Doves

Baltimore City was represented by two girls teams at yesterday's Class 4A West Region Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Fifth Regiment Armory.Markiecha Colbert was all that comprised one of those teams.Colbert, a freshman at Edmondson, was the Redskins' lone representative at yesterday's meet. Even though she didn't place in any of the three events she entered, Colbert's coach, Phillip Louden, couldn't have been happier with her effort."Markiecha didn't shake up the world, but I'm proud of what she did today because some other schools in the city were trying to get her to transfer and she wouldn't do it," said Louden, who was hired as an emergency coach.

When Lee Dove decided earlier this school year that it was time to retire after 17 years as the Archbishop Spalding athletic director, he didn't expect to take on another sports-related job -- at least not right away. When the executive director position at the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association came open, however, Dove couldn't help thinking about it. Monday, he was named as the successor to Rick Diggs, the only executive director the MIAA has had since its founding in 1995.

DENTON -- No. 8 Perry Hall and unranked Western came here looking for the same thing -- experience.Against some of the state's premier volleyball teams, both the Gators and the Doves found most of the competition a little too hot to handle at the eighth annual Bulldog Classic tournament at North Caroline High School yesterday.Perry Hall won three of eight games in preliminary pool play while the Doves dropped seven before capping off the day with their only win."It's a wonderful experience," said Western coach Shirley Williams.

Each member of the Western High School Robotics team brings a range of individual strengths that help them compete, everything from a knack for maneuvering a remote control to extraordinary math and science skills. But, they say, they also have a competitive edge that's harder to match: girl power. It's what members on the all-girl team - called the "RoboDoves" after Western's mascot - say has helped them soar onto the national and international robotics scene, an intellectual sport that has traditionally been dominated by males and suburban school districts.

Western sophomore Kimberly Smith hit a three-pointer 1 seconds into yesterday's game against visiting Lake Clifton, prompting a Doves fan to claim victory."

Since managing success is just as valuable a lesson as regrouping from failure, Western basketball coach Tiffany Silver was particularly interested to see what her team would take from Thursday's stunning upset of Riverdale Baptist at the Basketball Academy. It took a little more than 36 hours for the Doves to give her their answer, as they were back on the court Saturday morning to meet Milford Mill. If holding the Millers to seven points in the first quarter didn't provide proof that Western meant business, then the one point Milford Mill posted in the second quarter should have.

Playing for eight years on Dundalk area recreation and club teams has given Western's Kerri Harman a decided edge over most of her defenders.The freshman striker has a bullet shot and superior dribbling ability -- skills she developed through years of practice. That's something most players in the 2-year-old city program just haven't had.Yesterday against visiting Patterson, Harman once again showed that practice makes perfect, scoring three goals to help the Doves to a 4-0 win in a Baltimore City League game.

Exactly one month from today this year's dove season will kick off. This means it is time to start thinking doves.Doves are quite possibly the hardest easy shooting a hunter is apt to encounter. Sure, they're fast and can change directions on the surface of a dime, but for the most part the gunner has a wide open shot at a bird that he probably saw sailing in his direction for the last mile or so. You will miss this bird because you have no concept of distance, haven't touched your shotgun since last fall, placed yourself so that the sun is squarely in your eyes, or a hundred other reasons.

For much of yesterday's Class 3A North regional girls basketball championship, No. 8 Catonsville managed to slow the pace and keep the game close, but when No. 3 Western picked up the tempo in the fourth quarter, the Doves ran away with it. Akeema Richards and Keirah Hicks scored off turnovers early in the fourth quarter and set off a Doves run that boosted their five-point lead to 16 in four minutes, fueling a 56-40 Doves victory - their second straight...

LET'S SAY you're planning to get hitched and want something a little different for immediately after the ceremony, instead of everyone standing on the church steps firing up Marlboro Lights and snapping unflattering pictures of you with their disposable cameras and thinking: How long before we get some food here? If this is the case, you may want to call the Birdman. The Birdman is Daniel Vitilio, a 39-year-old Kingsville man who started a business nine years ago called "Wedding Doves for Love."

After a county study found that between 20 and 25 drivers were making U-turns daily near Joppa View Elementary School, the Department of Public Works has approved a U-turn prohibition at northbound Honeygo Boulevard at Dove Drive in White Marsh, according to a report released Thursday from 5th District Councilman David Marks. The county studied the number of U-turns at Dove Drive, and found within a 15-minute period after Joppa View began dismissing students for the day beginning at 3:35 p.m. there were scores of U-turns, the release stated.

The Western girls have started another streak. The fourth-ranked Doves won 18 consecutive Baltimore City indoor track and field championships before losing two years ago. The Doves bounced back to win last year and captured a second consecutive title at this year's meet Wednesday night at the Fifth Regiment Armory. Carver's boys had won three in a row, but Digital Harbor ended that streak with its first city title since 2007. Western employed the same formula it has used for years -- balance and depth.

Early in Wednesday night'sgirls basketball game before a nearly packed house at Western, Digital Harbor forward A'Lexus Harrison pumped her fist after a few big plays. For the junior, who had 27 points and 25 rebounds in leading the No. 2 Rams to a 51-40 victory, it's never too early in the season to play with emotion. "This was more of a rivalry game than anything," Harrison said. "It is early in the season but very high energy. You have to become an emotional player. You have to play with emotion and not get emotional, as our coach always says.

Webster C. Dove, a retired attorney and former member of the Baltimore County Council, died of Parkinson's disease Nov. 28 at the Edenwald nursing center in Towson. He was 89 and had lived in Pikesville. Born in Baltimore and raised near Clifton Park, he was a 1941 City College graduate. He enlisted in the Navy and trained to become a pilot. After surviving two plane crashes, he joined the Army and served five years. He left military service as a captain. He earned degrees in accounting and law from the University of Baltimore.

Anyone make it to the DOVE ice cream truck? The adults-only truck will be down in Fells Point tonight, at the corner of Broadway and Thames, from 5 p.m. until I'm not sure when. Check out this photo gallery of the truck's first stop in Baltimore at the National Aquarium. The truck is offering a five-minute massage by a licensed massage therapist, a free manicure and a free ice cream bar.  

The DOVE Ice Cream truck will stop in Baltimore on Aug. 17 and 18. Here's the great thing about the DOVE truck -- it's not for kids. That's right, kids can't get near the place. The "adults-only" DOVE ice-cream truck will invite adults only on board for a five-minute massage by a licensed massage therapist, a DOVE ice-cream bar and a free manicure. "Most of us have vivid memories of the ice cream truck," said Craig Hall, general manager of Mars Chocolate North America. "DOVE Ice Cream is all about enjoying the moment, so we created a one-of-a-kind ice cream truck to help adults relive their childhood, but in a truly decadent, grownup way. " Ralph Macchio helped kick off the DOVE Ice Cream truck's three-city tour in Chicago on July 28.  The only other city on the tour, beside Baltimore, is Minneapolis.

They've been likened to U2, Radiohead and even the Beatles. Billboard recently called them "one of the U.K.'s most promising rock bands." People magazine said their songs were "irresistibly tuneful." And, British music magazine NME didn't hold back on worshiping their new album, sprinkling reviews with phrases like "an immense achievement" and a "magnificent musical document." It's safe to say that the three British guys who make up the Doves are the current It-boys from the other side of the Atlantic.

Varsity Silver out as Western girls basketball coach Western girls basketball coach Tiffany Silver was told Friday by principal Alisha Trusty that she and her staff would not be returning. Silver, a Western alum, said she wasn't given a "particular reason" for her release, "just that we weren't coming back, that they were going in a different direction pretty much," and said she was shocked and "crushed. " In six seasons, Silver had a 126-29 record with the Doves and led them to five Baltimore City championships, five regional championships and three state title-game appearances.

Western's Tenicia Spence stood on the perimeter, urging her team to stay focused as it clung to a one-point lead against Poly in Wednesday night's Baltimore City Division I girls basketball championship at Baltimore City Community College. Spence had shot her team back into the game, and emotions were high as the eighth-ranked Doves inched closer to avenging a loss on their homecoming to the No. 7 Engineers. Spence finished with 24 points, and Western pulled away with a 45-37 victory in front of an energized overflow crowd.