Second Season

Division II Bowie State Coach: Mike Lynn (second season) Last year: 5-5, 4-3 Conference: Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Outlook: Perhaps only the lack of an outstanding quarterback has prevented Bowie State from winning a CIAA championship the past four seasons. That's why Lynn focused on that position during the offseason, and he has come up with two top prospects in junior college transfer Richard Armstrong and freshman Jerry Taylor. Either of the two newcomers should be able to surpass the 298 total yards passing produced all last season by Lamar Manigo, who opens this year as the starter.

The Ravens entered their second season in Baltimore with a potent offense and a defense that couldn't stop anyone. But the team hoped an improved defense would lead to progress in the standings. Linebacker Peter Boulware was selected as the Ravens first pick in the draft, another sign that the team was focused on addressing its defensive problems The concentration on defense seemed to work. After losing the season opener by one point to Jacksonville, 28-27, the Ravens strung together three consecutive victories, capped by a 36-10 victory in Tennessee.

From the time they opened the season with the franchise's best start in 20 years, the Washington Wizards have been hearing that they are a potential playoff team. From the moment recently when they clinched their first postseason berth in eight years, the Wizards have heard how different the playoffs are from the regular season. Today, the Wizards will find out what kind of playoff team they can be, and what the atmosphere will be like, when they meet the Chicago Bulls on the road at the United Center in Game 1 of their best-of-seven opening-round series.

Frostburg State Coach: Nicole Bonvouloir, second season (10-5 at Frostburg, overall). 2004 record: 10-5. Conference: Independent. The Sun's take: Page Macey, named to Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association's South Atlantic teams three straight seasons, is headed for the school's career scoring record after 52 goals last season. She has 148 - 34 short of the record. Macey, a senior, and juniors Stefanie Ritz and Kelley Duncan are the three top scorers among eight returning starters.

CLEVELAND - LeBron James was a little under the weather. He had sniffled through a five-point loss at home the night before against the Denver Nuggets and the longest practice of the season Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday's nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Gund Arena. "I don't want to get anyone sick," James, who had played 43 minutes and scored 35 points against the Nuggets and close friend Carmelo Anthony, said to a reporter, covering his leaky nose and mouth with a sheet of paper.

November 23 Movies "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" "The Terminal" "Sleepover" Television "Seinfeld," first three seasons "Home Improvement," Season One "The Golden Girls," Season One "Boy Meets World," Season Two "Tanner on Tanner" "Lizzie McGuire" "In Search of Santa" "2004 World Series" November 16 Movies "Elf" "The Chronicles of Riddick" "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie" "The Saddest Music in the World" "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" "The Iron Giant" "Fanny and Alexander" "Short Cuts" Television [ "Live Aid" "Frasier: The Complete Final Season" "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Seventh Season" "Smallville: The Complete Third Season" "The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete First Season" "The Commish: Complete First Season" "Pee-wee's Playhouse" "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" November 9 Movies "The Stepford Wives" "Before Sunset" "The Clearing" "Ju-On: The Grudge" "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi" "Bridget Jones's Diary" "Gone With the Wind" set "The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection" "W.C.

See what movies and TV shows are available on DVD and video September 28 Movies "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" "Walking Tall" "The Alamo" "Super Size Me" "The Big One" Television "Homicide: Life on the Street -- The Complete Season 5" "Ellen: The Complete Season One" "Crank Yankers Uncensored: Season One" "Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts" "Ken Burns: America Collection" "227: The Complete First Season" "Star Trek: Voyager...

The runaway surprise of the 2003-04 concert season was the Londontowne Symphony, which quickly became Anne Arundel County's version of "the little orchestra that could." Founded on a shoestring budget by Severna Park violinist and county instrumental music teacher Kathy Solano, the 40-member ensemble made up of teachers, college professors, retired Naval Academy bandsmen, community instrumentalists, students and a few strategically placed professional players mounted a three-concert season at Southern High School with a trio of volunteer conductors and wound up providing more than its share of enjoyable music.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR Kirsten Wells Fallston After going 10-0 last season as the Cougars' No. 2 pitcher, Wells was primed for the challenge of becoming the team's ace this spring. She shined throughout the regular season and kept on shining with an impressive playoff run, saving her best for last as the Cougars upset then-No. 1 Severna Park to win the Class 3A state crown. Wells' two-hit, 12-strikeout performance in the 3-1 eight-inning championship win was a microcosm of her entire season.

LONG BEFORE Rayna Du-Bose became a basketball star -- and half a lifetime before the day she got sick, went to the hospital and almost never came home -- she was a dancer. Ballet, to be specific. The soft, poetic music and her long arms and legs formed a natural partnership. Dance was her first love, and as is often the case with first loves, she never forgot what it felt like, to twirl and spin and smirk at the limitations of gravity. The DuBose family was not rich, but there was money for tutus and ballet slippers, even if Rayna would outgrow them in mere months.