Triple Threat

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - When Tennessee Titans receiver Chris Sanders sees Derrick Mason in the huddle with his mouth wide-open, he gives him the following piece of advice. "I tell him go get a cup of Gatorade," Sanders said. "Then he will go get that cup of Gatorade and be back to D-mase." It seems Gatorade and taking a couple of offensive plays off rejuvenates Mason. But who could blame Mason if he gets a little winded during games? As ridiculous a notion that someone other than Pro Bowl running back Eddie George could be the team's most valuable player, Mason's versatility gives him a case this season.

As Salisbury State's Suzy McCulloch ran toward the finish line, her victory in a recent cross country race a foregone conclusion, an old acquaintance confirmed his astonishment.Dr. Charles Brown, UMBC's athletic director and youth sports coach to McCulloch's older sister, could only say, "I wish I'd known she was a runner."Until recently, she hadn't been.But McCulloch, in her second season at Salisbury, is much more than that. She's also a swimmer and a cyclist who aspires to represent the United States in the 2004 Olympics as a triathlete.

It has been more than three decades since Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Carl Yastrzemski won back-to-back Triple Crowns in 1966 and '67, and that is no accident. In a sport that seems to become more specialized by the day, the likelihood of one player winning the home run title, the batting title and the RBI title in the same year has diminished considerably since Yastrzemski led the Boston Red Sox into the World Series with a .326 average, 44 homers and 121 RBIs. Cleveland Indians outfielder Manny Ramirez came the closest last year, ranking in the top five in each category in the American League.

River Hill lacrosse coach Keith Gonsouland knew senior Daniel Hostetler was special after playing a one-on-one basketball game against him when Hostetler was an eighth-grader. "Even though I was bigger and stronger than him, he played so hard," Gonsouland recalled. "As I remember, he fouled me every time I posted up. That impressed me, because he kept coming at me and didn't quit. That desire to compete is what makes him exceptional and sets him apart in all of the sports that he plays."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Nick Zito and Tim Ritchey hold daily news conferences at predetermined times outside their barns at Churchill Downs. The question-and-answer sessions attract dozens of media members -- in Zito's case maybe 100. Zito trains five Derby horses, including Bellamy Road, the favorite. Ritchey trains Afleet Alex, one of the favorites. Overlooked in the media scramble is Todd Pletcher, trainer of three Derby entrants, including Bandini, impressive winner of the Blue Grass Stakes.

Gary Baxter was given a full plate at Ravens' training camp, so the second-round draft choice was fed up with four days of inactivity last week. Baxter was a fine cornerback for some awful Baylor teams, and the Ravens made him Rod Woodson's heir apparent at free safety when they selected him with the 62nd overall pick in April. Besides beginning his education at that spot, he is supposed to hold down a position on the kickoff coverage unit and challenge for the nickel back position, but his development was delayed by a strained hamstring on Wednesday.

Mandy Schroeder always enjoyed playing field hockey, but it was lacrosse that touched her heart. Until now."This year has been so exciting," said the Hammond senior. "The team has come together so much; it's been a really fun year. We're all very positive, and that gives us a whole new outlook on the season."And so far, the season has gone very well. At 3-0-1, the Golden Bears are the only public high school field hockey team unbeaten in Howard County."We have a lot of skill, and I think playing together for all these years has brought us together," said Schroeder, one of eight senior starters.

The Katherine Heigl- Ashton Kutcher action comedy "Killers" has raised eyebrows because the studio that produced and distributes it, Lionsgate, chose to open it without advance critics' screenings. A "cold opening" is a rarity for a big-star, big-budget, early-summer release. But Casey Wilson, who plays Heigl's "frenemy," saw the film on Tuesday and swears it's "a throwback" in a good way. "It's part caper, part all-out wild comedy, part romance," says Wilson, "kind of like 'Romancing the Stone,' though of course the plot is very different."

WASHINGTON - Ernie Grunfeld traces the success of the Washington Wizards this season back to opening night in Memphis. Against a team that was the biggest surprise of the NBA a year ago, the Wizards played without three starters, fell behind by 18 points - and won. "It showed that we were going to compete," Grunfeld, in his second season as the team's president of basketball operations, said recently. The first of a league-high 10 victories coming back from double-digit deficits was more than the impetus for the franchise's best record at the All-Star break in 25 years.