Vikings

Coming into the season, the Digital Harbor boys basketball team was unranked by The Sun and under the radar. The perceived slight seemed to be just what the Rams needed. "The kids aren't into the rankings, they just want respect," Rams coach Johnnie Grimes said. "We just felt like we're not appreciated. When they come in, they have a chip on their shoulder and we want to make a name for ourselves." Digital Harbor proved again that it is a legitimate contender in Baltimore City, going on the road last night to beat No. 10 Walbrook, 66-54.

As the goalie on the lacrosse team and a top defender in soccer, Mount Hebron senior Billy McNamara has enjoyed an incredible ride in the past year. It started last spring in the lacrosse playoffs when the Vikings avenged losses to county rivals Glenelg and River Hill before defeating Urbana to win the program's fourth state championship. In the fall, McNamara was the defensive anchor on the Vikings' unbeaten state championship soccer team. A two-year starter on both teams, McNamara is hoping to close out his high school career with another title as the Vikings (9-5)

FOR THE RECORD Moves Baseball BRAVES -- Agreed with P Jose Ascanio, P Blaine Boyer, P Lance Cormier, P Kyle Davies, P Joey Devine, P Anthony Lerew, P Peter Moylan, P Chad Paronto, P Chuck James, P Macay McBride, IF Willy Aybar, IF Kelly Johnson, IF Tony Pena and IF Martin Prado on one-year contracts. Renewed contracts of OF Jeff Francoeur and P Phil Stockman. DODGERS -- Agreed with IF Wilson Betemit, P Yhency Brazoban, P D.J. Houlton, OF Andre Ethier, C Russell Martin, IF Wilson Valdez, P Eric Stults, OF Delwyn Young, P Mike Megrew, IF Andy LaRoche, IF James Loney and OF Matt Kemp on one-year contracts.

Moves Baseball DIAMONDBACKS -- Activated OF Carlos Quentin from 15-day DL. Optioned IF Brian Barden to Triple-A Tucson. REDS -- Agreed with OF-IF Ryan Freel on two-year contract extension. ROCKIES -- Placed P Byung-Hyun Kim on 15-day DL. Purchased contract of P Zach McClellan from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Football BROWNS -- Signed former Ravens FB Alan Ricard and TE Ryan Krause. CHIEFS -- Guard Will Shields announced his retirement. DOLPHINS -- Signed RB Ray Perkins and C Johnathan Ingram.

When Jackie Doherty and her teammates don their Mount Hebron lacrosse uniforms, they play for many more girls than will take the field this spring. They play for every girl who has contributed to the Vikings' winning streak, which reached 101 games Monday. "Knowing the girls from [our] freshman year, you know how hard each year has worked to keep it up and you don't want to be the one to let it down," said Doherty, a senior. "We're doing it for all the girls who put in the time and the work and for our coaches.

Mount Hebron first-year boys lacrosse coach Mike McCarthy wasn't quite sure what to expect early in the season, and it was easy to understand why. Consider that the defending state champion Vikings graduated 18 seniors - including All-Metro attackman Tommy Incontrera and seven of the team's top nine midfielders. But with goalkeeper Billy McNamara, midfielder Justin Martinelli and attackman Bobby Cooke - the team's senior captains - along with junior defenseman Brandon Wolven picking up the leadership slack and a young group stepping up, the Vikings are much further along than expected by McCarthy.

For a moment in last night's game against Moorestown, N.J., Mount Hebron's girls lacrosse team flashed back to its loss to West Genesee, N.Y., three weeks ago - but only for a moment. This time when the host Vikings fell behind by three goals in the first three minutes, they responded quickly. Later, they used a 5-1 run to spark a third straight victory over seven-time defending New Jersey state champ Moorestown, 11-7, before about 1,200 fans. The No. 1 Vikings (13-1) were much more aggressive last night and much more sure of themselves all over the field.

Moves Baseball ASTROS -- Designated 3B Morgan Ensberg for assignment. Recalled P Mark McLemore from Triple-A Round Rock. CARDINALS -- Activated IF Scott Spiezio from 15-day DL. Optioned P Brian Falkenborg to Triple-A Memphis. DEVIL RAYS -- Recalled IF Ben Zobrist from Triple-A Durham. METS -- Designated P Jon Adkins for assignment. Recalled former Oriole IF David Newhan. Purchased contract of C Mike DiFelice from Triple-A New Orleans. Optioned P Mike Pelfrey to New Orleans. PIRATES -- Recalled P Jonah Bayliss from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Mount Hebron's Lauren Kickham, a two-time All-Metro first-team selection and last year's Howard County Player of the Year, will attend Duke next year on a lacrosse scholarship.Kickham, whose sister, Julie, is a senior at North Carolina, was a key reason the Vikings went 20-0 last year and earned their third straight state title. She finished the season with 55 goals and 31 assists, and had four goals and an assist in the state Class 1A-2A championship against Towson.Kickham will join former Mount Hebron goalie Kristen Foster at Duke, which finished 13-5 overall (1-2 ACC)

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Arizona Cardinals are a good story.The Minnesota Vikings are a good football team.That's why today's divisional playoff game between the Vikings and the Cardinals isn't even expected to be a speed bump on the Vikings' road to the Super Bowl.The 10-7 Cardinals are the feel-good story of this football season, but they don't figure to be a match for the 15-1 Vikings.The Vikings, favored by 15 1/2 points, are the highest-scoring team in NFL history, while the Cardinals are 21st in defense.

Ravens run offense vs. Vikings run defense: The Vikings haven't been as formidable as in recent years. They rank 10th against the run, giving up 100 yards to a team twice this season. The biggest challenge is running up the middle against Minnesota tackles Pat and Kevin Williams. But this might be irrelevant because the Ravens have ignored the run the past two weeks. The Ravens are fourth in yards-per-carry (4.9) but rank 12th in carries (136). Edge: EVEN Ravens pass offense vs. Vikings pass defense: In his past eight away games, Joe Flacco has produced a 96.6 quarterback rating, the NFL's sixth-best road mark.

Brett Favre is no stranger to the Ravens, even if he has faced them just three times in an illustrious 19-year NFL career. He has been sensational: On Oct. 14, 2001, playing out of the spread offense, Favre throttled the NFL's No. 1 pass defense for 337 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-23 win for the Green Bay Packers. He has been awful: On Dec. 19, 2005, playing against a Ravens defense that didn't have Ray Lewis, he completed 14 of 29 passes, threw two interceptions and lost to a team quarterbacked by Kyle Boller, 48-3.

Minnesota tight end Visanthe Shiancoe wears Vikings purple, but his heart is still close to Morgan State's orange and blue. "I take a lot of pride when it comes to representing Morgan State in the NFL," said Shiancoe, whose Vikings will face the Ravens on Sunday. "Whenever someone asks me, 'What school did you go to?' I tell them, 'Morgan State.' My experience at Morgan State was extremely good when it comes to academics and football and friendships and relationships." One of the best players produced by the Bears program, Shiancoe, 29, is beginning to mark out his own path in the NFL. Shiancoe, 6 feet 4 and 250 pounds, has caught 13 passes for 116 yards and a team-leading three touchdowns this season.

Brett Favre's last-second comebacks used to be the stuff of legend. Now, they're punch lines. The 39-year-old quarterback returned to the NFL yet again Tuesday, signing a one-year deal with Minnesota that in the minds of many instantly elevates the Vikings to Super Bowl contenders. His decision came three weeks after he ended talk of a comeback with Minnesota on the eve of training camp, saying he would stay retired. This is Favre's second unretirement in 17 months, the first coming in a failed experiment with the New York Jets last season.

Preseason Thursday: Ravens 23, Redskins 0 Aug. 24: Jets at Ravens, 8 p.m. Aug. 29: Ravens at Panthers, 8 p.m. Sept. 3: Ravens at Falcons, 7:30 p.m. Regular season Sept. 13: Chiefs at Ravens, 1 p.m. Sept. 20: Ravens at Chargers, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 27: Browns at Ravens, 1 p.m. Oct. 4: Ravens at Patriots, 1 p.m. Oct. 11: Bengals at Ravens, 1 p.m. Oct. 18: Ravens at Vikings, 1 p.m. Oct. 25: BYE Nov. 1: Broncos at Ravens, 1 p.m. Nov. 8: Ravens at Bengals, 1 p.m. Nov. 16: Ravens at Browns, 8:30 p.m. Nov. 22: Colts at Ravens, 1 p.m. Nov. 29: Steelers at Ravens, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 7: Ravens at Packers, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 13: Lions at Ravens, 1 p.m. Dec. 20: Bears at Ravens, 1 p.m. Dec. 27: Ravens at Steelers, 1 p.m. Jan. 3: Ravens at Raiders, 4:15 p.m.

Broadneck's girls lacrosse team got off to a fast start in Tuesday night's District V championship, but the Bruins needed some late-game heroics from midfielder Meghan Eshleman and goalie Kasey Howard to come away with an 11-9 victory over Mount Hebron. In the inaugural game between the Anne Arundel and the Howard County champions at North County High, the No. 3 Bruins jumped out to a four-goal lead, but their Howard County foes, the No. 4 Vikings, pulled even in the second half. The game was tied at 8 with 13:44 to go. In the next four minutes, Howard made four of her 13 saves, including back-to-back stops on point-blank attempts by Jessica Giles.

Mount Hebron's Ashley Bruns is best known for her scoring power, but in Saturday night's game against Moorestown, N.J., the senior made the biggest play of the game on defense. With the host Vikings clinging to a one-goal lead in overtime after Julianne Giles broke a tie, Moorestown won the next draw, but Bruns knocked down a Quakers pass and Giles scooped up the ground ball. The Vikings stalled away the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds to hand the Quakers their first loss of the season, 12-11.

As the Ravens secured Ray Lewis' legacy here yesterday, the team was able to pry free-agent center Matt Birk away from the Minnesota Vikings. Birk, a native of St. Paul, Minn., had played his entire 11-year NFL career with the Vikings. Some league insiders speculated that Birk was using the Ravens to drive up Minnesota's offer, but Birk surprisingly decided to join the Ravens after a persuasive two-day visit. The six-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman will sign a three-year, $12 million deal, which includes $6 million guaranteed.

On a day when the Ravens lost another valuable defensive player to the New York Jets - safety Jim Leonhard - they made a strong push to fill their void in the middle of the offensive line. The Ravens met with Matt Birk, a six-time Pro Bowl center from the Minnesota Vikings, for a little more than three hours yesterday at team headquarters. And the first free-agent visit of Birk's 11-year NFL career was a memorable one. Birk's wife, Adrianna, was shown houses in the area. Coach John Harbaugh and other team officials took Birk to dinner.

Looks can be deceiving. Just ask Milford Mill. The host Millers built a big first-half lead, then survived a furious comeback to win the Baltimore County boys basketball championship, 53-47, over Lansdowne last night. Tevin Hanner led the Millers (20-3) with 15 points, while Lansdowne's Brent Arrington paced all scorers with 19. All but two of Arrington's points came in the second half. Early on, it looked as if Milford Mill would cruise to its first county title since 1998. The Millers had little trouble with Lansdowne's defense while building a 17-6 lead after one quarter.