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…

The blossoming shrub that was the Washington Redskins’ successful 2005 season bore fruit yesterday, as it was announced that the team will play in the inaugural Monday Night Football game of the 2006 season. The synergy is practically PTI-tastic, as it will also be the first MNF game for area sports curmudgeon Tony Kornheiser. And because Monday Night Football moves from ABC to ESPN this year, nobody will be watching the game without buying something….

It may boil down to one of those oddball statistical flukes that sports devotees cling to as a higher sign — like how the team who wins the media week Madden contest always wins the title — but for the first 27 years of the Super Bowl era in the NFL, there was no game more important than the opening game. No team that lost their opener ever went on to win the Super…

No, Auslanders, the National Mall is not, as many surmise, a gigantic shopping mall. But for the occasional National Football League-slash-Pepsi promotion, we do prefer to keep the National Mall free of branding. However, once a year, the Mall at 15th and Constitution Avenue goes multiplex, presenting a series of film classics called Screen on the Green. And whether you’re a film buff, an enthusiast of DC’s green space, or simply a summer intern looking…