Michael Johnson

In a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game that had more stops and starts than afternoon rush hour on the Beltway, Coppin State made 41 free throws and beat Morgan State, 96-82, before 3,849 at Hill Field House last night.In winning their sixth straight since a Jan. 8 loss at North Carolina A&T, the Eagles (11-5, 5-1) were fouled 37 times and attempted 55 free throws, 31 in the first half. The officiating crew detected contact at both ends. Morgan State (2-15, 2-4) was 20-for-29 from the line.

BARCELONA, Spain -- There is Dave without Dan, a 100-meter sprint without Carl Lewis and a cou- ple of relay teams without lineups.But before the first race was run early today, a mini-drug scandal was added to the start list at the 1992 Summer Olympics.Four years after Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was banished for steroids, a British sprinter nicknamed Baby Ben was barred from the Barcelona Games.Jason Livingston, the European 60-meter champion who was scheduled to run the 100 and anchor a 4 x 100 relay team, was one of three British athletes sent home after testing positive for steroids.

For five years, Michael Johnson, with his Heritage cinema house, has been the vagabond son of Baltimore's movie scene, moving from place to place, struggling to show movies on a regular basis, operating sporadically for two years out of a former nightclub on North Avenue that Johnson admits was woefully inadequate. This time, Johnson says, he's got it right. Tomorrow at Towson's old Hillendale Theatre, 1045 Taylor Ave., Johnson will open the latest incarnation of his dream for a theater dedicated to African- American films and filmmakers.

Eighth-ranked St. Mary's played under control for the first time in three weeks yesterday and upset unbeaten, No. 3 City College, 23-12.The Saints (4-2), guilty of 10 personal fouls in a two-game losing streak, committed none yesterday. In front of a large homecoming crowd, they jumped out to a 17-0 lead at the half and limited City's (5-1) usually potent ground game to just 30 total yards. City was averaging 35 points a game."St. Mary's is the first team to stop our run totally," said City coach George Petrides.

One of his best two running backs was injured, the other being contained brilliantly, and his No. 7 Knights, victimized by six turnovers, trailed a determined Forest Park squad, 24-21, with 2:04 left in the game.But just when City coach George Petrides seemed to be running out of answers, wide receiver Kevin Griffin (two receptions, 58 yards) encouraged him to exploit a flaw in the Foresters' defense during a timeout with City (1-1) having driven 58 yards in six plays to the Forest Park 23."

St. Mary's walked into a pressure cooker at No. 9 City yesterday, facing a Knights squad stung by perceived press criticism and looking to blow off some steam. In the process, City nearly blew out the visitors, 18-6."We weren't getting the respect of the City teams of the past," said second-team All-Metro linebacker Jemini Jones, who had a sack and rushed for 39 yards as his team built an 18-0 third-quarter lead. "Nobody's going to come in here and do what they want against us. Nobody."The Saints (3-3)

Guitar maker Paul Reed Smith visited Long Reach High School last week to speak about dreams and aspirations, and to autograph a guitar. Smith's factory, PRS Guitars Ltd. of Stevensville has donated an electric guitar to every school in Maryland. In the audience were guitar and other music students, as well as students in the school's Career Research Development (CRD) courses, some of whom took time off from their jobs to attend the assembly. "It's pretty much a student-run assembly," said Foster Driver, who teaches CRD courses at the school.

No. 4 Poly (4-0) atNo. 1 Dunbar (3-1)When: Today, 3: 30 p.m.Outlook: This is the third time these two programs have met in the four-year tenure of Dunbar coach Stanley Mitchell (36-5 career), and each season, the winner has reached the season-ending state finals in its class. Dunbar has won two straight state titles. "They're state champs until somebody beats them, especially with No. 44 [RB Ali Culpepper,]" said Poly coach Augie Waibel (256-57 career). "But they're not a one-man team." Culpepper, an All-Metro pick, rated No. 4 nationally by tTC The National Recruiting Advisor.

Ninety-four state football players will be honored tomorrow at the 41st annual Scholar Athlete Awards dinner at Martin's West in Woodlawn. Five regional scholarship winners will be selected, with one chosen as the grand prize winner. A total of $10,000 will be awarded to the winners. The event, which will start at 6 p.m., is sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. Special achievement awards will be presented to Class 3A champion Linganore, Class 2A champion Aberdeen and Class 1A champion Joppatowne.

What Marilyn Knight remembers most about the 1996 Summer Olympics is how little sleep she got. Knight would go to bed early to get up for her job as a licensed practical nurse at a Baltimore nursing home, only to be awakened a couple of hours later by her son, James Carter.Carter, then a recent graduate of Mervo and on his way to Hampton (Va.) University later that summer, could not contain his enthusiasm in watching Michael Johnson and Allen Johnson on television during their gold-medal performances in Atlanta.