Younger Sister

MAJURO, Marshall Islands - She sits on the grass on a warm, windy afternoon, with the Pacific tide rolling gently on the rock-strewn beach behind her. The placid scene contrasts sharply with the part of her young life she is describing. Five years ago, when she was 12, she and her younger sister were adopted by a Greenwood, S.C., couple. The sexual abuse by her adoptive father began almost as soon as she moved into his home, she said. The Sun does not publish the names of alleged victims of sexual abuse.

WIMBLEDON, England - Venus Williams says she's doing a lot of praying that her abdominal injury won't keep her from playing today's Wimbledon final against her sister, but she's not avoiding more mortal help, either. Her personal trainer, Kerrie Brooks, spent much of yesterday giving her treatment, and Williams also stayed off the practice courts, trying to get as much rest as possible. She's game to play and there's no question of her motivation after her courageous semifinal win over Belgium's Kim Clijsters on Thursday.

Longtime Orioles first baseman Eddie Murray never embraced the spotlight, but his 21-year major-league career shined so brightly that there was never a serious doubt that he would be elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Murray was named on 85 percent of the 496 ballots cast by 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in voting announced yesterday and will be inducted in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 27 along with catcher Gary Carter, the only other player to receive the minimum 75 percent of the vote required for induction.

YORK, Pa. - Two white men convicted in the 1969 race-riot killing of a black preacher's daughter were sentenced yesterday to spend at least 4 1/2 and 9 years in prison. York County Judge John C. Uhler handed down the sentences - 4 1/2 years to 10 years for Gregory H. Neff and 9 years to 19 years for Robert N. Messersmith - at the end of an emotional court hearing in which Messersmith leveled new accusations against former York Mayor Charlie Robertson. The former mayor was acquitted in October of charges that as a police officer he offered encouragement and bullets to the white gang members who killed Lillie Belle Allen.

YORK, Pa. -- Walking home from church yesterday morning, Charlie Robertson couldn't go more than a block at a time without someone stopping him to offer congratulations or tooting a car horn in support. He was up till midnight Saturday, answering "hundreds of calls" from friends and strangers in at least six states and as far away as Italy, according to the list he pulled from his suit pocket. Just hours earlier that day, a jury had acquitted him of murder charges in the 33-year-old race-riot killing of a black woman.

WIMBLEDON, England - She's a feisty kid sister and a champ. She tosses a racket into the dust and a fist into the air. She's always in a hurry, first on court, first to ace, first to smile. But yesterday, the kid sister did something truly impetuous, confirming her place as the best player in a sport and a household. Serena Williams took her older sister Venus' crown at Wimbledon, winning, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the tournament's first all-sister final since 1884. It wasn't a great match - but it might have been the true start of a great rivalry.

NEW YORK - Hollywood. That's what it was. Opening night for Two Sisters. A walk down the red carpet at the Oscars. Robert Redford was there. Mary Tyler Moore. Candice Bergen. Hilary Swank. Bruce Willis. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Even Frank Robinson was in the house. Diana Ross sang "God Bless America." Finally, Venus and Serena Williams walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium to compete for the U.S. Open championship. In the second set last night, Venus and Serena combined for amazing points. With agility, power, skill and tenacity, they whaled on each other until Venus delivered the final blow, a backhand so strong that it ripped the racket from Serena's hand as she tried to return.

When Brianna Tighe heard the announcement that a close friend had died of a heroin overdose, she burst into tears and ran from her classroom at Westminster High School. She later swore up and down to her younger sister that she would never even try heroin, that she could never do something so stupid. Last month, nearly three years after the friend's death, police found Brianna, a former cheerleader and honor roll student, dead in a Pikesville motel room after using heroin and inhaling nitrous oxide.

For three days, 60 miles and a few breaks in between, Lynne Pachico will be walking with a purpose. The South County woman, along with about 4,000 others, was scheduled to began a trek today from Frederick to Washington to raise money and awareness for breast cancer prevention. They will walk for 20 miles each day, sharing stories of friends and family who have been lost to breast cancer and who have survived it. Pachico, of North Beach, will tell the story of her younger sister, who recently completed treatment after her condition was diagnosed last year during a routine mammogram.

Q. I have a 4-year-old daughter who refuses to eat meat or to try any different foods. She lives on about 10 different foods, including macaroni and cheese and peanut butter and jelly. She seems almost terrified if I offer her anything else. She is right in the middle of height and weight charts for her age. She is healthy, and her iron count is good. My husband is concerned about her diet, though. He's also concerned because I fix her a separate meal from the rest of the family every night.