I Agree

I agree with the consensus that the Undertaker-Shawn Michaels match at WrestleMania more than lived up to the hype and the Triple H-Randy Orton encounter fell short of expectations. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ringposts)

I agree with the consensus that the Undertaker-Shawn Michaels match at WrestleMania more than lived up to the hype and the Triple H-Randy Orton encounter fell short of expectations. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ringposts)

They're the million-dollar properties with the 10-cent price tags.Look at 'em, up there on Druid Park Lake Drive: these poor, dumb, deserted, cancerous buildings, with ghosts clanking through their dusty interiors and windows smashed and trash lying in the weeds out front and, surrounding much of it, iron fences with barbed wire across the top.Somebody ought to be ashamed - but who?Try standing there, at Druid Park Lake Drive on either side of Linden Avenue, and imagine living on some of this property.

The good news is the Orioles have Jeremy Guthrie on their roster. The great news is he's not going anywhere, either. Guthrie is still a rookie, as I've written in the past. As a team spokesman explained yesterday, the right-hander's days on Cleveland's active roster before September call-ups and innings pitched didn't qualify him for a full season. The Orioles have him under control for five more years as long as he remains on the major league roster. And I agree with those of you who see a little - or a lot - of Mike Mussina in Guthrie when he pitches.

IT'S POSSIBLE we will see this advertisement: ''Have PMS? Call the law office of Steven L. Win, I'll get you off. I win a case at least once a month.''I bet you think I'm kidding. Well, read on.America's first successful criminal defense based on premenstrual syndrome may have helped a Virginia surgeon, a woman, avoid a drunken-driving conviction. Her lawyer used as her defense the fact that she had PMS.The doctor was stopped for driving erratically while transporting her three children and for use of abusive behavior and kicking a state trooper in the groin.

The good news is the Orioles have Jeremy Guthrie on their roster. The great news is he's not going anywhere, either. Guthrie is still a rookie, as I've written in the past. As a team spokesman explained yesterday, the right-hander's days on Cleveland's active roster before September call-ups and innings pitched didn't qualify him for a full season. The Orioles have him under control for five more years as long as he remains on the major league roster. And I agree with those of you who see a little - or a lot - of Mike Mussina in Guthrie when he pitches.

Good morning --Jerry Hairston-- A classy move to be at Elrod Hendricks' memorial service even though you're no longer an Oriole Question of the day Do you agree with the Ravens' decision to bring back Brian Billick? I've been saying for months that Billick deserves to come back and fix this mess. A lot of things have to change - both in training camp and in the locker room. But can Brian re- invent himself? Can a leopard change his spots? Aye, that's the rub. ... Fran Vojik Glen Burnie You mean owner Steve Bisciotti's decision.

A Howard County teen-ager who boycotted classes over her right to wear an African-style head-wrap returned to her Columbia school this week without the head covering -- but offered no explanation for her change of heart.Shermia Isaacs, 14, unexpectedly arrived at Harper's Choice Middle School on Monday and attended classes that day and yesterday without incident, the principal said yesterday. Shermia's attendance ends county-funded home instruction she received -- at the request of Howard's school superintendent -- that, if continued through year's end, would have cost about $1,000.

IT's AMAZING what issues refuse to die. Here are some reader responses to Wednesday's column about the casual attire the Baltimore Ravens wore when they met President George W. Bush at the White House. 1. "Why is your picture in the paper wearing a sports coat and tie? Why don't you have on a head band and muscle shirt? Why aren't you sporting tattoos? Because you work for me. Because without [my] buying a newspaper, you wouldn't have a job. So you're just a hired hand, also. I'd like to see a response to that."

SAN DIEGO -- Ravens owner Art Modell had it right Thursday, telling the Rocky Mountain News that the NFL's new $17.6 billion TV deal might have "slammed the door" on publicly financed stadiums.Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen probably didn't want to hear it, but Modell was in a unique position to lock the gates, seeing as how his own publicly financed PSL palace is nearing completion at Camden Yards."I agree with what [Dallas Cowboys owner] Jerry Jones said. This TV contract makes teams a lot less reliant on other forms of revenue," Modell said.

WASHINGTON -- With 2007 shaping up as a pivotal year in Iraq, a somber President Bush said victory is "achievable" but acknowledged yesterday that "difficult choices and additional sacrifices" lie ahead. A day after saying that America is not winning the war, Bush warned of dire consequences if the United States is run out of Iraq. He declined to preview his new plan for Iraq, but acknowledged the need to recruit more soldiers for a U.S. military strained by global commitments. Bush has been forced to bow to new realities at home and abroad that could make next year a turning point in his presidency.

Good morning --Jerry Hairston-- A classy move to be at Elrod Hendricks' memorial service even though you're no longer an Oriole Question of the day Do you agree with the Ravens' decision to bring back Brian Billick? I've been saying for months that Billick deserves to come back and fix this mess. A lot of things have to change - both in training camp and in the locker room. But can Brian re- invent himself? Can a leopard change his spots? Aye, that's the rub. ... Fran Vojik Glen Burnie You mean owner Steve Bisciotti's decision.

WASHINGTON - President Bush declared yesterday that his overhaul of Social Security "is going nowhere" if Congress does not come to share his belief in the urgent need for change. He acknowledged that he has much work to do in convincing lawmakers and the public of the merits of his proposal. Bush has been traveling the country, trying to persuade voters that the retirement security system needs major changes. But many lawmakers remain leery of tinkering with the popular 70-year-old program.

`Saying no' isn't an option for combat soldiers I agree with The Sun's assertion that "soldiers at war can't pick and choose which orders they'll follow" ("Saying no," editorial, Oct. 19). However, there should be no "serious and potentially mitigating factors." In the military, you obey all lawful orders, period. The military is not a democracy in which individuals and units get to decide which orders to follow. I agree that there are serious issues with respect to this war. Long deployments of Guard and Reserve units, equipment deficiencies and inadequate training will have to be dealt with if our military is to remain effective in the long run. But this does not excuse troops from following lawful orders under any circumstances.

I SEE WHERE Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York and one of the Johns Hopkins' big-time sugar daddies, skipped the Columbus Day parade because his friends from The Sopranos were told they couldn't attend. What a guy. Last week, parade organizers smacked down Bloomberg's plans to march with two cast members of the hit HBO show because a lot of paisanos believe it negatively portrays Italian-American life. (Gee, ya think?) The mayor responded by saying he wouldn't show up if the cast members, Dominic Chianese and Lorraine Bracco, weren't included.

Local real estate brokers and officials of the regional multiple-listing system are rethinking language in a new homebuyers' Web search engine that they acknowledge might confuse people and pose legal problems. At issue is the search engine introduced in April by the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc., the multiple listing service used by real estate brokers. The MRIS Bridge search engine enables Web users to view a particular company's real estate listings. By registering their names and e-mail addresses, the homebuyers can access every listing in the MRIS system.

WASHINGTON - President Bush declared yesterday that his overhaul of Social Security "is going nowhere" if Congress does not come to share his belief in the urgent need for change. He acknowledged that he has much work to do in convincing lawmakers and the public of the merits of his proposal. Bush has been traveling the country, trying to persuade voters that the retirement security system needs major changes. But many lawmakers remain leery of tinkering with the popular 70-year-old program.

Long before Gidget and Moondoggie were "makin' the scene" and leaving the "hodads" behind, teen-agers were speaking their own secret language, using alien words and phrases to shut out adults.It's no different today, as puzzled parents eavesdrop from the car-pool driver's seat or linger a moment on the extension in fruitless attempts to decode the dialect of this secretive society.Now, iVillage.com: The Women's Network, an Internet site, has published Teenspeak 101, an abbreviated Berlitz guide to what kids are saying to one another - and to adults on those rare occasions when they actually speak to them.

IT's AMAZING what issues refuse to die. Here are some reader responses to Wednesday's column about the casual attire the Baltimore Ravens wore when they met President George W. Bush at the White House. 1. "Why is your picture in the paper wearing a sports coat and tie? Why don't you have on a head band and muscle shirt? Why aren't you sporting tattoos? Because you work for me. Because without [my] buying a newspaper, you wouldn't have a job. So you're just a hired hand, also. I'd like to see a response to that."

Carroll County's commissioners expressed reservations yesterday about a key component of the proposed Freedom Area Comprehensive Plan, a blueprint to guide growth in South Carroll, and suggested that the plan be drastically shortened. "Most of the things in here, I agree with -- like access control, mixed [residential and commercial] uses, and trying to make things look pretty -- but I'm skeptical of the Boulevard District concept," said Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier, noting the hardship it could place on business owners.