Grudge

The last time Ed Dickson tangled with Taylor Mays, the Ravens tight end was on the receiving end of a blow from the Cincinnati Bengals strong safety that an official called “helmet-to-helmet with a defenseless receiver.” The two will meet again Sunday, but Dickson said he has no beef with Mays, who was fined $21,000 for the infraction. “I'm actually really cool with Taylor Mays off the field,” said Dickson, who has been friends with Mays since Dickson played at the University of Oregon and Mays played at USC. “I know what type of player he wants to be. He wants to be a hard-hitting safety and stuff like that.

After her meeting with Scheana, Brandi sits down with Lisa to process it all. She almost feels sorry for Scheana, despite the fact that she continued to sleep with Eddie after discovering that Brandi was pregnant. But Brandi's being mature about it. It was his choice to leave. Scheana didn't twist his arm. But Brandi is trying to be strong and hold on. Kudos to her. Kyle visits Yolanda after suddenly remembering she's on this show, too. Yo Yo's collecting honey from her bee hives -- of freaking course -- and Kyle is not trying to get anywhere near all of that.

The only character with any personality in The Grudge is a Tokyo house, but not to worry - it's got enough mean in it to keep any horror movie afloat. With atmosphere to burn and more than enough dread to keep an audience on the edge of its collective seat for an hour and a half, this Americanized Japanese import (director Takashi Shimizu is remaking his own 2000 film, Ju-On) understands the cardinal rule of horror, that what is unseen and not understood is far more frightening than what is constantly onscreen and obvious in its intent.

The last time Ed Dickson tangled with Taylor Mays, the Ravens tight end was on the receiving end of a blow from the Cincinnati Bengals strong safety that an official called “helmet-to-helmet with a defenseless receiver.” The two will meet again Sunday, but Dickson said he has no beef with Mays, who was fined $21,000 for the infraction. “I'm actually really cool with Taylor Mays off the field,” said Dickson, who has been friends with Mays since Dickson played at the University of Oregon and Mays played at USC. “I know what type of player he wants to be. He wants to be a hard-hitting safety and stuff like that.

And so the Colts will have to return to Baltimore for a football game that really matters, and the dramaturge in all of us wants to see this as the biggest grudge match of the new millennium, the mother of all paybacks, the purge of all purges, a chance for Baltimore, once and for all, to beat the devil. There's no dancing around it. A Colts-Ravens playoff in Baltimore next weekend - assured by Indianapolis' defeat of the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday - has all the makings of not only a great football game but also a massive emotional freak-out.

In the past two tumultuous weeks, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has seen one of his potential opponents suddenly drop out of the race. He has called a special session of the General Assembly to deal with the coming spike in BGE rates, vetoed the bill that resulted and watched as legislators overrode him. But as he prepares to announce his re-election bid this week, Ehrlich finds himself right where he always expected to be: in a tooth-and-nail general election...

LOCAL POLITICAL RACES Go to our Election 2004 gallery for information on where to vote, links to Maryland House and Senate candidates' sites, candidate biographies and archived stories. www.baltimoresun.com/election2004 NEW MOVIES Read Chris Kaltenbach's reviews of The Grudge and Stage Beauty, then check our searchable database of theaters and showtimes. www.baltimoresun.com/movies

Baseball Orioles@Brewers 7 p.m. [Ch. 13, MASN] Longtime Orioles fans are sure to see the Brewers and flash back to the final weekend of the 1982 season. That one didn't end well, but the Orioles won the World Series the next year. Keep that in mind if 2008 doesn't shape up exactly as you had hoped. At least this time, Robin Yount isn't around to ruin the fun. Baseball Rangers@Nationals 7 p.m. [MASN2] Sit back and enjoy one of sport's most compelling and intense grudge matches. The Washington Senators moved to Texas after the 1971 season and became the Rangers.

Selling tickets to boxing matches on the basis of neighborhood rivalries and ethnic identities won't play any more. Good common sense, or maybe it was sophistication, scored a knockout. And how about a grudge match? Another staple of the pastBut now the old scenarios are being revived. Come Monday night, Eddie Van Kirk, a warrior from Westport, will take on Vincent Pettway, who is from Lower Govans, in a main event for the welterweight championship of Baltimore. You can even make it all of Maryland if there's a compulsion to stretch the geographical boundaries.

PHILADELPHIA -- Nothing happened.That was Philadelphia Eagle Andre Waters' reaction yesterday when pressed for details of a fight that took place Sunday between Waters and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Eric Martin moments after their game at Veterans Stadium."

It's Saturday night at Canton's Du Burns Arena, and Mike "The Prodigy" Bennett flexes and preens as his opponent, Ring of Honor champion Jay Lethal, staggers across the mat. As the bad-boy wrestler's scantily clad girlfriend-valet joins the gloating, fans erupt in an angry chant of "You suck, you suck. " Those in the front row yell the loudest - pounding the metal dividers surrounding the ring in time with the chant. Welcome to the new - and, at the same time, very old - world of TV wrestling, as the Sinclair Broadcast Group embraces the original programming business that comes with chokeholds and body slams.

Despite getting unceremoniously released midway through his first season by the Ravens as their primary kicker, Steve Hauschka said he doesn't harbor a grudge against the Ravens. “My job as an athlete is to focus on the things that I can control, and that's kicking the ball,” said Hauschka, who now kicks for the Seattle Seahawks - the Ravens' opponent this Sunday. “I don't think the team's decision is really going to affect it. When it really comes down to it, my job is to kick the ball.

Baltimore police say a 20-year-old man with a grudge against the department fired a rifle at a Southwestern District patrol officer Tuesday night. The officer was spared serious injury when the bullet grazed him and struck his service weapon. Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said detectives received a break in the case when a community member phoned in a tip Thursday morning that two possible suspects were in a vehicle in the neighborhood. Chey Jordan of the 1100 block of Cooks Lane has been charged with attempted murder.

Since Coach Brenda Frese arrived nine years ago, Maryland has become the area's pre-eminent women's basketball team. One NCAA title, three appearances in the round of eight and a 16-5 record in the tournament validate that. Reminders of the 2006 national championship are ubiquitous at Comcast Center, from an oversized wall painting outside the team's locker room to the banner prominently displayed high above the stands. So are flags commemorating the school's many other titles and the luminaries who have played for one of the ACC's flagship programs.

Awakened by the phone, the Morgan State football coach fumbled to answer it and peered at the clock. It was 1 a.m. This can't be good news, Donald Hill-Eley thought. The caller, his quarterback, was crying. "Coach?" Carlton Jackson asked, voice aquiver. "What's going on, son?" "Thank you for not giving up on me." Hill-Eley yawned, smiled and yawned again. "I always had faith in you," the Morgan coach said. "Now let me go back to sleep." Since that conversation in June, Jackson - once moody and mercurial - has been a different quarterback.

JUPITER, Fla. - Ex-Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons, trying to make it back to the majors with the Florida Marlins, was hoping to face his former teammates yesterday at Roger Dean Stadium, but that'll be a story for another day. "I kind of was looking forward to playing against old friends, but I don't think it's going to be weird," he said. "It's more fun seeing some old teammates, old friends and remembering the old times." Gibbons took a circuitous route back to major league training camp, playing for the independent Long Island Ducks and spending time in Double-A and Triple-A with the Milwaukee Brewers last year.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Safety Danny Copeland, who has a pain in his neck, hopes to be one for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.Copeland, who sat out last week's game against the Seattle Seahawks with a sprained neck, is a member of the Washington Redskins' walking wounded, but hopes to play anyway.Copeland has a special incentive. He admits he still holds a grudge against the Chiefs for not giving him a shot to start before he left as a Plan B free agent a year ago."Everybody who messes up in this game is off my Christmas list.

RACE AT A GLANCE: Ten brown horses chase each other for mile and 3/16ths in middle jewel of racing's Triple Crown before massive Woodstock-like traffic jam paralyzes northwest Baltimore.TODAY'S PROFILE: Strike the Gold. Incredibly lucky 4-to-1 showon Kentucky Derby when rest of field succumbed to rare form of equine narcolepsy and dozed off in home stretch. Trainer Nick Zito banking heavily on solar eclipse during Preakness, with his horse lone entry wearing night-vision goggles.HOW THOROUGHBRED HORSES ARE NAMED: First thought that pops into owner's head, often while being restrained by ward attendants.

New Ravens offensive tackle Willie Anderson doesn't know whether he'll play against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he said he doesn't hold any animosity toward his former team. Anderson practiced yesterday after signing a three-year, $11 million contract with the Ravens. The four-time Pro Bowl right tackle was released by the Bengals last Saturday after he wouldn't take a pay cut. "They didn't cut me because I couldn't play," Anderson said. "They cut me because I said I didn't want to play there anymore.

Baseball Orioles@Brewers 7 p.m. [Ch. 13, MASN] Longtime Orioles fans are sure to see the Brewers and flash back to the final weekend of the 1982 season. That one didn't end well, but the Orioles won the World Series the next year. Keep that in mind if 2008 doesn't shape up exactly as you had hoped. At least this time, Robin Yount isn't around to ruin the fun. Baseball Rangers@Nationals 7 p.m. [MASN2] Sit back and enjoy one of sport's most compelling and intense grudge matches. The Washington Senators moved to Texas after the 1971 season and became the Rangers.