Achilles

From the pickup basketball player to the motivated marathoner, all who exercise can suffer the agony of the feet. Here are the most common injuries: Plantar fasciitis Any activity that involves jumping, plus sudden stops and starts, can lead to plantar fasciitis. This overstretching of the ligament that runs from the heel to the ball of the foot, straight through the arch, affects about 14 percent of men and women ages 18 to 60, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association.

COLLEGE PARK -- Obinna Ekezie wants to make a splash in the NBA draft in June.First, he must jump in the pool. For Ekezie, who was Maryland's center, the swim he takes three or four times a week in the Campus Recreation Center is far more than a dip. It's therapy to strengthen his right foot and the Achilles' tendon he ruptured at practice Feb. 11.The injury abruptly ended the senior's college basketball career and assured that he'd spend the months preceding...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Maryland's hopes for a memorable March were dealt a crushing blow Tuesday evening, when senior center Obinna Ekezie ruptured his right Achilles' tendon, ending his college career.A 6-foot-10, 262-pounder from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Ekezie was injured doing a drop-step move near the end of practice at Cole Field House.Ekezie did not accompany the Terps to N.C. State. A magnetic resonance imaging performed at Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park confirmed the severity of the injury, and he will undergo surgery at 3 p.m. today at University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

It has been 34 days since they put an extension on the operating table at Kernan Hospital in Baltimore. The patient: Obinna Ekezie, the 6-foot-10 basketball center for the University of Maryland.Upright, Ekezie engaged opponents on the court. Prone, he challenged surgeons who repaired the ruptured Achilles' tendon that ended the 23-year-old's college career last month.How bad was Ekezie's injury?"It looked like a rope that had been pulled apart in a tug-of-war," said Dr. Leigh Ann Curl, the Terrapins' team physician, who performed the operation.

NEW YORK -- Another season ended in heartbreak yesterday for Knicks captain Patrick Ewing, who will be sidelined with a partial tear of his long-aching Achilles' tendon.The aging center suffered the injury before Tuesday night's playoff game against the Indiana Pacers -- a contest that ended with Ewing missing what would have been a game-tying basket."It's frustrating to work so hard and be so close to something I've dreamed about for so many years," Ewing said. "To not be able to be on the floor to help my teammates is very frustrating and disappointing."

Brewers: Jim Lefebvre will join the team today in Houston as the new hitting coach.Expos: Many of the crowd of 21,804 were accompanied by their canine companions for the team's Dog Day promotion, which TC drew a total of 757 dogs and featured a pre-game parade of the dogs and their owners on the field.Mets: Todd Hundley ended a streak of six consecutive strikeouts with a sacrifice fly in the third. Mike Piazza completed a 6-for-12 series in Denver.Padres: Tony Gwynn ran before the game but isn't quite ready to return from his strained left Achilles' tendon.

Ben Cavil knows how anonymously an offensive lineman lives on the field. Sale Isaia knows all too well how quickly that luxury can vanish.Cavil's chances at winning the starting left guard position rose yesterday, at the terrible expense of Isaia, whose injury-marred career with the Ravens may be over.Tests revealed Isaia has a torn left Achilles' tendon, knocking him out of action for the 1998 season and dealing him his second devastating injury in as many training camps. Last year on the first day of camp, he went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Mets: Hideo Nomo went 2-for-4, both singles. He threw his NL-leading 13th wild pitch in the fifth inning. Lenny Harris' homer was the second leading off a game for New York this season. Edgardo Alfonzo did it April 16 against the Cubs.Padres: Tony Gwynn, sidelined since Aug. 13 because of an inflamed left Achilles' tendon, took batting practice. Manager Bruce Bochy said the All-Star right fielder will return on Friday when Montreal visits San Diego. Left-hander Stan Spencer will make his major-league debut Thursday.

A FEW DAYS ago, I was drawn, for a reason I did not immediately understand, to read Homer's ''Iliad'' again. As I reached the ending, where Achilles, having heaped abuse on the body of his fallen enemy, Hector, slowly finds the humanity in himself to give the corpse back to Priam, Hector's grieving father, I was deeply moved.Those words written thousands of years ago brought to life that warrior who was able to repress his rage and recognize the pain of others, those parents finally able to touch the white bones of their child and honor his existence and his passing away.

On the field: Catcher Lenny Webster had a rough second inning. He permitted Craig Counsell's first career stolen base, then was struck on the left knee by a foul tip from Florida's Al Leiter. Webster lay face-down in the batter's box while trainer Richie Bancells attended to him. Webster stayed in the game, adding his knee to the list of ailments that includes his left shoulder and Achilles' tendon.In the dugout: Manager Davey Johnson gave Chris Hoiles the night off to rest a sore right Achilles' tendon, saying he needs the catcher to be ready for the series in New York.

Outfielder Nolan Reimold's first big league season, and most likely his chances of becoming American League Rookie of the Year, ended Friday, when he was placed on the 15-day disabled list. He will have surgery in Baltimore on Wednesday to repair the Achilles tendon in his left heel and will be sidelined for three to four months. Reimold, who leads all AL rookies in homers (15), on-base percentage (.365) and slugging percentage (.466), is hopeful that he will be ready for the start of spring training in February.

The British Open has been over for a couple of days, and Tom Watson is probably home taking a blowtorch to his 8-iron, but I'm still sitting exactly in the same position I was when he overshot the green at 18 and came up just short of what would have been one of the most amazing feats in the history of professional sports. I'd like to say I'm still sitting here in front of the television in disbelief, waiting for one of the SportsCenter replays to show he actually made that 9-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the tournament.

After receiving only one at-bat since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk last Sunday, Alex Cintron made his first start at shortstop for the Orioles last night. He celebrated by going 4-for-4 from the ninth spot in the order. Cintron, who singled in all four trips to the plate, signed a minor league deal with the Orioles on Opening Day, after the Chicago Cubs released him, and batted .288 in 16 games with the Tides. "It's tough decisions you have to make in life," he said. "I think it was good to go down there [Norfolk]

From the pickup basketball player to the motivated marathoner, all who exercise can suffer the agony of the feet. Here are the most common injuries: Plantar fasciitis Any activity that involves jumping, plus sudden stops and starts, can lead to plantar fasciitis. This overstretching of the ligament that runs from the heel to the ball of the foot, straight through the arch, affects about 14 percent of men and women ages 18 to 60, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association.

NEW YORK -- The phone rang and Ted Theos heard the voice of trainer Mike Trombetta. "My friend," Trombetta said, "if you want to win the Gotham, you're going to have to do it from the 10th hole." Theos laughed, recalling the conversation about tomorrow's $200,000, Grade III Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct and Sweetnorthern- saint, the thoroughbred he co-owns with fellow Baltimore resident Joseph Balsamo. "Four months ago, if you would have told me we'd be doing this [competing in a Triple Crown prep race]

COLLEGE PARK - The Maryland's women's basketball season received a major setback yesterday when it was learned that 6-foot-4 freshman forward Laura Harper will be lost for the rest of the season with an Achilles' tendon injury in her left ankle. Harper, the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading rebounder (9.8 a game) and the team's third-leading scorer (13.2), suffered the injury in practice Monday night, coach Brenda Frese announced last night. Harper will undergo surgery later this week.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Courtney Kupets may have torn her Achilles' tendon last summer, but she didn't show weakness in her heel or anywhere else last night at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. The reigning all-around national champion from Gaithersburg led all 32 competitors, completing her four routines with a total score of 38.225, and winning the balance beam. "I was confident," Kupets said, beaming. "Right now, winning nationals isn't as important as doing all my routines cleanly ... but who wouldn't want it?"

At the start of Troy, King Agamemnon (Brian Cox), unifier of the Greeks, must cajole Brad Pitt's Achilles out of his tent to engage in single-warrior combat against a giant Thessalian. I kept thinking not of Homer, but how difficult it was to get Marilyn Monroe out of her trailer on the desert locations of The Misfits. This handsome and occasionally exciting movie flounders because it confuses Tinseltown glamour with legendary heroism and beauty. Brad Pitt creates an amazing smudge-free image but no mystery - except, perhaps, "What is his workout regimen?"

What causes Achilles tendinitis, and how do I know if I have it? If you're a runner (or play a sport that involves significant running) and have chronic Achilles pain, there is a good chance it is tendinitis. Tight calf muscles, poor running biomechanics and bad footwear are likely to blame. Properly fitted shoes and orthotics (if necessary) should correct any biomechanics problems like over-pronation. To be fitted for the right shoes, visit a specialty running shop. Also be sure to stretch your calves, particularly after exercise when your muscles are warm.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Orioles first baseman David Segui left last night's exhibition game against the NewYork Mets after two innings with a strained right Achilles' tendon. Segui, who was serving as the designated hitter, grounded out in his only at-bat in the Orioles' 6-3 victory over the New York Mets. He apparently suffered the injury earlier in the week and aggravated it last night running to first. "David hurt his ankle a little bit and we just took him out as a precaution," manager Mike Hargrove said.