Washington Nationals: Last Place...Again?

Photo by FLICKR/photos/ableman/133999938/ Nick Johnson of the Washington Nationals holds Pete Orr of the Atlanta Braves at first base while Jose Vidro covers the gap.

ALEXANDRIA, VA. - As major league baseball prepares for its annual All-Star Game during the evening of July 13, the Washington Nationals have recently split their past 10 contests and find themselves in the familiar position of last place in the competitive National League East standings.

Currently, Washington weighs-in at 39-50 overall and finds itself 13 1/2 games behind the red-hot first-place Atlanta Braves (52-36).

In descending order, the second-place New York Mets weigh-in at 48-40; whereas the third-place Philadelphia Phillies weigh-in at 47-40 and the fourth-place Florida Marlins weigh-in at 42-46.

Tonight's All-Star Game will be played in Anaheim, Calif., home of the Los Angeles Angels.

Despite the fact that Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn is tied for the National League lead in home runs with 22 (and is also sixth in RBI's with 59) and despite the fact that center fielder Nyjer Morgan is tied for first in stolen bases with 20, the Nats lone representative on the National League All-Star team is relief pitcher Matt Capps who has recorded 23 saves thus far this season - tied for second best in the "senior circuit."

Last years Nats representative, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman of Alexandria, just missed the cut this season.

As of July 13th, the other five league leaders in the standings are as follows: the Cincinnati Reds lead the National League Central with a record of 49-41; the San Diego Padres lead the National League West with a record of 51-37; the New York Yankees lead the American League East with a record of 56-32; the Chicago White Sox lead the American League Central with a record of 49-38 and the Texas Rangers lead the American League West with a record of 50-38.

Photo by FLICKR/photos/gnews/4687254001/ Argentina's cheerleader squad roots on its own at The World Cup in South Africa.

Spain Takes it All at World Cup

More than likely one has heard or read by now that Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in the 2010 Soccer World Cup Final.

The game was not only deadlocked 0-0 at halftime but was also deadlocked 0-0 after the regulation 90 minutes concluded.

Consequently the game headed to extra time (two 15 minute periods).

Spain logged the winning goal in the 116th minute when midfielder Andres Iniesta drilled in a powerful right footed shot from near the "18".

During the contest Spain recorded 21 total shots (five on goal); Netherlands recorded 14 total shots (four on goal).

The title match was played before 84,500 in Johannesburg, South Africa - at Soccer City Stadium.

The 2014 World Cup will be hosted by Brazil and should prove every bit as exciting.

In looking back at the 2010 World Cup:

[Title Match]: Spain 1 - The Netherlands 0.

[Third-Place Match]: Germany 3 - Uruguay 2.

[Semi-Finals]: Spain 1 - Germany 0; The Netherlands 3 - Uruguay 2.

[Quarter-Finals]: Spain 1 - Paraguay 0; The Netherlands 2 - Brazil 1; Germany 4 - Argentina 0 and Uruguay defeated Ghana in penalty kicks 4-2 after a deadlocked 1-1 120 minutes.

[Round of 16]: Spain 1 - Portugal 0; The Netherlands 2 - Slovakia 1; Germany 4 - England 1; Uruguay 2 - South Korea 1; Brazil 3 - Chile 0; Ghana 2 - United States 1; Argentina 3 - Mexico 1 and Paraguay defeated Japan in penalty kicks 5-3 after a deadlocked 0-0 120 minutes.

Of the 32 teams that qualified for South Africa, 16 advanced to the "knockout round" - the round of 16 and 16 did not advance that far after the initial "pool play" (in which there were eight groups of four teams each).

D.C. United Off to a Stellar Start

Regarding Major League Soccer (MLS), D.C. United has not gotten off to a very stellar start in the current campaign.

Currently, D.C. United is mired in seventh-place in the eight team Eastern standings, with a record of three wins, nine losses and three ties.

On July 15th at 8 pm, D.C. United will host the seventh-place team in the Western standings - namely Seattle - at RFK Stadium.

After missing the playoffs in 2009, D.C. United has its work cut out for itself this season to "right the ship" and get to the eight-team playoff this autumn.

Eight teams will qualify for round one of the playoffs, and eight teams will not.

High School Golf Commences Next Month

The 2010/2011 high school sports season will commence in approximately 5-6 weeks when golf will see the first competitive action.
 
Following the opening days of golf - cross country, field hockey, football and other sports will commence action.