Saints

The last two times St. Mary's football team played Archbishop Spalding, the Saints couldn't come close to their Anne Arundel County rival, but Saints coach Steve Erxleben predicted that Thursday night's game would not be a blowout. He was right, but the Cavaliers still came away with the victory, 34-20, in the 9/11 Patriot Classic at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Bryce Carrasco's 24-yard scoring run with 6:23 left in the game brought the Saints within 28-20, but Spalding's Christopher Zawitoski broke a 41-yard run on the Cavaliers' next drive to set up a 31-yard field goal by Kevin Weiman four plays later.

Steve Erxleben has coached high school football in Anne Arundel County for 12 years, and in his second season as coach at St. Mary's, he said the Saints are ready for a playoff run in the MIAAB Conference. Erxleben, a Bowie High graduate who played college football at Frostburg, spent 10 years at South River, seven as head coach. He still teaches social studies at South River, but left the Seahawks football team after the 2010 season and moved to the Saints program to join offensive coordinator Mick Suplee.

I got a laugh out of the glowing description of the Mega Millions winners ("Maryland's richest educators," April 11). I would love to know how you could be a full-time teacher and have another full-time job and be a diligent teacher. It was also interesting to read that they intend to keep working. Let's see what happens when this school year ends because there are only two months left in this year. Anonymous

Joe Vitt went directly from the football field at Towson State to his first job in the NFL as the strength coach of the Baltimore Colts in 1979. A little more than 30 years later, Vitt finds himself in the middle of one of the biggest stories in the league's recent history - and one of its biggest scandals. Though the 57-year-old New Orleans Saints assistant coach has been suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for the first six games of the 2012 season for his role in an illegal bounty system, Vitt was named interim coach Thursday by the Saints.

The historic Linwood estate has been known for many things, from hosting a Confederate general to its current mission to help children and adults with autism live a better life. But if the National Christ Child Society gets its way, the antebellum property in Ellicott City might one day become sacred ground. For it was in the whispers of a Linwood wheat field 134 years ago that an 11-year-old Mary Virginia Merrick felt the call of God on her heart and knelt among the golden stalks in prayer.

Given the recent crackdown on contract hits, as noted in "Sins of the Saints" (March 22) and other player run-ins with the law, perhaps the acronym NFL refers to the National Felons League. Dennis R. McCartney, Baltimore

Timmy Hardy and Mike Bonacci are playing together on the St. Mary's attack for the first time this season, but you wouldn't have guessed that Wednesday night at Severna Park. Hardy, a freshman, finished with five goals and an assist, and the senior Bonacci scored once and assisted on four of Hardy's tallies as the No. 5 Saints came away with a 9-7 win over the Falcons. Trailing 7-6 midway through the fourth quarter, the Saints (3-2) scored the game's final three goals to pull out the win with Hardy scoring the tying and game-winning goals and assisting on the insurance goal.

Now that it's cracked down on the "Sins of the Saints" (March 22), petty soon the No Fun League will be a flag football or two hand touch league. T. McDonough, Towson

Say this much for Roger Goodell: when he sends a message, he sends a message. In fact, the last guy to send a message like this was probably Vito Corleone. The NFL commissioner didn't fool around when disciplining the New Orleans Saints for their infamous "bounty" program. He whacked them good. Saints coach Sean Payton? Suspended without pay for the 2012 season. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis? Suspended without pay for the first eight regular-season games. And you know you're getting the book thrown at you when an assistant coach (Joe Vitt)