West Virginia

WASHINGTON - Hugh Caperton, a small coal mine owner from Slab Fork, W.Va,. was driven into bankruptcy after he ran up against the huge A.T. Massey Coal Company, but he got a measure of revenge when a jury awarded him $50 million in damages. When Massey appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court, however, Caperton knew he was in trouble. Massey's chief executive, Don Blankenship, had spent $3 million of his own money to elect a new justice. "The deck was stacked against us," Caperton said.

Three more deer in the West Virginia county that borders Maryland have tested positive for a fatal disease responsible for the deaths of thousands of deer and elk in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states. Game officials in West Virginia recently tested 101 deer for chronic wasting disease in Hampshire County, just south of Maryland's Allegany County, as part of a continuing surveillance program initiated after 10 deer within a dozen miles of the state border tested positive in September 2005.

The Orioles signed House, 27, who was in the Houston Astros organization last season, as a minor league free agent in November. A catcher by trade, House also can play both corner infield and outfield positions and is trying to make the team as a utility man. As a high school quarterback, House threw for 14,457 yards to set a national high school record since broken. He temporarily gave up baseball and went to West Virginia, where he was the third-string quarterback in 2005. What do you think your chances are of making the team?

NEW YORK-- --Here's the sad truth about playing in the National Invitation Tournament: No matter how well your team does, you'll never thrust your finger in the air and shout, "We're No. 1!" You'll never shout, "We're No. 2!" either. Nos. 3 through 20 are pretty much out of the question, too. No, even if you win the NIT championship - as the West Virginia Mountaineers did by beating the Clemson Tigers before 12,000 empty seats a few days ago at Madison Square Garden - your number will be much higher, like something you'd pull at the MVA when you go for new tags.

The O'Malley administration released a report yesterday that concludes slot machines are necessary to protect Maryland's racing industry, giving the strongest indication yet that the governor intends to make expanded gambling part of his plan to close a projected $1.5 billion budget gap. Labor, Licensing and Regulation Secretary Thomas E. Perez made the finding after visiting racetracks in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware, examining revenue statistics,...

I'd tallied all the big Western rivers I'd run -- the Middle Fork of the Salmon, the Green, the Colorado, the Alsek -- and laughed at the notion that some wimpy stream in West Virginia could test me. But the New River chastised me without even trying.Our little raft was in the midst of Keeney's Creek rapid, and without more muscle power, we'd end up like the hapless crew a few rapids back. They'd lost headway halfway up a big wave and had "dump-trucked," stopped dead with the raft's bow nosing toward the heavens.

With West Virginia quarterback Marc Bulger sidelined for this game with a fractured index finger on his throwing hand, Navy will go to Morgantown knowing that the player who threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns in last year's 45-24 Mountaineers victory is not going to reprise that performance.Still, nothing has come easy for Navy, which has suffered two tough losses in succession -- games it could have won.West Virginia coach Don Nehlen said he's not worrying "so much about" Bulger's replacement, Brad Lewis.

COLLEGE PARK -- In one shocking afternoon, nearly three years of promises came true for coach Ron Vanderlinden and the Maryland football team.Not even Vanderlinden could have envisioned such a domination of a respectable West Virginia team, 33-0, before a festive crowd of 33,159 at Byrd Stadium."

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Navy ventured into the mountains of West Virginia yesterday and found a breath of fresh air for its football season.Gasping after two consecutive narrow defeats, the Midshipmen resurrected their ability to win a competitive game, outlasting a downtrodden West Virginia team, 31-28, on Tim Shubzda's 29-yard field goal with 2: 53 left to play and a last-minute interception by Chris Lepore.It was a major victory for Navy (2-3), which had lost four straight games decided by five or fewer points dating to last season and faces one of its biggest rivals next Saturday in Air Force.

Willie Runyon, the owner of a private ambulance company in Baltimore and a major financial contributor to Democrats from City Hall to the White House, died Thursday of complications from Parkinson's disease. He was 76.Mr. Runyon, the son of a West Virginia coal miner who owned American Ambulance and Oxygen Service Co., died in Brightwood Nursing Home in Lutherville, said his wife, Patricia Runyon.Among recipients of Mr. Runyon's largess during the past 30 years were Govs. Marvin Mandel, William Donald Schaefer and Parris N. Glendening, and the Clinton-Gore re-election campaign.

Robert Leo Harmon, A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 31 at St. Clements church on Second Avenue at 11:00 A.M. Interment will take place in West Virginia at an undisclosed date.

Heather O'Donnell of Bowie writes: "I've read many places that the watershed for the Chesapeake Bay goes all the way up to near Cooperstown in New York. Yet, when I'm driving up I-95 toward New Jersey, I see a big billboard that tells me I'm leaving the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Who is right?" Tom Zolper of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation replies: "The sign is correct. The Chesapeake Bay watershed encompasses parts of six states (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia)

Fallston's Jess Harlee knew exactly what happened when she felt the pop in her left knee three weeks ago at a basketball tournament in Georgia. She tore the anterior cruciate ligament, a major stabilizing force in the knee, and the injury usually requires surgery and about six months of rehabilitation. Harlee will be operated on today. That means she will miss at least some of her senior season - a terrible blow for the Cougars, who went 28-0 last season and won their first state girls basketball championship with an improbable 65-62 victory over defending champion Paint Branch.

As a slots license selection commission evaluates bids for slots licenses in Maryland, a new study has found that facilities that provide both racing and casino activities create low-paying jobs that depress salaries in surrounding areas. The study by Ball State University examined West Virginia's so-called racinos - horse or dog racing facilities with casino games - during a 26-year period and found that counties with such gambling operations saw a one-time employment gain of 1.1 percent, while the average salary in the area fell by as much as 2.9 percent because of the prevalence of low-paying jobs.

NFL Ravens hire J. Brooks as assistant to offense The Ravens announced that they have hired Jason Brooks as their assistant to the offense. Brooks will handle offensive quality-control duties, including self-scouting, game film analysis and breaking down opponents' tendencies, while also assisting wide receivers coach Jim Hostler. "Jason comes in here with college coaching and pro personnel experience, and we're happy to have him on board," head coach John Harbaugh said in a statement.

By now it's considered conventional wisdom that deregulation is to blame for rising electricity prices in Maryland, while states with regulated energy markets are immune from such unpleasantness. Tell that to consumers in regulated West Virginia, where two utilities recently asked the state Public Service Commission for a 43 percent rate increase. The request by Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power came after the PSC granted an 11 percent rate increase last summer. Keep in mind West Virginia has abundant coal reserves and, for now, some of the cheapest electricity in the nation.

Lewis Clinch scored a career-high 32 points yesterday and last-place Georgia Tech (12-18) pulled off the first upset of the ACC tournament, beating No. 17 Clemson (23-8), 86-81, in the opening round yesterday in Atlanta. Virginia Tech 65, Miami 47: : The Hokies broke open a close game with a 14-0 run in the second half and beat the Hurricanes. Miami's Jack McClinton (Calvert Hall), who scored a season-low nine points, said, "I just had a bad game." Boston College 76, Virginia 63: : Rakim Sanders scored 25 points and the Eagles (22-10)

Eric Devendorf scored all 19 of his points in a technical-filled second half and No. 18 Syracuse pulled away for an 89-74 victory over Seton Hall last night in the second round of the Big East tournament in Madison Square Garden in New York. Jonny Flynn had 19 points and 11 assists for the sixth-seeded Orange (24-8), which will face third-seeded and third-ranked Connecticut in the quarterfinals tonight. Jeremy Hazell had 27 points for the 11th-seeded Pirates (17-15), who had advanced to the second round with a 68-54 victory over South Florida.

WASHINGTON - Hugh Caperton, a small coal mine owner from Slab Fork, W.Va,. was driven into bankruptcy after he ran up against the huge A.T. Massey Coal Company, but he got a measure of revenge when a jury awarded him $50 million in damages. When Massey appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court, however, Caperton knew he was in trouble. Massey's chief executive, Don Blankenship, had spent $3 million of his own money to elect a new justice. "The deck was stacked against us," Caperton said.

Tavon Austin, the record-setting football player who led Dunbar to three straight state championships, has committed orally to play for West Virginia. "It felt like I was home. It just felt good to be there," Austin said of his recruiting trip. "I thought it was a real good situation for me. I can be a running back there, or I can also play in the slot. "Most of the running backs at West Virginia are small, fast, shifty, and that played a big part in my decision. It's where Steve Slaton [now of the Houston Texans, who has a similar running style]