Stadium

After its stunning, 27-point loss at Miami on Wednesday night, Duke is going to have additional motivation Saturday against Maryland. The Blue Devils, who will still be No. 1 until the next poll comes out, have defeated the Terps five times in a row. “Duke is going to be ready to go,” said Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, who said today he is hopeful his team can “hang around.” Turgeon hadn't yet watched first-place Miami's 90-63 win over...

Some Baltimore legislators, determined to win state approval for the city's ambitious plan to launch a $2.4 billion, 10-year overhaul of its aging school facilities, are considering bringing in the Maryland Stadium Authority to provide construction expertise and financial oversight. The lawmakers are concerned that some state leaders are questioning whether the city school system has the ability to manage a project of that scope. One proposal is to set up a new authority to oversee construction contracting and monitoring of projects.

Baltimore might have missed out on hosting World Cup matches when the U.S. lost its bid for the quadrennial event in 2022, but M&T Stadium will be part of another prestigious international soccer tournament when the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup comes to the city in July. M&T Bank Stadium is one of 13 venues that were announced Wednesday as hosts for the regional championship event. CONCACAF is the governing body for association soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Two Baltimore Police officers and a young police explorer were injured near an M&T Bank Stadium parking lot on Thursday night when the police van they were in was struck head on by an oncoming vehicle, police said. The collision occurred about 10 p.m. at the intersection of West Ostend and Warner streets, at the south end of the Ravens football stadium, police said. The driver of the oncoming vehicle was also treated for minor injuries, police said. Both officers and the explorer - a participant in a departmental education program for youth aged 14 to 20 - were taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center with what were believed late Thursday to be non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Minutes after a grinning Ray Lewis swaggered out of the tunnel and did his trademark dance much to the delight of fans and teammates, the Ravens' star middle linebacker was suddenly all business again. The smile quickly left Lewis' face as kickoff approached for the linebacker, who announced Wednesday he will retire at the end of the season. Seventeen years of experience was on display Sunday during Lewis' emotionally-charged final game at M&T Bank Stadium. Lewis recorded a game-high 13 tackles in a 24-9 AFC wild-card victory over the Indianapolis Colts and will join his teammates in Denver for Saturday's divisional game against the Broncos.

The Ravens and Redskins will host playoff games Sunday, about 30 miles and 31/2 hours apart. Hosting two of the NFL's four playoff games in Maryland offers something of an economic double shot for the state. The games bring an increase in local taxes, a significant boost to the host teams' bottom lines and could have a combined economic impact of about $20 million to more than $40 million. But economists say most of the money being spent in Baltimore and Landover this weekend would have been spent in the area anyway.

A few thousand tickets for the Ravens' wild-card playoff game will go on sale this morning at 10. The Ravens will play at M&T Bank Stadium on either Jan. 5 or Jan. 6 against the Indianapolis Colts or Cincinnati Bengals. If the New England Patriots win on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, the Ravens will face the Colts. If the Patriots lose, the Ravens will play the Bengals for the third time this season. Tickets can be bought online or over the phone. There are no sales at the M&T Bank Stadium box office.

Mark Harvey, the Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium streaker, didn't get the same deal that Morganna Roberts, a stripper and exotic dancer who was known as "The Kissing Bandit," did in 1988, when she ran onto the field at Memorial Stadium and bussed Cal Ripken Jr. as he came up to bat. Harvey, 26, a Severn truck driver dressed in a Batman cape and underwear, took to the field at Camden Yards on Opening Day in April. In September, once again dressed in his Batman outfit, he jumping onto the field during the second quarter of the Ravens's game against the New England Patriots.

Will Ray Lewis dance one more time in a Ravens uniform at M&T Bank Stadium? A month ago, no one asked that question because it seemed like the Ravens were headed into the postseason to play at least one home game. Now, nothing is certain. And if the Great Collapse of 2012 continues, Baltimoreans might never see the Ravens inside linebacker do his pregame dance again. And Sunday could be the last home game for Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed, as well as potential free-agent quarterback Joe Flacco.