Division

Frank P. Baummer, a retired streetcar operator who headed the 2,200-mem- ber transit workers union for 16 years, died of pneumonia May 24 at Charlestown Retirement Community. He was 92. Born in Baltimore and raised on North Durham Street, he was a 1930 graduate of the old St. Michael's Commercial School in East Baltimore. He worked at Montgomery Ward and was a manager of an Arundel Ice Cream Co. store. He became a Baltimore Transit Co. streetcar operator in early 1941 and became a dispatcher seven years later.

College football Richmond at Appalachian State 8 p.m. [ESPN2] This is a semifinal game in the awkwardly named Division I Football Championship Subdivision. I guess one-double-A was waaay too long. Whatever ... we have the giant-killers, Appalachian State - victors over Michigan this season - against Richmond. The other semifinal, Delaware-Southern Illinois, is tomorrow. After knocking off the Wolverines, Appalachian State is 11-2 and going for a national championship threepeat. Richmond is also 11-2.

The River Hill girls basketball team, which has won four straight county championships and captured its first Class 3A state title last season, finds itself in familiar territory with the regular season in its final week. The path taken this winter, however, has been far different from recent years. The Hawks' 36-35 win at Mount Hebron on Thursday typifies the scratch-and-claw identity of the team. Trailing 31-23 after three quarters and still down by six with 2:20 to play, the Hawks got a put-back from Alicia Seelaus with two seconds left to edge the Vikings and put themselves in position for another county championship game appearance.

Advertising Vertis Communications announced the appointment of David Glogoff as vice president and deputy general counsel for the Baltimore-based communications and marketing firm. Banking and finance SunTrust Bank, Maryland appointed Jeffrey F. Weidley, in the business banking division, and Michael E. Major in the retail division, as vice presidents for the regional bank. Provident Bank selected Shelley J. Lombardo, corporate marketing division, and Phillip Mosco, small business division, as vice presidents.

Paul Cantabene swivels a chair in his Owings Mills office, converted space that used to be the Ravens' and Colts' headquarters. Stan Ross text-messages his former players and plots a career change from his mother's home in Lutherville. Cantabene and Ross were teammates at Loyola College in the early 1990s. They were assistants at Towson University when it reached the NCAA semifinals in 2001. They had plenty of shared experiences during their respective love affairs with college lacrosse - until they became head coaches, one in a division that's booming, the other in a level that doesn't reflect the game's growth.

Collin Finnerty, one of three former Duke lacrosse players falsely accused last year of raping an exotic dancer at a team party, could end up in a Loyola College uniform. Sources at Loyola confirmed that the school is pursuing Finnerty and could receive a commitment soon from the 6-feet-3, 175-pound attackman out of Chaminade High School in Garden City, N.Y. All charges against Finnerty and ex-Duke players David Evans and Reade Seligmann were dropped last month. The incident led to the cancellation of Duke's 2006 season after eight games, and to the resignation of 16-year coach Mike Pressler, who is now coaching at Division II Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I. Finnerty, who has two years of eligibility remaining, appeared in five games last year and had two goals and one assist.

The five victories in six games over the Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the past 10 days were an important step for the Orioles, who first need to prove they can beat the subpar teams before they even can consider making a run at the American League East hierarchy. But the Orioles have also showed over the past two days that they are plenty good enoughto match up with one of their division rivals, too. The Orioles took their second straight gameagainst the Toronto Blue Jays last night, 5-2, thanks to an opportunistic offense and another nearperfect outing from their bullpen.

New York -- New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora found religion while talking about the New England Patriots' offense. Giants coach Tom Coughlin announced his intention Wednesday to play his starters tomorrow night against the undefeated Patriots, answering the long-pondered question of whether the Giants would play to win. The question Giants defensive players answered yesterday revolved around whether they actually can. Patriots@Giants Tomorrow,...

Mount Hebron's Lauren Kickham, a two-time All-Metro first-team selection and last year's Howard County Player of the Year, will attend Duke next year on a lacrosse scholarship.Kickham, whose sister, Julie, is a senior at North Carolina, was a key reason the Vikings went 20-0 last year and earned their third straight state title. She finished the season with 55 goals and 31 assists, and had four goals and an assist in the state Class 1A-2A championship against Towson.Kickham will join former Mount Hebron goalie Kristen Foster at Duke, which finished 13-5 overall (1-2 ACC)

In response to criticism that it is too diversified, Sylvan Learning Systems Inc. said yesterday it will simplify its business as its stock price continued to slide.Shares in the Baltimore-based education company have lost 56 percent of their value since February. Sylvan's shares closed yesterday at $15.1875, down $1.3125.Sylvan also reported a $9.2 million net loss in its third-quarter earnings, which it attributed to the impact of disposing of PACE, its corporate consultant, training and professional development firm that suffered declining revenue after Sylvan acquired it in 1995.

Sunday's battle for first place between the Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals comes as the AFC North is undergoing a personality change. The punishing running games that long defined the division have gone with the likes of Jamal Lewis, Jerome Bettis and Corey Dillon. This new era in the AFC North has seen teams flex their muscles in a different way - with the strong arms of their quarterbacks. The emergence of Joe Flacco, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger has transformed the offensive philosophies of their teams.

Pro football Marks will be reporter for Versus on UFL games The United Football League announced Tuesday that local broadcaster Anita Marks will be part of a four-person team covering the new league on Versus. Marks will serve as a reporter along with play-by-play announcer Dave Sims, analyst Doug Flutie and reporter Kordell Stewart, a former Ravens quarterback. Marks, who co-hosts an afternoon talk show on 105.7 and hosts Ravens pre- and post-game shows, was a quarterback for the Miami Fury, a women's professional football team, for four years and the Florida Stingrays for one year.

After three years at Towson University, the Division I women's lacrosse championship will move to the north shore of Long Island in 2011. The NCAA announced Tuesday that Stony Brook will host the event over Memorial Day weekend, May 27 and 29. Stony Brook, which added women's lacrosse in 2002 and is coached by former Maryland All-American Allison Comito, will host the event at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, which seats about 8,000. A new FieldTurf surface was installed in the facility this summer.

The head of Baltimore's FBI field office has left to become the assistant director of the bureau's Inspection Division. Amy Jo Lyons, who was named Baltimore's special agent in charge in April 2008, is now responsible for internal investigations within the agency and ensuring that its programs work and are in line with FBI goals, Director Robert S. Mueller III said in a statement. Lyons was a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration before joining the FBi in 1990. Since then, she's investigated drug-money laundering operations, Italian organized crime and international terrorism and terrorists, including Zacharias Moussaoui, the only person tried by the U.S. in connection with the Sept.

University of Virginia coach Dom Starsia recruited Bryant coach Mike Pressler as a high school player, and the two have remained close. If Pressler stays at Bryant, the Bulldogs will become a factor in Division I lacrosse, Starsia said. "I think Mike is having a blast right now, building from scratch and taking it to Division I," Starsia said. "If they can keep him, which means one of the traditional big boys doesn't lure him away, he will take that Bryant program very close to its potential.

Dunbar star running back Tavon Austin is expected to sign a letter of intent to West Virginia this morning before a crowd of students, parents and media in the high school's auditorium. He will not be the only Poets player putting pen to paper, however. Seven of Austin's teammates also are set to sign letters to play for Division I teams. An additional 10 will be signing with Division II schools. Although they are not part of the signing process, six more are committed to play for Division III programs.

When the Ravens collide with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, could this rank as one of the most anticipated regular-season home games in the team's 13-year history? Whether the motivation is a bounty or the AFC North title, few regular-season home games have combined the personal bad blood and playoff implications like this grudge match. "It's pretty appropriate that the two best teams in the division will be playing for the division championship," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said yesterday.

Stoop returns to helm of Baltimore ATF division The Baltimore field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced yesterday that the agency has again named Theresa R. Stoop its special agent in charge, her second go-round in the job. She replaces Gregory K. Gant, who moved to the Atlanta ATF division in August. Stoop, who has served with the ATF for 24 years, was also the Baltimore agent in charge from 2000 to 2003. She most recently worked as chief of staff for the ATF acting national director, Michael J. Sullivan.

The road to a prospective playoff berth for the Ravens passes through the Meadowlands this weekend. The territory is not new to Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who prepped for the trip with 10 years in the NFC East. Harbaugh revisits his past Sunday when the Ravens meet the New York Giants. The best division in the Super Bowl era still flows through his blood. "I'm more comfortable [playing] them than maybe some of the teams in the AFC North right now, personally," he said this week. "But you know what?

Banking and finance * PNC announced the appointments of Tracy A. Sorzano as trust director for the greater Maryland region and Lisa H.R. Hayes, a senior wealth planner, as senior vice president in the regional bank's wealth management division. * Provident Bank named James McGovern, credit risk review division, Amy Creason, emerging business division, and Roxanne Naiman-Roloff, business banking division, as vice presidents within their respective divisions. Construction * Harkins Builders Inc. announced that Steve Rubin joined the staff of the Marriottsville-based general contractor as business development manager.