Longevity

Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs has played nine seasons, all of them with the Ravens. That's just a little bit more than half of Ray Lewis' tenure with the organization, and the Suggs spoke Thursday of the 13-time Pro Bowler's value to the franchise. “If you have the opportunity to play seven years in this league, you're very fortunate,” Suggs said. “What people don't see, what people don't understand is that he's in his 16th year, and he's still outplaying half the guys today - majority of the guys today, excuse me. Like I said, it's a different persona when 52's not in the middle, when 52's not making the calls, or 52's not lining us up. He's definitely the leader.

Anquan Boldin is the 10th-oldest player on the Ravens roster, but the wide receiver isn't bemoaning his status in a sport that covets speed and youth. In fact, Boldin is grateful that he is entering his 10th year in the NFL. “I count my blessings every time I come out because the life expectancy in this league is about three years,” he said after Monday's practice at the team's training facility in Owings Mills. “So when you find a guy like [inside linebacker] Ray Lewis who's played 17 years or [free safety]

Midyear notes about your money: MUTUAL MEMO: "Fund performance - not the manager's longevity - is what matters," said Burton Greenwald, fund consultant. "Many managers with long experience performed badly in this bull market. Another warning: If a top-performing manager quits, watch the fund for six months, compare it with similar funds, then decide what to do." BE ALERT: "Check that your IRA beneficiary designations are properly on file as you approach age 70 1/2 because IRA trustees can lose paperwork on elections made many years ago."

It's been more than a quarter century since someone other than Thomas V. Mike Miller was president of the Maryland Senate and almost a decade since House of Delegates Speaker Michael E. Busch was first chosen for his post. Today, when the two chambers of the General Assembly elect their leaders as the annual session begins, the political odd couple of Miller and Busch will become the longest-serving pair of presiding officers in any state in the nation. At a lunch gathering Tuesday of the state's top Democrats, U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer hailed the two as "the president for life and speaker forever.

The Anne Arundel County school board has asked a judge to decide in 10 days whether the board had the right to renegotiate a portion of the principals' contract that guaranteed longevity raises."

Anne Arundel County school principals will get their longevity raises after all.The union and the county school board reached an agreement on the sensitive issue before noon yesterday, when the principals agreed to drop a lawsuit and the board agreed to grant the raise."

The Anne Arundel County school board's dispute with the principals union will be resolved in court and not with a longevity raise, board President Michael A. Pace said yesterday.Though the board offered three other employee unions a longevity raise this week in exchange for concessions on health insurance, Mr. Pace said the board is "not going to offer anything" to the principals."They've taken us to litigation," he said. "This is the forum they've chosen."The other unions are expected to accept the board's offer.

Almost every morning, Ushi Okushima rises from her futon and heads across the street for a vigorous sunrise walk on a sandy Okinawan beach. Later, some friends join her for morning tea before she heads to her fields. There, swinging a 4-pound hoe, a barefoot Okushima will chop the weeds around her radish and carrot plants for hours, thinking about her menu for the coming New Year's festivities. Okushima turned 100 in August. "I never get sick, and my blood pressure is very stable," Okushima says.

The president of the Anne Arundel County school board says he still can't believe the principals union chose to file a lawsuit instead of negotiating differences over a longevity pay raise."

Unions representing Anne Arundel County school employees, angry at being shunned by school board negotiators who had offered to discuss a promised longevity raise, say they will file three grievances and begin "job actions" that could delay school openings in August.The union representing principals and administrators also is considering a lawsuit.County school board negotiators, seeking to withdraw a promised longevity raise, invited two of four employee unions to a meeting Friday, then refused to talk to them.

Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs has played nine seasons, all of them with the Ravens. That's just a little bit more than half of Ray Lewis' tenure with the organization, and the Suggs spoke Thursday of the 13-time Pro Bowler's value to the franchise. “If you have the opportunity to play seven years in this league, you're very fortunate,” Suggs said. “What people don't see, what people don't understand is that he's in his 16th year, and he's still outplaying half the guys today - majority of the guys today, excuse me. Like I said, it's a different persona when 52's not in the middle, when 52's not making the calls, or 52's not lining us up. He's definitely the leader.

In his 16th year with the Ravens and in the NFL, Ray Lewis continues to amaze with his longevity and high level of play. Some day, Lewis will take a long look at his accomplishments and decide that this chapter of his life has come to an end. And when he does make that decision, the 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker said he would consider coaching. Joking that he must begin by coaching his sons, Lewis acknowledged his interest in joining the coaching ranks. “If the opportunity presents itself to whatever opens up, it opens up,” he said Thursday.

Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.   Running it back: The Ravens made some moves on the offensive line this weekend. ... John Harbaugh also confirmed that moving forward, Oniel Cousins, a converted offensive tackle, will remain at guard . ... The Ravens got a little healthier Sunday with the return of Ray Lewis, Marshal Yanda and Chris Carr.

About a month after last season ended, Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano received a text from a friend that read: "I'm watching one of your players run in the sand for an hour. " Later that morning, another text flashed on Pagano's phone: "Now, I'm watching your player swim 30 minutes in the ocean. " When Pagano finally asked for the name of the player, it was as if he already knew the answer: Ray Lewis. The enduring face of the franchise is entering his 16th season - a feat impressive for any NFL player, much less an inside linebacker - and the secret of Lewis' longevity is really no secret at all. The 36-year-old Lewis prides himself on outworking everyone, whether it's on the field, in film study or inside the weight room.

Bertha L. Motter, a retired Baltimore County public school educator and counselor who was an active centenarian, died May 28 of complications from anemia and pneumonia at Northwest Hospital. She was 100. Bertha Leon Lockley was born and raised in Lumberton, N.C., where she graduated from public schools. She moved to Philadelphia after high school and married Thomas Maurice Motter, a machinist, in 1935. The couple lived in Waynesboro, Pa., where she worked as a cosmetologist and hair stylist.

Winter had not loosed its icy grip when I boarded a plane for St. Petersburg, Fla., and a weekend with Connie and Nancy, my best friends since the seventh grade. "My best friends since the seventh grade" is how we introduce each other. It is a point we like to emphasize. Most marriages don't last as long as we have. We've been trying to get together once a year since the kids stopped requiring our undivided attention, but it has been hit or miss. We are all still working, each of us has a busy season, and they never seem to coincide.

Union leaders reacted with outrage yesterday after labor negotiators for the school board said they wanted to renegotiate last year's hard-won contract to eliminate a promised longevity raise.The move to renegotiate, two weeks before the contract was to take effect, was "unprecedented," according to leaders of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County. The organization represents about 4,000 employees."We refused to negotiate," said Thomas J. Paolino, union president. "If they renege on this contract the Board of Education will lose all credibility with employees, the public and the elected officials of the county."

County school principals have scuttled immediate plans for a job action that could have affected the boys' football season, citing progress in talks with the school board over a raise dispute.The principals had been considering "working to rule" by not chaperoning boys' football games, often held at night. The first game is scheduled for Sept. 9.Problems in labor relations surfaced in June when the eight-member school board told the four unions representing school employees that they would not receive raises given for length of service and guaranteed in the contracts.