Mystics

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.

NEW YORK -- The Madison Square Garden sound crew apparently had no sense of the obvious last night.Instead of serenading Chamique Holdsclaw off the Garden floor with "New York, New York," after the Washington Mystics' 83-61 win over the Liberty, he chose to play "Native New Yorker," a more modern offering to be certain, but hardly appropriate.Borrowing a line from Francis Albert Sinatra, Holdsclaw, a native New Yorker, proved she could make it here, and, in effect, make it anywhere, with a 20-point performance in front of the home town crowd and a national television audience.

If it's the middle of the winter, then it must be time for the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, which hits newsstands this week.The magazine began the rollout of the copy that sells more than any other single issue each year with last night's Internet unveiling of the supermodel who will grace the cover, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos.And with the publication of the issue is sure to come the annual debate about whether SI is playing the role of sexual objectifier by displaying pictures of scantily clad women.

WASHINGTON -- They don't teach the kind of pirouette Washington Mystics guard Nikki McCray did last night after her team's 74-71 WNBA win over the Charlotte Sting at any dance school.Truth be told, McCray's impromptu victory dance wasn't one a lot of players can manage, since most haven't experienced the kind of misery the Mystics have over their 1 1/2 years of existence."We deserved to win this game. We needed to win this game. It's like you reward a dog with a treat when it does good. This was our reward," said McCray, who had a game-high 26 points, including three three-pointers.

WASHINGTON -- When is the result of a basketball game superfluous? When it comes in the middle of a coronation, that's when.For the record, the Washington Mystics lost their WNBA season opener, 83-73, to the Charlotte Sting last night, the 28th loss in the franchise's 31 games, but it just didn't matter.Chamique Holdsclaw had come to stake her claim as the basketball queen of the "most important city in the world," as the public address announcer describes it, and her subjects were all too happy to let her reign begin.

If the progression of a new franchise can be likened to that of a child, then the Women's National Basketball Association's Washington Mystics head into their second year of existence in much the same way a toddler approaches the world -- with much more energy than perspective.And while most of that enthusiasm, personified in four-time college All-American Chamique Holdsclaw, is good, new coach Nancy Darsch is to be forgiven if she sees herself as a parent who is trying to teach a 2-year-old the alphabet -- an experience that can be rewarding, but also frustrating.

Rhonda Bates-Corkeran, who played at Wilde Lake High School before going to Temple University and a professional career overseas, was one of six players who survived tryouts for the Washington Mystics at the MCI Center on Sunday.Of the 400 players who showed up for the WNBA expansion team's open tryouts, Bates-Corkeran, Liza Donnell of Newark, N.J., Keri Chaconas of Springfield, Va., La'Shawn Brown of East Cleveland, Ohio, Meredith Sisson of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Teakyta Barnes of Syracuse, N.Y., get to attend Mystics training camp from May 12-June 10, joining eight others that the team picked in the expansion and free-agent drafts.

Is the future now, or is it on layaway?The answer to that question will soon become apparent to those watching the Washington Mystics try to achieve success as an expansion team in the Women's NBA.Those with leanings toward the present are without a reliable gauge of the team's abilities after its two exhibition games.Optimists will point to the team's effort May 31, when four Mystics scored in double figures on the way to a 68-57 win over the New York Liberty, the league's runner-up last season.

WASHINGTON -- The carnival on F Street, featuring a campground of Detroit Red Wings fans earlier in the week, continued last night as the WNBA's Washington Mystics prepared to make their home debut at MCI Center, a game in which they defeated the Utah Starzz, 85-76.With 15 minutes remaining until tip-off, fans such as Karmin Powell, a 7-year-old from Temple Hills, were milling around the arena with no apparent purpose except maybe to observe the largest crowd in the short history of professional women's basketball, 20,674.

NEW YORK -- He is one of the world's biggest stars. Weighing 350 pounds, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has spent three decades turning an esoteric form of music -- qawwali, the singing style of Pakistan's Sufi Muslim mystics -- into an international buzzword. He has been interviewed on MTV and VH1 and collaborated with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Peter Gabriel.Joan Osborne went to Pakistan to ask for singing tips, and in Los Angeles last week, Madonna and Michael Stipe of REM, in addition to actors Stephen Dorff and Rosanna Arquette showed up at a concert to watch Kahn sit cross-legged on the stage and let loose some of the world's most entrancing vocal pyrotechnics.

Colleges UMBC men's soccer player Bulls earns national honors College Soccer News named UMBC sophomore forward Andrew Bulls (McDonogh) its National Player of the Week for games ending Sunday. Bulls also earned a spot on CSN's National Team of the Week and was named America East Player of the Week. Bulls, who had five goals and four assists in three wins last week, sparked a school-record-tying 14-goal outburst as UMBC (3-0-0) beat Virginia Tech, 3-1; Delaware, 5-1; and Saint Joseph's, 6-0. He scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in the opener against the Hokies and produced his first career two-goal effort, and added an assist, in Friday's game against the Blue Hens.

WNBA Langhorne's double double powers Mystics over Lynx Crystal Langhorne (Maryland) had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the host Washington Mystics to an 81-75 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday. Alana Beard added 13 points as Washington ended a three-game losing streak to Minnesota. Six Mystics scored in double figures. Colleges Bowie State falls to Slippery Rock in football opener Andre Johnson completed 10 of 21 passes for a game-high 156 yards and Rodney Webb rushed for a game-high 79 yards, but Bowie State lost, 31-27, to Slippery Rock on Saturday.

Et cetera Toronto wins MLL crown on last-minute goal at Navy Shawn Williams scored his second straight goal with 45 seconds remaining Sunday before an announced 7,003 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis to give the Toronto Nationals a 10-9 victory over the Denver Outlaws and their first Major League Lacrosse championship. Williams' game-winner was assisted by Joe Walters (Maryland); his tying goal with 4:30 left came on a pass from Jeff Zywicki. Horse racing: : Apprentice Dusty Ryder Shepherd, 18, won the riding title at the 11-day Laurel Park summer meeting with 10 victories.

WNBA McCarville leads Liberty to 60-59 victory over Mystics Janel McCarville scored 19 points, including the victory-clinching three point play with 9.1 seconds remaining, in the New York Liberty's 60-59 win over the Washington Mystics on Sunday. Shameka Christon scored 14 points for the Liberty (9-15), who lost their two previous meetings with the Mystics this season. Alana Beard scored 11 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, including a layup with 23.3 seconds left to put the Mystics (12-12)

Golf Funk wins U.S. Senior Open with record 20-under total Former Maryland golf coach Fred Funk won the U.S. Senior Open in Carmel, Ind., by six strokes, closing with a 7-under 65 at Crooked Stick for a tournament-record 20-under total. Funk, coming off a playoff loss to Loren Roberts last week in the Senior British Open, broke the event mark of 17-under set by Hale Irwin in 2000 at Saucon Valley. The 53-year-old Funk, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, won his second senior major, following the 2008 JELD-WEN Tradition.

WNBA Turnovers doom Mystics in 82-70 loss to Fever Tamika Catchings scored a season-high 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and was 14-for-14 from the free-throw line as the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Fever defeated the host Washington Mystics, 82-70, on Tuesday night. Catchings also had three steals as the Fever (12-3) used its pressure defense to force the Mystics into committing 20 turnovers and turn a five-point, fourth-quarter lead into its seventh double-digit win of the year.

WNBA Beard's shot with 1.9 seconds left lifts Mystics to victory Alana Beard hit a 16-footer with 1.9 seconds left to help the Washington Mystics beat the host San Antonio Silver Stars, 84-82, on Tuesday night. The Mystics (5-3) broke a three-game losing streak. The Silver Stars (3-4) were trying to edge past the .500 mark for the first time this season. Beard and Lindsey Harding led the Mystics with 19 points apiece. Beard picked up her fifth foul before the third quarter buzzer and went to the bench, but came back a minute later when the Silver Stars trimmed a 12-point deficit to one. The Silver Stars had a chance to win, but Belinda Snell's three-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim. Women's college basketball Towson to participate in Preseason NIT in November Towson will start its 2009-10 season by participating in the Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament.

WASHINGTON - -Cappie Pondexter scored 24 points and Diana Taurasi had 23 to help the Phoenix Mercury pick up its first road victory of the season with a 93-87 win over the host Washington Mystics on Thursday night. Temeka Johnson added 11 points and Kelly Mazzante scored 10 for the Mercury (6-3), who had key runs to close out the first and third quarters and then held off the Mystics' late rally. Alana Beard led five double-figure scorers with 21 points and had four steals, as the Mystics (4-2)

NBA Bryant staying with Lakers; health on Jackson's mind Kobe Bryant said he plans to stay with the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers even he if opts out of his contract this summer. Phil Jackson said his health will dictate whether he returns as coach. Bryant, 30, met with Jackson and general manager Mitch Kupchak for an individual exit interview Friday. The Finals MVP can terminate the last two years of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He's spent his entire 13-year career with the Lakers, winning four NBA championships.

NFL Report: Favre had surgery, still isn't 100 percent Brett Favre has taken a significant step in his quest to play for the Minnesota Vikings, but that doesn't mean he will be wearing purple this season. The longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback underwent arthroscopic surgery last month to repair his injured (right) passing shoulder, according to ESPN, but remains unable to make a commitment because subsequent throwing sessions indicate the shoulder is not yet 100 percent. ESPN cited two sources in reporting the story Sunday.