Division Winners

Following the footsteps of some of its larger neighbors, Howard County will institute a two-division format for four sports beginning in the fall of 2006. Don Disney, the coordinator of athletics for the county, said the county's 12 varsity programs in volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball will play in two divisions, with the division winners meeting in a regular-season-ending county championship game. There are currently 11 varsity programs in the county, but Marriott's Ridge, a new high school in Marriottsville that is expected to open by the fall of 2005, will begin fielding varsity programs in the fall of 2006.

JULY 3 Sunday: Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies, 1:35 p.m. Perennial division winners, and postseason disappointments, the Braves end a three-game series against the Phillies. There's a free Turkey Hill Wiffle Ball Set for children 14 and under. JULY 4 Monday: New York Mets at Washington Nationals, 1:05 p.m. It might be too early in the day for fireworks, unless Carlos Beltran provides them. But you can catch them later at the Mall. Where better to spend the Fourth of July? JULY 5 Tuesday: Williamsport Crosscutters at Aberdeen IronBirds, 7:05 p.m. No way it could be a perfect week of baseball without a trip to Ripken Stadium, which has been sold out for every game the past three seasons.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays@Orioles Day .................... Time ................ TV ................................. Starters Today ................. 7:05............. MASN .................... Jae Seo (1-2, 8.19) ........................................ ............................................ vs. Jeremy Guthrie (1-1, 5.87) Tomorrow .......... 7:05 ........... MASN ............... James Shields (3-0, 3.74) ........................................ ..................................

Ten teams have clinched spots in the NFL's 12-team playoffs. Berths go to three division winners and three wild cards in each conference. Four teams are eligible for the remaining two spots.AFC EASTBuffalo Bills: Clinched division title.Miami Dolphins: Can clinch wild card by winning last game or if either Jets or Steelers lose last game.New York Jets: Need to win last game. Can get in as wild card if they finish in three-way tie with Raiders and Steelers. Jets get in on the basis of defeating common opponents.

Composer Tobias Picker will join the Columbia Orchestra in a performance of his work The Encantadas, a musical picture of the Galapagos Islands, at 8 p.m. Saturday at Jim Rouse Theatre for the Performing Arts. The concert, "To the Sea," will include a performance by mezzo-soprano Kyle Engler of Edward Elgar's Sea Pictures, Op. 37, a series of poems about the sea and sailing. The Encantadas is based on a collection of 10 essays of the same name by Herman Melville describing his visit to the Galapagos to research the novel Moby Dick, said Tedd Griepentrog, the orchestra's executive director.

McDonogh beat Gilman in a Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference tennis showdown yesterday between the league's two best teams. The two division winners will meet again for the league title, probably on Thursday at McDonogh.Gilman won the No. 1 singles match, with Reed Cordish rallying to beat Marcus Eyth, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, but McDonogh's No. 2 through No. 5 players swept the Greyhounds. Jamie Porsella, Steve Talles and Scott Ackerman won in two sets and Brian Castleman won in three.The victory pushed McDonogh's season record to 13-1 under coach Laddie Levy, 9-0 in the A Conference.

The Baltimore Young America Bowling Alliance Championship Tournament results are final, and the Fair Lanes Southdale youth bowlers walked away with a pile of trophies.Robert Burck won the Bantam Boys singles, and Colleen Anderson won the Prep Girls singles.The Prep Boys team event was captured by The Terminators -- Timmy Frampton, James George, Scott Crawford and Chris Moore.The Prep Girls team, Wild, consisting of Amy Shachlock, Kristen NTC Shachlock, Crystal Oliver and Amanda Jenkins, won their division.

Eastern Conference Team (Division) W L Pct. GB x-New Jersey (A) 50 28 .641 - x-Detroit (C) 47 31 .603 3 x-Boston (A) 46 33 .582 4 1/2 x-Orlando (A) 43 34 .558 6 1/2 Charlotte (C) 41 37 .526 9 Philadelphia (A) 41 37 .526 9 Milwaukee (C) 39 39 .500 11 Toronto (C) 39 39 .500 11 Indiana (C) 38 40 .487 12 Washington (A) 36 43 .456 14 1/2 Miami (A) 34 44 .436 16 Atlanta (C) 32 46 .410 18 New York (A) 29 48 .377 20 1/2 Cleveland (C) 29 49 .372 21 Chicago (C) 19 59 .244 31 Western Conference Team (Division)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - -Maryland fans had been waiting for the debut of freshman Caleb Porzel, a speedy tailback from Good Counsel in Montgomery County. Porzel got his first Maryland carries Saturday night. But he didn't fare any better than the rest of the Terps in a first half dominated by Wake Forest. Porzel lost 3 yards on his first run. Then he was stopped for no gain, then gained 1 yard. In Porzel's defense, there seemed to be few holes to run through. None of the other tailbacks fared much better.