Sports Arena

NBA games lost yesterday: 3.Total games missed: 376.Earliest estimated date season can start: Feb. 1.Projected player salary losses (through Feb. 1): $535 million.Negotiations: Five hours of talks yesterday failed to produce an accord. No further talks are scheduled.Today's best canceled game: Toronto at L.A. Clippers. The real NBA die-hards either show up at the Sports Arena or tune their satellite dishes to this gem.Pub Date: 12/28/98

Thousands jammed Nationals Park in Washington yesterday for the first outdoor Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI during his six-day visit to the United States. Above, Sister Leticia M.C. (left) of the Missionaries of Charity in the Bronx, N.Y., and Sister Maria Christine of the Sisters of the Poor in Catonsville watch the activity before the service. The sports arena was redecorated into a sort of sunny cathedral for the occasion.

In a move that could help ease the shortage of recreational facilities in northwestern Baltimore County, a local developer said yesterday that ground would be broken this week for a 40,000-square-foot indoor sports arena in the Reisterstown area.The Owings Mills Sports Arena at 12400 Glynowings Drive is scheduled to open Jan. 23 for the second session of indoor winter soccer, developers say.The arena will feature two artificial-turf fields, a sports grill, a video arcade and an office for a sports medicine practitioner.

In recent days, The Baltimore Sun had three articles that should be read together: Proposed changes to slots law to attract a downtown casino ("Changes planned for Md. slots law"), the Greater Baltimore Committee's desire for a new sports arena and Convention Center expansion ("A sports arena at Inner Harbor?"), and the Travel Section's report on Travel + Leisure's survey showing Baltimore a poor destination, especially because of poor hotels and lack of entertainment ("Survey finds Baltimore not too charming")

SoccerThe Genstar Booters never looked back from a 3-1 halftime lead and went on to defeat the Hickory Lazers, 11-1, Sunday night at the Maryland Sports Arena.Tim Gober led the scoring with four goals, followed by Eddie Griffin with a hat trick. Joe Dilworth scored twice, and teammates Pat Dempsey and Alison Healy scored one each.Dempsey also added four assists, and Ryan Byrd, Griffin, Healy and Gober each added one.Byrd and Gober combined in goal for 23 saves. The defense was anchored by Dan Magee, Liz Pyzak, Alexander Ioannidis and Ryan Letke.

The Harford United Flash (8-0-1) won the Friday night winter indoor soccer championship at Myers Pavilion in Baltimore. En route to its first indoor title, the Flash outscored its opponents, 54-12, and out-shot them, 226-65.Composed of members of the under-13 outdoor state champions and younger family members, the Flash was led on offense by Shanna Ziegenfuss (19 goals, one assist), Ashley Froman (six, six), Cindy Wolf (three, five) Katie Bowman (two, three), Jessie Steck (three goals), Tina Steck (two, one)

Boys soccerWhen members of the D & M Storm traveled to the National Indoor Soccer Championships in Atlanta last weekend they expected to play well, but after advancing to the finals, the team was in position to win the national tournament.What they got was a second-place finish, cruising to the finals but losing to a tough Canadian team, the Maverick Magic, 4-2.opened with a win over the Georgia Steamers, 8-1, but then lost to the Wisconsin Wave, 3-0. The Storm then played the Syracuse Blitz, needing a win to advance to the quarterfinals.

LOS ANGELES -- Between the excitement and the buildup comes the reality: A player named Ron Harper, 27, in his fifth National Basketball Association season, was scheduled to return to the lineup last night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, at once confronted by his basketball mortality and the notion that he is supposed to be the parachute in the Los Angeles Clippers' free fall back to the lottery.The Clippers, if not Harper, have practice at this.A season ago, Danny Manning came back from reconstructive knee surgery against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Sports Arena, on a night that seemed more like a celebration than a game.

Girls soccerThe under-19 Joppatowne Soccer Club Thunder defeated Joppatowne Purple, 2-1, in indoor soccer action at the Maryland Sports Arena. Eva Pierorazio scored two goals, with one assisted by Brandi Frederick.Goalkeeper Nicole DuVal recorded six saves for the Thunder.Boys soccer* Under-12: The Harford County Boys and Girls Bombers were edged by the White Marsh Soccer Club, 6-4, in a league game at the Maryland Sports Arena last weekend.Maguel Barowski scored a goal and added an assist.

The Greater Harford Lightning won the championship of the Valentine Classic Indoor Soccer Tournament last Saturday at the Maryland Sports Arena. The Lightning defeated Perry Hall, 1-0, the Harford Soccer Club Strikers, 8-2, SC Baltimore, 2-1, and tied Parkville, 2-2.Goals were scored by Eric Yankolonis (four), Jason Hinson (three), Jonathan Borozzi (two), and Marco Romanell, Patrick Bokovsky and Matt Bland (one).Keeper Jason Kuhn had 26 saves. Also contributing were Johnny Meise, Mike Fantmyer, Ben Stuzer, Hohn Heatwole, Greg Jastrab and Brad Bonovich.