Karma

It's a new year of sports media notes but, sorry, the same old writer: Ravens fans wouldn't mind if this were a preview as much as a replay: At 8 a.m. today, the NFL Network is running the CBS telecast of the Ravens' victory in Miami in October. * And maybe there is more good karma in ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown (11 a.m.). ESPN has scheduled interviews with Joe Flacco and members of the Ravens' defense - conducted by Trent Dilfer. So the Ravens' Super Bowl-winning quarterback will interview their current quarterback.

Bad karma.That, in a nutshell, explains the Orioles' defeat in the American League Championship Series to the Cleveland Indians. There is indeed such a thing as sports karma. Some teams and cities seem to have more than their share of bad sports karma. In that respect, Baltimore and its professional sports teams are a match made in bad karma heaven.How else to explain the Orioles' Game 6 loss by a score of 1-0? They got 10 hits. Cleveland got three. Still, Dem O's found a way to lose a game.

At the last convention of the TV Sports Critics Association, held in the console television section of the Macy's at Livingston (N.J.) Mall -- I'm pushing hard to get the convention for Maryland next year; this could mean tens of dollars for our state, particularly at the food court -- the gathering agreed on goals for 1991:* Personal growth. Most of us achieved this, but I'm going to try cutting down on those snacks.* Fewer but better adjectives. I, for one, didn't use "punctilious" once all year.

Hello, Top Cheffers! Is it just me, or does last week feel like ages ago? Poor Dakota and Nyesha got sent home, Heather took another step toward becoming the least-liked female contestant in “Top Chef” history, and Ty-Lör got his groove back.   With all that drama, I am happy to see the cheftestants move on to Austin this week. It brings a clean slate in a new city and, of course, a hysterical carpool montage. The chefs' driving montage is pretty filled with standard silly banter but also gives us the gift of Handsome Chris' in-house nickname, Malibu.

Steve and Dr. Dana Smith say that they did not find their dream home in Columbia. Their dream home found them. That may sound odd, but the Smiths -- Steve, a 37-year-old human resource manager and Dana, a 46-year-old psychiatrist -- have a unique philosophy when it comes to fulfilling one's dreams. "You do not will them to come," he said. "They just come." The Smiths say that they were not looking for a house last year when they were about to be married. "We were in a state of flux, job-wise," he said.

Previously: the new Salani was awesome, and the new Manono sucked. Back at Manono after Tribal Council, Alicia and Colton can't help gloating over the "blindside" they gave Monica; then they add to it by taunting Christina about how she has no alliance, and even if she makes it to the merge, she'll be toast. And then they get downright mean, barely letting her sleep in the shelter. Christina believes that Alicia is “genuinely not a good person,” and I have to say that I agree with her. Let's hope that she gets what's coming for her, if there is any karma in the universe at all. At Salani, they agree with me about Alicia.

For years, Colleen Pearsall's husband, Wes, tried to persuade her to move to Shady Side, a boating community he came to every summer as a kid because his father kept a boat at the Chesapeake Yacht Club. Once they finally did make the move, she couldn't understand why she didn't agree to it sooner."It's like a big playground. We have it all here," Colleen Pearsall said.And having it all has been the reason many other people have made the move to the secluded community surrounded on three sides by water.

NEW YORK - Oakland Athletics manager Art Howe is a soft-spoken sort, slow to anger and almost immune to controversy. Imagine Mister Rogers in spikes. When his club lost 18 of its first 26 games this season and rumors of his imminent dismissal sprouted, Howe shrugged, offered a wry smile and maintained trust in his clubhouse full of rowdies. So it came as more than a little surprise that Howe walked into Yankee Stadium yesterday afternoon and, in his own understated way, drew a line in the dirt for the New York Yankees to cross during a riveting Division Series set to start tonight.

A guy who's just won his second term as governor of Maryland after twice getting himself elected mayor of Baltimore probably doesn't have much need for amateur political advice. But what the heck. Here goes anyway. Now that Martin O'Malley has won his second term as governor, he is assured of being the man with the scissors at the opening of the first section of the $2.5 billion Intercounty Connector late this year or early next. It will be a great moment in the sun for the governor.

Four years ago, the Milwaukee Bucks were one of the best teams in the NBA. Built around scorers Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson, the Bucks won the Central Division with a 52-30 record and reached the Eastern Conference finals before losing to Philadelphia in a seven-game series. Believing that the Bucks were one tough inside player away from getting to the league finals and maybe even winning a championship, general manager Ernie Grunfeld added one significant piece to his team's puzzle: veteran forward Anthony Mason.