The New American Sports Town ... Eventually

It looks like there's going to be a turnaround in D.C. No, not with the federal government, there seems to be no turnaround coming soon there. I'm talking about D.C. sports: the Redskins (The Disappointment), the Capitals (The Superstar), the Nationals (The Up and Comer) and dare I say it, the Wizards (The Hopeful Loser).

The Disappointment

Washington, D.C. has been one of the most unsuccessful sports towns during this decade. The city's favorite team by far, the Redskins, which D.C. has made the second highest grossing team in football - only behind "America's team," the Dallas Cowboys - have failed to accomplish anything substantial under the guidance of owner Dan Snyder, who has been earning money and burning it just as quickly with his poor managerial skills. Since Snyder bought the Redskins in May 1999, the team has gone 80-96, and made the playoffs only three times, with a playoff record of 2-3, certainly not living up to the standards of a franchise with five championships under its belt.

Snyder has become infamous for constantly firing coaches - something he's had seven of during his time as owner - as well as signing old, washed-up players, who contribute little to nothing to the team. But now, the Redskins may be entering a new, more successful era, with football guru Mike Shanahan as the new head coach and George Allen as the new general manager having cut up the roster like a butcher cuts his/her meat.

The team parted ways with QB Jason Campbell, and traded two draft picks to the Eagles - one of their divisional rivals - for Donovan McNabb. The Skins also may have improved at running back, even if it meant going back to their old ways of signing older players. This off season, the team signed Willie Parker and Larry Johnson to help out Clinton Portis in the backfield. All three were dominant players a few years back, but since then have had trouble staying healthy, as all of them are 29, 30 and 28 respectively, certainly not young ages for their position.

Although Snyder still seems to getting his way by signing old, big name stars, the Redskins are certainly headed in the right direction, because quite frankly, it can't get any worse.

The Superstar

One team that has kept the people of D.C.'s minds off of the Redskins however is the Capitals. Led by Alexander Ovechkin, one of the two best players in hockey, the Caps clinched the #1 seed in the playoffs last year, and were looking for revenge against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, who had beaten them in the Eastern Conference semis the previous year. Sadly for Caps fans however, Ovie and the boys were embarrassed by the 8th seeded Canadiens in the first round, losing in seven games, after having been up 3-1 in the series.

Nevertheless, the young Caps are proving to be D.C.'s strongest team with a young core in 24 year old Alexander Ovechkin and 22 year old Nicklas Backstrom, and a bright future awaiting them.

There's just one itty bitty problem: no one in this country and especially south of the Mason Dixon Line really gives a rat's buttocks about the sport of hockey. Out of the "Big 4" sports (football, baseball, basketball, hockey), hockey is by far the least popular in the United States. Nevertheless, the people of D.C. are beginning to love their hockey as they anxiously await the Capitals' first ever Stanley Cup since their founding in 1974.

The Up And Comer

One of D.C's biggest up and coming teams is none other than the Washington Nationals, and this past week they only got better. So far this year, the Nats are 31-33, not too shabby considering that going into this season they had a 343-466 all-time record. You know what's also not too shabby? The young prospects that this team has, the most important of all being Stephen Strasburg. In just two starts, and 12.1 innings, Strasburg has a 2.19 ERA and 22 Ks. Following very closely to Strasburg on the prospect list however, is a kid who hasn't even played a minor league baseball game yet, named Bryce Harper. The 17 year old Las Vegas wonderboy, who currently plays catcher, but will most likely be moved to another position, earned his GED after his sophomore year in December 2009 to make him eligible for this year's draft, where he was chosen first overall by the Nationals. He is widely known as the next Joe Mauer among scouts everywhere, and should be a big part of the Nationals' success in the future.

Then there are the less newsworthy youngsters, the bullpen boys, 24 year old Tyler Clippard and 22 year old Drew Storen, who have been blowing away batters, with a 1.51 and 1.54 ERA respectively so far this season. Then of course, it's impossible to forget the face of the franchise, 25 year old 3B Ryan Zimmerman, who is really coming into his own this year, leading the team with a .306 BA, and placing in second in HRs and RBI.

But they Nationals aren't all young. The team also has some veteran leadership, in 30 year old home run hitting Adam Dunn, who currently leads the team with 14 homers. With such a young team, the Nationals could soon be atop the NL East division in a few years, like the Rays of the AL East before them, going from bottom feeders all the way to the top.

The Hopeful Loser

This Wizards are certainly the basement dweller of the DC sports world. Nothing has gone right for the team in the past year. The team's biggest story concerned the team's star Gilbert Arenas, when on Janurary 1, 2010 it was reported that he and teammate Javaris Crittenton brought unloaded guns into the locker room, on Christmas Eve, in order to "make a joke" about some unpaid gambling debt. Arenas was charged for carrying a pistol without a license, a charge to which he pleaded guilty on January 15. Just twelve days later, Arenas and Crittenton were suspended by the NBA for the remainder of the season, and on March 26, 2010, the courts handed Arenas a suspension of their own, sentencing him to two years probation and 30 days in a halfway house.

The Wizards finished the season 26-56, the fourth worst record in the league, but as a result had a much better chance to do well in the NBA Lottery. Well, the Wizards lucked out, as they were given the first overall pick in the draft, which they will most likely use on former Kentucky guard John Wall.

With John Wall coming to the team, the return of Gilbert Arenas, who is looking to become a new man, with his number change from 0 to 6, and the first full year with last year's key arrivals Mike Miller, Randy Foye, Josh Howard and Al Thornton, the Wizards will at least improve this year, which after such a turbulent season, is really all that they can ask for.

D.C. shouldn't expect any miracles; the Redskins are relatively old and in a very tough division, the Nationals are relatively young, and the Wizards are still pretty bad, but there's definitely room for hope. If anyone can pull the Skins together, it's Mike Shanahan. The Capitals are a great team, and if they can just get over the hump, they'll be hoisting the Stanley Cup very soon. The Nationals may have some of the biggest stars in baseball in just a matter of a few years. The Wizards could make a wonderful turnaround and maybe even score a free agent in this summer's free agency bonanza.

So, D.C. sports fans, I'm not saying that we'll see any championships this year, or maybe even in the near future, but the teams will definitely be contenders, and soon enough, hopefully be champions, a distinction which no D.C. team has held since 1992.