nationals Page 38 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Matt Stairs Is The Once-Overweight Canadian Jim Thorpe
Most teams begin spring training games this weekend (or earlier—Manatee Community College (-200) vs. Pirates at 12:05 today). Until then, though, beat writers have to fill inches with features about new players with quirky stories....

Bernard Hopkins Wins, Loses And Draws In The Same Night
Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day....

Jayson Werth Wants To Kick Phillies Fans Out Of Nationals Park
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: the Nats' big prize on his old fanbase's DC pilgrimages....

Cliff Lee To The Nationals? Sure, Why Not.
These are baseball's first Winter Meetings where everyone has Twitter. This makes for more, earlier and juicier rumors. Like the one currently making the rounds that have the Washington Nationals throwing an ungodly sum of money at Cliff Lee....

Ryan Zimmerman's Wedding Dance Should Be The Next Dougie
The Nationals' non-Strasburg franchise player attended the wedding of a high school teammate over the weekend, and it was was of those "wacky" ceremonies where the wedding party has choreographed entrances. Zim didn't let them down....

Last Night's Winner: Nationals Fans, Bargain Hunters
In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like the 2011 Nationals diehards, who, if they buy two season tickets, will get two free. Now if only someone can find three other Nats fans....

And Now Time For Some Fun With A Bryce Harper Q&A
A reader brought this Bryce Harper Q&A to our attention. In it Harper expresses his disdain for high school. While that's bad—albeit expected—there's some other terrible stuff in the interview. Let's look at the highlights....

Last Night's Winner: Nyjer Morgan, Crazy Person
In sports, everyone is a winner-some people just win better than others. Like the "volatile"/"mercurial"/"passionate" Nationals outfielder, who appears to have lost his mind in the last two weeks....

Finally, A Baseball Fight That Doesn't Disappoint
A night after bowling over the catcher, Nyjer Morgan gets a pitch behind him. Morgan goes after the pitcher, when — BAM! — Gaby Sanchez out of nowhere. This was a good one, folks. [MLB.com]...

Rob Dibble Given The Heave-Ho By MASN
MASN has had it up to here with the misogyny and the foot-in-mouthery from Rob Dibble, firing the analyst today after his super-secret suspension didn't knock the appropriate amount of sense into him. Suck it up, Dibble....

Strasmas Is Canceled
Well, ain't this a kick in the teeth? Sometimes you can do everything right, and have it all go wrong. That's the story of DC, and the story of baseball....

Last Night's Winner: Bryce Harper's Accelerated Destiny
In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like those poor bastards in Washington. Sure their franchise savior might need Tommy John surgery, but they've got another one stashed away....

Strasburg Done For The Year, Probably 2011 Too
Stephen Strasburg has a torn elbow ligament, and will likely require Tommy John surgery, which usually takes more than a year to heal. Sucks for the Nats' 2011 season ticket sales office....

Either Rob Dibble's On Double Secret Suspension, Or He Has Great Comic Timing
Rob Dibble, fresh off trashing Stephen Strasburg for begging off a start, will miss calling the next two Nats games....

Jackie Robinson Statue At Nationals Park Busted Up By Tacklers
Brian Birrer made a statue of Jackie Robinson and took it to D.C. for the Nationals' Jackie Robinson Day. Several thousand dollars of damage occurred when it was tackled and now the Nationals are giving him the run around....

Why Is There A Nationals Cap In The Original <em>Karate Kid</em>?
The movie came out in 1984, 20 years before the not-yet-extant Nationals unveiled their "curly W" logo. Time traveler? Or something more benign? Probably time traveler....

Nationals Pitcher Shaves Mustache, Gains Ability To Pitch
Collin Balester was having trouble. He had a great mustache, but he wasn't pitching well at all. He had beaned Rickie Weeks and Mark Reynolds in the head. He needed to make a radical change. The mustache, unfortunately, would have to go....

Strasburg Usurper Manages To Offend Beauty Queen
Miguel Batista managed to offend hundreds of Washington D.C. baseball game attendees Tuesday when he had the gall to make a spot start in place of D.C.'s Lord and Savior, the very much injured Stephen Strasburg. Then he went and dissed Iowa....

Is Bryce Harper's Facebook Page Real?
The Washington Post asks the same question, but Harper's page appears to be so good it has to be a parody. Whoever it is, they sure love putting exclamation points and various : ) emoticons in their updates. Maybe he's a 13-year-old girl?...

Attention Nationals Fans: You Don't Deserve Stephen Strasburg (Disappointed Newlywed Update)
I don't mean that in some kind of larger, cosmic sense. I just mean that if you came out to the ballpark Tuesday, expecting to see Strasburg pitch, the team doesn't owe you anything after scratching him from his start....