Afc Central

NFL playoff scenarios as provided by the league:AFC EastNew York Jets: Have clinched AFC East title and a first-round bye.Miami: Has clinched playoff berth.Buffalo: Has clinched playoff berth.New England: Has clinched playoff berth.AFC CentralJacksonville: Has clinched AFC Central title.AFC WestDenver: Has clinched AFC West title and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.NFC EastDallas: Has clinched NFC East title.Arizona: Can clinch playoff berth with a win or a N.Y. Giants loss.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Center Wally Williams did not need to be reminded. Williams vividly recalled what happened the last time the Ravens met their AFC Central rivals from Tennessee.That day of infamy was Oct. 11, and it began a midseason slide the Ravens have only begun to reverse. That game, an ugly 12-8 loss to the Oilers, featured a lousy showing on both sides -- non-stop penalties, non-existent offense.It also sparked a four-game losing streak that pretty much killed Baltimore's playoff hopes.

A realignment plan that would take Jacksonville and Tennessee out of the Ravens' division when the new Cleveland Browns enter it next year will be discussed by the owners later this month, but it probably has little chance of passing.The plan, advocated by Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, would create four four-team AFC divisions when the expansion Cleveland team enters the AFC Central.It would shift only four teams to create a new division, taking one team each from the AFC East and West to join Jacksonville and Tennessee.

Cincinnati (2-3)Sunday skinny: O'Donnell beats ex-mates with a lot of help from his friends: Pickens and Scott.Weeks ... 10/18 ..... 10/25 ... 11/14( ahead: .. at Ten. .. at Oak. .. Den.Jacksonville (4-0)Sunday skinny: Jaguars were idle. They play tonight against Miami.Weeks ... 10/18 .... 10/25 ..... 11/18, ahead: .. at Buf. .. at Den. ... at Bal.Pittsburgh (3-2)Sunday skinny: Like the Jets in 1994, the Steelers fall victim to a fake spike in the final minute.Weeks ... 10/18 ..... 10/26 .....

A new era officially begins today at 1 p.m.Hello Ravens stadium at Camden Yards. Goodbye Memorial Stadium. Meet new stars such as Ray Lewis, Jonathan Ogden and Jim Harbaugh and exorcise the ghosts of John Unitas, Lenny Moore and Art Donovan.The Ravens will begin carving out their own place in Baltimore history today when they play host to the defending AFC Central Division champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the grand opening of a $223 million stadium.Not only will such dignitaries as Gov. Parris N. Glendening, and former Gov. William Donald Schaefer be in attendance, but movie stars such as Timothy Hutton, Ving Rhames and David Schwimmer will be among the expected sellout crowd of 69,354.

The Ravens believe they are on the verge of making the NFL playoffs, and by the midpoint of the 1998 season, they should have a pretty good idea about the validity of those projections.The regular-season schedule released yesterday by the NFL shows the Ravens will be tested early and often, particularly by their AFC Central Division rivals.The team will christen its new stadium at Camden Yards at 1: 01 p.m. on Sept. 6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the reigning divisional champions who have beaten the Ravens in three of their four meetings.

If this indeed was a statement game, the Ravens made a clear one yesterday. They aren't ready for prime time.Good teams don't allow two touchdowns in the final four minutes. Playoff-caliber teams don't rush for 52 yards. Quality teams don't lose three of four fumbles and throw two interceptions.And teams trying to make names for themselves don't blow 21-point, first-half leads, which is what the Ravens did in losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, 42-34.The Ravens (3-3) gave a Memorial Stadium record crowd of 64,421 a lot to cheer about before allowing 35 second-half points in an important AFC Central game.

Maybe no one can explain the importance of today's Ravens home game with the Pittsburgh Steelers better than Ravens safety Bennie Thompson.Take it away, Bennie"Yep, this is the statement game, this is the one," said Thompson, with that old Louisiana accent. "For the old guys that came here from Cleveland, we don't like Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh doesn't like us. Some of the new guys and rookies don't understand, but they will once they get out there. There is a very physical nature to this game."

Four days before their pivotal AFC Central Division matchup against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens did not exactly hit the practice field crisply.About an hour into yesterday's workout, the team looked lethargic enough that veteran running back Earnest Byner interrupted the session, called the team together and addressed the players.Byner's agitated voice could be heard from 60 yards away. When the two-hour practice was over, offensive tackle Orlando Brown also gave the team an animated tongue-lashing.

They ended the first month of their second season with an ugly loss in San Diego, and they still have more to prove than any other NFL team with a winning record, but let's recognize the Ravens' September for what it was: a major step forward.With a 3-2 record landing them in second place in the AFC Central heading into Sunday's game against the Steelers at Memorial Stadium, the Ravens seem to have joined the NFL's great, gray midsection, where everyone is a threat to go 8-8.That might not sound like a major accomplishment, but it is for a team that won just four of 16 games last season and seemed headed in the same direction during a winless, injury-marred preseason.