The Washington Post

Hockey

CAPITALS NOTEBOOK

Schedule Opens With Daunting Challenges

By Tarik El-Bashir

Washington Post Staff Writer

There will be no easing into the 2009-10 regular season for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Cap- itals.

The two-time defending South- east Division champions will open against the Bruins in Boston on Oct. 1 in a matchup of the Eastern Con- ference’s top regular season teams from a year ago.

That game kicks off what figures to be a daunting first 10 days of the season. The Capitals will host the revamped Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 3, then travel to Philadelphia to face Chris Pronger and the Flyers on Oct. 6. Two nights later, Washing- ton will welcome back Donald Brashear when the New York Rang- ers come to Verizon Center before the Capitals head to Detroit to face the Stanley Cup runner-up Red Wings. “We play good teams right off the bat, and that’s what you want,” Gen- eral Manager George McPhee said. “There’s one stretch where we play a lot of road games in late November [and] early December. But other than that, we’re happy with how it worked out.” McPhee was referring to a gru- eling span from Nov. 14 to Dec. 19, when the Capitals will play 13 of 17 on the road.

The season begins a week earlier than usual to accommodate a 17-day hiatus from mid-February through early March for the Vancouver Olympics, where as many as seven Capitals could represent five coun- tries. Still, there are only 13 sets of back-to-back contests — the same number as last year and four fewer than the last Olympic year. Other schedule highlights:

K There’s no home game on New Year’s Day for the first time since 1989 (excluding the lockout short- ened 1994-95 season). The only game that day will be the Winter Classic between the Flyers and Bru- ins at Fenway Park. “Maybe our turn will come in the next year or two,” McPhee said of the showcase outdoor event. “It would have been nice to play in it, but we’re not.” K The Capitals are in Montreal on Nov. 28 and there are preliminary discussions about playing the game at Olympic Stadium instead of Bell Centre. “It’s 50-50 as to whether it’s going to happen or not,” McPhee said. K All four games against Sidney Crosby and the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins are next year, beginning Jan. 21 at Mellon Arena. The teams also play early on Feb. 7, Super Bowl Sunday. “Hopefully we’re both on top of the league when we play,” Coach Bruce Bou- dreau said, “but right now, they are the furthest thing from my mind.” “Another interesting thing,” McPhee added, “we always used to push for certain nights because they were our best [attendance] nights. But we don’t have to do that any- more because every night’s a good night for us now.”

Capitals Extend Offers

Shaone Morrisonn and Eric Fehr accepted their one-year qualifying offers, while the Capitals said Jeff Schultz did not accept his before yesterday’s 5 p.m. deadline. Morrisonn will earn $1.975 mil- lion again, while Fehr will earn $771,750, a raise of 5 percent. Prospects Chris Bourque and

Kyle Wilson also accepted their qualifying offers. Another prospect, Steve Pinizzotto, signed a two-year, two-way contract. Two sources close to Schultz in- dicated that the defenseman did, in fact, return his qualifying offer to the Capitals. However, Don Fish- man, Washington’s assistant gener- al manager, said the team has not re- ceived any paperwork from Schultz.

Hunter Praises Carlson

Former Capitals great Dale Hunt- er said he believes John Carlson will challenge for a spot in Washington. Hunter coached Carlson with Lon- don of the Ontario Hockey League last season.

“He’s a great skater,” said Hunter, who came to the Capitals’ Ballston headquarters to watch Day 3 of sum- mer development camp. Carlson “has a good mind for the game and he’s going to take a very, very good run at playing in the NHL next year because of his skill level.”

Hunter also did not rule out coaching in the NHL in the future. “If the right situation comes up,” he said. “Down the road, I definitely will be willing to take a stab at win- ning the Stanley Cup. I never did that. That’s always the goal.”

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Professional Basketball

BRITISH OPEN NOTEBOOK

Norman Returns to Open Uncertain of Repeat Run

By Barry Svrluga

Washington Post Staff Writer

TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 15 — A year ago, Greg Norman ar- rived at the British Open on what he described as an extension of his honeymoon to tennis great Chris Evert. He was 53, and he some- how became the oldest player to hold the lead after three rounds. Now, Norman is back for an- other Open, this one after he lost that late lead to Padraig Harring- ton in brutally windy conditions at Royal Birkdale. And he said he has no clue about whether he can pro- duce another tale like he did a year ago.

“I wish I could sit here and say

BY TRACY A. WOODWARD — THE WASHINGTON POST

Becky Hammon, right, battling Bernice Mosby, led all scorers with 21 points as the Silver Stars edged the Mystics.

Mystics Fail to Finish Comeback

Washington Rallies in Fourth, but Can’t Close Out Silver Stars

K Silver Stars 79, Mystics 78

By Bill Oram

Washington Post Staff Writer

The Washington Mystics have stressed recently the need to im- prove in late-game situations — to reach deep, play gritty defense, scrap and make shots in key situa- tions. They did all that yesterday against the San Antonio Silver Stars, but the endgame still failed the Mystics. Washington outscored the Sil-

ver Stars 25-19 in the fourth quar- ter, holding them scoreless in the final minute. Trailing by one in the game’s closing seconds, Wash- ington had two chances to steal an unlikely win. Instead, on consec- utive inbounds plays in the final 3.6 seconds it failed to get a shot off and watched San Antonio es- cape with a 79-78 win. “Unfortunately we didn’t ex- ecute it the way we wanted to, but they did a good job of defending it also,” said Mystics guard Alana Beard, who finished with 17 points.

Lindsey Harding’s first in- bounds pass was to Crystal Lang- horne, who was fouled. Her sec- ond was knocked away by San An- tonio.

“No one was open, really,” said Harding, who led the Mystics with 18 points. The Mystics’ opportunity for a comeback came after San Antonio star Becky Hammon, who scored a game-high 21 points, was called for a charge against reserve Ma- tee Ajavon. Washington was sparked by the second-half performance of Beard, despite being called for her fourth foul with 7 minutes 5 sec- onds remaining in the third quar- ter. Coach Julie Plank opted to let Beard play through it. “I have a lot of confidence [in

Beard] with four fouls,” Plank said. On Tuesday, Beard was elected to be a starter in her fourth WNBA all-star game. Beard picked up her fourth foul

withWashington down by 11, but she responded by making three three-point baskets in the third quarter. She avoided committing her fifth foul until 2:04 remained in the game when she was whis- tled for hitting Hammon on a three-point attempt. Hammon, also announced as an all-star starter this week, calmly hit all three free throws.

After the call Beard sprinted to the other end of the floor, shaking her head and yelling, “No.” Hammon’s free throws extend- ed San Antonio’s lead to seven, but Harding quickly hit a three- pointer with 1:53 remaining. The fourth-quarter play of Aja-

von almost closed that gap. The guard registered 14 points in 19 minutes overall and, in addition to drawing the late charge on Hammon, was responsible for Washington’s final five points. She stripped the ball from Ham- mon with 1:32 remaining and con- verted a fast-break layup. And she nailed a three-pointer from the corner after Beard was able to make a pass when she appeared to be trapped on the baseline. Ajavon and the recently re- signed Bernice Mosby, who scored eight points, provided a needed lift off the bench for the Mystics.

“When we were down nine, the reason we were back was because of Matee,” Harding said. “At the beginning of the game the reason why we kind of got back and stayed in it was because of Ber- nice. They were not expecting that.”

The Mystics led 26-19 early in the second quarter, but with Hammon on the bench, San Anto- nio went on an 11-0 run in the sec-

ond. When Hammon returned she got in on the action, converting a three-point play on a driving lay- up.

“I’m happy we were able to fight back,” Harding said. “But we should have never been down like that. I think that hurt us a lot.”

K FEVER 84, SKY 74: Tammy Sut-

ton-Brown scored 22 points and Tamika Catchings did a little bit of everything to help Indiana de- feat visiting Chicago for its 10th straight win.

Catchings, the top vote-getter for the All-Star Game, had 16 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 steals. Ebony Hoffman scored 18 points and all-star Katie Douglas added 13 points and eight assists for the Fever (10-2). Indiana is tied for the seventh-longest win streak in WNBA history. Chicago fell to 7-8.

K DREAM 91, LYNX 77: Chamique

Holdsclaw tied her season high with 28 points and Izi Castro Marquez added 20 as Atlanta beat Minnesota for just its second road win of the season.

The Dream (7-8) shot 53 per- cent from the field and 78 percent from three-point range. Nicky Anosike scored 22 and Charde Houston scored 15 for the Lynx (9-6).

K MERCURY 100, MONARCHS 81:

Diana Taurasi scored 22 points and Cappie Pondexter had a fran- chise-record 15 assists to lead Phoenix past visiting Sacramen- to.

DeWanna Bonner had 15 points, Kelly Mazzante added 14, Le’Coe Willingham 13 and Pon- dexter 12 for the Mercury (11-4), which has won five straight — its longest streak since a six-game run in 2007. Nicole Powell scored 23 points for the Monarchs (3-11).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Blatche: ‘I Just Feel I Belong Here Now’

WIZARDS, From Page D1

increased role. He has been working regularly with Saunders since the coach was hired, and decided to come to Las Vegas to continue that work.

“I think it shows a little bit that he has a newfound commitment as far as what he’s trying to accomplish,” Saunders said. “He’s had a very, very good spring and summer. . . . I told him, the one thing that’s pre- venting him from being a great play- er is just making sure he gets in phe- nomenal shape.”

Blatche said his unexpected ap- pearance here — he is one of about a dozen players with four or more years of NBA experience — should help him once training camp starts this fall, but it also indicates his com- fort level with the new regime. Saunders and veteran Gilbert Are- nas suggested that a trip to Vegas could help Blatche continue his con- ditioning work and learn the new of- fense, and the 22-year-old agreed. After some erratic moments early in Tuesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Blatche fin- ished with 21 points and 10 re- bounds, helping seal the 96-93 win with a three-point play and two free throws in the final minutes. [Wednesday night’s meeting with the Denver Nuggets ended too late for this edition. For coverage, check www.washingtonpost.com] Wizards assistant Randy Witt- man, who was coaching the team Tuesday night, said that Blatche “fa- cilitated our offense,” and despite Blatche’s seven turnovers, Wittman didn’t hesitate to give him the ball in

a variety of spots on the floor. “Just this whole organization, the vibe I’m getting, it’s more confi- dence for us young players,” said Blatche, who came to the NBA straight from high school and is younger than most of his less experi- enced summer league teammates. “We have great coaches that are al- ways boosting us up. Each one of the players has a personal relationship with Flip. You know, he texts us, he gives us words of wisdom, he stays in your ear, he just gives you that lit- tle push you need, and I feel that’s key for us winning this season. . . . “I just feel I belong here now,” he continued. “This is my first time having a real good relationship with a coach in the NBA, that he actually takes out the time and texts me and just checks on me. It gives me a lot of confidence. Eddie [Jordan] was a veteran coach, he was tough on young players, so I didn’t really have a real strong relationship with Ed- die.”

Blatche said he has worked with Saunders on his post-up defense, on blocking shots and on scoring in the paint, in addition to attempting to improve his conditioning. The for- ward set career highs in just about every statistical category a year ago, and while he said he had a good rela- tionship with interim coach Ed Tap- scott, Blatche also said he expects the biggest opportunity of his career to arrive this fall. Saunders said ma- turity and commitment could help Blatche reverse his frustrating habit of dominating one game and dis- appearing in the next, though it will take more than a few summer league double-doubles to prove that point.

“Same thing that we’ve been needing from the last couple years, just to be consistent,” Wizards cap- tain Antawn Jamison said, when asked what the team needed from Blatche. “We know what he can do. We know he’s talented. We just need him to bring it night in and night out, rebound, be a post threat, offen- sively, defensively, just going in ev- ery direction. We just need him to be consistent with it.” Wizards Note: Saunders said that the team will switch up its Summer League head coaches through the week. Wittman was scheduled to coach the team again Wednesday night, assistant Don Zierden will take over on Friday and Saturday, and Sam Cassell will be in charge Sunday afternoon against the Knicks.

yes or no,” Norman said. “It’s not just the fact that I don’t feel good about myself or my game. It’s just that I don’t know.” Last year, Norman barely pre- pared for the Open. This year, he practiced in the heat near his Flor- ida home, but then traveled to Ire- land to play in what he hoped would be adverse conditions. They turned out to be too ugly — “It was blowing and raining about 30 miles an hour,” he said — so he is fresh for the tournament’s start on Thursday. Others have taken notice of what Norman, a two-time Open champion, did a year ago in at- tempting to become the oldest ma- jor champion. Tom Watson, who haswon five Opens, played a Tues- day practice round with Norman.

“Right now, Greg is rolling the

ball very, very well,” Watson said. “And he’s driving the ball well.”

Woods Leads All-Star Cast

Tiger Woods is more than ac- customed to the flurry that sur- rounds his group at nearly every tournament in which he plays, but it could be at a new level when he opens the tournament paired with Japanese teen sensation Ryo Ishi- kawa and England’s Lee West- wood, one of the most popular players for the Open’s home fans. “It will be interesting,” Woods

said.

Ishikawa, 17, is usually followed by a legion of photographers, but the swirl here will be different. “He’s been there, but he hasn’t done a major championship yet,” Woods said. Ishikawa’s reaction: “It’s unbe-

lievable that Tiger is talking about me.” Peter Dawson, the chief exec-

utive of the R&A, golf’s governing body in Europe that stages the Open, said he was “obviously cog- nizant of the amount of media in- terest there is in that group,” but that he had spoken to both Woods and Westwood since the pairing was announced.

“They’re entirely happy about the grouping,” Dawson said. The R&A tries to group a North Amer- ican, a European and a player from elsewhere together for the first two rounds, Dawson said.

Soccer

United Claims Olympian To Help Beef Up Midfield

By Steven Goff

Washington Post Staff Writer

D.C. United made its first ac- quisition of the busy summer transfer period yesterday, claim- ing 22-year-old midfielder Dan- ny Szetela, a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team who re- signed with MLS this week after spending nearly two years in Eu- rope.

Because of his history in MLS, he was made available through an allocation process. FC Dallas was first on the list and passed, presumably to main- tain its top position for possible future league signings, such as a veteran U.S. national team play- er.

In the No. 2 slot, United chose Szetela, who can fill almost any role in midfield. In anticipation of his possible move to Washing- ton, he practiced with United yesterday and passed a physical. Pending final paperwork, Szete- la will be eligible to play Satur- day against Colorado at RFK Stadium or Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Maryland

SoccerPlex. Contract terms were not disclosed.

“He has a big upside and now has a lot of experience,” United General Manager Dave Kasper said. “Europe was good for him in terms of maturing in soccer and being in a different culture. He has learned a lot. It’s good to have another guy we can count on.”

Szetela, a native of New Jer-

sey, came through the U.S. Soc- cer Federation’s Bradenton Academy in Florida before sign- ing with MLS at age 17. He made 34 league appearances in three seasons for the Columbus Crew before being sold to Span- ish club Racing Santander, which loaned him to Brescia in Italy’s second division.

After representing the United States at the under-17 and un- der-20 world championships, Szetela appeared in two match- es with the under-23 squad at the Olympics in China last sum- mer. He has also played three times for the senior national team, including two World Cup qualifiers last year.

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