Sanderson

Melanie and John Sanderson had a run of bad luck last spring. Evicted from their apartment with their two children, the couple had bad credit and couldn't find a landlord willing to rent to them. They ended up at a homeless shelter, Melanie Sanderson said, and a friend who promised to store their furniture sold it at a yard sale. When the family moved in July into a rented house in Curtis Bay, they had little more than the clothing they wore. Not for long. The nonprofit HOPE Inc. donated beds, tables and a couch, and last month, founder Leo Zerhusen dropped off a crib.

TORONTO -- The National League batting race boils down to Len Dykstra vs. the Ghost of Willie McGee. It's fascinating enough imagining a leader in the clubhouse -- the Oakland clubhouse -- but for sheer contrast, the American League race is even more of a fan's delight.There's Rickey Henderson, the only leadoff hitter alive who cahit 26 home runs. There's George Brett, the only player alive who can win batting titles in three decades. And there's Rafael Palmeiro, the only man alive who . . . well, he's the darkhorse candidate.

A Baltimore judge sentenced a man convicted of repeatedly raping a 13-year-old girl in an East Baltimore vacant home to life in prison four times over plus an additional 25 years. Alvin Ray Wright Sr., 50, was convicted at trial in February on three rape counts, three sexual assault counts and a first-degree assault charge. He dragged his victim from the street, into the vacant home. It had no floor so the girl tumbled into the basement, knocking her glasses off. Then Wright attacked her repeatedly.

Theodore K. "TK" Sanderson Jr., a retired Maryland Port Administration operations specialist who was also an avid outdoorsman, died Oct. 24 from complications of Alzheimer's disease at his White Marsh home overlooking the Bird River. He was 77. "Ted was well-respected in our organization because he was extremely knowledgeable with our operating and engineering groups," said James J. White, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration. "When putting projects together, he'd look at them and make sure that they would work, and he was the guy who merged these two groups in order to make them work," said Mr. White.

Rick Cerone's career with the New York Yankees appears to be over -- for the third time.The Yankees, needing a spot for Scott Sanderson on their 40-man roster, designated Cerone yesterday for assignment. The move means they have 10 days in which to trade or release Cerone or persuade him to accept assignment to the minor leagues. Release is the most likely choice because Cerone said he would not go to the minors."I'm not in their plans, so why should I waste their time and waste my time," Cerone said.

Chris Sanderson , who played goaltender for the former Baltimore Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse, died Thursday morning after a 3 1/2-year battle with brain cancer, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League announced. He was 38. Sanderson, a Virginia alumnus who also played for the NLL's Baltimore Thunder and New Jersey Storm, was diagnosed with the grade IV malignant tumor glioblastoma multiforme in December 2008. The Orangeville, Ontario, native was a Wings assistant from 2005 to 2011 and was selected as the All-World goalie at the 1998 world championships in Baltimore.

A Baltimore jury convicted Alvin Ray Wright Sr. Tuesday of grabbing a 13-year-old girl just a block from her home, throwing her into the basement of a vacant East Baltimore building and repeatedly raping her. "She thought she was going to die," Assistant State's Attorney Aaliyah Muhammad said during closing arguments. "He beat her into submission. " As the jury returned its guilty verdict on the first count, a faint, thin smile passed the lips of the girl. Her father hugged her tight.

A group of former Virginia men's lacrosse players is heading to Charlottesville this weekend to play the current team and hold a free clinic to raise money for the daughters of Chris Sanderson, former goaltender for the Cavaliers and the now-Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse, who died June 28 at age 38 after a 3 1/2-year battle with brain cancer. The alumni game is set for 9:30 p.m. Friday on the lower practice field. Among the alumni committed to the event are a pair of Loyola High grads: Bayhawks attackman Ben Rubeor (2007)

The Thunder took an offensive approach to yesterday's National Lacrosse League draft, selecting college attackmen with four of its seven picks.But the Thunder shored up its goalkeeping first, picking Virginia goalkeeper Chris Sanderson with the No. 4 selection overall. The Thunder, which didn't have a first-round pick heading into the draft, acquired the first-round selection by trading Chris Panos, its fourth-leading scorer, to Buffalo.The Thunder then looked exclusively for offense, taking Princeton's Jesse Hubbard in the second round, Maryland's Matt Hahn in the third, Johns Hopkins' Dudley Dixon in the fourth and Maryland's Andrew Whipple in the fifth.

When Carole Morison got into poultry farming 23 years ago, she and her husband built chicken houses on their Pocomoke farm to specifications set by their biggest customer — Perdue Inc. — and made upgrades the industry giant required over the years. That relationship abruptly ended two years ago, when Morison refused to spend $150,000 on a permanent enclosure requested by Salisbury-based Perdue, which in her view would be too costly and unhealthy for the chickens. Perdue subsequently dropped Morison as a grower.