Elvis

Gosh knows, there's been enough Elvis on TV this week to keep all but the most rabid fans happy. But if you've managed to avoid the deluge so far, or if you're trying to decide which is the best program to watch today, set your dials to MPT.The documentary "Elvis '56" (8 p.m.-9: 30 p.m., Channels 22 and 67) captures the King at his undisputed best, at the beginning. Elvis in 1956 was practically an unstoppable force: At 21, he had his first No. 1 hit ("Heartbreak Hotel") and his next four ("I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," "Don't Be Cruel," "Hound Dog" and "Love Me Tender")

The acquisition of outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil creates questions about how the snaps will be divvied up amongst him, Terrell Suggs and Courtney Upshaw, but the Ravens' coaches will tell you that it's a good problem to have. Especially when defending in obvious pass situations. The presence of those three players, along with the addition of defensive linemen Chris Canty and Marcus Spears, will give Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees options when it comes to attacking quarterbacks in third-and-long situations this upcoming season.

DAVID Halberstam's new book about the 1950s -- titled "Th Fifties," believe it or not -- makes them feel heavier with significance than they felt to me while they were still in progress. This shows once again how hard it is to see the forest when you spend 10 years up to your eyeballs in trees.From his commanding vantage high upon a peak in the faraway 1990s, Mr. Halberstam can see, for instance, that Elvis Presley was one of the most important phenomena of the 1950s, in a class with the invention of the hydrogen bomb.

Elvis Dumervil passed his physical and signed his five-year contract with the Ravens, the team announced today. Dumervil's five-year deal is for a maximum of $35 million. It includes $12 million in guaranteed money and $8.5 million for the 2013 season. However, all but $1 million of that will be paid out in a signing bonus, meaning Dumervil's cap hit for the coming season will be $2.5 million. That leaves the reigning Super Bowl champions with about $5 million of salary cap space to address their other needs, which include a left tackle, middle linebacker and safety.

When someone, somehow, made off with the giant Elvis that stood — in full pelvis-shaking glory — atop a Pulaski Highway diner, Scunny McCusker felt a pang of sympathy in his gut, where a peanut butter and banana sandwich might ordinarily be. As owner of the long-Elvis'ed Nacho Mama's in Canton Square, he knows that owning an Elvis statue in this town isn't easy. Consider what his has been through. Someone ripped off one arm, then someone else the other, leaving it an altogether armless "Elvis de Milo."

Over the past five years or so, I've attended a lot of weddings (including my own). It's so much fun to see how each bride and groom make the day unique. There were those who mixed colored sand in a keepsake jar, shared handwritten vows promising fidelity, laughter and even ChapStick, and those who set up an informal photo booth at their reception. One bride and groom departed their reception by boat; another couple borrowed lines from “The Princess Bride” and opted for instrumental Beatles songs for their procession.

When Elvis Presley died in 1977, he left behind a legacy on film. Though often uninspired and formulaic, his movies were fun, fluffy bursts of brain candy that continue to entertain generation after generation. Here is a list of his feature films:"Love Me Tender" (1956): Two brothers fight for the love of the same girl during the Civil War. Elvis' first (and probably most touching) film."Jailhouse Rock" (1957): While in jail for manslaughter, a teen-ager learns to play the guitar. After he's released, he develops into a top recording star.

Elvis has left the building. More specifically, a 7-foot-tall statue of the king appears to have been stolen from atop the Happy Day Diner in Rosedale, where he'd stood for nearly a decade. Customers alerted owners Maria and Dimitrios Pigiaditis to the missing statue Sunday morning, and they filed a report with the Baltimore County Police. Elvis was bolted to the roof, and the thieves apparently broke him off, leaving behind part of his feet. The couple reviewed surveillance tapes, which they have turned over to police, and saw a white van pull up overnight Wednesday, when they think the theft occurred.

I SEE where the U.S. Postal Service plans to issue a stamp honoring Elvis Presley, which is a very hip move, although not one free of controversy.Some people objected to the idea because they were put off by The King's lifestyle, particularly in his later years when he apparently sat around Graceland swallowing fistfuls of pills and ripping through pack after pack of Twinkies.Me, I have nothing but fond memories of Elvis, especially since one of his songs inspired me to kiss a girl for the very first time.

THE LONG national nightmare is over: Zachary Taylor died of natural causes and NOT as the result of someone slipping him an arsenic cocktail or dropping a piano on his head from 12 stories up or whatever it was that that writer was hinting at.Certainly the news out of Louisville has done much to calm the American psyche.Was it me or did it seem that everywhere you went in recent weeks, people were huddled around TV sets and radios, clamoring for the latest info on the exhumation of the 12th president of the United States?

Would you march out of a movie theater seven minutes into the feature presentation because there weren't enough explosions for your liking? Would you take a couple nibbles out of a grilled cheese sandwich, only to send it back to the kitchen because, for whatever reason, you were hoping it would taste more like lobster? Would you sell the big, brand-new house you just moved into because you found a leak in your basement? How about this one: Would you throw your hands up in disgust if your favorite team -- one that happened to win the Super Bowl just a few weeks ago -- didn't make any major moves in the first 11 days of free agency?

Jeff Zrebiec, reporter: You knew at some point the Ravens would strike in the free agent market, and they did in a big way Sunday night, agreeing in principle on a five-year deal with Elvis Dumervil. With both of their starting inside linebackers, one of their starting corners and both their starting safeties gone from last year, the Ravens obviously still have some work to do. But they have helped their run defense with the addition of Chris Canty and Marcus Spears and their pass rush could be scary with Dumervil and the healthy trio of Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata and Pernell McPhee.

That big collective sigh you heard late Sunday came from Ravens Nation, which was in full-scale panic mode and exhausting the region's supply of Xanax until the news of Elvis Dumervil's deal came down. What a heist Ozzie Newsome pulled off, something on the scale of "Ocean's 11," only without a casino involved. Let's see, the Ravens get one of the best pass rushers in the league to replace Paul Kruger, who pulled off his own heist when he got the Cleveland Browns to pay him $40 million over five years.

Maybe now some of the Ravens fans will stop whining. Oh, they let Ed Reed go, they let Dannell Ellerbe go, they let Paul Kruger go, they cut Bernard Pollard ... Whine, whine, whine ... The entire time I kept saying the Ravens were making the right moves and they still could make a big, major acquisition. Forget the salary cap baloney -- when a team wants to make a deal, when they feel a player is a priority, then they can make the deal regardless of cap status. It might cost them a veteran or two, and it might hurt in the future, but it can happen.

An offseason of losses gave way to a big Ravens gain Sunday night as they announced that they have agreed in principle on a five-year deal with former Denver Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who had 63 ½ sacks and 16 forced fumbles in six seasons with the Broncos, will be at the Ravens' facility Tuesday to take a physical and - if all goes well - to sign a contract. “I think this move is awesome,” Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs told The Baltimore Sun. “It shows we're still in the business of winning and we have the best [general manager]

Elvis will not be leaving the building Saturday. Nor will any of the other contestants in Elvis' Birthday Fight Club, a combination battle-to-the-finish boxing grudge match and burlesque show where past champions have included a chicken and a vibrating robot. "We like to think of ourselves as either burlesque-plus or theater-minus," explains Elvis' Birthday Fight Club (we'll go by EBFC from here on) founder-promoter-participant Jared Davis, who is bringing his creation to Highlandtown's Creative Alliance at the Patterson for the second straight year.

AS I WAS CHANNEL surfing last week, it seemed to me there were more hair-helmet women and well-fed white men on television than usual - not to mention infomercials.First, I thought that gobs of channels had been taken over by those religion begging shows with phone numbers at the bottom of the screen. Every one of those religion-show hosts has bad and/or big hair, after all. But when there weren't phone numbers on the screen, I remembered that the Republicans, those old inclusioneers, were convening in San Diego.

Pieces of column too short to use . . .All right, already. I got the message: People hate organ music at ballparks. Some 1,439 readers -- one of the biggest responses ever -- called The Evening Sun's "It's Your Call" line the other night to vote on the question raised in Wednesday's column: Would live organ music at Oriole Park help or hinder your enjoyment of the game? And 848 respondents said it would help them -- NOT!! Five hundred and ninety-three much smarter people agreed with me that organ music suited the new old-fashioned ballpark perfectly.

Celebrate the birthday of Elvis as Jed Duvall returns as the King of Rock 'N Roll, with performances Friday, Jan 11 and Saturday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 13 at 2 p.m., at Laurel Mill Playhouse, 508 Main St. An award-winning Elvis Presley performer, Duvall represents all eras of the King: rocking the 1950s, his comeback in 1968 and his Vegas years. Dress in your best '50s attire and win a prize. Best female costume and best male costume prizes awarded at each show. Tickets are $15 for general admission.

Elvis Dennah took away plenty of lessons as a junior when his Annapolis Area Christian team won the MIAA B Conference championship. But when the Eagles went 0-10 this fall, the Maryland-bound safety might've learned even more. “It was definitely tough, definitely a learning experience,” Dennah said. “Having an 0-10 season, it makes me not quit and keep fighting, all the way up to the last point. … [Going through a winless season] really shows you [the need to] keep fighting nonstop.