Bears

CHICAGO -- Chicago Bears president Michael McCaskey spoke with Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt by telephone yesterday about the Bears' head-coaching position.McCaskey first received permission to talk with Wannstedt from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.Dallas travels to San Francisco for Sunday's National Football Conference Championship game.Washington Redskins assistant Petitbon said yesterday he was expecting a call from the Bears. McCaskey would neither confirm nor deny any contact with Petitbon last night.

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.

This past June, my wife and I walked with bears. We flew to Anchorage, Alaska, and then to Kodiak Island. There, we took a seaplane to Katmai National Park and Preserve. Wearing hip boots, we waded ashore led by our guide, who claimed in 15 years she "had never lost anybody." The Kodiak brown bears were feasting on clams. The bear in the picture walked over to check us out. He stopped 20 feet from us, but decided we were of no importance. Other bears did not even bother to acknowledge our presence.

There were tears anyway.Even though No. 1-ranked Hammond won its second state Class 2A title in three years yesterday at UMBC.Even though the Golden Bears beat defending champ Middletown, 59-41, to avenge last year's title-game loss and snap the Knights' 50-game winning streak.Even though they concluded a 24-1 season that was their best ever and included their first Howard County title and their first No. 1 ranking.Still, the tears flowed in the locker room, especially for seniors Kacy Williams and Sonia Keiner, who have been friends since kindergarten and starting teammates since their freshman year.

The rejuvenation of the Morgan State Bears ended abruptly last night at Hill Field House.An experienced, well-drilled Bethune-Cookman team supplied the dose of reality, ending Morgan's three-game winning streak, 87-67, before 3,547 fans.The Bears were in serious contention for about 14 minutes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game before a team that gave Coppin State trouble two nights earlier took firm and unwavering control."What can I say?" Bears coach Lynn Ramage asked rhetorically.

No. 5 Hammond handed No. 7 Oakland Mills a double dose of revenge yesterday with a 3-1 victory in a Class 1A-2A South regional girls soccer semifinal.Not only did the Golden Bears (10-3) pay back the host Scorpions for last year's regional final 1-0 shootout loss, they also avenged last Friday's regular-season 3-1 loss.Hammond's come-from-behind victory yesterday toppled the defending Class 1A-2A champs, but the Scorpions (9-3-1) know how that feels. Last year, the Bears were the defending champs when the Scorpions dethroned them.

After years of trying to become the No. 1 Howard County wrestling squad, Hammond finally is solidly on top.But after years of chasing Oakland Mills, Bears coach Bill Smith says it sounds strange to hear other coaches speak of his team as the one to beat.Hammond (13-1, 7-0) won both the county dual-meet and tournament titles last season -- the first tournament title in school history. The Bears also finished second in the region and 10th in the state.And the Bears return 11 wrestlers, at least 10 of whom will start this season.

CHICAGO -- It was a big-game situation every young bo dreams about.Fourth-down-and-goal on the 6-yard line.Five seconds left. Trailing by four points.Playing against the defending division champions on opening day.Jim Harbaugh and Tom Waddle enacted the dream yesterday, hooking up on a last-second, 6-yard touchdown pass to salvage a 27-24 Chicago Bears victory over the stunned Detroit Lions at Soldier Field.The call in the huddle was "13-wing Jet," the same play that Harbaugh and Waddle collaborated on to beat the New Orleans Saints Oct. 27 in the Superdome.

Although he acknowledged contact with both the Chicago Bears and Houston Oilers in recent months, Maryland Stadium Authority chairman John Moag said he does not consider either team a likely candidate for relocation to Baltimore.Both teams have said they need to improve their stadiums and would consider moving if necessary. Bears officials have said their first choice is the Chicago area, but they have considered two other cities they would not name.Oilers owner Bud Adams has signed an exclusive negotiating agreement with Nashville, Tenn.

Hammond and Wilde Lake ended up in the same place, today's state girls basketball tournament at UMBC, but they took different approaches to getting there.From the beginning, the defending Class 2A champ Golden Bears expected to be there -- especially four-year veterans Tiki Nicholson and Tameka Harrison, who never have ended a season short of the state title game."They just expect to win," said Hammond coach Joe Russo. "That's something that's self-driven especially the two seniors because they've been there.