Scored

We're at the finale already (didn't this season seem short?). I'll say it right here at the top of the episode - unless William falls repeatedly on his keister, requiring the judges to give him 5's across the board, there's no way he's not winning this thing. That being said, I'd be OK with any of the three finalists winning, even though I'm personally Team Driver. Tonight's show will have each couple dancing two dances:  1. Judge's pick, which are new routines danced to new music, but in a style the couple has previously danced and in which the judges would like to see them improve.  2. Freestyle Tomorrow night, the couples will be doing some sort of third scored dance, details about which we'll learn later.

This championship was for Tracy Vander Kolk. The sophomore on the Severna Park girls lacrosse team died of undisclosed reasons May 10. Even though her teammates have been in mourning, the Falcons still managed to advance through the state playoffs, finding strength from one another and the support of the Anne Arundel community. Their resilience culminated in Thursday night's Class 4A-3A state championship game at UMBC, where No. 8 Severna Park knocked off Westminster, 13-6.

Tom opens calling it the "hardest fought season ever. " I'm not sure about that, but I will say that this is one with a lot of strong competitors, few loathsome personalities, and a satisfying final three. It starts with the pro dancers (the "real" pro dancers, not just the troupe) dancing to a song I would probably know if I were 20 years younger, but I'm not and the only 16-year-old in this house is a cat. At the end of the song, we get the pros walking the floor with their celebrity partners.

The last time the Orioles met the Red Sox, they played baseball's version of the Boston Marathon - a 17-inning game at Fenway Park that completed Baltimore's first sweep of Boston since 1994. And the last time the Red Sox came to Camden Yards, they left with their season shattered, sending them prematurely into an offseason of upheaval. Its pretty clear that the Orioles have had the Red Sox's number of late, beating Boston in seven of their last eight entering Monday. But these Red Sox arrived at Camden Yards surging, winners of eight of their last 10 games as they try to work their way out of the early-season American League East cellar.

Backed against a wall of 4-4 mediocrity, the Ravens will come out fighting Monday night in Cleveland. But will they come out scoring? A fast start would alleviate growing concern about the state of the offense and provide a much-needed breather for the overworked defense. As trends go, this one is glaring: The Ravens haven't scored an offensive touchdown in the first half in their past four games. A scoreless first half in Cincinnati stretched the drought to nine quarters and 25 possessions, going back to a touchdown catch Oct. 4 by Derrick Mason in New England.

D'Andre Hiers scored 21 points to help Severn trip Meade Village, 40-27, in a 14-17 David Robinson basketball league matchup Sunday.Jeff Green and Jeremy Martin each added five points for Severn (4-4). Chris Saulter and Ashon Nelson scored five and two, respectively.Tyrone Lane led Meade with seven points, and Jamaar Thomas and Carlos Brown added six each. Vatrone Foote and Dewayne Dorsey scored three each.* 11-12 boys -- The Linthicum-Ferndale Hornets split two games last week to take second place in the Linthicum-Ferndale Intramural Tournament at Brooklyn Park Middle School.

Heavy rains washed away the championship rounds of yesterday's North County Holiday Tournament, but they couldn't dampen Old Mill's enthusiasm.The Patriots' softball team was one out away from dropping to the consolation game in Division I, but rallied for four unearned runs to shock No. 2 Archbishop Spalding, 4-3.North County upset No. 6 Arundel, 9-3, in the other semifinal game in Division I, but never got a chance to play No. 3 Old Mill for the title...

Atholton senior guard Julie Taylor became the school's all-time leading scorer as she helped the No. 10 Raiders defeat host Marriotts Ridge, 53-37, last night. Taylor scored 11 points to give her 1,342 for her career, surpassing 1990 graduate Sherri Orlosky's mark of 1,339. "She's played all four years, started on varsity as a freshman. She's been an impact player since she stepped into the program," Atholton coach Maureen Shacreaw said of Taylor. Brittany Coughlan scored 14 to lead the Raiders (18-3)

SALISBURY -- Midfielder Jake Bergey scored three of his career-high six goals on extra-man situations to help defending national champion Salisbury State rout Hampden-Sydney, 23-8, in a Division III first-round game before 357 at Sea Gull Stadium.Bergey's six goals tied him with six others for the second-highest total scored in a Division III first-round game.The Sea Gulls (15-0) advanced to Saturday's semifinals against Gettysburg. The victory extended Salisbury State's win streak to 31 games and gave coach Jim Berkman his 100th career coaching win.Salisbury State scored five goals in the opening 7 1/2 minutes.

Sean Radebaugh scored six goals and added four assists to lead Salisbury State (6-0, 2-0) to a record-breaking 34-2 men's lacrosse victory yesterday over visiting Goucher (4-3, 0-1) in a Capital Athletic Conference game.Thirteen different players scored for Salisbury State, ranked No.TC 1 in Division III, and the team broke previous school records for most goals in a game and largest margin of victory. The Sea Gulls scored 33 goals against West Chester in 1992 and defeated LeMoyne by 31 goals in 1990.

Paige Cook , of Parkton, recently participated in a Spring Break trip to Japan, as part of her "Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy" class at Washington College, Chestertown. Olivia A. Cypull , of Baldwin, a senior at Loch Raven High School is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist. Olivia has been awarded a National Merit James E. Casey Scholarship, through the UPS Foundation. The Scholars are selected from students who advance to the finalist level of the National Merit Scholarship competition and meet the criteria of a corporate sponsor.

Loyola attackman Eric Lusby played like he felt right at home Saturday. The Severna Park native, who is a graduate student, tied career highs with five goals and six points to lead the Greyhounds to a 10-9 win over Denver in an NCAA men's lacrosse tournament quarterfinal at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium before an announced 13,390, the fourth-largest crowd ever for this round. Loyola, the top seed in the tournament, advances to the semifinals for the first time since 1998.

Joe Cummings' game-winning goal with six seconds left in the fourth quarter propelled Maryland to a 10-9 upset of No. 7 seed Lehigh in a NCAA tournament first-round contest Sunday night and a quarterfinal date with No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins. But the senior attackman said the true heroics were provided by senior midfielder Drew Snider, who scored two of his game-high three goals in the fourth quarter and collected a key ground ball that set up Cummings' score. “I can't take that credit,” the Towson native and Loyola graduate said Tuesday when asked about being the Terps' hero.

The Consumer Federation of America released its second annual survey of our credit score knowledge. The good news: substantial improvement over last year. The bad news: plenty of misconceptions still exist. Let's talk about the second group. The CFA survey found: -     44 percent of consumers knew that a credit score measures risk of not repaying loans, which about one out of five believed. -     One-third thought each inquiry into a credit report reduces a score.

Joe Cummings and Maryland ruined Lehigh's first appearance in the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament. Cummings (Loyola) scored with six seconds left Sunday night to advance the unseeded Terps, who celebrated a 10-9 victory over Lehigh in a first-round game before an announced 2,278, a Lehigh record, at Ulrich Sports Complex. The Patriot League champion Mountain Hawks furiously rallied from a five-goal deficit to take an 8-6 lead into the final quarter, but Cummings' heroics ended the thriller.

Taylor Cummings scripted a "Hollywood ending" to a perfect McDonogh girls lacrosse season. The senior midfielder scored the game winner with 9.8 seconds left to lead the No. 1 Eagles over tenacious No. 5 Maryvale, 12-11, Sunday at Stevenson University for their fourth straight Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship and an 18-0 season. The 12 McDonogh seniors finished their careers 76-1 and the Eagles, ranked No. 1 in ESPN High School's Fab 50, went unbeaten for the third year in a row and extended their nation's best winning streak to 69 games.

Michael Heary scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Navy men's team to a 78-64 victory over Gettysburg yesterday at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.Gettysburg trailed by two points at halftime and was within six with 13 minutes remaining, but Navy put the game away with a 19-5 run.Navy (6-2) opened an 11-2 lead and was ahead 37-24 with 2: 51 left in the opening half. Then Gettysburg (5-2) scored 11 straight points before halftime.A three-pointer by Scott Hildenbrand at 18: 25 of the second half gave Gettysburg its only lead, 38-37.

Due in part to the single-game elimination aspect of the NCAA tournament, it wouldn't seem far-fetched for teams that advance deep into the tourney to become more conservative. A review of the last 13 national champions shows that only one matched or exceeded its season average in scoring with its final performance in the national title game. That was the 2007 Johns Hopkins squad, which averaged 10.4 goals and scored 12 in a one-goal decision over Duke. Several teams were close.

The Goucher men's lacrosse team has usually relied on Rory Averett to score goals and Connor Mishaw to prevent them. That formula again proved effective in Wednesday afternoon's NCAA Division III tournament first-round game at Washington College. The Gophers got four goals from Averett and 15 saves from Mishaw to outlast the Shoremen, 5-4, before an announced 850 at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium. Goucher, ranked 10th in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, improved to 18-1, extended its winning streak to 15 and will meet No. 1 seed Salisbury (19-0)