Saturday S Game

For the second straight week, the Ravens got an exhibition-game win on the field, but a mixed result in the ratings.Saturday afternoon's Ravens meeting with the New York Giants on Channel 11 garnered an 8.3 Nielsen rating and 26 share of the audience, according to Sharon Walz, Channel 11's ratings researcher and this week's sole and official "Media Watch" ratings supplier.The game was easily the most-watched sports program of the weekend and the share -- or percentage of televisions that are on at a given time -- was larger than the preseason opener the week before against the Philadelphia Eagles on Channel 54.Also, Saturday's Ravens game attracted more than twice the audience (3.4/7)

A parade of Orioles passed through the video room after yesterday's 3-2 loss to Milwaukee. Brady Anderson, Bobby Bonilla, Curtis Goodwin, looking for answers to why the Orioles aren't hitting, and what they saw on replay was yet another young pitcher shutting them down.Brewers left-hander Brian Givens, making his ninth major-league start, allowed the Orioles no hits for 5 1/3 innings. This would be noteworthy if losing to unknowns hadn't become such a regular occurrence for the Orioles, who finished 6-7 on this disappointing homestand and dropped eight games out of first, the farthest since July 5.They begin a one-week swing through New York and Boston tonight, with little clue as to why hits and runs have become so elusive.

With center Nick Subis bothered by a rib injury, don't look for any changes in Baltimore's offensive line for Saturday night's game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Memorial Stadium.Last week, before the team left for San Antonio, Subis had X-rays taken that revealed two cracked ribs. He was scratched from the game, which the Stallions won, 28-23, and replaced by left guard Mike Withycombe. Rookie John James filled in at left guard, joining tackles Shar Pourdanesh and Neal Fort and right guard John Earle.

Greg Zaun went to Mass before making his first major-league start. Eight-thirty in the morning, and he prayed. For hits?"No," he said emphatically, Zaun's tone suggesting that, of course, you can't ask God for something like that.Then he paused. He couldn't lie about his prayers."Yeah," Zaun acknowledged, "I prayed for hits."He had two hits, in fact, among the 15 by the Orioles, in their HTC 10-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox yesterday, before a sellout crowd of 47,561. In doing so, the Orioles split a four-game series with first-place Boston, remaining eight games behind.

To no one's surprise, Washington Bullets forward Juwan Howard was named yesterday to participate in the Schick Rookie Game, to be played next month during All-Star weekend. most everyone's surprise, teammate Anthony Tucker also was extended an invitation.Howard and Tucker are among 16 players selected for the rookie game, which will be played in Phoenix on Feb. 11, the day before the All-Star Game. The Bullets and the Sacramento Kings (Brian Grant and Michael Smith) are the only teams that will have two players in the game.

Their Spirit debuts delayed by injuries, Jean Harbor and Philip Gyau are expected to play Nov. 4 and 5 here against the Canton Invaders and Cleveland Crunch.Both played the outdoor season for the Montreal Impact of the American Professional Soccer League. Gyau is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery last month, Harbor from a general battering."I'm jogging and striking [kicking] a little this week," Gyau said. "I'll practice with the team starting Monday and be ready for Canton and Cleveland."

LANDOVER -- As the fourth quarter began in last night's game between the Washington Bullets and the Dallas Mavericks, the Stevie Wonder tune "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" filled the USAir Arena. It's kind of what one would expect the game to be against the NBA's worst team.But remember, these are the Bullets, and instead of having the game in the bag, Washington found itself barely escaping with a 98-95 win.It may be a costly win for the Bullets, who lost leading scorer Don MacLean in the third quarter with an injured hip. MacLean, who said he didn't know how he got hurt, is unsure whether he'll be ready for Saturday's game against Orlando.

For most teams, it's a stretch on a schedule that's considered a breather -- consecutive games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks. But for the Washington Bullets, the next seven days could establish a record the team would rather not have.The Bullets' losing streak is 10 after Saturday's 102-96 loss to the Utah Jazz in which Washington wasted a 15-point second-half lead. It's the team's longest losing streak since the Bullets moved to Landover in 1973 and is approaching the franchise record of 13 established by the Baltimore Bullets during the 1966-67 season.

QUEBEC -- The Washington Capitals have come to this picturesque, snow-covered city to find out if they can play three terrific games in a row by beating the Quebec Nordiques tonight.The Capitals have knocked off the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2, and the Montreal Canadiens, 5-3, on a three-game Eastern Conference road trip that concludes here.They've done it with solid defense and a simple but surprisingly potent offense. And a big part of that offensive burst has been generated by second-year player Keith Jones, who has three goals in two games and nearly knocked in the game-winner Saturday on a breakaway against Montreal's Patrick Roy."