Curse O' Les Boulez. Anyone familiar with Tony Kornheiser (Washington Post and ESPN's PTI) knows all about the Curse. For those who don't know Tony (well, you should!), it's the term he's coined to express the theory that all the really really bad draft choices, all the injuries and other "bad luck" that always seems to strike Washington's sports teams just at the absolute worst times is actually more than just "bad luck". . . it's a Curse.

The Curse may have reappeared again Saturday night in L.A., when Alana Beard injured her ankle and left the for the locker room early in the first quarter of the game and did not return. The Sparks went on to beat the visiting Mystics 80-75. At this writing, the BasketCases have no information about the extent of Alana's injury, but in the BasketCases' opinion, not returning to the bench for the remainder of the game is generally not a good sign. First DeLisha . . . now, Alana? We certainly hope not. But if the Mystics must play without both of them, then yes --- most assuredly, the Curse O' Les Boulez has struck again.

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Early Sunday morning update: an article in today's LA Times (registration required) reports that Alana "sprained her right ankle" and "was taken for X-rays after the game and is considered day-to-day."