Hibbs

The Bank of Essex is warning former Suburban Federal Savings Bank customers of a telephone scheme that tries to get them to divulge their personal account information. Essex acquired Suburban's assets and customers in late January when federal regulators seized the Crofton-based bank, marking the state's first bank failure since 1992. Tappahannock, Va.-based Essex has about two dozen branches, including seven in Maryland. Customers started reporting Tuesday that they received automated calls warning them that their Suburban account is about to expire or be suspended unless they entered their 16-digit card number and provided three forms of identification, said Tina Hibbs, marketing coordinator for Essex.

Barton Dame Inc. has updated The Baltimore Surplus Property Guide, a resource guide listing all surplus real estate owned by Baltimore City. Initially published in June of 1990, the guide provides addresses, zoning, city sector and information about which agency in the city people should contact in order to purchase a particular property."

The one thing cold weather can't hide is good pitching. Low temperatures and a bit of wind-chill can hide good hitting, which will come out later with the warm weather. But good pitching is all-weather and it was there yesterday, with visiting Eastern Tech's proving a little better as the No. 5 Mavericks upset top-ranked Arundel, 4-0. Ryan Rivers, a 6-foot-4 senior right-hander headed to North Carolina-Charlotte, worked four strong innings and left-hander Josh Kempa threw the last three as the two combined for a six-hit shutout of the Wildcats in the season opener for both teams.

South River manager Ken Dunn tells his players that "the road to success is always under construction. " Fortunately for him, his team laid down some quality miles Thursday, while all visiting Arundel found were potholes in an 11-1 loss in an Anne Arundel County league game that ended after six innings because of the ten-run rule. The No. 4 Seahawks (1-0, 1-0) rode the arm and the bat of pitcher Scott Mitchell. The senior threw a three-hitter, striking out eight and keeping No. 5 Arundel (0-1, 0-1)

Severna Park has found consistency, but Arundel is still searching for it. No. 13 Arundel dug an early hole and eventually lost to host and No. 9 Severna Park, 8-3, yesterday in Anne Arundel County baseball. It was the Falcons' sixth consecutive win after starting the season at 0-2. A pair of four-run innings helped the Falcons stay unbeaten (4-0) in the county league. Arundel is 2-2 and 1-2. Seniors Chris Crum and Andrew Ferris had two hits each for the Falcons. Ferris tripled in two runs and Crum doubled and singled in a run to highlight a 10-hit attack that gave Harrison Taylor the win. Taylor (3-0)

Severna Park conceded a late first-half goal against No. 4 Arundel in Friday night's Class 4A East regional semifinal and was faced with the daunting task of solving one of the most formidable defenses in the metro area. Nonetheless, the No. 15 Falcons continued to push forward, and Billy Zito knocked in a loose ball after a corner kick with four minutes remaining to send the game into overtime. It was only the fourth goal allowed by Arundel all season. Michael Utz then scored an almost identical goal with 9:11 remaining in the second overtime to give Severna Park a thrilling 2-1 victory.

Player of the Year Chris Crum, Severna Park A two-time All-Metro choice, Crum led the No. 3 Falcons (22-4) to their second Class 3A state championship in three years. Headed to Virginia Tech to play third base, Crum batted .486 with a .634 on-base percentage. Crum led the Falcons in RBIs (26), runs (30), doubles (11) and homers (four). On the mound, Crum was 7-0 with two saves and a 1.15 ERA. In 54 2/3 innings, he struck out 57 and walked 21. Coach of the Year Bernie Walter, Arundel Walter's 32nd season proved to be one of his most satisfying and surprising, as his No. 11 Wildcats rebounded from a 9-8 start -- including four straight losses -- to finish 14-9 and win a state record 14th regional title.

The No. 4 McDonogh boys lacrosse team defeated No. 5 Gilman, 10-7, yesterday in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association game. Andrew Feinberg scored two goals and added three assists to lead the visiting Eagles (8-1). McDonogh led 4-2 at the half. Goalie Tyler Fiorito made a major contribution for McDonogh, turning away 23 shots to keep the Greyhounds (2-3) from taking the lead. Baseball John Carroll 8, McDonogh 3 -- Joe Loiodice led the host Patriots (1-3) with five RBIs and 13 strikeouts against the Eagles (1-4)

Dale Chambers is not having second thoughts this time. Chambers, who was named boys basketball coach at Archbishop Spalding last week, accepted - and later turned down - an offer to coach Cardinal Gibbons last summer. Chambers, who has roots in Anne Arundel County, decided to remain an assistant to John Brady at Annapolis. "Something told me that it wasn't the right move and I decided to stay at Annapolis," Chambers said. He interviewed for the Cavaliers' job last month after Mike Glick resigned, but lost out to Pete Strickland.

Probably the best thing to ever happen to London After Midnight, the great silent film star Lon Chaney's biggest moneymaker, was its disappearance. Ever since the only known print of the 1927 movie was destroyed by fire in the 1960s, film fans and collectors have been bemoaning its fate and desperately praying for another print to show up; it's long been the holy grail among film archivists. Still photographs from the movie, showing Chaney in some truly horrific makeup - a visage just as impressive as his infamous nightmare-inducing makeup for 1925's Phantom of the Opera - only compounded the sense of loss.