Confidence

ANNAPOLIS -- A no-confidence vote taken by Annapolis firefighters against their chief was met head-on yesterday by the chief himself, who said he had done nothing wrong by investigating allegations of sexual misconduct in the department."

Builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes remained virtually unchanged this month from September's healthy level, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index, released last week. The index declined a single point to 62, its second-highest reading all year. "On the strength of continuing low mortgage rates and sound house-price performance, builders still have a very good outlook on the current marketplace," said Gary Garczynski, association president and a homebuilder from Woodbridge, Va. "Buyer demand remains strong at the present time, though builders are moderating their expectations for future sales and noting slower traffic of prospective buyers."

Joe Koziol may look as if he is playing indoor soccer, but he really is climbing a mountain.Who would have guessed?Koziol, 24, is the second-leading goal scorer and third leading scorer overall for the Baltimore Blast. He is having the best season of his pro career, so it comes as something of a shock when the former Loyola College Greyhound says that every day he is fighting to rebuild his confidence."At times I think I'm a skillful player," said Koziol, a midfielder. "And, then, at other times, I think I don't belong on the floor.

The job you wanted went to someone else. You've gained 10 pounds, and your clothes don't fit. Your best friend hasn't called in ages, and today all your co-workers went out to lunch and didn't bother to invite you.In short, you feel about as successful and attractive as an armadillo.No matter how self-confident and filled with self-esteem we usually are, we're all prey to occasional self-confidence slumps. The trick is to pull out of these before they become self-fulfilling. Here are 10 steps that really do help:* Save thank-you notes, letters and cards that made you feel warm and fuzzy.

The Cincinnati Bengals' offensive production won't rest on Akili Smith's arm, but his confidence. Smith has completed 64.9 percent of his passes, throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions on 74 attempts in the preseason. He's seemingly found a comfort level in the pocket and has been sacked only once. Still, the Bengals are thrilled beyond the numbers he's stacked up in the preseason. "We haven't had this type of direction in a while," offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. "I'm not saying we're going to be great or go to the Super Bowl or anything, but it's been a while since we've had that type of direction at the quarterback position."

When the Pittsburgh Penguins were down three games to one against the Washington Capitals last year in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, they probably had a few self-doubts.But they went out and won one game and then another and another."We had so much confidence in the first four games of that series," recalled Washington goalie Don Beaupre. "And then Pittsburgh came out and started to wear it away, game by game. This series has been different. You don't want to say you're giving it, your confidence, away.

Matt Drenan insists that his surgically repaired left knee was healthy and sound last year. His confidence in the knee wasn't perhaps as solid. After sitting out the 2007 season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Drenan was a long-stick midfielder for the Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team. He appeared in 17 games but collected just 22 ground balls after picking up 32 in 2006 as a freshman. "Each week that goes by, you feel more and more confident in the knee," Drenan said. "I wore a brace last year, and I felt good and confident, but I'm a year older now. I'm 22, and I just feel that much more mature.

Geena Davis has always had self-confidence. She'll be the first to say so.Moviegoers got their first glance of her in the hit comedy "Tootsie." She portrayed a bit player in the film's "General Hospital"-type soap opera, and when her character shared a dressing room with Dustin Hoffman's, he almost forgot he was supposed to be a woman.That was 10 years ago. Since then, she has won an Academy Award (for "The Accidental Tourist"), starred in a landmark film (last year's "Thelma & Louise"), is the major player in a hot summer movie ("A League of Their Own," opening tomorrow)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Alex Stewart has knocked out 26 of his 27 professional rivals, but the British-born heavyweight gained the most respect for the one blemish on his record -- an eighth-round technical knockout by champion-to-be Evander Holyfield in November 1989."

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has spent nearly $43 billion over the past five years on missile defense systems, but with North Korea brandishing its most advanced missile yet, U.S. government assessments and investigative reports indicate little confidence in the centerpiece portion of the program. Eleven ground-based interceptors in Alaska and at Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California, the cornerstone of the administration's new system, have not undergone a successful test in nearly four years and have been troubled by glitches that investigators blame, at least in part, on President Bush's order in 2002 to make the program operational before it had been fully tested.