Rafter

WIMBLEDON, England -- They'll never have another day like this at Wimbledon, when the masses stormed the joint for the "People's Final," when Centre Court fans dressed in green-and-gold Australia wigs and red-and-white Croatian checkerboard soccer shirts, when a great noise made its way to the rafters as the crowd roared itself hoarse with a dueling chant turned gorgeous melody. "Goran," they yelled. "Rafter," they answered. On and on it went yesterday in a place where rules and decorum demand silence and reverence but where bedlam was now busting out all over, through four sets and then five, Australian and Croatian flags flapping on a gray summer day, tension rising and hearts racing, until the last, almost unbearable, can't-watch-this moments.

A Gap Inc. warehouse worker was seriously injured Saturday when he fell from the warehouse rafters, Joppa-Magnolia fire company officials said.The man, who was not identified by the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, dangled 30 feet in the air after a scissor crane he had been working on fell about 4 p.m. The man suffered head and neck injuries, said James B. Lyons III, fire chief.Two men were working at the Edgewood facility when the crane began to fall. "They were buckled in," Lyons said.

SHELLTOWN, Md. - Eagles and ospreys and showers of bright warbler song. Mighty bald cypresses and hours of unbroken forest, studded with the blooms of wild azalea and native viburnum. From the quiet headwater swamps where we began to the wide open cordgrass marshes where we "took out" three days later, a recent kayak trip down the twisty old Pocomoke River was a joyous passage through spring. Less than a decade ago, such a trip might have been considered dangerous to one's health. The Pocomoke was on the list of America's most endangered rivers, and "For Sale" signs were posted along its banks.

Standing on a hill and shading his eyes from the sun that had just broken through the clouds, Air Force freshman Ryan Rafter couldn't help but smile. Fourteen years ago, Rafter was found to have leukemia, but he has been in remission for four years, and just three hours earlier, the Babylon, N.Y., native had scored his first college lacrosse goal against Quinnipiac. And perhaps most important to Rafter, Nicholas Voyton was there to see it all. Nicholas, 9, who was found to have leukemia seven years ago, was the honorary captain of Rafter's Falcons yesterday in the sixth Price Modern Lacrosse for Leukemia Tournament at the McDonogh School in Owings Mills.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Poor Goran Ivanisevic. He's still haunted by his two defeats in the Wimbledon finals.During a rain delay Thursday, he walked into the locker room, turned on the television set and discovered that the British Broadcasting Corporation was showing his 1992 final loss to Andre Agassi."

Charles A. Frock told a Carroll County judge yesterday that he was frightened March 15 when a man came to his home and beat him for a $15 debt, but should have let police handle the matter, instead of chasing the suspect into downtown Westminster with his deer rifle.The jury that heard Frock's case in August agreed, convicting him of first-degree assault on Eric G. Webb, 31, of Manchester, and reckless endangerment.Sentencing guidelines call for 18 to 25 years in the state prison system for Frock, according to Assistant State's Attorney Tom Rafter of Howard County.

Marie E. Deel, 81, homemakerMarie E. Deel, a homemaker and former Ellicott City resident, died Dec. 15 of lung failure at Oak Crest Village retirement community in Parkville, where she had lived for two years. She was 81.The former Marie Fahrman, who enjoyed gardening, was born in Baltimore and graduated from Eastern High School.A memorial service was held Saturday.She is survived by her husband, Lawrence A. Deel, whom she married in 1951; a son, Robert J. Svehla of Ellicott City; a daughter, Judith A. North of Preston; a brother, Joseph Fahrman of Easton; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

The U.S. Open captured the imagination a year ago. Australian Patrick Rafter revived the exquisite serve-and-volley game while winning the U.S. Open, his first career Grand Slam; and Venus Williams breathed new life into the women's game. As her beaded hair clickity-clacked, she took center stage and became the first unseeded woman in 39 years to reach the Open final, before losing to No. 1 Martina Hingis.Now the Open is again ready to see history made. But will it?As the two-week tournament begins tomorrow in New York, No. 1 seed Pete Sampras is just one win shy of Roy Emerson's record 12 Grand Slam victories.

PARIS -- What fun this French Open is for the free-spirited kid from Brazil, who hits the ball with a release of air that comes out like a gentle breeze, "Ou-ay", instead of like some animal grunt.With every point, Gustavo Kuerten, 20, radiates joy. A double-decker smile. A clinched fist. A "Skip-to-My-Lou" on his way back for another serve.Yesterday, his happiness spread through the Court Central crowd as he played -- in the true sense of someone having fun -- his way into the French Open final with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)

NEW YORK -- No. 20 Greg Rusedski was the first men's quarterfinalist to move into the U.S. Open semifinals yesterday. But few seemed to care.Many fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium left after watching a wonderful 2 1/2 -hour confrontation between No. 3 seed Jana Novotna and No. 6 Lindsay Davenport. Finally, Davenport won a third-set tiebreaker to upset her doubles partner, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).Davenport will now play No. 1 Martina Hingis, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over No. 10 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario for the right to meet the winner of the other semifinal between fellow American Venus Williams and Romanian Irina Spirlea in Sunday's final.