It may not have featured as much off-the-wall crap as the Hawk ‘n’ Dove, but those in the market for a skee ball machine or “enough equipment to furnish multiple restaurants” may be interested to know that the former ESPN Zone’s innards will soon be up for grabs.

Photo by Kevin H. The Los Angeles Times reported this morning that the Walt Disney Co. plans to shutter most of its ESPN Zone stores, and the Wall Street Journal has since confirmed that among those to close will be the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore locations. The D.C. ESPN Zone has been operating out of a prime piece of real estate at 11th and E streets NW since 2000. We’ve got calls into spokespeople…

>> The Black Cat’s backstage is going to be pumping out the punk noise tonight as Antelope stops by, with Thank You and The Andalusians. $8, 9 p.m. >> DC Scores, a local nonprofit that provides innovative after-school programming to Washington kids, is hosting its 10th Annual Poetry Slam tonight. The event will feature 300 of the District’s public elementary and middle school students competing for the coveted Golden Mic trophy — obviously it…

The world’s most popular sporting event, soccer’s World Cup, gets underway tomorrow in Germany. Unlike 2002 when matches took place in the wee hours, this year’s start from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time, meaning it’s a lot easier to hit a bar or two and watch a game. Some DC area bars and restaurants are opening early for the fans, including Pour House on Capitol Hill, Lucky Bar in Dupont, and Fado…

From DCist contributor Catherine Andrews: The Post’s Reliable Source alerts us to what they call the “mother of all casting calls” in D.C. today: Producers of the sequel to “XXX”, “XXX: State of the Union,” need 1,600 extras. No, we don’t remember “XXX” either, so here’s a refresher: Vin Diesel stars as Xander “XXX” Cage, the notorious underground thrill seeker who until now has been deemed untouchable by the law. NSA Agent Gibbons (Samuel L….