Sharks

Moves Baseball BREWERS -- Signed P Dave Bush, P Zach Jackson, P Dennis Sarfate, P Carlos Villanueva and OF Laynce Nix to one-year contracts. Football EAGLES -- Agreed to three-year contract extension with QB A.J. Feeley. Hockey SHARKS -- Sharks traded D Josh Gorges and 2007 first-round draft pick to Canadiens for D Craig Rivet and 2008 fifth-round draft pick. THRASHERS -- Acquired LW Keith Tkachuk from Blues for C Glen Metropolit, 2007 first- and third-round draft picks and 2008 second-round draft pick.

"Deep Blue Sea" may be the first shark movie where the critters are smarter than the filmmakers -- not necessarily a bad thing, but something you should know going in.Of course, these are abnormally high-I.Q. sharks, big-brained beasts genetically engineered to be super-smart, the better to harvest their brains for cells that might cure Alzheimer's. (Still, just how smart is a shark who can turn on a microwave oven but can't tell the difference between an orange life vest and actress Saffron Burrows?

This week, the Department of Natural Resources again begins its Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs program at four locations, including Patapsco Valley State Park.The program conducts free clinics for children ages 7-13, instructing on fishing, wildlife, wetlands and water safety through short demonstrations and interactive instruction."Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs accomplishes one of our leading goals, to instill a natural resources stewardship ethic in all Marylanders," said DNR secretary John R. Griffin.

NATURALLY, THE talented and dedicated bunch that Hammond High School graduated this year has plans for the next year.Off to college they go, ready to confront a new world. Is that world quite ready for them?St. Mary's College gets a Hammond crew consisting of Shoshannah Beck, Amy DiPietro, Christopher Kennedy, Jamie Wasser, Chris Weber and Clayton Paulding. Sean Perschy and Brian Schulman should find life in Philadelphia a bit different from life in Columbia. They are attending the University of Pennsylvania.

BaseballBraves: Agreed to $2.45 million contract with OF Ryan Klesko, nearly eight times his $315,000 salary last season.Yankees: Agreed to $765,000 contract with P Graeme Lloyd.BasketballCeltics: Signed G Michael Hawkins to 10-day contract to replace G Dana Barros, who will have surgery tomorrow to remove bone spurs from left ankle.CollegeWashington State: Senior F Tavares Mack left basketball team.FootballRaiders: Named Dave Adolph linebackers coach, Ray Perkins offensive coordinator, Keith Rowen assistant head coach and Willie Brown assistant coach.

GLOUCESTER POINT, Va. - It may not worry nervous LTC swimmers much, but shark populations in the Chesapeake Bay are dropping sharply, a shark researcher says.Jack Musick of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science says shark fishing has depleted the numbers of some shark species in the region by 80 percent to 90 percent."Most of our fisheries have really been mining operations," Musick said. "This is the best indication we have of the true magnitude of the crash that's occurred."That crash is measured in the number of sharks Musick catches for every 100 baited hooks he sets.

Last game: The San Jose Sharks won their first game for new coach Jim Wiley by defeating the Capitals, 5-3, Saturday night. The Sharks fired coach Kevin Constantine just before the game. Jeff Friesen had two goals, including one on a penalty shot. Friesen was tripped on a breakaway by Brendan Witt in the first period. The game was tied at 2-2 and 3-3 before San Jose scored power-play goals in the third period. The Caps went 1-for-8 on power plays.They said it: "Things like teamwork, accountability and those things have just become words to us."

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It has always been Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky.Now, at least for a few days before they trade places, the two hockey legends are on equal footing at the top of the NHL's all-time goal list. Gretzky and his boyhood idol, Howe, now share one of the sport's most hallowed records.Gretzky scored twice here yesterday afternoon to tie Howe's record of 801. He scored his 801st goal with 49 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 6-6 tie against the San Jose Sharks.

LANDOVER -- The San Jose Sharks, who had never beaten Washington in their three-year history, came away with a 2-1 victory at USAir Arena last night, giving the Capitals' offense another jolt.It was a power-play goal by Rob Gaudreau in the second period that made the difference here, as 10,304 fans watched the game played without incident with substitute officials.After the Capitals were shut out, 2-0, Saturday night by the New York Rangers, Washington general manager David Poile lamented his team's inability to get the first goal.

DALY CITY, Calif. -- The Washington Capitals did not score 10 goals, for a change, last night. They had to settle for a 4-3 victory against the National Hockey League's worst team, the San Jose Sharks."

The new National Indoor Soccer League is expected to announce the addition of a fifth member today or tomorrow in the wake of the Orlando Sharks' sudden withdrawal from the league last week. "There is some intrigue unfolding," Blast owner Ed Hale said. "A couple things have to happen, and it involves a lot of personalities. We're looking at adding another team. I'm waiting for some phone calls to firm it up." Blast general manager Kevin Healey retracted a statement that a new franchise was unlikely as the standing four league franchises prepared to discuss the composition of a revised schedule.

A dozen rays jostle for attention each time Carl Perkins enters the tank, their flat bodies undulating on the exhibit floor. "They all get right around my feet like puppies and nudge me as if to say, 'Feed me first,'" said Perkins, the new principal of Centennial High School and a volunteer diver at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The six species of rays, some of which can grow to be 7 feet across and weigh close to 500 pounds, are "a lot of fun," he said. Three dozen of them inhabit the Wings in the Water exhibit, sharing the space with two sharks and a turtle.

Let me tell you about an encounter I had with sharks. (That's the beauty of writing about sharks. You write about an encounter with, say, goats, and readers will be nodding off in their coffee or speed-turning to Dilbert. (But throw sharks in there and, boy, readers can't get enough. Although that theory might be tested by the time we're done here, too.) This encounter took place many years ago when I was a young boy swimming off a New Jersey beach. Suddenly I looked up and saw a half-dozen dorsal fins knifing through the water maybe 30 yards out. Immediately, I made a bee-line for the shore, my fat little arms and legs churning like pistons.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A season-high sixth consecutive victory did not come easily for the Blast last night. Machel Millwood and Mike Lookingland each had a goal and assist in the Blast's 12-4 win over the Orlando Sharks, but the worst defensive team in the Major Indoor Soccer League had a few surprises for the hottest team in the league. "We didn't expect this club to give us an easy game. ... They were taking it to us," Blast coach Danny Kelly said. A week ago, the Blast (12-7) scored 25 consecutive points in a 25-13 win over Orlando.

The Blast offense has been offering hints recently that it was ready to flourish, and last night it happened. By halftime, both Denison Cabral and Machel Millwood had produced hat tricks, the team's first of the season, and the Orlando Sharks never had a chance, falling to the onslaught, 25-13, before an announced 9,606, the second-biggest crowd of the season, at 1st Mariner Arena. Blast@Sharks Saturday, 7:35 p.m., 680 AM Records: Blast (11-7), Sharks (3-17)

The Blast stunned Orlando with a four-goal barrage in the first six minutes last night and remained unbeaten in the Major Indoor Soccer League with a 14-7 victory at 1st Mariner Arena. A crowd of 5,150 had barely settled into their seats when two goals by Denison Cabral and one each by Matt Watson and Mike Lookingland staked the Blast to an 8-0 lead before the expansion Sharks got into the game. La Raza@Blast Friday, 8 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel, 680 AM

Orlando, Fla. -- Going into last night's game against the expansion Orlando Sharks, Blast coach Danny Kelly made sure his team would not have a letdown after starting the season 2-0. "Detroit showed us last year that an expansion team is capable of making it to the finals. We were not going to take Orlando lightly," he said. His team clearly got the message, routing the Sharks, 17-6, in a Major Indoor Soccer League game. The Blast set the pace early with Jamaican native Machel Millwood giving Baltimore a 2-0 lead.

Baseball DEVIL RAYS -- Announced that bench coach Bill Evers' contract will not be renewed. TIGERS -- Agreed to terms with Jim Leyland, manager, on one-year contract extension through 2009. Basketball BULLS -- Signed G Andre Barrett, F Joseph Blair, F Justin Cage, G Thomas Gardner and C Jared Homan. CLIPPERS -- Signed F Yaroslav Korolev. KNICKS -- Waived G Dan Dickau. MYSTICS (WNBA) -- Named interim coach Tree Rollins coach. PACERS -- Signed centers Courtney Sims and Lukasz Obrzut.

Moves Baseball BREWERS -- Signed P Dave Bush, P Zach Jackson, P Dennis Sarfate, P Carlos Villanueva and OF Laynce Nix to one-year contracts. Football EAGLES -- Agreed to three-year contract extension with QB A.J. Feeley. Hockey SHARKS -- Sharks traded D Josh Gorges and 2007 first-round draft pick to Canadiens for D Craig Rivet and 2008 fifth-round draft pick. THRASHERS -- Acquired LW Keith Tkachuk from Blues for C Glen Metropolit, 2007 first- and third-round draft picks and 2008 second-round draft pick.

Baseball BLUE JAYS -- Signed P Jo Matumoto to minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Football RAIDERS -- Signed DT Terdell Sands and LB Robert Thomas. Hockey CAPITALS -- Recalled LW Tomas Fleischmann from AHL Hershey. DUCKS -- Signed RW Mike Hoffman to two-year contract and assigned him to AHL Portland. HURRICANES -- Acquired RW Anson Carter from Blue Jackets for 2008 fifth-round pick. SHARKS -- Voided trade that sent conditional third-round pick to Devils for F Alex Korolyuk.