Lawrence Phillips

If running back Lawrence Phillips resurrects his damaged NFL career this season, it will not happen in Baltimore.Yesterday, after a short meeting among a handful of club officials, the Ravens decided to end their flirtation with Phillips, whom the team had been eyeing since he finished a record-breaking season last month with the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe.In the eyes of Ravens coach Brian Billick, the decision to move on without Phillips -- whose brief pro career has been marred by off-the-field problems -- primarily came down to what Phillips could offer the Ravens on the field in 1999.

Times are changing for the San Francisco 49ers, who were once noted as the best team that money could buy.The 49ers won five Super Bowls back in the days when owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. could use his late father's shopping mall empire to subsidize the team.DeBartolo, who was suspended by the league after a guilty plea in a Louisiana gambling investigation, is now negotiating to sell the team to his sister, Denise, who says her brother ran up $94 million in debt. Assuming she keeps it, Denise is more likely to run the team as a business.

The Ravens aren't wrong to contemplate alternatives to Priest Holmes at running back, but Lawrence Phillips? Bringing him in would be a mistake. A bad idea instantly regretted. Are we making ourselves clear?Given Phillips' troubled past and disappointing NFL career, it's more likely he'll become the Ravens' No. 1 headache than their No. 1 runner.You'd think they'd understand, having barely survived the Bam Morris era.Why they're even considering undertaking "Bam II: The Phantom Menace" is anyone's guess.

Cincinnati (1-6) at N.Y. Giants (5-3)Time: 1 p.m.Line: Giants by 5 1/2Vs. spread: Bengals 0-7; Giants 4-3.Last week: Bengals lost to Steelers, 26-10. Giants beat Lions in OT, 26-20.Worth watching: Danny Kanell has established himself as the Giants' No. 1 quarterback with efficient work and some big plays. The Bengals need their offense, particularly QB Jeff Blake (five TD passes), to start showing up.Outlook: The Giants have won three straight to take over first place in the NFC East. They shouldn't get much of a challenge from the Bengals, who have been outscored 179-74 during their six-game skid.

Tampa Bay (2-0) at Minnesota (2-0)Time: 1 p.m.Line: Vikings by 4Vs. spread: Bucs 2-0; Vikings 2-0.Last week: Bucs beat Lions, 24-17. Vikings beat Bears, 27-24.Worth watching: Tampa Bay rookie RB Warrick Dunn has been a surprise with 167 yards rushing in two games. The duel between Bucs DT Warren Sapp (NFL-high 3 1/2 sacks) and Vikings G Randall McDaniel, who has started the past eight Pro Bowls, could be a classic.Outlook: The Bucs are continuing their momentum from the second half of 1996 and are one of the NFL's best early stories, but a 3-0 start?

It was a rough first half of the NFL season for coaching icons in Miami, new million-dollar quarterbacks in New York, and rookie running backs from Nebraska.Just ask Jimmy Johnson, Neil O'Donnell and Lawrence Phillips.Johnson made serious waves when he replaced Dolphins coach Don Shula last winter, but he found out he couldn't walk on water once he lost quarterback Dan Marino. Nor could he beat his old nemesis, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, in their celebrated reunion.O'Donnell was supposed to be the $25 million man who would finally get the New York Jets off the ground.

There's one positive thing that can be said about the NFL's off-season: It's over.As the majority of NFL teams open training camp this week -- including the first one in Baltimore since 1983 -- the league hopes to obscure a nightmarish off-season that tarnished its carefully cultivated image.The league's star-crossed players -- from Michael Irvin to Brett Favre to Lawrence Phillips -- seemed as likely to show up on "A Current Affair" and "Hard Copy" as on ESPN while winding up on police blotters all over the country.

This is what the police reported:Lawrence Phillips scaled a wall, broke into a third-floor apartment and threw his former girlfriend to the floor.Then, with her head cut, he hit her several times in the face, and, as she screamed for help, dragged her by the hair down three flights of stairs.Phillips, 20, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault and trespassing charges resulting from the above incident last Sept. 10.And now the Ravens are talking not only about selecting him with the fourth pick of the NFL draft, but also trading up to make sure another team doesn't grab him.The question is not whether Phillips should be drafted -- some NFL team is going to take the former Nebraska running back, and probably be thankful for it.The question is whether Phillips is the right choice for a franchise starting over in Baltimore, a franchise getting the deal of a lifetime, and vowing to be a good community member in return.

It's time to play the draft game in the NFL.With the NFL's 61st collegiate draft -- the first involving a Baltimore team since 1983 -- set to start at noon Saturday in New York, the teams are doing their best to send out false signals and use smoke screens to disguise their intentions.This is normal the week before the draft, but two factors have made it more confusing than ever.The first is that there's no obvious franchise choice at the top of the draft.There are a group of players -- including wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson of USC, linebacker Kevin Hardy of Illinois, offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden of UCLA, running back Lawrence Phillips of Nebraska and defensive lineman Simeon Rice of Illinois -- bunched closely together in the ratings.

THE BALTIMORE Ravens, your new pro football team, wouldn't draft a convicted pedophile to play for them.They wouldn't draft a convicted murderer.They probably wouldn't even draft a guy who exposed himself. You'll never see Pee-wee Herman lining up on a football field.But on Saturday, NFL draft day, when the world stands still so football teams can make their draft picks in front of God and a national TV audience, the Ravens are hoping to select Lawrence Phillips.Who isn't a pedophile.Who isn't a murderer.

* If that Raiders-Al Davis spectacle last week didn't convince everyone of the genius of an All-Classic News Conference Network, then nothing will. I would trade that for the Big Ten Network on my system tomorrow. * The only proper ending for the baseball playoffs is Manny's Old Team vs. Manny's New Team. * Ah, now that's the Terrell Owens we all know. Haven't seen him in a while. * First thought about the news of Bruce Springsteen performing at the Super Bowl: He's that old? * Lawrence Phillips, 10-year prison sentence for assault.

Helen M. Phillips, a homemaker and longtime Gardenville resident, died Wednesdayof a brain hemorrhage at Gilchrist Hospice Care. She was 95. Born Helen Mary Brocki at home on South Dallas Street, Mrs. Phillips was the eldest of eight children and raised in East Baltimore. She attended St. Patrick's parochial school until the eighth grade and then went to work picking produce at farms in Anne Arundel and Harford counties. "She recalled when labor inspectors arrived at the farm, the foreman would blow a whistle, and all the young children would hide in the canneries," said a daughter, Elaine Lutche of Bel Air. During the 1920s, she worked in Baltimore's garment district at Thanhouser & Weiller - a manufacturer of shirts, overalls and children's playsuits - packing clothes for shipment.

When the Ravens go in search of a premier running back next month, they will attempt to avoid the pitfalls of past drafts. And the NFL's recent past is filled with a curious mix of success and failure at the position, especially when it comes to first-round picks. To wit: Penn State's Ki-Jana Carter was the first pick in the 1995 draft, and Colorado's Rashaan Salaam, the Heisman Trophy winner, the 21st. Carter has been serviceable, Salaam a bust. The best back from '95? Terrell Davis, taken with the 196th pick in the sixth round.

If running back Lawrence Phillips resurrects his damaged NFL career this season, it will not happen in Baltimore.Yesterday, after a short meeting among a handful of club officials, the Ravens decided to end their flirtation with Phillips, whom the team had been eyeing since he finished a record-breaking season last month with the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe.In the eyes of Ravens coach Brian Billick, the decision to move on without Phillips -- whose brief pro career has been marred by off-the-field problems -- primarily came down to what Phillips could offer the Ravens on the field in 1999.

The Ravens aren't wrong to contemplate alternatives to Priest Holmes at running back, but Lawrence Phillips? Bringing him in would be a mistake. A bad idea instantly regretted. Are we making ourselves clear?Given Phillips' troubled past and disappointing NFL career, it's more likely he'll become the Ravens' No. 1 headache than their No. 1 runner.You'd think they'd understand, having barely survived the Bam Morris era.Why they're even considering undertaking "Bam II: The Phantom Menace" is anyone's guess.

Times are changing for the San Francisco 49ers, who were once noted as the best team that money could buy.The 49ers won five Super Bowls back in the days when owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. could use his late father's shopping mall empire to subsidize the team.DeBartolo, who was suspended by the league after a guilty plea in a Louisiana gambling investigation, is now negotiating to sell the team to his sister, Denise, who says her brother ran up $94 million in debt. Assuming she keeps it, Denise is more likely to run the team as a business.

Cincinnati (1-6) at N.Y. Giants (5-3)Time: 1 p.m.Line: Giants by 5 1/2Vs. spread: Bengals 0-7; Giants 4-3.Last week: Bengals lost to Steelers, 26-10. Giants beat Lions in OT, 26-20.Worth watching: Danny Kanell has established himself as the Giants' No. 1 quarterback with efficient work and some big plays. The Bengals need their offense, particularly QB Jeff Blake (five TD passes), to start showing up.Outlook: The Giants have won three straight to take over first place in the NFC East. They shouldn't get much of a challenge from the Bengals, who have been outscored 179-74 during their six-game skid.

Tampa Bay (2-0) at Minnesota (2-0)Time: 1 p.m.Line: Vikings by 4Vs. spread: Bucs 2-0; Vikings 2-0.Last week: Bucs beat Lions, 24-17. Vikings beat Bears, 27-24.Worth watching: Tampa Bay rookie RB Warrick Dunn has been a surprise with 167 yards rushing in two games. The duel between Bucs DT Warren Sapp (NFL-high 3 1/2 sacks) and Vikings G Randall McDaniel, who has started the past eight Pro Bowls, could be a classic.Outlook: The Bucs are continuing their momentum from the second half of 1996 and are one of the NFL's best early stories, but a 3-0 start?

It was a rough first half of the NFL season for coaching icons in Miami, new million-dollar quarterbacks in New York, and rookie running backs from Nebraska.Just ask Jimmy Johnson, Neil O'Donnell and Lawrence Phillips.Johnson made serious waves when he replaced Dolphins coach Don Shula last winter, but he found out he couldn't walk on water once he lost quarterback Dan Marino. Nor could he beat his old nemesis, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, in their celebrated reunion.O'Donnell was supposed to be the $25 million man who would finally get the New York Jets off the ground.

BreakdownThe formation: Offset right, pro right with tight end Ernie Conwell (45) on the right side. Wide receiver Eddie Kennison (88) lines up to the left and wide receiver Isaac Bruce (80) splits right. Fullback Jerald Moore (44) lines up 3 to 5 yards behind right tackle Zach Wiegert and running back Lawrence Phillips (21) is 7 yards behind quarterback Tony Banks (12).The action: When the ball is snapped, Kennison cuts off the cornerback and left tackle Wandy Gandy seals the end or outside linebackers on backside protection.