First Round

AFC East, New York Jets1998 record: 12-4Number of picks: 8First round: NoneMajor needs: G, DL, LB, QBOutlook: The Jets don't have a first-round pick because they gave it to New England as the final piece of the four-draft-pick package for coach Bill Parcells. Not that Parcells will miss having a first-round pick. He manages to win with castoffs. The Jets' first pick will be the 57th in the draft, so they don't figure to get an impact player, but Parcells could use a guard, more depth on defense and a young quarterback.

The former Cleveland Browns are coming to Baltimore. Again.The Ravens announced yesterday that the team has reached a two-year agreement with former Browns running back/punt returner Eric Metcalf, who spent last season with the Arizona Cardinals.Metcalf, 31, will join former Browns receiver Webster Slaughter, whom the Ravens signed last month.Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens vice president of player personnel, said Metcalf's deal is pending the 11-year veteran's passing a physical within the next two weeks.

Lamar King spent most of yesterday sitting around his home in Essex with about 40 friends and family members. He didn't know if his phone would ring on the first day of the NFL draft, but the call came late in the afternoon from the Seattle Seahawks.By last night, King was partying at a club, celebrating the good news. This morning, he likely will be on a plane to Seattle.King, 6 feet 4 and 290 pounds, was the Seahawks' first-round pick yesterday, the 22nd player King taken in the draft. He was the second defensive end selected in the first round, two spots behind North Carolina's Ebenezer Ekuban, who was selected by the Dallas Cowboys.

LocallyAmerica EastAt Newark, Del.Saturday's championshipDelaware vs. Drexel, 11: 30 a.m.Atlantic CoastAt Charlotte, N.C.Tomorrow's first roundClemson vs. Florida State, 7 p.m.Duke vs. Virginia, 9: 30 p.m.Friday's quarterfinalsWake Forest vs. N.C. State, noonMaryland vs. Clemson-Fla. State winner, 2: 30 p.m.North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech, 7 p.m.Saturday's semifinalsDuke-Va. winner vs. Wake-NCS winner, 1: 30 p.m. Md.-Clemson/FSU winner vs. UNC-GT winner, 4 p.m.Sunday's championshipSemifinal winners, 1 p.m.Mid-Eastern AthleticAt Richmond, Va.Monday's first roundFlorida A&M 66, Howard 46Yesterday's first roundUMES 90, Delaware State 75Today's quarterfinalsSouth Carolina State vs. UMES, 2 p.m.Coppin State vs. Florida A&M, 9 p.m.Tomorrow's quarterfinalsMorgan State vs. Hampton, 2 p.m.Bethune-Cookman vs. North Carolina A&T, 9 p.m.Friday's semifinalsSouth Carolina State-UMES winner vs. Bethune-North Carolina A&T winner, 2 p.m.Coppin State-Florida A&M winner vs. Morgan State-Hampton winner, 9 p.m.Saturday's championshipSemifinal winners, 7 p.m.PatriotAt West Point, N.Y.Friday's championshipBucknell vs. Lafayette, 4: 30 p.m.ElsewhereAtlantic 10At PhiladelphiaToday's first roundVirginia Tech vs Fordham, noonMassachusetts vs. Duquesne, 2 p.m. St. Bonaventure vs. Dayton, 7 p.m.La Salle vs. St. Joseph's, 9: 30 p.m.Tomorrow's quarterfinalsTemple vs. Virginia Tech-Fordham winner, noonXavier vs. UMass-Duquesne winner, 2: 30 p.m. G. Washington vs. St. Bon.-Dayton winner, 7 p.m.Rhode Island...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The surprises. The fights. The counterattacks.And that's just been the six days preceding the start of the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament, which begins with first-round games today at Brown Stadium.So what could the tournament possibly do for an encore? Perhaps, continue the shocking turn of events.It's a tournament that has never fielded a team that began its championship parade in the first round since the field expanded to 12 teams in 1987. But it's the same tournament that has been won by a school named either Princeton or Syracuse the past seven times.

No. 8-ranked Centennial scored 13 runs in the first inning and never looked back in a four-inning, 28-7 victory over Fairmont Heights in the first-round of the Class 2A South regional playoffs in Ellicott City yesterday.Centennial (16-4) punched out 25 hits and scored seven runs in the second, three in the third, and five in the fourth against its Prince George's County opponent.The Eagles received contributions from junior first baseman Steve Lazarewicz (3-for-5 with five RBIs), senior catcher Matt Duechler (2-for-3, four RBIs)

MenPete Sampras, United States, 26: The world's No. 1 player and four-time Wimbledon champion is fighting tennis burnout and a prolonged slump, but the top seed remains the pre-tournament favorite because of his booming serve and superb all-around play on the slick grass.Richard Krajicek, Netherlands, 26: Two years ago, the 6-foot-6 right-hander got on a roll and overwhelmed his opponents to win Wimbledon. Beset by inconsistency and injuries, he has done little since his one major triumph.

AFC EastNew England Patriots1997 record: 10-6Draft picks: 10First round: Nos. 18 and 22.Analysis: With six of the first 82 picks -- including the New York Jets' choices in the first three rounds -- the Patriots could have the kind of draft that will keep them on top of the division. The key is whether they come out of it with a running back to replace Curtis Martin. If they don't trade up for Curtis Enis or Fred Taylor, they'll have to hope a good back falls to them. They also need a cornerback and a tight end, but replacing Martin is their top priority.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- It was the Morgan State volleyball program's second NCAA tournament match, but facing third-ranked Nebraska and its 4,154 fans last night, the Bears had plenty of first-game jitters.Needing only 57 minutes, Nebraska advanced to the second round with a 15-1, 15-2, 15-0 win at the sold-out NU Coliseum. The loss was the second in as many years for Morgan State in the first round. The Bears ended 1997 with a defeat at Southern California."I really thought that we were going to be more relaxed because of that experience," Morgan State coach Ramona Riley-Bozier said.

POTOMAC -- Tommy Armour, who began the week as an alternate and got into the Kemper Open field when Tiger Woods withdrew Monday, responded with a 4-under-par 67 yesterday at TPC at Avenel."

The Ravens did the unexpected Saturday - something team officials never envisioned before the start of the NFL draft - when they moved up to select Mississippi offensive tackle Michael Oher with the 23rd overall pick. While many predicted the Ravens would target other positions in the first round - tight end, wide receiver, cornerback and inside linebacker - they reacted aggressively to grab Oher, trading a fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots to jump three spots. Oher (pronounced oar)

Cornerback has undergone more change than any other position on the Ravens, but their offseason restocking of the secondary might not be complete. The Ravens are considering taking a cornerback in the early rounds of the NFL draft, and they are intrigued by Illinois' Vontae Davis in the first round and Utah's Sean Smith in the second. "I think corners are like pitchers in baseball - you can never have enough," said Eric DeCosta, the Ravens' director of player personnel. "You never want to get beat because your corners aren't good enough to play or not healthy.

Even if the Ravens can't complete a trade for the Arizona Cardinals' Anquan Boldin, team officials don't feel the pressure to select a wide receiver in the first round in next weekend's NFL draft. "I would challenge you to go to those receivers that we have working right now in the offseason program and tell them we need a receiver and see their reaction," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said at the team's pre-draft news conference. "I like the attitude of those guys. We're looking forward to some of those young guys taking some big leaps in their second year.

1 Afternoon delight: Productivity will be down across the region during Maryland's NCAA opener against California (sometime between 2:30 and 3 p.m., chs. 13, 9). 2 Time won't let me: Look for Steve Bisciotti at Ray Lewis' news conference (4 p.m., MASN), but he might be fidgeting because of the Terps game. 3 Sooner or later: Morgan State makes its NCAA Division I tournament debut, against Oklahoma (between 9:30 and 10 p.m., Channel 13). 4 Proud to be: an American: American faces Villanova in what amounts to a Wildcats home game in the NCAA first round (7:20 p.m., chs. 13, 9)

First round (fourth overall) Brian Matusz, a left-handed pitcher from University of San Diego: Matusz, a 21-year-old who was regarded by most analysts as the best pitcher in the draft, was 26-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 48 appearances for the Toreros over three seasons. In 2008, he went 12-2 with a 1.71 ERA in 15 games, 14 of them starts. At 6 feet 4, 200 pounds, Matusz, an Arizona native, has four pitches and frequently uses his off-speed stuff to set up his fastball, which he throws between 90 and 93 mph. His best pitch might be his changeup.

The big showdown in the new Boston Garden yesterday ended up being the entire first round of the NBA playoffs in a nutshell. Game 7 of the Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks was a dud. What happened? The playoffs have rarely been this eagerly anticipated; they weren't going to sneak up on anybody the way the past two have. After a regular season some called the best in league history, with all eight Western Conference qualifiers winning at least 50 games and with every seed up for grabs going into the final five days, this year's playoffs were going to pick up where the regular season left off, and jump up and grab everybody from the opening tip of the very first game.

The Ravens addressed their need at cornerback yesterday, but it didn't come in the draft. Instead, the Ravens traded a fourth-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for Fabian Washington. A first-round pick in 2005, Washington was expendable after the Raiders had traded for DeAngelo Hall. In three seasons with Oakland, Washington had 112 tackles and five interceptions. He was a starter his first two seasons before losing his job early last year. Even if Washington is unable to crack the Ravens' starting lineup, he will be a valuable nickel back, especially because so many AFC North teams use three receivers.

Troy Smith must be very uncomfortable. Or unhappy. Or, at least, very, very confused. It's not as if it was going to be a huge upset when the Ravens picked a quarterback early in yesterday's NFL draft. Smith knew what was coming, knew the competition for the starting job was going to include him, Kyle Boller and whomever the Ravens anointed. But he couldn't have been prepared to see what happened yesterday, or hear what was said. Joe Flacco, solidly in the second tier of available quarterbacks, a candidate to slip into the lower reaches of the first round - before the Ravens leaped up eight spots from the bottom of the round to the middle to get him. The second quarterback chosen, one of the only two in the first round (and the last taken until after the Ravens picked again late in the second round, covering 55 selections)

The art of filling in a bracket you can be proud of is all about picking the right upsets. Take at least one No. 11 seed and probably a No. 12 seed in the first round, right? Probably find a sleeper that could go deep. Maybe the key is restraining yourself and not thinking too hard, letting your basketball mojo flow, as you go from line to line. But after last season, a different question needs to be asked - will the Cinderella team even return this season? The 2007 NCAA tournament was seriously lacking in major surprises.

Outfield has traditionally offered the deepest reservoir of premium fantasy hitters. But no outfielder went in the top five of my first 2008 draft Monday night. Only two, Matt Holliday and Carl Crawford, went in the top 10. Only 11 went in the top 50. There are still more quality hitters in the outfield than at any other position, but the pool is weaker at the tippy-top than in most years. That could change in a hurry if Ryan Braun takes to his position switch and youngsters such as Justin Upton and Jay Bruce are as good as many expect.