Xavier

St. Francis Xavier, one of the founders with Ignatius Loyola of the Society of Jesus in 1534, journeyed to India and later the Far East, where he helped establish the mission of the Roman Catholic Church. Known as "The Apostle of the Indies," Xavier wrote of his conquest for converts, "Give me souls. These people are the delight of my soul." While attempting to enter China, Xavier was stricken with a fever and died on the island of Sancian Dec. 3, 1552. After several months, his body was exhumed and found to be "incorrupt."

College basketball Cincinnati@Xavier 7 p.m. [ESPN2] This is the 75th time these cross-town rivals are meeting. In the 1990s, it was Xavier that was a thorn in the side of Cincinnati, beating the Bearcats twice when the Bearcats were the top-ranked team. These days, it's the Atlantic 10's Xavier (7-1) that is ranked (No. 17) with the Big East's Cincinnati (4-4) going for the upset. The Musketeers, who have some decent size, have six players averaging in double digits. NBA Pistons@Rockets 8 p.m. [ESPN]

I tuned in to ESPN yesterday to see what all the Kenny Tate hype was about. Tate's DeMatha Catholic squad squared off against Cincinnati St. Xavier on the campus of the University of Cincinnati as part of the Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge. DeMatha - in the midst of a 22-game winning streak dating back to 2005 - fell to the hometown St. Xavier Bombers, 28-7. Tate was blanketed all day by St. Xavier defenders, often facing double coverage. DeMatha quarterback Tom Chroniger tried to connect with Tate several times down the left side of the field, but was inches away each time.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The winning coach didn't look all that happy and neither did the fan-favorite face of the winning team after No. 1 seed Ohio State survived a come-from-behind victory in overtime against No. 9 seed Xavier yesterday in the South Regional. Ohio State center Greg Oden sat in the Buckeyes' locker room glowering over how he'd let his team down. He fouled out with nine seconds to play in regulation and missed all of the overtime frame, in which guard Mike Conley Jr. scored 11 of his 21 points to carry the Buckeyes to the 78-71 win. And then there was Thad Matta, the former Xavier and current Ohio State head coach, who advanced to the Sweet 16 by beating several of the players he once called his own. "This was a very, very difficult game to coach, from the standpoint that I'm as happy as I've ever been, but I'm as sad as I've ever been," Matta said, reflecting on the current Xavier seniors he had recruited there.

Joppatowne senior tailback Xavier Martin enjoyed his finest moment in high school football Sept. 22 when called on by coach Bill Waibel to be the team's quarterback after the starting and backup quarterbacks went down with injuries the week before. Martin ran the ball seven times for 199 yards and had three touchdowns, throwing just one pass, in a 41-21 victory over North East. Was that your first start at QB in high school? Yes, it was my first start. I had played some QB in our first preseason scrimmage against Loyola.

On August 1, 2006, FRANCIS XAVIER DUGGAN, beloved husband of the late Peggy V. Duggan (nee Arthur), loving father of Marian Shafii and her husband Dr. Edward Shafii, devoted grandfather of Dr. Alexis Edward Shafii, Dr. Susan M. Shafii and Andrew H. Shafii, dear great-grandfather of Sofia Shafii and dear brother of Winifred Atkinson and the late John P. and Martin Duggan. Friends may call at Gonce Funeral Service P.A., 4001 Ritchie Hwy, on Friday from 7 to 9. Mass of Christian Burial in St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church on Saturday at 1:30 P.M. Interment New Cathedral Cemetery.

Francis Xavier Denbow, a maintenance technician and well-known Ruxton mechanic, died of pancreatic cancer April 26 at his Lutherville home. He was 60. Mr. Denbow was born in Baltimore and raised in Ruxton. He served in the Navy as a signalman from 1964 to 1967, and while in the service earned his General Educational Development certificate. After leaving the Navy, he began working as a mechanic at what is now the Ruxton Service Center in the 7500 block of Bellona Ave. "He was a good mechanic, and I learned a lot from him. There was no challenge" that he was afraid to take on, said Michael Mozelack, who has worked as a mechanic at the station since 1977.