Photo by dracisk.

Good morning, Washington. So how about those Redskins, eh? (Must have been the pants.) Optimism among fans is rampant after the team eked out a 13-7 victory against Dallas last night, benefiting from a fumble return for a touchdown and a blatant Cowboy holding penalty on the last snap of the game to claim their first opening day victory. And when I say high, I of course mean ridiculously high: for example, the headline on the Washington Post’s local web site this morning reads “Undefeated.” So, yeah, totally get excited Redskins fans! It was a huge win that might set the tone for your season. But there still 15 long games left — you might want to rein in the hysterics just a little bit.

Searching For Answers In Adams Morgan Day Dog Shooting: Police are remaining tight-lipped in the wake of the shooting of a pitbull in Adams Morgan yesterday, but Captain Aubrey P. Mongal of the Third District released this statement to the Third District email listserv last night: “Earlier this afternoon, during the Adams Morgan Day events, an MPD officer encountered a dog in the crowded pedestrian area that got out of the control of it’s handler. The dog attacked another dog and also bit it handler. The officer, after making several attempts to subdue the dog by training tactics, had to finally shoot one time to stop the dog.” The owner of the dog emailed TBD to dispute that account: “Parrot bit no human, the only blood he drew was when i thrust my hand into his mouth to get him off the other dog,” he wrote. “The k9 officer’s injury, which he showed me at the station after, was nothing more than a rope burn from Parrot’s leash, suffered when the officer was throwing my dog down a flight of stairs.” Obviously, still a lot to hash out here — with public outcry over the incident at a fever pitch, we expect that we’ll all get to the bottom of this story eventually.

Vote Buying Allegations Increase: In what has to be considered a reflex to Friday’s accusations from the Gray campaign that Mayor Adrian Fenty’s campaign was buying votes, the Fenty campaign secretly videotaped and accused the Gray camp of handing out gift cards to potential voters outside of the Giant supermarket on Alabama Avenue SE. Cora Masters Barry, the estranged wife of Councilmember Marion Barry, is claiming responsibility for the handouts, telling Mike DeBonis that she purchased the gift cards herself and that “It ain’t no big high finance.” Gray has denied any involvement in the gift card giveaway.

Immigration Incarceration Policies Toughen: In an attempt to toughen and accelerate the deportation process for illegal immigrants who commit crimes, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement will now incarcerate illegal aliens after they are arrested for drunk driving, as opposed to letting them out on bond. WTOP reports that the change in policy comes after an illegal immigrant, free on his own recognizance, was involved in a car crash which killed a nun in Prince William County. Carlos A. Martinelly Montano had been released and his deportation hearing was pending when he hit Jeanette M. Mosier and two other nuns on August 1. In other interesting immigration news, Shankar Vedantam has this interesting report in the Post about gay and lesbian immigrants whose marriages are recognized by the District, but not the federal government.

Briefly Noted: 17-year-old Pitts Place SE resident killed on Saturday morning……Massive registration at Sunday’s Nation’s Triathalon may have set Guinness world record…Man killed in Fairfax County home invasion…Marc Fisher examines the anti-Fenty vitriol…New traffic pattern on 14th Street Bridge starts this morning…No matter whether he wins or not, there’s no debating that Vince Gray can cut a mean rug.

This Day in DCist: In 2006, Adrian Fenty crushed the competition and earned a clear mandate with a 26-point victory over Linda Cropp.