NastyNats4Life

     You know, 13 months is a hell of a long time between blog posts on here. Which is why I'm taking time out (from rebuilding everything on my computer) to do just that...writing here, I mean.
     One thing that surprised me in these intervening 13 months--and I'm not ashamed to say it truly was a surprise--was seeing the Nationals come oh-so-close to a .500 record last year. Now if we can just get Prince Fielder to sign on the dotted line, I'll be such a happy man...lol
     On the other hand, the Redskins and Wizards still suck. Duh. At least the Capitals are getting better under Dale Hunter. (When last I wrote here, Bruce Boudreau was at the helm. 3 weeks into this season, he got canned.) If the season ended now (1/4), they're barely in the playoffs.
     This is not good, people.
     At any rate, if you wish to follow me elsewhere...here they are:
     http://dcsportsnut.wordpress.com
     http://nastynatslivehereandeverywhe
re.blogspot.com
     http://thegreatovie8.blogspot.com
     I think that covers everything (until the next time...who knows, maybe another year?? LMFAO)

     Well, at least this time it's only been 2 months since I was here last...LMAO
     Anyway, to my point of this writing. It's to give the "rundown" of where else I'm at for sports writing.
     The WordPress blog (with the same title as this one) is http://dcsportsnut.wordpress.com. My MLBlogs.com Nationals-oriented blog is still http://go-nasty-nats.mlblogs.com, but you can also go to http://mlblogsgonastynats.wordpress
.com to look it up as well.
     (And seeing how the Nats are on a 3-game win streak, I just might be writing more on there...)
     So there you have it. Until the next time I decide to write here......adios!!

     I didn't realize it's been 4 months between blog entries on here.
     And judging from the way the Nationals' season has gone (so far), it may be another 4 months before I come back here again.
     Christ, we should be 4-1 instead of the other way around. Quality starts out of everyone...until tonight.
     Livan Hernandez did a good job tonight through 4 innings. Then came the bottom of the 5th. For some reason Livo couldn't get the 3rd out, until the Marlins tied the game up at 4 apiece.
     (That's right, we had a fricking 4-run lead halfway through this game. The final was 7-4 Marlins.)
     You know, I've seen this emm-effing horror movie the last 7 years--meaning since baseball came back to D.C.--and I for one am done being patient with ownership/the front office/Jim Riggleman/etc. about when the Nats are gonna turn the corner.
     I've lived long enough to see two versions of the Senators leave D.C. (but only have memories of the "expansion" team of the '60s), and thus know what it was like to have no baseball for 33 YEARS!!! So I'm embracing the Nats for all it's worth.
     But my patience has worn thin.
     I made the prediction on my MLBlogs page (http://go-nasty-nats.mlblogs.com) that the Nats would finish 77-85, and no higher than 3rd place in the NL East. I am not going to be made a liar by this b.s. masquerading as Nationals baseball!!
     It ain't happening.

     I just now realized, it's been almost 3 months since I last wrote a blog here. Damn, I'm slipping...
     Anyway, to make up for lost time, here goes.
     Now that the Redskins have basically screwed themselves out of the playoff picture...and let's face it, how do you let Brett Favre run out the clock??...it looks now as though they'll be playing the spoiler role these next 5 weeks. (Or not.) Why do we go through this year after fricking year? I ask you, WHY??
     I mean, between the Skins and Wizards, it's nothing short of a miracle I still have my sanity. But at least as far as the Wizards go, there's some sense of hope...and his name is John Wall. (That is, when he can get on the floor.) It's his team now, not Gilbert Arenas'. Maybe in another 2 years we'll talk contender...maybe.
     As concerns the Nationals: now that Adam Dunn's walked, WHO is our (long-term) 1B? At least they've done the right thing, and protected Chris Marrero from next week's Rule 5 Draft by putting him the 40-man roster. But while we wait and see if he can make it to Syracuse to start next season (or go back to Harrisburg), who do we get to man 1B in the meantime? Big names, Mike Rizzo, big names...starting pitching and a first baseman, that's what we need!!!
     So, lo and behold, that leaves the Capitals to talk about.
     If this team does NOT win a Stanley Cup...and this is just my view...then this season (like last season) is a complete failure. There's way too much talent on the Caps to go down the tubes in the 1st round (again!!). Totally unacceptible, to be honest.
     So that covers it. I should make mention of another place to showcase my writing...find it at www.greatjake1958.wordpress.com (if you can...lol). I'll cover sports on there once in awhile; it's mainly for other topics.
     I'm done now...LMAO

     Wow. It's been 3 whole months since I last wrote a blog on here? Bummer. Well, I'll fix that right now.
     We've all seen the game Sunday night. Forget everything, but 7 seconds of the game. Focus instead on the last 4 seconds of the 1st half...and DeAngelo Hall stripping the ball and running in the end zone. That's all the offense the Redskins had...from a fricking defensive back!!
     Then, think of the last 3 seconds of the game. I don't care whether you were at the game, or watching at home in the D.C. area(s)...or for that matter, the Dallas/Fort Worth area(s)...you HAD to run the gamut of emotions on this play. From screaming at your TV, "HOW do the Redskins blow a 13-point lead??", and then hearing the ref say "Holding, offense"...finally, we beat the effing Cowmunchers!!!
     Wonder where this game ranks among the all-time games in this rivalry? Anyone want to venture an opinion?

     Think of anything in the last 50 years or so, pop- or sports-culture related. "Fernando-mania", for example. Or Willis Reed coming out of the tunnel @ Madison Square Garden. Or even the Beatles playing Shea Stadium in '65. How about Live-Aid? I'm sure I can come up with others, if I had time.
     No matter. Last night, Stephen Strasburg blew all of those out of the water. If this is what Game 7 of a World Series feels like, maybe my vision of a World Series in Washington by 2013 can be a reality. Truth be told, it's a miracle anybody could hear themselves last night.
     7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB...and 14 K's!!! That's the line on Stephen Strasburg from the game. Giving up the 2-run HR to Delwyn Young would've rattled any young pitcher. Not Double-S, though. All he does, is get the next 10 Pirate batters out...7 by strikeout!!
     And while that's going on, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham smack some jacks to stake Strasburg a 4-2 lead. (The final score, BTW, was 5-2 Nationals.) But at this stage, it wouldn't have mattered--the crowd came to see a conquering hero on the mound.
     In my MLBlog (http://go-nasty-nats.mlblogs.com) yesterday, I mentioned that this wasn't hype. After all, Strasburg was 1 strikeout away from tying the record for most K's by a pitcher making his debut (15, last set by J.R. Richard of the Astros in September of '71). Believe me, for those of you too young to know who J.R. Richard was...rest assured, that hombre could pitch! He was Nolan Ryan before Nolan Ryan got good. Talk about fire coming out of the tailpipe...yeah, THAT damned good!!
     Stephen Strasburg, makes J.R. Richard look like a poser. Anybody who watched the game (whether it was MASN2 or MLB Network), might want to agree--or disagree--with me on that.
     Now the traveling road show pitches its tent in Cleveland on Sunday. Um, if you haven't gotten tickets for that game by now...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING ON?? You won't get another chance to see him in Cleveland for another 6 years...unless, of course, you plan on coming to Nationals Park in 2013. (I understand the game Sunday is gonna be the largest crowd the Indians will have all year--and it's mid-June already!!)
     And to think I saw Strasburg make his pro debut (for Harrisburg) @ Altoona back in April. He won that one, too!! Trust me, last night Michelangelo and/or DaVinci couldn't have painted a prettier picture than Double-S did. The scary part? It's going to get better...

     I could understand the Capitals losing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, if it had come in the finals against a good team (be it the Sharks or Blackhawks). I could've even have handled the Bruins beating us in the Eastern Conference finals.
     But lose to Montreal?? In the FIRST ROUND? Leading 3 games to 1? Talk about the French (in 1940) bending over...
     Everybody (and by everybody, I mean sports talk radio in D.C.) has tried to make comparisons to this debacle. I can't come up with one, to be honest. Then again, I had to watch this collapse on TV. Hoo boy.
     The entire season, a complete waste. Thanks for nothing, Boudreau!! Now I have to put up with stupid-a*s*s Penguins fans on YouTube (again) calling me vile names...
     Thank God the Nationals are giving me hope...and this before Stephen Strasburg shows up!! I was there for his pro debut for Harrisburg (@ Altoona), and he didn't disappoint!! Now it's only a matter of time before everyone in Washington gets to enjoy what I did.
     Then again, what the Nats did in April is pretty damned enjoyable...lol

     The one time I actually listen to LaVar Arrington's radio show, and they hit on a topic worthy of my coming back to blogging here.
     And wouldn't you know, it involves Dan Snyder (indirectly)...
     Here's what it's about: apparently last night, after the Capitals all but bent over for the Canadiens to bring about a Game 7 in their Stanley Cup playoff series, the message boards on the Caps' website shut down. The explanation came this afternoon from the Caps' PR people, that (perhaps) threats were made against either players/coaches/fans. (Take your pick.)
     Having done enough contributing across the Internet, I know what is and isn't allowed on boards/chat rooms/etc. So I can see where the Caps could shut down the board. But here's why I'm writing this piece...
     The question was posed on LaVar's show today: if it were the Redskins shutting down their board(s) in a similar situation, would we make a big deal of this? Damn right we would...and here's why...
     There are sports owners who are in it for the money, and who have NEVER given a rat's a*s*s about the fans. (Dan Snyder, anyone?) And then there are those owners who are what I would call "fan-oriented" owners...who care about what the fans think. Ted Leonsis is in the second category, no doubt. Shutting down the Caps' message board in the long run, may have been a good idea.
     (BTW, let me offer thanks to the Pollin family for finally selling controlling interest in the Wizards to Ted. 3 years from now, the Wiz will be the 3rd-hottest sports ticket in D.C.--after the Caps and Nationals. Trust me on this one, gang.)
     But I started this blog by mentioning the "Prima Danna", didn't I? Well, if you looked up at the previous statement, you'll see I point out where the Redskins stand (at the moment) as far as respect in the D.C. sports scene. All because Dan Snyder has a major-league bug up his a*s*s about Jack Kent Cooke's legacy (and the 3 Lombardi Trophies @ Redskins Park)...
     Taking JKC's name off the stadium he built, and then firing Frank Herzog (the longtime radio voice of the Skins), was enough to turn me against Snyder. I won't go into the product (???) he put out on the field the last 10+ years, believe me. But my point is, there are still Redskins fans mad enough to want to line the "Prima Danna" up against the wall and shoot his pathetic a*s*s.
     (I'm sorely tempted at times...)
     So I have a question to ask of all of you: at what point did/do you lose respect for your team(s)?? (And yes, I'll even let the CBSSports.com people chime in on this, too!!) Just curiosity, is all...