Diego Chargers

BASEBALL American League * New York Yankees -- Named Daniel McCarthy general partner.National League * Pittsburgh Pirates -- Signed Bob Walk (pitcher) to a two-year contract.FOOTBALL (NFL) * San Diego Chargers -- Named Bobby Ross coach.

The story seems too good to be true, even to Ravens running back Ray Rice. "We had a guy who lost his brother the night before a game and went out there and played on a Sunday," Rice said. "We lose Ray Lewis. We lost Terrell Suggs. Our whole defense was hurt at one point. We shuffle our offensive line. Our coordinator [gets fired]. "Listen, I need a ghostwriter to write this book, and I want all residuals on this one because this is going to be a great story. " In the middle of this story should be a chapter based in San Diego a little over two months ago. On Nov. 25, Rice manufactured 29 yards against the San Diego Chargers in one of the most improbable scenarios, leading to a 16-13 win in overtime that could be considered a critical step in the Ravens' ride to Super Bowl XLVII.

FOOTBALL (NFL)* San Diego Chargers -- Signed Stanley Richard (safety).* Seattle Seahawks -- Signed Derrick Fenner (running back) to a one-year contract.HOCKEY (AHL)* New Haven Nighthawks -- Named Doug Carpenter director of hockey operations.

The Ravens are looking really good and, well, so is Teddy. He's back on track and with Ray Lewis spotted at practice, this week he had no doubts about which treat -- which team -- was the right choice. Go Teddy!

BASKETBALL (NBA)* Los Angeles Clippers -- Signed Danny Young (guard).FOOTBALL (NFL)* Denver Broncos -- Activated Mark Jackson (wide receiver) from injured reserve. Waived Barry Johnson (wide receiver).* Green Bay Packers -- Named Mike Holmgren coach.* San Diego Chargers -- Named Carl Mauck offensive line coach; Ralph Friedgen tight ends coach, and George O'Leary defensive line coach.

Matchup: Ravens (1-1) vs. San Diego Chargers (0-2) Site: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego When: Sunday, 4:15 p.m. TV/Radio: Ch. 13/WJFK (1300 AM), WQSR (102.7 FM) Line: Even

Tampa Bay coach Ray Perkins took much of the blame for his team's sorry performance in yesterday's 41-10 thrashing at the hands of the San Diego Chargers -- but he didn't absolve his own Buccaneers."

BASEBALL (NL) * Chicago Cubs -- Agreed to terms with Chico Walker (outfielder) a one-year contract.* St. Louis Cardinals -- Failed to tender 1992 contracts to Willie Fraser and Scott Terry (pitchers)BASKETBALL (NBA) * San Antonio Spurs -- Waived Morlon Wiley (guard).FOOTBALL (NFL) * San Diego Chargers -- Fired Dan Henning (coach) and Chuck Claussen, Alex Gibbs, Mike Haluchak, Bobby Jackson, Charlie Joiner, Rod Lynn, LeCharls McDaniel, Jim Mora, Larry Pasquale, Jack Reilly and Ed White (assistant coaches)

Football Green Bay Packers -- Waived NT Lamark Shackerford, P Bryan Wagner, G Mirko Jukovic, TE Jeff Thomason, K Rich Thompson, WR Jay Kearney, DE Reggie Holt, DB Victor Brown and DB Curtis Cotton.San Diego Chargers -- Signed DT Blaise Winter. Released DT James Gregory.Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Waived K Scott Sisson, WR Eddie Small, WR Dedric Smith, OT Theo Adams, LB Bernard Carter, G Joel Crisman and G Tommy Holliday.

BasketballNBA -- Announced that the Suns' Paul Westphal will coach the Western Conference team in the All-Star Game on Feb. 12 in Phoenix. The Orlando Magic's Brian Hill will coach the Eastern Conference.FootballSan Diego Chargers -- Placed DT Reggie White (Milford Mill), C Greg Engel, TE Aaron Laing and S Lonnie Young on the inactive list.San Francisco 49ers -- Placed S Dedrick Dodge, G Ron Milstead and DE Mark Thomas on the inactive list.HockeyHartford Whalers -- Assigned C Ted Drury to AHL Springfield for conditioning.

SAN DIEGO - - Nose tackle Jamal Williams was placed on injured reserve Saturday, which means the San Diego Chargers will be without two starting defensive linemen against the Ravens. Williams suffered an elbow injury during Monday night's victory over the Oakland Raiders and had been listed as questionable on the team's injury report. The move ends Williams' season. He will join defensive end Travis Johnson (groin) on the sideline, leaving San Diego with only one defensive tackle (Ogemdi Nwagbuo)

McKinney spent two seasons with the San Diego Chargers before being released Oct. 4. Four days later, he was signed by the Ravens. McKinney is still dealing with that and going undrafted, as well as a certain phobia. Question: How did you feel about being waived by the Chargers? Answer: Still have a chip on my shoulder for getting released by San Diego and everything. I don't want to say I should have been drafted. Everybody always says that. That's a played-out excuse. But I feel ... I'm better than they thought I was. Q: Did you have a childhood fear?

PITTSBURGH - The Ravens' unbalanced offensive formation featuring the tackle-eligible might have been an unusual wrinkle for a number of their opponents, but for the Steelers, it's nothing new. This will be the seventh time Pittsburgh faces a team that uses an unbalanced formation, including the Cleveland Browns (twice in the regular season), San Diego Chargers (once in the regular season and again in the playoffs) and now the Ravens for the third time. What makes the Ravens' version a little different is the tonnage they bring when they use it. Baltimore substitutes 330-pound tackle Adam Terry for a tight end and loads its backfield with 255-pound fullback Lorenzo Neal and 260-pound ball carrier Le'Ron McClain.

INDIANAPOLIS -- To the surprise of many people who follow the NFL, the San Diego Chargers, not the Indianapolis Colts, will meet the New England Patriots on Sunday for the AFC championship and the right to play in the Super Bowl. But the Chargers insisted they did not stun themselves with a 28-24 victory over the defending champion Colts yesterday in the final game in the 24-year history of the RCA Dome and perhaps the last game for Tony Dungy as coach of the Colts. San Diego coach Norv Turner seemed defiantly proud that his team trailed four times before scoring the winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak by backup Billy Volek with 4:50 remaining.

With the Ravens already listed as 20 1/2 -point underdogs, Samari Rolle summed up the players' approach to Monday night's game against the undefeated New England Patriots. "Monday night is our Super Bowl," the veteran cornerback said. But if the Ravens' offense continues at its current pace, it could be more like a Super Bore. During their five-game losing streak, the Ravens' offense has fallen to No. 25 despite playing some of the worst defenses in the NFL. Facing the defenses of the Buffalo Bills (31st)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick held his news conference yesterday at Gillette Stadium, he was peppered with questions regarding the NFL's ruling on video spying. He opened with the following statement: "OK, I know there is a lot of interest here on the situation and decision last night, but as I stated, it's over and we're moving on. All my energy and focus and attention is on the San Diego Chargers game Sunday night. That's where we're at." The next 6 minutes, 30 seconds were dominated by questions on the NFL's ruling.

The day after, there was plenty of blame to go around: the way-way-too-conservative offense, Steve McNair throwing those costly interceptions, and officials who just wouldn't give the Ravens a good call. That was the view from the bar yesterday as hometown fans held a wake of sorts, and watched other teams' games that had a little less meaning for most of them. To disappointed Ravens fans, the record 13-victory regular season and the top-ranked defense that propelled the team to the playoffs seemed all but forgotten.

SAN DIEGO -- Philip Rivers has never participated in an NFL postseason game, but the San Diego Chargers' quarterback knows precisely what to expect today from the New England Patriots' defense: Anything. "I'm going to expect everything you can put in a playbook," Rivers said after practice last week. "You study them and be ready for what they've shown and then you don't get surprised by anything." Thanks to their 14-2 record, best in the NFL, the Chargers will not only play host to the divisional playoff game, but also have had an extra week to prepare for it. That's a welcome advantage for a team facing the Patriots, who are 11-1 in the postseason with Tom Brady at quarterback.