More than 4.9 million flew through the airport. That’s an increase of 2.6 percent over the same period in 2011, and is a new all-time record for the first quarter of any year.

Total cargo shipments for the first quarter rose 3.2 percent to 57.7 million pounds.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Ron Matz reports local restaurants are offering some mouth-watering menu items for Soft Shell Crab Week.

Crisfield means crabbing, a place where soft shells are king in Baltimore City. Soft Shell Crab Week is beginning with some mouth-watering dishes at Pazo in Harbor East. Chef Tony Foreman says its menu magic.

“Whenever we have them, the soft shells sell out every restaurant and every night when we have them. We only get so many,” said Foreman, Foreman Wolf Group.

In Maryland we love our crabs here. The soft shell season is just beginning. This is the week to enjoy.

“Restaurants all over the city are involved. Soft Shell Crab Week runs from May 17 through May 28 and it’s a chance for restaurants to showcase this jewel of the Chesapeake,” said Megan Isennock, Downtown Partnership.

You can enjoy special soft shell menu items at more than 20 Baltimore City restaurants. The celebration will last 12 days.

Pazo’s crispy cava battered soft shells includes farm asparagus salad.

The dish is prepared with “preserved orange, mint and saffron aioli,” Foreman said. “It’s Spanish inspired. It’s the kind of dish we do in the beginning of the season with all local products.”

The dish is expected to go fast.

“We get a call in the morning and they show up with them and that’s it. We may get a couple of dozen, and you know if you’re from Maryland they’re going to be gone,” Foreman said.

The soft shell is a Maryland tradition signaling the beginning of summer.

“Each restaurant does its own take on soft shell crabs. It could be a sandwich. It could be fried or broiled. It’s completely up to each restaurant and each chef. We’ve seen some really incredible recipes,” Isennock said.

Soft Shell Crab Week continues through May 28. For a list of participating restaurants just click here.

That’s the word from David Cordish, whose company is opening a huge new casino next month in Maryland.

Yet Cordish warns that the expansion of casino gambling can’t go on unchecked forever. A big problem is the attitude of politicians across the country who view casinos as free money.

“I don’t know how we can control the politicians; they certainly don’t understand the word `oversaturation,”‘ Cordish
said. “They think you can have casinos like Starbucks.”

If that attitude continues, Cordish said, “it’s going to implode on them.”

The expansion of casino gambling has continued rapidly over the last several years, nowhere more fiercely than in the Northeast.

There is serious disagreement within the industry as to whether the market is oversaturated or whether there is room for further growth. But most agree it is tougher to do business in the Northeast casino market than it ever has been before.

The Cordish Company’s Maryland Live!, opening on June 6, will have 4,750 slot machines and cost $500 million.

“Thanks, David, for bringing 4,700 new slots to this market,” joked Don Marrandino, eastern division president of Caesars Entertainment, which owns casinos in Atlantic City and Pennsylvania. “That’s great news for us.”

Cordish said the casino market needs the stability of knowing how many operators there are going to be, particularly with the 67 percent tax Maryland imposes on its casinos.

He said the state will have four casinos with more slot machines “than anything in Las Vegas. It’s an experiment that nobody knows how it’s going to turn out. A contest I don’t want to win is Maryland will probably be the king of the oversaturated market with the highest tax rate. It’s a real problem.

“What happens when you put mega-casinos close together is they generally not only oversaturate the market, they don’t work,” Cordish said. In the Washington D.C. region soon, he added, “you’ll have four of the largest casinos in the country operating within a short drive of one another.”

But new casinos keep coming. Timothy Wilmott, president of Penn National Gaming, which has 26 casinos nationwide, said the company is interested in new markets in Massachusetts and Texas, and is opening new casinos in Ohio soon.

And Virginia McDowell, CEO of St. Louis-based Isle of Capri Casinos, which owns 15 casinos in six states, said there are
excellent new markets that don’t yet have casino gambling. The company plans two more, including one in Pittsburgh.

She listed Massachusetts, Texas and Florida as prime spots for new casinos, and said even traditionally hostile states such as Georgia, the Carolinas and Kentucky are considering legalizing them.

“Frankly, some of these opportunities are the best untapped gambling markets in the United States,” she said. But, McDowell said, “the industry lets its best growth opportunities die on the vine, choosing instead to fight each other.”

Mitchell Etess, CEO of Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, said the state’s two Indian-run casinos once had few competitors.

“It used to be just Atlantic City and Connecticut” that offered casino gambling on the East Coast. “The Northeast is going
to get a little more crowded.”

And part of that will be due to Mohegan Sun, which is also seeking a casino license in Massachusetts.

At the East Coast Gaming Congress, held at the newly opened Revel casino, executives from Atlantic City casinos said offering non-gambling amenities is key to surviving the cutthroat market, particularly in the northeast.

Tony Rodio, CEO of Tropicana Entertainment Inc., said the industry, and especially Atlantic City, needs to play up the other offerings that don’t involve gambling. He said the Tropicana in Atlantic City is fiercely going after mid-week meeting and  convention business.

Marrandino cited the new $20 million “Do AC!” advertising campaign that Atlantic City recently launched, noting it
deliberately did not show any gambling activities. That was to stress all the other things there are to do in the resort, he said.

But Revel, which many here are hoping will turn around Atlantic City’s five-year losing streak, might instead hurt the city’s casino market, according to Andrew Zarnett, managing director of Deutsche Bank Securities.

“Everybody’s a loser; when you add supply to a market that’s not growing very much, everybody gets cannibalized,” he said. “We need some of this capacity to close and go away. I would have thought that would have happened two years ago, but the properties are still here.”

Zarnett said he doubts any Atlantic City casino will close until they see whether or not New Jersey will approve Internet gambling and throw the struggling properties a lifeline. He also predicted New York will approve a casino in Manhattan within five years.

Scott Butera is president of the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise, which owns the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, which also has been hurt by expanded competition in the northeast.

“There’s a feeling you just want to click your ruby slippers together and say, `There’s no place like home,’ and things will go back to the way they were,” Butera said. “That’s never going to happen.” The solution is to “create a sense of urgency. When survival is the issue, people will rally.”

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

The Cumberland Times-News reports that the county commissioners voted Tuesday to raise the hotel tax from
5 percent to 6 percent, effective July 1.

County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt says some of the new revenue will reimburse the county’s $600,000 expense for paying off loans on which the Adventure Sports Center International had defaulted.

Pagenhardt says the higher hotel tax will also fund tourism promotion and economic development.

One event the county is promoting is the 2014 world canoe and kayak slalom championships at the whitewater course near McHenry.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Fire department spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia says the girl, who is about 2, fell about 10 feet from a home in the 1000- block of Grand Oak Way about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday. Garcia says the girl was unconscious when emergency responders arrived.

He says the girl was taken to a hospital with injuries that are considered life threatening.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Prince George’s County police will be at Route 301 and Ballpark Drive in Bowie starting at noon watching passing vehicles. Officers and safety advocates will distribute $1 bills to drivers who have all occupants properly buckled. Those riding without seatbelts will get educational materials and face being fined.

A local bank and the police department are sponsoring the money giveaway.

The program is an extension of the Click It Or Ticket campaign that is run in Maryland and other states.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Downtown merchants have spruced up their storefronts and decorated with U.S. flags in hopes that the hundreds of visitors expected on Friday and Saturday will do some shopping and dining between marching and chanting.

Still, police have beefed up security. And town officials on Wednesday removed decorative plaques from downtown parking meters to avoid their being seized or destroyed.

The town of 6,200 takes pride in its proximity to the presidential retreat several miles away. Some residents say
occasional road closures and other inconveniences are minor annoyances in light of the importance of events at Camp David.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Metro says that beginning Friday evening at 10 p.m. customers traveling between East Falls Church and West Falls Church will have to take a bus. In addition, red line trains will share a single track between Takoma and Forest Glen and between Van Ness and Friendship Heights, also leading to delays of 20 minutes.

On the green line, trains will share a single track between Greenbelt and Prince George’s Plaza, and Metro says customers
should allow between 10 and 15 minutes additional travel time.

Yellow line trains will operate between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square only.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — Farmhand Stanley Offord’s artistic streak came from out of the blue 50 years ago: no guidance, no fancy art supplies, no art school.

“I was just sitting there one day,” he said.

He thought of something he wanted to create. Since then, he has used mostly matchsticks and crayons to build and draw all kinds of objects in his free time, he said.

“I was always a homebody person,” he said.

He envisions art where others may see only humble matches, broken frames or the blank space on a pickup truck. He will be 70 in June, and his art fills his home.

Crayon still lifes hang on walls near matchstick picture frames with family photos. Sculptures decorate shelves and tables, and fill cardboard boxes and a closet.

Edna, his wife of 40 years, made sure he had a place to create his masterpieces when they moved to Frederick two years ago from Montgomery County.

“I gave him that room for his work,” Edna said.

She marvels at his commitment to the tedious labor, and the prolific rate at which he turns thousands of matches into sculpture after sculpture.

“I thought they were cute,” Edna said. “I didn’t think it would go this far.”

It is a good way to spend free time, Offord said.

“There’s too much trouble out there in the streets,” he said.

Offord grew up on a farm in Montgomery County where he performed manual labor. One of his early matchstick creations was a tractor.

It is one of his mechanical sculptures, which include a grain elevator, steamroller, a tow truck and a dump truck, among others. He engineers hydraulic lifts, wheels and spinning rotors.

He built a matchstick medevac helicopter, and a boat complete with mast, oars and outboard motor.

He creates exact replicas of a dozen famous characters. In his office, Popeye, SpongeBob SquarePants and friend Patrick stand near a matchstick dragon more than a foot tall.

The dragon started out to be a tennis shoe bank, Offord said, but his wife thought it looked like a dragon head, so he redesigned it.

An old milk tin sits in the living room decorated with precise images Offord painted of Warner Bros. cartoon celebrities Tweety, Pep? Le Pew, Porky Pig, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and the Tasmanian Devil.

Offord’s faith inspired sculpted crucifixes in many sizes, and his appreciation of Bob Marley inspired a full-size replica of an electric guitar.

He works from memory and photographs, and draws a sketch of his designs before starting, he said. He uses only hand tools to snip and sand matches.

“What takes so long,” he said, is turning all the matches in one direction and lighting them all off. He cleans them before
starting.

He uses the dark burned ends to form patterns in the sculpture. The varnished finished products feel as smooth as glass and weigh less than their size would indicate.

Under his desk sat a half full gallon jug of Elmer’s glue. Offord said he does not know how many gallons of it or thousands of matches he has used over the years.

He was paying $3.99 for a package of 750 matches, until he found he could get a pack of 500 for $1.99.

He scavenges the streets and waste cans of Frederick in his white pickup truck looking for discarded frames, figurines and knickknacks that he can use. He painted a cartoon dog character on his truck’s tailgate next to the words The Junkyard Dog.

His favorite creation memorializes his daughter Denise, who died of cancer. A matchstick base has a place for Denise’s photograph, flanked by symbols of Christian faith sculpted from matches.

He hopes to see his other six children for his birthday next month, and regularly sees his granddaughter Tatyanna. Tatyanna shares his creative spirit, helping to build the bases that support sculptures.

“My granddaughter is very helpful,” Offord said.

He is proud of her for collecting poptops from cans to raise money for a good cause, he said. One space in his neat kitchen held a 5-gallon tub filled with more than 65,000 poptops Tatyanna has collected so far.

“We always try to help people,” he said. “You always give a helping hand, always try to help someone.”

He is not ready to part with his creations, has sold none and given very few away, Edna said. A few have been stolen, Offord said.

Most of what he has made get stored away. He starts on the next when an idea strikes him.

Edna occasionally calls into his office, “What (are) you making now?”

Information from: The Frederick (Md.) News-Post, http://www.fredericknewspost.com

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Maryland State Police said Thursday that the State Law Enforcement Coordinating Council will be in the county until Sunday to work with state troopers, county deputies and municipal police officers between Thurmont and Frederick.

Police officers who are part of the first deployment will be from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, University of Maryland Department of Public Safety, Natural Resources Police and the Maryland Capitol Police.

Gov. Martin O’Malley signed an executive order in February to grant police officers from member agencies statewide police powers when working outside their specific jurisdiction as part of the council.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

While the warm-up is expected to carry us through this weekend, we still must be mindful of the fact that there will be a low pressure forming along the mid-Atlantic Coast, about 150 or 200 miles south-southeast of Baltimore on Saturday and Saturday night. Whenever a ridge of high pressure builds into the Northeast and it drives a sort of  “wedge” southward along the coast, there’s a natural tendency for low pressure — whether it be an inverted trough, or a closed circulation, to develop in a position just offshore. In fact, based on the output from Wednesday evening’s run of the European global model, this form of guidance is suggesting that there could be a couple of showers in the Philadelphia area by the time Sunday is through. Conversely, the American version of the medium-range forecast model does not
print out in the city until Sunday night. These timing differences will hopefully get resolved during the next day or two, but we should at least be emphasizing now that there’ll be a tendency for the weather to gradually deteriorate by early next week. And, even though temperatures on Monday and Tuesday may still climb into the upper 70s or lower 80s, there’ll be a few opportunities to see a shower or thunderstorm.

Have a good day !!

An MTA maintenance truck collided with the train during rush hour in Ruxton on Wednesday.

One passenger went to the hospital with minor injuries.

Service was delayed for a couple of hours.

Florio recently wrote an article about how the NFL might release some of the evidence they claim to have in the New Orleans Saints bounty case. He said that the NFL needs to share the evidence with the public.

“We need raw evidence. I don’t want to take anyones word for anything on matters like this, so at some point the NFL has got share evidence with us,” he said.

Florio said the NFL is considering releasing evidence but with the names of the sources concealed, and after the appeals of the four players suspended in the bounty case has concluded. He said that this is not good enough.

“I just don’t think that’s good enough. Put it [evidence] out there so that people can have confidence in what the NFL is doing,” he said.

Florio also addressed the possibility that Baltimore Raven’s Linebacker, Terrell Suggs, might lose money for getting hurt because he did not get hurt at the Raven’s workout facilities.

“I would tell any player out there if they take a penny from Terrell Suggs, the moment the season ends, get yourself a case of pork-rinds,a refrigerator full of beer, but on bowling or golf or whatever, and sit there and get fat,” he said.

Recently, retired NFL Running Back, Ricky Williams, said that he doesn’t believe that there are connections between concussions and brain damage. Florio said that there is evidence to prove otherwise.

“It’s just weird to hear comments like that at a time where there is so much evidence to suggest that repeated concussion will eventually cause problems. Ricky’s attitude is ‘don’t bother me with science that gets in the way with everything I feel like saying,’” he said.

Florio ended the interview with saying that players and fans, in the wake of Junior Seau’s death, need to stop complaining about the NFL’s efforts to make the game safer.

“The Seau suicide should be the moment where players and fans say ‘You know what? Maybe we aren’t going to complain about these efforts to make the game safer. Maybe we are going to buy in, instead,’” he said.

Weijia Jiang has more on their bail review.

The prosecutor says even though this case does not involve guns and other weapons it does involve drugs that could be just as deadly. And we’re not talking about a small amount. We’re talking about millions of dollars worth.

Two men accused of operating a massive “pill mill” in Baltimore County faced a judge Thursday morning.  The judge ordered they each be held on a $50,000 cash bond.

The affidavit names Michael Reznikov, 51, and Gerald Wiseberg, 78, as investors and operators of Healthy Live Medical Group.

“They were prescribing pills for non-medical purposes,” said Carl Kotowski, Baltimore DEA.

A federal indictment reveals four undercover agents were prescribed pain pills but showed no symptoms of pain and had no hands-on exam by a doctor.  They received 160 OxyContin, the maximum number of the highest dose.

Investigators say the clinic saw 120 patients a day, charged $300-350 in cash. That adds up to more than $9 million a year.

“I was just afraid something bad was going to happen,” said Dr. Gary Bauman, who has a dental office nearby. “It’s a relief that nothing bad happened. There were a lot of unsavory people hanging around.”

While legitimate healthcare professionals that worked nearby say they suspected a sketchy shop, defense attorneys insist their clients did nothing wrong.

“We don’t want to say anything other than he absolutely indicated to us he’s going to plead not guilty, and we’re going to fight with the state as we always do,” said James Gitomer, defense attorney.

The judge ordered a cash bond, which means the defendants will have to put all of the money up front.  It will be held until they appear for trial, which is expected to happen sometime Thursday. And then the two men will walk free until their trial. But the judge did order that they turn over their passports so that they cannot flee the country.

A third person has been named as a suspect. An arrest is pending.

Baltimore police have said the children were playing with a rifle in March when it went off, killing Monae Turnage.

On Wednesday, a juvenile court judge sentenced the 13-year-old boy who pulled the trigger to indefinite confinement at a treatment center. The most he could serve in detention is three years.

The 12-year-old boy who helped him move the body will be monitored by the Department of Juvenile Services while living with relatives in Harford County.

The investigations of three adults connected to the case have not yet been resolved.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Speaking at Pimlico Race Course, site of Saturday’s Preakness, Lukas said, “I’m very disappointed as a trainer that we have the stigma of some of our Derby winners not carrying the banner.”

He cited Rick Dutrow, who is appealing a 10-year suspension in New York for multiple medication violations, and Chip Woolley, who last year allegedly urinated on slot machines at a track in Iowa.

Lukas also mentioned I’ll Have Another trainer Doug O’Neill, who won the Derby on May 5 but faces charges of drugging a horse in California. O’Neill has denied the accusation.

“We’ve got Dutrow under suspension. We’ve got Chip Woolley (urinating) on the slot machines in casinos. And now Doug, at least, has some gray area hanging over him,” said Lukas, who will saddle Optimizer in the Preakness.

“That bothers me, frankly. I think those guys are all good enough they don’t need for there to be doubts. I think they can
train horses and not have that problem in front of them. They can do it the right way. That’s just the way I feel. I would say that if they were standing right here.”

Dutrow’s Big Brown won the Derby and Preakness in 2008. He sends out long shot Zetterholm in the Preakness.

Woolley in 2009 trained long shot Derby winner Mine That Bird, who ran second in the Preakness. Last year, security staff escorted Woolley from the casino at Prairie Meadows Racetrack.

O’Neill, meanwhile, has been accused by the California Horse Racing Board for “milkshaking,” the illegal practice of giving a horse a blend of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and electrolytes. The mixture is designed to reduce fatigue and enhance performance.

“We played by the rules and I am vigorously fighting the previous allegations,” O’Neill said Wednesday.

O’Neill faces his third total carbon dioxide violation in California and fourth in a career that has spanned 25 years.

O’Neill’s most recent violation dates from an Aug. 25, 2010, race at Del Mar in California. A blood test on his horse Argenta showed elevated levels of TCO2 before it finished eighth.

He faces penalties ranging from a minimum 90-day suspension and a $5,000 fine to a maximum 180-day suspension and fine of $15,000 depending on whether a hearing officer’s report finds aggravating circumstances or not.

“I’ll Have Another, along with every other horse in our barn goes through an intense physical exam and a blood and urine exam,” O’Neill said. “We run pure horses. We run a great operation, and anyone who comes to our barn all know that we love the horses and do everything we can to keep them at the top of their game. If I didn’t win the Derby, you guys wouldn’t be asking that.”

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

The team said Hickey died Wednesday at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He had been in intensive care following his transfer from a Dallas hospital last month after missing the team’s workout before Opening Day. A cause of death was not disclosed.

He had been the White Sox’s pre-game instructor since 2004.

Hickey, a left-hander, pitched with the White Sox from 1981-83 and the Orioles from 1989-91, compiling a 9-14 record, 3.91 ERA and 17 saves in 231 relief appearances.

A Chicago native, Hickey didn’t play high school baseball. But after competing in 16-inch softball and semipro baseball, he was invited to a Comiskey Park tryout and offered a minor-league contract. He pitched three minor league seasons before making his major league debut.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

O’Neill smiled. He figured the handicapper at Pimilico Race Course was merely displaying reverence for Bodemeister trainer Bob Baffert rather than dissing Derby winner I’ll Have Another.

“Bob Baffert has won five of these,” O’Neill said Wednesday. “I’ve never run a horse here. I totally respect that. I just hope
anyone who bets Bodemeister is regretting it Saturday night.”

Baffert was asked whether being a five-time Preakness winner was an advantage.

“I’ve won it with the best horse. That’s why I’ve won it,” he replied. “That’s the best advantage you can have.”

And Bodemeister, who arrived at Pimlico on Wednesday, is in excellent shape.

“He looked great this week. He looks healthy,” Baffert said. “He doesn’t look like a horse that just ran a mile and a
quarter.”

Despite losing the Derby to hard-charging I’ll Have Another, Bodemeister was installed as the 8-5 favorite in Saturday’s second jewel of the Triple Crown.

I’ll Have Another was a 5-2 pick on the morning line.

Baffert was delighted to receive the No. 7 post in the 11-horse field.

“With him, anything in the middle would be fine,” the Hall of Fame trainer said. “With the Preakness, you just don’t want to be stuck on the inside where you have to use your horse a little bit. The Derby winner drew really well, also.”

I’ll Have Another will start from the No. 9 post. The colt, who won the Derby out of the No. 19 post, will again be ridden by Mario Gutierrez.

“Anything with a nine in it, we feel very good about. We’re cool with it,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “We talked about the
possibility of being inside Bodemeister and really forcing our hand to push him early. Now it’s in Mario’s hands to still kind of push Bode, but we’ll be on the outside of him.”

The question is: Does Bodemeister have enough left to sprint to the finish in the 1 3/16-mile race?

“You can’t run as fast and as hard as he did and not have it affect you,” said Barry Irwin, managing partner of Went the Day Well, who finished fourth in the Derby and is a 6-1 shot in the Preakness.

A victory would give I’ll Have Another the chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

“I’m confident,” O’Neill said. “You never know. But as long as we continue to train like our horse is training, we won’t be
that far off Bodemeister. If anything Bodemeister might be behind us early.”

The odds were set by Pimlico Race Course handicapper Frank Carulli. The field is the smallest since 2007, when Curlin beat Derby winner Street Sense in a nine-horse field.

Also entered are Tiger Walk (30-1), Teeth of the Dog (15-1), Pretension (30-1), Zetterholm (20-1), Went the Day Well (6-1), Creative Cause (6-1), Daddy Nose Best (12-1), Optimizer (30-1) and Cozzetti (30-1).

Creative Cause trainer Mike Harrington, whose horse finished fifth in the Derby, was delighted with the No. 6 post.

“I don’t think it affects our running style,” Harrington said. “With 11 in there, post position is not nearly as important as the Derby. The middle is great. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has a long shot with Optimizer, but spoke optimistically after getting the No. 10 post.

“I love it. I love the horses inside of me,” Lukas said. “I love the whole thing. If they gave me a pick, I would have picked
that one. It turned out great. Every time they drew another one, it looked better.”

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

“About 30 seconds,” the Hall of Fame trainer and five-time Preakness winner said. “I like coming here and I’ve got a good
sound horse.”

Optimizer was 42-1 in the Derby where he finished 11th. He drew post No. 10 for the Preakness on Saturday and is again an outsider at 30-1 on the morning line.

Only 1 for 10 in his career, Optimizer needs to improve to compete at this level. Lukas is banking on the Derby experience and a rider change from Jon Court to Corey Nakatani to close the gap.

“When you see a little brilliance in a horse, as a trainer, you are always trying to fine tune it and get it altogether,” Lukas
said. “Sometimes it comes together and sometimes it doesn’ t. I know he’s got the ability to run with these horses. He’s got to put it together.”

Lukas holds the Preakness record with 36 starters.

R.W. Walden holds the Preakness training record, saddling seven winners from 1875-1888.
——
OUT OF ACTION: Guyana Star Dweej was withdrawn from Preakness consideration Wednesday morning with a left front foot injury.

He was battling a quarter crack, an injury to the hoof wall.

“It was still not properly healed,” trainer Doodnauth Shivmangal said from Belmont Park. “… So we decided we’re going
to have to skip this one.”

Only 1 for 9, Guyana Star Dweej would have been the longest shot in the Preakness. He has never run in a stakes and finished second most recently in an allowance race at Belmont.
——
REUNITED: Julien Leparoux will be back aboard Daddy Nose Best for the Preakness.

They have been an effective team, combining to win the El Camino Real Derby and the Sunland Park Derby. Leparoux was in the saddle for all four of the colt’s wins.

They split up for the Derby with Leparoux opting to ride Union Rags. It didn’t work well for either party.

After a terrible start, Union Rags rallied to get seventh. Daddy Nose Best ran 10th with Garrett Gomez aboard.

They are now reunited, thanks to a late decision to run in the race by owner Bob Zollars in consultation with trainer Steve Asmussen.

“We feel like he completely bounced back,” Zollars said. “He’s very perky so we think he’s ready to run again.”

Asmussen will be looking for his third Preakness win following Curlin (2007) and the filly Rachel Alexandra (2009).

Daddy Nose Best was 12-1 on the morning line from post No. 8.
——
LONG JOURNEY: Creative Cause, fifth in the Derby, completed a lengthy round trip when he flew into Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon.

He returned to California following the Derby and caught a 5 a.m. PDT flight for the trip East.

“He’s a good traveler,” trainer Mike Harrington said.

Creative Cause will have to be. This is his third flight from the West Coast, having shipped to Churchill Downs to run third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November.

He was 6-1, a co-third choice with Went the Day Well, from post No. 6.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Jones was hitless in six at-bats before connecting for his team-leading 12th home run — nine of them tying the game or giving the Orioles a lead. Jones sent a 2-2 pitch from Nate Adcock (0-1), the fifth Kansas City pitcher, far over the left field wall.

Jones came to the plate in the third, eighth and 12th innings with runners in scoring position.

“I had three opportunities earlier with men in scoring position that I did not succeed in, which is by far the most frustrating thing for me,” Jones said. “I was 0 for 3. I did not give one of my seven at-bats away. I can live with myself when I do that.”

Adcock hung a slider and Jones delivered.

“I had some pitches to hit, just missed them, part of it, 0 for 6,” Jones said. “Some people were behind me, yelling at me, `Hey, come on Jones.’ I showed them. After I hit that, they shut the heck up.”

Jones is hitting .290 with 24 RBIs and could earn a return trip to Kansas City on July 10 to for the All-Star game at Kauffman Stadium.

“I know Jonesy was a little frustrated there with some previous at-bats, but he got back under control and hit a mistake,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Jonesy is having a great year. Jonesy doesn’t ever give in. You always feel like if he struggles at some point someone is going to pay down the line. He doesn’t forget. It’s nothing personal. It’s competition. It’s just the way he’s wound. He’s a very competitive young man.”

The Orioles improved to 5-0 in extra-inning road games.

“It’s pretty crazy what this team does,” said Orioles starting pitcher Tommy Hunter. “It’s 13 innings, 15 innings, 17 innings.”

The Orioles beat the Red Sox 9-6 in 17 innings on May 6.

Kevin Gregg (1-1) pitched two hitless innings, walking one, to pick up the victory. Jim Johnson earned his 13th save.

Royals right-hander Felipe Paulino, who was making only his third start after beginning the season on the disabled list with a right forearm strain, held the Orioles to five hits in seven scoreless innings. He struck out nine and walked two.

“Great pitching from Paulino and great pitching from Adcock,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “They gave us an opportunity to put it away. We just couldn’t do it.”

The Royals bullpen had a 1.04 ERA in the past seven games but relievers Jonathan Broxton and Kelvin Herrera gave up three runs on six hits in the eighth and ninth innings.

Broxton was trusted with a 3-1 lead in the ninth, but blew his second seven in 10 opportunities and his first since April 11 at Oakland. Broxton gave up a solo homer to Wilson Betemit with one out and three singles to produce the tying run. J.J. Hardy’s two-out hit scored pinch-runner Ryan Flaherty to make it 3-all.

Humberto Quintero’s two-out single in the fifth scored Jeff Francoeur, who led off the inning with a double, and Alcides
Escobar, who was hit by a pitch. It was Quintero’s first multi-RBI game with the Royals.

The Orioles cut the lead to 2-1 in the eighth, when Hardy and Nick Markakis led off the inning with doubles against rookie
reliever Herrera.

Alex Gordon’s two-out double in the eighth scored Mitch Maier to give the Royals a 3-1 advantage. Maier ran for Billy Butler, who had singled for his second hit.

Orioles starter Tommy Hunter yielded two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He threw only 82 pitches and was backed by double plays in three of the first four innings.

Royals second baseman Chris Getz left with a bruised left rib after a collision with Chris Davis on an infield single in the
fifth inning. Irving Falu replaced Getz in the seventh inning and singled. Falu has a hit in each of his five big league games.

NOTES: Royals LHP Danny Duffy, who has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, will see Dr. Lewis Yocum on Friday in Tempe, Ariz., for a second opinion. … The Royals have not announced who will start Friday and Sunday against Arizona. “If everything holds to form,” Yost said he would probably start RHP Luis Mendoza Friday and RHP Vin Mazzaro Sunday. Mazzaro made his first start Tuesday at Teas and picked up the victory, allowing three runs in five innings. LHP Brian Matusz, who is 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA in three road appearances, will start Thursday for the Orioles. The Royals will counter with RHP Luke Hochevar, who is 0-2 with an 11.91 ERA in three home starts. … The Orioles are 11-1
when Jones’ homers. … Royals 1B Eric Hosmer went 0 for 7 to drop his average to .174.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

The Celtics captain put in 24 points in Boston’s 101-91 Game 3 victory over the 76ers in Philadelphia, putting his knee injury behind him and getting aggressive when it came to pretty much every aspect of the game.

“Whether I shot the ball well or not, everything I was going to do was being with aggression,” Pierce said.

Aggressive might be an understatement. Pierce was in attack mode early on, even if his shots weren’t falling. Early in the first quarter, he missed four shots from close range, but it was the fact he fought for the three put-backs in the paint that showed he was determined to make a difference after scoring just seven points in Boston’s Game 2 loss.

He continued to go strong to the basket, following up his early misses with two ferocious dunks. Pierce finishing with nine points in the first 12 minutes of the game. He ended up hitting six of his 17 attempts from the floor, but did most of his damage at — and getting to — the free throw line. After just two trips to the charity stripe on Monday, Pierce found his way to the line 14 times in Game 3, scoring 11 of his points at the line.

Special Coverage: NBA Playoffs

He made it known to all of Philly when he was making his way to the line, following each drive to the hoop with an aggressive scream that would make Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart” jealous.

“Everything I was going to do was going to be aggressive because they were really collapsing on me on the down-screens, on my jumpers,” said Pierce. “I just tried to get to the hole and I was able to get to the line; able to get to the rim a number of times. It’s something I have to continue to do.”

“Paul is just a grinder,” head coach Doc Rivers said following the win. “He really is. You look at him at times and you wonder, ‘How is this guy getting open?’ He just has great fundamentals. He never does it with speed. He just knows how to play basketball. He’s a throwback guy, that he knows how to play basketball. We jokingly call him our ‘professional scorer’ and that’s what he is in a lot of ways.”

“[Pierce] played great for us tonight,” said point guard Rajon Rondo, who scored 23 points of his own while dishing out 14 assists. “Paul has been struggling scoring, but he has been doing the intangibles. On those [first-quarter] drives, he didn’t get some calls early in the game and thought they were fouls, so he went out and was aggressive and finished strong.”

Recap: Thunder Go Up 2-0 On Lakers

Pierce had been just 5-for-20 in the series in the first two games, but helped the Celtics send a message as they took a 2-1 series lead. While he only added four assists, he credited the team’s ball movement for getting the offense going.

“Our offense finally came alive,” Pierce said. “We moved the ball. We knew that’s what we were going to have to do to score 100 points.”

“We just wanted to come out and establish who we are as a team,” Pierce said.

They certainly did that. Now they just need to keep it going on Friday night.

Box Score | Playoffs Schedule

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Kevin Durant scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder scored the final nine points to rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.

Oklahoma City trailed by seven with 2 minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars to take a 2-0 lead.

Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points apiece for the Lakers, who came up empty on their last six possessions after Bynum’s hook shot made it 75-68 with 2:09 remaining.

Game 2 Photo Gallery (Photo:Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

After struggling throughout the second half, the Thunder suddenly came alive after Scott Brooks called timeout following Bynum’s basket that gave Los Angeles its largest lead of the game.

James Harden drove for a layup before Durant used his height advantage to reach up and tip away a pass from Bryant, who he was guarding. Durant ran out for a right-handed dunk at the other end before Russell Westbrook forced another turnover by aggressively challenging an outlet pass to Bryant along the sideline.

Harden made the next stop, blocking Bryant’s jumper on the next Lakers possession and getting a layup in transition off it to cut the deficit to one in the final minute.

Bryant couldn’t connect again, this time on a 3-pointer, to give the Thunder the ball back with the chance to take the lead and Durant was able to make it happen.

Steve Blake missed a 3-pointer from the right side with about 5 seconds left after Metta World Peace couldn’t get the ball to Bryant on the inbounds play. Durant was then fouled with 0.3 seconds left and made his first try before missing the second on purpose – failing to hit the backboard or rim for a violation.

The Lakers got a desperation try but World Peace’s long pass for Bynum was intercepted by Harden.

Westbrook added 15 points for Oklahoma City, which matched its lowest scoring total of the season but still gutted out the win.

Historically, the loss makes a huge difference. Los Angeles is 29-12 when splitting the first two games of a seven-game series and has lost 17 of 19 when falling into a 2-0 hole. The Lakers’ last comeback was in the 2004 West semifinals against San Antonio.

The Thunder have won all nine of their series after leading 2-0, dating back to the franchise’s days in Seattle.

In a game that was nip-and-tuck throughout, the Lakers started inching away early in the fourth quarter while Westbrook was on the bench.

Bryant drilled a jumper from the left wing and Blake followed with a 3-pointer before World Peace hit one of two free throws for a 69-63 advantage with 7:27 remaining – the Lakers’ largest lead to that point.

Westbrook returned then but only provided the briefest of sparks for the struggling Oklahoma City offense, and Bynum’s second straight basket – on a left-handed hook shot at the left block – made it 75-68 with 2:09 to play.

Until that point, Oklahoma City had made only 7 of 27 shots in the second half while committing eight turnovers.

After getting ripped apart by the Thunder’s pick-and-roll attack and giving up 119 points in Game 1, the Lakers made it an emphasis to put up more resistance in the rematch and it showed. Matt Barnes shuffled back and forth around three Nick Collison screens to contest Harden’s jumper and preserve the Lakers’ 22-21 lead after one quarter.

The Lakers’ defense was at its best just after halftime as they got out of a 48-45 deficit by holding Oklahoma City scoreless for the first 4 minutes and allowing just two baskets in the first 8 minutes. But Los Angeles still couldn’t create any sort of a cushion and Westbrook’s wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner – after World Peace airballed a similar shot on the opposite end – had the Thunder back within 57-56 with 3:31 left in the third.

Notes: The NBA on Wednesday fined Devin Ebanks $25,000 for actions related to his Game 1 ejection and Bynum $15,000 for failing to speak to reporters Tuesday. Bynum, who has had recent disciplinary issues within the team, talked at the Lakers’ morning shootaround Wednesday and called it a make up for skipping the previous day. “I think he’s learning. Is he going to be a perfect citizen the rest of his career? I don’t know,” coach Mike Brown said. “He’s bound to make mistakes. I think everybody makes mistakes.” … World Peace has said he supported Scott Brooks to become Sacramento’s coach back in 2007, when Brooks had been an assistant under Eric Musselman. “Little does he know, if I would have got the job, I was going to ask for him to be traded,” Brooks joked. He then called World Peace, or Ron Artest at the time, the third-best two-way player at the time behind Bryant and Kevin Garnett. … Harden caught World Peace with an inadvertent elbow to the face in the first quarter.

It worked twice, and the Eastern Conference finals are all even, as a result.

David Clarkson scored a tip-in goal off Adam Henrique’s shot 2:31 into the third period to break a tie and lift the Devils to a 3-2 victory over the Rangers that squared the series at one game apiece on Wednesday night.

“It’s a very hard building to play in, and 1-1 sounds much better than down 2-0,” Devils captain Zach Parise said. “We’re happy. We would have liked to have snuck out of here with two wins, but it didn’t happen.

“We’ll take 1-1.”

For the third straight series, the Rangers are wondering what went wrong in Game 2 after they took the opener. They stressed how important it would be to grab a 2-0 lead, which would have been their first two-game edge in this postseason, but didn’t provide the necessary effort to get it done.

New York was riding high after its 3-0 series-opening win on Monday night, but now has relinquished home-ice advantage again.

“You need to improve as a hockey team every game,” said succinct and disappointed coach John Tortorella, who declined to say what areas were deficient.

Game 3 will be Saturday in New Jersey.

Clarkson built off the momentum created by Ryan Carter’s deflected goal late in the second that tied the game, 2-2. Ilya Kovalchuk had given the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first. Defenseman Bryce Salvador added two assists, and Martin Brodeur stopped 23 saves for his 108th playoff win.

Clarkson has three goals in this postseason, and every one has been a winner, including the clincher against Philadelphia in Game 5 of the second round.

“Mr. Clutch? I don’t know about that,” Clarkson said. “I’m going to skate up and down and finish the checks and just bounce off people. It’s just a great feeling to be able to contribute. To get a tip on that felt pretty good.”

New Jersey had 26 attempted shots blocked in Game 1, five more than they got through to goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils cut the blocks to 16 on Wednesday and managed to get 27 on goal — two more than New York.

“That team blocks so many shots,” Clarkson said. “It’s unbelievable how many. I think we found a way to shoot it and get sticks on it, and definitely that was big for us.”

Marc Staal and Chris Kreider scored power-play goals in the second for the top-seeded Rangers, who received 24 saves by Lundqvist.

New Jersey got even at 2 when Salvador wound up for a shot at the blue line and fired a drive that Carter — with his back to the net — brilliantly deflected past Lundqvist with 1:51 left in the second. Marian Gaborik stood up straight in front of Salvador, but didn’t drop down as many of his teammates have to try to block the shot. For that, he was pinned to the bench by Tortorella, even through New York’s power play in the third.

Gaborik returned to the ice with 8:40 remaining as the Rangers pressed to tie.

The Devils kept the pressure on the Rangers at the start of the third and wiped out the good work the Rangers displayed in the second.

“It was a much different reaction when we went down by a goal than it was in the first game,” Parise said. “We didn’t change the way we played, and I think that was a big difference. We were comfortable with how we were playing.

“All I think they got was really on their power play.”

After spending much of the first trapped in their own end, the Rangers rebounded to erase their early deficit and briefly take the lead thanks to the previously inept power play.

With Alexei Ponikarovsky off for interference, Staal fired a shot that sailed wide of the net and struck the back boards before popping back in front and pinballing into the net off Salvador and Brodeur at 2:23. The goal was originally credited to Derek Stepan, who was in front, but the puck managed to miss him both on the way toward the net and on the bounce back.

“I saw most of the pucks, but the Rangers came out hard,” Brodeur said. “They were around me a lot, and there were some bad bounces. It’s such a tough place to play sometimes here. There are bad bounces, and the boards are terrible.”

Staal nearly netted another moments later when he ripped a drive that Brodeur had to lunge fully to his left to snare with his glove.

Kreider, the rookie from Boston College, scored for the second straight game to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 12:19. Anton Stralman let go a shot from above the right circle that ticked Kreider’s stick and fluttered past Brodeur for the rookie’s fourth goal. He had to wait to get it because it was first given to Stralman before being changed during a commercial break.

But that was hardly the longest delay of the night. Before Kreider’s power-play goal, the action was stopped for about eight minutes as arena workers struggled to get the door to the Devils’ penalty box opened. Travis Zajac stood patiently as he waited to have a seat in the box. He even managed to laugh as did New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer and the usually stoic and agitated Tortorella.

Zajac, who first was sent to the Rangers’ box, stayed in New Jersey’s sin bin for only 1:47 before Kreider scored the Rangers’ second power-play goal of the night.

New York registered the first six shots of the period before New Jersey had its first about eight minutes in, but the teams were even at 17 through 40 minutes.

Lundqvist had a bit of glove magic of his own midway through the second when a shot by Anton Volchenkov was deflected by Kovalchuk but tracked and grabbed by Lundqvist.

The Devils got their elusive first goal of the series, and the all-important lead in the game, when Kovalchuk connected on the power play late in the first period.

After Brian Boyle was sent off for slashing Parise, the Devils continued their puck-possession prowess in the Rangers’ end. New Jersey moved the puck all around the zone in search of a clean shot that could get past the diving New York defense and perhaps challenge Lundqvist, who made 21 saves in the series-opening win.

Marek Zidlicky curled with the puck to the center of the blue line and slid a pass down to the left circle to Kovalchuk, who calmly and patiently drifted in and snapped a shot up and under the crossbar in the upper corner of the net for his sixth goal of the playoffs and fourth on the power play.

“We had to keep going to the net, and I think we were doing some good things,” Clarkson said. “We’ve been playing some good hockey and we’ve got to continue to do it. That is a big win for us.”

The Devils didn’t record a shot on goal until 6:01 in when Patrik Elias put a wrist shot in on Lundqvist, but New Jersey finished the first period with an 8-5 edge in shots — despite having six more blocked by the Rangers.

Whether Brodeur was kidding or not about wanting Rangers to be injured by blocking shots, the home team wasn’t deterred from getting in front of drives. New York forward Brandon Prust was doing a bit of a dance in front of the dangerous Kovalchuk, trying to deny any potential drive, even though he was defending without a stick.

“We have to try to get in lanes,” Rangers captain Ryan Callahan said. “Try to limit their time with the puck. If we do that, they are not going to have time to shoot.”

When Kovalchuk finally scored later in the period, he let out a big yell — part celebration and an exclamation of relief — as he skated in front of the glass behind the net.

“We have built some momentum,” Brodeur said. “And now, we have to try to take that into our building, and make our building a tough place to play.”

NOTES: The Rangers were 10 for 61 (16.4 percent) on the power play in the postseason before Wednesday. This marked the second time they netted a man-advantage goal in consecutive games, but the fourth time they scored two in a game. … The Devils returned defenseman Peter Harrold to the lineup and sat rookie Adam Larsson. Harrold replaced Larsson in the lineup late in the season and started the first nine postseason games. Larsson played in the previous five games.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Monique Griego has more on how you can help your kids make the most of their time off.

When kids ditch the classroom for summer break, for many parents, the stress begins.

“Yeah it can be, because kids tend to drive you crazy,” Shanedra Williams, a parent, said.

To avoid a summer slump, school leaders say it’s important to keep kids’ bodies busy and their minds sharp.

“What we know is that kids lose a lot of the learning that they gained in the school year during the summer if they don’t continue to read, learn and practice what they just learned,” Crystal Ashe, a teacher at Baltimore City Schools, said.

The Enoch Pratt Free Library is just one of the organizations teaming up with Baltimore City to prevent learning loss through the Super Summer initiative that kicked off on Wednesday at Brehms Lane Elementary.

“This is a huge step forward that we’re ensuring not only the quantity but the quality of the opportunities available to our young people over the summer,” Jessica Brown at the Enoch Pratt Library said.

Super Summer is made up of a variety of programs that will help students stay up on their reading, math and other subjects.

“It’s a place where kids can become engaged, learn and enjoy themselves,” Brown said.

In addition to academics, the programs offer kids fun activities so they can burn off energy. Many will also provide healthy meals which is important for a city where 85 percent of students receive food assistance during the school year.

District leaders say it’s a whole new way to take on the summer, and parents seem to appreciate the help.

“A lot of kids need summer camps, summer programs. Because they’re out in the street and they can get into things,” Williams said.

Most of the Super Summer programs are free or have a minimal cost. There will be a registration fair on Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the War Memorial in downtown Baltimore.

Meghan McCorkell has more on the controversy.

The Department of Justice has filed an 11-page letter telling the Baltimore City police their policy about citizens videotaping officers is inadequate.

A violent arrest was caught on tape at the 2010 Preakness. Police deleted the video from Chris Sharp’s phone.

“The guy actually said, `That’s what you get for taping it,’” Sharp said.

Sharp is suing police for violating his First Amendment rights. Now the Department of Justice is weighing in, saying city officers should be advised “not to threaten, intimidate or otherwise discourage an individual from recording police officer enforcement activities or intentionally block or obstruct cameras.”

City police implemented new guidelines but a month later WJZ obtained video where officers didn’t tell a man to stop recording them but threatened to arrest him for loitering.

This Department of Justice letter cites this case, calling out the officers for looking for other law violations to stop that man from recording them.

“We’ve got to make sure that the police are properly trained on what rights they must protect as opposed to intrude on,” said attorney Byron Warnken.

Warnken says police policy must be more precise.

“I think they need fairly specific guidelines in terms of space and conduct,” Warnken said.

The Department of Justice letter also says officers do not have the right to damage or delete video or pictures without a warrant.

Baltimore City police would not talk about the DOJ letter, saying they don’t comment on pending litigation.

Kai Jackson explains what the city is doing about the problem.

Residents are fuming over the idea of meter readers being dishonest on the job.

The Department of Public Works says this case of false meter readings started in April 2011. They say two new employees weren’t doing their jobs and made up meter readings without actually looking at the gauges.

“They were just going along writing numbers, apparently adding this many units, not doing their jobs and the bills came out low,” said Kurt Kocher, Department of Public Works.

DPW says once the agency had a chance to audit the workers, they discovered the problem and determined the bills for many homeowners were actually higher.

“They should be terminated. That’s messin’ with somebody’s hard-working money,” said Troy Williams, who lives in East Baltimore.

DPW says it happened in a number of areas around the city, including Ednor Gardens in East Baltimore. City residents are fuming that an employee’s malfeasance could force homeowners to pay a higher bill.

Apparently there have been reports of large water bills in the Southwest Baltimore neighborhood of Morrell Park. The Department of Public Works is investigating.

“There’s a lot of elderly people who can’t pay the bill, so by them estimating it, it makes it higher. How they gonna pay it?” said Becky Wheeler. “I think they should be fired or take it outta their paycheck.”

DPW says there were four people in their call center for questions and complaints about meters. There are now 15 people.

Police say about 7:35 a.m. Wednesday, Patricia Greer Parks, 56, of Olney was driving near the intersection of Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road when she struck the rear of a vehicle that had slowed for traffic.

Officers say Parks and the other driver, Ellen Margaret Girdharry, 51, of Rockville, were walking around when police arrived. Parks complained of pain and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The accident is under investigation.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

This time, Bob Baffert intends to justify the odds.

Despite finishing second in the Derby, Bodemeister was installed as the 8-5 favorite for Saturday’s second leg of the Triple Crown. The colt, trained by Baffert, set the pace at Churchill Downs before being overtaken in the stretch by I’ll Have Another, who won by 1 1/2 lengths.

I’ll Have Another is the second-favorite in the Preakness at 5-2.

Baffert, a five-time Preakness winner, was delighted to receive the No. 7 post in the 11-horse field.

“With (Bodemeister), anything in the middle would be fine,” the Hall of Fame trainer said. “With the Preakness, you just don’t want to be stuck on the inside where you have to use your horse a little bit. The Derby winner drew really well, also.”

I’ll Have Another will start from the No. 9 post. The colt won the Derby out of the No. 19 post and will again be ridden by Mario Gutierrez.

“Anything with a nine in it, we feel very good about. We’re cool with it,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “We talked about the
possibility of being inside Bodemeister and really forcing our hand to push him early. Now it’s in Mario’s hands to still kind of push Bode, but we’ll be on the outside of him.”

Funny Cide was last to win from No. 9 in 2003, and Baffert’s Lookin At Lucky was last to win from No. 7 in 2010.

Asked about having the second-favorite in the field despite winning the Derby, O’Neill said, “Bob Baffert has won five of
these. I’ve never run a horse here. I totally respect that. I just hope anyone who bets Bodemeister is regretting it Saturday night.”

A victory would give I’ll Have Another the chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

“I’m confident,” O’Neill said. “You never know. But as long as we continue to train like our horse is training, we won’t be
that far off Bodemeister. If anything Bodemeister might be behind us early.”

The odds were set by Pimlico Race Course handicapper Frank Carulli. The field is the smallest since 2007, when Curlin beat Derby winner Street Sense in a nine-horse field.

Also entered are Tiger Walk (30-1), Teeth of the Dog (15-1), Pretension (30-1), Zetterholm (20-1), Went the Day Well (6-1), Creative Cause (6-1), Daddy Nose Best (12-1), Optimizer (30-1) and Cozzetti (30-1).

Creative Cause trainer Mike Harrington, whose horse finished fifth in the Derby, was delighted with the No. 6 post.

“I don’t think it affects our running style,” Harrington said. “With 11 in there, post position is not nearly as important as the Derby. The middle is great. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has a long shot with Optimizer, but spoke optimistically after getting the No. 10 post.

“I love it. I love the horses inside of me,” Lukas said. “I love the whole thing. If they gave me a pick, I would have picked
that one. It turned out great. Every time they drew another one, it looked better.”

Went the Day Well owner Barry Irwin was delighted to see the fourth-place finisher in the Derby get the No. 5 post in the
Preakness.

“I like the draw. The middle’s good,” Irwin said. “I didn’t want to be on the outside because the horse is green and I think he has a tendency to veer off to the right. Being on the rail, being a horse that doesn’t have that much experience, I think it would’ve been a little too claustrophobic for him down there.”

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Weijia Jiang has her dramatic testimony.

The woman who admitted to orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot pointed right to the defendant when asked to identify the hitman.

On the witness stand, Shontay Hickman, 37, described the murder of her former boss, Dr. Albert Ro. The details were so gruesome, Ro’s wife burst out of the courtroom in tears.

Hickman–who was Ro’s dental assistant–says she hired her cousin as the hitman, 25-year-old Dante Jeter, who’s on trial. Hickman told jurors in September 2006, she picked up Jeter and two of his friends. She says the foursome went to the office and the men stabbed and beat Ro to death.

Hickman says Ro said, “Please don’t hurt me” and he said, “Take whatever you want” and at one point, he said, “Oh, God.”

Hickman admits to stealing insurance checks from Ro, more than $17,000 worth. Worried about getting caught, she ordered the hit.

Jeter’s defense attorneys argue Hickman is only testifying in exchange for a shorter sentence, 40 years in prison instead of life without parole. But Hickman insists it’s to bring closure to Ro’s loved ones.

She says, “I just want to come clean and be over with it so they can get through it and be done with having to go through this. I don’t want them to have to keep reliving what happened.”

Jeter faces several charges, including first-degree murder.

Hickman testified two other men are also responsible for Ro’s death but police have yet to identify them.

Adam May talks to Micheal Andretti about the future of the race.

The new organizers just got the deal on Wednesday. They’re very confident this year’s race will be a huge success.

After many twists and turns with business agreements, the Baltimore Grand Prix is officially back on.

The city Board of Estimates approves a new deal with two groups: Race-On and Andretti Sports Marketing.

“We believe in the city for a long time. This is a world-class city that deserves a world-class event,” J.P. Grant, organizer of the Baltimore Grand Prix, said.

The new organizers are well aware last year’s race mangers went broke, failing to pay the city and numerous local contractors.

“We’re going to make sure we get everyone behind this thing. Instead of making it a hinderance to business, we’re making it help business,” Andretti, the organizer of the Baltimore Grand Prix, said.

The new five-year contract requires an upfront payment for city services, and guarantees admission and amusement tax payments.

May: “You said you believe Baltimore could be the second best Indy race after Indianapolis. Why?”
Andretti: “If you look at how huge it was last year, it was an amazing event and it was the first year.”

Last year’s inaugural race brought 160,000 spectators to downtown Baltimore and economic impact of almost $50 million, filling city and state coffers with almost $2 million each.

“Race fans and race drivers all thought it was the best circuit last year and we look forward to it being a success again this year,” Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.

Andretti tells WJZ that although the deal is for five years, he thinks the race will be here at least 20 years.

The race will be held Labor Day weekend.

Brown, widely acclaimed as the “Godfather of go-go” for his pioneering sound, died Wednesday at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. Hospital spokesman Gary Stephenson confirmed Brown had died after a hospital stay that began April 18.

Thanks to Brown and his deep, gravelly voice, go-go music was uniquely identified with Washington. That’s where he continued to play the city’s club circuit to a loyal audience late in life.

Mayor Vincent Gray said the nation’s capital will be a different place without him. Mournful admirers of the musician were called Wednesday evening to an impromptu candlelight vigil in Washington, where a sound truck was to blast a special Chuck Brown music mix to the crowd before a prayer session for him.

“Go-go is D.C.’s very own unique contribution to the world of pop music,” he said. “Today is a very sad day for music lovers the world over.”

In 2007 Brown told The Associated Press that go-go was influenced by sounds and fast beats he heard early in life, growing up in North Carolina and Virginia, combined with his experience later, playing with a Latin band.

“Go-go is a music that continues on and on, and it’s a call and response communication with the audience,” Brown said.

Go-go was heavy on percussion with drummers as lead players, accented by guitar riffs, keyboards and horns. Sometimes the musicians would play for two or three hours without stopping. In between tunes, Brown would keep the thunk of percussion going and talk to the crowd.

Brown’s hit “Bustin’ Loose” with his group, the Soul Searchers, helped define go-go’s sound. It spent several weeks atop
the R&B chart in 1979. Rapper Nelly later sampled Brown’s “Bustin’ Loose” in 2002 for his massive hit “Hot in Herre,” which won Nelly a Grammy.

Brown didn’t get credit at first, though, and “had to go through some legalities to get it right, but we knew, once we heard
the song, that’s Chuck Brown,” said Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott, lead singer of the go-go band EU (Experience Unlimited.)

In 2007, rapper Eve sampled Brown’s song, “Blow Your Whistle,” in her hit single “Tambourine.”

Brown told the AP he admired such artists.

“Go-Go had some influence on rap because a lot of rap musicians come to my shows,” he said. “Some of them were students at Howard University. People like Puff Daddy, he’s been to see us when he was a young Howard University student.”

Spike Lee, a fan of Brown’s, used go-go for his movie “School Daze.”

“Chuck Brown Will Always Be `Bustin’ Loose’ — the Godfather of Go-Go,” Lee said through a spokeswoman.

Elliot said Brown had been a father figure since he was a teen when he aspired to be a rocker like Jimi Hendrix but realized he wouldn’t make it that way as a young black man. When he saw Brown perform, he said he “instantly knew” what he wanted to do.

“Chuck Brown is going to live on forever. I’m going to make sure of that,” Elliott said. “When they see me, I want them to
see a reflection of Chuck because he inspired me so much.”

He added: “The go-go sound is still going strong.”

When Brown was younger, he spent some time in jail. While behind bars, he traded five cartons of cigarettes for his first guitar.
After he was freed in 1962, Brown played with several bands and then formed the Soul Searchers. To comply with terms of his parole, they couldn’t play where alcohol was served, so they went to churches, recreation halls and youth centers.

Brown’s daughter, Cherita Whiting, said he had died from complications with pneumonia and was gone too soon.

“I just want to tell all his fans, thank you, for lovin’ our dad,” she said. “He had the best fans in the world.”

During the crack epidemic of the 1980s, violence in some clubs affected go-go’s reputation. Brown said “we can’t blame the go-go for that,” though.

More recently, he said he had seen more grandparents at his shows, with an audience ranging in age from 18 to 60.
In 2005, he was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Washington was always his most loyal fan base, Brown told the AP, and he was happy to play here the rest of his life.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Political reporter Pat Warren explains what happens next.

Some Marylanders will be writing bigger checks and getting smaller tax refunds.

Gov. Martin O’Malley takes in the sun at a public event while his tax hike foes rake him over the coals.

“The governor ran around this session, talking about every manner of tax increase. He wanted a sales tax increase. He wanted a gas tax increase. I couldn’t keep track of what proposal he was proposing next,” said House Minority Leader Del. Anthony O’Donnell.

On Wednesday, O’Malley got an income tax increase — although the proposal originated in the House and that’s where it got final approval.

“Eight-seven percent of the people of the state of Maryland will have no increase in their taxes. And those who do and who make a quarter of a million dollars, they will be paying  6 and a half dollars a week extra,” said House Majority Leader Del. Kumar Barve.

Single filers will see no increase up to $100,000. Taxpayers filing jointly will see no increase up to $150,000.

One dollar later and the hikes kick in at increments of a quarter percent.

So if you are a two-wage earner household making $150,001, your rate increases to 5 percent. At $175,001, it’s 5.25 percent. At $225,001, it’s 5.50 percent. And anything over $300,000 will be taxed at 5.75 percent.

“These have not been easy years,” O’Malley said.

The income tax increases are intended to avoid a so-called doomsday budget that called for $500 million in cuts that the General Assembly passed in its regular session.

The bills passed Wednesday include a tax hike on small cigars and smokeless tobacco and a transfer of payments of teacher pensions from state to local governments.

Gigi Barnett explains the couple distributed child pornography online to lure other victims.

Homeowners on Wendell Avenue in Parkville describe their neighborhood as a place for families, but police say between July and November last year, one couple hid a 15-year-old sex slave.

“This is a particularly heinous crime that involves a couple deliberately recruiting a 15-year-old girl for the purposes of using her for a sex slave,” said Elise Armacost, Baltimore County Police.

Detectives say John Blaes, 48, and Margaret Jones, 36, met the teen on a singles website and chatted for a few months. When they learned that she was in North Carolina, they drove to that state, picked the girl up and brought her back to Wendell Avenue.

“Our investigation in Baltimore County showed that they had sex with her multiple times a week, they videotaped and photographed her while having sex and they distributed those images on the Internet,” Armacost said.

Police say Blaes and Jones–who were heavily into bondage and masochism–wanted to use the photos to recruit more women to join in. Police say they were tipped off when the girl’s mother called and reported her daughter a runaway who was being abused by the couple.

Neighbors say they never knew what was happening in the house down the street.

“It’s terrible,” said Paul Green.

Back in November, police obtained a search warrant for the house. On the computer were various pictures of the teen girl in various states of undress and bondage.

They face several charges, including production and distribution of child pornography.

According to police reports, the couple told detectives that they fed, clothed and took care of the girl like parents during the time she lived with them.

Mary Bubala has more on the high achiever.

Manion, a native of Clarksville, won just over $58,000. Her literary portfolio was chosen from 35 others at Washington College.

“To all the finalists up here, we have all had a creative writing class with each and every one of them and I can speak for the tremendous amount of talent I am a part of,” Manion said.

The literary prize was established by a gift from Sophie Kerr– a writer who died in 1965– leaving the bulk of her estate to Washington College.

Manion took the prize based on four short stories and an excerpt of her thesis.

She thanked her family for their support.

“To my family and friends, mom for always believing in me, and Casey, dad for always encouraging me to continue writing and to win the Sophie,” Manion said.

Manion will receive the actual award during Washington College’s graduation this Sunday.

Manion is a graduate of Notre Dame Prep in Towson.