Toe

Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, is exposed as a man with holes in his socks as he leaves the Selimiye mosque in Edime, Turkey, on Sunday.

For decades, the Orioles commanded a sweeping empire of fans - a territory larger than some European countries, stretching from southern Pennsylvania to North Carolina and including Washington, where the team operated a popular retail store. The club's games are still broadcast across most of the same region, but the Orioles now share much of it with the Washington Nationals, who are ensconced in a population-rich portion of what was once the Orioles' domain. The Nationals' arrival in 2005 created a complicated relationship in which the teams are at once neighbors, opponents on the field and, lately, bickering business partners when it comes to the regional television network they co-own but the Orioles control.

All who hate mosquitoes and garden pests should be pleased with the news that the "Bike trail will spare bat refuge" (July 27). The last thing the best bat cave in the East needed to face was construction for a bike path and a steady stream of bikers. People can pedal elsewhere. Whole bat species are struggling to survive against the march of white nose syndrome. This fungus has decimated bat populations in the Northeast and is relentlessly spreading. Mortality is over 90 percent once a winter roost is infected.

Towson's 7-6 upset of then-No. 19 and Colonial Athletic Association rival Hofstra last Saturday night extended the team's winning streak to three, but it also exemplified the squad's ability to emerge with close victories. This season, the Tigers (6-5 overall and 2-0 in the CAA), are 4-1 in contests decided by a single goal. They have beaten Mercer, Navy, Delaware and now the Pride by one goal and suffered their only one-goal loss in a 10-9 overtime setback to Marist. Coach Shawn Nadelen said the team's perseverance is a unique mixture of luck and resiliency.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis released a statement, through a team spokesman, regarding his regularly scheduled media availability.   “I apologize for not being available as I normally am on a day like today, but I am taking every opportunity to get treatment on my foot to prepare to play on Thursday. Anytime you see your team on the field, you always want to be out there with them. As the leader of your team, it doesn't sit well with me to be on the sidelines. But I was the biggest cheerleader out there on Sunday, and I was truly proud of the way we played as a team.

Veteran jockey Rick Wilson is recovering from an expensive bout of the flu.Larry Reynolds substituted for the ailing rider yesterday aboard Open Toe in the Nellie Morse Stakes and pocketed the winning jockey's share of $3,000.Reynolds earned it, prevailing by a head in a stretch-long duel with Mark Johnston on Buffels, the King Leatherbury-trained mare who has had a busy October.After nearly a monthlong rest in September, Buffels ran for the third time in three weeks yesterday and nearly pulled off a victory in the $50,000 stakes.

Although he is the second-leading jockey at Pimlico, Michael Luzzi yesterday showed his ability to sneak up on the competition.In the 21st running of the $54,950 Hilltop Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, Luzzi rode Open Toe to a late surge in the stretch for the win. It was Open Toe's first start on turf."

The artificial turf at M&T Bank Stadium has been unkind to a number of Ravens over the past year. Team officials, though, have no plans to return the favor. Even though four key players have had toe problems at home since November, the Ravens are sticking with their Sportexe Momentum turf for the foreseeable future, attributing the injuries more to circumstance and footwear rather than surface. Deion Sanders was the first to go down when he hurt a toe against the Cleveland Browns midway through last season.

The Ravens will place Jonathan Ogden on the physically-unable-to-perform list when they report to training camp Sunday, but team officials said the 10-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle should be ready to play by the regular-season opener. Ogden hyperextended the big toe on his left foot against the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 17 and did not participate in any offseason minicamps with the team. Coach Brian Billick said Ogden will remain on the PUP list for an "indeterminate amount of time," although the Ravens knew this would be the plan for Ogden since the end of last season.

We've all stubbed a toe, stepped down on our foot awkwardly or hurt our feet in an accident. Sometimes there's no damage. But other times, there's pain, swelling and bruising. Dr. Gary A. Pichney, from the Mercy Medical Center Institute for Foot & Ankle Reconstruction, answers questions about proper steps to take after an injury to the toe or foot, when to see the doctor and how long the healing may take. Question : How can you tell if you've broken a toe or a foot? Answer : The symptoms associated with a broken bone in the foot usually follow some form of a traumatic event.

The undisputed No. 1 team in Division I, Maryland is enjoying the fruits of its labor after Saturday's 12-10 upset of Loyola, the reigning national champion and the previous top-ranked squad. Off to their third 3-0 start in the last four seasons, the Terps are widely regarded as the team to beat thus far, but coach John Tillman wants to make sure that those accolades don't overinflate the players' assessment of their progress. “The confidence thing is always a tricky thing,” he said during his weekly conference call Tuesday morning.

NEW ORLEANS - Walking around the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with just a trace of a limp, Lardarius Webb paused for a moment, took a long look around and smiled. His thinking: What's the point of being bitter? Out for the season since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee back in October, the cornerback is contributing to the Ravens' Super Bowl run the only way he can. Planning to root for his teammates and offer scouting tips Sunday night, Webb has his fingers crossed that the team's veterans get to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Just a few days before their live performances of "The Nutcracker," the intensity and concentration were evident on the faces of the teenage performers at the Carroll County Dance Center in Sykesville. Each of the cast members at this rehearsal had previously performed in the legendary play, and there was a serious overtone to their latest production. This weekend, their steady rehearsal schedule will give way to the center's full-scale presentation of Tchaikovsky's classic. After two years at the Gordon Center in Owings Mills, "The Nutcracker" will return to the local stage on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 16, 2 p.m. Both performances will be held at the Carroll Community College's Scott Theater, 1601 Washington Road, Westminster.

A pair of Francis Scott Key High School students - Cara Hunter and Jillian Luetje - participated last month in the annual Dance Gala at the Maryland Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance convention in Hunt Valley The event draws together students, teachers and administrators from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll and Howard counties to celebrate the dance art form. On Oct. 19 at the convention, Hunter and Luetje performed a modern contemporary piece that they had choreographed.

This week, Gov.Martin O'Malleyis making a first, tentative use of one of his most fundamental powers as governor: to right injustices in the treatment of those who have been convicted of crimes. Mr. O'Malley is moving toward commuting the sentences of two inmates sentenced to life in prison, a welcome departure from his previous habit of simply ignoring the recommendations of Maryland's parole board in the case of lifers. He was pushed by the legislature, and he is wading gingerly into the issue.

Each week, we bring you a Q&A with a Ravens player, coach or team executive to help you learn a little more about the team. Today's guest is left guard Ben Grubbs. When you missed six games because of your turf toe injury, the offense averaged 96.5 rushing yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry. In the 10 games you played, those numbers rose to 141.7 per game and 4.6 per carry. You'll take the credit for that, right? I don't know. Ask the coaches. [Laughs.] I just play.

It was a street-corner political drama played out on a sunny Election Day. The site was a polling place at Callaway Elementary, in the heart of the city's northwest. The cast was Baltimore to the core.At one end of the sidewalk stood Roxanne Alexander, handing out fliers for her first cousin, Lawrence A. Bell III. Nearby was Darryl Stokes, handing out fliers for his second cousin, Carl Stokes. Just past him was Karin Marie Kendrick, handing out fliers for her one-time law school classmate, Martin O'Malley.

DAWSON CITY, Yukon Territory -- A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Sluice Box Lounge some years back when a Yukon "Sourdough" set out to prove that some people will swallow anything.Capt. Dick "River Rat" Stevenson concocted the "Sour Toe" cocktail, a drink flavored by a petrified human big toe at the bottom of the glass -- the original the legacy of a frostbitten trapper.Stranger yet, Mr. Stevenson since then has coaxed, challenged and charged nearly 9,000 local residents and visitors to sample his bizarre libation, dubbed "the strangest drink in history."

There have been questions surrounding Ray Lewis' lackluster play the past two weeks. Some critics have suggested that Lewis has become too old, but one opposing coach who did not want to be named has a different take. The coach has studied game film of Lewis from the past two games. "It's obvious that the toe injury hasn't healed completely and he can't push off," said the coach. "The toe is not ready. If you look back over Ray Lewis' career, one of his biggest assets was being able to get off blocks and run. Now, he can't get off blocks because he can't push off. He doesn't have the same juice in his legs.

Ray Lewis' first game since suffering a turf toe injury on his right foot played out in typical fashion with the 12-time Pro Bowl inside linebacker leading the Ravens in tackles in Sunday night's 34-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers. After the contest, Lewis spoke about playing for the first time since Nov. 13 when he sustained the injury in a 22-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. “I felt good,” he said. “I never injured myself one time, and I take my hat off to this organization because we made some real hard decisions the last couple of weeks [of]