TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010
KLMNO PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL Mystics are on a roll, while Dream swoons into playoffs
Eastern Conference champs have won league-best six in a row
BY KATIE CARRERA Despite controlling their final
regular season contest against the AtlantaDreamfor a90-81 win Sunday, the Washington Mystics remain wary of the team they will face in a WNBA Eastern Confer- ence semifinal series beginning onWednesday. All signs would seem to indi-
cate that Washington got the op- ponent it would most like to face out of a slewof hard-nosed, even- ly matched East teams in the first round.TheMystics are3-1 against Atlanta this year and enter the postseason having won six straight, the longest active win- ning streak in the WNBA, while the Dream lost six of its last seven contests. But theMystics,most ofwhom
have appeared in only twoplayoff games in their careers as part of Washington’s first-round exit to Indiana in 2009, refuse to take Atlanta lightly.
and falters when forced deviate from the inside game it relies heavilyupon—theDreamshoot a league-worst 28.9 percent from three-point range. The team also watched forward Sancho Lyttle, point guard Shalee Lehning and guard Kelly Miller all miss time with injuries. “We of coursewouldhave liked
to hold on to the top seed . . . but we just didn’t play well at the end of the year,” Atlanta Coach MarynellMeadors said after Sun- day’s game. “It’s been just a rash of injuries that I think have taken a little bit out of us. But the fourth part of our season is the playoffs and that’s where you want to be this time of year.” Mystics notes: Roughly 50
RICHARD A. LIPSKI FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Marissa Coleman wrests the ball away from CrystalKelly, below, and ChamiqueHoldsclaw, top, earlier this year as ChasityMelvin looks on. “Atlanta is still the team that
got off to the best start in the WNBA this season,” said veteran center Chasity Melvin, who has appeared in 19 playoff games and is one of only three Mystics who have played in more than two postseason contests. Katie Smith (35 games) and Nakia Sanford
(seven games) are the others. “We have to be ready on
Wednesday. As I’ve been trying to stress to everybody, this is awhole new season now,” Melvin said. “Hopefullywecan keep that same intensity we had early [Sunday]. Atlanta started out playing really well and they’re struggling now,
but they could go on a run at any time.” After spending much of the
first two months of the season atop the East standings, Atlanta struggled to maintain consisten- cy and went 7-11 through July and August to fall into fourth place. Statistically, the Dream has re-
COLLEGE FOOTBALL Navy TRACEE HAMILTON
focuses on men in the middle
center and guards are making progress
On offensive line, JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST
It’s hard to believe that BradyDeMell andNavy led the nation in rushing from 2005 to ’08. It finishedNo. 4 in rushing last year.
BY GENEWANG During training camp, the The attention paid to Navy’s
triple-option offense rarely reaches beyond one player, that being Ricky Dobbs. Forget about an equitable distribution of rec- ognition, at least outside the locker room. That’s just how it goes after the senior set an NCAA record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback and steeredNavy to 10 wins and an authoritative victory in the Texas Bowl. Yet ask Dobbs about those accomplishments,andheimme- diately redirects credit to the group responsible for keeping him out of harm’s way, the offen- sive line. It’s a unit that func- tions mostly in anonymity, and this season that figures to be even more the case with the interior of the line largely un- tested. The Midshipmen are work-
ing in two newstarters at guard, including sophomore Josh Cabral, whose playing time last season consisted of 15 snaps. Right guard Brady DeMell and center Eric Douglass, both ju- niors, started several games last season, but there’s still a level of uncertainty because the group is learning one another’s tenden- cies. “They’re not where we want
them to be, but we’re progress- ing every day,” said Navy assis- tant coach Ashley Ingram, who is in charge of guards and cen- ters.
coaching staffmadesure to keep close watch at those positions, which are as vital as any to ensuring the running game op- erates at peak efficiency. No de- tail was too minor, including the most mundane tasks such as the center-quarterback exchange. Dobbs and Douglass worked on that extensively, just as Cabral and DeMell were gaining fluen- cy in the terminology of the triple option. As an added twist, the offense
worked at length on the passing game during the Blue and Gold scrimmage a week into camp. Part of the intent was to make certain the line wouldn’t dis- count pass blocking despite the heavy emphasis on the running game. Lending a major hand in the
transition of thesometime start- ers emerging into full-time regu- lars have been bookend senior tackles JeffBattapagliaandMatt Molloy, both fully versed inwhat makes the triple option one of the more confusing offenses to defend. Battapaglia and Molloy were part of the offensive line that pushed Navy to the top of theNCAArankings in rushing in 2007 and 2008, completing an unprecedented stretch of four consecutive seasons in which it led the country. Last season the Midshipmen fell to fourth, and they have every intention of getting back toNo. 1 this year. “Right now it’s just practice,
practice, practice, working hard, things like that,” Battapaglia said when asked about the nec- essary steps for the middle of the line to become game ready. “They know. They’ve been here before. They’ve been through camp. They know what type of character it takes to play Navy football, run the triple option.” The least experienced of the
bunch holds perhaps the most promise. Coaches and team- mates have been raving about Cabral (6 feet 3, 270 pounds) as a fast study who has absorbed the nuances of the triple option al- most without a hitch. Cabral is replacing Curtis Bass, who last season helped pave the way for Dobbs to run for 1,203 yards, including seven 100-yard games. Cabral studied the habits of
not just Bass but also Osei As- ante, who started at left guard last season. That early indoctri- nation to the finer points of blocking in the triple option has Cabral on track to ensuring he’ll be a steady presence at the posi- tion for the next three seasons. “It just pretty much comes
down to learning from what you saw last year,” Cabral said. “I used to joke around and say I was a sponge in meetings, but there’s some truth to that. You just sit back and watch the way the older people work.We’re all pretty quick learners. We’re all going to figure it out.”
wangg@washpost.com
Beamer, Hokies prepare for an early test hamilton from D1
produced nary a bowl appearance, and in 1992 the Hokies went 2-8-1. Since then, they’vemade 17 straight bowl trips and reeled off six straight 10-win seasons. And now the Hokies have
become theWalmart greeters of the college season. Last year, the first big national game was No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. No. 5 Alabama, and it was highly anticipated long before parents had packed the kids off to college for the semester. The Hokies lost that game, and just like that they were all but out of the national title hunt—on Sept. 5. They finished 10-3, went to their customary bowl game and won, but that elusive national title would have to wait another year. In two weeks, the Hokies
again will play in themost anticipated national game of college football’s opening weekend, and perhaps of the season. Virginia Tech, ranked 10th in the AP preseason poll, takes on No. 3 Boise State on Labor Day at FedEx Field. For college football fans, it seems a little premature, like opening your Christmas presents on Columbus Day. For Boise State, a non-Bowl Championship Series school, a loss ends its hopes of a national title. For Virginia Tech, a BCS school, a loss cripples its chances. That’s a lot at stake in the first game of the season, whenmany schools are enjoying the traditional cream-puff appetizer. “I think whoever wins this
certainly has a leg up and whoever loses it has got to overcome some things and depend on other people,” Beamer said in a telephone interview last week. “That’s kind of the way I see it.” Boise State is on amission to
become a BCS school. It is leaving theWestern Athletic Conference for theMountain West in part to achieve that goal.
SCOREBOARD
FOOTBALL NFLPRESEASON
49ERS 15,VIKINGS 10 Late Sunday Vikings .
49ers ...
0 7
3 0
0 3
BASKETBALL
WNBASTANDINGS EASTERN
7— 5—
FIRST QUARTER San Francisco: Dixon 4 run (Nedney kick), 8:03.
SECOND QUARTER Minnesota: FG Longwell 40, 11:07.
THIRD QUARTER San Francisco: FG Nedney 28, 6:25.
FOURTH QUARTER
San Francisco: FG Nedney 31, 14:00. Minnesota: Webb 48 run (Lloyd kick), 1:54. San Francisco: Der.Walker safety, :00. Attendance: 69,732.
Vikings
First Downs ................................. 12 Total Net Yards ........................ 193 Rushes-Yards ...................... 20-114 Passing ........................................ 79 Punt Returns ........................... 6-33 Kickoff Returns ..................... 4-101 Comp-Att-Int ...................... 17-33-0 Penalties-Yards ...................... 4-35 Time Of Poss. ......................... 27:31
RUSHING
Minnesota: Webb 3-53, Jackson 2-18, Peterson 6-17, Young 2-11, Gerhart 4-10, I.Johnson 1-4, Reynaud 2-1. San Francisco: Dixon 20-51, N.Davis 2-16, Robinson 7-12, Caulcrick 1-2, Del.Walker 1-(minus 1).
PASSING
Minnesota: Webb 7-14-0-47, Jackson 7-11-0-43, Favre 1-1-0-13, Rosenfels 2-7-0-11. San Francisco: N.Davis 7-16-0-114, A.Smith 9-13-0-88.
RECEIVING
Minnesota: Peterson 3-25, Biddle 2-13, Gerhart 2-11, I.Johnson 2-11, Mills 1-15, Small 1-12, Berrian 1-10, Hamilton 1-6, Payne 1-4, Reynaud 1-4, Moats 1-2, D’Imperio 1-1. San Francisco: Del.Walker 3-47, Zeigler 3-33, Byham 3-28, Dixon 3-8, Ginn Jr. 2-65, Caulcrick 2-21.
10 15
vWashington ...........................22 xNew York ...............................22 xIndiana ...................................21 xAtlanta...................................19 Connecticut..............................17 Chicago ....................................14
WESTERN
vSeattle ...................................28 xPhoenix ..................................15 xSan Antonio...........................14 xLos Angeles ...........................13 Minnesota................................13 Tulsa ..........................................6
W L PCT 12 .647 12 .647 13 .618 15 .559 17 .500 20 .412
W L PCT 6 .824 19 .441 20 .412 21 .382 21 .382 28 .176
x-clinched playoff spot; v-clinched conference END OF REGULAR SEASON
49ers 14
271
31-80 191
5-24 2-58
16-29-0 9-92
32:29
WNBAPLAYOFFS Best-of-Three;x-ifnecessary
EASTERN CONFERENCE
WASHINGTON VS. ATLANTA Wednesday: Atlanta at Washington, 7 Friday: Washington at Atlanta, 7:30 x-Sunday: Atlanta at Washington, 4
NEWYORK VS. INDIANA
Thursday: Indiana at New York, 7 Sunday: New York at Indiana, 8 p.m. x-Wednesday Sept. 1: Indiana at New York, 7:30
WESTERN CONFERENCE
SEATTLE VS. LOS ANGELES Wednesday: Los Angeles at Seattle, 11 Saturday: Seattle at Los Angeles, 3 x-Tuesday, Aug. 31: Los Angeles at Seattle, 10
PHOENIX VS. SAN ANTONIO
Thursday: San Antonio at Phoenix, 9 Saturday: Phoenix at San Antonio, 1 x-Monday: San Antonio at Phoenix, 10
GB
— — 1 3 5 8
GB —
13 14 15 15 22
WESTERN W L T
Los Angeles .............. 13 4 4 Real Salt Lake .......... 11 4 6 Dallas .......................... 9 2 9 San Jose ..................... 8 6 5 Seattle ........................ 8 8 5 Colorado ..................... 7 6 7 Houston ...................... 6 10 5 Chivas USA ................. 5 11 4
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Dallas at Columbus, 4 Real Salt Lake at Toronto FC, 7 Philadelphia at New England, 7:30 San Jose at New York, 7:30 Houston at Colorado, 9:30 Kansas City at Los Angeles, 10:30 Chicago at Seattle FC, 10:30
SUNDAY’S RESULT D.C. United 2, Philadelphia 0
WOMEN'SPROFESSIONAL SOCCER
W L
y-FC Gold Pride...........13 3 Philadelphia ...............10 7 Boston..........................8 7 Washington .................6 8 Sky Blue FC ..................7 9 Chicago.........................5 11 Atlanta.........................5 10
T 4 4 5 7 4 6 5
Pts GF GA 43 34 29 25 25 21 20
33 35 31 29 18 17 18
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. y- clinched conference
16 28 24 30 28 26 30
Pts GF GA 43 39 36 29 29 28 23 19
32 36 28 22 23 22 27 22
14 16 17 20 25 21 33 26
SOCCER
MLS EASTERN
W L T
Columbus .................. 12 5 4 New York .................. 10 7 4 Toronto FC .................. 7 8 5 Chicago ....................... 6 6 6 Kansas City ................ 6 9 5 New England .............. 6 11 3 Philadelphia ................ 4 11 5 D.C. United ................. 4 14 3
Pts GF GA 40 34 26 24 23 21 17 15
31 25 22 26 19 20 23 15
20 23 25 26 23 33 36 35
TENNIS
WTA ROGERS CUP
AU.S.OpenSeriesevent At Uniprix Stadium; In Montreal Purse: $2 million (Premier); Surface: Hard-Outdoor
SINGLES—SEMIFINALS
Caroline Wozniacki (2), Denmark, def. Svetlana Kuz- netsova (11), Russia, 6-2, 6-3; Vera Zvonareva (8), Russia, def. Victoria Azarenka (10), Belarus, 7-6 (6), 1-0, retired.
SINGLES—CHAMPIONSHIP
Caroline Wozniacki (2), Denmark, def. Vera Zvonareva (8), Russia, 6-3, 6-2.
ATP
U.S. OPEN SEEDS PlaybeginsTuesdayinNewYork
1. Rafael Nadal, Spain 2. Roger Federer, Switzerland 3. Novak Djokovic, Serbia 4. Andy Murray, Great Britain 5. Robin Soderling, Sweden 6. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia 7. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic 8. Fernando Verdasco, Spain 9. Andy Roddick, United States 10. David Ferrer, Spain 11. Marin Cilic, Croatia 12. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia 13. Jurgen Melzer, Austria 14. Nicolas Almagro, Spain 15. Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia 16. Marcos Baghdatis, Cyprus 17. Gael Monfils, France 18. John Isner, United States 19. Mardy Fish, United States 20. Sam Querrey, United States 21. Albert Montanes, Spain 22. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain 23. Feliciano Lopez, Spain 24. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia 25. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland 26. Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil
AUTORACING NASCAR
SPRINT CUP POINTS LEADERS ThroughSaturday’srace
1. Kevin Harvick ..................................................... 3,521 2. Jeff Gordon ......................................................... 3,242 3. Kyle Busch ........................................................... 3,170 4. Carl Edwards ....................................................... 3,113 5. Denny Hamlin ...................................................... 3,108 6. Tony Stewart ...................................................... 3,107 7. Jeff Burton .......................................................... 3,101 8. Matt Kenseth ...................................................... 3,095 9. Jimmie Johnson .................................................. 3,077 10. Kurt Busch ......................................................... 3,073 11. Greg Biffle ....................................................... 3,055 12. Clint Bowyer ..................................................... 2,920 13. Jamie McMurray ............................................... 2,820 14. Mark Martin ...................................................... 2,819 15. Ryan Newman ................................................... 2,802 16. Kasey Kahne ...................................................... 2,784 17. David Reutimann .............................................. 2,765 18. Dale Earnhardt Jr .............................................. 2,750 19. Juan Pablo Montoya ......................................... 2,728 20. Martin Truex Jr ................................................. 2,660
GOLF
PGATOUR FEDEXCUP LEADERS
ThroughSunday’sTournament Rank Name......................................Pts
Money
1. Ernie Els....................................1,846 $4,097,761 2. Steve Stricker...........................1,697 $3,192,735 3. Jim Furyk..................................1,691 $3,308,872 4. Phil Mickelson ..........................1,629 $3,409,233 5. Justin Rose...............................1,593 $3,241,081 6. Jeff Overton .............................1,536 $3,301,181 7. Hunter Mahan ..........................1,528 $3,283,479 8. Bubba Watson..........................1,498 $2,954,761 9. Matt Kuchar .............................1,437 $2,894,798 10. Tim Clark ................................1,409 $3,101,881 11. Dustin Johnson ......................1,362 $2,767,397 12. Ben Crane ...............................1,304 $2,513,750 13. Bo Van Pelt ......... ...................1,272 $2,554,508 14. Anthony Kim ..........................1,216 $2,554,896
TRANSACTIONS MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Detroit Tigers: Recalled OF Casper Wells from Toledo (IL). Designated RHP Enrique Gonzalez for assignment. New York Yankees: Called up RHP Ivan Nova From Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). Milwaukee Brewers: Released RHP David Riske. Pittsburgh Pirates: Placed 1B-OF Jeff Clement on the 15-day DL. Recalled LHP Justin Thomas from Indianapo- lis (IL).
WNBA
Phoenix Mercury: Signed G Diana Taurasi to a multiyear contract extension. NFL
Atlanta Falcons: Traded OL Quinn Ojinnaka to New England for an undisclosed draft pick. Buffalo Bills: Signed TE J.P. Foschi. Waived DB John Destin.
Indianapolis Colts: Released QB Tim Hiller. Signed RB Allen Patrick and DB Glenn Sharpe. Miami Dolphins: Waived RB Tristan Davis, NT Travis Ivey and TE Kory Sperry. Pittsburgh Steelers: Signed LB Matt Stewart. Released WRIsaiah Williams. Seattle Seahawks: ReleasedWRMike Hass. SignedWR Brandon Jones.
NHL
Atlanta Thrashers: Re-signed F Bryan Little. Detroit Red Wings: Agreed to terms with F Justin Abdelkader on a two-year contract.
NATIONAL LACROSSE LEAGUE
Minnesota Swarm: Traded the rights to F Kevin Buchan- an and a 2010 fourth-round draft pick to Boston forFMat Giles and a 2012 first-round draft pick. Traded the right toTJay ThorimbertandDScott Self to Buffalo for a2011 second-round draft pick and a 2012 first-round draft pick.
RESULTS HIGH SCHOOL GOLF
Stone Bridge 162, Thomas Jefferson 174 Madison 147. Fairfax 154
WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER Virginia Tech 3, American 0
Winning a national title, however, would be the equivalent of Disney FastPass— the Broncos wouldmove to the front of the line with undeniable credentials. That’s their motivation, and to back it up they return 22 of 24 starters fromlast season’s 14-0 teamthat won the Fiesta Bowl. “When I said we’d play them,
I didn’t realize they’d have everyone coming back,” Beamer said at ACCmedia day. “Seriously.” Beamer’s teamis less
experienced; only four starters return on defense. “Where Boise has us a little
bit is experience,” Beamer said last week. “They’ve got everybody back.We’re replacing some guys on defense, two guys on the line and two kickers. They’ve got experience and we’re lacking it at some positions.” For once, the offense is
Beamer’s area of least concern. Traditionally, the Hokies have had a stellar, experienced defense but questionmarks at some of the offensive skill positions. “One year it’s our offensive
line; not only do we not know who the backups will be, but we don’t know the starters” when practice starts, Beamer said. “One year it’s wide receivers, all of themare new, they’re out there running into each other. Two years ago we didn’t know who the tailbacks were going to be. Last year running back [Darren] Evans goes down in the preseason. It seems like with our offense it’s not just one guy in the position, it’s the whole position that was young.We’re at the position now offensively that we’re fairly stable. I think we’re fairly stable.” They are certainly stable at
quarterback. Senior Tyrod Taylor returns with a 23-5 record as a starter at Virginia Tech. He threw for 13 touchdowns last season and rushed for fivemore.
Of course, the Broncos have a stellar quarterback of their own, KellenMoore, who was seventh in Heisman Trophy voting last season. “There’ll be two good
quarterbacks in this game, ours and theirs,” Beamer said.Moore “is an accurate guy, he’s got receivers who can get open and a veteran offensive line. There’s no question that we’ve got to be well-prepared to have a chance to win this football game.” That’s the upside of playing a
tough opponent in your opener —you havemore time to prepare for this game than any other the rest of the season. The Broncos, who normally work out in the cool, clearmountain air of Idaho, are cranking up the thermostat in their indoor facility to try to duplicate the heat and humidity ofMaryland in early September. The Hokies don’t have weather worries; Beamer, a noted special teams enthusiast, has other things on hismind: “They do a lot of things in their kicking game.” “Havingmore time to
prepare is good,” he admitted. “The other side of it, though, when you have experience coming back, you’re in amuch better position, as they are. I think they gain an advantage on us, certainly, in that regard.” Beamer said the Hokies’
preparation is going well, but acknowledged that “always things could be better,” citing injuries to a couple of offensive linemen who aren’t getting the work they need. But asked if there have been any surprises during thismonth’s practices, Beamer is hard-pressed for an answer. “Everything has kind of been
the way we thought it would go,” he said. “Overall it’s been good effort, good work by our whole football team.” About what you’d expect
fromaman entering his 30th year of college coaching.
hamiltont@washpost.com
mained one of the top rebound- ing and offensive teams in the league, wrapping up the regular season first in rebounding (38.8 per game) and second in points (85.4). But Atlanta can be prone to turnovers, a plight the Mystics know well, averaging 16.7 a game;
Mystics fansmet theteamwhenit arrived at Reagan National Air- port around 10 p.m. Sunday night afterWashington beat Atlanta to clinch the Eastern Conference regular season title and top seed in the playoffs. The players ex- pressed their gratitude and sur- prise on Twitter. “We have the best fans in the
WNBA,” Crystal Langhorne tweeted. “They just came and greeted us at the airport.”
carrerak@washpost.com
EZ SU
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