Lions

Throughout the second half, Liberty goalkeeper Josh Gursky kept the top-seeded Lions even against a relentless North Hagerstown attack.And when the Lions took advantage of a rare offensive opportunity to go up 1-0 on Jason Dunbar's goal with just under 13 minutes remaining in regulation, there was a strong sense throughout the stadium that Gursky simply wasn't going to let anything get past him.That was the case. Gursky frustrated the North Hagerstown attack and finished with 20 saves as the Lions advanced to the Class 2A, West Region final with a 1-0 victory in Eldersburg.

PONTIAC, Mich. -- For 35 minutes, the Washington Redskins were befuddled by the Detroit Lions' run-and-shoot offense."We couldn't cope with it," coach Joe Gibbs said. "They ate us alive."The Lions ran up 35 points in the first 35 minutes although one of the touchdowns was a 34-yard interception return by defensive back William White.But the Redskins finally caught up with the run-and-shoot the final 25 minutes of regulation, holding them to three points while winning, 41-38, in overtime.The difference?

Another night, another record for Liberty's girls lacrosse team.Kym Frey scored four goals and handed out a school-record nine assists, and Chrissy Primavera scored six goals and had four assists as co-No. 12 Liberty set a school record for goals for the second straight night in a 28-5 rout of visiting Wilde Lake.Liberty (6-0), which set a record on Monday for goals with 21 against Atholton, exploded for 16 first-half goals. The Lions broke the record when Nathalie Skovron scored with an assist from Frey with 11:22 left in the game.

Dulaney coach Craig Laferty knew his team faced an uphill battle in the playoffs. Competing in the same region with fifth-ranked Perry Hall made a date in the state semifinals seem ++ almost out of reach."

Lui Passaglia has been through the good, the bad and the euphoric with the B.C. Lions.In 1985, Passaglia was part of the Lions' first Canadian Football League championship in 21 years. Then, he witnessed a gradual slide in which B.C. bottomed out with a 3-15 record in 1992. Passaglia's fortunes came full circle last November in the Grey Cup, when he kicked four field goals, including the game-winner with no time left on the clock, to lift the Lions to a 26-23 championship victory over the upstart expansion team from Baltimore.

Craig O'Connell has no idea what to expect when his Howard Lions face the Walt Whitman Vikings in tonight's Class 3A girls basketball semifinal at UMBC.O'Connell isn't alone. The Lions, who are making their first state tournament appearance, have been wildly unpredictable this season.This is a team that lost to South Carroll, blew out the Cavaliers two weeks later by 30 points, then struggled for three quarters before beating them handily in the regionals last week.This is a team that lost to Mount Hebron in January by 39, then handed the Vikings their only regular-season loss in the county a month later.

There's an axiom that if you keep anything long enough it will come back in style.Take the case of the lion fearsome foursome that guarded the old Calvert Street Bridge over Jones Falls. From 1879 through the 1957, these masonry mammals stood at the span's approaches, two at Mount Royal Avenue and two toward the north end (Federal Street).By the 1950s, the lions dropped out of favor. When the bridges where they stood sentinel were replaced, these Kings of Beasts were reduced to the status of an alley cat. They were hauled off to the Baltimore Zoo, and placed in a storage barn for a decade.

South Carroll made seven free throws in the final 26 seconds to break a tie and went on to defeat host Liberty, 77-73 in a Carroll County game last night.South Carroll held off the rallying Lions, who fell behind by 11 in the second quarter.Greg Mihalko, Brian Kemp and Mike Yokay combined for the seven free throws on one-and-one situations.Kemp hit two of the seven from the line, completing a superb fourth-quarter show in which he scored 12 points to finish with 16.The scrappy Kemp scored eight points in less than two minutes midway through the final quarter, as South Carroll (4-9 overall, 1-1)

Coach: Bruce Demasio, 11th year Last year's record: BOYS -- 11-3 overall, 4-3 in the county, 10-3 in the Central Maryland Conference. GIRLS -- 3-11 overall, 2-5 in the county, 2-11 in the CMCTop returnees: BOYS -- Senior, Greg Phelps; juniors, Rob Hobson, Todd Myers, Brian Ninosky, Keith Bethel; sophomores, Jeff Downs, Chris North, Mike Syzmanski; GIRLS -- Seniors, Stacey Yingling, Tiffany Schnell; juniors, Melanie Schaeffer, Laura Hennessy, Jennifer Krupowicz;...

WASHINGTON -- In reel life, this season's NFC title game would be titled "Thumbs Up."Every Hollywood screenwriter would love to write it: the emotional story of how an underdog band of Detroit Lions won a Super Bowl trip for their fallen teammate, Mike Utley, who gave them a thumbs-up sign when he left the field paralyzed in November.In real life, though, the Washington Redskins figure to turn thumbs down on the Lions at RFK Stadium today and win a trip to Super Bowl XXVI.Not that Utley isn't rooting for the Lions.