Closer

You might not want to spend a lot of time in Norway in January, but listening to a couple of hours of Norwegian music in a Howard County church sounds inviting. The Orchestra of St. John's vicariously takes you to Norway with "A Winter's Concert - Norwegian Moods," being performed on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 4 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellicott City. "Everybody thinks of Norway as a cold place with fjords and icy scenery, but not as one of the most important centers of music," observes Ronald Mutchnik, artistic director of the Orchestra of St. John's.

The wristband caught his attention several times throughout a typical day. If he took a shower, the blue silicone bracelet stayed on. When he had basketball practice or a game, he moved it from his wrist to his ankle. Pictures of red, yellow and blue puzzle pieces surrounded a simple message Jordan Latham read whenever he glanced at his wrist: I love someone with autism. As the former City center labored through his freshman season at Xavier two years ago, the bracelet kept him connected to home.

Kyuji Fujikawa, a 32-year-old, hard-throwing right hander who is considered one of the best closers in Japan, toured Camden Yards on Friday and had lunch with, among others, Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette. Fujikawa, who is an unrestricted free agent and wants to pitch in the United States on a multi-year deal, was on a tour of sorts. In the past two weeks, he also has met with representatives of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels.

We already knew Jim Johnson hadn't finished in the top 3 for the American League Cy Young Award, but the Orioles closer ended up getting some love from the Baseball Writers' Association of America voters when the results were announced Wednesday night. Of the 28 voters (two from each AL market), one had Johnson fourth and three put him fifth on their ballots for 5 total points, good for seventh place. Rays lefty David Price (153 points, 14 first-place votes) edged Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander (149, 13)

Pardon me while I rant: Are you kidding me? According to a report from the Center for American Progress, about 35 percent of Maryland teachers missed 10 or more days of the 2009-2010 school year. Excuse me? Don't most teachers work 10 months? Don't they get vacation? I'm a union man, but I'll tell you one thing: The men and women who fought for and won sick-day privileges for teachers did not think there would be this kind of abuse of the privilege. And you can get all huffy-and-puffy about my use of the word "abuse," but a sick-day rate like this smells of it. I know what every reasonable person knows: We get sick.

It might have been a much more tense conversation: Carrie confronts Mike about his continued meddling in the CIA's terror investigation. She knows all about where he's been snooping. She even knows about the affair with his best friend's wife. That friend, of course, is Brody. And, you know, Brody and Carrie have something of a romantic entanglement themselves. Carrie opts for an emotional appeal, asking Mike to step back for the good of the woman he cares about, and he agrees. It's not easy to let go, she says, “not when you've chosen someone.” So whose relationship was the subject of this conversation again?

Harford County continued to brace for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on Saturday - and for the prospect once severe damage locally from the storm once it arrives in the area as anticipated. Harford County remains under a State of Emergency, put into effect Friday afternoon by County Executive David Craig. A state of emergency was declared throughout Maryland by Gov. Martin O'Malley, also on Friday. The Harford County Division of Emergency Operations also partially activated Friday in preparation for the arrival of Sandy, which is expected reach the area in some form between late Sunday or early Monday, according to forecasts and weather modeling as of Saturday afternoon.

Orioles closer Jim Johnson may have had an historic season for the Orioles, but it wasn't enough to win him Major League Baseball's Delivery Man of the Year Award. That went to someone who made major league history. MLB announced today that Tampa Bay's Fernando Rodney was chosen for the top reliever award by a baseball panel. Rodney also won MLB's American League Comeback Player of the Year Award, with San Francisco Giants' catcher Buster Posey winning the National League's version; both comeback awards are voted on by mlb.com reporters.

Orioles closer Jim Johnson was automatic throughout most of 2012. But he loaded the bases in the wild-card game and completely imploded Sunday night, giving up five runs (four earned) while retiring just one batter in the O's 7-2 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Orioles manager Buck Showalter, for one, isn't concerned about his closer. “No, that's the easiest question I'll get tonight,” Showalter said. “It's real easy to put your faith in a guy like Jim Johnson, not only as a pitcher but as a man. He's the reason why we're out there playing this game tonight, one of the big reasons.

Orioles closer Jim Johnson has been exceptionally predictable this season: He almost always shuts the door on the opposition, and he always shuts down the questioning after a game when the attention drifts toward him. On Sunday, the Orioles' regular-season home finale, featured both as Johnson picked up his league- and personal-best 50th save in Baltimore's 6-3 win against Boston. What does Johnson think about becoming just the 10th pitcher since saves became an official statistic in 1969 to log 50 in one season?