Role

On paper, Sunday night's WrestleMania looked as if it could be one of the strongest installments in the event's 28-year history. In execution, it was anything but. I personally avoided Twitter and Facebook, so that the thoughts I would be sharing here would be as purely mine as much as possible. The show lacked the feel of WrestleMania; the first hour felt rushed and most of the matches seemed to be missing something. The show wasn't bad by any means, so I don't want people to misread what I am saying, but I expected more.

After Jim Johnson seized the closer's role in the second half of last year and converted his final eight save chances, the Orioles knew they had a guy who could finish games if they needed him to. But there was also the possibility that Johnson could move to the starting rotation. Then there was the lower-back strain that cost him a good chunk of the spring, making it uncertain whether he would be ready for Opening Day. "I went through some periods in spring where I was kind of going, 'Boy, I don't know if he's going to quite get there,'" Orioles manager Buck Showalter said about Johnson.

In the wake of WWE's Over the Limit pay-per-view, a new Intercontinental champion has been crowned, four other champions continue to hold onto their titles and John Laurinaitis remains employed. Sunday night's show delivered an evening of quality entertainment and good in-ring performances. On a non-major PPV event, WWE delivered a product that surpassed the expectations of many. Here's a match-by-match look at the show: Battle Royale This last-minute addition to the card was a means of crowning a No. 1 contender for one of the midcard titles.

Gifted with a mother's second sight, Catherine Johnson knew her daughter Jacqueline Green better than the child knew herself. In 2004, the eighth-grader insisted she had absolutely zero desire to study dance. "Oh, Mom," she said, rolling her eyes. "Why would I want to do that?" Nonetheless, at her mother's prodding and though she had never taken a dance class in her life, she auditioned for the Baltimore School of the Arts. On Tuesday, the 22-year-old Green will return to her hometown for the first time as a member of the main company of Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, one of America's premier modern dance troupes.

Navy Lt. Mark Tedrow has no problem reconciling an air show with a commemoration of the War of 1812, an era that precedes flight by almost a century. The Blue Angels pilot said he looks forward to flying over the Inner Harbor, Middle River and Fort McHenry - birthplace of the national anthem - during a bicentennial celebration in June. "It will be outstanding to perform multiple maneuvers over Fort McHenry," he said. "It will show just how far we have come. " Tedrow and his co-pilot flew into Martin State Airport in Middle River on Thursday to give a small preview of what the Navy's renowned flight team will do for the bicentennial maritime and air festival that kicks off June 13. "Stake out your places on the waterfront so you don't miss a thing," said Lt. Cmdr.

Ricky Williams didn't join the Ravens under the pretense that he would usurp Ray Rice as the team's featured tailback. Instead, Williams said he is comfortable being the change-of-pace back that he presents in a two-man rotation with Rice. “I think that's the way it's been,” Williams said. “My role kind of changes each game. Whatever we need, if Ray gets tired or it's time to close out the game and ray's had a bunch of carries, it's whatever they need me to do to try to step in and do it.” But Williams acknowledged that coming off the bench hasn't been entirely easy.

The Ravens' smallest player continues to loom large as a weapon on offense. Running back Ray Rice ranks fourth in the NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 409. He ranks ninth in rushing (231 yards) and fifth among running backs in receiving (178). Although he is less than two years removed from leading all running backs in catches (78) and receiving yards (702), the 5-foot-8 Rice at times is overlooked by opposing defenses. That's fine with Rice. “I feel like if I go into a game and the team doesn't respect me, then that's on them,” said Rice, who is tied with wide receiver Anquan Boldin for the team lead in receptions (14)

Since entering the NFL as a second-round draft pick two seasons ago, Ravens defensive end Paul Kruger has contributed 12 tackles and just one memorable play -- an overtime interception against Dennis Dixon and the Steelers in 2009. But Kruger feels he "should have more of a starting role" for the Ravens in 2011. “I feel like this year coming up, I should have more of a starting role, and if not, something real serious, playing at least 50 percent of the plays if not more,” Kruger, 25, who attended college at the University of Utah, recently told a television station in Salt Lake City , according to Mike Duffy of the Ravens’ website . Kruger has already persevered through much more than a roster battle , so it will be hard not to root for the guy in training camp.

Prior to the current lacrosse season, Maryland's players gathered to vote on team captains. The only representative from the defense was junior long-stick midfielder Jesse Bernhardt, and it's a role he is relishing. “It's something I embrace,” he said recently. “I enjoy being a captain. It's a great privilege that I was picked by my peers to be in that situation. I really do enjoy it.” The Terps defense was ravaged by graduation, which sapped the unit of three close defensemen, the long-stick midfielder and one of two short-stick defensive midfielders.

David Reed got his old job back. A week after watching Bryan McCann return kicks against the Houston Texans, Reed re-assumed that role in the Ravens' 12-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars Monday night. Reed had missed two games after suffering a left shoulder strain against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 18 before returning after the bye week. Reed said he was grateful for the opportunity to return kicks - an assignment that he had carried out well last season when he led the NFL with a 29.3-yard average.

Kenneth O'Donnell, aide to President John F. Kennedy, stepped into a small cubicle at Parkland Hospital, where Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson nervously waited with his wife and several aides to learn the condition of the president. Kennedy had been shot as his motorcade made its way through downtown Dallas on a sun-splashed November autumn afternoon. "He's gone," O'Donnell said to Johnson, who through an assassin's hand had become the 36th president of the United States. It was 1:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, Nov. 22, 1963.

As physicians who treat overweight children in Maryland daily, we strongly support the views expressed by Horizon Foundation CEO Nikki Highsmith Vernick in her recent commentary on childhood obesity ("A healthier way to snack," May 15). We urge parents to speak with their pediatricians about healthy food and beverage options for their children. We further suggest that parents advocate for their child's school to provide healthy alternatives to sugary foods and beverages that are often found in vending machines and school cafeterias.

Thank you to Susan Reimer for writing about the president's re-election campaign's fictional "Julia" ("Obama may wish he didn't know 'Julia,'" May 14). Ms. Reimer often writes about her own husband and while I don't know him, I get the impression that he gets up every morning working to pay the mortgage, go on vacation and have some money left over for family parties, maybe even some for himself. Ms. Reimer writes as a working mother who also spends a lot of energy on volunteer efforts.

The young boys involved in the shooting death of Monae Turnage, whose body they hid under trash bags in an East Baltimore alley, were sentenced in juvenile court Wednesday. The 13-year-old who said he pulled the trigger will be committed indefinitely to a treatment facility; the 12-year-old who helped him move the body will be monitored by the Department of Juvenile Services while living with a relative in Harford County. But the family of Monae — the bubbly 13-year-old who wanted to be a pediatrician — sat outside the downtown Juvenile Justice Center after the hearing, stunned at the outcome.

Howard County must act soon to improve its public transit options, the county's new transportation chief says, arguing that the growing population will be choked with traffic in coming years if people are not provided with better options. John Powell Jr., who took over Howard's transportation department in March, presented his first budget to the County Council last week. In defending the $7.4 million spending plan, Powell discussed the broad transportation issues for the department, created last year.

Ella Johnson thought she was done raising kids. Then one night her daughter, asleep in bed with her 1-year-old son, died of a heart condition, and Johnson suddenly found herself mothering a grieving grandchild who clung to the picture of his dead mother. The mother of three grown children, Johnson had plenty of experience with patching skinned knees and soothing teenage mood swings, but taking on the family's youngest generation brought a new set of worries about how to make ends meet and how to provide the right environment for her grandson, DaQuan'Ta Harper, who is now 12. So she eagerly signed on to a National Institutes of Health research study started this year that provides grandparents around the country with practical advice and support for raising grandchildren.

Dave Trembley said last weekend in Toronto that converted starter David Hernandez would be used in long-relief situations for the time being, but it took only one outing for the Orioles manager to change his mind. Trembley said after Tuesday's series-opening 3-1 loss to the New York Yankees that Hernandez, who pitched 11/3 scoreless innings in the game, would most likely be used late in games, particularly in the seventh and eighth innings. "I think he's looked a lot more comfortable than I expected he would look coming out of the bullpen this early," Trembley said when asked what changed his mind about Hernandez's role.

These days we're often told that stars become stars after a role defines them - as hard guy, swashbuckler or romantic leading man - and that audiences accept them only in variations on that role. But the career of James Cagney, the most protean acting talent in the first three decades of talking pictures, obliterates that conventional wisdom. What drew audiences to him was the way he made acting seem like a form of controlled euphoria.

From: Elqui Valley, Chile Price: $13 Serve with: Seafood, salads Find it at: i.m. Wine, 8180 Maple Lawn Blvd, Fulton, and other local wine shops Pedro Ximenez is a white wine grape varietal best known for its role in producing dessert wines in Spain's sherry region and in Australia. But this version from Chile shows it can also produce a compelling dry white table wine. The 2010 Falernia Pedro Ximenez Reserva shows a bright range of flavors: mint and other herbs, lime, grapefruit, pear and minerals.

A fire company slated for closure played a key role in rescuing three children caught in a Sunday morning blaze in West Baltimore, the fire union said. Truck 10, one of three companies the department is planning to disband, was among the first to respond to the fire in the 800 block of W. Lexington St. in the Poppleton neighborhood, said Rick Hoffman, president of the firefighters union. "It's a team effort, but certainly Truck 10 was in the mix, and they assisted all the rescues," Hoffman said.