Oakley

IT WAS THE worst media sacking of a professional athlete since sports journalists raked Muhammad Ali over the coals in the 1960s. That would be the skewering of Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis, who, if you believe what you read in the papers and hear on television and radio, is the model for Psychotic, Homicidal Pro Athletes With Knives. At least two letter writers to the New York Daily News voiced their opinion that Lewis was guilty of killing Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar, two Decatur, Ga., men stabbed to death outside an Atlanta nightclub after Super Bowl XXXIV.

How quickly the Detroit Pistons' three-game, season-opening winning streak has been forgotten.The Pistons had lost five straight games before beating Phoenix on Friday night. The slump only intensified the finger-pointing, with Grant Hill laying blame on Bison Dele (formerly Brian Williams), and Jerry Stackhouse attributing the team's problems to Hill.It's not only Hill who has been unhappy with Dele. The whole team is upset with Dele's lethargic effort that has produced 10.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

NEW ORLEANS - The Big Easy has always been a memorable place for Michael Jordan despite his infrequent visits. It was here, after all, where he first entered the nation's consciousness, hitting a jumper at the Superdome as a freshman to win the national championship for North Carolina. Nearly 21 years later and just across the street, Jordan got another piece of history last night at New Orleans Arena, making a short jumper in the lane with 1:09 remaining in the second quarter to move past Wilt Chamberlain for third place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Until yesterday, the question was whether Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis participated in a double murder. To hear Atlanta law enforcement authorities tell it, the question might now include whether Lewis has hindered a criminal investigation as well. If authorities can prove that Lewis misled and lied to investigators, it could not only damage the three-time Pro Bowler's credibility in court, but also lead to additional criminal charges, two Baltimore criminal defense attorneys said yesterday.

Chesapeake's boys' lacrosse team may be the new kid on the block, but it has already learned the merits of using bulletin board material.The 12th-ranked Cougars, motivated by a perceived slight by Broadneck players in a local newspaper, ended the Bruins' nine-game winning streak, 11-10, yesterday and earned the Anne Arundel County championship at Annapolis High.The Cougars (12-3), winners of their seventh straight, trailed, 3-2, after one period of a game that was tied eight times, including 5-5 at the half and 9-9 entering the final period.

LANDOVER -- It was clearly a scary moment for the Washington Bullets as Chris Webber lay still underneath the basket last night, clutching the left shoulder that he already had dislocated twice before. But even amid the concern, teammate Juwan Howard knew there was business to be taken care of in the rest of overtime against the New York Knicks."I told him as he left, 'We're going to win it for you, don't worry about it,' " Howard said. "I didn't give him a chance to talk, I was too busy running my mouth."

If there were doubts about whether Anfernee Hardaway could lead the Orlando Magic to the next level, the second-year point guard is erasing them.Yesterday, Hardaway was named the league Player of the Week after averaging 32.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in a 4-0 week, and is a big reason why the Magic has the best record in the NBA going into tonight.Eight days ago against Miami, after Shaquille O'Neal picked up his fourth foul with 8:58 left in the third quarter, Hardaway went on to score 17 of his game-high 30 points the rest of the quarter in a 124-89 victory.

From: Gregory P. Kane, Disgruntled Citizen Menaced by Dirt Bike-Riding Scofflaws Re: Dirt bike-riding scofflaws Dear Mayor Sheila Dixon and Gov. Martin O'Malley: It happened soon after I made the turn on to Oakley Avenue from Park Heights Avenue. My first sign that there might be trouble was when I saw the two dimwits standing in the middle of the street at the corner of Oakley and Palmer avenues. "Ah!" I said to myself. "And here we have two more geniuses who have no idea why the word sideWALK has 'walk' in it."

For the past eight weeks, Ed Dougherty, 50, has been saying "thank you" the best way he knows how -- with his golf clubs.Of six events on the Senior PGA Tour, he has been out of the top 20 only once, and all but one of his totals have been under par. His $168,703 has him 45th on the money list.Dougherty will be trying to add to his impressive start when the State Farm Senior Classic begins tomorrow at Hobbit's Glen Golf Club in Columbia.Although admitting that these results were beyond his expectations, the former club pro from Philadelphia tempers that, saying, "I had some chances and didn't capitalize on them, too. The goal is to play as well as I know I can."

In the 1990s, Coppin State's men's basketball team was the scourge of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball. Even when the program dropped off briefly with the start of the new millennium, there was a universal theme among league opponents: "Always watch out for Fang." The reference was to Fang Mitchell, who had built a reputation as one of the premier coaches in the country at getting the most production from the fewest resources. Now the Eagles coach, who also doubles as the school's athletic director, has company in that regard - and it has surfaced from within the Coppin family.