West Virginia

Four trucks laden with 100 slot machines arrived early Wednesday morning at the nearly completed casino at Arundel Mills mall. For the next two hours, workers wheeled banks of the gleaming new machines, one by one, inside on hand trucks. Installation of the first set of slots moved Maryland Live! Casino, the state's largest, another step closer to its scheduled opening in three months. That's progress for Maryland's lackluster gambling program, which has yet to be fully implemented more than three years after voters approved five slots locations statewide.

Keith Russell Judd, better known as the federal inmate who scored 41 percent of the vote against President Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary, wanted to be on the ballot in Maryland, too. Without Judd in his path, Obama cruised to an 88 percent victory. Blame U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett, who last year dismissed Judd's complaint against the Maryland State Board of Elections in which he alleged he was being wrongly kept on the ballot. Bennett referred to Judd, who is serving a 210-month sentence in a Texas federal prison for extortion, as a "prolific and vexatious litigant who has filed more than 748 cases in federal courts since 1997.

Keith Russell Judd, better known as the federal inmate who scored 41 percent of the vote against President Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary, wanted to be on the ballot in Maryland, too. Without Judd in his path, Obama cruised to an 88 percent victory. Blame U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett, who last year dismissed Judd's complaint against the Maryland State Board of Elections in which he alleged he was being wrongly kept on the ballot. Bennett referred to Judd, who is serving a 210-month sentence in a Texas federal prison for extortion, as a "prolific and vexatious litigant who has filed more than 748 cases in federal courts since 1997.

Gino Gradkowski at a glance Guard/center, Delaware Ht./Wt.: 6 foot 3,  300 pounds Born: Nov. 5, 1988, Pittsburgh, Pa. High School: Seton-LaSalle (West Virginia) College highlights: Started seven games at left guard and four at center as a senior for Blue Hens team that finished 7-4. .. . As a junior, started all 15 games at left guard ... was a key member of an offensive line that helped the team rank No. 2 in the CAA in total offense with 401.8 yards per game, rushing offense at 184.4 yards per game and scoring offense with 27.9 points per game...part of a group that was pivotal in CAA Rookie of the Year Andrew Pierce and CAA Offensive Player of the Year Pat Devlin's success ... team went 12-3 and advanced to the FCS national title game under head coach K.C. Keeler.

West Virginia senior forward Da'Sean Butler , the Mountaineers' third-leading career scorer, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee after a collision with Duke's Brian Zoubek midway through the second half in Saturday night's 78-57 loss in the national semifinals. A magnetic resonance imaging done Sunday in Indianapolis also revealed a sprain of the medial cruciate ligament and two bone bruises.

- The end, for Reggie Holmes, came with 31 seconds left in a blowout loss, when he retreated to the Morgan State bench one last time Friday. The beginning of the end came when West Virginia assigned 6-foot-9 Devin Ebanks to guard Holmes in their NCAA East Regional opener. Holmes hit his first shot - a trademark triple - but spent the rest of the afternoon at HSBC Arena with Ebanks shadowing his every move, hand in Holmes' face, game in West Virginia's pocket. The final score was 77-50 Mountaineers, but the story was the job Ebanks did on Morgan's all-time leading scorer.

The Next Level is a Recruiting Report feature that focuses on natives of Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County and Howard County who appear on NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision rosters. For former Dunbar star Tavon Austin , 2011 was the season that he officially lived up to -- if not exceeded -- the hype. Austin, the 2009 Baltimore Sun Male Athlete of the Year, was an often unstoppable scoring machine for West Virginia in the fall.

Maryland (2-0) at No. 21 West Virginia (2-0) Time: Noon Site: Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, W.Va. Line: West Virginia by 10 TV: ESPNU Radio: 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Series: West Virginia leads 23-21-2 Last meeting: West Virginia defeated Maryland, 31-14, on Sept. 13, 2007, in College Park. Maryland offense vs. West Virginia defense: Maryland plans to start QB Jamarr Robinson and again look for opportunities to play backup Danny O'Brien.

A suspect in a Northwest Baltimore shooting was arrested Thursday in Western Maryland, police said.  Police said witnesses were able to give detectives a West Virginia license plate of a vehicle seen driving away from the scene of the shooting, and tracked the gunman, 46-year-old William Jeffrey Howard, to his address in tiny Westernport, Md.  The shooting is believed to be drug-related, police said. At about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, police said Howard was in a vehicle with the victim in the 3900 block of Mortimer Ave., when the two men began fighting inside the car. Police say Howard pulled out a handgun and shot the 32-year-old victim in the forearm.  Witnesses said Howard then jumped into a vehicle, being driven by a woman, that was parked behind the victim's car, and they fled.  Howard is charged with attempted first-degree murder, and related charges. 

Ralph Friedgen often sounds wistful when he talks about the subject of a true Maryland football rival, or rather the lack of one. It's as if Friedgen, in his 10th year as head coach, is missing a dance partner. Friedgen, an offensive lineman at Maryland in the late 1960s, is fond of reminding people how he routinely played against West Virginia and Penn State. Or how, as Georgia Tech's offensive coordinator, he relished playing Georgia because "that's what gets the crowds going.

A mid-November matchup with Atlantic Coast Conference-favorite Florida State at Byrd Stadium highlights Maryland's 2012 football schedule, which the conference released Monday. The Seminoles are one of nine bowl teams from last year the Terps will face this season, and represent, on paper, the Terps' toughest test in league play. A consensus preseason top-10 team, Florida State returns 18 starters from last season's 9-4 team, including nine starters off a dominant Seminoles defense.

A suspect in a Northwest Baltimore shooting was arrested Thursday in Western Maryland, police said.  Police said witnesses were able to give detectives a West Virginia license plate of a vehicle seen driving away from the scene of the shooting, and tracked the gunman, 46-year-old William Jeffrey Howard, to his address in tiny Westernport, Md.  The shooting is believed to be drug-related, police said. At about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, police said Howard was in a vehicle with the victim in the 3900 block of Mortimer Ave., when the two men began fighting inside the car. Police say Howard pulled out a handgun and shot the 32-year-old victim in the forearm.  Witnesses said Howard then jumped into a vehicle, being driven by a woman, that was parked behind the victim's car, and they fled.  Howard is charged with attempted first-degree murder, and related charges. 

Even though Calvert Hall All-Metro football players Da'Quan Davis and Trevor Williams have been playing football together since they were 12, they never set out to go to Penn State together. They started playing together at Roland Park Middle School, moved on to Calvert Hall and committed to West Virginia. A couple weeks ago, they decided separately to decommit from West Virginia. When other coaches came calling, Penn State appealed to both of them. Davis and Williams made their official visits to Happy Valley over the weekend with their families and orally committed Sunday.

The Next Level is a Recruiting Report feature that focuses on natives of Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County and Howard County who appear on NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision rosters. For former Dunbar star Tavon Austin , 2011 was the season that he officially lived up to -- if not exceeded -- the hype. Austin, the 2009 Baltimore Sun Male Athlete of the Year, was an often unstoppable scoring machine for West Virginia in the fall.

Old Mill running back Rob Chesson was named Offensive Player of the Year and River Hill coach Brian Van Deusen shared Coach of the Year honors as the 20th annual Consensus All-State football team was announced Thursday. Chesson, who set a state record for most touchdowns in a season with 49 and led the Patriots to the state Class 4A championship, took top honors on offense while Good Counsel defensive back Stefon Diggs was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Van Deusen, who rallied his team from a 2-2 start to the state Class 3A title, shared Coach of the Year honors with Good Counsel's Bob Milloy, who led his team to an unbeaten season and the No. 1 ranking in the state.

Former Dunbar star Tavon Austin is being recognized as an All-American by two major websites. CBSsports.com has Austin as a first-team "all purpose" player on special teams. Yahoo! has the West Virginia junior on its second team as a punt returner. Austin has returned 19 punts for 268 yards (14.1 per return) this season. He also also handled kick returns, averaging 26 yards per return and taking two back for touchdowns. Austin also has 89 catches for 1,063 receiving yards and 4 TDs, and he ranks second in the country in all-purpose yards.

A 69-year-old motorcyclist was killed Friday night after his Harley Davidson struck an SUV on I-70 in Howard County, state police said. Earl Burton Walker of South Charleston, W.V., was heading east on I-70, near Woodbine Road in Lisbon when his motorcycle collided with a 1999 Ford Explorer driven by Gary Eugene Fyffe Jr., 33, of Pasadena. State police said the Ford was disabled in the left lane because of a flat front tire when the motorcycle crashed into the back of the SUV. Fyffe, the driver of the Ford Explorer was driving under the influence of alcohol and was arrested for DUI, police said, but no charges have been filed.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Billy Hahn still believes in the basketball gods. His faith has been tested, and he had doubts, but the last trace of those doubts finally vanished Friday on the raised basketball court inside Lucas Oil Stadium. After a nearly three-year exile from coaching following his dismissal by La Salle, and that followed by two years of helping his wife through a battle with ovarian cancer and leukemia, Hahn found himself on the court at the Final Four. Is that good enough?

After a fatal accident in July at the All Good Festival in West Virginia, Walther Productions, the festival's Maryland-based promoter, has moved the jam band music festival to Ohio, the company has said. The accident, which left a 20-year-old woman dead and two others injured, has resulted in three lawsuits , as first reported by The Baltimore Sun, accusing the company,  as well as several of the festival's vendors, like a security company, of negligence. Earlier this month, Walther Productions moved to dismiss the lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Kenny Files said he "knew I had something" when he felt more than a little tug on his fishing line April 14 in the flood-swollen Potomac River near Williamsport in Washington County. Files, who was 12 at the time and has been fishing since "I was 3 or 4" pulled in a 31.75-pound muskie after casting a large white plastic grub lure. It turned out to be the state record. Files' father, Ken, said he was a bit surprised at his son's big haul. He had been fishing the same waters across from their home Falling Waters, W.Va., and had not caught anything bigger than a 9 1/2- pound largemouth bass at their regular fishing spot.