TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2010


KLMNO COLLEGE FOOTBALL


“Yoga’s not fun at all. But it definitely helps you out.” Sophomore defensive tackle Zach Kerr


It’s not a stretch to think yoga can help the Terps yoga from D1 “Out on the field, it’s intense;


you get to it,” said redshirt sopho- more Justin Gilbert, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound tackle. “Even in the weight room, you throw the weight up and get going. But in there, we’re kind of working on our minds as much as our bodies. We’re trying to focus in and get the workout done, as opposed to just all-out working out.” The messages — mental and


physical — were not always so well understood or received. Maryland head strength and con- ditioning coach Dwight Galt in- corporated yoga into the football team’s offseason training pro- gram four years ago, but until January it had been an optional supplement. Sessions were held early in the morning and class sizes remained small. When the team’s seven-week winter training period began Jan. 26, each player was required to participate in 55-minute yoga workouts twice a week. The yoga program resumed during June and July.


“I just felt that we were lacking


something,” Galt said. “I felt that all the training that we were do- ing, we were getting pretty good transfer to the field, but I didn’t feel it was optimal. And I really wanted to optimize every aspect of our training.” Through assistant strength coach Barry Kagan, Galt found Alex Paraskevas, a Washington- based instructor, and hired him to lead the team’s yoga training. Paraskevas previously had at- tempted to teach yoga to the Maryland women’s lacrosse team, but he said “it wasn’t very effective. They weren’t respon- sive to it.” Initially, the football players displayed a similar reac- tion.


“I had heard of NFL players do- ing [yoga], but when I heard we were doing it, I was like, ‘That’s kind of weird,’ ” said sophomore Zach Kerr, a 6-2, 320-pound de- fensive tackle. “I didn’t know what to think about it. The only thing I knew was that it’s not fun. Yoga’s not fun at all. But it defi- nitely helps you out.” Gilbert said none of the players


liked the yoga sessions at first, but most have since come around


Maryland offensive linemen Andrew Gonnella, left, and Justin Gilbert hit the wall during the offseason conditioning program.


Strike a pose: The Terrapins hope the mental and physical messages conveyed during their yoga regimen will help during the season.


to its virtues. He noted the added hip flexibility has enabled him to get lower in his stance on the of- fensive line and make more ex- plosive pushes off the snap of the ball. Kerr said being more flexible in the lower body has made the team faster. The defense could start as many as 10 players who ran the 40-yard dash in less than five seconds during spring test- ing, according to Kerr. “That’s one of the things that’s been plaguing us as a football team is our speed,” Kerr said. “We’ve been able to compete strength-wise with the best of ’em, but we haven’t been as fast as we’ve been in the past.” A matrix drawn on a dry-erase board hangs on one of the walls in the room where the yoga ses- sions take place. The 11 goals the defense set for itself for each game during the 2009 season take up the vertical strip on the far left. The top horizontal strip contains a square for each game. The top goal listed is “WIN!!!” and to its right on the matrix are 10 boxes marked with “NO” and two marked with “YES.” Mary- land went 2-10 last season and is looking to claim any edge that might help prevent a similar per- formance this fall, even if that means adopting a practice com- pletely foreign to the players’ in- ner wiring. “Football is very much a sport


PHOTOS BY TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST Instructor Alex Paraskevas, left, works with wide receivers Kevin Dorsey, center, and Torrey Smith, right, on the proper technique.


that is goal-oriented,” Paraskevas said. “How much can you push in how much time? And we track it all, and I see them practicing, and it’s all scientifically done. And in here I’m asking them not to be goal-oriented. Be present. Be here. “I’m teaching them to engage this muscle while stretching this one. Hips, hamstrings, inner thigh, outer hip flexor, quads. You can basically prevent injury. Ev- erything’s connected, man. You don’t think about it, but it’s all connected. And the focus that’s required of them to do all these things, it focuses their mind so they’re not thinking about their girlfriend, food, this, that. You’re focused, which is a good thing to have on the field. If you’re present here, you’re going to be present on the field.”


yandas@washpost.com


S


D5


SCOREBOARD


TRANSACTIONS Major League Baseball


Boston Red Sox —Placed OF Mike Cameron on the 15-day DL. Recalled OF Daniel Nava from Paw- tucket (IL).


Cincinnati Reds —Selected the contract of RHP Russ Springer from Louisville (IL). Milwaukee Brewers —Agreed to terms with OF Corey Hart on a three-year contract extension through 2013. St. Louis Cardinals —Agreed to terms with LHP Nate Robertson on a minor league contract and assigned him to Memphis (PCL).


NFL


NFL Players Association —Named Nolan Harrison senior director of former player services. Indianapolis Colts —Agreed to terms with DE Jer- ry Hughes on a five-year contract. Jacksonville Jaguars —Agreed to terms with DT Tyson Alualu on a five-year contract. New England Patriots —Signed TE Carson Butler and WR Rod Owens. Washington Redskins —Traded CB Doug Dutch to Baltimore for QB John Beck.


Canadian Football League


Winnipeg Blue Bombers —Released LB Ike Charl- ton.


GOLF


International Golf Federation —Named Antony B. Scanlon executive director, effective Nov. 1.


NHL


Chicago Blackhawks —Agreed to terms with G Marty Turco on a one-year contract. Montreal Canadiens —Signed D Alexandre Picard to a one-year contract. New York Rangers —Traded F Donald Brashear and F Patrick Rissmiller to Atlanta for C Todd White.


MLS


MLS —Signed commissioner Don Garber to a four- year contract through Dec. 2013. Red Bull New York —Signed D Rafael Marquez to a multiyear contract. Seattle Sounders —Placed M Peter Vagenas on the DL.


Colleges


Ivy League —Named Dan Colleran and Sarah Fin- ney assistant directors for communications and championships.


Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference —Named Ryan Auriana general of MAAC Sports Properties. Florida Southern —Named Stephen Piercefield assistant baseball coach. Georgia Southern —Announced freshman DL Cam Loughery is transferring from Colorado State. Mount Olive —Named Benny Benton assistant sports information director. New York University —Named Scott Drattell assis- tant sports information director. St. Francis, Pa. —Named Lucy Wess assistant di- rector of athletics for compliance and facilities. Syracuse —Named Sabrina Harbec women’s as- sistant ice hockey coach.


INDYCAR


Points Leaders Through Sunday


1. Will Power, ...................................................... 420. 2. Dario Franchitti, ............................................. 370. 3. Scott Dixon, .................................................... 349. 4. Ryan Briscoe, .................................................. 324. 5. Ryan Hunter-Reay, ........................................ 316. 6. Helio Castroneves, ........................................ 305. 7. Tony Kanaan, .................................................. 291. 8. Justin Wilson, ................................................. 252. 9. Marco Andretti, .............................................. 244.


10. Dan Wheldon, ................................................. 243. 11. Danica Patrick, ............................................... 233. 12. Vitor Meira, ..................................................... 205. 13. Raphael Matos, .............................................. 203. 14. Mario Moraes, ................................................ 203. 15. Alex Tagliani, .................................................. 194. 16. E.J. Viso, ........................................................... 193. 17. Alex Lloyd, ...................................................... 170. 18. Hideki Mutoh, ................................................. 167. 19. Simona de Silvestro, ..................................... 155. 20. Mario Romancini, .......................................... 149.


Michael Wilbon’s Chat House, Mondays at washingtonpost.com


Team SOCCER


Major League Soccer EASTERN CONFERENCE


W L T Pts GF GA


Columbus ................... 10 4 4 34 26 16 New York .................... 8 6 3 27 20 21 Toronto FC .................. 6 6 5 23 19 19 Chicago ....................... 5 5 5 20 21 21 Kansas City ................ 5 8 4 19 14 20 Philadelphia ............... 4 8 3 15 19 27 New England .............. 4 9 3 15 16 27 D.C. ............................... 3 12 3 12 12 31


WESTERN CONFERENCE Team W L T Pts GF GA


Los Angeles ................ 12 3 4 40 31 13 Real Salt Lake ............ 10 4 4 34 32 14 Dallas ........................... 6 2 9 27 21 15 Seattle ......................... 7 8 4 25 21 25 Colorado ..................... 6 5 6 24 19 17 San Jose ...................... 6 5 5 23 20 19 Houston ....................... 5 8 5 20 23 27 Chivas USA ................. 5 9 3 18 21 23


Sunday’s result


Chicago 3, Los Angeles 2 Thursday’s game


Columbus at Philadelphia, 8 Saturday’s games


D.C. United at New England, 7:30 Chivas USA at Toronto FC, 4 Real Salt Lake at Kansas City, 8:30 San Jose at Colorado, 9


Women’s Professional Soccer W L T Pts GF GA


FC Gold Pride Philadelphia Boston Chicago


Sky Blue FC Washington Atlanta


12 3 2 38 30 14 8 5 3 27 28 20 6 6 4 22 21 19 5 8 5 20 14 19 5 8 3 18 14 22 4 8 5 17 24 29 4 7 5 17 12 21


NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. Sunday’s results


Atlanta 0, FC Gold Pride 0, tie Chicago 2, Sky Blue FC 1


Wednesday’s games


Philadelphia at Washington, 7:30 p.m. Atlanta at Boston, 7 p.m.


Saturday’s games


Sky Blue FC at Atlanta, 7 p.m. Chicago at FC Gold Pride, 10 p.m.


BASKETBALL WNBA


Eastern Conference Team


Atlanta ................................. 18 9 Indiana ................................. 16 9 Washington ......................... 15 10 New York ............................. 14 11 Connecticut ........................ 13 12 Chicago ................................ 12 15


Team


vSeattle ................................ 22 3 Phoenix ................................ 12 13 San Antonio ......................... 10 15 Minnesota ........................... 8 16 Los Angeles ......................... 8 17 Tulsa ..................................... 4 22


v-clinched conference Sunday’s results


Washington 87, Tulsa 62 Atlanta 90, Indiana 74 New York 71, Connecticut 67 Phoenix 97, Chicago 96 Minnesota 72, Seattle 71


Monday


No games scheduled Tuesday’s games


Washington at Atlanta, 7:30 New York at Indiana, 7 Connecticut at Minnesota, 8 Seattle at Tulsa, 8


Phoenix at San Antonio, 8 Wednesday’s Games


Chicago at Los Angeles, 10:30


W L Pct GB .667 — .640 1 .600 2 .560 3 .520 4 .444 6


Western Conference


W L Pct GB .880 — .480 10 .400 12


.333 13A .320 14


.154 18A FOOTBALL NFL


Preseason Schedule Sunday, Aug. 8


Hall of Fame Game, In Canton


Cincinnati vs. Dallas, 8 Thursday, Aug. 12


Carolina at Baltimore, 8 (ESPN) New Orleans at New England, 7:30 Oakland at Dallas, 9


Friday, Aug. 13


Buffalo at Washington, 7:30 Jacksonville at Philadelphia, 7:30 Kansas City at Atlanta, 8


Saturday, Aug. 14


Tampa Bay at Miami, 7 Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7:30 Cleveland at Green Bay, 8 Houston at Arizona, 8 Minnesota at St. Louis, 8 Chicago at San Diego, 9 Tennessee at Seattle, 10


Sunday, Aug. 15


San Francisco at Indianapolis, 1 Denver at Cincinnati, 7


Monday, Aug. 16


New York Giants at New York Jets, 8 (ESPN) Thursday, Aug. 19


Indianapolis vs. Buffalo in Toronto, 7:30 New England at Atlanta, 8 (FOX)


Friday, Aug. 20


Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 8 (FOX) Saturday, Aug. 21


Baltimore at Washington, 7 Pittsburgh at New York Giants, 7 Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 7:30 Miami at Jacksonville, 7:30 St. Louis at Cleveland, 7:30 Houston at New Orleans, 8 New York Jets at Carolina, 8 Oakland at Chicago, 8:30 Dallas at San Diego, 9 Detroit at Denver, 9 Green Bay at Seattle, 10


Sunday, Aug. 22


Minnesota at San Francisco, 8 (NBC) Monday, Aug. 23


Arizona at Tennessee, 8 (ESPN) Thursday, Aug. 26


St. Louis at New England, 7:30 Indianapolis at Green Bay, 8 (ESPN)


Friday, Aug. 27


Washington at New York Jets, 7 Atlanta at Miami, 7


Philadelphia at Kansas City, 8 San Diego at New Orleans, 8 (CBS)


Saturday, Aug. 28


New York Giants at Baltimore, 7:30 Cleveland at Detroit, 5:30 Cincinnati at Buffalo, 6:30 Jacksonville at Tampa Bay, 7:30 Seattle at Minnesota, 8 Tennessee at Carolina, 8 Dallas at Houston, 8 (CBS) Arizona at Chicago, 8:30 San Francisco at Oakland, 9


Sunday, Aug. 29


Pittsburgh at Denver, 8 (FOX) Thursday, Sept. 2


Washington at Arizona, 10 Baltimore at St. Louis, 8 Buffalo at Detroit, 7 Cincinnati at Indianapolis, 7 New England at New York Giants, 7 Atlanta at Jacksonville, 7:30 Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 New York Jets at Philadelphia, 7:30 Chicago at Cleveland, 8 Denver at Minnesota, 8 Green Bay at Kansas City, 8 Miami at Dallas, 8


New Orleans at Tennessee, 8 Tampa Bay at Houston, 8 San Diego at San Francisco, 10 Seattle at Oakland, 10


Arena Football League Saturday’s games


Milwaukee 54, Cleveland 47 Orlando 75, Tampa Bay 60 Dallas 62, Bossier-Shreveport 56 Alabama 68, Utah 64


End of Regular Season Rank Name Rank Name GOLF PGA


Money Leaders Through Sunday


Money


1. Ernie Els................................................... $3,941,028 2. Phil Mickelson........................................ $3,220,969 3. Justin Rose.............................................. $3,159,748 4. Jeff Overton ............................................ $3,059,781 5. Tim Clark................................................. $3,031,948 6. Jim Furyk ................................................. $3,022,772 7. Steve Stricker......................................... $2,982,169 8. Matt Kuchar............................................ $2,593,165 9. Robert Allenby ....................................... $2,519,867 10. Anthony Kim......................................... $2,518,521 11. Ben Crane.............................................. $2,443,817 12. Dustin Johnson..................................... $2,400,564 13. Camilo Villegas.................................... $2,367,848 14. Rickie Fowler........................................ $2,171,531 15. Luke Donald.......................................... $2,095,770 16. Bo Van Pelt............................................ $2,095,308 17. Bubba Watson...................................... $2,072,761 18. J.B. Holmes............................................ $2,059,338 19. Paul Casey ............................................ $2,047,144 20. Rory McIlroy......................................... $1,909,071 21. Retief Goosen....................................... $1,887,589 22. Zach Johnson ....................................... $1,886,368 23. Hunter Mahan...................................... $1,857,545 24. Stuart Appleby..................................... $1,847,762 25. Carl Pettersson.................................... $1,817,973 26. Jason Bohn............................................ $1,776,491 27. Brendon de Jonge................................ $1,768,173 28. Ricky Barnes......................................... $1,761,842 29. Ian Poulter ............................................ $1,753,114 30. Nick Watney ......................................... $1,694,084 31. Ryan Moore........................................... $1,686,873 32. Jason Day .............................................. $1,668,839 33. Adam Scott........................................... $1,620,635 34. Bill Haas................................................. $1,585,320 35. Scott Verplank ..................................... $1,564,665 36. Geoff Ogilvy.......................................... $1,521,795 37. Vaughn Taylor...................................... $1,513,153 38. K.J. Choi ................................................. $1,496,764 39. Sean O’Hair........................................... $1,453,438 40. Fredrik Jacobson ................................. $1,432,327 41. Brian Davis............................................ $1,432,291 42. Ryan Palmer ......................................... $1,362,112 43. Kevin Na ................................................ $1,358,831 44. Heath Slocum....................................... $1,313,294 45. Steve Marino........................................ $1,259,363 46. Brian Gay............................................... $1,254,558 47. Lucas Glover......................................... $1,252,750 48. Padraig Harrington............................. $1,235,789 49. Bryce Molder........................................ $1,215,033 50. Y.E. Yang................................................ $1,196,307


LPGA


Money Leaders Through Sunday


Money


1. Jiyai Shin.................................................. $1,211,252 2. Na Yeon Choi .......................................... $1,178,148 3. Yani Tseng............................................... $1,121,592 4. Suzann Pettersen.................................. $1,088,704 5. Ai Miyazato............................................. $1,086,818 6. Cristie Kerr.............................................. $1,079,803 7. Song-Hee Kim......................................... $880,883 8. Paula Creamer ....................................... $684,623 9. In-Kyung Kim.......................................... $653,484 10. Inbee Park............................................. $605,320 11. Morgan Pressel.................................... $581,941 12. Sun Young Yoo..................................... $538,785 13. Amy Yang.............................................. $515,912 14. Angela Stanford................................... $473,425 15. Katherine Hull ...................................... $455,848 16. Karrie Webb.......................................... $403,676 17. Brittany Lincicome.............................. $382,876 18. Stacy Lewis........................................... $328,420 19. Michelle Wie......................................... $321,300 20. Anna Nordqvist.................................... $319,716 21. Jee Young Lee....................................... $309,765 22. Azahara Munoz.................................... $308,390 23. M.J. Hur.................................................. $307,683 24. Christina Kim........................................ $283,364 25. Se Ri Pak................................................ $241,716 26. Jeong Jang............................................. $238,886 27. Hee Young Park ................................... $219,855 28. Brittany Lang........................................ $214,612 29. Mika Miyazato ..................................... $211,910 30. Catriona Matthew............................... $206,382 31. Hee-Won Han....................................... $197,340 32. Maria Hjorth ......................................... $192,294 33. Shanshan Feng..................................... $189,914 34. Candie Kung ......................................... $187,381 35. Momoko Ueda...................................... $185,996 36. Lorena Ochoa....................................... $176,527 37. Sophie Gustafson................................ $173,791 38. Meena Lee............................................. $173,694


TENNIS ATP


Legg Mason Tennis Classic At William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center In Washington


Purse: $1.402 million; Surface: Hard-Outdoor Single; First Round


Igor Kunitsyn, Russia, def. Kei Nishikori, Japan, 6-2, 6-3; Michael Berrer, Germany, def. Karol Beck, Slovakia, 6-3, 6-4; Denis Istomin, Uzbeki- stan, def. Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5); Viktor Troicki, Serbia, def. Kevin Kim, Unit- ed States, 6-1, 6-2.


Ryan Sweeting, United States, def. James Blake, United States, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Grega Zemlja, Slo- venia, def. Benjamin Becker, Germany, 6-2, 6-3; Il- lya Marchenko, Ukraine, def. Rainer Schuettler, Germany, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Doubles; First Round


Marcos Baghdatis, Cyprus, and Stanislas Waw- rinka, Switzerland, def. Robert Lindstedt, Swe- den, and Horia Tecau, Romania, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 tie- break.


Tuesday’s Match Schedule STADIUM -- 4:00 p.m.


Mardy Fish (USA) vs Viktor Troicki (Serbia) or [qualifier] Kevin Kim (USA)


Not Before 5:00 p.m.


Fernando Verdasco (Spain) vs Karol Beck (Slova- kia) or Michael Berrer (Germany) Not Before 7:00 p.m.


Benjamin Becker (Germany) or [Qualifier] Grega Zemlja (Slovakia) vs Andy Roddick (USA) Lukas Lacko (Slovakia) or Thiemo de Bakker (Netherlands) vs Jon Isner (USA) GRANDSTAND -- 4:00 p.m. Doubles


Daniel Nestor (Canada) and Nenad Zimonjic (Ser- bia) vs Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic)


Not Before 5:00 p.m.


Denis Istomin (Uzbekhistan) or Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) vs [4] Marin Cilic (Croatia) [Qualifier] Ryan Sweeting (USA) or James Blake (USA) vs Michael Llodra (France)


Gilles Simon (France) vs [qualifier] Igor Kunitsyn (Russia)


COURT 1 -- 4:00 p.m.


Julien Benneteau (France) vs Xavier Malisse (Bel- gium)


Not Before 5:00 p.m.


Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs Kristof Vliegen (Bel- gium)


Yen-Hsun Lu (Taiwan) vs Alejandro Falla (Colum- bia)


COURT 2 -- 4:00 p.m.


[Qualifier] Brian Dabul (Argentina) vs Marco Chi- udinelli (Switzerland)


Not Before 5:00 PM


Arnaud Clement (France) vs Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia)


[4] Julian Knowle (Austria) and Andy Ram (Israel) vs. [WC] Nathan Healeyand Lleyton Hewitt (Aus- tralia).


ATP Money Leaders Through Sunday


1. Rafael Nadal ........................................... $5,506,278 2. Roger Federer......................................... $2,887,135 3. Robin Soderling ..................................... $1,920,028 4. Andy Murray........................................... $1,755,272 5. Tomas Berdych...................................... $1,709,841


WTP


Tour e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open Results


At Farum Arena In Copenhagen


Purse: $220,000; Surface: Hard-Indoor Singles; First Round


Julia Goerges (5), Germany, def. Stefanie Voe- gele, Switzerland, 6-2, 6-4; Klara Zakopalova (7), Czech Republic, def. Rossana de los Rios, Para- guay, 6-3, 6-7 (8-6), 6-0; Angelique Kerber (8), Ger- many, def. Renata Voracova, Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-1; Li Na (2), China, def. Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Doubles; First Round


Anne Keothavong and Anna Smith, Britain, def. Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Marina Erakovic (2), New Zealand, 6-4, 7-5; Emma Laine, Finland, and Irena Pavlovic, France, def. Polona Hercog, Slo- venia, and Petra Martic, Croatia, 3-6, 6-4, 10-4 tie- break; Kristina Barrois and Tatjana Malek, Ger- many, def. Stephanie Foretz, France, and Selima Sfar, Tunisia, 2-6, 7-5, 10-8 tiebreak; Malou Ejdes- gaard and Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, def. Yvonne Meusburger, Austria, and Stefanie Voe- gele, Switzerland, 6-1, 6-4.


NASCAR Sprint Cup Results / Upcoming Schedule


June 13: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 (Den- ny Hamlin) June 20: Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Jimmie Johnson) June 27: Lenox Industrial Tools 301 (Jimmie John- son) July 3: Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola (Kev- in Harvick) July 10: LifeLock.com 400 (David Reutimann) July 25: Brickyard 400 (Jamie McMurray) Aug. 1: Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 (Greg Biffle) Aug. 8: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, Watkins Glen, N.Y. Aug. 15: Carfax 400, Brooklyn, Mich. Aug. 21: Irwin Tools Night Race, Bristol, Tenn. Sep. 5: Labor Day Classic 500, Hampton, Ga. Sep. 11: One Last Race to Make The Chase, Rich- mond, Va. Sep. 19: Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H. Sep. 26: AAA 400, Dover, Del. Oct. 3: Price Chopper 400, Kansas City, Kan. Oct. 10: Pepsi 400, Fontana, Calif. Oct. 16: Bank of America 500, Concord, N.C. Oct. 24: TUMS Fast Relief 500, Ridgeway, Va. Oct. 31: AMP Energy 500, Talladega, Ala. Nov. 7: AAA Texas 500, Fort Worth, Texas Nov. 14: Kobalt Tools 500, Avondale, Ariz. Nov. 21: Ford 400, Homestead, Fla. x-non-points race


Mystics at Dream


When: 7:30 p.m. Where: Philips Arena. Records: Washington (15-10), Atlanta (18-9). TV: ESPN2. Prime opportunity: Each of the Mystics’ three road games this week hold plenty of playoff implications in the tight race for the Eastern Conference. Heading into Tuesday’s game, the Dream, which has won four straight, own the top spot while the Mystics are two games behind in third place. A win would help Washington close the gap and also ensure that the Mystics would at least break even in head-to-head contests with Atlanta — the first tiebreaker to determine standings — this season. The teams are 1-1. Stepping up: With the Mystics feeling the stress of having only nine healthy players on the roster since mid-June and in the middle of a fight for playoff seeding, there has been no better time for rookie point guard Ashley Houts to demonstrate her growing confidence. Houts saw her most time on the floor this past week, playing just more than 18 minutes against San Antonio and nearly 14 against Tulsa to provide crucial rest for Lindsey Harding, who has been hampered by a hip-flexor injury. “I feel confident that I can step in whenever they need me to,” Houts said. “Each day I’m learning more and getting better with everything that we do. I just want to make sure I’m always ready.”


— Katie Carrera


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54