WASHINGTON -- Twenty years later on this darkest of baseball anniversaries, the Montreal Expos franchise is once again basking in the sunshine of first place. Buy Asics Shoes Cheap . A powerhouse ballclub had its record frozen in time Sept. 14, 1994, stuck forever at 74 wins, 40 losses. Thats the day the strike-shortened major-league season was officially cancelled. The star-studded team would be blown apart by the time a big-league umpire again shouted, "Play ball." The good news now for the franchise is that, barring some unmitigated, unanticipated 1994-style disaster, its going to the playoffs. With basically a nine-game division lead and barely two weeks left, this bitter anniversary season will seemingly be washed down in sweet champagne. Of course theres that other, bad news which Montreal baseball fans probably dont need to be reminded of on this, or any other, occasion: the playoffs are happening in Washington, D.C. Its been a decade since the franchise moved away, leaving mascot Youppi temporarily unemployed. He soon found a new job with the Montreal Canadiens. But local baseball fans havent been quite as lucky in getting a replacement. If any feel like cheering for the Washington Nationals this fall, and living vicariously through the offspring of Nos Amours, theyll find a few familiar faces milling about the ballpark just east of the U.S. Capitol. The teams colour commentator is former Expos infielder F.P. Santangelo. Star shortstop Ian Desmond was drafted by the Expos. Coaches Tony Tarasco, Bob Henley, Randy Knorr and Rick Schu all played for the Expos. PR man John Dever, equipment manager Mike Wallace, and visiting-clubhouse manager Matt Rosenthal all worked for the team in Montreal. "Do we talk about the Expos days? Of course. All the time," Dever says. "The Blue Jays-Mets series (of exhibition games in Montreal) back in late March really got the juices flowing. Watching the game, seeing Stade Olympique, seeing the fans, some familiar faces. It looked like a heck of a baseball party. We were happy for everyone up there." For Washington, the baseball party is just starting. After a so-so start, dragged down by early injuries, the team caught fire. It went on a 10-game win streak, with some thrilling final-inning victories. The streak only ended when starter Doug Fister tried pitching a couple of days after surgery to remove skin cancer -- although he insisted the scars didnt affect him. The key to its success is depth. The Nationals have one hitter in the top-10 in batting average, and one in the top 10 in homers in the National League. Theyre centre-fielder Denard Span at .301, and Adam LaRoche with 24 home runs. No pitcher has over 13 wins. But everyones pulling their weight: Four starters have an earned-run average under 3.50. The staff may even break a record for the best strikeout-walk ratio in major-league history. And their lineup would probably include three hitters with more than 20 homers, if young slugger Bryce Harper hadnt missed nearly half the season with a thumb injury. Santangelo can pinpoint the exact moment the team took flight. In early August they were down 7-0 to their nemesis and tormentor, which coincidentally was also the Expos closest rival in 1994: the Atlanta Braves. They scored six runs, and started to believe they could claw back from anything. "A big lightbulb went off in my head -- ding! -- these guys are good now," Santangelo says. "The team kind of clicked." For most of their history, the Washington Nationals had actually been a lot like the Expos: they lost more than they won. Their historical winning percentage is even slightly worse than Montreals -- since 2005, its .474. But they dwarf the Expos in two areas that count. Theyre on the verge of their second division title. It took a while, but the team finally cracked .500 three seasons ago and hasnt looked back. As for financial viability, its been no contest. Theyre drawing triple what the Expos did toward the end, and are in fact getting even bigger crowds than in the best years of the late 1970s-early 80s. Attendance is slightly better-than-average for a major-league team -- at nearly 32,000 a game. Santangelo saw plenty of empty seats as a player; he was called up in 1995, after the team had been stripped in a firesale. He doesnt blame Montreal fans for staying away. He says even the players on the team understood that a short Canadian summer combined with an enclosed concrete stadium, the distance from downtown and annually losing popular players wasnt exactly a formula for success. "We didnt harbour any ill-will toward Expos fans. We understood," Santangelo says. "Summers very short. And to spend four hours of your short summer, indoors -- a lot of people didnt want to do it. And a lot of people were fed up that Pedro (Martinez) was a Red Sock, and John Wetteland was a Yankee. Just go down the list of everybody that left there -- thats gotta get old after a while... I cant blame Expos fans for not coming out in big numbers." What he always tells people is Montrealers loved baseball: "Everywhere you went around town they knew your batting average, they knew your record, they knew what your record was in the last 10 games. They followed the team." He says he was thrilled to see the crowded stadium for exhibition games earlier this year in Montreal, which he calls one of his favourite cities in the world. In a way, Santangelo is a bit like the people in that crowd: somewhat of a baseball orphan. He watches other teams enjoy reunion nights where former players get together and tease each other about their weight and dwindling hairlines as part of a regular bonding experience. "I dont have that privilege," he says. "I spent the majority of my major-league career in Montreal, and theres no team there anymore. "So we dont have the reunions and its sad, because even though you become great friends with your teammates everybody goes their own way once you retire, once you move on... And that part saddens me." There are faint physical reminders of the old team in the new Nationals Park, a nouveau-traditionalist beauty that opened its doors in 2008. For starters, there are always a few Expos caps and jerseys in the crowd. And in the ring between the upper and lower decks, above the first-base line, there are plaques to Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Andre Dawson. Theyre grouped with plaques dedicated to the superstars of the old Homestead Grays from the Negro Leagues, and the former Washington Senators. When Dawson was honoured in a pre-game ceremony in 2010, the Washington Post wrote about the awkward relationship between the franchise and its own history. Even the emcee of the Dawson celebration, a broadcaster and local baseball historian, said the team had no responsibility to honour the Expos. He said it made more sense to honour Whitey Herzog, the Hall of Fame manager who played for the original Washington Senators a half-century ago. Yes, Washington knows what it feels like to lose a team -- it happened twice. But things are so good now that nobodys even noticed the old Washington Senators are doing terribly. Actually, theyre in last place in not just one division, but two -- as the bottom-dwelling Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers, who are a combined 55 games out of first. This town is too busy loving the new team to think much about Montreal, either, Santangelo says. "I dont think the fans even remotely care about anything that has to do with Montreal, to be quite frank," he says. "Washington wants their own identity -- and I think thats healthy. "You want to establish that youre the Washington Nationals, and not the Montreal franchise. And I think thats how it should be. I think it would be weird if they paid tribute to the Montreal Expos on a regular basis." He does notice the old tri-coloured logo in the stands, "And I love it." But for most people, he says, the attitude is, "You move on." Cheap Asics Shoes Online . Roy says he will know more about Duchenes potential playing status Sunday. Duchene has been out since damaging the MCL in his left knee when he ran into a teammate against San Jose on March 29. Hes been skating on his own all week, before joining the team Saturday hours before a pivotal game in a series tied at 2. Asics Shoes Discount Online .Bacca took advantage of Cristian Alvarezs hesitation to head a lobbed pass over the goalkeeper and then used his feet to roll the ball into an empty net in the eighth minute. The Colombia strikers 10th goal pulled him level with Lionel Messi as the leagues third-leading scorers, far behind Cristiano Ronaldos runaway tally of 23 goals. http://www.cheapasics.net/ .com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103.ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Terrelle Pryor will start at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, replacing Matt McGloin for the final regular-season game against the Denver Broncos. Coach Dennis Allen made the announcement at the end of his news conference Monday, saying it was "part of the plan" that apparently took shape when Pryor recovered from an injury to his right knee in late November. "Its been a while since weve gotten an opportunity to see Terrelle in a game and I want to get him in the game and get another opportunity to evaluate him," Allen said. "We all get frustrated when were not playing, but (Pryor has) done a good job with that and hes going to get another opportunity." Pryor was the leading rusher among quarterbacks in the NFL when he suffered a knee sprain in early November. However, he has thrown only five touchdowns with 11 interceptions and has a passer rating of just 66.0. When asked why he was making the move now, Allen emphasized that he was not benching McGloin and that it is simply another chance for the Raiders (4-11) to take another look at Pryor. Whether the decision was Allens or whether it came at the urging from owner Mark Davis remains unclear. Allen has been a strong supporter of McGloins since early in training camp and has repeatedly talked glowingly about the former Penn State star. Even after making the switch back to Pryor, Allen made it clear he believes McGloin will be in the mix for the job next season. McGloin has thrown more touchdowns (eight) and fewer interceptions (eight) than Pryor but has also completed a lower percentage of passes than his counterpart. "I liked a lot of things that I saw in Matt," Allen said. "He wasnt quite as sharp as he had been earlier in a couple of the earlier games, but Ive been pleased with what Ive seen out of (McGloin) from the first moment he walked on campus here. I think we have a guy that can be in our plans for the future and Im glad hes on this football team." Its been a tricky road back into the sstarting lineup for Pryor. Asics Shoes Discount Sale. He was hurt during Oaklands 49-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 3 then aggravated the injury the following week against the New York Giants. After that game, Pryor told reporters his knee had been bothering him -- a statement he later regretted making because, in his words, it sounded like an excuse. That opened the door for McGloin, who threw three touchdowns without an interception in his first NFL start against the Houston Texans on No. 17. Oaklands offence has made only modest improvements since then and the team has lost its past five games with McGloin as the starter. In the past two games, the undrafted rookie quarterback threw six interceptions and lost two fumbles. McGloin passed for just 206 yards and committed two turnovers during Sundays 26-13 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Allen, however, declined to say whether Pryor will play the entire game against the Denver Broncos or if McGloin will be rotated in. That was the pattern the Raiders used against the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, only in reverse with McGloin starting and Pryor coming off the bench. "Well see," Allen said. "Hes going to be the starter. I informed both of those guys this morning and well go from there. We want to get another opportunity to see, and weve said for a while now that we want to be able to evaluate Terrelle so heres an opportunity to go in and do that." Oakland went 3-5 in the eight games Pryor started before getting hurt. He has made only a few cameo appearances since then, but did not play against San Diego on Sunday. Allen gave players the day off Monday, so neither Pryor nor McGloin could be reached for comment. Two weeks ago, however, Pryor said he wasnt going to get caught up in a quarterback controversy. "The only thing I can do is control what I can control and just keep getting better," he said on Dec. 10, two days after a 37-27 loss to the Jets. "At the end of the day thats all I can control. Thats where were at." ' ' '