Title Game

PLAYER OF THE YEAR Lauren Gibson Chesapeake-AA The sophomore standout combined poise and determination with a consistently high level of play to carry the No. 1 Cougars through the challenging Class 4A East region and on to the state championship. While her no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Damascus in the title game was the highlight, some of her work leading up to that point played big in the Cougars' getting there. Gibson hit a two-run homer to bring the Cougars back from a 3-0 deficit against North County in a 5-3 win in the regional semifinals.

River Hill junior running back Michael Campanaro reflects on Dec. 9, 2006, with mixed emotions. There's a feeling of disappointment, as the Hawks, playing in their first state championship game, lost to Prince George's County power Friendly, 37-18. But Campanaro, who rushed for more than 200 yards that day and caught a touchdown pass, also looks at the game as validation in his quest to play big-time college football. "That championship game, playing against the best team in the state with all those great athletes, I think I proved to a lot of people and myself that I can play against the top competition.

For most of the 1990s, the NFC championship game has been one of the sexy events on the sports calendar, with more than enough star power to hold a viewer's interest.With some variation of the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers involved, the NFC title game has more often than not been more compelling than the over-ballyhooed Super Bowl, played two weeks later.But for the first time in seven seasons and only the second time in the last 11 years, none of those teams, with their proven marquee value, will play for a Super berth.

Our long national NFL soap opera has begun.The question of whether John Elway will return to help the Denver Broncos' bid for a three-peat will be debated until he finally makes an announcement.The best guess is that he won't be able to resist the lure of trying to become the first quarterback to win three straight Super Bowls.If history is any judge, though, the odds are stacked against the Broncos regardless of whether Elway returns.Winning three straight NFL titles is one of the toughest feats in sports.

Latanya Blue hit all seven free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter to lead No. 2 St. Frances to a 73-70 victory over St. Peter's, N.Y., in the semifinals of the William Penn Cup at the Diamond State Classic in Wilmington, Del.Blue, who finished with 19 points and seven assists, hit five straight free throws to keep the Panthers (8-1) ahead of St. Peter's, a Staten Island school ranked No. 6 in the East Region by USA Today. The Panthers, 17-for-23 from the line for the game, were 10-for-10 in the fourth quarter.

CINCINNATI -- For people who know women's basketball beyond Rebecca Lobo or Sheryl Swoopes or Lisa Leslie, tonight's NCAA championship game between Tennessee and Old Dominion is like a page right out of history.The Lady Vols, of course, have always been a part of the tapestry of the game, as their four titles and 10 Final Four appearances attest.But, for Old Dominion, tonight's title game appearance is akin to Lauren Bacall's Oscar nomination after years of noticeable, but not widely acclaimed, work.

Player of The YearJohn Glatzel, Boys' Latin: In a league considered the nation's best, it's difficult to play perfectly -- unless the player is defender John Glatzel. "Looking back, I don't think he had one bad game," Boys' Latin coach Bob Shriver said of the 6-foot, 180-pounder who is a high school All-American headed for Syracuse. "None of the top scorers in the league ever scored a goal against him one-on-one." Glatzel anchored a Lakers' squad that allowed an average of just over four goals during the regular season -- believed to be a school record.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Top-ranked Trenton State College won its fourth consecutive national championship with a 15-8 victory against Middlebury College, which was making its first appearance in the title game.Trenton State reached its sixth straight championship game by defeating Ursinus, 15-5, Saturday. Middlebury beat Goucher on Saturday, 21-12.Trenton State's Jennifer Hart set a tournament record with 17 goals in the three games, including seven in yesterday's win. Hart scored six goals in last year's championship game.

Mount St. Joseph and DeMatha met again in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League championship game, only this year it was the Stags from Prince George's County who hoisted the Capitals Cup on the ice. They defeated two-time defending champion Gaels, 2-1, before a standing-room-only crowd at Piney Orchard Ice Rink.In a physical game with 25 penalties totaling 82 minutes, DeMatha (13-0) scored two power-play goals to St. Joe's one.Stags forward and leading scorer T.J. Windsor (66 goals, 40 games)

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- There probably isn't the same kind of playground basketball on the streets of Georgia guard Saudia Roundtree's hometown of Anderson, S.C., as there is in, say, New York or Baltimore.But Roundtree's swagger and her game carry much of the free-flowing element of the playground, which she'll take into tomorrow's national women's championship game, as the fifth-ranked Lady Bulldogs beat No. 3 Stanford, 86-76, in the second semifinal in the NCAA women's Final Four last night.

5 Consecutive state playoff appearances by Sparrows Point. The Pointers reached the state title game four times in that stretch. 9 Consecutive shutouts Archbishop Spalding posted to close the 2008 season, including the IAAM A title game. 10 Starters back from Glenelg's Class 1A state title team.

6 One-goal games won by two-time defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champion Loyola last season, including a 12-11 win over Gilman in the title game. 7 Consecutive Anne Arundel championships won by Severna Park. Last year, the Falcons came away with a 10-7 win over South River in the title game. 9 Starters lost to graduation by defending Class 2A-1A state champion Glenelg, which went 18-0 last season. Senior midfielder Curtis Adams is the only returning starter.

Tim Tebow started to walk off stage, then called an audible. The Florida quarterback turned around, grabbed the microphone and told teammates, coaches and fans exactly what they wanted to hear. "Oh, by the way, let's do it again," Tebow said. "I'm coming back." Tebow thrilled more than 40,000 at the school's national championship celebration yesterday by announcing plans to return for his senior season, with hopes of leading the Gators to their first undefeated season and fourth national title.

The first time River Hill and Eastern Tech met, in last year's Class 2A state championship game, no one gave Eastern Tech much respect before the game. And River Hill knew the feeling, having been in that situation the year before in a title-game loss to Friendly. Now, River Hill again knows the feelings of Eastern Tech. The Hawks used the 2006 loss to inspire their return to the title game and their victory in it. This season, Eastern Tech has had the same inspiration. "It's not a revenge situation," said Eastern Tech coach Marc Mesaros, whose team lost last year, 14-7.

The initial news from the Bowl Championship Series standings looked good for Texas. The long-range forecast, however, favors Oklahoma. The Longhorns stayed ahead of the Sooners yesterday - but not by much - and moved into the coveted second spot in the standings, thanks to a better computer rating. The Sooners surged in the standings on the strength of a 65-21 victory against Texas Tech, which dropped to seventh place. Alabama remained on top of the standings, a comfortable No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll and Harris poll, and best according to the computers.

The recent playoff history of the Blast has been one of feast or famine. In the past six years, it has either failed to qualify for postseason play or marched all the way to the championship. And the road to the titles always seems to wind through Milwaukee, the site of the Blast's semifinal victory via Machel Millwood's golden goal in 2006 and championship wins in both 2003 and 2004. So, the signs appear favorable when the Blast takes on the Wave today at 3 p.m. with another opportunity to advance to the final against either the Detroit Ignition or Monterrey La Raza.

Twenty minutes later, Deanna Dydynski could hardly believe it. Her Mount Hebron girls basketball team had just polished off a 28-0 season with a 55-40 win over Poly for the Class 2A state championship. And the senior forward was still having trouble processing it. "I still don't think it's really hit me yet," Dydynski said. "It was so much fun playing this year. ... It's a dream come true. It's what every senior wants - to win and to win state. And we went undefeated. I think that's a great accomplishment."

No. 1 Ohio State (11-1) vs. No. 2 LSU (11-2) Site -- New Orleans Time, TV -- 8:15 p.m., Fox Line -- LSU by 3 1/2 Outlook -- Except for a slip at home against Illinois, which ended a 20-game Big Ten winning streak and a 28-game regular-season winning streak, the Buckeyes have rolled to this game. Ten of their 11 wins have been by double digits, and they got to watch for the last two weeks of the regular season as contenders Kansas, Missouri and West Virginia tumbled. RB Chris Wells averages 121.9 yards per game for the Buckeyes, and Ohio State's defense ranks No. 1 in scoring and yards allowed.

Morgan State running back Chad Simpson and Towson linebacker Brian Bradford have been named to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision coaches' All-America team. Both were named to the first team by the American Football Coaches Association. Simpson, a senior, led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with 1,405 rushing yards, setting a single-season record at Morgan. He also led the MEAC in scoring with 90 points and ranked second in all-purpose yards, averaging 161.8 per game.

If McDonald's or any other company got only one out of every four orders right, the place would be empty the next day. Not the Bowl Championship Series. Business has never been better. The people in charge have more money to throw around, more of their pals at the chambers of commerce are sharing in the take and their TV partner couldn't be happier, largely because the suckers who pay the freight by tuning in to games aren't going anywhere. Since hijacking the game's postseason in 1998 with the promise of matching No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the title game, the BCS has delivered exactly twice.