Turtle hurdle: if Maryland wants to prove prognosticators wrong and make a run at another title, the Terrapins must forget their success and reaffirm their hard-shell attitude. (College Basketball).

You don't imagine Gary Williams ever could go soft, not when you've seen him sweating through suits, chewing out Maryland reserves for mistakes the starters made and skewering reporters whose questions he didn't particularly like. Gary Williams soft? Perhaps in some distant time, when Michael Jordan is a backup shooting guard for a second-rate NBA team.

And then you see the Comcast Center, the spectacular mansion that henceforth will serve as home for Williams and the Terrapins basketball program. You see Williams' handsome office, with the comfortable sitting area, the hardwood floor and that big-screen TV with the 16:9 aspect ratio.

You see the framed ...