Important Thing

Joe Torre just wanted to give left fielder Tim Raines a night off. And besides, Darryl Strawberry had some good hacks in Game 3. This seemed like the opportune time to make a switch.Second-guessers begone.Strawberry hit his customary home run off Orioles starter Rocky Coppinger in the second inning last night, then added a two-run shot off Armando Benitez in the eighth. A single in between left him 3-for-4, and the Orioles were left on the brink of elimination from the American League Championship Series after the Yankees' 8-4 victory at Camden Yards.

WASHINGTON - They are looking at an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-seven opening-round NBA playoff series. They are looking at why the Chicago Bulls have scored 108 points a game - nearly 14 points more than their season's average. The Washington Wizards are also looking at something else going into Game 3 today at 3 p.m. Coming home to MCI Center. The defensively challenged Wizards can't wait to get the Bulls in front of a hostile crowd for what is nearly a must-win situation for Washington.

SALT LAKE CITY -- This would have been the perfect ending to Michael Jordan's spectacular career: grabbing the microphone at the Delta Center moments after his championship-winning shot, and announcing to the world he was leaving the game.Forever etched in everyone's mind was the ankle-breaking move that threw Bryon Russell off-balance, and the subtle push-off with the left hand that knocked the Utah guard completely out of the play. The picture-perfect 17-foot jumper, complete with the left-foot landing and hop that playground Michael wannabes have been attempting to perfect for years.

There's Ron Swoboda, the Sparrows Point ballplayer who broke his hometown's heart with a great catch in 1969, trying to pay his respects to Miracle Mets teammate Donn Clendenon. But there's so much on his mind: His house in New Orleans. His cancer-stricken mother back in Baltimore. And midway through the poem teammate Ed Charles is reciting at last week's Shea Stadium memorial service, Swoboda's cell phone rings. Or rather, it clucks, thanks to the ring tone selected by Swoboda's grandson.

Charity isn't enough to help the homeless We empathize with the challenges faced by St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in working with well-intentioned members of the community to end homelessness, and the reflections some church leaders offered in "The challenge of charity" (Commentary, Jan. 30) illustrate the limits of charity, the promise of social justice and the importance of pursuing both. Three years ago, in collaboration with the city, we helped more than two dozen people leave St. Vincent Park and move into permanent housing.

What a touching milieu was to be presented Sunday during NBC's NFL pre-game show when Jim "Warrior Quarterback" Harbaugh and Jim Kelly, he of the armor-piercing tongue, kissed and made nice before the nation.There were just two problems with the scene. The first was that Harbaugh -- who broke a bone in his right hand after supposedly taking a poke at Kelly the weekend before for remarks the former Buffalo quarterback-turned-commentator made about Harbaugh's toughness -- had the good sense not to show up for the staged event.

WASHINGTON -- Despite heat that hit triple digits, numerous rain delays, sparse crowds and a liquidated field from many top seeds falling early, Stefan Edberg wants to come back to Washington.Why not? Yesterday, Edberg's seven-day stay in the nation's capital produced yet another title and an $87,500 check.Edberg ended the week with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 14 seed Jason Stoltenberg to take the title at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic."I hope to be back next year," Edberg told the crowd as he accepted his trophy.

ST. LOUIS -- The medical status of St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen remains uncertain, but the club decided to take a chance on his possible availability later in the National League Championship Series and keep him on the 25-man active roster. It is a controversial and complex move, since there is no guarantee that Rolen's sprained shoulder will improve enough to allow him to play in the later stages of the NLCS. "It's a tough read still," Rolen said. "I'm progressing every day. The first two days, first three days, I could not lift my shoulder up. Right now, I have almost full range of movement in my shoulder.

Helping survivors honors the dead Nov. 11 was a day to honor all those Americans who have served our country in the armed forces. It was a day for us, as a nation, to reflect on the values, commitment, and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. Many of us extend this tribute to remember those who are no longer with us. This is particularly important when the painful loss of our nation's brave military personnel is so keenly felt. Honoring those no longer with us can be an important part of Veterans Day. However, there is an additional group of people who need to be remembered and cared for. Veterans Day should be a time to reach out to the families and friends of those who have given their lives in service to our country.

SELMA, Calif. -- Eighth-graders at Abraham Lincoln Middle School had a substitute teacher yesterday on their first day of school: President Clinton.He sat on a desk in front of the classroom, with a U.S. map to his left and a world map to his right, gave his own brief review of U.S. history, and fielded their questions.They weren't exactly the kind of hard-hitting queries usually thrown at him by the White House press corps, but Mr. Clinton treated them with respect.His theme was simple: Education is the key to America's economic future in the 21st century.