Reputation

INDIANAPOLIS -- No, Peyton Manning said, he doesn't acknowledge terms like validation and monkeys off the backs. And, he repeated, the concept of his legacy "is a little deep for me." He was destroying the sportswriter's thesaurus quote by quote. Luckily, he left us "redemption." It's hard enough to redeem a reputation in one game, even harder to do it in the course of the game, harder still when the redeemed one dug himself the hole in the first place. Manning's legacy - fractured as it was going into last night's AFC championship game grudge match against his arch-nemesis from New England - was getting set more firmly in stone with every step Asante Samuel took toward the end zone with Manning's errant pass five and a half minutes into the second quarter.

WASHINGTON -- When Dan Quayle announced the other day that he was taking the first step toward a campaign for the presidency in 2000, he became only one of a dozen or more Republicans who have shown an open interest in the party's nomination.What is lacking, however, is a dominant figure with the obvious potential to pull the party together in the next two years and offer the electorate some coherent agenda.Mr. Quayle doesn't qualify, though he was vice president for four years. Although he has a core of support among the cultural conservatives of the Religious Right, he's still viewed by many as a lightweight despite his tremendous fund-raising ability.

It does the heart good somehow to see an inflated reputation reduced to a popped balloon by a few piercing words. In that spirit, American Heritage does solid service with its second annual list of the most overrated and underrated people, things, ideas, and events in U.S. history.You may find yourself lingering upon the "overrated" list, especially given the scathing treatment some of the subjects receive. Among those whose reputations are cut down to size: Gloria Steinem, Al Capone, Ernest Hemingway, Isaac Asimov, the 1960s, Shel Silverstein, John Adams, Boss Tweed, atomic power, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Hunter S. Thompson, Gary Cooper, the idea of progress, Alexis de Tocqueville, Yalta and the Beatles.

Shellie Seyer, a Long and Foster real estate agent, had almost closed the deal -- the house in Disney Estates was perfect for the young couple who were expecting their first child. There was only one glitch -- the less than stellar reputation of the local schools.The $225,000 house was in the Meade High School feeder system, a network of 12 schools in the western part of the county that has, over the years, developed a reputation for low academic performance and disruptive students, some of whom live in poverty.

Denzel Washington doesn't matter.Spike Lee didn't make the cut.Danny Glover, Cicely Tyson, Eddie Murphy, Edward James Olmos, Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Ossie Davis, Paul Robeson -- nowhere to be found.After its contest to promote the first 100 years of filmmaking, The American Film Institute announced a list of the 100 greatest American movies. Newsweek is devoting a special issue to the results, which were broadcast Tuesday by CBS-TV.This roster of the "100 best I" reminds me a lot of the 1927 Yankees: undeniably filled with Hall of Fame entries, unquestionably deserving of such a lofty reputation -- and white.

Editor's note: A wicked witch becomes allergic to her own black magic and seeks relief from a wise wizardGromelda was a wicked witch and proud of it.She was an expert at evil spells, a wonder with wicked ways, and the meanest magic maker in all the land.She turned princes into frogs and frogs into princes. She changed the barks of dogs into the meows of cats. She stopped hens from laying eggs and cows from giving milk ...And, just for the fun of it, Gromelda cast mean spells that would topple ice-cream cones and make it rain on Saturdays.

WASHINGTON - At the 30th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy's death, why does he still enjoy such a special place in the minds and hearts of millions of his generation?He was not, after all, ever elected president; nor was he even the presidential nominee of his Democratic Party. At the time he was gunned down in a kitchen area of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, dying the next day, he was a candidate only. As a freshman senator from New York, his achievements were modest and largely unheralded.

THE HOUSE Judiciary Committee's third installment of material about President Clinton's personal life from the independent counsel's investigation, released yesterday, mocks the grand jury.This institution depends on secrecy to winnow out false accusations. It gives a prosecutor subpoena power and the threat of perjury charges to compel testimony. In secrecy, it hears testimony that would sometimes be inadmissible in a trial, and it can allow no cross-examination.But in this case, the grand jury's secrecy has been violated to damage President Clinton's reputation -- even more than his own outrageous conduct has already done -- whether charges are brought or not, and to prejudice any potential jury pool against him. This has done great harm to the grand jury as a respected part of the judicial system.

JOHN G. GARY would be a much more popular politician if he stuck to policy-making and refrained from picking fights. His propensity to pop off at political enemies, real and imagined, has saddled him with a reputation as a bully and overshadowed his deft management of Anne Arundel County.Mr. Gary came into office four years ago with a reputation as a conservative ideologue. He was known for his blunt, inflammatory rhetoric on hot-button issues.In the executive's office, he turned out be pragmatic rather than a doctrinaire decision-maker.

Bill did so well in China, he should go back and stay.If a certain Big Man were to say, "Yes, I may have lied, but only to protect that young woman's reputation," 48 percent of the American public would approve, 29 percent would disapprove and 23 percent would have no opinion.In another life, Ken and Bill might have been friends.Cheer up. No need for interest rate hikes. The Asian slump is slowing America down.Pub Date: 7/06/98

There are some restaurants that do what they set out to do without having many detractors. Here are the top 10 least controversial places that I think best fit that description. After the name, I've put the restaurant's reputation. Of course not everyone loves them, but it's hard to hate them. They pretty much deliver what they promise. The list is in alphabetical order: 1 Amicci's in Little Italy. Its reputation: Good pastas, the neighborhood's most reasonably priced, casual, fun restaurant.

WASHINGTON -- Alan Greenspan's reputation is under siege, and he is incredulous. Hailed three years ago as "the greatest central banker who ever lived," the retired chairman of the Federal Reserve now is being criticized for his management of the U.S. economy before he retired in 2006. The Fed's low rates and laissez-faire regulatory oversight during his final years are widely blamed for sowing the seeds of today's financial crisis - one that began in the U.S. housing market and is now battering banks, stock markets, borrowers and consumers around the world.

On a night when the main card of EliteXC: Renegade held much promise with a number of intriguing matchups, only one out of the five main-card fights went beyond the first round. A doctor ended two fights. The lone title fight left fans with an empty feeling inside. And we still don't know anything more about Kimbo Slice's mixed martial arts skills. His fight ended after 19 seconds as Bo Cantrell tapped out in anticipation of the onslaught he was about to receive after Slice caught him with a punch and an elbow to the face that floored him. One thing I've noticed in Slice's training video is that he really does work on his elbows, and he used his lone elbow standing up fairly effectively.

The doggedly old-fashioned St. John's College in Annapolis considers its students scholars in the mold of ancients, not modern consumers of an educational pedigree. So it's not surprising that the campus with the "Great Books" curriculum is among a dozen colleges advocating a boycott of a U.S. News & World Report survey that asks schools to rate their peers. The survey factors heavily into the magazine's influential college rankings. "I don't think prestige has anything to do with the education students are getting," said St. John's President Christopher Nelson.

INDIANAPOLIS -- No, Peyton Manning said, he doesn't acknowledge terms like validation and monkeys off the backs. And, he repeated, the concept of his legacy "is a little deep for me." He was destroying the sportswriter's thesaurus quote by quote. Luckily, he left us "redemption." It's hard enough to redeem a reputation in one game, even harder to do it in the course of the game, harder still when the redeemed one dug himself the hole in the first place. Manning's legacy - fractured as it was going into last night's AFC championship game grudge match against his arch-nemesis from New England - was getting set more firmly in stone with every step Asante Samuel took toward the end zone with Manning's errant pass five and a half minutes into the second quarter.

Godsmack Godsmack's hard-rocking IV Tour comes to Baltimore on Wednesday at the 1st Mariner Arena, led by front man Sully Erna (pictured). The band got its start in Boston when its breakout hit "Keep Away" earned heavy radio rotation just as Godsmack began earning a reputation as a great live band - a reputation it continues to earn today, having toured with Metallica while giving intimate acoustic performances on the side. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at 201 W. Baltimore St. Tickets are $39.50 and $49.50, available by calling 410-547-SEAT or by visiting ticketmaster.

Bart Scott realized his reputation across NFL Nation had taken on a new dimension when his mother called him after the Ravens' game in New Orleans last Sunday. "She was going, `Oh, my God, what did you say, what are you doing?' " he said last week, knocking out a quick and hilarious imitation that his mom might like even less. "I had to tell her, `No, Mom, it was nothing.' " Except that, all of a sudden, it was something. With one tackle last Sunday, one slow retreat from the field and one clever post-game comment, Scott was no longer the emerging star rising from undrafted obscurity to being possibly the best performer on the best linebacking unit in the league, which is the backbone of one of the best defenses around.

Before Chad Johnson uttered an inflammatory word, the Ravens' defense already had a steely look of determination. Today's pivotal AFC North showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals represents an opportunity for the Ravens' secondary to restore its confidence and reputation for this season and beyond. Bengals@Ravens Today, 1 p.m., Ch. 13, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Ravens by 3

ISSUE: -- A champion for the McDonald's LPGA Championship will be crowned at Bulle Rock golf course in Havre de Grace today. Will the big winner be: Annika Sorenstam? Michelle Wie? The local economy? The county's reputation as a suitable host for major events? Annika Sorenstam is a better bet I would put my money on Annika Sorenstam. As far as Michelle Wie goes, I wish she'd stop trying to play with the men when she hasn't won on the LPGA tour and didn't have a stellar junior record. She thinks she's too good for the women.

Two years ago, when David McClintick, an author and investigative journalist, agreed to write an expose on Harvard University's effort on behalf of the U.S. government to help Russia privatize its economy in the 1990s, he had little inkling that the article would play a part in the ouster of Harvard's president, Lawrence H. Summers. "I was surprised that he was gone by February of '06," said McClintick, and "that it happened as rapidly as it did." How Harvard Lost Russia was published in the January issue of Institutional Investor magazine, a subscription-only publication, about a month and a half before Summers' resignation, which he announced last Tuesday.