George Mason capped a successful holiday week by beating South Carolina yesterday to take third-place in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. Will Thomas paced the Patriots with 22 points and 11 rebounds, solidifying his place on the All-Tournament team. George Mason kicked off their tournament with an 87-77 win over 18th-ranked Kansas State. John Vaughan's 21 points led the team, which put all five starters in double figures. Folarin Campbell's 25 points made... more ›

For all the gentle bitching and tempered moaning we do about certain aspects of our local music venues, on the whole, they're nothing to sneeze at. Sometimes amidst endless debates about sound quality and beer prices, we forget that we're rather lucky to have so many high quality venues in the area. Luckily, the fine folks at Pollstar haven't forgotten. Wolf Trap's Filene Center, Merriweather Post Pavillion, The Birchmere and the 9:30 Club have all been nominated for the 2007 Concert Industry Awards. more ›

More problematic is the decision to allow the mayor to set an earlier curfew for those 16 or younger. Aside from making it more difficult for the majority of law-abiding youth to go to an evening movie or visit friends, one wonders what will be accomplished. The existing curfew has done little to counter juvenile crime, and there are better things for police to do than drive teens to curfew centers. Since most crimes are still committed by adults, maybe they're the ones who should be off the streets by 10 p.m.

When the leaves are falling here in the east, we remember our former life on the warmer West Coast in California. We used to make the short drive from Santa Barbara through the San Marcos Pass and into the ridiculously bucolic Santa Ynez Valley to taste wines at the old clapboard wineries next to the horse farms. On the way back to town, we might have even stopped by Solvang -- the faux Danish town... more ›

They say the terrorist attacks of 2001 on the United States was the first time a foreign force had struck inside the Continental U.S. since the War of 1812 (though there was a Japanese attack on Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1942.). So what of the War of 1812? The History Channel on Sunday is showing a special on "Mr. Madison's War" including the burning of Washington. more ›