Yankees Fans

On the day after the brawlingest night in the history of Camden Yards, Baltimore police doubled their patrols yesterday in the sections loaded with New York Yankees fans. They brought in an extra platoon to discourage post-game clashes in the streets outside the stadium, and they formed a cordon to keep spectators from rushing the field after the final out.But when the Yankees scored early and often, the deflated Orioles fans just didn't seem to be in much of a fighting mood."It's not like [Saturday]

On Sunday, we told you about The Horsebox , a bar in New York's East Village that Orioles fans have adopted. Josh Adams was among the displaced Marylanders who found their way to Avenue A to watch the Orioles take on the Yankees in ALDS Game 3. Here's Josh's report: The Horsebox was packed with Orioles fans, making it feel like a little slice of Fells Point in the East Village. The familiar Oriole Bird hat was in full display among the patrons and when Ryan Flaherty went deep in the third inning, an ear-splitting "Let's go O's!"

And it's root, root, root ... for the away team. They overrun our ballpark. They sleep in our beds. They eat our food, drink our beer, flirt with our womenfolk. "I just know they are everywhere," Orioles broadcaster Jim Palmer says. It's not easy to hear, but we're just trying to prepare you. The Yankees' Evil Empire and Red Sox Nation march respectively - not respectfully - into Baltimore tomorrow for a seven-game stretch on their second-home home field: Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

I DON'T know how it is with you, but for me the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all is right with the world. The Yankees lost the World Series. Hallelujah, baby! Oh, I know the city of New York has been through a lot. My heart goes out to the people there. And I know the Yankees have a lot of good guys on their team; to hear the New York media tell it, it's a roster of altar boys who call their moms every night. Doesn't matter. I'm so sick of the Yankees I could scream. So when that soft, dying quail of a hit off the bat of Luis Gonzalez dropped into the outfield in Game 7 and the Arizona Diamondbacks officially became world champions, we Yankee-haters leaped from our sofas, brushed the pretzel crumbs from our shirts and screamed: "YESSS!

Nothing fair or equitable for Maryland taxpayers I read in The Sun on July 7 about the Orioles winning their dispute with the Maryland Stadium Authority, claiming disparity in their stadium deal vs. the Ravens' deal. Now, let me see if I have this picture right. The taxpayers of Maryland pay to build both of the stadiums at practically no cost to the owners of either team. Next, the officials, elected by the taxpayers, grant sweetheart concessions, bonuses and freebies to the team owners to entice both teams to play in the taxpayer-built stadiums.

MIAMI -- "It doesn't bother me," New York Yankees manager Buck Showalter said when asked about George Steinbrenner's possible reinstatement as Boss. "Why would that bother me?"Oh, Buck. Buck. Buckbuckbuckbuckbuck."Why would that bother me?"That's what the Romans said at the report of approaching Huns.That's what the buffalo said when William Cody rode out onto the plains for a look-see.That's what the buggy manufacturers said when the first primitive automobile chugged by.That's what the silent screen star with the lisp said when he heard about talkies.

Preston has unfair bias against Ravens' Billick It's time for The Sun to get rid of columnist Mike Preston. He obviously has a problem with Brian Billick, and it obviously affects what he writes about the Ravens. Does he realize that the Ravens won the Super Bowl? Does he realize that they would not have done so without Brian Billick? Maybe Billick needs to start following Preston around and unfairly criticizing everything he does. Come on, Sun editors, do the right thing: Dump Preston!

EVEN YOGI BERRA, known for witticisms so absurd they're brilliant, would be at a loss to explain the bizarre summer Baltimore baseball fans continue to endure.On Sunday, David Cone of the rival New York Yankees pitched a perfect game, retiring all 27 batters he faced. He threw just 88 pitches. Because any mistake can undo a perfect game, the feat has been accomplished in the major leagues only 14 times this century.Mr. Cone's milestone was made more dramatic by the presence of Yankee greats from the past, who participated in ceremonies in honor of Mr. Berra.

A little more than nine years ago, I moved to Mount Vernon. It was great, although at first I'd occasionally want to go to Rite Aid --- the one in the island near State Center complex, at the north end of Martin Luther King Blvd. --- and drive around and around in circles and never find it. Other times, I would try to go home, take a wrong turn and find myself at the Rite Aid, which I knew was not going to help me navigate to my apartment. I nicknamed it the Bermuda Triangle.

In past years when the feared yet despised Yankees came to Baltimore in September, Orioles fans' only concern was whether they would be sitting next to a boisterous Yanks fan ("Who expected this?" Sept. 5). The only real hope was that the Orioles fans would be able to muster a higher decibel level than the Yankees fans when the chants began. We have all seen them; they would enter our beloved Camden Yards with their pinstriped jerseys, bold blue hats with the iconic lettering, and their pompous "Got Rings"?