21-year-old D.C. native Tyrieshia Douglas, who spent some of her youth in Washington's foster care system and picked up boxing at age 16, wants to represent the United States at the Olympics in 2012. Paging Mike Panetta! more ›

Well, not to Washington, they've all been here for some time now. But Vancouver, yes. Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Semyon Varlamov, all key pegs to D.C.'s lone sporting success story this year, will all head to the Great White North to play for the Russian national team in February's Winter Olympics. Plenty more Capitals are sure to be named to national teams between now and the deadline on January 1. The tournament takes place from February 16 through 28. more ›

Take one name off the list of Olympic athletes with ties to the D.C. area. The Associated Press via ESPN.com is reporting that 20-year-old boxer Gary Russell Jr., who was born right here in D.C. and lives in Capitol Heights, Md., collapsed in Beijing while trying to make weight, and will no longer be competing in the Olympic games. more ›

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are less than two weeks away, and we're definitely starting to feel some Olympic fever. We know we're just supposed to blindly support anyone representing Team USA No Matter What, but are there any local athletes to whom we can throw a little extra love? (Baltimore doesn't count). A quick perusal of of the USOC athlete roster says, why yes! Keep in mind, a lot of Team USA still hasn't filled out their online profiles, and we weren't about to check each of the ones who didn't, so there could be even more. But here's a few potential hometown heroes for you to keep in mind.
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OK, so the District of Columbia doesn't actually have a real Olympic team that's officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee. That isn't stopping D.C.'s U.S. "Shadow" Representative, Mike Panetta, from convening a practice session tonight that amounts to a protest against D.C.'s second class status. We'll let him explain:

Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, while part of the United States, each only have one, non-voting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives -- just like the District of Columbia. However, unlike those other American territories DC lacks its own Olympic committee. more ›

Sometimes the introduction to an historical event is better done with a smaller issue within the broader, chronological overview most museum exhibitions use. They help us forge a connection between our own familiar experiences and the vast unknowns of events we may not have been around to experience. more ›

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>> Seattle's Minus the Bear's latest release, Planet of Ice, finds the group continuing to delve into complex and progressive compositions while engaging in a brooding atmosphere that has added a new and intriguing element to their always fascinating sound. They'll be at the Black Cat with Subtle and ELA. 8 p.m., $15 advance, $17 at the door. >> Pulitzer Prize-winning author for Empire Falls, Richard Russo will be at Politics and Prose to... more ›

>> The ceremonial flame for the Special Olympics will pass through town tomorrow afternoon, starting at the White House at 12:15 p.m. and making stops on the National Mall before heading uptown to the Chinese Embassy. Expect minor traffic delays along the route. [WJLA] >> Is a Rita's Water Ice coming to the Washington Convention Center area? [Bloomingdale (for now)] >> Bob Mould is set to release his first ever live DVD, Circle Of... more ›

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic... more ›

If you've been to the box suites at RFK Stadium, you may have noticed photos of acts that have played the stadium lining the hallway - U2, New Kids on the Block, the Promise Keepers and so on. But after we finished laughing at the New Kids, one plaque off to the side caught our eye: "Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, site of Olympic football, 19 July-4 August 1996." What? The Olympics were at RFK? There... more ›

MONDAY: Cullen Murphy, the Atlantic’s managing editor, will be at Politics and Prose to talk about his new book Are We Rome? Murphy is of course referring to spreading corruption in Washington, our imperialist tendencies and the outsourcing of government work to private contractors. Personally, we'd rather read a book comparing our government with a different empire, but we won't hold our breath on that one. 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Dancer and award-winning actress Victoria Rowell... more ›

With all that went down this week, we thought we thought we'd cheer everyone up by giving everyone a double dose of dogs. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions this week at DCist. Like the rest of country, we were floored by the news of so many dead coming out of Virginia Tech, and with so many of the victims and their relatives from the D.C. area, we felt it important to pay... more ›

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. For LAist, strong winds attacked LA on the same day the Feds raided the Crips. Not to fear, though: the Japanese version... more ›

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's? Bostonist dug deep to uncover Barack Obama's unpaid parking tickets, their Governor's latest ethical lapse, and a plagarizing sports writer. Chicagoist had everything in twos: two views on having the Olympics, losing two members of their Super Bowl team, and two music festivals. DCist put their noses in legal books as they... more ›

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal... more ›

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's grossing millions and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat himself seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of Handmade Toy... more ›

Someone break out the cigars. The Washington Post yesterday welcomed the newest member to its family of blogs, rolling out the D.C. Sports Bog. Authored by Dan Steinberg, the Bog will cover a vast array of Washington area sports while inserting nuggets of pop culture. The obvious question that comes to mind: Why Bog? Q: Why is this called a Sports Bog? A: The Author covered the Maryland football team in 2005. When he... more ›

The five Colgate University grads who brought you Club Dread and Super Troopers are back -- and they're throwing back more than just maple syrup. Tonight, bring your drinking A-game to Penn Quarter's DA’s RFD to help the guys from Broken Lizard promote their brand new movie Beerfest by competing in some Beer Olympics. more ›

Hey, have y'all been using our new "Recommend this" feature at the bottom of each post? This week we're bringing you the "Most Recommended" posts from across the -ist world, as well as recommending some of our own. more ›

Pardon the comparison, but Trinidad and Tobago's surprise tie with Sweden on Saturday was the "Cool Runnings" moment of the 2006 World Cup. It was in that 1993 movie that a Jamaican bobsled team surprised the competition at the 1988 Winter Olympics in an event usually dominated by teams that have, you know, snow and ice. And such was the shock when Trinidad and Tobago, ranked 47 internationally and playing a man down, performed with... more ›

FRIDAY: >> Seattle singer-songwriter Rosie Thomas is recording a new album with Sufjan Stevens, has toured with both James Mercer and Sam Bean, and we wouldn't be shocked if she had "Sub Pop" tatooed on her butt. There's no arguing she's got the street cred to draw a crowd tonight at Jammin' Java in Vienna. But Thomas also has a penchant for exploring topics (and melodies) that seem to place her more in the "sometimes... more ›

This entry was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds. On Monday night the Caps came home to the newly minted Verizon Center to take on the New York Islanders and attempt to turn around a post-Olympic slide. An impressive display by the Caps gave Olie Kolzig his 250th career win and Alexander Ovechkin his 40th and 41st goal. The teams were evenly matched through the first period but in a second period bookended by goals... more ›

This post was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds The Washington Capitals successfully started the final third of the season last night with a 5-3 win over Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. A solid game by second string goalie Brent Johnson and the first career two goal game by Matt Pettinger gave Washington the 20th win of their season. The Caps took advantage of the fact that many of the... more ›

Tonight's the night, folks. Come join us this evening at DC9 if you can, where $6 gets you the music, the free stuff, and the chance to see us all drink beer and dance. Yesterday, Olivia Mancini answered a few questions for us about herself and her band; today we're very pleased to bring you a short question and answer session with The Hard Tomorrows, who'll be finishing the show off tonight. So, tell... more ›

The end of next week could be pretty bleak. The excitement of early February, from Groundhog Day to the Olympics Opening Ceremonies to Valentine's Day to Presidents Day, comes to a rushing halt as the long weekend draws to a close. Bereft of any elementary school-style holiday-appropriate window appliques, you may find yourselves plodding along, just trying to muddle through. But we here at DCist, well, we saw this coming. We knew you needed one last big bang before you bid the shortest month of the year goodbye. And so, we bring you (drum roll, please) Unbuckled 2.0, next Thursday, February 23. more ›

Today show tomorrow morning. NBC has shipped the Torino native and Galileo owner across the Pond to showcase local cuisine during the Olympics. Donna will appear as needed on Today as well as on other NBC affiliates. Check out NBC4 on Wednesday at 5 p.m. for another glimpse. more ›

One of the joys of Spring Training is supposed to be taking a break from the icy darkness of wherever you're from to head south and dream of the warm summer nights that must be around the corner if baseball's begun. This winter, of course, we've all been able to keep our tans, and the kids never had to quit their stickballing in the alley, but it's still pretty exciting to think that it's nearly... more ›

There are a lot of creative ways to advocate for District voting rights. Of those, our friend Mike Panetta has been behind many. As you may recall, Panetta was one of the minds behind a recent online effort to allow District residents to ask Supreme Court justice nominee Samuel Alito questions, and, prior to that, to rename RFK "Taxation Without Representation Stadium." Now Panetta has hatched a new scheme to promote voting rights -- having... more ›