Poets

Despite having played once or twice at M&T Bank Stadium, Dunbar's football players needed a little time to settle into the state playoff atmosphere Saturday afternoon. After a disjointed first half, Lavar Highsmith returned the second-half-opening kickoff 52 yards to set the tone and the defense made two fourth-down stands to fight off a determined Perryville squad as the No. 6 Poets won their eighth state championship, 32-11, over the previously unbeaten Panthers. "This means a lot to us," Poets linebacker Ernest Hawkins said.

John Cusack didn't come to Baltimore when preparing to play Edgar Allan Poe in "The Raven. " In fact, he says he's never been here. But when asked whether this city, Boston, Philadelphia, New York or Richmond has dibs on the author's reputation, Cusack, 45, answers without hesitation. "Baltimore!," he said. "Is that even a question?" For Cusack, the only other city that comes close to having a hold on Poe is Boston. After all, he was born there. "But I think people generally would have to concede that Poe is a Baltimore guy," he said.

The Dunbar defense shut down Forest Park and the Poets took advantage of starting several drives with great field position to win their seventh straight region title. Evan Pittman threw two touchdown passes, and No. 8 Dunbar limited Forest Park to only three first downs and 88 total yards of offense en route to a 20-0 victory in the Class 1A North Region championship game Saturday at Poly. Dunbar (11-1) will play at Catoctin in a state semifinal Friday night. The Poets have won three straight state titles and four in the past five years.

Baltimore-born poet Adrienne Rich , whose poetry and essays were the foundations of modern feminism, has died at age 82. Here are some tidbits from her life here, as reflected in stories from The Sun: Rich's father, a physician and professor at Johns Hopkins Hospital, used to give her poems to copy, and she was exposed to many of the great poets early in life. She was a member of the Roland Park Country School Class of 1947. In the essay "Taking Women Students Seriously," published in her book" On Lies, Secrets and Silence," she wrote of the school: "We were taken to libraries, art museums, lectures ... given extra French or Latin reading.

Dunbar became the first Baltimore City team to win a regional softball championship Saturday when the Poets topped the Institute of Business and Entrepreneurship  (formerly Walbrook), 17-7, to take the Class 1A South title. Freshman Daunyea Felton, who has pitched every inning of the Poets'  17-0 season, allowed only four hits and struck out eight. Shanette Parker went 4-for-4 with a triple and three doubles and drove in three runs. Shylia Buie went 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Jessica Paschall and Candice DeShields each had three hits.

Defending Class 1A state champion and No. 4 Dunbar continued its march to the state finals at UMBC's RAC Arena on Wednesday. Michelle Wright scored a game-high 17 points and the host Poets beat Northwestern, 57-27, in a Class 1A South regional semifinal. The Poets (16-6) will face the winner of Ben Franklin-Masonville's game with Surrattsville in Saturday's regional final. No. 14 Century 58, Walkersville 40: Alice Mercer scored 19 points and Jamie Clark added 16 to power the host Knights (22-3)

The corner of Orleans and Central in East Baltimore was swarming with anticipation. Dunbar's boys basketball team had a big game to play, which meant an eager crowd began forming outside the school's gym doors more than two hours before the opening tip. Not everybody would make it inside, but those who did saw the numerous championship pennants that take up an entire wall, each square foot needed to recognize the decades of excellence....

MANY RESIDENTS of East Baltimore are in a collective funk, worried about what the coming basketball season will bring. As a long-time Dunbar Poets fan, who briefly was an East Baltimore vTC resident some years ago, count me among them. I'm a Poet at heart.The only local sports phenomenon I can equate it with is when Robert Irsay skulked away with the Colts in the middle of the night. The city as a whole was crushed. Feelings for the Poets run much deeper and are more personal.The Poets are more than just a basketball team.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Dave Krider, the writer who ranks high school basketball teams for USA Today, had a message for No. 1 Dunbar after the Poets edged No. 13 Simon Gratz, 55-53, in the championship game of the Beach Ball Classic last night."

The work itself is what matters, according to poet David Beaudouin. "Some poets use their poems like credit cards," he says. They're always trying to build their reputations. "But it really doesn't matter if you have a lot of books out. The poem itself is important."A Baltimore poet, editor and teacher, Mr. Beaudouin has long been a force in the publishing world. He will read his poetry tomorrow at the Halcyon Gallery at 8 p.m.He's been in the writing business a long time, he says from his home in Charles Village.

Adrienne Rich, one of the country's most honored and influential poets, whose finely tuned verse explored her identity as a feminist, a lesbian and an agent for political change, died Tuesday at her home in Santa Cruz, Calif. She was 82. She died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, said her son, Pablo Conrad. In more than 60 years as a published poet, Ms. Rich examined the evolving lives of women in modern society and embodied many of those changes herself. She was a precocious child of a privileged Baltimore family, then a young wife and mother, and later dedicated herself to the ideals of feminism.

In his fifth season coaching at his alma mater, Jones guided the Poets' storied program back to the top of the area rankings. Finishing 24-3, Dunbar won the Baltimore City Division I championship for the first time since 2004 and captured a third consecutive Class 1A state title. With the 60-36 victory over New Town in the final, Dunbar tied Allegany for the most state crowns with 14 and Jones earned his 100th win. After opening the season with 13 straight wins, the Poets went on a midseason skid, losing three of five games.

The 5-foot-9 senior forward led the No. 4 Poets to their second straight state Class 1A championship with a pair of dominating post performances, including 33 points and 15 rebounds in the 50-42 title-game victory over Western Tech. She also had 30 points and seven rebounds in an 84-43 semifinal win over Kent County despite sitting out 14 minutes after picking up two early fouls. In two years at states, Wright has averaged 32.3 points - which may be the highest four-game average in state tournament history.

The level of interest Morgan State had in Donte Pretlow was never in doubt. For more than a year, members of the Bears coaching staff have seemingly been tracking the Dunbar point guard's every move. “They have been involved with him for awhile,” said Poets coach Cyrus Jones . “I would say they came around last year and really took an interest after that. They followed him last summer when he played AAU with Nike Baltimore Elite. It just continued during his senior year.” Pretlow rewarded Morgan's loyalty and persistence last week with his commitment.

With less than a minute left in Saturday's Class 1A state championship game at UMBC, a Dunbar fan held up a sign reading "Lady Poets Pride. " Shortly thereafter, the Poets had plenty to be proud of, winning their second consecutive state championship by defeating Western Tech, 50-42. The Wolverines made a game of it in the fourth quarter, but the Poets' first-half defense and second-half inside-outside offense were just too much. Senior Michelle Wright - as she has all season - led the Poets (20-6)

Defending Class 1A state champion and No. 4 Dunbar continued its march to the state finals at UMBC's RAC Arena on Wednesday. Michelle Wright scored a game-high 17 points and the host Poets beat Northwestern, 57-27, in a Class 1A South regional semifinal. The Poets (16-6) will face the winner of Ben Franklin-Masonville's game with Surrattsville in Saturday's regional final. No. 14 Century 58, Walkersville 40: Alice Mercer scored 19 points and Jamie Clark added 16 to power the host Knights (22-3)

ERIE, Pa. -- Dunbar seniors Michael Lloyd and Donta Bright have lost just five games since the beginning of their sophomore seasons."When we get a chance to get revenge, we go for it because we are seniors and we won't get another chance," Bright said.Saturday night, Lloyd and Bright helped Dunbar, the area's and the nation's No. 1 team, take care of unfinished business by winning the McDonald's Classic, a tournament the Poets had been eliminated from in the first round two seasons ago by Cathedral Prep of Erie, 68-62.

It's hard to imagine No. 1-ranked Dunbar shot poorly (31 of 89) and still defeated Annapolis, 80-61, Saturday night at Annapolis.The Poets (15-1) were led by Keith Alexander's 23 points. Michael Lloyd had 21, Donta Bright 15 and Keith Booth 13. More important, Alexander, Bright and Booth combined for 34 rebounds as the Poets held a 55-29 edge in rebounding.Dennis Edwards, a recent victim of flu, led Annapolis (11-2) with 21 points, but played infrequently after scoring 11 points in the first quarter.

Sol Goodman, a retired auto leasing and sales executive who wrote poetry that spoke of the joys of living in Baltimore, died of kidney failure Feb. 18 at Sunrise Senior Living in Pikesville. The longtime Mount Vernon resident was 88. Born in Baltimore and raised on Brookfield Avenue in Reservoir Hill, he was a 1941 City College graduate. During World War II, he was an Army medic serving in France, where he helped treat soldiers suffering from what now is called post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Dunbar boys basketball team has had its share of success at the state level in recent years, winning the past two Class 1A titles and making regular visits to Comcast Center. But the No. 7 Poets, once the dominant player in Baltimore City year after year after year, have been hankering to again become kings in their own backyard. With a balanced offensive performance and relentless team defense that typified their season, the Poets knocked off defending champion and No. 2 Patterson, 65-61, on Tuesday to capture Baltimore City's Division 1 championship at packed Hill Field House at Morgan State.