Sellout

Quote: "At 3-2, if that pitch was in the stadium, I was swinging. I figured it would be close enough to swing." -- Indians' David Justice, who hit a 3-2 pitch from Greg Swindell with the bases loaded in the ninth last night to beat Minnesota, 6-5.It's a fact: Twins closer Rick Aguilera has 19 saves, moving him into a tie with Todd Worrell for 12th on the all-time list with 256.Who's hot: In his first 162 at-bats, the Tigers' Tony Clark hit four homers....

In Oklahoma City, there is a Mighty Ducks fan club. In Rhode Island, The Providence Journal has adopted the Ducks as the home team, running a story after every one of their games and a staff-written Ducks notebook on Sundays.Even here in Baltimore, Channel 2 sports director Scott Garceau has established the Anaheim team as "Our Mighty Ducks."Tonight, the Washington Capitals may have their first weeknight sellout since New Year's Day 1990, when the Los Angeles Kings came to Landover. If the Capitals get the full house, the reason will be the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, an expansion team that has captured the imagination of children and hockey fans everywhere.

Pam Shriver isn't about to leave charity to chance.When she says Martina Navratilova and Jennifer Capriati will appear here for the sixth annual First National Bank Tennis Festival, presented by the Baltimore Sun, Nov. 26, she knows it will happen.She has it in writing."We lucked out a little bit," Shriver said. "When we went after them in the springtime, they hadn't had the kind of year you would have thought could result in a sellout."And now that Navratilova and Capriati have had the kind of season that could very well result in a sellout -- finalist and semifinalist, respectively, at the U.S. Open, and quarterfinalists at Wimbledon -- there is no way for them to back out."

This year's Baltimore Symphony Orchestra gala will add to the coffers of two charities: the orchestra's and that of Francis X. Gallagher Services.Gallagher Services, a division of Catholic Charities that trains and employs the disabled, was commissioned by the gala committee to make 720 hats for the 11th anniversary gala, the theme of which is "Hats off to the BSO." Gallagher Services will be paid $2,200 for the job.Gallagher workers such as Stewart Sheffey have been spending their days applying handfuls of glitter to white cloches or gluing black ribbons around green-brimmed hats.

The Orioles didn't make a lot of friends when they started the new baseball season 24 hours behind schedule, but Opening Day II turned out to be well worth the wait.The weather was nearly perfect, and the new-look Orioles defeated the Kansas City Royals, 4-2, yesterday before a sellout crowd of 46,588 at Camden Yards, successfully beginning their quest for the 1997 American League pennant.And there was more. Much more.Third baseman Cal Ripken hit a home run and two doubles, then agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension worth a guaranteed $15.1 million, with a club option on the 2000 season.

Reading Time: Two Minutes.Grant Waite, the New Zealander who edged Tom Kite at the finish for the Kemper Open title last year, will be back defending when the PGA Tour plays Avenel in Potomac June 2-5. Also committed are Payne Stewart, who had a dozen top 10 finishes last year, Curtis Strange, Scott Simpson and area favorite Fred Funk.* Pernell Whitaker, the World Boxing Council welterweight champ who seems to fight only about once a year, makes a mandatory title defense on HBO Saturday night against Santos Cardona, who gets the shot because top challenger Yori Boy Campas said he didn't want to fight Whitaker.

One by one, they sat down in the purple chair, smiled for the cameras and received a rub on the shoulders and appreciative words from the team owner.The Ravens and owner Art Modell yesterday invited a few randomly selected season-ticket holders out to thank them for their support and allow them to test the seats that will be installed in the new stadium. But the event had another purpose: to kick off a campaign to pull the franchise out of a bit of a sophomore slump.Season-ticket and personal seat license sales for the club are still below where they were a year ago, and have even fallen behind the number sold in Cleveland for a team that doesn't yet exist.

At today's frenzied home opener, will the sellout crowd of 70,000 simply be greeting a revitalized Ravens team or the arrival of another elite defense? The first step toward being mentioned among the all-time greats awaits the Ravens when they tackle the downtrodden Oakland Raiders at M&T Bank Stadium. If the Ravens can blank the Raiders, they would become the first NFL defense to record back-to-back shutouts since the 2000 Ravens, the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers.

TEE TIME: All you duffers out there, grab your clubs and checkbooks. The first annual Jockey/Jim Palmer Cystic Fibrosis Celebrity Golf Classic is being planned for Sept. 23 at the Turf Valley Country Club.A special Sports Memorabilia Auction will follow the tournament. For info, call 771-9000.SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: The turnout for the first Special Saturday Night Dinner at Irina's Cafe (owned by Irina Barshay) in Charles Village, guest-cheffed by local dentist Howard Katz, resplendent in a tropical shirt that almost matched the excellence of the meal, was a complete sellout -- all 25 seats were filled.

The TV Repairman:One thing you have to give Peter McNeeley, the man who should be putting his degree in political science to better use, he's done a terrific job of planting hope in people's minds that the referee won't be reciting numbers over his supine body about 90 seconds after the opening bell of the fight tomorrow night.What fight? Obviously you've been watching the Weather Channel and the reports on Hurricane Felix around the clock.The Irish lad, who ran up a 36-1 record against "fighters" with a combined record of 148-406-10, will be the guy standing at the other end of Mike Tyson's left hook, which is supposed to validate that the former champ is indeed back.