Tonight

With a win tonight on national television, the Orioles can win their fourth straight series at Yankee Stadium for the first time since May 14, 1976 through May 22, 1977. No player on the Orioles' current 25-man roster was born then, so that's a long time. A win tonight would be significant because it would give the Orioles series wins in Boston and New York before heading home for a nine-game homestand against the Rays, Dodgers and Blue Jays. An interesting stat to pass along from the Elias Sports Bureau: Last night's 5-3 win over the Yankees was their 96th straight regular-season win when leading after seven innings dating back to August 2011.

A solar flare that was the largest of the year could create a rare chance to see the aurora borealis, or "Northern Lights", from Maryland on Saturday night. The flare occurred Thursday at 3:16 a.m. and was associated with what is known as a coronal mass ejection, in which charged particles released by the sun hurtle through space and sometimes pass by the Earth. The particles can create dramatic episodes of the Northen Lights, though they can also affect satellite communications and GPS. According to AccuWeather.com, viewing conditions for the Northern Lights will be best in the mid-Atlantic, with clouds blocking the view for much of the northern U.S. and Canada.

These are among the things I'll be watching at Byrd Stadium tonight (7:00 p.m., open to the public). * The passing and mobility of quarterback Ricardo Young. I haven't seen him much. Actually, almost nobody has seen much of him in game situations recently. He had to sit out last season after transferring, although I caught him in August practices a few times. This is a delicate subject, but I wonder how he feels about C.J. Brown already being named the starting quarterback.

Before the season began, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon told me he had a goal centered on free throws. Here was the goal: "We try to make more free throws than our opponents shoot. " When that happens, Maryland usually prevails. It happened last night in Maryland's 75-62 victory over Wake Forest in the ACC tournament. Maryland made 22 free throws and the Deacons shot 21. It happened the last time Maryland played Wake in the regular season. It happened the last time Maryland played Duke.

The Ravens have been fixtures on national television shows since winning Super Bowl XLVII a month ago. Wide receiver Jacoby Jones will be “Dancing with the Stars.” Head coach John Harbaugh and quarterback Joe Flacco, the Super Bowl MVP, stayed up late with Dave Letterman. Free safety Ed Reed played red-carpet reporter at the Oscars for NFL Network. Wide receiver Anquan Boldin and kicker Justin Tucker even played something called “bubble soccer” with Jimmy Fallon and actor and Baltimore native Josh Charles days after the win. But when soft-handed tight ends are critiquing fashion on TV, you know it is starting to get out of hand.

Despite the inclement weather around the area, the men's college basketball game between Maryland and North Carolina is still scheduled to be played beginning at 7 p.m. tonight. The Terps (20-9, 8-8 in the ACC) host the Tar Heels (21-8, 11-5) at Comcast Center in a must-win game. Maryland officials, who canceled classes today, are encouraging fans to carefully evaluate travel conditions. The game is on ESPN, but analyst Dick Vitale won't be in College Park. He said Tuesday that the storm prevented him from traveling to Maryland.

For three weeks in June 2009, Tom Schreiber was in a bit of limbo about his status as Princeton's most prized men's lacrosse recruit. Bill Tierney had just resigned as coach after 22 seasons, and Schreiber, a midfielder, was growing worried. Then the university named Chris Bates from Drexel as Tierney's successor. Bates dispelled Schreiber's anxiety quickly, driving to the family home in East Meadow, N.Y., the day after he was hired to meet with Doug and Liz Schreiber, and then spend a few hours with their son. "I kind of had a unique recruiting experience," Tom Schreiber recalled.

The Baltimore region will stay cool and windy through Thursday, with sunny and mostly clear skies through the evening, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures will reach the upper-30s, with northwest winds between 15 and 20 mph and gusts of up to 35 mph, the weather service said. It will become mostly cloudly in the region tonight, with lows in the mid-20s. On Friday afternoon, snow and sleet are likely in the region, but no accumulation is expected, with temperatures reaching the upper-30s, the weather service said.

A little more than five years ago, Ryan Henderson was nearing the peak of the sport he loved the most. He had won his race the night before, and he was just a day away from turning professional in motorcycle racing. But Henderson would never earn the professional status he coveted. Racing along the Seaford, Del., track's dirt surface, Henderson caught his foot in a hole and was ripped away from his bike. The fall broke his neck and back, paralyzing him from the chest down. He spent the next month in the hospital, and he said it took him four years of rehab to "rebuild myself.

One of my last baseball duties before taking some time off, and officially handing the spring training baton to Peter Schmuck (Ed Encina is running the marathon; he's not in a relay) happens tonight (Monday) at 7 p.m. I'll be hosting a hot stove baseball talk to get you ready for pitchers and catchers reporting Tuesday and the Orioles' first workout Wednesday. My third annual hot stove talk is tonight in York, Pa., at Zion Lutheran Church, 2215 Brandywine Lane. And it's free (although we will have a freewill offering with the proceeds going to the church's youth ministry program)