West Virginia

Up to half of sexually active young people will get a sexually transmitted disease by the time they are 25, yet many don't seek testing because it may be difficult, costly or embarrassing. Public health officials nationally and in particularly affected cities like Baltimore, however, say they've found a method that seems to address the major hurdles — a website that supplies free in-home testing kits for three of the most commonly reported STDs. "The highest prevalence is in young adults, and we knew we had to reach these kids," said Charlotte A. Gaydos, a professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Weather forecasters are in agreement that warm temperatures are likely for Preakness 2013 on Saturday, but they are mixed on whether there will be clouds and rain showers. High temperatures are expected in the upper 70s, according to most forecasts. Normal for this time of year is around the mid-70s. Lows are expected in the lower- to mid-60s, also a few degrees warmer than normal. But various forecasters predict a spectrum of conditions in the sky -- from partly cloudy skies to possible rain showers.

Weather forecasters are in agreement that warm temperatures are likely for Preakness 2013 on Saturday, but they are mixed on whether there will be clouds and rain showers. High temperatures are expected in the upper 70s, according to most forecasts. Normal for this time of year is around the mid-70s. Lows are expected in the lower- to mid-60s, also a few degrees warmer than normal. But various forecasters predict a spectrum of conditions in the sky -- from partly cloudy skies to possible rain showers.

The list of 2014 prospects with reported offers from Maryland continued to expand this week. Jared Nickens , a three-star shooting guard from the Westtown (Pa.) School, is now on that list, according to Alex Kline . Nickens, according to Rivals.com, also has offers from Creighton, Miami, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Penn State, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Wake Forest, among many others . Maryland also recently offered 2014 three-star forward Terry Larrier from the Bronx, according to Kline . Check out an InsideMDSports feature on Larrier here . Finally, Maryland has expressed interest recently in West Virginia forward and D.C. Assault member Donte Grantham , according to CBSSports.com . West Virginia and Marshall have offered for 2013, with Cincinnati , Clemson , Wake Forest , Maryland , Xavier , Villanova and Georgetown all showing varying levels of interest.

Tip No. 1 for a trip to Green Bank, W.Va.: Pack lots of CDs. If you hit the "scan" button on your car radio, all you will get is an endless display of numbers as the radio searches vainly for a station. There aren't any. There isn't much else out here in east-central West Virginia, either -- just an occasional farm, a logging truck or, scampering back into the Monongahela National Forest, a deer. The trip here, via routes 55 and 28, winds up into the clouds where snakes of mist curl around the road.

  Comptroller Peter Franchot proudly describes himself as Maryland's chief fiscal officer, but a senior state senator is accusing him of acting against the state's interests and promoting West Virginia's in the fight over expanded gambling. Sen. James "Ed" DeGrange Sr. of Anne Arundel County sent a letter to his fellow Democrat Friday in which he chided the comptroller for his appearance in ads financed by Penn National Gaming to fight Question 7 on the Nov. 6 ballot. A yes vote could clear the way for a casino at National Harbor in Prince George's County, which Penn National sees as a threat to its casino in Charles Town, W. Va. In unusually harsh terms, DeGrange calls the Penn national ads "deceitful" and charges that Franchot "contributed to the deceit.

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.

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. 

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.

William F. Childs III, a retired engineer who was an early salesman of do-it-yourself cement products, died of complications from heart disease April 23 at his Towson home. He was 95 and lived for many years in Stoneleigh. Born in Salisbury, he was a 1936 graduate of the Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania and earned a civil engineering and business administration degree from the Johns Hopkins University, where he was lacrosse team manager. He joined the old Glenn L. Martin Co. in Middle River.

One of my favorite assignments in the past year or so was the feature I did this week on former Dunbar and West Virginia star Tavon Austin, who for weeks has had talent evaluators in NFL organizations and in the media salivating about what he might do in the pros. One quote from my story really summed Austin up nicely. “I think the teams that view him conventionally as a slot receiver are being short-sighted,” Greg Cosell of NFL Films, whose opinion I respect, told me two weeks ago. “The teams that see him as the ultimate chess piece that can be moved all around and aligned everywhere on the formation are the teams that will get it right.” Now that we know that Tavon is heading to St. Louis, let's take a look at how he will fit with the Rams.

Imagine the football field as a chess board, its synthetic green grass replaced with two-toned squares. Picture wideouts as rooks rocketing up and down the edges of the board and backs as bishops slashing through a front line of pawns. Tight ends and slot receivers are knights, slipping out to seize smaller chunks of ground. The quarterback, of course, is king, often times stationary but absolutely invaluable. Where does Tavon Austin fit into the NFL's weekly high-speed, hard-hitting chess matches?

An Ellicott City man died over the weekend after an accident on the Tough Mudder obstacle course in West Virginia, the first such death in the three-year history of the outdoor run that bills itself as "probably the toughest event on the planet. " Avishek Sengupta, 28, was with a half-dozen friends on the course Saturday when he encountered the "Walk the Plank" obstacle, in which participants jump into a deep pool of muddy water 15 feet below a wooden platform. Sengupta jumped in but did not resurface and was later flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., where he was taken off life support Sunday.

Horse racing Retired Hall of Fame trainer Kelly dead at 93 Hall of Fame trainer Thomas J. Kelly died Friday morning at St. Catherine's West Rehabilitation Hospital in Hialeah, Fla., after a brief illness, according to his son, Timothy D. Kelly . He was 93. Kelly, who was born in Pikesville, conditioned 65 stakes winners, including Plugged Nickle, 1980's champion sprinter who won that year's Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack,...

Dunbar junior quarterback William Crest verbally committed to West Virginia on Friday, according to multiple reports. Crest helped the Poets win the Class 1A state championship last fall, throwing for two touchdowns in Dunbar's 39-0 victory over New Town at M&T Bank Stadium. He threw 14 touchdown passes overall last season as the Poets went 13-1 to win their third straight 1A title. Rivals.com ranks Crest as a four-star prospect and the No. 205 overall recruit in the Class of 2014, while Scout.com has him as a three-star prospect and the No. 30 quarterback in the graduating class.

- 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.

Doreatha C. Jordan, a retired Morgan State University student center director, died of a pulmonary embolism April 13 at Sinai Hospital. The Northwood resident was 89. Born Doreatha Cecelia Diggs in New Rochelle, N.Y., she was the daughter of Leroy and Nellie Diggs. She moved to Baltimore and was a 1942 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. She attended Coppin State College. In 1946, she married the Rev. Basha Jordan, a United Methodist pastor. She moved with him to assignments in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.

Editor's note: Each week, InsideMdSports.com provides this blog with a Maryland recruiting feature that previously appeared as premium content on its site. Highly touted 2014 quarterback William Crest didn't have to travel to College Park to get a good look at the Maryland football team. The Terps, who practiced at Dunbar on Saturday, came to him. Crest walked up and down the sidelines of the Poets' field Saturday, taking in the Terps' ninth spring practice and imagining what it might be like to suit up for the hometown school.