David Modell

T he party had all the makings of a Hollywood A-list affair: a red carpet with reporters and photographers corralled behind velvet ropes, famous directors and lots of local glitterati. However, this event was in Baltimore. And all about Baltimore. Baltimore-based filmmakers John Waters and Barry Levinson , as well as "The Wire" creator David Simon , were the guests of honor at the Maryland Film Festival's second fundraiser. Although the evening's main event would be an open conversation among the three - moderated by TCM's Elvis Mitchell - a couple of hundred folks had paid top dollar to mingle with the Baltimore favorites at a dinner reception beforehand.

We found artist Michel Modell, 37, kicking up her heels at "Chef's EpiCUREan Evening" - a gourmet dinner at the home of Ed and Katherine St. John, benefiting Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. "Some days, you feel great and you can really put it together. And some days, you're barely getting out the door in something that matches," she says. Age: 37 Residence: Owings Mills Job: Artist Self-described style: "Quirky and classic." The look: Blumarine, stretch-silk, leopard-print sheath with jeweled neckline.

Don't expect Art Modell to look back over the past 43 years and get misty-eyed. Don't expect him to exult over the highs: the Ravens' Super Bowl championship, the 31 years as chairman of the NFL's broadcast committee, the launching of Monday Night Football or his role in persuading fellow owners to share television revenue. And don't expect him to choke up over the lows: the firing of Cleveland icon Paul Brown, the death of Ernie Davis from leukemia, the Browns' heartbreaking losses to the Denver Broncos in the 1986, 1987 and 1989 AFC championship games, the financial morass that forced him to move the Browns to Baltimore - and eventually forced him to sell the team.

David Modell will leave as the Ravens' president after the season as Steve Bisciotti takes over for Art Modell as team owner. TEAM PRESIDENT David Modell will never get the credit he deserves for building the Ravens into a quality organization, because he is the owner's son and can't escape stereotypes. You know the stuff. The rich and spoiled kid who never worked a day in his life. He works for a franchise that is nothing more than a hobby or toy. In this case, it's not true. Here's one truth about David Modell: He was the unsung hero of the Ravens' Super Bowl championship run in 2000-2001.

Art Modell's last season as Ravens owner will also mark the final run for his son. Ravens officials announced yesterday that David Modell will step down as team president at the end of the season but will remain with the franchise as a consultant like his father. The move will become official in four months, when minority owner Steve Bisciotti buys the remaining 51 percent of the team from Art Modell for $325 million. David Modell, 42, was informed of Bisciotti's intentions in a face-to-face meeting before the season.

The feud between NFL neighbors is the bitter subplot of Saturday's Ravens-Redskins preseason game. As the league's version of the Hatfields and the McCoys, the Ravens and Redskins have not been subtle in their bickering over marketing practices and the exchanging of personal jabs. The game may be an exhibition, but it counts as far as bragging rights for franchises whose home stadiums sit 40 miles apart. "Obviously, there is a rivalry that exists between marketplaces," team president David Modell said.

Ravens owner Art Modell is recovering in a Rancho Mirage, Calif., hospital after suffering a mild heart attack Friday morning. According to his son David, Modell is "doing excellently" and is scheduled to be released tomorrow from Eisenhower Medical Center. Modell, 76, who was at his California vacation home at the time, is expected to fly back to Baltimore, where he will undergo further tests at Johns Hopkins Hospital. "The fact that the doctors are letting him fly speaks volumes to how he is doing," said David Modell, who serves as team president.

THE RAVENS are involved in negotiations with coach Brian Billick about a contract extension, but no more than one year should be added to the three remaining on his current deal. Anything more would be a risk. In fact, the next two years will tell a lot more about Billick as a head coach, and then the Ravens could add more years or remain status quo. The Ravens are offering Billick the extension as a reward for his first three seasons, which included a Super Bowl title in 2000, and a postseason appearance last season that ended in a second-round loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

AS THE RAVENS search for another $105 million corporate sucker to plaster its name atop the Baltimore football stadium, City Comptroller Joan Pratt searches for the ball club's institutional conscience. The Ravens figure it's worth $1. Pratt says $200,000. This leaves not only a difference of $199,999, but a question of greed. When the former Cleveland Browns first slipped into town, and PSINet was just an overhyped company speeding toward a financial cliff from which to heave itself, the Ravens struck a deal to use the old Baltimore Colts practice facility, owned by the city but in Owings Mills.

Five years after relocating his franchise to Baltimore, owner Art Modell said he still will not travel with the Ravens to Cleveland. Modell, who owned the Browns from 1961 to 1995, has not attended the Ravens' only two games in Cleveland and has said that it is his choice not to go there Sunday. "I can go back. But I choose not to go back because I don't want to be a distraction," Modell said. "And I won't be a distraction. I want my team and my organization to concentrate on the game."