Lakers

Lawmakers oppose United stadium soccer A Prince George's County Council committee recommended Tuesday that the county oppose legislation that would launch planning for a new stadium for D.C. United. In a 5-0 vote, with two abstentions, the council's General Assembly committee recommended withholding support for a bill that would authorize the Maryland Stadium Authority to study the site and financing methods for the project, slated to cost $180 million to $195 million. Though all nine council members also are members of the committee, Council Chairman Marilynn Bland said that the action does not reflect the council's final position on the legislation.

All season for the No. 1 Lake Clifton boys basketball team, it has never been a question of whether somebody could step up at an important moment. It's more like who will step up this time for the Lakers. Playing in front of a packed gym at No. 4 Walbrook yesterday, nearly everybody took a turn as the Lakers found positive answers at all the right times and coasted to an 88-61 win over the Warriors (18-3) to improve to 20-0 with two regular-season games remaining. Junior forward Will Barton led the way with 24 points, senior center Melvin Cleveland had 20, senior guard Jason Sharp provided 18 and junior guard Antonio Barton supplied 15 in a balanced performance.

Loyola junior Steele Stanwick got off to a bad start last night when his indecision allowed defender Alex Lyons to check the ball from his stick within inches of an empty Boys' Latin goal. "I was trying for that extra pass. Didn't know I was wide-open," Stanwick recalled. "An open net? My God, you don't miss those. But it's not how you start, it's how you finish." Stanwick steamrollered his way through the top-ranked Lakers, getting four goals and four assists to lead the No. 2 Dons to their 12th straight victory, 10-6, to win the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title before more than 4,800 at UMBC Stadium.

Loch Raven heavyweight wrestler Greg Walker has no problem stretching his interests. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Eagle Scout is a 4.0 student and is headed for MIT to major in computer science.Walker scored 1,480 on his SAT and is president of Loch Raven's National Honor Society. He ranks among the nation's top 20 as a member of the Maryland Math League and is in the school's gifted and talented program.He also competes in shot put, discus and the high jump. He played the trumpet for four years before switching to the tuba.

In seven weeks, he helped what had been a disappointing team to a 17-6 record. His "73" jersey was one of the hottest-selling pieces of sports apparel in Los Angeles. He even got the often subdued Hollywood crowd excited about basketball.Still, the waiving of Dennis Rodman by the Los Angeles Lakers late Thursday was the absolute right thing to do. The move came after Rodman showed up late for practice on Thursday, and then was sent home by coach Kurt Rambis after he "misplaced" his sneakers and socks.

When Herman Harried became Lake Clifton's coach last season, some wondered if his disciplined style would fit at the East Baltimore school known then for its up-tempo style.After some ups and downs, the Lakers and Harried may have finally found a perfect fit.The No. 11-ranked Lakers won the Class 4A North region championship last night, defeating No. 6 Southern-Baltimore, 53-41, at Dunbar.The Lakers (16-6) advanced to the state semifinals, where they will play either Sherwood or defending state Class 4A champ Gaithersburg Thursday night.

Riding a nine-game winning streak, Mervo has been one of the area's best teams in the second half.All season, Lake Clifton has been streaky. But the No. 13-ranked Lakers have begun to show signs of consistency, and yesterday they upset the host and No. 5 Mustangs, 70-58, in a Baltimore City East Division contest.The win clinches second place in the East for the Lakers (10-5, 5-1), whose only league setback was to No. 1 Dunbar last month. Mervo's last loss came against City on Dec. 22.Junior guard Teoine Carroll scored 20 points to lead Lake Clifton and Andre Mouzone added 17. Marcus Hatten led all scorers with 33 points for Mervo (15-3, 1-3)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Dennis Rodman, fresh off his Los Angeles Lakers debut, showed up more than 30 minutes late to his first full-squad practice yesterday morning."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Phil Jackson, former hippie, noted philosopher and one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, yesterday agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Lakers, a frazzled, former championship-level franchise in search of peace, purpose and prosperity.After whirlwind negotiations, Jackson, who left the Chicago Bulls in 1998 after winning six championships in his final eight seasons, was scheduled to fly from his Montana home into L.A. last night, sign the deal this morning, and then be introduced as the team's new coach at a Beverly Hills news conference at noon.

Brian Nee had three goals and Dan LaMonica chipped in a goal and five assists as host No. 4 Boys' Latin defeated No. 6 Loyola, 9-8, in an MIAA A Conference game.The Lakers ( 8-1, 2-1 ) never trailed and twice led by three goals, but Loyola (2-3, 0-2) pulled within one each time, the last at 8-7 in the third.Nee's third goal, assisted by LaMonica, at the start of the fourth period extended Boys' Latin lead to 9-7.

Patrick Steele scored all three touchdowns in Boys' Latin's 20-0 upset of No. 9 Archbishop Spalding on Friday, but he gave credit where it was due - to his line. "Amazing, that's all I can say," Steele said. Dominating line play along with Steele's running game and big defensive plays, including three interceptions, highlighted an all-around exceptional effort by the host Lakers, who improve to 8-0 and take over sole possession of first place in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference standings at 7-0. Steele finished with 148 yards on 25 carries.

ORLANDO, Fla. - -Kobe Bryant had that one hole in his impressive resume, that one unanswered question everyone seemingly held against him. Sure, he had three NBA championship rings. But could he win one without Shaquille O'Neal? We finally got our answer Sunday night. Bryant coolly and efficiently led his Lakers past the not-ready-for-prime-time Orlando Magic, 99-86, in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, giving Los Angeles its 15th NBA title. Phil Jackson won his record-breaking 10th NBA title as a coach, surpassing the nine Boston Celtics legend Red Auerbach won from 1950 to 1966.

ORLANDO, Fla. - -Kobe Bryant had that one hole in his impressive resume, that one unanswered question everyone seemingly held against him. Sure, he had three NBA championship rings. But could he win one without Shaquille O'Neal? We finally got our answer Sunday night. Bryant coolly and efficiently led his Lakers past the Orlando Magic, 99-86, in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, giving Los Angeles its 15th NBA title while winning Finals Most Valuable Player honors. Phil Jackson won his record-breaking 10th NBA title as a coach, surpassing the nine Boston Celtics legend Red Auerbach won from 1950 to 1966.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Derek Fisher played the role of Kobe Bryant in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. Fisher nailed two decisive three-pointers, becoming the clutch player the Lakers needed in a 99-91 overtime win over the Orlando Magic to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Lakers have three tries to win their 15th NBA championship. They get their first opportunity to clinch the title in Game 5 on Sunday night. The Lakers overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to send the game into overtime when Fisher hit the game-tying three-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in regulation.

LOS ANGELES - -Lamar Odom just can't help himself when it comes to the sweet stuff. He loves candy. He even credits his consumption of sugary treats for fueling his double double performances in games 5 and 6 of the Western Conference finals that helped the Los Angeles Lakers close out the Denver Nuggets and reach the NBA Finals. "It's funny because the games I played well were the games where I ate candy for breakfast," he said, grinning. "It's the reason why I got double digits in points and rebounds.

Take a look at Loyola's boys lacrosse roster this season and you won't find any eye-popping names. The No. 5 Dons, the two-time defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champions, are a hardworking group that banks on turning the little things into something big. That was the case in Tuesday's quarterfinal game at No. 4 Boys' Latin, where the Dons started fast and then outworked the host Lakers in important stretches to...

PLAYER OF THE YEAR Will Barton Lake Clifton A transfer from National Christian Academy, the 6-foot-6 junior forward turned a good Lakers team into a special one that went 28-0 and won the Class 3A state title. No player in the area was more consistent or versatile than Barton, who averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Along with his multiple skills at both ends of the court, Barton's enthusiasm, energy and confidence made his teammates better. Perhaps most impressive is that he excelled while playing within a stringent team concept.

Lawmakers oppose United stadium soccer A Prince George's County Council committee recommended Tuesday that the county oppose legislation that would launch planning for a new stadium for D.C. United. In a 5-0 vote, with two abstentions, the council's General Assembly committee recommended withholding support for a bill that would authorize the Maryland Stadium Authority to study the site and financing methods for the project, slated to cost $180 million to $195 million. Though all nine council members also are members of the committee, Council Chairman Marilynn Bland said that the action does not reflect the council's final position on the legislation.

After his team started slowly and surrendered an early goal at Dulaney on Tuesday, Boys' Latin lacrosse coach Bob Shriver closed out a timeout with a simple order: "The bus ride is over - lets's go!" His No. 4 Lakers were listening. Winning draws, getting to ground balls first and effectively running their balanced offense, the Lakers scored eight of the next nine goals in the first half and went on for a comfortable 14-3 victory over the No. 12 and defending Class 4A-3A state champion Lions.

COLLEGE PARK -Back in mid-November, there was an impressive collection of talented basketball players who came together at Lake Clifton, both new and old to the program. It took no time for the individuals to effectively merge into a team, playing as one from the very beginning of the season. And now - after 28 consecutive wins and the program's second state title under 12-year coach Herman "Tree" Harried - the No. 1 Lakers can call themselves special in a history-making way. With its 75-50 win over Friendly in yesterday's Class 3A state championship game at Comcast Center, Lake Clifton became the third Baltimore team to complete an undefeated season since the city schools began competing in the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association in the 1992-93 season.