It has been well-documented that there is a significant divide between player salaries in Major League Soccer. For a league that's still getting its legs after only thirteen years in existence, it is easy to see why that is -- as the league tries to bolster its image and fanbase with larger signings in the Beckham mold, developmental players are de-emphasized. With time, salaries for lower-tier players should rise as the league finds success. But......

In Trader Jim's first move of the off-season, the Nationals have traded catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church to the Mets for outfielder Lastings Milledge. Milledge batted .272 last year with 7 HRs, 29 RBIs, .341 OBP and .446 slugging, though he only accumulated 184 at-bats. Church had similar averages last year, but with almost 300 more at-bats only had 8 more homeruns and 41 more RBIs. Schneider only hit .235 last year, with......

Black Friday, the be-all, end-all of go-crazy shopping days (well, not for those celebrating "Buy Nothing Day"), is less than two turkey-filled days away. But in our blind rush to leave a tithe at the alter of mass consumerism, we often lose our thrifty ways. Not to worry - for those of us with office jobs, that raise is right around the corner, coming soon to help ease those credit card bills come January. Right?......

Good Morning, D.C. Remember the news we told you about back in August, about an investigation into a potential prostitution ring at D.C. firehouses? Well D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin acknowledged yesterday under fire from the D.C. Council that "sex for overtime" allegations in his department are "potentially true." The Council also expressed concern about the abnormally high rate of disciplinary action against African American firefighters in the department. African Americans were the subjects of......

The Capitals have assigned Ben Clymer to their farm team. For two years, Clymer has provided the Caps with leadership, toughness and first hand knowledge of what it's like to win a Stanley Cup. This year and next year, he'll take that knowledge to the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears. Clymer joins Stanley Cup winner Joe Motzko, whom the Caps signed this summer as a free agent and demoted over the weekend, in giving the......

D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee plans to ask the D.C. Council to suspend personnel laws to give her the authority to terminate several hundred DCPS employees she plans to fire without having to reassign them to other jobs. A story on the front page of today's Washington Post indicates at least some Council members may be skeptical of Rhee's plan, which reportedly includes adding new upper-level managers while at the same time downsizing the central......

Good morning, Washington. It's the last Friday in July, and we can already feel the impending doom and gloom of D.C.'s traditional No News August, a time when the Washington Post publishes lengthy ruminations on humidity and local TV news begins investigating whether your children's toy water guns are really safe. But as if feeling the need to grant us one last interesting Friday before the new month begins, D.C. Council member Harry Thomas......

The Capitals have re-signed center Brooks Laich (pronounced LIKE) to a one year contract. Laich is a fast-skating, defensively responsible young center who can also play on the wing. The Capitals acquired him from the Ottawa Senators in 2004 in a trade for Washington's all time leading scorer, Peter Bondra. Returning to a recently broken club policy, "financial terms of the deal were not disclosed." According to TSN, however, the contract is worth $725,000.00, and......

Good morning, Washington. If you're the sort of person who likes to start thinking about their lunch break just as soon as they sit down at their desks, we have excellent news for you in the form of a planned DC Vote rally for voting rights between noon and 1:30 p.m. today. Anyone who'd like to show their support for voting rights is encouraged to meet on the north side of Constitution Avenue between First......

Some D.C. Council members are dismayed at proposed $200,000 salaries that newly confirmed Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has offered to her deputy chancellor, Kaya Henderson, as well as her chief of staff. The pay range for District jobs at that level is normally $57,000 to about $153,000 at the most. Mayor Fenty's office is defending the salaries, claiming the administration now has the authority to hire staff at whatever level it chooses. Meanwhile, Carol Schwartz......

As is usually the case on this day in D.C., there is very little news to roundup, thus our rather loose definition of 'morning' today. We certainly hope you're having a relaxing and fun holiday so far. As you gather up beer and meat (or faux-meat) and head to your respective barbecues, take care. We've mentioned it before, but the entire city will be under added security measures today in the wake of the attempted......

In anticipation of 2005 4th overall pick Niklas Backstrom's arrival from Sweden, the Capitals had already signed marginal Swedish defenseman (and former Capital) Josef Boumedienne to a one-year contract to interpret at the airport and through training camp. Therefore we have to try to look at the signing of Swedish center (and former Capital) Michael Nylander, to a four-year, nineteen and a half million dollar contract, as a hockey move. We said, "try." Nylander initially......

Prompted by the opening of online balloting for the 2007 All Star Game a few weeks ago, we recently started wondering who might represent the Nats in San Francisco (since, you know, somebody has to). Dmitri Young? The guy's hitting for a scorching .500 average over the last 21 games. But he's mired behind popular stars like Albert Pujols and Nomar Garciaparra, as well as reigning MVP Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder's 23-homer bat. Even......

Gilbert Arenas pulled a trick out of Kobe Bryant's PR playbook over the weekend, trying to worm his way back into the NBA spotlight (during the Finals no less) by informing everyone that he intends to exercise his player option after next season and look to sign a new, more lucrative contract extension. But don't worry folks, it's just business. "To me, it's just a smarter business decision to play next season, opt out......

Yesterday several thousand hearty Washingtonians, DCist included, went to the Hill to demand equal voting rights. While the shortened rally was in and of itself a success, good times were also to be had at a post-march reception hosted by Sen. Joe Lieberman at the Dirksen Senate Office Building. There, a few intrepid DCists even got to chat with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (pictured above with, from left to right, Sommer Mathis, Martin Austermuhle......

Good morning, D.C. We're all still recovering from yesterday's lively debate on the House floor on the D.C. Voting Rights Act, which as you already know was successfully stalled by Republicans when they attempted to attach language repealing the District's handgun ban to the bill. This morning tireless WaPo voting rights correspondent Mary Beth Sheridan brings us a full account, with word that "The bill's supporters said they hope to return the D.C. vote legislation......

In an interview during last night's loss to the Devils, Caps GM George McPhee confirmed that he will be listening to offers for some of the team's older players in these last two days before the trade deadline. McPhee told Al Koken that he had received interest from other teams, and that he would wait for offers that made the Caps a stronger hockey club. The team will look at what free agents will be......

No, really, Farragut North is on fire. At least the tracks are, according to a WMATA service advisory. This is the third fire at the station in the last week and the second in as many days, once again delaying the commutes of many area workers and raising safety concerns over the troubled transit agency. New Metro General Manager John B. Catoe must be wondering if his $300,000 salary is worth all these headaches this......

Afternoon, D.C. Hope you're enjoying your Tuesday, and that your holiday shopping is getting done. Ours sure isn't. Here's some news for you all to get you out the office door. >> We know some people who won't have any problems affording all the items on their Christmas lists this year. The D.C. Council just voted this afternoon to give themselves a raise, making themselves the highest-paid officials in the area. The Post gives us......

Jose Vidro, the Nats oft-injured second baseman, has been traded to the Seattle Mariners, pending a physical exam delayed until this morning. Vidro’s a three-time All Star with fine career numbers, and he's a standup character. He's shown admirable loyalty to the club throughout the franchise’s tumultuous past and gruesome near-term prognosis. After the clearing of roster debris like Ramon Ortiz, Tony Armas, and Joey Eishen, one might think that Nationals Nation would mourn –......

Boy howdy, yesterday sure was quite the hootinany over at the D.C. Council, as members scrambled to push their pet bills through before this year's session finally, finally comes to a close. Here's a quick rundown of what went on, gleaned from the WaPo and Examiner: >> We told you this was in the works before, but the council finally did pass a nice pay raise for themselves and incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty. From the......

Because we simply can't get enough of salary talk, today the Post tells us that Metro's presumptive new head honcho, John B. Catoe Jr., will be taking in $300,000 a year, not to mention a $60,000 living allowance, a company car, and all the free Metro rides he can take. While it seems a little on the steep side for a public servant working for an agency notorious for its mismanagement of public funds, Catoe......

Yesterday, the D.C. Council decided to table emergency legislation to hike their own salaries, already the second-highest in the nation. In the discussion of the bill, first introduced by Chairman Linda Cropp at the urging of D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, the margin of pay increases slowly declined as the hours elapsed, a likely response to public criticism of the proposals. The first move, which came in response to criticism of a proposed 51 percent pay......

How much is public service in the District worth? This Tuesday the D.C. Council might tell us. In its last legislative session of the year, the council will be debating a number of measures and proposals, one that would provide funds for the trasitions of mayor-elect Adrian Fenty and council chair-elect Vincent Gray. But more than just provide them with the money needed to prep their teams for next January's handover of power, the legislation......

This much is known about the Nats’ managerial search: 1) With Piniella and Girardi having withdrawn, the position is unlikely to be filled by recognized "name". 2) The process has been conducted with Karl Rove-like secrecy. 3) Because of #2, the press is essentially groping in the dark for leads, and the final selection will most likely not have been on anyone’s lists two weeks ago. For the prospective candidates, the description of the Nat’s......

FRIDAY: >> In "sucks but it's true" news, the H Street NE scene, while awesomely fun, can still be a dangerous part of town. Argonaut bartender Luis "Quike" Morales was reminded of that fact the hard way late last month, when he was shot in the head while walking home from work. Amazingly, Quike survived, but his mounting medical bills are more than any service industry salary could handle. So head on down to the......

Livan Hernandez is Frank Robinson’s kind of player: crafty, with dogged determination and competitive fire. He wants the ball in every situation. He's eaten innings in big chunks, leading the league in IP for three years straight. He’s loyal, perhaps to a fault. He’s been one of the faces of the franchise in recent years, and was the first player to throw a pitch for the Nationals last year. Despite not having the best......

Although the team is techincally on their All-Star break, DC United will take on the Columbus Crew tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Germantown, MD as part of the U.S. Open Cup. After losing to Real Salt Lake over the weekend, United will look to get back to their winning ways in a tournament they haven't won since 1996. There's a good chance Santino Quaranta will be back in the United line up after taking......

Thanks to the D.C. Education Blog for pointing out a story we missed: about 2,000 District teens are getting paid to attend school this summer. The program, part of the new Bridge to School Success initiative, is designed to give students entering high school a chance to learn study and social skills that could help them be more successful and have a smoother transition from middle school. But why pay them to attend? Dr. Robert......

Last week we reported that D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams takes in $152,000 in compensation, a salary some viewed as excessive and others as not excessive enough. But if this is how much we currently judge the city's chief executive to be worth, what would we pay, let's say, the chief librarian? A lot more, as news has it. The Common Denominator reported on Friday that the D.C. Board of Library Trustees decided to hire Ginnie......