Play This Season

Let's start with the assumption that the Orioles are going nowhere this season, an assumption about as safe as the sun's chances of coming up tomorrow.If so, there's really only one thing left to play for this season -- the future. Next season and beyond.Part of that process is the jettisoning of several pending free agents unlikely to return. Look for that sometime in the next three weeks.But there's another part the Orioles should undertake in the second half of this season.They should give some of their young players a chance to play.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Juan Dixon, a freshman guard from Calvert Hall, has accepted Maryland's plan to redshirt him this season, but he's also prepared to play should one of the Terps' three guards be sidelined by a serious injury.Dixon, a two-time All-Metro selection by The Sun, didn't get a standardized test score that would qualify him for freshman eligibility until November. He didn't practice with the Terps until Christmas week, when he said that he wanted to play this season.He's still ready to sacrifice a shortened freshman season if the Terps need him in a pinch.

Angels: The crowd of 38,902 increased the season total to a franchise-record 2,909,920, topping the 2,889,020 of last season.Astros: Craig Biggio has not grounded into a double play this season, a span of 154 games. The Cubs' Augie Galen did not hit into one during the 1935 season -- which was 154 games -- to set the major-league record.Athletics: Oakland set a franchise record by using nine pitchers.Diamondbacks: Manager Buck Showalter was in Boston, scouting the White Sox and Red Sox.Mariners: With Friday's victory, Seattle set a club record with 86 wins.

Nick ColvinMcDonogh, tennisColvin won his third straight MIAA A Conference No. 1 singles title with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Zach Myers of Loyola. Colvin finished 14-0 in league play this season and 55-0 for his career.

Perhaps the one positive that Washington Bullets players can take with them as the season nears a merciful end is that they haven't had a long association with the black cloud that hovers over the franchise: eight losing seasons, five of them with 50 or more losses.But that's the players. What happens to poor Charlie Slowes, the team's radio voice? For nine years -- of which only the first two included ever-so-brief playoff visits -- Slowes has had a nightly front-row seat for bad basketball, which surprisingly hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for the game.

Actually, there are only two parts to a hockey season: When the power play is hitting and when it isn't.A while back, newspapers in New York City took turns pointing out how the hometown NHL Rangers were having a tough time scoring goals with the man advantage. They made it sound as if, when the occasion arose, the Rangers should have seriously considered refusing penalties.A better idea would have been to request a recess and put in a call to Binghamton, the NHL team's farm team in the American Hockey League.

COLLEGE PARK -- As teammates and best friends who shared the backcourt for three years at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, N.C., Matt Kovarik and Milton Williams often talked about playing college basketball somewhere together."

COLLEGE PARK -- Johnnie Johnson is following in his brother A. J.'s footsteps. The roles were reversed when they grew up in Pahokee, Fla.A. J. Johnson, the left cornerback for Maryland since the second game of 1993, will get his 12th start today, against defending national champion Florida State. Johnnie, the older brother A. J. always looked up to, will play a lesser role as a first-year reserve in the Terps' secondary.Johnnie, who spent the past two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, one of the nation's premier junior college programs, says he wouldn't be here if not for A. J. If A. J. had gone to Cincinnati as originally intended in August 1993, that's where Johnnie would be."

Wilde Lake finished just one game above .500 last year, but most county coaches predict the Wildecats will be in the hunt for this year's girls soccer title.Based on overall talent and improved depth, the Wildecats could challenge preseason favorites Centennial and Hammond for the county title. They also could battle for a spot in the state Class 1A-2A final four.After a 7-6 season, a fourth-place finish in the county and a first-round regional playoff loss, the Wildecats dropped just one player to graduation.

Throughout her brilliant, but controversial basketball career, Tammy Brown has shown the ability to switch directions almost as quickly as she can switch hands on the dribble.In the latest switch, Brown, an All-Metro selection and the 1990 Anne Arundel County Player of the Year at Broadneck High, has come full circle, signing a letter of intent to play at Maryland next season two years after leaving there."I always wanted to play in the ACC [Atlantic Coast Conference]. If I could stay at home and play for a top-five program, I figured, 'Why not?

Maryland men's basketball Burney to miss 2009-10 because of foot injuries Junior forward Jerome Burney won't play this season because of continuing foot problems, the team announced in a news release. Burney, 6 feet 9 and 222 pounds, has missed most of the past three seasons with foot injuries. He averaged 0.9 of a point and 1.9 rebounds in nine games last season after redshirting his freshman year and playing in 17 games in 2007-08. "Jerome is very much a part of this team even though he won't be playing this year," coach Gary Williams said in a statement.

Samari Rolle will begin the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list, but there is hope that the veteran cornerback could return and play this season. Rolle, who underwent surgery to repair a bulging disc in his neck in the offseason, has been on the PUP list since training camp started in late July and will not be able to play the first six weeks of the regular season. After six weeks, the Ravens will have a three-week window to either add him to the 53-man roster or place him on injured reserve.

Strong safety Dawan Landry was released from Maryland Shock Trauma Center and is expected to return to the field this season after suffering a spinal cord concussion in the second quarter of Sunday's 28-10 win against the Cleveland Browns. "His stability tests are all normal," coach John Harbaugh said. "He will be in a cervical collar for at least a week, and then they'll evaluate him further and then we'll just take it from there. He'll be playing in some number of weeks, and it won't be too many weeks."

His numbers are down, but Blake Best's morale is high. Playing in only his second game of the season, the Towson senior attackman recorded an assist in the No. 19 Tigers' 18-13 loss to No. 2 Virginia on Saturday. He has a goal and two assists this season. Best, who is returning from a right knee injury that wiped out his 2007 season, said the results, while modest, are encouraging. "It's getting there," he said. "Lacrosse-wise, I'm getting back. I just need to get in shape and get game-ready.

Shooting guard Lionel Perkins had a good season for Bel Air last year, averaging 13.1 points per game, but he wanted to contribute more this season. So Perkins went to work, putting in tireless hours throughout the summer. The work paid off, as Perkins has improved to averaging 19.1 points per game and combines with top-scorer Donn Hill (20.1) in giving the Bobcats a tough duo to defend. Perkins is considering playing basketball at colleges such as McDaniel, Villa Julie and Salisbury, and wants to be a sports trainer.

George Washington defensive midfielder Joachim Walker (Mount St. Joseph) has had a steady soccer career for the Colonials that began with a trip to the NCAA tournament his freshman year. Walker, a senior, played in an NCAA game against North Carolina then. Three years later, he is poised for a final Atlantic 10 run at a possible second NCAA tournament berth. Nothing much has changed about Walker's style of play. He seems willing to remain in the background, taking an occasional shot and concentrating on setting up his teammates for assists or shots.

THE OWNER of a Bethesda marketing firm - a dyed-in-the-wool baseball fan from way back - has cut back on his tickets to Baltimore Orioles games for this season so that he can buy some Washington Nationals tickets. Even as the Nats open their first season on the road in Philadelphia today and the O's open their season at home, a newly reborn rivalry has been joined. We opposed the decision of Major League Baseball to move the former Montreal Expos franchise just 35 miles from Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Two days after spraining a ligament in his left knee, Ravens offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden said he is still questionable for next Sunday's season opener. "Right now, I'd probably say it's 50-50," Ogden said. "It's just one of those things that if it continues to respond well and keeps getting better, then I'll probably be out there. If it plateaus, who knows? I'll keep my fingers crossed and just go with it." Ogden, a seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle, has started 58 consecutive regular-season games.

The UMBC men's lacrosse season has been a seesaw affair devoid of a major streak. The team has never won or lost more than two straight games en route to a 5-6 record. But through the ups and downs of impressive victories (Ohio State, Loyola) and discouraging losses (Delaware, Binghamton, Stony Brook) and a season-ending injury to its top offensive threat, one beacon has shone through the inconsistency - freshman Drew Westervelt. When the Retrievers visit local rival Towson tonight, the former Harford County co-Player of the Year will take the field as an integral member of the team's attack and its second-leading scorer.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR Hayley Siegel Centennial The three-year starter had another spectacular season with seven goals and 10 assists, finishing as the team's top scorer with 17 points. Siegel was the co-Howard County Player of the Year last season and a first-team All-Metro pick. As the lone under-19 national pool player in the county, she made other teams respectful of her talents. She drew constant double teams but still found ways to cause trouble. She made the players around her better, mainly with her strong passing skills that often made the double teams useless.