Gannon

Robert Morris Vogel, 80, business co-ownerRobert Morris Vogel, co-owner of a home improvement business in Baltimore County, died of dementia Saturday in a Fairfax, Va., nursing home. He was 80.The Baltimore native and a late brother opened Vogel Bros., a home improvement business, in Milford Mill in 1945. He retired in 1987 and moved to Fairfax in 1994.Mr. Vogel attended Polytechnic Institute in the mid-1930s and served in the Army from 1941 to 1945 during World War II.He was a longtime member of Mount Olivet United Methodist Church in Randallstown.

Dr. Andrew Herbert Foster, 42, cardiac surgeonDr. Andrew Herbert Foster, head of cardiac surgery at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, died Friday of complications of lymphoma at University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 42 and lived in Severna Park.Dr. Foster was appointed head of the cardiac unit in 1998. From 1991 to 1998, he was assistant professor and then associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. From 1989 to 1991, he was cardiothoracic resident for the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.

SAN DIEGO - The unofficial end of Super Bowl XXXVII came with 8 minutes and 48 seconds left in the second quarter. Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon had just escaped the pass rush of Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Ellis Wyms, and as he stepped up in the pocket, he ducked. Only one problem: There was no one chasing him. Then, within seconds, Bucs defensive end Simeon Rice circled in for the kill and the sack. And from that point on, we didn't hear much again from Gannon, receivers Tim Brown and Jerry Rice and running back Charlie Garner.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Motivation has not been a problem for the Minnesota Vikings this season. The Detroit Lions should have known that, but then again, this has not been a season in which the Lions have been a sharp football team.Lions strong safety Bennie Blades made the mistake of hitting Cris Carter in the head early in the first quarter. Blades drew a 15-yard personal foul penalty, but the Vikings later drew blood.They cut up the Lions last night, 31-14, at the Metrodome to take a firmer grip on first place in the NFC Central Division.

MIAMI -- The Washington Redskins couldn't beat Dan Marino with two quarterbacks last night.Redskins coach Richie Petitbon pulled Cary Conklin after the first drive of the third quarter for Rich Gannon, but the move didn't stop the Redskins from a 17-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Joe Robbie Stadium before 68,568 fans.Conklin was yanked with the Redskins trailing 14-3, and Gannon directed one touchdown drive that cut the deficit to 14-10, but the Redskins got no closer.Marino, who gave the Dolphins a 14-0 lead with touchdowns on their first two possessions, directed a drive that ended with a 37-yard Pete Stoyanovich field goal with 3:58 left.

Empty backfields, hurry-up offenses, nonstop passing. The new NFL? It's a bold new world out there this season, where the pass is prologue. Everyone, it seems, is throwing the ball more, not just the Washington Redskins' passing wizard, Steve Spurrier. Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon threw a dizzying 64 passes Sunday night at Pittsburgh. Buffalo's Drew Bledsoe heaved 49 against Minnesota. Even Gus Frerotte of Cincinnati and Trent Dilfer of Seattle, two quarterbacks not known for prodigious passing figures, kept busy with 47 passes apiece.

OAKLAND, Calif. - The old was new yesterday at Network Associates Coliseum, where the Oakland Raiders earned the AFC West title by beating Carolina, 52-9. There was the biker-bar attire of many among the 60,637 in attendance. There was the industrial setting beyond the new upper deck. There was MC Hammer playing on the stadium's sound system. But the old elements seemed fresh as the Raiders franchise picked up its first divisional title since 1990 and its first in Oakland since 1980. The traditional Raiders long-passing game was missing.

SAN DIEGO -- Free safety Dexter Jackson resides in the third tier of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense, the level that falls behind the high-priced, outspoken Pro Bowl players (Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch) and the secondary playmakers (Simeon Rice, Ronde Barber). Yesterday, though, in Tampa Bay's 48-21 blowout win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, Jackson proved as important to the Bucs' defense as anyone. Jackson intercepted Rich Gannon twice in the first half, setting the tone for what would be the longest day of the season for the league's Most Valuable Player.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Redskins coach Richie Petitbon, who changes quarterbacks the way some men change ties, has done it for the seventh time this season.Petitbon yesterday named Mark Rypien, who was injured once and benched twice this year, to start Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.Rypien hasn't completely recovered from the knee injury he suffered in the second game and will undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery in the off-season, but Petitbon wants to give him one more shot."We're looking for a spark on offense," said Petitbon, who yanked Rich Gannon in the fourth quarter of the 3-0 loss to the New York Jets Saturday.

OAKLAND, Calif. - In the aftermath of the Ravens' 16-3 victory over Oakland in the AFC championship game yesterday, one word described the feeling in the Raiders' locker room: frustration. The Raiders' league-leading rushing attack was held to 24 yards on 17 carries. Their veteran quarterback, Rich Gannon, was knocked out of the game in the first half, only to return and get knocked out again in the second half. Oakland committed five turnovers. "I think we were all frustrated, there's no question," Oakland coach Jon Gruden said.