A Top Talent Show, Terps Must Still Share the Stage

Laura Harper, Maryland's 6-foot-4 junior, knows the score. The most outstanding player of last year's women's NCAA Final Four, as well as one of the primary reasons the Terrapins won a championship and continue to hold the No. 1 ranking, knows women's basketball is a tough sell.

On Wednesday night, unbeaten Maryland (17-0) was opening its ACC schedule against North Carolina State at Comcast Center in quest of a school-record 22nd straight victory and what would be Coach Brenda Frese's 100th win in five years in College Park.

In many cities and college towns, such an event would dominate the sports scene. But on this night, Harper and her talented pals had competition from hibachi-hot Gilbert Arenas and his mates hosting Milwaukee at Verizon Center, the George Mason men facing William & Mary at Patriot Center and the George Washington men opening Atlantic 10 play against Fordham in Foggy Bottom.

Not to mention about 100 high school basketball games and NBC's "Friday Night Lights." (TV note: I love "Friday Night Lights," even though in no way does Dillon, Tex., reflect my 1950s high school experience in Miami Beach.)

The choice for this scribe Wednesday -- along with 6,886 fans -- was the 17,950-seat Comcast Center. And the Terrapins didn't disappoint, roaring to a 46-20 halftime lead before coasting to an 80-61 win, solidifying their top spot in the polls ahead of Duke, North Carolina, Tennessee and Connecticut. That's leading a very impressive list of exceptional basketball teams.

"Maybe all of this -- being number one -- will bring out more fans," Harper said after she scored a game-high 17 points. "Not many people know about us. This is a chance for us to show fans what kind of team we have."

Added point guard Kristi Toliver, "We're a fun team to watch."

Toliver is right. This is a fun team, a team worth appreciating. Harper, Toliver, Shay Doron, Marissa Coleman, Crystal Langhorne and newcomer Sade Wiley-Gatewood form a singular unit that can really run, shoot and play defense. A Toliver-to-Coleman-to-Harper fast break may not be the equal of Arenas hitting a game-winner from 32 feet at the buzzer, but it has appeal.

And if being the No. 1 team and the defending national champion make Maryland the No. 1 target in women's basketball, Frese doesn't mind. "I sleep well at night," she said Wednesday, her 16th win of the season tucked away.

Big Breakdown

There was a lot going on with the Redskins last week, even after those guys lost their final game, 34-28, to the New York Giants last Saturday night to finish 5-11.

The Washington Post ran a revealing three-part series detailing many of the team's problems on and off the field. Of the 11,595 words published over three days, few bode well for the team's future. Among the more disturbing points to me included details of how dysfunctional the front office and coaching staff operate in drafting and selecting free agents and the revelation that temperamental and underperforming wide receiver Brandon Lloyd wasn't interviewed by the team before he was obtained. What's up with that?

Also surprising was that after giving control of the offense to Al Saunders, Gibbs was the driving force behind turning the ball over to Ladell Betts behind an improved offensive line ("Redskins football") for the final six games. I was stunned to read that when Gibbs hired Saunders last winter, it was a surprise to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, whose defense sunk to last in the NFC as his personnel choices generally flopped while ESPN.com reported a rebellion in his ranks. Bad year for Williams.

Gibbs seemed to want to take the blame for everything. "It's me," he told The Post. "People ought to be taking shots at me. Hang it on me."

But the failure of 2006 wasn't all Joe Gibbs, who remains the best hope for fixing this mess. Blame deserves to be shared by many in the organization, starting with the owner, Daniel Snyder, whose voice should have been heard in this series. So leave it to running back Clinton Portis to sum up the situation, telling his WTEM audience last week, "No one at Redskins Park talks to anyone."

Celebrating Boise State

· Did you see that finish in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night? Boise State's improbable 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma on the heels of seeing "Dreamgirls" a few days ago makes even the biggest cynic believe 2007 might be okay.

"I almost fell out of my chair," Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said of seeing Boise State score the game-tying touchdown on a hook-and-lateral play, move within 42-41 in overtime on a touchdown pass thrown by a wide receiver and win the game on a two-point conversion off the Statue of Liberty play.

"One of the top 10 games I've ever seen in my life," Friedgen added. "Boise State had nothing to lose; like going for it all at the craps table. If nothing else it might move the proposal for a national playoff along; it showed a Boise State can play with anyone."

Then the running back (Ian Johnson) "proposes to his girlfriend,'' which Friedgen noted "might have been the move of the night."

· Nick Saban probably got so excited by the Boise State game he quit the Miami Dolphins and the NFL two days later to return to campus and accept the position of Alabama's head football coach -- for $32 million over eight years. Saban's record in two years with the Dolphins was 15-17. Steve Spurrier's two-year record (2002-03) with the Redskins was 12-20. Since becoming the coach at South Carolina in 2004, Spurrier has taken the Gamecocks to two bowl games in two years, is well paid and much happier than he was here.

The NFL is Not For Life.

RSVP

Feinstein and I did not receive our invitations in time for the Gilbert Arenas 25th birthday bash at Love nightclub Friday night, but we went anyway. Instead of the obligatory tuxedo, I wore my new blue Storm Systems jacket bought at Nordstrom's midyear sale, and Feinstein wore his trademark blue denim shirt. Security wasn't going to allow us in because we did not have the required "Arenas Express" card until one of the beefy bouncers recognized Feinstein from "Sports Reporters" and waved us through. Many of the sleek, well-dressed partygoers seemed hipper, younger and thinner than I am and most were not interested in listening to Feinstein talk about Feinstein. So we left and went bowling.

Have a question or comment? Reach me attalkback@washpost.com.