Making The Team

There's nothing like a warm, fuzzy baseball story to liven up a cold, snowy day, which might help explain why more than a dozen reporters and photographers converged on Camden Yards yesterday, all hot on the trail of the Free Agent Fan.Surely by now you've heard of The Fan -- a k a Virginia business management consultant Michael Volpe. He's the guy who got so fed up after his beloved team, the San Francisco Giants, traded All-Star third baseman Matt Williams that he sent the team a letter ending the relationship and declaring himself a free agent.

After 41 consecutive appearances in the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament, No. 13 Johns Hopkins was left out of the 16-team field when it was announced Sunday night. The program's run had been the longest active streak in Division I in all sports - just ahead of Miami baseball (40 straight) and Virginia men's soccer (32). "We're very disappointed," Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala said. "It was not how we set out to have this thing finish. I'm certainly disappointed for our team and our seniors.

1 Follow the money: The Senior Players Championship stages its pro-am today starting at 7:20 a.m. at Baltimore Country Club - in which the amateurs often are richer than the pros. 2 Ice, ice, baby: ESPN debuts its mullet-free hockey analyst during SportsCenter tonight at 6 and 11 - former NHL tough guy Matthew Barnaby (at left). 3 Racy movie: Versus brings you Days of Thunder (9 p.m.), starring Tom Cruise, the second-funniest NASCAR movie ever behind Talladega Nights. 4 Rah-rah, y'all: At 1 p.m. today on CMT, you could notice Making the Team, about the Cowboys cheerleaders, and also how CMT doesn't seem to play music videos anymore.

Craig Tatum understands why the Orioles are proceeding cautiously with the tweaked muscle in his right side. They don't want him to make it worse, end up really hurt and lose the battle for reserve catcher because he was injured. Tatum gets that thinking, but he's got a flip side. "I want to make the team. I can't make the team not playing," said Tatum, who is competing with Jake Fox to back up Matt Wieters . "But I'll do whatever they tell me to do. They know a lot more about it than I do. " Tatum said he felt tightness in his right side after he slipped on the plate during infield drills.

For a Rule 5 pick who is brand new to the ways of a major league baseball team, Randor Bierd pulled off a veteran move Thursday night. Anticipating that he would make the Orioles' 25-man roster as part of the bullpen, Bierd went to a nearby clothing store and purchased a suit so he could abide by the club's dress-code policy as it boarded a charter flight for the trip to Baltimore last night. Manager Dave Trembley requires a suit or sports coat and slacks. No jeans, no shorts. Trembley summoned Bierd into his office yesterday morning and congratulated the former Detroit Tigers farmhand for making the team.

Enough with the gripesUtah Jazz president Frank Layden is tired of Isiah Thomas' grumbling over his exclusion from the 1992 U.S. Olympic team.Layden isn't totally objective. The Jazz's John Stockton was selected to the team and, like Thomas, is a point guard. So, when Thomas whines about not making the team, Layden considers it a dig at Stockton."John Stockton will deliver the ball," he said. "That's what John Stockton does better than anyone and that's what the committee was looking for. I'm not sure they knew Isiah would do that."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- If you must take a one-way trip to Rochester, you might as well do it with an attitude as exemplary as Damon Buford's.Optioned to the Triple-A Red Wings before last night's game, Buford didn't trash the organization, the clubhouse, his locker, the manager or the general manager.He didn't trash anyone or anything. Instead, he welcomed the demotion."It's kind of like I can't lose either way," Buford said. "If I stay here, I'm in the big leagues, and that's great. If I go down, I'm playing every day, and that's great, too."

Coach Ted Marchibroda and his staff began shaping the Ravens' final roster yesterday, cutting 17 players, including three draft picks.Among the cuts were Ron Rogers (sixth round), a Georgia Tech linebacker, Colorado safety Ryan Sutter (fifth) and Weber State tight end Cam Quayle (seventh), who became "Mr. Irrelevant" again yesterday after earning the title originally for being the last player selected in the NFL draft in April.The Ravens also put fullbacks Rob Robertson (knee), Tony Vinson (shoulder)

Skipjacks forward Todd Hlushko got his initiation to professional hockey the hard way.After playing two seasons of junior league hockey in Ontario, Hlushko heard the buzz about getting drafted by an NHL team."

Brian Burres knows he's a long shot to make the bullpen, even if the Orioles keep a second left-hander. But he'll report to Triple-A Norfolk and attempt to rejoin the team later. He appeared in 11 games as a rookie last season after being claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants and receiving a September call-up, allowing two runs in eight innings. He's probably better remembered for having a nosebleed during one of his appearances. Is your hometown of Oregon City, Ore., considered a baseball hotbed?

Oregon sitting on top never did quite sit right, but we can report order has been fully and faithfully restored. Someone down at the sanity office got wind before it was too late and priority-rushed Auburn to the fore, while simultaneously returning the Southeastern Conference Network to regularly scheduled deprogramming. Whew, that was close. Only days ago, the Ducks were college football's jet-set juggernauts and Auburn was the team trailing Georgia 21-7. The Pacific-10, for weeks, was rated as the nation's top conference.

1 Follow the money: The Senior Players Championship stages its pro-am today starting at 7:20 a.m. at Baltimore Country Club - in which the amateurs often are richer than the pros. 2 Ice, ice, baby: ESPN debuts its mullet-free hockey analyst during SportsCenter tonight at 6 and 11 - former NHL tough guy Matthew Barnaby (at left). 3 Racy movie: Versus brings you Days of Thunder (9 p.m.), starring Tom Cruise, the second-funniest NASCAR movie ever behind Talladega Nights. 4 Rah-rah, y'all: At 1 p.m. today on CMT, you could notice Making the Team, about the Cowboys cheerleaders, and also how CMT doesn't seem to play music videos anymore.

For a Rule 5 pick who is brand new to the ways of a major league baseball team, Randor Bierd pulled off a veteran move Thursday night. Anticipating that he would make the Orioles' 25-man roster as part of the bullpen, Bierd went to a nearby clothing store and purchased a suit so he could abide by the club's dress-code policy as it boarded a charter flight for the trip to Baltimore last night. Manager Dave Trembley requires a suit or sports coat and slacks. No jeans, no shorts. Trembley summoned Bierd into his office yesterday morning and congratulated the former Detroit Tigers farmhand for making the team.

Brian Burres knows he's a long shot to make the bullpen, even if the Orioles keep a second left-hander. But he'll report to Triple-A Norfolk and attempt to rejoin the team later. He appeared in 11 games as a rookie last season after being claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants and receiving a September call-up, allowing two runs in eight innings. He's probably better remembered for having a nosebleed during one of his appearances. Is your hometown of Oregon City, Ore., considered a baseball hotbed?

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Orioles reliever Paul Shuey, attempting to make a comeback after retiring two years ago, strained his right Achilles' tendon yesterday while covering home plate against the Washington Nationals. He'll undergo a magnetic resonance imaging test today to determine the severity. Under the best-case scenario, it appears that Shuey, invited to camp as a nonroster player, will be unable to pitch for the next two weeks, damaging his chances of making the team. "It's not going to help him, obviously," manager Sam Perlozzo said.

The Orioles signed House, 27, who was in the Houston Astros organization last season, as a minor league free agent in November. A catcher by trade, House also can play both corner infield and outfield positions and is trying to make the team as a utility man. As a high school quarterback, House threw for 14,457 yards to set a national high school record since broken. He temporarily gave up baseball and went to West Virginia, where he was the third-string quarterback in 2005. What do you think your chances are of making the team?

The Orioles signed House, 27, who was in the Houston Astros organization last season, as a minor league free agent in November. A catcher by trade, House also can play both corner infield and outfield positions and is trying to make the team as a utility man. As a high school quarterback, House threw for 14,457 yards to set a national high school record since broken. He temporarily gave up baseball and went to West Virginia, where he was the third-string quarterback in 2005. What do you think your chances are of making the team?

ASHBURN, Va. - Defensive end Derrick Ham's play dictates he should keep an eye on the depth chart. If he keeps sacking quarterbacks in practice and in games at his current rate, he will be moving up, even if it is unofficial. But he is not worrying about elevating his third-string status. Ham said he is just concerned with making the team at a position that has depth, quality and experience. "Once you start thinking about whether you are doing good or not, then you start getting complacent," said Ham, a first-year free agent out of Miami.

On some occasions, you might expect to see a smidgen of jealousy. After all, older brother Jonathan Ogden was blessed with the enormous size, the unbelievable speed and the grace of a ballet dancer. And younger brother Marques was also blessed with similar characteristics, but not in such great quantity. Yet Jonathan's No. 1 fan might be Marques, even though Jonathan is his harshest critic. "My grandma told me to never envy anyone, because everyone has their own problems," said the 6-foot-5, 336-pound Marques, 24, who is trying to make the Ravens as a guard.

Ja-Ra and J-Da are splitsville, and the Olympic world is a-buzz. Jean Racine and Jen Davidson, the two-time world champions in women's bobsled and closest friends, were everyone's pick to take the gold medal in Salt Lake City. The pair had already done ads for the "Got Milk" campaign, gotten their faces on cereal boxes and appeared in Sports Illustrated, GQ and Glamour magazine. Then a little thing like winning got in the way. Last weekend, Racine, as the driver of the sled and team leader, abruptly ended the four-year partnership with Davidson, the braker and pusher, because, Racine said, Davidson wasn't measuring up. Davidson was replaced by Gea Johnson, a former NCAA champion heptathlete and a walk-on this season.