Jack Nicklaus

A couple of times a year, I tire of the monotonous, flat coastal plain that we eastern Marylanders call home. Or perhaps I need a break from the harried pace that we collectively create and endure. Whatever the reason, each spring and fall, as the leafy harbingers of spring paint a subdued canvas of green, or die in an explosion of reds and yellows, I find myself drawn to the rock-solid mountainous beauty of Western Maryland. I pack some clothes, get in the car and weave through the frenetic Beltway traffic, and head west on Interstate 70. Somewhere east of Frederick, I trade the angst -- and fun -- of Marc Steiner's radio talk show for the twang of country music (sorry, Marc)

Franklin W. Littleton Jr., a retired career Air Force officer and a businessman who was a big-band and Dixieland music aficionado, died April 20 of complications from dementia at Nichols Eldercare, an Edgewood assisted-living facility. The Bel Air resident was 91. The son of a contractor and a homemaker, Franklin Walter Littleton Jr. was born in Baltimore and raised on Clearspring Road in Forest Park. He was a 1939 graduate of Polytechnic Institute and studied law at the University of Baltimore at night while working at Montgomery Ward and the Glenn L. Martin Co. in Middle River.

There will come a time — no one is sure when — that Ray Lewis will retire from the National Football League. When he does leave the grueling training and game schedule, he'll turn to running an eclectic collection of companies trading on the strength of his name and brand. The 15-year Baltimore Ravens veteran, one of the most fearsome linebackers ever to play the game, recently launched a real estate firm and a clothing line. He's developing an entertainment complex in Hunt Valley, featuring bowling lanes and a sushi bar, that could evolve into a national chain.

1961: Maris hits 61 homers1962: Wilt scores 1001962: Astrodome opens1963: Jack Nicklaus wins the first of six Masters

This was for every guy who ever had a mid-life crisis and tried to do something nobody thought could be done. Fifty-year-old Jockey Gary Stevens took Oxbow to the front early and never looked back on the way to an upset victory in the 138th Preakness Stakes that was truly one for the ageless. Oxbow was a 15-1 shot when he left the gate, and he wasn't the one beating the longest odds at Old Hilltop on Saturday. Stevens became the first grandfather ever to win a Triple Crown race, and he did it against a Kentucky Derby winner - Orb - that was considered almost unassailable.

ELLICOTT CITY -- Members of the Howard County Police Department are ready to swing like Jack Nicklaus to help their fellow officers.On Oct. 13, the Howard County Police Association will hold its first Howard County Public Safety Golf Tournament at the Turf Valley Country Club here.Proceeds will go to the group's death benefit fund to assist families of officers killed in the line of duty. Officers hope the event will become an annual fund-raiser.

There isn't a more inspiring sight in sports than supreme potential being fully realized, as opposed to being wasted. Tiger Woods certainly isn't wasting his otherworldly gifts; his runaway victory in the PGA Championship last weekend left him just six major titles shy of Jack Nicklaus' all-time record. It isn't a question of whether he will catch Jack -- just when. World Championship Preliminary round, U.S. vs. Italy, today, 6:30 a.m., ESPN2, replay at 10 p.m.

PGAThe MastersSite: Augusta, Ga.Schedule: Today-Sunday.Course: Augusta National Golf Club (6,925 yards, par 72).Purse: TBA ($2.7 million last year).Winner's share: TBA ($486,000 last year).TV: USA (Today-tomorrow, 4-6: 30 p.m. and 9-11: 30 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday, 3: 30-6 p.m.; Sunday, 4-7 p.m.).Last year: Tiger Woods had a record-breaking performance in becoming the first person of color to win in a major tournament and the youngest Masters winner at age 21. He shot 70-66-65-69 for a record 18-under 270 total, and record 12-stroke margin over Tom Kite.

What: 55th Masters championship, today through Sunday.Site: Augusta National Golf Club.Yardage: 6,905.Par: 36-3672.Format: 72 holes (18 daily) stroke play.Playoff (if necessary): Sudden death.Probable starting field: 88 -- 66 American pros, 3 American amateurs, 17 foreign pros, 2 foreign amateurs.Defending champion: Nick Faldo.Former champions in field: Tommy Aaron, George Archer, Seve Ballesteros, Gay Brewer, Billy Casper, Charles Coody, Ben Crenshaw, Nick Faldo, Ray Floyd, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Craig Stadler, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller.

Auto racing: Yes, it's an oxymoronic designation, but Sunday's Indianapolis 500 is an "Instant Classic," and thus gets replayed tonight at 9 on ESPN Classic. Soccer: Alexi Lalas is the host for ABC's American Soccer's 10 Greatest Moments tomorrow at 3 p.m. (WMAR/Channel 2 and WJLA/Channel 7). And you guys in the back, stop snickering about how you didn't think they could come up with 10. Golf: CBS presents what the network says is the first joint television interview with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer in Jack and Arnie: Talkin' Golf on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (WJZ/Channel 13 and WUSA/Channel 9)