League Teams

Vincent Percy Lee, a Baltimore native who played with the Baltimore Black Sox in the professional Negro Baseball League, died Saturday of cancer at Levindale Medical Center in Northwest Baltimore.In addition to the Black Sox, Mr. Lee, 89, played for many Negro League teams during his 23-year career, including the Baltimore Elite Giants, Kansas City Monarchs, Miami Giants and Denver Monarchs."He just loved to play baseball," said Louis C. Fields, a friend and Negro League historian who has researched the teams and players for the last five years.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Before Tuesday's game, the Orioles reassigned outfielder Lew Ford to minor league camp, cutting the spring roster to 37 players, which included nine non-roster invitees. After Monday's injury to designated hitter Wilson Betemit, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said that “some of the dynamics changed” in forming the 25-man Opening Day roster. That means that when whittling down the mix of reserve players, players who can play first base as well as outfield have a better chance of making the team, because Betemit could have served as a backup first baseman.

HAGERSTOWN -- The skies were crystal blue, just a couple of cottony clouds snoozing above the mountains, sunshine dripping everywhere, temperatures cruising to 80, a perfect evening to watch the Hagerstown Suns baseball club, in first place with religion on their side.One problem: Almost nobody showed up for the game.The pretzel man resigned himself to serving a dozen pretzels. The pizza woman rang up 15 customers. The souvenir girl sold one hat, one ball, a couple of 50-cent score cards -- that's it.Never has the future looked so bleak for the future of professional baseball in Hagerstown.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Kevin Gausman, the Orioles' first-round pick last season out of LSU, threw his first bullpen session with the big league club Thursday. Gausman said he hasn't been informed of any innings count limit for this season, but Orioles manager Buck Showalter has indicated that Gausman and Dylan Bundy will be paced so that they are available to the major league club in September and October. Gausman, a 22-year-old right-hander, threw in front of pitching coach Rick Adair late last season during a road series in Tampa Bay, but Thursday's was his first structured session in his first big league camp.

It's Sunday morning. While many people either are sleeping late or at church services, Quinton Burton is playing basketball.The 23-year-old former Hammond High School star catches a pass and lays one infor two points in a county recreation league game.Burton, who in 1987 took his game to Providence College on an athletic scholarship, went on to play professional ball in Switzerland. There, he led his team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 40 pointsand 15 rebounds, and was third in assists, with eight per game.

Contrary to published reports, Little Leaguers will not be required to pay an additional $6 fee to wear uniforms with big-league nicknames, Rich Levin, Major League Baseball's chief spokesman, said yesterday.Levin said there has been no recent increase in the approximately 9 percent licensing fee that manufacturers pay to Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP). A story published Thursday by Florida Today said the $6-per-uniform increase was part of the MLBP's "cracking down" on copyright infringement by "Little League teams and amateur adult leagues."

Draft Order: The Colorado Rockies, having won a coin flip las week with the Florida Marlins, will make the No. 1 pick at 2 p.m. EST. The Marlins will follow, and the teams will alternate picks throughout the first round. Each expansion team will take 13 players in the first round, and the 26 established major league clubs will each lose one player.Draft Process: There will be three rounds, with the Marlins picking first in the second and third rounds. There will be five minutes between each selection, and a 30-minute break between the rounds.

When the Ravens rolled to their second Super Bowl victory, fending off the San Francisco 49ers in the final seconds of the game, the storylines that defined an improbable season all found happy endings. Ray Lewis carried the Lombardi Trophy into the sunset of his long career. Coach John Harbaugh beat his brash little brother Jim. Quarterback and MVP Joe Flacco eliminated any remaining doubts about his big-game talents, and a team whose first owner, Art Modell, died in September won with his memorial patch on their uniforms.

It wasn't exactly a rubber-stamp formality but, as expected, the Board of Governors of the American Hockey League met yesterday in Boston and approved the sale of the Bandits franchise to Mike Caggiano."

Sandi McFadden stresses Academics, athleticsWhen commencement speaker Sandi McFadden addresses the fifth-grade class of Dr. Rayner Browne Elementary School next month, she will stress the importance of integrating mind, body and spirit into one vital entity."

When the Ravens rolled to their second Super Bowl victory, fending off the San Francisco 49ers in the final seconds of the game, the storylines that defined an improbable season all found happy endings. Ray Lewis carried the Lombardi Trophy into the sunset of his long career. Coach John Harbaugh beat his brash little brother Jim. Quarterback and MVP Joe Flacco eliminated any remaining doubts about his big-game talents, and a team whose first owner, Art Modell, died in September won with his memorial patch on their uniforms.

In the wake of the NFL fining the Ravens $20,000 for failing to list free safety Ed Reed's torn shoulder labrum on injury reports, the team deluged Wednesday's injury report by placing a season-high 15 players on it. Defensive end Pernell McPhee did not practice because of a thigh injury. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (right shoulder), cornerback Jimmy Smith (groin) and wide receiver Jacoby Jones (foot) participated on a limited basis. Eleven players practiced fully. Eight are starters, and they are safeties Bernard Pollard (chest)

RJ Wickham was Navy's lone representative on the All-Patriot League first team, the conference announced Tuesday. The senior goalkeeper ranked first in the league in saves per game (11.3) and 11th in Division I in save percentage (.570). Wickham was a first-team selection in 2010. Sophomore attackman Tucker Hull and sophomore long-stick midfielder Pat Kiernan were selected to the second team. Hull, the Rookie of the Year last spring, finished with 23 goals and 24 assists and ranked third in the Patriot League in points per game (3.9)

As an 18-year old coming to the United States from England to play college soccer, Darren Eales figured the competition was not going to be as stiff as what he had faced in the motherland. "It's fair to say that when I played 20 years ago, there was a feeling of, 'What do Americans know about soccer?' " said Eales, who played first at West Virginia and later at Brown before playing professionally. "Now there's a real respect for American players. " Eales, director of football administration for Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League, has seen that first-hand.

The nomadic professional baseball career of Orioles left-hander Dana Eveland has seen its share of spring training sites. When the 28-year-old pitcher arrived at the Ed Smith Stadium Complex last weekend, it marked Eveland's seventh stint with a big league organization in as many years. The Orioles hope Eveland, acquired in a trade with the Dodgers during this offseason's winter meetings for a pair of prospects, has found his form. Eveland - on the other hand - hopes he's found a home.

The true believers come out on nights like this. They come from Timonium and Bel Air and Severna Park, drawn to the artistry and brutal grace of 200-pound men with facial scars and dental plates gliding across the ice, trying to stick a puck into a net before they're slammed into the boards with another jaw-rattling hit. On a Tuesday night, with a big crowd shoe-horned into musty 1st Mariner Arena to see the Washington Capitals and...

A former radio executive said yesterday he has bought majority control of three Maryland-based farm teams of the Orioles. David Pearlman, president of Triple Play Partners LLC of Lexington, Mass., declined to say how much he paid to Comcast-Spectacor for the Double-A Bowie Baysox and the Single-A Frederick Keys and Delmarva Shorebirds. Triple Play Partners was started this year by Pearlman and partner Steve Horowitz. Pearlman, a former senior executive at Infinity Radio and co-founder of American Radio Systems, said the two plan to buy more minor league teams across the country.

The Orioles just completed a two-game sweep of the defending World Series champions, their latest attempt to prove that a rebuilding club doesn't have to hit rock bottom before bouncing back to its collective feet. Think that was tough? Now they'll try to take down the ghosts of their interleague past. Sort of makes the Boston Red Sox seem a lot less formidable. Since interleague play began in 1997, the Orioles have posted the worst record among American League teams at 79-114. "We haven't really had a good record in a lot of things the last 10 years," second baseman Brian Roberts said, "so I don't think it really matters who you're playing."

Laurel's 9/10 All-Star Little League team advanced to the District Four championship, where they came in second place. Though they lost the game to the defending champs, the young athletes represented their hometown well. Old Town resident Caleb Collins and his teammates vow to return to the playoffs next year and will work in the off season to make themselves a better team. Team mom Eileen Collins said in an email that the success of the team is a testament to the dedication of the players, coaches and parents.

The Calvert Hall boys basketball team spent part of Monday at Loyola's gym, but the typical intensity that comes when the rivals are together was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was common ground. The usual competitive fire will resume Thursday when the teams meet in the Baltimore Catholic League quarterfinal round. But for Calvert Hall, Loyola and the six other BCL schools Monday, it was an invaluable chance to give back. All eight teams spent the day providing various community services, paired in two and working in conjunction with the Catholic Charities of Baltimore.