A few thoughts on sports this Monday. First, congratulations to the Maryland Terp Field Hockey team. They had an undefeated season going into the National Championship game, but lost in the last 11 seconds of the game, 3-2 to North Carolina. The Terps still had a great sesaon, finishing 22-1 and setting many records during the year.

The Maryland football team continues to find way to lose and is now 2-9, one of the worst seasons in the past 30 years. I'm not sure a coaching change is what is needed but many do, so it very well could happen after the season is over next Saturday.

The Washington redskins, also, continue to find a way to lose. This past Sunday they lost to the Dallas Coboys, 7-6, when the Cowboys scored the winning touchdown in the last three minutes of the game, making the Redsin 3-7. But, six points is not enough to win in the NFL and the offense is just not putting enough points on the scoreboard. Coaching change here is most likely after the season.

The Wasington Wizzards were expected to be better this season but they are off to a rough start even with a new coach and Gilbert Arenas back. But, it is too early in the long NBA season to write them off - they have the players and a good coach so still hope they will make the playoffs this season.

The Washington Capitals are playing the best of all the area pro teams and have proven they can win even when Ovetchkin is out hurt. Hockey is another long sesaon so anything can happen and injuries can definitely play a part in the final record. But the Caos are real good and I do expect the Caps to be in the playoffs and go far.

2009 Football season is over, at least for me. Done. No more sceduling my weekends around the Maryland Terps games on Saturdays or the Washington Redskins games on Sundays. Time to enjoy some other Fall activites rather than football.

The Maryland Terps lost a pitiful, rain-soaked game to a not very good Virginia team 20-9 on Saturday. This leaves Maryland with a 2-5 record and not much hope of a winning record or bowl appearance this season. Both the offense and defense have looked bad. The team is "young" but we hear that every year, lately and that is no excuse.

The Washington Redskins lost to a team(Kansas City) that was 0-5 before Sunday by a score of 14-6, making the Redskins record 2-4 with the first six games being the easiest part of their schedule. The remarkable thing is that the defense has been playing great. They have not given up more than 28 points in a game for 28 games in a row, which is the best in the NFL. But, the offense can't score more than 20 points a game.

Can't see the Redskins winning more than three more games the rest of the season.The Redskins just look awlful - there is no other way to say it. The team lacks leadership on and off the field and there is not much hope for the future until some major changes are made. And this does not mean just firing Jim Zorn and hiring another coach. Changes need to be made higher than Zorn. Can we fire the owner?

Former world number one Maria Sharapova won her second Pan Pacific Open title after Jelena Jankovic retired with a wrist injury in Saturday's final.

It was Sharapova's first title since shoulder surgery last October and the 20th of her career. Her last tournament win came at Amelia Island in April 2008.

"It's funny to win trophies again after thinking I might never be able to hit a tennis ball again. But I'm back and I'm hungry. I can be better than before and win more grand slams" said Sharapova, who will now be ranked back in the top 20.

It has been a bad year for sports in the Washington area. It's still September and it looks like the football season is already over for the Washington Redskins, which are 1-2 and have looked bad while losing. Don't see them making the playoffs this season.

The Maryland Terapins football team is 1-3, and they have also looked bad while losing. Neither fotball team looks promising at all, and it looks like I'm in for a long season of losing by both football teams.

The Washington Nationals baseball team has lost over 100 games for the second straight season and will again finish with the worst record in baseball. Getting the top draft choice this year, Steven Strasburg, and again next year(Bryce Harper?) doesn't seem to help much now. But, unlike the football teams, the Nats seem closer to putting a very good team on the field next year. They need to add a couple more good players in the off season. We will have to wait and see.

The good news is that Hockey and Basketball are about to start and things look much better with these Washington teams. The Capitals should be good playoff team again this year and could go all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.

The Washington Wizzards should definitely be much better than last year when they were just plain bad. They have a new good coach(Al Saunders) and they should be healthy this sesason, especially Gilbert Arenas. They made a couple of good trades and I am expecting the Wizzards to make the playoffs this season. That would take a huge jump in wins, but it does seem very possible.

The Maryland Terps basketball team could be a real surprise this season and land in the Top 20 nationally. They have the veteran players, but college basketball is hard to predict and it is hard to win those ACC games on the road.

The soccer team, DC United just has not looked very good and even if they make the playoffs I don't expect them to do much. The team just has not been as good as they were winning championships earlier in the decade. �@

From: The New York Times

One of the theories espoused by Dan Brown's new book is that when many people share the same thought, that thought can have physical effects. Let�fs test it on Tuesday. Watch what happens to bloggers, booksellers, nitpickers, code crackers, conspiracy theorists, fans and overheated search engines when "The Lost Symbol," Mr. Brown�fs overdue follow-up to "Angels & Demons" (2000) and "The Da Vinci Code" (2003), finally sees the light of day.

Dr. Solomon accompanies Robert Langdon, the rare symbologist who warrants the word dashing as both adjective and verb, through much of this novel, his third rip-snorting adventure. As Browniacs have long predicted, the chase involves the secrets of Freemasonry and is set in Washington, where some of those secrets are built into the architecture and are thus hidden in plain sight. Browniacs also guessed right in supposing that "The Lost Symbol" at one point was called "The Solomon Key." That�fs a much better title than the generic one it got.

Maria Sharapova at the 2009 U.S. Tennis Open

From: MLB.com

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals agreed to terms with right-hander Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, less than two minutes before Monday's midnight ET deadline. The deal was for $15.7 million.

Strasburg, 20, went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 starts this season at San Diego State University en route to being named the Golden Spikes Award winner. He struck out 195 batters and issued just 19 walks in 109 innings.

Acting general manager Mike Rizzo called it an emotional -- and, in the end, an exciting -- day for the organization, which feels strongly that signing Strasburg is an important step toward making the Nationals a contender in the NL East.

"The reason he signed is because he wants to pitch in the big leagues, and he wants to be a Washington National," Rizzo said. "He wants to win a Cy Young Award and championships in D.C.

"We are proud to have him in the organization. We are happy to add him to a growing list of young starting pitchers. It's a big day for the Washington Nationals. It's a big day for the fans of Washington, D.C."

Two Virginia schools make Forbes Magazine's 2009 list of top 50 Best Colleges in America. Washington and Lee University in Lexington ranks 34th and William and Mary at number 48.

The list is also broken into groups. Six Virginia schools make the top 50 list of Best Public Colleges: 4. William and Mary 6. University of Virginia(UVA) 10. VMI 13. University of Mary Washington 37. James Madison University(JMU) 47. Virginia Tech.

To read the complete report, go to www.forbes.com.