Versatile

Q: I'm going to our symphony ball this year. It's the social event of the season, and I want to buy a spectacular, colorful outfit. But I also want it to be versatile enough so I can wear it to different functions without looking as if I am always wearing the same thing. Can you recommend an outfit or designer who has really dressy pieces along those lines?A: Italian designer Gianni Versace understands the problem. He tells me "the speed of modern life demands versatile clothes."Mr. Versace says the answer could be a sleeveless dress and jacket.

Over the last couple of weeks, the Ravens have added and retained seven offensive linemen, further complicating what figures to be one of the more competitive -- if not interesting -- position battles in training camp. They drafted Wisconsin tackle Rick Wagner in the fifth round and Ryan Jensen , a tackle from Colorado State University-Pueblo, in the sixth. Immediately after the draft, they agreed to undrafted free agent deals with tackles Jordan Devey (Memphis), Rogers Gaines (Tennessee State)

V is for versatility ... and for vest.The vest has become the new must-have basic staple in any wardrobe. Forget those stiff three-piece suits that almost made the vest obsolete.Say good-bye to the severely cut, menswear-only vest of yesteryear. Today's vests mix '70s menswear with '60s bohemia, and are popular among both men and women."A vest makes an individual statement," said Kristin Flor, co-manager of The Limited at Westlake. "Each one has different patterns, added-on accessories. It's much more versatile."

After more than 100 pitches, the fastball had lost some steam and the breaking ball that baffled batters earlier in the game didn't have the same snap. South River senior pitcher Scott Mitchell, his dirty jersey showing the effects of an already demanding day, took a deep breath as pitching coach Gary Gubbings approached the mound for a second visit in the seventh inning. "Can you get this last guy out?" Gubbings asked as he looked the No. 5 Seahawks' ace in the eyes. Mitchell's response was quick and direct: "I got him. " With two runners on against No. 10 Severna Park in an Anne Arundel County matchup, Mitchell threw a high fastball that Falcons second baseman Danny Fulton swung through for the third strike to end the Seahawks' 2-1 win in early April.

EVEN THOUGH The BoDeans' latest album is titled "Black And White," don't be misled to believe that race is the only issue being addressed."It's not all about colors and whites and blacks," said singer/songwriter Kurt Neumann, whose band appears at Shriver Hall at Johns Hopkins University tonight at 8 p.m. "It's also about religion, men vs. women, old vs. young. It's actually about people, any people, isolating themselves. I have a feeling that people aren't looking out for each other in general, and that's not a good thing."

An artist must be bold to make art in as many ways as does Robert Wirth. He works in both representational and abstract painting, collage, drawing, photography and printmaking (and is an instructor at the Maryland Institute, College of Art as well).There are no prints on view in his current, huge show of 73 works at the Baltimore Life Gallery. But judging by what's here, he's versatile enough to get away with spreading his talent around.Wirth's love is nature, so naturally he makes the landscape his subject.

If Bright Bluford wants a pair of shoes, little stands in her way of getting them.Take her Calvin Klein leopard pumps. Never mind that one is a 7, the other a 7 1/2 and that the store wanted to return them to the designer. Ms. Bluford decided they would be hers. And when it comes to fashion, this 33-year-old actress from East Baltimore usually gets what she wants.Among friends and family, she is known as a "shopping machine," a woman who can recite from memory the dates of sales at department stores in Baltimore, Washington and New York.

There is only one Adalius Thomas. Literally. Final cuts Ravens retain seven cornerbacks, seven running backs. PG 10D

Prince George's Little Theatre's celebration of Stephen Sondheim is a show that fans should catch to expand their knowledge of our nation's foremost living composer. In Side by Side by Sondheim at Bowie Playhouse, director Ron Wilder has assembled a talented cast of singers who he acknowledges are inspired by musical director Mac Fancher. Wilder wisely chose to put pianists Fancher and Sue Breon at stage left, making them part of the action and adding a cozy feel to the musical revue of Sondheim's work.

From baseball's days of yore, we now introduce Rick Short."He is a guy cut out of the old mold, a throwback, a down and dirty player," said Bowie Baysox manager Joe Ferguson. "He plays hard all the time."And wherever he goes, Short hits. His name is beside virtually all the major Frederick Keys batting records; he won a Carolina League batting title in 1997, and he has a career .309 average since signing with the Orioles as a 33rd-round draft selection five years ago.The problem: Where do you play him?

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome is known for his coolness and he seldom gushes about a draft pick. He got a little excited when the team made UCLA offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden the franchise's first draft pick in 1996, but there wasn't much jubilation when the team selected Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs or Chris McAlister. And then came Thursday night. As members of the Ravens' front-office staff walked to the podium at The Castle to talk about first-round pick Matt Elam, the safety out of Florida, Newsome appeared ecstatic, at least for Newsome.

Years before Dennis Pitta emerged as a clutch tight end for the Ravens routinely delivering acrobatic catches, he was an admittedly skinny high school wide receiver and cornerback. Growing up in Moorpark, Calif., Pitta was a 6-foot-4, 185-pound Eagle Scout. He was also the proud owner of ambitious plans that outweighed his developing build. "Everybody aspires to play in the NFL, and I wasn't any different," Pitta said. "I felt like I was a talented player in high school, but I was tall and skinny.

When a noticeably slimmed-down Ray Lewis showed up at Ravens training camp in late July weighing less than he has since his rookie year in 1996, the linebacker had a simple explanation. Throughout his Hall of Fame career, Lewis had watched the power running game gradually get pushed aside for spread offenses with precision passers in the shotgun and four or five nimble receivers - some being tall, athletic, matchup-busting tight ends - dotting the line of scrimmage. "The game is changing," he said.

Rookie utility man Ryan Flaherty started just one game in the club's first 16 games and now has started each of the past four, including in right field Saturday night - the first time he had appeared there as a major leaguer. “I think every day you have to somewhat expect to be in there, and once you're not, then you make changes according to that plan,” said Flaherty, whom the Orioles selected from the Chicago Cubs in December's Rule 5 draft. The Cubs organization wanted to increase the position flexibility of Flaherty, an infielder by trade, so he played 28 games (21 starts)

Much has been made about Dan Duquette's offseason focus of strengthening the Orioles' starting rotation - retooling it with pitchers capable of providing quality innings - but it's in the bullpen where the team's new executive vice president of baseball operations might have made his most notable hauls. In rebuilding a pitching staff that had a major league-worst 4.89 ERA last season, Duquette has assembled a dynamic stable of late-inning relievers, ones who created the spring's most compelling competition down the stretch in Sarasota.

SARASOTA, Fla. - It seemed apparent for a week, after Ryan Flaherty 's competition for the Orioles' utility infielder spot departed camp, but on Monday, it became official. Orioles manager Buck Showalter told Flaherty, the Orioles' Rule 5 Draft pick this offseason, in front of the team that he was making the club's Opening Day roster. "It's been great, it's been a great spring I know that for sure," Flaherty said. "And [it's been] a lot, you go from being left unprotected to being taken by a team all the way up to this point.

Few foods are more mispronounced and misunderstood than couscous.Yet this North African staple (pronounced KOOS-koos) is as versatile as rice, pasta or potatoes and as mistake-proof as instant cereal. And it goes from box to table in five minutes.Food maven Craig Claiborne lavishes his highest praise on traditional Moroccan couscous, ranking it among the top dishes in the world.But it's not this complicated version of couscous that's finding its way into more and more American kitchens.It's the easy box-to-table style.

INDIANAPOLIS - Another day, another national title for Michael Phelps, but this one was anything but routine. Phelps completed an unprecedented triple last night at the Conoco Phillips Spring Nationals, where he won the 100-meter butterfly in 51.89 seconds. Disappointment at falling short of his fifth world-record swim was tempered by a tidbit from USA Swimming, which reported that the 17-year-old from the North Baltimore Aquatic Club became the first male to win events in three of the four different strokes at the same national meet.

Curtis Holmes is Maryland's primary faceoff specialist, but the No. 11 Terps plan to give the Marriottsville native and McDonogh graduate some help. Coach John Tillman said earlier this week that freshman Charlie Raffa will give Holmes a breather and take some draws. That plan could be enacted as early as this Saturday when No. 2 Virginia - which rotates senior Ryan Benincasa and freshman Mick Parks on faceoffs - visits Byrd Stadium. “I think they feel like us,” Tillman said Tuesday of the Cavaliers.