Shaving

Broadneck has been forced to forfeit its Anne Arundel County girls swimming championship after it was discovered that an athlete violated rules by shaving on-site just prior to the county meet. School system officials learned of the Feb. 10 violation in the past week, according to a news release sent out Tuesday. They redistributed the points earned by the disqualified swimmer to the other participating teams, and as a result, Severna Park has been crowned the champion. Broadneck finishes third.

Bernie O'Brien is a big burly guy with a crop of red hair. But sometime after noon Sunday, he'll be sporting a shiny bald head. So too will at least 80 other people milling about Fado Irish Pub, the Annapolis bar that O'Brien manages. It's for a good cause. Charitable events usually conjure up images of adults in evening attire attending a gala, or of running a few miles and going home with a tee shirt as a memento — not a something as personal as a shaved head. But for the past 10 years, O'Brien has been a member of the "baldtenders team," a local group of bartenders who shave their heads as participants in an annual St. Baldrick's Foundation event that raises money for pediatric cancer research.

Over the years, many thoughtful people have advised me that I write too many columns about tasteless and offensive topics such as cow flatulence and Phyllis Schlafly. That is why today, in an effort to turn over a new leaf, I have selected a wholesome topic that the entire family can enjoy: tennis.This topic was suggested by Sue Ann Quinn of Beaumont, Texas, who describes herself as a "tennis nut." Sue Ann writes in to ask:"Was Monica Seles unshaven at the French Open? I swear I saw hair sticking out from her armpits.

Taylor Teagarden hadn't been around the Orioles this season to be a part of the team's extra-inning heroics, home-plate celebrations and shaving-cream pies. Opening Day for the injury-riddled catcher came Saturday - the team's 87th game of the season - when he was activated from the disabled list before the Orioles' played the Detroit Tigers With a back injury keeping him out since spring training, he hadn't played in a major league game in 11 months. He hadn't hit a big-league home run in nearly two years.

The president-elect was coming to Baltimore, and police officers had their orders. They had to keep the crowds orderly, keep Barack Obama safe and look presentable. Officers needed to be "clean-shaven. " That was a problem for Anthony L. Brown, an 18-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department. He says he has been diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae, a skin condition nicknamed "razor bumps" that can cause infection and scarring "as a consequence of shaving. " That didn't stop the department from enforcing its orders for officers on the presidential detail, according to a $17 million lawsuit that Brown, who is now retired, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court this month.

Men can be really funny about their faces. The preferred facial cleanser is whatever's in the soap dish. The shaving method usually is hasty; improvised long ago from watching Dad, who watched his dad. To finish, men will clench their teeth and slap themselves with an after-shave that's supposed to sting, right? Any other way just wouldn't be, manly.In the 1990s, though, men finally are acknowledging that dermatological indifference will win them skin problems -- not virility points. More men than ever are seeking better ways to maintain their faces.

Shaving is a ritual men have been performing since . . . well, we don't really know when, do we?Ancient man didn't have the benefit of hot-lather machines, electric shavers, disposable plastic or twin blades. Too bad. We do know that the oldest-known metal razors date to 3,000 B.C., and the ancient Egyptians often were buried with their silver and bronze razors.Although modern man may moan about this daily chore, it is surely made easier with technology's intervention in removing the daily average of 15,500 facial hairs.

The University of Maryland at Baltimore cannot force its black police officers to shave if they suffer from a severe skin disease, Maryland's second-highest court ruled yesterday.The ruling by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld the state Human Relations Commission's award of $22,591 in back pay to Donald Boyd, who was not allowed to wear a beard after returning to work from sick leave.Mr. Boyd suffers from a skin condition called pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), which causes scarring, bleeding and pain, and is aggravated by shaving.

The Fallston boys wrapped up a sweep of the Harford County swimming championships for the second straight year last night, but many at the Magnolia Middle School meet were instead talking about how two Cougars were disqualified - for shaving in the locker room. Fallston had little trouble winning the boys title, earning 313 points. Bel Air took second with 220. Including the girls' competition, the Cougars finished with 586 points to take the top spot in the combined race. Bel Air also finished second in combined scores (442)

CHICAGO -- The trip for which he was packing, the one to Fresno State for a game with the Bulldogs today, long had been advertised as the last he would take as the coach of Nevada-Las Vegas. But now the circumstances were altered considerably, and Jerry Tarkanian once more was engaged in battle.This one seeks to keep him on the job for another season, to rescind the agreement he signed last June that obliges him to step down at this season's end.This battle arose after reports alleged the FBI was looking into possible point shaving by some of last year's Rebels; already his attorney had delivered a letter to UNLV President Robert Maxson declaring Tarkanian's intentions.

After opening the season with back-to-back losses, Washington College has racked up six consecutive wins and moved to the top of the Centennial Conference with a 3-0 record. And some of the team's resurgence can be traced to an emerging defense. A unit that surrendered 10 goals per game last year has trimmed that average to 6.4 in eight contests this season. Coach Jeff Shirk said close defensemen Bryan Botti, Michael Pierandri and Jack Vermeil, short-stick defensive midfielders David Lundquist and Morgan Braendel, long-stick midfielder Stephen Pappas and goalkeeper Peter Stewart have gotten comfortable in their second year in the unit's schemes.

Broadneck has been forced to forfeit its Anne Arundel County girls swimming championship after it was discovered that an athlete violated rules by shaving on-site just prior to the county meet. School system officials learned of the Feb. 10 violation in the past week, according to a news release sent out Tuesday. They redistributed the points earned by the disqualified swimmer to the other participating teams, and as a result, Severna Park has been crowned the champion. Broadneck finishes third.

UPDATE (11:55 a.m.): The hearing was abruptly interrupted, and the camera went to a blank wall as a result of a disturbance in the hearing room at about 11:55 a.m. as the last questioner was addressing a question to Rupert Murdoch.  A replay of video showed a  spectator approaching Rupert Murdoch with a plate of white shaving cream. A CNN staffer in the room reports that the shaving cream hit Murdoch "squarely in the face. " Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, leapt to her husband's defense by throwing a punch at the man. Murdoch did not seem injured, and the spectator was removed by police.

Hallie P. Washington, a barber who cut hair and shaved beards for more than 50 years in an East Baltimore shop that was a neighborhood gathering place, died of an infection April 16 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She was 93 and lived above her business. Born Hallie Pickens in Greenville, S.C., she moved to Baltimore as a teen. Family members said she developed a strong work ethic as a child being raised on a farm. She planted seeds and brought water to her father and other workers as they plowed the fields.

The president-elect was coming to Baltimore, and police officers had their orders. They had to keep the crowds orderly, keep Barack Obama safe and look presentable. Officers needed to be "clean-shaven. " That was a problem for Anthony L. Brown, an 18-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department. He says he has been diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae, a skin condition nicknamed "razor bumps" that can cause infection and scarring "as a consequence of shaving. " That didn't stop the department from enforcing its orders for officers on the presidential detail, according to a $17 million lawsuit that Brown, who is now retired, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court this month.

When the earthquake devastated Haiti, students and staff at Hampstead Hill Academy pledged to raise money for relief efforts. Fourth-grade teacher Jonathan Swann went further, vowing to shave his head if the school could raise $2,500. The school did better than that, raising $3,500 for the American Red Cross. Friday was the payoff, so to speak, as school secretary Cynthia Warner shaves Swann's head to the shouts and cheers of the children, right. Inset, Swann checks out his new 'do. For a video of the event, go to baltimoresun.

The clean-shaven man who stands accused of murderin State Police Cpl. Theodore D. Wolf will retain his freedom to shave.Prosecutors who are seeking the death penalty for Eric Tirado, 27, had asked the Howard County Circuit Court to compel Tirado to restore his face to the dark, unshaven appearance it had around the time of Wolf's murder on March 29, 1990. They charged that Tirado was trying to alter his appearance to frustrate trial witnesses trying to identify him.After seeing pictures of Tirado in varying stages of facial growth and after hearing testimony from pre-trial witnesses who said they could recognize Tirado with or without his beard, Judge Raymond J. Kane Jr., decided against an anti-shaving order yesterday.

Name: : ShaveMate All-in-One Combo Razor What it is: : A six-blade razor with shaving cream inside the handle. The Titan 6 (for men) is gray, and the Diva 6 (for women) is pink - with pink-tinted shaving cream. How it works: : Rather than travel with a razor and a container of shaving cream, you can merge the two with ShaveMate. To access the cream, turn the bottom of the handle to the open position, push until enough cream spurts into your hand, then spin it closed. The good: : Traveling with less is always better, and this certainly clears room in the dop kit. The blades are better than your garden-variety disposable razor, and the shaving cream makes a fine, creamy lather.

Name: : ShaveMate All-in-One Combo Razor What it is: : A six-blade razor with shaving cream inside the handle. The Titan 6 (for men) is gray, and the Diva 6 (for women) is pink - with pink-tinted shaving cream. How it works: : Rather than travel with a razor and a container of shaving cream, you can merge the two with ShaveMate. To access the cream, turn the bottom of the handle to the open position, push until enough cream spurts into your hand, then spin it closed. The good: : Traveling with less is always better, and this certainly clears room in the dop kit. The blades are better than your garden-variety disposable razor, and the shaving cream makes a fine, creamy lather.