Getting a chance to hear from the newest National

What a banner year it's been for the NFL.

Oh, wait. Did I say "banner year"? I meant disastrous year filled with public relations nightmare after public relations nightmare.

The latest NFL issue deals with the ESPN report that came out late last night saying that 11 of the Patriots' 12 footballs used in the AFC championship game were significantly underinflated.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm now a bit less pumped up about the Super Bowl two Sundays from now. This controversy has taken some of the air out of the big game for me. All of the intensity building toward the Patriots-Seahawks matchup seems to have been a bit deflated.

OK, I'm done. Is it baseball season yet?

On that note, the Nationals will be holding a press conference at 2 p.m. to make what they're calling a "major baseball announcement."

I have a hunch it has something to do with a right-handed pitcher whose name rhymes with Rax Burzer.

The Nationals are set to unveil their newest starting pitcher this afternoon, and we'll have the press conference live for you on MASN HD. I'll be doing one-on-one TV interviews with the newest National and general manager Mike Rizzo (and possibly others) immediately after the press conference ends, and we'll also have full coverage for you here on MASNsports.com.

It will be interesting to hear from Rizzo on the timeline of how the Nationals became players in the Max Scherzer sweepstakes.

Were they in on Scherzer from the beginning? Was this a move that came together fairly recently with ownership pushing things along?

There are plenty of other questions for Rizzo regarding how he views the rest of his starting pitchers in potential trade talks, now that the Nats have six legitimately strong starters in place, with Tanner Roark currently getting pushed to the bullpen. We can expect Rizzo to say the Nats are planning to keep all six starters entering the season, but he's said all offseason that he's plenty willing to listen if teams come calling with offers for any of his players. That might not change now that Scherzer is in the fold.

We'll also obviously get to see Scherzer toss on his new Nats jersey, don a new number (the No. 37 he wore with the Tigers is currently taken by a certain right-handed starter) and hear what he has to say about his new organization and city.

Should be a fun day in D.C.