Unitas

The kid's name was Chase, and the driver knew he'd be trouble from the second he set foot on the school bus. "He was a sixth-grader, a little rebel," said Eddie Hinton, aka "Mr. Eddie" to the children. "I decided to try and change that. " One morning, as Chase climbed aboard, Hinton declared, "I'm going to make you my friend. " Chase shrugged and moved on. "When he sat down, the kid next to him whispered, 'You know, Mr. Eddie played in the Super Bowl,' " Hinton said. Chase glanced first at the aging driver, then at the 1970 championship ring on his hand.

Johnny Unitas, considered by many to have been the greatest quarterback of all time, will be inducted posthumously into the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame with six others at the 53rd enshrinement ceremony Nov. 8 at Michael's 8th Avenue in Glen Burnie. Unitas, the Pro Football Hall of Famer who led the Baltimore Colts to NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 and Super Bowl V in 1971 over 17 seasons with the team, will be honored along with golf legend Carol Mann as a result of a change in the organization's by-laws.

After No. 2 Calvert Hall jumped out to a 10-0 lead over No. 5 Dunbar in the first quarter in the I-95 Kickoff Classic at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Friday night, the Cardinals had trouble scoring for the rest of the half. Calvert Hall, however, scored 20 points after halftime, keeping the Poets in check the rest of the way in a 30-6 victory. Even though Dunbar's quickness posed a threat on almost every play, putting the Cardinals' defense on its heels several times, the Poets were only able to manage a second-quarter touchdown.

She shares his surname, athleticism and demeanor, those who know her say. But Jillian Unitas, 22, is determined to blaze her own trail in the sports world, apart from that set by her late grandfather. Unitas, media manager for this weekend's Grand Prix of Baltimore, is kin to Johnny Unitas, former Baltimore Colts quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer. It's a badge she wears proudly - but with care. "I've never wanted to disappoint my last name, so I put a lot of pressure on myself," said Unitas, of Baldwin, who graduated from Flagler College (Fla.)

Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray will be inducted into the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards' Hall of Legends during the Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation's annual gala in September, according to a news release. "Cal & Eddie: A Legendary Evening" will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 5, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Hilton Baltimore, the foundation said. The event is one day before Ripken is scheduled to have a statue unveiled as part of the Orioles Legends Celebration Series at Camden Yards.

As lacrosse goalies, Bryn Mawr's Molly Wolf and St. Mary's Megan Ward have the quickness and the athleticism to make spectacular saves, but they take different approaches to the position. Wolf plays a more aggressive game, eager to come out of the crease, while Ward plays more conservatively, preferring to stay home and cut down the shooters' angles. Both rank among the Top 10 goalies in the nation in ESPNHS's Class of 2012 Top 100. After playing against each other for four years, the 18-year-olds will team up for the first time Saturday.

As usual, many contributors to the South All-Star and the Baltimore underclassmen teams at the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse event at Towson University are local products. The underclassmen games begin Friday and conclude on Sunday while the senior All-America games are slated for Saturday at 5 p.m. (girls) and 8 p.m. (boys) at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The boys underclassmen roster includes Loyola Blakefield's Bennett Bradley; Tal Bruno, Shack Stanwick, Mac Pons, Ben Pridemore and Colin Heacock from Boys' Latin; Conor Cunningham and Joe Seider from Hereford; Tyler Mayes, Kevin Diehl, Jordan Germershausen, Johnny Kelly and Garrett Epple from Calvert Hall; Nick Doyle, Brinton Valis, Danny Sweeney , Austin Frederick and Alexander Hurdle from McDonogh; Michael LeClair from Mount St. Joseph and St. Paul's Michael Mayer.

Last week, on what would have been his father's 79th birthday, Chad Unitas visited his grave at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. There, on the edge of a pond filled with ducks and ringed by weeping willows, he knelt by the marble marker and spoke with the one many call football's greatest quarterback. "I go there a couple of times a month, to ask my dad's advice about this and that," Unitas said. "He's been gone 10 years, but I can still hear his voice. " Johnny Unitas died of a heart attack Sept.

Lenny Moore can hardly attend an NFL function without some gnarly old linebacker wagging his finger at the 78-year-old Baltimore Colts Hall of Fame running back and telling Moore something he already knows. "Lenny," the old-timer will say, "I had a bead on you so many times out there, I was going to knock the living hell out of you. But then I'd look up and, all of a sudden, here comes Jim Parker - and he'd get me first. " Moore will listen, smile and nod. Then he'll look skyward and thank the man upstairs - No. 77, the big lug with the horseshoe on his helmet - for running interference.

You knew it would come up as soon as you heard that the Indianapolis Colts would be releasing star quarterback Peyton Manning and a sportscaster there was calling him the "best player to ever play for the Colts. " More than a few Baltimore Colts fans will beg to differ with him. So the Johnny Unitas vs. Peyton Manning debate is likely to be re-ignited by today's release of Manning . And you're sure to hear that Manning is the greatest Colt who ever lived.