The Grand Slams this year have played out much like an episode of "American Idol" " dead dull and dreadfully melodramatic. Moreover, the drama at Wimbledon this year, much like "American Idol" again, seems to have been cryogenically collected from this time last year and defrosted.
For a moment, the girl who had grown up playing tennis in an empty swimming pool in her war-stricken hometown of Belgrade seemed poised to complete her rags to riches tale. During Saturday's final, Ana Ivanovic, the 19-year-old upstart from Serbia, was up a break and 40-0 in the second game against top seed Justine Henin.
Erin Conley has been hired as the head coach of the varsity girls' basketball team, effective immediately. She will replace James Mogge, who resigned in May after three seasons as head coach, during which the team accumulated a 16-63 record.
After a long month and a half of intense playoff action, the NBA Finals are finally upon us. Beginning today, the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers will square off against the San Antonio Spurs, victors in the West, in a matchup billed as LeBron James versus Tim Duncan. Can King James lead Cleveland to the Promised Land, or are the Big Fundamental and crew just too sound to lose? We take a look at the factors at play with the Larry O'Brien Trophy at stake.
The middle weekend of a Grand Slam tournament is always entertaining, if only to survey the damage of week one. On the men's side, the seeds have been dropping like flies, many of them ousted by little-known clay court specialists. The women, on the other hand, have kept matches routine and predictable. But the main players are all still here after fairly straightforward wins, which should lead to some mouth-watering showdowns in the next week.
For the tennis world, the end of May is dedicated to the French Open, the culmination of the clay season: a tumultuous globe-trotting, two-month span where winning is more about patience than power, topspin than pace and fitness than flamboyance.
Blair's unofficial mixed – coed – ultimate frisbee team swept the high school division Ultimate Frisbee State Championships in Catonsville on Sat., May 19 and Blair's open – all-male – team won three out of four games. Despite gusty winds and limited substitutes, both teams performed well against teams from around the state.
MAY 18, DAMASCUS— Friday's game ended the same way Blair's game against Gaithersburg did. The Blair faithful was standing and clapping, honoring the softball team and their performance. The only difference was that this time there were tears of sadness streaming down the softball team's faces.
Blair softball flexed its muscles again last night, beating the Gaithersburg Trojans 7-2 to advance to the Region Finals of the Maryland State softball tournament. Softball's offensive firepower reared its head again against the Trojans, and senior pitcher Annie Denenberg threw a complete game. For the first time in 30 years, the Blazers will be playing for the 4A West title; Blair will face either Quince Orchard or Damascus Friday.
Home Cooked, Blair's unofficial Ultimate Frisbee team, lost to archrival Yorktown 15-2 in a windy and disappointingly under-attended game two Sundays ago. Conflicting schedules and uncooperative weather gave the more experienced and well-manned Yorktown team an advantage that the Blazers couldn't overcome.
Two years ago, as Blair softball geared up for a playoff run, Richard Montgomery came to Blazer Field and shocked the Blazers with a furious seventh-inning rally that ended Blair's season. Last night, the Rockets strolled onto Blazer Field hoping to upset the Blazers for the second time in three seasons and once again end Blair's quest for a state championship. But the Blazers, a handful of whom were on the team that fell to R.M. in 2005, were determined to make the 2007 playoffs a success. The dominating pitching of senior Annie Denenberg and an onslaught of offense from a loaded Blair lineup fueled the Blazers to a 9-1 win over the visiting Rockets.
Blair's boys' and girls' track teams performed brilliantly at the Montgomery County Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet, placing in the top ten for the first time in recent history. Under the leadership of speedy senior sisters Ashlyn and Halsey Sinclair, the girls' team placed sixth in the county with 35 points. Anchored by strong relay squads, the boys' placed seventh with 29 points, just one year after failing to score a single point in the meet.
James Mogge, head coach of the varsity girls' basketball team, has resigned from his position after three seasons. Mogge's had a tumultuous tenure as head coach. He found moderate success in his first year, but the team struggled the last two, posting a 3-20 record and a first-round playoff exit this past season.
Exhausted and sunburned from the previous afternoon's outdoor pep rally, and emotionally drained after a heartbreaking loss by the boys' team just minutes earlier, coed volleyball fell to the defending Montgomery County champion Sherwood Warriors on Friday night in three games, 25-15, 25-15 and 25-22. Despite a strong push near the match's end, the Warriors were too much to handle in the final matchup of the regular season, as the Blazers fell in straight sets for the first time all season.
MAY 7, BLAZER FIELD— Blair softball clinched their division-leading 13th victory of the season last night against the Magruder Colonels 5-0. The Blazers' potent bats took a while to warm up, but once they came alive, the Blazers coasted to a solid win. The Blazers will look to carry the momentum from this victory with them into their first round playoff game against county foe Richard Montgomery.
The Blazers fell scoreless in front of a home crowd for the second time this season after being overpowered by the undefeated Sherwood Warriors's explosive offense 9-0 on Thursday night.
After suffering through dips and lows in their game tonight, the boys' volleyball team managed to beat the Wootton Patriots (6-6) in the first round of the playoffs. The boys', who won 25-15 in the first set, met unprecedented difficulty in the next three sets and won overall with 25-27, 25-23 and 25-21.
MAY 4-5, SHERWOOD HIGH SCHOOL-
The Blair boys' volleyball team fell to Sherwood's undefeated Warriors, ending its season with two season losses this week and locking in a fifth seed spot for the county playoffs. Second-year coach and Blair alumni Sang Ahn commemorated the seniors of the team in honor of Senior Night. Despite Blair's gallant efforts, the Sherwood Warriors emerged victorious 14-16 in the fifth game after a deadlock at 16-25, 25-23, 18-25 and 25-23. The final two points broke the tie and stripped the hopeful Blazers of a win that would have dethroned the Warriors from an undefeated record.
In an exciting post-season opener, the Blair girls' lacrosse team, 5-7 in the regular season, demolished the Paint Branch Panthers to advance to the second round of playoffs for the first time in two years. The Blazers will face the Blake Bengals this Saturday.
Sherwood snapped Blair softball's seven-game winning streak, edging the Blazers 2-0 on senior night. The game was much anticipated as Sherwood was Blair's only regular season loss last year. According to Coach Louis Hoelman, Blair (11-2) and Sherwood (13-1) have been the top softball teams in the county for the past three years, and each has won two division titles. Despite the game's final score, Blair's defense kept them in the game through seven innings.
The girls' lacrosse team beat out the Kennedy Cavaliers tonight in a fast-paced, high scoring game to pick up their fourth win of the season. The Blazers took control with early goals by juniors Rachita Sood and Helen Anderson, and stayed comfortably ahead for the remainder of the match.
At senior night for the Blair boys' lacrosse team, players and fans alike were pumped and ready for a win. But the undeniable shooting and passing efficiency of the Kennedy Cavaliers left Blazers wondering what happened, when the game ended with a score of 6-5.
Disappointment and DC sports have gone hand in hand for over a decade now, as overspending by the Redskins, the so-called curse of Les Boulez on the Wizards and the penny-pinching ways of the Nationals and Capitals have led to traditions of futility.
The boys' lacrosse team fell to the Springbrook Blue Devils 17-3.
We found 1914 results.