Three-day celebration begins with parade and rally

To the victors go the spoils, and the Nationals are about to be very spoiled over the next three days.

After enjoying one day off at home to recover from their World Series-clinching victory (and subsequent celebration) in Houston, the Nats are about to go into full-scale party mode over the next 72 hours, with a parade, a stop at a Capitals game and then a trip to the White House.

It begins today with a parade so many people have waited so long to experience. Here are the pertinent details:

* The parade runs from 2-4 p.m., beginning at the corner of 15th Street NW and Constitution Avenue and moving east on Constitution until it makes a slight right turn onto Pennsylvania Avenue, where it will end at 3rd Street NW.

* Players, coaches and front office members will ride on open-air buses, giving them an elevated view of the gathering. But they won't be the only ones participating in the parade. There will be several groups of children marching, including members of the Nationals' Youth Baseball Academy and 270 local Little Leaguers who are part of the Nationals' "Team UP" program.

* The parade route spills right onto the National Mall, where the team rally is set to take place from 4-5 p.m. A bunch of players, plus Davey Martinez, Mike Rizzo, and Ted and Mark Lerner are scheduled to speak. There may be a few more surprises sprinkled in, as well.

* This is a similar route and format to the Capitals' Stanley Cup celebration parade and rally last year. So if you attended or watched that, you may be able to visualize what the area will look like and where various activities will take place.

* If you're attending in person, come early, dress warm and use public transportation. Metro will be running extra trains to accommodate everyone.

* If you're not attending in person, you're in luck because MASN will be televising the entire show live, and MASNsports.com will be streaming it all live for those of you who don't live in the area or can't be in front of a TV. All your favorites will be on the air: Bob Carpenter, F.P. Santangelo, Dan Kolko, Bo Porter and Alex Chappell. And again, maybe a surprise guest or two.

So that's what's on tap for today. Tomorrow the Nationals will appear at Capitol One Arena for the Caps' 7 p.m. game against the Flames. If it's anything like the Caps' trip to Nationals Park in 2018, it should make for quite a wild scene.

Then on Monday afternoon, the team is scheduled to visit the White House. It's the kind of event that typically doesn't take place until months after a team wins a championship, but given the fact everyone will still be in town and given the fact there's no need to make a special trip to D.C. since they're actually from D.C., the Nationals decided to go ahead and attend right now.

So buckle up for a wild and crazy ride to cap off this remarkable season. And be sure to check back right here on this website for plenty of coverage of the celebration.