I would have preffered that they would be called the Washington Senators.

First baseball franchise move, since the Senators moved out of Washington. Yet another example (the NHL the other) of the Canadians getting screwed by the US of A. Had they not shut down the 1994 season, the Expos would have won the World Series, garnered enough fan interest to get a new ballpark, and still be in Montreal. Bud Selig toyed with other cities (like Norfolk, Portland, and Vegas) in their bogus quest for a new sucker to take the Expos. It was always going to DC (or Northern VA). Only Pete Angelos could stop it. Angelos received millions in tribute money from Selig to relent. Citizens of Washington may be thrilled now; but after watching this band of bozos go 54-108 for the next several years, they may pine for the days of Dick Bosman, Mike Epstein, Jim French, and Paul Casanova.

Not a big surprise. I went to a game a couple years back and the facility stunk, and very few people were in the ballpark. The team struggled for years and couldn't fill the seats. In a sport where the season is long and there's 100+ games, if you find yourself out of the hunt early year after year, you won't maintain fan support. If you don't have the funds to sign new talent you have no choice but to re-locate.

This story is a 5 in DC, but probably not so important nationally. Its good to see baseball return to Washington though, and hopefully we will see a new owner soon as well. The Expos have been a joke since baseball took them over, and it is a good thing that they have been able to take a big step towards fixing this franchises problems.