Uniform

SECRETARY OF Defense Dick Cheney says he doesn't have a problem if a high-level civilian in the Pentagon is gay -- and he shouldn't. That should be the standard for uniformed personnel, too -- yet all the armed forces continue to ban homosexuals in uniform. The Persian Gulf war exposed the absurdity of this policy. The services ought to give it up.Cheney defended the traditional military position Sunday on "This Week with David Brinkley," but he didn't sound as though his heart was in it. He dismissed the fear that gays pose security risks as "a bit of an old chestnut."

Apparently the "new approach" that Washington Bullets owner Abe Pollin has suggested John Nash take in contract talks with Juwan Howard will begin next week. Nash, the team's general manager, retreated to his Philadelphia home yesterday.Perhaps Nash will take a few days to plot his strategy to get the team's first-round pick into uniform in time for the team's opening game against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 4.Nash, with his travels, was unavailable for comment yesterday. Howard's agent, David Falk, remained elusive -- for the second day in a row he did not return phone calls by The Sun to his office.

Carroll County Sheriff John Brown, who made headlines last year when he announced he would house prisoners in tents to ease jail crowding, has caught the attention of judges and the public defender's office -- this time by issuing traditional prison-striped outfits to inmates.The new county jail uniform -- a black-and-white jumpsuit with a large red "P" emblazoned on the back -- might be good for Carroll County Detention Center security, but defense attorney Daniel Shemer says the garb could be prejudicial if inmates are forced to wear it to court.

Former Oriole Damon Buford returned to Camden Yards for the first time in a Red Sox uniform this series and said the feel of returning to the place where he once was a top prospect has lost its luster."

On the day when the really big news in major-league baseball was the Yankees' signing of Johnny Damon - just the latest big-name player to jump for big bucks from one big-payroll team to another - the game lost a man who proudly put in 37 seasons with the same club. Elrod Hendricks, who died Wednesday just a day shy of 65, was a true rarity, and not just because, in his playing days, he was a left-handed-hitting catcher who knew how to handle pitchers. He was an old-school gentleman who, as the Orioles' bullpen coach since 1977, set a standard for loyalty unlikely to be matched in the game today.

Six days before Richie Ashburn entered the Hall of Fame, his Phillies record for lowest uniform number worn while homering (1) was broken. The villain: Omar Olivares, who hit the majors' first pinch homer by a pitcher since 1990. Olivares wears OO, his initials. Other uniform numbers and how they add up on the creativity scale:Players .. .. .. .. .. .. CommentsCSid Fernandez/Up .. .. .. 50. Is native of Hawaii, the 50th state... .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. Fifty also is number of first-inning pitches.

After 36 years, it appears that the city's name will be returning to the Baltimore Orioles' road uniforms. The Orioles are in the process of filing the required paperwork with Major League Baseball to add "Baltimore" to their road jerseys, replacing the nickname of the club that has been displayed on the away uniforms since 1973, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. The uniform change will be in effect for the 2009 season. Several Orioles officials declined to comment the past couple of days when asked about the situation.

SATURDAY'S parade down Main Street here in Pine Bluff, Ark., got me thinking -- about the troops, about parades, about the spirit of the time and about the spirit of other times.My father was one of those merchants who put their children in their advertisements. It couldn't have been because I was cute. Maybe it was a way of personalizing the various businesses he went through all at the same modest location on Texas Avenue in Shreveport: secondhand shoes and shoe repair, dry goods, furniture on easy credit terms -- Ben Greenberg was a man of successive enthusiasms.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The uniform fit this time.Glenn Davis pulled it on and made some minor adjustments, all the while talking about the first time he had dressed out for the Baltimore Orioles.The first time was 12 years ago, when Davis was a top high school prospect and the Orioles chose him in the 31st round of the 1979 June free-agent draft. He went to the rookie club in Bluefield, W.Va., for a tryout, but the uniform didn't fit very well and -- for the time being -- neither did the Orioles.

A month ago, Diane Green was combing the Internet at her home in Northern Virginia for information about one of her favorite baseball players -- Babe Ruth -- and found a Web site about the museum in Baltimore devoted to the legend. She was all set to pack her family into her car and drive from their home outside Fairfax to Southwest Baltimore, when she decided to delay the visit. The Web site was advertising the museum's annual Babe Ruth birthday party in a few weeks, and she wanted to be there for it. "We wanted to wait and make our first visit here a special one," said Green, before a champagne toast at the museum yesterday.