Shirts

For many folks headed to Preakness, the focus of the afternoon isn't the race. It's the fashion — and we don't just mean hats. If you're in the grandstands, the Jockey Club area or Corporate Village, you'll want to dress the part. Betsy Dugan, owner of Bettina Collections in Cross Keys and former co-owner of Octavia in Pikesville, has been dressing women for Preakness for years. "This is the time ... to dress up," she said. If there's one rule of thumb, it's that ladies and gentlemen at Preakness should look like ...well, ladies and gentlemen.

Editor: I am writing in response to an apparent dust-up over the use of rap lyrics on a t-shirt at Joppatowne High School. Unfortunately, I did not see the original letter to the editor on this subject, but I can comment on the mother-educator response. It disturbs me to read that a parent and educator would actually condone the use of this particular rap song, or any part of it in a school setting. This so called song contains foul language and atrocious grammar from start to finish as well as the use of the controversial "N" word; though in the so-called acceptable context we have been duped to believe is "artistic expression.

When the first customers enter Under Armour's new Brand House in Harbor East Saturday morning, they'll have little choice but to think "Baltimore. " The shirts displayed at the front of the store promote Baltimore neighborhoods such as Fells Point and Canton and sport iconic symbols like Mr. Boh. Banners next to the main entrance honor NFL great Ray Lewis and the Ravens. Swimmer Michael Phelps adorns the side of the building facing the water. Inside, there are vintage-style shirts with crabs and others showing the outline of a Raven image with famous city streets and places spelled within.

A Baltimore judge sentenced Jason K. Hamel to 50 years in prison for the Federal Hill murder of an alleged drug dealer who tricked him into paying $5,000 for a T-shirt he said was a package of cocaine. The shooting happened in 800 block of Battery Avenue on June 20, 2008 when Hamel, 33, went to meet his victim Keyva Bluitt and two other men to do the supposed drug deal. Hamel picked up the package at around 9:15 p.m. and soon realized the deception, according to the Baltimore state's attorney's office.

A show-stopping play and a catchy saying add up to some head-turning shirt sales -- just ask Ray Rice. Stores report selling hundreds of shirts with Rice's new catchphrase, "Hey diddle diddle, Ray Rice up the middle" -- and the shirts have only been available for several hours. "Ray Rice has a lot of pull in this town," joked John Conigliaro, who owns Great Moments, a shop selling the shirts. In Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers, Rice scored one of the most memorable plays in years.

The Under Armour brand is poised for continued growth with a soon-to-be-released football cleat that's expected to drive footwear sales, as well as plans to keep expanding into international markets, executives told stockholders Tuesday. Consumers who choose Under Armour over other sports apparel brands do so because the products help solve problems for athletes, said Kevin Plank, the company's chairman, president and CEO, during the company's annual stockholders' meeting at its South Baltimore headquarters.

Amid mounting protests, college clothier Abercrombie & Fitch has pulled a line of T-shirts from stores nationwide following complaints that they depicted racist caricatures of Asian-Americans. The $25 T-shirts show cartoonish Asian characters with slanted eyes and conical hats as pitchmen for fabricated companies such as restaurants, dry cleaners and bowling alleys. One portrays a man pulling a rickshaw with the words "Rick Shaw's Hoagies and Grinders. Order by the foot. Good meat. Quick feet."

With the Ravens now officially in the "Festivus," the well-dressed Baltimore fan may want to pick up a stylish new Festivus T-shirt to go along with the requisite giant foam-finger, purple hard hat and full camo gear. The brainchild of offensive lineman Edwin Mulitalo, the black T-shirts with purple lettering say "Happy Festivus Baltimore Style" and, once printed up this week, will sell for $19.95. Festivus, you may recall, was the word the Ravens came up with as a substitute for "playoffs" a couple of weeks ago, after coach Brian Billick banned the P-word from being uttered by the entire organization.

Someday, when historians try to piece together the definitive history of the digital age, they might want to rummage through Lloyd Tabb's laundry bag. Buried beneath his stinky socks and dirty drawers, they'll find what the 37-year-old programmer considers one of the great unappreciated icons of Silicon Valley: the geek tee. For more than a quarter-century, programmers and engineers have informally memorialized their efforts with T-shirts. The clothing commemorates some of the digital age's greatest triumphs - from the creation of the first personal computers to the first commercial Web browser.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs founded Ball So Hard University in jest, but three months later, the joke has become a serious legal dispute. In a recorded introduction for an early-November game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, when players recite their names and alma maters for the TV cameras, Suggs said, "Sizzle. Ball So Hard University. " He chose to forgo his real name and college, Arizona State University, in favor of a nickname and a fictional institution based on the refrain of a 2011 hip-hop song by Jay-Z and Kanye West.

When the first customers enter Under Armour's new Brand House in Harbor East Saturday morning, they'll have little choice but to think "Baltimore. " The shirts displayed at the front of the store promote Baltimore neighborhoods such as Fells Point and Canton and sport iconic symbols like Mr. Boh. Banners next to the main entrance honor NFL great Ray Lewis and the Ravens. Swimmer Michael Phelps adorns the side of the building facing the water. Inside, there are vintage-style shirts with crabs and others showing the outline of a Raven image with famous city streets and places spelled within.

Several area stores are preparing to open tonight and sell Ravens memorabilia to fans eager to show their pride over the team's Super Bowl win. Around midnight at Dick's Sporting Goods located inside Columbia Crossing shopping center, fans raided the shelves to get their hands on Super Bowl Champions gear. “I told myself I wasn't going to waste any time,” said Elkridge resident Cheryl Guyton. “I got a magnet, a sweat shirt, T-shirts, cups, and I might not be done yet.” Guyton said she got a little nervous watching the game, but the end result produced elation.

Ravens fans who also want to bring their purple passion to a cause can purchase a special edition Super Bowl XLVII T-shirt to benefit The Brigance Brigade Foundation, created by former Ravens player O.J. Brigance and his wife, Chanda. All proceeds from sales of the $20 T-shirt go to the foundation, which raises funds to support and improve the quality of life for patients with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and their families by providing needed equipment, resource guidance and services.

When he knew all cameras and lights would be trained on him, Ray Lewis pulled his game jersey off Sunday to reveal a shirt with a single message: Psalms 91. So curious minds wanted to understand what point Lewis was trying to make as he took a victory lap around the stadium wearing this particular shirt. The psalm is known as the "psalm of protection. " It has a lot to do with vanquishing various enemies with faith and treading upon beasts under one's feet. Here's a key passage: Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.

Can someone loan Ken Ulman a shirt he can wear to pick up another county's garbage? Don't everyone line up at once. After his bet on Sunday's Ravens game went sour, the Howard County executive has to make good on what he promised Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker. Sometime this week Ulman must put on a Robert Lee Griffin III jersey and wear it to pick up roadside trash in  Redskins terriotory while singing the team song. "All my Redskin fan friends are coming out of the woodwork today, giving me a hard time.," Ulman said in a video he posted Monday on You Tube.

A show-stopping play and a catchy saying add up to some head-turning shirt sales -- just ask Ray Rice. Stores report selling hundreds of shirts with Rice's new catchphrase, "Hey diddle diddle, Ray Rice up the middle" -- and the shirts have only been available for several hours. "Ray Rice has a lot of pull in this town," joked John Conigliaro, who owns Great Moments, a shop selling the shirts. In Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers, Rice scored one of the most memorable plays in years.

A man in Overland Park, Kansas, has applied to trademark the phrase that President Obama uttered last month: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. " According to Trademarkia.com, Martin Joseph Markley applied for the trademark on March 27 . He filed the application in the category of "personal, legal and social services. " And the goods and services affiliated with the trademark, the filing shows, are advertising slogans and cartoon characters. Obama's remarks on the Martin shooting case last month made national headlines.

Several Anne Arundel County senior activity centers have announced their trip schedules and are accepting deposits. Trips vary per center and include day trips as well as cruises and extended bus trips. To sign up for a trip, you must be a current senior center member with updated information in the database and a key. Membership is free. Call the Department of Aging and Disabilities at 410-222-4464 for more information. Anniversary T-shirts The Arnold, Pascal and South County Senior Activity Centers are selling green T-shirts to celebrate their 30th anniversaries.

James Francis "Shirt-sleeves" O'Neill, a retired lawyer who had served as mayor of Bel Air in the early 1970s, died of cancer Monday at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 86. "Jim was a character, spontaneous, funny and off the wall sometimes but not all the time," said Todd Holden, a former Aegis reporter and photographer who was a longtime friend. "He used to ride a minibike when gas went through the roof, and always had a Red Baron white scarf around his neck as he made his way around town," said Mr. Holden.

A Marylander in an Orioles shirt  just won the top prize in the World Series of Poker. Greg Merson, a pro from Laurel and University of Maryland dropout, came out on top after a marathon game against a 21-year-old college student Winning the first prize, he comes home with more than $8.53 million. The second prize wasn't too shabby either: more than $5 million. Merson's Orioles love didn't go unnoticed. Star player Adam Jones -- who's shirt Merson wore for the win -- Tweeted to him Tuesday, saying his dog Missy was rather impressed with that choice of outfit.