Sit Down

It seemed every seat was filled during the Baltimore Orioles' exciting playoff run last season except the one that belonged to Matt Hersl. Friends say the rangy, baldheaded Orioles regular never sat during games but ran around Camden Yards, laughing with season ticket holders, keeping an eye on the batter to make sure he had the best vantage point to snag an errant fly ball or a home run souvenir. Hersl was a vigilant "ballhawk," and brought the same sharp eye and enthusiasm to his Little Italy community, where he served as the neighborhood watch leader.

"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."-- A credo of British theaterHe remembers the voice of the paramedic: "Move your toes! Keep trying to move your toes!" And it was a cool night, he remembers that. And breezy, he remembers that. He remembers everything from the night his life changed forever."I was sleeping in the back seat of the car," Jeff Charlebois says. "The car hit a tree. The car wasn't damaged very much, and my two friends in the front seat weren't even hurt. I ended up in the floor well of the back seat.

A man who tried to rob a Mobil gas station yesterday morning was foiled when the attendant locked the outside cash drawer and sat on the floor until he left, county police said.The man walked up to the outside service window of the station in the 7900 block of Crain Highway shortly after 12:30 a.m. Holding his hand in his shirt as though he had a gun, the man ordered the attendant to put money through the cash window, police said.But the robber left without any money after the attendant locked the cash drawer and sat on the floor, police said.

COLLEGE PARK -- In his moments of fantasy, Andre Scott is Maryland basketball star Joe Smith, leaping and shooting and dunking."I so admire these guys," said Scott. "Just once, I'd like to hang from the rim."Scott, a team statistician, is in Cole Field House, watching Smith and other Terps in a pickup game. Only they will hang from the rim.Scott is in a wheelchair, and has been for 15 years, since he was 14. It was then he was diagnosed as having bilateral chondrilosis, a degeneration of the hip joints.

MISSOURI CITY, Texas -- At the mere mention of a lineman named Cortez, Max Emfinger -- the self-described national prep football recruiting expert who publishes a newsletter ranking high school football players -- flies into a tizzy in the family kitchen."

The Streak is more important than the World Series.There, we said it.No one with the Orioles will, least of all Cal Ripken.A playoff berth is assured, the magic number for winning the division is seven and Ripken is so immobile, he's only fielding balls that are hit right at him.But take a day off?Perish the thought.Too much of a distraction. Too much of a media circus. Too much of a chance Ripken might get rusty, as if he doesn't look that way right now.Sorry, every argument for continuing The Streak is now invalid.

So I go to Orioles Park and decide to sit in the worst seats to see what all the whining is about.I park downtown for four bucks and walk toward the stadium. All along the street there are ticket scalpers offering me better seats.Scalping is, however, illegal.Though I have never understood why. These people paid for something, and now they want to sell it for a profit.What is the difference between them and any merchant in town?You think the guy selling beer for $2.50 bought the beer for $2.50?

REP. ELIJAH Cummings, Baltimore's 7th District congressman, finds himself talking to a lot more people these days. Ascending to the chairmanship of the Congressional Black Caucus will do that for you. On Thursday afternoon around 4:30, Cummings found himself in a conference call with members of the Trotter Group, an organization of some of the finest newspaper columnists in the land who happen to be black. Of course, being chairman of the CBC means you have to be Democrat and liberal.

NEW YORK -- Mike Utley's plans after breakfast were to enjoy New York, which he never had the time to do as a visiting player with the Detroit Lions. And that included window shopping with his girlfriend."

Stocks? Forget 'em. Bonds? Returns too low. Permanent seat licenses? Now you're talking. The licenses that the Ravens and some other National Football League teams require fans to purchase to buy season tickets - often to help pay for stadium construction or renovation - have gone from being what many regarded as an extortionary annoyance to what some now consider a dandy investment. For instance, when the Ravens' stadium opened in 1998, a permanent seat license ranged from $250 to $3,000, depending on the location of the seat covered by the license.