Contact

SARASOTA, Fla. -- In his first public move in an Orioles uniform, infielder Danny Valencia stepped in front of a podium on Wednesday and vehemently denied ever using any performance-enhancing drugs. Valencia's name was listed on records obtained by Yahoo Sports from a now-defunct clinic named Biogenesis, which the Miami New Times previously reported had provided PEDs to several major leaguers, including New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. Major League Baseball has been investigating Biogenesis and its owner, Anthony Bosch.

An Edgemere man pleaded guilty Wednesday to having sexual contact with a teenage boy, in a plea deal that allowed him to avoid trial on a rarely used charge of exposing a victim to the HIV virus. Steven Douglas Podles, 36, was charged after police said he engaged in sexual activity with a 13-year-old outside the teen's home in February 2012. Podles had been treated for HIV, prosecutors said, but the boy did not contract the disease. The two met on Grindr, an adult dating app that requires users to be 18 or older.

A task force charged with strengthening Maryland policies regarding head trauma in student athletes called Tuesday for more staff training, parental notification of concussions and further study of ways to limit such injuries. The state school board voted Tuesday to accept the recommendations and field public comment on them. The majority of the proposals are designed to beef up a set of emergency regulations the board approved in July. Edward Sparks, co-chair of the task force and executive director of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, called the group's report "a working document" that was produced after months of research on practices in other school districts across the nation, the Ivy League and the National Football League.

Every flu season, doctors instruct their patients in the basics of respiratory etiquette: To limit spread of the disease, wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough and practice good hygiene. The practices are based on the belief that the flu and other viruses pass from person to person through indirect or direct contact. Somebody coughs in another's face, or an infected person touches a doorknob that dozens of others then grab, and the disease spreads. But what if the flu isn't transmitted by direct or indirect contact?

Running back Bernard Pierce (knee) and cornerback Asa Jackson (thigh) were the only Ravens not participating in the early portion of Thursday's practice open to reporters. Pierce didn't have a carry in Saturday's playoff game against the Denver Broncos after the third quarter. However, he said Wednesday that he will play Sunday in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots. Pierce was limited in Wednesday's practice. Jackson was the only Ravens' player not to participate in Wednesday's practice.

Among the most talked about stories in college lacrosse in 2012, perhaps none was bigger than the recruiting of high school underclassmen. Nearly three years after the first recorded oral commitment by a sophomore, Johns Hopkins made history by accepting the first such commitment from a freshman - attackman Forry Smith of Haverford School in Havertown, Pa. Two more commitments from fellow members of the Class of 2016 soon followed....

Dr. Joshua Breschkin, a retired optometrist whose early work with contact lenses earned him the respect of well-known Baltimore Colts and Orioles players, died of stroke complications Nov. 6 at his Cross Keys home. He was 94. "He saved my career in pro football," said former Baltimore Colts wide receiver Raymond Berry . "Dr. Breschkin was on the cutting edge of contact lens technology. He came up with something that was stable enough to take the hits during a game. He was a dear man to me. " Born in Baltimore and raised on Woodhaven Avenue in Northwest Baltimore, he was the son of Meyer and Lillian Schuchat Breschkin.

If your Halloween costume includes contact lenses to give your eyes the scary look of a werewolf or vampire, you may want to consider the dangers, especially if you don't get them from a doctor. The American Optometric Association said contact lenses should be fitted by a physician. Yet 28 percent of people  who buy colored contacts for Halloween buy them illegally. We're talking from gas stations, flea markets, beauty salons and the Internet. The doctors group said doing this is putting people at risk for bacterial infections, allergic reactions and irreversible eye sight loss.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh will not be fined for making contact with a game official during Sunday's 31-30 victory over the New England Patriots, confirmed a league spokesman. Harbaugh was flagged late in the fourth quarter for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Following the game, Harbaugh admitted he bumped an official, but said that it was inadvertent while he was trying to make a timeout call. "Well, here's how I understand it. I guess I didn't understand how [the referee]

With replacement officials continuing to work NFL games indefinitely, there is a theory that defensive players will take advantage by being more aggressive with opposing receivers to disrupt their timing with their quarterbacks. That may not be far-fetched, but Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said the coaches and receivers can't concern themselves with the holding and grabbing they can expect as they run their routes. “Defensive guys are allowed to jam you and even grab and hold you,” he said Thursday.