Ineligible

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland backup quarterback Josh Portis has been ruled ineligible for the season because he violated the university's academic honor code, he said yesterday. Portis, the fastest and perhaps most hyped of Maryland's top three quarterbacks, told The Sun yesterday that his grade point average was at least 2.0 and that he did not plagiarize but would not say exactly what the violation was. "I'm just extremely disappointed I made a mistake in violating the academic honor code," said Portis, who didn't attend the Terps' 31-14 win over Villanova yesterday.

College Park -- Brandon Bullock, a former Maryland stu- dent, said Terps backup quarterback Josh Portis copied off his paper during a pop quiz in the spring semester - an incident that led to the program's fastest and most-hyped quarterback being declared ineligible for the 2007 season. The class was American Studies 212 - Diversity in America, Bullock said Tuesday, and the quiz involved about 10 short-answer questions based on films and readings from previous classes. Maryland@Florida International Saturday, 7 p.m., 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Maryland by 24

BaseballBraves: Purchased contract of 3B Howard Battle from Triple-A Richmond. Optioned C Pascual Matos to Richmond. Transferred C Javy Lopez from 15-day to 60-day DL.Diamondbacks: Optioned P Erik Sabel to Triple-A Tucson. Activated P Darren Holmes from 15-day DL.Dodgers: Optioned P Jeff Kubenka to Triple-A Albuquerque. Recalled P Mike Judd from Albuquerque.Marlins: Named David Kuan manager of baseball information systems and Laurie Soltman coordinator of player program development.Mets: Claimed P Jeff Tam off waivers from Indians.

Baltimore police are investigating whether illegally purchased handguns were used in city crimes after state police announced more than 50 guns had found their way into the hands of those ineligible to purchase them.State police fell behind on 1,500 criminal background checks over a five-month period, allowing gun merchants to sell 54 handguns to people who later failed the checks. State police say they have recovered all but five of the weapons.Several gun sellers said yesterday that they had not received results on requested background checks from weeks and months ago.State police, however, said they had resolved the problems and are conducting 300 checks a day."

Yes, Hillary Clinton is ineligible to run for mayor of Ballmer, but a bill before the legislature would rectify that.The best team in baseball will merge with the worst in basketball. That's the cable game for you.The Alps have too much snow and Merlin has too much Pfiesteria. Swap?Pop quiz for the over-30 set: Who is Lauryn Hill and what did she do?Pub Date: 2/26/99

CollegeAmerica East: Named Towson F Alfonso DeMares to men's soccer all-conference team. Named Towson D Chris Carpenter and Towson M Todd Lauber to second team.Lombardi Award: Penn State's LaVar Arrington and Courtney Brown, Virginia Tech's Corey Moore and Florida State's Corey Simon were picked as finalists for award that's given to best lineman.Hardin-Simmons: Declared junior SE-P Jackie Warren ineligible for rest of football season.Kentucky: Kicked junior WR Garry Davis off football team for violating team policy.

BOSTON -- From the time he was the Maryland High School Player of the Year in 1996-97 to the start of his college career this season at Temple, Mark Karcher had become an entirely different person.And not necessarily in a good sense, having spent the year away from the game -- while academically ineligible and rehabilitating from fractures in both feet -- making sure that the Philadelphia fast-food restaurants remained profitable."I was eating at midnight and sleeping on the things that I was eating, like McDonald's," Karcher said yesterday.

U.S. housing officials have banned a Baltimore contractor and a key employee from working on federally funded projects for three years, because they flouted an earlier ban on the employee.The bans confirm temporary suspensions imposed April 2 on Botech Inc. and Timothy Lanocha, the employee, by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development because the company used Lanocha on city housing agency jobs while he was barred. When suspended, Botech was preparing to undertake an additional $1.5 million worth of work for the city housing agency.

MIAMI -- More than 100 felons -- muggers and con artists, drug traffickers and a few killers -- voted in Miami's close mayoral election in November even though they had lost their right to vote.A pot-smoking jailer voted. He helped two inmates escape. A convicted former Miami detective voted. He covered up the murder of a drug dealer. And a homeless, crack-addicted thief voted. His voting address: the apartment next to the place he burglarized.The Miami Herald counted 105 ineligible felon ballots in November's mayoral election.

BaseballAthletics: Activated P Brad Rigby from 15-day DL. Optioned IF Jason Wood to Triple-A Edmonton.Blue Jays: Optioned P Robert Person to Triple-A Syracuse.Braves: Placed SS Rafael Belliard on 60-day DL. Purchased contract of IF Ray Holbert from Triple-A Richmond.Cubs: Recalled P Kerry Wood from Triple-A Iowa. Placed P Bob Patterson on 15-day DL.Expos: Signed P Ulmer Urbina.Marlins: Placed P Eric Ludwick on 15-day DL. Recalled P Andy Larkin from Triple-A Charlotte.Pirates: Placed P Elmer Dessens on 15-day DL. Purchased contract of P Mike Williams from Triple-A Nashville.

The Meade boys track and field team was stripped of its state, regional and county championships by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association on Monday as punishment for the use of an ineligible athlete in the fourth marking period this spring. MPSSAA executive director Ned Sparks confirmed Monday night that Meade reported the violation itself to Anne Arundel County officials last week. The county released a statement Monday saying Meade used a player who was ruled academically ineligible when report cards were issued for the third marking period April 3, and the Mustangs must forfeit any competitions the athlete participated in after that date.

Johns Hopkins junior attackman Chris Boland was one of those guaranteed success stories that almost didn't have a happy ending. At Boys' Latin, he was a three-time All-American and set the school's all-time scoring mark with 130 goals and 171 assists. As a freshman at Hopkins in 2007, he played in only four games. Last season he didn't play at all because he was academically ineligible. This season Boland is the Blue Jays' top points producer as No. 8 seed Hopkins (10-4) heads into an NCAA Division I quarterfinal against No. 1 Virginia (14-2)

Maryland forward Jin Soo Kim, a 6-foot-8 freshman from South Korea, has been declared academically ineligible, effective immediately. The basketball program is appealing the decision through university channels and the NCAA. The ruling means Kim was unavailable beginning with last night's game against Boston College. He can still practice with the team. Kim, popular with fans, is averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds. He has played sparingly off the bench, recording highs in points (six)

FOOTBALL State regional playoffs Havre de Grace, Joppatowne and Fallston (possibly) DATES AND TIMES:: TBA OUTLOOK:: Havre de Grace and Joppatowne already clinched spots in the Class 1A playoffs heading into the final week of competition. The only question is who they will play. If the two teams meet in the regionals, it would be at Havre de Grace, where Joppatowne already scored a 20-0 victory earlier this year (a game the Mariners later forfeited because of an ineligible player). Fallston needed a win in the season's final game during the weekend to clinch the first playoff berth in school history.

Joppatowne's appeal denied by MPSSAA varsity The Joppatowne football team's appeal of game forfeitures because of an ineligible player has been denied by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association. The outcome of the hearing, held Tuesday, was revealed yesterday during a news conference at the Harford County Board of Education in Bel Air. The appeals committee upheld the sanction, forfeiting 10 games from the 2007 season, when Joppatowne went 11-2, won the 1A South regional championship and advanced to the Class 1A state semifinals.

The Joppatowne football team, which last week forfeited its first three games of this season because of an ineligible player, will also forfeit all of last season's games, according to a release from Harford County Public Schools yesterday. That decision, according to the release from the office of Teri Kranefeld, manager of communication for Harford County Public Schools, is "a result of the continued investigation of the ineligible player ... and in compliance with [Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association]

The Joppatowne football team, which was 5-0 this season, has forfeited its first three victories because it had an ineligible player. The team is appealing the decision. Teri Kranefeld, manager of communication for Harford County Public Schools, said yesterday evening that Joppatowne officials, upon receiving a report the week of Sept. 24 that they had an ineligible player, had correctly followed the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association's regulations. "They immediately investigated the charge and upon finding it to be true notified their first three opponents that they would be forfeiting those games," Kranefeld said.

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden isn't concerned the Seminoles will have to forfeit games for using ineligible players this season. "We didn't intentionally play an ineligible player," he said yesterday. "We didn't know anyone was ineligible. We held out two guys, [Kevin] McNeil and [Joslin] Shaw. We felt like it was the right thing to do." Bowden has 373 career victories, the most in major college history. One of Bowden's wins came by forfeit in 1983 when Tulane's 34-28 victory was reversed because it used ineligible players.

College Park -- Brandon Bullock, a former Maryland stu- dent, said Terps backup quarterback Josh Portis copied off his paper during a pop quiz in the spring semester - an incident that led to the program's fastest and most-hyped quarterback being declared ineligible for the 2007 season. The class was American Studies 212 - Diversity in America, Bullock said Tuesday, and the quiz involved about 10 short-answer questions based on films and readings from previous classes. Maryland@Florida International Saturday, 7 p.m., 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Maryland by 24

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland backup quarterback Josh Portis has been ruled ineligible for the season because he violated the university's academic honor code, he said yesterday. Portis, the fastest and perhaps most hyped of Maryland's top three quarterbacks, told The Sun yesterday that his grade point average was at least 2.0 and that he did not plagiarize but would not say exactly what the violation was. "I'm just extremely disappointed I made a mistake in violating the academic honor code," said Portis, who didn't attend the Terps' 31-14 win over Villanova yesterday.