Rough Riders

Mark Mettrick did all he could to get the Baltimore Bays back on track last night against visiting Long Island. The numbers simply weren't on his side.While Mettrick provided most of the offense for the Bays wit four goals and one assist, the Rough Riders countered with goals from nine different players to come away with a 12-8 win at Du Burns Arena in Canton.It's the first time in the two-year indoor history of the Bays (11-4) that they have lost two games in a row. Last Friday, they dropped a 15-9 decision to the Connecticut Wolves.

There were no quick solutions to the problems at hand for the Canadian Football League owners yesterday.But there seemed an endless supply of possibilities.The homeless Las Vegas Posse, for instance, might wind up in San Antonio next year. Or Birmingham, Ala., or Los Angeles, or operations may be suspended for one year until the franchise can find solid ground.On the first day of the league's board of governors meetings in Baltimore, the good news for the CFL came from San Antonio.Commissioner Larry Smith announced that Tom Herring Jr., who owns a chain of restaurants in Texas, has submitted a $100,000 application fee for a team -- either through the relocation of an existing team next season or the arrival of an expansion team in 1996.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The weather is turning nasty, snow is in the forecast and the ground crunches with every step.It's exactly the way the Winnipeg Blue Bombers like it.The Bombers are about the only people in Manitoba who want to spend November in Winnipeg. They love the lousy weather, and they can't wait to welcome visitors.The Bombers are where they want to be, at home, and facing a challenge they want to meet, settling a score with the Baltimore CFLs.The score to be settled is that nasty 57-10 matter of Oct. 29. The Bombers have lived with the mental scars of that thrashing for the past three weeks.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are worried.Their concern is not about the Baltimore CFLs, but more so about themselves.A team that won nine more games than its opponent, as was the case when Winnipeg faced the Ottawa Rough Riders yesterday, shouldn't be so hard-pressed for victory.On the strength of six field goals by Troy Westwood, the Bombers beat the Rough Riders, 26-16, setting up an Eastern Division final showdown with the CFLs.The Bombers are either not as good as their regular-season record of 13-5 would indicate or the Rough Riders aren't as bad as their 4-14 mark.

When it comes to the Baltimore CFLs and Memorial Stadium, home-field advantage is a stretch of their imagination.The CFLs, with the best road record in the Canadian Football League at 6-1, are 2-3 at home."

Through his pain, but in obvious appreciation, Josh Miller thanked the Ottawa Rough Riders late Sunday afternoon for their charity.The Baltimore CFLs' punter rolled his right ankle and bruised his knee after chasing a high snap in the second quarter. He expected the Rough Riders to come after him the rest of the day.When they didn't, he thanked them -- Ottawa kicker Terry Baker specifically and the team in general."I did that," Miller said yesterday, "because obviously I was really hurt and they could've sent the whole house.

OTTAWA -- The Baltimore CFLs' offense was rendered one-dimensional yesterday when the passing game went underground.Faced with man-to-man matchups and a blitzing Ottawa Rough Riders' defense, Baltimore quarterback Tracy Ham threw for a season-low 142 yards and endured a season-high three sacks."

Still digging out from the rubble of the previous regime, the Ottawa Rough Riders began looking down the road last week.They introduced their 1995 season-ticket plan with special discounts for fans who pay in full by Nov. 5.Such is the state of a Canadian Football League franchise that hasn't had a winning season since 1979, and barely lasted through the Bernie Glieberman era, which stretched from 1991 until this year.The Rough Riders, who face the Baltimore CFLs in Ottawa today, have already cut ticket prices three times this season, and they've seen one potential investor pull out. Now, they're borrowing on next year's ticket revenues.

Site: Frank Clair Stadium, OttawaTime: 1:30 p.m.Line: Baltimore by 6Radio: WJFK (1300 AM)Records: Baltimore 7-4, Ottawa 4-7Last week: Baltimore beat Saskatchewan, 35-18; Ottawa beat Toronto, 40-32On the sidelines: Baltimore's Don Matthews has a career regular-season record of 98-57-1 in 10 CFL seasons. Adam Rita is in his first season as coach at Ottawa, but he has a 20-20 regular-season record and won the 1991 Grey Cup while at Toronto.Roster changes: Baltimore -- MLB Earnest Fields replaces waived DT Brent White; FB Robert Drummond replaces injured WR Mike Alexander.

For all the fiscal debris littering the Canadian Football League landscape from impoverished franchises this season, there wasthe glint of future green last week.There may be a U.S. television contract after all.In two-day league meetings in Toronto, commissioner Larry Smith told owners he had solicited TV contract offers from two U.S. carriers.Baltimore CFLs owner Jim Speros, a member of the TV and expansion committees, declined to identify the two carriers but confirmed that neither was CBS. He said they were significant options that would "bring tremendous dollars."