Thunder

3/8 TC It may be a new season, but it's the same old story in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League. Gary and Paul Gait and the rest of the Detroit Turbos are as dominating as ever.The Gaits exerted their dominance to the very end last season, combining for six goals in the Turbos' 14-12 victory over the Baltimore Thunder in the championship game.Little has changed. At 3-0, Detroit is the league's only unbeaten team. Gary Gait and fellow Turbo Pete Parke share the goals lead with 12 apiece, followed by the Buffalo Bandits' Darris Kilgour (11)

A sticky weekend is on the cards across the region with no let up in the heat until after a round of thunderstorms beginning Sunday afternoon, the National Weather Service forecasts. Saturday's high in Baltimore is forecast to be 89 degrees, and Sunday is expected to be even hotter with temperatures topping out at 91 degrees. It will be a little cooler outside the city, with highs of 86 and 84 degrees forecast for Annapolis. The weather service is forecasting a chance of thunderstorms beginning some time after 2pm on Sunday and carrying on through the evening and into Monday morning.

Opponent: New York SaintsSite: Baltimore ArenaTime: 8Outlook: The New York Saints will follow the Thunder back to Baltimore after losing to the Thunder, 17-15, last night at the Nassau Coliseum. The defeat left the Saints as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League's only winless team (0-3). The Thunder will be out to even their record at 2-2.@

So now comes the speculation about where Alex Len gets picked in the NBA draft and how good a player the Maryland center might be.   One possibility: The Oklahoma City Thunder, which has more than just its own pick in the first round. The Thunder has rights to Toronto's first-round pick this year unless that pick happens to be in the top three. The Raptors have the NBA's 10th-worst record. I know for a fact the Thunder has looked into Len. So, of course, have quite a few teams.

* WHAT'S AHEAD: Vs. New England Blazers, Saturday, (8 p.m.) at the Centrum in Worcester, Mass. The Thunder's next home game is Feb. 9 against the New York Saints.* WRAPUP: The Thunder (1-2) came from behind to defeat New England, 19-15, Saturday before 7,605 at the Baltimore Arena for its first victory of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League season. Jeff Jackson scored four goals and was acclaimed the game's MVP. His fourth goal with 3:10 remaining broke a 15-15 tie and put the Thunder ahead for good.

That episode title sounds like it came from Phillip; I don't like it already.   Back from the impromptu Tribal Council, the Favorites are dissecting what happened with Brandon. And as Corinne points out, he destroyed the food of the whole tribe, not only the people he had the problem with. Corinne is also upset that no one stood up for her and Phillip. Listen, lady, the best way to deal with the Crazy is to not engage it, and avoid looking it in the eye.   At the Fans camp, they are decidedly more upbeat than they were last week as they read the Treemail about this week's Reward Challenge.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Soccer The Thunder Soccer Club's U14 girls Siafu, born on or after Aug. 1, 1998, are looking for experienced Division 1 players for the spring season. The team will compete in the Region 1 Colonial League and several competitive tournaments. Visit ThunderSoccerClub.org or email p.corbett10@gmail.com . Golf The First Tee of Howard County is accepting registration for its spring and summer sessions.

The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). We do not accept results by phone. When two Howard County teams play, players from both teams (first and last names) must be mentioned in the write-up. Questions? Call 410-332-6606. Running There were 86 runners that came out Jan. 20 for the Howard County Striders winter weekly series race at Thunder Hill Elementary. Stephen Olenick and Joelle Chall were the top finishers in the 2-mile race, while Karsten Brown and Anna Holt-Gosselin won the 6-mile race.

The defending national champion Loyola men's lacrosse team is the favorite to repeat as Eastern College Athletic Conference champ in its final season in the conference, according to Inside Lacrosse's Face-Off Yearbook. Behind the Greyhounds, the coaches' poll slated Denver second and Fairfield third. Loyola, ranked No. 1 in the nation by Inside Lacrosse heading into 2013, will play lacrosse in the Patriot League starting in the 2014 season. Greyhounds players made up nearly half the coaches' Preseason All-ECAC team, with six of the 13 members.

As a cold front heads toward the warm, moist air that has kept things mild the past couple of days, some rumbles of thunder are possible Monday night. The system has already spawned tornado reports and severe weather to our southwest. The northern half of Maryland, above Annapolis or so, stands a slight risk of severe weather, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Odds are extremely narrow of any actual storms, but the instability expected when the cold front moves in could cause some thunder and lightning.

Former Salisbury midfielder Sam Bradman , the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Outstanding Player of the Year, was chosen by the Minnesota Swarm with the 24th overall pick (third round) in the National Lacrosse League draft on Monday night. Bradman had 71 goals and 28 assists last season for the Division III champion Sea Gulls and finished his college career with 304 points. Bradman was also selected by the Long Island Lizards in January's Major League Lacrosse draft but chose to join the LXM Pro tour instead.

Welcome back y'all! This round of auditions led us to Greensboro, NC, home of grits, gravy and lots of attitude. The episode started off with all the judges lounging in their natural habitat talking about how they want to find a star. Of course this wasn't a natural setting at all, as there were zero Cheeto bags in Britney's room. The auditions first introduced us to Willie James, 17 , who sang a honky tonk rendition of "Your Man. " The judges loved his surprising performance.

Men's college lacrosse Hoyas associate coach Kerwick out after DWI Matt Kerwick is no longer employed as associate head coach of the Georgetown men's lacrosse program after pleading guilty last month to driving while intoxicated. A university spokesman on Monday confirmed the departure of Kerwick, who starred for the Baltimore Thunder of the now-defunct Major Indoor Lacrosse League. "I have taken full responsibility for my error in judgment this past April and I have apologized to the Georgetown lacrosse family for my mistake," Kerwick said in a statement Tuesday.