Nick [Markakis] back and a healthy Nolan [Reimold] back. We're comfortable with all the guys we have in this clubhouse and just what we did last year and improving on it. The good thing is we do have a lot of guys back from last year and now if everybody takes a step forward, we're right where we want to be.” The big question, after a year that produced some highly unusual statistics - 29-9 in one-run games, 16 consecutive extra-inning victories - is whether that winning chemistry will carry over into 2013.

When the Ravens signed left tackle Bryant McKinnie on Aug. 24, then added center Andre Gurode on Sept. 5, the moves confirmed a sense of flux and uncertainty for the offensive line. But after a regular season in which the offensive line helped the offense finish the regular season ranked 10th in the NFL in rushing (1,996 yards), tied for 10 th in rushing touchdowns (15), and tied for 12th in sacks allowed, starting tackles McKinnie and Michael Oher, starting guards Marshal Yanda and Ben Grubbs, starting center Matt Birk and Gurode have found a comfort level with one another and within the team's zone-blocking scheme.

Nia Alleyne is a critical cog in No. 2 Aberdeen's run to the state tournament as it goes for its first state title beginning with Thursday's semifinal vs. Largo at UMBC. Averaging 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals, the 5-foot-8 junior can play any forward or guard position. Alleyne, 17, is as strong in the classroom as she is on the court. Enrolled in Aberdeen's challenging Science and Mathematics Academy, she maintains a 3.4 GPA and plans to become a pharmacist. She plays Amateur Athletic Union basketball for the Baltimore Cougars and runs cross country and track for the Eagles.

COLLEGE PARK -- In the old days at the University of Maryland, an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory was one of the most unloved places on campus.There were foul odors, flaming Bunsen burners, fragile glassware, roaring fume hoods and unsteady bottles of noxious chemicals that could dissolve a careless student's sneakers and quickly reduce a cotton lab coat to tatters.Today? Through a quiet revolution known as "micro-scale" chemistry, students are conducting experiments with down-sized equipment and tiny samples that dramatically reduce accident risk, fumes and hazardous waste, plus the expense of buying and storing chemicals.

Linda Sweeting, a Towson University chemistry professor who studied why wintergreen candies glow in the dark when chewed, died Sept. 28 of a heart attack at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Towson resident was 61. A teacher of organic chemistry for the past 33 years, she researched the phenomenon of triboluminescence, the emission of light when a crystal is crushed. She also wrote and spoke widely about professional ethics for scientists. Born in Toronto, she earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Toronto and her doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. David Webb Herlocker, former chairman of the chemistry department at what is now McDaniel College and an avid walker, died of heart failure Friday at his Westminster home. He was 67. Dr. Herlocker was born in Chicago and raised in Peoria, Ill. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1962 from Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., where he had been elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a master's degree in chemistry in 1964, and his doctorate in inorganic chemistry in 1966, both from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

There's a reason why it appears from time to time that ESPN's Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann are talking right past you on the 11 p.m. "SportsCenter."They are.Quite frankly, there are infrequent moments where a reference from a production meeting or a conversation will creep into Olbermann's or Patrick's copy and into your living room, and either you'll get it or you won't.Even if you don't get that joke, just wait awhile, for there'll be another one coming right around the bend shortly.

Shortly before the season began, Maryland men's basketball players sat down at computers, logged in with special passwords and began answering seven probing questions not only about basketball, but about themselves. "From whom do you seek input and opinions before making personal decisions?" said one question. "Whom do you rely upon when your team needs unity and motivation?" said another. The exercise, overseen by a consultant, might not be as important as practicing ball-screen defense or running breaks.

Welcome back to Morning Shootaround, a regular feature this season the day after Maryland basketball games. While we can't bring you into the Terps' lockerroom after games - reporters haven't been allowed in there since the last couple of years under Gary Williams - we will recap what was said in the press conference afterward by Maryland coach Mark Turgeon and his players. We will give some of our own insight into what transpired on the court during the previous night's game and what the Terps will be working on at practice looking ahead to their next game.

Deb pops the big question tonight. Dexter, will you ... murder your girlfriend for me? Okay, so Deb doesn't actually ask Dexter to do it. Nor does she know that Dexter is lying in bed next to a very naked Hannah at the time. But she does imply that it is up to Dexter to have justice prevail. To be fair, Hannah did just kill Deb's sort-of boyfriend Price and there is no evidence of it so she will be free on the streets. But just earlier tonight, Deb told Dexter that he couldn't kill Isaac, who was being released from jail after it was discovered that the blood evidence in the case against him went missing.

Aileen Prunesti and Gregory Downs Jean and Dominic Prunesti, of Laurel, announce the engagement of their daughter, Aileen Marie Prunesti, to Gregory Tyson Downs, son of Cynthia and James Downs, of Damascus. The bride-to-be is a 2004 graduate of Atholton High School and received her Bachelor's in speech-language pathology from Towson University in 2008. A 2003 graduate of Sherwood High School, the prospective groom received his Bachelor's in chemistry from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2007 and his master's degrees in chemistry and education from the University of Maryland.

Three weeks away from the first weekend of the NFL season, injured tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta are on the mend and optimistic that they will be ready for the Sept. 10 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. Pitta broke his right hand during practice July 30. Dickson sprained his right shoulder while hauling in a touchdown pass in a 31-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason opener. “It's much better, a lot better,” Dickson said. “I can actually do some catching and stuff, and more conditioning.

Youngsters opened a classroom door at Crofton Elementary School and entered what appeared to be a crime scene: a masking-tape outline of a body, a hammer, a tennis ball covered with dog hair and a "Caution: Do Not Cross" sign. They were walking in on a mock incident as part of their weeklong Crime Scene and Chemistry Camp, which introduces rising first- through fifth-graders to the ways that real-life detectives use science to solve crimes. The camp, held this week, draws students who have interest in mysteries yet are mostly unfamiliar with detective skills.

When Nazi SS men broke into his parents' apartment in Nuremberg, Germany, and ransacked the place during the anti-Jewish Kristalnacht terror in 1938, 8-year-old Ernst Silberschmidt was left with a vivid understanding of injustice.Ernst and most of his family escaped to England and later to Tacoma, Wash. Nearly three decades later, when he was offered a job teaching chemistry at historically black Morgan State University, he jumped at the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young people whose parents and grandparents had known injustice in this country.

No one knows sports from the inside the way Calvin Hill does.Hill, who will be the speaker at the 30th annual Scholar-Athlete banquet at Martin's West tomorrow night, has been deeply involved in this country's three biggest sports: football, basketball and baseball.There are people who know more about football than Calvin. There are people who know more about basketball and baseball.But no one has seen all three from the inside the way Hill has.Calvin is best known as a football player. He was a star running back at Yale when the Ivy League was still drawing 60,000 to games -- and was still good enough to produce NFL players.

Joe Flacco took a couple of steps to his right, spotted Ed Dickson about 10 yards down the field and lofted a pass between two defenders that the young tight end hauled in. After Dickson was touched down and the Ravens' offense retreated back to the line of scrimmage, Flacco yelled out a play that ended with his other primary tight end, Dennis Pitta, making a catch along the left sideline. Flacco wore a red jersey, black gym shorts and no shoulder pads, and his notoriously calm demeanor, which earned him the nickname "Joe Cool," was even more casual than usual.

"Better Living Through Chemistry," an independent movie about a pharmacist's life unraveling after he starts an affair with a trophy-wife customer, will film for five weeks in Maryland starting this month, Governor Martin O'Malley announced Thursday. The cast includes Olivia Wilde, Michelle Monaghan and Sam Rockwell — TV and independent-film stars with wide mainstream-movie credits including blockbusters like "Tron: Legacy" (Wilde), "Mission: Impossible 3" (Monaghan), and "Iron Man 2" (Rockwell)