Meter

BARCELONA, Spain -- Mark McKoy, a footnote in the Ben Johnson saga, came back to haunt the 1992 Summer Olympics last night.The Canadian hurdler who fled the 1988 Games of Seoul, South Korea, one step behind Johnson and served a two-year ban for admitting steroid use, roared past Americans Tony Dees and Jack Pierce to win the 110-meter gold."

BARCELONA, Spain -- Kevin Young didn't try out for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team because he was trying to earn enough money to go to UCLA.He was a hurdler, among the best in America. But the child of Watts in Los Angeles was on the outside looking in when Edwin Moses won his second gold medal.Last night, though, Young was at the center of the 1992 Summer Olympics. He came roaring off the curve, kicked one last hurdle, raised his right index finger in triumph and smashed Moses' nine-year-old world record to win the men's 400-meter intermediate hurdles.

PALO ALTO, Calif. - He's the newest toast of the track and field world. He's the man who pinned a stunning setback on "the world's fastest human." He's America's main man heading into August's world championships in Paris. But Baltimore native Bernard Williams refuses to let his ego outrun his flying feet. "Everything looks good on paper," Williams said after the race of his life - his triumphant sprint to the 100-meter dash title at the U.S. championships yesterday at Stanford Stadium.

Baltimore is scaling back the fee it charges for "bagging" parking meters for parades, outdoor markets and festivals -- saving organizers of the popular events up to thousands of dollars.The city had planned to charge $15 per meter per day for each parking slot that was covered with a cloth bag -- one part of a controversial package of fees the city imposed this year to defray the cost of municipal services needed to stage the events.But officials told a City Council hearing yesterday that they had decided instead to charge nonprofit groups only for the potential revenue that the city would lose from having the meters covered, plus the cost of labor for having workers bag the slots.

NEW ORLEANS -- He crossed the finish line and looked to his right, focusing on the cluster of bodies that passed through the tape. It was a strange view. He was accustomed to being in front, raising his arms in triumph. And now, he was defeated. The officials and photographers swarmed him, walked him up the track like bodyguards surrounding a rock star. From the stands came the cheers so warm you almost forgot how hot and humid it was as summer came roaring into New Orleans.

BARCELONA, Spain -- Eighteen months ago, her feet were nearly amputated. Yesterday, those same feet carried Gail Devers to the Olympic gold medal in the race that ordained her the fastest woman on earth.The American medical community isn't going to enjoy hearing the story of Devers. For two years, doctors misdiagnosed her life-threatening thyroid problem, and Devers said it was "a miracle" she recovered to win the women's Olympic 100 meters.Devers, 25, endured breathing difficulties, migraine headaches and temporary loss of vision before learning she was suffering from Graves disease in September 1990.

New Orleans -- He is a pariah, guarded by police, training alone, pronouncing his innocence.Butch Reynolds, an athlete condemned for alleged steroid use, will not go quietly.Today, after racing 22 months from court to court, he is expected to line up in a starting block, competing in the twice-delayed 400-meter men's preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.Reynolds' chances of advancing through four rounds and participating in the Summer Games of Barcelona, Spain, remain improbable.

D-III women's college lacrosse Sea Gulls stifle Catholic, head to national semis The Salisbury women's lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals for the eighth time in program history Sunday afternoon with a 13-6 win over visiting Catholic (16-6). "We had a slower start today, but we played the way we're capable of playing. … We played Salisbury lacrosse," Salisbury coach Jim Nestor said. "Our defense did a great job today. " The Cardinals, who had averaged 15.90 goals per game (20th in the nation)

IRVINE, Calif. -- Standing at the starting blocks last night at the U.S. nationals, roughly 45 minutes apart, Katie Hoff and Michael Phelps couldn't have looked more different had they tried. Hoff, for all her international experience, still fidgets at a furious pace before each race. From the moment she walks on the pool deck, until just before she enters the water, Hoff flutters like a hummingbird. She flaps her arms, adjusts her goggles, scratches her face, pounds her leg muscles with her fists, waves to the crowd, then channels all that nervous energy into the task at hand.

PHILADELPHIA -- A decisive victory in the men's Olympic Development 110-meter high hurdles yesterday at the 112th Penn Relays confirmed that Joel Brown is ready for big things in 2006. The 26-year-old Woodlawn and Ohio State graduate, who won in 13.50 seconds before a crowd of 49,771, also knows there's a lot of work to do before he gets to the top. "I wanted to work on a lot of technical things in my race," said Brown, who, at 5 feet 10 and 165 pounds, concedes considerable height and weight to his principal rivals.