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The Washington Nationals, also know as "The Nats", are owned by Ted Lerner and managed by Manny Acta. The Nats major league affiliations include the National League and the Eastern Division, both since 1969. This season is their 40th in the franchise since they began in Montreal, Canada in 1969 and their fourth in the District of Columbia. This year also marks their first season in their new stadium known as Nationals Park.

They opened their 2008 season in Nationals Park on March 30, 2008. No one knew if the new stadium would bring them good or bad luck. Some would say neither, since they look like the same old team.

The Nationals would start their season by winning their first three games. But as fate would have it, they would lose the next 16 out or 19 games, putting their record, so early in the season, at 6-16. The Nats finished April and began May with a winning streak, leaving their record at 14-18. The second half of May, and all of June and July, would be a continuous struggle with a few wins and then several losses.

However difficult their back and forth wins and defeats, nothing has been as hard as their current 10 straight game loss (their first since leaving Montreal). With their current record at 44-81 and their next six games on the road, Manager Manny Acta sends the team home for some much needed rest with their families.

A family's love and some rest go a long way. With fresh minds and bodies, the Nats losing streak could be over.

The Washington Capitals were founded in May of 1972 as a new NHL expansion Hockey Team by owner Abe Pollin, and their first official season started in 1974. They started out that first season with Milt Schmidt as general manager, and Jimmy Anderson as head coach. They played their first game on October 9, 1974 against the New York Rangers, losing 6-3. However, for an extremely new NHL Hockey team they held their own fairly well against the Rangers during the first two periods, and for a short while during the third period. The Capitals and Rangers were tied up at 3-3 in the beginning of the third period. But during that third period you could tell that they were fading fast, and that they lacked both the experience and strength of the older team. They just couldn’t keep up with the Rangers, and they were having major difficulties getting the Rangers out of their zone during that third period.

The first win for the Capitals that year was on their home turf, and they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on October 17, 1975. This was a complete upset for the Blackhawks since they had just won the Stanley Cup not more than two years ago. Denis Dupere was the lead scorer in this game with two goals, and Germain Gagnon and Jack Egers each scored one goal a piece. Jack Egers scored the winning goal during this game, but this first season for the Caps didn't turn out very well for them. Their record for the 1974-1975 season was 8-67-5.

Although their first season did not go well, the Capitals are still around and have been more successful in recent years. With any luck, maybe they will finally be able to obtain the Stanley Cup with the support of their fans in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles: two teams in one state, competing just 37 miles apart! What fueled this rivalry was the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Peter Angelos, claiming that the Baltimore Orioles alone had legal rights to the Washington-Baltimore area.

The Orioles were given rights to air Washington National games on their television network, Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. This was to settle the dispute regarding the move of the Montreal Expos. Unfortunately, this agreement went through just days prior to the 2005 season. Therefore, few Washington fans were able to gain access to the network causing them to miss most of the games that season. The fans maintain that the channel is showing favoritism to the Orioles over the Nationals, often presenting game scores of the Beltway Series as "Orioles vs. Washington" instead of "Orioles vs. Nationals." There has been a lot of discussion about the number of fans being pulled to the stadiums by each team. Regardless, over the years the totals drawn by both teams has varied such that either team has come out on top. It is interesting to note that, in 2007, the Orioles drew a larger fan base by nearly 200,000 people.

David Sheinin, a writer for Washington Post prints, "There is a long, long way to go before the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles can develop anything that remotely resembles a great rivalry." There are many necessary elements missing. The fact they are coming from seperate leagues alone is working against them.

It is a well known fact that when the Redskins were still a new team the manager had refused to integrate the team. He wanted no part of an African American person on his team until he was forced by the government of The District of Columbia Stadium threatened him with being evicted from the field.

After Vince Lombardi died, George Allen was hired as head coach for the Redskins. They became rivals with the Dallas Cowboys because they were both fighting for the number one position. Then they got another new manager and another new coach, Joe Gibbs.

Yes, they had more coaches then any other team and you would think that with all the manager and coach changes it would have affected their playing. But not so. They lost a few games here and there but they controlled the National Football League, winning fourteen games in one season. The Redskins rank number two in value in the NFL. They won five out of eleven Championships and three out of five Super Bowls. Coach Gibbs saw that they were having a hard time in being consistent so he hired Al Saunders as Associate Head Coach. He knew he needed help and wasn't afraid of making it known. He wanted the team to win so he got the best help he could get by hiring a few other coaches for other areas such as cornerback coach and a quarterback coach. Gibbs lets his team know that he counts on them.

The Washington Mystics was one of the WNBA's first expansion teams, joining the league in its second year. They are owned by Sheila Johnson, this country's first black billionaire. She is also the ex-wife of Robert Johnson, the owner of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats.

The Mystics are currently undergoing yet another coaching change. The team recently fired head coach Wayne "Tree" Rollins, a former NBA center. The Mystics are now under the guidance of interim coach, Jessie Kenlaw, who was an assistant under Rollins. One of the reasons for Rollins' firing was the perception that the team was uninspired and did not put forth a competitive effort. Their current record is 10-16. They are fifth in the division and six games behind the Connecticut Sun. Despite their record, the Mystics believe that they can still make the playoffs. They have made changes toward this goal by trading Taj McWilliams for Franklin. They received Tasha Humphrey and Shay Murphy with a 2009 second round draft pick. These two should compliment players Alana Beard, Monique Curry and Crystal Langhorne well.

The WNBA is on hiatus while members of the league compete in the Olympics. They will return to play at the end of August. The Mystics have eight games left in the regular season, two against second place Detroit and one against the Sun. If the team pulls together and plays for Coach Kenlaw, it have an outside chance of making the playoffs. However, the front office must resolve the issue of obtaining a permanent head coach who will motivate the team to play up to their potential.

A New Stadium for the Washington Nationals-Good or Bad Luck

Washington Capitals

The Beltway Series

The Washington Redskins and Their Coaches

The Washington Mystics