Seattle

Seattle -- This isn't exactly the land that Bill built, but sometimes it feels that way.In truth, it's the land that rain built, and Boeing, and volcanoes and grunge and spotted owls. But when it comes to buying a house or renting an apartment or funding a charity, the influence of the Microsoft Corp. and its billionaire founder Bill Gates run deep. There is simply a certain Billness to the place.It's more than the 12,000-plus Microsoftees he employs, more than his 37,000-square-foot home, more than the half-billion dollars or so he has given away through the William H. Gates and Gates Library foundations.

SEATTLE - It was not so long ago that this otherwise picturesque waterside metropolis was considered one of the outlands of Major League Baseball. The generally hapless Seattle Mariners played in an ugly domed stadium in front of an uninterested fan following and helped create the currently popular notion that there are just too many big-league teams. That's why tonight's 72nd All-Star Game is such a wonderful symbol of the area's surprising baseball revival. Who could have imagined 10 years ago - or even 10 months ago - that Seattle would be the center of the baseball universe in 2001?

SEATTLE - With his parents watching on television in Austin, Texas, Orioles pitcher Travis Driskill took the mound last night for his first major-league start looking nothing like his counterpart from the Seattle Mariners. Rafael Soriano was also making his first major-league start, but the similarities ended there. Soriano is a streamlined, 22-year-old prospect from the Dominican Republic with a hard fastball and a big upside. Driskill is more meat and potatoes. At age 30, he spent more than nine seasons in the minors waiting for this moment, knowing it might be the only big-league start he ever makes.

SEATTLE -- Just when it appeared that the Orioles were going to lose the right to sign coveted first-round draft choice Darnell McDonald, the negotiations took a surprising twist yesterday.McDonald met the team in Seattle and worked out yesterday, prompting speculation that he will forgo a football/baseball scholarship to the University of Texas and sign with the Orioles.Orioles general manager Pat Gillick, assistant GM Kevin Malone and manager Davey Johnson all were on hand while McDonald took early batting practice with several Orioles veterans, including Rafael Palmeiro, Mike Bordick and Tony Tarasco.

SEATTLE - There has been just one inning in his brief major league career in which Seattle Mariners pitching phenom Felix Hernandez actually acted his age. A little more than a month ago in his major league debut against the Detroit Tigers, the 19-year-old right-hander had faced four batters, surrendered a run and still hadn't been able to get an out. For a couple of fleeting minutes, Hernandez, the youngest big league starter since Jose Rijo in 1984,...

WASHINGTON - Most things considered, the Washington Wizards didn't play such a bad game against the Seattle SuperSonics last night, hitting 51 percent of their shots, forcing 13 turnovers and holding Gary Payton to a 6-of-18 shooting night. But when the entire picture is examined, namely the part where the SuperSonics hit 24 of 36 shots over a two-quarter span, Washington's 101-95 loss makes a bit more sense. Seattle shot an amazing 67 percent for the second and third quarters combined - 73 percent in the third alone when the SuperSonics missed only four of 15 shots.

SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners breezed through the regular season so effortlessly that there was some question how they might respond if things did not go well in the playoffs. They were never sorely tested on the way to a record-tying 116 victories, so who could predict what would happen after the Cleveland Indians dealt them one of the most lopsided defeats in playoff history Saturday and pushed them to the limit in the best-of-five American League Division Series? The Mariners simply rose to the occasion, winning Sunday in Cleveland to push the series back to Safeco Field and scoring a suspenseful 3-1 victory in Game 5 yesterday to advance to the AL Championship Series for the second year in a row. Once again, it was the steady hand of former Orioles pitcher Jamie Moyer that pulled them away from the precipice.

SEATTLE -- This was the way it originally was supposed to go down. Randy Johnson was supposed to be on the mound in the final inning of the fifth game for the Seattle Mariners, blowing away the New York Yankees and chasing 18 years of frustration right out of the Kingdome.This was the way everyone in Seattle envisioned it. Johnson knocking them down and Edgar Martinez knocking in the winning run.This was the perfect ending. Ken Griffey circling the bases to score from first on a close play at the plate to finally -- 4 1/2 hours after the first pitch -- eliminate the Yankees from the divisional series with an 11-inning, 6-5 victory that sent the sellout crowd of 57,411 into a state of frenzy.

Late Orioles game: Last nights game between the Orioles and Mariners in Seattle ended too late to be included in this edition. A complete report can be found in later editions or en the Internet at http:// www. sunspot.net. SEATTLE -- Luis Matos has played in less than half of the Orioles' games this season, but he has been around long enough to learn the recurring themes. This is becoming a season of stirring comebacks and hard-fought losses, and the Orioles experienced both again Tuesday night against the top team in the American League.

Late Orioles game: Last night's game between the Orioles and Mariners in Seattle ended too late to be included in this edition. A complete report can be found in later editions or on the Internet at http://www.sunspot.net. SEATTLE - The radar gun at Safeco Field was playing tricks on Orioles pitcher Rick Helling as he worked through the middle innings of Wednesday night's 7-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Helling would throw a fastball, and the scoreboard would say 82 mph. Then, he would throw a slider, and the board would say 81 mph. He breathed a little easier when Mariners reliever Aaron Taylor, whose pitches are regularly clocked in the mid-90s, tossed his first fast ball 88 mph. "I think the gun was a little messed up."