Sports Dogs: Commanders unis, Goodbye Ovi, and FRLL Opening Day

The Dogs are back together and weigh in on:

  • the unveiling of the Commanders’ new uniforms
  • the (possible) end of an era for The Great Eight
  • the Duke’s memorable day at the Opening Ceremonies of Front Royal Little League

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Sports Dogs Podcast: The Crown Jewel of Podcasts

The Dogs touch on the iconic College Basketball Crown, for about 60 seconds…

Then it’s the Final Four talk with Randy’s National Champion still alive, Nats Pitching Therapy and offensive optimism, and the start of another Little League Season in Front Royal with The Duke stepping in as guest speaker for the festivities.

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For more local sports coverage, check out the Sports Dogs podcast.

FRLL celebrates 75 years with upcoming Opening Day

Front Royal Little League’s Opening Day at Gertrude Miller Park is coming up Saturday, April 11th at 10 am and this season marks 75 years as an official Little League organization in the town.

Front Royal Little League is still in search of members or family members representing past state championship teams from 1953, 1960, and 1961.

Representatives are asked to join the other team members and representatives along the third base bullpen for the Major League field at 9:40 am on Opening Day.

The 2025 State Champions will also be in attendance.

During the Opening Day ceremonies, there will also be a special gift unveiled at the ballpark and a guest speaker, Ryan Rutherford.

FRLL’s play-by-play commentator will look back at the incredible run from last year’s champions from his perspective in the booth and wish this year’s group of little leaguers the best of luck in their upcoming season.

Following the opening ceremonies, supporters are invited to root on the teams competing throughout the day.

For coverage of Front Royal Little League all season long, tune in on Fox Sports Radio 1450, TheRiver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.

See schedule below:

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here. 

Sports Dogs Podcast: Nats Preview & Sweet Sixteen

Happy Opening Day from The Dogs! We’ll recap our Media Day at Nationals Park, plus a Nats’ 2026 preview, and some more bracket bustin’ as we head into the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Brought to you by Energy Windows LLC. Dave can help make your vision come to life with energy-efficient doors, siding, gutters, roofing, even attic insulation! Call 540-671-9243 or visithttps://energywindowsllc.com

Opening Day and Media Day at Nats Park

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(Posted 3-25-26)

Greetings From The Booth!

This week, the Booth is decorated in red, white, and blue bunting as we celebrate Opening Day in Major League Baseball (yes, folks, “Opening Day” is capitalized!). Opening Day is one of my favorite days in sports. The grass is always greener, the uniforms are more pristine, the hot dogs taste better, and the beer is colder. And, hope springs eternal for every team, because everyone is undefeated on Opening Day. Even the worst of teams can get out of the gate with a win and dream of a dream season, like the ’69 “Miracle Mets.” At the end of every season, cries of “wait until next year!” ring out. In baseball, there’s always next year. “Next Year” begins today.

This could be another long year for the Washington Nationals. We’re another year removed from the World Series Championship season of 2019. Long gone are Scherzer, Soto, and Strasburg, replaced by Abrams, Wood, and Gray. This year signals a front-office and field manager shakeup, as well.  The Nats underwent a youth movement in the Fall, hiring 35-year-old Paul Toboni as President of Baseball Operations. Toboni then hired 31-year-old Ani Kilambi from the Phillies front office. And, Field Manager Davey Martinez has been replaced by 33-year-old Blake Butera, who becomes the youngest manager in MLB since 1972. Both Toboni and Kilambi are grads of UC Berkeley, and are “analytics guys” who feel like they can turn things around in a hurry in DC.

That may not happen this season. Most experts are picking the Nationals to be one of the worst teams in baseball. The (lack of) offense in the exhibition season did not inspire optimism, and pitching ace Josiah Gray has been placed on the 60-day injured list with a flexor strain. Gray, who came to the Nats in the Max Scherzer trade with the Dodgers, has made only two starts since 2023 and has missed most of the last 2 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery. And sadly, another “generational” player, James Wood, is probably thinking of what he looks like in a Yankee or Dodger uniform. Pitching will be an issue this year, and despite a few bright stars like CJ Abrams and Wood, this will be a Year Zero for the new front office.

Still, it’s always great to be at the ballpark, and the Nationals once again hosted their annual Media Day, with yours truly and Ryan “The Duke” Rutherford in attendance. We got a first-hand look at changes to Nationals Park, like the wire-cam, which will give viewers some great panoramic shots of the game. As always, we got to see the new “merch” that will be unveiled this season (I especially like the Hawaiian shirt and shorts combo), hang out with a few of the Racing Presidents, and sample the new food offerings. We especially loved the Smashburger, and the hot dog topped with crab meat, cheese, and Old Bay was to die for! And, it’s always a great sight to see that green outfield grass and the grounds crew making the field perfect for Opening Day, when all things are renewed, and hope springs eternal.

Until the next visit from The Booth…Play Ball!

RW

 

Sports Dogs Podcast: Opening Day & The Sweet Sixteen

The Dogs recap their recent Media Day tour of Nationals Park and preview the 2025 Washington Nationals…plus a look at the remaining teams in their NCAA brackets heading into the “Sweet Sixteen” games.

 

Opening Day & The Pitch Clock

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Greetings from The Booth!

I’m writing this week’s post on one of the great days in sport: Opening Day. Countless writers have waxed poetic about Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, and I’m not sure I can add anything new or original, but as has been said many times, Opening Day signals the renewal of all things, a true rite of Spring, when the outfield grass is greener, the uniforms are whiter, and everyone is 0-0 and filled with optimism about the upcoming season.

It’s only been 3 years since the Washington Nationals won the 2019 World Series (although we won’t count the 2020 COVID-plagued season), and what a tumble it’s been from World Champs to a 107-loss 2022 campaign. Gone are most of the players who were a part of that Championship year as the Nats continue their rebuild. One of those players is Patrick Corbin, who gets the Opening Day start in DC.  The lefty had his struggles last year, and although we aren’t supposed to pay attention to wins and losses in today’s world of metrics, Corbin was 6-19 last season. Corbin is now a pitch-to-contact hurler, who by accounts has had a great off-season and is in great shape, and ready for a comeback year.

The Nationals will need him, because (again) Stephen Strasburg is on the shelf. Since his $240-plus million dollar extension several years ago, Strasburg has pitched 26 innings. Do the math, and that’s almost $10 million per inning!  Pretty good money if you can get it. Unfortunately for the Nats, they are probably stuck with Strasburg, hurt or healthy, because no one is going to want to pick up that contract.

As Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo continues his rebuild, the future does look bright with a restocked farm system and several promising young prospects on the Opening Day roster. Patience is not in the lexicon of most fans who basically want to win now, but a realistic expectation level should be set for the 2023 season. Still, unexpected things can happen. You only need to look 40 miles away from Washington to see an example of that. The Orioles, another team in rebuild mode, contended for a Wild Card spot most of last season with a group of youngsters who had a collective “why not us?” attitude. Again, everything is rosy on Opening Day.

One of the things you’ll see this year when you go to an MLB game is the pitch clock. Generally, I’m a baseball traditionalist, but as games become longer and longer, younger fans have become less interested in the pastoral pace of the “grand old game,” so I’m generally for the pitch clock. Something had to be done to attract a younger demographic. No one wants to see a pitcher pace around the mound after each pitch, fidgeting with his uniform, going to the resin bag a dozen times, while the batter adjusts his batting gloves and takes forever digging into the box. It’s estimated that this change will cut 26 minutes on average from the length of a major league game.

As football has long since become “America’s Pastime,” baseball is now on the clock.

Until the next visit from The Booth, have a great Opening Day!

RW