Eligibility

PHILADELPHIA -- The NCAA has regained at least temporarily the use of minimum test scores to determine whether freshmen are eligible to play intercollegiate sports.A federal appeals court yesterday issued a stay of a lower court ruling that had invalidated the NCAA's freshman-eligibility standards on the grounds that they are racially discriminatory.The stay, which will remain in effect until an appeal of the lower ruling can be heard, will leave the standards in place as NCAA member schools approach the April 7 national signing date for a number of sports, including basketball.

BasketballTaking lead of O's, Globetrotters open talks with Cuba on returningThe Harlem Globetrotters have begun talks aimed at returning the touring basketball performers to Cuba for the first time in nearly 50 years."

WASHINGTON -- The world held its breath.Last August, when Ohio State's football season was about to begin, the status of Andy Katzenmoyer, a student-athlete studying linebacking, was in doubt. His classroom performance had been bad, so he had to take three summer courses. Would he pass music, golf and AIDS awareness?He did. The world exhaled.Now academic standards have again become a nuisance, as has a federal judge. He has disrupted high schools' attempts to educate athletes, and has thrown the recruiting of athletes by the 302 Division I schools into uncertainty, by declaring the NCAA's minimal academic standards illegal.

COLLEGE PARK -- If you want to understand how smoothly things are running for No. 5 Maryland, contrast it with the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference.Injuries, defections and eligibility issues have affected nearly every roster, and some teams could have a rocky trip to the ACC tournament in Charlotte, N.C., March 4-7.Using the media's preseason predicted order of finish, here's a breakdown of the adversity the Terps' conference competition has dealt with. Records do not include last night's games.

The South Carroll Adult Day Care Center will participate in the Child and Adult Food Care Program.The program is sponsored by Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland and provides free or reduced-price meals to income-eligible families.The eligibility requirements for the program are provided in the chart.The center is at 5745 Bartholow Road, Eldersburg.Information: 410-795-0534.Income eligibilityFamily .. .. .. .. Free .. .. .. .. .. ..Reducedsize .. .. .. .. ..meals .. .. .. .. .. . .meals1 .. .. .. .. .. . to $10,465 .. .. ..$10,465.

St. Frances' Mark Karcher, The Sun's two-time All-Metro basketball Player of the Year, has scheduled a 2: 15 p.m. news conference for today at the East Baltimore school, where he is expected to sign a letter of intent to attend Temple.The Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer reported today that Karcher, a 6-foot-5 swingman, will attend Temple.College and recruiting sources say Karcher, who has not yet met the requirements for freshman eligibility, was strongly influenced by Owls coach John Chaney's success with Proposition 48 players.

WASHINGTON -- The bipartisan shine on Senate efforts to revolutionize Medicare and protect its finances started tarnishing yesterday, as the plan met pained silence from House Republicans and withering attacks from Democrats.On both sides of the Capitol, high-ranking congressional aides said the central elements of the plan -- to raise the Medicare eligibility age to 67 from 65 and increase payments by well-off elderly -- were unlikely to become law.The obstacles amounted to the same barrier that has thwarted efforts for several years to protect Medicare against the surge of baby boomer retirements foreseen in the next century: the fact that old people vote.

The University of Maryland basketball team received good and bad news last week regarding its two incoming recruits: Forward Terence Morris of Frederick finally received the college board score he needed for eligibility as a freshman, but guard Juan Dixon of Baltimore did not.It means that Morris, pending the approval of his score later this summer by the national clearinghouse, will likely play for the Terrapins next season. Dixon, who can still try to gain his eligibility for the spring semester beginning in January, might redshirt.

Howard County students with failing grades in any classes would not be allowed to play high school sports or participate in any other extracurricular activities under a proposal that would make the county's academic eligibility requirements the toughest in the Baltimore area.The new policy -- which could take effect in time for this coming season of basketball and other winter sports -- also would prohibit students from using summer school to regain eligibility and would eliminate a Howard schools' provision giving failing athletes a chance during the season to improve their grades and begin playing at midseason.

Senior guard/forward Terrence Wright has quit Morgan State's basketball team to concentrate on academics.The fifth-year senior was averaging 6.6 points and 4.7 rebounds, and leaves as the school's all-time leader in steals with 185.Wright had been granted an extra year of eligibility this season because of a 1991 injury that limited him to three games.

Donna Fowler would like to send her youngest son to a prekindergarten class near her Bowie home. But because she and her husband earn just over the state eligibility limit for free public pre-K, she'll have to keep 4-year-old Wyatt at home this year. The Fowlers and their five children have a family income of about $60,000, so they're not eligible for free public pre-K, which is capped at $59,200, or 185 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of seven. Nor can they afford the $300-a-month cost of private prekindergarten.

For a massive infusion of government aid to the needy to stimulate the economy, it is necessary for such aid to actually be delivered. Unfortunately, in Maryland, this is not a given. After the stimulus is approved, federal government transfers such as food stamps, unemployment insurance and health care likely will increase. But it takes state employees to process and deliver that aid. And in this state, recent history shows that human services personnel are expendable. Gov. Martin O'Malley's fiscal 2010 budget pares 1,875 state jobs with a broad sweep that includes all agencies, but the state departments of Human Resources and Health and Mental Hygiene will suffer more than the others.

QB Bradford will return to Okla., pass on draft col. football Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, a third-year sophomore quarterback, will return to Oklahoma next season, passing on a chance to be a high NFL draft pick. "I really feel that there's no need to cut this experience short," Bradford said yesterday at a news conference in Norman. Bradford led the nation with 50 touchdown passes and guided the Sooners to the Bowl Championship Series title game this season, but Oklahoma lost, 24-14, to Florida.

Statewide : GOP primary Pipkin to enter race against Gilchrest The hotly contested Republican primary in Maryland's 1st Congressional District looks likely to receive another jolt today when state Sen. E. J. Pipkin is expected to announce he's running for the seat held by nine-term Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest. State Board of Elections records show that Pipkin had already filed to run for the seat. Pipkin did not return phone calls seeking comment. He issued a news release yesterday afternoon saying he would make "a series of major announcements" about his political future today at five stops, all in the district, which includes the Eastern Shore and parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Harford counties.

The Maryland General Assembly will consider a $500 million health care proposal to extend medical coverage to more than 100,000 uninsured residents during the special session called by Gov. Martin O'Malley to tackle the state's fiscal problems. The proposal, in a session that begins Monday, resurrects ideas from a bill that passed the House of Delegates last year but died in the state Senate. President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who opposed expanding social programs in the face of a looming budget shortfall, projected to be $1.7 billion in the next fiscal year, now says he would support a health care bill if it didn't add to the deficit.

Gov. Martin O'Malley has come out in favor of expanding Medicaid eligibility for poor people, a move that could result in the provision of more drug treatment. That would be a welcome development, allowing more addicts to get treatment as well as better health care. Maryland has a serious health care problem, including close to 800,000 people who are uninsured. Although the problem must be addressed through a variety of solutions, expanding Medicaid coverage needs to be part of the mix. The state's current salary threshold is only $6,288 a year for a working parent in a family of three.

Five of the 12 Duke men's lacrosse seniors, including national Player of the Year Matt Danowski and co-captain Ed Douglas from Baltimore, are seriously considering returning to the university and taking advantage of an NCAA-approved extra year of eligibility, according to players and team officials. The return of those players would preserve a wealth of talent and experience on a team that lost the national title game, 12-11, to Johns Hopkins on May 28. The waiver, which Virginia coach Dom Starsia has said gives Duke an unfair advantage, was granted May 30 to make up for Duke's 2006 season, which was cut short after now-discredited rape allegations were lodged against three players.

Duke's bid for an extra year of eligibility for men's lacrosse players isn't sitting well with Dom Starsia, the coach of Atlantic Coast Conference rival Virginia. The Sun reported yesterday that Duke is asking the NCAA to grant the additional year because the team's 2006 season was cut short by the university after rape allegations -- since discredited -- were lodged against three players. Starsia, whose Cavaliers won the 2006 men's title, said that Duke is, in effect, asking the NCAA to bail it out. "I've got some real problems with it. Does Duke University deserve this resolution of the problem, over issues that were kind of self-inflicted?"

Meredith Smith had the basketball program at Baltimore's old Southern High rolling in the early 1990s, when the Bulldogs won three state titles in four seasons. "Smitty" also saw to the academics of his players, as Corey Beasley (Boston College), Kwame Evans (George Washington), Johnny Hemsley (Miami), Melvin Scott (North Carolina) and other Bulldogs didn't need prep school to be eligible as freshmen. Smith will lean on that background as he attempts to revive the dormant program at UMES, where he was named interim coach in March.

Navy senior attackman Ian Dingman has been granted a fifth year of eligibility by the Patriot League and will begin practicing with the Midshipmen when they take the field Monday to start preparations for the 2007 season, Navy coach Richie Meade said yesterday. "This is as good of an ending as [Dingman] could have hoped for," Meade said. "Ian is going to get a chance to graduate from the Naval Academy, which is the most important thing. And he gets one more chance to play lacrosse." Dingman, who was dismissed from the academy in the middle of the 2004-05 school year for academic, medical and personal reasons, was readmitted in the fall of 2005, then went on to help the Mids finish 11-4 last spring with a team-high 33 goals.