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Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize. His retirement home is 238 square feet — one-tenth the size of the average new American house — and sits in his Anne Arundel County yard. He and wife Renee can hitch it to a truck and take it with them wherever they go. "It's so cheap — that's what's so cool about this," said Cantori, 52, who envisions a surf-and-turf future, alternating between the house and a sailboat. "We bought the house for $19,000.

The U.S. Peace Corps will begin accepting applications from same-sex couples who wish to serve overseas together for the first time next month, the agency announced Tuesday. The move follows a broader shift by the Obama administration toward publicly supporting gay rights and denouncing LGBT discrimination globally through U.S. diplomatic efforts, including at the State Department and the United Nations. The Peace Corps said opening its doors to same-sex domestic partners "further diversifies the pool of Peace Corps applicants and the skills of those invited to serve overseas in the fields of education, health, community economic development, environment, youth in development and agriculture.

Boston Cannons midfielder Paul Rabil , a former All-American at Johns Hopkins, is hosting the second annual Paul Rabil Foundation Holiday Magic Gala on Thursday, Dec. 6 at Sammy's Trattoria Restaurant in Baltimore. Entertainment will be provided by Maryland Live Casino, and all proceeds will go to the Paul Rabil Foundation, which specializes in benefiting children with learning disabilities. The event, which runs from 7 p.m. to midnight, is open to those age 21 and older; it will include a silent auction, wine and martini tasting, and top-shelf open bar. The gala is black tie optional, and the total cost of the event is $125, covering the cost of production, with all other proceeds going to the Paul Rabil Foundation.

It's only been a year? A hit from the start, the Food Market opened on the eve of last year's Honfest. Co-owners Chad Gauss and Elan Kotz, the Food Market's executive chef and general manager, respectively, are celebrating their great first year with a birthday party at the Hampden restaurant on June 5. The party, a benefit for the Hampden Family Center , will include hors d'oeuvres and sweets provided by chefs and restaurateurs. The well-wishers providing food include Cyrus Keefer ( Fork & Wrench )

Scotchtown Hills Elementary School will host a family dinner night on Nov. 10, 5-7 p.m., at the school 15950 Dorset Road, Laurel. Join the students and staff at Scotchtown Hills Elementary School as they host a fundraiser in support of the school's healthy kids club. For more information, call 301-497-3994. —Lauren Budik

The Division I women's lacrosse final four will be played at Villanova on Memorial Day weekend, the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Committee announced Friday morning. Championship weekend heads to Villanova Stadium after two years at Stony Brook on Long Island, N.Y. The last time the title was decided in Pennsylvania, it was played at Franklin Field in Philadelphia in 2007. This is the first time Villanova will host the event. “We are thrilled that the 2013 championship will be making a return to Pennsylvania and are excited to be working with Villanova as host,” Ann-Marie Guglieri, chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Committee, said in a news release.

The Orioles have approached Major League Baseball about the potential of hosting the 2016 All-Star Game at Camden Yards, a club spokesman confirmed. There is no formal application process, but club owner Peter Angelos did send a letter to baseball commissioner Bud Selig requesting that Baltimore host the 2016 event. Although teams can present their interest to the league office at any time, MLB usually officially awards its next All-Star Game roughly a year before the event. And, traditionally - although not always - the Midsummer Classic alternates between American League and National League hosts, meaning the game would likely come to Baltimore only in an even-numbered year.

It isn't exactly "Dancing with the Stars" but Stacy Keibler is poised to make her television comeback. She'll be hosting a new show on Lifetime called "Supermarket Superstars. " The network announced Friday that it had just picked up 10 episodes of the show. Keibler will be the show's Heidi Klum, which is fitting because it sounds a little like "Project Runway" -- except with food instead of fashion. Here's the premise: Contestants will pitch a food product they've invented to three mentors.

Residents of Carroll County 2nd Commissioner District -- those generally in Hampstead and Finksburg -- are invited to attend a question-and-answer meeting with Commissioner Haven Shoemaker on Wednesday, March 20. The meeting will be held in the large meeting room of the Finksburg Library, 2265 Old Westminster Pike, Finksburg. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm and end at about 9 p.m.

Emmanuel Methodist Preschool, 10755 Scaggsville Road, will hold an open house Tuesday, Jan. 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tour the preschool, meet the teachers and learn about the school's program for ages 2 1/2 to 5, which is accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education. Open registration begins Thursday, Jan. 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call 301-725-5178 or go to http://www.emmanuelpreschool.com .

The state plans to submit a bid this summer that it hopes will fulfill its vision of making Baltimore a "semi-permanent" home of the NCAA lacrosse championships. "My vision is we're going after both men's and women's [championships], and we're going to create an epicenter" for the sport, said Terry Hasseltine, director of the Maryland Office of Sports Marketing, on Monday. Baltimore already is a frequent home to the NCAA lacrosse final four and championship games. It hosted the men's and women's championships in 2010 and the men's championships in 2011 and will host the men's and women's final fours again in 2014.

The cinder block dugouts are decrepit and the backstop is ragged at the old baseball diamond in Galesville, but giants once ran the bases in this southern Anne Arundel County town. Not just giants but Elite Giants, as in the old Negro Leagues team of the 1930s and 1940s. They and other legendary clubs from era of segregated baseball — such as the Homestead Grays and Newark Eagles — were annual visitors to play exhibitions at the home of the Galesville Hot Sox. Scores of local residents turned out Sunday to remember those days and celebrate the preservation of a vibrant part of Anne Arundel's African-American history at a first-pitch ceremony marking the county's acquisition of the Hot Sox Field at Wilson Park.

As he stood in front of hundreds of kids last year at his football clinic at Calvert Hall, Ray Rice made a promise to those in the crowd. “When I make promises, I like to keep them,” the Ravens running back said today. “I made a special promise. We said that we were going to bring a Super Bowl back to Baltimore.” The comment was met with loud cheers by those who attended the second annual Ray Rice Day in Baltimore. “Being involved in the community is just something that, winning the Super Bowl or not, I know I'd be out here doing Ray Rice Day again and I'd be telling the kids the same message every day,” Rice said.

A prominent Ellicott City blogger and businessman was stabbed to death by his daughter's 19-year-old boyfriend, who plotted with the 14-year-old girl to kill him so the two could run away together, Howard County police said Friday. Dennis Lane, 58, was found before dawn in his Winding Ross Way home. Police charged Jason Anthony Bulmer and Morgan Lane Arnold, both students at Mount Hebron High School, as adults in his killing; they both face conspiracy and murder counts. Both were held without bail, according to online court records.

The Maryland men's lacrosse team spent the week poring over film of Cornell's whirling dervish of an attackman Rob Pannell, but defensemen Goran Murray and Michael Ehrhardt and goalkeeper Niko Amato have something celluloid cannot match: firsthand experience. Amato and Pannell were teammates at a tournament in Vail, Colo., last summer, and Murray played on an opposing team at the same tournament. Ehrhardt played against Pannell in Long Island, N.Y., last summer. "I know he likes to [isolate]

Senior Ashley Lesniewski pitched a four-hit shutout to lead No. 7 Mount de Sales (16-4) to a 6-0 victory over visiting Catholic (11-6) in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference softball semifinals. With the win, the Sailors advanced to the championship game against No. 2 Seton Keough at 6 p.m. Monday at Bachman Park. It will be the Sailors' first trip to the title game since they won the crown in 2004. Seton Keough is the defending champion. "It's exhilarating," said Lesniewski, who struck out six and walked one. "We waited four years for this.

The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6605. Volleyball Maryland Juniors is hosting a Juniors Volleyball Development Clinic this winter. Go to http://www.mdjrs.org for more details.   Baseball The Tri-County Umpires Association is holding classes for anyone interested in umpiring youth baseball in Howard County, Baltimore and the surrounding areas.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz plans to host a community forum next week in Landsdowne. Kamenetz said in a statement that the event – called "Coffee with Kevin" -- would be an opportunity for citizens to speak out about issues that are important to them. The hour-long forum is scheduled for Aug. 1 at 10 a.m. at Bakery Express, located at 4711 Hollins Ferry Road in Lansdowne. It is open to the public, and people do not need to pre-register. County officials said Kamenetz plans to host a series of forums, but a date for a second event has not been set. alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com/aliknez

When the 16-team bracket for the NCAA tournament was unveiled Sunday night, Ohio State scooped up the third seed, leapfrogging teams like Eastern College Athletic Conference rival Denver and Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champion North Carolina for the higher seed. It was a remarkable reward for a Buckeyes team (12-3) that was teetering on the fault line for earning an at-large spot in the NCAA tournament. That journey is what makes the Sunday's first-round contest against Towson (10-7)

No. 14 Yale broke a 6-6 tie with five straight goals in the third quarter to defeat No. 12 Princeton, 12-8, in the Ivy League men's lacrosse tournament championship Sunday afternoon at Cornell. The Bulldogs (11-4) beat the Tigers (9-6) in the title game for the second straight year and earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament field of 16. Nine Bulldogs scored in the contest. Yale's Dylan Levings, who won 19 of 23 faceoffs, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.