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Still empty-handed in their efforts to improve a stagnant offense, the Orioles continued to explore trade options yesterday, as another one of their free-agent targets signed elsewhere. The San Francisco Giants signed switch-hitting outfielder Jose Cruz to a one-year, $2.8 million contract with an option for 2004, outbidding the Orioles, who offered closer to $2 million. Cruz joined Hideki Matsui (New York Yankees), Cliff Floyd (New York Mets) and Ivan Rodriguez (Florida Marlins) on the list of players who have received offers from the Orioles but signed elsewhere this offseason.

Frustrated and lacking answers, Navy basketball coach Don DeVoe was uncharacteristically blunt when asked to describe his team after yesterday's 53-48 loss to Colgate. "We were just absolutely pitiful today," DeVoe said after watching his team turn the ball over 27 times. "We did a miserable job taking care of the basketball today. This is just the pits." Things didn't go well early for Navy, as Colgate opened the game with a 16-4 run and hit eight of its first 11 shots from the floor.

A 50-year-old woman was attacked and cut on the hand after she unloaded groceries into her home yesterday morning in a Towson neighborhood. The incident occurred about 10:45 a.m. in the 500 block of Sussex Road in the Wiltondale section of Towson, police said. A man with a knife entered the home near York Road shortly after the woman unloaded the groceries, police said. A struggle between the two ended with the victim suffering a cut on her hand, police said. The suspect fled the home and was seen leaving in a small, older-model maroon sedan, police said.

Just 13 months after capturing the Super Bowl, the Ravens' fire sale officially went into full swing yesterday. Now, one burning question remains: Will maligned quarterback Elvis Grbac be returning to the Ravens? To fit under the league-mandated $71.1 million salary cap by Friday's deadline, the Ravens sliced $20 million off their roster yesterday by announcing they will release six starters: wide-out Qadry Ismail and tight end Shannon Sharpe, the team's two leading receivers last season; safety Rod Woodson; defensive end Rob Burnett; offensive lineman Kipp Vickers; and fullback Sam Gash.

BOSTON - The major-league draft typically represents a relatively minor sideshow within baseball's winter meetings. For the Orioles this year, it's a potential disaster. Forced to expose several former premium draft picks because of a roster crunch created by last season's rash of injuries as well as several hasty promotions, the Orioles find themselves in the position of a 98-loss team losing players in return for almost no compensation. The Orioles are expected to lose outfielder Keith Reed, ranked last year as the team's No. 1 prospect by Baseball America, while also risking outfielder Darnell McDonald, the club's first-round selection in the 1997 draft.

Michelle McDonagh just wants to play. "I don't mind behind the DH," said the Atholton junior outfielder. "I like whacking the ball." In the role of designated hitter yesterday, McDonagh broke a tie score with two outs in the fifth inning, whacking a bases-loaded triple to send the third-ranked Raiders to a 7-3 win over visiting River Hill. The victory broke River Hill's three-game winning streak against Atholton that began last season. "We finally did it," said Atholton senior catcher Sarah Costa, whose team was beaten, 1-0, by the Hawks earlier this season.

WASHINGTON - Michael Jordan placed his most affirmative stamp to date since becoming the president of basketball operations of the Washington Wizards franchise a year ago, engineering an eight-player trade with the Dallas Mavericks, the biggest deal on the last day of trades in the NBA this season. The Wizards packaged forward Juwan Howard along with centers Calvin Booth and Obinna Ekezie to Dallas for forwards Christian Laettner, Loy Vaught and Etan Thomas and guards Courtney Alexander and Hubert Davis.

When should you sell a stock? "Picking winners on Wall Street is only half of stock market success," says Black Enterprise, February. "You must know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. It's a matter of timing." The article gives reasons for selling: "Cash concerns: major outlays, like paying tuition bills, buying a home, car, etc. "Loss of enthusiasm. Even the most exciting stocks lose luster over time. If you find better opportunities, move on. "Fear of heights. `Let your winners run' is another stock market maxim, but at some point you may feel that the race is about over.

WASHINGTON - Washington Wizards coach Leonard Hamilton slumped down in a chair in the interview room of the MCI Center after last night's 103-89 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, with the weight of the team's nine-game losing streak nailing him to the seat. When the media finally arrived to ask about the team's latest lethargic performance, Hamilton mustered a wan smile, and allowed that the explanation behind last night's game was just like so many before in the team's season of misery. "I'm starting to sound like a broken record.