Tackler

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.

DeRon JenkinsPos.: CornerbackHeight: 5-11Weight: 185Age: 23College: TennesseeYear: 1stHow acquired: 55th pick overall in 1996 NFL draft.Highlights: 10th defensive back to be selected in the draft. Played in all but three games for the Volunteers. Started in four bowl games. Led Tennessee with four interceptions in 1995 and finished fifth on the team in tackles (53). Held Patriots' first-round pick Terry Glenn to three catches for 29 yards in 1995 Gator Bowl win over Ohio State. First career interception came against Cincinnati.

Towson's leading tackler in 1998, Aaron Sakevich, has been suspended indefinitely for athletic department violations related to an assault on a fellow student, the school announced yesterday. Sakevich, a starting outside linebacker for Towson the last two seasons, was convicted Aug. 18 of second-degree assault for a March 26 attack in Towson that left a 19-year-old man with a nearly severed right forearm. Athletic director Wayne Edwards would not comment on the specifics of Sakevich's suspension other than to say, "I regret it very much.

COLLEGE PARK -- The University of Maryland's depth on defense continues to be the primary reason for the Terps' success this season.It was evident in yesterday's 13-12 win against North Carolina State at Byrd Stadium.Maryland senior inside linebacker Glenn Page, the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading tackler (43 before yesterday's game), suffered a concussion in the first quarter and was taken to a Silver Spring hospital.The hospital trip was a precautionary measure, Maryland officials said, and Page later was released.

Navy (1-6) at Tulane (5-3) Site: Tad Gormley Stadium, New Orleans Time: 3:30 p.m. Radio: WJFK (1300 AM), WNAV (1430 AM) Line: Tulane by 16 Series: Tulane leads 9-5-1 Last meeting: Tulane won, 42-28, in 2001 in Annapolis Last game: Tulane defeated UAB, 35-14; Navy lost to Boston College, 46-21. Navy offense vs. Tulane defense: Navy has lost 19 fumbles, more than any other team in Division I. That spells trouble against Tulane, which has forced 26 turnovers, the most in the country.

HAMILTON, Ontario -- Two weeks ago, the Baltimore Stallions' offense was in a funk, having scored just 59 points over a four-game stretch, during which Baltimore absorbed the first two-game losing streak in its two-year history.Nothing a couple of mediocre defenses and running back Mike Pringle couldn't fix. With Saturday's 41-14 victory at Hamilton, the Stallions (8-3) buried the dry month of August by scoring 41 points for the second straight week. They beat Toronto by the same margin last weekend.

It was unlikely enough that the Baltimore CFLs would emerge as a championship contender as an expansion franchise. That they would do so on the strong legs of their running game was pretty much off the probability charts.To say that the Canadian game is a passing game is putting it mildly. The CFL is all shotguns and no-huddles and spreads and shoots and six men going long. Roughly three of every four yards of CFL offense is gained by a pass. The running game is as irrelevant as it is essential in the American game.

HAMILTON, Ontario -- The Baltimore Stallions flashed all of their familiar weapons last night, but their 41-14 dismantling of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before a season-high 23,120 fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium mainly will be remembered as the Mike Pringle show.Pringle has been a focal point of Baltimore's offense since he arrived last year and broke the Canadian Football League rushing record.He entered last night's game as the league's rushing leader again, and against a wounded Hamilton defense that was missing end Marcus Cotton and linebackers Tony Bailey and Mike O'Shea -- the CFL's second-leading tackler -- the Stallions' strategy was simple.

He's the man in the middle, holding down a position that demands brains as well as brawn.Apparently, to make a living as a linebacker in the NFL, Earnest Fields also needed height, the one area where he fell short.Considered too small for the NFL at 5 feet 11, Fields has turned to the Canadian Football League.A workout with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers opened the door, and it led to a chance to play in Baltimore, for a coach who will take Fields just the way he is, at a muscular 240 pounds and with a nose for the ball.

Starting middle linebacker Ray Lewis has eased his way back into the Ravens' practices after suffering a severe neck burner when he collided with fullback Kenyon Cotton in practice two weeks ago.He missed the first two preseason games against the New York Giants and New York Jets, respectively, yet managed to do a few non-contact drills last week. Yesterday, he returned to the field to practice on the first-team line."It was good to have Ray out there," Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda said. "He gave us a mental lift."