Calgary Stampeders

British Columbia LionsJuly 8, at Saskatchewan, 9:30July 15, at Ottawa, 7:30July 21, Hamilton, 10July 29, at Calgary, 9:30Aug. 3, Sacramento, 10Aug. 11, Toronto, 10Aug. 20, at Las Vegas, 11Aug. 27, Shreveport, 10Sept. 2, at Sacramento, 10:30Sept. 11, at Toronto, 1:30Sept. 17, Edmonton, 9Sept. 23, at Winnipeg, 8:30Oct. 2, at Edmonton, 3:30Oct. 8, Saskatchewan, 10Oct. 15, at Saskatchewan, 3Oct. 22 , at Baltimore, 2Oct. 29, Las Vegas, 10Nov. 5, Calgary, 10:30Calgary StampedersJuly 8, at Saskatchewan, 9:30July 15, at Baltimore, 7:30July 23, Winnipeg, 8July 29 , B.C., 9:30Aug.

Calling yourself "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" is no trivial claim, especially at a time when scores of fancy theme parks are springing up everywhere.But how many of these amusement parks have real cowboys and Indians, bucking broncos and Brahma bulls, pig dashes and chuck-wagon races -- not to mention one of the largest parades in the world?For more than 80 years, the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede, held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has been labeled the greatest outdoor show on earth -- and for good reason.

Calgary, Alberta It seems like sheer pandemonium, a scene out of an old silent, slapstick western movie. In the infield in front of the grandstand -- an oval enclosure of black dirt churned up by the hoofs of horses and cattle -- teams of horses hitched to small covered wagons and some 20 cowboys and their mounts are milling around without apparent rhyme or reason.Suddenly, at the sound of a loud, piercing horn, the horses and riders are galvanized into action. Riders mount their steeds, wagon drivers jump into their seats, and the wagons, four of them drawn by four-horse teams, cautiously maneuver around red-numbered, white-painted oil drums in a figure-eight configuration.

BaseballE9 Orioles -- Signed P Lee Smith to a one-year contract.BasketballDallas Mavericks -- Activated G-F Tony Campbell from the injury list.FootballNFL -- Named Kansas City Chiefs LB Derrick Thomas.Carolina Panthers -- Named Joe Mack, the Washington Redskins' director of pro scouting the past five seasons, as assistant general manager.CFL -- Named the Calgary Stampeders' Wally Buono Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.OlympicsNational Olympic Committee of South Africa -- Chose Cape Town as the city to be nominated to hold the 2004 Olympics.

Baltimore CFL quarterback Tracy Ham couldn't finish this game, but he vows he'll start the next one.Ham twisted his right ankle when sacked by linebacker Marvin Pope in the Calgary Stampeders' 42-16 victory over Baltimore in its CFL regular-season home opener last night before 39,247 at Memorial Stadium.Ham went out after the hit that occurred on Calgary's first possession of the fourth quarter, and didn't return. John Congemi directed the team the rest of the way.Ham made light of the injury after X-rays proved negative and he was seated on a stool in front of his locker minutes after the game.

TORONTO -- Mike Clemons took the opening kickoff 91 yards to give the Toronto Argonauts a lead they never relinquished en route to a 43-7 victory over the visiting Montreal Alouettes, formerly the Baltimore Stallions, in the Canadian Football League Eastern Conference championship game yesterday.Toronto, coached by Don Matthews, who won the Grey Cup last year with the Stallions, will play in the title game Sunday at 6: 30 p.m. in Hamilton against the Edmonton Eskimos, who beat the host Calgary Stampeders, 15-12.

Bruce McNall, owner of the Toronto Argonauts, is starting to make a habit of meeting with unsigned Washington Redskins.McNall, who recently had a dinner meeting with the team's top draft choice, Desmond Howard, in Los Angeles, met yesterday with quarterback Mark Rypien in Portland, Ore.Rypien was in Portland for a golf tournament and McNall was there for Toronto's Canadian Football League exhibition game against the Calgary Stampeders. The CFL is considering expanding to Portland.McNall, who also owns the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL, has the CFL rights to Rypien, and Calgary has the rights to Howard.

Jim Speros, the man who wants to put Baltimore on the Canadian Football League map, says he will not be dissuaded from that goal even if the Washington Redskins build a stadium in Laurel."

Rejecting job offers from two other Canadian Football League teams, Jim Popp said last night that he will remain with the Baltimore Football Club, but with a new title -- assistant general manager.Popp passed up offers to join the Calgary Stampeders and Memphis' expansion team to stay with the Eastern Division champion he helped build as director of player personnel."I weighed everything between the three CFL teams . . . and felt this place is the best for me," Popp said. "There's business that was left undone, and that's to win the Grey Cup. I feel we have a good chance of doing that."

CALGARY, Alberta -- Doug Flutie passed for 259 yards and two touchdowns yesterday to lead the Calgary Stampeders to their third trip to the Grey Cup in five years with a 37-4 rout of the Edmonton Eskimos in the Northern Division final.The Stampeders, who won 10 of 11 home games, will play the Baltimore Stallions in next Sunday's Grey Cup in Regina, Saskatchewan. Calgary won the 1992 Grey Cup and also advanced to the title game in 1991.Flutie completed 21 of 30 passes, including scoring strikes of 5 yards to David Sapunjis and 1 yard to Tony Stewart.