• Nationals 2, Reds 0: Ronnie Belliard is hardly known as a guy with a ton of power -- after all, he's never hit more than 17 longballs in a season, and he's a player from whom ten homers in a season would be a solid return. But his blast in last night's game against the Reds could probably count for two -- Belliard absolutely crushed a first-pitch breaking ball from Reds starter Aaron Harang (6-14) to open the scoring in Cincinnati. Thanks to a great outing from Garrett Mock, that was enough offense to lead the Nationals to a victory. Mock (2-4) looked dominant at times in posting six shutout innings to earn his second straight victory. Washington's bullpen also reverted to its form from the team's recent eight-game winning streak -- four Nats relievers held the Reds in check, capped by Mike MacDougal, who retired the side in the ninth for his 12th save. More good news for the Nats: the team has acknowledged that the front office has held meetings with holdout #1 pick Stephen Strasburg and superagent Scott Boras -- the deadline to sign the stud pitcher is Monday. Will the Nationals get a deal done? Only time will tell.
• Mystics 91, Sun 89: It was a big game for both teams -- a win for either would do a whole world of good in the logjam that is the race for second in the WNBA's Eastern Conference: perhaps it should come as no surprise that it took double overtime to settle matters. Connecticut and Washington played one of the more entertaining matches of the WNBA season at the Verizon Center, with the Mystics coming out on top, despite missing chances to win the game at the end of regulation and the first extra period. Crystal Langhorne came to the rescue: the Maryland product had a sensational game, with career highs in points (22) and rebounds (16) -- she also hit the game-winning shot with nine ticks left in the second OT. With the win, the Mystics pull into a three-way tie for second place with the Sun and Atlanta.

The D.C. area was well-represented last year in the men's NCAA basketball tourney, with all three Georges winning at least one game, and of course, George Mason making an improbable run to the Final Four. However, the area women were no slouches either, as Maryland grew into a powerhouse, winning the national title, and perennial tourney team George Washington, who've made the tourney in 13 of the last 16 years, reached the second round. This... more ›

Maryland entered this weekend the clear underdog against three opponents with Final Four pedigrees. They left with the trophy, proving that "experience isn't everything." Freshman point guard Kristi Toliver scored the team's final five points in regulation -- including a rainbow three-pointer from the right corner over 6-7 Alison Bales that tied the game with six seconds to play -- then made the go-ahead free throws in overtime in the Terps' 78-75 win in last... more ›

Quite the sports weekend for the greater DC area. Something for everyone as they say. We'll start out at RFK with the DC United and NY Red Bulls match, for no other reason except that I was there with the pictures to prove it. Despite considering myself to be quite the soccer fan, I'm ashamed to say that this was my first ever United game. And when the Red Bulls scored twice in the first... more ›

There's a lot of squabbling around here about who is the area's best basketball team. But overlooked in the discussion of George Washington's first appearance in the top ten since 1956, Georgetown's win over then-top ranked and previously undefeated Duke, and Maryland's ... suspensions -- is the fact that the Maryland women are quietly having arguably D.C.'s best season. more ›