Gatorade

The participants for today's Gatorade Home Run Derby:AMERICAN LEAGUEPlayer, team ....... ....... 1993 HRsAlbert Belle, Cleveland ......... 23Cecil Fielder, Detroit .......... 23Juan Gonzalez, Texas ............ 23Ken Griffey, Seattle ............ 22NATIONAL LEAGUEPlayer, team ....... ....... 1993 HRsBobby Bonilla, N.Y. Mets ........ 20David Justice, Atlanta .......... 20Mike Piazza, Los Angeles ........ 18Fourth player TBA; San Francisco's Barry Bonds (24 HRs) has been invited to participate but has not yet responded.

Most major-leaguers don't need to lose 12 pounds -- certainly not in one day.But when it's 100 degrees outside and it's your turn to pitch, chances are that is what will happen. And chances are that kind of diet isn't endorsed by Weight Watchers.For the Orioles and every other major-league team, careful monitoring and hydration are the key words when the weather turns ugly, draining even the fittest athletes."The thing you have to guard against is dehydration," said manager Johnny Oates. "The weight they are losing is pure liquid and the thing you try to do is put as much of that liquid back in the body as you can."

He had a stress fracture of the tibia that is healing. Two weeks ago, he had to go to the hospital after suffering a rib injury in a car accident.But Troy Jacobson of Towson isn't going to allow the injuries to stop him from competing in his third Gatorade Ironman Triathlon, a grueling combination of 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bicycle race and 26.2-mile marathon."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - When Tennessee Titans receiver Chris Sanders sees Derrick Mason in the huddle with his mouth wide-open, he gives him the following piece of advice. "I tell him go get a cup of Gatorade," Sanders said. "Then he will go get that cup of Gatorade and be back to D-mase." It seems Gatorade and taking a couple of offensive plays off rejuvenates Mason. But who could blame Mason if he gets a little winded during games? As ridiculous a notion that someone other than Pro Bowl running back Eddie George could be the team's most valuable player, Mason's versatility gives him a case this season.

It's Friday night and soccer clinic time at Volleyball House in Columbia. The teams have gathered around their instructors, hair pulled back, socks folded neatly below the knee. Tonight's lessons: passing drills. Give-and-go. One-touch. The soccer players are intent. They take these drills seriously. But in between kicks and blocks, you can catch their eyes, heavy with mascara, scanning the sidelines the way only a mom can. That's because these soccer players are soccer moms. Not the ones who cheer from the bleachers and shop for hair ribbons to match their daughters' cleats.

St. Paul's Bailey Webster wanted to go to a college with a big-time sports program. As the nation's No. 1 volleyball recruit, she had her pick of most of them. Yesterday, the 6-foot-3 outside hitter said she had chosen Texas. "When I went there, I felt like I fit in," Webster, 17, said. "I loved the girls and I loved the teams. I wanted to go to a big school that was good in sports. They're top five in volleyball, No. 1 in football and top five in basketball, so you can't do much better than that.

Sept. 1Ravens 19, Raiders 14Defense. Special teams. Vinny left, Vinny right, Vinny up the middle. Running games are overrated.Record: 1-0Sept. 8 at Pittsburgh 1 p.m.Steelers, embarrassed by Jaguars, are tough at home, and, of course, there's that "hard-drinking, menacing crowd" to deal with.Sept. 15 at Houston 1 p.m.Houston, we have a problem: The quarterback stinks. Will Chris Chandler be the starter, or will Air McNair take off?Sept. 29 New Orleans 1 p.m.Ravens' secondary can expect a test from Chris, er, Jim Everett (just kidding, big fella)

Rowers tend to think of themselves as the scholars and intellectuals of the sports world. They trace their lineage to ancient Greece and Renaissance Venice. Modern competitive rowing began in 1829 with the races between Oxford and Cambridge universities. The first intercollegiate athletic competition of any kind in America was the Yale and Harvard race of 1852. "Rowers are adventurous, disciplined, competitive, yet sophisticated individuals who love the outdoors," say the sponsors of the Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta in Philadelphia, a center of American rowing.

PHILADELPHIA -- As several of the Miami Dolphins carried coach Don Shula off the field, his mind drifted through memories of Unitas, Matte, Marino, the unbeaten team of 1972, and of course, a lot of other victories.But the one yesterday at Veterans Stadium was one of the sweetest.The Dolphins put on a display typical of a Shula team, pulling off a gritty comeback, playing with no-name quarterbacks, making great on-the-field decisions, winning.The Miami Dolphins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 19-14, before 64,213, as Shula became pro football's winningest coach.

OK, Baltimore, let's see what success does to you and your football team when it plays the Cleveland Browns today. I say this because, as you may know, the Ravens are suddenly getting a ton of national respect. ESPN.com's "panel of experts" lists them at No. 1 in the weekly power rankings. They're also No. 1 in SI.com's power rankings. And everyone from current NFL coaches to ex-jocks in the TV booth to print and Web pundits is weighing in on what a great team the Ravens are. I know, I know . . . I'm just as sick about this as you are. Because let's face it: This is not a town that does respect well.