Maryland Players

Two-a-days have ended and yesterday was the final scrimmage for Maryland players to audition for any remaining starting spots. It seemed like a good time to ask coach Ralph Friedgen if he has a sense of where his team is. "I don't," he said. "I really don't. I'm a little concerned where we are. There's moments in every practice when I think we're pretty good. Then there's other moments when I don't think we're very good. ... I'm really encouraging our leadership to come forward and kind of push us through this.

COLLEGE PARK -- The eerie sound of a helicopter carrying defensive end Erwyn Lyght to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center yesterday could not be ignored by most of his Maryland football teammates, who were trying to concentrate on maintaining a 31-point lead over North Carolina early in the third quarter.Tests revealed that Lyght had not suffered any spinal injury, but the Terps couldn't help but be worried after seeing him taken off on a stretcher."I was in tears on the sidelines," said junior running back LaMont Jordan.

COLLEGE PARK -- There is no football frenzy around the Maryland campus.Just ask junior cornerback Lewis Sanders."I don't see any kind of buzz from the students and fans," Sanders said. "We have to keep getting those wins before people will get excited. If we would beat someone like Florida State, then they wouldn't leave us alone."So what would a victory Saturday over West Virginia mean?"This would be a big win for us Sanders because it's only putting us one step closer to our goal of going to a bowl game," said Sanders, who is the fastest man on the team.

A three-sport female athlete, a longtime coach and one of his players, and three football players will be inducted into the Western Maryland Sports Hall Of Fame Saturday.Sally Stanfield, of Randallstown, was a varsity letter-winner in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse, serving as a co-captain in hockey and lacrosse during her senior year (1977-78).Joining her in the 6 p.m. program at the Decker College Center Forum will be Philip Uhrig, coach of men's soccer for 11 years (1949-59), including a conference championship squad in 1955.

COLLEGE PARK -- Clemson's No. 2-ranked men's soccer team put what might be described as its Maryland-bred "department of defense" on display against the University of Maryland at Ludwig Field last night.The three defenders and goalkeeper, three with Baltimore-area roots and the other from Burtonsville in Montgomery County, seriously frustrated the Terps, 2-0.The win was the 17th in 18 games for the Tigers, who are in second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 4-1-0 record.The loss dropped Maryland (11-6, 3-3)

COLLEGE PARK -- Seven players whose soccer roots sprouted in Maryland -- mostly in the Baltimore area -- had a reunion of sorts last night.Four of the players came with Clemson in a game for second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference men's standings against Maryland, which had three on its roster.No. 2 Clemson won for the 17th time in 18 games this fall, 2-0. Several of those Marylanders had notable contributions, including four on Clemson's backline defense -- goalkeeper Josh Campbell (Patapsco)

Some might consider it cruel luck. Maryland believes it's a wake-up call.The Terrapins (11-2) ended their regular season with their worst performance of the year in an upset loss at UMBC.A day later, the Maryland players sat together in the football team complex to see the NCAA tournament selection show.They waited. And they waited. It seems that the connection to Home Team Sports was fouled up and coach Dick Edell had to call in for the pairings.But maybe it proved best that Maryland didn't watch.

COLLEGE PARK -- Does Maryland's football team know how to win?That question was posed to first-year coach Ron Vanderlinden yesterday. Instead of discussing Saturday's visit to No. 5 Florida State, he spent most of a news conference rehashing his debut with the Terps, an upsetting 21-14 loss to Ohio that indicated that the rebuilding job he's overseeing might take a tad longer than he expected.Maryland had the ball longer than Ohio, had more yards and fewer turnovers than the Bobcats and committed only three penalties, and still managed to waste a 14-0 lead.

Maryland women's basketball coach Chris Weller, whose program is being reviewed by university officials following complaints from players, denied she has mistreated players and said she will not resign.Weller, who has been Maryland's coach for 22 years, said last night that while she is "tough," she has "never set out to harm a student-athlete.""I am out to help them realize their greatness," she said. "I think I've had excellent student-athletes and they have done extraordinary things. I want them to expect that in themselves.

COLLEGE PARK -- It has happened three times this season. To Massachusetts in December after its victory over Arkansas. To North Carolina State last month after its win at North Carolina. And earlier this week, to George Washington after its upset of Massachusetts.In these cases, the afterglow of beating the nation's No. 1 team was extinguished with back-to-reality defeats in the team's next game. The Minutemen lost to Kansas on a neutral court. The Wolfpack lost to Virginia at home. The Colonials lost to St. Bonaventure on the road.

COLLEGE PARK -- Four weeks into the season, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen says the Terrapins are still looking for a foothold - a win to lift a young team mired in turnovers and penalties. "Something has to happen so these kids can grow," Friedgen said in a media conference call Sunday, a day after three interceptions and two lost fumbles helped give Rutgers a 34-13 victory. But there was more bad news Sunday when punter Travis Baltz awoke to find his nonkicking foot still badly swollen.

Dan Groot's hometown of Canandaigua, N.Y., is about a 90-minute drive from Syracuse, and as a youth lacrosse player, he traveled frequently with family and friends to watch the Orange's vaunted men's team. "That was the thing to do when you were a little kid," Groot recalled. "Go to those games and think, 'One day, I want to play for Syracuse.' " So it's a little ironic that the kid who grew up idolizing Orange players is now a senior midfielder trying to propel Maryland (10-6) to an upset of No. 2 seed and reigning national champion Syracuse (13-2)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -Memo to the Memphis Tigers: The Maryland men's basketball team will be those guys wearing red, seated about 15 feet away from you at Sprint Center today. If you need any more help, just ask. You think I'm joking, but if the Tigers were to bump into any Maryland players in downtown Kansas City, let's say at Chipotle, they wouldn't know the Terps from any of the 400 NAIA teams that are also in town this week. It might seem a bit odd, but that's apparently by design. Memphis coach John Calipari hasn't shown his players any film of Maryland.

COLLEGE PARK - A hush fell over the crowd of roughly 200 people inside Heritage Hall in Comcast Center last night as the women's NCAA tournament selection show began. The Maryland players - who sat in the front row, with family members, friends and fans gathered behind them - already knew that they were in the tournament, having won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, and they had a good idea that they would receive a No. 1 seed for the second straight year. But there was still a bit of suspense.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - This is not how Maryland wanted its regular season to end: watching another team, Boston College, celebrate winning the Atlantic Coast Conference division title the Terrapins had long coveted. But when it was over, the Terps could only watch Eagles players pump their helmets up and down as they savored a 28-21 victory and an Atlantic Division championship. It was the sort of celebration the Terps (7-5, 4-4) had imagined occurring at Byrd Stadium last weekend if Maryland had beaten Florida State and Boston College had lost to Wake Forest.

COLLEGE PARK - Maryland players emerged from the locker room slowly after the game. Quarterback Chris Turner said he was "kind of in shock." The Terrapins (7-4, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) have rebounded from tough defeats all season. It's what they do best. But Saturday night's 37-3 loss to Florida State was different. After their three previous losses, the Terps still had their primary goals in front of them - a berth in the ACC championship game followed by a spot in the Orange Bowl.

COLLEGE PARK - Its bleacher seats might not be the most comfortable, but there's one thing about Byrd Stadium that Maryland fans appreciate: The Terrapins usually win there. The Terps enter today's home game against No. 17 North Carolina 5-0 at Byrd this season. They're 38-11 under coach Ralph Friedgen at home, where they were undefeated in 2001 and 2003. On the road, it's quite another story. Although most teams fare better in their own stadium, Maryland's home-road differential is particularly pronounced.

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Maryland players needed to reflect on the Atlantic Coast Conference standings to soothe their battered egos after being embarrassed by Virginia Tech - the Terps' third loss in four games on the road. Even with the 23-13 defeat, the Terps are tied with Wake Forest and Florida State for the Atlantic Division lead. Maryland holds the tiebreaker advantage over Wake by virtue of its 26-0 win over the Demon Deacons on Oct. 18. The Terrapins host Florida State on Nov. 22. "We're still right there to take the ACC," said linebacker Alex Wujciak, who led the team with 13 tackles.

Week by week, Ralph Friedgen is training himself and his Maryland players to be the most nearsighted football team in America. Good for them, especially this week. That allows the rest of us to cast our gaze far and wide, toward what the Terps can accomplish by beating Virginia Tech in Blacksburg tonight. On top of that list: making a statement that this program - as representatives of the old Atlantic Coast Conference basketball aristocracy undercut by the football expansion that included Virginia Tech - can beat the interlopers at their own game.

WASHINGTON -- When Laura Harper finished practice Monday with the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs, Crystal Langhorne dropped by Verizon Center to pick her up, and the two former Maryland frontcourt mates hit the town. And when the Washington Mystics go west in a couple of weeks, Harper expects to meet Langhorne at the airport, if need be, and they'll take in the sights of Northern California together. But when the Mystics and Monarchs met here Wednesday night - the first time the pair had faced each other professionally - friendship went right out the window.