2016 WWE draft, Background
The rules of the draft were posted to WWE's website on July 17. They were the following:


2016 WWE draft, Results
In addition to the televised draft, the live episode of SmackDown also featured several matches.


2016 WWE draft, Selection, SmackDown Live
The following is the list of wrestlers who were drafted on SmackDown Live.


2016 WWE draft, Selection, WWE Draft Center Live
The following is the list of wrestlers who were drafted on the WWE Draft Center Live special on the WWE Network.


2016 WWE draft, Selection, Undrafted
Several wrestlers remained undrafted mainly due to injury or inactivity, some of which eventually were assigned to a brand. The chart is organized by date.


2016 WWE draft, Response and aftermath
Following the brand extension draft, former WWE wrestlers made their return to WWE and sided with either Raw or SmackDown. Within the next month, Jinder Mahal and Brian Kendrick returned on Raw, while Rhyno and Curt Hawkins joined SmackDown. Shelton Benjamin was announced to return on SmackDown, but his return was put on hiatus due to a torn rotator cuff, which required surgery. In September, Raw draftee Jack Swagger moved to SmackDown. Various competitors from the Cruiserweight Classic also signed contracts with Raw due to being a part of the cruiserweight division. Former NXT Women's Champion Bayley joined Raw after her final match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II.


2016 WWE draft, Response and aftermath
On November 29, 2016, a new show called 205 Live premiered. The new show exclusively features WWE's cruiserweight division. The division was formerly exclusive to Monday Night Raw, but became shared between Raw and 205 Live until 205 Live became its own brand in 2018.


2016 WWE draft, Response and aftermath
As a result of the reintroduction of the brand extension, the July 19 Draft episode (and the first live episode) of SmackDown on Tuesdays gained a viewership by 2.2 rating with 3.17 million viewers (compare to Raw's rating with 3.04 million viewers on the previous night), and was SmackDown's highest rated episode since December 2010.


2016 Waco Showdown
The 2016 Waco Showdown was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 2nd edition of the tournament and part of the 2016 ITF Women's Circuit, offering a total of $50,000 in prize money. It took place in Waco, Texas, United States, on 7–13 November 2016.


2016 Waco Showdown, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received a wildcard into the singles main draw:


2016 Waco Showdown, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry by a lucky loser spot:


2016 Waco Showdown – Doubles
Nicole Gibbs and Vania King were the defending champions, but both players chose not to participate.


2016 Waco Showdown – Doubles
Michaëlla Krajicek and Taylor Townsend won the title after Mihaela Buzărnescu and Renata Zarazúa withdrew from the final.


2016 Waco Showdown – Singles
Viktorija Golubic was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.


2016 Waco Showdown – Singles
Beatriz Haddad Maia won the title, defeating Grace Min in the final, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1.


2016 Wagner Seahawks football team
The 2016 Wagner Seahawks football team represented Wagner College in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC). They were led by second-year head coach Jason Houghtaling and played their home games at Wagner College Stadium. They were  Wagner finished the season 6–5 overall and 4–2 in NEC play to tie for third place.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
The 2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Dave Clawson, who was in his third season at the school, and played its home games at BB&T Field. Wake Forest competed in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference, as they have since the league's inception in 1953. They finished the season 7–6, 3–5 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they defeated Temple.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
When Wake Forest lost to Louisville on November 12, Dave Clawson alleged that Louisville had received impermissible information that benefited the Cardinals on the football field. On December 14, 2016, after a month long probe, several media outlets reported that former Wake Forest staff member and IMG College radio analyst Tommy Elrod had been dismissed from the program for leaking confidential and proprietary game preparations on multiple occasions.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Tulane
3rd meeting. 0–2 all time. Last meeting 1995, 35–9 Green Wave in New Orleans.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Duke
97th meeting. 37–57–2 all time. Last meeting 2015, 27–21 Blue Devils in Winston–Salem.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Delaware
2nd meeting. 1–0 all time. Last meeting 1932, 7–0 Demon Deacons in Newark.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Indiana
2nd meeting. 0–1 all time. Last meeting 2015, 31–24 Hoosiers in Winston–Salem.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ NC State
110th meeting. 38–65–6 all time. Last meeting 2015, 35–17 Wolfpack in Winston–Salem.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Syracuse
6th meeting. 1–4 all time. Last meeting 2015, 30–17 Orange in Syracuse.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Florida State
35th meeting. 6–27–1 all time. Last meeting 2015, 24–16 Seminoles in Winston–Salem.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Army
16th meeting. 11–4 all time. Last meeting 2015, 17–14 Demon Deacons in West Point.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Virginia
49th meeting. 14–34 all time. Last meeting 2012, 16–10 Demon Deacons in Charlottesville.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Louisville
4th meeting. 0–3 all time. Last meeting 2015, 20–19 Cardinals in Winston–Salem.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Clemson
82nd meeting. 17–63–1 all time. Last meeting 2015, 33–13 Tigers in Clemson.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Boston College
24th meeting. 9–12–2 all time. Last meeting 2015, 3–0 Demon Deacons in Chestnut Hill.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, vs. Temple – Military Bowl
2nd meeting. 0–1 all time. Last meeting 1930, 36–0 Owls in Philadelphia.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team
The 2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team represents Wake Forest University during the 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It is the 70th season of the university fielding a program. It the program's second season with Bobby Muuss as head coach. Muuss, the fourth head coach in program history, formerly coached Denver, and took over for Jay Vidovich, who left for a head coaching position with Portland Timbers 2.


2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team, Roster
As of 2016: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election
The 2016 Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2016 to elect members of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. The Labour Party and the Conservative Party fielded a full slate of 21 candidates, with UK Independence Party putting forward 11 candidates, 9 Liberal Democrat candidates, 6 Trade Union and Socialist Coalition candidates, 5 Yorkshire First candidates, 3 Green Party candidates and 4 Independent candidates.


2016 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election, Council Make-up
The make up of the Council following the election was:


2016 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats season
This article details the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats rugby league football club's 2016 season.


2016 Wales Rally GB
The 2016 Wales Rally (formally the 72. Dayinsure Wales Rally GB) was the twelfth round of the 2016 World Rally Championship. The race was held over four days between 27 October and 30 October 2016, and was based in Deeside, United Kingdom. Volkswagen's Sébastien Ogier won the race, his 38th win in the World Rally Championship.


2016 Wales Rally GB, Special stages, Power Stage
The "Power stage" was a 7.93 km (4.93 mi) stage at the end of the rally.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand
The 2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand was a rugby union tour of New Zealand by the Wales national team in June 2016. The tour saw the Welsh side play four matches: three test matches against New Zealand and one match against the Chiefs of Super Rugby.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand
In the history of matches between these two sides until this three-match test series, New Zealand has won 90% (27 matches) of encounters between them, with Wales' 10% (3 matches) all having occurred before 1954.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Squads
Note: Ages, caps and clubs are as per 18 June, the first test match of the tour.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Squads, Wales
On 10 May, Warren Gatland named a 35-man squad for their June 3-test series against New Zealand, pre-tour test against England and the mid week match against the Chiefs.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Squads, Wales
On 29 May, after injury to Dan Lydiate in the England warm-up match, Ellis Jenkins was called up to the squad to replace Lydiate.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Squads, Wales
On 7 June, Aaron Jarvis was called up to the squad as injury cover for Paul James. Jarvis later became a permanent replacement after James failed to recover from his injury.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Squads, Wales
On 11 June, Aled Davies joined the squad as an injury replacement for Lloyd Williams.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Squads, Wales
Following the first test, Keelan Giles and Rhys Patchell were called up to the squad as injury cover.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Squads, New Zealand
New Zealand's 32-man squad for the 2016 June international test series against Wales. Tom Franklin and TJ Perenara are also included as temporary injury cover for Sam Whitelock and Tawera Kerr-Barlow.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Squads, New Zealand
On 31 May 2016, George Moala was called up to the squad as an injury replacement for Charlie Ngatai.


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Matches, Old Mutual Wealth Cup
Touch judges:John Lacey (Ireland)George Clancy (Ireland)Television match official:Simon McDowell (Australia)


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Matches, First Test
Touch judges:Jaco Peyper (South Africa)Will Houston (Australia)Television match official:George Ayoub (Australia)


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Matches, Chiefs
Touch judges:Nick Briant (New Zealand)Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand)Television match official:Shane McDermott (New Zealand)


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Matches, Second Test
Touch judges:Jérôme Garcès (France)Wayne Barnes (England)Television match official:George Ayoub (Australia)


2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, Matches, Third Test
Touch judges:Jaco Peyper (South Africa)Andrew Lees (Australia)Television match official:George Ayoub (Australia)


2016 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2016 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2016 to elect members of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2016 Walsh Cup
The 2016 Bord na Móna Walsh Cup was the 54th staging of the Walsh Cup since its establishment in 1954. Dublin were the winners.


2016 Walsh Cup, Format
15 teams compete: 10 county teams from Leinster, Ulster and Connacht (Kilkenny, Laois, Wexford, Galway, Offaly, Dublin, Meath, Carlow, Antrim, Westmeath) and five third-level colleges: UCD, DIT, NUI Galway, IT Carlow and DCU. Kilkenny fielded teams composed mainly of under 21 players managed by u21 manager Eddie Brennan.


2016 Walsh Cup, Format
The teams are drawn into four groups, one of three teams and three of four teams. Each team plays the other teams in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. The four group winners progress to the semi-finals.


2016 Waratah Cup
The 2016 Waratah Cup was the 14th season of Football NSW's knockout competition. The Preliminary Rounds are now a part of the 2016 FFA Cup competition. The 5 winners from the FFA Cup preliminary Seventh Round qualify for the Waratah Cup, as well as the reigning National Premier Leagues champion (Blacktown City FC).


2016 Waratah Cup
The Cup was won by the defending champions Sydney United 58, their 6th title.


2016 Waratah Cup, Preliminary rounds
New South Wales clubs, other than Northern NSW and A-League clubs, participate in the FFA Cup via the preliminary rounds. The competition is for all Senior Men's teams of the National Premier Leagues NSW, NPL 2, NPL 3, NSW State League, as well as Association teams which applied to participate.


2016 Waratah Cup, Preliminary rounds
A total of 130 clubs entered into the competition, and the five qualifiers to join Blacktown City FC in the final rounds are:


2016 Waratah Cup, Playoff round
Four of the qualifiers played off to reduce the remaining teams to 4, with Manly United and Sydney United 58 receiving a Bye until the semi-finals.


2016 Waratah Cup, Semi finals
A total of 4 teams took part in this stage of the competition.


2016 Waroona bushfire
The 2016 Waroona-Yarloop bushfire started in the east in the forests of the Darling Scarp before reaching the Swan Coastal Plain and continued westwards until it reached the Indian Ocean. It started as a lightning strike that caused two fires in the Lane Poole Reserve state forest near Dwellingup, Western Australia on 5 January 2016 and then burnt close to Waroona and then through the historical town of Yarloop, destroying it, before continuing southwards towards the outskirts of the town of Harvey and westwards to Preston Beach.


2016 Waroona bushfire
Around 70,000 ha (170,000 acres) of land was burnt, two people died and at least 166 buildings were destroyed in Yarloop alone with only ninety buildings surviving. In total 181 buildings and structures were lost with the total cost of fighting the fire and the cost of the damage and the loss resulting estimated at $155 million.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Introduction
It was reported by the Bureau of Meteorology that during 2015, the rainfall was well below average in the region. Rainfall was 10% lower than expected and was following a trend of lower rainfalls in the region for the last forty years. 2015 was also warmer with Dwellingup recording its warmest summer in 75 years and the forest fuel loads around the source of the fire were said to be the driest in 25 years. Combined with these fuel loads, the Department of Parks and Wildlife's (P&W) yearly fuel reduction targets via burnoffs had not been achieved over the previous twelve years though it had made improvements in targets in the last 4 years.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 5 January
The Bureau of Meteorology data shows that there were lightning strikes in Lane Poole Reserve, a state forest of Jarrah and Marri, between 18:00 and 20:00 on Tuesday. The later inquiry concluded that this was the source of the fire that was reported early the next day and consisted of two fires.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 6 January
The fire was first reported at 07:25 on Wednesday morning, its cause reported as a lightning strike in Lane Poole Reserve, near Dwellingup. It had been detected earlier by a P&W officer who had checked the Sentinel Hotspots website on his computer around 06:30. By 08:30, the P&W officer was at the fire site and resources sent to their location. A bush fire advice warning for the fire was issued at 08:50. Later it was reported that it had grown to an 8 ha (20 acres) scrub fire when a P&W spotter plane overflew the site. The second fire was tackled first as it would have endangered crews fighting the first if it got out of control. It was extinguished by 11:45. The first fire was then tackled but the effort was hampered by heavy fuel loads, poor access, steep terrain and  mining leases.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 6 January
By 12:00 the fire was 800m east of the Murray River and the firefighters attempted use that barrier as means to containing it. But by 13:45, the fire jumped river and the barrier strategy ended. It was reported that at 13:30, the fire had grown to 160 ha (400 acres) and by 15:30, the Alcoa's mine leases and rehabilitation forests were burning and property owners between the fire and the town Waroona were warned. At 17:00 the fire was reported to at 2,200 ha (5,400 acres) and moving slowly at 1.5 to 2km/h.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 6 January
Ash from the fire had begun to fall over the town of Waroona around 18:00. Two hours later, it had increased to 2,800 ha (6,900 acres) and was now 13 km (8.1 mi) from the town of Waroona. Waroona soon came under ember attack and more units were sent to the town but the fire appeared west of the South West Highway as it left the hills and entered the coastal plain and farmlands. These new fires were probably started by lightning and pyro-cumulonimbus cloud over the original fire with main fire still far away.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 6 January
The fire would pass Waroona to the south of the town and into the western farmlands via the Waroona Main Drain, around 21:30, which acted as a fuse due to the fuel load along the banks of this drain, as well the contours of the terrain and the convergence of two streams. Later in the evening, the fire was upgraded to an emergency level and the first emergency alerts were issued to residents in Waroona and east of the town at 22.25 instructing the residents either to flee their homes or stay and defend them.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 6 January
That night, eight campers were trapped in the forest at Lake Navarino and firefighters were sent to rescue them but were trapped themselves with the campers for one and a half hours. The first injuries from firefighters were received. Three were injured fighting the fire. Two firefighters received minor burns when a paddock fire got out of control and when attempting to flee their vehicle became stuck and fire overran them. They and two others had to escape on foot into a burnt-out area to escape the inferno.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 6 January
One was later evacuated by air ambulance to Peel Health Campus with burns to his back. At 22:30, the first evacuation centre had been opened at Pinjarra. Just before midnight, the fire was reported 1 km (0.62 mi) from Waroona and a report later at midnight stated the fire had travelled 35 km (22 mi) from the ignition point and had burnt out 12,000 ha (30,000 acres).


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January
The northern edge of the fire was now reported moving towards Dwellingup and Pinjarra while the southern edge was reported moving towards Harvey, Hamel and Waroona mainly due to wind direction being a north-easterly. Places declared as emergency areas include Waroona, Preston Beach and Harvey and surrounding areas. At 02:00, the fire to the east of Waroona slowed as it burnt younger vegetation.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January
During the day, temperatures were said to have reached 40 °C (104 °F) degrees, with 80 km/h (50 mph) wind gusts reported in the fire area that made the creation of containment areas difficult. The perimeter of the fire was now estimated to be around 113 km (70 mi). The fire could not be scaled properly from the air due to thick smoke. The fire front was reported to be 40 km (25 mi) wide. During the day, a Pyrocumulonimbus cloud formed over the fire area and could be seen from space as well as 118 km (73 mi) away in Perth, but only lasted an hour.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January
By Thursday afternoon, damage received to this point was described as property, livestock and one home with 29,000 ha (72,000 acres) burnt. Ash was now reported falling in Bunbury. At this point, 200 firefighters, 23 appliances, 5 dozers and water bombers were being used to fight the fire.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January
By evening, sixty people had sought shelter at the Pinjarra emergency evacuation centre while another fifty people sought shelter at the Australind evacuation centre. The Southbound Festival in Busselton was called off at 20:30pm by promoter David Chitty after consultation with emergency authorities when 15,000 people were expected to arrive in the region.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Harvey
At 06.30 an emergency evacuation centre had opened in Harvey but was then closed at 12:30 and one at Australind opened as by 13:30, Harvey was now bushfire alert. Patients were evacuated from the Harvey Hospital after it was closed and they were moved to other hospitals.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Preston Beach
Smoke and ash had begun raining down on Preston Beach on Wednesday night, with heavy winds, and by 03:00, an evacuation point was set up at the beach carpark. By morning, residents and holidaymakers faced evacuation from the beach at Preston Beach. Some were forced to stay on the beach, while others evacuated to Mandurah by boat. Other evacuees who could, were ordered by authorities to drive south. A smoke cloud could now be seen as far a Perth, 50 km (31 mi) away.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Roads
Parts of Forrest Highway were closed from 02:00 and South Western Highway later that evening to protect drivers and firefighters from injury. The reason the South Western Highway was closed to traffic was that the Samson Brook bridge, south of Waroona, had been destroyed by fire. Firefighters fought to keep the Forrest Highway protected so it could be opened sooner if the South Western Highway remained closed for longer. Roads around Waroona were expected to be closed around three to five days.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Roads
Incident controllers at the Department of Parks and Wildlife said the Forrest Highway would probably open up first due to a bridge down on the South Western Highway. Main Roads WA said it would attempt to build an alternative route around the bridge but the area would need accessing and a decision would take a week. Albany Highway and Coalfields Highway remained open.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Waroona, Hamel & Wagerup
Later in the day, fire units were now sent to protect the Yarloop townsite and Alcoa's Wagerup refinery. Firefighters responded to fire reports south of Waroona and close to Hamel with 80 km/h (50 mph) winds and 3m high flames. An hour later the fire reached Hamel while to the west the fire was predicted to reach the Forrest Highway in a few hours and so parts are closed.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Waroona, Hamel & Wagerup
By 08:00 the fire enters Hamel and an hour later, the fire was heading towards the Wagerup refinery northeast of Yarloop and fire crews were sent there soon afterwards and spend the rest of the morning fighting the blaze in the area. The plant loses power mid-afternoon and by 19:00 the refinery's gas plant was under threat.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Yarloop
Around 08:00, fire units were sent east of Yarloop to fight the fires as they advance westward. By 11:00, spot fires could be seen north-east of Yarloop close to Wagerup refinery and so more units were sent to Yarloop. The Water Corporation asked around 13:00 that generators be brought into Yarloop to get the water pumps running, a second request for the day, but the idea was rejected by fire officials. In Yarloop, residents reported that water and power were lost between 14:00 and 15:00. The tanks had been drain by residents preparing their properties for the fire.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Yarloop
By 15:00, the fire was reported to be 3 km (1.9 mi) north and 5 km (3.1 mi) east of Yarloop and more units were brought in to slow the fire east of the town. These units attempted to protect Yarloop by constructing an earth break along existing a powerline servitude east of the town. Water Corporation announced at 17:00 there was no longer water in Yarloop and requested water be tanked in.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Yarloop
The Harvey Shire Fire Controller asked for more units to be sent to Yarloop in the afternoon but his calls went unheeded and by 18:00 the units east of the town who were trying to build the earth firebreak retreated from the fire which has become dangerous and was now 1-2km away from the South Western Highway close to the town itself. Hot easterly winds at 80 km/h (50 mph) appear suddenly and begin to blow embers over the town around 19:20 and 15 minutes later an emergency warning was issued by authorities that names the town itself under threat.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Yarloop
By 19:30, the fire had reached the outskirts of the town via ember attacks and spot fires and the remaining residents, around 200 people, evacuated to the oval. The Harvey Shire Fire Controller again asked for more units to fight the fire at the town and this time units were allocated and sent. By 8.30pm the South Western Highway had been crossed by fire as it headed for Yarloop with 50m high flames and winds at 46kmh winds reported with urgent requests sent for more fire units as the structures in the town were on fire.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Yarloop
After the water supply was lost from the morning in Yarloop, irrigation water from Harvey was rerouted to the oval and sprinklers used to keep people on the oval wet. The firefighter's in town, overwhelmed by the fire and with the lack of available water, remained on the oval too and when the fire had passed, began to mop up the remaining fires. As units arrived they attempted to fight the fires with minimal water and by 21:40 the town was fully ablaze. Just before midnight, the Yarloop fire was now 4 km (2.5 mi) southwest of the town.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 7 January, Yarloop
Historical buildings lost to the fire in the town included the Yarloop Town Hall built in 1938, the old Yarloop Hospital, the Yarloop Hotel, and the Yarloop Workshops and Steam Museum which was 115 years old. The curator of that museum, Geoff Fortune, estimated $12 million of damage to the old boilers and engineering machines as well as steam and diesel locomotives. Other historical buildings destroyed include the old mill boarding house, hotel, first post office and timber workers' cottages.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 8 January
By Friday, the fire had now covered 62,000 ha (150,000 acres) and had a 222 km (138 mi) perimeter. 200 firefighters, 50 appliances including 38 heavy machines were involved in fighting the fire. 835 people were housed at evacuation centres in Australind and Pinjarra. Emergency areas now included Waroona, Harvey, Hamel, Cookernup, Yarloop, Myalup, Preston Beach and Lake Clifton. Power outages affected 3,900 customers. Temperatures were lower this day and wind changes on the southern boundary was of concern for communities in Cookernup, Harvey and Myalup.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 8 January
Early reports from the Thursday fire in Yarloop saw 95 homes reported as destroyed by DFES Commissioner Wayne Gregson with the remaining residents in the town evacuated to Pinjarra and Australind. Three people who were reported missing were accounted for. Meanwhile, Emergency Services Minister Joe Francis claimed everything that could be done, was done to save the town of Yarloop. WA Acting Premier Kim Hames announced a $3,000 sum in disaster relief assistance for those people whose homes had been destroyed and $1,000 for damaged homes. Sixty-eight firefighters were said to be on their way from the Eastern States. The Insurance Commission of Australia was predicting tens of millions of dollars damage.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 8 January
At the western end of the fire, it was reported around 02:00 that the fire had jumped the Forrest Highway near Myalup and a short while later fire teams were sent to Lake Clifton with fire well alight by 03:30. By 13:45pm, Myalup was under emergency warning. Evacuation of remaining residents in Yarloop to Pinjarra was planned for the early afternoon with buses brought in for those requiring them. At the same time, lightning strikes appear to the west of Waroona.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 8 January
At Preston Beach, where people remained on the beach, and who hadn't left earlier or evacuated by boats, food and water were dropped by air around 14:00 and delivered to the general store. Soon after, a fire was reported around 14:07 close to the Cookernup area south of Yarloop. At Lake Preston, fire breaks were placed by firefighter by the late afternoon. Around 19:00, evacuees on Clifton Beach were told they could return to their homes. The fire close reported earlier in the day around Cookernup was reported at 20:00 to have burnt around the town. In the southern end of the fire, the fire was reported by 23:00 to be about five kilometres from Harvey.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 9 January
At 01:30 Saturday, the fire was reported still moving towards Harvey but had slowed. Parts of Forrest Highway, Old Coast Road and the South Western Highway remained closed. By 06:30, the damage loss at Yarloop was now increased to 121 homes and 10 structures. The fire was said to have burnt through 70,000 ha (170,000 acres) and had a 222km perimeter with 250 firefighters now tackling the fires with the emergency areas being areas east Waroona, Hamel, Cookernup and Yarloop. Preston Beach's warning was downgraded at 04:50 to a watch and act alert. Around 10.30am, WA Premier Colin Barnett visited the evacuation centre at Pinjarra and announced a contribution of $1million to the Lord Mayor's Disaster Relief Fund, while at the same time, the Perth Lord Mayor announced the opening of the relief fund.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 9 January
The WA Police announced a half-hour later that three people had been reported missing in Yarloop. By 13.30pm, the town of Harvey had now been declared under an emergency alert. People continued to leave Harvey as the fire headed towards it and Cookernup and Hamel. The fire was fanned by north-easterly winds towards the eastern outskirts of Harvey. These would be downgraded to spot fires around 16:32. Sixty NSW firefighters had now arrived in the region as had brigades from other parts of WA to relieve the firefighters on the ground. Early evening saw the WA Police announce that two bodies had been recovered from homes in Yarloop. They were later reported as Malcolm Taylor, 73 and Leslie Owen Taylor 77, while one person was still missing.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 9 January
Criticism of how DFES had managed the fire at the town of Yarloop now began to be reported on social media. Fire Commissioner Wayne Gregson had to defend the role of his department DFES, the Department of Parks and Wildlife, local government and career and volunteer firefighters. Yarloop Volunteer Bushfire Brigade criticised DFES in a Facebook post saying DFES had not posted a fire warning for Yarloop until an hour after the blaze went through, a statement back by Harvey Shire chief bushfire control officer Phil Penny. DFES countered by saying that at 12:10 Thursday an emergency warning was issued for Waroona and Harvey and surrounding areas in those shires and 07.35pm specifically named towns of Wagerup, Yarloop and Cookernup.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 9 January
Reports were being received of dairy farmers dumping milk as they had been blocked by road closures from getting into the emergency area since Thursday to make deliveries to Harvey Fresh in Harvey.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 10 January
On Sunday 10 January, the Water Corporation was allowed into Yarloop and public tap stations were established but no other repair work can be performed. Music groups from the cancelled Southbound festival, Disclosure, Bloc Party and Birds of Tokyo played a bushfire benefit concert at the HBF Stadium, Mt Claremont with all proceeds from the attendance going to the bushfire appeal while VenuesWest, the venue owner, waived its hire fees.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 11 January
The emergency warning for the town of Waroona is lifted. Residents of Yarloop were escorted fire authorities to view their properties. People evacuated from the fire area started to become frustrated with authorities as roadblocks prevented them returning to view properties or feed their livestock with some vowing to bypass the roadblocks by any means. DFES Commissioner Wayne Gregson stated that NSW fire authorities had made an offer of a DC-10 and a C-130 fire bombers to fight the fire but had turned down the offer. He did not believe they would have made a difference operationally in fighting the fire.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 12 January
The Forrest Highway was opened on Tuesday for all traffic from 06:25. Harvey Fresh announced that its trucks would be allowed through to dairy farmers as prior to this date, farmers had be forced to dump tens of thousands of litres of milk. Livestock farmers began to break the law to get to properties to feed or truck-out cattle on burnt out properties as permits were slow in being issued.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 12 January
Emergency Services Minister Joe Francis continued to defend the actions of the firefighters as did Lea Anderson secretary United Firefighters Union of WA who defended the firefighter at Yarloop, who with low water supplies protected the remaining people on the oval. Francis also mention that an inquiry into the fire would be carried out. The Federal Government's disaster recovery allowance would be available workers of business' who lost income an could cover up to thirteen weeks income. Alcoa, who lost 80 houses it owned in Yarloop said at the time it was too early to make a decision as to whether they would rebuild the houses, most of which had been rented out.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Timescale, 13 January
Wednesday saw the fire jump containment lines and a watch and act alert was issued again for residents around Waroona and Cookernup. Five truckloads of donate hay was delivered to the fire ravaged area so farmers could feed their livestock. 1,000 power poles had been damaged by the fire and it was estimated that it would cost $7-10 million to replace them.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Aftermath
On 20 January, the Water Corporation installed generators to pump water to their water tanks and by 25 January, water was fully restored to the remaining properties in the town. By 19 January 2016, Western Powers repair bill reached $26 million and in addition to 1,000 power poles, now included 44 transformers and more the 50 km (31 mi) of powerlines.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Aftermath
The WA Premier Colin Barnett visited the town of Yarloop on 20 January 2016 and spoke to the town's locals at the bowling club. He announced that Euan Ferguson, former Country Fire Authority boss in Victoria and South Australia would investigate the cause and effect of the fire which was promised to take two to three months while the recovery and reconstruction effort would be managed by Main Roads Commissioner Ken Michael.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Inquiry and recommendations
On 20 June 2016, Euan Ferguson briefed the WA Cabinet about his two-volume report into the Waroona-Yarloop fire. The report was to be released in Harvey on 23 June 2016, was described as contentious and frank by Premier Barnett saying it while it wasn't judgmental it did constructive long-term recommendations.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Inquiry and recommendations
The report stated that the fire started as a lightning strike in Lane Poole Reserve National Park. The report mentioned that FESA was late in specifically mentioning Yarloop in its alerts; the need to manage the whereabouts of the location of fire trucks better and fatigue levels in fire crews. The fuels loads in the south-western region were described as frightening. Ferguson also recommended the split of emergency services with a rural fire service being set up separate from FESA's metropolitan services.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Rebuilding
In August 2017, work on the new Yarloop fire station, built on the old site, was begun with funding of $935,729 from the Shire of Harvey and additional funding to be provided by FESA.


2016 Waroona bushfire, Rebuilding
By 2018, Yarloop's rebuilding was underway, though the town's population had dropped from 395 in 2016 to 120 in 2018. The Shire of Harvey had issued building permits for 30 new houses and a Yarloop Town Development Plan had been adopted with a town committee to ensure the town's population had input into the rebuilds. Heritage site rebuilds were also on the plan. A new Town Hall was planned and the new fire brigade station was officially opened in May 2018. Yarloop Primary School, though not burnt down reopened in January 2017.


2016 Warrington Borough Council election
The 2016 Warrington Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2016 to elect members of Warrington Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2016 Warrington Borough Council election
Following a boundary review, all Warrington Borough Council seats were up for election, for a term of four years. The number of seats rose from 57 to 58.


2016 Warrington Borough Council election
The Labour Party retained overall control of Warrington Borough Council after taking 45 of the 58 seats.


2016 Warrington Borough Council election, Results Summary
A total of 442 ballots were rejected, and the overall turnout was 32.87%.


2016 Warrington Borough Council election, Council Composition
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:


2016 Warrington Borough Council election, Council Composition
Lib Dem - Liberal DemocratsCon - Conservative PartyT - Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC)


2016 Warrington Borough Council election, Ward Results, Great Sankey North and Whittle Hall
Dan Price resigned from the Labour Party in February 2019 in protest to Labour’s inaction on antisemitism and Brexit. He sits on the Council as an Independent.


2016 Warrington Wolves season
This article details the Warrington Wolves Rugby League Football Club's 2016 season. This is the Wolves' 21st consecutive season in the Super League.


2016 Warriors FC season
The 2016 season is Warriors' 21st consecutive season in the top flight of Singapore football and in the S.League. Along with the S.League, the club will also compete in the Prime League, the Singapore Cup and the Singapore League Cup.


2016 Warsaw summit
The 2016 Warsaw Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was the 27th formal meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, held at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, on 8 and 9 July 2016.


2016 Warsaw summit, Agenda, Poland
Polish president Andrzej Duda announced in August 2015 that NATO bases in Central Europe were a priority for the Warsaw Summit.


2016 Warsaw summit, Future summits
Normally NATO summits take place every two years, but after the Warsaw summit it was announced that the next alliance summit (28th) would take place in 2017 in Brussels to inaugurate the new €1 billion NATO headquarters building.


2016 Warsaw summit, Future summits
The next major summit (28th) took place in Brussels in 2017.


2016 Washburn Ichabods football team
The 2016 Washburn Ichabods football team represented Washburn University in the 2016 NCAA Division II football season. The Ichabods played their home games on Foster Field in Yager Stadium at Moore Bowl in Topeka, Kansas, as they have done since 1928. 2016 was the 126th season in school history. The Ichabods were led by fifteenth-year head coach, Craig Schurig. Washburn has been a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association since 1989.


2016 Washburn Ichabods football team, Preseason
The Ichabods entered the 2016 season after finishing with a 5–6 record overall and in conference play, under Schurig. On August 2, 2016 at the MIAA Football Media Day, the Ichabods were chosen to finish in 8th place in both the Coaches Poll and in the Media Poll.


2016 Washington Democratic presidential caucuses
The 2016 Washington Democratic presidential caucuses were held on March 26, 2016, in the U.S. state of Washington as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.


2016 Washington Democratic presidential caucuses
On the same day, Democratic caucuses were held in Alaska and Hawaii. While the Republican primary was later held on May 24, 2016.


2016 Washington Democratic presidential caucuses
Sanders overwhelmingly won the March 26 caucus which had about 230,000 participants, winning 72.7% of the state's legislative district delegates to Clinton's 27.1%, giving Sanders a net gain of 47 pledged delegates.


2016 Washington Democratic presidential caucuses
Later, the state also held a non-binding primary vote on May 24, in which Clinton received about 52% of the vote – although this has no actual bearing on the delegate count for the nomination.


2016 Washington Democratic presidential caucuses, Analysis
Sanders scored a landslide victory in the Washington caucus. His victory did not come as a huge surprise, since Seattle as a city had donated the most money per capita to the Bernie Sanders for President Campaign, and Washington state (particularly Seattle) has a history of electing more left-leaning politicians including other self-proclaimed socialists to office. Sanders won all counties in the state on the day of the caucus.


2016 Washington Democratic presidential caucuses, Analysis
Clinton had lost the Washington caucus eight years earlier to Barack Obama.


2016 Washington Democratic presidential caucuses, Analysis
At a rally in Wisconsin on March 26, Sanders told supporters "We knew from day one that politically we were going to have a hard time in the Deep South, but we knew things were going to improve when we headed west." Clinton won the Washington Democratic Primary, but lost the caucus. The same was true with Nebraska. She won the Primary and lost the caucus. In both states, despite the primary being non-binding it had significantly higher turnout than the caucuses, fueling criticism that caucuses are undemocratic and a form of voter suppression. For the 2020 nominating process, Washington and Nebraska both replaced their caucuses with binding primaries to allocate the states' delegates.


2016 Washington House of Representatives election
The Washington State House elections, 2016 are biennial elections in which each of the 49 legislative districts in Washington choose two people to represent them in the Washington State House of Representatives. Roughly half of the members of the Washington Senate are elected concurrently to four-year terms from identical legislative districts. The election was held on November 8, 2016.


2016 Washington House of Representatives election
A top two primary election in August 2016 determines which two candidates appear on the November ballot. Each candidate is allowed to write in whatever party preference he or she desires.


2016 Washington Huskies football team
The 2016 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by Chris Petersen in his third season as head coach of the Huskies. Washington competed as a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference and played their home games on campus at Husky Stadium in Seattle.


2016 Washington Huskies football team
Washington finished the season with a 12–2 overall record and went 8–1 in conference to win the Pac-12 North Division, the program's first division title since the Pac-12 expanded and split into divisions in 2011. Most notable was defeating Stanford and Oregon, two of the toughest annual opponents for the team in recent years, by a combined 114-28. The Stanford game took place in front of a sold out crowd on ESPN and the Oregon game snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Ducks.


2016 Washington Huskies football team
The Huskies earned a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game where they defeated Colorado to win their first conference title since 2000. They were selected as the #4 seed in the College Football Playoff and played in the Peach Bowl, where they lost to #1 seed Alabama. Washington was ranked #4 in the final AP Poll of the 2016 season.


2016 Washington Huskies football team, Previous season
The Huskies finished the 2015 season 7–6 overall and 4–5 in conference, tying for fourth place in the Pac-12 North. They were invited to the Heart of Dallas Bowl where they defeated Southern Miss.


2016 Washington Huskies football team, Previous season
During the offseason, defensive line coach and special teams coordinator Jeff Choate left Washington to accept the head coach position at Montana State. Former Husky defensive back Ikaika Malloe was hired from Utah State to coach the defensive line in 2016, while linebackers coach Bob Gregory took over special teams.


2016 Washington Huskies football team, Previous season
Wide receivers coach Brent Pease did not have his contract renewed following the 2015 season. Pease was replaced by offensive quality control coach Bush Hamdan, who also took on the title of passing game coordinator.


2016 Washington Huskies football team, Game summaries, at Oregon
Coming off of a 44–6 win against No. 7 Stanford at Husky Stadium, No. 5 Washington traveled to Autzen Stadium to face a 2–3 Oregon team. Prior to this game, Oregon had beaten Washington twelve straight times, ten of which were by a margin of 20 points or more. This was the longest winning streak by either team in the Oregon–Washington football rivalry.


2016 Washington Huskies football team, Game summaries, at Oregon
The Oregon winning streak was finally snapped after a 70–21 Washington rout. On the first play from the line of scrimmage, Washington safety Budda Baker, a one-time commit to the Oregon Ducks, intercepted the pass from Oregon's true freshman Justin Herbert. The Huskies took the lead on a Jake Browning touchdown run with 13:23 left in the first quarter and never relinquished it. The Huskies led 35–7 by halftime, 42–7 after the first possession of the third quarter, and 70–21 with 9:58 left in the fourth quarter.


2016 Washington Huskies football team, Game summaries, at Oregon
The Washington offense racked up 682 yards of total offense, averaged 10.1 yards per play, amassed 6 passing touchdowns by quarterback Jake Browning, and scored 70 points, the most scored by either team in the rivalry. The Huskies’ 70 points were the second-most an opponent has ever scored on Oregon in Eugene.


2016 Washington Huskies football team, NFL Draft, NFL Scouting Combine
Seven members of the 2016 team were invited to participate in drills at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine held between February 28 and March 6, 2017 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.


2016 Washington Huskies football team, NFL Draft, 2017 NFL Draft
The 2017 NFL Draft was held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia on April 27 through April 29, 2017. The following Washington players were either selected or signed as free agents following the draft.


2016 Washington Initiative 732
Washington Initiative 732 (I-732) was a ballot initiative in 2016 to levy a carbon tax in the State of Washington, and simultaneously reduce the state sales tax. It was rejected 59.3% to 40.7%. The measure appeared on the November 2016 ballot. The backers of I-732 submitted roughly 350,000 signatures in December 2015 to certify the initiative.


2016 Washington Initiative 732
The initiative was spearheaded by environmental economist Yoram Bauman, a strong advocate of carbon pricing. It was modeled after the British Columbia carbon tax, which was considered "popular across the political spectrum". The carbon tax in British Columbia caused the province's fuel consumption to decrease by 16% and its greenhouse gas emissions to decrease 3.5 times faster than the emissions of Canada as a whole, while maintaining steady economic growth.


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Ballot measure summary
The ballot measure summary as written by the Secretary of State of Washington:


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Ballot measure summary
"This measure would impose a carbon emission tax on the sale or use of certain fossil fuels and fossil-fuel-generated electricity, at $15 per metric ton of carbon dioxide in 2017, and increasing gradually to $100 per metric ton (2016 dollars adjusted for inflation), with more gradual phase-in for some users. It would reduce the sales tax rate by one percentage point over two years, increase a low-income sales tax exemption, and reduce certain manufacturing taxes."


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Supporting Organizations
The primary sponsor of Initiative 732 was , a group founded by environmental economist Yoram Bauman to promote carbon pricing. The Audubon Society was also a major proponent of Initiative 732, "Audubon Washington believes Initiative 732 provides swift and effective action to reduce carbon pollution". Other organizations that supported Initiative 732 included the Sightline Institute, and the Citizens' Climate Lobby. Other supporters include Washington State legislator Joe Fitzgibbon (D), Washington State Senator Steve Litzow (R), Washington State Senator Joe Fain (R), Washington State Senator Cyrus Habib (D), and the editorial board of The Olympian. Climate scientist James Hansen, who has been involved with the Citizens' Climate Lobby for many years, strongly supported the proposal.


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Supporting Organizations
The backers of initiative 732 claimed that I-732 "taxes carbon to fight climate change, boost clean energy, & save the environment for future generations".


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Non-Supporting Organizations
Several environmental organizations chose to make a recommendation to "not support" the measure, as opposed to "support" or "oppose", including the Sierra Club, 350.org Seattle (who originally supported the measure, and later rescinded their support), and Climate Solutions.


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Non-Supporting Organizations
Common points made in their statements included concerns that the initiative would result in a budget shortfall, and concerns over how the initiative would spend carbon fee receipts, e.g., Climate Solutions stated:


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Non-Supporting Organizations
I-732 does not address the needs of communities hit hardest by pollution and the workers, energy-intensive businesses and others that will be most affected by the transition off of fossil fuels. These communities and sectors need investment in both infrastructure and services to address the health and environmental impacts of fossil fuel pollution and to enable them to benefit equitably from the transition to clean energy.


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Opposing Organizations
Opponents to Initiative 732 included the Washington State Labor Council, stating: "I-732 would send Washington in the wrong direction and create more damaging austerity choices", the Association of Washington Businesses, and Longview Daily News.


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Opposing Organizations
Several organizations opposed the measure from an "environmental justice" perspective, or with a reference to the necessary breadth of the supporting coalition, including Front and Centered (formerly: Communities of Color for Climate Justice), and the Washington Environmental Council, stating:


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Opposing Organizations
We have learned from past attempts in state and around the world, that in order to pass transformational carbon pollution policy and then defend against the oil industry’s attempts to repeal the law we must work with a broad, politically-powerful coalition.


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Opposing Organizations
Washington Conservation Voters and Washington Environmental Council are part of a statewide coalition of leaders and grassroots activists representing communities of color, health organizations, labor groups, businesses, the faith community and others who are working together to develop, pass and defend a policy that will stand for the long haul in Washington and serve as an example for other states to follow.


2016 Washington Initiative 732, Aftermath
Although I-732 failed to pass, Carbon Washington continued to work to put a price on carbon emissions in the State of Washington. They worked with others to support Washington Initiative 1631, a carbon tax measure that appeared on the ballots in 2018 but was also rejected.


2016 Washington Kastles season
The 2016 Washington Kastles season was the ninth season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT). The Kastles finished third in WTT with seven wins and five losses and missed the postseason for the first time since 2010, ending their run of five consecutive WTT championships.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Draft
At the WTT Draft on March 25, 2016, the Kastles protected Martina Hingis in the marquee player portion of the draft. The Kastles also made a trade with the Orange County Breakers to acquire the fifth selection in the first round of the marquee player portion of the draft for undisclosed consideration. They used this pick to select Bob and Mike Bryan as a doubles team. In the second round of the marquee player portion of the draft, the Kastles chose Mardy Fish.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Draft
All the Kastles' selections in the roster player portion of the draft were returning players from the 2015 team who were protected: Sam Querrey, team captain Leander Paes (2015 WTT Final Most Valuable Player), Madison Brengle and Anastasia Rodionova (2015 WTT Female Co-Most Valuable Player). In selecting Fish, the Kastles left Venus Williams unprotected. In protecting Querrey, the Kastles had to leave Denis Kudla unprotected.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Kastles sign Groth and Kyrgios
On June 15, 2016, the Kastles announced the signing of Sam Groth as a substitute player. Groth was scheduled to appear in the Kastles' matches on August 8, 10 and 13.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Kastles sign Groth and Kyrgios
On July 22, 2016, the Kastles announced the signing of Nick Kyrgios as a wildcard player to appear in their August 13 match against the Orange County Breakers.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Querrey injured and Kudla returns
On July 29, 2016, the Kastles announced that Sam Querrey was injured and would miss the 2016 season. The Kastles re-signed Denis Kudla, a resident of nearby Arlington County, Virginia, as a substitute player. Kudla played for the Kastles in 2015, and won 51% of his games in singles and 67% of his games in men's doubles. Kudla was scheduled to play for the Kastles on July 31 and August 1, after which he would go to Rio de Janeiro to represent the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, A solid start
The Kastles opened the season on the road as the opponent for the expansion New York Empire in its inaugural match on July 31, 2016. Captain Leander Paes and Denis Kudla, who arrived in New York City from Italy just hours before the match, got the Kastles started by taking a tiebreaker from Guido Pella and 2015 WTT Male Rookie of the Year Neal Skupski in men's doubles. Martina Hingis and Anastasia Rodionova followed with a 5–2 set win in women's doubles.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, A solid start
Kudla was broken in the fourth game of the third set of men's singles and fell to fellow Olympian Pella, 5–2, to cut the Kastles lead to 12–11. Skupski and Christina McHale broke Paes's serve in the opening game of the fourth set of mixed doubles to tie the match at 12 all. However, Paes and Hingis broke back in the next game to get back on serve.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, A solid start
A Hingis lob over McHale's head that landed on the far baseline secured another break for the Kastles in the sixth game, and they went on to take the set, 5–2, giving them a 17–13 lead heading to the final set. Madison Brengle closed out a 22–15 victory with a 5–2 set win over McHale in women's singles.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, A solid start
The following evening, Washington met the Springfield Lasers in the Kastles' home opener before a sellout crowd. Kudla was broken in the seventh game of the opening set of men's singles, and the Kastles found themselves behind, 5–3, early in the match. Brengle dominated the second set of women's singles, converting both of her break-point opportunities, and cruised to a 5–0 set win that gave the Kastles an 8–5 lead. Hingis and Bob Bryan took the court to open the third set of mixed doubles with Bryan holding serve.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, A solid start
Coach Murphy Jensen then substituted Paes for Byran, reuniting the Hingis-Paes doubles team. They went on to take the set, 5–2, to increase the Kastles lead to 13–7. Hingis and Rodionova dropped a tiebreaker in the fourth set of women's doubles to cut the Kastles' lead to 17–12. The Bryan brothers held all their service games in the final set of men's doubles but could not convert any of their nine break-point opportunities. They won the set tiebreaker, 5–1, to secure a 22–16 victory for the Kastles.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, A solid start
The Kastles rematch with the Empire at home on August 2, 2016, did not go as expected. Mardy Fish opened the match by holding his service game in men's singles. After forcing a break point in the second game, he hobbled to the bench with a foot injury that ended his season. Paes was pressed into duty as a substitute for Fish.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, A solid start
Although the 43-year-old Paes won a Bronze Medal in singles at the 1996 Summer Olympics, he had not appeared in a main draw in singles on the ATP Tour since 2005, and his last singles match came in an ITF tournament in 2008. Paes converted the break point Fish had created to give the Kastles a 2–0 lead. However, Pella managed to break back in the fifth game and eventually win the set tiebreaker, 5–2.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, A solid start
Brengle continued her dominant play in women's singles by breaking McHale in both of her service games to take the set, 5–0, and give the Kastles a 9–5 lead. With Fish injured, the Kastles' 47-year-old coach Jensen took the court with Paes for the men's doubles set. Jensen, who won the men's doubles title at the 1993 French Open with his brother Luke, last appeared in an ATP Tour event in 2006.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, A solid start
After the Empire broke Paes's serve in the fifth game, Jensen ran down a ball deep in the corner and returned it for a winner to earn a break point in the sixth game. His backhand return on the ensuing serve converted the break and got the Kastles back on serve. Pella and Skupski won the set tiebreaker, 5–3, to cut the Kastles' lead to 13–10. Hingis and Rodionova converted two breaks and held all three of their service games in women's doubles to increase the Kastles' lead to 18–11. Hingis and Paes closed out the match with a 5–3 set win in mixed doubles that gave the Kastles a 23–14 victory.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, JP Smith replaces Fish and Rodionova goes to the Olympics
On August 3, 2016, the Kastles signed John-Patrick Smith as a substitute player to replace the injured Mardy Fish. The Kastles also lost Anastasia Rodionova, the 2015 WTT Female Co-Most Valuable Player, who was a late addition to the Australian Olympic team. They signed Andreja Klepač as a substitute player to replace Rodionova. Smith was scheduled to play only in the August 3 match, while Klepač was expected to remain with the team for the rest of the season. With the Kastles shorthanded, Leander Paes agreed to play in the August 3 match alongside Smith. Paes had a 10:05 pm flight that same evening to Rio de Janeiro to represent India at the Olympics. Paes went directly from Kastles Stadium to the airport after the match. The Kastles dropped four of the five sets and suffered a 23–18 home loss to the Philadelphia Freedoms.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, JP Smith replaces Fish and Rodionova goes to the Olympics
On August 5, 2016, the Kastles signed Bjorn Fratangelo, Ken Skupski and Treat Huey as substitute players. Fratangelo and Skupski were scheduled to play for the team on August 5 and 6. Huey, who was born in Washington, D.C. and played for the Kastles in 2012, was scheduled to join the team on August 8, and play the remainder of the season.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Kastles lose four straight
On August 8, 2016, the Kastles announced they had signed Stéphane Robert as a substitute player to replace Sam Groth, who was called up to the Australian Olympic team. After Groth lost his first-round Olympic match to David Goffin, he returned to the Kastles for the remainder of the season.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Kastles lose four straight
After losing both matches on their West Coast road trip, including a 25–8 defeat at the hands of the Orange County Breakers, the worst loss in Kastles history, Washington carried a three-match losing streak into their home match with the New York Empire. Andreja Klepač and Treat Huey, who played together earlier in the year and reached the semifinals of the 2016 Australian Open, exchanged breaks of serve with María Irigoyen and Neal Skupski before falling in a set tiebreaker in the opening set of mixed doubles.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Kastles lose four straight
Christina McHale got a measure of revenge against Madison Brengle, who had dominated her in their first two matchups earlier in the season, when she converted two breaks and denied Brengle on all three of her break-point opportunities to take the women's singles set, 5–1, and give the Empire a 10–5 lead. Huey and Robert won the men's doubles set in a tiebreaker to cut the Empire's lead to 14–10. The first three games of the women's doubles set featured two breaks by Brengle and Klepač and one by Irigoyen and McHale.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Kastles lose four straight
Brengle settled things down by holding serve in the fourth game. She and Klepač secured another break in the seventh game to take the set, 5–2, and reduce the Kastles' deficit to 16–15. Robert and 2016 Wimbledon hero Marcus Willis each held all four of their service games in the final set of men's singles, and the Empire led, 20–19, going to the set tiebreaker. On match point, Willis hit a backhand into the net to knot the tiebreaker at 4 all. However, after a long rally on the set's deciding point, Willis hit a winner to give the Empire a 21–19 victory and cause the Kastles to suffer their first four-match losing streak since 2010.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Kastles lose four straight
The Kastles ended their losing streak the following evening in New York when they defeated the Empire, 22–13, in extended play. The Kastles were led by Brengle who blanked McHale, 5–0, in women's singles and teamed with Klepač for another 5–0 set win in women's doubles. Robert defended three break-point opportunities and managed to break Andy Roddick once for a 5–3 set win in men's singles. After dropping the fifth set of mixed doubles, Klepač and Huey won the first game of extended play to seal the victory.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Eliminated by winning
With a record of five wins and five losses, the Kastles were eliminated from postseason contention on August 21, 2016, when they won the third set of men's doubles in their match against the Springfield Lasers, 5–3. At the start of play, the Kastles could only qualify for the postseason in the case of a three-way tie with the Philadelphia Freedoms and the San Diego Aviators.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Eliminated by winning
In games won in matches against common opponents, the Aviators led with 149 with one common-opponent match to play, the Freedoms had 136 with one common-opponent match to play, and the Kastles had 118 with two common-opponent matches to play. Therefore, the maximum number of games the Kastles could win in matches against common opponents was 168 at the start of play. The Aviators won 19 games in the first four sets of their match against the New York Empire, which started one hour earlier than the Kastles' match in Springfield, to reach 168 games won against common opponents.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Eliminated by winning
The Kastles still could have won the next step of the three-way standings tiebreaker on fewest games lost in matches against common opponents. However, after dropping the first two sets of the match, the only way the Kastles could still reach 168 games won against common opponents was by losing the first four sets and then winning the match, 25–24, in a super tiebreaker.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Season recap, Eliminated by winning
Therefore, in an odd set of circumstances, when the Kastles won the third set of their match, moments after the fourth set of the Aviators-Empire match was completed, the maximum number of games the Kastles could win against common opponents was reduced to 166, resulting in mathematical elimination and ending the Kastles' historic run of five consecutive WTT championships. It is the first time the Kastles have missed the postseason since 2010. The Kastles went on to win the match in which their run of championships came to an end, 21–20.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Draft picks
As defending WTT champions, the Kastles selected last in each round of the draft. However, the Kastles also made a trade with the Orange County Breakers to acquire the fifth pick in the first round of the marquee player portion of the draft for undisclosed consideration. WTT conducted its 2016 draft during the Miami Open at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida on March 25. The selections made by the Kastles are shown in the table below.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Statistics
Players are listed in order of their game-winning percentage provided they played in at least 40% of the Kastles' games in that event, which is the WTT minimum for qualification for league leaders in individual statistical categories.


2016 Washington Kastles season, Individual achievements
Madison Brengle led WTT in winning percentage in women's singles and also tied for third with Andreja Klepač in women's doubles. Treat Huey was third in WTT in winning percentage in men's doubles.


2016 Washington Mystics season
The 2016 WNBA season for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association was scheduled to begin May 14, 2016.


2016 Washington Nationals season
The 2016 Washington Nationals season was the Nationals' 12th season as the baseball franchise of Major League Baseball in the District of Columbia, the ninth season at Nationals Park, and the 48th since the original team was started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They won the National League East division title for the third time in five years, posting a 95–67 record, and were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in the Division Series.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
Less than 24 hours after the end of the 2015 season, manager Matt Williams and his entire coaching staff were dismissed. Some coaches were offered other positions in the organization, with bench coach Randy Knorr notably accepting a position as senior assistant to general manager Mike Rizzo for player development.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
The Nationals embarked on a wide-ranging search to replace Williams, who was still owed salary for 2016 after being fired midway through a multi-year contract. Among the candidates they interviewed were former Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker, former San Diego Padres manager Bud Black, former Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach, Arizona Diamondbacks third base coach Andy Green, San Francisco Giants bench coach Ron Wotus, former Nationals player Alex Cora, and Triple-A Reno Aces manager Phil Nevin. From the group, Baker and Black emerged as finalists and received second interviews.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
On October 28, The Washington Post reported Black would likely be hired as manager. But according to reports that surfaced late on November 2 from, among others, the Post, CBS Sports, and USA Today, while Black was offered the job and accepted, a disagreement over contract terms led to negotiations between the Nationals and Black breaking down. The Nationals' initial offer to Black was reportedly one year guaranteed at $1.6 million, an offer Black considered a "lowball". Unable to come to terms with Black, the Nationals' front office turned to its other leading choice, the more experienced Baker. Early on November 3, the Nationals announced Baker had been hired to a two-year contract as manager.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
Baker and management set to work immediately on hiring new coaches. Mike Maddux was announced as the Nationals' new pitching coach on November 4. Davey Lopes was hired back to his former position as first base coach – a position he held in 2006 – the following day. Rick Schu and Bob Henley were also rehired as hitting coach and third base coach respectively, positions they held under Williams as well. The Nationals also hired former major league outfielder Jacque Jones to be Schu's assistant hitting coach and named former Montreal Expos shortstop Chris Speier as bench coach. Mexican League manager and coach Dan Firova was brought on as bullpen coach.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
The Nationals also faced several decisions about what to do with players set to reach free agency, as well as players who had 2016 options. On November 2, the team announced it would decline options for right-handed reliever Casey Janssen and outfielder Nate McLouth, after Janssen struggled with injury and poor performance during the 2015 season and McLouth spent the entire year on the 60-day disabled list.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
Janssen and McLouth joined utility infielder Emmanuel Burriss, shortstop Ian Desmond, starter-turned-reliever Doug Fister, outfielder Reed Johnson, center fielder Denard Span, left-handed reliever Matt Thornton, second baseman Dan Uggla, and starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann in a sizable free agent class. Qualifying offers worth $15.8 million apiece were extended to Desmond and Zimmermann, although both rejected them, as expected. Right-handed reliever David Carpenter also elected free agency after being outrighted from the Nationals' 40-man roster on November 18, 2015. On December 2, 2015, the Nationals announced they had not tendered a contract to right-handed reliever Craig Stammen, who was eligible for arbitration.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
The Nationals bid for contracts with multiple top free agents during the off-season, including Yoenis Céspedes, Jason Heyward, Darren O'Day, Justin Upton, and Ben Zobrist, but lost out on them to other teams.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Spring training
On November 9, 2015, the Nationals and the Houston Astros held a groundbreaking ceremony for The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, a new spring training facility they would share in West Palm Beach, Florida. The new facility, which would provide each team with two major-league-size practice fields, four minor-league-size practice fields, an agility field, a half field, batting cages, and pitching mounds, would center around a new baseball stadium with 6,400 ticketed seats and 1,250 berm seats, and would place the Nationals far closer to other teams during spring training, facilitating travel for spring training games. The new facility would open on February 28, 2017, just in time for the following season′s first spring training game, and would be renamed The Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in February 2018.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Spring training
Meanwhile, the Nationals held their 2016 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium. It was their last spring training in Viera before moving to the new facility. The team's last game at Space Coast Stadium was a 7–2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on March 27, 2016. Its last scheduled game at Space Coast Stadium on March 28, 2016, was rained out, resulting in the cancellation of activities planned to commemorate the franchise's history there, which dated back to the 2003 season, when the franchise played as the Montreal Expos.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Spring training
The Nationals finished spring training in Viera with the best record in baseball, winning 18 games, losing four, and tying in three. They outscored their opponents by 81 runs in total. After leaving Florida, the Nationals completed their spring training schedule with two exhibition games at Nationals Park at the beginning of April, a win and a tie against the Minnesota Twins. Including these two games, the Nationals completed their spring training schedule with a major-league-best record of 19–4–4.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Opening Day
The Washington Nationals opened the regular season on April 4 with an away game at Turner Field, facing the division rival Atlanta Braves. Max Scherzer was their Opening Day starter for the second year in a row.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Opening Day
The Nationals took an early lead when right fielder Bryce Harper hit a solo home run off Atlanta starting pitcher Julio Teherán in the top of the first inning, but the Braves quickly answered with a solo home run of their own off the bat of first baseman Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the first. In the fourth inning, Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy led off with another home run off Teheran, but once again, the Braves came back in the bottom of the same inning as third baseman Adonis Garcia homered off Scherzer with no one on base, tying the game at 2–2.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Opening Day
The deadlock held until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Washington relief pitcher Felipe Rivero loaded the bases with two out. He was relieved by Shawn Kelley, who walked in Jeff Francoeur from third base on four straight balls to Garcia, putting the Braves on top. But once again, the game was tied in the next frame as left fielder Jayson Werth scored on a one-out sacrifice fly by Michael A. Taylor, who took over in center field after Ben Revere left the game early, off Braves closer Jason Grilli. Nationals reliever Blake Treinen pitched around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extra innings.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Opening Day
First baseman Ryan Zimmerman reached and took second base on a throwing error by Braves second baseman Gordon Beckham in the top of the tenth inning, and then Murphy brought him around to score with a double that reached the left field corner, putting the Nationals on top 4–3. Jonathan Papelbon came on to close out the game, retiring all three batters in order to pick up the save and secure an Opening Day win for Washington.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, April
The Nationals got off to a fast start, sweeping the division rival Atlanta Braves in two series of six games total while riding out to a 9–1 win-loss mark, surpassing the start to the 1974 Montreal Expos season for the franchise best over the first 10 games of the season. Right fielder and reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper hit his 100th career home run, also his first career grand slam, off Atlanta pitcher Julio Teherán on April 14.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, April
He hit another grand slam off Miami Marlins pitcher Chris Narveson on April 19, amid a stretch in which the Nationals homered four times in one inning, another all-time high for the Montreal–Washington franchise; the four home runs included left fielder Jayson Werth′s 200th career home run and the 201st home run of first baseman Ryan Zimmerman′s career. In total, Harper cracked nine home runs in April, tied for second-most in the National League behind Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story and third baseman Nolan Arenado, who hit 10 apiece. He also chalked up his first career pinch-hit home run, a game-tying solo blast in the ninth inning, off Minnesota Twins closer Kevin Jepsen on April 24. Harper was named the NL Player of the Month, the second time he received the honor.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, April
Washington's pitching staff performed well over the course of the month, behind only the Chicago Cubs in team ERA. Closer Jonathan Papelbon, acquired in July 2015, more than doubled his save total with the Nationals (seven in 2015), notching eight saves during the month to one blown save against his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, April
Starters Joe Ross and Stephen Strasburg were undefeated in games they started, with Ross credited with three wins—he left one other start on April 20 with a lead that was held by the bullpen, but the scorers awarded the win to long reliever Yusmeiro Petit since Ross exited the game early due to a finger blister—and Strasburg earning four.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, April
Reliever Óliver Pérez picked up the win in the Nationals' longest-ever regular season game, a 16-inning matchup with the Minnesota Twins at Nationals Park on April 24, after tying the game in the 15th with a bunt that was mishandled for a two-base throwing error by Twins catcher John Ryan Murphy and then pitching a shutout frame before right fielder Chris Heisey hit a solo home run for a walk-off win.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, April
The Nationals struggled at times on offense, posting the third-worst batting average in the National League ahead of only the Braves and Milwaukee Brewers amid poor performances at the plate from center fielder Michael A. Taylor, left fielder Jayson Werth, and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, despite strong hitting from Harper and second baseman Daniel Murphy, an off-season acquisition who hit in 12 straight games during the month and had 11 multi-hit games.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, April
The team also suffered injuries to regular players, with Ben Revere, acquired in the off-season to play center field, straining his oblique during his first at-bat of the season on April 4 and ending up on the disabled list, and reliever Matt Belisle, another off-season pickup, being placed on the disabled list after straining his calf while pitching on April 26. Outfielder Matt den Dekker and reliever Sammy Solis were called up from the Syracuse Chiefs, the Nationals' Class AAA International League affiliate, to replace them on the roster. Amid an offensive lull and the injury to Belisle, Washington was swept at home late in the month by the division rival Phillies for their first series loss of the year.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, April
In total, the Nationals finished April with a 16–7 record, the second-best win percentage in baseball behind the Cubs, and a half-game lead over the New York Mets, their closest rivals in the National League East.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
On May 1, the Nationals completed their first-ever road sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, with Max Scherzer earning the win. However, the Nationals were swept by the Chicago Cubs later on their Midwestern roadtrip in a four-game set. In the final game at Wrigley Field on May 8, Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper walked six times and was hit by a pitch, setting a major league record with seven plate appearances and zero official at-bats in a single game.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
On May 9, as Stephen Strasburg pitched at Nationals Park in a game against the Detroit Tigers, news broke that he had agreed to a long-term extension of his contract; prior to the seven-year extension, Strasburg had been under team control for the final season in 2016 before he was due to become a free agent for the first time.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
Under the extension, signed and officially announced at a press conference at Nationals Park the following day and scheduled to begin in 2017, the Nationals agreed to pay Strasburg $175 million, structured so that Strasburg would receive $15 million a year through the end of the contract in 2023, and another $10 million a year in deferred salary between 2024 and 2030. The contract also included incentive bonuses for Strasburg and opt-outs for him after three years and after four years.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
The conventional wisdom among baseball analysts and journalists, and even among Strasburg's close associates, had long been that Strasburg would pursue free agency after the conclusion of the 2016 season and end up playing on a team in his native Southern California, and the contract extension therefore came as a major surprise, but Strasburg cited his comfort with living in the Washington, D.C., area, his appreciation for the Nationals having demonstrated concern for his health and professional future with their controversial decision to shut him down during the 2012 season in order to protect his elbow from overuse during his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and his belief that the Nationals had years of success coming in the future as important factors in his decision.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
The Nationals, Strasburg, and his agent Scott Boras soon revealed that the deal had been firmed up during the final week of April, but had been kept so quiet that even a day trip Strasburg made from St. Louis to Washington on April 30 to undergo a physical required before signing the contract while the Nationals were playing a road series against the St. Louis Cardinals went unnoticed by the baseball world and the press.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
In the ninth inning of the May 9 game, which the Nationals won 5–4, Harper was ejected by home plate umpire Brian Knight after Knight took umbrage with the Nationals dugout's reaction to a called strike three on shortstop Danny Espinosa. Harper, clearly incensed by the ejection, ran onto the field with his teammates after pinch-hitter Clint Robinson hit a walk-off home run during the next at-bat, pointing at Knight and yelling, "Hey, fuck you," before joining the celebration at home plate.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
Asked if he thought he would be fined for the outburst after the game, Harper replied, "If I do, I do. I'll pay it. ... Maybe he'll get fined, too." Harper was given a fine and a one-game suspension by Major League Baseball, which Harper served on May 14 after dropping an appeal of the decision.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
In a 3–2 victory over the Tigers at Nationals Park on May 11, Max Scherzer struck out 20 in the course of pitching a six-hit complete game, tying the Major League Baseball record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game and becoming only the third player in Major League Baseball history to do so. Through six innings, he threw 77 pitches, 62 of which were strikes.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
He set a new Nationals Park record for strikeouts in single game when he struck out Detroit shortstop José Iglesias for his 16th strikeout, set a new personal record in the next at-bat when he struck out pinch-hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia for his 17th, and in the at-bat after that he ended the inning by striking out second baseman Ian Kinsler for his 18th, tying the Montreal-Washington franchise's single-game record. Scherzer entered the ninth inning having thrown 106 pitches.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
He gave up a solo home run to right fielder J. D. Martinez on the first pitch of the inning, but in the next at-bat he struck out third baseman Miguel Cabrera to set a new Montreal-Washington franchise record with 19 strikeouts. After giving up a single to first baseman Víctor Martinez – the only Tiger who made a plate appearance that he did not strike out during the game – he struck out left fielder Justin Upton on three pitches for his 20th and final strikeout.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
It was only the fourth time in Major League Baseball history that a pitcher had struck out 20 batters in a nine-inning game, and only the sixth time a pitcher had struck out at least 20 batters in any game.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
Although Scherzer gave up more hits and more runs than any previous pitcher who had struck out 20 batters in nine innings, he did not issue any walks, and of the 119 pitches he threw, 96 were strikes, the first time a pitcher had thrown 96 strikes in a major-league game since 2013; taking into account both the number of strikes thrown and the ratio of strikes to balls, it was the greatest number of strikes thrown in the fewest pitches in Major League Baseball history.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
On May 13, in a 5–3 victory over the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park, Stephen Drew and Chris Heisey both hit pinch-hit home runs. It was the first time in team history that the Nationals had two pinch-hit home runs in the same game. The two home runs made the Nationals second in Major League Baseball in pinch-hit home runs on the season with six in 35 games, three of them by Heisey. The Nats had had only five pinch-hit home runs during the entire previous season.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
Between games of a doubleheader against the Marlins on May 14, the Nationals announced that they had exercised their two-year option on the contract of general manager Mike Rizzo, ensuring that Rizzo would remain with the club through the 2018 season. The option reportedly paid Rizzo $2.5 million annually.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
The Nationals split series with the division rival New York Mets during the month, taking two out of three at Citi Field in Queens but dropping two out of three at Nationals Park. In both series, Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey suffered a loss, leading to consternation in New York over the staff ace's decline in performance.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
On May 26, Nationals manager Dusty Baker won his 1,700th game as a manager as the Nationals defeated the Cardinals at Nationals Park. Three days later, Strasburg improved to 9–0 for the season with a win over the Cardinals on May 29, setting a record for the Montreal–Washington franchise of 12 consecutive decisions won dating back to the 2015 season. Daniel Murphy, the Nationals' starting second baseman, tied a franchise record for hits in a month with 47, including seven home runs. Murphy was named the National League Player of the Month, the first time since 2009 that two teammates had received the honor in back-to-back months following Harper's award for April.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, May
The Nationals finished with a 16–14 record on the month and a season win-loss mark of 32–21, with a two-game lead over the Mets in the National League East.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, June
The Nationals started the month strong, despite losing two out of three in a series with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park early in the month. They won series against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies, the Chicago White Sox in interleague play, and the National League-leading Chicago Cubs before embarking on a three-series roadtrip. Both the Phillies and Cubs series were capped by walk-off hits authored by left fielder Jayson Werth, who singled home Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa to defeat the Phillies on June 12 and drove in Michael A. Taylor in an extra-innings victory over the Cubs on June 15.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, June
Earlier in the Phillies series, in a 9–6 victory on June 10, Stephen Strasburg was credited with a win to go 10–0 on the season. He became the first National League pitcher to open a season at 10–0 since Juan Agosto did it for the Houston Astros in 1988 and the first National League starting pitcher to do it since Andy Hawkins started 11–0 for the San Diego Padres in 1985.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, June
After their 9–4 start to the month, the Nationals visited the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers in Southern California and then finished their roadtrip against the Milwaukee Brewers. Although the Nationals took the first two games of a four-game set from the Padres, they suffered a string of seven consecutive losses thereafter, splitting the series with the Padres, being swept by the Dodgers, and losing two of three to the Brewers. The losing streak was the Nationals' longest since their 2009 season, in which they finished with the worst record in Major League Baseball, 59–103.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, June
Compounding the Nationals' late-June problems, Strasburg was placed on the disabled list with a back strain after missing two starts late in the month. Right-handed starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, the Nationals' top prospect and the #1-rated pitching prospect in all of baseball, was called up to replace him on the roster. Giolito made his first start June 28 against the New York Mets at Nationals Park, pitching four scoreless innings and allowing just one hit before a rainstorm delayed the game and prompted manager Dusty Baker to go to the bullpen when play resumed. The Nationals shut out the Mets 5–0, with the win awarded to Óliver Pérez in relief.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, June
The June 28 win over the Mets was part of a string of five wins to end the Nationals' month. On June 30, Washington starter Gio González snapped a streak of six losing decisions with a 13–4 win over the Reds at Nationals Park. Espinosa, a switch-hitter, also became the first National to hit a home run while batting both left- and right-handed during the June 30 game.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, June
The Nationals finished the month leading the National League East by six games over the Mets and six and a half games over the Miami Marlins. They posted a 16–11 win-loss record for June.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Stephen Strasburg was reactivated from the disabled list minutes before gametime on July 3 and proceeded to pitch 6+2⁄3 innings without allowing a hit to the Cincinnati Reds before manager Dusty Baker took him out of the game with a runner on third base and a pitch count in the triple digits. Strasburg earned the win in the 12–1 Nationals victory, raising his record to 11–0 and becoming only the fourth pitcher in the past 75 years with as good a win-loss mark through his first 15 starts. The Nationals hit six home runs in the game, their highest mark of the season.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
The Nationals placed starting pitcher Joe Ross on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation on July 3 and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the disabled list on July 8 with a ribcage strain. Infielder/outfielder Trea Turner was called up on July 8 to take Zimmerman's place on the roster.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Pitching in his second start since returning from the disabled list on July 8, Strasburg picked up the win over the New York Mets in a 3–1 game to improve to 12–0 heading into the All-Star Break, becoming the first National League pitcher since Rube Marquard in 1912 to go 12–0 to start the season. The Nationals took three games out of four from the Mets in the series at Citi Field to head into the All-Star Break with a 54–36 record and a six-game lead over both the Mets and the Miami Marlins in the NL East.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Right-handed pitching prospect Reynaldo López was called up from the Class-AA Harrisburg Senators to make his major league debut with a start on July 19 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park. During the game, López gave up a lead-off home run to Chase Utley, allowed three runs in the first inning, and gave up hits to seven of the first 11 batters he faced. After that, he improved considerably, retiring eight batters in a row at one point, striking out six of them.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
After he allowed three batters to reach base and gave up two more runs in the fifth inning, he was relieved. He left the game having pitched 4+2⁄3 innings, throwing 105 pitches (65 for strikes), giving up six runs (all earned) on 10 hits (including one home run), and walking one but striking out nine. The Nationals lost the game 8–4, and he was the game's losing pitcher. His nine strikeouts was the second-highest strikeout total for a Nationals pitcher during a major league debut, exceeded only by Stephen Strasburg's 14 strikeouts on June 8, 2010.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Although he ended up taking the loss in the game, López left the field to a standing ovation by fans. Also debuting against the Dodgers was Koda Glover, a relief pitcher drafted in 2015 who had been promoted all the way up to the Class-AAA Syracuse Chiefs. The right-hander threw a perfect inning in relief on July 20, needing just four pitches to get three outs and seal an 8–1 Nationals win.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
The Dodgers handed Strasburg a loss, his first of the season, on July 21. The loss snapped a string of 16 winning decisions for the Nationals pitcher, who finished the month at 14–1 after recording a win over the Cleveland Indians, pitching seven scoreless innings in interleague play at Progressive Field, on July 27.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Also during the series in Cleveland, Zimmerman was activated from the disabled list on July 26, with outfielder Michael A. Taylor being optioned to Syracuse to make room for him on the roster, while infielder Stephen Drew landed on the disabled list with vertigo-like symptoms and was replaced on the roster by Wilmer Difo, a Senators infielder, the following day. The Nationals also lost catcher José Lobatón to injury, as he was placed on the disabled list on July 29 with tendinitis in his left elbow. Pedro Severino was recalled from Syracuse to take Lobatón's place as the Nationals' backup catcher. Zimmerman was injured again just days after coming off the disabled list when he was hit on the wrist by a fastball thrown by San Francisco Giants closer Santiago Casilla on July 31.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
The Nationals announced a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 30, swapping left-handed reliever Felipe Rivero and minor league pitcher Taylor Hearn to the Pirates in exchange for right-handed reliever Mark Melancon and cash considerations. The Washington Post reported that erstwhile closer Jonathan Papelbon had agreed to cede ninth-inning duties to Melancon and take up a different role out of the Nationals' bullpen.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
July ended with consecutive split series for the Nationals on the road while visiting the Indians and the Giants, coming on the back of two straight series losses at the hands of the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres at home. The team went 7–8 after the All-Star Break to finish July with a 61–44 record and a four-game lead in the National League East over the Miami Marlins. Strasburg was honored as NL Pitcher of the Month, while infielder Daniel Murphy received his second NL Player of the Month award of the season for hitting .372 with 26 RBIs over 24 games in the month.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals set a year-to-date team record for hits and runs scored in a rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on August 1. All nine Nationals starters had at least one hit, and all but starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg scored at least one run, in a 19-hit effort for the visitors, who defeated the Diamondbacks 14–1. Newly acquired closer Mark Melancon made his debut with the team, although it was not a save situation, and retired all three batters he faced. The Nationals ultimately swept the Diamondbacks on the road for the first time since the franchise moved to Washington, D.C., in 2005.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
First baseman Ryan Zimmerman returned to the disabled list on August 6, having missed several games after being hit by a pitch on the wrist. Outfielder Brian Goodwin was called up to the major leagues for the first time to replace him on the Nationals' 25-man roster. He made his debut that evening, going 0-for-1 with a deep flyout to right field in a loss versus the San Francisco Giants at Nationals Park.


2016 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Melancon secured his first save as a National on August 7 over the Giants, improving his season record to 31-for-33 in save opportunities. Less than a week later, on August 13, the Nationals released reliever Jonathan Papelbon (whom Melancon had replaced as the team's closer) from his contract. Rookie starting pitcher Reynaldo López, who temporarily replaced Papelbon on the roster, earned his first major league win that day over the Atlanta Braves in a tight 7–6 game, giving up one run over seven innings pitched.