kimblr.com

DUTCH VILLAGE FARMERS MARKET, fruits, jellies, jams, baked goods, produce and more. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursdays, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays, 5030 Brown Station Rd., Upper Marlboro. Admission, free. 301-952-0778.
BOWIE SOCIAL SECURITY DISCUSSION, a representative from the Social Security Administration will discuss Social Security and answer questions, refreshments served, sponsored by National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, Chapter 1747. 10 a.m., Bowie City Hall, Room 204, 2614 Kenhill Dr. Free. Call Dorothy Campbell, 301-464-6372.
TEDDY BEAR PARADE, for age 6 and younger, bring a favorite teddy bear or other stuffed animal for stories, snacks and a parade. 10:30 a.m., Beltsville Library, 4319 Sellman Rd., Beltsville. Free. 301-937-0294.
LANDOVER FINANCIAL WORKSHOP, for age 18 and older, learn about basic financial investments. 7-8:30 p.m., Peppermill Community Center, 610 Hill Rd., Landover. Free. 301-350-8410.
CHAMBER BAND CONCERT, for all ages, U.S. Air Force Chamber Band, featuring members of the Singing Sergeants. 8 p.m., Harmony Hall Regional Center, 10701 Livingston Rd., Fort Washington. Free. 202-767-5658.
LAUREL BIRD WALK, for age 16 and older, a guided tour to identify birds in several refuge habitats; binoculars and field guides recommended. 7:30-10 a.m., National Wildlife Visitor Center, Powder Mill Road, between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Route 197, Laurel. Free, reservations required. 301-497-5887.
CHEVERLY PERFORMANCE, for all ages, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company performs. 8 p.m., Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly. $15; seniors and students, $12. 301-277-1710.
LAUREL BLUES PERFORMANCE, for all ages, folk and blues singer Odetta performs. 8 p.m., Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd., Laurel. $20; members and seniors, $18. 301-953-1993.
COLLEGE PARK FARMERS MARKET, vegetables, fruits, jellies, jams, baked goods, fresh flowers and more. 7 a.m.-noon, Ellen Linson Swimming Pool, 5211 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park. Admission, free. 301-277-3717.
MOUNT RAINIER DAY, for all ages, parade, go-karts, pony rides, a basketball tournament, music, arts and crafts and more. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., One Municipal Pl., Mount Rainier. Admission, free. 301-985-6585.

washingtonpost.com

NJJN Bureau Chief/Middlesex
For participants on the Israel mission of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, it wasn’t the historical sites that made the greatest impression, but rather the strength and optimism of residents in the face of terrorism.
The mission, which ran from March 31 to April 6, was marked by visits to Sderot — which has been hit with a barrage of Kassam missiles from Gaza for years — and nearby Sapir College, where a student was recently killed by a Kassam.
“It was my first visit to Sderot,” said federation executive director Gerrie Bamira. “What was in my mind all the time was that we had 15 seconds at any given moment to get to a bomb shelter once the ‘red alert’ goes off. I can’t stop wondering how the people who live in Sderot and the surrounding areas live this way all the time.”
At a school for the developmentally disabled, a teacher told her of the hard choices they faced with wheelchair-bound children.
“Do they leave the child in a wheelchair to run to a shelter or do they stay with the child and take a chance a rocket will fall on both of them?” asked Bamira. “We were told it takes 15 minutes to unload each child from their van.”
While no missiles fell while the Middlesex group was there, the community was on high alert that day because of activity in Gaza.
At Sapir College they found cots set up all around campus and students being given massages and taught relaxation techniques by volunteers from Tel Aviv University.
Linda Block of East Brunswick and her husband, Monte, missed the Sderot visit because they had to join the mission two days late. Yet, they felt the tension during a dedication in Nitzan of the Yisrael Lutati Nitzan Youth Center (see sidebar). “We could hear [military] planes flying overhead,” recalled Block. “For them it was normal. For us it was not.”

njjewishnews.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Despite his team’s season-ending loss to Winona State, two-time All-American senior forward Tyrekus “A.J.” Bowman went out on an individual high.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Despite his team’s season-ending loss to Winona State, two-time All-American senior forward Tyrekus “A.J.” Bowman went out on an individual high.
Bowman shot 12-for-15 from the field for 26 points in the Division II championship game. In doing so, he set a record for highest field-goal percentage in the championship (80 percent).
Bowman and junior center Garret Siler each were named to the All-Tournament team.
Siler scored 20 points, adding five rebounds and five blocks.
THE FLUTIE EFFECT? The Flutie Effect is named after Boston College’s Doug Flutie , who tossed a Hail Mary pass to defeat Miami in 1984. The rumor is that because of Flutie, application numbers surged at Boston College the following years.
It will be a few years before Augusta State admissions officials will be able to tell if the school has benefited from its team’s run to the championship game.
“If you had to put a monetary value on the marketing impact we’ve gotten the past two weeks, you couldn’t put a value on it,” athletic director Clint Bryant said. “It’d be astronomical. People across the country now know there’s a university in Augusta called ‘Augusta State University.’ “
RECORD-SETTING, PART ONE: The game attendance reached 5,628 fans, the largest championship game crowd since 1994. The total Elite Eight attendance (17,049) was the largest since 1973.
RECORD-SETTING, PART TWO: The Warriors drained a championship game record 13 3-pointers on 32 attempts. Augusta State allowed 10 or more 3-pointers in each of the past three games. The Jaguars’ three Elite Eight opponents shot 38-for-106 from beyond the arc.
CAREER NUMBERS: With his 26 points, Bowman finished his career with 1,827 points.

chronicle.augusta.com

Villanova Tops Siena in NCAA Tournament as Reynolds Scores 25
By Mason Levinson
March 23 (Bloomberg) — Villanova University guards Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes combined for 45 points as the Wildcats beat Siena 84-72 to advance to the third round of the national men's college basketball tournament.
In the first of eight National Collegiate Athletic Association games today, Reynolds scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while backcourt teammate Stokes added 20 points as 12th-seeded Villanova advanced to the final 16 for the third time in four years.
Sophomore forward Alex Franklin led the 13th-seeded Saints with 18 points, while guard Kenny Hasbrouck had 17 in the game held in Tampa, Florida.
The Wildcats became the second Big East Conference team to advance to the third round, joining West Virginia, which topped Duke yesterday in one of eight other second-round games.
In another matchup of 12th- and 13th-seeded teams today, Western Kentucky takes on San Diego, while two top-seeded teams will be in action, with North Carolina facing No. 9 seed Arkansas and Memphis facing eighth-seeded Mississippi State.
Today's other games that will complete the second round are Georgetown-Davidson, Louisville-Oklahoma, Tennessee-Butler and Texas-Miami.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: March 23, 2008 15:01 EDT

bloomberg.com

There was plenty of excitement on a special charter flight yesterday. The Marist College women’s basketball team traded the chill of Poughkeepsie for the sunny warmth of Baton Rouge, La. Tomorrow, the Red Foxes will attempt to make more history once more in the NCAA tournament.
Assistant coach Keila Whittington was excited for another reason — she was returning home.
“It’s great for me to go down because I get to visit with family and friends, and also get some great food,” said Whittington, in her first season on the Marist staff. “New Orleans has always been the most special place in my heart.”
Whittington grew up three hours north of New Orleans and graduated from Dillard University in the Big Easy. Although not much of a night-life person, she spent some time in the French Quarter, watching revelers and conventioneers from far and wide enjoy the city made famous by Mardi Gras and its unique Cajun cuisine.
“There’s the gumbo and shrimp po’boys and et touffet and shrimp Creole,” Whittington smiled, rolling off mouth-watering dishes made famous by chefs such as Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse. “My most favorite is a shrimp po’boy. It’s really like a Subway sub, a Quiznos sub. The authenticity comes from the French bread they use, and all the po’boys are overstuffed with whatever you want: the shrimp, the oysters, the catfish. It’s a lot of meat and fixins you want.”
The food is great, but it’s the people who make New Orleans special, Whittington says.
“I love the people because they are very welcoming and took me into their families, and now I have life-long fans,” she said.
That’s why Whittington was panicked when she watched Hurricane Katrina slam into New Orleans in September 2005. Whittington had visited the city just days earlier and stayed in the apartment her cousin was renting in advance of the new house she was closing on. The apartment filled to the ceiling with muddy, polluted waters and the flood stains in the new home reached four feet high. It took Whittington more than a week to track down her cousin and she was relieved to hear that her family was OK.

recordonline.com

COLLEGE ROUNDUP (March 21): NT grad Stone pitches Purple Eagles to win
Greater Niagara Newspapers
The Niagara University softball team earned a split Friday, defeating the University of Maryland-Baltimore County 7-6 before losing to St. Francis, 7-4, in extra innings at the UMBC Spring Classic in Baltimore.
North Tonawanda graduate Cassie Stone earned her first career win against UMBC, striking out six and giving up two earned runs. Jenna Baker had a two-run home run for the Purple Eagles, while Felicia Coffey scored a pair of runs in the win. Tory Healy added a two-run homer for NU.
Niagara Falls High School graduate Emily Thompson went 0-for-4 for UMBC (9-12 overall).
Against St. Francis, Healy had a two-run homer for NU (8-12). Niagara’s Kristin Sito had an RBI hit to drive home Maggie McDonald for the tying run, but St. Francis scored four runs in the eighth inning for the win.
During play Thursday, NU went 2-0. The Purple Eagles defeated Mount St. Mary’s 4-0 and St. Francis 13-3 in six innings. Tiffany McCrory improved to 4-4 on the season with a combined shutout against Mount St. Mary’s. Stone pitched a perfect seventh inning to preserve the win. Heather Lorhman had an RBI double and Coffey and McDonald also added RBIs.
Against St. Francis, NU had six home runs Thursday, off the bats of McDonald (two), Coffey (two), Jenna Baker and Sito (her first career home run). Brooke Viola got the win in the circle, going five innings, with Stone again pitching out the victory.
Stahl to play at UB
First-year University at Buffalo women’s soccer coach Michael Thomas announced that Aubrey Stahl has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Bulls. Stahl joins the Bulls from the Fort Collins Arsenal Soccer Club in Colorado. She’s been named an all-conference player for three straight years.

niagara-gazette.com

By Heather Dinich
RALEIGH, N.C. — Sweat poured off Dan Dakich’s face to the point it was dripping off his nose like rain. Early in the first half against Arkansas, he even went so far as to hoist up a jump shot of his own from the corner — “anything to give our team a spark” — instead of handing the ball over to the official (for which he was charged with a technical).
Perhaps the best effort for Indiana came from its bench.
Dakich and his players insisted after IU’s 86-72 loss to Arkansas on Friday night that the Hoosiers gave it everything they had, but their sluggish body language in the latter part of the game suggested otherwise. With about 1:30 left to play and trailing 77-70, Dakich had to remind them “this game’s not over yet.”
“I think this was another frustrating night for a team that’s had a lot of frustrations over the last couple weeks,” he said.
It wasn’t exactly a shocking upset, as it simply punctuated the tumultuous season highlighted by Kelvin Sampson’s resignation on Feb. 22. Those within the program said Friday night that the coaching change wasn’t an excuse for losing four of their final five games, but they conceded they fell below expectations.
“This team could’ve been real good if we just would’ve collectively got it together,” said Eric Gordon, who was held to just eight points on 3 of 15 shooting from the field, including six missed 3-pointers. “We could’ve possibly made a run for the Final Four.”
Instead, they’re looking for a coach and don’t know which players plan on returning. Athletic director Rick Greenspan said the coaching search has been on for a week, but he declined to say if the school has interviewed anyone yet.
Dakich wants the job.

sports.espn.go.com

North Sioux City, SD, March 16, 2008 –(PR.com)– Prizes include 6 VizioTM LCD TVs for Perfect Bracket, Sony Digital Camera, and more.
Dakota PC Warehouse, a retailer of computing and consumer electronics products, is inviting all college basketball fans to participate in a new, free, online tournament pool called Mad Brackets. Mad Brackets is hosted by DakotaPCWarehouse.com and sponsored by K2 Mounts Inc. and in this contest entrants will match their basketball prognostication skills against other self-proclaimed “bracketologists” in competition for thousands of dollars in prizes.
Mad Brackets is open to individuals as well as groups and entry is free. Prizes will be awarded to the winners who accumulate the most points simply by selecting the winning teams in the upcoming men’s college basketball tournament beginning on March 20, 2008. First prize is a 32-inch Vizio LCD TV. Second prize is a Sony digital camera, and third prize is a Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse.
In addition, DakotaPCWarehouse.com and K2 Mounts are offering a special grand prize to any person who records a perfect score by correctly selecting all the winning teams in every round of the tournament. Mad Brackets also contains a special twist whereby prizes can be awarded after every round of the tournament. For each tournament round in which an individual maintains a perfect score, the contestant will win an additional and progressively larger Vizio LCD TV. For example, a perfect score in the first round wins a 20-inch Vizio LCD TV while a perfect score in the both the first and second rounds will earn a 20-inch and a 32-inch Vizio LCD TV. The prize package for a perfect score through all six rounds of the tournament will include six Vizio LCD TVs featuring screen sizes of 20, 32, 37, 42, 47, and 52-inches, respectively, plus wall mounting brackets from K2 Mounts.

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By Tom Deweese Wednesday, March 12, 2008
In June, 2007 a solid eighty percent of the American people let Congress know they wanted the government to put the brakes on illegal immigration; they turned thumbs down on the President’s guest worker amnesty plan; and they wanted tax-paid services to illegals stopped.
Most Americans understand that new laws are not needed to stop illegal immigration. What is necessary is repeal of some laws granting taxpayer-financed services to illegals along with enforcement of existing laws. These two acts would be enough to stop the migration. In simple fact, they are called “illegal” because they are breaking the law.
In truth, the battle over the Senate’s guest worker-amnesty plan is really a battle over attempts to open the border as called for in programs such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). Both plans call for open borders and economic integration of North America. Open borders are required to fully implement the plans.
The Bush Administration and those promoting illegal immigration were frankly stunned at the force and determination of U.S. citizens to reject the Senates immigration plan. Proponents played a very heavy hand in attempting to force the scheme on a resisting citizenry. Such powerful forces are not used to losing. Today they continue to seek new ways to work around the opposition and pass the legislation, as a whole or incrementally.

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