Valparaiso

Schools that have clinched automatic bids to the NCAA basketball tournaments: School Conference Men Appalachian State Southern Butler Mid. Coll. C. Conn. State Northeast Creighton Mo. Valley Gonzaga West Coast Iona MAAC Lafayette Patriot La.-Lafayette Sun Belt N.C.-Wilmington Colonial Penn Ivy Samford Trans America Ball State MAC SE Missouri State Ohio Valley Valparaiso Mid-Continent Winthrop Big South Women Connecticut Big East Dartmouth Ivy Duke Atlantic Coast Furman Southern Kent Mid-American Liberty Big South Oregon Pacific Purdue Big Ten St. Francis, Pa. Northeast St. Peter's MAAC San Diego West Coast Tennessee SEC Tennessee Tech Ohio Valley Tulane Conf.

TODAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS M. bask. Valparaiso@Detroit Mercy ESPNU 7 Loyola@Fairfield ESPNU 9 UC Davis@UC Santa Barbara ESPNU 11 NBA Orlando@Washington CSN 7 Boston@Atlanta ESPN 8 Cleveland@Denver ESPN 10:30 Boxing Friday Night Fights ...

- A series of strong aftershocks from last month's devastating quake rocked Chile on Thursday as a new president was sworn into office. The strongest aftershock, with a magnitude of 6.9, was nearly as strong as the quake that devastated Haiti's capital on Jan. 12. The Chilean navy issued a tsunami warning while the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the aftershocks were too small to cause dangerous waves beyond Chile's central coast. President Sebastian Pinera was inaugurated at a congressional building in coastal Valparaiso before the building was evacuated as a precaution.

South Regional Kent State has won 17 straight coming into the NCAA tournament, and a senior class led by guard Trevor Huffman has played in the tournament twice, including a victory last year over Indiana. East Regional Valparaiso's march to the Sweet 16 four years ago helped bring in this year's group of seniors, and Lubos Barton has picked up where Bryce Drew left off, being named the Mid-Continent's top player the past two years. Midwest Regional Western Kentucky started the season by beating Kentucky and have won their past 18 straight behind 7-foot-1 Chris Marcus, a future NBA lottery pick.

Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert ended slumps that coincided with No. 17 Missouri's three-game losing streak, combining for 40 points in a 74-47 victory over visiting Coppin State last night. Rush, a preseason All-American, shot 29 percent and Gilbert shot 23 during the losing streak, which followed nine straight Missouri (10-3) victories to open the season. Rush was 5-for-9 from three-point range. Gilbert hit his first three shots, all three-pointers. The duo averaged a combined 39.9 points over the first nine games and 24 over the last three.

PointsRashod Johnson, W. Michigan 32Lee Nailon, TCU 32Saddi Washington, W. Michigan 24Roderick Blakney, S.C. State 23Adrian Peterson, Okla. State 23ReboundsMark Madsen, Stanford 17Tyrone Weeks, UMass. 16Corey Louis, Fla. State 13Desmond Mason, Okla. State 13Isaac Spencer, Murray St. 12AssistsRoderick Blakney, S.C. State 10Kerry Thompson, Fla. State 9Chad Austin, Purdue 9Bryce Drew, Valparaiso 8Jeff Rogers, Butler 8Biggest upsetTake your pick: either No. 13 Valparaiso or No. 11 Western Michigan.

Albert T. ReittererKnitting device technicianAlbert T. Reitterer, a Baltimore native who retired about a year ago as a knitting machine technician, died Wednesday of heart failure at a hospital in Charlotte, N.C. He was 66.The resident of Mooresville, N.C., had worked since 1980 for Monarch Knitting Co. in Charlotte. For many years before that, he had worked for slipcover maker Comfy Manufacturing Co., first in Baltimore and later in the Carolinas.Mr. Reitterer was a graduate of Polytechnic Institute and a member of Moose International.

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Two Porter County women share the same name. One, Sandra K. Childress, is wanted by police. But the other Sandra K. Childress was arrested."

GEORGE C. SHOREY, JR. age 64, of Niceville, Fl, passed away August 8, 2003. He was born in Baltimore, MD to George and Nellie Shorey. He retired as a SSGT USAF after 22 years and four tours in Vietnam. He went on to become a boat captain for Tidewater Marine in Louisiana. George is survived by his loving wife of 42 years, Marion F. Shorey. He is also survived by his five daughters, Tami Schipper of Freeport, Fl, Kathy Mitchell of DeFuniak Springs, Fl, Cheryl Andrews of Shalimar, Fl, Mary Johnson of Valparaiso, Fl and Melanie Shorey of Shalimar, Fl; grandchildren Christopher Shorey, Tabitha Schipper, Jennifer Weaver, Natasha Mitchell, Samatha Shorey and Crysta Weaver.

"OUR RECORDS may not be the longest, but our spirit is ever the strongest " So goes the fight song for Baltimore's Forest Park High School. Never were those words truer than over the weekend, when the Forester basketball team capped a Cinderella performance by winning the state's Class 1A championship.Not bad for a team that went 2-15 in the regular season against such city powerhouses as City, Douglass and Dunbar. The Foresters kept the games close; they just didn't have the manpower to compete against bigger schools.