Packs

Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the site Saturday of a contest waged not with bats, balls and gloves but test scores, curriculum overviews and student testimonials. It was the annual school choice fair for Baltimore City public schools. Students and staff from 64 middle schools and high schools set up shop to woo fifth- and eighth-graders who will soon choose where to attend next year. School officials said that nearly 15,000 people came to the event on the stadium's club-level concourse, triple the number of attendees last year.

It's not unusual for high school athletes to change sports. It is rare, however, when they make the move and become a dominant force in a short amount of time. Hannah Oneda began her Winters Mill athletic career as a soccer and basketball player. But late in her freshman year, she switched to cross country and track. Two years later, she's one of the top runners in the state. "She has talent to start off with, but I think it is Hannah's dedication that makes her an elite runner," said Kelly Gruber, the Falcons' fifth-year head coach.

Q: How can I establish "alpha" status with my strong-willed Siberian Husky? A: Excellent question -- and the perfect opportunity to clear up misconceptions about dog behavior. As pack animals by nature, dogs see the world in terms of leaders and followers: Somebody's gotta be the boss here! That's why early training is so important. When puppies learn basic obedience commands and good manners, they understand that humans are the leaders of their new pack. Even as puppies, however, some dogs are more assertive than others.

By the time Berend Weijs was done last March with a frustrating junior season at Maryland, he knew something had to change before he took the court this season for new coach Mark Turgeon. At 6 feet 10 and 200 pounds last season, Weijs was the kind of skinny dude that gets knocked around and beat up in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He simply didn't have the girth to hang in the low post. He spent the offseason getting cozy with a few of his favorite fatty, high-calorie munchies — and still managed to put on just 10 pounds of muscle.

NASCAR has heard the cries of racing fans who hate tandem — or love-bug — racing. The official memo was released last week: Squash all love bugs. There will be no Talladega Tandems. NASCAR is moving to a larger restrictor plate for next month's race at Talladega Superspeedway. Although it will provide an additional 7 to 10 horsepower and speeds likely will be pushed over 200 mph, the changes won't allow cars to stay packed in groups of two because the cars will overheat very quickly under the new setup.

There's LSU and Alabama and then everyone else in the SEC. From the start of the season, everyone was pointing to these two as the cream of the crop in the SEC. Armed with stellar defenses and impressive wins, both can make a case as the top team in the nation. It was a tough week for the Big East. After spending most of the week scrambling from the aftermath of the defections of Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the conference was back in the news after it had to apologize for a blown call that cost Toledo a victory against the Orange.

The day has finally arrived, Wegmans fans. The chain's first store in Harford County opened its doors to a warm - and packed - reception. The Abingdon Wegmans has been a long time coming, taunting shoppers that would exit off or head toward I-95 with its giant sign and clock atop the hill at the Boulevard at Box Hill. But the torment is over - the grocery store had its grand opening 7 a.m. Sunday. Wegmans was prepared for the onslaught of hungry and eager customers. Police cars blocked off certain lanes and employees directed traffic to ease the congestion and the frustration of finding a parking spot.

My apologies for interruptions in this week's blog schedule. I was actually doing real reporting for a change. (I know, crazy talk.) But I still had time to stay on top of my many fantasy football leagues. I completed another draft last week, and I have three more between now and next Thursday's regular season kickoff. I've noticed some trends in the drafts I've conducted so far. Quarterbacks are flying off the board in the first few rounds. There isn't a consensus on the order of the top running backs.

When he first heard that the Howard County Circuit Court was moving into temporary headquarters while the 170-year old courthouse in Ellicott City was being refurbished, Maj. George Voll scoured the Internet looking for similar relocations. He couldn't find any. "Most counties just get new courthouses," said Voll, who has worked for the county sheriff's department for 25 years. When the renovation was first approved two years ago, there was a brief discussion about whether the courthouse could be renovated at night, on weekends or while court was in session, or whether another suitable locale would have to be found.

I had always resisted truTV's primetime lineup. First, there's the network's slogan: “Not Reality. Actuality.” It still confuses me. Secondly, I'd seen promos for several of the shows and was pretty sure that all the highlighted squabbles had the potential to suck out my soul. But I caved. I watched and kept watching. Now I'm addicted. Here's an overview of some of the best of truTv's pugilistic programming. HARDCORE PAWN Watch it: 9 p.m. Tuesdays What it's about: The Gold family owns American Jewelry and Loan off 8 Mile Road.