Madden

STATE SENATOR Martin G. Madden recently challenged his colleagues to prove their commitment to the lofty ideal of helping the state's poor. But those colleagues backed down. What a shame. With Baltimore County Senator Thomas L. Bromwell in the lead, the state Senate decided to sidestep a chance to get poor city dwellers closer to the suburban jobs they need for a better life. Senator Madden's plan would have started a $3.75 million, three-year effort to help 1,500 city residents cover moving expenses.

State Senate Minority Leader Martin G. Madden, a moderate Howard County Republican who helped craft Maryland's welfare reform program, said yesterday that he will end his 11-year career in elected office for personal and business reasons. Madden, 52, who has led the Senate's Republicans for three years, said he plans to leave his General Assembly seat at the end of the year. His district covers most of eastern Howard County and the Laurel area of Prince George's County. Madden is a self-employed insurance agent.

Standing along Route 216 near Interstate 95 early one morning last week, Sen. Martin G. Madden got a chance to put his years of campaigning in Howard County to good use.Holding a warm cup of coffee in his left hand, the Republican senator from Clarksville used his right hand to wave at motorists. He wants their votes in the election Nov. 3 against Democratic challenger Raymond N. Rankin."Good morning, thank you," Madden whispers to those who wave back."This kind of campaigning doesn't cost anything but a few hours of sleep," said the senator born and raised in Prince George's County.

There will be no time for testing the waters.Sophomore quarterback Brian Madden will have to dive in without much rehearsal Saturday when he starts his first varsity football game for Navy at Notre Dame -- with its 80,000 rabid backers, storied tradition and Touchdown Jesus peering over the field from beyond the end zone."

In the Nov. 6 Howard section, a story incorrectly described documents about contributions to Councilman C. Vernon Gray that Del. Martin G. Madden distributed at a hearing.The documents were computer-generated facsimiles of campaign contribution checks that Mr. Madden created.People who want to rezone property in Howard County should disclose how much money they have contributed to the campaigns of local officials, because sometimes officials don't even know themselves.That was one of several arguments Del. Martin G. Madden made to promote his ethics bill -- one of 20 pieces of proposed legislation presented during a public hearing last night.

At many schools, the situation would provide perfect ammunition for a quarterback controversy, but at the Naval Academy it is the perfect setting for competition. As the Midshipmen near their annual Blue-Gold game Saturday, the double Brians, Madden and Broadwater, are waging a friendly war for the job with their positions just the reverse from a year ago. Madden, then a precocious sophomore, stepped in for an injured Broadwater at midseason in 1999 and proceeded to lead the nation's quarterbacks in rushing and his team to three wins and two near-wins in five games.

Presenting the debut tabloid edition of sports media notes while wondering when we're going to see the Bart Scott-tossed penalty flag show up on eBay: With the Ravens playing on Sunday Night Football this weekend, NBC's John Madden was kind enough to answer a few questions. On how the Ravens' tough loss Monday will affect the rest of their season: "Had they won, it would have energized them for the rest of the season. ... They'd still be on an emotional high. ... If they lose it, it's going to be tough."

Tennessee Titans fans are biting their nails now that their quarterback, Vince Young, has been chosen to grace the cover of EA Sports' Madden NFL 08. It's a big honor in a world where more kids are likely to play Madden than watch Young on TV, but there's a catch: the notorious Madden curse. Since 2001, every athlete who has appeared on the Madden box has been injured the next season. Last year's model, Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander, broke his left foot and missed six games.

The Vatican chose a Catholic relief official and former Baltimore priest yesterday to be the city's next auxiliary bishop, overseeing 52 parishes and 54,862 Catholics as the urban vicar of the archdiocese. Bishop-elect Denis J. Madden, the first U.S. bishop to be appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, worked in the city as a counselor to priests in the 1970s and 1980s before he embarked on relief and conflict-resolution missions. Those travels led him to Israel, Lebanon and, most recently, New York, where he oversaw a Vatican relief agency.