Taking Care

Let's begin with this premise: There are bad NFL teams and there are really bad NFL teams. Then there are the Cleveland Browns. In the Ravens' 34-3 win over Cleveland on Sunday, the Browns proved they've dropped to a stunning new level of incompetence that almost defies measurement. Understand, this is in no way meant to detract from the Ravens' solid performance in running their record to 3-0. But the Browns played with no life. They missed tackles all afternoon. Their defensive backs let at least two certain interceptions go through their hands.

The death of a toddler last week in Severn has been ruled a homicide, and Anne Arundel County police said charges against the man who was taking care of the youngster are pending. Police said Charles Michael Brandley, 3, reportedly fell down stairs Aug. 7 at a home in the 8200 block of Tomlinson Court and was taken to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center. But then he was flown to Johns Hopkins Hospital in critical condition, where doctors told police that the child's injuries did not match those of a tumble down the stairs.

SEATTLE - - The Orioles, of all teams, know how dominant Erik Bedard can be, so it would have been easy to dismiss Tuesday as one of those inevitable nights where they were shut down by a very good pitcher. The problem with that theory is it has been happening far too frequently to give the Orioles the complete benefit of the doubt. Bedard overwhelmed his former team, taking a three-hit shutout into the seventh inning in the Seattle Mariners' 8-2 victory over the Orioles in front of an announced 17,978 at Safeco Field.

COLLEGE PARK - A hush fell over the crowd of roughly 200 people inside Heritage Hall in Comcast Center last night as the women's NCAA tournament selection show began. The Maryland players - who sat in the front row, with family members, friends and fans gathered behind them - already knew that they were in the tournament, having won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, and they had a good idea that they would receive a No. 1 seed for the second straight year. But there was still a bit of suspense.

Mike Tuite, who marked his last day as Green Mount Cemetery superintendent on New Year's Eve, gets a kick out of telling visitors that he knows where all the bodies are buried. And after 43 years, rising from grass cutter to superintendent, Tuite has had a lot of time to take in the marble-marked resting places of the nearly 60,000 perpetual residents who have filled up the cemetery's 68 acres since the first burial there in 1839. Mention a historic name - assassin John Wilkes Booth; former Maryland Govs.

Why don't my chrysanthemums keep blooming through the whole fall season? Most years, I have to buy mums twice. Then they die! Aren't they supposed to be perennials? Yes, chrysanthemums are perennials, but to survive the winter they need time for their root systems to get established. Plant early in the fall and keep them moist by supplementing rainfall through autumn. Protect tender roots with evergreen boughs or an airy mulch if you cut the mums down after frost kills the tops. Remove any mulch early in spring.

Casey Amos Groundskeeper Queenstown Harbor, Queenstown Salary: $10.50 an hour Age: 24 Years on the job : Two How she got started : After working in office and customer-service-related jobs, Amos wanted to work outdoors. She decided to try her hand at landscaping and was hired to maintain the flower beds at the 735-acre Queenstown Harbor golf course. "I just kind of gave it a shot. The job evolved from there." Typical day : For the first three or four hours each morning, starting at 6 a.m., she is one of about 20 groundskeepers who mow the greens and fairways.

As debt squeezes more Americans, many are turning to credit-counseling agencies for help to dig out from an overwhelming pile of bills. That can be a good idea or a bad one. But it's a more complicated decision than it might seem. Often, you will pay for the service, and your creditworthiness could be damaged in the process. Though these agencies might technically be nonprofit organizations, it doesn't mean they are charities offering free or even legitimate assistance. You could pay high fees and receive bad advice.