Delaware

NEWARK, Del. -- Delaware senior faceoff specialist Alex Smith was sorting through his euphoric thoughts Sunday night, hours after the Blue Hens eliminated UMBC to keep this crazy journey going. It still didn't seem real to the Boys' Latin graduate or his teammates. Delaware, which six weeks earlier was in the throes of a losing streak and on postseason life-support, suddenly had turned the Division I men's lacrosse world on its ear. Next stop, an unprecedented trip to the NCAA final four at M&T Bank Stadium, where about 60,000 fans are expected Saturday to watch the Blue Hens try to do the unthinkable again, this time against Johns Hopkins.

Top-ranked McDonogh's youth served notice at yesterday's fourth annual Mount Mat Madness Invitational at Goucher College, dominating a 27-team field of squads from Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia with a roster of underclassmen. Nick Schenk (103 pounds) and Shane Milam (145) earned titles, with Josh Fitch (125), Doug Schenk (215) and Lane Clelland (285) finishing second as the Eagles outscored runner-up Wyoming Seminary of Pennsylvania, 200-151. A sophomore, Milam (21-3)

World champion figure skater Kimmie Meissner will skate an exhibition Saturday at the University of Delaware as part of a send-off show for athletes competing at U.S. Nationals. The Bel Air teen, the runner-up at Nationals last year who finished sixth at the Olympics, will perform to "Keep Holding On" from the soundtrack of Eragon. The show also will include appearances by U.S. ice dance silver medalists Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov and 2006 Junior World bronze medalist Christine Zukowski.

COLLEGE PARK -- After startling home losses to Ohio and American, Maryland got the feel-good rout it had been coveting last night. The 76-46 smackdown of Delaware set things right in Terrapin Nation, if only for a night. This was the sort of game the Terps had expected against nonconference foes this season, a dominating performance keyed by offensive rebounding and pressure defense. The Terps (7-6) out-rebounded the Blue Hens 57-25. Twenty-two of Maryland's rebounds were on the offensive end, and the Terps scored 42 points in the paint compared with 14 for Delaware (4-7)

Calvert Hall alumnus Andrew Robinson throws four touchdown passes to spark Syracuse's 38-35 upset of host No. 18 Louisville. The Orange's first victory of the season ended the nation's second-longest home winning streak at 20. PG 15D Towson proves no match for Delaware, falling at home, 27-7. Delaware's Omar Cuff rushed for three touchdowns. PG 17D No. 2 LSU gains 290 rushing yards on its way to defeating No. 12 South Carolina, 28-16. PG 16D

Cornell is trying to re-establish itself as a serious contender. Delaware is Cinderella and will become the fan favorite on college lacrosse's biggest stage. There's really not a big party if Johns Hopkins isn't invited, and the Blue Jays are back again, trying to win another national championship. But the biggest story in lacrosse the past two seasons has been about Duke, and one of the closing chapters will be written Monday when the Blue Devils beat Hopkins in the national championship game.

For the second straight Saturday, Towson was lethargic at the start of the second half. This time, that shortcoming put the Tigers' season in jeopardy. One week after Towson blew a halftime lead and was outscored 4-0 in the third period by Johns Hopkins, the Tigers reprised that letdown in the Colonial Athletic Association men's lacrosse championship game and lost to Delaware, 10-7. "The third quarter was the whole difference in the game," Towson coach Tony Seaman said. The top-seeded Tigers (9-6)

Maryland farmers are doing their part to reduce the pollution making its way into the Chesapeake Bay, but it could be argued that their counterparts in Delaware are doing better. Ninety-four percent of the Maryland farms required to have nutrient management plans in place have met the requirements of the law, according to the state Department of Agriculture's annual report. This brings 1.25 million acres of farmland into compliance with the state's Water Quality Improvement Act. In Delaware, the numbers are even more impressive.

Accidental gunfire wounds girl, 12 A 12-year-old Howard County girl accidentally shot herself Friday with her father's handgun, police said. Howard County police said a father and daughter, whose identities were not released, went to Centennial Park for a hike about 5:45 p.m. The girl returned to the car to rest and found the handgun. The weapon discharged and the girl was struck in the leg, police said. She was treated at a hospital and released. The investigation continues, police said.

When she arrives at Howard Community College this morning, Kate Hetherington will bypass the office she has used for eight years on the second floor of McCuan Hall and head for the one marked Office of the President. Hetherington starts her job as the college's top administrator today, replacing Mary Ellen Duncan, who held the post for nine years. Hetherington was hired as the college's vice president of student services in August 1999 and has spent the past three years as executive vice president.

Ricky Dobbs runs for five touchdowns, moving within one of tying the single-season NCAA record for a quarterback, and Navy defeats Delaware, 35-18 PG 8 No. 25 Stanford 55, No. 11 USC 21: : Toby Gerhart rushes for 178 yards and three TDs for the Cardinal PG 6 No. 10 Ohio State 27, No. 15 Iowa 24, OT: : Devin Barclay kicks a 39-yard field goal in overtime to send the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl PG 6

Delaware (6-3) at Navy (7-3) Time: : 3:30 p.m. TV: : CBS College Sports Radio: : 1090 AM, 1430 AM Series: : Tied 7-7 Last meeting:: Delaware beat Navy, 59-52, on Nov. 14, 2007 Murray means business: : Junior FB Vince Murray has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the past four games, becoming the first Navy running back to do so since Napoleon McCallum in 1983. Since becoming the starter in mid-October, Murray is averaging 6 yards per carry and has scored five touchdowns.

A hybrid-car maker plans to reopen the shuttered General Motors plant in Wilmington, Del., that employed several hundred Marylanders, igniting hope of new job opportunities for the laid-off workers. The fledgling Fisker Automotive of California announced Tuesday that it is buying the assembly plant, which made Pontiac and Saturn roadsters before it closed this summer under GM's bankruptcy. Fisker, which recently won approval for almost $530 million in government loans to develop plug-in hybrid electric cars, plans to begin production at the plant in late 2012 and to employ 2,000 there by 2014.

Delaware (4-2) at Towson (2-3) Time: 3:30 p.m. Radio: 1570 AM Series record: Delaware leads 6-4 Last meeting: Delaware won, 31-21, on Nov. 8, 2008 What's at stake: Guess who scheduled a ringer for homecoming? The Tigers are underdogs to a much-improved Blue Hens team that matched its 2008 victory total last week with a 43-27 upset of then-12th-ranked Massachusetts. The win thrust Delaware into the Top 25 (the Blue Hens are ranked No. 23), which gives Towson more cause to knock off a team it hasn't beaten in three years.

Let's all tip our caps to the National Football League and the governing bodies of the other major professional and college sports for taking a principled stand against Delaware's decision to add sports betting to its state lottery system. Yes, of course, I'm joking. The NFL, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and the NCAA joined together to file a lawsuit to stop Delaware's new sports betting plan, which would allow single-game wagering at the state's three racinos.

The nation's major professional sports leagues and the NCAA sued Friday to stop Delaware from launching single-game betting - and any wagering on sports other than football - before the NFL season starts this fall. If a federal judge grants the leagues' demands, Delaware's "sports lottery" would be limited, hampering efforts to balance the state's budget. A victory for the leagues also would curb, if slightly, an effort among Mid- Atlantic states to expand gambling, which is viewed as a politically safer revenue source than tax increases.

Horse racing 'Rachel' assigned top weight for Sunday's Delaware 'Cap Rachel Alexandra has been assigned top weight of 123 pounds for the 72nd running of the 1 1/4-mile, $1 million Grade II Delaware Handicap to be run Sunday at Delaware Park. The 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d' Oro is 6-for-6 this year, including victories in the Preakness, Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose Stakes. Acoma, the recent winner of the Grade III Mint Julep Stakes, and Unbridled Belle, the winner of the Grade II Delaware Handicap in 2007, have both been assigned 119 pounds.

Looks like Marylanders threatening to leave the state over tax increases have one less place to go. Delaware, long the darling of anti-tax types in the Free State, just wrapped up work on closing an $800 million hole in its budget - no mean feat considering the whole thing is just over $3 billion. Gov. Jack Markell pushed for steep budget cuts but also about $200 million a year in tax increases. That comes out to about $229 per person. He increased the state's gross receipts tax to about 2.1 percent and the income tax on top earners to 6.95 percent.

Salt air blowing through his hair and sun shining on his face, Justin Grossman was getting in a good ride just a block away from the Atlantic Ocean. True, Justin hasn't quite mastered pedaling because he's only 2. But soon enough he'll be hitting all the Rehoboth Beach area streets and trails with vigor, like his mother, Robin Grossman, and others who use their annual beach vacations to get some rays on their skin and some miles under their belts. The Maryland-Delaware oceanfront increasingly is attracting a crowd that wants to bike, as well as run and swim - even compete, according to those who organize workouts and races and market equipment.

Below are reader responses to Delaware's legalization Thursday of table games and sports betting at its racetrack casinos submitted to The Baltimore Sun's talk boards and the blog baltimoresun.com/secondopinion. Table games better than slots My argument has always been for table games over slots. More revenue generated, and it attracts a better client. Maryland should have taken this approach years ago, instead of the compromise of slots and keno. Regardless, with the actions of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and now Delaware (raising the bar)