nationals Page 31 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Nationals' New Rainout Policy Is Only A Problem If You Have A Job (UPDATE)
The Nats game was rained out last night; it happens. Fans can exchange their unused tickets for tickets to a future game; as is standard. Unfortunately, that "future game" is very specifically Thursday afternoon's game, no substitutions. ...

Tim Hudson Has More Home Runs Off Bryce Harper Than Vice Versa
Braves pitcher Tim Hudson came into tonight's game against the Nationals with two career home runs. Young Washington superstar Bryce Harper? 31. None of those were off Hudson, though, which puts the legendary Atlanta hurler one up on the Nats' wunderkind after this bizarre play....

<em>Of Course</em> Bryce Harper Is In Favor Of The Wave
This season, an anti-wave movement has taken a foothold in the stands at Washington Nationals games. According to DC Sports Bog, The anti-wavers scored a victory at Saturday's game, but today brings a victory for the pro-wavers, who now have the support of Nats star Bryce Harper....

Henry Rodriguez Nearly Beaned Himself With A Wild Pitch
Henry Rodriguez had some minor control issues. Also physics. Control and physics issues....

The Goon Show
It'll come as no surprise that my favorite series at Grantland is the "Director's Cut" feature curated by Michael MacCambridge. He does a beautiful job and I'm always eager to see what gift he gives us next. Here's an especially good one—"The Making of a Goon," by Johnette Howard, which originally ...

The National Spelling Bee Will Now Include Vocabulary Tests
When you're watching the spelling bee, do you ever get the sneaking suspicion that some of the kids simply memorized the dictionary? ...

This Is The Best Photo You'll Ever See Of A Nats Fan Puking On His Friend's Shoe
This lovely picture comes to us courtesy of Noah Scialom, who shot it at the Orioles' home opener. There's just so much to like about it: the stream of vomit frozen perfectly in mid-air, the soft glow of the oncoming twilight, and the caring look of concern on the face of the puker's friend—who see...

Man Catches Home Run In His Left Hand While Holding Baby With His Right
Our resident videographer is off today, so we'll have to make do with this until more replays pop up, ideally in slow motion and looped for all eternity: Nats. Reds. Bases empty, Werth at bat. Sam LeCure on the mound. Werth swings at the first pitch he sees. Deep right-center. Man. Baby. Ball. No gl...

Bryce Harper Starts The Season With Two Home Runs
Man, that's a gorgeous swing....

The Public-Funding-For-Stadiums Hustle Comes To Spring Training
Every day, it seems, another team in another sport is begging local government to pay for its stupid stadium upgrades—luxury boxes, video boards, home-run whirligigs. And seemingly every other day, more or less, municipalities give into the bullying....

The Nationals Wouldn't Pay Out Dead Prospect's Signing Bonus Until His Family Promised Not To Sue Them
The circumstances surrounding the death of Yewri Guillén—an 18-year-old Dominican prospect who had been signed by the Washington Nationals—remain murky. But a piece in the latest issue of Mother Jones reveals they weren't so murky that the Nationals didn't make sure to absolve themselves of any liab...

The Third Weird Baseball Injury Of 2013: Washington Nationals Pitcher Gio Gonzalez Got Rug Burn On His Forehead From His Dog
Not really sure what else there is to say that hasn't already been said. This is weird, an injury—technically—and it is baseball-related. Oh, and it happened in 2013. While Gio's injury is not all that serious—he was able to make his first start of the spring today and pitched relatively well—no wei...

Baseball's Facial Hair Spectrum
This is it. The very least amount of hair a man can be covered in and still considered to have a mustache and the very most amount of hair a man can be covered in and still be counted among those walking upright and having moved on from dwelling in caves....

You Know Spring Training Is Here When You Read Sentences Like "Denard Span Said He Started Screaming And Making Noises To Discourage The Bird"
There is no baseball, no real, meaningful baseball for another 44 days. But the dead zone of the sports calendar has quickened considerably by the advent of spring training. Camps in Arizona and Florida stir to life, as co-workers who haven't seen each other since September get back together for som...

Questions About National Signing Day? Ask The Best College Football Minds In The Country
National Signing Day—the day when college football fans spend a lot of time waiting for teenagers to put on hats—is well underway. It's already treated us to some excitement and sparked a necessary, thoughtful discussion....

Arkansas Recruit Can't Commit Because His Mother Ran Off With His Letter Of Intent
Alex Collins, one of the top RB prospects in the nation, was going to Arkansas. He said as much Monday night, making as official an announcement as one can make before National Signing Day. Well, today's signing day, and Collins was not in attendance at the ceremony—a placard with his name was set u...

Nick Johnson, The Nearly Perfect Baseball Player, Retires
Nick Johnson announced his retirement today after playing portions of 10 major league seasons due to an infuriating inability to stay healthy. It's impossible to read an article about Johnson without coming across the phrase "oft-injured." It will be the book on him until they close it: "Nick Johns...
![Rejoice: The New Mascot In The Washington Nationals' Presidents Race Is William Taft, Our Fattest And Sleepiest President [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/18cp6zbk5fvosjpg.jpg)
Rejoice: The New Mascot In The Washington Nationals' Presidents Race Is William Taft, Our Fattest And Sleepiest President [Update]
At a fan fest today, the Nationals will announce the addition of a new American president to their much-beloved mascot race, which already saw a shake-up late in the Nationals' season when Teddy Roosevelt won for the first time ever. Crowd-pleasers that the Nationals are, they understood that fans ...

Those Goddamn Sandy Hook Truthers Got Their Hooks In Denard Span
If you don't know what a Sandy Hook Truther is, take a moment to read Max Read of Gawker's illuminating look into their strange world. Basically, they are people who believe that the Sandy Hook shooting was actually some kind of elaborate hoax perpretrated by the government, because everything is a...
