ABCDE SPORTS wednesday, september 1, 2010 BASEBALL


All right now In his second game in majors after Tommy John surgery, Jordan Zimmermann has the best start of his career, but the Nats lose to the Marlins, 1-0, in 10. D5


ON FOOTBALL Jason Reid


2008 draft is best


by Redskins B


forgotten


efore the 2008 draft, owner Daniel Snyder and Vinny Cerrato, then Washington’s executive vice presi-


dent of football operations, led a Red- skins contingent that attended the final workout of standout Oklahoma wide receiverMalcolm Kelly. The Redskins needed bigger wideouts


— and more playmakers in general — and the sure-handed, 6-foot-4 Kelly seemed an ideal fit for the team’s new West Coast offense, especially after his impressive showing at the workout. Washington’s medical/training staff, however, raised concerns that a knee problem could hamper Kelly’s career. On Tuesday, the Redskins placed the


injury-plagued Kelly on the season-end- ing injured-reserve list because of a severe hamstring injury that sidelined him for all but three days of training camp and the preseason. “It’s just really bad news and it’s tough


for everybody,” wideout Devin Thomas said. “I was drafted with Malcolm and we’ve been through a lot of trials and tribulations together.We never expected any of this.” As the holdovers from Washington’s


10-member 2008 draft class prepare for their third season, the group appears no closer to fulfilling management’s once- high expectations. Injuries, maturity is-


on football continued on D6


l Kelly is placed on injured reserve, thinning Redskins’


receiving corps. D6 DOUG KAPUSTIN/THE WASHINGTON POST Jerad Fehr and hisMidshipmen teammates have lofty goals in 2010, such as a second straight season of at least 10 wins, which would be a first for the program. At Navy, expectations are great BY GENEWANG In the not too distant past, Navy THOMAS BOSWELL


gives Nats plenty to chew on


I


f you care about the Washington Na- tionals only because of Stephen Stras- burg and Bryce Harper, stop reading.


Come back in ’12 when the Nats might, once again, be a team with a national buzz. No hard feelings. Being a general


sports fan,notabaseballnut, isapreroga- tive granted under the Constitution. No apology needed for abandoning the Nats 11 weeks after semi-adopting them. Put away those Nos. 37 and 34 jerseys till they’re trendy again. However, for the rest of us, who are


stuck on baseball for life and aren’t ready to flip an “off” switch for 12 to 18months, it’s time to call a halt to the stages of Strasburg grieving. We denied his original shoulder injury


wasmuchofaredflag.Wegotangrywhen he grabbed his forearm in pain; some even told himto suck it up.We bargained that it was all just a flexor-tendon strain. And we plunged into mandatory sports depression when the 22-year-old faced Tommy John surgery. But in baseball, always so annoyingly


lifelike, there’s another game every day. So, it’s necessary to reach acceptance in a hurry. Luckily, Sept. 1 is one of the game’s


symbolic days: it brings the expanded roster. The Nats’ future — the comple- mentary playerswho determinewhether they become exciting contenders or just Strasburg-Harper spear carriers—willbe on display thismonth. If you think theNats had a remarkable


boswell continued on D5


A trimmed-down Fish doesn’t mind the heat With new commitment


to fitness, American outlasts Hajek in 5 sets at U.S. Open


BY LIZ CLARKE


flushing meadows, n.y. — It was a day when Italian ices melted before they couldbeserved. Itwasadaythat themost coveted seats at the U.S. Open weren’t those closest to thecourtsbutthose in the shade. It was the ideal day, in other words, for


Mardy Fish. Having pared 30 pounds from his 6-2


frame following knee surgery last Sep- tember, the 170-pound Fish arrived in NewYork for his 10thU.S.Openthisweek boasting his highest seeding ever (19th). It was his reward for a surge up the


rankings this summer that included back-to-back victories and an 11-match winning streak for the first time in his career—achievements that Fish, 28, has repeatedlyattributed toawholesale over-


Home stretch


received little more than cursory attention when it appeared on the schedules of some of the preeminent programs in college football. There really wasn’tmuch cause for the likes of Notre Dame or Ohio State, for instance, to hold the Midshipmen in anything butmodest regard based on their results at the time against nationally established teams. Then the Midshipmen began to


remake themselves into their current incarnation, becoming competitive against tradition-rich schools on their way to significant separation fromthe other service academies. These days,


The week’s schedule:


Monday: The nation and ACC Tuesday: Virginia Wednesday: Navy Thursday: Virginia Tech Friday: Maryland


6


MORE ONLINE For previous stories, see www.washingtonpost.com/sports


having beaten the Fighting Irish twice in three seasons and pushing the Buckeyes to the brink last year, Navy again is trending up, so much so that it received 12 votes in the Associated Press preseason top 25 poll. That kind of national commenda- tion is infrequent inAnnapolis,where


times were so lean at the start of the decade that a single victory overArmy almost would have been enough to sate its constituency. During its re- cent upswing, Navy has beaten Army by a combined 89-3 since 2007, and while that game always will hold the most sway for both schools, the Midshipmen can open 2010 with far more ambitious pursuits than simply winning the Commander-in-Chief ’s Trophy. “Every year this program strives to


better and better,” senior safety and co-captain Wyatt Middleton said. “That’s how the coaches coach us. That’s the mentality they have set for us, so that’s what we want to do. We want to do something that no other Navy teamhas done.”


Well within their reach is a second


straight season of at least 10 wins, which would be a first for the pro- gram. Then there’s the push for a second consecutive bowl victory. The most improbable of themallwould be —dare it be spoken?—an undefeated regular season, which based on the caliber of players Navy has coming back and a manageable schedule could wind up being in the offing by the time theMidshipmen reachNotre Dame at the halfway point on Oct. 23. None of Navy’s elevated expecta-


tions, both within the program and outside of it, would be accessible without quarterback Ricky Dobbs. The senior rushed for 27 touchdowns


midshipmen continued on D8 College football preview


BLOGS,MULTIMEDIAANDCHATS washingtonpost.com/sports First Things First Today, 9:30 a.m. Tracee Hamilton gets your sports day started with a chat. Hard Hits LaVar Arrington has plenty to say about the Redskins and more on his new blog. SportsWaves Should the Nats fire analyst Rob Dibble? Read Leonard Shapiro’s online column.


Shoot, if I played, I’d draft me, too.” Redskins wide receiver Anthony Armstrong, on fantasy football. D2


SOCCER


A chance at a cup In the midst of a disastrous season, D.C. United takes hope in being among the last four teams vying for the U.S. Open Cup title. D6


Siding with experience The head of U.S. Soccer says Bob Bradley’s record outweighed any fears in the move to keep him as the national team coach. D6


D EZ SU


haul of his dietandadeepercommitment to fitness. Soitwasnosurprisethat Fish feltgreat


—“fresh,” even, in his words—as temper- atures inched above 95 degrees (and well above 100 on court) Tuesday and his opponent, JanHajek of the Czech Repub- lic called for a trainer midway through the fifth set of their first-round tangle. And though not everything unfolded


as Fish would have liked (he chided himself afterwardfor being too passive in the second and third sets), the resurgent American found that fitness not among his concerns. After falling behind two sets to one,


Fish rampeduphisaggressionandclosed the oddly seesawmatch,6-0,3-6,4-6,6-0, 6-1, gaining strength down the stretch as the hard-hitting Czech wilted. Statistics pinpointed what Fish did


well, firing 24 aces and blasting 52 win- ners to 30 unforced errors. But his real advantage, he insisted


afterward, was the physical transforma- tionhehasworkedsohardto achieveand


u.s. open continued on D3 KATHY WILLENS/ASSOCIATED PRESS


“It’s a good feeling, sort of, to wear down a player and know that all the hard work that you put in just paid off right there,”Mardy Fish said.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58