Young Players

Aberdeen Eagles1993 record: 2-10. Coach: Stu HinchTop players: Andy D'Amico, Sr., M; Jason Smith, Sr., B; Greg Sawyer, Sr., M; Jeff Johnson, Sr., B; Drew Grant, Sr., G; Gerad Guerrera, Soph, F; Greg Vick, Soph., M; Carlos Soto, Fresh., B.FTC Outlook: There are seven holdovers on a 23-man squad, largest turnout in recent years. Team speed and conditioning are good, and emphasis has been placed on building a team concept. If the group comes together, a good start is possible, providing a foundation for the season.

Since he broke into the major leagues nine years ago, he has been one of the best, and most popular players in baseball.But until last night Kirby Puckett had not particularly distinguished himself as an All-Star, even though his team has won seven of the eight games in which he has appeared. That last statistic, Puckett feels, is the most significant.Last night, the Minnesota Twins' robust center fielder hit a home run and a double to spark the American League to a 9-3 win over the National League.

ASHBURN, Va. -- As Washington Redskins coach Richie Petitbon ponders his first roster cutdown, injuries are going to play a role in his decisions.Petitbon, who must slice his roster from 79 to 60 players today, indicated that wide receiver Stephen Hobbs will join Matt Elliott and Jim Lachey on the injured reserve list. Under the new rules, that means they'll be out all year.Hobbs has been sidelined by a deep groin pull all training camp, and Petitbon said: "It doesn't seem like it's going to get better [soon]

How does a man who has never had a losing high school football season in nine years of coaching deal with seven straight losses to start a season at a new school?Some coaches may rant, rave and throw things. Others might blame the players, and a few may come close to going off the deep end.Some might simply withdraw.But not first-year Liberty coach Ken Johnson.Johnson's pride is obviously hurt and he is dying on the inside. But on the outside he is doing all the right things to accomplish his goal of turning the downtrodden Lions football program around.

CARLISLE, Pa. -- If it's near the end of the first week of training camp, Joe Gibbs must be complaining about the NFL's 80-player roster limit.Gibbs, the Washington Redskins' coach, is one of the most vocal opponents of the cost-cutting measure adopted three years ago.And Gibbs gets frustrated at the end of the first week when he sends the veteran receivers and tight ends home briefly and is left with half a squad.He'll have 40 healthy players and four injured ones in camp until the veterans arrive this weekend.

PHILADELPHIA - On top of it all, Ravens rookie running back Chris Barnes had to endure the wrath of hundreds of Philadelphia Eagles fans. As if the disappointment of not getting to play in his first NFL exhibition were not enough, Barnes and the rest of his Ravens teammates had to walk through an angry mob held off by police tape and security guards on the way to the team buses. This came in the wake of last night's postponement of the Eagles-Ravens preseason game at Veterans Stadium.

The six-member Dallas Brass ensemble will make room on stage for 17 more musicians Monday when the group plays in Westminster.And the young group, which has performed for international audiences, will look younger still.The extras are brass and percussion students from the Carroll County's middle schools.Many of the young players are members of the All County and All State bands."They were chosen because they achieved highly in all-county auditions or on their teacher's recommendation," said Glenn Patterson, supervisor of music and art for the Carroll County public schools.

Clemson has had more serene homecomings.The Tigers take a 5-2 record and designs on a bowl bid into tomorrow's Atlantic Coast Conference game against Maryland, but the roar in Death Valley last week wasn't as deafening as it used to be.Clemson handled its homecoming foe by a 27-0 score, but East Tennessee State isn't among the elite in Division I-AA. For the second straight week, there were 26,000 empty seats at Memorial Stadium, and the fans who came had to adjust to the offense that had been installed by the beleaguered head coach.

Fallston High's football team hasn't had a record like this in 10 years.Dave Cesky, in his 17th season as the only head coach the school has had, says he's never had a team like this.When the Cougars defeated Northeast, 20-14, Friday night they ran their record to 6-0 and won for the 10th time in 11 games.For that kind of success, one has to go back to the 1983 team that won its first six and finished 7-3.How bad were the intervening years? Bad enough that last year's 6-4 team ended a string of eight straight non-winning seasons.

Check out the trades the Washington Capitals have been able to perpetrate on teams in the NHL during the last decade or so and you soon conclude they have probably led the league in that department.Good thing. Otherwise, they would still be back in the morass of 20 or so victories a season and in last place in the Patrick Division.Always a reward of lousy play, however, is that a floundering team assumes the divine right of ineptitude being rewarded in the form of access to top young players worldwide in the annual draft.