Cassell

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- UMBC coach Earl Hawkins said i would take a solid game from the guards for the Retrievers to have a shot against No. 18 Florida State last night.Hawkins got the solid guard play that he wanted but in the person of Baltimore native and Florida State point man Sam Cassell of Dunbar, who burned UMBC for 31 points in a 109-80 romp.The loss was the Retrievers' second straight, both against Top 25 teams."How do you stop a guy like that?" Hawkins asked. "When somebody on the other team is shooting and passing like that, you know you're in for a long night."

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tulane coach Perry Clark had it all figured out. Stop the Florida State running game and shut the 11th-ranked Seminoles down at the three-point line and the Green Wave just might get past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.In theory, it sounded great. In reality, it couldn't be done. The Seminoles shot from anywhere they wanted and ran away with an easy 94-63 victory yesterday in the Southeast Regional at the Orlando Arena.Former Dunbar High star Sam Cassell went 7-for-7 from the three-point line and scored a game-high 31 points as Florida State broke away late in the first half and blew away the Green Wave in the early minutes of the second.

WASHINGTON - On the day after the hullabaloo about whether he will play next season subsided, Michael Jordan poured in 34 points and played 26 minutes last night, leading the Washington Wizards to an important 107-98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at MCI Center. Combined with Indiana's defeat at Orlando, the playoff-hopeful Wizards moved within 1 1/2 games of the Pacers in the race for the final Eastern Conference berth. Jordan underwent surgery on his right knee Feb. 27 and has played sparingly - not starting at all - since being re-activated 11 days ago. This was the breakthrough game for Jordan since he returned from the injury, as Washington capitalized on the exploits of the most famous bench member of the NBA and the Bucks' frustrations with the officials, which led to the second-half ejections of both guard Sam Cassell and forward Glenn Robinson.

At about 10:45 last night, an obviously excited Evers Burns answered the phone at his Woodlawn home, then seconds later put the caller on hold."Can you hold on a second?" Burns said anxiously, clicking over pTC to the other line for a moment. He was apologetic when he returned to the original caller."Oh, I'm sorry," Burns said. "I still haven't heard from Sacramento."But the Sacramento Kings obviously had heard about and seen enough of Burns. They selected the 6-foot-8, 260-pound forward with their second-round pick -- the 30th overall -- in last night's NBA draft in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Senior goalie Brittany Cassell has helped the Harford Tech girls soccer team become one of the county's biggest surprise teams this fall. The Cobras went from being one of the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference's worst last year to clinching the Susquehanna Division championship Monday with a 4-1 victory over Edgewood. Cassell, in her second year as a starter, has been a soccer player since elementary school. She also loves working on cars. She is the only girl in the Automotive Technology program at Harford Tech and spends about half of each day at school working on cars.

Oliver Cassell's health was in jeopardy. He had become obsessed with drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. He was grumpy and always on the edge. But seven years ago, he quit both bad habits and searched for a less harmful way to release energy."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- From the upper floors of the place that Sam Cassell calls home these days, there's a spectacular view of the New York skyline. In an area where traffic jams are a daily nuisance, Cassell's commute might take a minute. Two minutes tops.Still, even with the impressive view and the convenient commute, living in a hotel is a drag. Cassell knows. Playing on his third team this season, Cassell -- currently wearing the uniform of the New Jersey Nets -- has been living out of hotels for nearly four months.

MINNEAPOLIS - If being named an All-Star was the biggest thing to happen in the basketball life of Sam Cassell, you could hardly tell by his reaction. Cassell, the Minnesota Timberwolves' 6-foot-3 point guard, was as nonchalant as possible about his selection as a reserve on the Western Conference team for the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles. "So be it. It's over. I've got a game to think of tonight," Cassell said before the Timberwolves played the Orlando Magic at the Target Center.

Frostburg State University student Joan Ann Charlton was last seen alive early one morning in 1983 as she left a campus party and headed toward her dormitory. The next day, the 19-year- old was found stabbed to death, her nude body discovered by Maryland State Police along a creek that runs through an isolated patch of woods at the college in Western Maryland. Police initially had two suspects, but leads vanished and the investigation sputtered. In the 17 years since that time, the file passed from investigator to investigator, until it was boxed up and packed away.

LOS ANGELES - Yesterday was just another day at the Southern California beach for Sam Cassell, with the usual drill, including hosting the family and playing point guard in the NBA All-Star Game. Cassell (Dunbar), selected as a reserve for the Western Conference squad, said he spent the morning and afternoon relaxing with his family before coming to Staples Center for last night's game. The hoopla of being the second-oldest first-time All-Star in league history rolled off Cassell's back easily.