Pro Wrestling

Vince McMahon contorted his face and writhed in faux agony on the wrestling ring canvas as the raucous crowd howled in approval. Standing over the 58-year-old chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment was his smirking daughter, Stephanie, 27, reveling in a takedown of her father with a well-placed kick to his groin. Although he outwardly emoted intense pain, inside Vince had to be swelling with pride. That's because his daughter, like her brother, Shane, has followed him into the family business of professional wrestling, and this scene had played out just as it was scripted.

These days, what were once considered fantasy match-ups between sports heroes of different ages are almost everyday occurrences. Michael Jordan (before he was injured) came out of retirement to take on young basketball stars like Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant. Golden-years golfers like Jack Nicklaus tee it up alongside Tiger Woods. But sports fans still can only imagine what it would have been like to see Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron play against each in other in a World Series, or Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain square off in the NBA Finals.

PHILADELPHIA -- There's something that smells bad about this. There is no way to say this other than Pete Rose sunk to an all-time low. Baseball's hit king increased his monetary assets Sunday night by letting a 400-pound Samoan wrestler named Rikishi Phatu rub his ample personal asset in his face. While a lot of Philadelphians were tuning in to the championship game of NCAA Women's Final Four at the First Union Center, one of our adopted favorite sons was allowing himself to become the butt -- and I do mean that literally -- of jokes in front of a huge pay-per-view audience during the World Wrestling Federation's "Wrestlemania 2000" event.

WHEN THE North Carroll High School Business Club raises funds, it's full of fighting words and people who enjoy throwing punches.Every fall this student club, which typically digs into new computer programs for fun, turns from the mouse to the lion. Its members transform the auditorium of their school into the wild arena of professional wrestling for about 1,500 local fans.The club's Pro Wrestling Spectacular is a fund-raiser like no other in North Carroll. This year, the club's eighth lineup includes current champions from the Mideastern Wrestling Federation.

LIKE it or not, professional wrestling, or what passes for it, is popular again. The "sport" is a key attraction worldwide on cable television, drawing an estimated 35 million viewers.What viewers see is wrestling-as-show-business, a sort of burlesque. These so-called wrestlers fake everything about the competition -- the holds, the pain, the wins, the losses.But we shouldn't be too quick to deride them or their game. Baltimore has a history of staging versions of this kitsch to packed houses.

Darren Drozdov finally has found a profession in which he can be himself.During his days as a defensive lineman at Maryland in 1988 to 1992, Drozdov often battled with members of the coaching staff over his appearance. With his outlandish haircuts, multiple tattoos and various piercings, Drozdov turned quite a few heads at College Park.And then there are his pets, namely three snakes -- a boa constrictor and two pythons -- and an Argentine horned frog that dines on mice.Drozdov, however, fits in perfectly with his new employer.

THE HOBBIT," J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy adventure story, opens on stage Friday for six performances at Northminster Presbyterian Church Hall, 705 Main St., Reisterstown.Not only are the characters dwarfs and elves and unusual beasts, but each character is a puppet, operated by a puppeteer teamed with another offstage who supplies its voice."We're doing the traditional story of 'The Hobbit' with a variety of live-hand, hand-and-rod and simple-rod puppets," said Beth Phelps, a professional costumer who directs the nearly 40 puppets in the show."

EVERY AUTUMN, North Carroll Business Club members momentarily tune out the hum of high technology for a more tangible, screamin' and sweatin' mega-audience sort of buzz. They sponsor the legends of pro wrestling for a one-night public blockbuster at the high school.The club's members are students from the high school led by business instructor Tom Davidson. In its seventh season of sponsoring the sport, the club has invited more than 16 pro wrestlers to North Carroll High School to create Pro Wresting Spectacular 7. Bell time is at 7: 30 p.m. Nov. 14."

The strains of the theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey" pierce the arena darkness. Fans rise to their feet as a figure steps into the spotlight.As the music swells, a man with perfectly coiffured golden locks and a sparkling robe basks in the adulation of the crowd before stepping into the ring."

YOU NEED NOT travel to the North Pole to find Santa Claus. There's a busy workshop filled with not one but many dozen Santas, and it's in Hampstead.Since July, the artful hands of Louise Suchanich have modeled ** papier-mache into old-fashioned Santa figurines. She's made pink pig Santas, cone-shaped and star-shaped Santas.Her diverse collection was exhibited this fall at the Carroll County Farm Museum. Her work can be seen at a craft show Saturday at the Dover Air Force Base, Del.In addition, her Santas are on display at Christmas in the Woods in Stevenson, Baltimore County, where she began showing her soft-sculpture dolls 15 years ago. In those days, she often created portraits up to 66 inches tall on commission.