Although he has a new TV commercial out asserting he is "all in" for starting in week one, injured Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III went to Twitter to clarify that he does not intend to destroy his NFL career by trying to get back in time for the first week of the 2013 season.

Feel like I need to say this..Although my goal is to start Week 1, that doesn't mean I will compromise my career to do so.

That's obviously the wisest course. Griffin hurried himself back from injury once already and the results were disastrous. The Redskins need Griffin to be their star quarterback for more than a decade to justify the draft picks traded to get him. Whether Griffin starts in week one of the 2013 season matters little compared to the enormous investment the team has made in him and what they need him to accomplish before he hangs up his cleats for good. 

We heard optimistic reports last from Redskins Park that Robert Griffin III is ahead of schedule and he recover and rehabiliates from off-season ACL and meniscus surgery.  In fact, the Redskins stated they were confident that RG3 would be ready for the opening of the 2013 regular season.  Well, the same can be said for RG3 himself and his avdertising sponsor Addidas.  The newest Addidas commerical has RG3 'ALL IN FOR WEEK ONE"

Here you go.

As expected, Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg will start the Nats' Grapefruit League opener.  Is it as indication that he will start the season opener?  Yes.  The Nats kickoff their Grapefruit League scheduled this Saturday, February 23rd, against division rival New York Mets.  More on Strasburg's Saturday start.   Strasburg is currently tweaking the way he throws his sinking fastball. 

One thing about Strasburg is, he is now a veteran and is a leader.  He embraces the expectations game with the Nats. 

“We have to embrace it,” Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg told WDBJ7’s Travis Wells. Click here to watch the complete interview with Strasburg. “Where we were a couple of years ago, obviously we can focus on last year and how well we did or continue plugging forward. We're all still relatively young and we've all got a lot left in the tank.  We're gonna come out guns blazin' and hopefully we'll tackle the challenge.”

As we reported a few days ago, Gio Gonzalez will not join Team USA in the World Baseball Classic in the opening round, but will join Team USA in the second round.  He will make three Grapefruit League starts for the Nationals before departing to the WBC.  Those starts are scheduled to be:  February 25, March 2, and March 7.  Joe Torre is ready to manage Team USA at the WBC. 

Speaking of starting pitchers, the Nationals pulled off a great signing in the off-season, choosing to let starter Edwin Jackson sign elsewhere (Chicago Cubs) while upgrading over Jackson to Dan Haren.  The move drew rave reviews.  Haren is coming off a significant hip injury and the Nats are risking that Haren is recovered and will return to his dominating form that put him near the top of starting pitching ranks.  Good read from Tom Boswell on Haren.   More on Haren from MLB.com.   And more on Haren. 

The Washington Nationals have all reported to spring training and full practices are underway.  Baseball is back.  Sort of. 

There is a different feel to spring training camp this season.  Has much to do with expectations.  The paradigm for the Nationals have shifted from an annual loser that is building to a winner expected to win, and win big.  The good part for Nationals fans is the youth of the team, which bodes well for more than just 2013. 

“That’s what’s great about this team,” Werth said. “It’s got a chance to be those guys for a long time. That’s how you win long-term. Guys play together. They win together. They go to war together. Chemistry plays, that’s for sure.”

It is more than just youth that is exciting about this team.  It also personality and character that make this team exciting. 

Here is a list of the current Nationals' players expected to make the 25 man roster that will be under contract with the Nationals for at least the next three seasons. 

Since there are not any open roster spots, maybe just 2, to watch in spring training and pre-season, the aspect to watch will be the cohesion and chemistry of the late inning relief roles.  The Nats already boasted Clip and Save, Tyler Clippard in the eighth inning and Drew Storen as closer, but in the off-season, GM Mike Rizzo bolstered the late inning relief even more, signing former Yankee closer Rafael Soriano.  Soriano will be handed the closer role.  That is a role not only coveted by Storen and Clippard, but held the last two seasons by both.

Like any other form of sports betting, gambling on American football can be accomplished much more successfully if you actually have some knowledge of the sport before starting.

Of course nowadays it is a lot easier to gain this knowledge, as games are screened live inmany countries, and there are websites offering information about the teams, players and types of bets to place and there are also American football games available at online casinos. In fact these games may actually offer one of the most accessible ways into the game for people outside the U.S. because they can play them to improve their knowledge, while also enjoying a bet.

If you’re a fan of the Washington Redskins then you know all too well that the team’s playoff hopes ended on the last day of the regular reason when the team failed to secure a wild card sport for post-season play much to the disappointment of fans and bettors alike. At least they have a chance for rebirth in the 2013-2014 season in the fall. Until that time, while they can partake in sports betting on other sports, Redskins fans can also find some fun at online casinos like JackpotCity playing sports themed slot machines.

One popular slot machine with a relevant theme is a video slot known as Field of Green. This particular online slot machine available on many casino sites is a five reel machine designed around an exciting football layout. Field of Green provides a maximum of 20 paylines and the maximum bet size is set at 100. A progressive jackpot is also built into the game which provides another way for players to win with the maximum payout for the progressive jackpot is 8000 coins. It’s a different way to gamble compared to sports betting, but both options give the fan a way to participate in the game. Better than shouting at the tv, right?

Entering the game, the Terps were 5-6 in the ACC, needing a miracle to have any hope of dancing next month. That miracle came with a 83-81 win over the second ranked Duke Blue Devils.

Will it be enough to propel Maryland into the national picture? The answer in short, not yet....

At 6-6, the Terps move into a tie for sixth with Florida State in the ACC standings. To secure a spot in the big dance, the Terrapins probably need to win five of their remaining six games.

02/19/13	at Boston College *	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	9:00 p.m. ET
02/23/13	vs. Clemson *	College Park, Md.	12:00 p.m. ET
02/27/13	at Georgia Tech *	Atlanta, Ga.	8:00 p.m. ET
03/02/13	at Wake Forest *	Winston-Salem, N.C.	12:00 p.m. ET
03/06/13	vs. North Carolina *	College Park, Md.	7:00 p.m. ET
03/10/13	at Virginia *	Charlottesville, Va.	6:00 p.m. ET

Maryland likely needs a good showing at the ACC tournament in Greensboro as well. First round play begins Thursday March 14th with the finals on Sunday the 17th.

How the Terps finish regular season play willl determine just how far they need to advance in North Carolina to secure a spot.

There is no long term deal between Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals.  Yet. 

The Nationals and Zimmermann did agree on a one year deal that avoids arbitration, a desire of both sides.  Arbitration is always contentious and leaves hard feelings. 

The Nats are thought to want long terms deals wqth Zimmermann and Ian Desmond.  Both signed one year deals while longer term extensions are sought. 

That was the question posed by Bruce DePuyt, host of NewsTalk on News Channel 8, to a panel of guests including myself, American University  journalism professor and scholar Angie Chuang and Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney. Watch the discussion below and feel free to voice your opinion on this subject in our Redskins fan forum.

The Washington Capitals started this shortened season out pretty miserably. No one argues that.  However, the Caps are doing their best to turn it around.  

Eric Fehr scored two goals and Washington scored four total on the night to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning and crawl out of the division cellar.  All three wins have come against Southeast Division rivals.  The win improves the Caps to 5-8-1 and 11 points.  The won also leap frogs the Caps over Florida and into a third place tie with Winnipeg.  

The Caps got on the board early in the first period with another Troy Brouwer goal.  The marker extended Brouwer's goal streak to three games.  Brouwer has now scored four goals over the last three games.  Brouwer's seventh marker of the season was assisted by Mathieu Perreault, who had three helpers on the night, and Nicklas Backstrom.  It also came on the Caps power play.  The lead lasted six minutes when Martin St. Louis knotted The game for Tampa.  Caps out shot the Lightning 12-6 in the first period.

Eric Fehr scored his first of the night, the only tally of the second period, to give the Caps a 2-1 lead at the 5:09 mark of the second period.  Perreault and Joel Ward assisted the goal.  Caps out shot the Lightning 13-12 in the second period.

Fehr scored his second of the night just a little over two minutes into the third period to put the Caps up 3-1.  Perreault added his third helper of the night and John Carlson added an assist.  Five minutes later, at the 7:29 mark of the third period to put the Caps up 4-1.  Assists came from Jeff Schultz and Tomas Kundratek.  

As customary with Tampa, despite a three goal lead, it was far from safe.  Teddy Purcell and Nate Thompson scored after the half way point of the third period to narrow the Caps lead to just 4-3.   Braden Holtby stopped 27 of 30 shots to earn his fourth win of the season. 

The Caps held on in the final two minutes to fend off the Lightning.  

Multi-Point Scorers:

Eric Fehr, 2 goals

Mathieu Perreault, 3 assists

Are you ready for some baseball? The Nationals have released their plans for TV and radio coverage of Spring Training.

Nats pitchers and catchers are already in Florida with position players required to report by tomorrow (Friday).

Spring training coverage is listed below, but the MLB Network may add additional coverage.

Meanwhile, MASN has a new broadcast partner in WUSA Channel 9. The two networks will simulcast 20 games this season, beginning on Opening Day, April 1st when Washington hosts the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park.