End Zone

The man who forever changed the course of business in NFL end zones was not, as fate would have it, a frequent visitor to the area himself. During a five-year pro career in the early 1970s, Elmo Wright scored a grand total of seven touchdowns.But oh, how he changed the game on one of those rare visits.On Nov. 18, 1973, Wright, a speed receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, scored on a long touchdown pass from Len Dawson in what would become a 38-14 victory over the Houston Oilers.Once across the goal line, he began running frenetically in place, knees pumping, arms churning, seemingly out of sync with his surroundings.

With a week to go before the kickoff of "Dancing with the Stars," Raven Jacoby Jones, who is competing on the show this season, has been practicing in Baltimore. Jones and his partner Karina Smirnoff have worked on their routine at the Owings Mills JCC. The other day, the pair took a break from practice and tried to teach the center's pre-school children Jones' signature end zone move, the "Choppa City Juke. "

Because of problems related to health and performance, the Ravens' struggling offense could be in for several changes on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.Quarterback Eric Zeier's injured right thumb is on the mend, although Zeier will be replaced by veteran Jim Harbaugh if he fails to impress coach Ted Marchibroda sufficiently in practice over the next two days. The same goes for center Jeff Mitchell, whose groin injury could force the Ravens to start Wally Williams at center and insert backup Ben Cavil in Williams' left guard spot.

For 17 generations, members of Catherine Webb's family have worked or lived on Springfield Farm in northern Baltimore County, where chickens and turkeys roam the hilly ground and, three days a week, Webb sells eggs and chicken meat from a farmhouse garage-turned-store. In Webb's view, such direct-to-consumer sales will sustain the farm's operation for future generations, which include her two daughters and her sister's children. But neighbors have fought a 2006 proposal by her parents to build a farmer's roadside stand inside a three-level barn.

This week, Republicans have been criticizing President Barack Obama for his surprise trip to Afghanistan marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden. By accusing the president of hyping the commemoration, they apparently hope to undercut the political potency of his biggest foreign policy coup. Instead, the GOP critics may merely make themselves look a bit silly. They must think Americans are suffering from amnesia and cannot recall President George W. Bush and his Top Gun moment back in 2003.

It wasn't long ago that Chris Armstrong could only wonder why he had been released by the Las Vegas Posse two weeks into training camp.Now, defensive backs wonder how they are going to keep him out of the end zone.Six games into the season, they still haven't come up with an answer. And the prospects don't look good for the immediate future, either.Armstrong caught seven passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns last night to lead the Baltimore CFLs past the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 30-15, at Memorial Stadium.

WASHINGTON -- How weird was it? There was a fumble in the end zone, a ball loose on the ground, a half-dozen bodies diving and colliding, a game on the line, maybe a season on the line, the crowd rioting, players pointing, officials diving into the pile to determine the outcome . . .. . . and no ball."

Joe Aleszczyk saw his chance and took it. As soon as officials announced that tickets would be available by mail for the Miami Dolphins-New Orleans Saints exhibition game at Memorial Stadium, he zipped off a card in the mail.He said he followed all the directions and acted fast, not wanting to get stuck in, say, an upper-deck seat in the end zone.Look for Mr. Aleszczyk on game day, way up in the upper deck. Row 35.In the end zone.He is one of the football fans who learned the hard way that acting fast was not necessarily the best way to get a seat for the Aug. 28 game, which Baltimore officials hope to sell out in an effort to boost the city's efforts to land an expansion team here.

Every day, the bulldozers squeaked and grumbled, back and forth over the same stretch of mud. The resounding thud of the wrecking ball could be felt in your bones. The excavator jaws picked through the rubble, nibbling at the steel rebars like ribs at a barbecue. Everything was sorted for recycling: wiring in one pile, concrete over there. Save the flagpoles and the lights; someone will buy them. After six months of demolition by the crews of Potts & Callahan, most of the concrete structure that was Baltimore's Memorial Stadium has crumbled into dust.

ASHBURN, VA. -- Lost in the euphoria of the Washington Redskins' 2-0 start is a smidgen of concern that an offense that features running back Clinton Portis has yet to score a rushing touchdown. While Washington is one of 10 teams in the league that hasn't crossed the goal line on the ground, the Redskins and the Jacksonville Jaguars are the only teams averaging at least 100 yards via the running game that haven't scored a rushing touchdown. The statistic didn't escape the attention of Washington coach Joe Gibbs.

Tandon Doss doesn't get as much playing time as other wide receivers in the Ravens offense. But that didn't prevent him from chiding himself for dropping two balls in the end zone in Sunday's 24-9 win against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wildcard playoff round. On second down-and-goal from Indianapolis' 5-yard line in the second quarter, Doss ran an in route from the left side of the formation, but quarterback Joe Flacco's pass glanced off Doss' hands as he dove at the goal line.

The new, synthetic Byrd Stadium football and lacrosse field won't be red, black or pewter. It will approximate the same color of the natural grass dug up weeks ago - green. Maryland on Wednesday released renderings that dispelled any notions - the subject of speculation on fan sites - that the field would be one of the colors that appear on Terps' uniforms. Black was a popular guess. The FieldTurf Revolution surface will be green between the goal lines. The end zones will be red, white, black and gold in a design reminiscent of the state flag and of the Maryland Pride uniforms unveiled last season.

This week, Republicans have been criticizing President Barack Obama for his surprise trip to Afghanistan marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden. By accusing the president of hyping the commemoration, they apparently hope to undercut the political potency of his biggest foreign policy coup. Instead, the GOP critics may merely make themselves look a bit silly. They must think Americans are suffering from amnesia and cannot recall President George W. Bush and his Top Gun moment back in 2003.

Lee Evans sat on a chair facing his locker under Gillette Stadium, alternating between fingering a piece of black athletic tape and dabbing at his eyes with a towel. Then as the number of reporters waiting to interview swelled, the wide receiver slowly stood up from the chair, turned around, and unhesitatingly shouldered the blame for not holding on to what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown pass in the Ravens' 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots in Sunday's AFC championship game.

Towson came into its first football playoff game in 25 years with a banged-up defense and a star tailback who had fallen into Coach Rob Ambrose's doghouse since the Tigers finished the regular season two weeks ago by winning the Colonial Athletic Association championship. That combination -- along with Lehigh's duo of senior quarterback Chris Lum and junior wide receiver Ryan Spadola -- proved costly for Towson in a 40-38 defeat to the Patriot League champion before the first sellout crowd (11,196)

There were many reasons why Dennis Pitta's first touchdown catch of his young career will be special. Not only did the tight end's eight-yard catch come against a San Francisco 49ers ranked first in the NFL in fewest points allowed, but it also broke a 6-6 tie en route to the Ravens' eventual 16-6 victory at M&T Bank Stadium Thursday night. “It was a lot of fun, and it was nice to get it at such a critical point in the game,” said Pitta, who finished with two receptions for 19 yards.

FOXBORO, Mass. -- After leading the Jacksonville Jaguars to road playoff victories against Buffalo and Denver with fourth-quarter heroics, quarterback Mark Brunell looked primed to repeat that feat again.The Jaguars, trailing 13-6 and looking for their first touchdown against a resilient New England defense in yesterday's AFC title game, had the packed Foxboro Stadium crowd worried, as he marched Jacksonville 58 yards to the Patriots' 5.Along the way, Brunell had completed four consecutive passes to three different receivers, good for 45 yards.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M will return to the Cotton Bowl in style because it exhibited some style in its return game.Stymied much of the night on offense, the 10th-ranked Aggies found the end zone via an interception return and punt return to break open an otherwise close game and defeat Texas, 31-14, last night in front of 76,532 at Kyle Field and a national ESPN television audience.An 80-yard scoring drive to open the third quarter and expand a 10-7 lead may have been a momentum-turner, but Marcus Buckley set the tone when he returned his first career interception 19 yards for a touchdown on A&M's first defensive play.

Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said his unit has a philosophy when it gets inside the opposing team's 20-yard line: “We say we're going to score touchdowns and preserve field goals,” he said. The Ravens have mostly done that, getting into the red zone 19 times and putting up at least three points in 17 of those trips. However, head coach John Harbaugh and Cameron both said this week that a priority going forward is converting more red zone trips into touchdowns. The Ravens' seven touchdowns in 19 opportunities inside an opponent's 20 (36.8 percent)

Jameel McClain has achieved much in his four-year career, making the Ravens as an undrafted rookie in 2008 and becoming a full-time starter at inside linebacker last season. But until his six-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter of Sunday night's 34-17 victory over the New York Jets, McClain hadn't visited the end zone since his playing days at Syracuse University. “Basically, on the play, [cornerback] Lardarius [Webb] had the opportunity to grab it, but he bobbled it, and me being a great teammate, I helped him out,” said McClain, who established a franchise record in 2008 with two safeties in a single season.