Stiff Competition

ADVERSITY ISN'T NEW at Merriweather Post Pavilion, which now faces stiff competition from newer outdoor concert venues in the region.When Merriweather Post opened 30 years ago, a storm drenched musicians and spectators. Then-Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, who was in attendance, termed it a ''baptism.'' The Columbia facility -- designed on a sloping site by now-famed architect Frank O. Gehry -- has weathered its share of setbacks ever since. The National Symphony Orchestra abandoned plans to adopt it as a summer home.

On Friday morning, Tracey M. Buchanan had four blocks of Styrofoam, a shoebox-sized hunk of taffy-like fondant icing and, for inspiration, the purse her mother carried on her wedding day. Yesterday, after about 14 hours of work, less than an hour of sleep and hundreds of carefully placed icing drops, she arrived at the Carroll County Agriculture Center in Westminster with her interpretation of "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue"...

Crown Central Petroleum Corp. reported yesterday that it posted a net loss of $67.4 million in the final quarter of 1995 that included an $80.5 million pretax write-off.Earnings from continuing operations improved, but not enough to pull the company out of the red. The Baltimore-based oil refiner and marketer reported a fourth-quarter operating loss of $4.6 million, or 47 cents a share, compared with a loss of $4.9 million, or 51 cents a share, in the same period last year.The net loss in the quarter included a write off for plant equipment at its Pasadena, Texas, refinery and an accounting change.

Will this weekend remain heavenly for Reese Witherspoon? Or will Flightplan, a thriller starring Jodie Foster, or Tim Burton's boy-meets-ghoul Corpse Bride be the weekend's draw? Witherspoon's romantic comedy Just Like Heaven, co-starring Mark Ruffalo, had a divine opening weekend, taking in $16.4 million to top The Exorcism of Emily Rose, in second place with $14.9 million. Shown are the past weekend's top-grossing films at North American theaters. Rk (lw)Title (Studio)......Weekend..

Stiff competition was the rule, not the exception last weekend for the 64 contending crews in this year's Eastport Yacht Club J-Jamboree.After several years of holding the event on one course, the fleet was divided in two this year, with each portion sailing its own course in different areas of the bay on two beautifully sunny and pleasant days.The split fleet, which proved popular and manageable for racers and race committee alike, set the J/22s and J/24s on a northern course nearer to Annapolis, while the J/29s and J/30s sailed a course south of them.

ANDREW TOBIAS' MANAGING YOUR MONEY has long been one of the leading personal finance programs. Lately it's received some stiff competition from Quicken 4.0, a lower-priced ($59.95) program that also makes it easy to keep track of your finances.the L. Magid account on the MCI electronic mail system.8

1. Red Sox: How high can Lowe go? 2. Yankees: Got best of D'backs in Bronx. 3. Diamondbacks: Yanks had anti-venom this time. 4. Mariners: No longer alone at the top. 5. Angels: Making M's hear footsteps. 6. Braves: Order has been restored in NL East. 7. Dodgers: Timing couldn't be worse for Brown injury. 8. Giants: Barry bearing down on 600. 9. Reds: Trade rumors swirling but not around Griffey. 10. Twins: Getting ready to put clamps on AL Central race. 11. Cardinals: Need to play better on road.

If all goes well for St. Paul's this spring, the Crusaders could create a new sports term: "double-three-peat."During the 1990-91 season St. Paul's won Maryland Scholastic Association titles in football, basketball and lacrosse. The Crusaders have repeated as champions in football and basketball in 1991-92 and the lacrosse team is favored to win the A Conference again.It won't be easy for the Crusaders, who will have to survive in the tougher of two A Conference divisions, with stiff competition from Severn, Loyola and Gilman.

Maybe Ed Benham is a world-class runner because he hasn't been at itlong enough to wear out his body.After all, he began running on a whim just 12 years ago -- when he was 72.Without any training, the 5-foot-5-inch retired jockey entered a 10-mile race in Ocean City with his oldest son. He won a $50 gift certificate and a first prize in his age group. "And I ran fast," said Benham with a big grin.Today, Benham's speed has earned him so many medals he no longer keeps count. "The walls are lined with them," said the Glen Burnie resident, shrugging.

Even bad winter weather couldn't stop Crestar Financial Corp. from earning a record $55.4 million in the first quarter of 1996.The Richmond, Va.-based banking company, which has $17.9 billion in assets, said yesterday that its net earnings were up 12 percent in the first quarter that ended March 31, compared with net earnings of $49.7 million a year ago. The company earned $1.27 a share, compared with $1.14 a share in the first quarter of 1995."

I've owned shares of Yahoo Inc. since 1999. What is the outlook for the company? - D.T., via the Internet This name-brand Internet powerhouse continues to move boldly ahead despite tough online competition from Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and America Online. Most recently, it launched a new upscale dating service, Yahoo Personals Premier, that emphasizes online personality and relationship tests for $34.94 a month. Last fall, it bought online music service Musicmatch, the third-most-visited music site on the Web, for $160 million to get more people to view its Web site.

Think about it. There may come a point during this weekend's interleague series between the Orioles and San Francisco Giants when the game is too close for comfort and superstar Barry Bonds is standing in the batter's box with evil intent. Think about it hard. This is the first time Orioles fans will have a chance to see Bonds up close in Baltimore since he appeared in the 1993 All-Star Game at Camden Yards - and really the only time since he ballooned into the bigger-than-life Barry Bonds who has persuaded more than one manager to throw the book of traditional baseball strategy out the window.

While a strike was averted at more than 300 Giant and Safeway stores in the Baltimore-Washington region, the issues that factored into labor negotiations remain and must be addressed by both company managers and union leaders if the companies are to remain viable long term, industry observers say. "This publicly held supermarket model is going to get squeezed out," said David Livingston, managing partner of DJL Research, a consulting firm based in...

In her second season as coach of the Randallstown girls basketball team, Sharon Davis beefed up her early season schedule by adding No. 9 Woodlawn and No. 14 Chesapeake, of Anne Arundel County, both of which were state semifinalists in Class 4A last season. The Rams lost to both teams as well as to No. 12 Seton Keough and Mount de Sales at Catonsville's Comet Classic Christmas tournament, but playing tough teams seems to have paid off. Last week, Randallstown upset defending Baltimore County champion Parkville, 40-37, in overtime, and the Rams remain unbeaten in the county's hotly contested Division I. "The losses we had in the beginning of the season showed us our weaknesses," said Davis, whose team is 4-4 overall.

1. Red Sox: How high can Lowe go? 2. Yankees: Got best of D'backs in Bronx. 3. Diamondbacks: Yanks had anti-venom this time. 4. Mariners: No longer alone at the top. 5. Angels: Making M's hear footsteps. 6. Braves: Order has been restored in NL East. 7. Dodgers: Timing couldn't be worse for Brown injury. 8. Giants: Barry bearing down on 600. 9. Reds: Trade rumors swirling but not around Griffey. 10. Twins: Getting ready to put clamps on AL Central race. 11. Cardinals: Need to play better on road.

Top-ranked Archbishop Spalding faces a stern boys basketball test at Gonzaga High and American University in the nation's capital this weekend.The Cavaliers (4-1) have been paired with the nation's No. 9 team, Philadelphia's Roman Catholic (3-0), in the first game of the Gonzaga D.C. Classic at 3: 15 p.m. today at Gonzaga.Among the eight teams in the tournament, which features four games at Gonzaga today before shifting to American University tomorrow and Sunday (7: 15 p.m. championship), are the host Purple Eagles (5-2)

The Ryland Group Inc. turned in its third consecutive disappointing quarter of 1995 yesterday, raising questions among several industry analysts about the company's direction.The Columbia-based firm and the nation's third-largest homebuilder reported that net income for the period ended Sept. 30 dipped to $678,000, or 1 cent per share, a significant decline from the $8.4 million earned in the comparable quarter in 1994.Third-quarter revenues also dropped by 9 percent, to $402.6 million. On a pre-tax basis, homebuilding earnings fell by 93 percent, to $297,000, mainly because of a 9 percent drop in home closings, to 2,263.

Less than three weeks after its board of directors agreed to sell the company, USF&G Corp. reported an 11 percent decline in fourth-quarter operating income, the company said yesterday.Operating income slid to $54 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, or 42 cents a share, compared with $60 million, or 45 cents a share, a year earlier.Norman P. Blake Jr., chairman and chief executive, blamed the decline on stiff competition in the property and casualty business, and increased tax liabilities.

ADVERSITY ISN'T NEW at Merriweather Post Pavilion, which now faces stiff competition from newer outdoor concert venues in the region.When Merriweather Post opened 30 years ago, a storm drenched musicians and spectators. Then-Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, who was in attendance, termed it a ''baptism.'' The Columbia facility -- designed on a sloping site by now-famed architect Frank O. Gehry -- has weathered its share of setbacks ever since. The National Symphony Orchestra abandoned plans to adopt it as a summer home.