Tomorrow Night

Area Democrats have organized a reception for Don DeArmon, candidate for Congress in the 6th District. Kenneth Holniker has offered his Eldersburg home for the gathering from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow at 5220 Equestrian Drive. Tickets are $50. Reservations: 410-876-9020.

The Baltimore Ravens will offer free skin cancer screenings before tomorrow night's game against the Cleveland Browns to help raise awareness about melanoma, the most common kind of skin cancer. Melanoma kills one American every hour, but can almost always be cured if caught early. Maryland ranks 11th in the country for incidence levels of the disease. Screening tets will bet set up from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. before the game at M&T Bank Stadium . The screenings will be done by licensed dermatologists.

As a free public service to the community, Carroll County General Hospital and The Carroll County Sun will present a "Family Health Questions Hot Line" from 7 to 9 tomorrow night.Four doctors are volunteering their services: pediatricians Charles Ashburn and Michael Rosner; internist Thomas Galvin, and family practitioner John Middleton.They will answer your family health questions, give explanations,provide referrals and general advice. (This service should not take the place of seeing your doctor.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - -Dave Trembley was asked essentially the same question the previous night and the day before that, only it was far more difficult for him to answer Tuesday night. So, the Orioles manager took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts and while staring at the wall in front of him, tried to sum up the misery of his team's 12-game losing streak, secured by a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. "I can't give you an answer. I've run out of things to say. I think I've been cordial, direct, upfront, dealt with it as best as we possibly can, but I really have no explanation, no excuse," said Trembley whose team now owns the longest losing streak in baseball this season and needs to win three of its final five games to avoid the third 100-loss season in franchise history.

Let's talk ties. Tonight, Cal Ripken plays in his 2,130th game in a row, straight, consecutively, back-to-back, in an unbroken string, one season following another (laden with happiness and tears/Sunrise, sunset -- oy, I'm ferklempt) . . . you get the idea.Until tomorrow night's game, he will be tied with Lou Gehrig's record. We would do well, then, to consider the tie.Ties are an integral part of sports history. There was the famous Notre Dame-Michigan State 10-10 tie in 1966. There was the bowl game in which Auburn coach Pat Dye's conservative strategy to settle for a tie against Syracuse earned him the derisive nickname of "Pat Tie."

A chorus of men, women and children will walk through Uniontown tomorrow night singing Christmas carols and celebrating the holiday, as town residents have done for three generations. Residents of this Carroll County village on the National Register of Historic Places started serenading their neighbors about 70 years ago, when a Methodist church pastor led singers through the community west of Westminster. These days, carolers walk a mile-long stretch of Uniontown Road the Saturday before Christmas.

County Planning Commission members, meeting a week early to avoid a conflict with the July 4th holiday, are likely to provide their own fireworks tomorrow night.The issue dividing the seven-member commission and producing increasingly short fuses is growth -- and the panel's seeming inability to control it. Some in the minority are so upset at continued approval for subdivision plans in South Carroll despite traffic congestion and school crowding that they have publicly questioned the integrity of members who have voted to approve new development.

Marylanders still grappling with the towering remains of Sunday's big snowstorm braced today for a major new storm gathering in the deep South.By tomorrow night, the National Weather Service said, there may be 8 to 16 inches of new snow in the Baltimore area, with less to the south and east where a changeover to rain is possible. As much as 1 to 2 feet could accumulate north and west of Baltimore and Washington, where the precipitation will remain all snow.Winter storm watches were posted for Maryland, Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Two days after Clinton Portis said he was "75 percent" recovered from a partially dislocated left shoulder and one day after Portis said he might not make it back for even the second game of the season, the Washington Redskins announced that their star running back would play in tomorrow night's season opener. Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said yesterday that he would use Portis, who last season set the franchise single-season rushing record with 1,516 yards, in a backup role against the Minnesota Vikings at FedEx Field.

Pasadena Theatre Company's production of The King and I - considered by some to be Rodgers and Hammerstein's greatest musical - opens tomorrow night at Chesapeake Arts Center's main theater for a three-weekend stay. "It's been nonstop work, but now I know we'll have a beautiful show," said Sharon Steele, Pasadena Theatre president and the show's producer. Among the challenges posed by the production is the size of the cast - nearly 65 members, about 20 of whom are children. "Not only is the size of the cast a factor, but there are also costuming problems with this show requiring a great and exotic variety," Steele said.

PHILADELPHIA -- Michael Vick's speed and flash are back. His arm strength also has looked good during Philadelphia Eagles practices at the team's NovaCare Complex. But can he still play quarterback in the NFL? We'll begin to find the answer Thursday night. That's when Vick - wearing a No. 7 jersey and with what coach Andy Reid said likely will be butterflies in his stomach - will play in his first NFL game in two years when the Eagles meet the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field.

At 5 feet 3 inches, Nichelle Groom is the driving force behind No. 7 Digital Harbor's offense. The junior point guard averages six assists to go along with nine points and five steals for the Rams (22-3), who are headed to tomorrow night's state Class 1A semifinals for the second year in a row. Groom, who has a 3.5 grade-point average, wants to play basketball in college. How did you get started in basketball? I watched my brothers, and my father coached. That kind of got me started playing, because I always wanted to get out there with my father and my brothers.

QUARTERBACK DERBY Kyle Boller was named the starter for tomorrow night's preseason opener against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., but that was more a case of previous experience than execution during training camp. Boller was steady yesterday and had a couple of deep passes dropped, but Troy Smith continues to make more big plays, including a 60-yard pass to second-year wide receiver Kerry Reed. Rookie Joe Flacco is still up and down and had one pass tipped at the line of scrimmage that drew the ire of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

Marylanders might see more flakes in the air today, but the National Weather Service said most of the latest Eastern snowstorm will stay well to our south. The real weather news is the bitter cold arriving late today and tomorrow. "With winds 10 to 20 mph out of the west-northwest [Sunday], wind-chill values will be in the teens. It's going to feel a lot colder than the already cold temperatures we're going to have," weather service meteorologist Rick Winther said. The arctic cold sweeping across the country is sending temperatures into the single digits or lower in many areas, promising bitter cold for both National Football League conference playoff games tomorrow in Green Bay, Wis., and Foxborough, Mass.

ISSUE: After organizers of the financially troubled First Night Annapolis event threw in their party hats this fall, the group behind the city's Charter 300 celebration stepped in to save the family-oriented, alcohol-free New Year's Eve party downtown. There are still an afternoon children's program and a fireworks display at midnight, but the number of musical acts has been scaled back, as have the number of venues. Most of the performances tomorrow night are free, so revelers don't have to shell out up to $22 for an admissions button.

Hometown -- Reisterstown Current members --Dan Walker, vocals; Dan Ciarrocchi, guitar and backup vocals; Kyle Wesley, guitar and backup vocals; Matt Szalecki, drums; J.W. Sargent, bass Founded in --2005 Style --indie rock Influenced by --Brand New, the Graduate, Minus the Bear, Cursive, Boys Night Out Notable --The first half of the band's new six-song EP Twilight is more ambient, and the second half is darker, Ciarrocchi said. Its CD release party is tomorrow night. Quotable --"We feel that there's a division between the first half of the EP and the second half," Ciarrocchi said.

The Ravens' Peter Boulware can't wait to put his hand down in the dirt, push off and go after the quarterback. He wants to hear the sound of pads crashing and feel the air leaving the body of a quarterback he just sacked. And if the home crowd goes wild tomorrow night at M&T Bank Stadium, Boulware will match its excitement and passion. It's been nearly 20 months since Boulware played in a game. He missed last season with knee and toe injuries. Tomorrow night, in the Ravens' final preseason game against the Washington Redskins, he might get 10 to 15 plays.

"I don't know why I'm so depressed, Doctor. I mean, well, I lost my grandmother recently.""Oh, I'm sorry.""No, she didn't die. We lost her. She actually shrunk to the point where we can't find her anymore. I think she's napping in a box of Kleenex."Ba-da-boom.Stand-up comedy from cartoon characters lying on the couch of a pensive psychiatrist. What else could it be but the return of "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist," Comedy Central's animated cult hit about a Manhattan shrink with lots of problems?

Candlelight Concerts presents the acclaimed Trio Solisti at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Howard Community College's Smith Theatre in a program that includes Turina's Trio No. 2, Ravel's Piano Trio and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. All of Trio Solisti's members (violinist Maria Bachmann, cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach and pianist Jon Klibonoff) enjoy prestigious solo careers with orchestras, music festivals and chamber groups throughout the United States. Together as Trio Solisti, they have been praised for their adventurous, passionate and technically brilliant performances.

Check out the catchy pop-rock of Paramore, whose members met in Franklin, Tenn., in 2004, tomorrow night at Rams Head Live. The band's lead singer is teenager Hayley Williams, and its latest album is RIOT!, which was released in June. The Starting Line is also slated to perform at the show. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $20. The club is at 20 Market Place. Call 410-244-1131 or go to ramsheadlive.com.