The Mystics Open the Regular Season tomorrow (Saturday) at 7 PM on the road against Tamika Catchings & Co. (aka the Indiana Fever). As you may recall, the Fever ended the Mystics' season last year, beating Washington in the first round of the playoffs on their way to capturing the Eastern Conference championship.

Indiana has all its key players back (and apparently healthy), so this road game will be an early -- and tough -- test for the Alana-less Mystics.

Earlier today, GM Angela Taylor completed the unenviable task of trimming the Mystics' roster from 16 players to the required 11 (10 + AB). Here's the list of those who made the cut and will be representing Washington this season in the WNBA: Alana Beard (out-for-the-season), Matee Ajavon, Marissa Coleman, Monique Currie, Lindsey Harding, (Rookie PG) Ashley Houts, Crystal Langhorne, Chasity Melvin, (Rookie F/C) Jacinta Monroe, Nakia Sanford and last, but certainly not least, Katie Smith. Congratulations to all!

You can follow tomorrow's action via WNBA Live Access over the internet by clicking on the link here. And, in case you've forgotten how to convert your laptop feed to full-screen TV, click here for the link to the BCs' step-by-step instructions.

After tomorrow's game in Indy, the Mystics fly to Minneapolis for their first back-to-back of the new season, as they take on the new-look Lynx at 7 PM on Sunday. (The home team will also be playing a back-to-back, since Minny will be returning from facing Tulsa the night before.)

Some of the new faces on Minnesota should be very familiar to DC area fans. DC native Bekky Brunson, who played at Georgetown, was acquired by the Lynx in the Monarchs' dispersal draft. In the college draft, Minny picked up the ACC's Player of the Year, Monica Wright from UVA, who hails from nearby Woodbridge, Virginia. Another new addition of note, this one without local ties, is All Star PG Lindsay Whalen. Lindsay returned home to Minnesota as the result of an off-season trade with the Connecticut Sun. So the team the Mystics face on Sunday will be very different from the team that finished last in the West a year ago. This game, like all WNBA games this season, will be available on Live Access. Link here.

Other items of interest . . . We recommend that you take a few minutes to listen to Alana's telephone interview with NBA TV. Among other things, AB talks about her injury, her role with the team, and her timetable for recovery (link here). And here's the link to an excellent USA Today interview with Katie Smith. (More on Katie Saturday morning in the Washington Post.) And for Mystics old-timers like the BasketCases, you might be interested in the latest (not so good) news about former Mystics star, Chamique Holdsclaw: Milton Kent's NBA Fanhouse feature can be found here.

7 PM Saturday . . . Let the games begin. GO MYSTICS!