San Diego

The Blast is still marveling at the unlikely series of events that has put it in the Major Soccer League playoffs and on a plane today for San Diego."We're in the playoffs!" said defender Iain Fraser, who scored twice in the Blast's 7-2 win Saturday over Tacoma. "Can you believe it? No, you can't. Everyone wrote us off. This feels so great."Blast midfielder Rod Castro, who will get to play against his former Sockers teammates, was equally elated."This is heaven," he said. "This is what I've been waiting for. San Diego is very good.

SAN DIEGO -- The Blast dared the San Diego Sockers to give them their best shot in last night's opening game of the Major Soccer League playoffs.For three quarters the defensive pressure paid off, but San Diego rallied in the fourth to win, 5-4."We knew they would come at us and play great, and they did," said Blast coach Kenny Cooper. "But we withstood that pressure really well, and it was a great performance by the guys."The Blast went into the fourth quarter with a 3-1 lead and rallied to tie 4-4 late in the quarter, despite being outshot 39-14.

SAN DIEGO - After 41 years, 21 overseas deployments and eight combat tours, the aircraft carrier Constellation left San Diego Bay yesterday for the final time for a long, slow journey into retirement. For sailors who had served aboard the giant ship known as "Connie," it was a sorrowful occasion. "Connie is my girl," said Chief Petty Officer Efren Ponce, one of a group of sailors who sang "Anchors Aweigh" as the ship departed. "She's where I learned how to be a sailor. I'll miss her." Tugboats pushed the 1,069-foot-long, 80,000-ton ship away from the dock at North Island Naval Air Station.

San Diego -- With rooms starting at $450 a night, this city's newest hotel is keeping company with some grand dames of San Diego County: Four Seasons Resort Aviara, Hotel Del Coronado and the US Grant. But the only thing strait-laced about the Ivy Hotel is the leather-covered, corseted columns in the lobby. The 159-room, $90 million property could pass as Playboy Mansion South, from the skin-baring cocktail waitresses to the $3,000-a-night specialty suite with king-size bunks, a group shower and a fireman's pole.

Paul Dougherty continued to haunt the Baltimore Blast last night, scoring two goals to lead the San Diego Sockers to a 5-4 victory before 8,184 at the Baltimore Arena.Dougherty, who wasn't re-signed by the Blast last summer, scored two goals to give the Sockers a 4-0 lead early in the third quarter, and the visitors held off a Baltimore rally in the fourth quarter.Daugherty got a lot of help from Sockers goalkeeper Victor Nogueira, who made 20 saves last night.Wes Wade, Branko Segota and Paul Wright also scored for San Diego (10-10)

SAN DIEGO -- About the only thing more rare in this city than rain is an appearance by the Chargers in the NFL playoffs.Both happened yesterday.But, by the end of the wet afternoon, only the rain was gone.The Chargers advanced to the second round of the AFC playoffs by whipping the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-0, before 58,278 at Jack Murphy Stadium.San Diego (12-5), which ended a six-game losing streak against Kansas City (10-7), will play at 4 p.m. next Sunday against Miami (11-5) at Joe Robbie Stadium.

SAN DIEGO - Instead of battling nightmarish practice conditions, the Ravens prefer to be California dreamin'. Relaxed and not yet tanned, the players believe leaving Wednesday night to avoid Hurricane Isabel makes for smoother sailing into Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers. They practiced two hours under blue skies as the temperature reached 75 degrees. They attended meetings in their resort hotel which sits on picturesque Mission Bay and is surrounded by endless palm trees.

HERNDON, Va. -- Two weeks from the end of the regular season, the Washington Redskins' Terry Orr is preparing for a game of little or no consequence.It could be worse, though. A lot worse. He could be in San Diego preparing for a game of no consequence.Placed on 24-hour waivers last August by the Chargers, Orr caught one of the better breaks of the NFL season when he was claimed by the Redskins.Washington had just lost Ken Whisenhunt to a waiver-wire gamble, and was in need of an H-back. Orr, who played with the Redskins from 1985 to 1990, fit the job description like a glove.

Jay Witasick describes his baseball career as a roller coaster ride. Some ride. The 1990 C. Milton Wright graduate is coming off two consecutive trips to the World Series, and he recently signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Padres valued at an estimated $2.75 million. The average baseball fan would consider those appearances as career high points, but not Witasick. He says that just being in the major leagues is a great experience. "There are no bad days in the majors," he said a few days before reporting to the Padres' spring training base in Arizona.

SAN DIEGO -- For all of the talk about the way penalties dominated yesterday's excruciating, 14-13 loss to the Chargers, the Ravens faced up to another unpleasant fact.They aren't even good enough to win a game the opponent tries to hand to them.As undisciplined as the Ravens were, what with 106 yards in penalties going against them, the Chargers were even more horrendous. San Diego attracted 16 infractions at a cost of 146 yards.Sound familiar? Back on Oct. 11, the Tennessee Oilers committed 141 yards worth of penalties.