Valley Forge

John Bunch, a 300-pound sophomore center for Lincoln University, used his 7-foot-2 1/2 height to block 18 shots against Valley Forge Christian College 10 days ago in a game that appears to be headed for the NCAA record books. The performance by the former Randallstown High basketball player should soon be documented by the NCAA as an all-time single-game record for all three divisions. Lincoln (Pa.) is a Division III school located 60 miles north of Baltimore. Valley Forge is a Division II school.

WHITE CHRISTMAS? "Bah, humbug," say 63 percent of Americans polled by ABC News and Money magazine this month.This takes note of a significant trend. Americans increasingly are turning away from the element -- snow -- that is most responsible for the creation of the United States and its bedrock values.The good old U. S. of A. was created by the Revolutionary War. Few Americans know much about the war. It has never been as popular with the public as the Civil War. But ask the average American to name some important moment in the Revolutionary War and you will probably get "Valley Forge" or "Washington Crossing the Delaware."

PARISHIONERS OF St. John the Evangelist Church may congratulate Barbara Erakko Taylor, who won first place in world mission news coverage from the Archbishop Edward T. O'Meara Awards Committee for "The Struggle for Clean Water," an article about Honduras and Nicaragua.The judges commented: "Taylor's words capture the strength and courage of the people of these two nations as they journey, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services, toward forming communities of faith, hope and service."Taylor also was a finalist in the 1997 Eileen Egan Awards program, which honors writers who educate readers about issues in Third World countries by reporting solutions and not just problems.

Valley Forge, Pa. -- It began five or six years ago: Barbara Lande can't say exactly when. The pastime became a passion, the diverted now possessed. In this, she was not alone.In a hotel ballroom the knitters sat, a new breed of conventioneer, packing their woolly desires in canvas totes, wicker baskets and quilted bags resting at their feet. Many came to share their own personal stories and the techniques they have relied on. Most hoped to learn from the experts and specialists, each similarly hooked -- by a ball of yarn and a pair of needles.

Garrison Forest's polo team earlier this month became the first all-female team to capture the United States Polo Association's national interscholastic championship since the tournament began in 1928.The Grizzlies have won seven straight women's national interscholastic titles but had never reached the final of the overall national tournament, which includes all-male and co-ed teams.Melissa Riggs was selected to the four-player All-Star Team after the March 8 final at the University of Virginia.

COLLEGE PARK - Chris Downs shifted nervously in his seat, as members of the media converged on him, wishing to hear the thoughts of a football player so unaccustomed to such recognition. Downs is a fifth-year senior tailback who, until last week's 44-14 rout of visiting Akron, had been a stranger to followers of the Maryland Terrapins. Downs had worked in obscurity since coming to College Park two years ago, by way of Valley Forge (Pa.) Military Academy and College. And in one week, while veteran Bruce Perry rehabilitated an injured groin muscle, and while he and the rest of Maryland's running-back-by-committee - sophomore Jason Crawford and second-year freshman Mario Merrills - fought for position on the Terps' depth chart, Downs suddenly became the odd man in. Before getting his first start as a Terp, before rushing for 58 yards on 12 carries and scoring his first Division I touchdown, before sparking Maryland to that blowout victory, Downs had been living anonymously.

As Robert A. Simpson settles into his new position as chief operating officer of Annapolis-based Forensic Technologies International, he says he is determined to search out the best in services and supplies for the rapidly growing litigation support firm."

No amount of practice or conditioning could have prepared running back Rob Utz for the emotional blow he and the rest of the Loyola High football family absorbed two months ago. In the weeks since teammate Van Brooks suffered a spinal cord injury in a game against Georgetown Prep, however, Utz said the Dons have at least come to terms with the ordeal. "I think definitely we've bonded as a team, because if we didn't our season would have turned downhill," Utz said. "We had to come together and say, `Look, this is what happened, but we have to be strong together, be strong for Van and continue our season.

The Rev. John A. Mote's life of conscience, compassion and commitment would seem beyond reproach. But a single word -- "poor" -- scrawled on an "other than honorable" Army discharge nearly 56 years ago still echoes in his memory like a false alarm struck only this morning. "Character ... Poor." It's a description probably no one has ever used to describe Mote except the U.S. Army. Mote is 82 now, and the label still stings. He's a Methodist clergyman who only really retired a couple of years ago. He served mostly at impoverished inner-city churches in Baltimore and Washington.

Now Delaware may get to feel consumers' pain Jay Hancock's column "Plan to buy MBNA may deliver a big blow to tiny Delaware" (July 6) accurately points out the problems that arise when a state changes its rules to lure a big corporation and the accompanying jobs. In Delaware's case, the changes in state law offered up on a silver platter to MBNA (the lifting of the limits on interest rates and fees charged to credit card customers) resulted in a nonstop, no-limit assault on consumers.