I don't want the team to leave town. And though I grew up in the DC suburbs, the idea of building sports venues outside the city is so retro. Not good retro, like the opening riff of "Sweet Home Alabama."* Bad retro, like the Ayds Candy Plan.

The spots that United claims to crave are both in Landover, a corner kick from where Abe Pollin's Capital Centre* once stood. When Abe moved downtown and imploded his old building, I figured the era of the suburban sports venue was dead around here. Redskins fans already knew that they were stuck with a disaster in FedExField by then.

So I was surprised to hear so much support for a PG County site from United's fan base, which is, from my experience, smarter and younger and more cosmopolitan (and, of course, smaller) than any other local team's base. Their cheerleading for the soccer team bizarrely extends to management's whims, even when it'd be hard to argue that a move to Maryland would be good for current United supporters.

But, as I think the team and its fans will find out pretty quick, nobody in PG will be building any stadium for anybody any time soon. Maybe the feud between the team and the DC government will cool by the time the recession ends. Look for several more years of United at RFK, and then it's Poplar Point or bust.

*Skynyrd opened for the Who on Dec. 6, 1973, the week Capital Centre opened. A photo from that show was used in the poster that came with "Odds and Sods." Don't get me started...

Renew Shaw has the scoop on where to get a decent Christmas Tree.

D.C. Foodies writes an exhaustive (and awesome) first person account of smoking some BBQ in the winter time:

"I understand why some people say Labor Day is the official end of grilling season. I understood it acutely on a recent Saturday morning as my breath fogged the air in front of me. As much as I believe that grilling is a year-round activity, there are a few things that are better done during the warmer months. Smoking meat is on the top of that list. Rather, smoking meat was on the top of that list."

Meanwhile, our own Young & Hungry tries out organic pancakes in a can.

And Now, Anacostia has a recap of last week's meeting on Poplar Point: "Biggest complaint: the city still has not figured out how to publicize these meetings (no mention of it on the city website, no way to sign up to receive emails, etc). Regardless, Birney Elementary was filled with people eager to learn more about the awesome future we all want in Poplar Point." We've debated Poplar Point some months ago.

Brightest Young Things reports on a band that's getting more of a backlash than Vampire Weekend.

Intangible Arts spots an awesome Obama poster.

The Triangle is on flood watch detail.

And last night we talked to a high-ranking D.C. Police Department official about how they teach officers in dealing with mentally-ill residents in crisis. And got some confusing answers.

*photo by Young & Hungry.