Comets

PITTSBURGH -- Pushing the Hubble Space Telescope to its limits, astronomers have detected what they say are more than two dozen Halley-sized comets in a great comet reservoir beyond the orbit of Neptune.If they're right, it provides important evidence for the existence of the Kuiper Belt, a vast region beyond Neptune long suspected as the source of many familiar comets that periodically swing by the inner planets and around the sun.It also represents a remarkable performance by Hubble. The comets are incredibly small and dim to be seen from such a distance.

COLLEGE PARK -- Teron Owens looked around Cole Field House yesterday afternoon before Catonsville High's Class 3A semifinal against DuVal and couldn't help but notice the posters the DuVal fans displayed that reminded the Comets of their loss to DuVal in last season's Class 3A championship game.It was enough to inspire Owens to one of his best performances of his high school career. He scored 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had six steals to lead the top-seeded Comets to a 72-46 victory over fourth-seeded DuVal of Prince George's County.

Shamika Williams took advantage of a teaching moment in the Catonsville girls basketball team's 55-53 win over Milford Mill on Wednesday that illustrated not only how far she has come as a leader, but also how far she might be able to take the Comets toward a state title. Williams, a 5-foot-8 guard, had just scored seven points in a 10-2 run to get Catonsville out of a seven-point hole, when, with 10 seconds left in the first half, one of Williams' teammates traveled while attempting to rush up the floor to get a shot.

After completing only his second workout of the season yesterday, Tim Wittman pronounced himself ready to play tomorrow night when the Baltimore Blast meets the Kansas City Comets in Kansas City, Mo."I'm physically ready to play," Wittman said. "It's up to [the Blast] now if I play. I don't know if I'm game fit, but I've felt good during practice both days. I haven't been winded or anything like that. The ball's in their court."Blast coach Kenny Cooper said Wittman will play against the Comets (1-1)

The Major Soccer League Eastern Division championship series kicks off Thursday in Cleveland, thanks to Kansas City's 9-8 victory over Wichita yesterday afternoon.Comets midfielder Carl Valentine notched the game-winner with just 20 seconds left in regulation.The score held up when Kansas City goalkeeper Mike Dowler made a clutch save on a point-blank shot by Wichita's Chico Borja with two seconds left.The victory gave Kansas City a two-game sweep in the series. In Game 1, the Comets shut out Wichita 6-0. The shutout was the eighth in MSL playoff history and the second one for goalkeeper Jim Gorsek, who beat the now-defunct Minnesota Strikers, 7-0, on May 14, 1985, as a member of the San Diego Sockers.

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.

Jeff Mann is one of the cogs that makes Dulaney's offense go, but even he had to tip his hat to the Lions' defense. The 10th-ranked Lions used a stout defense and timely goaltending to defeat host Catonsville, 9-5, in a key Baltimore County 4A-3A game yesterday. Mann and Cody Lehrer each scored three goals to pace the Lions (4-1). Skippy Clary had two goals for the Comets (1-3). "Our `D' is awesome," said Mann, who will play lacrosse at the Naval Academy prep school next year. "We came out a little sluggish early in the game, and they kept us in it until we got going.

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)

If the Baltimore Blast gains the final playoff berth in the Major Soccer League Eastern Division, it probably will travel to Kansas City, Mo., April 12 to play the Comets in the first game of a best-of-three Eastern Division semifinal series.The second game would be played in Baltimore April 14 and the third game, if necessary, at Kansas City April 16, MSL officials said yesterday.However, if the second-place Comets overtake the Cleveland Crunch for first place, the third-place Blast would face a best-of-three series against the Crunch.

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...