Year S Team

Orioles manager Mike Hargrove keeps cautioning everyone to wait before making any assessments about how good this year's team can be. He says it'll take 40 to 50 games before he really knows himself. But with the team past the 35-game mark, we figured what the heck? This year's club has been better than a lot of people thought, and provided it can keep healthy - after some disturbing signs this past week - owner Peter Angelos' stated goal of finishing at least .500 appears surprisingly within reach.

With daily devotion, the high school boys of Brooklandville, who are not quite old enough to be called men, plead with one another. Stick together. Don't do anything stupid. Everyone is watching you. Everyone is waiting for you to screw up. Prove them wrong. The refrain never changes. A year ago, that was hardly the case for the St. Paul's boys lacrosse team. The team was considered the best high school squad in the country, and its 34 players - some who had played together since age 10 - were looking forward to the best season of their lives.

WASHINGTON - The motivation for the Georgetown University basketball team hangs on a wall in the bathroom of a locker room at McDonough Gym. Over the urinals. The placement of last season's National Invitation Tournament banner is as strategic as the message that this season's Hoyas take from the memento. It's a reminder of where Georgetown doesn't want to be come March, the tournament in which the Hoyas have played in each of the past three years. "I want to take it down now," junior point guard Kevin Braswell said last week.

The wait is over for Glenelg's field hockey team. A year ago, Washington eliminated the Gladiators in a scoreless Class 1A state semifinal game that was decided by penalty strokes. Glenelg's Elizabeth Narron said then it was "the best game I've played in all year." The loss only made Glenelg more determined this season. The Gladiators finished the regular season unbeaten in the county and 13-1 overall, losing only to Francis Scott Key in overtime. Those were meaningful accomplishments, but nothing compared to what has driven them all season -- another opportunity to win a state championship.

Bowling Brook football coach Gary Myers was all smiles when asked to recall his fondest memory from last season. "That first game against West Nottingham," Myers said of the school's first varsity contest, a 26-19 victory. "You watch TV and you see guys win big game or championships, and they dump a bucket of water on the coach's head. I remember that happening to me." That victory kicked off a 5-1 year - and Coach of the Year honors for Myers - that exceeded nearly every expectation attached to a rookie program.

With the pieces in place and a winning mentality established, the Blast head into training camp tomorrow morning wanting more. Last year's team went 26-18, captured the East Division of the National Professional Soccer League, and won an opening-round playoff series before being swept in the best-of-three conference series by the Cleveland Crunch. "At the end of last year, we felt good about ourselves, but I can remember one of those last days when I was leaving [the Arena]. I kind of kicked the boards, because we wanted to win the championship," said Blast coach and general manager Kevin Healey, who enters his third season.

BOSTON - Who plays third base? Who plays first? How is Outfield 2001 configured? Entering a fourth-place season's final week, they are only the most obvious questions confronting an organization prepared to extend its July makeover into next winter. But they also invite subtler, perhaps even larger questions such as who within the new mix will lead, follow or be eased out of the way. Questions of leadership within the Orioles clubhouse often lead to suspicious answers. Characterizations of this team as cliquish, low-key and even dysfunctional have led to a defense mechanism of sorts among the lifers who remain.

Urbana coach Kevin McMullen was impressed with the quality of River Hill's players after the Hawks easily defeated his Frederick County team, 6-0, yesterday for their 17th straight victory.The Hawks (8-0 overall, 5-0league) are ranked No. 9 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll."I want to find out who the No. 1 through 8 teams are," McMullen said in disbelief that any team could be better than River Hill.River Hill, ranked No. 1 by The Sun in the Baltimore area, was almost as dangerous with its second team on the field as with its first team.

Opinion: A fourth-place, sub.-500, garbage-time- weighted finish might be enough to save Ray Miller's job? Come on, where's the punch line?Fact: The Ravens' 39.0 team quarterback rating is easily the AFC's worst. Three other AFC teams are at 100 or better.Opinion: A big reason why Sosa-McGwire II isn't causing as much of a stir: No legends to chase. No Gehrig, no Maris, no romance to frame the issue.Fact: Will Clark, Delino DeShields and Cal Ripken played in a combined 259 games and missed a combined 227 due to injuries in 1999.

Atholton Raiders1998 record: 0-13 overall, 0-9 leagueCoach: Beth PresslerClassification: 2ATop players: Karen Brownlie, Sr., M; Kelly Jones, Jr., D; Sherry Choe, Jr., F; Emily Benson, Sr., F. Ailene Olsen, Soph., G.Outlook: "There's a different attitude, a more positive attitude," said new coach Pressler, Atholton's JV coach the last three seasons. "There's a spirit of teamwork, and they're very eager to go out and play well." The Raiders not only didn't win a game last season, they didn't score.