Mud

For many folks headed to Preakness, the focus of the afternoon isn't the race. It's the fashion — and we don't just mean hats. If you're in the grandstands, the Jockey Club area or Corporate Village, you'll want to dress the part. Betsy Dugan, owner of Bettina Collections in Cross Keys and former co-owner of Octavia in Pikesville, has been dressing women for Preakness for years. "This is the time ... to dress up," she said. If there's one rule of thumb, it's that ladies and gentlemen at Preakness should look like ...well, ladies and gentlemen.

It was just after noon Saturday and a large blue-crab-mobile was drifting out into the harbor with four students from Arbutus Middle School aboard and unable to steer. The problem? A thrown sock puppet that had damaged their controls. The absurd moment captured the spirit of the annual Kinetic Sculpture Race, now in its 15th year, even down to the puppet as the source of mischief — carrying one is a requirement of the competition. School principal Michelle Feeney watched anxiously from a pier at Canton Waterfront Park as a pair of kayakers paddled out to tow the middle-schoolers back to shore, so they could continue on their way. "All they care about is who threw the sock puppet," Feeney said.

Two elementary school students were rescued Wednesday morning by city firefighters after they became stuck in a mound of mud at a construction site near their school, said a spokesman for the Fire Department. Because of their ages, their names were not released. About 8 a.m., the boy, 12, and the girl, 8, were walking along Sinclair Lane near Clareway on their way to classes at Sinclair Lane Elementary School when they entered a muddy area and became stuck several feet from dry land, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, the spokesman.

Rescue crews spent nearly an hour Friday freeing a 15-year-old boy from waist-deep mud in Pasadena, officials said. The teen was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with serious, but not life threatening injuries, said Anne Arundel County Fire Department Capt. Michael Pfaltzgraff. It wasn't immediately clear how the teen ended up in the mud near Water Oak Point and Old Water Oak Point roads, he said. Crews were dispatched around 1:30 p.m. A technical rope rescue using wood planks was used to free the teen.

Rescue crews spent nearly an hour Friday freeing a 15-year-old boy from waist-deep mud in Pasadena, officials said. The teen was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with serious, but not life threatening injuries, said Anne Arundel County Fire Department Capt. Michael Pfaltzgraff. It wasn't immediately clear how the teen ended up in the mud near Water Oak Point and Old Water Oak Point roads, he said. Crews were dispatched around 1:30 p.m. A technical rope rescue using wood planks was used to free the teen.

UMBC encountered no challenge when it opened its lacrosse season with a 26-goal victory over Marist Saturday.But yesterday, the Retrievers met serious resistance on three fronts -- the opposition, the weather and a muddy field -- and triumphed in spite of it.Under conditions more suitable for mud-packing and kite flying, the 10th-ranked Retrievers turned back visiting Notre Dame, 13-7, to earn their first 2-0 start in 10 years and receive a suitable warm-up...

Pimlico Race Course began its live spring meet yesterday with a few opening-day quirks, a tribute to former owner Ben Cohen and a lot of mud.A horse named Hit The Music, whom announcer Dave Rodman called "a mud-lovin' mamma," shipped in from Philadelphia Park and won the feature, the $26,625 Gala Lil Stakes, by 2 1/4 lengths over local runner May Maloy.The wet track, which was listed as sloppy for the first four races and then became mud, contributed to 15 scratches and a number of short fields.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Arnold Palmer wasn't the only one in trouble yesterday, when the crowd-pleasing legend found himself 91st out of the Masters' field of 93 after play was suspended. Arnie's Army was in danger, too. So was anyone who set foot on Hootie's links club for men on the post-monsoon day they attempted to play 36 holes of golf. A loyal member of Arnie's fabled brigade attempted to cross between the eighth and third holes to get a better view of Palmer as he attempted to make par at No. 3. Instead, the woman's motorized wheelchair got stuck in the mud. Support troops dug out the embedded chair - a great sucking noise emanating from the smelly quagmire.

"I don't understand why people are complaining about all the dirty politics in this campaign," Slats Grobnik said.Because many Americans are turned off by vicious politics. They want a reasoned presentation and discussion of the issues."Not me. I think all this is truth-slinging."Truth-slinging? You mean mud-slinging."Well, you call it mud-slinging. But to me, all the rotten stuff they say about each other sounds true, so I call it truth-slinging."You believe the reckless and unfair allegations they are making about each other?

The State Highway Administration has fined a Rockville contractor $14,000 for allowing sediment-laden water to drain into Sawmill Creek from a retention pond at a Route 100 construction site near Severn.The contractor, Francis O. Day Co., was fined $7,000 for each of the two days that the sediment flowed into the creek, Kristene Bevans, a spokeswoman for the SHA, said yesterday.The company is building a 2-mile stretch of Route 100 between Interstate 97 and Route 170. It is part of a $120 million project to extend Route 100 seven miles from I-97 in Anne Arundel County to Interstate 95 in Howard County.

Center Stage seems to have a thing for public accommodations these days. The company's last play was set in a nondescript motel room. The current one is set in a nondescript hotel room. The deja vu feeling is intensified since both productions have been presented in the intimate Head Theatre, with the stage in the exact same position, and by the fact that the first character to enter goes directly into the bathroom. The similarities are all coincidental, of course, but still intriguing, especially when it comes to the mix of humor and some pretty serious stuff that fills each piece.

A day's worth of some excellent storm coverage by CNN was all but shredded during the Piers Morgan show Monday night when meteorologist Chad Myers reported that the New York Stock Exchange was under three feet of water and the hip-shooting host ran wild with the report that turned out to be false. What a shame for all those CNN correspondents in places like Rehoboth Beach, Ocean City and Asbury Park who spent the day and night standing in cold ocean water and rain doing such a fine job of reporting the story.

If your idea of an active weekend is to fire up the grill, pound a few burgers and beers and rock in the hammock, maybe you don't want to read this. You don't really sound like the type to show up in Monkton this Saturday for the so-called Rebel Race. But 4,500 people will be there for the chance to dash around a 5K or 15K obstacle course that features everything from a tall pyramid of hay bales to a steep wall draped with cargo nets to a mud pit topped with barbed wire. "It's an incredible challenge," said Mike Kiefer, a race spokesman.

MSSA meeting April 23 . The monthly meeting of the Perry Hall Chapter of Maryland Saltwater Sportsfishermen's Association will be 7:30 p.m. at Surf City Bar and Grill, 9654 Belair Road, Perry Hall. Visitors welcome. For details call Lee Haile at 410-828-0575. Nature storytime April 26 , May 3, May 31, 11 a.m. Eden Mills Nature Center invites all who enjoy children's literature to listen to a story and participate in a nature-themed craft. Pre-registration is required.

Get in the mud! Here's a look at some of the region's upcoming obstacle mud runs. Note: Check each organization's web site for more race day options. Fees increase for most of these events as the race day approaches. Tough Mudder May 12 and 13: Pocono Manor, PA, final entry by May 5, $200 Sept. 8 and 9: Frederick, MD, "tough" discount through April 30, $125 Oct. 20 and 21: Englishtown, NJ: "tough" discount through April 30, $125 Register at: http://www.toughmudder.com Spartan Race July 14 and 15: Palmerton, PA, $60-$100 Aug. 25 and 26: Leesburg, VA, $95-$145 Register at: http://www.spartanrace.com Warrior Dash May 19 and 20: Mechanicsville, MD; $75 Saturday, $65 Sunday; registration closes May 7. June 16 and 17: Long Pond, PA, $75 July 14: Morristown, NJ, $55 through May 29, $65 through July 2 Register at: http://www.warriordash.com Rugged Maniac July 14: Englishtown, NJ, $68 by May 4, $78 by June 8, $88 through July 6 Register at: http://www.ruggedmaniac.com —Catherine Mallette

This week, "The Amazing" Race brings us whimsy. Are you ready for whimsy? Then you are ready for Bavaria. Plus, later on, Phil gets meta. I think. Let's go! All teams get the heck out of Italy and travel to Austria via trains. Bopper and Mark started nine hours behind Art and JJ, the Border Patrol Agents. Luckily, with the train schedule and the opening time for their first Route Marker, the teams are almost bunched together. Mental Preparation Let's check in with everybody's heads first and see where they're at. Art and JJ, after two first-place finishes, are glad to be friends and coworkers, not bogged down by romantic entanglements.

Things to do to get you safely through Election Day:Ask your neighbors if they're voting today. Watch their expressions as they ask, "Election? Is that what all those TV commercials were about?" Hope a strong rain rips through the state, to wash away all the political mud that's been flung in the past year. Notice all the new mud beginning to form in the coming weeks. Wonder how long it'll take candidates to fling it in next year's mayoral race.Be the first in line to sign up for Professor William Donald Schaefer's college lectures.

Mike Hoff has been around drag racing since he was 13. He began going to the races with his uncle, Larry Hoff of Westminster. Like so many other young drivers, in getting started, Mike also received a lot of assistance from his uncle.When Mike Hoff turned 16, he purchased from his uncle a 1965 Ford Mustang that he has raced now, at 35, for almost 20 years. Only once did he race another car, when he was running for points and borrowed Chuck Taylor's Mustang while the motor in his own car was being repaired.

While watching the survivors on AMC's "The Walking Dead" hole up in Hatlands - the local party headquarters - in recent episodes, I often thought to myself: "Man, I would love to get after it in that bar! It's just missing one thing... " Well, in Sunday night's installment (entitled "Triggerfinger") my wish was fulfilled. While dealing with a few hostiles who are swooping in to play wingmen for the already murdered barcrawlers from last week's episode - Dave and Tony - Glenn looks for the bar's backdoor (always a valuable piece of information)