Tate

A 16-year-old Cape St. Claire boy, charged with killing a teen-ager in a dispute over a girl, has been charged with trying to kill the rival suitor of another former girlfriend by setting his house on fire.Brian Arthur Tate was charged Friday with arson and attempted first-degree murder in a Nov. 8 blaze that damaged an Arnold home owned by Anthony Rogalski. Police say they believe the fire was set "to geteven" with Rogalski's 17-year-old son, Jimmy, for dating one of Tate's former girlfriends.

Last year the movie "Shine" made pianist David Helfgott famous for having resumed a musical career in spite of mental disabilities. But audiences long ago ceased to care about the far more drastic physical disabilities that conductor Jeffrey Tate has overcome.Childhood congenital disorders left his spine twisted into an S, one of his legs dwarfed and essentially useless, and his internal organs permanently compressed, giving him limited lung capacity. A man who would be 6-feet-5-inches tall had he been able to stand up straight is so bent over that he is shorter than average.

Tate Access Floors Inc. said yesterday that it eliminated 149 positions at its Jessup plant and is moving some production to its facility in Pennsylvania. The company makes raised floors for offices that allow computer cables to be routed beneath them for easier access. The Jessup plant has automated systems to manufacture aluminum flooring, while the Red Lion, Pa., plant has automated systems to make steel flooring, although both plants were making both products. Now the Jessup plant will make only aluminum flooring, and the Red Lion plant will make only steel products.

Playing relatively near his hometown, cornerback Robert Tate already knows what one of his added responsibilities will be. "You have to be in the ticket business, being so close," said Tate, who is originally from Harrisburg, Pa. Tate, in his sixth season, signed a one-year contract for the veteran minimum yesterday and should play on special teams tonight when the Ravens play at Philadelphia. He will give the Ravens depth in a secondary marked by inexperience and injury. Cornerback Gary Baxter will likely miss his third preseason game because of a nagging hamstring problem.

Ravens safety Will Demps found himself in a huddle with Robert Tate and Alvin Porter in Sunday's 38-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals and thought nothing of it. Gone to injuries were the most senior members of the secondary, cornerbacks Chris McAlister and James Trapp, leaving a defensive backfield in which the most experienced player, Tate, spent the previous week as a healthy inactive. "No matter what, this whole season, when somebody goes down, somebody has to step up," Demps said.

Pop quiz -- Tate Engineering Systems Inc. knew it was time to leave downtown Baltimore when:A) Its downsized boiler business no longer needed a 65,000-square-foot building.B) Security became such a problem that employees no longer felt safe.C) The Maryland Stadium Authority started sniffing around for a new parking lot.The correct answer is "all of the above."Tate, whose blue sign has been a familiar sight to drivers on Russell Street near Camden Yards for more than 25 years, will clear out of the location by summer.

For the time being, Ravens special teams coordinator Gary Zauner is sticking with his familiar, rusty veteran. Robert Tate, a sixth-year cornerback, was the primary kickoff returner in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2, in place of rookie Javin Hunter. Tate should retain the role Monday night against the Denver Broncos (3-0). Tate averaged 19.5 yards on four returns in what was his most extensive action at that position since 1999 when he and Zauner were with the Minnesota Vikings.

COLLEGE PARK - It was the opening kickoff of Maryland's opening game. Before taking his position on the kick-return team, Kenny Tate allowed himself to survey the scene. Byrd Stadium's worn bleachers were filled with nearly 50,000 fans, most wearing Maryland red. "It doesn't get any better than this," Tate recalled thinking to himself. The ball was kicked high into the warm, late-summer air, and Tate's freshman season had officially begun. Over the next three months, Maryland fans would come to know Tate as a promising young safety and special teams player.

Keiko Miller-Tate couldn't miss. River Hill couldn't lose. The 6-foot-2 junior scored 15 points in the final 3: 44 of the second quarter last night, and No. 4 River Hill jumped to a 13-point halftime lead en route to a 57-37 Howard County victory over No. 6 Mount Hebron. "I just felt I was on tonight, and I came through for my team," said Miller-Tate, who finished with 22 points, 18 in the first half when the host Hawks took a 26-13 advantage. Greeba Outen-Barlow scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half for River Hill (12-0 overall, 8-0 county)

The Ravens are expected to sign cornerback Robert Tate today, provided the six-year veteran passes his physical, according to a league source. Tate, 28, was released by the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday and likely will sign for the veteran minimum. He is coming off a shoulder injury that limited his strength last year and eventually forced him out of the starting lineup in favor of Eric Kelly. With cornerback Gary Baxter having not played in any preseason games because of a hamstring injury -- which also will keep him out tomorrow in Philadelphia -- the Ravens could use the extra help at that position.