Miami

MIAMI - The real playoffs start Saturday for the Ravens, when they travel to Tennessee to play the Titans in the AFC divisional round. The Ravens' 27-9 victory over the Miami Dolphins in a wild-card playoff game was just a warm-up. The real contenders start playing next weekend with the Titans-Ravens rematch and the San Diego Chargers traveling to Pittsburgh. They all have real defenses and real quarterbacks who can make plays. They all have run-oriented offenses and play smash-mouth football.

As miserable as things are in Baltimore this NFL season, they are four times worse in Miami ... four times as in the 0-13 Dolphins have four fewer wins. The percentage comparison may not be exactly mathematically sound, but you get my drift. So let's look in on the Dolphins -- a team that the 4-9 Ravens desperately need to beat to get out of this season with at least a shred of respectability. Miami has a rookie quarterback who was pressed into service as the starter after the team fell to 0-9. The fans clamored for it, and they got what they wanted.

QUARTERBACK -- Kyle Boller had a couple of bad throws but was accurate most when he had time to throw. Backup Troy Smith showed poise late in the game but the best quarterback in Miami yesterday was Bob Griese. B Offensive line The Ravens gave up four sacks, and defensive end Jason Taylor took advantage of tackle Marshal Yanda's inexperience. The Ravens were dominant running the ball, but their pass blocking was poor. C- Receivers Devard Darling came up big a couple of times, but he has to hold on to the ball.

MIAMI -- My mother is a saintly woman who taught me some important life lessons during my formative years. Don't smoke. Don't drink. Don't curse. Don't ever have a serious relationship with anyone named Margo. And, most of all, don't gloat. The only thing worse than a poor loser, she always told me, is a poor winner. The ability to win graciously is a talent that will win over your opponents and reinforce your integrity. Of course, my mother is from the Midwest, where they actually believe that kind of garbage.

All-American Tyler Hansbrough was listed as probable for North Carolina's next game after suffering a concussion during a victory at Rutgers. The school said yesterday that Hansbrough was able to fly back with the team, but it was unclear whether he would have lingering effects. He went through a light workout and will be examined the next two days before tomorrow night's game against Nicholls State, school spokesman Steve Kirschner said. Hansbrough was injured Sunday night while taking a charge from Earl Pettis with 5:47 left in North Carolina's 93-71 win. Hansbrough hit the back of his head on a television cameraman's knee and the basket support.

PointsWally Szczerbiak, Miami, Ohio 43Marcus Wilson, Evansville 34Johnny Hemsley, Miami 31Donald Watts, Washington 28Mike Pegues, Delaware 23Monroe Pippins, Fla. A&M 23ReboundsKevin Ault, SW Mo. State 14John Bennett, Delaware 14Isiah Victor, Tennessee 14Chris Mihm, Texas 14Danny Moore, SW Mo. State 13Eduardo Najera, Oklahoma 13AssistsPepe Sanchez, Temple 9Mateen Cleaves, Mich. State 8Vernon Jennings, Miami 8Rob Mestas, Miami, Ohio 8Kyle Runyan, Evansville 8Can anyone shoot?The eight teams that played in the first games at the four sites yesterday combined to shoot 36.3 percent from the field (173-for-477)

MIAMI -- Like the spokes of a wheel, they connect to the Circle: The high school drop out in search of a tan. A hippie-turned-teacher-turned-house cleaner with a dolphin tattoo on her right shoulder. The Messianic Jew who left his home in Oregon on a bicycle and has not stopped pedaling, five years later.None of them can touch the rock with the strange carvings, protected as it is by 24-hour-a-day security guards, two chain-link fences and a court order. But people of all states of mind come to glimpse South Florida's answer to Stonehenge from the roof of the Sheraton Biscayne Bay parking garage.

MIAMI -- Federal charges are expected within days against American Airlines, accusing Miami's No. 1 air carrier of endangering passengers by mishandling hazardous cargo and carrying it illegally on its jets.It could be the first time in aviation history that a major airline is charged criminally for transporting hazardous materials.Combustibles, pesticides, corrosives and other substances -- such as cases of flammable perfumes and dangerous hair spray canisters -- are some of the materials that have been loaded improperly, according to federal sources close to the case.

MIAMI -- There's nothing subtle about the Atlanta Falcons' offense.It's built around running back Jamal Anderson, who likes to pound away at the left side.Since Anderson is left-handed, he usually stays left on plays designed to go to the left. But he'll often cut back to the left on plays designed to the right.Anderson has a solid blocker in left tackle Bob Whitfield, but he just appears more comfortable in going to his left.Anderson rushed for 1,846 yards on 410 carries -- a league record -- during the regular season.

MIAMI -- So close and yet so far.That's been the story of kicker Gary Anderson's quest to make a Super Bowl.Three times in the past five years, he's been the kicker for the home team in the conference championship game.All three times -- in Pittsburgh in 1994, in San Francisco last year and in Minnesota two weeks ago -- his team lost.The Vikings' overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons was the most frustrating for him because he missed a 38-yard field-goal try with 2: 07 left in regulation that would have wrapped up the victory.

Jack McClinton's path to college basketball stardom at the University of Miami was not a direct route, but it was not nearly as bumpy as it might seem given the number of stops he made after leaving Baltimore nearly six years ago. There was the year McClinton spent at South Kent School after graduating from Calvert Hall. Unlike many of his teammates at the prep school in rural Connecticut, McClinton was mostly there to work on his game, not his grades. This often included one-on-one matchups in the middle of the night against teammate Dorell Wright, now with the Miami Heat.

Heat sends Marion to Raptors for J. O'Neal basketball Hours after Shawn Marion made a last-second dunk to lift the Miami Heat past the Chicago Bulls, he was traded yesterday to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Jermaine O'Neal, ending a weeks-long saga involving the expected deal. NBA officials approved the swap yesterday afternoon by conference call, the Heat said. Toronto also gets guard Marcus Banks and cash considerations, and Miami will receive forward Jamario Moon and a first-round draft pick, to come between 2010 and 2015.

"That was one of the greatest feelings I've ever had," Miami's Jack McClinton said. McClinton had just seen Miami's home fans mob the Hurricanes after they upset No. 7 Wake Forest, 79-52, last night. "I've never experienced something like that, rushing the court. It was great." McClinton (Calvert Hall) scored a season-high 32 points, and Miami (15-7, 4-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), which had lost three straight games, used a zone defense to stymie the Demon Deacons (17-3, 4-3), who lost their second consecutive game.

MIAMI - The real playoffs start Saturday for the Ravens, when they travel to Tennessee to play the Titans in the AFC divisional round. The Ravens' 27-9 victory over the Miami Dolphins in a wild-card playoff game was just a warm-up. The real contenders start playing next weekend with the Titans-Ravens rematch and the San Diego Chargers traveling to Pittsburgh. They all have real defenses and real quarterbacks who can make plays. They all have run-oriented offenses and play smash-mouth football.

MIAMI - Presented with the chance to retrace their path to Super Bowl history, the Ravens made reservations yesterday for Nashville, Tenn., and the second round of the NFL playoffs. They throttled quarterback Chad Pennington and the Miami Dolphins in a 27-9 victory to set up a date with the No. 1-seeded Tennessee Titans at LP Field at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. When the Ravens won the Super Bowl after the 2000 season, it was as a wild-card entry in the AFC playoffs. Their second-round opponent that winter was the top-seeded Titans in what was then Adelphia Coliseum.

The thing I remember most about the last time the Ravens played Miami was the way the Ravens pushed the Dolphins around. Miami has gotten better since then, and so have the Ravens. But the major difference is that the Ravens have more tough guys. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ravensinsider)

For Ravens fans looking to migrate south for the playoffs, getting tickets to the game wasn't a problem yesterday. But getting to Miami - that's another matter. Thanks to lukewarm Miami fans who don't always fill Dolphin Stadium, some of the Ravens faithful were able to buy tickets at face value on the Ticketmaster Web site yesterday morning. But with the Orange Bowl game in Miami this week, the college football championship game next week and seasonal travelers heading to Florida to thaw out, decent airfare is hard to come by. Many flights out of South Florida on Sunday and Monday, when Ravens fans would be returning home, are full.

When the Ravens last traveled to South Florida, they had an alarming tendency to turn the ball over and had lost three straight games. On Oct. 19, they corrected both deficiencies and turned an early corner in the John Harbaugh regime by beating the Miami Dolphins, 27-13. Miami fell to 2-4 with the defeat, but has lost only two games since. The victory launched the Ravens on their playoff path; counting that game, they have won nine of their past 11 games. Clearly, both teams have moved on from their Week 7 meeting, both better off for the journey.

One thing Baltimore Sun colleague Ken Murray and I can agree on is whom Ravens fans should least want to see the team play against in a potential playoff game: the New England Patriots. Who needs to travel to freezing Gillette Stadium and deal with Bill Belichick? OK, so who would make for a comfortable first-round game? No question: the Miami Dolphins. First, the obvious. The Ravens have already beaten these guys once this season, 27-13 on Oct. 19 in Miami. That happened to be the game that got the Ravens started on the run that has them in position to make the playoffs It also happened to be one of the Ravens' most productive offensive efforts.

All the top teams took care of their business and the Bowl Championship Series standings were unchanged at the top yesterday, with Alabama and Texas Tech holding the top two spots and Florida, Texas and Oklahoma poised to move up. The Crimson Tide ran away from Mississippi State in the second half of a 32-7 victory that kept Alabama on top of both the USA Today coaches' poll and the Harris poll. Alabama has a .9787 BCS average. Texas Tech (.9698) remained second in the polls and first according to the computer ratings during a week off. The Red Raiders head into their fourth straight game against a ranked opponent, this time at Oklahoma, in control of their national title and Big 12 championship hopes.