Waivers

BaseballBraves: Purchased contract of former Orioles minor-league P Everett Stull from Triple-A Richmond. Designated IF Marty Malloy for assignment.Cubs: Recalled P Brian McNichol from Triple-A Iowa.Marlins: Activated 3B Kevin Orie.Phillies: Activated P Carlton Loewer. Transferred P Yorkis Perez from 15-day to 60-day DL.Pirates: Recalled IF Aramis Ramirez and P Jason Boyd from Triple-A Nashville. Purchased contracts of P Mike Garcia and ex-Orioles C Tim Laker from Nashville. Designated C Chris Tremie for assignment.

HockeyBlackhawks: Claimed C Steve Sullivan off waivers from Maple Leafs.Canucks: Assigned RW Trent Klatt to AHL Syracuse.Capitals: Lent LW Jeff Toms to AHL Portland.

WASHINGTON -- With the impeachment trial only a month behind it, Congress is already embroiled in a partisan brawl over education with each party seeking the high ground on an issue expected to be pivotal in the 2000 elections.The Republican majority, eager for a quick victory on a bipartisan measure that would help erase the memories of the unpopular impeachment of President Clinton, decided to rush through a bill cutting strings on federal education aid that has the backing of all 50 governors.

BaseballIndians: Signed P Jamie Brewington and P Roy Padilla to minor-league contracts and invited them to spring training. Signed P Cameron Cairncross to minor-league contract.BasketballGrizzlies: Signed C Robert Werdann.Knicks: Waived C-F Ivano Newbill and F Antonio Smith.CollegesCentral Intercollegiate Athletic Association: tion: Named Bowie State K James Mertz co-Specialty Player of the Week.Hofstra: Announced that freshman basketball C Lars Grubler will become eligible to play in January.

Developers in Anne Arundel County are worried that County Executive Janet S. Owens' recent demand for more oversight of subdivision approvals might discourage construction projects by adding bureaucracy and delays.Environmentalists praise the Democrat for trying to control suburban sprawl and prevent favors to well-connected developers.A spokesman for Owens said yesterday that her decision to review all applications for major subdivisions and waivers of the county's growth-control laws will add a day to the evaluation of projects and will not stop growth.

Willow Run articles were not accurateArticles on Dec. 22 and 29 misrepresented facts and implied impropriety in the approval of the Willow Run subdivision. Although the writer reviewed Anne Arundel County files, which are public, and met with the county planning staff, the articles were inaccurate.The article indicated that the county ethics commission determined that the project was approved in an unethical manner because of the relationship between Mark Wedemeyer, a planning and code enforcement administrator, and DFI Inc., which is owned by Ray Streib, his father-in-law.

It had the eerie feel of a badly scripted dream sequence. One minute, Gabe Molina is unpacking his gear at a locker with his nameplate above it. The next, all traces of the Orioles' reliever are gone.The only thing missing was Rocky Coppinger emerging from the shower as if nothing happened.Less than 12 hours after Coppinger was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, the Orioles announced yesterday that the right-hander would remain on the active roster because of a technicality.General manager Frank Wren said the club discovered in the morning that three years had passed this month since Coppinger broke into the majors on June 6, 1996, meaning he must pass through revocable waivers before being sent down.

That's it?That's all the Orioles accomplished, trading Juan Guzman to the Cincinnati Reds for pitchers B. J. Ryan and Jacobo Sequea?What about Will Clark to the Braves? What about Arthur Rhodes to the New York Yankees?If those deals were ever close, they fell through.The return for Guzman looks promising, but as the midnight deadline for completing trades without waivers approached, it seemed the Orioles also were on the verge of trading Rhodes.Make no mistake, they took an important step forward, finally acknowledging that they're out of contention, finally making a trade to get younger.

BaseballAthletics: Signed former Orioles P Mike Oquist to minor-league contract.Giants: Claimed P Steve Connelly off waivers from Red Sox.Mariners: Agreed to terms with P Bill Swift on one-year contract.Padres: Named Wilbur Johnson major-league scout.Tigers: Announced that P Bryan Corey has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Toledo.BasketballGrand Rapids Hoops (CBA): Named Doc Rivers coaching consultant.CollegeAir Force: Named Vic Shealy defensive backs coach and Tim Horton wide receivers coach.

CollegeArkansas: Suspended QB Jared McBride from the football team after being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.Boston College: Announced freshman F Timoleon Papadimitriou has left the men's basketball team.HockeyBlues: Claimed D Bryan Helmer off waivers from the Phoenix Coyotes.Coyotes: Recalled LW Louie DeBrusk from IHL Las Vegas.Pub Date: 12/20/98

TORONTO - -Aubrey Huff, Melvin Mora and Danys Baez, three veterans in the final guaranteed years of their contracts, have cleared waivers, according to league sources, meaning they can be traded to any club if the Orioles find a suitor. The two infielders and the reliever clearing waivers isn't at all surprising as the Orioles didn't find much interest in any of the veterans before last month's nonwaiver trade deadline. All three have struggled at times this season and are still owed a decent chunk of money for the rest of the season.

As the nonwaiver trade deadline approaches Friday, the Orioles are moving further away from making a noteworthy deal - unless it involves closer George Sherrill. The Orioles have other trade pieces available, but according to several baseball sources, there is little, if any, interest in the club's trio of high-salaried pending free agents: reliever Danys Baez, first baseman Aubrey Huff and third baseman Melvin Mora. That leaves Sherrill, the club's 2008 All-Star who has converted 20 of 23 save opportunities this season, as the primary target.

Arenas feels like player of old again wizards Gilbert Arenas has been practicing at full speed with the Washington Wizards for more than a week as he works his way back from his latest knee surgery. The extent of Arenas' participation had been kept under wraps, but he spilled the beans yesterday when he told The Washington Post: "I'm out there feeling like the old Gilbert Arenas again." According to the newspaper's Web site, Arenas said: "The only thing I'm not doing is playing in games."

Waivers undermine value of a diploma I am appalled by the position of state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick, the State Board of Education and The Baltimore Sun's editorial board supporting waivers allowing graduation for those who do not pass the High School Assessment tests ("A necessary compromise," editorial, Dec. 19). Apparently, none of these people have the stomach to stand and take the heat and face the screaming parents of those students who might not pass the test and then could not graduate, so they support a process that will, in effect, buy them off. By taking this approach, "mandatory" testing ceases to be mandatory, and the diplomas of all of those who did take and pass all required tests are devalued.

If Adam Loewen is going to make a successful transition into a power-hitting outfielder or first baseman, it won't be in an Orioles uniform. In a surprising development, Loewen confirmed yesterday that he has signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, turning down an offer from the Orioles, who were confident they would be able to retain their 2002 first-round draft pick. "It was a lot tougher decision than when I decided to hang up pitching for my career," Loewen said.

CLEVELAND - Orioles designated hitter Aubrey Huff could still be traded to a contender this month, but All-Star closer George Sherrill can't be. According to two baseball sources, Huff, who is having a resurgent season, passed through revocable "trade" waivers and can be dealt until midnight Aug. 31 and still be eligible for a contender's postseason roster. Sherrill, however, was claimed by at least one unnamed American League team and was pulled back by the Orioles. They now have lost revocable waivers on Sherrill, meaning he cannot be placed on waivers again without the risk of losing him with no compensation in return.

NEW YORK - Baseball's nonwaiver trade deadline expires at 4 p.m. today, and the Orioles aren't worried about what will happen when the dust settles. "I don't see it any different than any other time. I think the misnomer is that it's the trading deadline," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "People still make trades after the trading deadline. "They go through waivers. I think, to be quite honest with you, it's overhyped." Reached last evening, Orioles club president Andy MacPhail said trade talks with other teams have not heated up. "I don't see anything on the horizon," MacPhail said.

There's a proper way to set a table for dinner, to address the Queen of England, to break up with your girlfriend. And according to Major League Baseball, there's also a proper way to handle a player who tries to choke the air out of a team official. Apparently, you don't stop paying him. Michael Weiner, the general counsel of the players association, said the union planned on filing a grievance yesterday, claiming that the Houston Astros improperly terminated Shawn Chacon's contract a week after the pitcher shoved general manager Ed Wade to the ground and began choking him. In the real world, you can lose your job if you leave the fryer unattended at a fast-food joint.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission defied some members of Congress in 2007 by easing a ban on ownership of a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same city. Yesterday, the lawmakers took the first step toward getting even. The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved a rare "resolution of disapproval" to invalidate the FCC's new rules, as concerns about media consolidation escalated in the wake of News Corp.'s negotiations to buy a second New York newspaper.

Strained by the demands of a long war, the Army and the Marine Corps recruited significantly more felons into their ranks last year than in 2006, including people convicted of armed robbery, arson and burglary, according to data released yesterday by a House committee. The number of waivers issued to active-duty Army recruits with felony convictions jumped to 511 in 2007, from 249 in 2006. Marine recruits with felony convictions rose to 350 from 208. Overall, the numbers represent less than 1 percent of the 115,000 new enlistments last year in the active-duty Army and Marine Corps.