Shoulder

Washington Bullets forward Chris Webber was described as being in good spirits last night after undergoing two hours of surgery yesterday to repair his injured left shoulder.The surgery was performed in New York at the Hospital for Special Surgery by Dr. Russell Warren. Bullets team doctor Steven Haas attended the surgery."It went really well," said Fallasha Erwin, Webber's agent. "He was drugged when he came out and didn't say much, but he was in good spirits. Going in, he was a little apprehensive."

Quarterback Stoney Case's first touchdown drive with the Ravens -- a total of 1 yard in Sunday's 17-10 win over the Cleveland Browns -- got a major assist from someone many thought would not even be around for the third game.That would be linebacker Peter Boulware, whose 11-yard sack on Tim Couch at the Browns' 2-yard line caused a fumble that defensive end Michael McCrary recovered at the 1.It was his second sack on an afternoon that produced Boulware's first AFC Defensive Player of the Week award.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Left-hander Mike Flanagan's exhibition debut has been pushed back again. He was expected to pitch today against the Texas Rangers in Port Charlotte, Fla., but has been rescheduled for Tuesday night's game against the Chicago White Sox.Flanagan has been held back by shoulder stiffness, but he said yesterday that the change in plans was not because of a physical setback. Orioles notebookHe played long toss for 20 minutes yesterday and decided to rest today and throw on the side one more time tomorrow before pitching in a competitive situation.

Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora underwent a minor surgical procedure near his right shoulder late last week and said, "I am fine now." Team orthopedist John Wilckens removed a tiny, arthritic section of Mora's distal clavicle, which is part of the AC joint in his right shoulder. He has been instructed not to lift weights until around Jan. 1, but otherwise he should have no problem being ready for the start of spring training. "It was very minor, and we don't anticipate it having any impact on his availability whatsoever," club president Andy MacPhail said.

BOWIE -- Chris Webber is a positive thinker. So when a worse-case scenario was posed about his sore left shoulder -- the same one he separated last season, leading to his missing 19 games -- Webber wanted to think nothing of it."Nothing's going to go wrong," Webber said. "I just have to think that way."And yet for the Washington Bullets there has to be major concern about the injury, which forced Webber to miss the team's three-hour practice yesterday at Bowie State. Webber can't exactly pin down when the injury occurred, but he said it may have been during his brief scuffle with Luc Longley during the 112-87 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday at the United Center.

Havre de Grace. -- Uh, hello.On Tuesday the people of the United States awoke, stretched and reached into the Washington kitchen to tap the government of the United States on the shoulder. The government, which had been trying to ignore the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, still isn't sure what to make of the interruption, but it will find out.The Maryland government, in its smaller but equally well-equipped Annapolis kitchen, got a similar tap on the shoulder. It too isn't sure what to do next.

Boy-oh-boy, if there's one thing we cherish here in America, it's freedom. Freedom to assemble. Freedom to speak. Freedom to hate Tom Jones no matter how many times he comes back. And freedom to take naps on the shoulders of interstate highways.WHOA! Not so fast there, partner. Where do you think you are anyway, the '60s? You cannot, CANNOT, sleep on the side of the highway. Not even if you drive a very big truck.And yet, Sharon Jones of Northeastern Baltimore has called our attention to this very problem, to what she describes as "a hazardous condition" occurring daily on the Baltimore Beltway.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Orioles outfielder Luis Matos will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging on his left shoulder after dislocating it during yesterday's 7-6 victory over the Montreal Expos. His status remains uncertain until today's examination is completed. Matos suffered the injury while sliding into third base during a rundown in the third inning. He had reached base after being hit on the foot by Expos starter Britt Reames. Matos stole second on the next pitch, then was caught straying too far off the base by catcher Michael Barrett.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is expected to have "relatively minor" surgery on his right shoulder, club officials confirmed yesterday. The NFL's Defensive Player of the Year would not be able to do any heavy lifting for four to six weeks after the operation but should be able to participate in all of the team's minicamps. An official decision will be made today after Lewis' shoulder is examined by team orthopedic surgeon Leigh Ann Curl. It is not the same shoulder that Lewis had surgically repaired in 2002 and required four months to heal.

Maryland tailback Bruce Perry was listed as questionable yesterday for Saturday's game against North Carolina after he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his left shoulder. Perry suffered the injury - a sterno-clavicular sprain - during Saturday's 45-12 win over Duke, his first game action in 10 months. Yesterday's MRI revealed no other damage to the shoulder. The junior, who was coming back from abdominal and groin injuries, started the game and ran for 19 yards on his only play.