Making The Team

The game's still on.The Orioles have decided to wait and see what the weather looks like today before deciding whether to postpone Opening Day, club officials said.The Philadelphia Phillies, based on weather forecasts calling for rain throughout the day, decided yesterday to postpone their opener until tomorrow. 's throwing out the first ball."There are a lot of people coming to our opening game," Foss said. "It's a tough decision."Foss said the team has two things working in its favor: high-tech weather equipment and a field that can absorb a lot of water.

If the progression of a new franchise can be likened to that of a child, then the Women's National Basketball Association's Washington Mystics head into their second year of existence in much the same way a toddler approaches the world -- with much more energy than perspective.And while most of that enthusiasm, personified in four-time college All-American Chamique Holdsclaw, is good, new coach Nancy Darsch is to be forgiven if she sees herself as a parent who is trying to teach a 2-year-old the alphabet -- an experience that can be rewarding, but also frustrating.

Ravens rookie defensive end Marques Douglas wants to embark on a law career and some day become a judge, but he doesn't want to start on that journey Monday.Douglas, from Howard University, has been impressive in training camp and the Ravens' three preseason games, but is still one of about 15 players on the bubble heading into today's final preseason game against the New York Giants at PSINet Stadium at noon.The Ravens have to cut 12 players by 4 p.m. Sunday to get down to the mandatory 53. "No, I really wouldn't like to be faced with that situation any time soon," said Douglas, laughing.

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.

Astros: Greg Swindell, who attended high school in Houston, solved his ticket dilemma by leasing a 16-seat sky box at the Astrodome. . . . Jeff Juden, a starting pitcher in the minor leagues and the first pick in the 1989 amateur draft, says he is willing to be a reliever if it means making the team. There are six candidates for the No. 5 spot in the rotation: right-handersJuden, Darryl Kile, Brian Williams, Jason Grimsley and Shane Reynolds and left-hander Dean Hartgraves.Braves: Catcher Francisco Cabrera was a no-show for the second straight day. . . . The club has offered two-sport star Deion Sanders a three-year deal worth about $8 million.

That's twice Pat Gillick has goaded the Yankees into awarding stupid contracts to undeserving pitchers. A year ago, the Yankees countered the David Wells trade by signing Kenny Rogers. Yesterday, they countered the Jimmy Key signing by overpaying Wells.The defending world champions are now locked into the two veteran left-handers for more than $28 million over the next three years -- more than $28 million for a dynamic duo that was a combined 23-22 with a 4.93 ERA last season.Indeed, the perception that the two AL East powers are engaging in a year-round bidding war is a myth.

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.

DURHAM, N.C. -- As workmen fixed a light above the court and television crews set up their cameras for interviews, Steve Wojciechowski was out early for shooting practice one recent afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium.Shoot, miss, grimace.Shoot, miss, grimace.Finally, the Duke freshman found his stroke, and the ball kept hitting the bottom of the net. Three, four, five times in a row, as a student manager threw it back to Wojciechowski and he worked his way around the three-point arc. Swish.

Anna Whetstone, 23, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 17. She was a high school junior in Hershey, Pa., playing on her school's field hockey team when she got hit in the head with a ball. "I was feeling fine at the time," she said, but over the next few days she had trouble with balance and "wasn't feeling well overall. " Computed tomography scans and an MRI discovered the telltale lesions that are signs of the degenerative disease. After the diagnosis, Whetstone switched from playing to coaching field hockey, but she continued dancing and she earned a neuroscience degree, with honors, at Moravian College in Pennsylvania.

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.