Rejoin

Magic Johnson says he wants to return to the National Commission on AIDS, but he has not been asked by anyone in the Clinton administration.In a telephone interview, Mr. Johnson said yesterday that he had not contacted President Clinton, because the president has "more than enough to handle right now . . . the budget and taxes, all the other things are, I'm sure, top priority, so whenever he's ready, I'm ready."Mr. Johnson quit the commission in September because of what he claimed was a lack of backing for AIDS programs by the Bush administration.

Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, who has not pitched since developing a deep blister on his right thumb May 3 in Anaheim, is getting closer to appearing in a big league game. Gonzalez threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday, the last few without a bandage covering the thumb (he won't be able to use a covering in a game). He said he came out feeling “really good.” “The ball was coming out good,” Gonzalez said. “The breaking pitches were fine. I was pretty happy about my performance.” Gonzalez is next scheduled to pitch in a simulated game Friday afternoon at Camden Yards so that the team can best control the environment.

UNITED NATIONS -- For two years the Clinton administration has been promising to rejoin UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The United States left the agency in 1984, charging it with mismanagement and anti-Western bias.The money needed to make the move -- about $65 million for the first year's dues -- was in the State Department's 1996 budget request, which went to the White House in the fall. The department said UNESCO, under a new director general since 1987, had made most of the changes Washington demanded.

The Loyola men's lacrosse program will host nearly 50 players and family members from Newtown (Conn.) Youth Lacrosse on Saturday when the No. 8 Greyhounds host No. 1 Denver in their regular-season home finale at 1 p.m. at Ridley Athletic Complex. On Jan. 3, freshman long-stick midfielder Jason Crane (Chesapeake-AA) led a group of 14 Loyola players to the Connecticut town that was touched by tragedy just one month prior when a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School killed 26 people.

BOSTON -- Right-hander Alan Mills will join the Orioles in Atlanta today and could be activated in time for the second game of the interleague series against the Braves, depending on how he throws in a workout today at Turner Field.Manager Davey Johnson and pitching coach Ray Miller want to see Mills throw before making a decision on his status, but Johnson said on Wednesday that he is eager to have him back in the bullpen."It's possible that he'll be available for [tomorrow's] game, but maybe not probable," Johnson said.

Five members of Towson State's women's basketball team, including three starters, have been suspended for Saturday's game at Maryland for violation of team policy.Senior forward Nicole Norman, junior forward Sonia Keiner (Hammond) and freshman center Shniece Perry, all starters, will serve one-game suspensions, along with senior guard Cheryl Herzog and sophomore forward Merri Jones. All five are expected to rejoin the team for the La Salle Holiday Tournament on Dec. 28-29.At 5-2, Towson State is off to its best start since the 1981-82 season.

Quote: "I led the batting race most of the year last year and didn't win it. Where I am at the end of the season, that's where I am." -- Larry Walker of the Rockies, who raised his NL-leading average to .354.It's a fact: Tornadoes touched down near Shea Stadium, and the winds ripped a door in the ballpark off its hinges.Who's hot: The Astros have won 13 of 16.Who's not: The Pirates have 10 errors to the opposition's one in their past four games.On deck: In seven rehab starts for Triple-A Norfolk, Todd Hundley is hitting .500 (10-for-20)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The last Ink Spot is still making music here, high above the ocean.Duke Gainous, whose baritone tones so distinguished The Ink Spots on such classics as "If I Didn't Care," works nightly in the 10th-floor Penthouse Lounge of La Playa Best Western Resort.Sitting around the lounge, a varied crowd of mature locals and partying race fans sip their drinks, dance to everything from Ink ,, Spot favorites to the "Electric Slide" and listen to the man whose voice thrilled teen-agers in the 1940s.

Baseball California Angels -- Named Darrell Miller special assignment scout.Chicago Cubs -- Announced that P Shawn Boskie dropped his appeal of a three-game suspension for his part in an incident with Pittsburgh on Aug. 4.Chicago White Sox -- Signed OF Ivan Calderon. Designated P Donn Pall for assignment.Cleveland Indians -- Named Dan Williams assistant coach.Los Angeles Dodgers -- Traded OF Eric Davis to the Detroit HTC Tigers for a player to be named. Agreed to terms with P Darren Dreifort, their first-round pick in the amateur draft.

The Navy football team is hoping senior reserve slotback Eddie Martin, who was stricken with a sudden illness, will recover and rejoin the Midshipmen by the time they open their season against East Carolina on Sept. 2. Martin, who reported to the academy last week complaining of severe stomach pain, has been diagnosed with cancer. The Capital of Annapolis reported yesterday that Martin, now resting at the National Naval Medical Center, was to begin chemotherapy treatment for lymphoma. "Anytime something like that happens, there's no good way to hear it. You could tell Eddie didn't feel well," Navy coach Paul Johnson said.

When one of Orioles right-hander Tommy Hunter's fastballs hit 101 mph on the stadium radar gun in the 11th inning of the O's 9-6 extra-inning win Saturday, it raised some eyebrows in the dugout. “If that gun's right, he may have found a home," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said after the 12-inning win. Hunter said Sunday that he's reached the high 90s as a starter, but his 1-2-3 inning Saturday was a little different. According to the stadium radar gun, he threw a 101-mph fastball to Dustin Pedroia on an 0-2 count.

Maryland's new labor secretary will be Leonard Howie, an official at the state Department of Human Resources, the state said Monday. Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement that he was "confident in Leonard's ability to connect Marylanders with the jobs and skills they need to compete. " Howie steps into his new job Oct. 8. Former Labor Secretary Alexander M. Sanchez left in May to work for Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, with Scott R. Jensen filling in as interim secretary since then.

TORONTO -- Orioles Opening Day starter Jake Arrieta has returned to Baltimore and is expected to be recalled when the team returns home from its six-game road trip and opens a seven-game homestand Thursday against the Yankees. Arrieta has been working out with Double-A Bowie the past two days after starting Triple-A Norfolk's season finale. Arrieta was optioned to Norfolk on July 5 after going 3-9 with a 6.13 ERA in 18 starts for the Orioles. He has pitched well in Triple-A.

Right-hander Tommy Hunter , optioned to Double-A Bowie on Aug. 24, is expected to join the Orioles in Toronto on Monday and be activated before the team's afternoon series opener against the Blue Jays. Hunter threw a scoreless ninth inning for the Baysox on Saturday night, earning the save. Showalter, who said Hunter was clocked at 96 mph, said he will be used as a reliever for the stretch run with the Orioles. "Tommy's pitched some big games for us starting this year," Showalter said.

The Orioles open their four-game home series against the Chicago White Sox tonight at Camden Yards. The White Sox have won six straight and 21 of their last 31. Their 54-34 record since May 17 is the second-best record in that span in all of baseball, just behind Cincinnati's 58-35 mark. Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen will start for the Orioles tonight. Chen (12-7), who has won four of his last five starts, won his first major league game against the White Sox on April 17, allowing two runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings in a 3-2 win at U.S. Cellular Field.

Orioles infielder Wilson Betemit , who has been out of action for two weeks with an injured right wrist, could rejoin the team for this weekend's series against the Yankees in New York, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. Betemit participated in batting practice before Monday's game, testing his wrist against live pitching for the first time since the injury. "I want to see because I didn't get a chance to hit outside in Florida," Betemit said. "They said [Monday] , to see how it feels.

When Cory Redding left the Ravens to join former defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano with the Indianapolis Colts, conventional wisdom suggested that Pernell McPhee and Arthur Jones would be competing for the right to be the starting defensive end. But then McPhee underwent minor knee surgery in the summer and wasn't removed from the team's physically-unable-to-perform list until Aug. 1. The following day, Jones was sidelined by a hip flexor injury...

The Orioles are in New York to open their six-game road trip with the series opener tonight against the Yankees. Orioles DH Jim Thome's back spasms haven't gotten better after receiving a cortisone shot and trigger point treatment this weekend. Thome will take a train back to Baltimore tonight and have an MRI tomorrow morning at 11. "Usually it's a day or two before that takes hold or [you know] it's going to help," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Thome's treatments. "It wasn't much better today.