The Blast has re-signed forward Lucas Roque, who is set to join the team in January after spending time with his family after the birth of his daughter in August.
Roque scored on a bicycle kick to win the Major Indoor Soccer League championship for the Blast in his rookie season in 2012-13.
In four seasons with the Blast, Roque has 71 goals, 34 assists and 132 points in 79 games.
In 2015-16, when the Blast won the Major Arena Soccer League title, he was second on the team in regular-season goals with 19. In the postseason, he had tying and winning goals in the conference finals and earned Most Valuable Player for accumulating nine goals and five assists in six games.
The Blast's 2016-17 season will begin Nov. 5 in Harrisburg; the home opener will be Nov. 11.
Horse racing: The Maryland Jockey Club unveiled the logo for the 142nd Preakness, to be run May 20 at Pimlico Race Course. The Leffler Agency designed the logo for the 18th consecutive year. "As racing in the state of Maryland is on the rise, the Preakness as an event is also gaining more prominence. This year's modern design was inspired by the industry's momentum and therefore conveys a sense of forward motion while appealing to a younger audience," said Heather Connellee, CEO of Leffler Agency.
Varsity girls basketball: St. Frances girls basketball senior Mia Davis, an All-Metro first-team forward and powerful rebounder, committed Wednesday to play for Temple. "I had a good relationship with the coaching staff," Davis said. "I like the academic part, and it was a good fit for me. I like their style of play, up-tempo." Davis, who had 21 offers from Division I programs, narrowed her list to Temple, James Madison, Massachusetts Amherst, Seton Hall and Texas-El Paso. She said Temple coach Tonya Cardoza told her she has a chance to play as a freshman for the Owls, who went 23-12 last season. At St. Frances last winter, Davis averaged 17.6 points and 14 rebounds per game.
--Katherine Dunn
Varsity football: Gilman graduate Stephen Spanellis was named one of the top five National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards winners Wednesday by the National Football Foundation. Spanellis, a two-time All-Metro offensive lineman now playing at Michigan, is the second straight Gilman player to win; Jelani Roberts, now a sophomore receiver at Northwestern, won last year. Spanellis is the fourth Michigan player to receive the award, which is based on high school accomplishments. The East Region winner, he will be honored, with the other four regional winners, at the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon on Dec. 6 in New York. At Gilman, Spanellis earned an academic average of 94.57 and was on the honor roll every year. He also worked with Habitat for Humanity and joined in weekly Bible study.
--Katherine Dunn
Varsity boys soccer: Archbishop Spalding coach Richard Moller, in his first season, has been dismissed for an undisclosed reason, according to athletic director Jeff Parsons. Nick Hondrum, an assistant principal at the school who was an assistant coach from 2005 to 2013, will take over through this season. The Cavaliers are 2-9-1 this season and 1-7-1 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference. Moller, a native of Germany who played at Towson University, was hired in December to replace former coach Trey Krell.
—Glenn Graham
NFL: The Washington Redskins signed Donte Whitner to bring experience and physicality to their defense. The Redskins added the three-time Pro Bowl safety Wednesday, putting concussed David Bruton on injured reserve with a concussion. They also signed former Jacksonville Jaguars safety Josh Evans and released defensive lineman Kendall Reyes. Whitner, 31, has 856 tackles in 10 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns. He spent the past two seasons with the Browns, who released him in April.
NBA: The Washington Wizards lost their first game of the preseason, 106-95, to the visiting Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Kelly Oubre led Washington with 16 points in its first game under coach Scott Brooks. Former Utah Jazz guard Trey Burke had 14 points, starting at point guard while John Wall remains out while recovering from surgeries. Bradley Beal finished with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
WNBA: Candace Parker scored 29 points and Kristi Toliver (Maryland) 21 in helping the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Chicago Sky, 95-75, on Tuesday night to advance to the Finals. Los Angeles won the best-of-five series 3-1.