Patriots

The John Carroll boys basketball team has found a safe haven for the basketball when games come down to the final seconds. It's a place that breeds confidence, comfort and, ultimately, victories. Clock ticking down? No problem. Defenders locked in? No problem. Self doubt? Not from Rodney Elliott Jr. When the ball is in the hands of the 6-foot-1 senior point guard, the Patriots can almost guarantee that something good will happen. A captain and two-year starter, Elliott has hit four game-winning shots this season to lead the No. 5 Patriots to a 24-10 mark as they head into Wednesday's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs.

The top four seeds in nine of the 14 weight classes all advanced to the semifinals after the first day of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling tournament at Mount St. Joseph. The semifinals, which begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, will feature a team-high 10 wrestlers from No. 1 McDonogh, who was in second place (93 points) behind No. 3 John Carroll (102) after the first day. The Patriots placed eight wrestlers in the semifinals, while No. 6 Archbishop Spalding (third place with 84)

When Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome considers whether to bring back veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin and his $6 million salary for another season, maybe he should rewind the game film of the Ravens' 28-13 win over New England in the AFC championship game two weeks ago. Early in the fourth quarter, quarterback Joe Flacco's 3-yard pass attempt into the end zone was so high that only LeBron James or Boldin could catch it. Boldin hauled it...

The Arundel boys basketball team had several highlights in the first quarter against visiting Old Mill, most notably an alley-oop slam by Markus Oliphant and a drive by Keaton Mack at the buzzer. But most of it was typical Wildcats basketball - making the extra pass to get an easier basket at one end and playing tough defense at the other end. Six different players scored for No. 9 Arundel in the quarter as the Wildcats outscored the Patriots, 27-5. The dominating start made a profound statement and things didn't change the rest of the way as Arundel came away with a stunningly comfortable 70-35 win over Old Mill in Anne Arundel County play.

Duke men's lacrosse head coach John Danowski announced Thursday that redshirt senior defenseman Casey Carroll will miss the 2013 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The procedure was performed Monday by Dr. Claude T. Moorman III , Duke's director of sports medicine. Carroll returned to the Blue Devils for a fifth year of eligibility after serving five years as an Army Ranger. He previously played for Duke from 2004-07, earning first team All-America honors his senior season.

The gift came from a son cementing a bond with his dad. I tore the paper off the present, revealing a figurine of a kneeling football player, chin cleft and stylized minuteman helmet leaving no doubt about the identity. Hello, Tom Brady! It was something I would never buy for myself. Still, I was glad to own it. Its usual home is a glass-door cabinet in my bedroom. But when the leaves fall and the daylight hours dwindle and Sundays are spent on the sofa, I like to bring it to work and position it on my desk.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is planning to donate to the homeless her winnings from the Ravens AFC championship game victory against New England. On Tuesday, the mayor is slated to deliver food to the Cottage Avenue Community. The food was sent by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino after losing a bet with Rawlings-Blake over the outcome of the game between the Ravens and the Patriots.  The Boston mayor sent to City Hall a package filled with goods from Boston's public markets. The winnings included cannoli, ravioli, various packaged goods and an assortment of seafood, including mussels, scallops, oysters and four live lobsters.

The No. 5 Severna Park girls and Old Mill boys showed their local rivals the importance of depth Tuesday as both cruised to repeat team titles in the Anne Arundel County indoor track championship meet at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex. This was the third consecutive county championship for the Old Mill boys, while the Severna Park girls have won two in a row - their first two in school history. In the boys meet, Old Mill finished with 122 points to easily beat out No. 9 Severna Park, which finished in second place with 83. The Falcons did even better in the girls meet, scoring 135 points to run away from No. 7 Broadneck (88)

When Lehigh and Colgate qualified for last year's NCAA tournament, they became the first Patriot League duo to play in the postseason since 2005 when Navy and Army did. The Mountain Hawks, who knocked off Colgate for the conference tournament crown, and the Raiders, who advanced to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals, are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the Patriot League preseason poll and in many publications' national top 10 polls. With those rankings, however, come high expectations, which haven't escaped the attention of Lehigh coach Kevin Cassese, who spoke during the league's conference call Wednesday.

Jerrelle Benimon took a seat with 16 seconds remaining in Towson's latest loss to George Mason on Wednesday and looked to the floor, able to glance back up only as the buzzer sounded. The final minute, along with most of the Tigers' 77-67 setback, was tough to watch. George Mason flustered Benimon and the Tigers before 2,005 at the Towson Center, earning its earning 20th consecutive victory in the series and remaining unbeaten in the series since Towson joined the Colonial Athletic Association in 2001-02.