Durability

Ben McDonald made his first visit to Camden Yards yesterday since he parted company with the Orioles, and expressed no regret over his decision to sign a multi-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.That, he says, is because there was no decision to make."I really didn't have a choice," McDonald said. "There was some confusion on that. People think I turned down a contract here, but I was never offered one, so the choice I had was to quit playing baseball or move on. Mr. [Pat] Gillick was saying they offered a contract, but the truth of it is, that offer was never made."

Q: In refurnishing a room, my biggest problem concerns the choice of fabrics. I'm aiming for an Empire look, elegant and richly colored. I have been advised that silk would be the most appropriate material for this styling, but I wonder about its durability.A: Silk is indeed the best choice -- not only in appearance but also in terms of durability.There are of course other possibilities, such as some of the synthetic yarns made to resemble the texture of silk. At first, these may appear less expensive than the real thing, but the more one knows about silk, the more reasonable its price will seem.

In the biggest commercial deal of his career, Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken has agreed to become a national spokesman for Chevrolet trucks -- lending his image of durability to vehicles General Motors Corp. promotes as tough "Like a Rock."The two-year deal, scheduled to be announced today, calls for a series of television and print ads featuring Ripken. Ripken's fees will be about $500,000 over the two years, according to a source familiar with the arrangement.Ira S. Rainess, general counsel for the Tufton Group, a Baltimore County firm that coordinates Ripken's commercial contracts, declined to discuss the fees other than to say the deal is worth six figures but under $700,000.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Game by game, the innings pile up for Terry Steinbach.Steinbach, one of the more durable catchers in baseball, is on pace to give his body the test of its life, whether he likes it or not.He has caught 177 of the 208 innings (85 percent) the Oakland Athletics have played in 1995. That's a high percentage for the most demanding position on the field. There is concern, but Steinbach has maintained a high level of play, refusing to show signs of wearing down."Sure, I feel aches and pains," he said.

His name is Harold Reynolds, and he will bat second and play second base for the Orioles next season. There are some things you need to know about him.He is a more useful player than Bill Ripken. (A better hitter. A switch-hitter. A faster, more productive base runner. Equally adept in the field.)He is 32 years old and in something of a decline. (A .251 average over the past three years, as opposed to .286 in the three years before that.)He improves the team, but not a lot so much as a little.

It was a meeting called in March simply to discuss how to right what would turn out to be the worst season in Baltimore Blast history, but in the end it may have cost midfielder Tim Wittman his job.A decision was made Thursday not to re-sign Wittman, voted last season to the Blast's All-Decade team and who played more seasons (10) than any player in team history."I did everything the way they wanted me to, but I spoke my piece, and that's why I'm not here anymore," Wittman said last night from his home.

"Quality is job one." "The quality comes through." "The quality goes in before the name goes on."In the decade since Japanese firms started flooding American stores with inexpensive, defect-free televisions, copiers and automobiles, American business people have been attempting to win back customers by preaching "quality."They've bunched workers into "quality circles." They've hired vice presidents for quality. And they've become disciples of W. Edwards Deming, the man who taught Japanese managers how to produce top-notch goods quickly through "Total Quality."

Citing the need for "extremely durable" players, the Blast has ended its 10-year love-hate relationship with All-Star defender Tim Wittman."Last season, Timmy was the second highest paid player on the team and he missed about 20 games," Blast general manager John Borozzi said yesterday, referring to Wittman's early-season back trouble and a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery. "With next year's schedule, there are 40 games, and people look at that and say it's less grueling, but the truth is that each game is that much more intense and important."

Is there a cloud behind our silver linings?In a recent study, Canadian scientists put "silver" fillings, which are half mercury and half silver-tin alloy, in young sheep, which showed signs of kidney failure within months. The scientists thought the mercury might be to blame.Mercury makes fillings pliable and hardens to a high state of durability. But it's toxic in high doses.Scientists have known for some time that small amounts of mercury leach out of fillings. But whether that adds up to human fTC risk is still unknown.

Once, Randall Cunningham was criticized for running too much. Now the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is praised for running just enough.Once it was considered dangerous, if not downright foolish, to flee the passing pocket. Now, perhaps, it's becoming the thing to do.Cunningham has elevated scrambling to another dimension, beyond that made famous by the likes of Fran Tarkenton, Tobin Rote, Greg Landry and Bobby Douglass. It's more than "Scrambler Inc.," the entrepreneurial name under which Cunningham conducts his endorsement and promotional business.

The breakdown of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby has reignited the debate over whether breeders are sacrificing durability for speed. Young horses breaking down on the track has become all too common. Eight Belles is the fourth high-profile thoroughbred to suffer catastrophic injury on the track in the past two years. Since the 2006 Preakness, that includes Barbaro, George Washington and Chelokee, who survived his mishap last weekend at Churchill Downs in Louisville. "We are not in crisis, but we are approaching a crisis situation at a relatively rapid rate," said Dr. Larry Bramlege, the attending veterinarian at the last weekend's Kentucky Derby when Eight Belles went down and at the 2006 Preakness when Barbaro pulled up. "For a while, we ran clean - for six or seven years.

Matt Stover is an anomaly in the NFL. In a position that often lends itself to playing for multiple teams, Stover has shattered the stereotype of the vagabond kicker. In a job that can be one misstep away from a shortened career, Stover's durability draws comparison to another, more legendary, Ironman. Maintaining a much lower profile while playing in the same town, Stover has become the Cal Ripken Jr. of NFL kickers. "He's the most reliable and depend- able football player I've had in 45 years," said Art Modell, the majority owner of the Ravens and Cleveland Browns for 43 of them.

What do you do with one of the world's fastest computers? You can forecast complex hurricane patterns. Or simulate how stars form, how nuclear bombs explode, or how a spacecraft handles solar winds. Or you can learn how to mix concrete. Don't laugh. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg are using a million hours of processor time awarded to them on NASA's fastest supercomputer to analyze the billions of possibilities created by the collisions of tiny particles of sand, gravel and cement whenever a cement truck pours a sidewalk.

It's happening all over town, in dwellings as diverse as rowhouses in Hampden and McMansions in the Valley. Furniture is going under cover. And it's not to stop a crime spree by coin-stealing cushions. It's a way to change, brighten, customize, season-alize and protect upholstered pieces. Once purely the perquisite of middle American housewives, slipcovers are making a comeback among the young and the affluent, says Liana Toscanini, director of communications for Sure Fit Inc., the company that manufactures many of the ready-made slipcovers you see today in stores, on the Internet and in catalogs.

Ben McDonald made his first visit to Camden Yards yesterday since he parted company with the Orioles, and expressed no regret over his decision to sign a multi-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.That, he says, is because there was no decision to make."I really didn't have a choice," McDonald said. "There was some confusion on that. People think I turned down a contract here, but I was never offered one, so the choice I had was to quit playing baseball or move on. Mr. [Pat] Gillick was saying they offered a contract, but the truth of it is, that offer was never made."

In the biggest commercial deal of his career, Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken has agreed to become a national spokesman for Chevrolet trucks -- lending his image of durability to vehicles General Motors Corp. promotes as tough "Like a Rock."The two-year deal, scheduled to be announced today, calls for a series of television and print ads featuring Ripken. Ripken's fees will be about $500,000 over the two years, according to a source familiar with the arrangement.Ira S. Rainess, general counsel for the Tufton Group, a Baltimore County firm that coordinates Ripken's commercial contracts, declined to discuss the fees other than to say the deal is worth six figures but under $700,000.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Game by game, the innings pile up for Terry Steinbach.Steinbach, one of the more durable catchers in baseball, is on pace to give his body the test of its life, whether he likes it or not.He has caught 177 of the 208 innings (85 percent) the Oakland Athletics have played in 1995. That's a high percentage for the most demanding position on the field. There is concern, but Steinbach has maintained a high level of play, refusing to show signs of wearing down."Sure, I feel aches and pains," he said.

Q: In refurnishing a room, my biggest problem concerns the choice of fabrics. I'm aiming for an Empire look, elegant and richly colored. I have been advised that silk would be the most appropriate material for this styling, but I wonder about its durability.A: Silk is indeed the best choice -- not only in appearance but also in terms of durability.There are of course other possibilities, such as some of the synthetic yarns made to resemble the texture of silk. At first, these may appear less expensive than the real thing, but the more one knows about silk, the more reasonable its price will seem.

His name is Harold Reynolds, and he will bat second and play second base for the Orioles next season. There are some things you need to know about him.He is a more useful player than Bill Ripken. (A better hitter. A switch-hitter. A faster, more productive base runner. Equally adept in the field.)He is 32 years old and in something of a decline. (A .251 average over the past three years, as opposed to .286 in the three years before that.)He improves the team, but not a lot so much as a little.

"Quality is job one." "The quality comes through." "The quality goes in before the name goes on."In the decade since Japanese firms started flooding American stores with inexpensive, defect-free televisions, copiers and automobiles, American business people have been attempting to win back customers by preaching "quality."They've bunched workers into "quality circles." They've hired vice presidents for quality. And they've become disciples of W. Edwards Deming, the man who taught Japanese managers how to produce top-notch goods quickly through "Total Quality."