Milestone

Fang Mitchell clearly remembers his first win as Coppin State's basketball coach. It came in 1986 and was played at the Community College of Baltimore. "We were 0-9 at the time and it came against North Carolina A&T, which was dominating the conference. They had won seven straight championships," Mitchell, now in his 25th season at Coppin State, recalled Friday. "It was a very big win in many ways. I had come from Gloucester Community where we had only lost 45 games [in eight years]

Oct. 2, 1956 : Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. and state officials break ground for the Jones Falls Expressway. Dec. 16, 1961 : The first, three-mile section opens, from Charles Street at Oliver to Falls Road. An ice storm that evening leads to the first accident on the road. Dec. 24, 1962 : In an article for the American Institute of Architects publication, Baltimore planner George Kostritsky slams highway designers for eschewing a parkway in favor of "a useful but hideous concrete ribbon.

Aberdeen center Bri Jones reached a milestone and helped the Eagles start their season with a victory Tuesday night. Jones passed 1,000 points for her career, dominating play inside and scoring 31 to lead No. 2 Aberdeen to a 70-53 victory over No. 14 Meade in the season opener for both teams. The 6-foot-2 junior center completed her double double with 13 rebounds and added three steals to quiet the often-noisy crowd at Meade. Jones needed 24 to reach the 1,000-point milestone and didn't realize she had done it until after the game.

October and Halloween are now ancient history, but a little retroactive catch up is needed on a couple of last month's milestone celebrations. Evelyn Walter, longtime member of the Parkville Senior Center, was surprised by a 98th birthday party at the Center Friday on Oct. 28. Another birthday girl was Helen Molloy, a dedicated volunteer at St. Isaac Jogues Church who turned 90 on Oct. 21. Helen was surprised by a chorus of "Happy Birthday"...

Alyssa Parker comes running across the field with joy in every stride. When she gets to the sideline, the Glenelg senior catches her breath and before anyone can say anything, she asks, "Do you know that bees are born full grown?" She loves trivia like that - and the laughs she draws from imparting such nuggets. Parker, one of the most talented players to ever play field hockey in Maryland, isn't shy off the field. And one would think she wouldn't be shy on the field either, given that she's about to become only the second player in National Federation history to score 100 goals and 100 assists in a high school career.

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: With the Jets coming to town this weekend, John Harbaugh said he has no plans to censor his players this week. ... Harbaugh defended his decision to leave Joe Flacco in for the entirety of Sunday's blowout.

The first game of the season-ending "Fan Appreciation Celebration" at Oriole Park quickly turned into something completely different in the sixth inning on Monday night when Vladimir Guerrero kept his date with international baseball history. Guerrero singled up the middle in his third at-bat of the Orioles' 6-3 win over the Boston Red Sox and passed Julio Franco to become the all-time major league leader in hits by a Dominican-born player. He also sparked a four-run rally that dragged the reeling Red Sox into a wild card dead heat with the surging Tampa Bay Rays.

September 23, 1978: Jim Palmer beat the Tigers to win his 20th game of the season, the eighth straight year he hit that milestone.

Gina and Julio Aliaga Gina and Julio Aliaga , of Laurel, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in July. The couple were married July 12, 1986, in San Francisco, Calif. They marked this milestone at a barbecue with their daughter, Vanessa.

The choice is the fan's Dom Amore Hartford Courant When Christian Lopez wrapped his meaty arms and defensive tackle's body around the ball struck for Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit, the ball and its historic significance became his — and his alone. What that meant: It was for Lopez to decide what to do. It boggles the mind that such a baseball would have six-figure value to anyone but the man who hit it, but it does. Lopez could have held out for the highest bid and there would have been nothing wrong with it. He chose to give it back and ask for nothing.