Jack Kent Cooke

LANDOVER -- Rock bottom.That is where the Washington Redskins landed yesterday after they were beaten by a St. Louis Rams team that had not won a game since the last day of summer, 70 days ago.The Rams shoved the final bit of dirt in Washington's face when Jeff Wilkins kicked a 25-yard field goal with four seconds left in the game for a 23-20 victory at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.That's right, the Redskins can no longer even count on beating a 3-10 team in their new stadium.After a 3-0 start at Jack Kent Cooke, the Redskins (6-6-1)

In one corner of the Ravens' locker room, 325-pound defensive tackle Tony Siragusa was doing his little victory dance. In another area, defensive tackle Larry Webster was talking about some of the negative publicity the team had gotten in the past three weeks. And then there was rookie outside linebacker Peter Boulware, hoping that the team's latest victory had captured the hearts of Baltimore and possibly created a major turnaround. In an ugly and bizarre contest dominated by Bam Morris' career-best, 176-yard rushing effort, the Ravens defeated an old Baltimore rival in the Washington Redskins, 20-17, yesterday before an announced crowd of 75,067 (and several thousand unannounced no-shows)

LANDOVER -- Ervin Reid tried to warn the Washington Redskins fans long before game time yesterday that Ravens running back Bam Morris was going to grind the home team into the Jack Kent Cooke Stadium turf."

LANDOVER -- In one corner of the Ravens' locker room, 325-pound defensive tackle Tony Siragusa was doing his little victory dance. In another area, defensive tackle Larry Webster was talking about some of the negative publicity the team had gotten in the past three weeks. And then there was rookie outside linebacker Peter Boulware, hoping that the team's latest victory had captured the hearts of Baltimore and possibly created a major turnaround.In an ugly and bizarre contest dominated by Bam Morris' career-best, 176-yard rushing effort, the Ravens defeated an old Baltimore rival in the Washington Redskins, 20-17, yesterday before an announced crowd of 75,067 (and several thousand unannounced no-shows)

The Washington Redskins' new home, Jack Kent Cooke Stadium near Landover, has been likened to a flying saucer, a trans-Atlantic ocean liner, an oversized jungle gym and a parking garage with seats.But no matter what images it evokes, Cooke stadium already has proved to be a valuable addition to Maryland's growing inventory of sports and entertainment venues.Despite some early glitches, including a 15-mile backup on the Capital Beltway and a slew of broken ATM machines inside the gates on opening day, the $180 million stadium demonstrated it not only could absorb 80,000 spectators but entertain them with all the creature comforts fans now expect from modern sports palaces.

LANDOVER -- With an unlikely move and a game-winning, 40-yard touchdown pass in overtime to a falling Michael Westbrook in the left corner of the end zone, Gus Frerotte wiped out more than four quarters of frustration for the Washington Redskins yesterday and enabled them to break in the new Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in storybook style.Just as Frerotte looked as if he would go down under a monstrous pass rush, he suddenly broke free and threw a perfect pass to Westbrook for a 19-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals with 1: 36 elapsed in overtime.

In Wednesday's editions, the status of Redskins running back Terry Allen in regard to a July accident was reported incorrectly. Allen allegedly was intoxicated when he crashed his Ferrari into a tree in Monroe, Ga., and was charged with driving under the influence and fleeing police at 133 mph.The Sun regrets the errors.Earth to Baltimore: The Redskins play in the NFC East. The Ravens and Steelers play in the AFC Central. Therefore, when the Redskins play the Steelers, the Ravens are better off if the Redskins win.You wouldn't have known it Sunday at Memorial Stadium, where the crowd of 52,968 unleashed one of its loudest cheers of the day over the news that the Steelers had beaten the Redskins, 14-13.

RALJON -- The debut of the Washington Redskins' new stadium near Landover is still a month away, but comparisons with the Ravens' field under construction downtown have begun.Those involved in the Redskins' project consider it "state of the art" and pointedly note that it is being built with a minimum of public money and with a maximum of private-sector efficiency. To Baltimore partisans, the Redskins' stadium is a stripped-down rush job.The two stadiums, set to open a year apart, have little in common other than 100-yard fields.

The late Jack Kent Cooke had the Rich Guy's Aura. When he turned up at McCafferty's Restaurant in Northwest Baltimore a couple of years ago, there were celebrities all over the place -- old Colts, a bunch of sportscasters, plus a couple of vagrant politicians who had wandered in looking for some second-hand publicity on a live radio broadcast from the restaurant about the future of football in Baltimore.Only Cooke, owner of the Washington Redskins, seemed unapproachable. He and one of his wives had a small table, accompanied by a couple of friends they had rented for the evening, and they seemed utterly isolated inside a protective bubble.

But does Bankers Trust understand about lacrosse?The Housing Department is the agency of Baltimore government that transforms decrepit houses into rubble and poor people into destitute. Elsewhere, these tasks are left to private enterprise.Like an ancient pharaoh, Jack Kent Cooke built his own mausoleum.D6The Os went 4-1 without Robbie? Is there a moral?Pub Date: 4/09/97