Comets

For much of yesterday's Class 3A North regional girls basketball championship, No. 8 Catonsville managed to slow the pace and keep the game close, but when No. 3 Western picked up the tempo in the fourth quarter, the Doves ran away with it. Akeema Richards and Keirah Hicks scored off turnovers early in the fourth quarter and set off a Doves run that boosted their five-point lead to 16 in four minutes, fueling a 56-40 Doves victory - their second straight...

HOUSTON -- How close was a Houston Comets threepeat?Men manning confetti cannons had their fingers on the triggers.The giant cereal box in the press room with the Comets' team picture on it was unveiled, ready for inspection.At halftime, press room phones were all in use -- by people booking flights home.No way New York wins this one, everyone figured.Everyone but Teresa Weatherspoon.She quieted the cannons, someone tossed a tarp over the cereal box and airline reservations had to be changed.

Towson freshman Nick Williams said he dreamed the night before that his visiting Generals would vanquish a streaking Catonsville squad on its home field, but he added, after last night's 12-6 victory, "This is more than a dream come true."Senior Mike Williams blocked a field-goal attempt by the Comets with three seconds to play, and his little brother, Nick, scooped the ball off a muddy field before racing untouched some 75 yards for the game-winning score as the Generals (6-1, 5-1) broke a four-game winning streak by the Comets (6-2, 5-2)

THE WORLD'S leading astronomers recently adopted a new rating system likely to have a Deep Impact on many people. Similar to the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, it predicts the devastation likely to be wrought by a collision between Earth and an asteroid.Category 0 or 1: "You hit the snooze button and go back to sleep," said prominent astronomer Richard Binzel, who developed the 0-10 rating system for the International Astronomical Union.Category 10: "It will ruin your day." At a minimum.

It's no surprise Division I powers like Tennessee and North Carolina are recruiting Milford Mill junior Mandy Clark.At least not after last night's Class 3A, North Region quarterfinal at Catonsville.The 5-foot-8 junior put on a shooting exhibition that left the near capacity crowd breathless, hitting 16 of 29 shots -- including eight three-pointers -- for 42 points to lead the No. 10-ranked Millers to an easier-than-expected 74-58 win over the 17th-ranked Comets.Milford Mill (20-4) advances to tomorrow's region semifinals, where it will play host to Woodlawn at 7 p.m.After two previous close games against Catonsville (19-6)

Woodlawn coach Bobby Richardson hoped a tough nonleague December schedule would prepare his team for the postseason.The Warriors reaped some of the benefits of that early hard work yesterday, rallying past host and No. 13 Catonsville, 46-45, for the Baltimore County championship.In capturing its second county title in three seasons, Woodlawn (15-8) ended the Comets' 15-game winning streak, avenging a 65-54 loss at Catonsville four days ago.The Warriors, who played Southern-Baltimore and Prince George's County powers Crossland and Suitland in December, won for the 12th time in 14 games after a 3-6 start.

As Franklin center fielder Missy Farrell caught the final out in the No. 7-ranked Indians' 1-0 win over Catonsville for the Baltimore County championship yesterday, Franklin's JV was finishing its own celebration of another county title a few yards away.Talk about a sense of timing.The Indians (17-1) continued to set the standard in Baltimore County, claiming their third straight varsity title. The JV -- a 2-1 winner over Catonsville -- has won four straight championships.Franklin's latest title came courtesy of the left arm of junior Jen Fried, who pitched a complete game two-hitter, striking out 11, out-dueling Comets right-hander Lauren Rosenberg.

WASHINGTON -- It will be tempting for Washington Mystics fans to look at last night's 72-69 loss to the Houston Comets and see improvement. After all, the Mystics dropped their last two to Houston by a combined 70 points.But the Mystics will no doubt rue the fact that they had the two-time defending champions in a 10-point hole with less than 12 minutes to play and let them slip away before a boisterous MCI Center crowd of 19,458."We have to get over that edge that's been holding us back.

In a wild game of one-upmanship between Perry Hall and No. 8 Catonsville yesterday, scoring goals came easily. Making a lead stick, however, proved more difficult.The Comets answered Perry Hall's first goal within 10 seconds. The Gators matched Catonsville's second goal within 26 seconds. The Comets answered the Gators' third goal within 2: 27.In a game that was tied for all but 15 minutes, Kristine Barton gave the Gators a 4-3 lead with 11: 52 left and the Comets could not respond. Kathy Baran added an insurance goal with eight minutes to go as the host Gators upset Catonsville, 5-3, in a Baltimore County Heron Division game.

En route to a 4-0 start, Overlea had allowed just 24 points.Catonsville nearly equaled that in the first quarter alone last night, and behind five first-half touchdown passes from Doug Johnson, the Comets (4-1, 3-1 league) rolled over the previously-unbeaten Falcons, 63-30, in a Baltimore County 1A-2A game at Catonsville.Johnson (six of nine, 165 yards) set the tempo early, throwing touchdowns on his first three passes to stake the Comets to a 22-8 lead. He finished the first half with five completions in seven attempts -- and all five completions went for touchdowns.

Brady Larkin scored the game-winner in the sixth minute of the second overtime to lift the No. 6 River Hill boys soccer team over visiting Atholton, 1-0, Tuesday night. Larkin scored on a header off a long throw-in by Toomi Williams inside the box. The Hawks (7-1-1) outshot the Raiders 19-3 but had trouble breaking down the Atholton defense. River Hill goalie Nick Boyton had two saves in his fifth straight shutout. No. 7 Fallston 2, Towson 1: : Mikey Antinozzi and Gabe Kuhn each had a goal and assist to lead the visiting Cougars (10-1)

Franklin's football team took an early lead Thursday night at Catonsville, but the Indians struggled to put the game away, turning the ball over three times in the second half. Still, the Comets could not capitalize enough on those mistakes, and Franklin running back Zack Silverberg made the hosts pay for a late-game fumble, finally sealing a 24-12 victory. In the middle of the fourth quarter, the teams played giveaway as DeOndre Watson picked off a pass by Franklin quarterback Joey Dorsey.

FOOTBALL Franklin at Catonsville WHEN: : Tonight, 7 OUTLOOK: : The Comets (2-0) are coming off an impressive 14-0 win over Milford Mill to face an Indians team (2-0) capable of making big plays. Franklin's Navassa Brown and Zach Silverberg have combined for 664 total yards and eight touchdowns in lopsided victories over Bel Air and New Town. For Catonsville, Travis Vasco has 222 rushing yards and Brian Smith has four rushing touchdowns, but the Comets' defense, led by All-Metro linebacker Tyler Weedon (three sacks)

The Weather Blog, The Baltimore Sun's first online Web log, is 5 years old today. Since Sept. 10, 2004, we have posted about 2,500 entries and 2,200 reader comments, and now average 14,500 page views a week. Snowstorms and hurricanes can boost weekly traffic past 100,000. But items on comets, meteors, bright planets and passing satellites often draw the most reader comment. Thanks to all for your support.

For much of yesterday's Class 3A North regional girls basketball championship, No. 8 Catonsville managed to slow the pace and keep the game close, but when No. 3 Western picked up the tempo in the fourth quarter, the Doves ran away with it. Akeema Richards and Keirah Hicks scored off turnovers early in the fourth quarter and set off a Doves run that boosted their five-point lead to 16 in four minutes, fueling a 56-40 Doves victory - their second straight...

Ciarra Lucas hit a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to lift No. 8 Old Mill over visiting Leonardtown, 46-44, in a Class 4A East regional semifinal last night. Old Mill (19-6) trailed by 44-43 with a minute to go. Lucas finished with a game-high 17 points. Old Mill faces host Arundel in tomorrow's regional final at 2 p.m. No. 5 Arundel 57, South River 30: : Simone Egwu led all scorers with 16 points as the host Wildcats (21-4) beat the Seahawks in Class 4A East. No. 3 Western 88, Dundalk 29: : Keirah Hicks had a game-high 23 points to power the host Doves (19-5)

Randallstown players wore black shirts adorned with the golden words, "No excuses," before last night's Baltimore County girls championship game. If either team had a ready-made excuse, however, it was opposing Catonsville, with top player Shamika Williams relegated to the bench with early foul trouble. Even without their UMBC-bound point guard, however, the No. 8 Comets showed why they're the class of the county, building a 21-point lead by halftime while holding the host Rams without a point for nearly 12 minutes in a 50-36 win. "We haven't been in that situation where she's on the bench, and truth of the matter is we don't practice it," Comets coach Mike Mohler said.

The No. 2 Western girls basketball team got off to a slow start yesterday against No. 9 Catonsville, but the Doves made up for it in the second half. Using their superior quickness and depth, the Doves broke out of a tie game and finished it off with a 17-0 run for a 60-43 victory at the Basketball Academy at Morgan State's Hill Field House. "We were just playing and working hard in order to get that run," said Doves senior Akeema Richards, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds. "We had a bunch of hustle plays, especially Mikee Stevenson and Iesha Bell.

In the second half of yesterday's game against No. 9 Catonsville, Digital Harbor's girls basketball team was certainly "in the zone." The No. 8 Rams, trailing at the half, switched from man-to-man to a matchup zone, and that defense baffled the previously unbeaten Comets, sparking a 43-32 victory at the 13th annual Basketball Academy at Morgan State's Hill Field House. The Comets (11-1) took a 22-18 lead into the break, but the Rams' zone held them to one basket over the next 8:30. "They're big and they're strong and we didn't handle the zone very well," Comets coach Mike Mohler said.

George Jackson scored 19 points and host Digital Harbor held off a late rally to beat No. 11 Edmondson, 67-54, last night. The fifth-ranked Rams (6-2) led by as many as 25 points before the Red Storm went on a fourth-quarter run with six minutes left to cut the lead to 12, but Edmondson got no closer. "They don't stop fighting," Digital Harbor coach Johnnie Grimes said of Edmondson. "The game was out of reach, but they kept fighting." The Rams' Davon Usher had 13 points and 10 rebounds.