Happy Anniversary!: One year ago today, the institution of marriage came under a withering assault here in the District, when same-sex unions were first allowed after the mandatory six-day wait for a license (the law took effect March 3). Or at least, so the forces who want to deny a basic human right to people because of their sexual orientation would have us believe. The actual stats seem to tell a different story: Between March 3, 2009, and March 2, 2010, D.C. issued 3,101 marriage licenses. Between March 3, 2010, and March 2, 2011, D.C. issued 6,604 marriage licenses. Clearly, marriage is under attack. +5

Georgetown Targeted: There was a time when shopping at Target was considered slightly declassé, as if the mere fact that the prices were reasonable meant those who could afford to shop elsewhere should. The recession has, naturally, completely obliterated that notion. Which is why it's not as surprising as it once would have been that Georgetown is now eagerly awaiting the signing of a lease to bring Target to the flagging Georgetown Park Mall. (Bloomingdale's is also on the way, apparently.) West of 31st Street, people will, presumably, still insist on pronouncing the name of the store, "Tar-ZHAY." +2

Time Runs Out: Phone customers have been able to dial 936-1212 for the weather and 844-1212 for the time long enough that the numbers used to be WE6-1212 and TI4-1212 (WE for "weather" and TI for "time," naturally). By June 1, those numbers will be history, as Verizon is pulling the plug on both. There was a bit of a generation gap in Washington City Paper's offices about the matter this morning; those of us who were old enough to care what the weather was in the years before everyone had high-speed Internet or smart phones noticed the news, the others didn't. Actually, we should probably start over—once upon a time, people used to have "landlines," from which they would occasionally dial a phone number to learn the time or the weather, instead of just opening an app. -2

March Sadness: The last 24 hours have not been good for D.C. college basketball teams. On Tuesday night, George Washington washed out of the Atlantic 10 conference tournament, losing 71-59 in overtime to St. Joseph's (as the Philadelphians' hawk mascot flapped on obliviously). This afternoon, Georgetown continued its flailing end to the season, losing to Connecticut 79-62 in the Big East tournament. (Though at least they first got to see rivals Villanova lose an upset last night to the University of South Florida.) Maryland's chance to lose its own first round conference tournament game comes tomorrow, when ACC action kicks off. -3

Yesterday's Needle rating: 42 Today's score: +2 Today's Needle rating: 44

Good for him.

But these Friedgen-Lost-Weight stories are threatening to be like the Michael-Westbrook-Is-Finally-Focused articles that used to run around here every year at this time. Friedgen, remember, got just as much notice for dropping weight in 2002.

Friedgen had announced he was losing 100 pounds, and coerced Terp boosters to donate $1,000 per pound toward the building fund for the Gossett Team House, a facility for athletes. Whatever lbs. he lost while fundraising he got back real quick, with interest.

I always wondered if Friedgen gave the money back.

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The Washington Post won't run Tank McNamara's Michael Vick story line.

Michael Cavna, on the Post's Comic Riffs blog, says Managing Editor Raju Narisetti decided the panels were "inappropriate."

The Post didn't censor McNamara during the 2000 football season, when the strip ripped Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder repeatedly, and honored him with its annual "Sports Jerk of the Year" award.

In a 2004  Q&A on washingtonpost.com, "Tank McNamara" creator Jeff Millar explained how and why Snyder got the nod:

(AFTER THE JUMP: Why's Snyder a jerk? In local sports radio, Ed Bradley lives on? Tom Boswell jinxes the Nats, too?)

"The contest is we invite readers at the beginning of each year to nominate someone as "Sports Jerk of the Year." This is someone who has distinguised him or herself as doing something that make him/her exceedingly unpopular. For example, Dan Snyder, the owner of the Washington Redskins won one year, likely due to the participation of the Washington Post readers. He bought the Washington Redskins from the estate of a longtime, much beloved owner and, according to all accounts, starting kicking people out of windows and starting such unprecedented revenue streams as charging admission to training camp."

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Everybody's asking if there's enough of an audience to support two sports radio stations.

The bigger question: Is there enough local talent? Last night's evening host on WJFK was Holden Kushner, who identified himself as a satellite radio jock. He spent the earlier portions of the show railing about Michael Vick's upcoming "60 Minutes" appearance.

Kushner railed that James Brown, the DeMatha grad and longtime WTOP sportscaster back in his pre-national days, will only lob softballs. We'd find out what kind of man Vick really was, Kushner railed, if "60 Minutes" gave the assignment to Ed Bradley.

Kushner came back after the next break and, not railing, apologized for not knowing Ed Bradley was dead.

Bradley died in 2006.

Then again, it all made for some great radio. And Kushner's right about James Brown.

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The Nationals get bombed.  Yesterday, the Washington Post had a piece summarizing the turnaround. That story said that it all started on July 24, when Jim Riggleman yelled at his team, with its then-.292 winning percentage, and the Nats went on to win 12 of the next 16 games.

To which we say: Looks like a lot of revisionist history is going on! Around here we know that the turnaround started four games earlier, with the Nats winning at just a .290 clip, when Cheap Seats Daily unilaterally declared "Thunderation" as the Nats unofficial official fight song and offered up the first of two consecutive Guaranteed Win Nights. The team won 14 of its next 20!

Sorry, Washington Post and Riggleman, but: We think we launched the turnaround!

But, while historians may one day quibble about when the 2009 Nats' turnaround actually started and who started it, there will no such quibbling about when the 2009 Nats' turnaround turned around, or who started it.

The when: Last night, with the 8-1 pounding by Atlanta.

The who: Tom Boswell, the anti-Midas who returned from a vacation after missing all the baseball gayety around here, just in time to jinx it all!

But, Boswell does do Cheap Seats Daily a solid: He uses the 20-game sample we favor, not the 16-game sample used in yesterday's  Washington Post story, to prove the Nats turnaround, thereby validating Thunderation's role.

But, whatever. All the fun's over now. Thanks, Boz!

Good thing it's football season!

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