As a rabid sports fan on a budget it is becoming increasing difficult to support franchises that either suck or are stuck on stupid. In order to maximize your family sports entertainment dollar TSD has come up with a list of the top ten sports values for your sporting dollar in our nation's capital.

1. Washington Capitals – They are the best ticket in town by a wide margin. Ted Leonsis, George McPhee and Bruce Boudreau have built a hockey machine in Washington DC. The Caps have an embarrassment of riches throughout their system along with the best hockey player on earth. Caps Nation is rising and if they win a Stanley Cup or two they will compete with the Redskins for city supremacy.
2. Virginia Tech Football – I know this will be controversial but if Virginia Tech had 16 games at Fed Ex I’m willing to bet they would have better attendance than the Redskins. Never bet against Hokie Nation. As someone pointed out before the VT is about 3 hours away but that is nothing for a city that sits in traffic all week especially for the atmosphere of a VT game. VT also played at Fed Ex before and filled it to capacity. They are discussing playing some of their really big games at Fed Ex.
3. Washington Redskins – If they are winning there is no competition in DC. The Redskins are a costly ticket for a team that has not won anything since 1991. That said the Redskins are at the core of this city. If Mike Shanahan can right the ship the Redskins will never sink this low again.
4. NCAA College Basketball – There are many good teams to watch and follow and the tickets prices are family friendly.  Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, Virginia Tech, Virginia, and Maryland are worth a look.
5. DC United - If you are looking for the team with the most recent history of winning look no further. The United are retooling and have not been MLS cup contenders for a couple of years but they are definitely a top sport to consider for a family outing at a decent price. Your kids probably play soccer and know more about the United than you do.
6. Washington Wizards – Clean up on aisle 7 (as in 7^th street). The only good news coming out of Wizards nation is they may be able to void the Gilbert Arenas contract and Ted Leonsis will be the new owner. Leonsis cleaned up the Capitals and now they are the class of the league so there is hope for the Wizards, just not much right now. The fact that DC is a big time basketball city is the only reason the Wizards are ranked this high.
7. Naval Academy Football – The "middies" are flat out getting it done. They have a high scoring offense and they keep winning the Commander and Chief’s trophy. They are definitely worth a drive to Annapolis to check out. The prices make this a great family event.
8. Washington Nationals – A drill sergeant of mine once said “You can’t sugar coat a turd” so in that perspective the Nationals are really bad. The good news is they appear to have competent leadership/management so they could be crawling out of their funk. They also picked up one of the best young pitching prospects ever in Stephen Strasburg so there is hope. If you are going to attend a Nats game please go early because DC Summers are brutal.
9. World Team Tennis – Talk about a great way to spend an evening! I love this new spin on tennis and it is definitely worth your time and attention.
10. Washington Mystics - If you want an event to take your daughter (and her friends) to while keeping your sanity I highly recommend a Mystics game. You get to see some quality basketball and it is easy on the wallet.