Offside

Fast breaks will have new meaning this season with the elimination of the offside rule from high school field hockey.The rule already has been dropped from the international and college games, so the Association of Independent Schools and the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association jTC dropped it with no opposition."

The odds did not favor the Ravens. After sleepwalking through Saturday's second half, the offense lined up on fourth-and-2 at the Cleveland Browns' 37-yard line at the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter. And although everyone at M&T Bank Stadium and watching on television knew the Ravens were trying to coax an offside call, someone forgot to tell rookie defensive tackle Phil Taylor , who jumped into the neutral zone and gave the offense the first down it needed to run out the clock and cement a 20-14 victory.

Host Century lost two first-half goals to offside calls in last night's Class 2A West region boys soccer final. The No. 12 Knights, however, didn't lose their heads, regrouping to score two second-half goals, including Cory Chapman's go-ahead goal from Josh Meyer with 28:55 left in a 2-1 win over defending Class 2A state champion Liberty. "It just shows you how resilient this team is," Century coach Scott Smith said. "It's tough to overcome those kinds of obstacles when you're working so hard and have a goal called back.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- It was the kind of sloppiness you'd expect in the third week of the preseason, not the seventh week of the regular season. It was the kind of sloppiness you'd expect from a team going nowhere, not a team that many once considered among the NFL's elite. The sloppiness started on the second play from scrimmage in the Ravens' 19-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills yesterday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. In perfect weather against an imperfect team, the sloppiness for the Ravens has turned into the muck of a season.

After a scoreless first half, both coaches at last night's Class 2A girls soccer state semifinal between Hammond and Loch Raven told their teams that the winner likely would score first.They were right, but not without a twist of fate.Ninety seconds after an offside call cost 14th-ranked Hammond (14-4-1) the game's apparent first goal, Loch Raven's Gina Ruocco scored in the 66th minute, and the host Raiders went on to win, 2-0.Loch Raven (14-4-1) will play Frederick County's Middletown, a 1-0 winner over North Harford, in the state final next week at UMBC.

THESSALONIKI, Greece - The United States swept into the semifinals of the Olympic women's soccer tournament last night with a convincing 2-1 victory over Japan at Kaftanzoglio Stadium. Less convincing were the explanations given for the legitimate, but controversial, winning goal by Abby Wambach in the 59th minute. It came off a free kick by Mia Hamm, who sent the ball in from the left flank. The Japanese defenders moved forward on the kick to try to catch the Americans offside, and Kristine Lilly, Julie Foudy and Wambach all were caught by the maneuver.

BACK AND FORTH Wide receivers Devard Darling (above), Yamon Figurs and Leo Bookman each caught a 40-yard touchdown pass during one-on-one drills. But the secondary recovered later with Derrick Martin, Jamaine Winborne, Bobby Blackshire and Terrell Maze breaking up passes. OVERTIME After giving the players Thursday off, coach Brian Billick pushed them hard yesterday. The morning session, originally scheduled for 90 minutes, was extended 25 minutes. STAYING IN SHAPE Running back Willis McGahee was spotted doing a series of push-ups during practice.

ANDERSON RUNS STRONG Backup running back Mike Anderson overshadowed Willis McGahee, gaining 37 yards on three carries while working with the first-team offense. Behind some ragged blocking, McGahee managed 3 yards on six carries. TROUBLE WITH ANKLES Playing on a rain-soaked turf, cornerback Samari Rolle and wide receiver Mark Clayton injured their ankles in the first quarter, but all X-rays were negative. Neither returned to the game. NO ENCORE After scoring a touchdown on its only drive in the preseason opener, the Ravens' starting offense managed only a field goal on four possessions last night.

Loch Raven played defending Class 1A boys soccer champion Pocomoke to a standstill through two overtime periods last night at CCBC-Essex. But Pocomoke (16-2) won the shootout, 4-2, to advance to Saturday's final at UMBC against Beall. The Raiders (12-4) outshot Pocomoke 11-3, but neither team could score in regulation. Pocomoke goalie Tom Kuntzman made a key save in the shootout, blocking a shot by Loch Raven's Ben Belifle. The Warriors had a chance to take a 1-0 lead in the first half, but a goal was called back on an offside call.

Acting like kids with a substitute teacher, the Ravens engaged in some unruly behavior without Brian Billick. While the Ravens coach was at his daughter's eighth-grade graduation, his players fought twice and received a lecture from linebacker Ray Lewis at the end of yesterday's veterans camp practice. The first scuffle occurred when linebacker Ed Hartwell and running back Chester Taylor grabbed and yanked each other's face masks, but the confrontation was broken up in a matter of seconds.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- If the penalties, misplayed returns and overall lack of focus didn't get the players' attention, Ravens coach Brian Billick certainly did after the game, yelling more loudly than most can ever remember in the locker room. The message, as a few players recounted: It's easy to point fingers at times like these, but be men and take accountability. The translation: The Ravens' season is teetering on the brink of disaster. Whether it was overlooking the downtrodden Buffalo Bills or looking ahead to the bye, the Ravens watched their playoff hopes take a major hit in a 19-14 loss before an announced 70,727 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The only thing that separated top-ranked Archbishop Curley and No. 3 Calvert Hall in yesterday's sixth annual Alumni Cup was a controversial goal that gave the host Cardinals a hard-fought 2-1 victory. It was the second time in less than a week that Calvert Hall has beaten the No. 1-ranked team in the area. On Friday, the Cardinals defeated McDonogh, another Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference team. Yesterday's victory gives Calvert Hall sole possession of first place in the conference and improves its record to 4-1-1 in the Alumni Cup rivalry, as these teams' matchups are called.

ANDERSON RUNS STRONG Backup running back Mike Anderson overshadowed Willis McGahee, gaining 37 yards on three carries while working with the first-team offense. Behind some ragged blocking, McGahee managed 3 yards on six carries. TROUBLE WITH ANKLES Playing on a rain-soaked turf, cornerback Samari Rolle and wide receiver Mark Clayton injured their ankles in the first quarter, but all X-rays were negative. Neither returned to the game. NO ENCORE After scoring a touchdown on its only drive in the preseason opener, the Ravens' starting offense managed only a field goal on four possessions last night.

BACK AND FORTH Wide receivers Devard Darling (above), Yamon Figurs and Leo Bookman each caught a 40-yard touchdown pass during one-on-one drills. But the secondary recovered later with Derrick Martin, Jamaine Winborne, Bobby Blackshire and Terrell Maze breaking up passes. OVERTIME After giving the players Thursday off, coach Brian Billick pushed them hard yesterday. The morning session, originally scheduled for 90 minutes, was extended 25 minutes. STAYING IN SHAPE Running back Willis McGahee was spotted doing a series of push-ups during practice.

Host Century lost two first-half goals to offside calls in last night's Class 2A West region boys soccer final. The No. 12 Knights, however, didn't lose their heads, regrouping to score two second-half goals, including Cory Chapman's go-ahead goal from Josh Meyer with 28:55 left in a 2-1 win over defending Class 2A state champion Liberty. "It just shows you how resilient this team is," Century coach Scott Smith said. "It's tough to overcome those kinds of obstacles when you're working so hard and have a goal called back.

Scenes like this one in the Ravens' locker room used to play out almost every week in past seasons, especially last season: They had won a game, and the defense had taken the ball away to help set it up. The players were so giddy, they could even joke about one that had gotten away. "They took one from me," Terrell Suggs had cracked, shrugging off the third-quarter interception return that was called back because of a defensive offside flag. "Heartbreaking. So Deion [Sanders] told me, go get another one."

Thrown together eight weeks ago, Baltimore's big, young offensive line is learning on the run this summer.That's because the no-huddle offense -- Baltimore's best offense so far -- keeps them on the move."

Perry Hall coach Joe Stoy probably won't be visiting Dundalk Community College any time soon.The place hasn't been very kind to him or his football team on their past couple of visits.Last night, the third-seeded Gators of Baltimore County went to Dundalk Community College looking for a berth in next weekend's Class 4A state championship game in College Park. What they found was a 31-11 season-ending loss to seventh-seeded Watkins Mill of Montgomery County."We had a great year, but we played against a good football team tonight and we turned the ball over four times and that was the story of the game," said Stoy, who saw last season end on the same field with a 34-7 loss to North County in the first round of the state playoffs.

LOS ANGELES -- During my unplanned work week in Southern California, it dawned on me that Los Angeles and Baltimore have something in common. They don't play professional football here, either. I suppose that was a cheap shot, but it's pretty discouraging when you realize that you're 50 and overweight and you've got a better chance of scoring on the road than the Ravens. Three points? The Ravens celebrated the return of quarterback Kyle Boller by scoring a field goal on their first possession of the game and then apparently decided that being one of the first teams up in next year's draft might not be such a bad thing after all. Of course, this isn't just about Boller, who has played in just two of the team's seven losses.

COLLEGE PARK - It took only 1:32 for Maryland's men's soccer team to make Sunday's offensive goose egg as distant as the field where it was laid. Senior forward Jason Garey converted on that chance early, and the No. 14-ranked Terps tacked on two more first-half goals to run away from No. 4 Santa Clara, 3-1, in front of 2,827 at Ludwig Field. At the start of the week, the Terps fell at UCLA, then ranked No. 9, and didn't register a shot on net. But in yesterday's home opener, the Terps got some redemption against another highly ranked California team.