1996 Summer Olympics

Runners itching to get back on the roads and those longing for the days when the Chilly Dog and Frostbite were part of the January staple, take heart.NFL revelers and partygoers alike, take note.The Super Bowl Party and 5K Race might fill the bill.The race and festivities will be held Jan. 28 at the Sheraton Baltimore North in Towson.Dave Cooley, race director of the former downtown Super Bowl 5K and partner in this year's run, said: "The concept of that one and this one is you have a run, you come back to the hotel and you have a Super Bowl party."

BaseballMajor League Baseball -- Owners called a meeting for Phoenix on xTC Feb. 17. Owners have been meeting monthly since November as they debate on how to restructure the duties of the commissioner after the forced resignation of Fay Vincent on Sept. 7, 1992.Atlanta Braves -- Agreed to terms with P Mike Stanton on a one-year contract worth $850,000, a raise of $585,000, and IF Wally Backman on a minor-league contract. Invited Backman to spring training as a non-roster player.California Angels -- Agreed to terms with OF Luis Polonia on a one-year contract worth $2,475,000, a raise of $825,000.

ATLANTA -- The tomb and birthplace of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the most popular tourist attraction in Atlanta, may be visible only from a distance if a long-running feud between the National Park Service and the King family is not resolved.After a 14-year partnership designed to share Dr, King's legacy through guided tours, his family has ordered the Park Service off the property, and has no plan of its own, so far, to give guided tours."You are to remove all Park Services personnel and property by the close of business Dec. 28, 1994," wrote Sonny Walker, executive director of the Martin Luther King Center for Non-Violent Social Change, in a letter to the Park Service dated Friday.

Charm City lost some of its charm last year, according to a new ranking of the best -- and worst -- places to live in the United States.Baltimore dropped below Detroit, Atlanta and Chicago as readers of Money expressed more worry over the city's education and crime, pushing this city of baseball and crabs to No. 126 out of the 300 largest metropolitan areas ranked by the magazine. Baltimore was listed as 97th in the country in 1992.The annual list is based on reader surveys. This year, things they considered more important were good schools, new business potential, short commutes, low housing prices, good public transportation and proximity to major and minor sports.

If only there were something special on TV tonight"1996 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies" (8 p.m.-midnight, WBAL, Channel 11) -- You mean you're the one who's not planning to watch tonight's opening ceremonies? Then, by all means, read on, my friend. NBC."National Lampoon's Vacation" (8 p.m.-10 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- This best of the Lampoon's "Vacation" movies -- be sure to avoid "Christmas Vacation" -- shines brightest when the gang finally makes it to Wally World, only to find the amusement park is all locked up. John Candy is the hapless security guard forced to show the Griswolds around.

Michelle Smith, the swimmer who won three gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics and became Ireland's most decorated athlete, was banned yesterday from competition for four years after being found guilty of manipulating a urine sample with alcohol.Even as she won her Olympic races in Atlanta , suspicions arose about the authenticity of Smith's performances, given that her times had improved dramatically late in her career. Suspicion continued to grow after Smith failed to appear for at least one drug test following the Atlanta Games.

Special OlympicsCheer on some of the area's finest athletes at the Maryland Special Olympics Summer Games this weekend at Towson State University. Athletes representing every county of the state will compete in aquatics, bowling, track and field, softball and equestrian events, followed by awards ceremonies in each.Opening ceremonies will offer much pomp and circumstance tomorrow evening as the 1,100 Special Olympians parade through TSU's Minnegan Stadium along with the Colts Marching Band, U.S. Olympic athletes, dignitaries and television celebrities.

ATLANTA -- The man whose complaint led to criminal charges last week against the Atlanta Muslim once known as H. Rap Brown said yesterday that he did not know who shot and wounded him last month and that the police pressured him into (( making the identification.The complaining witness in the case, William Miles, 22, said in an interview at his home that he had repeatedly insisted to the police that he did not see who wounded him in the leg on July 26. He said it was the police who first presented him with the name and photographs of Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, the Muslim name now used by the former Mr. Brown, who in the 1970s led the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.

James Easterly, the huge lineman who played a big role in two straight state championship football seasons at Wilde Lake, has announced he will attend Georgia Tech on a full football scholarship.The 6-foot-6, 300-pound Easterly, who had never played organized football until transferring to Wilde Lake from Oxon Hill High School in Prince George's County two years ago, plans to sign a letter of intent Wednesday.Easterly decided on Georgia Tech -- which recruited him to play defensive tackle -- after strongly considering Syracuse and Virginia Tech.

MEDIA, Pa. -- John E. du Pont, a frustrated athlete who used his family's fortune to surround himself with world-class wrestlers, was convicted yesterday of killing Olympic gold medalist David Schultz on the grounds of the country estate he had turned into a private training camp.After seven days of deliberations, the jury decided that du Pont, 58, was guilty of third-degree murder but mentally ill on Jan. 26, 1996, when he shot the wrestler three times at point-blank range with a .44-caliber Magnum.