This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Washington NationalsOverall: 34 Title track: 56 Ownership: 26 Coaching: 23 Players: 32 Fan relations: 31 Affordability: 51 Stadium experience: 39 Bang for the buck: 66 Change from last year: +7The No. 34 is huge in D.C. Besides being on Bryce Harpers back, its also the Nationals overall ranking in this years Ultimate Standings. Thats tied for the highest mark D.C. die-hards have ever given their team. In case youre wondering, the first 34 came back in 2012, when No. 34 was a rookie. Hooray for election years.Whats goodNationalists give props to the power combo that is the Lerner family and GM Mike Rizzo (ownership is 26 and fourth in baseball), and why not? A year after raining $210 million on free agent Max Scherzer, they coughed up another $175 million to keep fellow hurler Stephen Strasburg in the District. They engineered shrewd deals that netted MVP candidate Daniel Murphy and rookie phenom Trea Turner. Combine all those studs with Harper, who for all his struggles in 2016 still has an off-the-charts Q rating, and its easy to see why Nats fans dig their dudes (a 32nd-place ranking in roster).Whats badFor the price of one seat at a Redskins game ($102 on average), you could buy two Nationals tickets and still afford two beers and two hot dogs in the park. Still, when it comes to affordability (51) and bang-itude (66), Washington gets ho-hum marks. Maybe its the $5 16-ounce sodas (tied for MLBs priciest per ounce). Maybe its the franks that fetch $5.25, among the costliest in the league. Or maybe were just nit-picking (er, Nat-picking). Hey, somebodys gotta do the dirty work.Whats newDusty Bakers not new. In fact, hes old. Really old, by baseball standards. Sixty-seven, to be exact, the most ancient skipper in all the land. But hes new to D.C., and Nats fans love him to the tune of a 23rd-place ranking in coaching, up 37 spots from a year ago. Why not? The exceedingly human bench boss guided the Nats to 95 wins (12 more than predecessor Matt Williams) and within a Clayton Kershaw save of their first postseason series win. If that werent enough, he dances during batting practice, has more stories than the Library of Congress and is constantly giving off warm-and-fuzzy grandpa vibes. Hooray for grandpa vibes.Next: Pittsburgh Pirates?| Full rankings Nike Vapormax Wholesale . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. Nike Vapormax Clearance . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. http://www.vapormaxoutlet.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Cheap Vapormax China . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. Vapormax Online . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Chicago Sky rookie Imani Boyette didnt want to continue playing poorly in the WNBA semifinals.The 6-foot-7 center averaged three points and 4.5 rebounds in two double-digits losses to the Los Angeles Sparks. Boyette played better -- much better, scoring all 13 of her points after halftime and grabbing 11 rebounds as the Sky held off the Sparks 70-66 on Sunday to force a Game 4.I hadnt shown up in the series yet -- the lights have been kind of bright, Boyette said. Ive been guarding two of the best players, so I was very much a rookie this series. My teammates have done a really good job of encouraging me and staying on me.Boyette scored seven points in the third quarter as the Sky turned a nine-point deficit into a two-point lead going into the final quarter.Shes a body down there, so she cant go ignored, league MVP Nneka Ogwumike said. We werent prepared for that.Courtney Vandersloot added 17 points and Clarissa Dos Santos had 10 for the fourth-seeded Sky, who have been playing without leading scorer and rebounder Elena Delle Donne. The 2015 league MVP underwent right thumb surgery on Sept. 13.We were confident going into this game because we knew they hadnt seen our best yet, Vandersloot said.Ogwumike had 16 of her 22 points in the first half and Kristi Toliver added 13 for the second-seeded Sparks, who won the first two games of the series at home by double digits.The Sparks made 6 of their 33 shots beyond the arc.Their zone affected us. We didnt adjust, two-time MVP Candace Parker said.Parker shot 3 for 14 from the field for nine points but grabbed 15 rebounds. She averaged 25 points in the other two games. League sixth woman of the year Jantel Lavender finished with six points for thee Sparks.ddddddddddddDefending champion and top-seeded Minnesota has a 2-0 lead over Phoenix in the other semifinal series, with Game 3 later Sunday.Toliver hit a 3 for a two-point Sparks lead with 1:30 left, but Boyette made two layups and Vandersloot hit a jumper for a four-point lead. Ogwumike missed a 3 with 8 seconds left, and Vandersloot made two free throws to seal it.The Sky opened the third quarter with a 17-6 run to take the lead. Ogwumike and Parker were scoreless in the third, when the Sky outscored Los Angeles 19-8.Our defensive intensity, we were able to stop them a little bit in the second half, Vandersloot said. They scored eight points in the third quarter, and thats unheard for a team that skilled and that many offensive threats.The Sparks led by 15 in the first half, but the Sky scored the final six points of the second quarter to pull within nine.We got up by a lot, and we got a little frazzled, Ogwumike said.Los Angeles won 95-75 and 99-84 in the other games.They were extremely hungry to win, Sparks coach Brian Agler said. We were like that in LA, but not quite like that here.TIP-INSSparks co-owner Magic Johnson was in attendance. ... The Sparks scored at least 93 points in four of their previous five meetings with Chicago. ... During the regular season, Los Angeles led the WNBA with a 48.7 percent field goal percentage, while the Sky topped the league in scoring at 86.2 points.STILL OUTDelle Donne has missed nine straight games. She averaged 21.5 points to share the league scoring title with New Yorks Tina Charles.UP NEXTGame 4 is in Chicago on Tuesday night ' ' '