Great Game

The door has opened for a possible return of the Army-Navy classic to Baltimore in 2002. Respective athletic directors Jack Lengyel of Navy and Rick Greenspan of Army have announced that the game will not be played in Philadelphia and will be moved because of a scheduling conflict. The 2002 game was to have been the final game played under the existing long-term contract with Philadelphia. However, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau scheduled a major medical convention for the same weekend as the Army-Navy game.

Halo 2 is a great game, superior in nearly every respect to the original. But the first game set the bar so high - and anticipation has been so great - that some gamers are bound to be just a little disappointed. Where we left off: This is basically the same Xbox game you remember from three years ago, and in fact the plot picks up almost immediately after the events in Halo. Once again, you're doing battle with the Covenant, an alien race bent on conquering Earth. New for 2: There are a few new moves, such as the ability to wield two guns at the same time or kick enemies off their vehicles and hijack them in midattack, but the controls are essentially the same and the head-up display on the screen is as intuitive as ever.

The subjects can range from explosive speed to vintage passes to supreme confidence. Winning championships, scoring goals, defending and working as hard in the gym as on the field are also thrown in. Blast midfielder Paul Wright, 32, whose actions have spoken louder than words in the early season, is the no-beating-around-the-bush authority. "I've always thought I'm the best all-around player in the league," he said. "Whether I perform like that all the time is another story. I can't shine every game, but I try to do it as much as I can. I push myself - if I have an average game, I want to have a great game; if I have a great game, I want to have another great game on top of that."

LANDOVER - Hardly a surprise, D.C. United came to FedEx Field with an extra dose of motivation last night, while its supporters - 31,473 strong and plenty noisy - were both curious and cautiously optimistic. After all, how often comes the chance to see how you compare with one of the world's finest clubs, last night's being Chelsea, the English Premier League champ. United, the defending Major Soccer League champion, had more than its share of moments and put some doubt in Chelsea's 2-1 victory.

A 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior two-way tackle, John Carroll's Johnny Von Paris is attracting attention from the Naval Academy, Cornell, Princeton and Harvard for football and wrestling. Von Paris, who has a 3.8 grade point average, has been invited to play in the Maryland High School All-Star football game Dec. 9. How does a two-sport athlete maintain a 3.8 GPA? I'd probably say time management. Just trying to make sure you get all your homework done. Take all your tests and try to work it out. How close are you to attending the Naval Academy?

In real terms, Gampel Pavilion on the University of Connecticut's campus in Storrs, is only 11 years old, hardly old enough to qualify for shrine status. But, in women's basketball circles, Gampel, the 10,000-seat home of the defending champion and top-ranked Huskies and 47 straight regular-season sellouts, is sacred territory, and its aura may be powerful enough to have an effect on tonight's Maryland-Colorado State NCAA tournament game. "I've been to the gym. I know how the crowd is. It's a great atmosphere to play in. I'm very excited," said Maryland guard Marche Strickland, a native of Kingston, Mass.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Bears defensive end and resident philosopher Alex Brown reflected on the place yesterday's 27-24 overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks might warrant. "This game right here, it'll be an instant classic," Brown said after the win in the NFC divisional playoff game. "Great game. Somebody has to win and lose, and unfortunately ... " Brown hesitated. There are, after all, limits to sportsmanship. "No, fortunately, Seattle had to lose." The Bears overcame some bad plays of their own and some very good plays by Seattle, then made enough great ones to advance to the NFC championship game.

SAN FRANCISCO -- As the ball arched up, up and then tumbled barely inside the left upright, Joe Montana was sitting on the bench. No time left for the Man of Miracles to do his weekly magic act, not even one second. On this day the man of the moment would be Matt Bahr, the Candlestick clock forcing either heroism or ignominy on him and him alone.Bahr's 42-yard field goal with no time remaining kicked the New York Giants 3,000 miles, from San Francisco all the way to Tampa, Fla. There next Sunday they will meet their New York brethren, the Buffalo Bills, in pro football's ultimate game.

WASHINGTON - The Washington Wizards played with the kind of spunk last night that made them one of the biggest surprises in the NBA the first half of the season. And Michael Jordan made enough big shots during a 37-point performance to show that his 39-year-old legs will carry him a little longer. It didn't matter to the Miami Heat. Brian Grant made two huge jumpers in the last 55 seconds, the second of which gave the Heat the winning basket with 1.4 seconds left in a 97-95 victory at MCI Center.

CHICAGO -- Kay Yow lowers her voice to just above a whisper, and you picture her slipping on a pair of dark shades and an overcoat, maybe drawing the blinds.Yow, the North Carolina State women's basketball coach and coach of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team, knows what she is about to say is not a popular opinion. She knows, in fact, that the very idea infuriates many of her colleagues.But here's the thing.She wants to see the slam dunk in the women's game. And she doesn't feel like waiting much longer.