Shirts

Lynn Shiner heard the news as she drifted off to sleep Sunday night, and when she awoke yesterday morning, she thought maybe she had dreamed it. A few taps on the keyboard, though, confirmed that the crime, however nightmarish, was no dream. Three children killed in a Baltimore hotel room, allegedly by their father, who had been engaged in a pitched custody battle with his estranged wife. "I see a judge denied her request," Shiner said, referring to a petition for a protective order that the children's mother, Amy Castillo, had filed against their father a couple of years ago after this threat: "He ... did tell me that the worst thing he could do to me would be to kill the children and not me so I could live without them."

On a warm, sunny afternoon at the Maritime Industries Academy baseball field, posters honoring members of the Negro leagues hung on the outfield fence and dust swirled under the banner honoring Jackie Robinson at home plate. Members of the Maritime and Southside Academies wore gray and blue pin-striped replica uniform shirts of two teams that played in the NL — the Baltimore Black Sox (Maritime) and the Baltimore Elite Giants (Southside). And they played with wooden bats. In this, the 1st Annual Negro League Appreciation Game, the Maritime Black Sox won, 11-1, in five innings, with pitcher Devont'e Lewis striking out 14 and allowing just one hit while going the distance.

Horse racing has always had its seamier side - desperate bets, old-time bookies - but the Preakness infield has lowered the bar. While the well-heeled mingled with martinis in box seats yesterday or in the new Turfside Terrace (where the seats went for $250 a person), thousands of raucous revelers set up mini-pubs in the center of the Pimlico Race Course track and preferred to get down and dirty. This year's Mardi Gras-like fete was one of the dirtiest. Blame it on the rain: Early morning storms turned the typically grassy field into sludge soup.

Life, under any and all circumstances, should have its pleasant interludes. A case in point, a rather noteworthy example, is what happened to the last player taken in the last NFL draft -- No. 241 out of 241. He became more than an afterthought. A hero of sorts. An enviable position, as it turned out.The Ravens appropriately traded down specifically to pick Cameron Quayle, a tight end from Weber State. This immediately assured Quayle the ignominious distinction of being anchor man in the draft.

As a boy growing up in northern Philadelphia, Thomas Bellmon spray- painted abandoned buildings for "Zulu Nation," a large, well-known gang he associated with in "a pretty rough section" of the city.Zulu Nation members were like family, who fought for each other and spray painted buildings to leave their mark, he said. "It was kind of sacred."But Mr. Bellmon soon learned the dangers of gang life. Five of his relatives ended up in prison, and his youngest brother was shot.Today, he is a Howard County Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.

Designers make money in all kinds of interesting ways, including some you would never expect.Take Geoffrey Beene, whom many consider the best designer of women's clothes in America, if not the world, not to mention the solar system. He is also the leading designer of men's dress shirts in the United States.Department store sales of Beene's dress shirts outdistance the nearest competitors, Christian Dior and Perry Ellis , in 1990, according to a survey by the NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y., research company that tracks cash-register sales.

The corporation president beamed as she addressed the shareholders' meeting. Sales were strong. Spirits were high.But this corporation president is 11-year-old Kristin Cullison, the shareholders are children of servicemen and women at Fort Meade and the corporation is selling T-shirts at $10 each to raise money to send care packages to servicemen and servicewomen in Haiti.In one week, the students at Pershing Hills Elementary School have sold 450 shirts. They hope to sell 390 more in front of the post commissary and PX this weekend.

At Lansdowne High School, T-shirts aren't just something to wear. They're academic credit -- and a thriving business.The 30 students enrolled in teacher Robert Hooey's "Teen Enterprises" course spend their class time learning how to run graphic arts mini-factories, and the subject matter ranges from silk screening to pleasing customers."

This isn't the first time Ralph Lauren has designed a home furnishings collection that matches his ready-to-wear collection."There has definitely been a cross-fertilization," says Kathryn Richer, spokeswoman for the Ralph Lauren Home Collection."

Dear Marylou: I was always told that the cuff of a man's shirt should show about a quarter of an inch below the sleeve of his jacket. I note that more and more are no longer showing any shirt-cuff. Please comment. -- A.J.A., Montvale, N.J.Dear A.J.A.: I took your question to Italian menswear designer Gianni Versace, who says he does not believe in rules in menswear. "What feels the best and looks the best for each individual is what matters," says the man who dresses stars such as Sylvester Stallone, Prince, Sting, Don Johnson, George Michael, Michael Jackson and Phil Collins.