Obadiah

He speeds into battle in a fiery flash, laying waste to all challengers. That's not just Iron Man but the film's likely box-office outcome, too. From a surprise sneak peek at July's Comic-Con convention through its teaser trailer launch in October and TV spots during February's Super Bowl and Lost premiere, Iron Man has been assembling a towering wave of momentum. But is it a tsunami? When the first meaningful audience tracking surveys rolled in this month, Paramount and Marvel Studios had to say Iron Man sure was looking like one. Movie studios and exhibitors are desperate for a hit. Several of the year's higher-profile releases, including films from George Clooney (Leatherheads)

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 were fouled 37 times and attempted 55 free throws, 31 in the first half. The officiating crew detected contact at both ends. Morgan State was 20-for-29 from the line."You have to attribute a lot of tonight to Morgan State's aggressive play," Coppin State coach Fang Mitchell said.

The losing continued for the Morgan State basketball team last night, but there were some encouraging signs.For at least the first 34 minutes, Morgan played defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Florida A&M tough. But the Bears faded badly at the end, losing 96-78 at Hill Field House.Morgan was down by only 73-68 with 6:12 left when the Rattlers went on a 23-10 tear that left Bears coach Michael Holmes shaking his head in disbelief.During the burst, Florida A&M was virtually unstoppable on the ++ fastbreak.

The Columbia Pro Cantare chorus opens its 25th anniversary season at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Jim Rouse Theatre with Felix Mendelssohn's expansive choral masterpiece Elijah. This first Howard County performance of Mendelssohn's great Old Testament oratorio will feature soprano April-Joy Gutierrez, mezzo Mary Ann McCormick and tenor Robert McNeill. Baritone Lester Lynch, a Pro Cantare favorite, will chastise the prophets of Baal, defy King Ahab and bring the widow's dead son back to life in the majestic title role.

Morgan State's dry spell against Delaware State is over.Ending three years of futility, Morgan broke a seven-game losing streak against Delaware State last night with an 80-78 overtime victory before 1,887 at Hill Field House.It marked Morgan's second straight win, following Saturday night's victory over Bethune-Cookman, and brought some of the overjoyed fans onto the court to embrace the players.It was Morgan's first win over the Hornets since 1989, also at Hill Field House. The Bears won that one by a point.

BaseballCleveland Indians -- Activated 1B Brook Jacoby (.200, 1 HR, 5 RBI) from 15-day DL. Traded OF Mitch Webster (.125 in 32 AB) to Pittsburgh Pirates for P Mike York (5-1, 2.91 ERA at Class AAA Buffalo). Assigned York to Class AAA Colorado Springs.Pittsburgh Pirates -- Sent OF Jeff Schulz (0-for-3) to Class AAA Buffalo.San Francisco Giants -- Optioned OF Mark Leonard (.158 in 19 AB) to Class AAA Phoenix. Activated OF Rick Parker from 15-day Seattle Mariners -- Recalled P Dave Burba (2-1, 2.76 ERA, 3 saves at Class AAA Calgary)

NORFOLK, Va. -- Morgan State returned to reality last night, as the Bears' giant-killing days at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament were ended by Florida A&M, 74-69.In Thursday's quarterfinals, seventh-seeded Morgan State scored 14 of the last 16 points to knock off regular season co-champion North Carolina A&T, but another upset bid was turned back by Florida A&M. The Rattlers will shoot for their second straight tournament title and NCAA berth in tonight's (7:30 p.m., ESPN) championship game against top-seeded Howard, which held off South Carolina State, 76-73, in the other semifinal.

For two days, Morgan State was tied for the lead in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Bears should hope that brief taste of the top will linger, because after last night it may not happen again.Fresh off its first victory of the season, Morgan had problems both protecting and shooting the ball, and the result was a 98-67 loss to North Carolina A&T before a less than enthusiastic crowd of 900 at Hill Field House.Morgan (1-10, 1-1) shot 40.6 percent from the field and committed 33 turnovers in its first league loss.

* Thanks to possible automatic bid, Mount St. Mary's won't lose interest this season. Page G4. Coach Michael Holmes knows that some of the 11 fresh faces at Morgan State can eventually prosper in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The rookies also think they're good enough, but sometimes they try too hard to impress Holmes."We've got some individual talent," said Holmes, himself in only his second year with the Bears. "Sometimes at practice, players are trying to show their skills to me, and it's every man for himself.

Long after the near-capacity crowd had filed out of Hill Fieldhouse last night following Coppin State's 88-74 win over Morgan State, Malik White stood on the side with a single thought on his mind."