Winning Season

Until late last week, when the Seattle Seahawks came calling with a six-figure salary and a job as running backs coach, Stump Mitchell was in a bind.Mitchell took the job Wednesday, and now Morgan State athletic director Garnett Purnell is the one in a bind. He must find a coach while appeasing alumni who have the ear of the president and had wanted Mitchell out.Though indications were that Purnell will hire from elsewhere, he was revealing nothing of his strategy yesterday. But the heat is on, with national signing day for recruits coming next week.

Two Anne Arundel County baseball coaches are closing in on 100 career wins.North County's Don Usewick has 99 wins, and Chesapeake's Jim Simms stands at 95. They are perched to become the 11th and 12th coaches in county baseball history to win 100.North County (3-4) was the somewhat surprise winner of the Pop Warner Tournament at Chesapeake on Easter weekend before dropping a 15-8 decision to No. 12-ranked Old Mill (5-2) Wednesday.Usewick is in his ninth season at the Ferndale school and is 85-78.

ST. LOUIS -- Ever since the Ravens hired Brian Billick in January, he has displayed all the characteristics of a high-quality head coach. He is disciplined, a motivator and organized almost to a fault, and he communicates well with players.His charisma and articulation have played well in the community, increasing permanent seat license sales by nearly 3,000 for a franchise that has only won 16 games in three previous seasons.But as the Ravens travel to the Trans World Dome today to open the 1999 season against the St. Louis Rams, a city that has been starved for winning football for more than a decade will get to see if Billick can match strategies every Sunday with the Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnsons and Mike Holmgrens.

Just a few weeks ago, a seven-win season in 1999 would have satisfied the Ravens, their coaches, the fans, ownership, everyone. All anyone wanted to see was progress after three straight seasons with six or fewer wins, and, well, seven is more than six.But now that the Ravens have escalated the pace of their turnaround and arrived at 7-7 with yesterday's easy win over the Saints, they want more. Everyone wants more.Hey, it's only natural with a winning season, a playoff berth and a season-ending five-game winning streak still possible with two games to go."

Fifteen practices. Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow believes that would be the most tangible benefit of a victory today over Virginia. Fifteen more practices for a young team, assuming that Maryland's first winning season since 1995 leads to its first bowl appearance since 1990.Never mind the question of whether the Terps deserve to go to a bowl when they've lost three straight games and four of their past five. You finish with a winning record, you're eligible for a bowl under college football's watered-down require- ments.

With the playoffs no longer part of the scenario, the Ravens began re-focusing yesterday on their initial goal of 1999 -- having a winning season. The Ravens will play the New England Patriots in the season finale Sunday in Foxboro, Mass.The game doesn't have playoff ramifications for either team, but if the Ravens win, they could have their first winning season since the team moved from Cleveland to Baltimore nearly four years ago.The mood was upbeat at the Ravens training camp yesterday even though their 22-0 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday was dampened when they were eliminated a few minutes later by Buffalo's 13-10 victory over the Patriots in overtime.

Harford CountyAberdeen Eagles1998 record: 4-8Coach: Marissa DiSantoTop players: Felicia Fields, Sr., D; Courtney Keithley, Sr., A; Stacy Lindencamp, Jr., D; Kristy Lynch, Jr., A; Jame Marsilio, Jr., G; Melissa Spangler, Sr., D.Outlook: The Eagles could be the most improved team in the league. One reason is Marsilio's agility in goal, and the Eagles remain intact at all other positions. With more discipline, Aberdeen could be on the verge of its first winning season in nearly a decade.Bel Air Bobcats1998 record: 9-6Coach: Ken ZorbachTop players: Ann Clark, Sr., D; Jen Chumley, Jr., G; Shelly Ishmael, Sr., A; London Jones, Sr., G; Adrianne Justis, Sr., M; Jen Parker, Sr., M; Jen Wilkinson, Sr.; D.Outlook: The Bobcats have four returners on defense, but will settle for goals by committee.

For the first time in a long while, Morgan State fans have a positive context in which to place the football portion of homecoming weekend.With a 28-22 win over Towson last week, the Bears (2-3 overall, 0-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) bask in the glow of victory as they enter today's 3: 30 p.m. game at PSINet Stadium against North Carolina A&T (4-1, 2-0).Morgan has not gone into homecoming after a win since 1979, also the last time the Bears had a winning season (9-2)."Now they know how it is to be a winner," said coach Stanley Mitchell.

Archbishop Spalding (1-2) at Boys' Latin (1-1)When: 3: 30 todayOutlook: The Cavaliers' roller-coaster season continues in Baltimore for an MIAA B Conference game against the Lakers, whom they knocked off a second straight time last season by 28-21 in overtime. Spalding is coming off a 25-0 loss to No. 9 McDonogh (3-0) one week after the Cavaliers' 32-30 upset of the A Conference's Calvert Hall.Meade (0-3) at No. 5 Annapolis (3-0)When: 7: 15 tonightRadio: WNAV (1430 AM)Outlook: After routing South River, 46-7, Monday night, the Panthers may be ripe for a letdown.

It's been a struggle to reach 300 career wins, but North County's Sally Entsminger is only one away from that milestone after her Knights defeated Lansdowne, 49-30, Friday night.Entsminger, ranked third in wins on the Anne Arundel County career list for girls basketball coaches at 299-266, has a chance to notch No. 300 at home Tuesday (5: 15 p.m.) against the Bel Air Bobcats from Harford County.In her 10th season at North County and 28th overall, Entsminger's career record stood at 287-216 after her third winning season in 1995-96 (13-10)

For a few days, at least, the Orioles have jumped aboard the Brian Roberts Express and actually look like a major league baseball team. Maybe that won't last through the weekend, but it should remind fans about what could be on the horizon and what Roberts means to the Orioles when all is right in his world. This much should be obvious. The guy is one of those catalytic players whose energy ripples through the rest of the lineup. When his motor is running - and I mean really running - the rest of the team has no choice but to get on board or get out of the way, because something good is going to happen.

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," a smart fellow once wrote. After 10 years without a winning season, the Orioles indeed have nothing left to lose, which has freed team officials to do the unthinkable: Trade top players Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard, and consider another trade for the popular and talented Brian Roberts. The team is "rebuilding," exchanging a handful of established stars for a larger pool of promising younger players who are expected to help put the Orioles on the road to success - eventually.

Jason Thomen isn't shy about voicing his disapproval when he comes across a North Carroll football teammate gulping down soda. The senior is a strong believer that good nutrition leads to superior performance on the field - a notion he has often preached this season as a captain of the Carroll County power. But as talented as he might be on the gridiron, where he stars as a guard and middle linebacker, Thomen is perhaps even more polished on the mat. As a wrestler last winter, he advanced to the Class 4A-3A state finals at 215 pounds.

With Howard clinging to a late onegoal lead over Reservoir this season, Lions attackmanJesse Kendall walked to the sideline and greeted his visibly agitated coach in the fourthquarter. With the Lions' defense struggling with a few minutes left, Kendall took control. "He looked me right in the eye and calmly said, 'Coach, don?t worry. I'm not losing this game and we?re not losing this game,' " Howard coach Josh Bound said. Kendall trotted back on the field and proceeded to score his fifth goal of the day ?

It almost seemed unfair. After crushing a ball to deep center for a run-scoring triple in the first inning of last week's showdown against Centennial, Hammond pitcher Stephanie Speierman came to bat the next time and saw the Eagles' infield playing back. What came next? A perfectly placed bunt down the third-base line that gave the Bears a two-out base runner in the third inning. A couple singles later, they had two more runs on their way to a 3-0 win. Vintage Speierman. After enjoying an impressive freshman season that earned her second-team All-Metro honors and helped put Hammond on the softball map with a program-best 15 wins, the hard-hitting and hard-throwing sophomore has the Bears looking for more this spring.

As Oriole Park at Camden Yards greets its 16th Opening Day this evening, the facility that began the nationwide wave of retro-ballparks is still widely regarded as the most elegantly executed of them all. What is profoundly different now, as opposed to earlier seasons, is Oriole Park's recent failure to fulfill the promise of what a jewel of a downtown stadium was intended to provide to the economic well-being of the city: that is, producing the crowds...

Millar perfect fit for mediocre O's Peter Schmuck's column ("For Millar, it would be hair today, win tomorrow," Monday) indirectly points out exactly why the Orioles have had nine straight losing seasons. Kevin Millar's argument - let players grow facial hair and they will have a shot at a winning season - is not only absurd, but it's also a bit embarrassing that he's considered a leader of this team. The reason the Orioles have had nine straight losing seasons is that they continue to sign and give ample playing time to mediocre players like Millar.

It ended terribly, but the Ravens had a splendid season, their second best since coming to Baltimore. That means absolutely, positively nothing going forward. Parity's powerful pull has turned the NFL into a league of abrupt turns, with many teams rising up one year and falling down the next. The Ravens improved by seven games this season. New Orleans is in the NFC title game after going 3-13 in 2005. Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl last February and then missed the playoffs this season.

If you're going to have a winning season - in any sport, not just pro football - you have to take what your schedule gives you. That's the first commandment. Make the most of your best chances to win. Avoid giving back the freebies. That's all the Ravens have done so far this season, but let's not diminish the feat. "It's huge," Ravens coach Brian Billick said yesterday. "Beating the teams that you're quote-unquote supposed to beat is the hardest challenge of all." It's a meaningful test the Ravens haven't always passed.

Ellie Cassilly is beginning her third season as a starter at midfield on the Bel Air field hockey team, with the senior being known more for her leadership qualities than scoring goals (one in her career). What do you like most about field hockey? I guess I'm just really a competitive person, and I get really intense on the field. ... I love it. If you weren't playing field hockey, what would you be doing? I would probably be in some kind of club, like the STARS club, which is a drug-prevention group.