Scorpions

This week, "The Amazing Race" gives us bushmen and scorpions in Africa, which is just what we all needed, right? The first clue tells teams that they must go to the city of Maun in the Kalahari desert. They have to find out what country they're headed for before a security guard will let them into a travel agency to buy tickets.  He has one job, let him do it! The travel agency is a small place and the doors are plate glass. Basically, people on the outside can see and hear people on the inside.  The Fearless Friends check a hotel computer and discover that they are headed to Botswana.

This week, "The Amazing Race" gives us bushmen and scorpions in Africa, which is just what we all needed, right? The first clue tells teams that they must go to the city of Maun in the Kalahari desert. They have to find out what country they're headed for before a security guard will let them into a travel agency to buy tickets.  He has one job, let him do it! The travel agency is a small place and the doors are plate glass. Basically, people on the outside can see and hear people on the inside.  The Fearless Friends check a hotel computer and discover that they are headed to Botswana.

No. 12 Oakland Mills is just two games away from completing a perfect boys basketball regular season. Once again, Lavon Long put up a game high, scoring 17 points, and the Scorpions defeated host Glenelg on Thursday night, 70-53. Oakland Mills (20-0, 17-0 Howard) limited the Gladiators (8-7, 7-6) to 13 points in the first half. The Scorpions' final two games are at home at 5:30 p.m. They face Wilde Lake on Tuesday and close out the regular-season against Atholton on Thursday.

Tavi Thomas ended the Oakland Mills dream of a perfect season Thursday night. Thomas drilled a 3-pointer with nine seconds left that gave visiting Calvert a come-from-behind 69-67 victory over No. 6 Oakland Mills in the Class 2A South region championship. Oakland Mills entered the game as the only unbeaten public school team left in the state - for boys - and the Scorpions finished with a 24-1 record. Oakland Mills was trying to make the state final four for the first time in 12 years, and a state championship would have meant the Scorpions did it with a perfect record.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Oakland Mills Scorpions, who brought home to Howard County the girls Class 1A state basketball championship Saturday.Coach Teresa Waters used a few choice words to motivate her athletes, whose lead was only 11-10 at halftime. They came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring Williamsport of Washington County 13-4, and putting the game out of reach. Oakland Mills (18-9) was having a mediocre year until the team gelled and finished a storybook season by winning 10 of its last 12 games.

Matt Noon of Oakland Mills pitched a three-hitter as the Scorpions broke a 10-game losing streak by upsetting Centennial yesterday, 5-3.Noon also went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.Oakland Mills (3-12) had nine hits, including two apiece by Adam Seidman and Eamon Gallagher, against Centennial right-hander Brent Mertes.Centennial (9-6, 8-4) still is battling for a Class 3A, Region III playoff spot with three games left. The Eagles play at Frederick today.

Oakland Mills took 20 shots last night.That was in the second half.But the Scorpions' failure to score in the second half made the last few minutes of their 1A-2A South Region final against Hammond very interesting."

Never count out Oakland Mills.The visiting Scorpions sent that loud-and-clear message to the entire county by upsetting 15th-ranked Howard, 38-33, in the league opener yesterday.Oakland Mills had finished fifth -- 60 points behind first-place Howard -- in the Chopticon Tournament last weekend and was looking like only the third-best county team.But the Scorpions, helped by Howard's 130-pounder, who missed Wrestlingweigh-in, put it all together to capture a victory crucial to their dual-meet championship hopes.

Last week, the Oakland Mills Scorpions were searching for their own pulse. Having just suffered a lopsided defeat at the hands of Hammond, the Scorpions were looking for their first wrestling victory and staring at their first losing season in nearly 20 years.The Scorpions have an announcement to make. They're not dead yet. In fact, after last night's 33-23 victory at Wilde Lake, the Scorpions (2-6) completed a rejuvenating week that included a 45-18 rout of upstart Howard.Suddenly, the future looks brighter for Oakland Mills.

Oakland Mills coach Teresa Waters got some bad news even before practice began -- three potential starters would not return.Two defected to the indoor track team and a third, senior Kristen Ostlie, will miss the season with a back injury. Those players had helped boost the Scorpions from a 1-21 team two years ago to a five-game winner last season.Waters had hoped to improve enough to contend for the county title. She still thinks the Scorpions can compete, but there may be some ups and downs -- especially with a bench full of underclassmen.

No. 12 Oakland Mills is just two games away from completing a perfect boys basketball regular season. Once again, Lavon Long put up a game high, scoring 17 points, and the Scorpions defeated host Glenelg on Thursday night, 70-53. Oakland Mills (20-0, 17-0 Howard) limited the Gladiators (8-7, 7-6) to 13 points in the first half. The Scorpions' final two games are at home at 5:30 p.m. They face Wilde Lake on Tuesday and close out the regular-season against Atholton on Thursday.

No. 12 Oakland Mills at River Hill When: Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. Coaches: Jon Browne, Oakland Mills; Matt Graves, River Hill PLAYERS TO WATCH Oakland Mills: Lavon Long, Sr., F; Dajuan Dent, Sr., F; Marvin Williams, Jr., G River Hill: Walt Moody, Sr., F; Charles Thomas IV, So., F-C; Gary Sandler, So., G KEYS TO VICTORY Oakland Mills remains unbeaten this season (15-0), including 12 victories against Howard County competition. Long, a dominating transfer from Mount St. Joseph, plays well in his role as the team leader, but the Scorpions' size, athleticism and depth have also separated them from the rest of the pack.

Scorpion, anyone? How about silkworms and mole crickets? Corner BYOB has them on the menu, for one night only, at Tuesday night's Gastronaut Society Dinner. Bernard Dehaene's menu starts, innocently enough, with a parsnip and potato vichyssoise with escargot confit in duckfat. Then, things get alarming -- the next course is an herb and orchid flower salad with silkworms and mole crickets. Then come scallop and scorpion with cactus and prickly pair, followed by a calf's head, for the guests to share, with apples and Calvados; and then, a filet of colin (kind of like a pollack)

Missed opportunities will haunt Oakland Mills. The No. 14 Scorpions trailed No. 6 Glenelg until midway through the fourth quarter, when the two teams traded narrow leads. Oakland Mills, looking to beat the Gladiators for the first time in over a year, went ahead 37-36 with two minutes to play but couldn't hold on to its advantage. The Scorpions helped in their own downfall. In the final two minutes of play, they lost the ball on four turnovers, including steals by Glenelg's Sam Heisig, Mary Kittleman and Danielle Burris.

All through its undefeated regular season, the Oakland Mills boys basketball team was decidely superior against its Howard County competition. Nothing changed when Anne Arundel County's best, No. 13 Broadneck, challenged the No. 4 Scorpions in Wednesday night's District V championship game at Mount Hebron. The Howard County champions brought more size, quickness and athleticisim to the title game, and it was apparent early. Behind a pestering zone trap and a 23-point performance from 6-foot-9 senior Greg Whittington, Oakland Mills scored the game's first 20 points to come away with a 58-24 win over the Bruins.

Oakland Mills senior point guard Joe Kiely knew it was coming, and so far, he's been up to the task. The Scorpions were loaded with returning talent and pegged the decisive favorites to win the Howard County title. Ranked No. 9 in the Metro area, the Scorpions are 14-0 and their fearless point guard is a big reason. In his third season as a starter, Kiely is averaging 8.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 steals as the team's catalyst. Just as impressive, he has turned the ball over only 21 times as the team's primary ballhandler.

The "Mike and Irv Show" proved too much for Loyola last night at Oakland Mills, where the No. 17 Scorpions handed the No. 15 Dons a 90-70 defeat.Michael Hill and Irving Conwell each scored 36 points -- the second time this season they have combined for more than 70 points.Conwell added 13 rebounds, five assists and five steals. Hill had seven assists, seven rebounds and three steals.Loyola (5-2), playing without starting point guard Jason Vogtman (flu), had trouble handling Oakland Mills' full-court man-for-man press.

Where's the beef? It's going to be in Oakland Mills coach Ken Hovet's back yard. And plenty of it.The Oakland Mills coach struck a deal with his players before yesterday's regular-season football finale against Centennial.If the Scorpions would score 40 points, then Hovet would cook every player a steak dinner.No. 14 Oakland Mills romped 48-12 to win the Howard County championship and make Hovet a man in search of a good deal on a large quantity of beef."We wanted to finish strong and show that we deserved the county championship," Hovet said.

The last time that Oakland Mills met Hammond, center Greg Whittington didn't play. Unfortunately for host Hammond, he did Thursday night. The junior scored a game-high 25 points - including a clutch 3-pointer to send the game to overtime - as Oakland Mills defeated the Golden Bears, 64-61, in the Class 2A South regional semifinals. Sophomore James Turner led the Bears with 24 points. The Scorpions (17-5) will meet the winner of the Frederick Douglass-Gwynn Park game on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.

Question: : You recently wrote about rubbing a cut onion on a bee sting to ease the pain. Swiss farmers have practiced this for centuries. In 1949, when I was stung by a bee right near the kneecap and was hurting badly, my farmer grandmother gave me a freshly cut onion and told me to rub it on the sting site for five minutes. After that, I could not even feel the sting or any pain anymore. I have used this remedy many times since. Answer: : Thanks for this historical perspective. Onion contains compounds that can break down the proteins in bee venom.