Around the horn

He's not quite Nostradamus, but Baltimore runner Jamal Lewis apparently does know when he's about to bust loose a big game. Before the Ravens' week-two game against Cleveland, the running back reportedly told a teammate and a friend on the Browns that he was going to break the NFL single-game rushing record when the two teams met. Mr. Lewis did just that, rushing for 295 yards on just 30 carries. It may never be as celebrated as Babe Ruth's 1932 called shot against Chicago in the World Series, but it has given fans in Baltimore something to talk about.

Not even Nostradamus or Jamal Lewis could have predicted the 2-0 start by the embattled Carolina Panthers-or the manner in which the Panthers earned their second victory. The visiting Carolina team led 9-3 late when defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay scored a touchdown with no time left to tie the game at 9. The Bucs needed only to chip in the extra point to win, but the Panthers line, which had already blocked two field goals, stuffed the extra point too. That gave the Panthers the opportunity to win the game in overtime, which they did.

Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett this month petitioned the NFL's front office to change its minimum age limit. Unlike basketball players, who can enter the NBA draft directly out of high school, football players have to be at least three years past their high-school graduation to be eligible for the NFL's draft. Under that rule, Mr. Clarett wouldn't be eligible for the league's draft until 2005. He wants to be drafted in 2004.