Walt Whitman

BETHESDA -- The eagerly anticipated soccer game between Baltimore area soccer power Centennial and Washington area soccer power Walt Whitman was put on hold because of a thunderstorm last night.The two teams had completed 37 minutes of the first half when lightning flashes followed by a major rainfall caused the game to be postponed with Centennial leading 1-0.The Eagles' Kris Dramby scored the only goal in the fifth minute on an in-close follow-up kick after a shot by Brian West was rejected.

Whenever the Poly girls basketball players or coach Kendall Peace-Able talk about the heart of their program, the conversation always centers on defense. Thursday, the No. 8 Engineers relied on that stinginess in the final 25 seconds of the Class 4A state semifinal at UMBC's RAC Arena to hold on for a 33-32 victory over Walt Whitman and secure a berth in Saturday's state championship game. The Engineers had a 33-30 lead when their Aneah Young missed the front end of a one-and-one and the ball caromed out of bounds, giving Whitman 24.6 seconds to try to tie the game.

Whenever the Poly girls basketball players or coach Kendall Peace-Able talk about the heart of their program, the conversation always centers on defense. Thursday, the No. 8 Engineers relied on that stinginess in the final 25 seconds of the Class 4A state semifinal at UMBC's RAC Arena to hold on for a 33-32 victory over Walt Whitman and secure a berth in Saturday's state championship game. The Engineers had a 33-30 lead when their Aneah Young missed the front end of a one-and-one and the ball caromed out of bounds, giving Whitman 24.6 seconds to try to tie the game.

(All games at UMBC's RAC Arena) TODAY CLASS 4A No. 8 Poly (21- 5) vs. Walt Whitman (21-4) Time: 3 p.m. Outlook: For the second year in a row, the Engineers head into the state tournament boasting the stingiest defense in any of the semifinals, allowing just 26.57 points per game. Against Walt Whitman, from Montgomery County, which knocked off two-time defending state champion Gaithersburg in the West regional final, the Engineers appear to match up well.

This year is the 100th anniversary of Walt Whitman's death. In his honor I've been re- reading ''Leaves of Grass.''I celebrate myself,And what I assume you shall assume,For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.I loafe and invite my soul,I lean and loafe at my ease . . . observing a spear of summer grass.With those lines, Whitman began the first and longest of the 12 poems which he initially printed and bound himself in July, 1855. Much later he would finally name that first poem ''Song of Myself.

BETHESDA -- The first game of last night's match made South Carroll coach Debbie Eaton happy. The score, which went in favor of Walt Whitman, didn't please Eaton, but what she saw on the court did."The first game was real important to us because we saw this team was beatable," said Eaton. "This was the push we needed."South Carroll got lots of push also from Nicole Spencer and Melissa Gettemy, especially in the fifth game, and the visiting Cavaliers won their first region championship since 1985 with a 10-15, 16-14, 15-7, 11-15, 15-10 victory over Walt Whitman in the Class 3A West Region final.

BETHESDA -- South Carroll point guard Amber Clutter summed the game up best when she said simply: "They were better than us."Certainly host Walt Whitman (22-0) had too much of everything for South Carroll last night in a 68-50 Class 3A West Regional girls semifinal victory over the Cavaliers.It showed superb interior passing, excellent ball movement, good outside shooting, active hands on defense and a strong full-court press.It all produced two back-breaking runs by Whitman that added up to a 27-0 margin and more than did in South Carroll.

BETHESDA -- It almost seemed appropriate that Walt Whitman's Mary Jo Sisk closed out the Class 3A West championship against South Carroll with a service ace.All last night, the Vikings' hitter was the center of attention, gaining most of it with her 22 kills.Behind her, the top-seeded and host Vikings swept third seed South Carroll, 15-9, 15-7, 15-9.Whitman (12-4) advances to the state tournament."All we needed to do was stop [Sisk], but we just couldn't do it," said South Carroll coach Debbie Eaton, whose team finished 10-6.

In the Great Hall of the National Portrait Gallery, in the golden light of the waning day, Charlie Herbek speaks the words of the poet Walt Whitman, the wound-dresser of the Civil War. "Here is a case of a soldier I found among the crowded cots in the Patent Office. He likes to have someone to talk to. And we will listen to him. He got badly hit at Fredericksburg that eventful Saturday, 13th of December. He lay the succeeding two days and nights helpless on the field Our soldier is from Pennsylvania.

For three minutes this season, the Westminster Owls weren't their usual dominating self. It came at the wrong time.The No. 3 Owls gave up two goals in the first 2:10 yesterday afternoon against Walt Whitman -- as many as they've given up all season long -- and it was all the Vikings would need in coming away with a 2-0 win in the Class 4A state semifinals at Goucher College.It's the third straight year the Owls' season has come to an end in heartbreaking fashion at the state semifinals. This season was a little more special with the Owls rolling through the regular season and region playoffs perfect.

After Friday and Saturday's girls basketball regional championships, the winners advance to the state semifinals Thursday and Friday at UMBC. Three 2013 state champions will try to defend their titles -- No. 2 Aberdeen, Calvert and Dunbar. In Class 4A, Walt Whitman knocked out defending champion Gaithersburg. Here is the schedule for the state semifinals: Thursday, March 7 Class 4A Poly vs. Walt Whitman, 3 Eleanor Roosevelt vs. North Point, 5 Class 3A Aberdeen vs. Damascus, 7 River Hill vs. Friendly, 9 Friday, March 8 Class 2A R andallstown vs. Middletown , 3 Patterson Mill vs. Calvert, 5 Class 1A Western Tech vs. Southern-Garrett, 7 Dunbar vs. Mardela, 9

Severn senior forward Leanne Hug, expected back early this week after missing two weeks with an ankle injury, will be a welcome sight as the Admirals prepare for the stretch run in defending their Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference crown. The Admirals (13-3, 6-2 in the league before Friday's game against Mount de Sales) have held their own in Hug's absence with different players taking turns stepping up. In Tuesday's 54-38 victory over St. Vincent Pallotti, the team got 14 points from junior guard Leah Cranmer and 10 rebounds and three blocks from senior center Caitlin Sheehan.

Now the Drum of War By Robert Roper Walker & Co. / 421 pages / $28 Walt Whitman (1819-1892), author of Leaves of Grass and the father of American poetry, came from a large, close-knit family. Poor and prone to strokes, heart disease and mental illness, the Whitmans were nevertheless tenacious, talented and smart. Robert Roper's book offers a family biography, which looks at Walt Whitman and his relationship with his family primarily during the Civil War. In a style reminiscent of Ken Burns, Roper focuses on Walt, his doting mother and his younger brothers, Jeff, a water engineer, and George, a Union soldier.

THEATER LOOKING FOR ROBERTO CLEMENTE / / 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturdays; 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. Sundays, through June 1. Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda. $10-$20. 301-280-1660 or imaginationstage.org ....................... Play ball! Just in time for peanuts and fast pitches comes this world-premiere children's rock musical about baseball and heroes. Set in 1972, the story concerns the competition among neighborhood youngsters hoping to meet the legendary Pittsburgh Pirate in person.

COLLEGE PARK -- Atholton coach Rick Jones said his mixed doubles team of John Healey and Julia Southerland had a "chip on their shoulders" ever since they were seeded fourth in the Howard County championship. The two used that snub as motivation as they went on to win the county title, a regional title and then capped their undefeated season yesterday with a state championship at the University of Maryland. Healey, a freshman, and Southerland, a sophomore, were the only players from the Baltimore metropolitan area to make it to a championship game in tennis.

Gordon Conrad Cyr, a retired Towson University music professor and composer whose Symphony No. 2 was given its premiere performance by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, died of complications from intestinal surgery Thursday at Mercy Medical Center. The longtime Charles Village resident was 81. Born in Oakland, Calif., and raised in San Francisco and Berkeley, Dr. Cyr followed an unconventional path to a career in music. He dropped out of the University of California at Berkeley in 1945, after just one year.

Going into last night's state Class 4A semifinal, No. 3 Dulaney and Mongomery County's Walt Whitman had almost identical season statistics except in one category -- blocks.The Vikings averaged twice as many blocks as the Lions. A quick look at their roster revealed why -- four 6-footers. The Lions' tallest player, Melaney Heagy, is 5-10.The difference in height proved to be the difference in the match as the Vikings took a 15-4, 15-1, 15-3 victory at Essex Community College. They advance to meet No. 1 Severna Park for the title Saturday at Catonsville Community College.

What -- Fourth Mount Mat Madness wrestling tournament, featuring top teams from Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. Where -- Goucher College Format -- Double elimination. When -- Friday and Saturday. Schedule -- Friday: 2:30 p.m., championship pigtails, preliminary round of 16, consolation pigtails. Saturday: 8:30 a.m., quarterfinals; 10:30 a.m., consolation quarterfinals; noon, championship semifinals; 2:30 p.m., consolation semifinals; 5 p.m., consolation finals; 7:30 p.m., championship finals.

My husband and I are interested in Walt Whitman. Are there tours where we can pay homage to America's poet? Whitman, born in 1819 in the community of West Hills in Huntington, Long Island, N.Y., lived the last 19 years of his life in Camden, N.J. Both cities celebrate his life and works and are worth a visit. Last summer, tourism officials in Camden, east of Philadelphia, offered "Walt Whitman and his Invincible City," a three-hour guided tour to Whitman's home and burial site, plus readings of his poems by an impersonator.