Tonight S Game

It's been nearly four months since a 17-year-old Fairfax, Va., girl accused four members of the Washington Capitals of sexual assault in the back of a limousine outside of a bar in Georgetown.Six weeks after the initial media blitz on the four suspects -- Scott Stevens, Geoff Courtnall, Dino Ciccarelli and Neil Sheehy -- a grand jury decided not to pursue the case.There was no prosecution, no trial, no jury, no case.But unlike Stevens and Courtnall, who have moved on to the St. Louis Blues, Sheehy and Ciccarelli might be forced to face a different kind of trial.

ATLANTA - There's a reason Greivis Vasquez will take the court at the Georgia Dome tonight determined to scratch, claw and sweat his way through 40 minutes. There's a reason they'll have to drag him off the hardwood if the scoreboard isn't tilting in Maryland's favor when the final buzzer sounds. There's a reason he vows to play tonight's game against North Carolina State as though it's the last time he'll ever wear a Maryland jersey. That reason? "It could be," Vasquez said yesterday.

As the Green Bay Packers-Dallas Cowboys game nears and more people realize they're not going to be able to see tonight's game on their home TV because it's being broadcast on NFL Network, ire is rising. In the local areas, meaning Dallas-Fort Worth and Green Bay-Milwaukee, the games also must be carried on over-the-air channels. But many regions of Texas and Wisconsin that certainly consider the Cowboys and Packers their home team are being shut out - unless, of course, they have satellite or some upgraded cable package.

For all the turmoil that has swirled around the Terps this season, for all the criticism leveled at coach Gary Williams, it now comes down to simple math. The equation is so basic, even I can do it, and I failed math twice in college. Here it is: Win one more game, tonight's game, and you're in the NCAA tournament. If Maryland finishes with a .500 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference - and a win against Wake Forest would accomplish that goal - there is simply no way the NCAA selection committee can keep the Terps out of the Big Dance, regardless of what happens in the ACC tournament.

Around the perimeter* BNBL NORTH REVISITED: This group won't produce another first-round NBA draft choice, but Northeastern coach Karl Fogel believes a band of Baltimoreans can take the Huskies back to the NCAA tournament.Northeastern made four straight trips to the NCAAs from 1984-87, with Dunbar's Reggie Lewis being the focus before moving a few miles to the Celtics. Lake Clifton's Kevin McDuffie and Dunbar's Derrick Lewis added to the Baltimore flavor in Boston in the late 1980s, and it's obvious that Fogel has maintained his connections with Lakers coach Charlie Moore.

CLEVELAND -- The Orioles cried foul last night, and this time they meant it literally.The Cleveland Indians continued their miracle march toward the World Series when Marquis Grissom scored on a blown suicide squeeze play in the 12th inning to give them a 2-1 victory over the Orioles in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Jacobs Field.Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel failed to lay down the sacrifice bunt -- missed the pitch completely, according to umpire John Hirschbeck -- and the ball deflected off the glove of Orioles catcher Lenny Webster, allowing Grissom to sprint home from third and put the Indians up, two games to one, in the best-of-seven playoff.

Chuck Jacobs, coach of Harford County champion Churchville, watched the Aberdeen entry struggle in last year's Cal Ripken World Series and learned from it. Believing that Aberdeen was at a disadvanage because of a lack of games played, Jacobs knew that for his team to get a shot at the 12-and-under tournament and to be competitive, it meant "playing a lot of games this summer." The Curve played in and won both the Harford County and Baltimore County travel leagues, in addition to the Cal Ripken Tournament for the District 13 title and a berth to the World Series.

Baseball's upended schedule has reversed the fortunes of thousands of Orioles fans. Some, who had expected to attend Cal Ripken's last home game tonight, won't. Others who had figured to see a meaningless late-season game will instead witness his final bows. In New York, what was supposed to be the All-Star's last appearance in uniform becomes merely another stop in his goodbye tour. Some people who had planned to attend the sold-out, Sept. 30 game at Yankee Stadium have instead donated their tickets to charities.

Every time the Orioles turn a corner it seems they discover another negative streak.The most recent is one they'll have to break this weekend if they harbor any notion of overtaking the Cleveland Indians for fourth place in the AL East. With a two-game cushion over the Orioles, the Indians most likely would secure their position by splitting the four-game series, and recent history indicates that should be no problem.The Orioles need three wins to draw even with the Indians and four to move ahead of them.

VS. SACRAMENTO KINGS* WHEN: Tonight, 7:35.* WHERE: Capital Centre.* TV/RADIO: HTS; WTOP-AM 1500.* OUTLOOK: After Friday's heartbreaking loss to Philadelphia and Saturday's drubbing by Boston, Sacramento (0-7) looks made to order for the Bullets (2-6). The Kings are the NBA's last winless team, and for a very good reason: They don't score. They average 86.4 points per game, a full 11 points below the next lowest team, Orlando, and 52 points (that's right, 52) behind Denver, the most offensive team in the league.

1 Too late to overturn?: The NFL Network's NFL Replay presents the Ravens-Steelers game in its 90-minute format (9:30 p.m.), which means you get more quickly to the part where Santonio Holmes doesn't score. 2 West meets East: No. 3 Stanford travels to No. 8 Duke for a titanic women's college basketball matchup (7:30 p.m., ESPN). 3 What channel is that?: The Capitals (left) get the Versus treatment for tonight's game (7) at the Islanders. 4 Talking SmackDown: See the Hardy Boys - new WWE champion Jeff Hardy and brother Matt - at the SmackDown/ECW taping at 1st Mariner Arena (6:45 p.m.)

Jaguars (4-7) @Texans (4-7) TIME, TV: : 8:30, ESPN LINE: : Texans by 3 FANTASY FACTOR: : Jacksonville QB David Garrard has completed 68.2 percent of his passes with three TDs and no interceptions in his past two games against Houston. .... Texans WR Andre Johnson has four 100-yard receiving games (131.8-yard average) at home this season. THE BUZZ: : The Texans are hosting their first Monday Night Football game in franchise history and the first in Houston since 1994. There's nothing to party about, though.

1 A good cause: As part of the Welcome Back Veterans program, the Orioles are donating half of the proceeds from group and single-game tickets to tonight's game against the Indians (7:05). 2 Their 'eh' game: Anybody notice how well the Blue Jays have been playing? The White Sox sure have, and they play again tonight in Chicago at 8:11. 3 Frankly, Scarlet ... : North Carolina is at Rutgers for a 7:30 p.m. ESPN football game. Invite Ravens rookie Ray Rice (left) over to the house to watch his Scarlet Knights.

Why? Why should the Ravens play their starters for more than a quarter tonight and jeopardize their seasons by inviting injury? Why should the Ravens sacrifice the entire regular season just to see whether their offense can score points and churn out yards against the Falcons' backups and training camp fodder? Some of the Atlanta players won't even be in the league after Saturday. They might try to make a run at a few of the Ravens' injured starters. That's a temptation the Ravens can squash.

Preseason NFL games aren't usually worth the price of admission, except for the third one. That's because you can get a realistic glimpse into your team's future. After nearly four weeks and two preseason games, we all have an idea about the Ravens in 2008, and it's not a pretty picture. But more can come into focus tonight when the Ravens play the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. Most starters will play about three quarters before going into hibernation until the regular season starts Sept.

It's only December, and there are 37 games to play.But the Baltimore Blast players already are talking about a two-team race for the Major Soccer League Eastern Division championship."