Par

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- If there was a lesson in the first two rounds of the Masters, it's that it's still the Masters. Sorry if that sounds like a Yogi Berra-ism, but there was so much shouting about the changes at Augusta National before the tournament that you almost expected the Masters as we knew it to disappear, replaced by another kind of tournament -- more sterile, conservative and boring. And quite clearly, that hasn't happened. Through two rounds, the tournament is the same as it ever was. Completely nuts.

On Sunday night, Ravens fans spoke for millions of fellow football fans across the nation when they repeatedly thundered an 8-letter response to what might easily have been the worst officiated professional football game ever held at M&T Bank Stadium. For much of the end of the 4 t h quarter, and even as the Ravens came back to defeat the New England Patriots with a last-second field goal that, appropriately enough, was disputed by the losing team, the crowd seemed to speak with one (very loud)

Jeff Maggert spiced his second straight 7-under-par 65 with ** an eagle and six birdies and took a four-shot lead after two rounds of the $800,000 Independent Insurance Agent Open yesterday at The Woodlands, Texas.Maggert's round over his home course gave him a 36-hole tournament record of 14-under-par 130 and a comfortable lead over Duffy Waldorf and Billy Ray Brown.* Miller Barber overcame an attack of asthma on the 18th hole to save par in a round of 66 and secure a share of the Security Pacific Senior Classic lead in Los Angeles with non-winner Dan Morgan, Chi Chi Rodriguez and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie.

Over the years, we have often disagreed with Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. on numerous matters of law and social justice. But it gives us no satisfaction to learn of the Anne Arundel Republican's involvement in a horrific boating accident Wednesday on the Magothy River. The accident caused serious injury to six people, including Mr. Dwyer, another adult and four children. Mr. Dwyer had been drinking and operating one of the vessels, the "Baja," a 26-foot runabout that collided with an 18.5-foot Bayliner and sank near Cornfield Creek.

BETHESDA -- And now, let's check the last five holes of Ernie Els' winning scorecard in the final round of the U.S. Open yesterday: A par on No. 14. Another par on No. 15. Yet another par on No. 16. One more (par) on No. 17. And on the dramatic final hole par.That's right, Els won his second Open title in four years by parring the last five holes at Congressional Country Club.He didn't put on any Arnold Palmer charges, he didn't drain any miracle putts, he didn't hit any drop-dead irons; he didn't do a thing on the closing holes except (all together now)

On the car ride to yesterday's final round of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association Individual Championships at Pine Ridge Golf Course, John Carroll senior Miguel Rivera told his coach how he planned to stay focused for 18 holes no matter what happened.Then he went out and did it.Rivera's even-par round of 72, coupled with two opening rounds of 78 and 74, gave him a winning score of 224, four strokes better than runner-up Wes Lovell of Boys' Latin (77-75-76228)."I didn't hit it close on the front and I had to make some long lags for pars," said Rivera, gripping the Lumsden Trophy, an award that eluded him the past three seasons.

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- What is this, the Greater Milwaukee Open?A guy who couldn't even beat former Vice President Dan Quayle in a pro-am last month is one of the leaders.Eighteen players, including an amateur, bust par.And the rough around the course is so short, golf balls and other assorted objects -- such as 28,000 spectators -- can actually be found without the aid of a caddie.The 93rd U.S. Open on the 7,116-yard, par-70 Lower Course at Baltusrol Golf Club could end up being awfully strange.

FRANKLIN, Wis. -- Robert Gamez followed a record opening round with a 6-under-par 66 yesterday to go 17-under and lead the Greater Milwaukee Open by three strokes.Gamez, whose 11-under 61 Thursday tied the Tuckaway Country Club record and beat the GMO opening-round mark, said he knew things were going well from the start yesterday."I just went out and tried to play the same aggressive game," Gamez, 23, said. "I birdied the first two holes, and I thought I could be just as low as I was [Thursday]

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An eagle-birdie-par finish wasn't really necessary, Fred Couples said, but it sure was welcome."A big, big finish," Couples said yesterday after pulling three strokes in front of the field at the halfway point of the $1 million Nestle Invitational."

BETHESDA -- King. A rather appropriate name for a coronation wouldn't you say?That's what the Mazda LPGA Championship turned out to be over 72 holes and the last four days, the crowning of Betsy King, possessor of superlative strength or efficacy on the women's tour.It was on the ninth hole yesterday and after bringing the tight and picturesque Bethesda Country Club and the field to their knees that King pushed her second shot into the rough siding the green."When I got up and down [for par]

In the old days, Tiger Woods might have won the AT&T National with ease. In the old days, Woods might not have needed his closest competitor to bogey the last three holes at Congressional Country Club. In the old days, Woods might not have stopped to acknowledge the two military officers waiting his arrival at the 18th tee before he made his final putt. In the old days, Woods might not have acknowledged the crowd - twice - and high-fived some volunteers en route to the scoring tent.

It's been seven months since Cafe Hon owner Denise Whiting publicly dropped her controversial trademark of the word "hon. " Chef Gordon Ramsay and the rest of the "Kitchen Nightmares" crew were even in town last week for a follow-up to the original Cafe Hon "Kitchen Nightmares" episode. So, with Honfest set for this weekend, is Hampden and the rest of hon-loving Baltimore ready to put the hon-troversy to rest? Whiting thinks so. "We have heard from an overwhelming number of our neighbors since the 'Kitchen Nightmares' experience ... generally, most everyone who objected to the initial trade-marking have embraced our efforts to put the issue behind us," Whiting said in an e-mail.

Maryland is attempting to renege on its obligation to provide sufficient funding to make its historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) comparable and competitive with other public universities in Maryland in terms of mission, academic program offerings, library services, information technology infrastructure, and other facets of their operations. For five years, the state has vigorously opposed a lawsuit by HBCU students and alumni that seeks to dismantle remnants of the formerly segregated higher education system.

The Seattle Seahawks' Leon Washington has been unable to repeat his prolific season of last year, ranking in the bottom half of the NFL in kick returns thus far and becoming almost an afterthought. Try telling that to the Ravens. “He certainly has our attention,” special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said during his weekly briefing Thursday. “We have a lot of respect for him. He's a fine player, and he's another one of those guys who can return the ball on both kick returns and punt returns.

NORTON, Mass. — Ernie Els waited for his TV interview slumped forward in a plastic chair, spent from another week of living on the edge. "It's been a hard couple of days," the Hall of Famer said wryly. More like a hard three weeks — this one going down to his final putt Monday in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Needing a birdie to keep his PGA Tour season alive, Els went long with his second shot at TPC Boston's par-5 closing hole. His chip rolled 6 feet past the pin — long enough to jangle the nerves — but Els holed the putt.

Wading through swamps and running up mountains taught Patrick McCormack more than how to survive punishing conditions without much food or sleep. His grueling Army Ranger training, along with several deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan , taught the Ellicott City native important business lessons as well. "It takes a lot of discipline to run your own company," said McCormack, 29, who owns custom drum maker MapleWorks Drum Co. in Millersville. "You don't make it through [Ranger] school unless you have the drive and motivation to do what you have to when someone is not watching over you. " McCormack, a member of the elite Ranger corps from 2000 to 2007, recently began promoting his veteran-owner status in online business directories and on the company's website.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- History is going against Chip Beck in his chase for this year's Masters championship. In fact, it has been going against Beck since he won the annual par-3 tournament the day before the 57th Masters began.Beck is well aware that nobody who has won the par-3 event since it was started here in 1960 has won the actual tournament. ZTC The closest was Raymond Floyd, who lost in sudden death to Nick Faldo three years ago."I love the challenge of breaking the jinx," Beck said yesterday after a second round of 5-under-par 67 put him at 5-under 139, two shots behind leader Jeff Maggert.

VIENNA, Va. -- Bruce Lehnhard dropped a 4-foot par putt on the third extra hole to defeat Bob Boyd and claim his second Middle Atlantic PGA Head Pro championship in the past three years yesterday at a soggy, but superbly conditioned, Westwood Country Club.Boyd, from Woodmont CC, posted a 3-under-par 35-3469, then had to wait nearly two hours for Lehnhard, out of Lake of the Woods in Locust Grove, Va., to finish, knowing he had shot a 5-under 31 on the front nine. Two bogeys on the back left Lehnhard at 31-3869.

Nearly 3,000 businesses or business locations shut down in Maryland in recessionary 2009, the Census Bureau said Thursday. The new figures, which track employers of all sizes, also show a loss of 110,000 private-sector jobs from March 2008 to March 2009 — a bigger hit than earlier estimates from the U.S. Department of Labor had suggested. The Labor Department measured the private-sector drop at 83,000 jobs. The Census Bureau's data is drawn primarily from businesses' tax filings to the Internal Revenue Service, while the more-timely Labor Department figures come from surveys.

When, where: Thursday to Sunday, Congressional Country Club (Blue Course), Bethesda, Md. Course facts: 7,574 yards, par71. Field: 156 (141 pros, 13 amateurs), cut after 36 holes to top 60 and ties, plus anyone else within 10 strokes of the lead. Two slots remain open for players moving into the top 50 of the world rankings this week, or if the St. Jude Classic winner also won another PGA Tour event in the past 51 weeks. Playoff (if necessary)