Team Officials

For more than a decade, Baltimore area hockey fans have watched for free as the Washington Capitals practiced at the Piney Orchard Ice Arena in Odenton. But that opportunity will soon be gone. In May 2006, the Capitals plan to move to a newer, larger facility to be built atop the Ballston Common Mall parking garage in Arlington, Va. That county's board approved money for the $42.8 million project last week. The Capitals had openly contemplated the move for years, with team officials saying they wanted to be closer to their fans and to practice in a state-of-the-art complex.

With the Ravens' passing offense frighteningly close to being in disarray, backup quarterback Anthony Wright isn't sitting in a corner of the locker room with a smirk on his face. He also has no plans to undermine starter Kyle Boller to retake a position he held at the end of last season. And he is not bemoaning the coach's insistence that Boller will remain the quarterback, even though Wright will soon be healthy enough to handle the job. What Wright is doing - much to the delight of team officials - is preparing his surgically repaired shoulder for action while remaining inconspicuous in hopes that, with or without him, the Ravens find more consistency from a passing game that should get tight end Todd Heap and wide receiver Travis Taylor back by the end of this month.

IT'S OFFICIAL: The Montreal Expos are headed to the nation's capital. The announcement yesterday by Major League Baseball means that Washington is back in the major leagues as of today, almost precisely 33 years after the Senators' final home game. It's an exciting moment for D.C.-area baseball fans but an oddly melancholy one for those 40 miles to the north. It means that the Baltimore Orioles - a team that has brought together two cities made proximate by precious little other than geography - have forever lost a bit of stature and quite possibly an important competitive advantage.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - It seemed like some things were just beginning to click last night against the New York Giants. The short passing game was on, led by receiver Kevin Johnson. Quarterback Kyle Boller was hot and elusive, giving fans hope for the future. The Ravens actually had balance, not just on offense, but between a dominating defense and an offense that complemented it. And then the giant went down, with enough force to make an entire organization hold its collective breath.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - As the Ravens prepare to say goodbye to the preseason, some familiar faces on the team may be making their respective curtain calls as well. Ron Johnson, Lamont Brightful and Javin Hunter have been assured roster spots this time the past couple of years but find themselves, along with Tony Pashos and Aubrayo Franklin, former draft picks on the bubble fighting for, at most, two spots. Rookie receiver Clarence Moore, this year's sixth-round pick, is also battling for one of those spaces and will likely see significant playing time in tonight's finale at Giants Stadium against the New York Giants.

As the preseason winds down, the Ravens' secondary is just getting cranked up. Deion Sanders and Chris McAlister are scheduled to report to the Ravens this week, elevating the team's defensive backfield among the NFL's elite. Team officials confirmed last night that Sanders is expected to end his three-year retirement and play for the Ravens, which ends two weeks of speculation on whether the seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback would come back to play nickel back (fifth defensive back). The Ravens remain unsure of the day of his arrival this week - the sides are still trying to set a timetable - but ruled out his playing in Thursday's preseason finale at the New York Giants.

They've gotten to the brink of the Olympics as a team. Now gymnast Courtney Kupets and her coach, Kelli Hill, will go the rest of the way together. For Kupets, the two-time national champion from Gaithersburg who also won the Olympic trials, last night's announcement of her place on the Athens-bound squad was a formality. But team officials also selected Hill, Kupets' personal coach and the outspoken head coach of the 2000 team, to reprise that role next month. Hill, 44, is the U.S. coach with the most international experience and is best known for training gold medallist Dominique Dawes of Silver Spring and 2000 Olympian Elise Ray of Columbia.

NEW YORK -- The head of security for the U.S. Olympic team says athletes should not be afraid to wear the red, white and blue on the streets of Athens this summer. In the strongest statement of support for security preparations to date, Larry Buendorf and other U.S. Olympic officials said yesterday that athletes should feel free to leave their guarded compound and tour the city like other athletes and spectators. Their comments came at a briefing for reporters just 91 days before the start of the Summer Games.

What many perceived as the most disappointing draft in Ravens history might turn out to be a complementary one. For a franchise that has turned the draft into an annual Pro Bowl talent search, team officials made the best out of a difficult situation this year by building a supporting cast from the college ranks this season. The only team without a first-round pick, the Ravens came away with more size on the defensive line (Dwan Edwards, second round), a couple of receivers with intriguing potential (Devard Darling, third; Clarence Moore, sixth)

The Ravens seem resigned to passing on the receiver position with their top pick in next week's NFL draft. Despite the Ravens' pressing need at wide-out, the lasting impression at yesterday's pre-draft luncheon was their intention to take "the best player available" with the 51st selection in the second round. Because of the expected early run on a deep receiver class, the chances of the Ravens drafting a defensive lineman, cornerback or offensive lineman appear greater than their selecting a leftover wide-out.