Seven months ago, I boldly declared that the Washington Nationals would be just fine, thanks, without Bryce Harper. It turns out they were more than fine.

After missing the playoffs in 2018, Harper's final campaign in D.C., the Nats are back in the postseason for the fifth time in the past eight years. It's the first time they've been there without Harper, and it's proof positive that there is, in fact, life after Bryce.

Here are five reasons Washington has been able to move on without its former franchise face:

1. Rendon is raking

Although he has one fewer MVP award than Harper, the dirty little secret in the District is that Anthony Rendon has been the team's best and most complete player for several years now. It's a secret finally starting to make its way around the league.

In July, after being an All-Star snub on multiple occasions in the past, the 29-year-old third baseman made the Midsummer Classic for the first time in his career. Batting almost exclusively in Harper's old No. 3 spot, Rendon has put up huge numbers. He's hitting .322 with 34 homers and leads the league with 124 RBIs and 43 doubles. He's also in the top three in runs, slugging and OPS. Combined with his dependable glove work at the hot corner (plus-3 runs saved), it's the kind of campaign that has him on the short list for a certain piece of hardware, along with names such as Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger and Ketel Marte.

"For me, Rendon is the MVP," manager Davey Martinez said of the player who finished 11th in last year's balloting and sixth the year before that. "What he means to this organization, this city, our lineup, it's tremendous. He's earned all the accolades he's going to get."

Depending on how these last games shake out, it's possible that Rendon could wind up tied with Harper in the awards column.

2. Soto is a super soph

When Juan Soto exploded onto the scene last season as a 19-year-old rookie and did things that few if any teenagers had done, he instantly became a walking and talking insurance policy for if/when Harper departed via free agency. Although some wondered if the young outfielder would regress in his second big league campaign, he has done the opposite.

While the plate discipline has been just as good (his 106 walks are second in the NL), the power numbers have spiked (34 bombs). Between that and figuring out how to handle off-speed pitches, Soto has become a Harper-esque middle-of-the-order thumper. Said hitting coach Kevin Long: "He understands his skills and is also willing to try a few minor things to get even better."

Perhaps the most significant upgrades in Soto's game have nothing to do with the dish.

In spring training, the Dominican product said he spent the offseason trying to improve his speed and defense. By all appearances, the work has paid off. After swiping five bases as a rookie, Soto, whose minor league teammates called him Gamba (Spanish for bowlegged), is 12-for-13 in steals this year. That's a 92% success rate, and it's tied for third among NL players (minimum 10 stolen bases). In left field, where he's still very much a work-in-progress, he has accounted for zero runs saved, an improvement on the minus-5 he posted a year ago.

So much for that sophomore slump.

3. Robles is roaming center field like a vet

If Soto was Washington's insurance policy, then Victor Robles was the addendum. The flashy rookie, who entered 2019 as the 10th-best prospect in baseball according to ESPN's Keith Law, took over as the Opening Day center fielder and hasn't looked back. Actually, that's not true.

Back in April, it seemed that Robles was in over his head defensively, as he regularly misread and/or misplayed balls in the outfield. But he has learned on the fly and quickly become one of the better center fielders in the game.

"That kind of arm you don't see very often," Soto said of his teammate, whose 12 assists lead center fielders and whose 21 runs saved rank second among all outfielders.

Thanks to the speedy Robles, the Nationals didn't think twice about sliding veteran Adam Eaton to right field to fill the void created by Harper's departure. Together, Robles, Eaton and Soto have helped Washington's outfield lead the majors in outs above average (their 26 OAA are more than twice as many as that of the next best group).

Offensively, though Robles hasn't been as productive as Washington might have hoped and has made more than his share of mistakes on the bases, manager Davey Martinez will gladly take 17 homers and 26 steals from the rookie -- especially at the bottom of the order.

4. The Big 3 is living up to the hype

When Washington inked lefty Patrick Corbin to a six-year, $140 million contract in December, it pretty much signaled the end of the Harper era in D.C. It also gave the Nationals' rotation a 1-2-3 punch as good as any in the game.

Corbin, ace Max Scherzer and deputy ace Stephen Strasburg all rank among the NL's top six in strikeouts. And FIP. And WAR. Together, they've led Nats starters to a 3.51 ERA that ranks second in the majors, behind only that of the Dodgers.

"They've been phenomenal," Martinez said of his three-headed mound monster. "The reason why we're doing what we're doing."

Perhaps most importantly, Washington's troika has logged more than 550 innings combined, which has helped the team overcome a historically bad bullpen -- and Harper's historic free-agent exodus.

5. Their foes are friendly

The NL East was supposed to be the NL Beast. With the exception of the Marlins, every other team in the division was expected to be stout. While the defending champion Braves have been as good as advertised (and then some), New York and Philly -- a pair of clubs that were billed as markedly improved -- have disappointed.

Yes, the dysfunctional Mets seemed to have Washington's number this year, winning 12 of 19 matchups, including several in dramatic comeback fashion. But against the rest of the league, the Mets have been essentially a .500 club. As for Harper's new team, the Phillies? Decimated by injuries to the bullpen and outfield, they were eliminated from the playoffs Tuesday ... by the Nats.

When it comes to cooperative competition, nobody has been more magnanimous than Miami. Against the Marlins, Washington coasted to a 15-4 record. But that was always going to happen.

Just like the Nationals were always going to be fine without Bryce Harper.

Daniel Rees meets the full-time civil servant, who is the top-ranked 400m hurdler in the UK

It’s July 15, 2017, and it’s fair to say that Chris McAlister is not having the happiest of seasons. Stepping off the track and drenched from the heavy rain, he makes his way back inside having run almost three seconds slower than the personal best he had set the previous year.

I was in the same race as him that day, having finished another second behind him, and the two of us were sat next to each other inside the warm-up area afterwards. I was disappointed to see my season was fading away, but McAlister appeared disconsolate.

United in our collective disappointment, we made conversation about something, anything, to take our minds off our performances. We chatted about AFC Wimbledon. We chatted about John Maynard Keynes. But there was little we could do to hide our frustration, for both of us seemed stuck on a downward curve.

Fast-forward two years, and the politics and economics graduate is at the top of his game – his decision to persevere paying serious dividends. The Thames Valley Harrier now sits at the top of the UK rankings for the men’s 400m hurdles and is completing his final preparations for the IAAF World Championships in Doha. He is self-avowedly living the dream.

McAlister snuck under the qualifying time for Doha by 0.02 at the European Team Championships in Poland last month and a bronze medal at the British Championships two weeks later effectively secured his place on the squad. Yet when he looks back on the 2017 season where he had taken a step backwards, McAlister admits that he hardly thought of competing at the Worlds two years later.

“There was a lot going on that season,” he says. “It was a big moment in my life in terms of getting a job and moving back home, so getting settled was at the forefront of my mind. I was never ever thinking of quitting. I had in the back of my head that I wanted to get a GB vest and get to a major championship, but I never thought it would happen this quickly.”

This year is the first in three where Jack Green has not occupied top spot in the UK rankings. And with the familiar names of Dai Greene, Seb Rodger, Niall Flannery and Jacob Paul having previously rotated within the top five, it’s fair to say that two new names have gate-crashed the upper echelon of the rankings.

National under-20 record-holder Alistair Chalmers is one of them. McAlister – whose previous highest UK position was seventh – is the other. Having knocked over a second off his PB, which now sits at 49.28, the obvious question to ask is just how McAlister has done it. Part of the answer, perhaps unexpectedly, is that he works full-time.

“I’m working out how to get broadband to people the market won’t reach,” he says, explaining his job. “It’s a government priority because people are socially excluded from society if they can’t access the internet. Working helps me take my mind off athletics because I can overthink what’s happening on the track. I use work to get my head out of it and it’s worked well.”

Having been granted paid leave to compete in Doha, McAlister is now readying himself for his arrival on the world scene.

Notably, he will have another chance to take on Norwegian Karsten Warholm, whose eccentricity – coupled with several world-class performances – has seen him touted as an icon of the event. In true competitive spirit, McAlister is relishing taking on the second-fastest 400m hurdler in history.

“Warholm’s in a different class, but whoever I’m up against I have to get out there and do my thing,” he says. “I know he can make mistakes. I haven’t been able to get him this year, but you never know. He’s really put 400m hurdles on the map this year – he’s absolutely mental.

“At the end of the day though it’s still 400m with hurdles in the way – it’s the same as just running a British League.”

Out of the 41 entrants for the 400m hurdles, McAlister is ranked 28th. But such is the unpredictable nature of the event, he will step on to the track in Doha with every reason to believe he can make the semi-final. Attention will soon also turn to Tokyo 2020.

“I’ve stayed fit throughout this season and I need to sustain some fitness and build a base over winter to get moving into 2020,” he adds. “Hopefully I’ve been set up nicely and I can get into some good races early on and have a crack at that time [48.90]. That’s the plan.”

Given the great strides McAlister has made since that miserable outing in July two years ago, it would take a pessimist not to back him to make the Olympics – one just hopes he will be given the time off work.

Andy Murray earned his first singles victory at Tour level since January with a three-set win over Tennys Sandgren in the first round of the Zhuhai Championships in China.

Murray continued his comeback from hip resurfacing surgery by winning 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-1.

Defeating the world number 69 showed progress from Murray having lost to the same man in North Carolina in August.

He will play Australian world number 31 Alex de Minaur in the second round.

Murray, 32, said at the Australian Open that the ongoing problem with his hip could have forced him into retirement.

He instead underwent the resurfacing operation, from which no player has ever returned to play top-level singles tennis.

The former world number one's comeback initially was in doubles tournaments, including both men's and mixed at Wimbledon, and he began playing singles competitions at the beginning of August.

The Scot, now ranked 413, won two matches on the lower-level Challenger Tour at the Rafa Nadal Open at the end of last month.

This win over American Sandgren is his first on the ATP Tour since beating James Duckworth at the Brisbane International on 1 January.

He missed the opportunity of a match point in the second-set tie-break, only to race through the decider and complete victory in two hours and 41 minutes.

The refereeing at the Rugby World Cup's opening weekend has not been good enough, says the world governing body.

In an unprecedented step, World Rugby has released a statement criticising the standard of officiating over the first few days of the tournament.

The opening matches featured a number of controversial incidents.

"The match officials team recognise that performances were not consistently of the standards set by World Rugby and themselves," said World Rugby.

But the body added it is "confident of the highest standards of officiating moving forward".

Among the incidents, Australia wing Reece Hodge escaped punishment for a tackle on Fiji's Peceli Yato, who was forced to leave the field with a head injury.

Hodge has now been cited and will have a hearing on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, there was controversy at the end of France's win over Argentina, with England scrum-half Danny Care among those adamant that France's number eight Louis Picamoles should have been penalised for offside before making a crucial interception in the closing stages.

"For me that is the difference between a team going out at the pool stages and a team going through to a quarter-final," Care said on the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

"It was an awful decision - he was a metre offside. I don't know what the touch judges are looking at."

World Rugby have publicly reprimanded officials in the past, such as when they confirmed South African referee Craig Joubert's mistake at the end of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final in 2015 between Scotland and Australia.

However, this is the first time the governing body has criticised the general standard of officiating across the board.

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Jason McDougal has been named the driver of the Foxco Racing No. 56 for Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series finale at Eldora Speedway, the 38th 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKT.tv.

One year ago, McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) made an impressive Silver Crown debut during the 2018 4-Crown Nationals, starting seventh and finishing fourth.

His second series start may have been even more memorable, as he captured a victory in the qualifying race, then charged from 25th to sixth in this May’s Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Saturday would mark just the third start of McDougal’s Silver Crown career, after being the top rookie finisher in each of his first two starts.

The Foxco Racing machine has a highly-successful history in the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series, especially at Eldora, where the car has won on four occasions. Dave Darland was triumphant for Foxco in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009.

Last fall at the 4-Crown Nationals, the Foxco ride led nine laps and finished second in the 50-lap main event with driver Kevin Thomas Jr.

McDougal will be pulling triple-duty this weekend, competing in all three USAC national divisions at Eldora. He’ll pilot the FMR Racing No. 76m midget and the Daigh/Phillips Motorsports No. 71p sprint car.

McDougal has been a standout on both the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget trails this season. He’s one of five drivers to win a feature event in both series this year, alongside Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant, Thomas and Chris Windom.

McDougal won during June’s Eastern Storm round at Bridgeport (N.J.) Speedway, his second career USAC sprint win. He followed the victory up with his first triumph in USAC’s midget division during Mid-America Midget Week at Jefferson County Speedway in July.

He stands eighth in sprint car points and ninth in the midget standings.

MADISON, Ill. – In the span of a few hours, Richie Crampton’s season took a sudden turn at the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship opener.

Now, the Top Fuel veteran is excited to see if he can keep the momentum rolling during this weekend’s eighth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Crampton won the first event of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ six-race playoffs, immediately throwing his name into the championship conversation in his 11,000-horsepower DHL dragster.

The stop in St. Louis is Crampton’s next opportunity to show that he’s a legit title contender, and the win has certainly sent a jolt of confidence through the entire Kalitta Motorsports team.

Crampton is now fifth in points, riding high at the most important time of the year.

“I’ve always had the utmost confidence in my team, but it does change the dynamic and outlook of the Countdown,” Crampton said. “We try to win every weekend, but seeing we have a real shot at it, it just makes everyone focused a lot more. Not that they weren’t already, but in a positive way, it just really makes it more real and more exciting.

“I’m enjoying it.”

Gateway marks the the 20th of 24 races during the season and Crampton is seeking his first St. Louis win.

The triumph at Maple Grove Raceway was the Australia native’s first win outside of Gainesville since 2015, a year when Crampton finished third in points. He won at Gainesville in 2018, but couldn’t find the winning combination the rest of the year.

Crampton and his team, led by legendary team owner Connie Kalitta and assistant crew chief Kurt Elliott, won Gainesville again this season, but had struggled to get another win.

Crampton fell in three straight first rounds before the playoffs, starting in ninth, but all of that went away with four impressive rounds in Reading.

“You can really only worry about yourself,” said Crampton, who has 10 career Top Fuel wins. “It’s going to take care of itself. At the end of the day, you don’t have the opportunity to race all the contenders in the first round at the next race. To me, it’s key that we can continue to keep moving forward. Winning races is the ultimate goal, but at the very least going a couple rounds each weekend.

“Nobody else is going to help you as much as you can help yourself.”

Crampton knocked off Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta in the final round at Maple Grove, but Kalitta took over the points lead from Steve Torrence, the reigning world champ who lost in the first round.

Crampton is now just 54 points back of Kalitta heading into St. Louis, but the likes of 2017 world champ Brittany Force, Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, Clay Millican and Mike Salinas are within title reach as well.

That ups the ante heading to St. Louis, but Crampton is hopeful that brings out the best in his team and his driving again this weekend.

“We’ve got to continue to make good runs in qualifying and have a real solid four runs of information to work off of for raceday,” Crampton said. “I have every bit of faith in Connie and Kurt, and my team if we get some good runs under our belt, regardless of where we qualify, it will equate to round wins in St. Louis.

“It’s one of those races where the fans really get behind the race. The Midwest fans are great, so it’s going to be another good one and I’m really looking forward to it.”

There’s a new No. 1 atop the SPEED SPORT Power Rankings! Click below to find out who it is in this week’s edition of the standings!

DELEON SPRINGS, Fla. — Bozard Ford has been a Florida family tradition for 70 years, and now they’ll become the sponsor of the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals, Feb. 4-15 at Volusia Speedway Park.

A family owned and operated dealership based in St. Augustine since 1949, Bozard Ford has received numerous awards for quality and customer service, making it a perfect partner for the DIRTcar Nationals.

The DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard is one of racing’s most fan-friendly events each season, with free fan pit passes available each night to see the competitors up close.

The two-week affair annually features dirt-track racing’s top three touring series, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series and the Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series.

“Being part of the community is extremely important to us at Bozard Ford, and we’ve seen how popular and successful our partnerships in motorsports have been,” said Bozard Vice President Letti Bozard. “The DIRTcar Nationals is an incredible event, the biggest dirt race in the Southeast. We can’t wait to get involved and help spread the excitement throughout the region and beyond.”

“As much as Bozard Ford is a key partner in its Florida communities, it has also become a significant part of the racing community, and we’re excited for our fans at the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard to learn more about why they’re such an outstanding organization,” added DIRTcar Racing CMO Ben Geisler. “When it’s February, we know many of our fans travel to Florida and we encourage them to check out Bozard Ford’s beautiful dealership in St. Augustine as they head toward Volusia.”

In addition to working with DIRTcar Racing, Bozard Ford also sponsors several teams across the country, including Blake Spencer and Chase Junghans on the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series.

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Kevin Thomas Jr. will strap into the seat of the Chris Dyson Racing No. 9 for Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series season finale at Eldora Speedway, the 38th running of the 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKT.tv.

Thomas took the runner-up position in last year’s 4-Crown Silver Crown race and is eager to score both his first Silver Crown win and first Eldora USAC win in one fell swoop.

Thomas has made six Silver Crown starts this season, finishing in the top 10 in five events and with a fast qualifying time and a runner-up finish in May’s Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds serving as his best.

The Dyson ride, meanwhile, finished fourth in last Fall’s 4-Crown race with Jason McDougal at the controls. This year, the Dyson car has competed in four events, finishing in the top-ten once in the season opener at Memphis Int’l Raceway with driver and team owner Chris Dyson, himself a two-time American Le Mans Series champion.

On dirt, the car was the fastest in practice at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds with Tanner Thorson at the wheel before a crash in practice prematurely ended the team’s night.

Thomas is one of USAC’s premier drivers, tallying 26 career AMSOIL National Sprint Car wins and five NOS Energy Drink National Midget wins.

He’ll be one of several drivers pulling triple duty in Saturday’s 4-Crown, piloting the Petry Motorsports No. 5 midget and the Hayward/Thomas Motorsports No. 19 sprinter.

Thomas is one of five drivers to win a feature event in both the AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series this year, alongside Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant, McDougal and Chris Windom.