Playoff Game

As Manchester Valley closed out the team's 26-7 win over rival North Carroll on Friday night, the PA announcer thanked fans for their support during the season and congratulated the Mavericks on posting a winning record this year. But that winning season isn't over. The Mavericks' win over North Carroll in the annual "Battle of the Bypass" game, combined with Northwestern-Baltimore High School's loss to Reginald Lewis High School earlier on Friday, clinched the first-ever playoff spot for the four-year-old Maverick football program.

After a suspenseful final day of the regular season Tuesday, the stage is set and seedings are down for the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference boys lacrosse playoffs. Friday's quarterfinals will feature sixth seed and No. 7 Loyola (10-8, 3-6 in the MIAA) traveling to third seed and No. 3 Gilman (12-3, 7-2), while fifth seed and No. 5 St. Paul's (15-4, 5-4) visiting third seed and No. 4 Calvert Hall (10-5, 6-3), with both games set for 4 p.m. Top seed and No. 1 Boys' Latin (19-0, 9-0)

The Harford men's basketball team (7-13, 5-6 MD JUCO) earned a hard-fought road conference win at CCBC Catonsville (8-10, 6-6 MD JUCO) on Tuesday, 80-69. The victory kept the Fighting Owls in the mix for a home playoff game on Feb. 12. The top eight seeds in the conference will host the first round of the 2013 MD JUCO Tournament. Harford is in a tie for ninth place with a 5-6 conference mark. Four Fighting Owls recorded double figures, led by Dimitrious Jelen-Joy and Colby Giacubeno.

Running Holt victorious in Half Marathon in Columbia Bridget Holt , 34, of Gambrills won the second annual Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Half Marathon in Columbia in 1 hour, 21 minutes, 22 seconds. Tyler Brannen , 41, of New Hampshire took the 5K in 19:43. More than 2,000 runners competed in the event, which raised more than $25,000 for the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center at Howard County General Hospital. Nike Women Half Marathon: Samia Akbar , a Washington-area native and resident and 2003 All-American at American, won the Washington race in 1:19:32.

The Ravens' starters that did suit up for Sunday's regular-season finale, began heading to the sidelines about midway through the first quarter. Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice went first, pulling on a winter cap and a black jacket. Quarterback Joe Flacco followed him a couple of minutes later after playing two uneventful series. By the early stages of the second quarter, they were joined by wide receiver Torrey Smith, center Matt Birk, cornerback Cary Williams and safety Ed Reed. With an AFC North title and a home playoff game next weekend already secured, the Ravens treated their regular-season finale at Paul Brown Stadium like a preseason game.

GREEN BAY, Wis. - In the days before last month's crucial meeting with the St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia characterized the game as the biggest of his NFL career. He wound up playing miserably in the 27-14 loss to the Rams, and to a degree, he says now he was dragged down by the pressure he so readily heaped on himself before the season-worst 13-for-36 passing performance and 25.9 efficiency rating in the Dec. 9 game. It won't happen again in today's first-round playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, Garcia said, because he has learned from his biggest mistake of the season.

0 Goals allowed by North Harford's boys lacrosse team in a 15-0 shutout of Milford Mill in a regional playoff game. 9 Points Luke Raab (six goals, three assists) scored for the Fallston boys lacrosse team in a 17-2 rout of Lansdowne in a regional playoff game. 11 Runs North Harford's baseball team scored in the first three innings of last week's playoff game with Edgewood. The Hawks won, 11-0.

Dave Boswell, a former Minnesota Twins pitcher who led the American League in winning percentage in 1966 and ended his career with the Orioles, died of a heart attack Monday at his Joppatowne home. He was 67. Born in Baltimore, he was a 1963 graduate of Calvert Hall College High School. A Baltimore Sun article in 1967 said that in his senior year there, "he was followed by a pack of major league scouts. " According to news accounts, he was whipped into condition by his father, Buck Boswell, a Baltimore steelworker, and an uncle who had played for the International League Orioles.

Unless there's some sort of football fast we're unaware of (and if there is, that should be outlawed), chances are you'll be eating and drinking during Sunday's playoff game. A lot. So we're here to make it just a bit more fun as you watch the Ravens take on the Texans. Things may be “bigger” in Texas, but our Ravens Playoff Drinking Game™ is better. Enjoy (responsibly)! Drink •••• When Joe Flacco overthrows a pass of 20 yards or more •••• Each time Arian Foster fails to pass the line of scrimmage •••• For every unnecessary mention of Tim Tebow •••• Whenever the camera shows Poe •••• Whenever the commentators remind viewers the Steelers lost to the Broncos •••• When there's a random reference to “The Wire” Do a shot •••• If T.J. Yates gets knocked out of the game •••• Wow, George W. Bush makes an appearance!

As a Houston Texans fan, I went to the playoff game against the Ravens and I loved my game-day experience in Baltimore. The fans were both knowledgeable and willing to credit Houston's defense rather than criticize the Ravens' offense. We were treated to an exciting game that could have gone either way. But the best part of the experience was how friendly everyone was toward us Texans fans. Daniel Schein, Houston, Texas

The release of the NCAA's first RPI list confirmed what many had suspected of Johns Hopkins. The program - which is ranked No. 22 in RPI, which is a tool that the NCAA selection committee will use to determine the at-large teams in the 16-team field - needs a quality win and a prime opportunity will take place this Saturday when the Blue Jays, who are ranked No. 15 in The Sun, visit No. 4 Maryland (8-1) at Byrd Stadium in College Park. At this point, Johns Hopkins, which is 6-4 after losing three of its last four contests, could use any victory, but coach Dave Pietramala insisted that the team isn't feeling the heat from possibly missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

Since Manny Machado, then one of the top prospects in baseball, was called up by the Orioles last August, he has blown through a bunch of firsts. First hit. First home run. First playoff game. First homer in the playoffs. He will experience another today when he runs out on the orange carpet for his first career home opener. “I'm excited for it. I've been looking forward to it. I've heard that it is one of the best home openers there is in baseball,” Machado said as he was digging through boxes and boxes of orange and black Under Armour cleats.

The spectacular playoff run that brings the Ravens to today's Super Bowl rightfully has the city literally and figuratively aglow in purple. Of course, some will assert that it is only a game, and there are far more pressing issues that should occupy the local headlines. It is true that it is just a game. And in many ways, game day is just another afternoon. But sometimes it is more than could have ever been imagined. Consider Christmas Eve 1977. On that Saturday, the Baltimore Colts and Oakland Raiders met at Memorial Stadium in an epic and exhausting double-overtime playoff game that featured seven consecutive lead-changing scores.

SANTA CLARA -- So which Vernon Davis will we see in Super Bowl XLVII? Will it be the man who made just six catches for 61 yards over the final six regular-season games? Or the guy who in two postseason games has caught six balls for 150 yards and a touchdown while being targeted 11 times? It's probably a better question for the Baltimore Ravens and how they choose to defend the 49ers' dangerous tight end, but to date, they haven't been forthcoming with answers. In NFC Championship game, though, the Atlanta Falcons clearly didn't make Davis a major focal point of their pass defense and paid dearly as a result.

The Harford men's basketball team (7-13, 5-6 MD JUCO) earned a hard-fought road conference win at CCBC Catonsville (8-10, 6-6 MD JUCO) on Tuesday, 80-69. The victory kept the Fighting Owls in the mix for a home playoff game on Feb. 12. The top eight seeds in the conference will host the first round of the 2013 MD JUCO Tournament. Harford is in a tie for ninth place with a 5-6 conference mark. Four Fighting Owls recorded double figures, led by Dimitrious Jelen-Joy and Colby Giacubeno.

Is life great or what? For Baltimore Ravens fans - and we're guessing that this newspaper's readership is pretty much birds of a feather in this regard - the last two weeks have been a delight. To beat the Indianapolis Colts in a home playoff game and then the highly-touted Denver Broncos in the mile-high city in a nail-biting double-overtime contest the following week has not only been a thrill ride, but it has united this city - or at least diverted its collective attention from the less easily-resolved challenges of the day - in the way that only popular sporting events can. "Team of destiny" is how a lot of the nation's sportswriters have taken to describing the Ravens after their upset victory over Peyton Manning and the Broncos.

After a suspenseful final day of the regular season Tuesday, the stage is set and seedings are down for the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference boys lacrosse playoffs. Friday's quarterfinals will feature sixth seed and No. 7 Loyola (10-8, 3-6 in the MIAA) traveling to third seed and No. 3 Gilman (12-3, 7-2), while fifth seed and No. 5 St. Paul's (15-4, 5-4) visiting third seed and No. 4 Calvert Hall (10-5, 6-3), with both games set for 4 p.m. Top seed and No. 1 Boys' Latin (19-0, 9-0)

The National Weather Service is calling for Sunday is expected to be partly sunny, in Foxborough, Mass., site of the Baltimore Ravens-New England Patriots playoff game. The high will be near 41. Sunday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. Ahead of the game, Saturday is expected to be cloudy with a chance of snow showers. The high will be 33 and the chance of precipitation is 50 percent. Saturday night will be cloudy with a chance of snow showers and a low around 24. The chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Ray Lewis' trademark instincts kicked in again Saturday, a display of football savvy punctuated by the Ravens inside linebacker slamming Denver Broncos rookie running back Ronnie Hillman to the ground. During the third quarter of the Ravens' dramatic 38-35 double-overtime victory in the AFC divisional round, Lewis eluded the blocking attempt of towering offensive tackle Ryan Clady to chase down Hillman for a loss of three yards. As the retiring two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year tries to end his legendary career by earning a second Super Bowl ring, Lewis isn't just along for the ride.

Less than a decade ago, Kingsville resident Charlotte Krause didn't know a thing about football. "I cheered when everyone else cheered and booed when everyone else booed," she said. Then "I went to a preseason game in 2004 and had a chance to learn about the game. I've been hooked ever since. " Now Krause, 55, serves as president of the Council of Baltimore Ravens Roosts. The organization oversees more than 50 fan clubs in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware. "I watch the Ravens at the stadium or [on]