NEWS
By DAVID ZURAWIK | October 4, 2009
We are only two weeks into the new fall season, but already it looks as if we have an answer to the question of the TV year: How will Jay Leno do in prime time for NBC? The answer: Pretty well, when he is up against reruns or other weak competition, but not very well at all when he is faced with top-notch, first-run programs of the sort CBS is now throwing up against the lantern-jawed comedian on an almost nightly basis. And while NBC can probably live with being a low-cost alternative to the other networks on most nights, affiliates like Baltimore's WBAL (Channel 11)
NEWS
By Mary Johnson | August 23, 2009
Colonial Players is a rarity among local nonprofit community theaters: financially secure and supported by a large subscriber base. This all-volunteer company has fewer expenses than other local performing groups and can afford to venture into bold new directions. For its 61st season, Colonial Players mixes classic plays with cutting-edge theater. The first step in embarking on a new season is selecting the plays. Aware that "not all shows will please everybody," CP president Carol Youmans said, "we try to create a slate that is important to actors and directors."
NEWS
By Peter Schmuck | February 20, 2009
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -Outfielder Felix Pie was a no-show for the first full-squad workout yesterday. The Orioles confirmed that he is having visa problems in the Dominican Republic and that there is no timetable for his arrival in camp. Manager Dave Trembley said he doesn't expect Pie's absence to be a big problem if it lasts only a few days and added he's hopeful it does not stretch into the exhibition season, which begins Wednesday. "I don't know when he's going to get here," Trembley said.
NEWS
By From Sun news services | January 16, 2009
Fans of NBC's much-lauded, small-town football drama Friday Night Lights finally get to see the show's third season premiere tonight. If you're a DirecTV subscriber, you might have already seen the 13 episodes of the new season. (The satellite service got first crack, you might recall, because it forked over production money to NBC when the network was waffling on renewing the low-rated series.) If you watched FNL on DirecTV when it debuted Oct. 1 and appreciated the sheer genius of the season, you might be ready to see the episodes again.
NEWS
By Don Markus | August 1, 2008
The fortunes of the Navy football team diverged in a loss to Rutgers in the second week of last season. Season-ending injuries to linebacker Clint Sovie and safety Jeff Deliz against the Scarlet Knights contributed to a defense that was one of the worst in the country. The Midshipmen finished toward the bottom of the Football Bowl Subdivision in several categories, including last in pass-defense efficiency. With new Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo and senior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada trying to keep the offense as potent as it was under Paul Johnson - the Mids led the nation in rushing for the third straight season and scored a school-record 511 points - the return of Sovie and Deliz could allow the Midshipmen to be as competitive in 2008 as they were when they finished 8-5 a year ago. "We've obviously got to get better on defense," Niumatalolo, the former offensive coordinator who was promoted when Johnson left for Georgia Tech, said as practice opened in Annapolis yesterday.
NEWS
By David Zurawik | May 14, 2008
Ancient rituals die hard - and often ugly. That's what is happening this week in New York as TV networks dutifully repeat the steps they have danced for half a century as part of their annual upfront sales presentations of their new fall seasons. Only there isn't going to be much of a new fall season come September, because the smart money in network TV has already moved on - in the direction of a 52-week programming model pioneered by Rupert Murdoch and Fox. In fact, this fall, viewers are going to see fewer new series and less change than at any time since the earliest days of network prime-time TV in the late 1940s and '50s.
NEWS
By PETER SCHMUCK | May 4, 2008
News item: The NCAA has approved two more football bowl games - including one in Washington - to bring the total number of postseason bowls to 34. My take: If you're keeping score at home, that means there will now be more bowl-eligible teams next season than participants in the NCAA basketball tournament. Bonus take: Make you a deal. I'll agree to watch North Texas play in the 2008 equivalent of the Poulan Weed Eater Bowl if the NCAA will agree to a four-team playoff for the national championship.
NEWS
By Kent Baker | October 19, 2007
A funny thing happened to the Blast en route to the playoffs last season - it didn't make them. Now, the team has refueled and is aiming to return to its customary position atop the Major Indoor Soccer League, beginning tonight when the defending champion Philadelphia KiXX visit 1st Mariner Arena for the kickoff of the league's season. "As an organization, we take it personally that we didn't make it," general manager Kevin Healey said. "We've reloaded a bit, and we're ready to make our mark."
NEWS
By Tim Smith | September 23, 2007
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra that takes the stage this week bears only superficial resemblance to the one that glumly gathered two years ago. That September, multimillion-dollar deficits, looming contract negotiations and the musicians' lingering ill will over management's selection of a new conductor seemed heavy enough to sink the venerable Baltimore institution. But today's BSO is revitalized and refocused, eager for the launch of a new season that will be closely watched by the national TV and print media.
NEWS
By RICK MAESE | September 12, 2007
What could have been a night for the ages was instead a night for the aging. And young football fans all over Baltimore collectively lost their innocence. Daddy, why is that man in purple crying? Geez, these Ravens sure got old fast, didn't they? One by one, we watched a nucleus of veterans fall apart, drifting from the huddle toward the sideline, each clutching a different body part and grimacing. Ray Lewis strained his triceps and immediately gave a much more dire prognosis than the team doctor, at least in Lewis' unprofessional opinion.