Harper embracing other DC teams

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As Bryce Harper moves through his first full season as a professional athlete in Washington, D.C., he is starting to embrace the other sports teams in town. He sat down with Comcast SportsNet on Wednesday for his weekly one-on-one interview wearing a customized D.C. United jersey, a Black-and-Red No. 34 kit with ‘Harper’ on the back.

The Nationals star says he plans to start attending games of other Washington teams.

“They just sent [the jersey] to us,” he said. “Of course I’m going to rep anything I can from the D.C. area. I’m very excited to see them play, maybe sometime soon.”

Harper is one of several young superstars playing in D.C. right now. Over the last few years the city has seen a wave of young talent be drafted by local franchises, including Robert Griffin III and John Wall. 

Harper is aware of his place in that mix and is excited to be a part of it.

“I always want them to win. It’s something that you do when you’re in a town that has a lot of teams coming up,” he said. 

“The Wizards, they just signed John Wall to an extension, that’s huge for them. Of course the Redskins have RG3 and [Alfred] Morris, they don’t know who I am, but…”

Athletes shouldn't make medical calls

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Stephen Strasburg wanted to keep pitching; the Nats wouldn't let him.

As Washington wakes up this morning feeling the sting of another agonizing postseason loss, the debate immediately shifts to a star local athlete's injury and how his team handled the situation.

The image of Robert Griffin III's right leg giving out on the chewed-up turf at FedEx Field, bent in a manner it was not meant to bend, will haunt Redskins fans all winter, spring and summer. As will the decision to leave the rookie quarterback in yesterday's NFC Wild Card Game deep into the fourth quarter despite the obvious pain he was in after taking several hits to his already injured knee.

And in the moments after Griffin went down, straight through to the end of the Redskins' 24-14 loss to the Seahawks, it was all too easy to make comparisons to the star athlete from the local ballclub who was prevented by his team from taking the field for the postseason out of concerns he might re-injure his previously injured right elbow.

Let's make this clear right up front: There is no real comparison between RG3 and Stephen Strasburg. One was trying to play hurt and was allowed to continue playing by his team. The other was

Becoming a baseball town

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More and more fans wearing Nats gear have been seen around town this winter.

You may have heard something about the local football team playing a fairly important game next Sunday night, with a division title on the line in the latest reincarnation of one of the league's great rivalries.

Indeed, Redskins vs. Cowboys for the NFC East crown might just be the biggest game in the history of FedEx Field, certainly the biggest game of this millennium, and will be the talk of town all week.

There's very little news the Nationals could make this week that would trump anything that comes out of Redskins Park. Adam LaRoche could re-sign. Michael Morse could be traded. Bryce Harper could answer a clown question. It probably wouldn't matter. The Redskins, fairly or unfairly, will get top billing all week.

Let's face it: Washington is a football town, first and foremost. The same could be said for almost any major city in America, where the local NFL team is the unquestioned king and most-popular team.