Green Light

This year's Extreme Rules pay-per-view event left us with some unanswered questions but also some new beginnings. In the main event (a rare moment in WWE history where all wrestlers in a final match on PPV weren't on a full-time WWE schedule), Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H in a cage match. Lesnar went up 2-1 on "The Game" and is likely poised for another future match in WWE (not against Triple H), perhaps at Summerslam or Wrestlemania 30. Questions coming out of this match are: will Triple H wrestle again?

Scoring goals behind his back or behind his head comes naturally for Maryland's Jay Carlson. He was taught to shoot every way possible by his father Chip, who played at Johns Hopkins. “When I was younger, my dad told me to score however you can,” the sophomore attackman recalled Tuesday afternoon. “I remember playing in the backyard and my dad just fed me and I was just kind of having fun with it and it ended up working pretty well for me. So I just kept it going. It can be risky, but I just try to get it in the goal when I can.” As the No. 9 and sixth-seeded Terps (10-3)

Late last winter, Baltimore rapper Test (formerly known as TestMe) signed a deal with Future's FreeBandz Entertainment. Yesterday, he released his first project of original material as a FreeBandz member: "Green Light," which you can download for free here (contains explicit language). (Test released "Jackin 4 Beats" with DJ Big L late last year, but it was him rhyming over already-popular tracks.) Test appeared on the popular FreeBandz compilation mixtape, "F.B.G.: The Movie," from January.

It doesn't matter how far Kyle Dixon is from the goal - if you leave him open, he's going to shoot. The Chesapeake Bayhawks midfielder showed it this past week in St. Petersburg, Fla. Dixon netted three two-point goals in the Bayhawks' season-opening 17-14 victory over the Rochester Rattlers, tying the single-game league record he set in May 2012. Tonight, Dixon will look to continue his prolific shooting from beyond the two-point arc when the Bayhawks host the New York Lizards in their home opener at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

The Board of Public Works gave the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene the green light Wednesday to move forward with the emergency demolition of 18 vacant buildings at the Henryton State Hospital Center in Carroll County. The center, which opened in 1922 to serve African-Americans with tuberculosis, has been closed since 1985, and there have been reports of vandalism and fires at the site. The state fire marshal had expressed concern that the vacant buildings pose a safety hazard — especially to firefighters.

The state Public Service Commission Wednesday denied a request from the owners of century-old Yellow Cab of Baltimore to prohibit Uber Technologies Inc. from operating a luxury town car service that can be hired by smartphone. Yellow Cab officials believe the San Francisco-based company that launched service in the city and Baltimore County late last month has an unfair competitive advantage because the startup does not comply with safety and insurance regulations. But Uber contends that it is a technology company with an app that allows independent drivers and upscale customers to do business on their own. The commission staff recommended that Yellow Cab's request be denied because at the time of its review, Uber had not begun operations.

The list is long enough to give contractors a stiff workout. There are roof repairs and resurfacing due for Georgetown East Elementary School and painting for George Fox Middle School. Mills-Parole Elementary will get tiles, carpet and terrazzo. Crofton Elementary is due for kitchen equipment and fire sprinklers. Those are just some of the more than two dozen projects that the Anne Arundel County Board of Education approved this week as consent items — they are funded, and the board has given its blessing for them to be awarded to contractors.

Continuing a pattern from last week, Ray Lewis has been present during the portion of this week's practices open to the media. But the 13-time Pro Bowl inside linebacker is still on the injured reserve list with a designation to return, which is why defensive coordinator Dean Pees isn't making any assurances about Lewis' return for Sunday's game against the New York Giants. “It'd be great to have him back,” Pees said after Thursday's practice. “I said that a couple weeks ago when we first started kind of seeing him come back.

An engineering study of the year-old Intercounty Connector has concluded that the speed limit on the highway between Gaithersburg and Laurel could be raised from 55 mph to 60 mph so long as an analysis of crash data finds no safety concerns. The accident review of the $2.5 billion all-electronic toll road is expected to be completed by the end of February, after which time the Maryland Transportation Authority will make a decision. "We said we wanted to have a year's worth of experience, and we've got that now," said Harold Bartlett, the authority's executive director.

Lighting Maryland homes with power from giant turbines off Ocean City moved closer to reality Thursday as federal officials announced they are ready to go forward with leasing vast areas along the Mid-Atlantic coast for wind farms. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said at a news conference at Baltimore's Inner Harbor that his staff found that no significant impact to the environment, shipping or other activities would result from letting developers start studies and plans for harnessing ocean winds from New Jersey to Virginia.

The Board of Public Works gave the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene the green light Wednesday to move forward with the emergency demolition of 18 vacant buildings at the Henryton State Hospital Center in Carroll County. The center, which opened in 1922 to serve African-Americans with tuberculosis, has been closed since 1985, and there have been reports of vandalism and fires at the site. The state fire marshal had expressed concern that the vacant buildings pose a safety hazard — especially to firefighters.

The list is long enough to give contractors a stiff workout. There are roof repairs and resurfacing due for Georgetown East Elementary School and painting for George Fox Middle School. Mills-Parole Elementary will get tiles, carpet and terrazzo. Crofton Elementary is due for kitchen equipment and fire sprinklers. Those are just some of the more than two dozen projects that the Anne Arundel County Board of Education approved this week as consent items — they are funded, and the board has given its blessing for them to be awarded to contractors.

Late last winter, Baltimore rapper Test (formerly known as TestMe) signed a deal with Future's FreeBandz Entertainment. Yesterday, he released his first project of original material as a FreeBandz member: "Green Light," which you can download for free here (contains explicit language). (Test released "Jackin 4 Beats" with DJ Big L late last year, but it was him rhyming over already-popular tracks.) Test appeared on the popular FreeBandz compilation mixtape, "F.B.G.: The Movie," from January.

The state Public Service Commission Wednesday denied a request from the owners of century-old Yellow Cab of Baltimore to prohibit Uber Technologies Inc. from operating a luxury town car service that can be hired by smartphone. Yellow Cab officials believe the San Francisco-based company that launched service in the city and Baltimore County late last month has an unfair competitive advantage because the startup does not comply with safety and insurance regulations. But Uber contends that it is a technology company with an app that allows independent drivers and upscale customers to do business on their own. The commission staff recommended that Yellow Cab's request be denied because at the time of its review, Uber had not begun operations.

Fifteen months ago, Dan Duquette was still outside looking in, trying to get back into major league baseball after nearly a decade away. Now, after a whirlwind stretch in which he was the surprise hire for the Orioles' top executive post and then put together a patchwork roster that made the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, Duquette is near the top of the fraternity that had shut him out. On Thursday morning at a news conference at...

Continuing a pattern from last week, Ray Lewis has been present during the portion of this week's practices open to the media. But the 13-time Pro Bowl inside linebacker is still on the injured reserve list with a designation to return, which is why defensive coordinator Dean Pees isn't making any assurances about Lewis' return for Sunday's game against the New York Giants. “It'd be great to have him back,” Pees said after Thursday's practice. “I said that a couple weeks ago when we first started kind of seeing him come back.

Maryland's Board of Public Works approved a complicated land deal Wednesday that clears the way for work on State Center, a massive redevelopment project meant to enhance the western edge of the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. About a dozen developers partnering on the project appeared before the Board to express support for the deal. Neighborhood representatives said they've been satisfied with their dealings so far with the state and developers, but hope the back-and-forth will continue.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel came out of his 73-pitch simulated game with the team's instructional league with his surgically reconstructed right knee feeling good, he and was given the green light to pitch in the postseason. "It feels as good as it's going to feel until the season's over," Hammel said before Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. "I'm not thinking about it. There's minimal discomfort, it's not something I can't handle. " Hammel, who aggravated the knee Sept.

An engineering study of the year-old Intercounty Connector has concluded that the speed limit on the highway between Gaithersburg and Laurel could be raised from 55 mph to 60 mph so long as an analysis of crash data finds no safety concerns. The accident review of the $2.5 billion all-electronic toll road is expected to be completed by the end of February, after which time the Maryland Transportation Authority will make a decision. "We said we wanted to have a year's worth of experience, and we've got that now," said Harold Bartlett, the authority's executive director.

Our mayor, the Hon. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, is asking some people to look into why Baltimore's revenues from speed cameras are remarkably higher than in surrounding jurisdictions. I'm not a task force, but I have a good idea why: People in Baltimore are crappy drivers.  You get ticketed in Baltimore if a speed camera catches you driving more than twelve miles an hour over the posted speed limit. Let me suggest to you that if you are not in labor or bleeding from a gunshot wound, you do not need to go more than twelve miles an hour over the posted speed limit.  Lend me one of those portable cameras to operate in my spare time out along Hillen Road and Perring Parkway near my house, and I'll bring in enough revenue to close the city's budget gap and open a couple of new recreation centers, the cost to be borne by drivers who mistake those streets for the Bonneville salt flats.  Yes, it would be a moneymaker for the city.