Kent Cooke Stadium

RALJON -- Railings are still being secured. Drywall is going up. And the shelving still needs to be installed in the players' lockers.But the field is in place and Redskins officials insist that their new Jack Kent Cooke Stadium will open on time for the Sept. 14 game against the Arizona Cardinals."I know I will die someday, and I will always pay taxes and we will play the Cardinals here at 1: 01 p.m. on Sept. 14," Redskins spokesman Mike McCall said.Todd Boyan, director of game day personnel and operations, admitted yesterday during a media tour that the stadium doesn't look ready for 78,000 fans.

Record: 7-6-1NFC East: If Washington beats the New York Giants on Saturday and the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 21 at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, the Redskins will win the NFC East with a 9-6-1 record. If the Giants also finish 9-6-1, they would lose the division title to the Redskins by virtue of the first tie-breaker, which is head-to-head competition (Washington would be 1-0-1 against the Giants). The Redskins are also still alive in the NFC wild-card playoff race.Last game: Jeff Hostetler, in his first start for Washington, threw three touchdown passes and linebacker Ken Harvey delivered rousing halftime speech to lead the Redskins to a 38-28 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Tempe on Sunday.

As we enter a big political year in Maryland, voters should beware of candidates selling snake oil as a cure-all for the state's ills.Such demagogic rhetoric is already being heard. Candidates for governor have jumped on the "get-tough-with-criminals" bandwagon and jumped off the "Give Baltimore the (foot)ball" bandwagon, in the process promising all sorts of illusory benefits. The worst offender has been Sen. American Joe Miedusiewski, whose answer to the crime problem is to kill the Baltimore football stadium project and use the money to abolish parole and build more prisons to house extra inmates.

Puh-leeze don't gloat over the news that the Redskins football team may be leaving Washington. But one is sorely tempted to kiss the brick archways at Camden Yards after witnessing the dispiriting divisiveness in Greater D.C. over a new home for the burgundy and gold warriors.In the most stealthy sports heist since Colts owner Bob Irsay loaded up the moving vans in the Baltimore pre-dawn, Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke and Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder shocked Washington by unveiling plans to build a new home for the National Football League champions outside the nation's capital.

IT SHOULDN'T have taken a near-tragedy at the Army-Navy game to improve Baltimore's chances of playing host to this classic American sports event. But Baltimore merits strong consideration after last weekend's game, in which nine cadets fell 15 feet when a railing held by tape gave way at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium.Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. But the accident reopens the question of whether a new location can better serve Army-Navy. The contract in Philadelphia expires in 2002.

Ravens owner Art Modell threw his full support yesterday behind the Morgan State and University of Maryland football teams in their future scheduling of games at the new Ravens stadium at Camden Yards."