Slugs

As soon as the ball left his bat, Atholton's Kory Britton raised his hand in celebration as he trotted toward first base and watched the ball sail about 400 feet over the right-center-field fence. Britton had three of the No. 8 Raiders' 10 hits in a 7-0 victory against No. 9 Franklin in Tuesday's season opener. Atholton's Paul Beers pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight. "I think we have a chance to be good, but you never know," Atholton coach Kevin Kelly said.

The Orioles and Nationals gave local fans a good opening game and, dare I say it, might have played a game worthy of an actual rivalry Monday night. Here are the highlights in the Coffee Companion, where we recap the previous day's sports headlines. - The Orioles' stars - Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy, and Manny Machado - homered in the 11th inning to give the Orioles an 8-2, extra-inning win over the Washington Nationals. The homers were made possible when Buck Showalter intentionally walked Bryce Harper to put two on in the ninth before Darren O'Day, who threw a career high in pitches , struck out the next two batters to send it to extras.

It's time for Science Lurches Forward, the column in which we look at what our top scientific brains have been thinking, and wonder if maybe they should be getting more sleep. Our lead story, brought to our attention by alert journalist Claire Martin, is an exciting robot concept invented by Dr. Ian Kelly of the University of West England, which, as you might suspect, is a university located in west England. Dr. Kelly is trying to solve a major problem with today's robots, which is that they need human help to function.

A stowaway slug that caught a free ride on a shipment of Mexican mint bound for Elkridge was intercepted at Washington Dulles International Airport as the first of its kind to be identified in the Washington region. Considered a threat to crops and human health, it was captured - and the mint destroyed. An entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the Philomycidae slug was a "new pest" for the region, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Friday.

Thank goodness for the singing slugs. Flushed Away, a tale of pampered versus plucky rats that's the latest effort from the twisted Brit studio that gave us Wallace & Gromit, spends a good bit of its time stuck in comedic neutral - spinning its wheels and debating whether to concentrate on being witty or settle for grade-school-level funny. Fortunately, it shoots more often for the former. When the latter wins out, though, Flushed Away shifts from the sublime to the ordinary, from inventive to pedestrian.

Q. I have a tremendous problem with slugs in late spring and early summer. I have heard that spraying with an ammonia-and-water solution provides effective control. What do you think of the ammonia sprays? Are they safe? A. Apparently, a 5-10 percent solution of ammonia and water will kill these pests; however the ammonia solution must be applied directly to the slugs. According to several online forums and several state extension services, some gardeners are using this method, but others think that hand-picking is just as efficient.

IT STARTED OUT AS A DAYDREAM. WE WERE JUS SITTING AROUND AFTER A SLOW-pitch softball game one evening last summer, drinking beer, talking politics when the idea popped out: Why not take the office softball team -- the Slugs -- to the Soviet Union?People laughed, made a few jokes and after a minute or so the conversation moved on. But a year later (after six months of trying to get up the nerve to ask the publisher and another six months of furious work and long-distance communications), there we were: getting off the plane at Sheremetjevo Airport outside Moscow.

When I slip, just slightly, in the dark,I know it isn't a wet leaf,But you, loose toe from the old life,The cold slime come into being. ...Even the caterpillar I can love, and the various vermin.But as for you, most odious -Would Blake call you holy?-- Theodore Roethke In the beam of the flashlight, they made a ghastly tableau - slugs, scores of them, the gelatinous progeny of a rainy spring. Now they were consuming my vegetable garden in a slow-motion feeding frenzy, like some miniature species of vegetarian sharks.

We want to clear out our woods and plant grass. What kind of grass seed should we buy? Think twice. Grass needs three to four hours of direct sunlight, minimum. We get many calls from frustrated homeowners who spent huge amounts of money and energy trying to get grass to grow under trees. (Tree roots also compete with grass for water and nutrients.) Try identifying what good plants are in your woods. It may take four seasons to see all the plants, including ephemeral spring bulbs. Keep the native plants such as ferns and shrubs that flower, berry and provide winter interest.

Around the houseClean outside grill easily. When grill is warm, wipe clean with a crumpled piece of aluminum foil.Remove perspiration stains from clothing. Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply to spot and rub. Launder as usual.For outdoor barbecues, use an ice bucket as a serving dish. It keeps cold and hot foods at the right temperatures and isunbreakable.In the gardenSprinkle sawdust between leafy perennials in damp, shady areas that draw slugs. Shallow saucers of beer will attract slugs causing them to drown.

There's not a whole lot of mystery to this version of the Orioles. Pitch well enough and hope for the home run - because no one in the sport is better at hitting baseballs a long way. In an 11-8 slugfest victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night, the Orioles' most consistent starter, Chris Tillman, struggled. But he was picked up by an offense that hit three more homers, including Nate McLouth's first career grand slam and Chris Davis' major league leading 40th of the season.

The tips of my red raspberry canes wilted. They've always been so healthy; what's happening? It's not lack of water. The female raspberry cane borer is a beetle that punctures the cane about 6 inches below the tip to lay its eggs, causing tips to wilt and die. When larvae hatch, they tunnel down the cane and by the second year they are damaging the base and roots. The remedy is simple: prune out all wilted tips below the larvae. You can slit open a cane to see how far they have progressed or just prune out at least several inches below the dead tip. Destroy pruned tips.

  Comptroller Peter Franchot responded to a blistering letter from a Democratic state senator with cool disdain Monday -- delegating the task of replying to his chief of staff. Sen. James "Ed" DeGrange wrote a letter to Franchot last week suggesting that the comptroller was serving the interests of West Virginia rather than Maryland by openly opposing a ballot question that would allow expanded gambling in Maryland. DeGrange, an Anne Arundel County Democrat, accused Franchot of being deceitful by asserting that the gambling plan would not yield additional money for education.

When designated hitter Chris Davis walked up to home plate in Friday's eighth inning after homering in his initial three at-bats - the first Oriole to do that in six years and the second time it has happened in a game involving the club this week - he had just one thought in his mind. “I was thinking about trying to work a walk,” Davis deadpanned. “I really wanted to see some pitches.” Yes, he was kidding. In the Orioles' 6-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, Davis became just the 19th player in franchise history to homer three times in a game.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Orioles manager Buck Showalter has stressed all season that one game can't mean too much - whether it's an inspiring comeback or an epic clunker. Ponder what happened for a few minutes post-game, Showalter preaches, and then turn the page. Given that thinking, the Orioles need to treat Wednesday's 12-3 pummeling by the Texas Rangers like a spellbinding thriller. And flip through it quickly. “We are playing with house money. We're not supposed to be where we are,” Orioles first baseman Mark Reynolds said.

Maybe there's more to the Brandon Marshall trade than meets the eye. On Tuesday, just before the free agency frenzy began in the NFL, the Chicago Bears were able to obtain the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver for what seemed like a bargain price of two third-round draft picks. Maybe here's the reason why the cost was so low: Marshall is accused of punching a woman in the face at a New York City nightclub on Sunday morning, according to a New York Post story . Given his long list of off-field troubles and $9.5 million salary, the Dolphins look like they took whatever they could get for Marshall.

Around the house* When painting the interior of your house, record the color and the amount used by writing the information inside a switch plate. The information will be at your fingertips when you're ready to paint again.* Prevent plugs from pulling away from extension cords. Tie both wires together before plugging in; the more you pull, the tighter the connection.* Keep packets of alcohol swabs on hand. Use them to clean eyeglasses and thermometers. Rid house plants of aphids by running the swabs along infected stems.

I brought my peace lilies indoors weeks ago for the winter, and now their young leaves have holes in them. I see webbing in the plant base and slime stuff as well. I can't find what is doing the munching. Examine houseplants carefully before bringing them indoors. A sharp water spray helps dislodge many potential pests such as mites. Your peace lilies likely harbor slugs. Slugs hide in soil and leaf litter and come out at night to feed, leaving slime behind. Try the usual slug control methods, such as a small dish of beer to drown them or an empty grapefruit half, which provides a dark, moist hiding place to lure them so you can catch them.

Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.   Running it back: The Orioles homered three times in Sunday's 7-5 win over the Reds and finished with nine in the three-game series. ... Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Brian Matusz needs to figure out how to pitch with the stuff he's got because his velocity might not come back this year.

As soon as the ball left his bat, Atholton's Kory Britton raised his hand in celebration as he trotted toward first base and watched the ball sail about 400 feet over the right-center-field fence. Britton had three of the No. 8 Raiders' 10 hits in a 7-0 victory against No. 9 Franklin in Tuesday's season opener. Atholton's Paul Beers pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight. "I think we have a chance to be good, but you never know," Atholton coach Kevin Kelly said.