Gazing Into the Crystal Balls: DC Sports Predictions for 2013

As memorable as Robert Griffin III’s rookie year and the Nats’ regular season were, there were plenty of sports moments in 2012 we’d sooner forget—for example, the Nats’ postseason and everything the Wizards did. So what’s in store for 2013?

Fearless Predictions

DC United will finally get a stadium deal. Soccer fans are pinning their hopes on the Buzzard Point location in Southwest DC. The team has the money, Akridge has the land. Now the city needs to make it happen.

The Verizon Center will have two primary tenants. At some point, this NHL lockout madness will end and all the arena employees who can’t work in the Russian KHL will be able to resume their regular schedules—particularly welcome news for the bartenders at Rocket Bar, Clyde’s, and other Chinatown watering holes.

Bold Predictions

Raheem Morris will be the Redskins’ defensive coordinator. Sorry for those of you hoping that soon-to-be-ex-Jets coach Rex Ryan gets the call if Jim Haslett gets fired, but that’s not happening. Shanny likes his assistants the way he likes his masseurs: discreet and silent.

Robert Griffin III puts up MVP-caliber stats in year two. The actual award won’t be given out until February 2014, but it’s never too early to start e-mailing your thoughts and/or veiled threats to the Associated Press voters.

The World Series will come to DC. No more Stephen Strasburg shutdown controversy. No more collapses against the Cardinals. Just a pennant and all the fun that comes with it. That positive-thinking stuff from The Secret works, right?

Eh, It Could Happen

Bryce Harper becomes Major League Baseball’s youngest MVP. He’ll elevate his game in his first full season at the major-league level. Thirty home runs, 25 steals, and a .300 batting average are well within the realm of possibility. Throw in a highlight reel of defensive plays and he could make it happen.

A local team will represent the area in the Final Four. Georgetown looks like the best bet, but maybe George Mason has another run in it.

Alex Len and Otto Porter will be top-five picks in the NBA draft. The seven-footer from Maryland and the fast-rising small forward from Georgetown are both expected to turn pro after their sophomore seasons. Both look like locks for the lottery, and, really, I’d take either one on the Wizards. Like tomorrow. Please.

This article appears in the January 2013 issue of The Washingtonian.