Fall Sports

When Reggie White was growing up in the 1980s, he spent his summer days outside. When it came time for the first Milford Mill football practice in August, he and his teammates were in pretty good shape and felt acclimated to the heat. Practice was tough, but White was ready for two workouts a day. "I clearly remember a lot of running and a lot of hitting and going right back at it," said White, now the football coach at his alma mater, "but the kids I grew up with, we were outside kids.

Early in the season, St. Timothy's field hockey coach Janet Powers could not have guessed that her squad would win the Association of Independent Schools B Division championship.In her seventh season at the boarding school in the Stevenson area of Baltimore County, Powers returned few starters. Then, goalie Michelle Garcia was sick and couldn't play for almost three weeks.Add to those problems, the perennial difficulties of a boarding school team -- a small roster and a late start to the season, and a championship hardly seemed possible.

It was billed as a tribute to the men and women of the military, but Saturday's Armed Forces Day parade was also a time to showcase Crofton's community pride.About 500 spectators lined the 1.2-mile parade route to cheer local athletes, marching bands, waving politicians and smiling beauty queens.The grand marshal was Ed Dosek, president of the Crofton Civic Association, who kicked things off at Crofton Woods Elementary School.He was joined by Rep. Steny Hoyer, Del. Marsha Perry, County Councilman David Boschert and other elected officials.

The late-blooming and stellar volleyball career of John Carroll grad Andrew Cranford began with a watchful eye and a positive push. A three-sport athlete who grew up taking turns among soccer, basketball and lacrosse, Cranford was unexpectedly cut from the soccer team in 2002, his sophomore year. It opened the door for volleyball, a sport he had never played until he stepped onto the court in his junior year. Cranford, a 6-foot-5 middle hitter, went on to enjoy a stellar four-year career at Stevens Institute of Technology before getting a taste of professional volleyball in Germany, from which he recently returned after a month with a team in Rottenburg.

The holidays are just around the corner, and many of our neighbors have begun shopping for family and friends.Handcrafted treasures from 60-plus artisans will be on display at the 11th annual Beary Best Craft Bazaar.The event will be held at North County High School, 10 E. First Ave., Ferndale, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Concession goodies and a luncheon by North County Knights Parents' Club will be available.*Belle Grove Elementary School news: The PTA would like to thank everyone who helped make the recent Pizza and Games Night a success.

While the controversy continues over whether Jack Kent Cooke will build a stadium for his Washington Redskins in Laurel, Linthicum's Gus Lundquist has a solution."

The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association likely will not determine where state football championships will be played until at least Sunday, said Ned Sparks, executive secretary of the state association.Sparks said because of construction at the University of Maryland's Byrd Stadium, the site of the state football championships for the past 12 years, the MPSSAA likely will play the title games at neutral sites close to the competing schools."At Byrd Stadium, there were just too many obstacles we'd have had to overcome to make it the enjoyable experience it has been in the past," said Sparks.

The late-blooming and stellar volleyball career of John Carroll grad Andrew Cranford began with a watchful eye and a positive push. A three-sport athlete who grew up taking turns among soccer, basketball and lacrosse, Cranford was unexpectedly cut from the soccer team in 2002, his sophomore year. It opened the door for volleyball, a sport he had never played until he stepped onto the court in his junior year. Cranford, a 6-foot-5 middle hitter, went on to enjoy a stellar four-year career at Stevens Institute of Technology before getting a taste of professional volleyball in Germany, from which he recently returned after a month with a team in Rottenburg.

Once scheduled for a couple of years in the future, Towson's move to the Colonial Athletic Association will come this summer. The America East conference accepted the resignation of Towson last weekend, freeing the university's athletic program to move to the CAA after June 30, along with fellow America East schools Delaware, Drexel and Hofstra. Both conferences announced the news yesterday. Under an agreement hammered out between CAA commissioner Tom Yeager and America East commissioner Chris Monasch, the departing schools will have associate memberships in America East for fall sports (men's and women's soccer, field hockey and volleyball)

To say that today is the first day of high school football practice would be a bit misleading. It is the first official day of practice for public school teams - in football and all other fall sports - but getting ready for the season began a long time ago. If you haven't worked hard and you show up today out of shape, your high school football career will last just hours if not minutes. Take it from Dunbar lineman Devin Clark. The first day of football practice is no place for summer slackers.