New England

Hello, Baltimore, We'll be in freezing Foxborough, Mass., the rest of this week providing news, updates, stories, perspective and maybe even a few photos from the Patriots' complex. Unlike the Ravens, who practice in Owings Mills and not at M&T Bank Stadium, New England practices at Gillette Stadium, where snow is on the ground and the temperature is in the high 20s. The whipping wind made the five-minute walk from the parking lot to the media room nearly unbearable. But, alas, we made it and were greeted by more than 60 media members inside the Patriots' interview room.

By now you've surely seen the video, below, of Tom Brady getting super, duper excited about Orb winning the Kentucky Derby. In it, he runs over to congratulate Ogden Phipps II, son of co-owner Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps. I'm not sure how they know each other. Maybe Brady just really revels in the good fortune of other fantastically rich people. Also, he apparently bet $4,700 on the colt and won $25,000 . (In some versions of the video you can see the other co-owner, Maryland resident Stuart Janney, roam through the shot in a tan rain coat and Orb hat, looking for all the world like maybe he'd mistakenly arrived in that place at that time.

In this game-day staple, blogger Matt Vensel makes four sometimes-courageous predictions for the game. All he asks is that you don't hold it against him whenever those predictions end up being embarrassingly wrong. The road back to Foxborough was a bumpy one -- the 12-month journey included a ton of injuries, individual tragedy, a late-season coaching switch and a three-game losing streak -- but here the Ravens are again, back in New England to take on Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC championship game for a second straight year.

Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas cruise ship returned to the Port of Baltimore Friday after undergoing a $48 million renovation. The ship, which replaces the Enchantment of the Seas, arrived early Friday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a proclamation from Gov. Martin O'Malley, who declared May 3 "Royal Caribbean Cruise Day" in Maryland. As part of the renovation, all of the ship's staterooms have been refurbished with new carpet, furniture and upholstery and flat-screen TVs. New amenities onboard include upgrades ranging from dining to entertainment.

Raymond Berry can't fathom the odds. Who'd have thought that, the same year he was asked to present the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the two locales most dear to his heart would be playing on Sunday for a Super Bowl berth? That's Baltimore, the town Berry helped win two world championships as a Colts receiver, and New England, the club he later coached to the Super Bowl. Either the Ravens or Patriots will advance Sunday to the big game, giving Berry a rooting bias in Indianapolis two weeks hence.

For those who prefer the back roads, T. J. Harvey of Southbury, Conn., arranges self-driving tours through the New England countryside, with overnight stops at country inns. He calls it shunpiking, a word that has its origins in the Colonial era, when travelers sometimes took lengthy detours to avoid paying tolls to property owners.According to the client's needs, Mr. Harvey devises an itinerary and writes a guidebook specifically for the trip, tailored to such interests as antiquing, outlet shopping or visiting historic sites.

Sorry Victor, but it wasn't even a close shave.Asked if they would rather lure the Patriots of Remington owner Victor Kiam or seek an NFL expansion franchise, respondents sided with an expansion team by more than a 2-to-1 margin.Sixty-eight percent (353 of 520) of Evening Sun readers and other respondents to "It's Your Call" said they would prefer that Baltimore pursue a brand new team. Kiam, unhappy in New England and supposedly to meet with a Baltimore businessman to discuss moving the Patriots here, only gained 32 percent (167)

Planning a vacation and want to go antiquing? What part of the country is brimming with first-rate shops, shows and auctions? How can I find out about dealers and their specialties? Isn't there a book with all the answers? Yes, there is: "Sloan's Green Guide: Antiquing in New England 1992-1993," edited by Susan P. Sloan (Antique Press, $15.95).The six states of New England -- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont -- are America's premier hunting ground for antiques, thanks to the area's high concentration of knowledgeable and experienced dealers, ranging from nationally known specialists to small country shops with broadly based stocks.

WASHINGTON -- The government selected Fleet/Norstar Financial Group Inc., a Rhode Island banking company, along with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co., the well-known corporate buyout concern, yesterday as the buyer of the failed Bank of New England and two affiliated banks that collapsed in January.L. William Seidman, the nation's senior banking regulator, said Fleet's bid had been selected because it represented "the lowest cost" to the program that insures bank deposits.Officials acknowledged that as part of the deal, Fleet, which has a comparatively healthy capital base for a Northeast bank, would have to raise money to satisfy federal rules on its financial health.

WASHINGTON -- A little-noticed movement toward a New England regional presidential primary next March 5 -- also the date for the Maryland primary -- could have a significant effect on the contest for the Republican nomination.The change in the schedule could magnify the importance of the first primary in the sixth New England state, New Hampshire, Feb. 20. And it could result in a Republican rush to judgment on a nominee even earlier than has been forecast up to now.It is far from clear which candidate may gain or lose from such a change, although it obviously could help a front runner such as Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and pose a problem for Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas if New England voters resist his Southwestern charm.

A blizzard was expected to dump a couple of feet of snow across New England through midday today, and while Baltimore was largely spared, the storm delivered some wintry precipitation and headaches for travelers. At Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, dozens of flights to and from the Northeast were canceled, leaving some travelers scrambling to brave snowy roads in rental cars. Others landed there Friday from points north, escaping ahead of the expected 2 feet of snow, only to find limited options for getting anywhere else.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for northern counties from 4 a.m. through 10 a.m. Friday, with up to an inch or two of snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain expected as a major snowstorm heads northeast to slam New England. The advisory applies to Carroll, northern Baltimore and Harford counties. The precipitation is expected to turn to rain for all of the Baltimore area by mid-morning. Forecast maps updated Thursday afternoon called for the heaviest snow, possibly 1-2 inches, in Harford County and northeastern Baltimore County.

Major coastal snowstorms, the kind known to bury the Northeast this time of year, have been rare so far this winter. One expected to sweep over New England at the end of the week is expected to mostly miss the Baltimore area. As much as 2 feet of snow is expected from Rhode Island to Maine, including the Boston area, with lesser amounts to the west and south, including in New York. The Boston forecast office of the National Weather Service  has issued a winter storm watch  effective starting Thursday night.

People who know I grew up in New England have the wrong idea — they think I'm a Red Sox fan, a Patriots fan and one of those "hardy" people who walked a mile to school in the snow. Not true. I gave up the Sox within minutes after sitting in Memorial Stadium to watch my first Baltimore Orioles game; Earl Weaver , rest his soul, was the manager. The Patriots never got in my blood; they were easy to dump for the 1976 Baltimore Colts. The Colts had a great season, then lost in a playoff to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It's been a long wait for Terrell Suggs to exact his revenge on the New England Patriots, and when the Ravens' 28-13 win was complete Sunday, he let loose. "Tell them to have fun at the Pro Bowl," Suggs said after the game to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports! about the Patriots. "Shut them out in the second half. Arrogant [expletive]. These are the most arrogant [expletive] in the world starting with [coach Bill] Belichick on down. " The Patriots beat the Ravens last year in the AFC championship game, 23-20, but lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.

In this game-day staple, blogger Matt Vensel makes four sometimes-courageous predictions for the game. All he asks is that you don't hold it against him whenever those predictions end up being embarrassingly wrong. The road back to Foxborough was a bumpy one -- the 12-month journey included a ton of injuries, individual tragedy, a late-season coaching switch and a three-game losing streak -- but here the Ravens are again, back in New England to take on Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC championship game for a second straight year.

BOSTON - The clock is ticking on Victor Kiam, and when it reaches the magic number, there will be an explosion heard across the National Football League.As it stands, Kiam, on the day he observes his third year as owner of the New England Patriots -- Oct. 10, 1991 -- will lose control of the football team, unless. . ."The league has been trying for weeks to help Kiam out of this mess and it hasn't had any luck," one top NFL source says. "They are still working at trying to get him the money, but as it is, if Kiam had to come up with it today to cover, he couldn't do it."

Bill Belichick works in mysterious ways. Two years ago, the New England Patriots coach didn't let quarterback Drew Bledsoe return to the lineup from an injury sabbatical and eventually exiled him to Buffalo, post-Super Bowl victory. Last week, Belichick terminated the contract of Lawyer Milloy, having decided sometime in the offseason that the Pro Bowl safety was overpaid at $4.4 million this season. He issued an ultimatum to Milloy to take a pay cut or else, and Milloy opted for "or else."

Joe Flacco looked tired, or maybe he was just bored. It was hard to tell. He has prepared for three AFC championship games now, so perhaps the thrill factor - not that Flacco would admit to experiencing such a thing - has worn off. As excitable Ravens running back Ray Rice stood behind the lectern Wednesday answering questions from a packed auditorium, Flacco sat off to the side waiting his turn. He fidgeted with his hands and stared mostly into space. He looked up occasionally, if only to see whether Rice was almost finished.

Although cameras will attempt to capture every move by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and other key players like Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, running back Ray Rice and inside linebacker Ray Lewis, the grunt work on the offensive and defensive lines figures to be pivotal in Sunday's AFC championship game. "Pretty much every game is decided in the trenches, and then by guys making plays," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "Whoever wins the trenches has a great chance to win the game.