Awesome radio ensued.

Reid went off on Mike Shanahan like nobody with that big a megaphone has ever gone off on the Redskins coach.

The hosts were discussing Shanahan's failure to put a decent quarterback on the field during his time in DC when Reid started throwing haymakers, and didn't stop.

Some highlights from the anti-Shanahan rant*:

The reality of it is, when [Shanahan] opens his mouth, I just stop listening now. He either does something ridiculous, like stake his reputation on two quarterbacks who can't play, or he says he didn't say something he said, or he says he was just saying it at the time just to say it because he has to do that with the media, or he says he did a great job preparing a team that got embarrassed 23-0 in Toronto. He doesn't tell the truth, and when he does say something he actually believes, he's so non-sensical, like he's staking his reptuation on two inept quarterbacks. I...I....I can't respond to someone who doesn't make sense and lies through his teeth!

Even if you just count [the number of quarterbacks Shanahan's failed with here] at three, that's at least two too many, ok? Now, when you talk about him failing at quarterback, I mean look, it is the most important position. I've talked to people who have told me that he truly believes that Beck was better than any quarterback he could take in the draft. Now, a lot of this is his arrogance, ok?  All NFL coaches, Type A personalities, alpha males, those guys are arrogant. That's just the way it is. This guy takes it to kind of unprecedented levels, especially when you consider his last decade in Denver. He missed the playoffs six times, including his final three years. He did a colossally poor job on player personnel. He never could get it right on defense, changed coordinators nonstop. So when you tell me that you've blown it on possibly four and definitely three quartberacks and how can he keep his job, Chad, this is how he keeps his job: Because Dan Snyder did such a collossally poor job for the decade-plus that he ran this team, he has absolutely no choice now but to let this guy have the full five years and try to work it out. Because here's the thing, fellas: If he doesn't give him the five years, he won't even be able to get a guy like Jim Zorn to take this job again. He's got to give him the five years....

My thing is, the drum that I've been banging for weeks is, in year two, there's just simply no reason, with two full free-agent cycles, two full draft cycles, in spite of limitations of the uncapped year and in spite of the lockout, and two full offseasons of trades, that they should simply not be competitive at this point. I mean, they don't have to win all their games. They don't even have to win half of their games. But the product that he's putting out there now on the offensive side of the ball, where he is supposedly one of the best that ever lived, is simply unacceptable. And if it's simply unacceptable in year two, what you're saying to me is there's a fundamental problem in the program. And if there's a fundamental problem in the program, that doesn't necessarilhy mean somebody has to be fired, but it means that at the end of the season it has to be assessed whether he is capable froma player personnel standpoint of doing this on his own. And if he's not, he needs help, and he needs help quickly.

The reality of it is, this guy is one of the all time arrogant guys ever. And you can talk about your system, people say they have injuries and that's why they're not scoring. that's crap. They weren't scoring when they had their full complement of personnel. It's like in the movie 'Rush Hour' when Chris Tucker says to Jackie Chan, 'Do you understand a word that's coming out of my mouth?' The reality of it is, even though he's talking, I hear him say things, but I don't understand a word that's coming out of his mouth."

Can't wait 'til Reid brings that level of heat in his columns.

*A royalty check is headed to The Great Dan Steinberg for infringing his Steinography™ patents. It's way harder than it looks, people!

Listen live here.

Dukes, of course, went on an emotional tirade about Snyder and the Redskins on Tuesday, the day after the team was blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. And Arrington, a former Redskins linebacker, sent McKenna's Snyder guide out to his 15,000 Twitter followers yesterday. So if you're Snyder, or a big fan of his, this may not be the radio show for you.

If you're not in Snyder's immediate family, though, tune in.

D.C. Sandbags Residents: Did our friends at TBD pick the right time of the year to launch a website with sections devoted to "Weather" and "Commute," or what? Yet again, heavy rains led to flooding around the region, snarling traffic and almost making people nostalgic for the good old days of 100 degree highs. (Almost.) For the second day in a row, the District gave away sandbags, which could either be used to keep water out of houses—or to lounge on while waiting for the bus to make its way through evening rush hour. -4

Busman's Holiday: Speaking of buses, William Jackson, the kid who hopped on board a Metrobus last month wearing a uniform and proceeded to drive it along the B2 route for several blocks, will plead guilty to unauthorized use of a vehicle. Sure, Jackson eventually crashed the bus into a tree, destroying the front of it. But no one was injured, which—by Metro standards—is a successful run. And at least he didn't punch out McGruff the Crime Dog while driving. Why not give him a job? +3

Martini Flambé, Please, Bartender?: There are plenty of hazards to look out for in many neighborhood bars—a wayward dart, a fight breaking out, that last round of tequila shots you really, really should have passed up. At Jimmy's Old Town Tavern, in Herndon, there was one more—the bartender could have breathed fire on you. Virginia authorities recently banned what had, inexplicably, become a Friday night tradition at the pub, in which bartenders would spray flaming jets of alcohol at midnight. Now, did the charges (which include "manufacturing an explosive device" and could carry 45 years in prison) go a little too far? Probably. Still. Now you know you can drink in Herndon without getting singed—and if you're in Herndon on a Friday night at midnight, you may need a drink anyway. +2

Stay Tuned for Dexter: First John Riggins took to YouTube to pound away at Dan Snyder the way he used to pound away at NFC East defenses. Then LaVar Arrington got a Washington Post blog. Now comes word that Dexter Manley will soon have a 30-minute TV show billing itself as "the fastest hour in television." Truly, this is the dawning of a burgundy-and-golden age of Redskins nostalgia. +3

Yesterday's Needle rating: 36 Today's score: +4 Today's Needle rating: 40

Don't Blame the Reporters!: The Washington Post Company may face a credit ratings downgrade from Moody's. But for once, it's not being blamed on writers, photographers, statisticians or any of the other journalistic types Wall Street usually picks on. Instead, it seems, proposed changes in student loan guidelines could hurt business at Kaplan, the profitable education division that pulls in the majority of Post Co. revenue. Luckily, LaVar Arrington's blog content is already paid for. -2

Even More Expensive Coffee Ahead: What recession? Washington will be one of 12 markets for Starbucks Reserve "ultra-premium, single-origin coffees." Tall cups start at $2.95; a half-pound bag will set you back $12.50. The first of the reserve lines comes from the Galapagos Islands. "Sometimes we encounter a truly rare and special coffee," says the firm's vice president of coffee and global procurement. And sometimes we understand why dimwit globalization protesters throw things through windows! -3

The Pimps of Petworth: Police made a significant number of prostitution arrests over the weekend near the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Taylor Street NW. But even as hookers were being rounded up, the up-and-coming neighborhood scored a marketing coup: One dispatch from the scene noted that around a dozen arrests took place in front of the once-blighted area's Yes! Organic food store. +2

So Much for the Smoke n' Ride Program: Suburban Falls Church announced that financial woes have forced it to cancel its eight-year-old GEORGE bus service ferrying riders to nearby Metro stations. The town's police, however, don't seem to have any similar resource problems: Cops arrested 13 people for smoking in "non-designated areas" of local Vietnamese restaurants. -3

Yesterday's Needle rating: 42 Today's score: -6 Today's Needle rating: 36

Vincent Gray Meets Obama: The D.C. Council chairman's mayoral campaign spread the news by email, Twitter, and blog post: Vincent Gray had shaken the hand of the president of the United States! Less impressive: They bumped into each other at a basketball game. Even less impressive: The campaign saw fit to announce that Gray had "hung out with" Obama's personal assistant, Reggie Love, as well. Note to Gray: You are running for mayor of what is supposed to be a worldly, sophisticated big city. The sort of place where pols are supposed to be above posting photo streams of their celeb run-ins. Or are they? -3

Barry Exonerated: Well, sorta. The director of the city's campaign finance office wrote Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry that he had failed to disclose a personal relationship with girlfriend/earmark beneficiary Donna Watts-Brighthaup, which "would have resulted in the transparency of the transaction and removed any cloud from the contract process." But the office also declared that the former mayor hadn't violated any laws—which is a nice change. +1

LaVar Arrington Joins Washington Post: The former Redskins linebacker will blog and do video commentary on football and other sports. Arrington hasn't been shy about bashing the team on his radio show—if he's half as harsh as former running back John Riggins is on YouTube, the Post may have found itself a winner. (And yes, that assumes the Redskins will still mostly inspire despair, not joy, among fans this season.) At Washington City Paper, we're trying to find our own Redskin-turned-blogger. Maybe Albert Haynesworth will be available? Come on over, Albert; we'll pay you a bonus of at least $21 and won't make you do any wind sprints. +2

Metro Delays Fare Hikes: Taking the subway during rush hour today? You'll save money, thanks to... Well, thanks to the fact that Metro managed to confuse everyone about exactly how the new fare structure scheduled to begin this week is supposed to work. New "peak of the peak" surcharges are supposed to take effect, but evidently the whole concept was too much for Washingtonians to handle. Considering riders are already used to paying different amounts at different times of day or to go to different stations, it's a little unclear why Metro felt this new setup wouldn't fly. The transit system will lose $60,000 because of the screwup, but hey, at least you'll save 20 cents. (Now, if only the train you're waiting for would arrive.) +1

Friday's Needle rating: 48 Today's score: 1 Today's Needle rating: 49

Good talk-radio hosts let listeners know how they really feel, even when they shouldn't. LaVar Arrington is a good talk-radio host.

And on yesterday's show on WJFK, when the topic of Tiger Woods' alleged $750 million divorce settlement came up, Arrington went off.

After saying the legal system is "sexist" in divorce settlements, Arrington blurted: "That's why you have people like Rae Carruth behind bars!."*

Rae Carruth was the Carolina Panthers receiver who arranged and participated in the slaying of his eight-months-pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams,on a North Carolina highway in 1999.

Arrington's remark had an "Ewwwwwww!" factor through the roof. It stopped the show cold for a few seconds. Others in the studio tried to get Arrington to not use the Woods' settlment to justify the savage murder of a woman with child, but the ex-Skins linebacker kept going.

"You don't think that's going through Tiger Woods' mind?" he said. "That's a gang of money! That's a gang of money!"**

Everybody but LaVar knew he shouldn't have said it. Good talk radio.

*Apologies to The Great Dan Steinberg™ for poaching his Steinographic™ methods

**ibid

A GRIDIRON AFFAIR

In a time when some doubt the DOMINANCE of the BURGUNDY and GOLD, we must remember where the fear and the Dominance of the Burgundy & Gold came... It has been 17years since our mighty Burgundy and Gold Donned the Phrase... "SUPERBOWLCHAMPION."

Well, sometimes in Supporting the Present you first have to understand and Celebrate your Past, because in your past, you find the compos that guides your future.  Inspiration comes from Greatness and Greatness come from Inspiration… In December … Greatness is coming back to the Washington, DC metropolitan area... At the place where it all started...

This isn't the first time Clark has put out a party invitation, or used the sort of punctuation generally found on ransom notes. One difference from previous Clark invites: There's no specific date on this one. Or specific time. Or specific venue. Just "where it all started."

Vagueness can be a virtue.

Last month, Clark started advertising and offering tickets for what was billed as "The Ultimate Tailgate" party and Super Bowl gala. There would be a battle of the bands, the invitation promised, plus a massive video-game tournament with Chris Cooley participating, Joe Gibbs and Dan Snyder speeches, a Monte Carlo Night extravaganza and appearances by every player on every Redskins Super Bowl team. The dreamy all-day event, according to the promos, was going to be held on August 29 at RFK Stadium.

One of the many problems here: Nobody told RFK Stadium.

(AFTER THE JUMP: Who's on crack? LaVar Arrington goes deep? LaVar let you take a turn bashing Dan Snyder? Juwan Howard is still in the NBA? The Nats are still playing?)

When City Paper called the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, which runs the stadium, about the August 29 event promoted on Clark's web site, DCSEC head Erik Moses said the commission had heard from Clark about his party plans but never got into serious discussions about it. Moses said that no such event was scheduled for the stadium at August 29 or any other date.

Clark shut down most of his web site after City Paper's inquiries, and told me that while some mistakes were made, and no matter what I'd been told by RFK Stadium's owners, his big bash was indeed going to be thrown. (During our meeting, Clark also kept telling me, "You're on crack!") But, Clark said, he'd moved the date from August 29 to December 29.

For a while, his web site had bare bones info about a Redskins party he was going to host at RFK on Dec. 29.

Well, slight problem: Dec. 29 is a Tuesday, and it's also the same day the EagleBank Bowl will be held at RFK.

Clark took down the Dec. 29 announcement a while ago. But, from his latest invite, he's still ready to party! So, save the date! Or, better just save all of December!

Remember: Ain't no party like a Gary Clark party!

***

The Lavar Arrington Show provides the best moments in DC sports talk these days.

Arrington's got stories that no other radio host can match, and he tells 'em amazingly. Last Wednesday on the air he told of his last moments as a pro football player, when he was playing for the New York Giants and having what he thought was one of the best games of his career on a "Monday Night Football" telecast in Dallas, and suddenly found himself laying on the field with his achilles heel tendons shredded. While on the ground getting sick from the pain, he recognized a portion of the nearby sidelines as the very spot where he put the hit on Troy Aikman KO'd the Cowboys QB and ended his career, and he couldn't stop looking at that patch of fake grass.

"I knew then that it was over for me, too," Arrington said.

If you missed that show, try to get it on a podcast or whatever. You'll thank me.

Then on yesterday's program, Arrington opened the phones forever to let callers rail about the game day experience at FedExField and otherwise pound on Redskins owner Dan Snyder.

These bash sessions may get old eventually. But considering how badly Arrington's run here in DC ended, with him joining a host of other players claiming Snyder lied to him during contract negotiations, and then having the organization slime him on his way out, for now it sounds like justice.

***

Juwan Howard won't get booed this time: AllAfrica.com reports that Howard will be in Uganda this weekend promoting Sprite and basketball.

Howard, a first-round pick of the Washington Bullets in 1994, had a short honeymoon here before he was run out of DC by fans for not living up to his $100 million-plus contract on or off the court, a combinatin of too many arrests and too few points in the paint.

But, he's still in the league after all these years, and played last season with Charlotte. The AllAfrica.com story says that the Uganda event will be related to an upcoming gathering sponsored by "Basketball Without Boarders." That's supposed to read "Basketball Without Borders," which is a charity group that uses hoops to promote US interests abroad.

But the slip from "borders" to "boarders" in this case is very Freudian:  Howard's trip was arranged by Miles and Associates, described in the story as "a US funded South African based organisation that promotes youth development mainly through basketball." But, far as I can tell, Miles and Associates, which has a DC office, also works as a scouting organization for U.S. high school athletic programs.

Among many stars the firm exported from what NPR calls "the Dark Continent" to our shores are Yao Sithole and Given Kalipinde, who finished at Episcopal High School in Alexandria. That's a boarding school, where Sithole and Kalipinde starred in soccer and hoops.

So, basketball without boarders? Forget that: Sounds like Miles and Associates is bent on finding boarders who can play some basketball.

***

The Nats don't blow all of a big lead and win, 5-4. John Lannan gets to 8-8. Given the way his team's played behind him all season, Lannan's record is Cy Young-ish. Three everyday guys are now hitting over .300. The Nats' two power hitters are hitting just sub-.300. Then again, what are we talking about this for?

It's football season!

***

Story tips? Wanna Play the Feud? Tube amps for sale? Send to: cheapseats@washingtoncitypaper.com

I like his thinking. Arrington's, that is.

Orakpo signed last night and will be dressed out today. The Sporting News ranked the Redskins as the best fit for Vick.

***

The Vick influence, meanwhile, remains profound. Ultimate fighting opponents for years have tried to keep states from sanctioning MMA by calling it "human cockfighting," a term made famous by Sen. John McCain. But McCain's tag did nothing to stop the spread of the cage matches. So, New York legislators opposed to seeing the sport, or whatever you want to call it, sanctioned in their state have adopted "human dogfighting" as their catch phrase.

***

Speaking of guerilla marketing: Larry Weisman looks more like a brilliant hire for Dan Snyder every day.

(AFTER THE JUMP:New Skins PR official calls team "mediocre"?)

Weisman, a longtime USA Today pro football correspondent, now writes press releases for the Redskins that look a lot like his old-school journalism. And real news organizations that are either lazy or duped have been treating the releases like news stories. (What's up with that, ESPN?)

But, because Weisman was so prolific in his final days as a newspaperman, his pieces are still trickling out as he starts working for Snyder. The Sporting News recently published a state of the team piece that Weisman co-authored before Snyder began paying for his services.

Here's some highlights from Larry's last ride in journalism, headlined "Mediocre Returns on Big Investments":

"The modern Redskins are spring champions and winners of free agency — and not much else...Since Daniel Snyder bought the franchise in 1999, it has one division title and two playoff victories, accolades hardly worth the megamillions Washington has burned through trying to get the best players of the day...An 8-8 team, the Redskins appeared happy to just tread water this year.

The Redskins want to run the ball, but Clinton Portis faded down the stretch in '08. He's a high-mileage player for his age — he turns 28 on Sept. 1 — and lacks a downfield burst at this stage in his career.... The offensive line is past ripe, the quarterback has not matured and the receivers are in transition. They rely too heavily on Portis on offense, and on defense, they'll bank on Haynesworth to elevate everyone's level...Even with all that, this team will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs in the competitive NFC East...Bottom line: The Redskins are a mediocre team."

Tell it like it was, Larry! At the very least, Snyder has to worry about one less guy out there who'll write this stuff.

***

Speaking of spurned ex-Redskins: Mike Wise bottles Jon Jansen's whine about getting cut by Snyder. The team's press release at the time of Jansen's release made it sound like he died comfortably, surrounded by friends and family. The warm and fuzzy vibe ain't nowhere in Wise's fine piece.

***

Nats lose. Big. All the hopes and dreams fans had for the team for those few days in late July 2009 are gone.

Football season?

***

Just hours after President Obama met with Henry Louis Gates and James Crowley at the White House in hopes of converting the brouhaha into a brew-haha, TruthAboutIt reminds us of one of pre-Post-Racial America's funnest pastimes:  Mocking whitey on the basketball court.

The level of racial profiling in Cambridge ain't nothing compared to the amount of profiling on the hardwood.

Truth About It (inspired by a racially charged tweet from the street's favorite white blogger, the Great Dan Steinberg) awesomely provides a list of all the caucasians who've worn a Bullets/Wizards uniform in the last quarter century. And damn if they don't make the case for color. My only problem with this list, and I think Lou Dobbs is with me on this, is it includes foreigners. You take out the Eastern euros, and there's really nobody who ever made a contribution, save Tom Gugliotta. And even with Gugliotta — I'm sure Lou's with me here, too — that last name ain't American.

(So, will  John Stockton will be the last American whitey NBA All-Star? Discuss.)

***

Another milestone on the Road to Ripken yesterday, with the disclosure that David Ortiz, the beloved, wholesome, no-way-he's-a-cheater Red Sox slugger, tested positive for steroids in 2003 with more than 100 other Major Leaguers. Ortiz gave his "I did not have sexual relations with that woman!" speech many times over the years.

I totally get these guys taking steroids. I'll never get taking steroids and then doing interviews bragging about not doing steroids.

I gotta say, I wish it was Curt Schilling who got outted instead. I might start drinking again to celebrate when that day comes. Or maybe start taking steroids.

***

Jimmy Lange tried to escape Fairfax, but couldn't. On Sept. 26, Lange, who could be nicknamed the "Most Successful Junior Middleweight in Boxing History to Never Fight for a Title," will come back to Patriot Center, scene of his last seven fights, to meet Jonathan Reid. Tickets for Lange vs. Reid, priced from $30-$500, are now on sale.

Reid, like Lange, was a cast member on NBC's reality series, "The Contender." Lange has parlayed that appearance into several top-of-the-card fights before big crowds at the Patriot Center. In a previous fight, Reid lost to DC's own William Joppy, a onetime middleweight champ.

So how come Lange never fought Joppy?

The catchy lede, on why Rhee appeared on the cover of Time mag holding a broom—a cliched pose for a reformer of any institution. Here's the Post's Bill Turque, reporting Rhee's account to D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray of why she allowed this photo to go get shot:

Rhee explained that most of the shoot for the Dec. 8 issue involved images of her with children. The idea for the broom, which she gripped while standing stern-faced in front of a blackboard, came up near the end, she said, according to Gray's version of their meeting. She told Gray that it wasn't her first choice for the cover but that the decision wasn't hers. Gray wasn't satisfied.

"Why did you let the picture be taken in the first place?"

Then comes the nut graph!

Other key points:

*There are pockets of success in a context of continued failure;

*She has confidence in about a third of her principals;

*She has some perspective on herself: "We weren't doing a good job of communicating," she said regarding her too-fast push for change;

*She must kiss the asses of D.C. councilmembers to get the funding she needs;

*Good observation skills by Turque: "Rhee now sits at hearings for hours at a time waiting to speak, per the council tradition that has members of the public appear first. She can be seen fiddling with her BlackBerry, conferring with aides and idly cracking her knuckles, one hand at a time."

The skinny on this Rhee front-pager is that it's a great way for people to catch up on all things Rhee. It's comprehensive and there's fun stuff about the politics of Rheeism. But for dweebs who've been following the twists and turns of the chancellor's reform efforts, not a lot of smashing-new content here.

And now for the official Weekend in Review retrocast: Amazing weekend on the weather front, in all respects. Low humidity, dry after a long wet spell—perfect for just about any kind of outdoor activity. Sun a bit intense during those peak afternoon hours, but hey, this is D.C.

Check out the analysis of ubiquitous sports analyst Dave McKenna on the latest woes of Six Flags. And to think that just after Snyder took that company over, I was seriously considering buying stock. After the way he was so successfully fleecing Redskins fans, I figured, Hey, how can I lose? Good thing I never pulled the trigger on that one.

And speaking of more financial woes, LaVar's restaurant didn't work out so well.

Wouldn't be a weekend roundup without visiting the Washington Times, and this weekend, the editorial staff is really on a hot new topic: tasteless video games!

Rant of the weekend: Yes, the Francis has long been something of a scene, a cruising spot, and so on. But if you're going to take it to the next level and make out and roll around on the concrete and really kinda get into it, you should bring some more padding than just a towel. It can't be that comfortable to mash around like that on that hard concrete surface. Try multiple towels, an inflatable raft, or the grass on the field just outside. Those are more comfy options.