Games In Baltimore

Dan Knise walked briskly into the Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel in Towson, scarcely breaking his stride as he warmly shook hands, then made a beeline for the hotel directory to check the meeting roster -- all in one fluid motion. Not yet 8 a.m., and the president and chief executive officer of the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition was running 10 minutes early. But that could never last on a day that would take him from his home in McLean, Va., to Towson, to downtown Washington, back out to Columbia, and finally home again.

Bob Turley, a hard-throwing right-hander who won the Orioles' first home game, died of liver cancer early Saturday morning, according to his son Terry Turley. He was 82. Turley pitched one season for the Orioles in 1954, their first in Baltimore, and he started the first big league game at Memorial Stadium. He was traded to the New York Yankees, with whom he won the Cy Young Award in 1958. The April 15, 1954 opener at Memorial Stadium was a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox played in front of 46,354 fans.

School closings in Howard, Baltimore and Harford counties caused by yesterday morning's icy road conditions caused the postponement of several athletic events.It is the policy of most school systems in the Baltimore area to postpone extracurricular activities if schools are closed.All postponed games in Baltimore County have been moved to today with the same sites and times. Howard County games tentatively are set for Monday.Games in Harford County and at some private schools will be rescheduled later.

After 15 years of waiting for playoff baseball at Camden Yards, Orioles fans had to endure an extra 21/2 hours as chilly rain pushed back the start of Sunday's division series opener against the hated New York Yankees. A mighty roar shook the stadium when the grounds crew peeled away the protective tarp at 8 p.m., conveying just how badly Baltimore fans wanted their October moment. The crowd didn't grow quiet until the Yankees scored five runs in the ninth inning on their way to a 7-2 victory.

Barring a work stoppage, the NBA will return to Baltimore in October, when the Washington Wizards are scheduled to open their 1998 preseason at the Baltimore Arena.The Wizards are scheduled to play here Oct. 16 against the Boston Celtics. The Wizards' other preseason home game will be Oct. 17 against the Philadelphia 76ers at the MCI Center in Washington.Since leaving Baltimore in 1973, the Bullets had played selected games here. But after changing its name to Wizards last year and moving into the MCI Center, the club decided not to play regular-season games in Baltimore.

Opponent: Philadelphia KixxSite: Spectrum, PhiladelphiaTime: 7: 35TV/Radio: Comcast Channel 69 in Baltimore and Harford counties and Channel 54 in Howard County)/WJFK (1300 AM)Outlook: This weekend will offer an excellent opportunity for the Blast to see how far it has come this season, as it confronts two of the three teams it currently trails in the American Conference, the Kixx (18-14) and Cleveland (21-12). The Blast (17-16), which has won its last four games, should benefit from the return of goalie Brett Phillips and midfielder Danny Kelly off the injured list.

Dwayne Norris, captain and inspirational leader of the Bandits since joining the team last Nov. 3, has won American Hockey League second-team honors.In 62 games for Baltimore, Norris scored 31 goals and registered 55 assists for a team-leading 86 points.A first-team selection last season for Cornwall, Norris was signed by the parent Mighty Ducks of Anaheim out of the International Hockey League, where he had seven goals and 16 assists in 14 games for the Los Angeles Ice Dogs.Among Norris' 20 multiple-point games this season were three five-point and three four-point games.

Recurring problems with the shot clock and scoreboard at the Baltimore Arena prompted a visit to yesterday's Washington Bullets-Atlanta Hawks game by Matt Winick, the NBA's director of game operations.Based on his observations, Winick could recommend to league officials that the Bullets discontinue playing games in Baltimore next season.After less than eight minutes had elapsed in the first quarter, the shot clock malfunctioned. Because of past problems, the Bullets had two auxiliary 24-second clocks ready to be installed in the corners of the two baselines.

The Baltimore Arena's latest electrical problem, whic occurred Saturday night during the fourth quarter of the Washington Bullets' game with the Detroit Pistons, was apparently a new one: a transponder that short-circuited a bank of lights on the west end of the building."

Aberdeen annexation rejected Growth-wary Aberdeen voters rejected the annexation of more than 500 acres, a proposal city officials had aggressively promoted amid opponents' complaints that the plan had been hastily arranged and would strain municipal services. Scientist pleads guilty A senior government scientist originally from Baltimore pleaded guilty to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed fees from the same drug manufacturer whose public-private research collaboration he oversaw.

Steve LaPlanche - "Sports Steve" to his friends - says he hasn't missed a professional football game played in Baltimore since 1956. His streak, he says proudly, is 358 games and counting. "I started going when I was 3, and I haven't missed a Baltimore home game since then," said LaPlanche, 59. "Ever since I was born, sports was like a magnet to me. I've lived and slept sports. " But LaPlanche, whose loyalty has lasted through Baltimore's NFL Colts, USFL Stars and CFL Stallions before settling on the Ravens, isn't simply a dedicated fan. He also makes a proud spectacle of himself at every home game with an intricate homemade getup.

Heavy rain and the possiblity of severe weather postponed all games and cancelled all practices Tuesday afternoon in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties. All other after-school activites also were canceled in the public schools in those jurisdictions. Carroll County officials postponed all games except volleyball, while Baltimore City sports were scheduled to go on as usual. Much of the area was under a severe thunderstorm warning and a tornado watch during the afternoon just as game and practice time approached.

Sitting in the visitors' dugout, Davey Johnson looked out over the park that used to be home, took a deep breath and grinned. It had been 15 years, but Johnson was finally managing again in Camden Yards. "Feels good to be back," said Johnson, now the manager of the Washington Nationals, before Friday night's series opener against the Orioles. "Little different view from this angle," he added. Different view, same landmarks. There, in the dugout across the field, that's where Johnson watched his final game wearing an Orioles cap. Over the right field wall, that's where Tony Fernandez launched his series-clinching home run in the top of the 11th inning, breaking a scoreless tie for the Cleveland Indians in Game 6 of the 1997 American League Championship Series.

One year after arriving as Maryland's men's basketball coach, Mark Turgeon says the nonconference schedule "is not where I want it to be" and that he hopes to toughen it by adding more marquee games in future seasons — perhaps including some in Baltimore. But a contest at 1st Mariner Arena has not been scheduled for the upcoming season, as he had hoped. "We really wanted to play a game in Baltimore this year, and we're still trying to do that. I don't think it's going to happen," said Turgeon, who this week began running a series of one-hour, summer-session practices with his young team.

Officials from Baltimore City Public Schools are investigating a brawl that took place at a high school basketbal game Wednesday night in west Baltimore. According to reports, dozens of police officers were called to ConneXions School For The Arts on Wednesday night to respond to a fight during the school's game against Cardozo of Washington, D.C. Video of the incident shows both players and fans involved in the melee. Baltimore City Public Schools Police deferred comment to schools spokeswoman Edie House-Foster, who released the following statement: "Baltimore City Public Schools expects spectators and student athletes to exhibit excellent sportsmanship at all times.

Sunday's football game between the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets was seen by 18.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data released by NBC. While that is down about 10 percent from what the Sunday night telecast had been drawing, the telecast was still the most watched prime-time show of the week among young viewers (18 to 49 years of age). The overall audience was far and away the largest on television Sunday night. The dip in overall viewing was attirbuted to the blowout nature of the game with the Ravens jumping off to a fast 20 to 7 lead and never trailing as they went on to win 34-17.

With a commitment to become as much of a state team as the Orioles, the Washington Bullets again will play four of their home games at the Baltimore Arena during the the 1992-93 NBA season."

The Washington Capitals and 1st Mariner Arena announced today that they will make a "special" announcement Monday afternoon at the arena. Baltimore city officials and Capitals GM George McPhee will be in attendance, so expect a pretty significant announcement. This is pure speculation here -- and maybe a little bit of wishful thinking -- but it wouldn't surprise me if they revealed that the Capitals plan on playing a preseason exhibition at 1st Mariner Arena sometime in September.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake said she would like to see the state's fledgling slot-machine gambling program expanded to include poker, blackjack, craps and roulette, adding her voice Friday to a growing number of lawmakers who support bringing Vegas-style table games to Maryland. Such games, the mayor said at a meeting of Baltimore's state lawmakers in Annapolis, would make any proposed city gambling parlor competitive "not only in the state, but within the region."