England

England might have been sandbagging Monday or it might merely have been cautious, trying to avoid any injuries ahead of Saturday's World Cup opener against the United States. Whatever the reason, coach Fabio Capello's squad was less than convincing while scoring a 3-0 victory over the Platinum Stars of South Africa's Premier League. The goals should have come fast and furious, considering the gap in quality between the teams, but England was limited to only the three scored by Jermain Defoe, Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney.

By now you've surely seen the video, below, of Tom Brady getting super, duper excited about Orb winning the Kentucky Derby. In it, he runs over to congratulate Ogden Phipps II, son of co-owner Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps. I'm not sure how they know each other. Maybe Brady just really revels in the good fortune of other fantastically rich people. Also, he apparently bet $4,700 on the colt and won $25,000 . (In some versions of the video you can see the other co-owner, Maryland resident Stuart Janney, roam through the shot in a tan rain coat and Orb hat, looking for all the world like maybe he'd mistakenly arrived in that place at that time.

When the U.S. team played its final home tuneup in Philadelphia before leaving for the World Cup, a couple of elderly gentlemen were introduced to the players before the start. Harry Keough, 82, and Walter Bahr, 83, know what lies ahead for the American team today in Rustenburg. They've been there, done that. Keough and Bahr were starters on the U.S. team that scored one of soccer's all-time upsets, astounding the globe by defeating England, 1-0, at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

Each week, The Baltimore Sun publishes a Q&A with an area college lacrosse player to help you become more acquainted with the player and his/her team. Today's guest is Johns Hopkins midfielder Sarah Taylor, from Farnham, England. Taylor, who leads the Blue Jays in goals with 36, played for the Scottish national team in the 2007 under-19 world championships and for England in 2011. This summer, she will play for England in the elite World Cup. Taylor also has 23 draw controls and 17 ground balls for the Blue Jays, who visit Ohio State in the regular-season finale Sunday before hosting the American Lacrosse Conference tournament at Homewood Field beginning May 2. The junior is majoring in biology with a focus on pre-med.

On September 17, 2004 ELIZABETH ANN ENGLAND, beloved wife of the late William H. England Sr., loving mother of John Mc Cubbin, Alexander W. Mc Cubbin, Terrie Rogers, William England Jr., Sophia England, and Gerald England. A Memorial gathering will be held at the family owned Ambrose Funeral Home Inc., 1328 Sulphur Spring Rd., Arbutus, on Tuesday from 12 to 1 P.M., where a Memorial Service will immediately follow at 1:00 P.M. Interment at Cedar Hill Cemetery. The family request contributions be made to the funeral home towards her funeral expenses.

Three-time World Cup champion Brazil and 1990 World Cup semifinalist England will play in RFK Stadium in Washington June 12.The competition is part of U.S. Cup '93, featuring a superior field in a four-team round robin to be played between June 6-19. Defending World Cup champion Germany and the steadily-improving U.S. National Team round out the foursome.Tickets for the Brazil-England game go on sale at all Washington-Baltimore area TicketMaster outlets beginning Monday. Ticket prices are $45, $36, $25, $20 and $15.Additional ticket information can be obtained by calling the World Cup Washington Operations Office at (301)

The lead attorney for Pfc. Lynndie R. England said yesterday that her first public court hearing was postponed for logistical reasons and that statements made by another lawyer indicating possible plea talks were "inaccurate and false." England, 21, the Army Reservist from Fort Ashby, W.Va., who has become one of the most visible faces in the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal, was scheduled to appear in a military court in Fort Bragg, N.C., yesterday. The hearing instead was postponed until July 12. Colorado attorney Richard A. Hernandez, England's lead civilian lawyer, said the hearing was rescheduled to allow more time to arrange for the testimony of witnesses now in Iraq and because another civilian lawyer on the defense team, Rose Mary Zapor, had stepped down, citing family health problems.

BIRMINGHAM, England -- Three visits, three victories. When it comes to the indoor version of the game, American players still can teach Her Majesty's subjects a thing or two about soccer."

Claude England may have lost a step since his playing days at the University of Maryland, but he's the one man everyone will be chasing when the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Association's Indoor 35-and-over Singles Championships begin tomorrow at the Cross Keys Tennis Club.A field of 32 players from the Mid-Atlantic region that encompasses Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., will begin play in the single-elimination tournament at 4 p.m. tomorrow. The event is open to the public.

MANCHESTER, England -- Just as it had in Tuesday night's round-robin victory over England, the U.S. men's lacrosse team dominated all aspects of play in last night's semifinal rematch in the World Lacrosse Championships. The resulting 25-3 win earned the defending champions a berth in the final tomorrow.There they will face Australia, which upset Canada, 18-17, in yesterday's first semifinal. The Australian win avenged a 19-11 loss to Canada on Tuesday.The United States beat Australia, 14-12, in the mud Sunday.

A blizzard was expected to dump a couple of feet of snow across New England through midday today, and while Baltimore was largely spared, the storm delivered some wintry precipitation and headaches for travelers. At Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, dozens of flights to and from the Northeast were canceled, leaving some travelers scrambling to brave snowy roads in rental cars. Others landed there Friday from points north, escaping ahead of the expected 2 feet of snow, only to find limited options for getting anywhere else.

My family and I were cruising down a very busy six-lane road on our way to dinner two years ago when my husband suddenly hit the brakes. Two loose yellow labs cowered in the middle of the road. It was one of those trillion-degree August days and the dogs were hot, exhausted and frightened. We got them into our car, took them home, gave them a drink, and called the animal shelter, where employees said no one had reported them missing. My vet's office was due to close in five minutes, but a technician agreed to stay open long enough for me to get there (I love my vet)

A winter weather advisory is in effect for northern counties from 4 a.m. through 10 a.m. Friday, with up to an inch or two of snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain expected as a major snowstorm heads northeast to slam New England. The advisory applies to Carroll, northern Baltimore and Harford counties. The precipitation is expected to turn to rain for all of the Baltimore area by mid-morning. Forecast maps updated Thursday afternoon called for the heaviest snow, possibly 1-2 inches, in Harford County and northeastern Baltimore County.

Major coastal snowstorms, the kind known to bury the Northeast this time of year, have been rare so far this winter. One expected to sweep over New England at the end of the week is expected to mostly miss the Baltimore area. As much as 2 feet of snow is expected from Rhode Island to Maine, including the Boston area, with lesser amounts to the west and south, including in New York. The Boston forecast office of the National Weather Service  has issued a winter storm watch  effective starting Thursday night.

People who know I grew up in New England have the wrong idea — they think I'm a Red Sox fan, a Patriots fan and one of those "hardy" people who walked a mile to school in the snow. Not true. I gave up the Sox within minutes after sitting in Memorial Stadium to watch my first Baltimore Orioles game; Earl Weaver , rest his soul, was the manager. The Patriots never got in my blood; they were easy to dump for the 1976 Baltimore Colts. The Colts had a great season, then lost in a playoff to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It's been a long wait for Terrell Suggs to exact his revenge on the New England Patriots, and when the Ravens' 28-13 win was complete Sunday, he let loose. "Tell them to have fun at the Pro Bowl," Suggs said after the game to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports! about the Patriots. "Shut them out in the second half. Arrogant [expletive]. These are the most arrogant [expletive] in the world starting with [coach Bill] Belichick on down. " The Patriots beat the Ravens last year in the AFC championship game, 23-20, but lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.

Kenneth H. England, whose portrayal of "Uncle Sam" at patriotic events made him well known to Marylanders during the past two decades, died of a heart attack Thursday at Harbor Hospital Center. He was 77.England, a retired food service manager, sported a white goatee and bore an uncanny resemblance to the patriotic figure -- particularly when wearing his costume of striped trousers, starred vest, top hat and tails. He carried a red, white and blue cane."There may be many other Uncle Sams, but there was only one Ken England as Uncle Sam," said Louis V. Koerber, the Baltimore paint company owner who originated the "Pause for the Pledge" that has become part of Flag Day celebrations in Baltimore and across the nation.

Claude England is using the Maryland State Clay Court tennis championships as a tune-up for upcoming national tournaments, but he'll have a bit of incentive going into today's semifinals at the Baltimore Country Club.Facing Mike Castrilli, the tournament's defending champion and 3 seed, England, 36, advanced to today's semifinals with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 quarterfinal win yesterday.England, the No. 5 seed, will face No. 2 seed Jon Coss in one semifinal today, and No. 1 seed Gil Schuerholz will play No. 4 seed Mike Clark in the other.

In this game-day staple, blogger Matt Vensel makes four sometimes-courageous predictions for the game. All he asks is that you don't hold it against him whenever those predictions end up being embarrassingly wrong. The road back to Foxborough was a bumpy one -- the 12-month journey included a ton of injuries, individual tragedy, a late-season coaching switch and a three-game losing streak -- but here the Ravens are again, back in New England to take on Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC championship game for a second straight year.

Joe Flacco looked tired, or maybe he was just bored. It was hard to tell. He has prepared for three AFC championship games now, so perhaps the thrill factor - not that Flacco would admit to experiencing such a thing - has worn off. As excitable Ravens running back Ray Rice stood behind the lectern Wednesday answering questions from a packed auditorium, Flacco sat off to the side waiting his turn. He fidgeted with his hands and stared mostly into space. He looked up occasionally, if only to see whether Rice was almost finished.