Nationals' 3B has excelled on field but is far from household name in nation's capital

Ryan Zimmerman walks into an Arlington, Va., restaurant on a cold December afternoon. Dressed in jeans, a checkered button-down shirt and brown loafers, the 6-foot-3 North Carolina native looks like one of the many young professionals who populate the Washington suburb.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" the host asks after greeting him, pondering Zimmerman's face for several seconds. "You look so familiar. College, maybe?"

"No, I don't think so," Zimmerman says, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders.

"OK. I'll think of it," the host says as he leads the Nationals' All-Star third baseman to his table.






Brian Schneider/US PresswireRyan Zimmerman was in the top 10 in the National League in home runs (33) in 2009.

A few minutes later, he returns with menus. "I think I've got it," the host says. "You know Whitlow's [a nearby bar and restaurant]? Do you go there? I bet that's it -- I used to work there."

Zimmerman pauses for a moment. He could tell the host the truth -- that this past year he won the Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, Fielding Bible and "Baseball Tonight" Web Gem awards and held major league baseball's longest hitting streak (30 games) while being voted to his first-ever All-Star Game. Or, that since his arrival in Washington in September 2005, the 25-year-old third baseman has become one of the best players in baseball and the face of the franchise for the Nationals.

Chances are a New York City host wouldn't confuse Alex Rodriguez or David Wright with a college classmate. But this is Washington, D.C., and Zimmerman is the reserved, easygoing star of 2009's worst team in baseball.

"People in D.C. have a lot of other things going on," Zimmerman said in explaining why the Nats' fan base is sometimes criticized as less devoted than those of other major cities. "And when you win in this city, it's different."

The Nationals haven't had a winning season since his arrival. Yet Zimmerman showed his commitment to Washington last spring when he signed a five-year, $45 million deal through 2013.

"Few players stay in the same place their whole career," Zimmerman said. "It'd be a really cool accomplishment to have been here at our worst and see us through to our best. Hopefully, I can be that guy who's been here from the beginning and helped turn it all around."

Source:sports.espn.go.com/

Has the Alleged Fort Hood Gunman's Imam Been Silenced?

Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, October 2008

Muhammad ud-Deen






U.S. officials are awaiting confirmation that a Yemeni air strike killed Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American cleric who exchanged email messages with the alleged Fort Hood Shooter, Maj. Nidal Hasan. Counterterrorism officials and experts have differing views on Awlaki's importance to the wider jihadist cause. "The death of Awlaki would deprive al-Qaeda of a prominent face, a prominent voice, and someone who'd gotten involved in operations," says one counterterrorism official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to discuss the air strike with the media.

But Peter Bergen, an Al-Qaeda expert at the New American Foundation, says Awlaki was merely "important as an inciter to jihad, no more." Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University says it's unlikely Awlaki would have beeen involved in operational activities. "He was a cleric, not a field commander," he says.
(See the effect of Al-Awlaki's sermons.)

Whatever his position in the Al Qaeda hierarchy, Awlaki had emerged as a major headache for U.S. officials. American-born and educated, he had contact with at least two 9/11 hijackers before fleeing the US in late 2001. In Yemen, he became something of an e-imam, using the internet to preach fiery anti-American and anti-West sermons. He called upon believers to rise up against the U.S. Because his sermons were published in English, he became popular with radical American Muslims. "He understood American society and was able to tailor his message to American audiences," says Hoffman.
(See pictures of the Fort Hood shootings.)

Hasan, accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, reached out to Awlaki a year ago. Although Awlaki denies encouraging Hasan to kill, the cleric praised the major on his website as a "hero" after the shootings, and exhorted other Muslims in the U.S. military to follow his example.
(See an assessment of the growing al-Qaeda threat in Yemen.)

Initial reports that the airstrike may have been the work of the CIA seem to have been mistaken: Yemeni authorities say it was their jets that conducted the dawn operation, in the province of Shabwa, 400 miles south of the capital Sana'a. In a statement, the Yemeni embassy in Washington D.C. said the strike targeted a meeting of "scores of Yemeni and foreign Al Qaeda operatives." The meeting had been called to discuss retaliation for government raids in mid-December on al-Qaeda hideouts in Abyan and Sana'a provinces.

Around 30 people are reported to have beeen killed in the strike, among them, Nasser Al-Wuhayshi, the regional al-Qaeda leader and his deputy, Saeed Al-Shihri, a former Gitmo detainee. Shihri was repatriated in 2007 to Saudi Arabia, where he was enrolled in a rehabilitation program for hardcore jihadists. Shortly after his release, however, he returned to the al-Qaeda fold in Yemen.

Source:time.com/