Nickel

Chris Carr was 15 minutes late yesterday to his first conference call with Baltimore reporters. But the free-agent cornerback- returner had good reason - he was still working out. Known for his determination since landing in the NFL as an undrafted free agent, Carr has his sights on winning the Ravens' nickel back job. "I think I can make a big impact," said Carr, who signed a two-year, $5 million contract. "I just haven't gotten the opportunity that I wanted in my career." In his first four NFL seasons, Carr has been primarily known as a return specialist.

Nickel Mines, Pa. -- As light snow swirled, the only sounds that could be heard on the country lane were the scrape of mortar on brick, the tap of a hammer and the whine of a power saw. In a field between two houses, down a drive marked "no trespassing," more than a dozen men could be seen one day last week laying bricks, pounding nails and cutting planks to build a new one-room schoolhouse. The schoolhouse is rising a few hundred feet from where the West Nickel Mines Amish School stood.

MOSCOW -- Time is running out on the single - and certainly the swinging - days of the man known as Russia's most eligible bachelor. Mikhail Prokhorov, the tall, fine, feverish spender who amassed a worth of $13.5 billion running the world's largest nickel producer, is getting hitched on May 3. To win a bet. Or so the story goes. Perhaps that's the only way to get him to settle down. The 41-year-old Prokhorov, after all, is known as quite a party man, throwing decadent bashes with women aplenty, where the cognac alone costs more than most Russians make in years.

With Samari Rolle expected to miss the final two preseason games with an ankle injury, the Ravens have decided to start David Pittman at cornerback, the team's most surprising move this preseason. Pittman, a third-round pick in 2006, was a major disappointment last season when he failed to take control of the nickel back job and fell to the bottom of the depth chart. But the Ravens picked Pittman to start Saturday at the Washington Redskins because they want to see how he responds to the challenge.

Nickel Creek, the American acoustic trio known for its contemporary bluegrass and indie rock music, will hit Pier Six Pavilion during its Farewell (For Now) Tour at 7:30 tonight. Fiona Apple will also perform. The pavilion is at President Street and Eastern Avenue at the Inner Harbor. Tickets are $22.50-$37.50. Call 410-547-SEAT or go to tick etmaster.com.

The Nickel family knew it was the house they wanted to live in for the rest of their lives -- but when they found out that others were competing with them, it took more than desire to get the house. It took strategy."It was my third house. The house I wanted for the rest of my life," said Lee Nickel, a contract labor consultant. "I said to myself, `Are you willing to live with yourself [if you lose it over a couple of dollars]?' " His answer was "No."Located in the hot-selling Phoenix community of northern Baltimore County, the Colonial home was listed at $359,900.

Braves: Andruw Jones stole a career-high three bases.Cubs: Gary Gaetti's grand slam was his first homer at Turner Field. He has homered in 34 different ballparks. The only parks he hasn't hit homers are in Phoenix and Tampa Bay. Jeff Blauser's homer was his first since last Aug. 14.Marlins: Reliever Vic Darensbourg leads the NL with 24 appearances. Before the game, the team conducted a Salute to Black Legends of American History that included 20 former Negro leagues players as well as groups representing the Tuskegee Airmen, Buffalo Soldiers and Triple Nickel Parachute Infantry.

General Motors Corp. has lost another scrimmage with the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation over the payment of unemployment benefits to workers at its Baltimore van assembly plant.A three-member appeals board of the department ruled yesterday against the automaker's request that workers at its Baltimore plant repay one week in unemployment benefits they received last year.About 2,900 hourly workers at the plant received unemployment benefits last summer when the factory was closed for 10 weeks as a result of strikes at GM parts plants in Flint, Mich.

Six members of the East Baltimore Nickel Boys gang, which violently protected the lucrative crack-dealing turf it had staked out in the O'Donnell Heights public housing complex, were convicted in U.S. District Court yesterday of several counts of drug conspiracy, murder conspiracy and federal handgun charges.One battle over turf led to the killing two years ago of Northern High School quarterback Rocco Cash, who was allegedly shot by rival gang members who mistook him for a Nickel Boys enforcer.

COLLEGE PARK -- The decline of the Maryland secondary down the stretch this season reached its low point Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla.It occurred early in the third quarter of a 49-10 loss to No. 1 Florida State, when Peter Warrick sliced over the middle and was wide-open for a 26-yard touchdown pass from Chris Weinke that made the score 35-3 and rendered the remaining 26 minutes virtually meaningless.Warrick was so caught up in the moment that he ran straight to the stands and leaped up a wall to soak in congratulations from some of the 80,340 at the game.

Any relief the Ravens might have gotten in the secondary is nearly gone as veteran cornerback Samari Rolle contemplates retirement. Rolle, though, has one major piece of advice for his partners in the defensive backfield. And Rod Woodson, the former Pro Bowl safety and cornerback with the Steelers and Ravens, agrees with him. There is no way to compensate for a weak secondary that is ranked No. 22 in the NFL, allowing 241 yards per game. Somebody has to make plays. "Everybody in the NFL watches film," Rolle said from his home in Florida.

MINNEAPOLIS - - In the past, with two seconds left in the game, most Ravens fans would have gone to the refrigerator, popped a brew and gone outside to celebrate victory. Instead, the Ravens are coming off one of their most demoralizing losses ever, falling to the Minnesota Vikings, 33-31, Sunday, as Steve Hauschka's 44-yard field goal with no time remaining went wide left. Deep down inside, it was one of our worst nightmares. Where was Matt Stover? Answer: Probably depositing his Indianapolis Colts paycheck into the bank.

On September 3, 2009, JAMES R., beloved husband of the late Doris H. ISENHART (nee Manning); devoted father of Melissa A. Nickel and her husband Wayne B. Nickel; dear companion and best friend of Alice Scarborough; loving grandfather of Erica Lee and Rebecca Lynn Nickel; dear brother of William Isenhart. Funeral services will be held at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk Inc., 7922 Wise Avenue, on Wednesday at 10 AM. Interment Gardens of Faith Cemetery. Friends may call Monday and Tuesday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family will appreciate contributions to the Shriners Hospital for Children - Philadelphia Unit, c/o Boumi Temple, PO Box 9695, Baltimore, MD 21237.

Chris Carr was 15 minutes late yesterday to his first conference call with Baltimore reporters. But the free-agent cornerback- returner had good reason - he was still working out. Known for his determination since landing in the NFL as an undrafted free agent, Carr has his sights on winning the Ravens' nickel back job. "I think I can make a big impact," said Carr, who signed a two-year, $5 million contract. "I just haven't gotten the opportunity that I wanted in my career." In his first four NFL seasons, Carr has been primarily known as a return specialist.

If you pay your Comcast bill via phone, you might have noticed something new this month. Comcast has started charging a $2 "convenience fee" for those using the company's automated voice system. When asked about the fee, Comcast spokeswoman Aimee Metrick noted that consumers still have other ways to pay their bills for little or no money. Those include online payments, automatic transfer of funds and traditional mail. She also added that Comcast recently started offering an "ecobill," a paperless online billing program that allows customers to view and pay their bills online at no charge.

When the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money last came to Baltimore in 2003, it made history: It displayed a 1913 Liberty Head nickel, now valued at $3 million, last seen almost five decades ago. That nickel returns to Baltimore as a part of this year's event. The association's five-day convention at the Baltimore Convention Center features educational seminars, exhibits of historical coins and a treasure hunt and trivia game for children, among many other activities.

With both first-string cornerbacks likely to be sidelined today, David Pittman has a chance to change the course of his Ravens career. A third-round pick in 2006, Pittman has begun to wear out the patience of the coaching staff with his slow progress at cornerback. The final three games of this season could determine whether he has a future with the team. "We're going to have a couple more weeks to give him an opportunity to see if he can live up to the hope that we had for him," coach Brian Billick said.

One year ago I was sent to Nickel Mines, Pa., to cover the funerals of five Amish schoolgirls killed when a milk truck driver entered their small schoolhouse and unleashed a rampage of death. When I arrived a day after the killings, hundreds from the national news media had converged, setting up camp with their "sat trucks" and thick cables powering TV camera lights littering narrow asphalt roads. It was a media circus and I was, admittedly, a part of it all in my own small way. Imagine aliens arriving on our planet and the media gathering around their ship that had crash-landed in a field a few hundred yards away: Lights.

NICKEL MINES, Pa.-- --Walk down these winding roads and all appears peaceful. Black aprons flap on a clothesline. Boys kick scooters past apple trees heavy with fruit. A woman rides by in a buggy, two children at her side, and raises a hand in silent greeting. There are few visible signs of the tragedies that the Amish have wrestled with in the past year - the five schoolgirls buried in white dresses, the wounded girls who have undergone months of therapy, the boys overwhelmed with guilt that they could not stop the gunman.

With Samari Rolle expected to miss the final two preseason games with an ankle injury, the Ravens have decided to start David Pittman at cornerback, the team's most surprising move this preseason. Pittman, a third-round pick in 2006, was a major disappointment last season when he failed to take control of the nickel back job and fell to the bottom of the depth chart. But the Ravens picked Pittman to start Saturday at the Washington Redskins because they want to see how he responds to the challenge.