Tomorrow S Game

The puck is the essential piece of any hockey game, yet it is largely invisible to most television viewers because of its tiny size.All that could change thanks to Fox, the American hockey rights holder, which unveils "FoxTrax," a computer-enhanced puck on tomorrow's NHL All-Star Game telecast from Boston (Channel 45, 8 p.m.).The enhancement, which makes the puck glow during regular play and emits a comet trail for faster velocities, is one of the biggest technological advances to come to sports recently.

Last week: Overall: Today's games Ravens at Bengals Dolphins at Rams Panthers at Packers Giants at Redskins 49ers at Bills Colts at Browns Saints at Buccaneers Falcons at Chargers Broncos at Jets Chiefs at Raiders Steelers at Patriots Bears at Vikings Tomorrow's game Jaguars at Texans Peter Schmuck 11-5 117-58-1 Ravens Dolphins Packers Giants Bills Colts Saints Chargers Jets Raiders Patriots Vikings Texans Edward Lee...

Brace yourself, Baltimore. Tomorrow you get your first taste of downtown ballpark traffic.Not only is the Orioles' 3:05 p.m. exhibition game against the New York Mets a trial run for Oriole Park at Camden Yards, but it's also a test to see how the downtown area will handle Monday's Opening Day traffic.The Orioles have deliberately sold only 32,000 tickets for tomorrow's game -- two-thirds of the stadium's 48,000-seat capacity -- to give themselves and those responsible for controlling traffic a little breathing room.

Michael Vick is back in Virginia to plead guilty to state dogfighting charges, a move he hopes will expedite his return to society - and pro football. The quarterback is being held in protective custody at the Hopewell Regional Jail, superintendent Darnley Hodge said yesterday. Vick arrived Thursday from the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., where he's serving a 23-month sentence for a dogfighting conviction. Vick, 28, is due to appear Tuesday in Surry County Circuit Court, where he's expected to plead guilty to two felony counts in a deal with prosecutors that calls for a suspended sentence and probation.

HAS THE TIME come for Navy and Notre Dame to end their 63-year-old football rivalry? Of course it has -- and it's sad to have to admit that, if you can remember their storied games of the past. The Middies haven't beaten the Irish since '63. Notre Dame is a five-touchdown favorite in tomorrow's game at the Meadowlands."I've seen bigger upsets and so have you," says Navy coach George Chaump. Sorry, George, but I haven't. Navy would go on playing ND forever if only because that and the Army games are its big paydays.

With yesterday's game tied 1-1 and time running out, Hammond coach Gay Petrlik watched her team squander a half dozen scoring opportunities against Mount Hebron. Then, she called a timeout.The Bears responded with the game-winning goal less than a minute later.Jenny Pollock scored on a rebound off the pads of Vikings keeper Jen Brooks with 5:35 remaining to give the host Bears a 2-1 victory in a Howard County league game.The victory preserved a 4-0 league record for the Bears (6-2 overall)

Linebacker Carl Banks, who started the first 13 games of the season, became the latest victim of the Washington Redskins' injury jinx when he was placed on the inactive list for tomorrow's game against the Atlanta Falcons with a groin injury.Banks will be replaced by Monte Coleman.Only three defensive players -- cornerback Darrell Green, linebacker Kurt Gouveia and safety Brad Edwards -- have started every game.Offensive lineman Paul Siever, safety Darryl Morrison and tight end Terry Orr also were placed on the inactive list.

LANDOVER -- Three ties in three games would be enough to put anyone to sleep. So when Washington Capitals coach Jim Schoenfeld nearly collapsed into a chair and yawned after a 1-1 tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning, it was understandable.But Schoenfeld wasn't really bored by what he saw yesterday.The coach blamed his sleepiness on cold medicine and then went on to say how this tie, combined with a 5-5 standoff with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and a 3-3 tie with the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, was a good sign for his team.

Washington Bullets forward Chris Webber, who strained his left shoulder Friday, was experiencing soreness yesterday and may not be ready for tomorrow's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.Webber, who has dislocated the shoulder twice, went through several hours of physical therapy with Bullets trainer Kevin Johnson yesterday afternoon."We went through some strengthening exercises testing his range of motion, and used some ice and ultrasound," Johnson said. "We should know some more [today]

Think the kids at Turner didn't catch lightning in a bottle with the return of Magic Johnson to the NBA and to the Los Angeles Lakers?Think again. Tuesday night's Lakers-Golden State Warriors clash drew a 4.4 cable rating, making it not only the highest-rated regular-season NBA game of the season on TNT, but also the highest-rated late-night regular-season game ever on Turner cable in the 12 years it has been broadcasting the sport.The Lakers game was seen in 2.9 million homes, eclipsing the audience for its lead-in, the Chicago-Houston contest, which was seen in 2.85 million homes.

BEIJING - The players can almost feel it now, dangling in front of their chests. Their prizes won't weigh too much, but it won't be that slight tug of the neck that they'll notice most. The gold medals will feel as light as a feather, in fact, because the 5-ton burden that U.S. basketball players have been carrying on their shoulders for a half-dozen years is almost gone. Just one game separates Team USA from the medal stand. Tomorrow's gold-medal game feels like somewhat of a formality.

Putting this week's sports media notes into focus while realizing that the news of ESPN/ABC's plan to televise the Winter X Games in high definition probably isn't the nudge that is going to put an HD television in the Frager household: Once upon a time - like when ESPN used to carry it - you wouldn't go 43 minutes into a SportsCenter without a mention of the NHL when it was in season. But such was the case Wednesday night, when that was the amount of time that went by on the late show before the first hockey highlights.

Auto racing NASCAR -- Penalized Nextel Cup's Robby Gordon 25 driver points and 25 owner points, and fined crew chief Gene Nead $25,000 and placed him on probation until Dec. 31 for rule infractions found during July 5 inspection. Baseball ANGELS -- Activated P Justin Speier from 15-day DL. Placed P Chris Resop on 15-day DL. BRAVES -- Placed P Wilfredo Ledezma on restricted list. Recalled P Jose Ascanio from Double-A Mississippi. CUBS -- Recalled C Geovany Soto from Triple-A Iowa. Optioned OF Felix Pie to Iowa.

On the campuses of Ohio State and Michigan, tomorrow's matchup between the top-ranked Buckeyes and the No. 2 Wolverines is merely the latest installment of what both coaches called this week "the greatest rivalry in college football." On several other campuses, tomorrow's game in Columbus between a pair of 11-0 teams might be viewed as a quasi-semifinal to this season's Bowl Championship Series national championship or, depending how tightly it's contested, a prelude to the biggest debate this perennially controversial process has seen.

Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe was prepared to give his players the speech about how their in-state game at North Carolina tomorrow would be emotionally charged because of the familiarity between the two homegrown rosters. What he didn't expect was the added intangible of the Tar Heels playing for a lame-duck coach. John Bunting was fired in the midst of a 1-6 season that includes no wins against an Atlantic Coast Conference or Division I-A opponent. The move, effective after this season, was announced Sunday night, just a few days after an embarrassing 23-0 loss to Virginia on national television.

When the Ravens meet the San Diego Chargers tomorrow at M&T Bank Stadium, it will be like looking in the mirror. The similarities are almost scary. Both teams like to run the ball and want their quarterbacks to effectively manage the game. Both have top running backs, tight ends, big-name linebackers and a solid, veteran receiver on the outside. San Diego's defense is ranked No. 1, the Ravens' is ranked No. 2. Anything else? Both teams are looking to make a statement in tomorrow's game.

COLLEGE PARK -- Steve Francis has performed numerous feats of magic for the Maryland Terrapins in just 14 games. A highlight reel of his best drives and dunks is evidence of that.Now it's time to see if he can perform the kind of magic the Terps and their fans really want. It's time to see if he can lead the Terps to new heights in college basketball's order.Can they draw even with Duke? Pass North Carolina? Win the ACC tournament? Give Gary Williams his first trip to the Elite Eight or (gasp)

Will it be Samari Rolle or Chris McAlister? That's the big question heading into tomorrow's game as the Ravens host the Oakland Raiders at M&T Bank Stadium. The Raiders have one of the game's best receivers in Randy Moss, and it will be interesting to see which cornerback, McAlister or Rolle, draws the assignment of covering Moss. But that's actually the No. 2 key to stopping the Raiders. Raiders @Ravens Tomorrow, 1 p.m., Ch. 13, 97.9 FM Line: Ravens by 12

Top-ranked Calvert Hall stretched its winning streak to 35 games by picking up two wins at yesterday's Riverdale Baptist tournament in Upper Marlboro. In the first game against St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School of Virginia, the Cardinals had a tough time with the Saints as they trailed late in the game. Cardinal reliever Jesse Cunningham came in at the top of the sixth, picked off two Saints base runners and added a strikeout. Nick Wojnowski drove in two runs with a double in the seventh inning as the Cardinals walked off with an 8-7 win. In the second game, Calvert Hall took on Riverdale Baptist and had a much more dominant performance, leading from the start to take an 11-2 victory.