University Of Florida

The Rev. Olin T. Binkley,91, a former president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary who was an early proponent of racial integration during the civil rights era, died Friday in Wake Forest, N.C.Abdullah al-Baradouni,70, Yemen's most famous poet who was blinded as a childand later imprisoned several times for his politically charged writings, died yesterday in San'a, Yemen.Lani Kai,63, an entertainer who had a feature role in the Elvis Presley movie "Blue Hawaii," died Aug. 24 in Oahu.

NOTEworthy Day:Some pro football scouts, at this preliminary stage, say quarterback prospects Chris Redman of Louisville and Chad Pennington of Marshall are difficult to separate in talent evaluations, but that song has been heard before, such as with Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning, Rick Mirer and Drew Bledsoe.Queen Anne's and Perry Hall high schools shared the athletic and academic talents of Kristine Jost, who set distance-running records at Villanova University, graduating with an imposing, 3.52 grade-point average, and is now pursuing another degree, this in sports journalism, at the University of Florida.

Federer extends grass streak; Roddick advances in London Two-time defending champion Roger Federer of Switzerland extended his winning streak on grass courts to 27 matches, beating Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3, 6-4, yesterday to reach the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. In other quarterfinals, second-seeded Marat Safin of Russia beat Belgium's Olivier Rochus, 6-4, 7-6 (4); Guillermo Canas of Argentina of ousted Germany's Rainer Schuettler, 6-4, 6-4, and Tommy Haas of Germany defeated Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-2, 7-5. Federer will meet Haas in today's semifinals, with Safin facing Canas.

Marine experts say sharks have not changed their diets or sworn bloody revenge on humans this summer. The rash of shark attacks in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia in recent weeks, they say, has more to do with human behavior than with sharks. "We've got so many people in the water that we just increase the odds of human-shark interactions immensely," said Wes Pratt, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Narragansett, R.I. But the drama of the attacks is irresistible to the news media, and people can be forgiven if they've concluded that sharks are hunting for people.

Darren O'Day doesn't just transcend the dumb-jock stereotype. He shatters it into tiny pieces. He scored high enough on his entrance exam to get into medical school. Scored high enough on another entrance exam to get into law school. But right now he's too content with his gig as a quietly effective side-arm reliever for the Orioles to think about doing anything else. "I knew I wanted to play baseball," the 29-year-old right-hander says now. "You can't give up that opportunity for anything.

You can see fall coming as surely as you can see a candle flame snuffed by the wind. At twilight, watch any grass field or woods where this summer's fireflies, nourished by a wet spring, rose in great numbers. Now their dwindling lights tell us autumn is on the way.Think of it as the lightning bugs' parting signal in a brief life of signals.Seven days on the planet between June and mid-August, that's about all the adult lightning bug has in temperate zones. Time for the males to rise from the ground at twilight or night, fly through the darkness flashing, looking for a mate.

There were numerous times over the past three days when Matt Elam had a running back or wide receiver in his sight and a great angle to deliver a punishing hit but all the Ravens' rookie safety could do was simulate a tackle and run right past the ball carrier. “It hurt my heart to pull up but these are my teammates,” said Elam. “I have to take care of them. I run down on guys every rep I take so when the time comes, I'll be ready for it.” The lessons and adjustments have come fast for the first-round pick who had another strong practice Thursday as the Ravens' three-day mandatory minicamp at the Under Armour Performance Center came to a close.

The stories started circulating long before John Simon first set foot on Ohio State's campus and became such a program favorite that his head coach talked about naming his next child after him. By the time he got to elementary school, Simon was already performing a daily regimen of pull-ups and sit-ups. He lifted 225 pounds 31 times as a 16-year-old. Before he graduated from high school, he had benched 450 pounds and squatted 700. "People really didn't believe us," said P.J. Fecko, the head football coach at Cardinal Mooney in Youngstown, Ohio.

Jacoby Jones is currently the starting wide receiver opposite Torrey Smith on the Ravens' depth chart. Although Jones is designated as the favorite to earn a starting job with Anquan Boldin traded to the San Francisco 49ers, he'll face competition for the position. “Jacoby right now is the No. 2 guy,” receivers coach Jim Hostler said. “So right now, Torrey and Jacoby are starting, so that's definitely going to be more than Jacoby did last year.” Last season, Jones operated as the third receiver and caught 30 passes for 406 yards and one touchdown while making the Pro Bowl as a kick returner.

REHOVOT, Israel -- To the many mysteries of love, add avocados. Scientists have spent decades trying to figure out how avocado trees have sex. A tree can sprout as many as a million blossoms in spring, but only 150 to 500 will bear fruit. Some avocado flowers bloom as females in the morning, then appear the next afternoon as males. Other avocado species do the opposite. Honeybees are not impressed. Bees that break-dance with excitement in the hive after discovering a rich source of citrus blossoms do a slow shuffle when bringing news of avocado.