Drought

Bubba Watson can't help himself. He knows only one way to answer questions, and that's to utter the first thing that pops into his head. After he completed a morning practice round Monday at Congressional Country Club, he was asked if he had enjoyed seeing anything particular on the golf course. "The clubhouse," he replied. "I'm gonna eat lunch. " Watson also didn't give the conventional answer to the question dogging American golfers: Why can't any of them win a major?

After two years without seeing an increase in their Social Security checks, more than 59 million retirees and other beneficiaries can expect a bump up in benefits next year. The Social Security trustees' annual report released this month estimates that the cost-of-living adjustment in next year's checks will be 0.7 percent. The increase, which will be announced in October, could be higher, depending on where prices head in the coming months. Still, experts say, retirees could see all or some of that raise eaten up by higher Medicare premiums.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a startling admission while promoting the new HD video screen at Charlotte Motor Speedway in conjunction with Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race, saying: "I don't feel a win is close. " This is why Earnhardt is always on the amateur therapist's couch, prompting probing questions. I figured — along with a bunch of other folks — that Earnhardt was close to breaking his winless streak of 104 races. He has been among the most consistent drivers on the Cup circuit this season.

Mount St. Joseph ruled the world of private school ice hockey before slipping in the past few years. But on Friday night, the Gaels climbed back to the top. Kevin Rodgers had two goals and four assists and sparked a pair of three-goal bursts that helped Mount St. Joseph roll to a 7-3 victory over St. Paul's in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championship game before a packed house at the Piney Orchard Ice Arena. Mount St. Joseph (11-7-2) had won nine consecutive MIAA titles before coming up empty the past three years.

The federal Small Business Administration said Monday it would make loans available to businesses in Carroll and Frederick counties that were affected by last summer's drought. Small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and nonprofit organizations can apply for loans of up to $2 million, with interest rates ranging from 3 to 4 percent. Farmers were not eligible for the SBA program, but they received support last fall from the USDA Farm Service Agency. Potential applicants to the SBA program can visit the agency's secure website to apply: https://disasterloan.

It was only three weeks ago that we last saw Steve Stricker, as a bout with laryngitis left him trying to speak as little as possible at the Shark Shootout in Naples, Fla. Stricker has his voice back, thankfully. And his swing sure didn't seem under the weather as he and teammate Jerry Kelly finished two strokes shy of a back-to-back triumph in the partnership event. Even so, the winner of nine PGA Tour trophies admits a certain apprehension every January. "You're not sure what this new year is going to bring," Stricker told reporters at this week's Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Kathy Wendolkowski is a 49-year-old suburban mother of three with a secret life. When she is not busy in her kitchen, or doing data entry at home as a contractor for the Environmental Protection Agency, she slips back in time to 1922, joining the crew of the HMS Foxglove, a 1,200-ton minesweeper on patrol along the China coast near Fuchau, north of colonial Hong Kong. Along with hundreds of OldWeather.org volunteers around the world, Wendolkowski works at her home computer, slowly paging through photo images of the daily logs of 282 Royal Navy ships that sailed the globe from 1914 to 1924.

Along a road in Wamunyu, Kenya, sits a water tank with a sign that reads: "This tank was built with funds from Southern MS, Lothian, MD, USA. " During the Thanksgiving holiday, Southern Middle School teacher Laura Groo visited the East African country to see the water tank firsthand and relish the fruits of a school read-a-thon project last year that raised more than $3,000 to finance the tank. The read-a-thon was so successful that there were funds left over, which were used to buy gym equipment for Kyamatula Primary School, where the water tank is located.

Federal agriculture officials Monday declared drought disasters in nearly all Maryland counties, making farmers there eligible for emergency loans and other assistance from the USDA Farm Service Agency. The declarations recognize crop losses of 30 percent or more in 22 counties in the wake of drought and one of the hottest summers on record. Harford County and Baltimore City did not suffer such losses, but farm operators there who meet certain requirements are eligible for consideration because they are adjacent to counties that did. Gov. Martin O'Malley thanked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack for granting the state's request for aid, saying he hoped it would "provide relief to the farmers who need it and help them prepare for the upcoming growing season.

Offensive ugliness stands out The wonderment of the Ravens' 2000 Super Bowl season was, for me, the October touchdown drought by the offense, not the season-long magnificence of the defense. In October, when they did not score a touchdown of any kind over five games, the Ravens did not even look like a playoff team, much less a Super Bowl champion. To this day, I still marvel over how coach Brian Billick kept the team from splintering and the locker room from becoming a hostile enclave.