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3 Hereford's margin of defeat in last spring's Class 3A state championship meet at Morgan State. The Bulls scored 63 points, but Thomas Johnson won the title with 66. 13 Events out of 18 that the McDonogh girls won en route to repeating as the IAAM team champion last spring. 73.5 Liberty's team score to win the Class 2A state championship last year over second-place Largo (62 points).

I am compelled to respond to George Fenwick's commentary ("The destructive invasive species purring on your lap," Feb. 26). He cites recent studies suggesting very high bird and mammal deaths due to outdoor cats. He then goes on to propose a Draconian solution that could accurately be described as a cat witch hunt. I do acknowledge the problem, particularly with feral cats (free-roaming, unowned). But Dr. Fenwick's attempt to demonize cats by use of terms like "invasive species," "invaders," "introduced predator," and "slaughter" invests his thesis with a hysteria usually reserved for al-Qaida sightings.

On a recent cold, gray morning, state bridge inspector Van Swift jumped into his office: a 4-by-3-foot white bucket at the end of a 60-foot hydraulic arm anchored to a flatbed "snooper" truck. Working a cluster of joysticks, he swung the bucket away from the truck and over the side of the 800-foot Interstate 70 bridge spanning the Patapsco River between Baltimore and Howard counties. As the bucket descended, the whoosh of highway traffic gave way to the rumble of tires overhead. Swift maneuvered the bucket toward a web of girders, beams and turnbuckles about 120 feet above the rushing water.

Here are some quick facts about the Howard County Library System: Number of visitors per year: 3 million Number of items borrowed per year: 7.1 million Number of books and other items available: 1.1 million Number of e-books and audio books available: 50,000 Annual attendance at classes, other events: 248,000 Annual operating budget: $18.3 million Source: Howard County Library System

More African-American students in Maryland's Class of 2012 successfully passed a rigorous Advanced Placement exam than ever before, as the state continued to lead the nation in the percentage of students deemed college- and career-ready, according to data released Wednesday by the national College Board. The 11.4 percent of black students who earned a score of 3 or better on an exam still comprises a small fraction of the 29.6 percent of all Maryland seniors who passed a test. But it is among the highest percentages in the nation, reflecting the increased access and success for black students on the exams.

SARASOTA. Fla. - Jason Pridie will be the first to admit his mistake. The 29-year-old outfielder has spent most of the past six years on the cusp of finding a home in the big leagues - his life-long dream just within reach. But around this time last season, Pridie's very public miscue had him worried that he might have handed himself a career-crippling sentence into baseball purgatory. Last March, Pridie was fighting for a roster spot in Oakland Athletics' spring training camp when he received a 50-game suspension for a second failed test for a recreational drug - a "drug of habit" as Major League Baseball calls it. First failed tests are kept confidential.

Baltimore has made a great deal of progress in making itself more bike friendly ("Cycling advocates fight proposed helmet law, preferring 'safety in numbers'" Feb 13). As a homeowner in Baltimore City, I enjoy the convenience of jumping on my bike to make short trips to run errands rather than driving. This newly proposed bike helmet law promises not only to make this more inconvenient for me and many of my fellow neighbors who also ride bikes, but also to ironically make it more dangerous to ride.

As Darren O'Day spoke to the media on Monday about his new two-year deal, Orioles pitching coach Rick Adair and bullpen coach Bill Castro beamed from the back row. Coaches aren't ones to sit in on news conferences often, but it showed how coveted the Orioles' sidearm reliever has become. The Orioles are making a $5.8 million investment in O'Day. He was the team's most consistent relief pitcher last season, able to work his way out of a jam, as well as hold a lead. He could come in for one batter or pitch two innings.

1 - Player in NFL history with at least 40 career sacks and 30 career interceptions 1 - Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award (SB XXXV) 2 - NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards (2000 and 2003) 2 - Super Bowl appearances (XXXV and XLVII) 4 - Career touchdowns, including postseason 5 - Seasons in which Lewis led the NFL in tackles 7 - Career 20-tackle games 10 - First-team or second-team All-Pro honors, tied for the most among linebackers 11 - Seasons with at least 150 tackles 13 - Pro Bowl selections, the most by a linebacker in NFL history 17 - Years with the Ravens, making him the longest-tenured NFL defensive player with his original team 25 - Players selected ahead of Lewis in the 1996 draft, including Ravens left tackle Jonathan Ogden 25 - His franchise record for tackles in a game (Sept.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter will have a lot of issues to deal with over the course of spring training - which officially begins today - but he doesn't seem the least bit worried about his starting rotation, even though he concedes that there are a few things he might have to worry about. “We're probably at 9, 10, 11 guys that we're looking at," he said Tuesday. “You've got to say 'What if?' If [Jason Hammel] has a knee issue or Miguel [Gonzalez] has some issue or [Wei-Yin] Chen or something, we'll be able to move in a lot of different directions.