Final Weekend

The Cal Ripken World Series semifinals are set for both the International and United States after pool play in all three series divisions was concluded on Wednesday at the Ripken Baseball Academy. Japan (5-0) claimed the top spot in the International Pool, with an exciting and nail-biting 2-1 win over Mexico (4-1) Wednesday night in Cal Sr.'s Yard, while Republic of Korea (2-3) earned the fourth and final seed with a 7-0 win over Australia (1-4), also at Cal Sr.'s Yard. Japan will meet Republic of Korea today (Friday)

After Edmondson safety Laqwan Moody picked off a Douglass pass with 21 seconds to go to seal Saturday's 14-10 playoff victory for the Red Storm, he didn't want to say much about the win other than that it was "unfinished business. " For the No. 12 Red Storm, which reached the state semifinals last season, a state title to match the program's first crown in 2006 is the ultimate goal and they took a big step in that direction at Poly. They will host Dundalk in the Class 2A North region final next weekend after beating one of their toughest Baltimore City opponents for the second time this fall.

If you didn't see it on 33rd Street, see it in your living room.The Baltimore Orioles are offering "The Final Weekend," a videotape of the weekend's highlights at Memorial Stadium. The tape, which runs more than one hour, includes footage of John Unitas and Brooks Robinson throwing out the first balls before Sunday's final game, the final pitches of the last game and the post-game ceremonies featuring former Orioles players.The tape is $14.95 (plus 75 cents tax and $2 postage and handling)

With a 14-4 record and all four losses coming to teams ranked higher in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, Stevenson figures to be a lock for the NCAA tournament. But rather than sit back and coast into the postseason, the Mustangs are scheduled to travel and meet Ohio Wesleyan (11-3) this Saturday. Coach Paul Cantabene said he's glad the team won't be taking the weekend off before the NCAA tournament. “We're not afraid to get out there and keep playing,” he said Tuesday.

For most of the year, for most people, politics may seem little more than background noise, the drip of a faucet. But on the final weekend before a presidential Election Day, it was evident from visits around the state that the campaign has become a roaring tide, and it was difficult not to get pulled in. The election hubbub turned the state into the hunters (the candidates) and the hunted (the voters). "When the last voters vote - as President Clinton would say, `The last dog dies' - I want you to ask yourself, `Did I do everything I possibly could?

LANDOVER -- In their final debate as campaign rivals, U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and former NAACP chief Kweisi Mfume fielded questions yesterday ranging from gay marriage to genocide in Sudan, appearing cordial and energized as they head into the final weekend before Tuesday's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. The two spoke at a forum held by the Collective Banking Group, a coalition of churches in the Prince George's County area. Appearing before more than 50 mostly black pastors and religious leaders, Mfume seized on religious references, casting himself as the candidate who would give a voice to the forgotten.

The "33rd Street Gazette," a tabloid devoted to the Baltimore Orioles, will release its opening issue during the final weekend at Memorial Stadium.To be published by Ted Venetoulis Communications Group, it will contain material "not covered by the region's newspapers," according to editor Bob Brown, director of publications for the Orioles.Plans are to publish twice monthly during the season and less often in the off-season.Venetoulis said the name will be changed to reflect the new ballpark, whenever that is named.

Playwrights Festival's final weekendThis is the final weekend of the 1999 Baltimore Playwrights Festival, and you can still catch all three of the remaining entries, if you schedule them right. Furthermore, two of the shows are among the picks of this year's crop."Keeping the Faith," at the Spotlighters, is Carol Weinberg's insightful account of the challenging relationship between an at-risk biracial teen-ager (Ran Frazier) and his Jewish Big Brother (Rodney Bonds). A bar in a small Virginia town provides the setting for Jim Sizemore's "Joe Pete" -- a Fell's Point Corner Theatre production about men, guns and women.

Who's hot The Pirates have won seven of their past 10 home games. Who's not Esteban Loaiza of the Blue Jays has allowed 36 runs in 19 innings against the Devil Rays this season. Line of the day Carlos Lee, White Sox LF AB ....... R .......... H .......... RBI ........... HR 3 .......... 3 .......... 2 ............ 4 ............... 1 On deck The Reds play host to the Phillies in a doubleheader in the final weekend of Cincinnati's Cinergy Field. He said it "I don't think there's one pitcher in here that would mind coming out with two outs in the ninth inning of a shutout for him to go in."

DETROIT -- This having been a season of constant changes, it is only fitting that Orioles manager John Oates has rearranged his pitching rotation one last time.This one, however, is not dictated by injuries, but by sentiment.Dave Johnson (4-7, 6.93) will pitch the final game of the series against the Tigers tonight (7:35, no TV), facing Mark Leiter (8-6, 4.22). Johnson will be pitching a day earlier than normal, a move made to allow him to start the next to last game of the season."Why not?"

Like everyone else, Dom Starsia, head coach of No. 1 Virginia, has noticed the number of upsets this season, but he isn't ready to concede that some of the traditional powers won't make it to the Final Four in May as some have suggested. “No question, the number of upsets is unprecedented and speaks directly to the growth of the game and the increased number of good prospects available,” said Starsia. “At the same time, I am not quite ready to concede that this will manifest itself on Memorial Day weekend. Let's reserve judgment.”

The Cal Ripken World Series semifinals are set for both the International and United States after pool play in all three series divisions was concluded on Wednesday at the Ripken Baseball Academy. Japan (5-0) claimed the top spot in the International Pool, with an exciting and nail-biting 2-1 win over Mexico (4-1) Wednesday night in Cal Sr.'s Yard, while Republic of Korea (2-3) earned the fourth and final seed with a 7-0 win over Australia (1-4), also at Cal Sr.'s Yard. Japan will meet Republic of Korea today (Friday)

The NCAA on Wednesday cleared Auburn quarterback Cam Newton for pay. Sorry, make that PLAY! What a year, month and last few days it has been, and we haven't yet reached goosebump weekend in the Bowl Championship Series — historically a Coney Island roller coaster with refs. What happens next? In 1998, UCLA lost its title-game grip at Miami, Kansas State lost to Texas A&M and Florida State was miraculously air-mailed in to the first BCS title game. The hand-wringing continued into 2001, when Nebraska earned a title-game shot after a late-season 62-36 loss, and into 2003, when Oklahoma earned one after a 35-7 loss, and into 2007, when LSU woke up No. 7 in the BCS standings on Saturday morning and went to bed No. 2 on Sunday night.

Democrat Barack Obama returned yesterday morning to Iowa, where his victory in the presidential caucuses gave his drive for the White House a major boost, while Republican John McCain headed into the final weekend of the election season with a call to supporters to prove the polls wrong. Four days before Election Day, McCain was in Ohio - a must-win Republican state. "We're a few points down, but we're coming back, and we're coming back strong," he said at a rally yesterday morning. "We're closing, my friends, and we're gonna win in Ohio."

It's hard to get them to admit it, but there is a palpable sense of relief on their faces, a sense that the end is in sight. Almost. These are the last handshakes. The last urgent messages reminding people to vote. The last requisite conversations with everyone from engaged voters to homeless people to those who are just angry. Tomorrow Baltimore voters go to the polls to pick the city's new leaders in an off-year election in which many voters are still undecided or even unaware of their choices.

LANDOVER -- In their final debate as campaign rivals, U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and former NAACP chief Kweisi Mfume fielded questions yesterday ranging from gay marriage to genocide in Sudan, appearing cordial and energized as they head into the final weekend before Tuesday's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. The two spoke at a forum held by the Collective Banking Group, a coalition of churches in the Prince George's County area. Appearing before more than 50 mostly black pastors and religious leaders, Mfume seized on religious references, casting himself as the candidate who would give a voice to the forgotten.

Sunday starter Mussina glad for 4 AAA monthsCHICAGO -- Rookie right-hander Mike Mussina is expected to join the Baltimore Orioles today at Comiskey Park, where he will make his first major-league start Sunday. But if his arrival seemed long in coming, he didn't let on."Any time is a good time to come up," Mussina said. "I had no planned time or set goal when I wanted to get here. I'd been throwing well, and I was fortunate enough that they are going to give me a chance."Mussina, the Orioles' first-round draft choice last June, was 10-4 for the Class AAA Rochester Red Wings this year.

BURLINGTON, Wis. -- As President Bush resumes his Harry S. Truman dream of an upset with another Trumanesque whistle-stop train tour today, this time through rural Wisconsin, he continues to pursue an electoral-vote strategy that gives him virtually no margin for error.The decision to devote a full day, the third from the end of the campaign, to a state with only 11 electoral votes underscores his abandoned hopes in many larger states -- and his long-shot objective of patching together a quilt of smaller ones to barely reach the magic number of 270.With California (54 electoral votes)

Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala said he has never assigned so many responsibilities to a defensive player. Given the capability of senior defenseman Chris Watson, who has started every game in his career and has attacked his academic chores with equal vigor, Pietramala's choice makes sense. What doesn't the former lacrosse All-American from Yorktown (N.Y.) High School do? On the field, while senior Tom Garvey handles the opposing team's top scoring threat, Watson plays part-time crease cover guy and full-time traffic cop. With him barking orders and audibles, the Blue Jays will change their man-to-man look to a matchup zone, alter their slide packages, do the subtle things with positioning and spacing that force their opponents to settle for lower-percentage shots.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who started four horses in his first Kentucky Derby, in 2000, could have five contenders for this year's race running in prep races this weekend. This comes on the heels of Pletcher's winning the Illinois Derby with Pollard's Vision, a one-eyed horse, at Hawthorne on Saturday. The last round of major preps for the Kentucky Derby, which will be run at Churchill Downs on May 1, comes Saturday with the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, the Blue Grass at Keeneland and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.