Action Packed

Sometimes, less is more. Tonight's episode clocked in at a brisk 50 minutes -- and it was one of the best episodes of the season. Even with the laughable introduction of a mysterious scroll. Dun-dun-dun! With just two more episodes to go, this episode was clearly a transition to the usually action-packed last two "True Bloods" of the season. It was fast-paced, often funny and didn't tie up any loose ends. And, shockingly, it was even heartfelt. What's going on at the Authority?

Vin Diesel might be a better video game star than Hollywood celebrity. His latest movie, The Chronicles of Riddick, has gotten mediocre reviews, but the new Xbox game starring his Riddick character is superb. Vivendi Universal's The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay ($49, rated for ages 17 and up) takes place before the first movie in the Riddick series, Pitch Black. The game opens with a captured Riddick being flown to Butcher Bay prison, a sort of intergalactic Alcatraz.

College lacrosse is beginning - albeit slowly - to regain its reputation as the fastest sport on two feet. New rules implemented in the offseason to accelerate the pace of play aren't showing up in the numbers. But anecdotally, what had devolved at times into a slow-plodding, low-scoring slog is turning into a fast-paced, action-packed thriller. "I think they're the best thing to ever happen to the game, to be honest with you," Denver coach Bill Tierney said. "The [NCAA] rules committee took charge of their charge, so to speak, and realized that the game was not getting any better.

A perfect Opening Day question is "Who's on first?" Action Packed begins the season and closes its second baseball set with a card featuring the Abbott and Costello routine. All Star Gallery II has 84 cards, including Babe Ruth, Brooks Robinson and Jimmie Foxx. There are no factory sets.

Deja Vu is a misnomer. This elaborate, action-packed thriller centers on a cutting-edge FBI surveillance unit that enlists ATF agent Denzel Washington to solve the bombing of a jammed New Orleans ferry. The film is tense and engrossing. But it lacks exactly what the title advertises: the sense of inexplicable familiarity that should haunt you as the story unfolds and leave you all a-tingle when it ends. Deja vu (Touchstone) Starring Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Jim Caviezel, Val Kilmer, Adam Goldberg.

Talen Watson scored 26 points and Sheronne Vails had 14 points, three steals and two blocks, while Briana McKellery added six points and 13 rebounds, as No. 11 Arundel (8-2) upset No. 5 Seton Keough (8-6), 58-53 on Monday night. "This was an action-packed game," said Arundel's assistant coach, Donna McGowan. "We came out strong defensively at the beginning, had a lapse in the second quarter but finished strong." No. 7 River Hill 74, Atholton 48:: Senior guard Shantrel Oliver had 26 points and seven assists as the Hawks (10-1)

People who play in fantasy sports leagues have their own magazines, cable TV shows, radio shows and computer hookups. Soon they'll have football cards, too.Action Packed has a little high-tech fun with its 42-card "Fantasy Forecast" subset. The card back presents pertinent statistics and an analysis of the player's career. The card front shows the player in action and a football in the corner covered with heat sensitive ink. Touching the football reveals Action Packed's draft advice.It's all part of Action Packed's 204-card 1994 NFL set. The 120 basic cards feature a streamlined design, borderless with the player's name in gold.

The long-promised catalog still isn't ready, but fans of the Colorado Silver Bullets can buy merchandise by phone as well as at the ballpark.In April and early May, a fairly limited assortment of items was selling briskly at the team's training headquarters in Winter Haven, Fla."We can't keep shirts in stock," assistant general manager Kevin Lewis said last month. He said the biggest sellers were shirts, which were on their third shipment, and pen bats.Lewis said that the players were a hit with high school players attending a baseball camp in Orlando, Fla., during spring break when the Silver Bullets were practicing at Tinker Field there.

The NFL season begins in four weeks, but for football card collectors the season is in full swing.Fleer had its cards out before baseball's All-Star break, and collectors will have more lines to choose from this month.Stadium Club, Action Packed, Upper Deck and SkyBox's Impact are scheduled for release this month. Only Stadium Club will be produced in two series. Upper Deck and Impact have rookie exchange insert cards.Topps' Stadium Club will have 500 cards in two series. Both series feature 1993 draft picks.

To assess the size and condition of the sports card market, Action Packed again commissioned a national survey. NPD Group of Park Ridge, Ill., polled its 45,000 sample households, and concluded that there were fewer people spending less money on trading cards.Joe Bosley of The Old Ball Game in Reisterstown says, for the price of a phone call, he could have told Action Packed the same thing. "Most card dealers will tell you their business is off from a year ago," he says.This is Action Packed's third survey.