Garceau

Veterans Scott Garceau and Tom Matte have been ushered out as the radio broadcast team of the Ravens, but their dismissal should have been handled in a more professional manner. The Ravens are expected to announce shortly after the season that they are changing flagship stations from Infinity-owned WJFK (1300 AM) to WBAL (1090 AM) and 98 Rock (WIYY, 97.9 FM). It's more than likely Gerry Sandusky will do the play-by-play and Stan White will be the analyst. No problem there because Sandusky is excellent.

The Ravens are on the verge of moving to a new radio home. After 10 seasons on Infinity-owned WJFK (1300 AM), the team is in final negotiations to have WBAL (1090 AM) and 98 Rock (WIYY-FM) broadcast games and related content next season. Though Ravens spokesman Kevin Byrne said a deal might not be announced for several weeks, he said the team and WBAL are "trying to finalize an agreement right now." WBAL Radio station manager Jeff Beauchamp had no comment. Robert Phillips, market manager for Infinity's Baltimore-area stations - 102.7 FM also broadcasts Ravens games - said WJFK decided not to match WBAL's offer for the broadcast rights.

On July 3, 2004 VIRGINIA ELIZABETH (nee Garceau) beloved wife of the late Louis H. Cohen, devoted mother of Barbara Walker and Marilyn Hallowell, also survived by six grandchildren. Services and interment private. Arrangements by Eckhardt Funeral Chapel P.A., Owings Mills.

Usually described as a family feud, the long-standing give-and-take between Hall of Famers Earl Weaver and Jim Palmer became very public and very ugly Thursday night when the former Orioles manager said he was "embarrassed and humiliated" by Palmer's jabs during a charity roast of Weaver in Baltimore. Weaver ended the proceedings with a combative two-minute reply that referred to Palmer as an "idiot" then angrily approached the former pitcher before being led away. The Headliners Banquet was sponsored by the Sports Boosters of Maryland to benefit several children's charities.

Outside Baltimore, most of the sporting world will hardly take notice of tomorrow night's Morgan State-Towson football game, beyond a line in the agate of their Sunday sports section. And, unless something really weird happens, the contest won't get a mention on any of the national highlights shows.But, for the Tigers and the Golden Bears, their alumni and fans, the game does have extra significance, and that's why it's good that Channel 2 will air the contest."When you're doing the game, you can tell that it has an extra meaning for these kids," said Scott Garceau, Channel 2's sports director.

The Ravens and their radio carrier, Infinity, yesterday named Scott Garceau and Bruce Cunningham to call the team's games on WJFK (1300 AM) and WLIF (101.9 FM), beginning with next Saturday's first preseason contest.Garceau, sports director at Channel 2, will be the play-by-play announcer and Cunningham, who has the same duties at Channel 45, will act as color analyst."I'm excited about it. I love football and I'm glad to be a part of its coming back to Baltimore," said Garceau, 44, an announcer with Channel 2 since 1980.

With Dennis Rodman, Nick Van Exel and, to a lesser degree, Magic Johnson getting into highly publicized scrapes with NBA officials, and notables like Shawn Kemp drawing suspensions for fighting, one can only wonder what will happen when the league's postseason curtain rises tonight."

You don't need Sherlock Holmes to deduce that the biggest winner in the fallout from Mike Tyson's broken thumb is Seth Abraham, the president of Time-Warner Sports.All along, Abraham maintained that his company's TVKO pay-per-view arm, which is telecasting tomorrow night's Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield fight from Las Vegas, would do just fine against the planned Tyson-Buster Mathis Jr. bout down the strip and planned first for pay-per-view, then free television.But now that the Tyson-Mathis fight is off, Abraham looks like a riverboat gambler who rolled a seven at precisely the right time.

Though no one will be holding telethons for them any time soon, the life of the local weeknight sportscaster is much more difficult than it was 20 years ago.You can blame ESPN's "SportsCenter" and a greater emphasis on news in newscasts for that. "SportsCenter," which airs for 7 1/2 hours a day, and CNN's sports programming and its ticker service on the Headline network, to a lesser degree, can give the rabid sports fan all the information he or she needs, without the clutter of news and weather.

OK, so no one will confuse Channel 2's coverage of the Canadian Football League with the way ABC, NBC or Fox carries the NFL. There are simply too many wild camera shots and sound glitches, and too much Tom Matte, for that.But those things aside, WMAR did a pretty good job on Saturday night's Baltimore-Toronto game, given resources that can't compare to a network's.The station provided consistently good camera angles, informational slow-motion replays, particularly on cornerback Irvin Smith's fourth-quarter sideline interception, and up-to-the-minute sideline updates with reporter Keith Mills, who got injured quarterback Tracy Ham as soon as he returned to the field.