Omaha

Previewing what he might swim in his final Olympics in London, Michael Phelps has entered seven races in next week's qualifying trials - including the exciting but exhausting 400-meter individual medley. The question of how the Baltimore swimmer would cap off his already golden Olympic career this summer has been the subject of much speculation. His entry list for the swimming trials, which begin in Omaha, Neb., on Monday, at least partially answers that: The 200- and 400-meter individual medleys, the 100- and 200-meter butterflys, the 100- and 200-meter freestyles and the 200-meter backstroke.

Charles H. "Harry" Heinlein, a young Army machine-gunner who survived the D-Day landing on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, and returned 60 years later, died Saturday of pneumonia at Stella Maris Hospice. The longtime Violetville resident was 90. Mr. Heinlein was a 22-year-old private from Baltimore attached to the famed 29th Division when he landed on Omaha Beach at 7:40 a.m. June 6, 1944, as part of what Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower called the "Great Crusade" that would eventually liberate Europe's millions from the domination of Adolf Hitler.

Michael Phelps enters Monday night's finals in the 400-meter individual medley seeded second to rival Ryan Lochte after the morning preliminary heats. Phelps' teammate at North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Chase Kalisz, 18, swam to a surprise third-best time in the preliminaries that opened the Olympic qualifying trials here. "It was all right. It felt fairly relaxed ... The breaststroke was there," Phelps told reporters, referring to the third of the strokes in the medley. "Then I saw Chase and I knew I couldn't let him be anywhere close.

James F. Barlow, a retired masonry contractor who drove a weapon carrier at Omaha Beach during the World War II Allied invasion, died Sept. 1 at St. Agnes Medical Center after suffering a fractured hip at his Academy Heights home. He was 87. Mr. Barlow was co-grand marshal of this year's Catonsville July 4th parade and was the commander of two veterans posts. He also led the parade in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Born in Baltimore and raised near Union Square, he attended 14 Holy Martyrs School and was a 1942 graduate of St. Martin's High School, where he was the center on the school's basketball team.

DALLAS -- The ball hung on the rim for what seemed an endless amount of time.At least seven hands went up for it. Bodies collided. Someone grabbed the net. The rim rattled. A whistle blew.At that moment, with defending champion Omaha up 14-13, the national Hoop It Up 3-on-3 basketball tournament men's title was in doubt. But moments later, when the referee called goaltending against Washington's John Miller and awarded Omaha a point, doubt was removed.The final: Omaha 16, Washington 13. Had the women's team from Amarillo, Texas, not rallied to beat Omaha -- led by former superstar Nancy Lieberman-Cline -- the Midwest city would have had a sweep.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Bulldozers usually destroy tropical rain forests, but in Omaha they've helped create one.It's the Lied Jungle, a rain forest under glass that contains 125 species of animals and 2,000 species of plants.Four years in the making, the 1.5-acre jungle opened in April at the Henry Doorly Zoo and is being advertised as the world's largest indoor rain forest.The $15 million project was made possible by a donation from the Lied (pronounced Leed) Foundation Trust, established by a prominent Omaha family.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Through the door that led from the clubhouse to the dugout and the Rosenblatt Stadium field, the Rochester Red Wings could hear the Omaha Royals and their 8,207 fans celebrating the Triple-A Classic championship last night.Inside, the Red Wings attended to their own business. The minutes after their 9-3 defeat in Game 5 might have been the last they would have together.As manager Greg Biagini did before the game, the Red Wings thanked each other for a memorable season -- 89 regular-season victories and the Governors' Cup championship.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Through the door that led from the clubhouse to the dugout and the Rosenblatt Stadium field, the Rochester Red Wings could hear the Omaha Royals and their 8,207 fans celebrating the Triple-A Classic championship Friday night.Inside, the Red Wings attended to their own business. The minutes after their 9-3 defeat in Game 5 might have been the last they would have together.As manager Greg Biagini did before the game, the Red Wings thanked each other for a memorable season -- 89 regular-season victories and the Governors' Cup championship.

SITEL Corp., which operates telephone customer service centers, said yesterday that it is moving its Baltimore headquarters to Omaha, Neb., where the company was founded in 1985 by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James F. Lynch. The company also announced the resignation of its chief financial officer, James E. Stevenson Jr., effective May 23. Stevenson is to remain with the company as a consultant during the transition. SITEL has about 23,000 employees worldwide but just 12 in Baltimore, with most working in finance, marketing and sales.

PHILIP S. ROTHHOLZ, age 76, died March 8, 2006. Survived by wife, Susan; sisters Judy Ries and Eleanor Lunden; 4 nieces, Jackie Lunden, Erin Hess, Diana Sheldon, and Terry Della Vecchia; 1 nephew, Eric Lunden; many grand-nieces and nephews in Georgia, Maryland, Florida and Texas, plus many caring friends in both Omaha and Baltimore. MEMORIAL SERVICE Thurs March 30th, 3pm, Temple Israel, 7023 Cass St. Omaha, NE. Memorials to The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, 323 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE 68154.

She's still the giggler who charmed as the sweetheart of the 1988 Seoul Games. But now, what has the 40-year-old Janet Evans laughing is her age -- or rather, that of her competition. "There was a 16-year-old," the three-time gold medalist said, her eyes widening at the youth of a swimmer two lanes over from her. She's "closer in age to Syd," she said, referring to her 5-year-old daughter. Evans, attempting an unlikely comeback after about 15 years away from competition, is not the only swimmer watching time pass before her eyes at the qualifying trials for the team that will go to the London Games.

Michael Phelps enters Monday night's finals in the 400-meter individual medley seeded second to rival Ryan Lochte after the morning preliminary heats. Phelps' teammate at North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Chase Kalisz, 18, swam to a surprise third-best time in the preliminaries that opened the Olympic qualifying trials here. "It was all right. It felt fairly relaxed ... The breaststroke was there," Phelps told reporters, referring to the third of the strokes in the medley. "Then I saw Chase and I knew I couldn't let him be anywhere close.

On Saturday, Michael Phelps will turn 27. No surprise, he'll spend the birthday where he's spent much of his previous 26 years: in a pool, chasing gold. This time, it will be in Omaha, Neb., where the Olympic qualifying trials begin Monday and where Phelps will begin to answer a question that has trailed him for the past four years: How will he possibly top his golden, eight-for-eight performance of Beijing? "What Michael has done is insane. I think people now take gold medals for granted," said fellow swimmer Natalie Coughlin, herself among the most decorated Olympians ever.

Previewing what he might swim in his final Olympics in London, Michael Phelps has entered seven races in next week's qualifying trials — including the exciting but exhausting 400-meter individual medley. The question of how the Baltimore swimmer would cap off his already golden Olympic career this summer has been the subject of much speculation. His entry list for the swimming trials, which begin in Omaha, Neb., on Monday, at least partially answers that: The 200- and 400-meter individual medleys, the 100- and 200-meter butterflys, the 100- and 200-meter freestyles and the 200-meter backstroke.

My earliest recollection of the television that arrived in my family's Guilford Avenue home was the broadcast of the 1955 Preakness. We were all fixed on that black-and-white Sylvania mounted high on a wall. Nashua beat Swaps and went on to win the Belmont, too. Nashua was named 1955 Horse of the Year and later bred to many other winners. A number of the horses competing at Pimlico today are his descendants. Not long after that 1955 Preakness, my mother guided me through the recently opened Woodward wing of the Baltimore Museum of Art , where I was dazzled by the portraits of thoroughbred horses and of a tall and distinguished gentleman, William "Billy" Woodward, Nashua's owner.

John Polyniak, a World War II veteran who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and later was severely wounded during the battle for St. Lo, died June 7 of heart failure at the Encore at Turf Valley assisted-living facility in Ellicott City. Mr. Polyniak's death at 92 came 67 years and a day after he stormed ashore in France with his comrades of Company C, 116th Infantry, of the 29th Division, in the first frenetic predawn moments of the D-Day invasion. "This was a big day in my life," he wrote in an unpublished account of the invasion.

Moves Baseball CUBS: Placed 1B Hee Seop Choi on 15-day DL with concussion. Recalled IF-OF David Kelton from Triple-A Iowa. PADRES: Placed SS Ramon Vazquez on 15-day DL, retroactive to June 1, with lower abdominal strain. Recalled IF Donaldo Mendez from Triple-A. Agreed to terms with 1B Fernando Valenzuela Jr., son of the former Orioles pitcher. ROYALS: Optioned P Brad Voyles to Triple-A Omaha. Recalled P Les Walrend from Omaha.