Alignment of the Stars

So maybe I overreacted a couple weeks ago. Actually no, f*ck that. The Capitals absolutely blew it, but why dwell on the past?? We have may more important things to talk about when it comes to DC sports. Since that historic collapse by the Capitals, it has been nothing but sunshine for the city of DC. Let's review -

-With a 10% chance of winning the NBA Lottery, the Wizards come up aces and get the number 1 pick. Hello John Wall.

-The sale of the Washington Wizards is finalized. Ted Leonsis, the majority owner of the Washington Capitals, is now the majority owner of the Wizards as well. This is a big deal. Trust me. For the last decade, he has been the best owner in this city and it's not even close. Yes, the Caps choked, but he has made the Caps the best ticket in town with a great and I mean GREAT fan experience and putting the pieces in place to have an extremely competitive team year in and year out. With Leonsis leading the way and the number one pick, I expect big things for the Wizards in the coming years as well.

-No luck needed for the Washington Nationals. They just flat out sucked last year with the worst record in baseball. Their consolation prize is the number one pick in the amateur draft for the second year in a row. This is rather impressive considering no team has ever had the number one pick two years in a row in the history of Major League Baseball. With the first pick, the Nationals drafted 17-year old wunderkind Bryce Harper. If you buy the media over-hype, then this kid is baseball's version of LeBron James. I think that might be a little extreme, but that said the future is looking bright for the Nationals, especially when you consider....

-The much anticipated Major League debut of the 2009 #1 pick of the Nationals, Stephen Strasburg. At 7:05pm tonight, Strasburg took the mound for the first time in Nationals Park. With the weight of insanely high expectations, a franchise in need of a savior, and a city ready to embrace its next star, Strasburg's performance was nothing short of spectacular - 7 innings pitched, two earned runs, 14 strikeouts (yes, 14 strikeouts!) and no walks. In today's world of hype and over-hype, he delivered the goods, at least for one night.

-Then there are the Redskins. I still not sold on anything they are doing, but I must be sold on something though because I just put down a deposit for season tickets for next season. Yes, just when I ready to possibly walk away from the team I love the most in this city, I just happen to FINALLY get off the wait list for season tickets. I have probably been waiting for the better part of a decade to get off the season ticket waiting list, so let's just hope this also means good things to come for the franchise as well.

Of course, right now, this all means very little. It's just start, a glimmer of hope really. More than anything, the arrival of new ownership and bright young stars means new beginnings for sports in this city. I know I'm excited. Hopefully, we'll look back at the summer of 2010 is when it all changed for DC sports....