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What a great weekend: HBO sent a screener for "Phil Spector," a made-for-TV movie about the legendary music producer, starring Al Pacino and Helen Mirren. Barry Levinson is the executive producer, with David Mamet as writer and director. That enough talent for you? David Mamet, whose "Glengarry Glen Ross" is made of the same fine angry American genius as Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," and he's writing and directing a Sunday-night made-for-television movie on HBO. Talk to me some more about how TV dumbs down the culture.

Nutritionists from the University of Maryland Medical Center regularly contribute a guest post. The latest post from Sierra George, dietetic intern, is printed here. Despite its name, the coconut is a fruit from the coconut palm. Tropical cultures have been using this delicious fruit for everything from food to body lotion and even currency. Until recently, Americans have seen coconut mostly as the dried, shredded ingredient of cookies, candies and cakes. Now, as more products derived from the coconut hit grocery store shelves, we are given the delicious opportunity to get creative with the coconut.

Mount St. Mary's has averaged 11 goals in four contests this season, but a closer look reveals that the offensive production is quite lopsided. The starting attack of seniors Andrew Scalley, Brett Schmidt and Cody Lehrer has combined for 30 goals and 26 assists. The total of 56 points accounts for 73.7 percent of the team's output so far. By comparison, the starting midfield of seniors Bryant Schmidt, Daniel Stranix and Eric Osoki has combined for 11 goals and four assists. It's a jarring discrepancy between the two units, but coach Tom Gravante said he is not alarmed by the imbalance in points.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Zach Clark's professional baseball career has had its share of bumps and turns, just like those long bus trips through the minor leagues as he clutched the dream of one day breaking into the big leagues. "A lot of ups and downs," Clark, a UMBC product, said with smile Thursday. "More than you'd really think. It's been a journey. " After seven years toiling in the minors, the 29-year-old right-hander finally has the feeling that reaching the majors in within grasp.

Store shelves could soon be filled with boxes of Baltimore's iconic Berger Cookies: The City Health Department approved the company's license on Wednesday and gave it a green light for production. The bakery expects to begin limited deliveries over the weekend and intends to resume its full schedule by Monday, said Anthony T. Bartlett, a spokesman for the family-owned, privately held company. That's welcome news to retailers and shoppers, who have been without the cookies for nearly three weeks.

Colonial Players offers a gem in historical and dramatic substance in its current production of Joanna McClelland Glass' "Trying," continuing through March 2 in Annapolis. This two-person "memory play" is set in 1967 and finds Judge Francis Biddle, 81, a nonfiction character, trying to finish his memoirs with assistance from newly hired Canadian secretary Sarah Schorr, 25. She has been forced on Biddle by his wife, and the two spend the play learning to adjust to each other. Glass waited until she was in her 60s to write of her experiences as secretary to Biddle, the Harvard-educated Philadelphia patrician who became her mentor.

State health officials warned people Wednesday not to consume a spice popular in African cuisine because it contains high levels of lead. The product, sold under the name Ground Akanwu or Akanwu Lubi, is a naturally occuring mineral imported from Nigeria used as a spice, soup thickener and meat tenderizer, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The products, distributed by Nina International in Hyattsville, contained lead amounts ranging from 1 to 18 parts per million.

Fourteen-year-old Caitlyn Fernandes of Dayton has dreams of one day being an actress, but when she landed a role in a television special that will air this week on Maryland Public Television, it wasn't the bright lights that attracted her attention. It was the dolphins. Filming for the show, "The Great Aquarium Treasure Hunt," took place after hours over several days at the National Aquarium in Baltimore . For the Glenelg High School freshman, it was a dream come true. "I'm really into animals, so seeing all of the aquatic life was my favorite part," she said.

No one in men's lacrosse might be happier than Rick Sowell, who watched his Navy team wallop VMI, 20-7, in the season opener for both teams last Saturday. The 20 goals was the program's largest output since a 23-4 thrashing of Holy Cross on April 18, 2004, and the 13-goal margin of victory was the widest since a 16-3 demolition of Holy Cross on March 15, 2008. But the Midshipmen coach cautioned against overly excited about the squad's offensive production in what is the first game of 13 on the schedule.

Baltimore-based Under Armour hosted a press event in New York City Tuesday to introduce what the company has dubbed "its biggest ever global marketing campaign. " While the new "I Will" campaign recalls the old "Will you protect this house?" commercial that first helped the company become popular -- the respondents always answered "I will!" -- the new spot released Tuesday focuses on an area that has become increasingly important: high-end technology and innovation. Let's just say that the commercial ends with a woman adjusting the composition and color of her clothing by using a touch screen built into her sleeve.