Don Maclean

Opponent: Cleveland CavaliersSite: USAir Arena, LandoverTime: 7:30TV: HTSRadio: WXZL (103.1 FM), WTEM (570 AM)Outlook: Cleveland had a two-game winning streak broken last night by New York. After struggling early in the season, the Cavaliers are in position to finish with the fifth best record in the Eastern Conference. G Mark Price (17.7 ppg) is Cleveland's top scorer and has averaged 25 ppg in Cleveland's two wins over Washington this season. The Bullets are looking to end a two-game losing streak, after Wednesday's 114-103 loss to the Miami Heat.

WASHINGTON - Washington Wizards guard Juan Dixon has agreed to testify at a hearing on NBA steroid testing policies being convened by a House committee that expressed disappointment that other players have so far declined to appear. House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis "is not pleased that the [players'] union hasn't been able to fulfill its pledge to secure more players" for tomorrow's hearing, Davis spokesman David Marin said yesterday. The committee says it doesn't want to suggest that basketball has the same problems with steroids as baseball, but that it wants to investigate further and determine why the NBA doesn't have a stronger anti-steroids program.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- Washington Bullets swingman Calbert Cheaney scored 24 points and 7-foot-7 center Gheorghe Muresan added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the white team in a 111-86 win over the blue team in a scrimmage last night at Shepherd College.Cheaney, who started at small forward and also played guard, was 11-for-16 from the field. Scott Skiles had 15 points and nine assists, Rex Chapman had a game-high 11 assists and Larry Stewart had 18 points for the white team.Doug Overton (18 points)

BaseballAstros: Assigned C Mitch Meluskey to minor-league camp.Angels: Placed C Todd Greene, IF Randy Velarde and P Pep Harris on 15-day DL. Returned P Rich Robertson, P Greg Cadaret, C Ben Molina and IF Troy Neel to minor-league camp. Assigned IF Chris Pritchett to minor-league camp.Blue Jays: Optioned SS Tomas Perez, C Julio Mosquera and P Carlos Almanzar to Triple-A Syracuse.Braves: Assigned IF Wes Helms, OF Damon Hollins, P Derrin Ebert and P John Rocker to Triple-A Richmond; P Bruce Chen, P Micah Bowie, P Dwayne Jacobs, C Pascual Matos and OF George Lombard to Double-A Greenville; and C Fernando Lunar and IF Glenn Williams to Single-A Danville.

LANDOVER -- An already bad injury situation got worse for the Washington Bullets yesterday when they announced that Don MacLean may not be available for an additional two months after breaking his right thumb during an altercation at a Baltimore restaurant Saturday night.MacLean has been on the injured list since Dec. 12 and had missed 12 straight games going into last night with tendinitis in both knees."We were expecting him for practice on Monday, now they tell me he'll be six to eight Mondays from now," said a disappointed Bullets coach Jim Lynam.

ATLANTA -- After all he had been through just to get to the NBA, after all he had done to work his way into a regular spot in the playing rotation of the Atlanta Hawks, Duane Ferrell concluded that his life as a pro basketball player was finally established as the 1993-94 season began.2Opponent: Atlanta HawksSite: Baltimore ArenaTime: 7:30TV: HTSRadio: WXZL (103.1 FM), WTEM (570 AM)Outlook: The Hawks are the league's hottest team with a 12-game winning streak. F Dominique Wilkins (25.1 ppg)

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va -- Washington Bullets swingman Calbert Cheaney scored 24 points and 7-foot-7 center Gheorghe Muresan added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the white team in a 111-86 win over the blue team in a scrimmage last night at Shepherd College.Cheaney, who started at small forward and also played guard, was 11-for-16 from the field. Scott Skiles had 15 points and nine assists, Rex Chapman had a game-high 11 assists and Larry Stewart had 18 points for the white team.Doug Overton (18 points)

BOWIE -- It's the speed that first catches your attention when watching Robert Pack. Pushing the ball up the court from one end of the floor to the other he's a blur, which kind of creates a domino effect with his teammates."

TEMPE, Ariz. -- It didn't take long yesterday for UCLA to drain any drama from its 85-69 rout of Louisville in the NCAA West Regional.The Bruins took command early and never let up, advancing to the NCAA round of 16 for the second time in three years."

BOWIE -- It's the speed that first catches your attention when watching Robert Pack. Pushing the ball up the court from one end of the floor to the other he's a blur, which kind of creates a domino effect with his teammates."

This was the season. Forget the recent past, the hard-luck Washington Bullets finally were going to turn things around.Chris Webber and Juwan Howard were on board right from the start, and the drafting of Rasheed Wallace provided a talented set of fresh legs. Then there was the trade for Mark Price, a masterstroke that added a veteran who could offer guidance to the young, budding stars.But just like that it began to unravel -- just like it always seems to do with the Bullets. After an impressive showing by Price on the first day of training camp, the bad news this time would come in the form of a midnight phone call to coach Jim Lynam.

TORONTO -- With Chris Webber probably out of the lineup for the next two months, Juwan Howard is expected to shoulder the load for the Washington Bullets. For the second straight game, Howard showed that he's more than capable of doing the job.Howard scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 35 minutes last night as the Bullets held off a late rally by the expansion Toronto Raptors for a 99-89 win before 16,821 at SkyDome.It was the second straight win of the preseason for the Bullets, who got 17 points from Calbert Cheaney.

Opponent: New York KnicksSite: Madison Square Garden, New YorkTime: 7:30TV/Radio: Ch. 20/WWLG (1360 AM), WTEM (570 AM)Outlook: With Tuesday's win over Miami, the Knicks moved two games ahead of the Indiana Pacers for the second spot in the Eastern Conference. C Patrick Ewing (24.2 ppg) leads the Knicks who, with a second-place finish in the conference, could clinch home-court advantage in the playoffs up until the conference finals. Bullets F Juwan Howard returned from a sprained right ankle last night against the Atlanta Hawks.

LANDOVER -- There was New Jersey Nets guard Kenny Anderson, running circles around the Washington defenders. And there was teammate Derrick Coleman, scoring on the inside and dominating the boards.But while the Nets proved to be an effective two-man team last night, the Bullets were benefiting from a balanced offensive attack that was good enough for a 110-102 win that ended Washington's three-game losing streak.Chris Webber scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Don MacLean had 21 points off the bench.

LANDOVER -- An already bad injury situation got worse for the Washington Bullets yesterday when they announced that Don MacLean may not be available for an additional two months after breaking his right thumb during an altercation at a Baltimore restaurant Saturday night.MacLean has been on the injured list since Dec. 12 and had missed 12 straight games going into last night with tendinitis in both knees."We were expecting him for practice on Monday, now they tell me he'll be six to eight Mondays from now," said a disappointed Bullets coach Jim Lynam.

With his team on the skids recently, losing 11 of its past 1 games, Washington Bullets general manager John Nash has been noticeably absent from the sidelines. It isn't that he has abandoned the team -- it's that he has been evaluating college talent at the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii.And in the land of sunshine and beautiful beaches, Nash struggled through the streak as well, watching Washington's games via satellite."We're up against it," Nash said. "It's been a tough experience from the owner on down.

Just before Juwan Howard left Chicago to join the Washington Bullets, he was given a warning by a friend there."He told me that when you go to the Washington Bullets youmight lose more games in your first year than you totaled in high school and college," Howard said. "I didn't believe it when he said that."It's time to start believing. In three college seasons, Howard lost 22 games. As far as he can remember from high school in Chicago, he lost 19 games in three varsity seasons. With the 1994 portion of the season now complete with Friday's 115-101 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the Bullets have a 7-19 record and don't seem to be near ending the slump that has led to 11 losses in the past 12 games.