NBC Sports Washington has hired the writing staff from the eight-month-old The Sports Capitol publication to cover the Nationals, Capitals and Wizards on the RSN's platforms, including its redesigned app that launched earlier this month. Todd Dybas will cover the Nats, while Brian McNally will cover the Caps and Ben Standig will cover the Wizards. As part of the deal to bring the three writers over, The Sports Capitol officially shuts down and will publish no new content (John Ourand, THE DAILY). In DC, Dan Steinberg reports the move "represents a notable commitment to serious editorial coverage" of local sports by NBC Sports Washington, including a "return to regular coverage of the Nationals." For The Sports Capitol, the move "marks a perhaps premature end to what had been a novel experiment in this market." The move for the writers suggests that their bet "paid off, although in an unexpected way." McNally: "Let's be honest: This is the only kind of offer that really gets us to abandon the project. We gave it a great shot, and it led to a really good opportunity." Steinberg notes NBC Sports Washington hired GM Damon Phillips in January, and he said he "wanted to make sure that we had a high level of content across all the teams in the market." Since launching The Sports Capitol in February, Dybas, McNally, and Standig have "taken virtually no days off, jumping from one season straight into another, often ending their workdays after midnight before starting up a few hours later" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/30).
