Jumper

WASHINGTON -- Two elements combined on the game- winning 12-foot jumper that Maryland's Juan Dixon hit to beat Illinois yesterday at MCI Center.The first element was six months of practice."

The body of a Glen Burnie woman who apparently jumped from the Bay Bridge last month was found over the weekend by a kayaker near Rock Hall.Sandra Lynn Buckner, 30, abandoned her car on the bridge and jumped May 12, Transportation Authority Police said.Her body was found Saturday on Eastern Neck Island.

WASHINGTON -- South Carolina's sure-thing isolation plays for BJ McKie failed, so now another first-round loss in the NCAA tournament will dog the Gamecocks for the next year.The No. 3 seed Gamecocks lost to No. 14 seed Richmond, 62-61, in the East Regional at the MCI Center yesterday. The defeat comes a year after losing to No. 15 seed Coppin State in last season's first round.It took the luster off a 23-8 season and ended the career of All-Southeastern Conference guard Melvin Watson. It also dropped South Carolina to 0-4 in NCAA first-round games since 1973.

There will be no Catholic League sweep for St. Mary's.Going into last night's tournament semifinal, the No. 3 Saints has not lost to a league opponent all season. Mercy changed all that with superb defense and 60 percent shooting from the field.The No. 11 Magic ran up as much as a 19-point lead and held on to edge the defending champion Saints, 82-78, last night at Spalding.The Magic will play No. 14 Seton Keough for the title this afternoon at 3 p.m. at Spalding. The Gators defeated No. 8 John Carroll, 49-44, in last night's other semifinal.

The most noticeable thing about Park guard Keith Ganzenmuller on the basketball court is his picture-perfect jump shot. He jumps straight up and releases the ball at just the right time with perfect rotation.Coaches and players watch, and all shake their heads in wonder."It's just golden," said Park coach Josh Wolf.Said Glenelg Country School guard Eric Greenberg: "He's the best shooter I've ever seen. If you give him any space, he'll nail it."But Ganzenmuller's game includes more than his jump shot.

Arundel senior center Shaunte Edmonds' basketball education didn't start until ninth grade, though the story begins a year earlier.As an eighth-grader, Edmonds was taking some advanced math and science courses at Arundel High when Chavonne Hammond, a standout with the Wildcats at the time, approached her with a simple question: Do you know who Mr. Rogers is?"

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Richard Hamilton's put-back at the buzzer helped No. 2 seed Connecticut narrowly avoid elimination with a dramatic 75-74 victory over No. 11 Washington in an East Regional semifinal last night at Greensboro Coliseum.Hamilton's basket, a fadeaway jumper in the lane, capped a brilliant second half in which he scored 18 points, including nine of Connecticut's last 11 points.The Huskies advanced to tomorrow's regional final against North Carolina, a 73-58 winner over Michigan State.

With last week's victory over Park School, McDonogh's boys tennis team won its 70th straight league match and is on pace -- with a victory over league rival Calvert Hall on April 28 -- to win its 75th straight match dating back to a loss to Gilman on April 27, 1991.The Eagles of sixth-year coach Laddie Levy will be going for their sixth straight Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association or Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference team title on May 7 -- their 10th in the past 11 seasons.

Within the opening 14 minutes of its contest at McDonogh last night, Calvert Hall missed its first 20 shots from the floor.But how the No. 6-ranked Cardinals finished is what counted, and they slid past the No. 12 Eagles, 50-43, in a non-league, Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association match.Senior swingman Reggie Bryant led Calvert Hall (5-2) with 13 points, and Delbert Randall added 11. Owen Daly scored a game-high 15 to lead McDonogh (2-4), and junior guard David Lunn had 11.Bryant, mired in foul difficulty for most of the contest, came to life when the offensively listless Cardinals needed him most, scoring nine points in the final quarter.

Days until opening ceremony: 14.Snowfall: No new snow yesterday. Current blanket is 5.5 inches in Nagano city, and 5 feet, 8 3/4 inches on men's downhill course.Update: Austrian ski jumper Andreas Goldberger will be able to take part in the Olympics, thanks to special permission from Japan's justice minister, who overrode laws banning anyone penalized for drug use from entering the country.Going for the gold: Melanie Suchet of France scored her first World Cup victory after 10 of the top 15 skiers failed to complete the super-G course in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy.

Beverly Hills -Stan Lee sits in his Santa Monica Boulevard office, surrounded by images of his creations: A life-size statue of the Amazing Spider-Man, a poster of the Incredible Hulk, a desktop figure of Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. And then there's his Dell desktop computer. He has yet to master it (give the man a break, he's 86 years old). But he embraces it as a creative tool - and sees it as the next frontier for the comic books he helped turn from a kids' amusement to one of the world's most fertile and influential entertainment media.

Navy is off to its best start in nearly a decade, largely because of its ability to win close games. In last night's Patriot League matchup against visiting Holy Cross, Chris Harris and Mark Veazey each scored 20 points, and Navy pulled out a 74-68 victory. It was Navy's largest margin of victory since an 11-point win at Pennsylvania on Dec. 5. The Midshipmen (14-5, 3-1 Patriot League) moved into a second-place tie with Holy Cross (8-11, 3-1) behind American in the conference and are unbeaten in nine home games - tied for the second best-streak in Alumni Hall history.

Cornerback Frank Walker might have overtaken linebacker Ray Lewis and cornerback Corey Ivy as the chattiest player on the field. Talking an opponent to distraction takes a special talent, but Walker would love to have a different kind of power. Q: If you could have one super power, what would it be? A: You ever see Jumper? I want to be able to jump, baby. It's just so convenient. But I want to be a jumper without the dude trying to kill me. I could do without that part. Q: What is your favorite food and what is your least favorite?

Capsules by Michael Sragow or Chris Kaltenbach, unless noted. Full reviews are at baltimore sun.com/movies. Be Kind Rewind -- In this combination of Dada farce and daddy comedy, Jack Black and Mos Def carve out a cult of no-budget, handmade short films to save the small business -- and ultimately the neighborhood -- of their father figure (Danny Glover), the owner of the Be Kind Rewind video store. This movie doesn't have a mean bone in its body; the problem is, it doesn't have any bone in its body.

UMBC clinched its first America East regular-season title and qualified for a berth in the National Invitation Tournament with last night's 71-68 overtime victory over New Hampshire in front of an announced 3,712 at RAC Arena. The Retrievers, however, are still setting their sights on the bigger prize. UMBC has won eight consecutive games - its longest streak since winning 11 straight in the 1998-99 season. After the victory, UMBC fans stormed the court in celebration, but coach Randy Monroe said the ultimate goal is to win the conference tournament for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Capsules by Michael Sragow or Chris Kaltenbach, unless noted. Full reviews are at baltimore sun.com/movies. Atonement -- The crush of an upper-class teen on her housekeeper's son (James McAvoy) catalyzes a devastating accusation that ruins his life and that of the girl's older sister (Keira Knightley). This beautifully acted, remarkably visualized adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel sums up the need for charity and generosity in art and life. (M.S.) R 123 minutes A Cloverfield -- A big nasty something-or-other begins destroying Manhattan, and it's all captured on this guy's video cam. Not much story or script, but plenty of style.

City boys basketball coach Mike Daniel has coached his fair share of great Baltimore players. He coached at Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference power Towson Catholic for years and presided over Carmelo Anthony's early career. His current duo of C.J. Fair and Adam Johnson might be the best one-two combination he has ever had, though. "This is probably the best set of bookends I've ever coached," Daniel said. "They've just been playing well. They complement each other."

There's enough kinetic energy in Jumper to light a thousand houses. Unfortunately, there's no one home in any of them. The central characters in Jumper are able to teleport themselves instantly from one place to another, thus eliminating the need for everything from doorways to jet airliners. OK, that's cool. But watching them do it incessantly for 1 1/2 hours grows weary fast, especially since we're never clued in on such trivial matters as how and why. Worse, the filmmakers only compound the offense by inventing the rules of this new world as they go along.

Thursday DEFINITELY, MAYBE -- (Universal Pictures) A political consultant (Ryan Reynolds) tries to explain his impending divorce and past relationships to his 11-year-old daughter. With Abigail Breslin and Rachel Weisz. JUMPER -- (20th Century Fox) Hayden Christensen stars as a man who can teleport himself anywhere but soon discovers his gift also makes him a target. With Samuel L. Jackson and Diane Lane. THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES -- (Paramount Pictures) Twin brothers and their sister find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of fairies and other creatures when they move into a run-down estate.

See one of the oldest hunter and jumper horse shows in the U.S. -- the 108th annual Warrenton Horse Show in Virginia. The show includes horse and rider competitions in classes for hunters, jumpers, junior hunters, ladies sidesaddle, hunt teams and more. The event kicks off at 1 p.m. Wednesday, then continues through Sept. 2 with competitions starting at 8 a.m. at the horse show grounds, 60 E. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. Tickets are $5, and children 12 and younger are admitted free. Call 540-347-9442 or go to warrentonhorseshow.