Final Game

Ray Lewis' Ravens held on for dear life, a seemingly certain Super Bowl victory only a few yards from slipping away. In the end, however, Lewis got the finale he wanted to his decorated 17-year career, a world championship secured by one last defensive stand against the younger, faster San Francisco 49ers. When it was finally over, Lewis bellowed at the sky, his arms wide open as confetti rained around him. The face of the Ravens was a Super Bowl champion for the second time and a retiree for the first.

ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra participated in a Q&A Monday. The former Syracuse All-American midfielder, who can be followed on Twitter via @paulcarcaterra, also offered parting commentary on the three programs from Maryland that were in the NCAA tournament - sixth-seeded Maryland, Loyola and Towson. After Maryland's 16-8 loss to Cornell Sunday, senior long-stick midfielder Jesse Bernhardt and senior midfielder John Haus said the setback would not define a senior class that had advanced to back-to-back NCAA title games without winning the championship.

THE CHANCES are good today that on some sodden field, kids are trying to play the last game of the season as their dutiful parents shiver on the sidelines.It doesn't matter much which sport is winding down. At this time of year the usual candidates are football, soccer and field hockey. Regardless of which sport their kids are playing, the parents on the sidelines are probably suffering from the "last game of the season syndrome."One symptom of this syndrome is the "spousal dodge." This is a pregame condition that occurs when one parent tries to cajole the other into accompanying the kid to the final game.

Despite being the top seed in the Ivy League tournament, Cornell was stunned, 14-13, in overtime by No. 12 Princeton. That result cost the Big Red one of the eight seeds in the NCAA tournament and the right to host a home game in the first round. No. 2 Cornell (12-3) will visit No. 11 and sixth-seeded Maryland (10-3) at Byrd Stadium in College Park this Sunday, but Terps coach John Tillman is not as concerned about the Big Red's last outing as he is about that team's entire season.

As the lights dimmed at Camden Yards tonight, the career of Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken also went dark. Ripken played in his final game, the 3,001st since leaving Triple-A Rochester for the major leagues in August 1981. He takes with him a warehouse full of records and accolades, and the organization's last link to a Hall of Famer. The connection began with Brooks Robinson and extended past Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer and most likely Eddie Murray. It ended tonight with baseball's Iron Man, the all-time leader for consecutive games played and a virtually certain first-ballot inductee to Cooperstown.

WASHINGTON - Going into his final game, Towson senior Darnell "Sporty" Evans guaranteed his coaches a defensive touchdown against Georgetown. He delivered on his promise - twice. Playing his final college game in front of a hometown crowd, the Bullis Prep alumnus scored two touchdowns to lead the Tigers (3-7, 2-5 Patriot League) to a 27-9 win over the Hoyas (3-7, 0-6) yesterday at Kehoe Field. "I had 30 people coming to the game; it's my hometown," Evans said. "I can't describe it right now. I wanted to go out with a bang, and I played my heart out."

Our son Peter is the goalkeeper for the men's soccer team at Mount St. Mary's University and recently completed the final collegiate game of his career. While watching that game on a cold and rainy day in St. Francis, Pa., we never thought we would also be witnessing the final game of the men's soccer program! How disturbing it was for us to learn of the university's decision to terminate the program. What is even more disturbing is the way the entire matter was handled. The sadness we felt watching what we knew was Peter's last game can't even compare to the sadness the other parents must now feel since they didn't even know that it was the final game for their sons, too. We are truly disappointed in the leadership of Mount Saint Mary's University for their lack of planning and frankly, compassion, for the young men involved in this program.

Towson (3-7) @James Madison (7-3) Time -- 1:30 p.m. Site -- Bridgeforth Stadium, Harrisonburg, Va. Radio -- 1570 AM Outlook -- Towson (1-6 Colonial Athletic Association) will try to end a four-game losing streak in its final game of the season, but the Tigers face a difficult opponent in the Dukes (5-2 CAA). James Madison is ranked 14th in the NCAA's Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) and is coming off a 55-34 victory over William and Mary. The game features contrasting offenses: Towson likes to throw (224.

Years from now, when Memorial Stadium is merely a memory and the new home of the Baltimore Orioles is no longer state-of-the-art, someone will tell you that he was there. For the last weekend on 33rd Street. For the last game. For the last pitch.What the fans might not tell you is that they didn't see much. Especially if they bought tickets from John Ruley."There's a lot of interest," Ruley said yesterday. "We have tons of partially obstructed seats. But nobody wants to sit in them."Ruley, a broker with Ticket Action of Silver Spring, said business has slowed quite a bit this week, as the good seats, going for anywhere from $45 to $65 apiece, were gobbled up. Tim Ryan, lTC who operates Ticket Finders in Greenbelt, said that he has sold box seats to Sunday's game for as much as $150 a pair.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Former All-Star center Alonzo Mourning will attempt a comeback next season after being forced to retire from the NBA earlier this season because of a kidney transplant, a member of the New Jersey Nets' organization said last night. Mourning played in only 12 games after signing a four-year, $22 million free-agent contract. He appeared in his final game Nov. 22 and underwent a transplant on Dec. 19. He returned to the bench occasionally late in the season and joined the team on the road for the first time in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

For Peter Baum, winning the Tewaaraton Award last year was a life-changer - both good and bad. When the Colgate attackman was named the top college player in June after an impressive junior season in which he racked up 67 goals and 30 assists, he called the honor "one of the proudest moments of my life. " Amid his struggles a season later, it would dawn on Baum why only one player has won the Tewaaraton twice since it was first awarded in 2001. "It's funny the way you look at it because this is an award that only one person has won twice.

Harford Community College sophomore Dimitrios Jelen-Joy was honored recently for scoring his 1,000th career point as a member of the Fighting Owls men's basketball team. Pictured, from left: Robert Jelen (father), Brian Selby (HCC head coach), Dimitrios Jelen-Joy, Darius Jelen-Joy (brother) and Donna Groves (HCC Assistant Athletic Director. In his final game, Jelen-Joy needed 16 points to become the first Fighting Owl men's player to reach the milestone. Jelen-Joy got exactly that total, scoring point number 1,000 on a straight-on 3-pointer with 3:50 remaining in the game.

The Baltimore Bombers' promising inaugural season has come to a premature end. The team, one of four in the North American Lacrosse League, issued a statement Friday confirming reports that it will not play its final two scheduled games because of financial problems. The Bombers had been scheduled to face the Kentucky Stickhorses on Sunday afternoon at Du Burns Arena before visiting the Boston Rockhoppers next Saturday night. The Bombers had a 4-3 record and trailed Boston by two games in the standings.

Towson plays its final basketball games Saturday at the Towson Center, its home for 37 years. And then? Lights out. Court adjourned. Next year, the Tigers graduate to the Tiger Arena, a glitzy $72 million, 5,200-seat venue being built adjacent to the present facility. But not before the school pays homage to the Towson Center with a men's-women's doubleheader. At halftime of the men's game against Hofstra, more than two dozen former players and coaches will be introduced, including most of the 1976-77 team that christened the building and went 27-3 - Towson's best mark ever.

Maryland will open its final Atlantic Coast Conference season on the road at Florida State on Oct. 5 and close the schedule -- as if often does -- against North Carolina State on Nov. 30. The ACC has made a habit of matching up the Terps and Wolfpack in the last game. This will be the third time in four seasons the teams have met in the regular-season finale. But this game in Raleigh, N.C., will be different -- Maryland's last ACC game before the Terps head to the Big Ten, The ACC announced dates for the 2013 schedule Monday.

The Blast completed its 2012-13 regular season with a fundamentally sound stamp of approval Saturday night against the two-time defending Major Indoor Soccer League champion Milwaukee Wave. In a showdown for first place, the Blast defended more closely, scored the bigger goals and blanked the Wave in the fourth quarter to come away with a 10-6 win in front of an announced 6,386 at 1st Mariner Arena . The Blast finishes with a 21-5 record and moves one game in front of the Wave, which falls to 18-4 with four games still to play before the regular season concludes next Sunday.

Momentum proved difficult to sustain in last night's Baltimore City volleyball championship, but with good serving and strong net play late in the final game, Western managed to string together a couple of five-point runs that sparked a 25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 29-27 victory over Poly. Cierra Glasscho and Shatera Kimbrough served the runs and Shannon Lett had three of her seven kills as the host Doves rallied from eight points down to win the final game. "Our serving pretty much did it for us and teamwork - everyone working together," said Lett.

Opponent: Milwaukee BucksSite: Bradley Center, MilwaukeeTime: 8:30Radio: WWLG (1360 AM), WTEM (570 AM)Outlook: This is the final game of a four-game road stretch for the Bullets, who have seven straight on the road. The Bucks lost on Tuesday to the second-worst team in the league, the Philadelphia 76ers. Former Bullets C Kevin Duckworth, making his first start of the season, picked up two fouls in two minutes and didn't return. The Bullets are hoping from a better game from C Gheorghe Muresan, who had nine points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's loss to the Bulls.

Ray Lewis' Ravens held on for dear life, a seemingly certain Super Bowl victory only a few yards from slipping away. In the end, however, Lewis got the finale he wanted to his decorated 17-year career, a world championship secured by one last defensive stand against the younger, faster San Francisco 49ers. When it was finally over, Lewis bellowed at the sky, his arms wide open as confetti rained around him. The face of the Ravens was a Super Bowl champion for the second time and a retiree for the first.

Institute of Notre Dame girls basketball coach Jerry Hahn isn't feeling too emotional heading into Friday night's 47th annual rivalry game against Mercy - at least not yet. It could be a different story after the game. For the third and final time, Hahn will coach his daughter, Jen, in "The Game," the showdown that regularly draws at least 4,000 fans to the Towson Center. For the Hahns, "The Game" is as much family tradition as IND tradition. Wife and mother Karen Hahn also played in "The Game" for IND in 1986, coached by her future husband.