Osbourn Park Senior High School is looking forward to something that is tough for many schools to start of the school year with -- a roster full of returning players.  At the end of the 2013-2014 season, the Girls Varsity Basketball team, led by Head Coach Clifton Gorham, only lost one senior.  That means this coming year, he can worry less about re-teaching and more time honing in on the development of his current players.

Gorham feels that with the talent and focus of his returning core, the Lady Yellow Jackets will be destined for success.

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LAS VEGAS — Los Angeles Lakers Point Guard Kendall Marshall played in the NBA’s Summer League match up Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Marshall, from Dumfries, career began at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington and he later went on to play at the University of North Carolina. His NBA debut came in 2012 when he signed with the Phoenix Suns.  Marshall has played Lakers since January.

Round one and game 44 of the tournament had the Lakers playing th

e Eastern Conference team, the Philadelphia 76ers.  Marshall was the starter of the game and scored the Lakers’ first points behind the three point line followed by an assist to teammate Trey Thompkins, resulting in a scored basket.

With less than two minutes in the first quarter, Marshall got his second assist to Jordan Clarkson and gave the Lakers two additional points on the scoreboard by knocking down both free throws after a foul committed by 76ers. Although signs existed that the Lakers could shrink the points gap, they trailed Philadelphia at the half, 52-30.

The Lakers intensified their start during the second half of the game and with a little more than four minutes still to go in the third quarter, Marshall helped the Lakers decrease the Sixers’ lead with a shot off the glass from the left side of the floor and helped to put L.A. within 7 points of Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, with the likes of Milsapp, Ware and Grant pushing the momentum for the Sixers, it was too little to late and not enough for L.A. who was defeated 85-63.

Marshall ended the game with seven points. The Lakers will play again in the consolation bracket on Friday, July 18.

Keeyana Mahoney is a sports contributor to Potomac Local News and filed this report from Las Vegas. 

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — The Potomac Nationals have been given the June Promotion of the Month Award by Minor League Baseball for “Beard-A-Palooza Weekend” on June 13-15.

The honor automatically nominates the Nationals for a Golden Bobblehead award, which is given to the best promotion in all of Minor League Baseball throughout the 2014 season.

The P-Nats “Beard-A-Palooza Weekend” included the inaugural “Beard Olympics” and the “Jayson Werth BobbleBeard Giveaway” from Friday, June 13 through Sunday, June 15. Beard-related events took over Pfitzner Stadium all weekend long.

“Beard-A-Palooza weekend was a great home stand on many levels,” stated P-Nats’ GM Josh Olerud. “We had a record breaking weekend in attendance, fan participation, and most importantly, we had three nights of record breaking fun!”

After the official on-field opening Beard-A-Mony, a “Parade of Beards” culminated in the lighting of the Beard Torch. The beardamonial first pitch preceded a hairy national anthem.

In honor of Friday the 13^th, the P-Nats handed out an award to the hairiest and scariest beard in Northern Virginia.

The themed-weekend?s shaggy centerpiece was certainly the Jayson Werth BobbleBeard Giveaway. Werth?s “BobbleBeard” likeness featured an actual hairy beard that served as the hallmark of the collectable figure. It took just 13 minutes to distribute a 1,000-count of this bushy giveaway item.

In the interest of prickly pageantry, the weekend?s between-inning promotions included a “Name That Beard” contest, in addition to beard trivia on the video board.

The Nationals offered a bevy of bearded food items in the concessions stand served by bearded workers. Dressed up offerings included bearded nachos, the BeardFather and a mini corn dog beard basket (hold the hair).

At the conclusion of each game, all beards were invited to join a bearded edition of race the bases.

The Potomac Nationals faced the Winston-Salem Dash that weekend. The Dash won the first two games on 4-2 and 5-4, respectively. The Nationals won the final game of three 8-6.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Prince William taxpayers are about to sink more money into a baseball stadium that will soon be replaced with a new one.

County officials are set to authorize funding for construction of new covered batting tunnels to be built at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge – home of the Potomac Nationals Minor League Baseball team which is affiliated with the Washington Nationals.

Per Washington’s rules, the covered batting tunnels are required for their minor league team. The tunnels allow hitters to get in batting practice before and during the game, and not having them could adversely affect the players.

“It does affect the development process with the players, and it’s something that is in our agreement with the [Washington Nationals],” said Potomac Nationals General Manager Josh Olerud.

Rainy weather during a recent home game meant batters could not practice in the open air practice tunnels before taking the field, Olerud added.

The new tunnels will cost about $33,000, and Prince William County – which owns the stadium – will cover about a third of the cost. The tunnels will be 22 feet wide by 70 feet long, and will sit where the current uncovered batters’ practice areas are now, underneath the bleachers on side of the stadium and by the children’s area on the other side.

These improvements are the final phase of construction in a multi-phase lease deal between the county and the Potomac Nationals.

Pfitzner Stadium – built in 1984 and nestled behind the Prince William County Government Center — is one of the oldest in the team’s Carolina League. The batters tunnels were continually put off in lieu new drainage and irrigation to the stadium’s field after it was deemed unplayable by Major League Baseball in 2011. The stadium’s clubhouses on the home and visitors side were also improved.

Construction on the new tunnels should take about two weeks when the project gets the green light. It comes as the team is looking to abandon Pfitzner and open a new 6,000-seat stadium in 2016 at Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center between Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center and a Wegmans grocery store.

The team’s current lease agreement expires in December 2015 and construction on their new home is being held up due to stadium naming rights negotiations.

“To the best of our knowledge Mr. Silber is still working on a naming rights deal which would pay for the vertical construction for the new stadium. The county would not own the new stadium,” said Prince William Deputy County Executive Susan Roltsch.

Team owner Art Silber in January told Potomac Local News he expected to make an announcement on the naming rights deal by April but no name has been announced. Olerud said there are a “couple irons in the fire for the name game” and hopes to be able to do announce a deal soon.

As for Pfitzner?

“We’re pretty optimistic that this is the last major upgrade that we need to adhere to as required with our agreement with [The Washington Nationals,]” Olerud said.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Washington Nationals have announced LF Bryce Harper and C Wilson Ramos will both join the Potomac Nationals on rehabilitation assignments beginning Monday, June 23rd.

Harper of Las Vegas, Nev. is slated to be in a Potomac Nationals uniform both Monday and Tuesday, June 24, while the length of Ramos’ rehab stint with the P-Nats is to be determined.

Harper, 21, is on the mend from a torn ligament in his left thumb suffered on April 25 sliding headfirst into third base at Nationals Park following a bases loaded triple.

The left-handed swinging slugger was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 27th and the transaction was retroactive to April 26.

Harper, the number one overall selection of the Washington Nationals in the 2010 MLB Draft out of the College of Southern Nevada, is hitting .289 in 22 games for Washington in 2014. Harper has collected 24 hits, eight runs scored, four doubles, two triples, one home run, nine RBIs, eight walks, and one stolen base in three attempts.

Entering the 2014 campaign, Harper had already captured the 2012 National League Rookie of the Year Award to complement a pair of NL All-Star selections (2012 and 2013), and owned a lifetime MLB batting average of .272 with 50 doubles, 12 triples, 42 home runs, and 117 RBIs on his Big League resume.

Harper rehabbed with the P-Nats almost exactly one year ago from June 25th to June 26th following a left knee injury and went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, one double, one home run, one RBI, one walk, and one strikeout.

Ramos, 26, from Valencia, Venezuela is on the comeback trail from a Grade 1 right hamstring strain that was revealed on an MRI on June 10th and landed the catcher on the 15-day DL.

The 6-foot, 235-pound human backstop, collected an offensive slash line of .272/.307/.470/.777 during the 2013 season and collected nine doubles, 16 home runs, and 59 RBIs.

Ramos is swinging to the tune of a .261 batting clip in 24 games this season for the Washington Nationals while tallying 11 runs scored, seven doubles, one home run, and 11 RBIs.

On a separate rehab stretch earlier in the season, Ramos went 2-for-3 with the Class-A Hagerstown Suns on May 4th and belted a three-run home run at Municipal Stadium. On the current rehab track, with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators yesterday, Ramos cracked another three-run dinger at Metro Bank Park.

Ramos was originally signed by the Minnesota Twins as an international free agent in 2004 and was traded along with LHP Joe Testa in July of 2010 to the Washington Nationals in exchange for RHP Matt Capps and cash considerations.

Harper and Ramos are the seventh and eighth Washington Nationals to rehab with the Potomac Nationals in 2014 after RHP Doug Fister, RHP Ross Ohlendorf, 1B Adam LaRoche, 3B Ryan Zimmerman, LHP Gio Gonzalez, and OF Jeff Kobernus all made rehab appearances with the Carolina League Nationals this season.

-Submitted by the Potomac Nationals