Outright

Moves Baseball GIANTS -- Sent P Kelvyn Acosta, P Dan Geise, P Travis Blackley and IF Scott McClain outright to Triple-A Fresno. NATIONALS -- Sent former Orioles P Winston Abreu, P Mike Bacsik, P Chris Booker, P Arnie Munoz, P Jason Simontacchi and OF Brandon Watson outright to Triple-A Columbus. TIGERS -- Sent P Edward Campusano outright to Triple-A Iowa. Basketball BULLS -- Waived F-C Joseph Blair. KNICKS -- Signed G Allan Houston. Football BENGALS -- Signed S Jon Busing from practice squad.

Quote: "It was one of those dream series. It's almost like the ball is hitting my bat. I don't think I'm doing anything different, but it seems like the ball keeps hitting my sweet spot."-- Chipper Jones of the Braves, who hit four home runs in Atlanta's three-game sweep of the New York Mets.It's a fact: The Braves have won 13 of 14 games against the Mets at Turner Field.Who's hot: Mike Piazza's 38th homer, a bases-empty shot in the sixth yesterday, gave him 118 RBIs, breaking the team record he shared with Bernard Gilkey and Howard Johnson.

The 1999 season is heading into its final month, and it's time for a startling prediction about the National League playoff picture.The Mets are out.That's right. The New York Mets, who entered Friday night's games with the second-best record in the league, are going to be watching the playoffs on television -- if they can stand to watch.The Atlanta Braves are going to hold on to win the East, in spite of some recent injury problems. The Arizona Diamondbacks already have the West locked up. And the Central will dispatch the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds to the postseason.

BasketballHornets: Waived F Tyrone Grant.BaseballCubs: Purchased contract of P Danny Young from Triple-A Iowa.Marlins: Purchased contracts of P Scott Comer and P Claudio Vargas from Triple-A Calgary and IF Pablo Ozuna, P Brad Penny and P Gary Knotts from Double-A Portland. Sent P Mike Drumright and OF Jaime Jones outright to Calgary. Announced P Brent Billingsley has been claimed off waivers by Expos.Mets: Added P Dicky Gonzalez to 40-man roster. Announced IF Maurice Bruce cleared waivers and sent him outright to Triple-A Norfolk.

BaseballAngels: Sent P Steve Sparks, IF Chris Pritchett, IF-OF Matt Luke and C-IF Steve Decker outright to Triple-A Edmonton.Giants: Named Robby Thompson first base coach, Dave Righetti pitching coach, Carlos Alfonso administrative coach and video coordinator and Ron Perranoski special assistant to GM. Claimed SS Nelson Castro off waivers from Angels. Sent P Bronswell Patrick outright to Triple-A Fresno.Indians: Radio broadcaster Dave Nelson resigned.Padres: Signed OF Ethan Faggett, P Brian Doughty, P Len Hart and P Ryan Lynch to minor-league contracts.

BaseballDevil Rays: Named Bill Russell third base coach. Sent OF Danny Clyburn (former Orioles farmhand) and P Dave Eiland outright to Triple-A Durham.Diamondbacks: Sent P Erik Sabel and OF Rob Ryan outright to Triple-A Tucson.Dodgers: Announced entire coaching staff would return for 2000 season. Sent P Ricky Stone, P Luke Prokopec and IF Adam Riggs outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. Agreed to terms with IF Craig Counsell on one-year contract and sent him outright to Albuquerque. Announced that IF Tripp Cromer has opted for free agency.

Centennial reinforced its position as a state Class 2A title contender and denied No. 1-ranked Oakland Mills its first Howard County championship since 1988 by tying the Scorpions, 1-1, in double overtime yesterday at Oakland Mills.The tie, coupled with River Hill's 3-0 victory over Howard, allowed the defending champion Hawks to claim the county title outright instead of sharing it with Oakland Mills.Centennial (7-4-2 overall, 6-1-2 league) could have won the county title outright had Oakland Mills and River Hill both lost yesterday.

BaseballAngels: Designated P Pep Harris and IF Justin Baughman for assignment. Sent P Steve Mintz outright to Triple-A Edmonton.Brewers: Named Gary Hansen minor-league pitching coordinator.Reds: Added P Pat Flury, P John Riedling and 1B D. T. Cromer to 40-man roster. Promoted Terry Abbott to area scouting supervisor. Named Butch Baccala special assignment scout.Tigers: Sent IF Jason Wood, IF Jose Macias and P Beiker Graterol outright to Triple-A Toledo.BasketballNBA: Named Mike Bantom VP and group manager, player and basketball development.

No. 2 Maryland (9-1)at No. 6 Virginia (6-3)What: Atlantic Coast Conference men's finalSite: Klockner Stadium, Charlottesville, Va.Time: 3: 44 p.m.TV: Tape delay at 8 p.m. on HTS; women's final at 6 p.m.Outlook: Both the Terrapins and the Cavaliers advanced to the championship game with decisive fourth-quarter performances on Friday. Maryland, which is 4-0 against ACC competition, broke open a tie game vs. North Carolina by scoring seven goals in the fourth for a 13-8 win. Virginia came back from a goal down to beat Duke, 11-9, outscoring the Blue Devils 4-1 in the final period.

BaseballL Blue Jays: Sent P Ben Van Ryn outright to Triple-A Syracuse.Dodgers: Named Jim Lester national cross--checker and Chris Smith and Scott Groot area scouts. C Henry Blanco cleared outright waivers, allowing him to become free agent.Marlins: Double-A Portland named Steve Luebbers pitching coach and Jose Castro hitting coach.Phillies: Purchased contract of P Sean Fesh from Double-A Reading. Placed OF Ruben Amaro Jr. on voluntarily retired list.Tigers: Fired bench coach Fred Kendall.

1 Outright state independent schools championship for the St. Paul's wrestling team, which won the B Conference title last weekend. 3 Undefeated teams left in The Baltimore Sun's basketball polls: the Lake Clifton boys and River Hill and Fallston girls. 11 Straight points scored by Western guard Akeema Richards in leading the Doves to a come-from-behind 51-48 win over City.

Constellation Energy Group, one of only two Fortune 500 companies in the region, said yesterday that it is in active discussions with "potential strategic partners," a process that could include the sale of the entire company, to avert a credit squeeze in its energy-trading business. One possible buyer is Constellation's largest shareholder, French power company Electricite de France International, according to a Morningstar analyst. Earlier this month, Paris-based EDF nearly doubled its stake in Constellation to 9.5 percent.

ASTROS -- Sent OF Reggie Abercrombie and former Orioles P Chad Paronto outright to Triple-A Round Rock. BRAVES -- Claimed OF Ruben Gotay off waivers from Mets. Sent 1B Scott Thorman outright to Triple-A Richmond. DODGERS -- Released P Mike Myers. Optioned P Yhency Brazoban to Double-A Jacksonville. INDIANS -- Released P Aaron Fultz. METS -- Returned P Steven Register to Rockies. Optioned IF Anderson Hernandez to Triple-A New Orleans. PHILLIES -- Claimed P Tim Lahey off waivers from Cubs.

Moves Baseball GIANTS -- Sent P Kelvyn Acosta, P Dan Geise, P Travis Blackley and IF Scott McClain outright to Triple-A Fresno. NATIONALS -- Sent former Orioles P Winston Abreu, P Mike Bacsik, P Chris Booker, P Arnie Munoz, P Jason Simontacchi and OF Brandon Watson outright to Triple-A Columbus. TIGERS -- Sent P Edward Campusano outright to Triple-A Iowa. Basketball BULLS -- Waived F-C Joseph Blair. KNICKS -- Signed G Allan Houston. Football BENGALS -- Signed S Jon Busing from practice squad.

CHICAGO -- President Bush has a way, when asked about American treatment of alleged terrorists, of narrowing his eyes, jutting out his chin and stating, emphatically, "We do not torture." It's the most convincing declaration by a president since Bill Clinton told the nation, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." Mr. Clinton was telling the truth, in his way, because he defined sexual relations to exclude oral intimacy. Like Mr. Clinton, Mr. Bush has used a seemingly unequivocal statement for the purpose of equivocation.

To make room for newly signed first baseman-outfielder Kevin Millar on the 40-man roster, the Orioles designated first baseman Walter Young for assignment yesterday, a club spokesman said. Young, 25, played in 14 September games for the Orioles after spending most of the year at Triple-A Ottawa, where he hit .288 with 13 homers and 81 RBIs. In 33 at-bats with the big league club, Young had 10 hits (.303 average), including a home run against the Texas Rangers' R.A. Dickey on Sept. 13. He had his first hit Sept.

The quiz EAGLES SOAR -- The last time Maryland played Boston College in football, the Eagles beat the Terps, 30-25, at Byrd Stadium in 1986. Who threw for 401 yards for the visitors? Answer below Moves Baseball ANGELS -- Added IF Erick Aybar, IF Howie Kendrick, C Mike Napoli, OF Nick Gorneault, OF Tommy Murphy, OF Reggie Willits and P Jose Arredondo to 40-man roster. Sent P Dustin Moseley outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. Waived P Matt Hensley. ASTROS -- Released OF Charles Gipson. Sent P Jard Gothreaux outright to Triple-A Round Rock.

One-hundred minutes of soccer provided four goals, some fine saves and a non-stop pace, but produced no outright county champion as No. 2 Severna Park (12-0-3) and Chesapeake (11-3-1) were declared co-champions after a 2-2 double-overtime tie at Arundel yesterday. It's the second time in the 12 years of the girls county championship game that two teams have shared the county crown, with the same two schools battling to a 0-0 draw in 1997. The Falcons have now claimed five outright titles and shared two, and Chesapeake has been named co-champions twice.

THE QUIZ BRAVO! ENCORE! -- The Braves string of 14 consecutive division titles is the longest in major professional sports history. Name the two NBA teams (1957-1965 and 1982-1990) and one NHL team (1995-2003) tied for second with nine. Answer below. Moves Baseball BREWERS -- Sent P Luis Pena, P Julio Santana, P Victor Santos, IF Trent Durrington and OF Chris Magruder to minor leagues. INDIANS -- Sent P Kyle Denney and OF Jeff Liefer outright to Triple-A Buffalo. ORIOLES -- Announced that 2B Bernie Castro, 1B Alejandro Freire, OF Ramon Nivar, OF Keith Reed and SS Eddie Rogers cleared waivers and were sent outright to Triple-A Ottawa.

Moves Baseball BREWERS: Placed 3B Russell Branyan on 15-day DL with fractured finger. Recalled OF Dave Krynzel from Triple-A Nashville. DEVIL RAYS: Reinstated P Dewon Brazelton from restricted list. INDIANS: Placed OF Juan Gonzalez on 15-day DL with strained right hamstring. Activated OF Coco Crisp from 15-day DL. METS: Placed P Dae-Sung Koo on 15-day DL, retroactive to Wednesday, with bruised rotator cuff. Recalled P Royce Ring from Triple-A Norfolk. Activated C Ramon Castro from 15-day DL. Designated C Mike DiFelice for assignment.