Charlie Ward

COLLEGE PARK -- One week before its "game of the century" against Notre Dame, Florida State came to Maryland last October with a No. 1 ranking and a "get it over with" attitude. jTC Apathy ran high among the Seminoles, with one exception: It was the biggest game of the year for Danny Kanell.It was Kanell's turn at second-team quarterback when Florida State came to Maryland last year, so he got the start when coach Bobby Bowden decided to rest Charlie Ward."Some of our guys were overlooking Maryland," Kanell said, "but I know I did all I could.

Baseball Blue Jays: Named Gil Patterson bullpen coach. Brewers: Released former Orioles OF Lyle Mouton. Cubs: Released P Jerry Spradlin, P Ben Ford, P Micah Bowie and C Jose Molina. Devil Rays: Released P Jim Morris, P Jeff Sparks, IF Miguel Cairo, OF Quinton McCracken and OF Ozzie Timmons. Designated P Cedric Bowers for assignment. Marlins: Traded IF Amaury Garcia to White Sox for player to be named. Sent P Joe Fontenot outright to Triple-A Calgary. Rockies: Promoted Alan Cockrell to roving hitting instructor.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- According to Maryland players and coaches, Florida State's Charlie Ward is not only one of the best players in the country, but he is also perhaps the sport's best athlete.Ward, a junior and the point guard for the school's basketball team, compiled 478 yards of total offense in the Seminoles' 69-21 win over the Terps yesterday.Ward was nearly unstoppable, completing 26 of 37 passes for 395 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 83 yards.After the game, Maryland coach Mark Duffner made sure he congratulated Ward.

Tommy Polley has barely entered his living room after another football practice, and the phone is ringing before he can crack open a school book or a soda. Another stack of mail is placed on the table. Polley tries to keep track of all the recruiters, but it's hard when almost every college in the country wants Dunbar High's two-sport phenom.And Polley, a potential high school All-American in football and basketball, should expect the demands on his time to increase in the future."The sports overlap," said Charlie Ward, the former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and point guard at Florida State.

MIAMI -- It's not every senior quarterback who asks a freshman to be his roommate during a Heisman Trophy campaign. And it's not every freshman who responds to a personal tragedy by leading his team in touchdowns as it pursues its first national championship.On and off the field, Charlie Ward and Warrick Dunn make quite a pair -- Ward at quarterback, Dunn at tailback, Ward the $H guardian angel, Dunn the eager disciple. Dunn arrived at Florida State reeling from the loss of his mother. Ward became the older brother he needed, the older brother he never had."

MIAMI -- Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward spent the better part of December doing everything but playing football. He went to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremonies -- he won -- and made it back to Tallahassee, Fla., in time for graduation."

ATLANTA -- Charlie Ward's return to the Florida State basketball team will be put off a few days, Seminoles coach Pat Kennedy said during yesterday's Atlantic Coast Conference weekly teleconference.The Heisman Trophy quarterback and starting point guard was expected back for Florida State's game against Maryland a week from tonight in College Park, but now it appears he won't play until a week from Saturday against North Carolina State.Ward's return was delayed by a bruised left shoulder suffered in the Seminoles' 18-16 Orange Bowl win over Nebraska.

Even as Charlie Ward prepares for a basketball future, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers cling to the belief they can persuade the Florida State quarterback to go Canadian.When the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner went undrafted by the NFL in this week's seven-round college lottery, it gave hope to the Blue Bombers, who own Canadian Football League rights to Ward. So far, they're rejecting inquiries about Ward's availability."We're serious, we're not entertaining any offers for him," Cal Murphy, the team's general manager and coach, told the Winnipeg Free Press.

Baseball Blue Jays: Named Gil Patterson bullpen coach. Brewers: Released former Orioles OF Lyle Mouton. Cubs: Released P Jerry Spradlin, P Ben Ford, P Micah Bowie and C Jose Molina. Devil Rays: Released P Jim Morris, P Jeff Sparks, IF Miguel Cairo, OF Quinton McCracken and OF Ozzie Timmons. Designated P Cedric Bowers for assignment. Marlins: Traded IF Amaury Garcia to White Sox for player to be named. Sent P Joe Fontenot outright to Triple-A Calgary. Rockies: Promoted Alan Cockrell to roving hitting instructor.

MIAMI -- Bobby Bowden, a man who delights in creating all kinds of havoc with his Florida State offense, was reluctant to take the next step.Reluctant to turn the offense over totally to quarterback Charlie Ward, reluctant to put his precocious junior in the shotgun formation and let him wing it all the way down field.Yet, when the third-ranked Seminoles (10-1) meet 11th-ranked Nebraska (9-2) in tonight's 59th annual Orange Bowl, the pressing question of the evening will be whether the Cornhuskers can stand up to that high-powered shotgun offense.

Fact: Five of the 12 teams in the CFL are having financial problems or contemplating moving (Ottawa, Hamilton, Las Vegas, Shreveport, Sacramento).Opinion: Baltimore and the NFL: a league without a team. Baltimore and the CFL: a team without a league.Fact: The past five Heisman Trophy winners -- Andre Ware, Ty Detmer, Desmond Howard, Gino Torretta and Charlie Ward -- have barely registered a blip in the NFL.Opinion: Upset special on Saturday: Auburn 23, Florida 20. (And Michigan 21, Penn State 16.)

COLLEGE PARK -- One week before its "game of the century" against Notre Dame, Florida State came to Maryland last October with a No. 1 ranking and a "get it over with" attitude. jTC Apathy ran high among the Seminoles, with one exception: It was the biggest game of the year for Danny Kanell.It was Kanell's turn at second-team quarterback when Florida State came to Maryland last year, so he got the start when coach Bobby Bowden decided to rest Charlie Ward."Some of our guys were overlooking Maryland," Kanell said, "but I know I did all I could.

Even as Charlie Ward prepares for a basketball future, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers cling to the belief they can persuade the Florida State quarterback to go Canadian.When the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner went undrafted by the NFL in this week's seven-round college lottery, it gave hope to the Blue Bombers, who own Canadian Football League rights to Ward. So far, they're rejecting inquiries about Ward's availability."We're serious, we're not entertaining any offers for him," Cal Murphy, the team's general manager and coach, told the Winnipeg Free Press.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Heath Shuler and Trent Dilfer, the two quarterbacks drafted among the first six picks Sunday, were the talk of the first day of the NFL draft.Charlie Ward, the quarterback who wasn't drafted, was the talk of the second day of the draft yesterday.Ward, last year's Heisman Trophy winner from Florida State, was snubbed, as only nine of the 222 players selected in the 14-hour, 59-minute draft were quarterbacks.Those selected included C. W. Post's Perry Klein -- who went on the 111th selection to the Atlanta Falcons and was the third one selected -- and Tulsa's Gus Frerotte, who was once a backup to T. J. Rubley and went to the Washington Redskins.

ATLANTA -- Charlie Ward's return to the Florida State basketball team will be put off a few days, Seminoles coach Pat Kennedy said during yesterday's Atlantic Coast Conference weekly teleconference.The Heisman Trophy quarterback and starting point guard was expected back for Florida State's game against Maryland a week from tonight in College Park, but now it appears he won't play until a week from Saturday against North Carolina State.Ward's return was delayed by a bruised left shoulder suffered in the Seminoles' 18-16 Orange Bowl win over Nebraska.

MIAMI -- Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward spent the better part of December doing everything but playing football. He went to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremonies -- he won -- and made it back to Tallahassee, Fla., in time for graduation."

Fact: Five of the 12 teams in the CFL are having financial problems or contemplating moving (Ottawa, Hamilton, Las Vegas, Shreveport, Sacramento).Opinion: Baltimore and the NFL: a league without a team. Baltimore and the CFL: a team without a league.Fact: The past five Heisman Trophy winners -- Andre Ware, Ty Detmer, Desmond Howard, Gino Torretta and Charlie Ward -- have barely registered a blip in the NFL.Opinion: Upset special on Saturday: Auburn 23, Florida 20. (And Michigan 21, Penn State 16.)

Tommy Polley has barely entered his living room after another football practice, and the phone is ringing before he can crack open a school book or a soda. Another stack of mail is placed on the table. Polley tries to keep track of all the recruiters, but it's hard when almost every college in the country wants Dunbar High's two-sport phenom.And Polley, a potential high school All-American in football and basketball, should expect the demands on his time to increase in the future."The sports overlap," said Charlie Ward, the former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and point guard at Florida State.

MIAMI -- It's not every senior quarterback who asks a freshman to be his roommate during a Heisman Trophy campaign. And it's not every freshman who responds to a personal tragedy by leading his team in touchdowns as it pursues its first national championship.On and off the field, Charlie Ward and Warrick Dunn make quite a pair -- Ward at quarterback, Dunn at tailback, Ward the $H guardian angel, Dunn the eager disciple. Dunn arrived at Florida State reeling from the loss of his mother. Ward became the older brother he needed, the older brother he never had."

MIAMI -- Bobby Bowden, a man who delights in creating all kinds of havoc with his Florida State offense, was reluctant to take the next step.Reluctant to turn the offense over totally to quarterback Charlie Ward, reluctant to put his precocious junior in the shotgun formation and let him wing it all the way down field.Yet, when the third-ranked Seminoles (10-1) meet 11th-ranked Nebraska (9-2) in tonight's 59th annual Orange Bowl, the pressing question of the evening will be whether the Cornhuskers can stand up to that high-powered shotgun offense.