Composure

Francis Scott Key often depends on its raw power at the net to rack up victories.But last night, the Eagles had to reach down for something more. Sixth-ranked Key got some offensive power, but relied more on a little tough defense and a lot of composure to defeat Colonel Richardson, 15-6, 15-11, 15-5, in a Class 1A state semifinal at Essex Community College.Key (21-1) advanced to the state championship match at 2: 30 p.m. Saturday against Williamsport at Catonsville Community College. The Eagles lost to Williamsport in last year's state championship game.

For a first-year A Conference program, St. Vincent Pallotti certainly had the game Thursday to contend with No. 1 Archbishop Spalding in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland semifinal — for a half. In a game that was tied at halftime, the No. 13 Panthers lost their composure midway through the third quarter and the host Cavaliers took advantage at the free-throw line, as Brya Freeland went 9-for-9 to fuel a 73-46 victory that sends Spalding to its second straight title game.

COLLEGE PARK - -Every game, it seems, brings a new lesson for the young Maryland women's basketball team. Earlier this week, the Terrapins had to learn how to survive when their shots weren't falling. On Thursday night, they had to figure out how to persevere after wasting a 26-point lead and repeatedly throwing the ball away. Maryland (3-0) leaned on Lynetta Kizer and Diandra Tchatchouang and pulled away for an 84-67 victory over Old Dominion in front of an announced 4,681 at Comcast Center.

COLLEGE PARK - -Every game, it seems, brings a new lesson for the young Maryland women's basketball team. Earlier this week, the Terrapins had to learn how to survive when their shots weren't falling. On Thursday night, they had to figure out how to persevere after wasting a 26-point lead and repeatedly throwing the ball away. Maryland (3-0) leaned on Lynetta Kizer and Diandra Tchatchouang and pulled away for an 84-67 victory over Old Dominion in front of an announced 4,681 at Comcast Center.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Four minutes from their first road victory of the season, the Washington Capitals collapsed yesterday, and coach Jim Schoenfeld couldn't find much consolation even from the point gained in a 3-3 tie with the New Jersey Devils."

For the 13th-ranked Liberty Lions, the toughest aspect of last night's Class 3A West regional quarterfinal wasn't keeping visiting Wheaton at bay. It was keeping their own composure.In a game featuring five yellow cards, one ejection and nearly 20 minutes of injury time, Liberty scored two goals in each half en route to a 4-0 win.Despite dominating play throughout, and outshooting the Knights, 23-4, the Lions had to contend with a young and sometimes frustrated Wheaton team that sometimes pushed the limits of aggressive play.

Skiing Mancuso takes gold in downhill, ends Clark's U.S. streak Julia Mancuso ended Kirsten Clark's four-year domination of the women's downhill at the U.S. Alpine Championships, racing to a convincing victory in Lake Placid, N.Y., over Lindsey Kildow and Jonna Mendes in 1 minute, 38.07 seconds. Steven Nyman, who barely made the Alpine B team this year, stunned the men's field. He won in 1:34.81 as three of the favorites faded. Travel-weary Bode Miller finished fourth, Jakub Fiala was seventh, and Marco Sullivan veered off the Whiteface Mountain course and failed to finish.

As a child enchanted by the spell of his gregarious grandfather, little Al D'Amato would fetch fresh drinks and empty ashtrays for the men at the Sunday card games that went on in the basement of his grandparents' Brooklyn home, while the women cooked upstairs.''I learned the ways of men and cards -- a life of bluffing, folding, smoking, bragging and losing a game without losing your composure,'' the New York senator writes in his new autobiography. ''If I stood by a winning hand, I might get a dime or a nickel or a pat on the head.

Kyle Boller played so poorly last Sunday, he likely cost himself his job as starting quarterback of the Ravens. But the composure he summoned after the game - acknowledging his errors, praising his teammates and opponents - was as inspiring as his previous three hours on the gridiron weren't. The French call it "sangfroid" - composure in the face of adversity - and it seems a rare quality these days in the realm of big-time sports, or big business or politics for that matter. Character has been a rare commodity in pro sports in Baltimore the past year, to put it mildly.

THE WORD everybody around the Orioles kept using to describe Hayden Penn was "composure." He's got plenty to spare, as it turns out, way more than most 20-year-olds, particularly 20-year-old pitchers. Good thing he had it. He needed it yesterday to keep him from falling off the line he was straddling at what should have been the end of the Tigers' fifth inning. The line was between youthful exuberance and veteran poise; what threatened to push him over in a split-second was the knowledge that the last out of the inning, the out that would have put him in position to be the winning pitcher in his major league debut, had turned into a gate-opening error.

Andrea Jackson held out as long as she could. Jackson, after learning yesterday morning that she was Baltimore's Teacher of the Year during a surprise visit from schools CEO Bonnie S. Copeland, maintained her composure during an impassioned acceptance speech, one that went on for several minutes and highlighted the virtues of the teaching profession. But appreciative words from her principal, Edward English, forced a reaction Jackson tried her best to fight. Looking at television cameras, school officials and her students, the fifth-grade teacher at Northwood Elementary broke down.

Despite throwing three touchdown passes in Sunday's playoff win in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger didn't realize what the biggest difference was from last year's playoff experience until he walked into the locker room. "I just got done giving the offensive line a big hug, and they said thanks for keeping us level-headed," he said. This was not the rattled rookie from a year ago who saw one of his interceptions returned for a touchdown in each of his two postseason games.

Kyle Boller played so poorly last Sunday, he likely cost himself his job as starting quarterback of the Ravens. But the composure he summoned after the game - acknowledging his errors, praising his teammates and opponents - was as inspiring as his previous three hours on the gridiron weren't. The French call it "sangfroid" - composure in the face of adversity - and it seems a rare quality these days in the realm of big-time sports, or big business or politics for that matter. Character has been a rare commodity in pro sports in Baltimore the past year, to put it mildly.

With the Ravens still feeling the sting of falling apart last Sunday, the message reverberating inside their locker room was to pull together as a team. The Ravens responded by unifying an oppressive defense with an opportunistic offense, a combination that knocked out the Cleveland Browns in a 16-3 victory yesterday before 70,196 at M&T Bank Stadium. Instead of throwing the ball in frustration like last Sunday, the Ravens pounced on it every time it hit the ground. Two fumble recoveries set up 10 first-half points, which was all the scoring the Ravens needed.

COLLEGE PARK - It started three plays into the game, when senior linebacker William Kershaw said something that drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Instead of enjoying a three-and-out sequence, the Maryland defense remained on the field, where it stayed until Clemson had opened with the most time-consuming touchdown drive in school history. Then the Terps kept making the sort of glaring mental mistakes that gave No. 25 Clemson second chances and made Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen turn red. And after the Terps had blown a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost, 28-24, their home opener had taken on an extra unpleasant aroma.

THE WORD everybody around the Orioles kept using to describe Hayden Penn was "composure." He's got plenty to spare, as it turns out, way more than most 20-year-olds, particularly 20-year-old pitchers. Good thing he had it. He needed it yesterday to keep him from falling off the line he was straddling at what should have been the end of the Tigers' fifth inning. The line was between youthful exuberance and veteran poise; what threatened to push him over in a split-second was the knowledge that the last out of the inning, the out that would have put him in position to be the winning pitcher in his major league debut, had turned into a gate-opening error.

Despite throwing three touchdown passes in Sunday's playoff win in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger didn't realize what the biggest difference was from last year's playoff experience until he walked into the locker room. "I just got done giving the offensive line a big hug, and they said thanks for keeping us level-headed," he said. This was not the rattled rookie from a year ago who saw one of his interceptions returned for a touchdown in each of his two postseason games.

NEW YORK - For Pete Sampras and Marat Safin, today's semifinal means more than just moving into tomorrow's final at the U.S. Open. For Sampras, who is seeded No. 10, it means continuing his rebirth that he began at this tournament. For Safin, the defending Open champ who had struggled since that victory, it means having a rebirth. Before the tournament began, Sampras, winner of four U.S. Open crowns, was under siege about when he would retire and saw countless stories about how at the age of 30 his great career was all but finished.

Last night's Baltimore County girls lacrosse championship was all about composure for No. 9 Dulaney. Each time the Lions began to pull away, No. 14 Catonsville caught up - until the middle of the second half when the Lions began to dominate possession and strike quickly in taking a 17-11 victory at Pikesville High. Earlier in the season, the Lions (13-3) needed overtime to nip the Comets, 13-12, but last night, they broke away from a 7-7 tie with 18:03 left, building a 13-8 lead in the next nine minutes.