Washington Redskins

The words, simmering during a season of falling statistics and rising frustration, tumbled out of Derrick Mason's mouth at M&T Bank Stadium in the moments after last season's disappointing playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Having caught just two passes for 16 yards in a 15-6 defeat to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Ravens' veteran wide receiver spoke calmly but pointedly about feeling underused and unappreciated in his second season in Baltimore. "It's like that old guy that's been doing something for so long, and then all of a sudden, somebody introduces an iPod to him and he's been playing records, he's going to get frustrated because nobody's selling records," Mason, 33, said Monday after practice in Owings Mills.

OUT: Sam Hollenbach, former starting quarterback: Graduated after leading the Terps to their first bowl appearance in three seasons. IN: Jordan Steffy: Redshirt junior who has never started a game and whose early career was marred by injuries. OUT: Adam Podlesh, four-year starting punter: The only player in Terps history to be named All-ACC four times is now playing in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars. IN: Travis Baltz: Freshman from Ohio who averaged 40 yards per punt as a senior.

That the NFL is a league of attrition might be the most certain thing that can be said about it. As an illustration, here's a list of some probable starting quarterbacks this weekend, all of whom inherited their jobs entirely or in part because of injuries. In some cases, we're three deep on the depth chart. In Carolina, Matt Moore, an undrafted rookie, could be the Panthers' fourth starting quarterback this season because Vinny Testaverde (himself hauled out of semi-retirement) has an Achilles' problem and Carolina has thrown up its hands with David Carr.

Bam Morris may be down to his last chance.Morris, who has been hampered by off-the-field problems and is with his fourth team, will go into training camp as the Kansas City Chiefs' top rusher.The Chiefs are counting on the former Raven because new coach Gunther Cunningham wants to put more emphasis on running the ball."We got away from the things that made us successful in the past," Cunningham said after last year's 7-9 flameout that led former coach Marty Schottenheimer to quit.Jimmy Raye, the offensive coordinator, said: "We got cute last year.

David Cope, who as vice president of sales and marketing for the Ravens helped negotiate the team's blockbuster sponsorship with PSINet, is moving to the Washington Redskins.Cope, 35, a resident of Bethesda, will become an executive vice president in charge of marketing, public relations and stadium operation, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.He will likely spearhead the Redskins' effort to find a sponsor for the stadium, named after former owner Jack Kent Cooke.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins didn't really worry about Hurricane Floyd. They know a real storm front could be brewing closer to Redskin Park.If they fail to produce a solid effort today at the Meadowlands against the New York Giants (1 p.m.), the Redskins would fall to 0-2 for just the sixth time in the past three decades. And only one team, the 1984 club, rebounded to make the playoffs.So if new owner Daniel Snyder maintains the same demanding attitude as in the preseason, the players and coaching staff acknowledge that there may be no haven from some club-altering moves.

Helen Ann Laurie, a master chandler and maker of candle lamps that she sold in East Coast gift shops for more than 25 years, died Saturday at Johns Hopkins Hospital of cancer. She was 62.From the mid-1960s until she retired about two years ago, Mrs. Laurie owned Models By Laurie, a candle-making business she operated in the basement of her Annapolis home.She made all shapes and sizes of candles and was known for her lamps, in which she placed a candle in the center of a glass dish or lamp.

Fran O'Brien, the former Washington Redskins lineman whose Annapolis bar and restaurant were once standing-room-only hangouts for powerful lobbyists, legislators and bon vivants, died Thursday of a heart attack at George Washington University Hospital in Washington. He was 63 and lived in Vienna, Va.Mr. O'Brien -- who also had restaurants in Washington and Rehoboth Beach, Del. -- was a 6-foot-1, 240-pound offensive right tackle for the Redskins in the 1960s. He opened his first restaurant, the Goal Post, on Washington's Wisconsin Avenue at that time.

FROSTBURG -- Being the quarterback of the Washington Redskins is one of the glamour jobs in all of sports.Slingin' Sammy Baugh was one of the first to play the position. So did Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer. Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien won Super Bowls as Redskins quarterbacks.They all became household words in the nation's capital where being quarterback of the Redskins has long been considered almost as big a deal as living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.That's why Brad Johnson got the opportunity of a lifetime when the Redskins traded for him earlier this year.

The Washington Redskins will end a streak today at the Silverdome. They just hope it's the right one.The Redskins will try to end their futility against winning teams and extend their winning streak against Detroit to 19 when they play the Lions today.If they accomplish both goals, the Redskins will remain in sole possession of first place in the NFC East with an 8-4 record.But if the favored Lions break their losing streak to the Redskins that dates to 1965, the Redskins will be 7-5 and fall into a tie with Dallas if the Cowboys beat New England.

The Ravens made Terrell Suggs the highest-paid linebacker in National Football League history Wednesday, but the $63 million price tag over six years was the cost of doing business in the NFL. By keeping the loquacious pass rusher in Baltimore, the Ravens added another chapter in their instructive book on how to beat free agency and the salary cap. In an era when players in all professional sports casually trade uniforms and traditions year to year, they...

NBA E. Jordan seeks 76ers job; James unanimous All-NBA Former Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan has expressed interest in the Philadelphia 76ers head coaching job and hopes to meet with team president Ed Stefanski by the end of the weekend. Jordan, who was fired by the Wizards in November, interviewed with the Sacramento Kings this week. He said he planned to speak with Stefanski after the Sixers president returned from Chuck Daly's funeral in Florida. "I hate to use the word anxious, but I would like to get back in," Jordan said.

In this space a month ago, the contract negotiations between the Ravens and Ray Lewis were described as the franchise's "biggest chess match ever." Looks like Ozzie Newsome just called checkmate. It's not that everybody involved doesn't come out of this a winner, but in the grand scheme, nobody won more than Newsome did. Among other things, he retains his ranking among the elite of team decision-makers in all of sports, not just the NFL. This is about how Newsome envisioned, and expected, everything about the Ravens' free-agency period would play out in general and everything about the Lewis contract in particular.

The Ravens will continue to stay on the road to the playoffs when they play at the Dallas Cowboys tomorrow night. For Joe Flacco, the key word is road. In just another way that Flacco goes against the stereotype of a rookie quarterback, he has played better on the road than at the friendly confines of home. In seven games at M&T Bank Stadium, Flacco has thrown four touchdown passes and seven interceptions for a passer rating of 60.1. In seven road games, he has a rating of 91.1, throwing nine touchdown passes and five interceptions.

Saying he feels "like the worst coach in America," Jim Zorn began a two-day self-evaluation of the meltdown that has dropped his Washington Redskins (7-7) out of the playoff race and prompted questions about his future. Zorn had visible sweat on his brow at his weekly news conference. He reversed course from his season-long theme that his schemes were solid but the players' execution was lacking. After the Redskins' fifth loss in six games - a truly embarrassing 20-13 defeat at Cincinnati on Sunday - Zorn seemed to channel predecessor Joe Gibbs when he uttered the Hall of Fame coach's over-worn phrase: "It starts with me."

Fabian Washington is making a name for himself among his teammates, which isn't necessarily a good thing. When a Ravens defensive player drops a potential interception during practice, a teammate will chide that player by saying, "Fabian's rubbing off on you." It's a reference to an unusual statistic: Washington leads the defense in pass breakups with 14 but has only one interception this season. Washington said he endures good-natured ribbing from fellow defensive backs Frank Walker, Samari Rolle and Ed Reed on a daily basis.

No one knows where Le'Ron McClain will line up these days for the Ravens. Will he start at fullback? This has been his primary NFL job, one at which he creates holes by knocking linebackers off their feet. Or will he start at tailback as he did last Sunday? The ruggedly built McClain has become the Ravens' leading rusher this season in this role, running around some tacklers and through others. There is only one certainty when the Ravens (8-4) face the Washington Redskins (7-5) tonight at M&T Bank Stadium: The Ravens' do-everything running back will break the huddle and rub his hands together before the first play, a routine that carries a personal message.

Gatorade showers? Who does Gatorade showers anymore? The Ravens do, lots of them. They love getting them and giving them - and, by doing so, they're proving that they're pretty fond of one another, which is never anything to be taken for granted. There have been six this season, but they didn't pick up speed until late October, when offensive coordinator Cam Cameron got one at the end of the Ravens' win in Miami, where he was fired last season after one year as coach. In somewhat rapid succession came soakings of defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, after beating the Raiders and his twin (and Oakland defensive coordinator)

It would have been so easy, really. I was 7 years old, and my city's pro football team had played wretchedly for my entire sentient existence. In fact, the Colts were mere weeks from being hauled out of town for good on a fleet of Mayflower trucks. Just down the road, however, lay an alternative, the best dang football team in the world actually. They boasted a cool, telegenic maestro at quarterback and a dignified wizard of a head coach. Their receivers invented a dance routine to celebrate the pure joy of scoring touchdowns.

There was linebacker Bart Scott throwing the official's flag into the stands. There was Steve McNair setting an NFL record for futility. And there was the worst loss in the nine-year Brian Billick era. When it comes to playing before a national television audience, the Ravens' history is an unbecoming one. Their prime-time losing streak has grown to seven games, a skid that dates to 2006. The Ravens will get another shot to prove they are prime-time players Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, when they host the Washington Redskins at 8:15 p.m. "That's the past," cornerback Samari Rolle said of the prime-time problems.