D.C. Sports Bog - By The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg - June 6, 2010

Strasburg's strikeouts: the radio call

Everybody loves Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler. Everybody loves Stephen Strasburg. Here, via the increasingly awesome FYSS, are Slowes and Jageler calling each of Strasburg's 14th strikeout. Since you likely don't have 23 minutes to spare, kindly fast forward to about the 20:00 mark, where Jageler calls the 13th...

By Dan Steinberg | June 11, 2010; 4:56 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Media , Nats , Wizards
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Leonsis clarifies uniform/name change possibilities

Take 973..... Ted Leonsis just met with about 20 Post editors and reporters, and yet again the subject of uniform and/or name changes for the Washington Wizards came up. He seems utterly surprised and baffled that this is such a huge issue (with people like me), and he said yet...

By Dan Steinberg | June 11, 2010; 3:13 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (26)
Categories: Wizards
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Orioles miss out on Strasburg mania

(By Toni L. Sandys - TWP) By far the most e-mails I've gotten since Strasmas have concerned the MASN2/FiOS/HD issue, with Verizon subscribers saying they couldn't find the game, or complaining about the lack of HD for the MASN2 Strasmas broadcast. (Anyone who needs to find MASN or MASN2...

By Dan Steinberg | June 11, 2010; 12:09 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (60)
Categories: Media , Nats
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The political press and Strasburg

(By Jonathan Newton - TWP) Like any good D.C. sports fan, Bret Baier manages to get himself into the grandest Washington events. The host of Fox News's Special Report was at the Nats' first game in RFK Stadium. He was at the George Mason-U. Conn. miracle at the Verizon...

By Dan Steinberg | June 11, 2010; 11:24 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Media , Nats
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Rico Labbe's World Cup

(By David Azia - AP) ESPN's World Cup coverage will begin Friday morning with an opening piece featuring scenes from just about every nook of South Africa, narrated by actor Djimon Hounsou. That open was co-produced and edited by Rico Labbe. And Rico Labbe used to play for the...

By Dan Steinberg | June 11, 2010; 12:41 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Redskins , Soccer
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Clippard: Strasburg can throw scouting reports in trash

(By John McDonnell - TWP) Stephen Strasburg said he didn't look at the scouting reports for the Pittsburgh Pirates before Tuesday's game. Didn't seem to hurt much. The theory is that as Strasburg faces better teams, and hitters who have seen him before, he won't be able to get...

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 4:12 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Nats
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Caps remain a 2011 Stanley Cup favorite

A year ago this month, I posted some futures odds for the 2010 Stanley Cup. The Caps were listed at 10-1, which made them third in the East, and tied for fourth overall, just ahead of the eventual champion Blackhawks (12-1). When the playoffs started and the Caps were the...

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 3:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Caps
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Leonsis on Strasburg and the Nats

Mark Lerner is a partner in Ted Leonsis's ownership group, and he was at Leonsis's I'm-buying-the-Wizards press conference on Thursday. Leonsis mentioned the Nats at least three or four times in his remarks, and even mentioned the championships won by the Washington Kastles and D.C. United. He also, of course,...

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 2:09 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Caps , Nats , Wizards
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Leonsis: No name change, likely color change

Second headline out of Ted Leonsis's I'm-buying-the-Wizards press conference came when NBC's Dan Hellie asked about possible name and/or color changes. Leonsis has talked about this briefly before, but these were Leonsis's most definite and comprehensive comments. Sounds pretty clear that the name will not be changing, but the uniforms...

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 1:55 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (36)
Categories: Caps , Wizards
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Leonsis says it's time to re-embrace Gilbert Arenas

Ted Leonsis introduced his new partners and a new name for his investment group -- Monumental Sports & Entertainment -- during his I'm-buying-the-Wizards press conference on Thursday. He said Washington is a "basketball-mad city" and the Wizards as a franchise are "a sleeping giant." But the first headline from his...

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 1:37 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Wizards
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A Bryce Harper jersey at Strasmas

On the day Stephen Strasburg was drafted by the Nationals, Ernie Kyger -- a season-ticket holder from Olney -- went to a team store and had himself made a "Strasburg 37" jersey. He wore it proudly many times over the past year, showing himself to be a beacon of...

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 12:41 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Nats
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"Stephen Strasburg, Va." plan ends badly

Surely you remember last week's much-hyped plan to rename Strasburg, Va. "Stephen Strasburg, Va.," yes? After every sports blog in the world wrote about this plan, and after it landed in the pages of The Washington Post and in several other very mainstream outlets, the valley had been soiled....

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 12:01 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Nats
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Lerner: "Spending money is not gonna be our issue"

(By Toni L. Sandys - TWP) Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper have brought an unprecedented level of optimism to Nats fans. They've also likely brought unprecedented salary demands to the Nats' front office. Nats owner Mark Lerner was asked about that side of things during an appearance on Sirius...

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 11:27 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Nats
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Livan Hernandez questions Strasburg

"How does your family feel after the big day," the dude with the microphone said on Wednesday. "You know, they were pretty excited for me," Stephen Strasburg told Livan Hernandez, without so much as a smile to acknowledge that the question came from a man with a large head,...

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 11:02 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Media , Nats
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Ovechkin on vacation

You know who likes to wear sunglasses upside down? My three-year old daughter, for one. In fact, that's the picture on my phone. She can't get enough of the upside-down sunglasses. Also: Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin's vacation exploits, as translated at Alex Ovejtkin, are a must-read for sure. For example:...

By Dan Steinberg | June 10, 2010; 9:57 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Caps
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Best in Strasburg fashion

The single best fan item I saw from Tuesday's game came, not surprisingly, from Comcast SportsNet's Michael Jenkins, the best fan reporter in the world. He caught up with this young Yankees fan whose wrist was tattooed with the Yankees' logo. Kid was wearing a Strasburg t-shirt and a...

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 4:35 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Nats
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Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell discuss Strasburg

Well, this is getting fairly absurd. Strasburg's debut was discussed on the Senate floor Wednesday morning by two of the most powerful men in America. You can watch it above; here's the dialog between Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Incidentally, among the...

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 3:25 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Nats
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Lindsay Czarniak eats a Strasburger

At last count, there are at least four local restaurants selling Strasburgers, plus one place selling Strasburg dogs. Here's Lindsay Czarniak eating The Burger Joint's offering, which features 14 pickle slices, one for every strikeout. Update: DCist also samples the burger, and provides a juicy photo. That's a lot...

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 3:05 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Media , Nats
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Costas: Strasburg debut was "preposterous"

(By John McDonnell - TWP) When I talked to Bob Costas about calling the Stephen Strasburg debut on MLB Network Tuesday morning, he was very measured, and very non-hysterical. I suggested he was dousing cold water on Washington's insanity. "You can be into something without losing all perspective on...

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 2:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Media , Nats
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60 seconds at Nats Park

Here's a great 60-second look at the hordes who attended Strasmas from Nationals Daily News's Ian Koski....

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 1:52 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Nats
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Strasburg haiku winners

Via colleague Cameron Smith: Well, we asked for your best Strasburg-related haikus (or Straskus), and, with a healthy dose of pith and merriment, you delivered. In all, after submissions in the comments here, via Twitter and Facebook, we had more than 200 haikus to judge. And after combing through...

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 1:41 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Nats
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The guy who threw back Strasburg's home run ball

When Bill Corey arrived at Nationals Park and surveyed his seat in the front row of Section 141 in right centerfield, he made an immediate decision. Any Pirates home runs that landed in his possession were going back into the outfield grass. Well, sure. That's proper baseball etiquette. Easier...

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 1:09 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (59)
Categories: Nats
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The Strasburg rookie baseball card

I heard on Tuesday that Topps would be releasing the exclusive Stephen Strasburg rookie card Wednesday morning, complete with an image taken during his Major League debut. Here it is, available exclusively at the ToppsMillion site. It features Strasburg's first pitch, and it's supposedly available in "very limited quantities."...

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 11:46 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Nats
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Strasburg debut smashes MASN ratings record

The numbers Stephen Strasburg recorded on the field Tuesday night were amazing. The numbers he recorded on TV were equally so. Sports Business Journal is reporting that the broadcast on MASN2 -- which isn't on a lot of people's favorites list -- earned a 6.81 rating in the D.C. market....

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 10:56 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Caps , Media , Nats
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A Strasburg strikeout, from the bleachers

I mentioned this earlier, but one of the most striking things about watching the game in the crowd was seeing everyone celebrating together. Husbands hugging wives, buddies exchanging fist pounds, strangers giving each other high-five, and so on. It was almost like a Tiger Woods crowd, where everyone was...

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 1:16 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Nats
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Did Strasburg hit 103?

I wasn't watching the Nationals Park radar reading after every Strasburg pitch, but every time I looked it was 97 or 98 or 99 or thereabouts. I heard rumors that he had hit triple digits at some point, and Adam Kilgore reported that Strasburg's last four fastballs were clocked...

By Dan Steinberg | June 9, 2010; 1:07 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Nats
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Strasburg's debut, from the stands

(Photo courtesy Nats News Network) I watched Stephen Strasburg's debut from a bunch of different sections, with a bunch of different people, from Canadian journalists to D.C. talk-show hosts to random fans to fans I marginally know. In every section, with every group of people, it was kind of...

By Dan Steinberg | June 8, 2010; 10:54 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (30)
Categories: Nats
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Strasburger mania hits D.C.

By the sixth strikeout Tuesday night, I had already been alerted to at least three different Strasburgers for sale in greater Washington. There will be more, friends, there will be more. Glory Days (Pictured): A fresh, prime burger seasoned with our signature grill seasoning and then "brings the heat"...

By Dan Steinberg | June 8, 2010; 8:23 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Nats
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Should Teddy win tonight?

The important question on Strasmas:...

By Dan Steinberg | June 8, 2010; 6:43 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)

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Strasburg, Vince Lombardi and Joe Gibbs

(2004 photo by Jonathan Newton - TWP) Sept. 21, 1969. The Washington Post reports on Vince Lombardi's upcoming first game as coach of the Redskins: For 23 straight seasons the Redskins have reached their level of incompetency short of the championship round in the National Football League. For the...

By Dan Steinberg | June 8, 2010; 4:34 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Nats , Redskins
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Waiting for Strasburg

When Adam Kilgore and I walked down to the field at Nats Park Tuesday afternoon, Ted Lerner was sitting in the stands. That's unusual. There were probably 40 or 50 television reporters, still photographers, talking heads, print reporters and assorted other media folks waiting around near the dugouts. That's...

By Dan Steinberg | June 8, 2010; 4:03 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Media , Nats
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Strasburg ticket lines

Michael Kennedy lives three blocks from Nats Park in Southwest D.C. He's lived in Southwest for most of his 50 years. He loves baseball, and so do his mother and uncle. So he figured he might as well head over to the ticket office around daybreak to make sure...

By Dan Steinberg | June 8, 2010; 2:33 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Nats
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Bob Costas: Strasburg debut "has no precedent"

(2009 photo by Charles Dharapak - AP) Stephen Strasburg's debut will feature, among other acts of hoopla, both the Baseball Tonight set on site and a live broadcast on the MLB Network, with Bob Costas providing the call. CNBC's Darren Rovell is reporting that Strasmas day should be worth...

By Dan Steinberg | June 8, 2010; 11:45 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Media , Nats
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Bryce Harper's war paint

(By Isaac Brekken - AP) Bryce Harper's elaborate stylized eye black choices have received plenty of attention in recent days. Yahoo's Jeff Passan tied it to Harper's immaturity, writing that "these are the flourishes, of course, of which Harper must rid himself [before] he debuts in the major leagues"...

By Dan Steinberg | June 8, 2010; 11:10 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Nats
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Harper joins the No. 1 draft pick town

A while back, the wise LaVar Arrington asked me when was the last time that a single city had four No. 1 overall draft picks plying their trades at the same time. I didn't know. Still don't. So instead, I came up with an easier question to answer. A...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 11:08 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: Caps , Nats , Redskins , Wizards
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Dunn on Strasburg: "This dude's not like everyone else"

Could not find a photo of Strasburg with Adam Dunn. (By Richard A. Lipski - TWP) Adam Dunn went on the Dan Patrick Show last week to discuss, among other things, Stephen Strasburg. He was slightly complimentary. "I mean, I wanted to see him first-hand, and when I saw...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 5:35 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Media , Nats
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SI's 10 greatest moments in D.C. sports history

SI.com just posted the 10 greatest moments in D.C. sports history. I fully encourage the posting of silly lists to generate page views and Internet debate. It's the height of Monday afternoon sports Internet perfection. But this is possibly the worst list I've ever seen, on any topic, in any...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 4:14 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (27)
Categories: Media
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Ken Burns on Stephen Strasburg

(By Nicholas Lisi - The Post-Standard via AP) When I asked Ken Burns to compare Stephen Strasburg to previously heralded baseball arrivals, he didn't go straight to a pitching phenom from the '80s, which has been the popular move in recent days. "We have a different kind of 24/7...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 2:53 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Media , Nats
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NASCAR goes Strasburg

Press release from Richmond International Raceway. Printed without comment. STRASBURG, WHO? RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY'S #1 PICK TAKES THE MOUND TOMORROW NIGHT AT FLYING SQUIRRELS BASEBALL GAME Fritz-A-Palooza Could Overshadow Washington Nationals' Strasburg-Mania Richmond, VA (June 7, 2010)--While much of the sports world is anticipating tomorrow night's debut of Washington Nationals...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 2:01 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Minor League Baseball , Nats
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Nats offer standing-room only tickets for Strasmas

This data from SeatGeek is a few days old, but this is what it looked like then. With Strasmas eve on the horizon, the Nats announced that they are now releasing even more seats for Stephen Strasburg's debut to the buying public. The headline is the 2,000 standing-room only...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 1:21 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Media , Nats
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Caron Butler: "This is still home"

Thomas Petri, the Crown Prince of Denmark, Caron Butler. Caron Butler rode his bicycle down Pennsylvania Avenue with two Congressmen and the Crown Prince of Denmark on Monday morning, and then for a longer tour around the monuments and National Mall. Before that happened, they all stopped to talk...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 12:38 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Media , NBA , Wizards
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Strasburg odds on everything

Bodog just released odds on everything Stephen Strasburg will do on Tuesday. I'm omitting the over-under on the number of towels he uses in his post-game shower, the over-under on his water intake, and the specific odds on how many sunflower seeds he will consume (132 seeds is the favorite...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 11:24 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Nats
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Strasburg mania: the jersey prelude

"It's funny, we're in DC right now, and it's Strasburg everything," Reds outfielder Jonny Gomes said on Sirius XM's Baseball Today Sunday morning. "Strasburg tickets, Strasburg jerseys, Strasburg posters...." I took my daughter to her first ball game on Sunday afternoon, and I saw what Gomes meant. If you've...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 10:38 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Nats
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Jaime Moreno drums with fans

This is Jaime Moreno. He's got the most goals in the history of Major League Soccer, has helped D.C. United win bunches of trophies, and is one of the most popular players in franchise history. He was kept out of Saturday night's game, and so he climbed into the...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 10:14 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: D.C. United
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The Strasburg haiku contest

See that image? That's how ABC 7 is promoting its Stephen Strasburg coverage. This, folks, is a thing happening here this week. In that spirit, I've been asked to run the official Washington Post Strasku contest, in which you create haiku offerings about the arriving savior. First place gets...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 9:04 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (163)
Categories: Nats
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Ron Weber's Caps stats

When I wrote about Ron Weber being inducted into the broadcasters' wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame last week, many of you recalled with especial fondness his penchant for digging up obscure facts. Well, when Weber was on Washington Post Live last week, he showed his methods: thousands,...

By Dan Steinberg | June 7, 2010; 6:14 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Caps , Media
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Scott Rolen's check-swing

With one out in the top of the ninth Sunday afternoon and the game tied at 2, Nats closer Matt Capps got Scott Rolen to do this with a 1-2 count. Had the first-base umpire ruled it a strike, there would have been two outs. He said no. "I'm...

By Dan Steinberg | June 6, 2010; 5:06 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Media , Nats
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Rizzo: Nats "leaning towards" Harper

Whom will the Nats take in Monday's amateur draft? Bryce Harper, duh. GM Mike Rizzo finally came close to saying so publicly during Sunday's MASN broadcast, when sideline reporter Debbi Taylor asked him point blank if Harper was their guy. "Well, he's towards the top of the list," Rizzo said....

By Dan Steinberg | June 6, 2010; 3:54 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Media , Nats
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D.C. Sports Bog: June 6, 2010 - June 12, 2010