Gatorade

Opening day for the Orioles may have been last week, but parents allover Glen Burnie know that the real ball playing starts this Saturday when we pop a cartridge in the camcorder, slather on the sunscreen and prepare for three months of second-guessing the coach.Oh yes,it's time for Little League, and this can be a wonderful experience for both the child and the parent if you understand the rules going in.1. Boys wearing uniforms with white pants are required to slide into home every time -- even if the base runner is walked in. It's a "guy" thing.

Some people go to Windy Valley Farms for the thick frozen custard shakes. Some, the Oreo cookie ice cream. Others, for the pony rides. Some make business deals at one of its tables.Everybody seems to agree that the roadside ice cream shop-lunchroom is one of Baltimore County's great unsung people-gathering places, where it's still possible to get a peach ice cream cone that's as good as you remember from your childhood.For as long as anyone can recall, this acre of land at Falls and Joppa roads has belonged to generations of the McCaffrey family, who once owned a horse farm that took in the acre plus the land where the Green Spring Station office buildings and shops now stand.

A Waldorf man was ordered imprisoned for life Tuesday for trying to kill his pregnant girlfriend — a hairdresser who prosecutors said refused his demand to have an abortion — at her home in Crofton. "I got my early Christmas present," Jodi Torok said after seeing her former boyfriend, Charles Brandon Martin, sentenced to life in prison by an Anne Arundel County judge. "I believe you were willing to snuff both of them out because they were an inconvenience to you," Judge Pamela L. North told Martin, in a reference to Torok and her unborn child, before sentencing him. Prosecutors depicted Martin, 33, as a ruthless would-be killer and alleged two murder plots centered on him. They said another man, Jerold Raymond Burks, shot Torok in October 2008 to work off a $400 drug debt to Martin.

Dunbar's Donta Bright, already chosen as a McDonald's and Parade magazine boys basketball All-American, has been selected the state Player of the Year by the Gatorade Circle of Champions.Bright, a 6-foot-6 center/forward who is rumored to be leaning toward Ohio State, is eligible for the regional and national player of the year awards, which will be announced in the next two weeks.This is the seventh year the award has been given. Past national winners include LaBradford Smith of the Washington Bullets, Kenny Anderson of the New Jersey Nets and Alonzo Mourning of Georgetown.

Winters Mill senior Hannah Oneda has been named the Gatorade Maryland Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Also the All-Metro Runner of the Year, Oneda won every local race she ran this fall, including a record-setting performance (18:26.6) in the Class 2A state championship. She finished 33rd at the Foot Locker Nationals meet. Oneda is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in January. The award recognizes not only athletic excellence, but also academic achievement.  Oneda has maintained a 4.0 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society, has volunteered as a peer tutor and was chosen to attend the HOBY Youth Leadership seminar in 2010.

  Gilman's Cyrus Jones has been named the Maryland Gatorade Football Player of the Year. The senior, rated the No. 34 senior recruit in the country by ESPNU, was honored for his football achievements as well as his academic success and character, according to ESPN High School, which announced the 50 Players of the Year on Thursday morning. Jones, a versatile 5-foot-11, 185-pound multi-threat player, excelled on both sides of the ball in leading the No. 1 Greyhounds to a 9-1 season and the first MIAA A Conference championship game victory, 34-32 over No. 2 Calvert Hall in double overtime.

The Orioles expected their negotiations with Dylan Bundy to go right down to Monday night's midnight deadline for signing 2011 draft picks. There were some anxious moments, but the Orioles agreed to terms with the fourth overall pick about five minutes before the deadline on a five-year major league contract, starting in 2012, that includes a $4 million signing bonus. Catcher Matt Wieters set a franchise record with a $6 million bonus after the Orioles made him the fifth overall pick out of Georgia Tech in 2007, and it was widely expected that Bundy would threaten that mark.

Mount de Sales standout Katy Buck on Wednesday was named the 2009-10 Gatorade Maryland Volleyball Player of the Year. Buck's receiving the honor, which is awarded for not only athletic excellence but also academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the court, means she is a finalist for the Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year award. The winner will be announced late this month. Buck, a senior outside hitter who this month was also named The Baltimore Sun's All-Metro Volleyball Player of the Year, recorded 306 kills, 286 digs, 109 service aces and a hitting percentage of .462 this season.

McDonogh senior Ashley Spivey has been named the 2011-12 Gatorade Maryland Girls Soccer Player of the Year. The award, announced today, "recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field. " Spivey is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award, which will be announced in May. The 5-foot-10 forward led the Eagles to an 18-3 record and the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference title this fall.