Washington Nationals

Friday

Cockburn

DC mayor booed by Nats and Phillies fans

Hill Country bye-bye-Q Cockburn wishes farewell to karaoke mainstay and watches baseball fans fight DC is evolving. Cockburn honored the memory of Hill Country Barbecue Karaoke on Wednesday night, ahead of the downtown hotspot closing its doors for good today. No tickets were available at the door and the line snaked throughout the restaurant as Hill staffers, hacks and college students pored in for one last singalong. The live band whipped through staples such as “Mr. Brightside,” “Redneck Woman” and “Before He Cheats” (twice). A number of veterans also took to the stage: one former host told the crowd that he’d had his first kiss with his now-wife upstairs.

hill country barbecue mayor

Wednesday

Matthew Foldi

China woos the Washington Wizards

China’s new foreign minister issued his first public statement at a Washington Wizards game this weekend. “Happy Chinese New Year to DC family,” Qin Gang said, in a video blasted on the giant screens across Capital One Arena and shared by news outlets controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. https://twitter.com/cgtnamerica/status/1617008162275528711?s=42&t=IQmzS3-Fo2PbedZyvgzBIg It was a continuation of China using American sporting events as a means of exerting its soft power, and yet another stark example of the existential challenge that the United States faces in its struggle to outmaneuver the Chinese Communist Party — even in its own capital city.

china washington wizards

Monday

Amber Duke

COVID restrictions are killing the national pastime

Take me out to the ballgame, just not if I have to wear a mask. Major League Baseball is finally allowing a limited number of fans back into ballparks this year, but their nonsensical COVID-19 restrictions sap almost all the joy out of the experience. I recently attended my first game in almost two years at Nationals Park in Washington DC. (Before angry readers tell me I should be boycotting the MLB because of their decision to move the All-Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia's new election security laws, I'll have you know that I did not purchase the tickets). It was far from a celebration of the (far too slow) reopening of America.

baseball