Commissioner Bud Selig will name the new owners of the Washington Nationals soon, perhaps as early as this week. Three groups are believed to be among finalists to pay $450 million for the franchise. One group is led by Washington real estate king Theodore "Ted" Lerner, who the Washington Post reported last week was teaming up with former Braves executive Stan Kasten to increase his chances. Kasten ran the Braves for 17 years, including during construction of Turner Field - important given Washington is building a $611 million stadium along the Anacostia River southeast of the capital. advertisement The other two groups are a syndicate of investors led by Washington executives Fred Malek and Jeffrey Zients, and a group of Washington investors led by Indianapolis media magnate Jeffrey Smulyan, who led a group that bought the Seattle Mariners in 1989.