Mids

Et cetera Blast's Neto named MISL Player of Week The Major Indoor Soccer League announced Tuesday that Blast forward Adauto Neto has been named Player of the Week. Neto scored five goals and added two assists as the Eastern Division-leading Blast earned a pair of victories last week. It is the second time this season that Neto has won captured the weekly honor. Navy football: Senior offensive tackle Ryan Basford , senior center Brady DeMell and junior outside linebacker-safety Tra'ves Bush were named All-East by the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

Are you and your family hitting the road for Memorial Day weekend? You won't be alone -- more than 1.8 million motorists are expected to drive throug Maryland's toll facilities for the three-day weekend, according to a story by Candy Thomson .  To get you ready for all those hours in the car -- and to avoid "Are we there yet?" syndrome -- Mid-Atlantic AAA released a list of tips for summer road travel. Here are some highlights: Plan ahead.  Pack the night before and travel on off peak-times to avoid heavy traffic.  Visit www.MD511.org for current traffic conditions and travel information for Maryland's roads.

Coach: Paul Johnson (fifth season) Last year: 8-4 Conference: Independent Radio: 1090 AM, 1430 AM, 1370 AM (season opener) Stadium: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial (34,000) Tickets: $28, $20, $10 (kids 12 and under) Parking: Call 1-800-US4-NAVY Offense: Spread Defense: Multiple Top returning players: QB Brian Hampton, SB Reggie Campbell, C James Rossi, FB Adam Ballard, LB David Mahoney, LB Rob Caldwell, CB Jeremy McGown, DE John Chan, K Joey Bullen Top newcomers: CB Blake Carter, WR Curtis Sharp, NG Nate Frazier, S Jeromy Miles Strengths: Besides having the nation's top ground game in two of the past three seasons, this is the most experienced team of the Johnson era. Sixteen starters return - eight each on offense and defense - and the Mids could start 15 seniors.

They are plebes no longer. It took two hours, 10 minutes and 13 seconds Tuesday for the freshman class at the U.S. Naval Academy to have one of its own knock a plebe's "dixie cup" hat from the top of the greased Herndon Monument and replace it with a midshipman's hat, symbolically morphing the group into 4th-class Mids. Andrew Craig, 19, of Tulsa, Okla., achieved the goal in the noisy and slippery event that drew between 800 and 1,000 plebes, officials said. Tradition holds that the student who caps the monument will be first in the class to reach the rank of admiral, though that has yet to happen.

The Towson men's lacrosse team is winless no longer. Simmering over a 0-3 start, the host Tigers scored the game's first goal and never trailed in stunning No. 17 Navy, 10-9, before an announced attendance 1,240 at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Tuesday night. Senior midfielder Christian Pastirik scored three goals -- including the game-winner with six seconds left in regulation -- and junior attackman Tim Stratton added three goals, all in the first half. Towson (1-3) didn't make things easy on themselves.

They are plebes no longer. It took two hours, 10 minutes and 13 seconds Tuesday for the freshman class at the U.S. Naval Academy to have one of its own knock a plebe's "dixie cup" hat from the top of the greased Herndon Monument and replace it with a midshipman's hat, symbolically morphing the group into 4th-class Mids. Andrew Craig, 19, of Tulsa, Okla., achieved the goal in the noisy and slippery event that drew between 800 and 1,000 plebes, officials said. Tradition holds that the student who caps the monument will be first in the class to reach the rank of admiral, though that has yet to happen.

Tomorrow's 1:30 p.m. game between Navy (0-7) and Tulane (2-6) at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium is one of the most intriguing matchups of the season. Both are coming off lopsided defeats and desperately need a win.When Tulane coach Buddy Teevens arrived from Dartmouth College, where he led the Big Green to two Ivy League titles, the 1992 schedule appeared to be not as tough as in 1991, when the Green Wave's only victory was over Navy at home, 34-7.But, like the Mids, Tulane faced opponents such as No. 3 Alabama, No. 9 Boston College and No. 19 Mississippi State and improving teams Iowa State and Memphis State.

It is so easy for armchair quarterbacks to regard the long lis of legitimate misfortunes experienced by the Navy football team this past season as alibis for the horrendous 1-10 record.But a realistic and fair examination of the season-long developments reasonably reveals that this Mid squad had to be one of the most snake-bit of all time.As a seemingly endless stream of serious injuries to key personnel kept happening throughout the season, continuous offensive and defensive position adjustments became a necessity.

The two slotback positions are critical in Navy's spread triple-option offense, and the Midshipmen are counting on senior Trey Hines to deliver the best season of his career. After putting an injury-marred junior year behind him, a season in which he struggled with a torn right quadriceps muscle he originally hurt while running track in 2005, Hines rebounded nicely in spring practice. But Hines reported to camp last week with news that got coach Paul Johnson's blood pressure up. This time, Hines' left quadriceps was too sore for him to practice without pads for several days.

After four consecutive wins at home, the Navy football team leaves today for Louisville, Ky., and an afternoon game tomorrow with the tough Louisville Cardinals.In 113 years of football at the Academy, the 4-2 record this early in the season by Coach George Chaump's charges is the best start since George Welsh's last year at the helm in 1981, which ended with a wild Liberty Bowl loss to Ohio State, 31-28.Many observers consider the 28-24 Navy victory over the Air Force Academy two weeks ago as the "turnaround" game of the 1993 season.

When his roommate at the Naval Academy said jokingly last year that Andrew Atwill was a homosexual, the midshipman told him to cut it out. His friend didn't know it, Atwill says, but he really was gay — and under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, it could have jeopardized his military career. This year, the first since the Clinton-era policy was repealed, Atwill says change has come to the academy. And talking about his sexual orientation, rather than being a career-ending offense, has rallied midshipmen to his defense.

Solar power is gaining a toehold in the Mid-Atlantic region.  As of this month, the amount of photovoltaic electric generating capacity installed surpassed 1 gigawatt, according to PJM Interconnection , which oversees the electricity transmission grid stretching from Delaware to northern Illinois and western Kentucky. That's enough - when the sun is shining - to power 800,000 to 1 million homes. Solar capacity has more than doubled in each of the past two years, PJM reports.

In a bit of good news for Maryland anglers, the federal government has declared the mid-Atlantic stock of summer flounder fully rebuilt after years of catch restrictions meant to curb overfishing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service reported to Congress Monday that a record six fish populations nationwide had been rebuilt last year to healthy levels.  Summer flounder is the only one in the mid-Atlantic. With those additions, the number of marine fish populations rebuilt in the past 11 years has grown to 27, NOAA said.

Jasmine DePompeo had four goals and one assist, but Navy fell to North Carolina, 14-7, in the NCAA first round Saturday. The host Tar Heels (15-3) used a 5-0 run to take a 7-3 lead with 6:31 remaining in the first half, and the Midshipmen (18-3) were unable to recover. No. 1 Florida 6, Albany 4: The host Gators (18-2) outlasted the Great Danes' offensive stall to push past Albany (12-6). No. 2 Northwestern 12, Notre Dame 7: Paced by a 15-5 advantage on draw controls, the host Wildcats (18-2)

A cocaine trafficking ring that for years distributed "vast amounts" of Honduran cocaine throughout the mid-Atlantic region has been busted, and three Maryland residents and 25 Virginia residents involved have been arrested, according to federal prosecutors. The drug ring, based in Northern Virginia, routinely paid couriers to fly into the United States from Honduras with cocaine stashed in shoes, decorative wooden frames and other "innocuous items" that would blend in with their luggage, according to a statement on the bust released Thursday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Pennsylvania Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack This destination offers services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Not only does Harrah's provide gaming action, but guests can also enjoy simulcasting and live racing. At Harrah's Chester you will find a casino space large enough to fit three football fields. Games to play: Live table games include blackjack, craps, card games, roulette and baccarat, along with a 35-table poker room. There are more than 2,900 slot machines, with denominations ranging from one cent to $100, as well as video slots.

the kind at an inopportune moment that makes some coaches dream of another, less heart-breaking career.Last Saturday, with 22,661 fans celebrating a gala opening of the football season at Navy Marine Corps Stadium, a young Mid team found out the hard way that there is nosubstitute for experience in losing to Ball State, 33-10.And those "Ball State-who" disclaimers in the stands found out that they play interesting, hard-nosed football in the Mid-American Conference.The prediction here is that the Mids ultimately will right the ship and be a very respectable ballclub, because some very key positive things happened on the field.

Just thought I would fill you sports fans in on a few items that might be of interest.Let's start with three things that don't get a lot of attention, but certainly are worth mentioning: Navy ice hockey, Navy boxing and JV girls basketball.The Navy ice hockey club team is playing host to the Eastern Collegiate Division Championship of the American Collegiate Hockey Association this weekend. It's a four-team event, with Navy as the top seed.Coming off two impressive victories in Pennsylvania at West Chester, 4-2, and Villanova, 6-3, Navy ran its record to 14-3 overall.

Virginia senior attackman Steele Stanwick (Loyola) is the Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday. Stanwick is the fourth player in league history to be named Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons and the first Cavalier to win the award more than once. This is the first season awards were given separately to offensive and defensive players. Stanwick leads the nation in assists (44) and is third nationally in points per game (4.9)

It was OK when Johns Hopkins lost to Maryland 10 days ago because Maryland versus Hopkins is one of college lacrosse's greatest rivalries. But then Hopkins lost to Navy, 8-2, on Saturday and you're wondering what is going on? These are the same Mids that were beaten by Army, Lehigh and Bucknell. Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala was relatively calm after his Blue Jays (9-3) lost to Maryland, but he has to be ripping through the Homewood Campus this week. Navy? Come on, man. "This group has to get back to the little details, and I will tell you that it's my job as a coach and our job as a staff to make sure that we continue to preach that," Pietramala said.