Winning Percentage

Severna Park volleyball coach Tim Dunbar, the most successful Anne Arundel County coach in the sport, announced his resignation yesterday.In 13 seasons, Dunbar's teams won three state championships (1991-93), eight region titles, and 11 county titles. Overall, they won 252 matches and lost 26; they were 148-4 against county opponents.Dunbar stunned the school with his decision, having been named county Coach of the Year for the sixth time after leading the 15-4 Falcons to the Class 4A state semifinals this season.

The week in reviewResultsWon at Georgia Tech, 91-60, SundayWon at Cole over Clemson, 77-60, WednesdayWho's hotSteve Francis is on fire. The junior guard connected on 21 of 27 shots in the two wins, and they weren't all transition dunks, either. He hit six of nine three-pointers.Who's notMike Mardesich. The backup center continues to have trouble finishing, as a 2-for-9 week dropped his field goal percentage to .373, a liability for a big man.Quotable "Since Obinna [Ekezie] went down, our guys off the bench have stepped up and kept our defense going."

The free-agent class of 2000, that's all anyone in major-league baseball is talking about. Will the Detroit Tigers sign Juan Gonzalez? Will the Cleveland Indians keep Manny Ramirez? Will the Seattle Mariners trade Ken Griffey?The Orioles weren't part of the initial frenzy in which Gonzalez and Shawn Green were traded within a span of six days, but with Mike Mussina entering the final year of his contract, they face perhaps the biggest Y2K crisis of all.The good news is, owner Peter Angelos already has made it clear in talks with Mussina and his agent, Arn Tellem, that he wants to re-sign the ace right-hander.

Within the same clubhouse, one player started 2,632 consecutive games and is one swing removed from 400 home runs. The bench coach is one of only three hitters to compile 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. The most accomplished designated hitter in history is in the house.But if a record falls in middle relief, does it make a noise?Jesse Orosco will be listening.In a summer devoted to what Cal Ripken calls baseball's "big, round numbers," Orosco is approaching one of the game's most understated but imposing records.

After the 1995-96 season, North County's Sally Entsminger had 287 career wins and was perched to become only the third Anne Arundel County girls basketball coach to win 300 games.A lot of people around the county have been pulling for the dean of girls coaches to reach the milestone, but it's been a struggle.Going into tonight's 5: 15 home game against 16th-ranked Severna Park (8-5), the Knights are 2-10, leaving Entsminger at 295-259 with at least 10 games left.Entsminger is the only coach the Ferndale school has had in nine seasons.

61-20, that's an NBA record.That's the '67-68 76ers, the '80-81 Celtics or the '84-85 Lakers with a game to go. Some basketball team rather regularly wins 75 percent of its games. Sixty wins out of 82 is an attainable figure in that sport. Since the institution of an 80-game schedule in 1961, 45 NBA teams have won 60 games or more.But baseball? Uh-uh, no way. The dynamics of baseball are so entirely different. If an NBA team has a great starting five and a couple of reliable substitutes, and if it can remain reasonably healthy, it can win 60 games.

Good teams calculate playoff scenarios on the final Sunday of the NFL season. Bad teams calculate draft scenarios.As usual, the Ravens fall into the latter category, playing for little more than draft position today in their season finale against the Detroit Lions.A meaningless game between 5-10 teams?Au contraire.If the Ravens lose, they likely would select between sixth and eighth in the April draft. If they win, they likely would pick between ninth and 11th.The difference could be enormous -- at least four quarterbacks are projected as high first-round picks, starting with Tim Couch if he decides to leave Kentucky.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Lute Olson and Gary Williams didn't see eye to eye on everything that unfolded in the West Regional semifinals, but they do agree on one thing: Coaches and their teams shouldn't be judged solely by how they perform in the NCAA tournament.Williams' Maryland team lost to Olson's Arizona outfit, 87-79, at the Arrowhead Pond last night.This was the third time in five seasons that Williams had gotten the Terps to the Sweet 16. He felt too much criticism was heaped on Maryland for first-round failures the last two years, but it was nothing like the scorn that had been heaped on Olson before Arizona upset its way to the NCAA championship last year.

Quote: "I was thinking about going to short next." -- Ken Griffey of the Mariners, who played all three outfield positions and first base.It's a fact: The Rangers have lost 28 of their past 35 games against Seattle in the Kingdome.Who's hot: Attendance was 41,150, raising the Yankees' team-record total to 2,900,126.Who's not: The Angels have dropped nine of their past 12 games.On deck: By winning their regular-season finale today, the Yankees would become the ninth team in major-league history to finish a season with a winning percentage of .700.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Lute Olson and Gary Williams didn't see eye to eye on everything that unfolded in the West Regional semifinals, but they do agree on one thing: coaches and their teams shouldn't be judged solely by how they perform in the NCAA tournament.Williams' Maryland team challenged Olson's Arizona outfit at the Arrowhead Pond late last night.This was the third time in five seasons that Williams had gotten the Terps to the Sweet 16. He felt too much criticism was heaped on Maryland for first-round failures the last two years, but it was nothing like the scorn that had been heaped on Olson before Arizona upset its way to the NCAA championship last year.

So now the question is: What kind of nose dive are the Orioles in this time? Is it the same old nose dive of the past 11 years, when they managed a nifty .410 winning percentage (254-368) in August and September? Or is this one somehow different, the sort-of-expected cratering of a team trotting out a lot of young arms and a couple of promising rookie position players while prepping for the future? Go ahead, you decide. Flip a coin if you have to. And do you even care if this nose dive is any different from all the others?

Et cetera Bowie State men's basketball: : Bowie State alumnus Darrell Brooks was named the new coach of the program. The Brooklyn native, 53, is a 1979 graduate of the university, where he played point guard for the Bulldogs from 1975-79. Brooks coached at George Washington for the past eight years. Before his stint there, Brooks spent the 2000-01 season as the coach at Western Maryland College. Under Brooks, Western Maryland ranked among the top three teams in the Centennial Conference in scoring, assists, three-pointers made and steals.

Orioles manager Dave Trembley has made a career out of properly assessing situations. He is considered a talent developer with a prescience to push the right buttons in motivating baseball's varying personalities. So, as he enters the dugout Monday for his second Opening Day as field general of the Orioles, Trembley absolutely, positively knows the score. "Somebody along the line is the front line of this, the infantry, and is going to take the body blows," Trembley said. "Somebody is going to pay the price, just like somebody has paid the price for everything that has come our way in this life and this game."

Northern State's Meyer sets wins mark with 903rd col. basketball Northern State University coach Don Meyer set the record for career wins in men's college basketball with his 903rd last night - an 82-62 victory over visiting University of Mary in Aberdeen, S.D. His .750 winning percentage (903-301) was compiled at three universities in a career that began in 1972 and nearly ended in September in a car-truck accident that sent him to the hospital for 55 days, forced doctors to amputate his lower left leg and led to the discovery of a slow-growing cancer.

In a year that has been highlighted by hard play, inspired comebacks and clubhouse unity, the Orioles find themselves in a familiar position as the season approaches its final month. They are again outside the playoff race, buried deep in the American League East standings. They've lost seven of nine and yet again have been reduced to the role of hopeful spoilers facing a four-week parade of postseason contenders. "It gets hard sometimes, yeah. We'd be lying if we said it didn't," Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts said.

No. 3 Syracuse (15-2) vs. No. 5 Johns Hopkins (11-5) Time -- 1 p.m. Site -- Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. THREE THINGS TO WATCH "D" is the key Today's championship final features two of the stingiest defenses in the country. The Orange ranks 11th, surrendering just 7.6 goals per game; the Blue Jays are 17th with a 7.9 average. Johns Hopkins has allowed 17 goals in the tournament, while Syracuse has given up 23 goals. Which defense will prevail? Super sophomores Senior midfielder Paul Rabil leads the Blue Jays in goals (eight)

The remarkable thing about the goalie controversy on the Maryland men's lacrosse team is that there's hardly a controversy. Contrary to popular belief, junior Jason Carter and sophomore Brian Phipps are comfortable about the Terps' plan of playing each keeper for a half. The two share notes on opposing players before and during games and openly root for each other. "Everyone wants to play," Phipps said. "At the same time, it's fun to cheer on your teammates. When halftime comes, you're like, `OK, my job's done.

The humidity thickens, the Ravens' preseason begins, kids prepare for a new school year and the Orioles downshift from mediocre to below bad. Just another routine end of summer in Baltimore. Maybe it's because of the traditionally difficult late-season schedule. Maybe the interminable length of the baseball season eventually catches up with a perpetually thin roster. Or maybe it's that there hasn't been anything to play for in a decade. But since 1997, when the Orioles last had meaningful games in August and September, the team has been dreadful as its seasons have waned.

Nearly a year after getting stung on NCAA tournament selection day, Florida State men's basketball coach Leonard Hamilton is still smarting, still annoyed that his Seminoles missed out on the sport's main event. After all, Florida State had won 19 games, finished 9-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and had beaten top-ranked Duke at home in early March after losing in overtime to the Blue Devils on the road. But, in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee, the Seminoles' weak nonconference schedule and lightweight power rating relegated them to the National Invitation Tournament.

Tim Donner and his radio partner, Syd Thrift, were walking into the All-Star FanFest in Pittsburgh in July when they were stopped by a memorabilia dealer. "There's Syd Thrift," the vendor bellowed. "The man who invented baseball." "It could have been about his age, his experience, his success or his knowledge," said Donner, who spent Sunday afternoons each of the past four seasons hosting the syndicated radio show, Talkin' Baseball, with Thrift. "Or all of it." Thrift, whose baseball career spanned almost 50 years, including three seasons running the Orioles, died Monday night in Milford, Del., hours after having his second knee replacement surgery in two years.