Emotion

Let's begin with this truth: few events in recent Baltimore sports history packed the emotional wallop of Ray Lewis' farewell game at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday. From the moment No. 52 emerged from the tunnel during pre-game instructions and danced his crazy dance for the last time, to the end of his exhilarating victory lap around the field, the charged atmosphere was unlike any other game the Ravens have ever played. And in their 24-9 win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens fed off that energy in various ways.

The shooting of Kendra Diggs and the subsequent barricade by her alleged attacker presented a challenge Tuesday for police and emergency responders. Under the threat of further gunfire from the off-duty Baltimore police officer, officials said, they were unable to render medical aid to the dying woman. "When you have a person who is down … what we're trained on is that you don't jeopardize six or seven police officers in your emotional reaction to save that person," Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said in an interview Wednesday.

CHICAGO -- As the Orioles' second baseman from 1966 to 1972, Davey Johnson took it upon himself to enliven the infield. Now, more than two decades later, he feels compelled to push the same emotional buttons as the Orioles' manager.Johnson last night raised concerns voiced by his predecessors, Phil Regan and Johnny Oates. He described the Orioles as "more veteran, less emotional," but quickly added that it's difficult to act excited when you're getting trounced."I'm not saying you've got to have that [emotion]

At 6-7, Virginia's only hope for avoiding its first absence from the NCAA tournament since 2004 is upsetting No. 4 Maryland this Friday and then disposing of either No. 1 Duke or No. 2 North Carolina on Sunday to capture the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. The Cavaliers figure to be downright ornery as they fight for their postseason lives, and coach John Tillman acknowledged that he is worried about the Terps (9-2) matching their opponent's intensity at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. “That's certainly a concern,” he said during his weekly conference call Tuesday.

It was in December, when Coppin State got off to a 1-4 start, that coach Fang Mitchell began to question the makeup of his team."What we lack now is a vocal leader, and we'll need somebody to do that before the year is out," Mitchell said then. "Somebody will come along."Mitchell's hope was wishful thinking after the Eagles, who won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season title for the second season in a row, were bounced in the semifinals of the conference tournament and in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

There was, it turned out, no way to prepare for the night when the deal came down.Is that incredible? We had 14 years to prepare for the moment when Cal Ripken finally caught Lou Gehrig -- 14 years to wonder what it would look like, what it would feel like, how it would resonate in our hearts -- and still there was no way to prepare for what happened last night at Camden Yards.No way to prepare for the sight of that number hanging there on the warehouse wall.No way to prepare for the Orioles, as if on cue from the beaming baseball gods, hitting as many home runs as they have ever hit in a game in Baltimore, marking the night in truly celestial fashion.

In an emotional response to the Los Angeles riots, Californians are rushing to gun stores. State law makes them wait 15 days before completing weapons purchases, so buyers have even made a run on World War II rifles, for which there is no waiting period. L.A. gun shops have reported 50-percent, even 100-percent sales increases. People in other states are also rushing to buy guns. (There's no telling how bad it is here. Maryland State Police figures for April and May gun-permit applications won't be available before June.

What Bill Gildea does in his new book is turn his heart inside out. It's right there, 311 pages worth, an elegantly written text with touching sensitivity and profound emotion -- as much a story of family as one about football, the city of Baltimore and a team that was presumed, erroneously as it turned out, to be a public trust.It's a keen writing effort that does far more than document the records and achievements of a litany of past heroes, men with names such as Unitas, Donovan, Mutscheller, Lipscomb, Moore, Berry, Parker and Marchetti.

The triumph of Dan Jansen is one of the most emotional Olympic stories in recent memory. This was practically a goof-proof story for CBS.Not that the network didn't try.OK, I can accept the waiting until after 10 p.m. to start. And Charles Kuralt's short piece was a nice setup.Then came the competition, and in relatively short order came Jansen. He set a world record in the 1,000-meter speed skating. At that moment, he wasn't assured of a medal, but it was an emotional moment for him and his family entourage, especially his wife.

NEW YORK - Mariano Rivera was so overcome by emotion when the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of last year's American League Championship Series, he ran from the dugout to the mound and collapsed. Aaron Boone had just hit his 11th-inning home run, and the rest of Yankee Stadium was pandemonium, but Rivera spent those moments alone in prayer on the same spot where he had just pitched three brilliant innings. The emotion the normally stoic Rivera expressed that night showed how deeply the feelings run in this epic rivalry, which resumes tonight right where everyone expected it to resume, in Game 1 of another ALCS.

After Sunday's 7-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Orioles manager Buck Showalter spoke of the importance of keeping emotions in check in reference to his struggling starter, Jake Arrieta . A minute later, he was trying to keep his own emotions in check when asked about a somber pre-game ceremony at Camden Yards in which the Orioles honored fallen Maryland soldiers. During the ceremony, which included a moment of silence, Showalter presented the families of Army Cpt. Sara M. Knutson of Eldersburg, Navy LTJG Valerie Cappelaere Delaney of Ellicott City, and Marine Lance Corporal William Taylor Wild IV of Severna Park with honorary Orioles jerseys.

- At 2:42 p.m. on Monday - just minutes before the first bomb exploded along the marathon course - Carol Downing's son-in-law and daughters were positioned perfectly to watch her run past the blue-and-yellow finish line painted across Boylston Street. Michael Gross took six, maybe seven or eight, steps away from his wife, Nicole, and her sister, Erika Brannock, until he found the spot where he planned to snap a picture of the moment they had waited for all day. The three had been tracking Downing's progress on their smartphones as her feet touched the timing mats along the route.

I have to admit that even though "Second Hand News" is a great way to kick off a night of what was clearly going to be hit after hit of A+, No. 1, solid-gold Fleetwood Mac tunes, hearing Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks sing the first few measures put a little stone in my throat. Lindsey sounded ragged and rough: Did he give too much to Madison Square Garden the night before? Perhaps over-carousing? Does Lindsey deign to carouse? And Stevie, oh Stevie, the top range of her uniquely fluid yet meaty voice clipped.

Dr. Richard R. Rubin, a Johns Hopkins psychologist who counseled children and adults on how to cope with the emotional effects of diabetes, died of complications from prostate cancer March 25 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Monkton resident was 69. Born in Lima, Peru, he was the son of Goldie Rubin and Morton Rubin, a scientist who worked in meteorology in South America, Antarctica and South Africa. He lived with his parents in Pretoria, South Africa, and was a 1961 graduate of Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda.

In the aftermath of Johns Hopkins' 13-8 loss to No. 11 Syracuse on March 16, doom and gloom seemed to befall the program. Since the team's 15-8 rout of No. 13 Virginia this past Saturday, a sense of jubilation is following the Blue Jays as they prepare for Saturday's game against No. 4 North Carolina. Navigating the roller coaster of emotions from one end of the spectrum to the other might be a factor for Johns Hopkins (6-2), but coach Dave Pietramala said the players and coaches are not buying into the hype after the victory over the Cavaliers.

NEW ORLEANS -- The older brother will beat the younger brother again. Super Bowl XLVII will be nothing more than a repeat, at least victory wise, of the 2011 Thanksgiving Day game between the two teams when John Harbaugh's Ravens beat Jim Harbaugh's San Francisco 49ers, 16-6. If you look down the rosters and compare personnel, the 49ers have better players and are more balanced. But the Ravens are riding emotion and after two years of failing in the postseason, their playmakers are making plays.

WASHINGTON -- The increasing likelihood that President Bush will take a major step toward normalizing ties with Vietnam before he leaves office has an almost almost poetic symmetry to it.The last Cold War president, from a generation that sent young Americans to war in Southeast Asia, exorcises Vietnam-era demons before yielding office to the younger man who led demonstrations against the war.A decision by Mr. Bush to lift the trade embargo that has been...

After some 200 years of women being prisoners to men's notions of beauty, do you know who freed them?Jane Fonda. And she did it with her workout videos.That's one of the suggestions of "A Century of Women" -- the three-night, six-hour special narrated by Fonda, which starts tonight at 8:05 on TBS, the cable channel owned by Fonda's husband, Ted Turner."A Century of Women" is an ambitious and often powerful production, with a virtual who's who lineup of talent talking about the struggles and accomplishments of women in the 20th century.

At Chick and Ruth's Delly in Annapolis, where politicians' favorite meals are named for them and listed in large print signs above the counter, a diner can order a "John R. Leopold" - chicken noodle soup. But that may not be for much longer. A new menu at the downtown restaurant comes out toward the end of February, and officials who are out of office are also off the menu. Whether Leopold will be removed from his position as Anne Arundel County executive - he's currently suspended, having been found guilty Tuesday of misconduct in office - is unknown, and owner Teddy Levitt said he's thinking about what to do with the menu.

NEW ORLEANS -- Jack and Jackie Harbaugh said they are as neutral as they can get when it comes to Sunday's Super Bowl, which will feature their sons. Family members and friends are making the trek to New Orleans to witness an NFL first as John Harbaugh leads the Ravens and Jim Harbaugh leads the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. On Wednesday, Jack and Jackie Harbaugh repeated how proud they are of their sons in a 40-minute news conference at the New Orleans Convention Center.