Bears

Rogers Barnes knew it was going to be a good afternoon when he scored Morgan State's first 16 points yesterday against North Carolina A&T, topping his previous career high of 13 in the game's opening 13 minutes. Barnes finished with 24 points, Reggie Holmes added 26 and the Bears were never threatened in the 73-62 victory in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference matchup. After Wednesday's historic win over Maryland, Morgan State kept its momentum by dominating both ends of the floor. "I felt like I had to come out aggressive because it was a conference game," Barnes said.

Stephanie Speierman's 17 strikeouts led Hammond's softball team to a 2-1 win over visiting Long Reach yesterday. The victory puts the No. 5 Bears (17-1) into the Howard County championship game, in which they will host Glenelg tomorrow at 4 p.m. Speierman's 17 strikeouts give her a county-record 321 for the season. She broke her record of 283, which she set last season as a freshman. Boys lacrosse Carver 15, Douglass 1 -- Maurice Washington scored seven goals to lead the Bears (10-1)

Chad Simpson's anguished face told the story of lost opportunity. His throbbing left ankle told the story of true grit. Not even a school rushing record could take away that pain after Morgan State skidded to the precipice of another losing season last night. Despite Simpson's 215-yard rushing performance, the Bears stumbled to a 24-16 loss to Norfolk State before an announced 5,736 at Hughes Stadium. Morgan State@South Carolina State Saturday, 1:30 p.m., 88.9 FM

Moves Auto racing NASCAR -- Fined Busch Series crew chiefs Doug Chouinard, of No. 03 Toyota, and Chuck Meyers, of No. 1 Chevrolet, for rule violations discovered before Gateway 250 on July 21. Baseball ATHLETICS -- Placed SS Bobby Crosby on 15-day DL. Recalled IF Donnie Murphy from Triple-A Sacramento. BREWERS -- Acquired P Scott Linebrink from Padres for P Joe Thatcher, P Will Inman and P Steve Garrison. Activated OF Bill Hall from 15-day DL. Optioned OF Tony Gwynn Jr. to Triple-A Nashville.

In Chicago and in San Diego, it came down to field goals. The Bears made theirs, but the Chargers came up short, and that was the difference in yesterday's divisional playoff games. With a 27-24 overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks, the Bears moved into the NFC championship game. The AFC's top-seeded Chargers fell to New England, 24-21, putting the Patriots into the conference title game. The Chargers had a last chance to tie the game, but Nate Kaeding's 54-yard kick didn't have the distance.

Moves Baseball ASTROS -- Designated 3B Morgan Ensberg for assignment. Recalled P Mark McLemore from Triple-A Round Rock. CARDINALS -- Activated IF Scott Spiezio from 15-day DL. Optioned P Brian Falkenborg to Triple-A Memphis. DEVIL RAYS -- Recalled IF Ben Zobrist from Triple-A Durham. METS -- Designated P Jon Adkins for assignment. Recalled former Oriole IF David Newhan. Purchased contract of C Mike DiFelice from Triple-A New Orleans. Optioned P Mike Pelfrey to New Orleans. PIRATES -- Recalled P Jonah Bayliss from Triple-A Indianapolis.

The Chicago Bears caught it all this season - injuries, a quarterback controversy, a tougher schedule and the dreaded Super Bowl jinx. When the defending NFC champions slipped to 1-3 yesterday with a bizarre 37-27 loss to the Detroit Lions, they were merely following a script that has afflicted several previous Super Bowl losers. Six of the past eight teams that lost the Super Bowl didn't reach the playoffs the next season. Roll call includes the Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons.

Lions (4-2) @ Bears (3-4) -- The Lions appear to be the only team in position to challenge the Packers in the NFC North. Giants (5-2) vs. Dolphins (0-7) in London -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would like to send a Super Bowl to London someday, but this mismatch may persuade the Brits to stick with their brand of football.

When a 300-pound black bear breaks into your mountain cabin, eats your cookies and raids your refrigerator, you have several options.You could call state wildlife authorities and ask them to please come pick up the errant bear and carry him away to the real wilderness. Or, you could demand that they blast the burglarious bruin into the next life.But increasingly, wildlife managers and police officials are trying a third option -- turning the bear's visit into such a waking nightmare that it will forever after link people with fear, not food.

Frustration from a second-half collapse led Morgan State forward Rasheed Sparks to his final act last night against Coppin State. The game just over, Sparks grabbed the basketball and heaved it about 10 rows into the crowd behind the east basket.An overflow crowd of 5,022 crammed Hill Field House to watch Morgan State make a statement. A win would have clinched the second seed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament and given the Bears a regular-season sweep over their biggest rival for the first time in a decade.

There were few secrets Saturday between Morgan State and visiting North Carolina A&T. Not with former Bears coaches Alonzo Lee and Chennis Berry standing on the opposite sideline as the Aggies' first-year head coach and offensive coordinator, respectively. So for the better part of three hours, each team successfully snuffed out what the other does best on both sides of the ball. It was special teams, however, that ultimately made the difference in Morgan's 7-6 win before an announced 12,045 on Homecoming Day at Hughes Stadium.

When it comes to Jermaine Bolden, Morgan State's fireplug point guard, appearances can be, and often are, deceiving. The player known on campus as "Itchy" is listed generously at 5 feet 9 (generous by perhaps 2 inches) and 175 pounds, which is a shadow of the 199 pounds he said he weighed at the end of last season. As Bears assistant Kevin McClain noted yesterday: "He moves slow and looks like he's old, but he's in great shape." This week, the Bears are headed to Kansas City, Mo., for their first NCAA Division I tournament in school history, an accomplishment attributable in large measure to Bolden's evolving game in the backcourt.

Morgan State 74, Howard 69 - Marquise Kately scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and Reggie Holmes added 10 after intermission to lead the visiting Bears to a win over the Bison in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game at Burr Gymnasium. The victory was the seventh straight for the first-place Bears (17-10, 11-2). The Bison (7-19, 5-7) dropped their third straight. The game was competitive throughout. Morgan State shot 50 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes to take a 37-30 lead at the half.

Bethune-Cookman's defensive strategy against the potent Morgan State offense wasn't too hard to figure out last night at Hill Field House. The Wildcats wanted to slow the pace to a crawl. That plan worked for much of the game. Bethune-Cookman clogged the lane and stopped Morgan State from running. But the Bears stayed patient and ground out a 55-44 victory in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game. Morgan State (16-10, 10-2) won its sixth straight, helping it move closer to a second straight regular-season title.

Morgan State 66, South Carolina State 56 -The Bears got 19 points from Marquise Kately and 15 points from Reggie Holmes to send the host Bulldogs to defeat last night. After South Carolina State (10-12, 5-5) took a 16-9 lead, Morgan State (14-10, 8-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) went on a 9-2 run, sparked by Kately's jumper, to tie the score at 18 with 9:20 left in the first half. Holmes hit a jumper with 4:18 left to give the Bears their first lead of the night, at 26-25. Down 31-30 at halftime, Morgan State ran out to a 58-48 lead on a three-pointer by Holmes with 4:53 left.

Rogers Barnes knew it was going to be a good afternoon when he scored Morgan State's first 16 points yesterday against North Carolina A&T, topping his previous career high of 13 in the game's opening 13 minutes. Barnes finished with 24 points, Reggie Holmes added 26 and the Bears were never threatened in the 73-62 victory in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference matchup. After Wednesday's historic win over Maryland, Morgan State kept its momentum by dominating both ends of the floor. "I felt like I had to come out aggressive because it was a conference game," Barnes said.

Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal with 11:28 left in overtime and the host Chicago Bears overcame frigid conditions and the Green Bay Packers for a 20-17 victory last night to stay in the running for the playoffs. Chicago's Alex Brown blocked Mason Crosby's 38-yard field-goal try with 18 seconds left to preserve a 17-17 tie and send the game into overtime. The temperature at Soldier Field was announced at 2 degrees, making it the coldest home game in Bears history since records started being kept in 1963.

Morgan State's game plan against UMBC last night wasn't very complicated - the Bears simply wanted to make sure the Retrievers didn't get on a roll. That plan worked to perfection as Morgan State held UMBC to 20 field goals and 37 percent shooting. The Bears dictated the pace, stayed in command and never trailed en route to a 67-60 victory last night before 1,461 in their home opener at Hill Field House. Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman said the Bears wanted to keep a watchful eye on UMBC point guard Jay Greene, ranked fourth in the nation last year in assists per game.

Torrential rains ended just in time yesterday for host Morgan State to see its slim chances for a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship wash away. The host Bears managed just 133 yards of offense and committed four turnovers in a 32-0 loss to South Carolina State. The win clinched the MEAC title for the Bulldogs (9-2, 7-0 MEAC), who extended their winning streak to seven. It's their first outright conference championship since 1994. The Bears (6-5, 4-3), who entered the game tied for second place in the conference, needed to win their final two games and have South Carolina State lose its season finale to North Carolina A&T to have any chance at claiming their first MEAC title since 1979.

Memories of last season's heartbreaking loss to Delaware State were still etched in the minds of many of Morgan State's players and coaches when the teams met yesterday for the Bears' homecoming. In that game, the Hornets stunned Morgan State with a 100-yard fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winning touchdown. The Bears exorcised that game from their minds yesterday by playing mistake-free in a 20-3 victory over the defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions before an announced 6,312.