Virginia Tech

COLLEGE PARK -Cliff Tucker's season seemed to be spiraling downward. Maryland's promising sophomore swingman had not played in the team's previous game, a win over Miami, and had played one minute against Boston College the game before. Then he compounded the problem by expressing his confusion and discontent to the media, an action that did not please coach Gary Williams. But then came the North Carolina game Feb. 3, in which Tucker scored 18 points in 20 minutes and reminded everybody why there was excitement surrounding the forward from El Paso, Texas, when he committed to Maryland in 2007.

It won't be easy, but Maryland fans should be consoled by the fact that in the debacle at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, they got caught up in a long-awaited, much-needed renaissance. Atlantic Coast Conference basketball has returned to its former glory. Duke is part of it, having looked like the best team in the country in the 85-44 throttling and likely being rewarded for it with the top spot in the polls today. North Carolina and Wake Forest are part of it, too, having been ranked No. 1 for a combined eight of the 10 previous weeks.

The Maryland State Police are requiring people who want to buy firearms to sign a release allowing authorities to check whether they have ever resided in a state mental health institution for 30 days or more. In the wake of the Virginia Tech killings this year, Gov. Martin O'Malley and state Health Secretary John M. Colmers gave their blessing to the state police to broaden the firearms application -- an effort, officials said, to prevent the mentally ill from obtaining guns. Before the change, "we were relying on your honesty as an applicant that you were telling us the truth about your mental health history," said Greg Shipley, a spokesman for the state police.

At Goucher College in Towson, author Madison Smartt Bell has been teaching creative writing for nearly 20 years. That's a lot of short stories - which often are long on drama and depressing themes. He once had a student who "got his jollies" by shocking the class with pornographic and violent writing. He was harmless, if annoying. More common are writers who reveal their own problems. "When I get convincing suicide stories, I try to intervene," Bell said. "You want to go up to that person and say, `What's up with this?

Evil people always find a way to kill It was bound to happen: Shortly after the massacre in Blacksburg, a hue and cry went up across the nation concerning gun laws and access to guns ("Va. tragedy likely to put gun control in spotlight," April 18). Such a national debate is seemingly sparked every time a sociopath kills innocent people with a firearm. It's our human nature to search for answers to explain a senseless tragedy. But the answer should not be legislation that would further abrogate our Second Amendment right to bear arms.

BLACKSBURG, Va.-- --Thirty-three people were killed and at least 15 injured at the Virginia Tech campus yesterday in the worst shooting rampage in modern U.S. history - a massacre that left the stricken campus in mourning and overwhelmed with questions about who the gunman was and how the shooting could have happened. Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger described the scene as "carnage," and President Bush said the tragedy's impact would be "felt in every American classroom and every American community."

This is an open letter to Howard County school system families from Linda Wise, assistant superintendent. Coping with tragedy of Va. Tech killings Dear parents, We are all saddened by the tragic events that have occurred at Virginia Tech University. The emotional impact of a tragedy of this nature can be tremendous for both adults and children. To the best of our knowledge, there were no Howard County graduates attending Virginia Tech that were victims of the shooter. We have asked staff and students to let us know if they have been impacted directly by this event and to bring this information immediately to the attention of a school administrator or member of the school crisis team.

There were 33 shrines on the campus of Virginia Tech, lovingly built of flowers, letters, candles, photos and gifts. One for each of the 32 students and teachers who died April 16, and one for Seung-Hui Cho, who shot them all and then himself. At Cho's memorial, smaller than the others, there was a plastic bottle filled with flowers, cards and an American flag, according to New York Times reporter Christine Houser. One of the notes read, simply, "I forgive you." Another read: "Dear Cho. You are not excluded from our sorrow in death although you thought you were excluded from our love in life.

Even with early warning signs and multiple campus interventions - as in the case of Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui - a university's options for dealing with mentally ill students are limited by privacy laws and medical ethics. Despite two encounters with campus police in 2005 after harassment complaints by female students, and a brief commitment at a psychiatric hospital because of fears that he was suicidal, Cho remained a Hokie in good standing even as he plotted the massacre of 32 students and faculty Monday in Blacksburg, Va., authorities said yesterday.

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Brittany Rytter strolled across the sun-splashed Virginia Tech campus yesterday with a bouquet of mums and daisies, ignoring the pickup soccer reverberating in the distance as she approached one of 32 small stone monuments commemorating the April shooting massacre that catapulted this rural campus to international prominence. A 21-year-old psychology major who grew up in Reisterstown, Rytter had met one of the victims - Leslie Geraldine Sherman - on a trip to aid Hurricane Katrina victims, and she wanted to honor her memory.

Men's college soccer Loyola, Maryland to meet in first round of College Cup Loyola will play defending champion Maryland in the first round of the NCAA College Cup on Thursday in College Park, with the winner advancing to meet Penn State on Sunday. Loyola (11-7-3), the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion, is making its school-record third consecutive appearance in the Cup and its seventh in the school's NCAA Division I history. Maryland (12-5-2) lost to Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals.

Injury report It appears that senior quarterback Chris Turner (knee) might be able to play against Boston College in Maryland's final game of the season - but he is unlikely to play Saturday at Florida State. Punter Travis Baltz (finger) is done for the year, and safety Kenny Tate (ankle) is probably done, too. Replay Backup quarterback Jamarr Robinson proved elusive, running for 129 yards, including a 28-yarder. But the Terps could not make a first down until Robinson ran 14 yards to the Virginia Tech 45 with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

COLLEGE PARK -- With Maryland losing its fifth game in a row, at least Terps fans could focus Saturday on the achievements of Torrey Smith, the star of this season's team. Smith had already broken his own Atlantic Coast Conference mark earlier this year for single-season kickoff return yardage. On Saturday, the wide receiver needed just 35 yards to break LaMont Jordan's single-season school record of 1,840 all-purpose yards. He broke the record with a 21-yard reception from Jamarr Robinson in the second quarter.

COLLEGE PARK -- Jamarr Robinson was chased all over the field Saturday, but the elusive Maryland quarterback ultimately couldn't escape Virginia Tech, which dealt the Terrapins their fifth straight loss, 36-9, in a game that was one-sided from the opening possession. Robinson, subbing for the injured Chris Turner (knee), got his first career start and provided most of Maryland's offensive highlights with his legs. Robinson rushed for 129 yards - accounting for all but 3 yards of Maryland's rushing total - some of it on designed runs and some when pressured out of the pocket.

COLLEGE PARK - - Maryland and its fans have been subjected this season to a large dose of turnovers, heavy rain and seven losses in nine games. Now fans, who have also complained that too few games are being televised, fear that they are about to face another indignity - an invasion of their stadium by thousands upon thousands of Virginia Tech fans. Maryland and Virginia Tech officials say they expect more than 5,000 Hokies fans at Byrd Stadium when No. 20 Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference)

Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-2 ACC) at Maryland (2-7, 1-4 ACC) Time: : 1 p.m. Online: : ESPN360.com Radio: : 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: : Virginia Tech by 18 1/2 Series: : Maryland leads 15-14 Last meeting:: Virginia Tech won, 23-13, on Nov. 6, 2008, in Blacksburg Maryland offense vs. Virginia Tech defense: : With QB Chris Turner (knee) doubtful, backup Jamarr Robinson is likely to get his first career start for the Terps. Robinson, who played the entire second half when Turner was injured against North Carolina State, will face a Hokies unit particularly strong against the pass.

The following student-athletes plan to sign national letters of intent this week to accept college athletic scholarships. The early signing period, which opened Wednesday and runs through Nov. 18, includes basketball, lacrosse, baseball, softball, swimming, volleyball and wrestling, among other sports. Some sports, such as football, soccer, field hockey, and track and field, have a later signing period. To report additional signings for our online recruiting database, please e-mail us at sports@baltimoresun.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen saw a rainbow at practice last week, desperately hoping it was a positive sign for a team he said has been rained on all season, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. Sure enough, the skies were bright blue over Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday. But the Terps couldn't part the dark clouds of their season, losing starting quarterback Chris Turner to a second-quarter knee injury and falling, 38-31, to a North Carolina State team that hadn't won an Atlantic Coast Conference game in four previous tries.

Andrew Happick had to leave his family in Bel Air and go off to Virginia Tech to pursue his lifelong dream - not mechanical engineering, his major - but skydiving. "He'd been saying for a long time that he wanted to do that, and we'd say 'No way,' " Beth Happick, his mother, recalled Friday. "Once he got out from under us, he did it. It seems to be his passion." www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOLfQGf2D1o.

The Johns Hopkins University led the nation in research and development spending in fiscal year 2008, according to a new National Science Foundation report, and most other area institutions maintained their national R&D rankings in a down economy. Two other top Maryland research schools, University of Maryland campuses in College Park and Baltimore, ranked 41st and 44th, respectively, with research spending just under $400 million. University of Maryland research is divided between the two schools; combined, they would rank eighth in the nation, according to spokesman Lee Tune.