Eligibility

With “The Bachelor” casting call coming up at McHenry Row on June 28, here are a few tips to help you decide if being on the show is right for you. Men and women of ages 21 and older are encouraged to attend the event. But let's get real, not everyone is encouraged to show up. ABC and Warner Bros. have a list of 23 eligibility requirements and here are some things to consider before applying for the show: Am I a convicted felon? Have I been issued a restraining order in the past or am currently issued one?

Towson's men's basketball team - which was barred from the last postseason - will be permitted to play in the 2014 postseason but will be docked practice time because the program hasn't yet reached academic goals, the NCAA said Tuesday. No other Division I teams in Maryland were among the 36 nationally to be penalized in 2013-14 for falling below academic standards. The University of Maryland football team improved its Academic Progress Rate score from from 931 to 937. The scores - released every spring - are averaged over four years.

Jackline Tessmer provides a case study in the operation of Medicaid "spend-down." The mother of two, her sole source of income is a disability payment of $801 a month - well above the $434 limit for her to qualify for Medicaid coverage. Her children get full Medicaid coverage; children can be covered when family income is up to three times the poverty level, or $45,072 a year for a family of three. An adult above the income cutoff, however, can be covered if she is classified as "medically needy," says Debbie I. Chang, deputy health secretary.

Baltimore-based sporting goods maker STX announced today that it has signed five new members to Team STX, the first-ever elite post-collegiate women's lacrosse team. Added to the roster are Kitty Cullen (McDonogh), Sam Farrell (Severna Park), Alyssa Kildare (Johns Hopkins), Taylor Thornton and Lauren Schmidt . The new athletes join captain Josie Owen (Severn), Grace Gavin (Loyola, St. Paul's), Julie Gardner (Severna Park), Lauren Benner (Severn)

The NCAA is reviewing the initial eligibility of freshman Maryland basketball guard Sam Cassell Jr., according to a source familiar with the situation. The timetable for a decision is uncertain. Losing Cassell would be a blow to Maryland, which had counted him among a handful of players who comprise one of its best basketball recruiting classes in years. The class has the chance to make a swift impact on a Terps team that was depth-challenged and faded last season, finishing 17-15.

SAN DIEGO -- The members of the Mid-Eastern AthleticConference could see it coming, but they still don't enjoy being bypassed on the NCAA's road to reform.The 89th annual NCAA convention heated up yesterday with Division I votes on freshman eligibility and other thorny issues related to academic progress.The MEAC, a conference of nine historically black colleges that includes Coppin State, Morgan State and UMES, protested with some counterproposals, which lost in landslides."This is definitely going to widen the gap," UMES athletic director Hallie Gregory said of the difficulties members of the MEAC already have recruiting and competing in Division I. "More importantly, I don't think we're looking out for kids' welfare."

Rarely is Ned Sparks critical of the NCAA. But when discussing its initial-eligibility clearinghouse program last week, the state association's executive secretary spoke up."They really dropped the ball on this one," said Sparks, secretary of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association.The central clearinghouse system, which went into effect during the 1993-94 academic year, is designed to assure that colleges nationwide adhere to uniform standards of freshman eligibility.To that end, all prospective college athletes must submit their junior year transcripts to the central clearinghouse and maintain their grades to meet NCAA requirements for freshman eligibility, which include a list of core courses.

Maryland football DB Goins joins Terps , will have 2 years of eligibility Defensive back Isaac Goins has signed a national letter of intent to play for Maryland, Terps coach Randy Edsall announced Wednesday. Goins just completed a stellar two-year run at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif. The 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback was a 2011 first-team All-Bay Valley Conference choice after making six interceptions and also was nominated for all-region honors.

Maryland has lost its appeal with the NCAA over the eligibility of Sam Cassell Jr. “We've exhausted every option and made our best effort," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said in a news release. "I'm very pleased with the work that our compliance staff put in on Sam's behalf. Obviously, we're very disappointed that he will be unable to attend the University of Maryland at this time and be a part of our basketball program. We will continue to support Sam and his family in any way that we can as they determine their next steps.

Five football players have been cleared to participate in Saturday's opener against Virginia, but as part of the process of restoring their eligibility, Maryland admitted to a secondary rules violation that will be addressed by a member of the NCAA infractions committee. No significant penalty, if any, is expected.Superbacks Mark Mason and Doug Burnett, wide receiver Andrew Carter, cornerback Gene Green and defensive lineman Sharrod Mack were cleared to play yesterday by the NCAA, which on Monday was asked by the Maryland athletic department to look into the players being overpaid in an on-campus summer jobs program.

The Social Security Disability Insurance system is supposed to provide a financial safety net for workers and their families in the event that a serious medical impairment prevents them from working ("Judges sue Social Security over 'quotas' on disability decisions" April 29). But it's really a parachute that often fails to open in time, sending the individual into a financial free fall with years of uncertainty over whether or not they are going to hit the ground - and it only opens for about a third of applicants.

Employers in Maryland and across the United States face a deadline Wednesday that some may not know exists but that could prove costly if ignored. That's when all employers will be required to use an updated version of the federal I-9 form to prove the eligibility of new workers. The form appears to be short and simple, requesting an employee's name, address, Social Security number and citizenship status. But immigration and business experts say it's more complex than it looks.

Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown - who has had two season-ending injuries in his college career - has been granted a medical hardship waiver permitting him a sixth season of eligibility, according to the school. The waiver will allow Brown to return for another season after 2013. “It's really good news, and I feel good for him," Terps coach Randy Edsall said. "I'm glad we got that taken care of now, and that's something we don't have to worry about. When I pulled him out of the meeting and told him, he was thrilled and excited about it.” Brown, a team captain whose father was a Michigan State quarterback, was the presumptive starter last August when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament while making a cut during a preseason practice.

Active-duty military personnel using BWI Marshall Airport are eligible to participate in Pre-Check, an expedited security screening, the Transportation Security Administration announced Wednesday. TSA officers staffing the Pre-Check station at Concourse D will scan a service member's Common Access Card to determine if they qualify; service members do not have to be in uniform to be considered. Eligible passengers may be directed to a lane that will allow them to leave their shoes, light outerwear and belt on, keep their laptop in its case and their liquids and gels bag in a carry-on.

State tax officials should take steps to help ensure that Marylanders who receive the homestead property tax credit remain eligible for the popular discount, auditors said in a report released Wednesday. Auditors also said state officials should methodically review some past recipients to identify owners who have gotten large tax discounts improperly — and who should refund the government. "There are ways to be proactive about this and not depend on people providing tips," state Legislative Auditor Thomas J. Barnickel III said in an interview Wednesday.

No. 2 Stevenson's first significant test of the season will take place Wednesday night when No. 8 Rochester Institute of Technology visits Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills. But Stevenson won't go into the meeting empty-handed. The Mustangs (2-0) plan on starting senior midfielder Nick Rossi, who ranked fifth on the team in scoring last season with 20 goals and nine assists. The Lutherville native and Towson graduate's petition for another year of eligibility was granted by the NCAA, and coach Paul Cantabene said Rossi - who also had to overcome an unspecified injury - will join senior Peter Green (three goals and four assists)

Cornell senior attackman Rob Pannell, one of the favorites to win the 2012 Tewaaraton Award before missing most of the season with a broken left foot, has been granted a fifth year of eligibility by the Ivy League. Pannell suffered the injury in the third quarter of the No. 3 Big Red's 18-7 win over Army on March 3. At the time, he was averaging eight points, with seven goals and nine assists in two contests. He underwent surgery, and after weeks of uncertainty about whether he would return,  academically withdrew from Cornell at the end of the semester, leaving open the option of appealing for a fifth year of eligibility.

The immediate college eligibility of two former Baltimore high school basketball stars is under scrutiny by the NCAA. Will Barton and Josh Selby, both of whom were Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year selections at Lake Clifton, are awaiting rulings from the NCAA that could affect whether they start their respective careers this season at Memphis and Kansas. The issue involving Barton has to do with when he graduated from high school, while Selby's case is focused on his relationship with a professional agent.

C.J. Keyser, a 6-foot-3 sophomore small forward who transferred from John Carroll to Patterson Mill last week, has not yet been ruled eligible to play basketball for the Huskies. Patterson Mill athletic director Jason Bellamy said there was no update on whether Keyser would be declared eligible for the upcoming Class 2A East region playoffs. The Huskies are set to travel to Edgewood in tonight's opening round and Bellamy said Keyser was not a member of the team.

Laid-off Hostess Brands workers, including 192 in Maryland, are eligible for federal trade assistance benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday. The Trade Adjustment Assistance program offers retraining help and other aid, coordinated by state workforce agencies, to people who lost their jobs as a result of foreign trade. The Labor Department said its investigation showed "increased imports of baked products contributed importantly to the company's sales declines and worker separations.