ASHBURN Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan felt it necessary Sunday to declare Robert Griffin III his starting quarterback - an affirmation akin to the wetness of water and the hygienic habits of bears.

NORFOLK Steve Thomas, one of the men standing with Admirals coach Jon Cooper during the AHL playoffs, is a "player development consultant" for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Wouldn't it be a devilish bit of hockey fate if some kid Thomas has already developed - his boy, Christian - ends up biting the Ads in the shorts over the next week or so?

The streak has peaked - for now. American Hockey League precedent says the Norfolk Admirals' otherworldly 2-1/2-month, 28-game winning streak goes on hiatus here at playoff time, but that it may be dusted off and extended next season. For the Admirals' franchise, though, next season is truly a time and a place to be determined.

NORFOLK The last time the Norfolk Admirals lost a hockey game, Denver was ground zero of Tebowmania, Linsanity was but a mild fever and the New York Giants were still a few hours from winning the Super Bowl. The date was Feb. 5. And if that seems like a substantial slice of time, considering March is about to say its farewells, well, nearly one-sixth of a year qualifies as lengthy.

CHARLOTTESVILLE Virginia's lacrosse players openly discuss among themselves their wish to claim a second straight NCAA championship this Memorial Day weekend. Close lacrosse observers understand that ambitious discussion lives close to the implausible side of the field.

GREENSBORO, N.C. All was lovely in the land of the Tar Heel. The North Carolina team had administered its NCAA tournament business Sunday within a Greensboro Coliseum full of home folks. The Heels blitzed Creighton 87-73, after blitzing Vermont on Friday, to efficiently advance to the Midwest Regional in St. Louis in a few days.

GREENSBORO, N.C. Brett Reed e-nun-ci-ates. That is to say, Lehigh's earnest basketball coach speaks with the precision and lilt of a man reciting a book on tape or updating the traffic-jam report.

GREENSBORO, N.C. James Michael Mc-Adoo used his first NCAA tournament game with North Carolina on Friday to prove his tremendous talent. To prove he's JMM, not John Henson, the injured shot-blocking star he replaced in the Tar Heels' lineup against Vermont. And that, albeit 35 games into his rookie year, to prove he's still got a lot of ambling freshman in him.

If you're the casual Washington Redskins fan who spent five minutes Saturday reading about the team's trade with St. Louis to draft (presumably) quarterback Robert Griffin III, you're the reason. If you're more the diehard who stopped to daydream about what the Redskins might do now through free agency or the draft to surround Griffin with weapons, you're the reason.

As United Football League operations remain on hold, the public presence of the Virginia Destroyers is shrinking from view. The team is in the process of closing its Virginia Beach Town Center office and will use vacant space for free at the U.S. field hockey national training center at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.