Sports Beat column - January 24, 2008

Sports Beat

January 24, 2008

Sports Beat by Bill McCaffrey

Super Bowl Sunday (February 3rd) is now set and its New England against the New York Giants. The Patriots beat San Diego 21-12 in the AFC title contest. The Patriots could have scored two more TD¹s and won by more than 21 but they didn¹t so I have to say Norv Turner is a good head coach (a bet I lost to David J.). In the NFC gold game another Manning Eli and not Payton (as the New York football Giants beat the Packers 23-20) that¹s going to the Super Bowl. I went 7 for 10 in my playoff picks. In the Super Bowl my pick has to be New England .

Well the Baltimore Ravens have selected their new head coach and the envelope please! The winner is John Harbaugh. HE has been a ten year assistant of the Philadelphia Eagles. I think it was the wrong choice because the Eagles have had their problems with their players in recent years didn¹t T.O. play for the Eagles? Oh well I will wait and see how his team performs on the field, Steve Biscotti is hedging his bet by wanting to keep Rex Ryan if Ryan doesn¹t get the Atlanta job. I also have to question why owner Steve insists on keeping Ozzie Newsome as GM, he should share some of the Ravens poor showing last season along with owner Steve and ³Big Ego².

Cam Cameron has signed on as Harbaugh¹s offensive coordinator. Chan Gailey signs with Kansas City for the same job. The Tennessee Titans hired Mike Hernerdinger ( Denver assistant) to be their offensive coordinator replacing Norm Chow who was canned because he didn¹t help Vince Young enough. Why wasn¹t Steve Spagnicolo considered for the Ravens head coach, the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants did a great job for the Giants. The NFL will play an exhibition game again in the upcoming season, no teams or date announced yet. Marty Schottenheimer or Mike Tice would have been a better choice for the Ravens head coaching job because they wouldn¹t put up with crybabies like ³Raghead Ray² Lewis, that was ³Big Ego¹s² downfall. Plaxico Burress ate Al Harris up in the NFC gold game. It was no contest in this match up as Burress owned Harris, about the only thing I can say for Harris is he sure could use a haircut. Tony Dungy will be back in Indianapolis and Mike Holgresa at Seattle . Norm Chow will be the offensive coordinator at UCLA. Turk Schonert is the new offensive coordinator for Buffalo .

FIRE TRUCKS EMMETT

My good friend Emmett Lanier sent me some great notes from Virgil ³Fire² Trucks who also sent some nice thanks to me. He (Trucks) was voted the best right handed pitcher in the history of the Detroit Tigers beating out Jim Bunning, Tommy Bridges, and Schoolboy Rowe. Congratulations Virgil Trucks! You can still get a copy of his great book by writing to him at 1016 Waterford Trail, Calera , AL 35040-7613 . There was a neat story in the material Emmett sent me, it went like this: when Red Rolfe was managing the Tigers they were getting ready to play the New York Yankees he set Trucks and catcher Joe Ginsberg down and took about an hour to tell Trucks and Ginsberg how to pitch to each Yankee batter, when he was thru and left then Trucks told Ginsberg ³Joe I have a 100 MPH fast ball and a 90 MPH slider so don¹t get smart back there just catch the damned ball and throw it back to me. Trucks pitched a three hitter that day. Trucks and Ginsberg are still the best of friends, but Joe claims he always beats Trucks at golf. The material also contained some information from Bobby Hoeft, he asks was there ever a hitter so feared that the hitter was walked intentionally with the bases loaded and the answer is Mel Ott. If you want to read a great book write to Trucks and get his, you will not be disappointed.

NATS NEWS

Lots of woes at the new Nats stadium, especially parking. Tim Redding will be back with the Nats. Chad Cordero may be traded before the season opens. San Diego signs Jody Gerut to a minor league contract. Catcher Yadier Molina gets a four year deal with the Cardinals. Matt Holliday will be back with Colorado . Mets sign Aaron Heilman to a one year deal. Mets and Edney Chaves agree on a two year deal. Mets and Jose Valentin agree to a minor league deal. Astros sign Dave Brokowski. Astros sign Geoff Geary. Brewers sign Chris Capuano and Claudio Vargas. Pirates sign Jose Bautista. Marlins sign Matt Treanor and Mark Hendrickson. Diamond Backs sign Juan Cruz. The Braves signed Mike Gonzalez, Omar Infante, and Tyler Yates but the big signing was for a man the Orioles would like to get when he becomes a free agent at the end of this season and he is no surprise Mark Teixeira who signed a one year 12.5 million contract with the Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers gave pitcher Scott Proctor a one year contract. Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson re-upped with the Phillies.

ORIOLES OUTHOUSE

The Orioles didn¹t get Octavio Dutel (he got a 2 year deal from the White Sox) but did sign Lance Cormier to a minor league contract. Where¹s the big deal the Orioles said they were working on? The thing I hear now is that they are going to dump Erik Bedard for a couple of minor leaguers (doesn¹t anything ever change). Oakland signed Joe Blanton. Orioles sign Adam Loewen and Jeremy Guthine. Orioles will hold Fan Fest on March 29th.

OTHER SIGNERS:
Tampa Bay, Jonny Gormes
Detroit, Marcus Thames
Chicago, Joe Crede
Texas, Marlon Byrd
Tigers, Nate Robertson
Angels, Juan Rivera

Jimmy Gobble will be back with KC. Houston Street gets a 3.3 million deal from Oakland . Jason Jennings gets a one year deal from Texas . James Shields resigned with the Rays of Tampa Bay and look for him to be one of the best this season in the Junior Circuit. He has one of the best fast balls in the league. Bobby Hasft says Jeremy Bonderman is over his woes and will be back as strong as ever in 2008 and will become known as the ³Silent Assassin². Toronto has signed Scott Downs (3 year, 10 million contract), Marco Scutaro, Jason Frasor, Gustavo Chacin and Brian Tallet. Jason Kubel will be back with the Twins.

BOXING NEWS

Roy Jones, Jr. took a 12 round unanimous decision over Felix Trinidad at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple. The cards showed two judges scoring it 116-110 and the other 117-109 all favoring Jones who sent Trinidad to the canvas twice and completely dominating the fast fading Trinidad . Jones is now 52-4, Trinidad 42-3. Coming up on February 8th at Dover Downs Rollins Center will be a USBA Cruiserweight championship featuring the popular Darnell ³Ding-a-Ling Man² Wilson taking on B.J. ³El Peligroso² Flores in the hard hitting main bout, this is also an IBF cruiserweight eliminator match. The undercard includes Mikey Tibert, Simon Carr and other popular local fighters. E-mail www.doverdowns.com. Jake Smith¹s Baltimore Pro Boxing held a Pro-Am event at the Pikesville Armory before a nice crowd.

After five amateur bouts the pros took over and here are the results:
Jessie Nicklow rolls to 15-0-1 with an eight round majority decision over Josh Snyder.
Seth Mitchell of Brandwine , MD won his pro debut with a unanimous decision over Mike Miller.
Ray Grant goes to 11-1-0 with a split decision over Cornelius Ellis.
Lenwood Dozier and Lawrence Jones fought to a majority draw.

Ballroom Boxing returns to Michael¹s 8th Avenue on Thursday, January 31st.

COLLEGE NOTES

Bobby Gonzales is doing a nice job in rebuilding the Seton Hall University basketball program. Gonzales had a great run at Manhatten College before moving to coach the Pirates program. He was 130-77 at Manhatten with two NCAA and two NIT appearances. He has a big front line in:
John Garcia, 6¹ 9, 265 pounds
Brandon Walters, 6¹ 9, 225 pounds
Augustine Okosun, 6¹ 11, 240 pounds
Mike Davis, 6¹ 11, 255 pounds

Not bad, look for the Pirates to get either NIT or NCAA berth this season. St. Mary¹s College of Maryland has two DeMatha grads, Joe Smith and Mike Iraola on this seasons men¹s basketball team. The Towson women¹s basketball team has some locals on the team they are: Shanae Baker-Brioe, Theodore Roosevelt grad, Katrina Wheeler, Theodore Roosevelt grad, Hellena Snowden, Seton Keough grad, and Kandace Davis, Laurel grad. Wheeler transferred from Georgetown U.

Locals that were on Towson ¹s football in 2007 were:
Brian Benjamin, Gwynn Park High School
TJ Foley, Patuxent High School
Chris Franklin, Northern High School
Antonio Logan, EL, Forestville High School
Paul Perry, Oxon Hill High School
Derek Waddy, St. John¹s College High School
Ollie Holmes, Potomac High School
John Sutherland, Westlake High School
Jimmy McClain, C.H. Flowers High School
Durrell Scott, Gwynn High School
Sean Schaefer, Northern High School
Jeremy Williams, W. Wilson (DC) High School

Former Riverdale Baptist High School softball player Jocelyn Hall will be a key to the success of Towson University ¹s softball team. One of the outstanding young football coaches in college football in the State is Nick Schloeder, John¹s Hopkins offensive coach for the past 10 years. He played football at Franklin and Marshall and helped lead them to three Centennial Conference titles. He¹s done a super job at Hopkins and its time he gets a head coaching chance and I think he would make a great one. Steve Fairchild takes over as Colorado State head football coach. Maryland women beat Virginia 74-62 with Marah Strickland pouring in 19 points and Kristi Toliver 16. Crystal Langhorne scored 31 and grabbed 15 boards t lead the Lady Terps by Georgia Tech 99-95 in two OT¹s. Langhorne is the all-time leading scorer. The Maryland men upset North Carolina 82-80 James Gist led the Terps with 22 points and 13 boards.

THE ONE HUNDRED CLUB OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY
Annual Meeting
Thursday, February 14, 2008 5:30 PM

Location: Anne Arundel County Police Department
Special Operations Division Complex
8315 Glover Road
Millersville , MD 21108

Directions to meeting site:
From Interstate 97 south take exit #12, Glen Burnie/New Cut Road, onto New Cut Road . Go west on New Cut Road approximately 1Ž2 mile; turn left onto Grover Road, through the gated complex and past Board of Education and Fire Department buildings to the Anne Arundel County Police Special Operations Building. (The helicopter may be parked in front) We will have a demonstration before the meeting.

SPECIAL NOTE:
If you are a member of the Board of The One Hundred Club and wish to continue as a Board member, please advise Pete Shaeffer. If you are not a Board member and would like to become one, please advise Pete Shaeffer. (Telephone 410-625-6110) If you are a member of the Board and do not contact Pete Shaeffer and don¹t not attend the annual meeting, it will be presumed that you do not wish to remain a member of the Board. Obviously, we are interested in Board members who are focused and will participate in the activities of The One Hundred Club.

SPORTS NOTES

Page B2 in the Baltimore Sun Wednesday, January 23rd there was a sign for GT Pizza in Lutherville, the pizza parlor is owned by Ricci DePasquale who by the picture showing the sign probably isn¹t a fan of Governor O¹Malley or O¹Malley¹s March, the sign read ³Try an O¹Malley sub, it¹s a 100% Bologney!², this is how the Governor is trying to bring his image up from the 30% approval rating? Happy Birthday greetings to the Rug Man, also Happy Birthday greetings to Carolyn Wilford (RHS grad). I wonder where they are today: Billy Gosnell, Ruth Estelle, Teresa Watts, Theresa Kearney, Terri Miller, Geraldine Cox, Frank Carmen, and Lou Corletto. USA ranks the Eleanaor Roosevelt 20th nationally in girl¹s basketball.

Some of the outstanding legislators in Annapolis today are:
Delegates                                              Senators
Jim Malone                                            Ed DeGrange
Kumar Barve                                          Roy Dyson
Jim Mathias                                           Bobby Zukin
Dave Rudolph                                        Rona Kramer
Derrick Davis                                         Nat Exum
Shelia Hixon                                          Larry Haines
Joe Vallario

We will have more for you as the session goes on.

Our deepest sympathy goes to the family of Georgia Frontiere, owner of the St. Louis Rams who died at age 80 on January 18th. She hit the gold when she married the late Carroll Rosenbloom who was then the owner of the Baltimore Colts. Rosenbloom traded the Colts to ³Tiger Bob² Irsay for the Los Angeles Rams. After Rosenbloom died Frontiere moved the Rams to her hometown of St. Louis . Also deepest sympathy goes to the families of the following: Bobby Fischer, World Champion chess master who became known as the ³Bad Boy of Chess² died January 17th at age 64 in Iceland . Jean Freas, TV reporter and graduate of the National Cathedral School in DC. Suzanne Pleshette, actress died at age 70. John Stewart, songwriter and member of the Kingston Trio died at 68 on January 19th. Danielle Luzzetto Gardner, Sidwell Friends School . Pamela Mary Sansbury, longtime Prince George ¹s County resident. Heath Ledger, movie actor. Laurence Alan Rogers, St. Albnas grad. Rita Fitzgerald Powell, Notre Dame Academy grad. Edward J. ³ED² Lopata, co-captain and 3 year letterman of Georgetown U basketball team. Marshall Peyton Johnson, Bethesda-Chevy Chase high school grad. Lawrence Carl Miller, Mount Rainier high school grad. Joe Ames, one of the singing Ames Brothers at age 86.

WE GET LETTERS

Bill, Rus Lombardy was the basketball coach at Anacostia and later school principal.

LOMBARDY RUSSELL A. LOMBARDY "Lum"(Age 89) Formerly of Clinton, MD died December 30, 2007 in Longmont, CO. Lum was a long time teacher/coach and administrator in the District of Columbia school system from 1951 to his retirement in 1977. An avid golfer, in retirement he was a weekend starter at Twin Shields Golf Course in Maryland . He was preceded in death by his first wife, Hazel and his second wife, Pearl . Lum is survived by his son, Russ of Longmont, CO; daughters, Diane Beckham of Berwyn Heights, MD and Debbie Gaspar of Laytonsville , MD; and five grandchildren. Mass of the Resurrection will be held at 10:30 a.m. , Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Clinton, MD. Visit www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com to see complete obituary and leave condolences for the family.

Fred, A great man, thanks for the information also thanks to Dan about ³Lum² being all-high at Eastern in the 1930¹s. Our deepest sympathy to the family. Bill

Bill, So did you hear I joined the ranks of the retired ones? Life after MDOT is actually better than I thought. Hope you are doing well, I heard your retirement bash was terrific but hopefully you are finding things to do that keep you happy now. Let me hear from you. Missy

Bill, I am saying a prayer for these folks, Kenya has a strong Christian population, but it also has some radical muslim elements, these combined with animist believers(pagan) often resort to violence when they don't get their way. Like spoiled children-they get angry and strike. Note: forwarded message attached.

Dear Jim Conlee, First of all, am grateful to God that me and my immediate family are safe. Thanks for your love, prayers and support. There is a very serious Tribal War and Clashes here in Kenya . Those chaos were pre-planned by the Opposition before our General Elections (Parliament & Presidential) which were held on 27th December, 2007 . It is unbelievable Families that have lived together for many years are now turning against each other in their neighborhood. Many hundreds of people have died especially in Rift Valley, Lake Victoria, Mombasa and Nairobi . These people in Opposition Zones are burning Houses, Churches, Businesses and Cars for those who Voted for the Government. I have just returned from the worst hit Areas in Eldoret - Rift Valley where I have more Churches than any other area. I am very tired. I had Police Escort throughout. I had gone to comfort and to supply Relief to those in Refugee Camps and in Hospitals. One area where the Church was set on fire on 31st December and 27children died, over 22 women died. These children were burnt to ashes, I could not believe it when only bones and ashes we could see. I did visit hospital and the story is the same. The mortuary is full. Those who have camped in a school ground are sick, hungry and need Blankets, Food, Medicines, Money to pay Transport for Escape , etc.&nbs p; It is pathetic. My Three Churches were destroyed and burnt. We have hundreds of our members either dead or displaced. As their Pastor, I need to stand with them. Kindly Pray and Support us. At this moment in time am also sick may be from shock and fatigue. Thanks and God Bless you for standing with me. Love, Dr. Gerry.

Bill, January 23rd was the birthday of our former classmate, RHS class of 53, and friend Carolyn Schoenfeld Wilfond¹s birthday. Carolyn lived next door to my cousin Sandra Land Casper on Decatur Street, NW in Washington and now lives in beautiful South Florida . Blessings and love to all, Dale

Dale, Thank you for the information. Bill

Bill, I went to Texas to visit my daughter on Dec 17th and returned on Jan 5th. While there 3 of us ex Indians got together for lunch near Dallas . Two of us have not seen each other since 1948, and the other once since then. It was Loma Allen, Ray Asay and myself class of 48. Loma, a retired Army Colonel, Ray a retired airline Captain and myself a retired supervisory air traffic controller. Not bad would say. We did not have enough time to tell all of our lies. ha ha Fred Plummer

Fred, Good report. Bill

Dear Bill Joan Albert lives in Silver Spring , MD and is still good friends with Margie Imlay who lives out by the old Glen Echo. I speak with Joan or Joanie as we know her and keep in touch, she also keeps me abreast about Evelyn Peake Bordon, who is not doing as well as the rest of us. Remember the good times we all had on 15th Street ? Take care, Marlene

Marlene, We lived in a great neighborhood and a great era back then. Bill Bill, Keep up the good work. May you stay healthy for 2008. I enjoy your column. Say a good word for the Seton Hall Pirates who are 11-5 and 1-4 in the Big East after beating the South Florida Bulls tonight. I think Bobby Gonzales has them on track for at least an NIT bid if not a slot in the big NCAA dance. Cheers, Jerry

Jerry, See this week¹s college notes. Bill

STELLA AWARDS

It's time again for the annual "Stella Awards"! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico where she purchased the coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.

Here are the Stella's for the past year:

7TH PLACE: Kathleen Robertson of Austin , Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owne rs were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

6TH PLACE : Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps. Go ahead, grab your head scratcher.

5TH PLACE : Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count'em, EIGHT, days on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming u ndue mental anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish. Keep scratching. There are more...

4TH PLACE: Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced y ard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun. Grrrrr ... Scratch, scratch.

3RD PLACE : Amber Carson of Lancaster , Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft d ri nk was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions? Scratch, scratch, scratch. Hang in there; there are only two more Stellas to go...

2ND PLACE : Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.

1ST PLACE : (May I have a fanfare played on 50 kazoos please) This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma , who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly , the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.

Are we, as a society, getting more stupid...

Queen Anne¹s County Leadership Endorses Kratovil for Congress Queen Anne¹s County Commissioners Courtney Billups, Carol Fordonski-Ronayne, Paul Gunther, and Gene Ransom have endorsed Frank Kratovil¹s candidacy for the United States House of Representatives from Maryland ¹s First Congressional District. The Democratic Primary is Tuesday, February 12.

Frank Kratovil Supporters Gather in Crisfield:
State¹s Attorney Hickman, Crisfield Mayor Purnell Endorse Kratovil for Congress
Supporters of Frank Kratovil¹s candidacy for United States Congress gathered at the Crisfield home of Beverly and P.J. Purnell on Thursday, January 17. The event was hosted by Purnell, Mayor of Crisfield, and Kristy Hickman, State¹s Attorney for Somerset County . About 40 supporters attended the event where the Democratic candidate spoke and took questions. The endorsements of State¹s Attorney Hickman and Mayor Purnell add to an impressive list of endorsements from state, county, and municipal leaders who share the belief that Kratovil is the best candidate to represent the First District in Washington.

Kent/QAC League of Women Voters Congressional Forum
Before an overflowing crowd four Democratic and three Republican candidates for Maryland ¹s First Congressional District took questions at a candidates¹ forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. Frank Kratovil answered questions on critical issues. Kratovil stressed that any economic stimulus package should focus on strengthening families and small businesses, where 80 percent of American jobs are created. He also argued that Congress needs greater oversight and action to stem the disaster of the sub-prime lender crisis and prevent it from happening again. He faulted, in part, the billions spent on the Iraq War for moving the country from a surplus to a $246 billion deficit. Kratovil spoke about being ³tough but fair² on immigration by taking action against employers who break the law and rewarding those who follow it. Kratovil is running to bring ³fairness and the rule of law² back to Washington . He pointed to a lifelong, impressive record of change through hard fought battles. Kratovil¹s achievements and victories ³across the political spectrum² are evidence of making change happen.

Dorchester Democratic Club Forum
On Wednesday, January 16, Frank Kratovil and two other Democratic candidates participated in the Dorchester Democratic Club¹s Forum. Questions addressed both domestic and international issues, as well as a local focus on restoration of the Chesapeake Bay . Kratovil stressed that he will be an ³aggressive advocate² in Congress, saying that ³the role of Congress must be one of oversight.² He added, ³I believe that you stand up and fight and fight, and if you lose, you stand up and fight again.² His positions on issues were stated clearly and forcefully: to provide universal health care under a single-payer system, to work with farmers for funding and programs to help both farmers and the environment, to enforce immigration laws regarding employers who break the law an d exploit cheap labor, to champion comprehensive support for our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and to elect a Congress that acts as a strong body so that ³we use our military wisely.² Additional questions followed from an enthusiastic audience.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, February 12
Maryland Primary Election
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. at your local precinct.

FRANK IN THE MEDIA
Forum Turns on Economy, Iraq, Immigration
Associated Press

"All of the candidates at the debate called for better federal enforcement of immigration laws. The Democratic front-runner, Queen Anne's County State 's Attorney Frank Kratovil, called for more federal enforcement against people here illegally. 'We need to make sure whatever we do recognizes we are a nation of immigrants...but we need to enforce our laws,' Kratovil said." "Among the candidates themselves, the tone was friendly and reserved. Kratovil called Gilchrest 'a good man,' and the candidates spent the crowded debate time talking up their plans, not mentioning their opponents. 'It's all talk,' Kratovil concluded at the end of the debate. 'The question is, who can get it done?'"

Bush Backs Incumbent in Maryland's 1st District GOP Primary
Associated Press

"Several Republican state lawmakers have predicted that a Gilchrest loss could mean Republicans lose the whole district. Maryland 's Democratic governor and attorney general have stepped in to raise money for Democratic front-runner Frank Kratovil, a signal that Democrats believe they can win in a district usually written off as reliably Gilchrest's." "Pipkin's campaign manager, Mike Brown, said Pipkin entered the race out of fear Gilchrest would lose to Harris, a very conservative lawmaker, and then Harris would lose to a democrat in November. 'We've always said that if Harris wins, he loses to Kratovil,' Brown said. 'The First District is not the solid Republican district everybody thinks it is.'"

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

A Note from Frank
On February 12 we head to the polls. I am confident that all of your hard work to spread the message about our campaign will bear good fruit. Since we launched the campaign in June, volunteers have spent countless hours knocking on doors, hosting gatherings in homes, and posting signs everywhere throughout the district. Your generous support has enabled us to deliver our message. This should make you feel good. Our hard work is paying off. We see the growing Democratic support ever day.

THE RACE IS NOT WON YET. WE NEED TO TURN OUT THE VOTERS ON ELECTION DAY.
I NEED YOUR HELP:
(1) Vote and remind your friends and family to vote.
(2) Display a bumper sticker and yard sign to spread the name.
(3) Volunteer a few hours between February 1 and 12 to make calls and work at the polls on Primary Election Day. If you need help, please contact the campaign at 443-249-0607 or send us an email at volunteer@kratovil.com. Thanks again. I can¹t tell you how much your support means to Kim, the boys and to me. We are in this to win. It¹s time. I endorse Frank Kratovil for Congress from the First District.

* WEBMASTER COMMENT:
Elect ANDREW HARRIS in the FIRST DIST on NOV 4, 2008!

SUPPORT SOUTHERN MD SPORTS!!