Why you should care about U.S. Open Cup

You should care about the U.S. Open Cup because, although it remains far from perfect ..*On a day when Manchester City and the New York Yankees committed to spend hundreds of millions on MLS, fourth-tier, low-budget, largely amateur and mostly anonymous Reading United, Des Moines Menace, Ocean City Nor'easters and FC Tucsonupset pro sides on Tuesday night. Read full article >>

Nationals vs. Giants: Stephen Strasburg’s stellar start goes to waste in 4-2, 10-inning loss in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — More than a year into his assault on baseball, baseball finally struck back. The game, at the most wicked of moments, revealed a way in which Bryce Harper is closer to normal. He is not like the rest of us in most ways, but he shares at least one trait with the greater human population. Running into that wall in Los Angeles made him unwilling to run into another one. Read full a

Nationals vs. Giants: Washington pitchers are pounded in 8-0 loss

SAN FRANCISCO — The goal for the Washington Nationals remains unchanged, and if they overcome the bewildering first portion of their season to reach it, they may look back on Monday night and wonder: how did they ever get so lost on the way to the World Series? Read full article >>

Photo recap: Glen Burnie softball tops Eleanor Roosevelt, 13-1

_Editor's note: Our photo recaps are a new feature, in which we publish user-submitted photos from games around the area. Interested in submitting? E-mail matt.mcfarland@washpost.com. _ Glen Burnie defeats Eleanor Roosevelt 13-1 to win their Maryland 4A softball state semifinal. Read Gabe Hiatt's account of the game here. Read full article >>

Photo recap: Northern softball edges River Hill

_Editor's note: Our photo recaps are a new feature, in which we publish user-submitted photos from games around the area. Interested in submitting? E-mail matt.mcfarland@washpost.com. _ Northern advances to the Maryland 3A softball state final with a 1-0 win over River Hill. Read Louis Nelson's account of the game here. Read full article >>

Orioles baseball: McLouth’s walk-off homer helps Baltimore end skid, topple Yankees

BALTIMORE — With the possibility of freefalling into their worst losing skid in nearly two years, the Orioles received one of their best pitching performances of the season, two homers from reserve Chris Dickerson and a walk-off blast from Nate McLouth to finally beat the New York Yankees in extra innings. Read full article >>

Davey Johnson will serve as a coach for Bruce Bochy at the All-Star Game

Forty years after he last played in one as a player, Davey Johnson is going to the All-Star Game.Monday, San Francisco Giants Manager Bruce Bochy invited Johnson to serve on the National League coaching staff at the Midsummer Classic, which will take place at Citi Filed. Johnson accepted. Read full article >>

Nationals-Giants discussion thread: Game 46

The Nationals will try to snap out of their offensive malaise tonight with a reconfigured lineup. They have received little production from the No. 2 spot in Jayson Werth's absence. Tonight, Manager Davey Johnson moved his best hitter, Bryce Harper, to the two spot. Read full article >>

Steve McCatty T-shirts, two new pitchers and a cheerful Nationals clubhouse

The most welcoming quality of baseball's grinding schedule may be the daily opportunity for renewal. Last night, after an 8-0 loss, the Nationals emptied a somber locker room. The last man out was Ryan Mattheus, who had learned he broke his hand punching a locker the day earlier. "It's pretty embarrassing," Mattheus said. Read full article >>

Washington Wizards jump from No. 8 to No. 3 in NBA draft lottery; Cleveland Cavaliers win No. 1 overall pick

NEW YORK — Nick Gilbert and the Cleveland Cavaliers have beaten the NBA lottery odds again.The Cavaliers won the lottery for the second time in three years and have the No. 1 pick for the June 27 draft. Read full article >>

Washington Wizards jump from No. 8 to No. 3 in NBA draft lottery; Cleveland Cavaliers win No. 1 overall pick

NEW YORK — If the Washington Wizardsfelt securing a top three pick was the only way for the franchise to make progress, then claiming the eighth pick or lower in the NBA draft lottery Tuesday would’ve been a serious disappointment. Read full article >>

Randy Wittman's lottery advice to Bradley Beal: 'Don't mess it up'

Bradley Beal is in New York City representing the Wizards in tonight's lottery draft. According to Monumental Sports, Beal didn't bring any good luck charms, but he is wearing the same tie he wore to the 2012 NBA draft. Read full article >>

NFL draft will move from April to May, more changes to league calendar may be coming

As NFL owners met in Boston this week, taking care of league business such as selecting future Super Bowl sites, another whisper made the rounds: Is America’s most powerful game growing even more dominant? Read full article >>

Tonight's Nationals-Giants lineups

Stephen Strasburg will take the ball tonight at AT&T Park, and the Nationals will ask him to do what aces do: stop a losing streak and snap them out of a rotten spell. The Nationals have been outscored by 17 runs over their past two games. It's up to Strasburg to stop the bleeding. He'll face Matt Cain in a duel of two aces, even if Cain has a 5.43 ERA. Read full article >>

USGA bans practice of anchoring long putters

There is no more nerve-wracking task in golf than the four- or five-foot putt. Nerves jangle. Palms sweat. Could be the Masters, for history. Could be the club championship, for posterity. Could be a Friday foursome, for beers. That simple stroke is hard. Read full article >>

RGIII in Xbox Reveal

Another day, another RGIII story having nothing to do with OTAs. And this one involves video games rather than gift registries!Tuesday was the big Xbox Reveal, which The Post's Hayley Tsukayama covered from a technology standpoint: Read full article >>

Maddie Doan paces Sherwood girls' lacrosse on unprecedented run to Maryland 4A/3A final

Five minutes into Saturday's Maryland 4A/3A state semifinal against Howard, Sherwood senior Maddie Doan took a pass from junior teammate Emily Kenul in stride and charged toward the cage. The well-rehearsed play soon ended in the team's first goal in its inaugural state tournament appearance. Read full article >>

Washington’s baseball club in desperate need of a Natitude adjustment

What we have here is too much Natitude and not enough latitude.The Washington Nationals have pushed their chosen team identity of swagger, vast expectations, physical toughness and intensity bordering on mania to the danger point. What was beneficial last season is not always benign. They need to back off, before a season gets too damaged or somebody really gets hurt. Read full article >>

Vinny Del Negro out as Los Angeles Clippers coach

Vinny Del Negro will not be returning for another season as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.The team chose to let Del Negro's contract expire after the Clippers were ushered out in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Memphis Grizzlies. He was hired in the summer of 2010 and took the Clippers to their first division title with a 56-26 record. Overall, the Clippers were 210-184 under D

The Nationals are still trying to get Danny Espinosa right

The process of putting Danny Espinosa back together again continued Monday at AT&T Park. Manager Davey Johnson sat the struggling second baseman, who is 1 for his last 28 and batting .163/.191/.260 on the season, in favor of Steve Lombardozzi. In the afternoon, Espinosa went through a lengthy, pregame film and swinging session with hitting coach Rick Eckstein. Read full article >>

Oklahoma tornado: West Virginia baseball team narrowly avoid tornado

Former St. John's baseball player Bobby Boyd, the starting center fielder at West Virginia University, is in Oklahoma City for the Big 12 baseball championships and along with his Mountaineer teammates has pitched in with the relief effort after deadly tornadoes ripped through the state. Read full article >>

Super Bowl L awarded to San Francisco

Super Bowl L -- or Super Bowl 50, if you prefer -- has a home. It'll be played in Santa Clara, in Levi's Stadium, the future home of the San Francisco 49ers.In voting by NFL owners at the spring meeting today in Boston, the Bay Area edged South Florida for the right to host the golden anniversary game in 2016. Owners were expected to give the 2017 Super Bowl to Houston. Read full article >>

Redskins' training camp facility: Better photos and early impressions if you're thinking about going

It may be yesterday's news -- and even then, we're stretching the definition of 'news' -- but John McDonnell's a professional photographer, and I am not. His photos of the training camp facility in Richmond offer a much better look at what the Redskins are building than what we posted yesterday: Read full article >>

Oklahoma high school coach tells of close brush with tornado

On Monday afternoon, high school football players in the Moore, Okla., area were about to do what athletes do in the football-mad state: take to the field for a spring practice.But the skies and forecast turned threatening, so at Southmoore High School, Coach Jeff Brickman's players were indoors, watching film of a previous practice, when the deadly tornado struck. Read full article >>

D.C. United news and notes

Another Cruyff in Washington?Some 30 years since Dutch legend Johan Cruyff played for the NASL's Diplomats, his grandson Jesjua has begun a tryout with D.C. United.Jesjua, 20, arrived from Wigan Athletic's under-21 squad in England after spending his youth in FC Barcelona's academy. He plays wide in midfield and on the backline. Read full article >>

Bruce Bochy reportedly asked Davey Johnson to be on his All-Star staff

The news wasn't all bad for Davey Johnson Monday night in California. He'll apparently spend his last All-Star break as Nats skipper in New York, at Citi Field, as part of Bruce Bochy's coaching staff. That almost has to lead to about 15 great anecdotes. Read full article >>

Kevin Durant donates $1 million to Red Cross for Oklahoma tornado relief

Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder star, has donated $1 million to the Red Cross fund for tornado and disaster relief in the aftermath of the deadly storm that devastated Oklahoma on Monday.@kdtrey5 steps forward and gives $1mil matching gift to the ARC for disaster relief, text "REDCROSS" to 90999 for a $10 donation.— Red Cross Oklahoma (@redcrossokc) May 21, 2013 Read full articl

Look at the Giants celebrating the Nats' Game 5 collapse

Most Nats fans probably don't have a reason to feel one way or the other about the San Francisco Giants. Maybe this photo could help.Yes, that's right, here are the Giants celebrating the Nats' collapse in Game 5 of the NL Division Series last fall. Amy Gutierrez, the sideline reporter for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, gave some more context for this image before Monday night's broadcast. Read

Brooks Laich throws out Orioles first pitch

Brooks Laich, who was named after famed Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson, threw out the first pitch in Baltimore on Monday night. The Caps forward promised on Twitter last week that his throw would have some juice to it, and he delivered. Read full article >>

Locals picked for Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic

The Washington area will be well-represented at this summer's Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic. Three local players landed on the roster for the boys' South team for the eighth annual game, announced Tuesday. The girls' South team will feature 12 seniors who played on area teams this spring. Read full article >>