Rams

The state's 60-day window for pursuing an NFL team for Baltimore closes on Valentine's Day. The Los Angeles Rams say they're looking for a sweetheart deal."

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Quarterback Chris Miller said yesterday that his injured right shoulder still isn't 100 percent, but that apparently won't stop Los Angeles Rams coach Chuck Knox from starting him over a sound Tommy Maddox on Sunday at Green Bay.Knox normally doesn't announce personnel decisions on Mondays, but with starter Chris Chandler out for the rest of the week with a sprained left ankle, he said he plans to turn the offense over to Miller."

ST. LOUIS -- Four teams still have a shot at winning the Super Bowl, but one has a better shot than the rest. The Rams couldn't ask for more favorable circumstances. It's their turn to win, quite clearly. Does that mean they're a lock to beat the Bucs today in the NFC title game and go on to win the first Super Bowl title in franchise history? Hardly. It was the Vikings' turn to win at least an NFC title a year ago, and they lost at home to the Falcons in the NFC championship game. The Vikings swore they'd come back this season and make amends, but things weren't the same, as they seldom are. Brian Billick had moved to Baltimore, Randall Cunningham had lost his touch and a team that had gone 15-1 the year before needed a wild-card pass to reach the playoffs.

Winning 11 games usually correlates with a pro football championship. But all it meant for the Baltimore Colts in one of the most frustrating seasons they ever knew was a long ride home. It was 1967, the first year the National Football League went to a four-division alignment.The Colts finished with the same record as the Los Angeles Rams, 11 victories, one defeat, two ties. But a rule had been instituted that in case of a tie in the standings, the total number zTC points scored against each other would be the deciding factor.

As if Baltimore NFL fans didn't have enough to be depressed XTC about, now comes word that the Los Angeles Rams president has called people in St. Louis who have urged a move there and assured them the team is leaning that way."We're very serious about coming there and really appreciate your support," John Shaw told one letter writer, Bryan Herrick.Herrick, a guidance counselor at a St. Louis-area community college, said he wrote Shaw a letter in response to one of several write-the-Rams appeals made in St. Louis.

1.People probably should have waited more than, oh, two games to declare Torrey Smith a bust in the NFL. It is sort of remarkable -- and maybe a little sad -- how many Ravens fans seemed to be elbowing one another out of the way in an attempt to be the first to declare Smith a bust just two weeks into his rookie season. Maybe their judgment was clouded by post traumatic stress syndrome brought on by memories of Travis Taylor and Mark Clayton, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a second round pick who was subjected to that much criticism in such a short time period.

The long-anticipated matchup between No. 7 Randallstown and No. 8 Towson had all the ingredients for a great game.Except one.Visiting Towson (19-0) took advantage of the absence of Randallstown standout Nyota Mitchell and scored a 63-27 victory over the Rams (18-2) to win the Baltimore County girls championship yesterday.Katie Barnes led the Generals with 14 points."There was a lot of build-up for this game . . . and I think it would have been a great game if she was here," said Towson forward Sarah Weaver.

The Los Angeles Rams and the Phoenix Cardinals have become the first teams to say publicly that they would be interested in talking to defensive lineman Dexter Manley if he becomes eligible to play in the National Football League next week."

The Los Angeles Rams today will take their first formal step toward moving -- possibly to Baltimore -- when they officially notify Anaheim, Calif., they intend to cancel their stadium lease in 15 months.The move, forecasted by the team in February, will be accompanied by a nonrefundable, $2 million payment to Anaheim. It does not mean the team has to leave, but officials there say it is a foregone conclusion."I think the decision has been made. I personally think they are going," said Anaheim city manager James D. Ruth.

It's beginning to look as if Irv Pankey's 12-year career as an offensive tackle on the Los Angeles Rams is over.Pankey's 43-day holdout continued yesterday, and Rams coach John Robinson named Robert Jenkins the starter at left tackle and said Gerald Perry would also get some playing time in Sunday's season-opener against the Phoenix Cardinals.A starter since 1981, Pankey (Aberdeen) has said he wants something approaching center Tom Newberry's $750,000-a-year contract. If the Rams won't raise their $500,000-a-year offer, Pankey said, he wants to be traded.