When the Lights Go Out at Verizon Center

Mystics practice was supposed to end at 2 p.m. today, but Verizon Center had other ideas. The lights at the practice court went out around 1:35, just a few minutes into the final half hour of practice, the part the media is allowed to view.

Various Mystics staffers, including GM Angela Taylor, called building managers to get power restored but to no immediate avail. The players waited in their spots on the darkened court for instruction. Still no lights. The team took a water/Gatorade break, but still no lights.

About 10 minutes later, Coach Julie Plank decided to end practice early to a rambunctious chorus of cheers and whoops -- the Mystics had been running two-a-days for the past week and have had just one day off. The scene was not unlike the reaction of high schoolers receiving news of a snow day.

The lights did come back on, but not until the Mystics were scattered about the court for their post-practice stretches. No one knew why the power was cut while the team was still on the court, Taylor said, but hopefully it won't happen again.

On to the rest of today's (brief) practice updates.

Training Camp of Hard Knocks
Nakia Sanford took an elbow to her jaw today, and was off the court being attended to by trainers before media members were allowed in. Taylor said she expects Sanford to be fine.

Tasha Humphrey remains unable to participate and is still day-to-day with a knee sprain that she suffered before camp opened. The team is also taking it easy with Alana Beard, who, Plank said, would be playing and fully involved if this was the regular season.

What to Watch For
For those who may be in attendance for Thursday's second and final preseason game, keep an eye on the various player combinations Plank and the staff are using. With Beard out of the mix for the moment, they're getting a good look at the other options at shooting guard.

Plank has said numerous times that "starting spots" don't really mean that much to her. She likes to rotate players in and out for different looks, and key among the earliest examples there is how she uses Monique Currie and Marissa Coleman. They saw a fairly even amount of time last week against New York -- Currie with 25:52 minutes of playing time and Coleman with 27:05.

"We can go big, we can go small and we got to do a little bit of that," Plank said. "We played Marissa and Monique together in the first game and I look to do that a little bit more. I like that combination."

Then there is the consistent mixing and matching in the post. Sanford and Crystal Langhorne shared the floor a good bit in the first preseason game, where as last season it was usually one or the other on the court at a time. Plank liked their ability to compliment each other but is also trying to find ways to use veterans Chasity Melvin, who Plank said "wasn't 100 percent" last week, and Kelly Schumacher more along with third-year Bernice Mosby.

Catching Up with Langhorne
There's a good bit of attention being paid to another former Terrapin these days but after the on-court blackout I had the chance to catch up with Crystal Langhorne. Last year was, for the most part, one big learning experience and she's ready to take on a larger role in her second season.

"I feel a lot more comfortable," Langhorne said. "I can go on the court and say some stuff...I feel like I'm a lot more vocal this year than last year. Overseas I was playing against a lot of WNBA players and it was definitely good for me to continue to play against them."

She reiterated what Plank said in that the post players will largely be mixed and match for the rest of the preseason and into the regular season. In addition to playing with Sanford she's also been paired up with Chasity Melvin, whose advice Langhorne welcomes.

"It's great to be paired with Chas a lot," Langhorne said. "I'm still a young player and she helps me out a lot. Telling me things I could get better at, to pay attention to the defense or just being really positive."

Speaking of those former Terps though, Marissa Coleman is blogging for Comcast SportsNet. Check out her first post here.

By Katie Carrera  |  May 26, 2009; 4:01 PM ET
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