Sprint

Trevor Pryce has spent 11 seasons chasing quarterbacks and decking running backs. But before he became a defensive end for the Denver Broncos and the Ravens, Pryce had a job that was less lucrative and less exhausting. What was your first job? I was a softball scorekeeper at the park for a bunch of old, drunken men. It was terrible. I was probably 12, and they paid me $10 a night, and you were there for five hours watching some [dude] swing and miss. It was like, "What am I doing here?"

Few films combine a dense and tingling atmosphere with the headlong pacing and adventure of The Bourne Ultimatum. The director, Paul Greengrass, takes the minimalist story line and snaps it like a whip. Then he revels in the shock waves that concuss the denizens of a packed London subway station or a Tangier marketplace. The set-up couldn't be more elemental. Bourne (Matt Damon), determined to confront the secret CIA Treadstone programmers who made him a killer, stumbles on an even more lethal program called Blackbriar.

India needs faster growth to create more jobs for its expanding population and to make it easier to relieve poverty. The awkward truth is that although the economy is sprinting ahead, most people are only crawling. Although the educated middle class has enjoyed big salary increases and a surge in the value of their homes and shares, the 60 percent of the population close to or below the poverty line have not yet seen a material gain. Measured by the commonly used Gini coefficient, India has less income inequality than China or America.

An independent study commissioned by Carroll County found that Sprint PCS plans to provide wireless phone service in the Westminster area might be achieved by placing antennas on water towers and other structures instead of building new telecommunications towers.It is unknown whether all the proposed sites would be suitable for Sprint, but the engineering study should give Carroll some leverage as it attempts to control the proliferation of telecommunications towers, county officials said.

Perry Hall's girls and Woodlawn's boys let it be known in no uncertain terms that they will be the teams to beat when Baltimore County gets around to conducting its indoor track championships at the 5th Regiment Armory at the end of the month.Remember former Orioles' manager Earl Weaver's description of his squad as possessing "deep depth?" That was the key to Perry Hall's success in the dress-rehearsal County Relays at the Armory last evening.The Gators had three firsts, three seconds and a pair of thirds on the nine-event program, failing to score in just the high jump.

If you're around anything long enough, you'll see it all. Saturday was horse racing's day for the amazing and bizarre.On the final day of MATCH (Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships), the 35-race series that began in April, two horses with chances to clinch the title (and $150,000 in bonuses for their owner and trainer) encountered trouble in the starting gate.At Delaware Park in the afternoon, Crab Grass, trained by Barclay Tagg at Laurel Park, needed to finish third or better in the $100,000 Sweet and Sassy Stakes to win the championship.

Here is an excerpt of an editorial from the Los Angeles Times which was published Wednesday.THE WORLD of telecommunications has been shaken once again, this time by the recent announcement of a $115 billion merger between MCIWorldCom and Sprint Corp., the second-and third-largest long-distance telephone companies.This is the biggest yet in a string of mammoth mergers. The two companies and industry analysts believe that the merger makes good business sense and will benefit stockholders.Federal regulators must make sure this is a good deal for consumers as well.

The county commissioners are awaiting Sprint PCS' response to an independent engineering report that found Sprint may not need to build three proposed telecommunications towers to provide wireless phone service in the Westminster area.Sprint's response may be finished this week, but might not be made public until after Jan. 1, county officials said.If Sprint agrees with the report's findings, it would most likely end a festering debate over the towers that has dragged on since summer. If not, it could mean a bitter fight between tower opponents and the telecommunications giant.

More than 50 residents showed up at a meeting with Sprint PCS representatives at the Westminster library last night and loudly protested plans for construction of four cellular towers in the county.The towers would be located in Allan Baugher's orchards in Westminster and New Windsor, at the Beard Farm at 1706 Sullivan Road, and the Hoff Farm at 2815 Tracey Mill Road in Westminster.They are among eight towers in Carroll County that Sprint, a telecommunications company, is proposing. If approved by the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission, some towers could begin functioning as early as January.

KB Gear keyboard has Winnie the Pooh give reading lessonsKB Gear Interactive is banking on a captive audience for its Learning Keyboard featuring Winnie the Pooh. And what preschooler can resist the lovable character?The idea is to entice little ones to the computer. With the included learning software, it just might work. The keyboard plugs into the standard port on a Macintosh or Windows computer. After installing the Winnie the Pooh Ready to Read program (Mac users run the software directly from the drive)

LONG POND, Pa. - -Tony Stewart is fiery. Kyle Busch is boisterous. Jeff Gordon is cool. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the heir apparent. Jimmie Johnson is ... well ... simply the best in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series right now. The three-time defending series champion may not be the brash, colorful personality who can be marketed into a Tiger-like superstar, nor is he the type likely to turn up in one of those 15-second sound bites you'll hear on SportsCenter....

JOLIET, Ill. - -The promo for Jimmie Johnson's three-DVD self-help program - "Winning at Confidence: Jimmie Johnson's Success Guide to Success" - begins with cheerleaders jumping beside the three-time reigning NASCAR champion and chanting "Winner!" Then Johnson defeats an elderly man in arm wrestling by using both hands. With former NFL defensive back Jason Sehorn, he routs two boys in football. Then he dusts singer Nick Lachey in a race - Johnson driving a sports car, Lachey riding a bike.

The need for speed 11:30 a.m., 3 p.m., 8:30 p.m. [Speed] Can't get over to Dover (Del.) International Speedway? You can get your NASCAR fix with Sprint Cup practice at 11:30 a.m., qualifying at 3 p.m. and the Truck Series race at 8:30. Plus, we're sure a Days of Thunder repeat is running somewhere.

Trail Blazers@Nuggets 10:30 p.m. [TNT] Watch Carmelo Anthony (left) - back after a one-game suspension for insubordination - when George Karl removes him from the game tonight. The former Towson Catholic star promises to sprint to the bench with no hesitation from now on. And the bench is still the only place to look for Portland's injured Greg Oden.

Another huge wave of layoffs hit workers yesterday, with major U.S. employers planning to cut almost 60,000 jobs across various industries in the latest sign of distress in the labor market. Faced with falling profits, equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. said it's cutting 20,000 jobs, and Sprint Nextel Corp. plans to eliminate 8,000 jobs, mostly by the end of March. Home Depot Inc. said it will cut 7,000 jobs nationwide and close two of its design stores in Maryland. Other major employers announcing cuts yesterday included Texas Instruments and Pfizer.

1 Delay of game: Let's hope Ravens-Texans (1 p.m., chs. 13, 9) is worth the wait - nearly two months because of Hurricane Ike. 2 Tough love: Did it feel a little weird rooting for the Redskins on Monday night? Double your guilt today cheering on the Indianapolis Colts in Pittsburgh (4 p.m., chs. 13, 9). 3 Sprint hat trick?: Jimmie Johnson can all but clinch his third straight NASCAR Sprint Cup title in the Checker O'Reilly 500 in Phoenix (3:45 p.m., chs. 2, 7). 4 PGA bubble boys: Golfers get their last chance to crack the top 125 of the money list and earn a 2009 tour card in the year's final official tournament - the Children's Miracle Network Classic (1 p.m., Golf Channel)

1 Hoo Rays: Live vicariously through the formerly bottom-feeding Rays (left), who go for a sweep against the White Sox (4:07 p.m., TBS) and a berth in the American League Championship Series. 2 Keep turning left: It's a Sprint (Cup), not a marathon. NASCAR's Chase runs at Talladega (2 p.m., chs. 2, 7). 3 Fear the replay: Because you don't get ESPNU, Comcast SportsNet gives you the first look at yesterday's Maryland-Virginia game (7:30 p.m.). 4 Rung by rung: The WWE's "No Mercy" pay-per-view (8 p.m.)

Baltimore residents will be the first in the country today to have access to a next-generation broadband network built by a major wireless company - a step that turns much of the city into a "hot spot" for Web surfing on the move. Called XOHM, Sprint Nextel Corp.'s network represents the next big step in the telecommunication industry's race to build more robust broadband services, as consumers increasingly navigate the Web with laptops and mobile devices. Using a technology standard known as WiMAX, Sprint's network is akin to the so-called Wi-Fi "hot spot" you might find at a coffee shop.

1 Rivalry game: The Cowboys are double-digit favorites over the Redskins, but anything can happen when these two NFC East foes face each other (4:15, chs. 45, 5). 2 Finally, it's over: The Orioles conclude their 11th straight losing season, as Jeremy Guthrie returns to face the Blue Jays (1:35 p.m., MASN2). 3 Down to the wire: The AL Central title has yet to be decided between the White Sox and Twins, while the Mets and Brewers vie for the final two playoff spots in the NL. 4 Going to Kansas City: Carl Edwards heads into today's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway as the points leader in the Chase for the Championship (2 p.m., chs. 2, 7)

Breaking up is hard to do, but it's even harder if your ex is using a cell phone paid for by you. Chantel of Baltimore discovered that nettlesome fact recently when she and her boyfriend split, ending a 10-year relationship. Figuring the end of relations should also mean the end of calls on her dime, the 29-year-old project manager contacted customer service at Sprint Nextel Corp. to suspend service on the extra phone line she gave to her quondam beau. "I had a family-share plan that gave me 550 anytime minutes, call waiting and three-way calls for $59.99 a month," she said.