Same Old Story for Maryland Tracks: No Slots, No Action

"If we don't get a bill [to legalize slot machines] by April, I wouldn't blame the trainers for moving on," Raffetto said.

Nearly 70 years ago, Seabiscuit defeated War Admiral in a match race for the ages so elegantly chronicled by Washington writer Laura Hillenbrand in a book and later a movie. It was among the classic sports events of the century. And it took place at Pimlico, which is in Baltimore, in the state of Maryland. The game deserves to survive here, if lawmakers and Magna officials need reminding.

Redskins' Line Seems Straight

The Redskins obtaining left guard Pete Kendall, 34, from the New York Jets makes sense. Derrick Dockery's departure in the offseason was not adequately addressed, nor was the training camp injury to left tackle Chris Samuels. The replacements -- tackle Stephon Heyer and guard Mike Pucillo -- were risks, at best, to start preseason games. While you can't hold either player primarily responsible for Jason Campbell's injury last Saturday, I'm surprised coaches Joe Gibbs and Joe Bugel didn't address the situation earlier. Eight sacks in two preseason games? Not great.

Meanwhile, the team cut middle linebacker Lemar Marshall, who started 15 games last season, and brought in veteran Randall Godfrey. Marshall played most of five seasons with the Redskins, enjoying his best year in 2005. I liked him. Leave it to insightful veteran cornerback Fred Smoot to summarize the week: "People come, people go."

� Those fans who still haven't forgiven Orioles owner Peter Angelos for trying to keep Major League Baseball from returning to Washington must have had a laugh at the Orioles losing to the Texas Rangers, 30-3, on Wednesday. It's only been 110 years since a big league baseball team scored 30 runs in a single game.

Personally, there was sympathy here for Manager Dave Trembley, whose contract extension (through 2008) celebration was ruined by the first-game slaughter and a 9-7 nightcap defeat.

The Rangers scoring 16 runs in the final two innings prompted me to think about how fictional minor league catcher Crash Davis of "Bull Durham" fame would have handled the situation. "Every pitch in their ear," Crash would have told his pitcher, Nuke LaLoosh, I bet.

Meanwhile, Washington's own Nuke -- Nook Logan -- had five hits Tuesday in Washington's 11-6 victory over Houston. Five hits. Nook?

� The gritty (16-18) Mystics deserve a nod. After losing their first eight games and their coach, the Mystics nearly made the WNBA playoffs. But Monique Currie's three-pointer with 0.1 of a second left to beat Connecticut, 76-74, last Sunday went for naught when New York defeated Chicago later in the day. Still, "it was the biggest shot of my life," Currie said in a telephone interview. "I'd never, ever made a game-winning basket." Currie leaves town soon to play in Russia, where, she said, "I'd better take some sweats." Currie's boss, Mystics managing partner Sheila Johnson, observed: "I'm so proud of these girls. It was remarkable how they turned themselves around."

� 33-year-old D.C. United star Jaime Moreno deserves an additional nod. Moreno's goal the other night off a penalty kick against New York was the 109th of his MLS career, most in league history.

� The excitement of the start of college and high school football seasons is a welcome diversion from the depressing and relentless news surrounding Michael Vick's guilty plea to federal dogfighting charges. I wonder how high school coaches can explain to their players how someone at the top of his profession can do something so heinous and foolish?

Have a comment or question? Reach me attalkback@washpost.com.