Quick Take: The Washington Nationals are finally free from MASN after nearly two decades of disputes, and Monumental Sports Network is positioned to secure their TV rights beginning in 2026. This deal would give Monumental year-round programming across baseball, basketball, hockey, and WNBA, while opening new opportunities for MLB streaming and cross-promotion in the D.C. market NBC4 Washington Awful Announcing MLB USA Today.

Nationals End MASN Era

The Washington Nationals’ long nightmare with MASN is over. After nearly 20 years of legal battles and revenue disputes, MLB announced in March 2025 that the Nationals will be free to negotiate their own local broadcast rights beginning in 2026 MLB USA Today. MASN, a baseball-only outlet controlled by the Baltimore Orioles, lacked year-round programming and limited the Nationals’ ability to grow their brand. Now, the franchise can finally chart its own course.

Monumental Sports Offers Year-Round Programming

Monumental Sports Network, which already airs the Washington Wizards (NBA), Washington Capitals (NHL), and the Washington Mystics (WNBA), is the front-runner to land the Nationals’ rights Awful Announcing. Adding baseball would give Monumental a 365-day sports calendar, ensuring fans in the D.C. region have continuous coverage. A year-round schedule means cross-promotion opportunities: Nationals broadcasts could advertise Wizards tickets, Capitals playoff runs, or Mystics championship pushes, while basketball and hockey games could drive fans toward baseball season tickets.

Ownership Connections

Mark Lerner, principal owner of the Nationals, is already a minority stakeholder in Monumental Sports, which strengthens the likelihood of a deal. Ted Leonsis, Monumental’s founder and majority owner, has also emerged as a potential buyer of the Nationals if the Lerner family decides to sell NBC4 Washington Awful Announcing. That ownership overlap makes Monumental not just a broadcast partner but a possible future steward of the franchise.

Monumental and MLB Streaming

Monumental’s ambitions extend beyond cable. The network has invested heavily in direct-to-consumer streaming, aligning with MLB’s push to expand digital access. A Nationals-Monumental partnership could serve as a model for how regional sports networks integrate with MLB’s national streaming strategy, offering fans more flexibility and modern viewing options The Nats Report.

Why This Matters

The Nationals move to Monumental would reshape the D.C. sports media landscape. MASN’s baseball-only focus left gaps in programming and limited fan engagement. Monumental’s multi-sport portfolio ensures constant content, stronger advertising opportunities, and deeper fan loyalty. For the Nationals, this deal represents not just a broadcast change but a chance to fully integrate into the city’s sports ecosystem.

Looking Ahead

Negotiations are ongoing, but industry consensus points strongly toward Monumental Sports Network becoming the Nationals’ broadcast home in 2026. With MASN in the rearview mirror, the Nationals can finally leverage their media rights to grow revenue, expand their fan base, and strengthen their position in the nation’s capital.

The Professional Women’s Hockey League is rolling out its annual PWHL Takeover Tour with a marquee Montréal–Toronto matchup in Halifax, Nova Scotia. More than a showcase, this year’s tour is widely viewed as a preview of the league’s next major expansion phase. The PWHL will test fan interest and arena viability in Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Halifax, Hamilton, Washington, D.C., and Winnipeg, along with return visits to Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, and Québec City. Each market will host two games, giving PWHL owner Mark Walter and league executives a firsthand look at potential new homes.

Last season’s tour proved the model works. During the 2024–2025 Takeover Tour, the league drew impressive crowds in Seattle and Vancouver — momentum that ultimately earned both cities expansion franchises last April. With that success as a blueprint, the PWHL is now positioning itself for another round of growth.

A League on the Rise — With One Major Concern

Now in its third season, the PWHL continues to outperform previous women’s hockey ventures. The league currently features franchises in Boston, Montréal, Newark, Ottawa, St. Paul, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver. Plans are already in motion to expand to 12 teams, and PWHL executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer has made it clear that the league is accelerating its growth strategy.

“We added Vancouver and Seattle this year, two teams. We’re going to expand at least 2–4 teams next year. We are in growth mode and this league is exploding,” Scheer said.

But amid the momentum, Ottawa has emerged as a potential trouble spot. A proposed arena renovation would reduce seating capacity by roughly 3,000 seats, bringing the venue down to 5,500 — a number the PWHL believes is too small to sustain the team’s fan base or long‑term financial health. The league has also expressed reluctance to relocate the franchise to the NHL Senators’ arena in suburban Kanata, a venue far from Ottawa’s downtown core.

With Senators ownership pursuing a new downtown arena, the PWHL is watching closely. If the current plan moves forward and the seating reduction becomes permanent, the league may be forced to consider relocating the Ottawa franchise.

PWHL Takeover Tour Could Shape Ottawa’s Future

The Takeover Tour may ultimately provide the PWHL with alternatives should the Ottawa arena issue remain unresolved. With multiple cities eager to join the league — and several already demonstrating strong attendance during previous tour stops — the PWHL will have no shortage of options.

As the tour unfolds, the league’s expansion roadmap will become clearer. What’s certain is that the PWHL is growing quickly, its fan base is expanding, and its next round of decisions could reshape the landscape of women’s professional hockey.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

Ottawa

By: Matthew Weatherby

Alabama and Oklahoma are set to square off on Friday night in Norman to kick off the 2025-26 edition of the College Football Playoffs.

Both of these teams enter the playoffs with more questions than answers. But, for both sides, those questions stem from injury problems that have plagued both teams in the latter half of this season. For Alabama, though, one question has been resolved, and that is whether Kalen Deboer will still be their coach for the future. While Kalen recommitted himself to the Tide on Sunday, that will do them no good in terms of the true key on Friday, who makes it off the injury report.

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Injuries

For Alabama, they are just hoping to get some guys back on offense. Jam Miller, Josh Cuevas, and Kam Dewberry all missed the SEC Championship. A game where Alabama’s offense was only able to score 7 points and put up a total of -3 rushing yards against Georgia. Getting some continuity back on the offensive side of the football for Alabama is going to be necessary against an Oklahoma defense that ranked first in the SEC in total defense this year. Alabama is also hopeful to get standout D-lineman LT Overton back from injury after he missed the SEC title game. (It must also be noted that there is a RUMOR going around regarding a potential Ty Simpson injury that he has been dealing with over the last couple of weeks)

On Oklahoma’s side of things, they hope to get R. Mason Thomas back from injury. Prior to his injury against Tennessee, Thomas had totaled 6.5 sacks over 8 games, along with 2 forced fumbles. His play over 8 games was good enough for him to be voted to the All-SEC First Team Defense.

I do have one more thing on Oklahoma’s injuries. What about John Mateer? After his hand injury against Auburn, the Oklahoma offense has appeared handicapped. Mateer has only thrown for more than 225 yards in a game once since the injury, and that was their regular-season finale against LSU, where he also threw 3 interceptions. But I have a theory regarding Mateer’s health. His hand needed time to heal after the surgery, and that was something he was’t really afforded. The amount of time needed for the hand to heal was supposed to be a couple of weeks. The Sooners will have had 3 weeks off between games come Friday night. Was this the amount of time needed for Mateer’s hand to heal?

On the field

I talked about those Alabama injuries earlier, and they are important because the version of Alabama’s offense everyone saw in Atlanta will not be enough if it shows up in Norman, Oklahoma, on Friday night. The pieces that they hope to get back should lead to that. Jam Miller is a much more well rounded Running Back than the guys sitting behind him. But where his value lies is in his pass protection. It was something that Alabama struggled with in the SEC Championship. In addition, Josh Cuevas and Kam Dewberry will also be helpful in protecting Ty Simpson. Cuevas’s being back will have a big impact on Alabama in 3rd down situations. He was Ty Simpson’s safety blanket all year.

Bama’s offense will be in better shape health-wise, but will it be enough? All outside factors have shifted away from Alabama in this game. They will not have had the same amount of rest that Oklahoma has had. Maybe that is a good or bad thing; you never really know when it comes to longer rest for teams, but when you look at Alabama’s injury report, you would assume that fairs better for the Sooners. Not to mention, Oklahoma will be playing at home. A place where they beat the Crimson Tide 24-3 last season. For Alabama even if they get those guys back to full health will it matter?

Oklahoma’s defense, by metrics, is better than Georgia’s. People also seem to forget that, prior to Alabama losing those guys on offense to injury, they still were not a particularly efficient or effective running team. They also have not been able to stretch the ball downfield very much this year. That is an area where you need Ryan Williams to step up. He has not been the same guy that he was last year. And without the threat of explosives, the Alabama offense will then be tasked with driving the ball down the field consistently against this Oklahoma defense. When you’re asked to do that without a consistent running game, your margin for error is razor-thin.

Why Oklahoma could Roll

If Oklahoma’s offense finds itself after the break, I do not think that this game will be particularly close. People talk about Alabama’s issues after their injuries, but they were always present for Alabama. The injuries they suffered just exposed them to a greater extent. For Oklahoma, John Mateer was heisman candidate prior to his injury. All you need from Mateer and this offense on Friday is 2-3 good drives. 17 points could be enough to win this game for Oklahoma.

This game will obviously be about the defenses, but I believe that Oklahoma’s offense has a higher ceiling than Alabama’s coming out of the break. As for Bama, this is a game where they have to win the margins. Something they did not do against Oklahoma earlier in the year, or the last time we saw them against Georgia. If Alabama were to win this game, it would be because it also won the turnover battle, time of possession, and average starting field position.

Prediction + Betting/Analytics

Prediction: Oklahoma

Spread: Alabama -1.5

According to ESPN Analytics, Alabama has a 50.9% chance to win on Friday.