Stars

We're at the finale already (didn't this season seem short?). I'll say it right here at the top of the episode - unless William falls repeatedly on his keister, requiring the judges to give him 5's across the board, there's no way he's not winning this thing. That being said, I'd be OK with any of the three finalists winning, even though I'm personally Team Driver. Tonight's show will have each couple dancing two dances:  1. Judge's pick, which are new routines danced to new music, but in a style the couple has previously danced and in which the judges would like to see them improve.  2. Freestyle Tomorrow night, the couples will be doing some sort of third scored dance, details about which we'll learn later.

The size of the crowd at Camden Yards on Friday night even surprised Orioles manager Buck Showalter. Some of it could have been attributed to the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. The postgame fireworks promotion probably brought a few out as well. The sudden excitement over the first-place Orioles also had to have some effect. Whatever brought the fans out to Camden Yards for the Orioles series opener against the Kansas City Royals, it filled the ballpark with a rare buzz for late-May.

If all goes as planned, sometime this morning a spacecraft will blast off from its launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and ride a fiery plume of contrails upward through the pre-dawn darkness to begin a two-week journey to the International Space Station and back. But the flight won't be just another NASA resupply mission. Instead, the Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon cargo capsule built by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation - SpaceX for short - will be the first commercially owned and operated vehicle ever to rendezvous with the station's orbiting astronauts.

Patterson Mill fell one win short of a second straight trip to a state baseball final, losing 6-4 to Patuxent in the Class 2A semifinal Thursday at Shipley Field in College Park. The Huskies (19-5), who lost to St.Michaels, 4-0, in last season's championship game, led 4-1 before the Panthers rallied for four runs in the fifth. Patuxent had three doubles, a single and a pair of walks in the inning. In Saturday's 2A title game at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Patuxent will play Williamsport, which beat Loch Raven, 3-0, at 4 p.m. Boys lacrosse Carroll County 7, Baltimore County 4: Taylor Schmitz (South Carroll)

Tom opens calling it the "hardest fought season ever. " I'm not sure about that, but I will say that this is one with a lot of strong competitors, few loathsome personalities, and a satisfying final three. It starts with the pro dancers (the "real" pro dancers, not just the troupe) dancing to a song I would probably know if I were 20 years younger, but I'm not and the only 16-year-old in this house is a cat. At the end of the song, we get the pros walking the floor with their celebrity partners.

Jean Marbella's column about "Dancing with the Stars" is right on ("Politics invades 'Dancing with the Stars'" Nov. 21). I watch DWTS for it's entertainment value, and I know that's all I'm going to get out of it. And yes, it's cheesy, and yes, they do occasionally find a diamond in the rough. And yes, I get upset when my favorite doesn't win. What is happening this season may be the demise of DWTS; I hear a lot of people saying this is the last year they will be watching.

Really?! That silly inflatable rainbow was back on stage for an encore? So, tonight's semi-finals results show opened with a second helping of Rob Kardashian's and Cheryl Burke's Carnival samba. New juicy, self-deprecating morsels about Rob are revealed each week. Tonight, we learned that Rob often has curtain call jitters and the urge to pee right before his cue, leading his partner Cheryl Burke to ask him if he's pregnant. But it's been a good week for Rob. Not only did he earn his first 10 last night, he breezed into the finals tonight.

IAAM BASKETBALL ALL-STARS A CONFERENCE ADAEZE  ALAEZE                                 ROLAND PARK COUNTRY SCHOOL CAMILLE CALHOUN                             ARCHBISHOP SPALDING TAYLOR CUMMINGS                             MCDONOGH TORRI CHESTNUT                                ARCHBISHOP SPALDING ...

John Grant Jr. had two goals and five assists in his Chesapeake Bayhawks debut and Michael Kimmel (Johns Hopkins, Loyola High) added six goals and two assists Friday in a 20-7 rout of the host Hamilton Nationals. Grant, a two-time Major League Lacrosse Most Valuable Player who played three seasons for the Nationals in his native Canada, revived an offense that was held to eight goals last weekend. He came in with plenty of motivation as he played three seasons with the Nationals before being traded to Long Island.

There ought to be a law. Pop/rock singers and other celebrities who think they can sing should not be allowed to sing the national anthem, especially at large nationally televised venues. The latest insult to our national anthem was at this year's Super Bowl. Time and time again, event promoters make the same mistake, and the performance becomes the subject of ridicule even before the final note is sung. There are three basic reasons why this is not a good idea. First, celebrities all too often forget the words.

After two seasons at Connecticut, Roscoe Smith   is headed west to finish out his college basketball career. The former All-Metro forward from Walbook has committed to UNLV, according to CBSSports.com's Jeff Goodman . Smith should be eligible to play for the Runnin' Rebels immediately because of UConn's NCAA postseason ban for academic reasons . Smith had a promising freshman year for the national-champion Huskies during the...

The Century girls' lacrosse team added to its trophy case again on Tuesday, earning its sixth state championship with a 12-9 victory over Queen Anne's in the Class 3A/2A title game at UMBC Stadium. Century used a familiar formula to win its sixth state title. Haley Bordner, Alice Mercer, and Angela Flister provided the bulk of the scoring in the Knights' 12-9 Class 3A/2A championship win over Queen Anne's, which was playing in its first title game. Bordner scored five goals and added an assist for the Knights, who tallied five unanswered goals in the final 5:09 of the first half to turn a 5-3 deficit into an 8-5 halftime lead.

The 30 best high school baseball players as selected by the Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches will be playing in the 31st annual Brooks Robinson All-Star game on Sunday, June 10. Chesapeake-Anne Arundel County coach Ken King, chairman of the event that will be held at Camden Yards after the Orioles game that afternoon, said the lineup will be a "Who's Who" of players in the state. A year ago, fans got to see the Baltimore Sun's baseball Player of the Year T.J. Pipik from Reservoir combine with Ryan Redinger of Mountain Ridge for a four-hit, 5-0 shutout for the North Stars.

Tom opens calling it the "hardest fought season ever. " I'm not sure about that, but I will say that this is one with a lot of strong competitors, few loathsome personalities, and a satisfying final three. It starts with the pro dancers (the "real" pro dancers, not just the troupe) dancing to a song I would probably know if I were 20 years younger, but I'm not and the only 16-year-old in this house is a cat. At the end of the song, we get the pros walking the floor with their celebrity partners.

Putting together a historical list of the most outstanding athletes in Maryland history could not have been an easy task. But leaving out Morgan State University track legends George Rhoden and Art Bragg was a real stunner. Rhoden, one of the finest 400 meter runners of all time, won the gold in that event in the 1952 Olympics. Baltimore-born and bred, Bragg won several major and national titles in the sprints during his era. Josh Culbreath won the bronze in the 400 meter hurdles in the 1952 Olympics.

Falling in an NCAA tournament semifinal for the third time in four years was an outcome Stevenson had hoped to avoid. But even after Sunday's 7-2 setback to nine-time reigning national champion Salisbury, there was a lot to be happy about with the Mustangs. This was a squad that had graduated a combined 217 goals and 130 assists from attackmen Jimmy Dailey and Richie Ford and midfielders Neal Barthelme, Kyle Moffitt, Sean Calabrese and Jake Stocksdale. Add three starting defensemen in Evan Douglass, Kyle Menendez and Ian Hart and faceoff specialist Ray Witte, and not many people had given Stevenson much of a chance of reaching Sunday's stage.

Laurel Little League's 9- and 10-year-old All Star team placed second in the District 4 championship after losing to defending champion South Maryland, 18-3, on Saturday. District 4 covers an area from southern Anne Arundel County to Arbutus, in Baltimore County. Laurel's 9/10 All-Star team has not advanced to a district championship since 2008. On the road to the championship, Laurel defeated Arbutus, 16-6, July 5 and Forest Park, 11-7, July 6. Last week, Laurel lost its opener to South Maryland, 23-3, and then defeated Morrell Park, 31-3.

During post-season awards, Caroline Goyne, Alyssa Meyer, Francesca Giuliani and Kiley Sweeney, of St. Mary of the Mills varsity softball team, were selected for the Prince George's County CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) All-Star team. St. Mary of the Mills coach Robert Giuliani was named as coach, along with St. Pius coach Gary Pickering and St. Jerome coach Christie Cooper .

We're at the finale already (didn't this season seem short?). I'll say it right here at the top of the episode - unless William falls repeatedly on his keister, requiring the judges to give him 5's across the board, there's no way he's not winning this thing. That being said, I'd be OK with any of the three finalists winning, even though I'm personally Team Driver. Tonight's show will have each couple dancing two dances:  1. Judge's pick, which are new routines danced to new music, but in a style the couple has previously danced and in which the judges would like to see them improve.  2. Freestyle Tomorrow night, the couples will be doing some sort of third scored dance, details about which we'll learn later.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dario Franchitti can't avoid talking about his race team's early season troubles and his hopes of getting his Chip Ganassi Dallara-Honda sorted out in time to win Sunday's Indianapolis 500. But Monday, while making the rounds with various media outlets, he was just as interested in chatting about the Baltimore Grand Prix, which has had its own troubles. It seems both the IndyCar driver and the race are coming from behind. "Is everything going well for Baltimore's race now?"