Written by DCist contributor Rob Birgfeld Just who the hell is this team? For the fourth game in a row, the final seconds ticked off the clock and Jason Campbell was taking a knee. 'Skins fans haven’t seen anything like this in years. At about 12:59 p.m., the stage was set for a very, very bad day. Coming off a thrilling win against Dallas last week, the Skins seemed overconfident and ripe for a......

Written by DCist contributor Elisabeth Meinecke Keep an eye on the ground this week in Philly. Gaining Ground: The Redskins have leapfrogged in both ESPN and CBS power rankings (to 6th and 4th respectively) after beating the previously undefeated Cowboys Sunday in Dallas. Santana Moss was second among receivers this week in total yards (8 catches for 145 yards) while Clinton Portis was second among running backs (121 yards on 21 carries). The Redskins defense......

A post on Gregg Easterbrook’s ESPN blog has gotten our staff list all abuzz today with this anti-Tysons Corner rant, so we thought you might want to join the debate. D.C.-based Easterbrook lays down some serious Tysons hate when regarding the choice of Arizona Cardinals’ coaches to house their players in a hotel next to the mega-mall for the week between their games against Washington and New York.But rather than find some pleasant countryside location......

Going into Sunday’s game at Dallas, there seemed to be two opposing forces pulling at 'Skins fans. Common wisdom, most pundits, and the Vegas oddsmakers said Washington would return to D.C. humbled by an offensive juggernaut just getting warmed up. But if you looked hard enough, there were calls for optimism: fantasy experts talked up Jason Campbell’s surging value, while others talked about the 'Skins’s recent success against their hated rivals. And in press conferences......

Please welcome our newest DCist contributor, Elisabeth Meinecke. Steaks won't be the only thing sizzling this Sunday in Texas. The Patient: The Skins' defense is warming up (just ask Kurt Warner, who was sacked twice and hurried seven times by the Skins last Sunday), Jason Campbell is hot (this week's quarterback rating came in at 112.2, topping his Week 2 rating of 104.1), and the team is on fire after a pair of nail-biting wins......

Written by DCist contributor Rob Birgfeld. No one is suggesting the Super Bowl is in our future. But with a 29-24 win against the New Orleans Saints yesterday at FedEx Field, we can safely remove ourselves from the ledge and take a deep breath. While I’m not actually sure what a “schneid” is, fans across the metropolitan area are happy the Redskins have gotten off of it. After a painful first half, when the......

The Associated Press (via WaPo) caught new Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn going for a bike ride with President Bush on Sunday. Both men are enthusiastic mountain bikers, and Bush apparently invited Zorn to join him out on a tough trail this weekend. What do you suppose they talked about? After coming up with a bad, cutesy nickname for him (Zorny? Zornzy?), perhaps the president taunted the coach about his team's ugly performance against the......

Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell reacts after the Redskins were assessed a false-start penalty during the fourth quarter against the New York Giants on Thursday night. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun) Written by DCist Contributor Rob Birgfeld It turns out the anxiety gathered from the last two preseason games was well-founded. Losing last night’s opener to the Giants 16-7, the Washington Redskins and their fans have a lot to be worried about. Right out of the......

Please welcome new DCist Redskins contributor Rob Birgfeld. So what do we make of the preseason? When the team started 3-0, even the most subdued Redskins fans began to salivate at the potential that was 2008. The kid from Hawaii with the name that screams “star quarterback,” Colt Brennan, was shining. The veterans were cheering on the young ones from the sidelines and the new coach looked cool and collected. Even James Arthur Monk......

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......

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......

With nothing left to do but go for broke, the Washington Redskins kept their playoff hopes alive for the second week in a row by beating their division rivals from New York 22-10 in the frigid Meadowlands last night. It was the type of win fans have hoped for throughout the past month in a half: a solid game from Portis, truly stout play from the offensive line, and, most importantly, a held lead. Early......

There was palpable relief in the air at FedEx Field last night when the clock wound down on the Redskins' first win in five tries. You could’ve hardly imagined a more difficult or unique losing streak either, marked by unspeakable tragedy off the field and bad luck and poor execution on it. Last night, when things really seemed like they couldn’t get much worse for the Skins – two missed field goals kept the score......

Good morning, Washington. Given that A Charlie Brown Christmas was on TV last night, this story seems especially rough. Apparently some folks stole $1500 worth of Christmas trees from the Boy Scouts that were selling them. Remember kids: leave your clearly marked tree receipt out for Santa if you want your presents delivered promptly and with a minimum of additional paperwork. Latest On Taylor Murder Investigation, Funeral: The Post reports on the few details......

It appears that tragedy has struck the Redskins. Emerging reports indicate that Washington Redskins Safety Sean Taylor has been shot in an apparent burglary attempt on his home, with one source claiming that Taylor is "fighting for his life". The Redskins have just released a statement confirming the shooting.Ashburn, VA - The Washington Redskins became aware of a situation this morning in which safety Sean Taylor was the victim of a shooting at his residence......

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......

Our beloved D.C. United may have crashed and burned (again) in the MLS playoffs this season, but life goes on. Also, the playoffs go on -- right in our backyard, in fact. Many moons ago, Washington was picked to host the 2007 MLS Cup this Sunday at noon, at RFK. Time to put aside your grieving and check out the game. Tickets start at $30, maybe even less on Craigslist. When else are you going......

It took Joe Gibbs a few minutes to get to his point, but after only a couple cursory questions, he was able to say that, yes, the guys sure did “play their guts out” yesterday. It’s become a mantra of his, as though we’re rooting for a team of underdog high school kids and what matters isn’t whether they win or lose, but how they play the game. No matter the futility, the mind-boggling play......

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......

By no means am I strictly an NFL guy. When the lights dim after the Super Bowl each year, I seamlessly move with the seasons into the maelstrom of college hoops and then the long, drawn-out, slow-motion marketing fantasia that is the NBA. Over a lifetime, I’ve soured on baseball but stayed constant to soccer, the sport I participated in myself as a child, with engrossingly mediocre results. But then, the NFL comes around again......

>> "Michael Vick agreed Monday to plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, a deal that leaves the Atlanta Falcons quarterback facing up to 18 months in prison and puts his NFL career in jeopardy." [AP via WTOP] >> Rep. Robert Filner (D-Calif.) was charged with assault and battery following an incident at Dulles International Airport Sunday night. [WJLA] >> Taxi GPS doesn't eliminate fare zone confusion. [Free Ride] >> "Four years after a......

Redskins fans collectively breathed a sigh of relief today when they discovered that quarterback (and, to some, potential franchise savior) Jason Campbell's MRI did not reveal serious damage. The Auburn grad, entering his third season as a pro, was handed the keys to the offense midway through last season. Just as Redskins fans were beginning to wrap their minds around the idea of having a long-term solution at the quarterback position, tragedy nearly struck. In......

As you'll of course recall from back in late March, during the House floor debate on the voting rights issue, Rep. Louie Gohmert volunteered to represent the interests of the District's voters in the House of Representatives. Considering we still don't have a full voting member of our own, we kindly thanked the congressman by asking all of you to get in touch with Rep. Gohmert so that he could address your concerns personally.......

Baseball’s amateur draft hasn’t quite established the same caché as the NFL, with All Day Draft Coverage, mock “war rooms” and the like. This is partially because baseball’s deep player development system delays the impact of most draftees and partly because baseball’s draft has twenty bazillion rounds. Even without a media circus, though, the 2007 Draft looms large for the Nats and their plans for future development. Many of their decisions over the past few......

The days when one could slyly slip down to a basement, enjoy a beer, put a couple hundred bucks down, and gather around a ring to watch two dogs maul each other to death may soon become an activity worth more than a slap on the wrist. The Washington Times reports that a bill going before the D.C. City Council today proposes to increase penalties for attending a dog fight from a misdemeanor to a......

When the best sports news to come out of the weekend is that the Nationals managed to not get swept, the thing to do is move on as quickly as possible. We'll try and make as painless as possible for you. Redskins Grab Safety in First Round With the sixth overall pick in Saturday's NFL draft (and only pick in the first four rounds), the Redskins selected LaRon Landry, a hard-hitting safety from LSU. What's......

Last week the Wizards signed former GW forward Mike Hall to a 10-day contract, making him the second Colonial from last year's team to make it to the NBA. The first was Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who scored the first points by a GW player in the NBA since Yinka "the Stinka" Dare in 1998. Neither look to play much this season, but it got us thinking - where are all the other players from local colleges?......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

One of the things we love about the NFL is how consistently entertaining the games can be while at the same time not making a whole lot of sense. After fifteen weeks, here's the stuff that seems understandable: San Diego and Baltimore are probably the two best teams in the league, Houston really should have drafted either Vince Young or Reggie Bush, the Cardinals should really think about ending their 25-year experiment of not having......