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Defriending can bruise your 'digital ego'

If you harbor a bit of angst over Facebook friend requests gone unanswered, a surprise "defriending" or being deserted by your Twitter followers, you're not alone.

CNNMoney: Can your name keep you from getting hired?

For job hunters, that very first line on your résumé can influence potential employers. Just ask Glenn Miller.

SI.com: Ted Keith: Strasburg signing brings rare feeling of optimism to D.C.

With or without Stephen Strasburg, when midnight arrived on Tuesday the Washington Nationals would still be in last place in the NL East, still own the worst record in baseball and still have more question marks than any organization in baseball. But now that Strasburg has agreed to a four-year contract worth more than $15 million, for the first time in the Nationals brief history, there is considerable cause for optimism. By signing the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, the Nationals not only made up for their failure to sign their top pick (pitcher Aaron Crow) a year ago, but also brought some much-needed legitimacy to a floundering franchise, some much-needed talent to a club hurting for star power and some much-needed hope to a fan base starving for a team that can, eventually, be something more than a pushover in the difficult NL East.

SI.com: Ted Keith: Nationals on the brink of legitimacy with Strasburg on board

The four-minute clock that began counting down at the command of Commissioner Bud Selig at the start of Tuesday's MLB Draft marked not only the beginning of the draft but the end of the Washington Nationals' time as a mostly anonymous, seemingly directionless and understandably inept franchise.

SI.com: Tim Marchman: Rules bar Nats from what might be their best option with Strasburg

Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State is 20 years old with a fastball alleged to have reached 103 mph, a slider just as good and the skill to put them where he wants them. Probably no collegian has ever pitched as well. He's struck out more than half the batters he's faced this year. Watching footage of him you wonder where he would rank in various major league contenders' rotations; third in some, maybe higher in others.

SI.com: Jon Heyman: Nats will take Strasburg with top pick

The Washington Nationals are primed to select San Diego State star pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 overall pick in next month's draft, sources said.

SI.com: Jon Heyman: Projected No. 1 pick Strasburg's $50 million figure and much more

That $50 million figure that's being attached to ballyhooed college-pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg is no joke. Baseball people who have spoken to Strasburg's adviser Scott Boras say they believe that's the figure Boras has in mind for Strasburg, the San Diego State pitcher some are calling a once-in-a-decade talent.

SI.com: Lee Jenkins: Stephen Strasburg Is Ready To Bring It

Erik Castro has a Wilson A2000 catcher's mitt, black with tan webbing, made of steerhide so supple it can absorb a 102-mph fastball and barely make a sound. Castro is a catcher for San Diego State, and on the night of March 13, as the Aztecs hosted UNLV, he dropped into his crouch and extended his A2000 into the light fog at Tony Gwynn Stadium. San Diego State junior righthander Stephen Strasburg, he of the 102-mph heater, aimed for the leather. As horsehide met steerhide, a string on the glove snapped. The webbing came unhinged. Castro, oblivious to the tattered piece of equipment dangling from his left hand, threw the ball back to Strasburg. The Aztecs ace fired again, and by the grace of God, the pitch was fouled away. "If not," Castro says, "I think I would have died." Chances are, his chest protector would have saved him, but his point is well-taken: Stephen Strasburg has killer stuff.

SI.com: Kelli Anderson: Stanford heading back to women's Final Four in the Berkeley Region

Underrated: Eleven-seed Mississippi State. Georgia coach Andy Landers considers the Bulldogs the most dangerous team in the SEC, and for good reason. Bolstered by the addition of three jaycee transfers from the Congo, including 6-5 Chanel Mokango, who averages 10.6 points and 3.0 blocks a game, the Bulldogs won eight games in the SEC (just one fewer than No. 5 seed Tennessee), including two over six-seed LSU and one over four-seed Vanderbilt.

SI.com: Andy Glockner: The biggest snubs of this season's NCAA tournament bracket

There's only room for 34 at-larges, so some teams have to get snubbed. Here's a look at this season's highest-profile omissions (in alphabetical order): Auburn (21-11, 10-6; RPI: 63; SOS; 59) pushed its way into the bubble fray with a 9-1 run before falling in the SEC semifinals. Like most SEC teams this season, they didn't really play anyone out of conference.

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