Work Ethic

COLLEGE PARK -- Darrius Heyward-Bey's role models are predictable for a wide receiver yet illuminating about how he approaches the game. Heyward-Bey says his two favorite receivers are former San Francisco 49er great Jerry Rice "because he's the best of all time" and the Dallas Cowboys' Terrell Owens because "his work ethic off the field is better than anyone else's." Maryland@North Carolina State Tomorrow, noon, chs. 54, 20, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: N.C. State by 2 1/2

PINEHURST, N.C. -- About two weeks ago, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen received phone calls from Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and owner Steve Bisciotti, inquiring about Jared Gaither, the Terps' 6-foot-9, 324-pound offensive tackle. "I told them what I felt," Friedgen said. "If he would just get away from some of the people he hangs around with, get his mind right, dedicate himself ... they got a steal." In his first public comments since Gaither rose from a struggling student to a supplemental draft pick for the Ravens, Friedgen tempered his high praise for the lineman by questioning Gaither's work ethic - a shortcoming that eventually cost him his starting job. "Sometimes he wouldn't work," Friedgen said.

Annapolis Panthers1997-98 record: 5-6-1Coach: Tom SfakiyanudisTop wrestlers: Ed Parshley, Sr., 171; B. J. Zedera, Jr., 112/119; Shannon Strong, Jr., 125; Peter Ratz, Sr., 152; Alonzo Hayes, Sr., 160.Outlook: Sfakiyanudis, who takes over for longtime coach Dave Gehrdes, has an inexperienced group with a potentially strong upside. Numbers are the first positive, with 35 wrestlers out, mostly freshmen and sophomores with some junior league experience. "It's a rebuilding situation," said Sfakiyanudis, an Annapolis and West Virginia grad who assistedGehrdes two years ago. "We're starting with the basics and going to build these kids up. We have to put the work ethic in place.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When Tom Coughlin was the New York Giants' wide receivers coach in the late 1980s under Bill Parcells, he was a relentless man on a staff of relentless men. On Christmas, Parcells called the Giants Stadium office to leave a message on Coughlin's voice mail. The phone rang. No one would be working on Christmas.The phone rang again. Coughlin answered. He was the only coach at the office that day -- had been for hours. "I don't know if I should be proud of that story or not," he said.

Chain gangs of inmates, shackled ankle-to-ankle like on Old South highways, are coming to Massachusetts.For the first time in the state, a county sheriff will lock teams of nonviolent convicts together in leg irons and send them out to clean streets, paint curbs and pick vegetables at farms.Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson said the inmates, dressed in bright red jumpsuits and followed by two armed guards, will learn teamwork and gain valuable life experience."This is not punitive," Hodgson said.

Lillian Malas, a teen-age shepherd in her native Greece who became a Baltimore restaurateur -- as famous for her crab cakes as she was for her religious work ethic -- died Saturday at her Reisterstown home. She was 95 and died of natural causes.Mrs. Malas stopped her work in the kitchen of Duffy's, her family's Southwest Baltimore restaurant that closed this year, when she was incapacitated by a stroke, said her daughter Mary Aiello. She had been retired for a year."She seemed to thrive on working.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When Tom Coughlin was the New York Giants' wide receivers coach in the late 1980s under Bill Parcells, he was a relentless man on a staff of relentless men. On Christmas, Parcells called the Giants Stadium office to leave a message on Coughlin's voice mail. The phone rang. No one would be working on Christmas.The phone rang again. Coughlin answered. He was the only coach at the office that day -- had been for hours. "I don't know if I should be proud of that story or not," he said.

QuarterbacksJim Harbaugh never lived up to expectations. He suffered setbacks early in the season with injuries to his right (throwing) hand and elbow, but once he returned, he still didn't play with consistency in the second half of the season. Harbaugh never claimed leadership of the team, and his below-average arm strength limited the passing game. Backup Eric Zeier didn't display the mobility he had in college and still had problems feeling pressure and stepping up in the pocket. The Ravens need to find a franchise quarterback, or at least a prospect, in the off-season.

Adam Boog won more than 20 matches last winter for North Carroll, took a Carroll County championship, finished third in the region, and won a match at the state tournament.That pleased him, but Boog decided that he wanted more for this, his senior season. He wanted to be the best."I wanted to excel. I wanted to win the states," said Boog, who has taken some large steps toward that goal. The 171-pounder was 16-2 with 10 pins though last weekend's competition. He was a major force in helping No. 15-ranked North Carroll get off to a 6-2 start -- including last week's 32-30 upset of No. 9 Westminster.

That Randallstown senior Demon Brown is having such a phenomenal season -- averaging 26.5 points, 9.5 assists and three steals -- is admirable on its own.The fact that in his first season of organized basketball -- last winter -- he made first-team All-Metro, averaging 22.5 points and 6.2 assists, makes his achievements even more commendable."

Marshal Yanda spent his pre-teen mornings pitching out calf stalls on the family's dairy farm five miles north of tiny Anamosa, Iowa. His afternoons were devoted to riding a four-wheeler he shared with farming buddies, punishing the trampoline in the backyard or shooting baskets with his mom and sister. Life on the farm was good for Yanda. So good that one day he will return to it. For now, though, his consuming passion is carving out a career in the NFL as a gritty and versatile offensive lineman for the Ravens.

He's taught history to high-schoolers in those ubiquitous trailers called "portable classrooms." He's also worked as a substitute teacher. And he's intimately knowledgeable about education acronyms such as HSA (high school assessments) and AYP (annual yearly progress). Andrew C. Pruski, the Baltimore County schools administrator who was sworn in Friday as the newest member of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education, thinks those experiences will be an asset to his new position as he looks to improve the county's public schools.

Considering some of his family members, it's unlikely that Kevin Jackson, the newest member of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education, will be looking for a quick tutorial on school issues. Jackson, a federal worker and Naval Academy graduate, is married to Monique Jackson, an assistant principal at Annapolis Middle School. His late aunt, Helen Jean Holt, taught at Mayo Elementary School for more than 30 years. Another aunt was also an educator. "We sit around and talk about the issues," Jackson, 32, an Edgewater resident, said in a recent interview, though he added that he would be paying close attention to the budget process.

Darrius Heyward-Bey has elite speed, a prototypical NFL body and a fervent desire to excel. But will that be enough to warrant selection in the top half of Saturday's draft for a wide receiver who disappeared in some Maryland's games, who could make the difficult catch and drop the easy one? Heyward-Bey is the epitome of risk-reward in this year's draft. The team that selects him could be getting, over the next few years, the league's next big playmaker, a wide-out capable of turning a game on a simple slant pattern.

River Hill senior Scott Trench is what his wrestling coach Brandon Lauer calls "a throwback" - a high school athlete who excels not at one or even two sports, but three. "It's hard to excel at the highest level nowadays in three different varsity sports," Lauer said. "But Scott brings a tremendous work ethic. You know you can rely on him to work hard, and that's why he succeeds in athletics and academics." Trench, 18 with a 3.9 grade-point average, was the kicker and tight end for the Hawks' football team that won the state Class 2A championship; he wrestled in the 171-pound weight class and finished this season as the state runner-up; and now he heads into the lacrosse season where he is the Hawks faceoff man. "He's a guy I'm going to talk to my teams about for years," Lauer said.

COLLEGE PARK -The man everyone came to see yesterday was hard to miss, even if you didn't notice the red-and-gray numbered shirt he wore when he ran the fastest 40-yard dash in the NFL scouting combine three weeks ago. Darrius Heyward-Bey, at home and at ease, towered over the field in more ways than one on Maryland's pro day. At least 25 teams and as many as 40 NFL scouts or coaches were on campus to watch 24 draft-eligible Terps get timed, tested, weighed...

It might be misleading to call the Charlotte game a "breakout" effort for freshman Sean Mosley. That's because you get the sense he'll be having a lot more games like this one. The freshman from St. Frances filled the stat sheet - 11 points, 2-for-2 on threes, five rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes. Now we know why Gary Williams likes this kid so much. It's the work ethic. His teammates say Mosley is a killer in practice, crashing the boards and playing rugged defense. He plays big for 6 feet 4. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.

On Sunday, running back Willis McGahee stayed in his cape so long that you didn't know whether he was an active player or a superhero. Maybe he is Underdog, because McGahee is apparently in coach John Harbaugh's doghouse again. The Ravens can try to paint it another way, but he is on what I call "The List." It's a group of high-profile players who for one reason or another might not return next season. "The List" includes McGahee, Ed Reed, Chris McAlister, Todd Heap, Bart Scott and Samari Rolle.

When Mount de Sales volleyball coach Kenny Mills saw his team ranked No. 2 in preseason, he was pleased but surprised. "I expected we might be ranked in the top 10, but I was not expecting No. 2," he said. "Instead of looking at it as pressure, we look at it as something we have to live up to." The players were just as surprised. "When they heard about it, they were shocked," Mills said. "The seniors, they're up for the challenge." The Sailors were 3-0 after defeating No. 6 Archbishop Spalding last night in four sets and primed for a run at the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference title.

LINDSAY, Ontario - A friend of mine recently became angry over the idleness of a 19-year-old male. "He's doing nothing," he said bitterly. Road rage, office rage and even relationship rage are familiar to us. But now idleness rage has emerged. Frequently I hear people complain about the idleness of young people. Often their complaints reach a feverish pitch. What's behind this rage? Some people fear we're spawning a generation of slackers. But it's more likely that our fast-paced culture blinds us to the need to slow down.