The Washington “Nationals” repatriating America’s “national” pasttime from Canada’s team of 1967 (the year of Canada’s greatest pride in itself—you know, the kind of pride that doesn’t take scandalous ad exec sleaze to produce), right in the middle of a number of muscle moves by Ottawa to show they can take the Americans if they have to?

Since all that sponsorship money was going to Quebec anyway, why didn’t the Liberals just buy the Expos, move them to Hull (well, there can’t be fewer baseball fans in Hull than in Montreal, can there?) and rename them the Canadian Federals. Would that have been a worse investment than overpriced flags, golf balls and t-shirts? Ad exec buddies of the government would be right now polishing their private boxes at the new stadium. Sports reporters in Canada would have something to report. Everybody wins.

Oh well, at least Toronto and Vancouver still have major league teams… what’s that? Nevermind.