Today's Smulyan Speculation

It had been rumored that Smulyan was using the sale of the Nationals to raise his profile in an attempt to buy the Cincinnati Reds, which are much closer to his Indiana home. That door is now closed, as their owner has agreed to sell to some local Ohio businessmen.

Since that out is, well, out, will he ramp up his efforts to take control of the Nationals? Given the recent revelation that MLB is beginning the process of pairing up the ownership groups, could a Smulyan/Kasten group take the lead? Would Smulyan take a minority stake in another ownership group, leveraging his media company's expertise in broadcasting to strengthen another bid?

Who knows. But if Smulyan is serious about getting back into the game -- and it's pretty clear that he is -- then he's going to be redoubling his efforts in DC.