Hoopla

Harold Baines is the biggest Os acquisition since Glenn Davis.Haitians must understand that when Bill said he would let them into the country he did not mean, of course, that he would let them into the country.It turns out that some of our smart bombs don't read Arabic.The British Parliament will enact laws to prevent the scurrilous press from snooping on politicians the same as royals.From all the hoopla, you would think it was David Letterman who got elected, not Bill Clinton.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is back into the routine at the Castle. He is turning down speaking engagements and book deals and watching video of potential draft picks. The euphoria of being a winning Super Bowl head coach is finally starting to die down. "I'm getting into the routines again," said Harbaugh, about to enter his sixth season in Baltimore. "I'm watching every guy in the draft. I've got to do that, I've got to know who we're drafting and if I can help. "I get a report every night from our coordinators on what they did and it gives me a chance to weigh in as well.

On the field: Rafael Palmeiro had his 10-game hitting streak broken. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and a sacrifice fly.In the dugout: Jarvis Brown started in center field for the third straight game yesterday. That's because two of the Orioles' other outfielders, Mark Smith and Kevin Bass, are still banged up. Smith (cut finger) still has trouble throwing, but pinch hit in the eighth innning. He walked, scored a run and played left field. Bass (strained quadriceps muscle) still has trouble running.

Phil McConkey wasn't surprised to hear that Navy's mascot had been goatnapped last week, for the umpteenth time, prior to Saturday's Army-Navy football game. That the animal was left tethered to a post, outside of the Pentagon, didn't surprise him either. "The goat is a smelly old thing that defecates all the time, and Army probably couldn't deal with it (after the heist)," said McConkey, a star receiver for Navy in the 1970s. "They also stole our goat when I played there, 34 years ago, and I said the same thing then: "Good riddance, let Army have it. " After 112 years of hijinks and hoopla, Army and Navy can still find ways to torment each other in advance of their storied rivalry.

At last week's couture shows in Paris, all the hoopla over rising hemlines almost obscured another fashion turnabout. Accessories were being treated like extra poundage -- trimmed down or eliminated.At Chanel, where the theory has always been "more is better" when it comes to gewgaws, there was not a strand of pearls, never mind the usual ropes of them, decorating a single model. The night before the show, the Chanel designer, Karl Lagerfeld, was supervising the last-minute looks. The usual trays brimming with accessories were spread out before him. But instead of adding, he was subtracting.

Quote: "I just like the idea of me going out and doing a good job without a whole lot of hoopla." -- Mets' John Olerud, whose .351 batting average is second in NL only to Larry Walker's .360.It's a fact: The Brewers closed their home season having drawn 1,811,548 fans, their highest total since 1992.Who's hot: The Braves have won 11 of their last 13 games, including six of seven on the road.Who's not: The Marlins' Kirt Ojala has lost three straight starts and seven of his last eight decisions.

All you need to sense the accuracy of a revealing documentary about the movie business on basic cable this weekend is to remember how often you've seen Arnold Schwarzenegger this summer.The man has been everywhere! Plugging his latest hit, "Terminator 2," he's been doing the television talk shows and making the covers of magazines both slick and pulpy. And just this week he also popped up in the news pages for the birth of his second child (a daughter, to celebrity wife Maria Shriver).Did the couple time the blessed event to coincide with the "Terminator" publicity push?

How about another hit? Losing Plaxico Burress is one thing. But the Giants can't afford to have linebacker and team leader Antonio Pierce embroiled in legal issues of the wide receiver's accidental shooting. Pierce's attorney says he's innocent of a cover-up, but questions remain. Not what the Giants need in the stretch run. Bucs up creek? If Monte Kiffin decides to join his son, Lane, at the University of Tennessee - as expected - it will be a big hit for the Buccaneers. Kiffin's defense kept the Bucs above water in the down years (when Jon Gruden's offense stunk)

In the 60 years since electronics made first the whole nation and now the whole world an instant witness to presidential inaugurals, that event has taken on a symbolic significance that can affect national and political life. Bill Clinton's future does not depend on his personalized hoopla and rhetoric today, but that hoopla and rhetoric will affect his bond with the whole nation and the whole world.An inaugural address can serve as pep talk and morale builder. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt's optimism ("the only thing we have to fear is fear itself")

In Friday's Anne Arundel editions, the actress who appeared in Annapolis in October for the opening of the Pathways Chemical Dependency Program at Anne Arundel Medical Center was identified incorrectly. Cathy Lee Crosby appeared at the opening. In addition, the hospital will not move its 12-bed psychiatric unit to Pathways, but rather is considering working some psychiatric services into the program.The Sun regrets the errors.Addictions unit scrambles to fill bedsANNAPOLIS -- Ten months ago, Anne Arundel Medical Center viewed the opening of Pathways, its adolescent addictions treatment unit, as such an event that it dragged local-girl-made-good Kathie Lee Gifford back to Annapolis to take part in the celebration.

How about another hit? Losing Plaxico Burress is one thing. But the Giants can't afford to have linebacker and team leader Antonio Pierce embroiled in legal issues of the wide receiver's accidental shooting. Pierce's attorney says he's innocent of a cover-up, but questions remain. Not what the Giants need in the stretch run. Bucs up creek? If Monte Kiffin decides to join his son, Lane, at the University of Tennessee - as expected - it will be a big hit for the Buccaneers. Kiffin's defense kept the Bucs above water in the down years (when Jon Gruden's offense stunk)

It smelled like teen spirit in the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center Tuesday night, where a pep rally was held to commemorate the opening night of High School Musical's two-week Baltimore run. There was a squad from the Baltimore Marching Ravens, performing such fare as "Smoke on the Water" and "Louie, Louie." There was a baton-twirler -- Diane Lynn from 101.9 Lite FM. Lynn is a former high school majorette, though she admitted she was hesitant to send her baton skyward. "I'm afraid I'll hit someone on the head," she said.

Saturday's Maryland-Florida State basketball game was more than an athletic contest. It was also a showcase for the unfettered, uncompromising allegiance known only to college students in the stands - and amplified by cheerleading and zany halftime shows. The Terps rewarded their fans' loyalty with an 82-72 victory.

With traditional trees and wreaths, motorized Santas and Elvis cutting a cake, Ellicott City's historic district is embracing the festive and the funky in order to attract visitors - particularly shoppers - to town. The merriment is being fueled by two efforts this week: the Ellicott City Restoration Foundation's second annual window-decorating contest and the 30th Midnight Madness celebration Friday night. "Our goal is to get people to come to Ellicott City," said Edward Lilley, a spokesman for the nonprofit Restoration Foundation.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Cal Ripken Jr. on Saturday during his 5K run at Ripken Stadium. He found a tiny office inside the ballpark that, while hardly comfortable, provided a rare chance for him to relax. The man looks exhausted. He has dark circles under his eyes that would cut the glare from the sun while trying to catch a pop-up. But he keeps pushing forward. The demands on his time are unreal, but he's used to it. "I guess you could look at it in the context of working out and lifting and running doesn't compare from a physical standpoint, but it certainly feels like it," he said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- It seems every racetrack is either thriving because it has slots or withering while begging for them. Churchill Downs, the home of Saturday's Kentucky Derby, would seem to be an exception. But at Churchill, past and present officials say that looks - augmented by a recent $125 million overhaul and flattered by a Forbes magazine article that rates the Derby as No. 8 among the sports and event brands in the world - can be deceiving. Kentucky Derby Saturday, 6:04 p.m. post time, Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky. TV: Chs. 11, 4

MIAMI - Dontrelle Willis of the Florida Marlins doesn't need to pitch against Randy Johnson to get excited about a game. "I'm animated enough as it is," said Willis yesterday, two days before his meeting with Johnson in tomorrow night's series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks. "I'm a high-energy guy in A-ball. For something like this, I might throw it over the net if I don't check my feelings." Willis learned that in his last start. Facing fellow Alameda, Calif., native Jimmy Rollins and the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, Willis walked two of the game's first three batters.

Barracks Row just might be Washington's best-kept secret. It's the manicured tree-lined streets, the historic storefronts brimming with boutiques and cafes, and the sense of community that make this neighborhood minutes away from the Capitol building so attractive. Residents are quick to comment that the neighborhood trudged through some dark days and is now experiencing a renaissance of spectacular proportions - 11 new businesses have opened on this several-block corridor in the past year, and four more are slated to open in the coming months.

For Maryland shoppers, the back-to-school shopping frenzy is a celebrated annual tradition. But there's another annual event that has proliferated in its wake: the growing use of sales tax "holidays" that aim to temporarily cut costs for shoppers. Between today and Sunday, shoppers throughout Maryland will be able to avoid the state's 5 percent sales tax - if they purchase what lawmakers have designated as "back-to-school" items, chiefly clothing. In the past month, Virginia and the District of Columbia also offered sales tax holidays.

Twelve years have passed since Anna Paquin won an Oscar for her first film role, as the angry, petulant daughter of a 19th-century mail-order bride in Jane Campion's The Piano. And for six years, she's been a key player in the highly successful X-Men movies as Rogue, a mutant with the power to drain a person's life force away simply by touching them. But still, this whole fame thing really doesn't sit well with her. She loves the work of being an actor, but finds some of the ancillary stuff puzzling, if not downright irritating.