>> Media conglomerate Viacom announced that it will donate $1.5 million in cash and promotions to help build the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall. [NBC4] >> A child described as a 20-month-old black boy was found adandoned in a stroller in Capitol Heights Tuesday morning. [NBC4] >> An improperly disposed cigarette was to blame for the fire that damaged Capitol Lounge and Trover Gift Shop last week. The fire began…

Baseball’s amateur draft hasn’t quite established the same caché as the NFL, with All Day Draft Coverage, mock “war rooms” and the like. This is partially because baseball’s deep player development system delays the impact of most draftees and partly because baseball’s draft has twenty bazillion rounds. Even without a media circus, though, the 2007 Draft looms large for the Nats and their plans for future development. Many of their decisions over the past few…

[Editor’s Note: With the Nationals readying to begin their third season in D.C., change is constant and questions abound. Today, like last year, we take a look at the 2007 roster and all the new contributors. Next week, we’ll discuss this year’s most pressing questions with some of the Nats’ best bloggers.] With the Nats preparing to head north from spring training in Viera for their third season on the Anacostia, it’s time to take…

UPDATE: WTOP is reporting that part of a building under construction in Rosslyn has collapsed, and that there are reported injuries, but at this point they don’t know how severe. The building is at the corner of North Lynn Street and 19th Street. We’ll update again when we learn more. MORE: “Arlington Police spokesman John Lisle says a slab of wet concrete partially collapsed on the 24th floor of the building on North Lynn Street.”…

This much is known about the Nats’ managerial search: 1) With Piniella and Girardi having withdrawn, the position is unlikely to be filled by recognized “name”. 2) The process has been conducted with Karl Rove-like secrecy. 3) Because of #2, the press is essentially groping in the dark for leads, and the final selection will most likely not have been on anyone’s lists two weeks ago. For the prospective candidates, the description of the Nat’s…

It’s the final week of the season for the Nats. Just six games remain in the next six days, so we thought we’d give you that many reasons to head over to RFK one last time. 1. Fonsi’s Career Year When Bowden and Co. went out and traded for Alfonso Soriano last year, we celebrated the bold move. In June, we made the case for keeping him, in the face of relentless pressure (some of…

In the waning twilight of the Nats’ lost season, Saturday night’s win will forever stand out in star left fielder Alfonso Soriano’s memory. While many DC fans focused their sports weekend on last night’s ‘Skins/Cowboys tilt, about twenty-four thousand were on hand to see Soriano swipe second base, and with it, a little piece of history. It was his 40th stolen base of the season, and along with his 45 home runs, it made him…

Like many frustrated Nats fans, I’ve found myself cursing the in-game strategy of manager Frank Robinson fairly often. He operates impulsively, trusting his gut more often than statistics or matchups, with less than convincing results. Many of his peers are similarly critical: he’s been voted by major league players to be the worst manager in baseball two years in a row. His future in the organization after this season is uncertain. It’s clear enough that…

The Washington Nationals and Alfonso Soriano, outside his apartment: Fonzi: Wow. That was intense. Nats: Seriously. You were amazing. I don’t know how you kept producing through all of that. Fonzi: Oh, I was o.k. I was just worried about you. I mean, I love being with you. I love it here. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I didn’t like it when you were talking to all those other teams. Nats: I know. I’m…

Alfonso Soriano is still a Washington National. For this season, at least. After what we assume were some intense negotiations with over a dozen teams, Jim Bowden failed to trade the Nats’ star left fielder. The 4 p.m. trading deadline came and went without a deal for Soriano, or any other Nationals for that matter. As a waiver-wire trade will be logistically impossible to complete, Soriano will stay with the Nationals for the remainder…