The Washington Commanders knew at the end of last season that things wouldn’t be the same this season.

With all of the success the Commanders generated in their first year under head coach Dan Quinn, there was going to be a new feel to the way other NFL teams approached them in the coming year.

However, on top of that, the roster in Washington would also look different, because they always do when the seasons change.

For those who are returning, like running back Jeremy McNichols, coming back to the Commanders means enveloping those new teammates and enabling them to help this roster climb even higher than the last.

“I think it brings a lot of confidence,” McNichols said about returning along with the several free agents Washington brought back so far this offseason. “We have something to build upon. We started to build a solid foundation last year, and I think with the guys coming in, the expectations that you have when you come to the Commanders now and the expectations that we have when we go play on Sunday–nobody holds a higher expectation than we hold in this building. So I just think just having something to build on and knowing the playbook and just having familiar faces around throughout the building is a great advantage for us.”

Of course, speaking literally the only way to improve upon last year is to make it to the Super Bowl.

Realistically, there’s a larger chance the team regresses in that sense, because even a loss in the Divisional Round of the playoffs would be deemed a step backward.

Just because the odds say the Commanders won’t be able to do that, however, doesn’t mean they can’t. And McNichols knows he and his teammates are going to take the right approach to reaching whatever level of competitiveness they do this season.

“Anything’s possible, but it just starts with just starting all over again and taking one day at a time, and we know the ultimate goal. We know the process that’s going to take us to get to where we want to go, so we need to just enjoy it every single day and keep laying those bricks every single day, continue to strive to be better and I think at the end of the day we will get what we want.”

READ MORE: Cowboys sign Commanders star pass rusher to $8 million deal in free agency

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the offseason.

• Commanders re-sign OL who made history with Jayden Daniels

• Commanders sign former Eagles, Steelers offensive lineman in free agency

• Feeling the ‘love’ brought RB Jeremy McNichols back to the Commanders

• Former Chicago Bears edge rusher signs $3 million deal with Commanders

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said First Minister Michelle O’Neill’s decision to boycott this year’s White House event to mark St Patrick’s Day was “opportunistic and somewhat cynical”.

Sinn Féin’s O’Neill did not travel to the US capital for the annual festivities, in protest against US President Donald Trump’s stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.

However, speaking from Washington, the taoiseach (Irish PM) said that was the “wrong decision”.

A Sinn Féin spokesperson said the decision was not taken lightly, but “taken conscious of the responsibility each of us as individuals have to call out injustice”.

Speaking to the BBC NI’s Sunday Politics programme, Martin said Sinn Féin’s boycott was “not in the best interest of the people of Northern Ireland or any the island of Ireland”.

“It’s a very wrong thing to do, and opportunistic and somewhat cynical,” he added.

A Sinn Féin spokesperson said: “We are all heartbroken as we witness the suffering of the Palestinian people and the recent comments of the US president around the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza, is something we cannot ignore.”

Other political parties – the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Alliance Party – also ruled out attending events in Washington over the Trump administration’s stance on the war in Gaza.

Martin has been in Washington this week to take part in St Patrick’s Day events with other politicians from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, including Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.

On Wednesday, the taoiseach presented Trump with a bowl of shamrocks in the White House.

That followed a bilateral meeting between the two leaders, during which the president raised a “massive” trade imbalance with Ireland and accused the EU of treating the US “very badly”.

You can watch the interview with Micheál Martin on Sunday Politics at 10:00 GMT on BBC One NI & BBC iPlayer.

SAN JOSE – Those waiting for goalie Georgi Romanov to make his first career start for the San Jose Sharks might not have to wait much longer.

Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Saturday that he might give Romanov a start sometime during this homestand, which continues for two more weeks. After Saturday, the Sharks’ next home games come later next week as they host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday and the Boston Bruins on March 22.

The homestand wraps up the following week with games against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 27 and the New York Rangers on March 29.

Romanov, a pending restricted free agent, made two relief appearances for the Sharks at the end of last season, stopping 29 of 30 shots in games against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

“I think so. We’ll see,” Warsofsky said about starting Romanov. “We’ll get through today. We have four days until our next game.”

Romanov, 25, joined the Sharks roster on March 5 after fellow goalie Vitek Vanecek on March 5 to the Florida Panthers. He’s had a steady diet of practices with the Sharks ever since, but had not gotten into a game as veteran Alexandar Georgiev has played every minute since the deal.

Saturday’s game against Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals marked Georgiev’s seventh consecutive start dating back to March 3. In the previous six games, Georgiev is 3-3-0 with a .870 save percentage.

LINEUP CHANGES: Eight days after he was acquired from the Ottawa Senators, Zack Ostapchuk is making his Sharks debut Saturday and will start on the fourth line with Klim Kostin and Barclay Goodrow.

With Ostapchuk going in, Nikolai Kovalenko will come out of the lineup and Carl Grundstrom will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game,

At 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds, Ostapchuk said Friday that he wanted to come out and lay the body early in Saturday’s game. That’s fine with Warsofsky, who wants the 21-year-old to play to his identity.

“I think he knows what that is, and we’ll work through the mistakes,” Warsofsky said. “It’s a game of mistakes. I’m sure he’ll make some structure-wise, with some new structure that he’s learning. But I want him to go out there and compete and play to his ability of what his identity is, and we’ll correct mistakes as we go.”

Kovalenko returned to the Sharks’ lineup on March 6 after missing nine games with an injury. In the four games since, Kovalenko has had one goal, one shot, three hits, and one blocked shot, with five giveaways, while averaging just under 11 minutes of ice time per game.

Kovalenko needs to regain the puck-hunting and forechecking style he had when the Sharks first acquired him in December.

“When you don’t have your ‘A’ game,” Warsofsky said, “what does your ‘B’ and ‘C’ game look like? How are you impacting the game in different ways? Are you being disruptive on the forecheck? Are you being physical, good defensively, blocking shots? You can’t just have one game. You have to have a couple different areas of your game that you can impact and help our hockey team.

“That’s not just (Kovalenko). That’s a lot of young players that come into this league.”

Originally Published: March 15, 2025 at 1:14 PM PDT