Manitoba

Baseball Brewers: Recalled P Horacio Estrada, P Allen Levrault, P Rafael Roque, IF Santiago Perez and OF Lyle Mouton. Hockey Blue Jackets: Reassigned G Greg Gardner, D Jonas Junkka and C Reggie Savage to AHL Syracuse. Released D Jeff Ware. Capitals: Signed D Ryan Vanvuskirk to three-year contract. Kings: Reassigned RW Scott Thomas to IHL Manitoba. Reassigned D Joe Corvo, D Michael Pudlick, LW David Hymovitz, RW Kevin Baker, RW Nate Miller, and RW Jason Podollan to AHL Lowell. Oilers: Agreed to terms with LW Ryan Smyth on three-year contract.

Moves Baseball DODGERS: Named former Orioles P Roger McDowell pitching coach of Triple-A Las Vegas. ORIOLES: Agreed to one-year contract with 1B-DH Rafael Palmeiro with option for 2005. Basketball KNICKS: Activated C Michael Doleac and F Michael Sweetney from injured list. Placed C Cezary Trybanski on injured list with left patella tendinitis. RAPTORS: Activated F Lamond Murray from injured list. Placed G Milt Palacio on injured list with left wrist fracture. WIZARDS: Placed G Gilbert Arenas on injured list with lower abdominal strain.

I live in White Hall, and last month I visited Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, on a polar bear expedition with World Wildlife Fund/Natural Habitat Adventures. The trip was unbelievable, perfect and beyond words. We were able to travel on the tundra to observe the bears in their natural habitat. This is a photo of a mama bear and her two cubs approaching the tundra vehicle. This time of year, they travel to Churchill waiting for the Hudson Bay to freeze so they can go out to hunt seals. The Baltimore Sun welcomes submissions for "My Best Shot."

Basketball BULLS: ActivatedF Eddie Robinson from the injured list. Placed G A.J. Guyton on the injured list with left ankle tendinitis. HEAT: Activated F-C Chris Gatling from the injured list. Placed G-F Kendall Gill on the injured list. LAKERS: Waived G Mike Penberthy. Activated G Joe Crispin from the injured list. PISTONS: Placed F Victor Alexander on the injured list with left knee tendinitis. Activated G Damon Jones from the injured list. Football BENGALS: Placed CB Tom Carter on injured reserve.

FAIR HILL - The U.S. equestrian team won the team and individual gold medals in the Pan American Eventing Championship yesterday at the 2003 Fair Hill International Festival in the Country. The United States finished the three phases of dressage, cross country and show jumping with a score of 190.0 penalties to successfully defend the team gold it won at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Canada finished second with 325.0 penalties, and Brazil took the bronze with a score of 1,394.

BaseballPirates: Named John Green coordinator of minor-league personnel.Tucson Sidewinders (Triple-A Pacific Coast League): Announced the sale of the team to Jay Zucker of Tucson Baseball, LLC.BasketballNets: Released F Robert Werdann.Timberwolves: Released F Anthony Miller.Trail Blazers: Released G Ira Bowman, C Jim Carruth and G Charles O'Bannon.CollegeCharleston Southern: Larry Riggs named interim women's basketball coach while head coach Fred Francello recovers from surgery.Georgia: Announced that OL Chad Young has withdrawn from school for medical and academic reasons.

BasketballBulls: Signed G Khalid Reeves. Waived G Rusty LaRue.Knicks: Waived F DeMarco Johnson.Mavericks: Activated G Erick Strickland from injured list.Warriors: Signed G-F Jamel Thomas. Waived G Tim Legler.Trenton (IBL): Signed G Mike Lloyd. Released G Bernard Blunt.CollegesTrans America Athletic Conference: Suspended Jacksonville State men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon and F Mike McDaniel one game for violating conference's sportsmanship policy.New Orleans: Dismissed senior F Carlos Hines from men's basketball team for violation of team rules.

Don't count out the bald eagle in New Jersey. There was just one pair nesting in the state about 20 years ago, but today there are 31 pairs - six more than last season, and a record since the eagles' near disappearance. Comprehensive management of the eagle population during the last two decades has resulted in the increase, according to the state wildlife officials. Officials from the wildlife division's Endangered and Nongame Species Program said about half the nests are clustered along the rural Delaware Bay shore in Cumberland and Salem counties, with the rest scattered in Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Hunterdon, Monmouth and Warren counties.

Late each spring, waterfowl biologists flock to Canada and the northern prairies of the United States to gauge whether ducks and geese are fastidiously going about the business of procreation.While federal and state assessments of breeding ground conditions are not yet available, field biologists for Ducks Unlimited report the best general habitat conditions for waterfowl in the past 20 years.After several years of drought ended two years ago in the prairie pothole regions -- the pockets of wetlands that extend from the north central United States into Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta -- snow melt and spring rains again have "basins brimming with water" this year.