Wnba

After months of shooting buckets at the gym with Ken, Barbie is ready for the WNBA.The question is: ``Is the WNBA ready for Barbie?''``She's a good team player and has lots of athletic experience and star quality,'' said Lisa McKendall, a spokeswoman for Mattel. Check out Barbie's stats:Age: 39Height: 11 1/2 inchesWeight: About 1 poundPosition: Center (of attention)Uniform: WNBA Barbie wears the No. 1 on a red-white-and-blue jersey with matching sneakers. C'mon: Would it be Barbie if the shoes didn't match?

WASHINGTON -- As the curtain comes down on her first WNBA season, let's just say that certain parts of the Chamique Holdsclaw story have played to mixed reviews.On the one hand, Holdsclaw has helped lead the Washington Mystics to 12 wins -- nine more than last season -- heading into today's season finale here against the Minnesota Lynx.On the other, the Mystics have lost more games (19) in three months than Holdsclaw lost in four years at Tennessee (16).Sometimes, the highs and lows have come in bursts.

WASHINGTON -- When Pat Williams thinks of Carolyn Peck, the coach and general manager of the WNBA's Orlando Miracle, all he can see is an upside.But for Williams, the senior executive vice president of the NBA's Orlando Magic, which operates the Miracle franchise, that upside isn't just about her basketball coaching ability."

WASHINGTON -- It's par for the course for a player in a new city to check off a list of appealing things about the new place, and Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw, the first player chosen in yesterday's WNBA draft, held up her end of the bargain.Holdsclaw, the selection of the Washington Mystics, tossed a bouquet about the enthusiasm of Mystics fans and of teammate Nikki McCray, a former Lady Volunteer. Then the 6-foot-2 guard/forward threw in a line to warm the heart of owner Abe Pollin, who was sitting in the arena he built here.

When the American Basketball League decided to close shop on Dec. 22, the Women's National Basketball Association received a two-fold, early Christmas present. The move meant no competitor bidding for Chamique Holdsclaw and the availability of talented and seasoned ABL players.For a glimpse of the impact as the league's third season begins tonight, please check out the opponent of Holdsclaw's Washington Mystics, the Charlotte Sting -- the most immediate beneficiary of the ABL influx.The WNBA's Eastern Conference runner-up in 1998, Charlotte is a legitimate championship contender after nabbing a desperately needed point guard in ABL refugee Dawn Staley.

HOUSTON -- The confetti operator did not jump the gun yesterday. There would be no buzzer-beating three-pointer. The plastic covering the Comets' lockers to protect the players' clothes from champagne remained in place. There were no surprises.The Houston Comets defeated the New York Liberty, 59-47, to win a third straight Women's National Basketball Association championship before a sellout crowd of 16,285 at the Compaq Center.Liberty guard Teresa Weatherspoon hit a three-pointer at the end of this game, but it didn't have the impact that her shot from beyond half court had in Game 2 on Saturday, giving the Liberty a last-second victory.

Sonia Chase, of McDonogh and the University of Maryland, was one of six college seniors to sign with the Women's National Basketball Association, the league announced yesterday.Described by league player personnel director Renee Brown as a "quick athlete who can shoot off the dribble." Chase, 22, was Maryland's second-leading scorer. She averaged 13.6 points for the Terps (15-13) and led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 89 steals.Brown said that Chase will be one of 65 to 70 players to participate in the WNBA's pre-draft camp, April 16-18 in Chicago.

She couldn't get her national team into the Olympics and barely scored in double figures playing in the Spanish League, so Malgorzata Dydek would seem an unlikely candidate to be among the top picks in today's Women's NBA draft in Secaucus, N.J.But "7 feet 2" changes things, especially when paired with phrases like "agile" and "skilled" -- terms used by coaches and general managers to describe the Polish center, who made a big splash at the league's pre-draft...

WNBA gives girls heroinesThere are a million little boys out there who dream of the chance to be just like Mike or Cal Ripken or Tiger Woods.Women's basketball may be a sleepy sport to some, but now there is a chance for a million little girls to dream of being just like Rebecca Lobo or Cynthia Cooper or Teresa Weatherspoon. And that is something they did not have two years ago.) I thank God for the WNBA.Edie LippincottBaltimoreUp with soccer, UnitedI have been increasingly disgusted by several recent letters in The Sun attacking soccer.

From a seat in the Boston Garden, Amy Rosenfeld watched Edmonton's Petr Klima score the winning goal in overtime of the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals opener against the Bruins and she cried.For a true sports fan, such a reaction is understandable, but Rosenfeld said that's exactly what she doesn't want to bring to Lifetime's coverage of the WNBA, which she produces."I produced Red Sox games for a year," said Rosenfeld, a Boston native, "and sometimes it [sports] becomes like part of your being.

In the fall of 2004, Angel McCoughtry's parents weaved through Blue Ridge mountain roads as they took their daughter to her new life at the Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C. Their goal was for Angel - who begins her WNBA career Saturday when the Atlanta Dream plays host to the Indiana Fever - to immerse herself in schoolwork at the secluded prep school and become academically eligible to play college basketball the next year. But the 17-year-old found it hard not to focus on what she had left behind.

Armstrong says he'll ride in 2009 Tour de France cycling Lance Armstrong will ride in the 2009 Tour de France, marking the first time he will compete in that race and the Giro d'Italia in the same year. "I'm committed to riding for the best guy," Armstrong said yesterday, acknowledging the taxing schedule could leave him riding in a supporting role in France. The Giro runs May 9-31, and the Tour begins July 4. With such a quick turnaround between two grueling races, the seven-time Tour champion acknowledged his body might not perform at the same level it did when he won his last Tour in 2005.

If you're wondering which teams will meet in the women's Final Four in St. Louis, a natural starting point would be the four who finished 2008 in Tampa, Fla., where Tennessee beat Stanford in the national championship game. Women's basketball, you see, is an active recycler. For the past eight seasons, at least one Final Four team has made it back the next year, with two or more teams returning to the national semifinals five times in that span. The men went four years from 2003 to 2006 with 16 different teams in the Final Four.

Can a women's professional basketball team make it in Baltimore? "Absolutely," said Brenda Frese, coach of the University of Maryland women's basketball team. "Won't happen," said John Moag, former Maryland Stadium Authority chairman. Frese and Moag represent divergent opinions in the wake of Thursday's announcement by Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon that the WNBA has told her a franchise could settle here if the city builds an arena. Get in line, Baltimore. "I'm really encouraged by all of the cities we are currently engaged with that really have serious interest in the WNBA," league president Donna Orender told ESPN on Thursday night.

Barbaro's owners will return to Churchill Downs today to honor the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner on the first anniversary of his death. Neither the Jacksons - Roy and Gretchen - nor Churchill Downs would elaborate on plans. The Kentucky Derby Museum, a few hundred feet from the finish line in Louisville, has offered to set up a memorial for the colt in whatever manner the Jacksons deem appropriate. Barbaro was euthanized Jan. 29, 2007, after an eight-month fight for survival after his breakdown in the 2006 Preakness.

Soccer -- D.C. United traded defender Bobby Boswell, the 2006 Major League Soccer Defender of the Year, to the Houston Dynamo yesterday for goalkeeper Zach Wells and a conditional 2009 draft pick. WNBA -- The Indiana Fever hired Lin Dunn, an assistant on Brian Winters' staff with the Fever the past four years, as its eighth coach. Winters was 78-58 in four seasons and took the team to the playoffs three times, but the Fever averaged just 72.9 points last season and Winters was let go with one year left on his contract.

Pro basketball Taurasi, Mercury even WNBA Finals Diana Taurasi rebounded from her Game 1 flop with 30 points to lead the Phoenix Mercury to a 98-70 victory over the Detroit Shock in Auburn Hills, Mich., yesterday, evening the best-of-five series at a game apiece. She added eight rebounds and three assists. The guard's inspired play helped offset the return of forward Cheryl Ford to Detroit's lineup. Game 3 is Tuesday night in Phoenix. WNBA awards -- Chicago Sky guard Armintie Price was named Rookie of the Year, and Dan Hughes of the San Antonio Silver Stars was honored as the top coach.

Moves Baseball ATHLETICS -- Optioned P Dallas Braden to Triple-A Sacramento. Recalled P Dan Meyer from Sacramento. CARDINALS -- Claimed IF Brian Barden off waivers from Diamondbacks and optioned him to Triple-A Memphis. ORIOLES -- Placed OF Jay Gibbons on 15-day DL. Purchased contract of C-1B J.R. House from Triple-A Norfolk. Basketball CLIPPERS -- Signed G Brevin Knight. WIZARDS -- Signed F Dominic McGuire. WNBA -- Suspended Shock F Kara Braxton two games without pay after pleading guilty to operating vehicle while under influence of alcohol.

Moves Baseball CUBS -- Agreed to one-year contract with P Neal Cotts. MARINERS -- Agreed to minor league contract with IF Sean Burroughs. ORIOLES -- Agreed to three-year contract with OF Aubrey Huff and one-year contract with P Daniel Cabrera. PIRATES -- Agreed to minor league contract with IF Jose Hernandez. ROCKIES -- Agreed to two-year contract with IF Jamey Carroll. TWINS -- Agreed to minor league contracts with P Brad Voyleson and former Orioles P Sidney Ponson. Basketball HAWKS -- Waived G Cedric Bozeman.

For the record The quiz TWIN TRIPLETS -- Justin Morneau last week became the first Twin to hit 30 home runs in a season since three players did it in 1987. Name them. Answer below Moves Baseball ASTROS -- Placed P Brandon Backe on 15-day DL with sprained right elbow. Recalled P Wandy Rodriguez from Triple-A Round Rock. BLUE JAYS -- Recalled C Jason Phillips from Triple-A Syracuse. GIANTS -- Placed IF Kevin Frandsen on 15-day DL, retroactive to Friday, with fractured jaw. Purchased contract of IF Tomas de la Rosa from Triple-A Fresno.