Fantasy Camp

Stan Stovall and Marty Bass top the list of best-dressed news dudes in Baltimore. So say the readers of This Just In, who wrote, phoned and faxed their opinions from throughout the Greater Patapsco Drainage Basin. Stovall (Channel 2) also got a vote for "best undressed." He has, of course, that tremendous physique, which sometimes makes his clothes look too snug. But who am I to argue? Stovall got the most votes. Bass fTC (Channel 13) was a close second, followed by Norm Lewis (2), Virg Jacques (11)

Since I had so many "Q's without A's" left over from our last query session, I thought I would unload them today, sports fans.As you know, most of these questions come from your calls to the 24-Hour Sportsline, which is our own love connection without a 900-number.Calls to my hot line to talk sports with me one-on-one are free. So, if you have any comments on today's big "Q's" or any "Q's and A's" of your own, please give me a call today or any time at 647-2499. I'll be waiting.* Will Severna Park's 63-year-old infielder, Jack Kendall, the former assistant football coach at Anne Arundel Community College, be invited to the Baltimore Orioles' spring training camp with Mike Flanagan, Larry Sheets and Jim "Cakes" Palmer?

Sure, Ellis Marsalis has had better sturdents.But amid the din of missed chords and poorly played riffs, the renowned jazz pianist and teacher seemed to be enjoying himself in Bethlehem, Pa.Marching around like a drill sergeant, Mr. Marsalis exhorted some nervous, toe-tapping amateur musicians to reach for their syncopated best at a fantasy jazz camp."

IT WAS SEVERAL months ago that Bill Ripken called and challenged me to put my baseball ability on display at the Ripken Minor League Experience, but I didn't think he was serious. I played along, because I never thought anything would come of it, but it turns out that they really are going to charter a couple of buses and take several dozen baseball nuts on a game-a-day tour of the New York-Penn League, beginning tonight. My hammies are already starting to hurt, but there's no backing out now. Mind you, I'm not worried about embarrassing myself.

She has an island fantasy camp to run this week, a fall wedding - her own - to plan, an Olympic hopeful to mentor and a televised holiday show to prep for. Yet Dorothy Hamill, the figure skater crowned "America's Sweetheart" after her gold-medal performance at the 1976 Winter Olympics, still finds time to stop for a phone call to her summer home on Nantucket to catch up. Although she wasn't a summer camper growing up, Hamill started to get the bug...

Cal Ripken's new cereal, scheduled to debut next month, will be called Cal's Crunchy O's.Jason Bauer, president of Famous Fixins, the company marketing the breakfast cereal, said the name was decided upon this week following negotiations with the Orioles and Major League Baseball.Ripken will not, however, be able to wear his Orioles uniform on the cover, Bauer said. Major League Baseball owns the rights to team logos and uniforms. Ripken will instead be depicted in a special "Ripken" uniform he used for his winter fantasy camp.

Joe Garagiola has spent his life in baseball as a player, announcer and sports commenta- tor for NBC's "Today." Recently, he has spearheaded the efforts of the Baseball Assistance Team, a nonprofit group that offers financial support to ex-players and other baseball officials. Garagiola talked about the cause with The Sun's Mark Hyman.Q: Who does BAT help?A: Players, of course. But not only players. We recently changed our bylaws to take care of umpires, front-office personnel, scouts, widows, Negro League players.

Meredith B. Kane, a computer software applications and systems expert, died of complications from ovarian cancer Wednesday at a brother's home in Grasonville. The resident of Phoenix in Baltimore County was 56. She was born Meredith Levering Bond in Baltimore and raised in Roland Park. She was a 1967 graduate of Roland Park Country School and earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1971 from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Va. She earned a master's degree in information technology from the Johns Hopkins University in the 1990s.

CHICAGO -- Michael Jordan is back.Was there any doubt?During a brief meeting in Las Vegas late Tuesday involving Jordan, agent David Falk and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, Jordan agreed to a new one-year contract.Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Jordan is believed to have been offered at least $36 million -- a 20-percent raise over last season. The contract is to be signed next week when Jordan returns from Las Vegas, where he is conducting a fantasy basketball camp.Both sides remained relatively quiet about the contract yesterday; their brief statements didn't address whether the coming season would be Jordan's final one with the Bulls.

Orioles All-Star Cal Ripken Jr. has assumed ownership from partner LifeBridge Health of a Columbia athletic training center that bears his name, the Cal Ripken Jr. Sports Acceleration Center.Ripken intends to expand the center, change its name and add programs and outlets. Eventually the operation, which provides advanced training for amateur and professional athletes, could expand nationwide, said Ira Rainess, president of the center and head of Ripken's commercial operations."People throughout the country have tried to find a formula that works in this niche market; I think we have found the right model," Rainess said.