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The Washington Nationals today announced that they have created a new division, Nationals Ballpark Enterprises, to develop and market non-baseball events at the new stadium and that they have hired Bari Lurie as the Director of Ballpark Enterprises.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. John Borders (left to right), Sgt. Derek Drew, and Capt. Rob Taber stand on the field at RFK Stadium during the national anthem before the July 21 Washington Nationals-Chicago Cubs game. The three soldiers threw out ceremonial first pitches before the game. Next to the men are Taber's and Borders' wives - Shannon Taber (left) and Mollie Borders. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England is at right. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gary Hilliard WASHINGTON, July 23, 2006 - Three severely wounded soldiers recovering in the Washington area got “a dream come true,” as Washington’s...

The Talk Shows Sunday, May 7th, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich.; Sens. Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; Washington Nationals co-owner Mark Lerner. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Bush impersonator Steve Bridges. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas; Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean; outgoing White House press secretary Scott McClellan. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt;...

WASHINGTON -- From the half-dozen orange cranes, to the piles of rubble, to the shovels made from baseball bats, all the right props were present Thursday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Washington Nationals' new ballpark. So, too, were members of the group chosen 24 hours earlier to buy the Nationals from Major League Baseball. And they already have thought of possible changes to the $611 million project the city hopes will revitalize a neighborhood -- and everyone hopes will be ready for Opening Day 2008. "It will take a great deal of work and effort to get done, but...

MIAMI (AP) -- Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after allegedly running a stop sign while in Florida during his team's series against the Marlins last weekend. A few minutes before he was stopped, Bowden and his girlfriend were apparently involved in a physical altercation that left him with scratches and resulted in battery and resisting arrest charges against her. A Miami Beach police report said the 44-year-old Bowden refused to take a breath-alcohol test after he was stopped at 2:22 a.m. Monday. An officer said he saw Bowden run the...

The hope here is that Vice President Dick Cheney understood precisely what he was in for as he strode to the mound for the ceremonial first pitch before the Washington Nationals home opener on Tuesday -- the catcalls, the thunderous booing, the possibility of empty shotgun shells landing at his feet, the whole 60 feet, 6 inches.This hope is not born of ideology. True, we've been known to practice a spot of politics in this unlikely corner of the morning cage-liner. But only a spot, given that it's generally not worth the partisan blowback usually directed at the likes of...

Greeted with loud boos and some cheers, Vice President Dick Cheney threw out the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday at the Washington Nationals’ home opener. He stood directly in front of the mound and released a ball that hit the dirt in front of home plate. Nationals catcher Brian Schneider scooped it up. Cheney wore a red-and-blue Nationals jacket that seemed bulky, perhaps filled out by a bulletproof vest. Security agents ringed the top edge of the outdoor stadium.

The Washington Nationals suspended a volunteer chaplain and distributed an apology from outfielder Ryan Church yesterday, two days after Church was quoted in a front-page Post article as suggesting that Jews are headed for eternal damnation.

Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson wants Rafael Palmeiro's hitting statistics wiped out because the Baltimore Orioles first baseman failed a drugs test. "He was found to have used steroids and he served a 10-day suspension," Robinson told MLB.com. Palmeiro was suspended on August 1 after a positive test for a steroid. He told a U.S. congressional committee in March that he had never used steroids. Robinson, a former Baltimore player, manager and club official, also said baseball should not be required to research when a player started using steroids and then remove records for certain seasons. "Where do you go...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A judge cleared the way for the District of Columbia to take control of the land it needs to build a baseball stadium. U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts rejected a request by property owners for a 30-day injunction that would have prevented the city from buying or seizing 33 properties on the proposed site along the Anacostia River.

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 27, 2005) – The Houston Astros received a special visit at the ball park July 23, shortly after making a special visit of their own. Several wound-recovering Soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center watched the visiting Astros take on the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium after receiving an invitation by the team’s highest ranking official. The Soldiers were invited guests of team owner Drayton McLane, who took several of his players to visit with recovering troops at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital the two afternoons prior to the game. McLane arranged for his...

Comcast cable company accused Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos yesterday of creating a regional sports network whose purpose is to keep Washington Nationals games off the vast majority of the region's cable networks. "Peter Angelos and the Orioles have knowingly created a situation where cable carriers predictably would not carry MASN and, thus, many Washington Nationals' games," Comcast said in a written release that coincided with a legal filing in Montgomery County Circuit Court. "This is particularly regrettable given that, unlike Mr. Angelos, Comcast supported the return of Major League Baseball to Washington D.C. and offered to broadcast the Nats...

DETROIT (AP) -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig says remarks by a congressional committee chairman against billionaire George Soros won't be considered as the sport weighs offers for the Washington Nationals. Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican who chairs the House Government Reform Committee, told Roll Call last month that "Major League Baseball understands the stakes" if the group Soros is a part of purchases the first-place team.

A free association exercise: Think of a Washington Nationals baseball cap. What's the next thing that pops into your head? Some people think of the old Senators, whose caps inspired the new team's logo. Some think of the first-place team they now root for, or of hometown pride. Then there are those steeped in the kind of partisan perspective that forced the french fry to decide whether it was with us or against us. They can't get past the "W," as in the president's trademark middle initial. That can be good: "My immediate reaction was, 'W! Perfect!,' " said Dan...

WASHINGTON, July 5, 2005 – America's men and women in uniform have another powerful friend working to support them. The Washington Nationals, currently in first place in the National League's East Division, became the first major league baseball team to join the Defense Department's "America Supports You" program July 4 at their game against the New York Mets at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium here. America Supports You is a nationwide program launched by DoD to recognize citizen support for the nation's military men and women and to communicate that support to members of the armed forces at home and abroad....

WASHINGTON - Top Democrats went to bat on Thursday for a chief Bush administration critic, financier George Soros, who is trying to buy the new baseball team in the nation's capital. They called on House Speaker Dennis Hastert to denounce "published threats" by his fellow Republicans if Major League Baseball sells the Washington Nationals to a consortium that includes financier and philanthropist Soros. Some House Republicans have been quoted as suggesting that Major League Baseball could pay a price, such as losing its anti-trust exemption, if it sells the team to Soros. The threats appeared in the Capitol Hill newspaper...

Despite the Washington Nationals' successful start to the season, to some Capitol Hill Republicans there is a dark cloud on the Nats' horizon: the potential that their newly adopted home team could be purchased by billionaire financier George Soros! Soros has joined an ownership bid being led by entrepreneur Jonathan Ledecky that is angling to take over the Nats, who are currently owned by Major League Baseball. ROLL CALL reports: Soros pumped more than $20 million in the last cycle into groups seeking to unseat President Bush and elect Democrats and relates that the very prospect that Soros could have...

Despite the Washington Nationals' successful start to the season, to some Capitol Hill Republicans there is a dark cloud on the Nats' horizon: the potential that their newly adopted home team could be purchased by billionaire financier George Soros! Soros has joined an ownership bid being led by entrepreneur Jonathan Ledecky that is angling to take over the Nats, who are currently owned by Major League Baseball. ROLL CALL reports: Soros pumped more than $20 million in the last cycle into groups seeking to unseat President Bush and elect Democrats and relates that the very prospect that Soros could have...

Mr. Soros, who this week joined a bid led by D.C. philanthropist and entrepreneur Jonathan Ledecky to buy the MLB-owned Washington Nationals, continues to be the talk of sports, financial and political circles.

Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has joined Washington entrepreneur Jonathan Ledecky's bid to purchase the Washington Nationals, Ledecky said in an interview yesterday. "The Soros family shares my belief that the Washington Nationals are a community trust that can serve as a positive platform for the economic development of the inner city," Ledecky said. Soros spokesman Michael Vachon declined to comment. The Soros announcement is the latest in a flurry of activity in recent days as at least seven groups have filed initial bids for the Nationals with Major League Baseball, according to baseball sources. Several groups have added...