Expansion Team

If the new pro football labor deal opens the door to expansion -- that's still a big if -- the next question is obvious:What will the new free-agency plan mean to expansion teams?Joel Glazer, the son of Malcolm Glazer, who heads one of the three groups trying to get an expansion team in Baltimore, is selling the idea that it'll make it easier to build an expansion team.He argues that a well-run expansion franchise won't have to go through years of losing before it becomes respectable because it can buy several good players.

What is wrong with this town? I know there are tons of people out there in Baltimore who are as angry at what just happened to our Super Bowl team as I am, but where is their voice? The word "fan" is short for "fanatic. " Where are the fanatics who will speak up? I listen to the sports talk shows all the time. I hear caller after caller saying stupid stuff like, "I'm excited about the new guys they're going to bring in. " And the line you always hear. "In Ozzie we trust. " On the dollar bill it says In God we Trust.

A Long Island businessman who wants to re-create Baltimore's Canadian Football League phenomenon in New York has submitted a $100,000 deposit to the league for an expansion team in 1995.Perry Carter, 39, says he believes he can replicate on Long Island what the CFLs have done in Baltimore."Long Island does not have a team to call its own," Carter said yesterday."It's in a battle to be identified. When I approached the political wheels, they did everything they could to get it done. I know basically I'm going to get it done."

Contrary to Barry Levinson's assertion that former Ravens owner Art Modell made Baltimore's Super Bowl victory possible, Modell was the reason we didn't get an expansion team (" Art Modell 's great gift," Feb. 7). According to former Sun s portswriter John Steadman, Mr. Modell was such a poor business man that he was close to losing the then Cleveland Browns and took our deal to bail himself out. He moved his money-losing team here and wound up selling it for about $800 million.

Both National League franchises that will begin play in 1993 could be awarded to Florida cities, league president Bill White said yesterday during an expansion committee visit to Miami.The committee also traveled to Orlando and will visit St. Petersburg on Tuesday. Other cities in contention for an expansion team -- Denver, Buffalo and Washington -- likely will be visited in March or April.White's comments countered speculation that the National League won't shut the American League out of the promising Florida market by putting two teams in the state.

Novelist Tom Clancy, whose best-selling spy thrillers have earned millions, is considering filing a $100,000 application fee for ownership of a prospective NFL expansion team in Baltimore, his attorney said yesterday."

The Charlotte Cobras slithered into Baltimore Arena last night in search of their first victory in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.What the Cobras found was a Baltimore team that was sympathetic to the expansion team's plight but more concerned about its own destiny.The Thunder, a team in need of a win to stay in the playoff hunt, got it in a decisive fashion as it beat the Cobras, 14-10, before 5,602 supporters.This one wasn't as close as the score would indicate. The Thunder led by eight heading into the fourth quarter and, with several of their reserves on the floor, were outscored 5-1 in the final period.

Professional hockey has been a tough sell in Baltimore over the years, but one local sports entrepreneur says he believes the right combination of money and marketing could make it finally succeed here.Robert Leffler, owner of the Leffler Agency, confirmed this week that he has filed a letter of interest with the International Hockey League. Leffler, whose ad agency counts a number of sports teams among its clients, said he received an inquiry from a potential investor and followed up with the league to get information on costs and structure.

Forget the beasts of the jungle. Scratch the horse family. And don't even mention prehistoric legacies.Baltimore, home of the Orioles, has sided decisively with the birds once again.This time, though, it's the Ravens who have captured the city's imagination, if not its heart.By a margin of more than 3-to-1, fans have endorsed Ravens as the preferred nickname of a football team if Baltimore wins an NFL expansion team in October.Ravens amassed 6,367 votes in The Baltimore Sun's Name-That-Team survey, which tabulated phone responses andwrite-in ballots.

Pirates: Pittsburgh was last swept by an expansion team in 1993, when it lost four in a row at Florida. The crowd of 8,610 was the Pirates' second smallest at home this season. They drew 8,400 on May 7 against Cincinnati.Pub Date: 9/04/98

There is joy in Charm City. The Baltimore Ravens are the champions of the football world. Tuesday, upon the Ravens' return from the Super Bowl in New Orleans, hundreds of thousands of fans lined the streets of Baltimore and filled the football stadium. The city was euphoric and the fan base ecstatic. For the second time in this new century, Baltimore's Ravens are the best team in football. And yet, if not for one man, none of this would have been possible. If not for one man, there would be no Ravens football team.

With the Sparrows Point steel mill preparing for a shutdown next week and a possible sale, Baltimore County officials began looking Wednesday for ways to redevelop the peninsula, bringing new jobs and businesses to the area around the ailing plant. In naming a task force to come up with ideas for the land, officials said they hope to capitalize on the expansion of the nearby port of Baltimore to lure new industry and revitalize communities that have been hit hard by unemployment.

The Blast offense has been offering hints recently that it was ready to flourish, and last night it happened. By halftime, both Denison Cabral and Machel Millwood had produced hat tricks, the team's first of the season, and the Orlando Sharks never had a chance, falling to the onslaught, 25-13, before an announced 9,606, the second-biggest crowd of the season, at 1st Mariner Arena. Blast@Sharks Saturday, 7:35 p.m., 680 AM Records: Blast (11-7), Sharks (3-17)

California Cougars Coach -- Bernie Lilavois Last season -- 7-23, 11 games behind Outlook -- The Cougars were a mess, beset by front-office turmoil and the most grueling travel schedule, which led to a 1-14 road record. They surrendered 482 goals, by far the most in the league, and will need to vastly improve their defense. Already, misfortune struck when F Vicente Figueroa, a former rookie of the year, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the preseason. Sanaldo will handle the goalkeeping.

Blast owner Ed Hale said yesterday that additions for next season could enlarge the Major Indoor Soccer League from six teams to 10 and create Eastern and Western division play. "There will be three, maybe four teams, coming in," said Hale at a postseason wrap-up luncheon at 1st Mariner Bank headquarters. "There is a 75 percent probability that Kansas City will be back in the league. We've been talking for a while." The MISL was already scheduled to add franchises in Newark, N.J.; Orlando, Fla.; and Monterrey, Mexico; and Hale is encouraged by the possible return of Kansas City, which dropped out in 2005.

Domenic Mediate, a flashy midfielder from the University of Maryland, gave the Major League Soccer Superdraft held at the Baltimore Convention Center yesterday a bit of local flair. But Mediate, 22, wasn't present when the Columbus Crew surprised him by making him its second pick and the 23rd selection overall. "I really didn't know what to do about the draft," said Mediate, whose Maryland teams went to three NCAA final fours. "I thought most of the players who were expecting to go in the first round would go to Baltimore.

Opponent: Carolina MonarchsSite: Greensboro (N.C.) ColiseumTime: 7:30Radio: WITH (1230 AM)Outlook: The Bandits, an American Hockey League expansion team, is struggling with an 0-3-0 record after Wednesday night's 7-3 road loss to the Hershey Bears. Opponents have outscored the Bandits, 16-6. Baltimore coach Walt Kyle says seven-year pro Mike O'Neill, who absorbed the loss at Hershey, again will start in goal. Carolina, also an expansion team, is 2-2-1. The Monarchs, who defeated the Bandits in last Friday night's opener, 3-1, are coming off a 5-3 victory over the Binghamton Rangers.

Contrary to Barry Levinson's assertion that former Ravens owner Art Modell made Baltimore's Super Bowl victory possible, Modell was the reason we didn't get an expansion team (" Art Modell 's great gift," Feb. 7). According to former Sun s portswriter John Steadman, Mr. Modell was such a poor business man that he was close to losing the then Cleveland Browns and took our deal to bail himself out. He moved his money-losing team here and wound up selling it for about $800 million.

Moves Baseball EXPOS: Announced that former Orioles OF Tim Raines will join coaching staff for rest of season. METS: Announced two-year player-development agreement with Single-A Hagerstown. Basketball PACERS: Signed G Desmon Farmer. RAPTORS: Signed F Matt Bonner. 76ERS: Signed free-agent F Josh Davis. ABA: Granted expansion team to Brooklyn, N.Y., to begin play in 2005-06 season. DAKOTA (CBA): Traded third- and fifth-round draft picks to Great Lakes for F Tahj Holden (Maryland)

The celebrated quarterback class of the 1999 draft had more misses than hits in the first round, a development that cost an untold number of jobs - from personnel down to coaches - in the ensuing years. Tim Couch couldn't deliver on his status as first pick of the Cleveland Browns' expansion effort. Akili Smith failed to resuscitate the terminally bad Cincinnati Bengals. Cade McNown bombed with the Chicago Bears. They represented the first, third and 12th picks in the draft. Five years later, only Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper remain from the first round.