Watching

We're at the finale already (didn't this season seem short?). I'll say it right here at the top of the episode - unless William falls repeatedly on his keister, requiring the judges to give him 5's across the board, there's no way he's not winning this thing. That being said, I'd be OK with any of the three finalists winning, even though I'm personally Team Driver. Tonight's show will have each couple dancing two dances:  1. Judge's pick, which are new routines danced to new music, but in a style the couple has previously danced and in which the judges would like to see them improve.  2. Freestyle Tomorrow night, the couples will be doing some sort of third scored dance, details about which we'll learn later.

I am a Red Sox fan (I now live in New England), by way of having been a Braves fan (they were the team of the deep South in the '70s) , by way of having been a Brooklyn Dodgers fan as a very young child (their enemy was the Yankees, and they hired Jackie Robinson). I am a devoted Sox fan, and watch almost every Red Sox game on TV, unless I am at Fenway. It always seems weird to me to see a ballpark half full when I am used to Fenway full for every game. OK, there were lean times for theO'sin the past, but how can your city not come out to support the team this year?

"There -- look over there!"Everyone rushed to the side of the big boat, the kids pushing in front of their parents. And there it was: a magnificent, close-to-60-foot-long humpback whale that arched his back and dived, as if on cue."I never saw a live whale before," said Jessie Garant, an excited 12-year-old with a Plattsburgh, N.Y., school group.It was an overcast summer day and we were whale watching -- along with some 250 others -- on board the New England Aquarium's 103-foot Voyager II.We were in the middle of Stellwagen Bank, about an hour by boat from Boston.

These two teams will meet for the 18th time, but for the first time since 2010. Loyola owns a 12-5 lead in the series, but Notre Dame has won the last four meetings. These teams faced each other in the NCAA tournament just once with the Greyhounds enjoying a 21-5 thumping in the first round on May 11, 1997. The No. 4 seed Fighting Irish (13-2) defeated Yale, 13-7, in the first round and No. 5 seed Virginia, 12-10, in the quarterfinals. No. 1 seed Loyola (16-1) beat Canisius, 17-5, in the first round and Denver, 10-9, in the quarterfinals.

ON TELEVISION, where does reality begin and end? Sports. At least with sports on television, I absolutely know that what I am watching is real. The World Wrestling Federation aside, it's become the most trusted viewing for that very reason. If the TV network or station says it's being broadcast live then, yes, there really is a real game going on somewhere. Seeing what's in store for us, as reality bites a mouthful out of the forthcoming fall primetime lineup, what were once clearly demarcated lines between entertainment programs and news, documentary and the commercials that sponsor them, are getting blurry, possibly because of the enormous success of "Survivor."

From his second-floor office, Hank Kaestner watches the traffic fly past Hunt Valley. There are Canada geese and cormorants, ospreys and owls, even a few bald eagles. The aerial show never stops, and Kaestner, an executive with McCormick & Co., keeps careful track of the birds, recording each new breed he sees at work.Mixing spices and species does him good, he says."People have such stress in their jobs," says Kaestner, of Timonium. "Nature is one of the few medicines available for free."

Chicago. -- Trial of the year. Trial of the decade. Trial of the century. Whatever history's verdict on double-murder charges facing O.J. Simpson, it must also record some of the staggering costs.Mr. Simpson's phalanx of top-dollar lawyers is widely believed to cost a convenient round number: everything Mr. Simpson has, a figure often put loosely at about $10 million.The cost to taxpayers is harder to estimate, much of it buried in routine budgets and salary schedules of the County of Los Angeles, but obviously reaching into the millions of dollars.

MY CHILDREN were sitting motionless. For a moment, I thought they had turned to stone for the rude things they say to each other -- as I have often predicted they would -- but then I realized they were watching cartoons.Not cartoons du jour, such as "X-Men" or "Aladdin," but the antique ones. Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. Tom and Jerry. Yogi and Boo-Boo. The Jetsons. Popeye. Roadrunner. The ones we watched as kids.These cartoons looked so good on the TV screen -- not gray and grainy the way I remembered them -- that I thought Ted Turner had purchased them all, colorized them, remixed the sound and added long-lost footage.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - -As the undefeated Ravens measure themselves against the New England Patriots today, it's difficult to do the same with their starting quarterbacks. The Patriots' Tom Brady has won three Super Bowls, and the Ravens' Joe Flacco hasn't played three seasons. Flacco prefers casually walking through the front door of Bonefish Grill, and Brady tries to avoid paparazzi when whisking his Brazilian supermodel wife to the trendiest restaurants in Boston. Brady kicks back in limousines, and Flacco turns down the dealership when it wants to pick up his car for an oil change.

Good morning -- NHL -- Your All-Star Game was last night? We were watching American Idol.

Everyone in local TV says "sweeps" don't matter as much as they used to now that Baltimore has Nielsen's local people meters (contested as that data might be) Still, everyone who does well in the Nielsen audience survey wants the world to know. And why not? All metrics are up for grabs these days, and everyone in the media wants the ones that show any successs celebrated. WJZ (Channel 13) had another month of big Nielsen success in local news. It won every head-to-head weekday news time period with the most important audience of adults 25 to 54 years of age. Dan Joerres, general manager of WBAL, described adults 25 to 54 as "the key demographic that most advertisers use when considering where to advertise.

The Ravens began organized team activities Tuesday, marking the first time this offseason that the team's rookies have been on the practice field with veterans. These workouts at the team's facility in Owings Mills are optional for veterans, though I'm sure coach John Harbaugh hopes all of them will be in attendance. The OTAs will continue into June, setting the table for next month's mandatory minicamp. Media is allowed to watch practice at the OTAs the next three Wednesdays and for all of the mandatory minicamp, which is June 12-14.

Salisbury is 9-4 in this series against its Capital Athletic Conference rival, but since coach Paul Cantabene took Stevenson's reins in 2005, the Mustangs have tagged the Sea Gulls with four of their eight losses over that same span. Stevenson (18-4), which has won its last four contests, is making its third Final Four appearance in the last four years, but has never gotten to the NCAA tournament final. The nine-time reigning national champion Sea Gulls (21-0) haven't lost since April 16, 2011 - to the Mustangs - and are playing to get to their 14th title game.

With the grandstands still filling up before noon, Rose Kramer of Wilmington, Del. said she loved people-watching as the day progresses. She's been coming to Maryland for the race for the past few years. She donned a fuzzy pink "Supergirl" hat with sequins, which she bought on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, New York. "I try not to go traditional," Kramer said. "I don't like traditional. I like craziness. " Tricia Brissett and John Santos of Baltimore City brought their 1-year-old daughter, Valentiana, who wore a polka-dotted hat with a big flower.

Revelers in the Preakness Infield were jovial Saturday morning, staking out prime spots -- near the track for some, and near concert stages for others. Lines for betting moved quickly, while the wait for those paying $20 extra for a refillable beer mug quickly swelled to a 30-minute wait. "I'm in it for the experience," said Megan Yardchik, a Federal Hill resident attending her third-straight Preakness in a wide-brimmed, gold and white straw hat. Yardchik and friends Leah Rogan and Matthew Egan staked out a spot near the Jagermeister tent in the middle of the infield, indifferent to the horses circling them but for the chance to win money off of them.

These two in-state rivals will meet for the 109th game all-time and the 13th time in the NCAA tournament. Johns Hopkins won nine of the 12 tournament contests, but Maryland, which defeated the Blue Jays, 9-6, on April 14, can take comfort in the knowledge that the regular-season winner is 7-5 when the sides meet again in the tournament. No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins (12-3) is 21-9 in the NCAA tournament under coach Dave Pietramala and seeking its first berth in the Final Four since 2008.

The special section in Wednesday's editions incorrectly reported that the parking garage of the Holiday Inn in the 300 block of West Pratt Street would be available to the public for watching the papal parade tomorrow. The garage will not be open to the public for watching the event.The Sun regrets the error.