With the Nationals firmly entrenched at the bottom of the Major Leagues and the Redskins getting ready to start the season with a new head coach, another new offensive system, and a smattering of injuries, it is tough to get excited about Washington area sports right now. Given that the Redskins are 70-79 since Dan Snyder purchased the team in 1999, and the Nationals are 150-204 since the Lerners took the helm, it is easy......

We're just getting into the thick of wedding season, and so apparently are the Washington Redskins. Somewhat infamous bachelor and Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley settled down with his ex-'Skinette fiancee Christy Oglevee this coming weekend in Landsdowne. Their relationship has gotten plenty of ink (virtual and real) over the past couple years. Cooley himself waxed poetic about the romance just last week, writing on his Yahoo Sports blog, "Maybe her dad brainwashed me......

It's been all over the papers and on the tongues of many Washingtonians: who's going to replace Joe Gibbs as head coach of the Redskins? Although only a few weeks long, the saga seemed to stretch on forever. And in the end, the 'Skins surprised everybody, something Dan Snyder seems to enjoy: They picked the man who had just been hired to be the team's offensive coordinator, Jim Zorn. Who? James Arthur Zorn is not......

For Art Monk, it's been seven years, and for Darrell Green, first time's a charm. Two Redskins greats and fan favorites, the Quiet Man and the Ageless Wonder, were voted into the Hall of Fame this weekend. The accolades for the two could fill a book, with both being Super Bowl champions and multiple Pro Bowl selections. Monk was the first man to 900 receptions and formerly the record holder in both that category and......

It's the final edition of the Passion of the Gibbs! Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is resigning, the Post is reporting. Gibbs will reportedly stay with the Redskins in some kind of consulting capacity, but the 67-year-old will no longer serve as head coach after 16 years in the job. No decision has yet been announced on a replacement for Gibbs, but if owner Dan Snyder does what he said he'd do when he hired assistant......

Well, sad to say, but the A-Hole Patriots Ran Up The Score On Us Revenge Tour of 2008 came to a premature end in Seattle Saturday, and Washington fell to the Seahawks, 35-14. Yeah, yeah, they lost by 21 points. But the game was much more competitive than the score implied. In fact, after a Seattle special-teams mistake gave Washington a fortunate fourth-quarter possession deep in Seattle territory, I was starting to believe that something......

A month ago, the Washington Redskins needed to win out the rest of their season and receive a ton of help from the rest of the NFC in order to make the playoffs. And it needed to start in the short week between a Sunday's loss to Buffalo and a Thursday night game with Chicago. And then it needed to start after Sean Taylor's funeral. And then it needed to continue despite losing starting quarterback......

Well ain't this a kick in the pants? The Washington Redskins, faced with having to take the same long cut to the playoffs that they did the last time they found themselves all but eliminated and facing a slew of teams suddenly willing to play dead, took their act on the road to Minnesota and won 32-1421, in a game that was only briefly tense and was basically decided by an alert eye on the......

>> Oh noes! The Ron Paul blimp launch was delayed, and rescheduled for its D.C. appearance on Wednesday at 3 p.m. [via Wonkette] >> D.C.'s Beacon House Falcons of Edgewood Terrace won Pop Warner Football’s Pee Wee Division I Super Bowl championship on Saturday. [Notions Capital] >> Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey no longer thinks handgun bans are such a good idea now that he works for a city that doesn't have one.......

>> A non-rolling tennis ball catches a lot of parking tickets on Cliffbourne Place. [Marc Fisher] >> D.C. police are trying to identify a body found in the Tidal Basin. [NBC4] >> "A DC Team is in the Super Bowl again. The Beacon House Falcons are in Pop Warner Football’s Pee Wee Division Super Bowl on Saturday, December 8th at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex." [Notions Capital] >> The District government expects to......

If you're down on the National Mall this weekend and see, oh, 12,000 flags stuck in the ground, don't be alarmed. The Federal Government hasn't started an experimental flag farm, nor is the display an effort of the area's squirrels to show their patriotism. The flags have been planted to represent the 12,000 members of the United States military who have been discharged under the practice of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The policy, which governs......

After what was thought to be a succesful surgery, Redskins safety Sean Taylor died earlier this morning in Florida. His wounds -- a gunshot to his femoral artery, causing significant blood loss -- proved to be too much for his body to recover from. He was shot in what police are calling a home invasion on Monday. In a statement posted on the team's website, owner Dan Snyder said, "This is the worst imagineable tragedy.......

The mid-November start to the NCAA basketball season tends to get lost in the universe of sports coverage. This is probably due to the staggered opening nights around the country, but can also be attributed to competition with other sports -- college football entering its stretch run, the NFL in midseason, even the NBA's opening weeks garner more attention than college hoops. We're not about to let this exciting time slip through the cracks. With......

The Germans have a lot of long words that encompass very difficult concepts. Words like "schadenfreude," "Hubschrauberlandeplatz," and "Verantwortungszuständigkeiten." I don't know if they have word for the frustration you feel when you've thought that your team had already managed to overcome the mistake you thought was going to cost them the game -- like a fourth-quarter Ladell Betts fumble -- only to discover that the relief-shattering error that was going to lead to a......

By DCist Contributor Aaron Morrissey Dogfish Head Alehouse, the third (and we assume not the last) in a planned series of eateries that serve lovers of the venerable Delaware-based brewery with the American basics, is now open in Falls Church, and DCist popped by to survey the scene in advance of Tuesday night's official Grand Opening party. There’s nothing outstanding about the place upon entering. The immediate thought was the episode of The Simpsons in......

Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en.......

We didn't come into this week eight matchup with the undefeated New England Patriots without some degree of hope. It's been suggested that someone has to beat New England this year. And we seem to recall that Tom Brady had not yet beaten us in his career. And Gibbs was out, doing his expectations management act, downplaying our chances, which he always does. And we were asked to compare this matchup to Michigan and App......

Every time mid-October comes around, D.C.’s population swells for a weekend. Alums and non-alums alike descend on the District to partake in the ritual that is Howard University’s homecoming. Unlike some other schools with which you might be familiar, the traditional football game is almost an after-thought, albeit a sold out after-thought. Large, celebrity hosted parties and concerts are the big draws. But if you want to avoid long lines of overly pretentious people or......

Ugh. Really. I'm at the point now where I never want to see Washington attempt another wide receiver end around again. While the play had its heyday about twenty years ago, I cannot remember the last time Washington executed the offensive gimmick in a satisfying way. Surely there is a successful occasion of its execution that a mind untrammeled by the frustration of this past weekend might recall (feel free to have your way with......

Last week was a busy one when it comes to good comments, with thoughtful and funny ones about the Navy Yard Metro, Columbia Heights Day's existence, avatars, and more. And speaking of avatars, why not set up your own? Maybe you can be like monkeyrotica, who was the talk of DCist's commentariat — what's his going to be? Something profane? Something phallic? Mr. Monkey's response was this: For an avatar, I was about to go......

Written by DCist Contributor Rebecca Cooper After much ado—and by that we mean delay -- the Old Dominion Brew House at the convention center opened in January, and from the looks of things, the bar and restaurant is still trying to combat the relatively light foot traffic in the area during off hours. With its seemingly countless flat screen TVs and copious "tailgate" specials for weekend football games (the bathrooms even have televisions so you......

Jason Campbell couldn't miss, the defensive line looked like a wrecking crew, Carlos Rogers actually intercepted a pass (and returned it for a touchdown!), and Baby Jesus announced his preference for Joe Gibbs over Jon Kitna in a beating of the Detroit Lions so savage that Daniel Snyder had plenty of free time to stop worrying about the state of his football team, and start worrying about how the rides from his terrible theme parks......

We mentioned the nearly completed documentary film about the award-winning Ballou High School marching band, called simply Ballou, in a previous, less up-beat post about some fights that broke out there during the first week of the school. The film is still in its final post-production stages, but while the filmmakers are busy mixing audio tracks, the student musicians who are featured in the film are getting ready for a visit from The Ellen......

>> There's a new webcam available showing the progress of Monument Realty's Half Street project, which includes the expansion of the Navy Yard Metro station. [Near Southeast DC Redevelopment] >> Georgetown student pleads not guilty in hate crime investigation. [WJLA/AP] >> Members of the Metro board representing D.C. are pushing for higher parking fees at suburban stations in order to avoid increasing bus fares. [Examiner] >> A bunch of streets will be closed this......

Good morning, Washington. Have you recovered from yesterday's local sports emotional rollercoaster yet? The Nationals bid farewell to RFK, and managed to close out their time there with a 5-3 victory over the Phillies. The Redskins, on the other hand, well ... we might still not be ready to talk about that last drive. Yet despite the despondent football fans across the region this morning, we get the sense that no one is sadder than......

Flickr user philliefan_99 has become our resident birder, catching some amazing views of our local eagles, ospreys, and herons -- like this gorgeous one taking a dip off Roosevelt Island. The questioning pose of the great water bird and the awesome green reflecting off the water make for a spot-on nature shot. EXIF. Philliefan_99 was at our last DCist Photographer's Meet-Up; will you be at our next one? Join us at Solly's at the......

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market......

Anyone wishing to pay their respects to former D.C. First Lady Effi Barry, who died from complications related to leukemia last week, can stop by the Wilson Building today, where her body is lying in repose. Viewing began at 10 a.m. and goes until midnight tonight, and will also occur on Friday morning from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. If you plan to go late tonight, remember that Metro will be running until 2 a.m.......

>> President Bush is set to announce plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by around 30,000 by next summer -- which is the same, pre-surge level it was about nine months ago. [AP via WTOP] >> D.C. firefighters put out a fire in the parking garage at Union Station this morning. [AP via WTOP] >> The 2007 American League of Lobbyists Hoops for Hope Charity Game is tonight at GW's Smith Center,......

>> Michael Vick pleaded guilty today for his role in a dog-fighting operation, while Jaime Foxx has yet to explain how fighting and killing pit-bulls is a "cultural" thing. [NYT and Access Hollywood] >> Yes, your Mac can survive a Coke spill. [Home Improvement Ninja] >> Fat bastards. No, seriously. We're apparently a bunch of fat bastards. According to a report published by the Trust for America's Health, 22.8 percent of the District's children......