Orange Bowl

COLLEGE PARK - Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen has been calling all season for more Terrapins fans to come to Byrd and make noise. It looks like Friedgen will get his wish against Florida State tomorrow night at Byrd Stadium. Maryland athletic officials expect a sellout. There were about 1,000 tickets remaining yesterday afternoon, and tickets have been selling at a rate of about 300 to 400 per day. Florida State fans have purchased about 2,800 tickets, a strong showing for a visiting team.

COLLEGE PARK - The students danced on the field. The players defended their home. And the coaches beamed with pride. This win was worth savoring. "Until 12:01," Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin said. And he's right. The Terps wake up today, fresh off yesterday's 17-15 come-from-behind win over No. 17 North Carolina, and have less than a week to decide how their season will end: dripping in orange juice or drowned in tears? As it concerns Maryland football, let's agree that educated, calculated predictions are about as accurate as a coin flip.

Maybe it was the sight of all those fat Florida oranges being tossed in the air by the Kansas Jayhawks football players as they celebrated their televised victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Or maybe it was the knowledge that when the worst of winter hits here, luscious oranges imported from sunny climes arrive in the produce aisle. Or maybe I just needed a big dose of vitamin C. For whatever reason, I woke up the other morning craving fresh-squeezed orange juice. I hit the juice-bar trail.

Presenting the last sports media notes of the year, with the reminder that, though one size is supposed to fit all, you can try to exchange the column if you have saved your receipt: So the NFL has gone from dipping its toe into the waters of taking over game telecasts to trying to wade in deeper. Fortunately for all of us, the water was still too cold. Or, more accurately, too hot. No one got too worked up last year when the NFL Network started carrying regular-season games, but the rumbles of discontent grew louder this season because of a marquee matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys and tomorrow's New England Patriots-New York Giants game.

MIAMI -- A phonograph in a wireless world. That's what the Orange Bowl was at the end. All around the antique, there are iPods and computers and digital downloads. But the old lady, scratched and weary, could still be cranked up to transport you to that magical place where yesterday feels better than today. And she did it again Saturday night, one last time. Like the phonograph, she allowed you to close your eyes and let the music wash over you along with the memories. Soon, the wrecking balls will come.

Miami -- In the midst of the biggest party week this side of Mardi Gras, the city of Miami is planning a celebration of a very different kind that could take place at just about any time. The Miami Herald reported in yesterday's editions that a committee sponsored by the city has begun planning an event at the Orange Bowl to coincide with the death of gravely ill Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. The Cuban exile community has been waiting a long time for the end of Castro's rule, so it's fair to assume that the day he dies, thousands of Cuban-Americans will take to the streets in a spontaneous display of joy and relief.

COLLEGE PARK -- Before he left Byrd Stadium on Saturday night, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen met with bowl representatives to discuss the remaining postseason possibilities after a 38-24 loss to Wake Forest eliminated the Terps from the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game and a shot at the Orange Bowl. It was the first such meeting since 2003, but that accomplishment was tempered by the disappointment that Maryland had just squandered a chance at so much more. Friedgen headed home resigned to the fact that the Terps most likely will play their last game of the season on Dec. 29 or Dec. 30 - probably in the Music City Bowl, the Champs Sports Bowl, or against Navy in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

COLLEGE PARK-- --In the final regular-season game of Maryland's football season, one by one, the real truths about this unpredictable Terps bunch finally made themselves known, from Sam Hollenbach's suspect throwing arm to the defensive line's habit of spreading like a Slinky to Ralph Friedgen's pained words. And even as the answers to the season's biggest uncertainties became clear, fans filed out of Byrd Stadium last night with just one more question. No one was still asking whether the Terps deserved to play in the ACC championship game.

COLLEGE PARK -- Before kickoff last night, there was a closed-door meeting in the Tyser Tower press box between representatives from the Orange Bowl and officials in the Maryland athletic department, a standard meeting at which topics such as logistics, marketing and ticket sales are discussed - just in case. After the kickoff against Wake Forest, though, the door to the Orange Bowl remained closed. ACC championship Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech, Saturday, 1 p.m., Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla., chs. 2, 7

COLLEGE PARK -- Around noon yesterday, Gator Bowl Association officials were scrambling to find a plane ticket so chairman Scott Keith could attend today's 7:45 p.m. Maryland-Wake Forest game, which determines who advances to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game next weekend. The Gator Bowl Association also sponsors the ACC title game next Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla., so Keith will be bringing 10,000 tickets to the game to award to today's winner. When Boston College lost to Miami on Thursday night, the ACC bowl picture became somewhat clearer.