Crowd

'At the recently completed Sydney Olympics, four American runners found themselves caught in a storm of criticism when their grandstanding following a victory in the 4x100-meter relay threatened to overshadow their accomplishment. One of those runners was Bernard Williams, 22, of Baltimore, a man some believe may be the next great American sprinter. Shortly after he returned home from Australia, Williams spoke with The Sun's Gary Dorsey about the uproar over his gold-medal moment: "That was overexaggerated.

The e-mail went out Wednesday to supporters of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley: Show up in Fells Point to rally with former President Bill Clinton, and make sure to wear your green O'Malley T-shirts. Dozens of them did, but when they arrived at yesterday's rally they heard a different message. "They said this is a Ben Cardin event," said Oronde Short, 33, who along with other O'Malley-clad enthusiasts was given a white Cardin T-shirt and told to cover up his O'Malley green. He obliged, but perhaps the hottest T-shirt of all was one with another message: "Bill Still Rocks."

NEW YORK -- They were in the runway, now, and here was Jimmy Connors walking with his bodyguards, trying to keep up with this freckle-faced kid with the white baseball cap and the strawberry blond hair and the smug, sideways grin.Later, the kid would say there was nothing special about hitting the stage first for this tennis revival show at Louis Armstrong Stadium. But for 2 hours and 6 minutes on a bright, blue late-summer day, there was Connors huffing and puffing, his hair mussed, his face shining with sweat, following this kid around the court.

Sammy Sosa went out of his way to win over the Orioles' crowd yesterday. It wasn't just his two singles or his nifty catch in right-center, either. You could tell the Orioles' newest slugger was eager to ignite a new love affair right from the start. In the top of the first inning, he bolted from the dugout and sprinted hard - head down - toward his position in right field. Twice en route he reacted to fans by pointing toward the seats in foul territory. When he got to right field, he made a hard left and kept sprinting to the bleacher seats in center.

ACCOKEEK -- An audience lined a flat and straight stretch of rural highway in the middle of the night to watch what many here say is a recurring show of speed and thunderous noise. The drivers spun their wheels, throwing smoke and warming the tires for the contest to come. At some point, the spectators stepped into the road. And, police later said, a Ford Crown Victoria not involved in the illegal street race drove into the blinding haze, straight into the crowd. Eight people were killed and at least five injured in the accident, which occurred about 3 a.m. yesterday near an unlighted intersection on Route 210 - also known as Indian Head Highway - in southern Prince George's County.

At the Koke Pitch, where the idea is to land a ring on the neck of any of the mostly ginger ale bottles, Michael and Tina Ford forked over between $50 and $70 until Sarah, 6, succeeded.The prize, a stuffed gray elephant, stood hip-high on the child, who announced that her father would carry it. Her mother was already toting two plastic leis, two pinwheels, one stuffed Dalmatian, two paper yo-yos and a plastic bag containing one live goldfish -- the loot from other game booths.They had been at the Big Glen Burnie Carnival only an hour.

It has survived any number of wars, the encroachment of suburban development and the sheer march of time, so the Maryland Hunt Cup is expected to clear even its latest hurdle -- fear and loathing of the rowdy young people who in recent years have invaded the turf of the Rolls-Royce-and-silver-candelabra set.But even as the world-renowned steeplechase is set to go tomorrow -- as it has almost every last-Saturday-in-April since 1894 -- the Hunt Cup is caught...

"It looks like a big, sweaty, sexy mess of people out there," said Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine to the Preakness InfieldFEST crowd. His eyes did not deceive him. The Los Angeles pop-rock group proved to be an excellent choice for the InfieldFEST crowd, with its handsome TV-judge frontman (Levine is on NBC's "The Voice") and earworm pop. Throughout its 80-minute set, Maroon 5 kept reminding the large crowd how surprisingly deep its 10-year catalog runs. There were old favorites ("This Love" and "Sunday Morning")

More than 100 people gathered in a Westminster parking lot yesterday morning to oppose a possible closing of a Giant Food Inc. grocery store there and one in Eldersburg as part of an antitrust action.Many carried red-lettered placards, saying, "We can speak Dutch. Keep Giant in Carroll County!!!"The signs were referring to Royal Ahold NV, a Netherlands grocer that owns several U.S. supermarket chains. Royal Ahold might be forced to sell Giant supermarkets in Carroll and Frederick counties to win Federal Trade Commission approval of its proposed $2.7 billion cash purchase of Giant Food Inc. of Landover.

Early in the the first set of the 23rd PNC Tennis Classic last night, the sport's megastar, Serena Williams, had a ball bounce off her head from a ricochet off the baseline wall. The world's No. 1 player flashed a smile after briefly feigning dizziness, and the fans laughed with her. It was that kind of night at 1st Mariner Arena, with Williams and her opponent, Elena Dementieva, putting on a polite exhibition for an adoring crowd that welcomed the opportunity to be in the presence of a superstar while at the same time contributing to a worthy cause.